#vows and ruins

[marthawrites]

Yelling about my September reads now! My general spoiler free thoughts below the cut ♥

His Black Tongue: When I first jumped into this I didn't realize it was short stories! I love short stories though. The first one was DEFINITELY my favorite by far. I was really hoping the next "part" would be a continuation of it because whoa - it gave me chills. It was very much religion based, but with the horror of vampires and demons on top of it. UHM, YES PLEASE. Overall I enjoyed the wording, style, and atmosphere of this author. If short stories and creepy vibes are your thing, I recommend this (esp the first story, but the rest are pretty good too!)

The Ritual: This book was turned into a movie and I've been meaning to watch it forever! So when I saw the book pop up I knew I had to give it a read. Started off, imo, really good, then there was a lot of bullshit in the middle, and it ended WILD. I'm not too familiar with British slang and stuff, but the way the author wove it into the dialogue in this was so much fun! I did watch the movie after reading, and I think it was a good adaptation of the book! If creepy, unsettling, deranged cult members in the middle of BFE woods is your thing, check this out!!

Blood and Steel: I can't remember where I saw this book/series recommended, but I'm so glad I started it. The world building, lore, and style is great! Sexual tension (and tension in general) is my JAM and this DELIVERS. I dove right into the 2nd and 3rd after finishing this one

Vows and Ruins: Second book following the above. Loved it! Tbh I wasn't expecting it to get so "spicy" (smutty, who are we joking), so that was a little surprising. I feel like the spice became repetitive and I think it would have hit better all around if there was less of it. BUT overall it was an awesome story! Kip and Cal are a blast!! The banter between them and Althea (the main character) is chefs kiss. Seriously

Fate and Furies: Third book to the two above! This story keeps getting better and better. Wilder (the main male character) is complex and seeing his character unfold is so much fun. He has lots of cards up his sleeve and I love all the surprises! There's one more book to this series and I'm not sure if I'm ready to say bye to them yet!

Stolen Tongues: I've seen this book EVERYWHERE so I had to finally give it a read. AND WOW IT'S FREAKY. It started off SO FREAKING GOOD. What is it with horror/thrillers having weird endings though? Ugh. Apparently this book started off as a reddit thread and it does read like a reddit thread. Imo it got repetitive and the characters could have been... better? more well written? more well rounded? i guess? Idk, I try to not put spoilers in these, but some of the characters who have no rhyme or reason to be STUPID end up being very stupid and it was... a challenge. For me, personally. But overall spooky book with some SCARY shit. If you wanna get freaked out and maybe sleep with the lights on (or an extra nightlight), check this out!

We Used To Live Here: Again. This started off really good. Then the ending??? Really? That ending? Idk man... I wanted to love it - and I still want to love it - but THAT ENDING? It gave me a hundred more questions and almost NOTHING was answered UGH. I really hope there will be a second book or something because WHOA. All I'm gonna say is if anyone came to me house and said "hey I used to live here and I'd really love to show my family where I grew up. Can we come in? It'll be 15 minutes tops. Promise." I would have said "NO." And closed the door. That's it. The end. This book had me STRESSED

[honeysgotwords]

Vows & Ruins by Helen Scheuerer

Rating: 5/5

Comments: I freaking loved this book!! I normally don't enjoy sequels as much, but I swear this book was even better than the first. That being said, I found the smut scenes to be a little much for my taste. They just felt awkward to me. But I'm just not into smut right now. I loved seeing the relationships develop, whether it be romantic or platonic. The twist was crazy and I am so excited to read the 3rd book.

[skizabaa]

Magma doodles, Eclipse!

[hercarisntyours]

if bee wasn't able to stop elita from going after orion, how long would she have been falling? is it a bottomless pit? would she have gone crack at the bottom? splat..even? would she have died? or would she be alive? just sitting there? waiting? did she even realise what she was doing? do you think she would have realised when falling? if she did, would she have felt regret? fear?

[fairyroses]

— SMALLVILLE, "Tempest" (1.21) & "Fragile" (5.18)

[vorgothic]

Lucanis to Drayden: "Mmm, tell me more."

Me: Sure thing, beautiful. You want my deepest darkest secret? All my passwords? My social security number? Anything you want.

[unfortunatelyevent]

I can't wait for the small differences between this lucanis we meet in v&v and the lucanis we'll meet in the game to ruin me emotionally forever

[bookshelvesandtealeaves]

✨ SERIES REVIEW ✨

The Hollow Star Saga by Ashley Shuttleworth

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

QOTD: What’s one of your favourite series? Bonus points if it’s queer bc 🌈✨

A Dark and Hollow Star: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Cruel and Fated Light: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

A Grim and Sunken Vow: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Wild and Ruined Song: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[instagram]

This series is so freaking good. If you haven’t read it, you absolutely have to!

It has fae, court politics, gods, legends, DRAGONS!! This series seriously has so much going for it.

It’s also queer as heck with such a broad range of queer identities explored on page in such an honest and organic way.

It’s so hard to really talk about a series without spoiling anything, but this is a story of grief, the cost of power, loneliness, betrayal, trauma. It’s a story of the power of love, of found family, of being so much more than anyone ever gave you credit for.

It’s about a group of misfits, some of them teens, some of them immortal gods, but all of them lost and alone and so much better for having each other.

There’s so many incredible personal journeys in this book alongside the big, overarching plot. So many beautiful, wonderful character moments. So much growth it made my heart feel fit to burst.

The big plot ramps up at the end of book two and I was absolutely RIVETED through the last two books. When I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about it, itching to return. I woke up eager to start my day knowing I’d be able to pick up my book sooner if I got up earlier.

I really can’t recommend this series enough.

[marimeeko]

More on Katsuki "the rest of our lives" Bakugou someday being the wedding planning husband with a vision for a flawless wedding;

Imagine it would be some years into their careers as heroes, or Katsuki in particular being a Pro Hero, and Izuku his partner.

they've probably started an Agency together(which again, I headcanon would be with a heavy emphasis on rehabilitation and improved Quirk therapy for children, and hires the most Quirkless population and has Quirkless Hero/support development programs for youth as well as adults.

And of course, the media begins to talk and speculate about their status. The "partners or lovers??" Debates start getting published. Candid photos of them on their casual days sprout up in the news cycles.

I feel like they would either decide to elope, or Katsuki would "give those chatty bastards something to talk about" and plan the most exquisite wedding he possibly could.

As sort of a "yes, we ARE married and you WISH your wedding was as good as the number 1 hero Duo Dynamight and Deku's!!"

Like imagine the media reporting on Katsuki Bakugou, AKA the no. 1 hero Dynamight, secretively planning "something" and then one day all of a sudden he releases the images and videos of himself and Izuku being wed.

His parents hook him up with some high end magazines to do a piece/photoshoot featuring their wedding.

And it's all secretive until after it's already happened bc katsuki DOESNT want a high profile thing with a bunch of media swarming them the day of, he doesn't invite anyone unless they truly matter to the couple and the families involved! But after the fact, the media can eat their damn hearts out and know they missed out on one of the most famous pairs in modern Hero society getting married. They are in a state of chaos about it for a few weeks and Katsuki definitely laughs about it knowing that he kept the most intimate parts of his ceremony private.

The media of course gashes their teeth and tries to speculate about what they don't get to see, and how they could have missed this opportunity of the century.

But like when it comes to the planning and the services used and the flowers and cake and fashion, Katsuki is open and proud bc he knows he chose the best.

And the couples photos that he approves for the media to see? Immaculate. Izuku smiling and beaming so brightly, and Katsuki looking at him with that "you are my entire world" fondness.

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Anowon, the Ruin Sage

"So many have died in search of that map. And now it appears in the hands of the arrogant child Chandra Nalaar."

Artist: Dan Murayama Scott TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[thehollowstarsaga]

i read a wild and ruined song in a day and ive got so many questions so heres a list!!! theres a few spoilers in this btw proceed with caution.

whats celadons proficiency with all his elements? i know the sidhe fae rank elemental proficiency by tiers so is there a different level for each element? im assuming hes a 4 to 5 with every element he has (maybe except for lightning? he might be a 3 with that) but idk

is harlan doing okay he was mentioned like twice in the book i hope hes doing okay

what about aurelians parents??? theos parents???

whats nausicaa and urielles relationship like post-awars?

or nausicaa and the new furies???? and megaera.

what's theodore's like. secret fae name. does he have one?

are fyri and theo dating cause they were giving fwb so bad throughout the whole book?

actually wait why were fyri and theodore lowkey giving lesbian fwb energy...

does celadon know lethe banged his mom because i CLEARLY remember that being said at the end of book one.....

post-awars im assuming that the faerie political scene changed like. so so so very drastically considering literally everything that happened. hows that going?? also lowkey feel bad for celadon he must be struggling with that.

and since we're talking about politics whats going on with all the courts post-war??? hows the relationship between the ones that sided with riadne, the ones that sided with celadon, and the ones that were neutral?

was the high council dissolved? awars really emphasized that it was a corrupt establishment and i think all the counsellors sided with riadne so... hows that going for them?

also lowkey what happened to all the side characters in acafl and agasv im curious how are they doing

especially the children of the sidhe fae elite

more of a curiousity but do people like. refer to lethe as misfortune directly? or is there like a prefix. is he like. mister misfortune.

i hope its not just misfortune is kinda cunty

what are the elements corresponding to all the other courts around the world? who are they governed by?

also there might be a slight power vacuum left over now that the mortal worlds bone crown is gone considering this is a world that has had it for ages. whats up with that?

what are all the other gifts that people can have?? lowkey wish that those were used more throughout the book

whats fyri's last name?

is everyone experiencing like weekly assassination attempts now that theyre in such positions of power? like i know that they probs cant even be killed and most people probably know that but i cant imagine that people dont try.

ESPECIALLY HUMANS like does the fbi have a sniper trained on arlo at any point.

actually in general how are humans doing cause considering the political climate of our world generally cant imagine theyre taking this well. true crime and conspiracy theorist communities would be having a field day.

is rory jarsdel living his life happily i hope rory jarsdel will live out the rest of his life happily

who takes the last name between vehan and aurelian. i think they hyphenate it personally but yk.

theoretically if lethe and celadon got married and theoretically if they had to pick a last name and theoretically if lethe took celadons last name would he be referred to as Former Hunter Mister Misfortune Lethe Fleur-Viridian Lysterne??

do arlo and nausicaa ever marry?? do they ever feel the need to??

whats lethes relationship with luck and cosmin now???

what happened to the madam in the final battle??

what happened to the grim brotherhood in general???

what happened in the final battle in general??????

how did i not know that aurelian was a vegetarian?????????

feel free to correct me in case the answer to any of these was given in the book. high chance i'll keep adding more since im on my awars reread

[a-whore-for-the-void]

Author Q&A with Ashley Shuttleworth!!

I am very excited to announce that my very own silly Hollow Star Saga Discord Server will be hosting a Q&A with Ashley Shuttleworth themself! This will be held on Monday the 27th of January at 3pm EST in the server (link) if you cannot make it, we will record it and post it on most likely youtube, and if you want to ask a question or two and wont be able to be in the chat, you can put them in the google form here!

I am very excited for this (it's kinda surreal) and I hope you will be able to be there!!!

[vibe-stash]

In the Mood for Love (2000)

Director: Wong Kar-Wai Cinematography: Christopher Doyle & Mark Lee Ping-bing Production Design: William Suk-Ping Chang Art Direction: Lim-Chung Man

[kennimu]

My personal favourite Tim Drake headcanon is that he's secretly photogenic (cause he's a photographer, he knows how to capture the best side and angle of people) but he purposefully only takes bad photos of himself.

This is so everyone thinks he isn't photogenic so he never has to partake in modelling for Wayne brand deals and just gets free shit

[returnsandreturns]

shawn/gus mutual pining is so good

it's so good to think about in my brain

like they have definitely been in love with each other since childhood but shawn doesn't think he's good enough and gus has no idea he feels the same way because it sometimes feels like shawn is sleeping with everybody but him ("I have a completely regular amount of sex, i just have the aura of a giant slut") so they just hide it very poorly until there's a breaking point and then they KISS.

[spiral-cut]

Dalamud Red

Come Dawntrail the leather on this gear will get a much needed texture boost and I can't wait.