#we love it and there are many plot twist and unexpected things coming

[astrolook]

Decode the Universe: Why astrology and tarot are the ultimate power couple! #1

Hey, my beautiful Lightseekers! The past couple of days have been a bit rough—I wasn’t feeling my best, but I’m finally getting back on track. How have you all been? I hope the stars have been kind to you. Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear from you! Now, let’s dive into today’s topic.

Whenever I do birth chart readings for people, I always associate their placements with the tarot cards. It helps me to give them clarity and profound insights on what their chart is up to.

Imagine if your birth chart and your tarot deck went on a cosmic coffee date. One brings the big picture—your life’s blueprint, personality, and destiny—while the other spills the daily tea with intuitive insights and unexpected plot twists. Sounds like a match made in the stars, right? 🌟✨

Astrology gives you the roadmap, showing where you’re headed, and tarot gives you real-time updates—kind of like a GPS that also tells you if you need to pull over for a reality check.

Both Astrology and Tarot are like your besties that are brutally honest with you - whether you're ready or not. Astrology gives you coordinates(Your Venus in Scorpio in 8th house explains why you stalk your crush like an FBI agent), while tarot slaps down cryptic messages like "You got the Hanged Man… now figure it out." Either way, you’re left scratching your head, but somehow it all makes sense later.

Let’s be real—neither will give you a straight-up lottery number, but they do drop hints. They won't spoil the movie, but will tease the trailer for it and its our job to decode it.

First of all, CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT IN BOTH ASTROLOGY & BIRTH CHART!

For example, Venus in the 1st house makes the chart holder attractive to the opposite sex. These natives loves massages, hot bath and could be having long hair etc. in general. But what sign is the Venus residing in? What other planets are aspecting the ascendant? Is Venus afflicted? Is Venus aspecting other planets? We have to take everything in account. The result would drastically change in the end.

This is where Tarot comes in and let us know what is happening here. The Empress tarot card - aka the divine mom or the divine goddess of the tarot deck. When she appears in a reading in a strength position, it could represent many things such as abundance, security, fertility, mother earth, even your mother or it could represent yourself as well. It is linked with the Planet Venus.

So Today we will see about which card represent each of you according to your birth date. I'll start this as a series and will post about it in the chronological order. I will cover this topic within a few parts as its tough to cover all of them in a single post. Hope you all stick with me. Lets start with Aries people or who has Aries placements in their birth chart.

Aries : March 21-Apr 20/Aries Placements: Mars/Sun/Venus in Aries

Mars in Aries - The Emperor - "I make the rules. I enforce the rules. You’re welcome."

Mars in Aries people has Big Boss Energy.

Sets boundaries like a pro. Reliable AF.

No procrastination, just action. The way they handle their finances is really a kind of superpower.

Aries Mars people probably invented confidence.

On the flip side, if mars is afflicted, these people could be control freaks and micromanages everything. They love authority... sometimes too much. My way or the highway energy.

Sun in Aries : The Tower - "Everything’s fine—just kidding, total meltdown. Enjoy the plot twist!"

The Universe’s Way of Saying, “Surprise, Sucker!”

The No BS people - That toxic job? That fake friend? That bad relationship? BOOM. Cleared out like expired milk. You didn’t wanna throw it out, but now you have to.

Tough love & if these people lost everything in life, they rebuild it like a boss.

If sun is afflicted, these people can be stubborn and avoid changes like a pro. They simply ignore their problems and hopes it would go away..nope, it won't.

Venus in Aries : Queen of Wands - "I walk in, and the room gets 10 degrees hotter."

Venus in Aries people are magnetic AF. People just want to be around them.

These people are like your personal cheerleader and hotter too.

They get what they want. Period.

Loves cats.

Gets bored easily. Will ghost people without warning.

If Venus is afflicted, these people could be hot-headed. Confidence or cocky? Depends on Who you ask. Could be attention seeking.

Taurus : April 21-May 20/Taurus Placements: Mercury / Moon / Saturn in Taurus

Mercury in Taurus : The Hierophant - "Rules exist for a reason. And yes, I wrote them."

Mercury in Taurus people are a walking Wikipedia.

They give you free life advice whether you want it or not.

They respect their elders and follow traffic rules.

Good at teaching and math too. They may love to read books/articles related to spirituality, religion and astrology.

Could be agnostic or an atheist too if mercury is in retrograde.

The good thing is that these people could be bilingual or interested in learning other cultures and religions as well.

If Mercury is afflicted, they could be stuck in the past or could be judgy AF. Won't follow what they preach.

Moon in Taurus : The Empress - "Life’s a garden, and I’m the queen of the harvest."

These people embodies motherly energy and totally a goddess.

These people love unconditionally and turns Pinterest board into reality.

Invented glow.

Strong leadership skill and can make their dreams come true one day.

Bubble baths are a lifestyle. Skin care routines are a must.

On the flip side, if moon is afflicted, these people could be smothering, overbearing, over-protective, etc or their mother could be having these traits. Could give menstrual issues.

Saturn in Taurus : King of Pentacles - "Success isn’t an option—it’s the only way."

This is a good placement for buying and investing in real estate properties.

These people doesn't like cheap things. Saturn in Taurus people eat like there's no tomorrow. Won't waste food.

Would give you gifts if they think you are worth it.

Loyal and stable like a golden retriever.

On the flip side, these people could be a workaholic and stubborn as a bull. Low-key possessive. Could be calling their partner 10 times a day or actually put a tracker on them. Won't tip extra. Stingy.

I'll write about the next two signs Gemini and Cancer in the next post. Stay Tuned!

Curious about your birth chart and what it's really saying about you? 🌟 Slide into my DMs for a personalized astrology reading, and let's unlock the secrets of your stars. ✨ Don’t forget to check out my pinned post for pricing details! 🔮 Let’s make those cosmic connections happen! 🌙🌌

[thiamsalpha]

20 questions: writer edition

tagged by @okay-but-could-we-not ty bestie!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

I have published 42 works, 40 of them completed while two are regularly updated (thiam)

2. What’s your ao3 word count?

800k - hoping to break 1 million by end of 2025!

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

- smitten as a kitten (thiam)

- way down we go (thiam)

- puppy pack vol 1 (thiam/morey/nett/gwayden)

- artsy lacrosse (thiam/scisaac/stalia)

- cupcake (Theo centric/thiam)

4. What fandoms do you write for?

Teen Wolf, vampire diaries & 911 — but I have only published teen wolf thus far)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

I sure do! Every single one. On all my platforms, might be cause of my ocd but I hate to see a comment left ignored 🥲

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably puppy pack vol 1!

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Uhhhhh, that’s a great question. Maybe artsy lacrosse? But im not sure considering the other stuff that happens in that fic.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not in my comment section lmfao. I’ve had a lot of people and ex ‘friends’ criticise my work and call it “childish” or an “easy read” but thankfully I don’t get hateful comments on ao3/wattpad

9. Do you write smut?

Sure do! I’m a whore at heart when it comes to smut. However, a lot of my fics aren’t focused on smut, I try to give variety to my readers.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I have one in the works for teen wolf x tvd

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Technically yes when the ai scrapping happened, 36 of my fics got snatched. But other than that, I don’t believe I have.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Many times yes! But they always ask me prior and I consent to them doing it as long as they credit me. There’s times I see Italian fics I’d love to read but unfortunately can’t, so I think translating (with consent) is a lovely thing!

13. Have you ever co written a fic?

Yes!! I have co written fics with @dreadful-doctors and @genetic-hellhound it’s one of my favourite things and those fics are some of my favourites 🥺

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Currently thiam! But jyler are my forever babies

15. What’s a wip you wanna finish but doubt you ever will?

None. I’m determined to finish the 26 wips I have

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think im good at plot twists and unexpected events? I like to keep my readers guessing and I hope im doing that correctly.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Used to be using correct punctuation and formatting. Unfortunately my earlier fics lack that severely but im fixing them all and I have come a long way. I also struggle with fluff sometimes, it’s not my favourite thing to write.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

I love it! Personally Google translate isn’t reliable so I ask people of that language if they’ll translate it appropriately for me!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

As a child, Arthur and the invisibles (on paper) but officially on wattpad, the vampire diaries.

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Hands down my puppy pack fic! It’s almost 200k words between both books and I had the best time writing it!

tags: @ksbbb @thiamsxbitch @genetic-hellhound @wolfboy88 @fruchtfliege @hemlocksandfoxgloves @ashyjingles

[sphaxcca]

My Candy Love New Gen Ep. 3 Review

Okaaaaaay so since this is my first post on here: Hi there! guess who's gonna give her unasked opinion about her Playthrough of My Candy Love New Gen? ME! ofc.

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT...

So i've finished playing the episode and honestly i'm starting to wonder how the plot is gonna develop during the story.

Until now ce can't really say that the story is growing but, I mean, it's completely fine because these are the first episode so it's pretty normal that there's basically nothing but just a presentation of the character and a little peak of their routes.

The episode was pretty chill and cute for some point of view, but my only doubt is about the speed of the storytelling, i really hope that with new episode the story's gonna grow in speed or in lenght of episodes because, for how is it now, it's gonna take forever to make a real "change" in the plot (especially for Jason's route candies like me) The idea of the welcome party was EXTREMELY cute also the "preparation" part was okay;

Amanda not partecipating at the party because Candy didn't choose the park had me turn up my nose honestly, but by the way she reacted the all time, i could have guessed it. She gives me a little bit of snooty vibes but i guess it's just the shell of the character.

ELENDA. oh my ELENDA. I hope with my whole heart that she's gonna be the new Rosalya because i need it. I genueine need a ray of sunshine like her in my candy's life when she's gonna sleep with the rival agency's boss :PPPPPP (The truth or dare part XD had me DEAD, i mean come on guys, you're almost 30 and you need a TRUTH or DARE game to break the ice? LMAO. )

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE CHARACTERS.

ROY. Can someone explain to me? Please don't tell me that the dare that he should have done was to kiss Candy and, because is dating Brune, he turned candy's head to kiss her on the check. Please don't tell me or imma GASP. At first i thought he was going to be the gym bro not interested in any dating or in date many girls at the same time, BUT THIS. BRUH unexpected. So i guess Candy in thi s case have to be Eric 2.0 of new gen. Love it. Let's sleep with another taken man!

DEVON. So I Honestly don't know what to say about him for now because i can't really say what's gonna be the issue with him. I Just really hope is not gonna be like Hyun route ( a full of nothing) because the character seems really cute, so please beemoov give us some tea or a plot twist. Something that happened in the episode that made me actually turn my head the screen was Candy saying (if you go to him at the Mall) "It seems that he doesn't want to be the Ceo" Maybe this is going to be the route?

THOMAS. I honestly love him and i feel like his entire route is gonna be Candy tries to make him understand what is to date someone. I also have a feeling (which would make totally sense) that Thomas is either authistic or he's part of that percentual of the populations that has an IQ higher that the others. L O V E I T TBH and it's a shame that i hvae to play two time the episodes because the outfit it's not the same for jason's route.

AMANDA Snooty on the outside but a marshmallow on the inside, i'm so sure of this. My guess here is that, girl's rich ass didn't say anything to her family that she likes girls. I just really hope is not the sme thing that happened with Priya because players dont wanna play things two times.

JASON. At last but not least, the enemies to lovers we didn't know we needed. what can I say? I have a huge love for Men who are so incure of themselfs that they put up this gigantic EGO (and not Confidence) to try to hide their real self. This going to be and Astarion (Bg3) route 2.0, I'M HERE FOR IT. Btw i'm pretty sure he seduced Danica to make her leave Devenementiel, this B, love him. At least he's not taken Candies....

what do you think? <3

-Sph

[redux-iterum]

Oh!! Maybe this is a silly question, but do you have a preference between tumblr asks and A03 comments?? Because on one hand, the tumblr asks are definitely good for the sort of casual air and call and response type deal, but A03 allows for commenting on specific chapters, which is good for organization and referencing specific scenes.

Anyway, I’m not very good at taking breaks it turns out. I wanted to say I REALLY enjoyed the choice to kill Ashpaw alongside Swifttail (and maiming Brightpaw) in this rewrite. One thing I took notice of immediately within the first book was that, while everything has been tightened up and streamlined and Just Completely Improved, the VAST majority of plot beats are the same— which means that while I know the general direction the story is going to take, there’s always that slight hope that “well, maybe this will be changed…” I held onto this, like I’m sure many people, with Tigerclaw, since he was so different and I absolutely adored his relationship with Fireheart. Keeping that plot point the same, but making it more emotionally devastating, meant that all of us in the ‘know’ of the original plot were reacting VERY similarly to Fireheart— the evidence was piling up, we knew there was no other way it could go, and yet we still didn’t want to believe it.

and, from the other direction— something happens that is different from canon and thus COMPLETELY unexpected. Like Ashpaw! I didn’t think Brightpaw would take Swifttail to do it, after he got his name and just given the age gap between them in this rewrite (making him siblings with Cinderpaw was so cool), but I assumed Brightpaw would take one of her siblings- I was predicting Brackenpaw, honestly. I was sure she would still go through with some sort of dog plan, but some apprentice was gonna have to come with the mirror canon. Thornpaw is too much of a rules follower and Snowpaw… he is too precious. I did not want it to be Snowpaw. Brackenpaw seemed plausible, he’s sort of similar to his sister in enthusiasm. ASHPAW, however, was not on the list, of course he wasn’t! So finding him torn to pieces was HARROWING. Those slight twists to canon help keep everyone guessing and also allow for some misdirection for us readers, because even when we KNOW something is coming… there’s a small chance it’ll change, allowing us to be In Denial About It. Really cool way of making the story have suspense even when we know most of the plot beats in a logical sense

Also, also, aside, sorry there is no order in my mind, if it was chapter by chapter comments I would do better I prommy, but I love how you characterize the kits on this story. From what I remember in canon, kits in the background usually act very similar (ie they are all rambunctious babies and personality develops, if at all, as apprentices) but in your rewrite you came SEE each kits personality as soon as they exit the nursery, and you can see that same personality grow over time. Cloudpaw is a wonderful example, with how he is a blunt, sort of quiet but confident kit, who doesn’t take well to being scolded, and that… follows him, to being an apprentice. He grows around it. I love the way that he responds to people being surprised by his tracking abilities with just simply ‘it’s obvious.’ It’s SO funny but it also FITS JUST RIGHT!! Because you set him up to be like that!! He has a character arc!! He’s having one right now and I get to see it!! His actions make sense and have a through line!! Erin Hunter could NEVER

First, your initial question: comments or asks are equally fine with me. AO3 comments are easier to respond to, but they don't get answered as often as asks do. So it's entirely up to you!

Secondly, these are so many nice things in a row, goodness. I'm really glad to hear all of this, thank you. I don't have much I can respond to it with except a huge "THANK YOU FOR READING AND SHARING YOUR LOVE FOR THE STORY". I have to credit Lynx, our editor, for two of the big plot points you gushed about: Tigerclaw's relationship with Fireheart and Ashpaw's death were both her idea, and they worked out wonderfully. It's as much a compliment to her as it is to me that you loved them both so much!

[a-fantasy-lover-surfing-the-net]

Modern Cdramas I watched in 2023

This was my first year in Dramaland (both Chinese and Korean). And I have to say that for the most part I have enjoyed my journey in discovering the dramas. This list includes dramas that were released before 2023 as well.

9. Love of Replica

This one of those dramas with lookalikes where the female lead impersonates her lookalike and solves the mystery about her backstory. Also, it's a bodyguard romance so I definitely expected some things going in. It's full of cliches and tropes some enjoyable and some irritating. I have to praise Yu Yue (actress portraying the female lead), she really made me believe that lookalikes were two completely different people. The chemistry between the main couple is fire. I did not enjoy the secondary characters' romance. However the overall squad energy and their team dynamic was great. I kinda guessed the twist but was surprised by how dark the drama went. Overall, I liked most of it and I was disappointed how some of the characters ended up. If you want a bodyguard romance with kinda obvious twists with very good cast chemistry then you'll probably like it.

8. Parallel Love

This is a time travel drama (you'll see more of these in this list) where Lin Miao, the female lead travels from 2020 to 2010 and she must help Jiao Yang, who is the Vice President of Hong Yu, become the president of the company within 3 months otherwise she will disappear forever. What I liked most about is that Lin Miao is very competant and smart, even if she is not experienced for the task she will still try her best and give it her all. I enjoyed the romance and the dynamic of the main leads. It definitely has plot holes regarding time travel and the rules were not properly explained. They also did not really focus much on the time travel part and did use the potential things that they could do with time travel. However, the interaction between the present and the future Lin Miao was very well done and something that many people would be able to relate to. The business plot was medium and not very interesting. The main leads' personalities and character arcs was the reason why I enjoyed the drama. However, they left the ending ambiguous so if you don't mind open endings then you'll enjoy this time travel/corporate romance drama.

7. Love under the Full Moon

Another time travel drama with a twist that Lei Chu Xia (female lead), who has time travelled 10 years into the future can't leave Xu Xiao Dong side beyond a certain distance. Together they work to recover her memory to unravel the mysteries of the past decade. This drama has great romance, unique time travel premises further in the series, good character development for the main and secondary cast, an antagonist that seems like a real person which makes it seem like we could meet someone like them in real life and a plot with unexpected paths. However, it does have a bittersweet open ending which could make some people hate the drama. Despite that I really liked the drama.

6. Mr. Bad

One day, Nan Xing, an online novel writer makes a wish for an "unforgettable love" in a wishing pool. Then, Xiao Wu Di, the villain of her story, suddenly appears before her! She tries to avoid him, but Xiao Wu Di finds her and threatens her into taking care of him. Unfortunately for him, Nan Xing's wish comes with a special power: whenever she needs help, Xiao Wu Di teleports next to her to fulfill her wish. It's fun, fluffy and sweet with not much angst. The romance is cute and the dynamic with the secondary cast is enjoyable. The ending frustrated me but I assume they did it to pass the censors so I just pretend the last 7 mins don't exist. This is one of those shows you can watch when you just want to turn your brain off and watch a sweet story.

5. My Lethal Man

It's premise is similar to Love of Replica however here Shen Man Ning, an art student takes the place of Zhuang Xin Yan, granddaughter of a business tycoon. Yan Xing Cheng, the mysterious male lead is ruthless in pursuing the mastermind behind the threats and is not really sympathetic to Xin Yan but as they face the difficulties together they fall in love. The romance is so good and their dynamic is very different from typical ones. I found the secondary characters' romance weird and poorly done. The plot was really good and the pace kept moving along nicely. Except for the secondary romance, I had a great time watching it, I really recommend this one if you want a drama that balances mystery/thriller and romance and does a good job at both aspects.

4. Love in Time

A time travel drama again ! This is the last one though. This one is unique because the appartment in which He Zhen Yu has recently moved into merges with it's past one. This is how he meets a rookie reporter Chen Jia Lan who is a former tenant from four months ago, and through some miracle, they are able to see each other. When they attempt to prevent future misfortunes by changing the past together, their romance blossoms. Their romance was so good that I really ended up hardcore rooting for them to get their happy ending. I don't want to give away too much so all I'll say is that the time travel and its consequences were handled very well for the most part and the plot was interesting and took surprising turns. He Zhen Yu's character arc was very well portrayed on the other hand while in the beginning I related to Chen Jia Lan, in the latter part of the drama I was frustrated with her choices and how she didn't have a character growth moment. All the actors did a good job but I have to say that the main leads' acting was very good and made me very immersed in their story. All in all, I had a very good time watching it as the ending brought it all together for me.

3. Lucky's First Love

It's one of those office romances which has a light tone for the most part. Xing Yun is competent and hardworking who was there with Xia Ke when he started the company. They have been working together for years and have deep understanding of each other and work well together. Thankfully, Xia Ke is not one of those CEOs who are jerks and cold hearted. He may be reserved but he is quite caring (not in an overt way) not only towards Xing Yun but also his employees. Xing Yun does go out with someone else in the start but it doesn't last long and love triangle shenanigans are not long drawn out. The main leads' romance is sweet and depicts their daily interactions and they have great kiss scenes. The secondary couples are also great. This drama has character development for main and secondary characters, wholesome workplace and family dynamics, no over the top melodrama, lifelike workplace and relationship issues, slice of life interactions and very little angst. This is a great watch for when you need something short and sweet that's not too heavy.

2. Ordinary Greatness

The show mainly focuses on novice police officers that are starting their one year long mentorship. They soon discover that the grass-roots work is different from what they imagined, and, after some struggles, they're gradually moved by the sense of achievement and honour gained in their work. Throughout the show we explore their characters, their comraderie with each other, with their mentors and with other police officers at their station. We also get to know their mentors and other police officers at the station which immerses the audience in the show deeply. It is a slice of life type drama, where most of the cases are not major crimes. All actors knock it out of the park with their emotional as well as subtle portrayals. This show depicts how even small acts and seemingly tedious and insignificant work really have great impact on people's lives and that the people doing such grassroots work contribute just as much and are just as important to the society if not more as the people doing big acts like taking down criminal gangs. While some situations and cases are specific to China, everyone will be able to relate to majority of them. I must say this is a must watch drama.

1. Arsenal Military Academy

This is a Republican era drama in which Xie Xiang assumes her brother's identity to join the Chinese army and is accepted in the Arsenal Military Academy. While she is the main lead the story also follows Gu Yan Zheng (male lead) - a spoilt quarrelsome rich kid, the gentle and introverted Shen Jun San, Qu Man Ting - a famous actress and singer and secondarily other cadets, their teachers and other locals. It has great comedy, really good romance (including their hilarious bickering), enjoyable action and entertaining dynamic of the cast. All the actors did an excellent job here, the standouts being Bai Lu, for portraying being able to convincingly play the female role and the female disguised as male role all while knocking out her emotional and comedic scenes and Xu Kai, who can forget his electrifying performance as a lovable troublemaker. I have to warn you that the story gets serious in the last 10ish episodes and that the love triangle does drag out a little bit longer than it should but it's resolution is still good. To me the drama didn't seem overly patriotic so I didn't have a problem rooting for the characters and their goals of protecting and improving their country. This ranked first because it's romance, characters and their comraderie won me over completely.

You can also check out my costumed cdrama rankings.

As I'm still a newbie to cdramas and kdramas, I welcome your recommendations.

[goldenivy0]

Oooh what time is it? That's right! It's time to raaaaamble!

Top 3 most shocking moments to me in the ACOTAR series 😂 (in the sense that I was not expecting these things to happen at all):

Feel free to tell me yours ;)

1ST PLACE

His voice broke as he whispered to Elain, “You’re my mate."

Finding out that Elain and Lucien are mates. This moment deserves the first place without a doubt. I was NOT expecting that in the slightest and now they are my acotar OTP ehehe 🧡. Quick note: Because we couldn't have had this moment without the sisters being taken to Hybern that night, I think I should give an honorable mention to that scene here too. I'm not going to give that moment a place in this top 3 but I won't pretend that I was waiting for that to happen either. When Elain and Nesta appeared in that room only to end up being thrown into the Cauldron I was shocked!! I was like "Ariana... what are you doing here?" 😅

2ND PLACE

“I knew,” it gasped, sensing my shift in thoughts. “The tracking … I knew of it.”

“Then why come at all?”

“You … were kind. You … fought your fear. You were … kind,” it said again.

The freaking Suriel dying 😭 (killed by Ianthe of all people, I hate her so much 😤, for everything she did).

3RD PLACE

While we spoke, I said down the bond, "Helion is Lucien’s father." Rhys was silent. Then — "Holy burning hell." His shock was a shooting star between us.

Finding out that Lucien isn't Beron's son but Helion's as a result of his secret love affair with LoA. Well, colour me surprised! I found it sus that SJM would always make references to Lucien's skin color and how it was darker than his brothers' but I can't lie, the possibility of Helion being his father never crossed my mind, not even after his introduction at the HLs meeting.

There are so many other unexpected moments and plot twists in the series that I could have chosen from but ultimately I think these are really the three that made my jaw drop the most. However, and inevitably, I cannot help but also make a reference to the moment when we discovered that Jurian was one of the good guys after all and that he was working undercover, or the moment when we realized that it was Papa Archeron who was returning from the continent at the front of the human fleet in a last attempt (and the first in many years too) to help his daughters.

So yeah... CONCLUDING: Not. Expecting. That.

(P.S. I didn't include here the revelation made by the Suriel that Rhys and Feyre were mates nor the moment I read "And Rhys was dead" because I already started the series knowing who Feyre's endgame was and that she would have her happy ending. If that hadn't been the case I might have gaped a little bit at my books in those parts LOL 😆)

[chaikachi]

since you're caught up on the Locked Tomb, I thought I'd send some asks your way because I'm kind of curious:

1) I've gathered Cam and Pal are your favorite characters, but do you any particular favourite moments/quotes of them? Or just why you love them as characters in general?

2) any plot twists you didn't see coming but liked?

3) any dark horse characters that grew on you over the series or that you'd want to see more of?

EEEE I SURE DID!! Okay, warning for anyone that is not caught up with it or plans to read it, that there are going to be spoilers below. You have been warned!!

Yes, they are my favourites.😔 Friends specifically told me to read the books because they are "very much my flavour" and they were right. Which is very rude of them, tbqh :/// As for the why, it's a lot of things, I think. From a character design perspective, I've always been a sucker for scholarly types like Pal, and you can never go wrong with short hair and double swords like Cam. I like that they have a decent amount of contrast and are quite different from each other in some ways while also being soooo alike in others. From a thematic perspective, all the bits and parallels around devotion, identity, and responsibility. How just by knowing someone, we add 'indelibly to their weight'. How this is explored both as a positive and negative thing. How just by knowing someone else - dare I say, to tame or be tamed by another 👀- can change us irreversibly. How burdening those we care about is something we have to come to terms with, and that being burdened can in and of itself be an act of care. How these themes are exacerbated and mixed with plurality and merging. The ever important question of 'where do you end and i begin'? For moments and quotes, a lot of my favourite things about them are just how they interact with one another (or with other characters). The sort of relationship where words often aren't necessary. How so much of their connection is conveyed in actions. "Tell Cam... never mind, she knows what to do." and the "what to do" is her collecting the fragments of his skull off the floor?? that she glues back together with her own hands?? then travelled millions or billions of light years to meet with the one person that can pull his soul back into it??? Her carrying him, despite the risk and harm it poses to herself, because he doesn't have a vessel anymore??? Pal asking Nona to "give this to Cam" and it's a kiss to the back of her hand???? Sick!! Twisted!! I demand financial compensation for damages!!!! Cam had every right to go sit in the bathtub about that!!! What the hell man!!! But I would be remiss not to mention the conversations they have across the voice recorder when they can't speak face to face, the co-fronting/synergy thing that happens when the protect Nona at the beach, and of course: "Life is too short and love is too long."

I'll admit I was spoiled a bit to some things going in so that skews this answer a bit. There were certainly some things I predicted incorrectly but then was like "OF COURSE THAT'S HOW IT HAPPENED, HOW COULD I HAVE ASSUMED DIFFERENTLY". I was not expecting that many people to die in the first book tbh. What happened to the Fourth and Fifth houses hit particularly hard. Was not expecting Gideon to find a decapitated head in Harrow's closet. I think the most surprises I had were in the second book though. Kept asking myself what the heck was going on. The narrator reveal was such an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Like, I kind of figured that was the case but I wasn't expecting that to be how we found out. Camilla showing up somehow out of nowhere?? The full extent of Harrow and Gideon's origins had me at a loss for words. Also the epilogue leading into Nona had me soooooo confused.

Yes. I absolutely adored Augustine. Big fan of his whole vibe; i miss him. Also really liked Magnus, Abigail, and Ortus in the second book. Especially them stepping up and being the Responsible Adults™ Harrow never really had, but always deserved. Also Polyamory Win with both whatever Pyrrha and Dulcie had respectively going on with Cam and Pal aha. Very big fan of Dulcinea in general. From her appearance in htn to popping up in The Unwanted Guest. I don't know how we could see more of her, but I would not be complaining if we did. Muir is really good at characterization tho, i don't know that there have really been any characters I've actively disliked. 🤔

Thank you for asking! I'd love to know some of your fave characters/plot twists too if you feel like sharing!! no pressure tho uwu

[sapphicbookclub]

Author Spotlight: Amy Marsden

We're excited to bring you a post from Amy Marsden, author of We're All Monsters Here. Read on to hear about how this novella came to be!

I’ve always loved reading and writing, and ever since I figured out I was a lesbian I’ve wanted to see every kind of story with LGBTQ characters front and centre, specifically lesbian and/or sapphic ones. We deserve love and adventure too. I want to write mainly about lesbians not just because I am one, but because I don’t see an awful lot of us in books, or if a character is lesbian, the word still doesn’t appear in the novel. I want to help change that, one book/novella at a time.

We’re All Monsters Here was supposed to be a short story—between 5000 and 8000 words—for a writing competition, but quickly surpassed that word limit. Now a novella over 30k words long, I’m already writing the sequel, and have plans to make it a trilogy. The idea to write about a vampire came to me one random evening, and the premise of her eating the rich sparked after seeing one too many billionaires on the news not caring about us or the planet. I had a really fun time writing it.

Anna, the main character, is the poster child for morally grey. Yes, she’s a vampire who kills people and drinks their blood. But, she tries to do so to horrible people. She doesn’t always succeed, of course, girl’s gotta eat after all, but she tries. That’s the main thing, right? She’s at the weekend retreat to destroy the CEO of a multi-billion dollar oil corporation, his Board of Directors, and, ultimately, his whole company. I know there is a history in media of portraying the villains and anti-hero’s as queer, or at least queer-coded, but as I mentioned above, I want to see queer characters in every kind of story. To be honest, I’d like to read a book where there are no straight characters whatsoever.

We’re All Monsters Here has a lesbian main character in the form of Anna, a lesbian love interest—and so much more—in Saira, a bit of spice and humour and violence, and a fast-paced plot with building tension and twists you won’t see coming. It’s in first person, so you really get into Anna’s head and root for her over the course of the weekend.

It’s available on Amazon now!

Thank you to Sapphicbookclub for this guest spot opportunity.

We’re All Monsters Here - Book Blurb

When Anna is invited to a secluded retreat full of selfish, greedy humans, of course she doesn’t say no. Not only did she manipulate the CEO of the world’s largest oil corporation, Peter Beyer, into organising the four-day getaway in the first place, but no self-respecting vampire would ever turn down such easy prey. Her weekend gets even better when she meets Saira, one of Peter Beyer’s employees, and they begin a whirlwind affair. Blood and beautiful women are Anna’s idea of a great time.

She should have known it was too good to be true.

Hunters are dangerous, deadly, and dedicated to eradicating vampires. When a group of them turn up at the retreat, Anna must use her centuries of experience to escape their ever-closing net. Will she get out unscathed, or will they finally catch up to her? Will she give into her intense and unexpected feelings for Saira, or will she leave her to burn as she destroys all evidence she was ever there?

A fresh twist on urban fantasy, with an added splash of sapphic romance.

[feralkwe]

top five worst tropes, in your opinion?

ooh! a tough one, because there are so many tropes, and so many categories of trope (character trope, relationship trope, plot trope) that i could make a list just in one of them. but just generalized off the top of my head, no specific category:

5. amnesia. oh my GOD i hate an amnesia plot, especially when it is the only thing preventing the conflict from being resolved, or used as the conflict keeping a ship apart. the closest thing to an amnesia plot i have ever liked, and i feel dirty giving terry goodkind anything related to a compliment, but the chainfire spell in the last two sword of truth books was actually compelling because *everyone* magically forgot the character in question existed, every touch of her was wiped away in an actually cool concept. it's too bad tg wrote the most insufferable male protagonist ever committed to the page. he seriously ruined the entire series by existing. i wish there was a chainfire spell to make me forget richard rahl.

4. the misunderstanding. if your whole story arc/plot/reason a ship can't sail is because of some misunderstanding that could have been resolved with a reasonable conversation, you've lost me. it's uninteresting to me. it's just so flimsy as a concept that it cannot carry the weight of a compelling story. it makes the characters feel shallow. come up with a better obstacle. i believe in you.

3. deus ex machina. i love a good twist or unexpected turn, but babygirl you gotta leave us crumbs that lead us there, even if we, the reader, might be too dumb to see them. idc if it's a random convenient power introduced at the exact moment it's needed or a literal deus ex lowered on a crane to solve the problem. if it's too convenient without any context clues, i'm gonna be annoyed because i feel cheated. leave that stuff to the theatre professionals. you're not an ancient greek.

2. the perfect protagonist everyone loves. no, i don't mean mary sues as they've been smeared across fiction everywhere. i love me a mary sue! more people should be so bold! i mean the characters who never seem to have conflict with anyone ever. everyone is their friend. no one ever argues with or challenges them. no one is ever annoyed with them. wronged parties forgive them right away, even when they are wrongity wrong wrong. even the pc of an rpg runs into personality clashes with their closest companions and have to rng their way out of it. give me a little grit or friction, please! bonus irritation points if the characters just bang and it's all forgiven.

1. the love triangle. just... heck off i am so tired of it. no one writes it in an interesting way anymore. it's always obvious who will pick who in the most boring way. more often than not the third person is just mistreated and left hurt and alone or as a lazy plot device to keep the main couple in conflict. let me balance the scales of my terry goodkind compliment from earlier by saying that he did this most egregiously to my poor girl nikki in confessor, building her up in a relationship with the horrible protagonist who did not deserve her until the last minute when she helped rescue his real love. then he just... discarded her. it's boring. give me (believable, well developed) polyamory or find a better conflict for your obviously destined to be endgame couple. heck, even give me a person who genuinely loves both people and *tries* while slapping on a bittersweet ending! if your third person is disposable then your character did not earn their hea*.

*i purposely left off the hea. that's a post of its own.

[findroleplay]

Aliens, lasers, spaceships and drama oh my!

“When you dare to stare in the eyes of someone whose fate mirrors yours, no one can blame you for wanting to try and change its course.”

Hey there my fellow space exploring pals and writers from previously uncharted worlds! I am currently on the hunt for some sci-fi based goodness intertwined with an overly generous helping of drama, spaceships, lasers, aliens, romantic endeavours, intergalactic sized portions of chaos, moments of tenderness and heartbreaks, more lasers, some cool tech and a story that leaves us hanging on the edge of our seats whilst we eagerly await the next reply with a few unexpected plot related twists and turns thrown in to keep us on our toes. I’m not looking for anything based in other genres right now/with extreme amounts of realism so please keep that in mind when it comes to approaching me and reading through this ad.

Interested in seeing just exactly what it is that I’m looking for and to see if you fit the bill? Keep scrolling and all will be revealed!

ZEE BILL:

-I am looking for someone who can write a minimum of at least three to four properly fleshed out and detailed paragraphs per response in third person past tense as well as a decent grasp on spelling, grammar and punctuation. One liners, single paragraph responses, rushed out replies with frequent spelling mistakes that go uncorrected and constantly swapping between tenses are a no go for me.

-I would like to aim for at least one to two responses per day/every other day, but I am open to planning a schedule with my partners depending on their overall availability so long as there are at least three days of the week where they are able to make a post for the rp and I’m given a heads up about any changes that may need to be made due to life related things outside of our control. I am not open to only receiving one response a week or less than that.

-I am looking for a long term rp partner who is also open to having multiple threads/plots/stories/etc running at the same time or at our leisure. I’m not looking for a short term story that is over and done with in just a couple of days before we part ways and never hear of each other ever again.

-I am in the AEST time zone. Whilst I have no trouble working with people who are in different time zones, please be aware that this might cause a bit of schedule clashing depending on how many hours behind or ahead of you I may be and what times you are available to chat with.

-I am a big fan of ooc chat and love nothing more than opening up discord on my phone to find that I have been flooded with messages containing ideas for the rp, silly little goofy character scenes, memes or even just a funny story about something that happened during the week. As long as I am not being spammed with “you there?” “When will you reply?” “Hello?” Or something similar, you are free to message me at any time even if I am not actively online.

-All writers and characters must be 20+. No exceptions will be made in regards to this rule.

-I only play male characters and they’re all aliens. If you do not like the idea of playing against aliens that may have/has fur, claws, fangs, tails, the ability to walk on ceilings, multiple limbs or just anything that doesn’t look like it could be anything else besides a regular earthborn human and lacks any noticeable features to help distinguish them as another species, then I am not the rper for you. I do not care if you wish to play as a human or alien provided it doesn’t look like a xenomorph or insectoid like alien, isn’t made from slime, doesn’t have magical powers, isn’t telepathic and can function in harsh or combative environments without automatically being severely handicapped in some way because their helmet broke and they can’t survive without it due to being unable to breathe without water or they’re blinded by regular lighting and cannot adapt to it.

-I often incorporate certain themes and topics in my stories which may include, but are not limited to: gore, violence, war, PTSD and how that may affect the way a character interacts with others, disabilites, major injuries or illnesses and how they’re treated, abuse, character loss or death, torture, etc. any and all limits will be discussed prior to the planning stages of the rp itself but please keep in mind that I’m not the kind of person who skimps on the dark and gritty parts of a story (barring a few very specific exceptions) so if you are not comfortable with this, I am not the rper for you.

-Romance is my bread, slow burn is my butter. Together they help create the perfect sandwich that I absolutely adore. Gimme that drama which comes with realising that the guy who was only a few seconds away from drawing his pistol and aiming it at your heart when you first met is kinda hot, let them simmer in the tension those feelings cause and stew flusteredly over the little things they both find cute about each other, engage in a bit of insulting (banter) that leaves the characters going “dang….they’re good.”, mercilessly plunge them into the pits of emotional despair when one of them gets hurt, let em see the best and worst sides of each other. Don’t be afraid to sling any ideas that may make it all the more dramatic-er wholesome either! Just don’t get too carried away and let it completely overtake the main story. Pairings wise MxM is what I prefer the most but I’ll also happily indulge in a FxM (with me playing the male character) couple as well. I will not play the role of a female character as part of either a primary or secondary romantic pairing so don’t come to me if you’re looking for someone to do that for you.

-Spice (smut) is a ingredient that I add to all of my rp’s and I don’t like to skimp (fade to black) on when it comes to sprinkling it in amongst the main storyline, but it’s also not something that will come first over anything else either. I like to keep things 50/50 when it comes to having a story to smut ratio and do not wish to have one exceed the other in excessive amounts. I am not a fan of strict dom/sub roles when it comes to bedroom dynamics and will only accept characters who are switches/tops who don’t mind swapping places every now and then, I will not play against submissive bottoms who have no intention of reciprocating or have to be constantly guided on what to do.

-Please keep your time travellers, dimension hoppers, androids, heavily augmented cyborgs,overly emotionally fragile characters, characters who need to be constantly looked after or guided by mine, characters who are blinding rays of sunshine that never feel any negative emotions whatsoever and those who may be more suited to a entirely setting, genre or role at home please.

-I only write on discord due to the ability to make servers so that everything stays neat and organised/easily accessible within its own little category. I will not write on any other platform.

-usual rp etiquette rules such as don’t control my characters,don’t rewrite a whole scene without asking first, don’t overstep any boundaries, let me know if something comes up (if possible), please actively contribute to world building/plotting and have fun also apply.

PLOT RELATED DETAILS:

You’ve (hopefully) read the rules, now it’s time to see just exactly what kinds of stories I’ve got on offer for you. Click on one of the tags down below and it’ll show the pairing for that particular plot as well as a small ‘preview’ of what it’s meant to be about and where it’s set. These are just the bare bones of each plot however, meaning there’s still tonnes of room for brainstorming or introducing other themes provided that they don’t completely change the original idea too much.

When it comes to who plays what, anything that is in bold is the role I wish to play whereas anything that isn’t is up for grabs and can be played by either of us. Again not everything is a hundred percent set in stone (barring the plots that have roles I’ve already chosen of course) so there is the opportunity for some slight tweaking to happen if you’d prefer to play as something else so long as it still meshes with the rest of the story.

STOWAWAY:

(Stowaway x captain)

A injured criminal who is on the run sneaks onboard a strangers ship in the hopes of taking it for themselves after just narrowly avoiding being arrested by the local law enforcement on the station they’ve been stranded on only to be found by the ship’s captain, who appears to be the only occupant of the ship itself given that there’s no obvious signs of any other crew members lurking around somewhere. After a brief struggle the criminal begs for the captain to not turn them in despite the bounty that has been placed upon their heads and reluctantly agrees to help them out with their business in exchange for shelter as well as find a way to pay them the amount of credits that the captain would earn by handing them over to the authorities.

SECOND CHANCES:

(Pilot x rescuer)

After narrowly escaping being captured by the authorities as a result of being framed for a crime they did not commit one of the intergalactic defence forces top pilots flees to a planet located within a system that’s considered to be outside of alliance occupied air space. Tired, injured and afraid the pilot abandons their ruined starfighter and attempts to find a place to stay the night as the weather begins to turn harsh before eventually collapsing in the mud several hours later. A local from a nearby settlement stumbles upon the pilot and brings them home whilst being completely unaware that the person they’ve rescued has been branded as a wanted criminal galaxies away from where they are now. At first the pilot is confused by this act of kindness, only to then realise that word of who they are as well as any news of the crime itself has not yet reached the people of this planet and accepts their rescuer’s offer to stay with them until they find their feet again not knowing that they’d end up sticking around for far longer than they originally intended.

MERCY:

(Pirate x alliance captain)

The most feared pirate in the known galaxies faces off against one of the greatest captains the alliance has ever had in their midst and manages to gain the upper hand whilst the ship they are on is badly damaged from the battle going on outside……only to hesitate from making the final blow once they recognise the captain’s face as belonging to an old friend who they believed had betrayed them many years ago. With the ship heading on a collision course with the nearest planet the pirate is forced to make a tough decision and flees with the captain in tow, both parties more than aware of the consequences their choices may unleash upon them as their escape pod enters the planet’s atmosphere.

ROLE REVERSAL:

(Slave x criminal)

A alliance captain is betrayed by their own crew and sold into slavery in exchange for a large amount of credits. After several months of being returned to the slave trader as a result of many failed 'purchases’ that have led to the captain being dubbed as too 'problematic’ for sale, one of the very criminals that they’d been tracking down prior to their crews unexpected mutiny buys them without a moment’s hesitation once they see just exactly who the person sitting miserably within the display cage is.

OATHBOUND:

(Officer x pilot)

A low ranking alliance officer who has been separated from their crew during a mission gone wrong and is now stranded on a backwater planet is unexpectedly saved from a gruesome fate at the hands of a less than friendly gang of smugglers by a freelance cargo pilot who is intent on keeping their reasons for intervening under a very strict lock and key. The officer strikes a bargain with the pilot in the hopes of finding their way back to their crew, only for the party responsible for their predicament to attempt to stop this reunion from happening in any way possible once they learn of the officer’s survival.

THE MISSION:

(Alien x human )

Seven. Seven alliance ships had disappeared without a trace or been destroyed by unforeseen yet suspicious circumstances. Mining asteroid explosions, ambush attacks, ship failures, all unfortunate yet unpredictable occurrences that were happening far too frequently for anyone to be able to just comfortably sit back and go on with life. With tensions between the alien and human race at an all time high, the alliance itself was desperately trying to find a way to keep the peace without causing a panic. Eventually, a proposal was made. In an all time first since the end of the great alien/human wars, an alien would be chosen and sent to work onboard a human ship. This was considered to be a very large step given many planets were still hostile to one another and the rumours circulating about the missing ships were sparking some strong reactions from both sides but the alliance was desperate….and so was the alien they were planning to send onboard. For them, it was their last and only chance to start a new life and to put a difficult past behind them. Little did anyone know, the appearance of this newcomer was more than just the first step towards changing life as many knew it for the known galaxies.

EXCHANGE:

(Pirate x knight)

A ship full of nobles that are on a voyage to celebrate the betrothal of their heirs and the new alliance between their planets is boarded by one of the most notorious pirates in the known galaxies after it accidentally strays into their territory. The pirate then demands that they be given the heir to one of the noble families in exchange for sparing the rest of them. Fearing for the welfare of their planets and the fate that may befall their best friend/secret lover at the hands of the pirate, the knight of the heir who is chosen begs to be taken instead whilst being under the impression that someone will be sent to rescue them…..only to find that’s not the case as time passes by.

JUST A PILOT:

(Captain x new recruit)

The life of a captain was one which was filled with unnecessary and sometimes completely unwarranted fame, danger beyond anyone’s wildest imagination, a reputation which was far more heavily influenced by any slip ups that the local rumour mongers had caught wind of than good deeds and decisions which always weighed heavily upon their shoulders regardless of the outcome. It was also a well known fact that captains could either bestow a certain kind of glory upon their crew through their heroic deeds, or make their lives the very definition of hell. When a captain who has a reputation for regularly putting their crew through the emotional wringer and a temper that has yet to be matched or tamed by anyone is assigned a new recruit after one of their top pilots is killed in action, chaos of an entirely different kind is born.

TAKING OVER:

(Captain x crew mate)

The lifespan of a captain could sometimes end up being tragically short. It was the captain who was supposed to be the first to jump into their starfighter and guide their crew to victory whenever their ship was under threat, It was the captain who was expected to always be able to know what decisions were the right ones to make in regards to the welfare of the crew and it was the captain who took an oath upon receiving the keys to their ship to never put their own life before someone else’s even when faced with the most difficult decision of all. When the much loved captain of the alliance ship Maelstrom loses their life after a mission gone wrong their second in command is the one who is chosen to take their place as the new captain despite the angry protests from some of the crew members. Will the new captain be able to follow in the footsteps of the one before them and lead the Maelstrom to success whilst earning the respect of the crew, or will the burden be too much to bear?

WHAT LURKS WITHIN A STARRY SEA:

(Pirate x captive)

Although they’d abandoned their less than humble watery origins well before the first spaceship had even been invented, Pirates were believed to be one of the biggest threats that anyone could encounter within the known galaxies. Those who were brave enough to attempt to navigate through the vast starry seas of space without a small fleet rallied behind them would often meet their fate at the hands of the bloodthirsty buccaneers whose lust for wealth and power had completely overtaken their ability to feel remorse for their actions. Any twinges of guilt that did attempt to surface were often easily washed away by consuming vast amounts of alcohol and then drunkenly brawling with other members of the crew during the celebratory dinners that came after a successful day of looting or the claiming of another captain’s ship as their own. When a ship is captured by the most feared pirate of all after accidentally flying into their territory and the crew fearfully plead for their lives, fate decides to take matters into its own hands in a most unexpected way.

Still with me? AWESOME! For anyone who is interested in diving headfirst into these interstellar adventures with me please shoot me an introductory message on discord that has your time zone, your availability, which ideas you liked and your favourite food so that I know you have read through everything. Anyone who messages me with “rp?” or “hey I’m interested!” will be ignored.

Discord: tiberionwars

TIME TO FLY!

[abnormal-vacuum]

okay not that anyone really asked here’s my full review of the passenger series from itv. obviously spoilers under the cut.

i went into this series with pretty low expectations seeing the general reviews of it on google, but the further i got into the first few episodes of the series the more excited i got. i was really enjoying it! i thought it was shot really well and the colors were very appealing. lots of bold, warm oranges, reds and blues. overall i think the visual aspects are done incredibly well. everyone’s acting in it is great, too, something i didn’t expect. the banter is fun and gets you interested / attached to the characters as well as makes them feel real, like someone you’d meet in your day to day life. i like that a lot.

i’m a big fan of the ‘small town, big secrets’ trope, and no matter how many times its been done before i still eat it up every single time. every single person in that town has their own baggage and something that makes them the monster of chaddervale. i would have loved to see everyone realizing / being told that eddie really didn’t attack jim. we (both us as the audience and them as the characters) didn’t get enough time to settle down and think about that. all we got was a scene with eddies wife, joanne, saying something about revenge. that’s pretty much it.

there are so many plot points in this series, most of which i’m interested in, that are established in only 6 episodes, most of which go unanswered. does it leave for a good cliffhanger? no. it doesn’t. it leaves for a frustrating, unsatisfying watch with so much potential its almost painful. and you know, maybe, just maybe i could forgive this if the big reveal of the series wasn’t so stupid. my opinion on this is definitely skewed due to personal taste but i think only a bit. instead of following along the plot of the ‘curse’ or even a cryptid they instead went the route of some black web company doing experiments on anxiety riddled screen addicted youth? that feels like such a unearned, unteased ending. that’s not what i came to that series for. it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t make sense. the previous episodes and the twist don’t fit together. just because something is unexpected doesn’t mean its a good twist. i understand that so many stories have been told before and people want to create something that’s new and unique. but i just don’t think this was the way to go about it. and like i understand the commentary about young people being lonely and spending too much time on their phones but haven’t we had enough media about that? like at this point you’re saying something that’s been said time and time again without adding anything of value. sorry.

i’m being a bit harsh. maybe i would have enjoyed this twist more if it didn’t feel so rushed. six episodes isn’t a lot for a mystery series. you need more time to establish things, to build up tension and intrigue. they’re only given a certain amount of episodes and they just have to make do. i empathize with them, its the plight of modern shows. gone are filler episodes and month long runs. but i still feel as if there could have been a much better job done with the story— twist aside. like i’m still confused on if the 6th episode was the end of season 1. because it really didn’t. it wasn’t like a fun cheeky little cliffhanger, it was just a gaping hole left.

here comes the part where i throw what i would have done with the series at you. they’re a bit silly, yes, but i think they’re more… in line with the series than what actually happened.

i would have maybe done that there’s an underground worldwide cryptid / monster smuggling ring that takes them to be expirmented on or even used as weapons and maybe the bread factory was involved in it and due to negligence one not native to the area! thats why its being violent because its in an environment its not used to and its scared because everything seems hostile to it. maybe the monster could be friendly as a fun twist! that could also be a parallel to eddie who’s in a new environment where everyone hates him and he’s also not really a monster.

another thing that they could have done is maybe people are being turned into werewolves by that company! they’re trying to make super soldiers and they’re kidnapping young people to experiment on them and see what happens and if they can fit into normal society. this could also go into the whole “everyone is the monster of chaddervale” thing i was discussing before.

or!! it could be an alien show!! maybe people are being abducted by aliens and that’s what’s wrong with them!! i don’t know!!

in conclusion i did enjoy this show despite all of the harsh things i said above i just wished it was better. i honestly do recommend watching it if you enjoy mystery shows and aren’t upset by bad writing or whatever. i hope it gets a season 2 and i hope all of the plot points are resolved. so. whatever. needed to get this out of my system.

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Karate Kid (1984)

Before today, I had never seen The Karate Kid. I assumed the love directed towards it came from nostalgia and the film being released at the right time, in the right environment. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This is a sweet, surprisingly deep crowd-pleaser with many memorable scenes to go with its iconic characters and great performances.

In 1984, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and his mother (Randee Heller) move from Newark to Los Angeles. After befriending Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue), Daniel is beaten by her jealous ex-boyfriend, a karate black belt named Johnny (Billy Zabka). Taking pity upon Daniel is Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita), who senses that Johnny and his gang’s bad behavior stems from their instruction at the Cobra Kai Karate club.

Like John G. Avildsen’s Rocky, The Karate Kid shows relatively little of its sport but makes you care for it more than you thought was possible by betting its chips on the characters. It’s impossible not to relate to Daniel. Bright and good-natured but filled with self-doubt thanks to his lower-class status and inability to stand up to the Cobra Kais, you desperately want things to work out for him. You want him to develop the karate skills necessary to defend himself. More importantly, you want Daniel to become confident enough for him and Ali to become an item. It helps that Ralph Macchio and Elisabeth Shue have terrific chemistry. Whenever something threatens to keep them apart - be it Ali’s snooty parents, Johnny, normal teenage drama or Daniel’s insecurities - your emotions swell.

If you weren’t already invested, you hate the Cobra Kais so much you keep watching, hoping they'll get their (hopefully violent) comeuppance. This is where Mr. Miyagi comes in. He could’ve easily been a stereotype or a one-dimensional supporting character; an excuse to get the plot going. Instead, he’s a fully realized person with a unique brand of humor and wisdom. It’s hard to choose if the film’s best scenes are the tender dates and heartfelt talks between Daniel and Ali, or the training sequences with Daniel and Miyagi. The latter contain big laughs, a touching father-son-like relationship and unexpected depth.

Behind Daniel and Johnny, we have two very different teachers. The second we walk into the Cobra Kai club, we see photos of John Kreese (Martin Kove) proudly showing off his military career and belting out his mantra that mercy is for the weak, that the point of karate is to brutally crush your opponent. He cares nothing for his students and has only contempt for kind Mr. Miyagi. By contrast, the humble Okinawan immigrant does not flaunt his martial arts skills or military career. He comes to offer his services to Daniel because he wants to teach the boy self-defense. To Miyagi, karate is an extension of everyday life. He teaches the sport by putting Daniel in real-life places and situations that incorporate the moves his pupil needs to practice. Karate is a naturally occurring process, whereas Kreese hammers the idea of violence into his students. The brutality he forces into their lives manifests as aggression and they become twisted; violent. The methods of instruction couldn’t be more different.

The Karate Kid has a lot to offer. The soundtrack is terrific. The story takes you through a full gamut of emotions - everything from heartbreaks to laugh-out-loud laughs, the joys of first love, the tears of joy from a perfect birthday gift and the exhilaration of a competition whose final match might as well symbolize the triumph of good over evil. The performances are uniformly strong. The screenplay is thoughtful. The characters are unforgettable. It’s no wonder if popularized karate in North America. This is no mere “right time, right place” movie. It has lasting power and will delight audiences for generations. (September 10, 2021)

[mylovelytvstuff]

Good Omens Season 2 Was Lovely

I really liked Good Omens season 2 and was very positively surprised by it. I had worried 'they' will ruin it. There are so many ways to ruin a story, and it takes both hard work and inspiration to create a good one. And Good Omens season 2 was really good. Also be warned. Massive SPOILERS ahead.

Waiting for the Apocalypse

I expected another apocalypse story. And I kept waiting and waiting for it, wondering why the pacing was seemingly so odd. 

And as if to throw me off, in episode 3 Gabriel does announce the apocalypse:

“There will come a tempest, and darkness, and great storms. And the dead will leave the graves and walk the earth once more. And there will be great lamentations. Every day it’s getting closer.“

But this turns out to be more of a teaser for season 3. Still, it was enough for me to continue to latch onto the idea of the apocalypse the point where on my first viewing I missed the story that was developing before my eyes. The story about love. 

Apocalypse ended up being more of a background part of the plot. A character motivator rather than the main story: Gabriel is kicked out from his position in Heaven because he refused to get behind apocalypse v2. And he refused to do it because of love. He wanted to be together with Beelzebub. This twist really warmed my heart. It felt like I was eating something not knowing what it will taste like and then it ended up tasting perfect. 

The Clues for the Audience

The great thing about the final reveal is that it isn’t a twist for twist sake. It is well crafted and it makes sense.

They leave us clues throughout the season, in a sort of in your face but impossible to decrypt sort of way. Masterful! Gabriel brings the box and the only thing we see in the box is a fly. And because a fly is such an everyday occurrence to us, we make nothing of it. Then, to throw it in our face further, the fly keeps making an appearance throughout the show. We see Gabriel trying to kill it, in essence trying to wipe himself out! And just in case we have forgotten that Beelzebub is the lord of flies, we see her materialize in Crowley’s car as a swarm of flies. And yet it never occurred to me to make a connection between Gabriel and Beelzebub. 

In one of the more subtle clues, Beelzebub asks one of her demons “Do you ever think, wouldn't it just be nice if someone told you what a good job you're doing?” It tells us that Beelzebub is not content. She wants something different from that hell grind. We are subtly told that Beelzebub has discovered in herself a yearning for love. 

And all of this looks kind of slow and it feels like background to something. But it is indeed a major part of the plot. And the final explanation makes everything fit together perfectly. Have to say it again, masterful. I am really in awe. 

Beelzebub and Gabriel

Beelzebub and Gabriel falling in love is both adorable and hilarious. For instance, when Beelzebub likes Buddy Holly’s “Everyday” and Gabriel says: 

“Then…Then I also like it.“

It is like every time anyone has ever liked anyone else. We all pretend to like all the things the other person likes, we might even learn to like them! But Gabriel does it in a naive, ‘angelic’, extra transparent way. And it works! It succeeds in its desired mission. Beelzebub is moved and charmed. 

And then the resolution of the Aziraphale’s Clue! The jukebox that turns all the songs to “Everyday”! It is not about apocalypse at all! It is a ‘smooth move’ of a guy trying to woe a gal (or in this case an angel wooing a demon). Watching that revelation was like eating chocolate. 

It is through the Beelzebub-Gabriel revelation that the whole season came together for me. It was purposefully slow, misleading. And it isn’t really about apocalypse, it is about love.

While unexpected, the Beelzebub-Gabriel love story makes sense. Both of them have been at it for millennia, in their respective roles. They have been pushing for the ‘Great Plan’ and ended up facing a disaster which made them less keen on their roles. And they slowly discover love together through mutual understanding. Somebody paying attention to them as a person, not because of their function. Gabriel has certainly always been full of himself and his own grandeur. But as it turns out he was still not beyond spying on and ultimately choosing something much better. A voluntarily bestowed appreciation and kindness. To paraphrase Beelzebub, they both found something better than choosing sides.

There is a lot of sweetness in how this came to be. The moment Beelzebub gives the fly to Gabriel and he does not know how to thank her, because no-one has ever given him anything before…You can see how moved she is. And it is not overdone, overplayed. But you can just see them becoming people to each other, with each other, gently, gradually. And at the same time in big swoops somehow. They are no longer their roles. They are vulnerable individuals testing waters. It is incredibly moving.

I said it is hard to write a good love story. Apparently not for Neil Gaiman.

In another hilarious moment, Gabriel explains how he wants to be with Beelzebub and ends it with: 

‘Wherever Beelzebub is…is my heaven.‘

It is so SO cheesy! It is like a cheesy lovers line. But in case of Gabriel it takes on an additional meaning. Because for him heaven is not an abstract, but his home, everything that he knows, that he considers good. So it works in these two ways. Unbelievably good writing.

 

It is lovely. It is unexpected enough to be a good, surprising twist and yet it is believable and well developed.

Crowley and Aziraphale

This season makes it very clear that Aziraphale and Crowley have a thing for each other as early as episode 1. There were a lot of allusions and jokes that referred to them as a couple in season 1. Then there was the desolation of Crowley upon realizing his best friend was gone. And all the sweet happiness that both characters showed when in presence of each other or when doing things for each other. But you could still play it off as non-romantic love. I mean, watching season 1, you do not even know if angels and demons do the whole falling in love thing. I know, Neil Gaiman and Michael Sheen have since professed that it was all there since season 1. Maybe so, but it was subdued and implied rather than stated overtly. 

The first major clue in season 2 is when Aziraphale jumps out of the chair after Gabriel asks him if he knows what it is like when you don’t know anything at all, but that if you were next to one person, that everything would be better. Aziraphale insists he knows no such thing. ‘The lady doth protest too much’ and all that. Then we see Crowley once again abandoning his own self-preservation when he learns from Beelzebub that Aziraphale might get erased from existence for sheltering Gabriel. 

Btw. when Gabriel talked about the one person that makes everything better, he was thinking about Beelzebub, not Aziraphale. Perhaps he felt he can be safe around Aziraphale too, but I believe the feeling and that statement were meant for Beelzebub. Another lovely, delicious little clue. 

I was not really a fan of Crowley and Aziraphale being in love in the first season. I saw them as friends who had many adventures together and who had deep love and loyalty for each other, and that was enough for me. And it was such a rich, hilarious story. Frankly, I thought having them be in love would ruin it, that it would turn the story into something trite. It is hard to write a good love story, I think. It is only sort of watchable before the two get together. Once they are happy in love…there is no more drama to it. Being happily in love is a beautiful experience. It breeds peace, creation. But it is keep you at the edge of your seat drama when you look at it from the outside.

But I ended up being ok with how it was handled in the end. It was not trite or boring or preachy, because there is immediately a plot around it. Crowley in a moving display wants them to go off together and be independent. Aziraphale still does not get it and wants them both in heaven. And there is the story of the looming apocalypse v2 coming. So nothing boring or trite between these too. And at this point I do not think it will ever get boring or trite. Neil Gaiman and the writers have earned my trust.

When first watching the show I was not sure what the point of Maggie and Nina was in the grand scheme of things. Do not get me wrong, both actresses cut beautiful, alive characters across the screen. But what is their place in the bigger plot? Once you realize that the whole show was about love, it starts to seem like they were a stand in for that unspoken thing between Crowley and Aziraphale. Perhaps they were also a means of showing us how little Crowley and Aziraphale know about human romantic relationships. It is a funny dichotomy because on the one hand the two have shared many meaningful romantic moments throughout millennia and yet when they think about falling in love means they have about as much maturity as your average 13 year old. Crowley thinks it is all about standing in the rain, under an awning, Aziraphale goes back even more in time, all the way to Jane Austen.

I want to take a moment here to declare that, based on my reading of Jane Austen and despite what Aziraphale says, NOTHING gets resolved at those balls. Usually everyone gets more confused and the conflicts grow even stronger. I think Aziraphale just wanted to dance with Crowley.

Back to the show. Another way of looking at Maggie/Nina story is having us see Aziraphale and Crowley learn something from humans. Something intimate. Technically speaking only Crowley learned it I guess. But it ripples down to Aziraphale.

And the ending, the ‘break-up’ between the two made sense. It did not make the show trite. They did not kiss to make everything magically ok. They faced the reality of their situation. And the reality was that, despite loving each other, they were not on the same page. They did not want the same things. 

Maggie and Nina resolution made sense too. Aziraphale and Crowley were throwing all this fairy dust in our eyes, pushing a silly narrative that did not have a leg to stand on. But still, it is a TV show, surely they will have a classical happy ending at the end, right? But reality stood strong again and ultimately won over. It certainly won me over. Nina and Maggie get a much more realistic and uncertain ending than one might expect from a comedy show.

What I Did Not Like 

I do have some smaller reproaches about particular things I did not like so much in this season. It will look like this is a big part of the post, but it is only a very tiny part of how I view the show. I will write other posts focusing on the better parts of the show, but here are some of my complaints.

The whole wee Morag story did not really sit well with me. To be honest, I am not sure why. It just was not very fun. It was like an after school special teaching 12 year olds about history of surgery. Aziraphale irritated me for not simply giving a bit of money to the girls to help them out. It kind of makes sense as we know from season one that he encourages humans to do this or that rather doing things for them directly. But still, in those circumstances, with 90 guineas in your pocket he can spare say 5 pounds?? Instead he drags the two poor girls back into the danger of the graveyard. Crowley shines again as the sweetheart he is, but even that part is…oh I do not know, a bit on the nose. Although it was fun to see Crowley wig out and change size.

I also really did not like the dialogue between Aziraphale and Crowley after their Nazi zombie adventure. It was off. Aziraphale thanks Crowley for ‘coming through for him’. He says if he was truly bad, he would have just walked away. But … Aziraphale was doing a favor for Crowley. Aziraphale could have just walked away as well. Crowley had done so many more substantial things to rescue and support Aziraphale as well as to demonstrate his true, good nature than…not running away from a botched magic act. How about helping him with the nazis? I think they just wanted to use that shades of grey shtick. Which is fine, but it should have been done in conjunction with better dialogue. The characters deserve it!

I think both of those needed more polishing, more thoughtfulness put into them.

But I do love the Job story. I think it was well done, moving and important in the characters’ development, especially Aziraphale’s. And in showing us even more about who Crowley is. I plan to dedicate a separate post to the Job minisode.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the bones on this are good. And that is why I hope we get to enjoy season 3 as well. The plot for it has existed, in a rough shape, for a long time, according to Neil Gaiman, so that is a good sign. The Aziraphale-Crowley love story is not boring or empty, and it is intertwined with a larger plot. So I really do hope two see David Tennant and Michael Sheen reprise their roles in a third season. At this point, I trust Neil Gaiman and the writers not to mess it up, even if there is a misstep here and there. The bones on this are good, there is a story there, just waiting to be told. 

Where to Watch, What to Follow it up with

I you haven’t seen the show yet but would like to and do not sail the high sees you can access the show by getting Amazon Prime. Click here for my Amazon Prime affiliate link. If you make a purchase through the link or the links below I will get a small percentage of the proceeds to help me keep blogging.

If you are in deep, you might want to buy the DVD of season 1 or get the book that set all this in motion. I just started reading the book. It is pretty hilarious, as you might expect. 

The show got me into Terry Pratchett. I bought the Color of Magic and Guards, Guards to start with. I have already finished the Color of Magic and it really was a lot of fun. Very creative. Well crafted believable unbelievable plots. I took a peak in Guards, Guards and it starts even stronger than the Color of Magic, so I recommend both. Here is a teaser from Guards, Guards that I found particularly hilarious:

‘It was a five hundred mile journey and, surprisingly, quite uneventful. People who are rather more than six feet tall and nearly as broad across the shoulders often have uneventful journeys. People jump out at them from behind rocks then say things like, “Oh. Sorry. I thought you were someone else.“ ‘

I think that gives you a good idea of what you can expect to find in the book.

You won’t get a rerun or a sequel of Good Omens in these books, obviously, but you will get introduced to a really imaginative and hilarious world. It is entertaining and even mind expanding. 

[ghostkittypog]

Life in the countryside has been quite the adjustment. After all, there are so many new things to warn my child about, things I have to be wary of myself. Such as what mushrooms to avoid--Alongside the old wives' tale to be wary of stepping into any mushroom rings as well, lest Fae comes for thine soul--how to prepare our own food, the wildlife that lives in these woods, and so forth.

Common things, really. Honestly, I'm still glad we made the shift to the country, city life wasn't doing me or Melody any favours. Melody is much too free a spirit to be confined to walls, and now we have an entire forest to explore--within reason, of course.

My child has always been quite the imaginative soul, making up stories with the most thrilling of plot twists, surprise major character death, and the occasional romantic love element. Safe to say, I tend to use Melody's precocious stories as an evaluation of how she is doing without inquiring, since whenever she develops a crush, a love interest will miraculously appear within her stories.

I was worried, at first, that taking Melody away from easy access to children her own age would affect her negatively, but in the few years we've been living in the country, I've only seen her mood be joyous.

Recently, she came home with a strange plastic egg--or that's what I assumed, at least. I'd never seen an egg that size be so vibrantly green before. I asked where she had gotten it, thinking perhaps she had picked it up from the nearby town. (She is an adventurous and confident fourteen year old, after all)

"No," she said, "I got it as a gift!" Her smile was soft and tender, as if reflecting on a joyous memory, cheeks lightly dusted pink.

Well, I had thought, a large, green, plastic egg isn't the worst courting gift.

Outwardly, I merely chuckled, nodding along. "Well, alright. If you're sure it was given to you and doesn't have a home for it already, you can place it in our carrier basket." The carrier basket is a woven basket I'd made when Meoldy was younger, for her to carry her toys in one place. It's soft, and padded, so the egg should look nice in there.

This was, of course, before I knew the egg was fertile, though I can't decide whether I dislike it or not as Melody and I look down at the now hatching shell, cracks along the edge and a scaly beak poking its head out.

Meoldy's eyes are wide, as I'm sure mine are. However, hers are wide with utter awe and excitement and mine are wide with fear for what it even is. Surely not a bird, I am confident in that.

"Mum!" Melody says, turning that starstruck gaze my way, positively beaming. "They hatched! Oh, I can't wait to tell Daffodil their gift has hatched! He's been waiting for me to see what it actually is for agesss!"

A few weeks have passed since then, meaning Melody and I both know exactly what was in that egg. A dragon, my child was courted with a dragon egg by this being named Daffodil. (Melody has said that's not their True Name, but a nickname she gave them after they said they couldn't share their real one. They know her by the nickname "River".)

She also flushed a bright red when I inquired if this was a courting gift, so at least that assumption was correct unlike the plastic part.

Really, the addition of a dragon baby hasn't changed much in our way of life. Melody still goes out into the woods, she just takes her newborn dragon son with her. She protects him fiercely, giving him cuddles and cooing at him whenever she has the chance. I'd say I'm taking my role of unexpected dragon grandmother quite well, sneaking the little guy some spare meat from our meals if the opportunity arises.

It's going to grow into the most spoiled little thing, but I don't think either of us would complain.

You recently moved to the countryside. Your child was playing in the woods, and came back with a large green egg you thought was plastic, so you agreed they could keep it if no one claimed it. Your kid said it was a gift. You thought nothing of it. Then the egg hatched.

[leejenowrld]

Hey Sophie!! I read your letter and I hope you get to feeling better! Sending you lots of love and wishes!

I read part 3 of h2h and I just have to say hats off to you! This is such a wonderful, well-thought out story and I’m loving it with each new chapter! The story is really touching deep into my heart and soul. Beautiful story and beautifully written!

I am all for the dynamic between Jaemin and Y/N in this part. 🤭 I adore their relationship as well as their chemistry and undying love for each other. It’s honestly so beautiful and everything one hopes for in a relationship. Also, their freaky times?!?!?! 🫣 You can definitely tell how intoxicated and addicted they are to each other. Love me a good honeymoon era between main characters.

I love how we got to see more of our found family! 🥺 I adore them! Especially how Haeun was so excited when Y/N came home with them. It was such a precious moment, and the three of them made so many memories together. Also, it’s never too early or too fast. Once you know how you feel about a person, time has no limits. No relationship is too fast or too slow, it all depends on when you’re ready to take the leap.

The moments we got between Y/N and Haeun honestly melted my heart. I love their bond, it’s everything to me. I can’t wait for her to finally adopt Haeun (and I hope she gets the chance 😭🤞🏼). Also, the way they match clothes 😩 absolutely adorable! Each moment they spend together is so special and will live on in their hearts.

Aseul and Nahyun making an appearance at their picnic was definitely unexpected especially considering Jaemin was still gone. Out of all the times it could have happened. Those two women NEED to be gone for good. I also suspect that Nahyun was the cause of Haeun’s downfall 🧐 that woman is pure evil. I’m even more curious as to how she got her hands on the bracelet and baby blanket if she was locked up in the loony bin?????

That ending?!?!?!?! SOPHIEEEE! Those cliffhangers you leave us on are so delicious 😋 they make us keep coming back for more! You do a good job leaving us all in suspense! It was so heartbreaking to see it all unfold. I definitely think those two wenches switched out Haeun’s medicine with something else. Y/N was too panicked about being late to sense something was up, and now she blames herself for hurting her baby girl. 🥺 The ending left me feeling so sad and a bit scared. Y/N thinking about cutting Haeun’s lifeline?!?!?! Talk about a plot twist! The whole time I was reading this part I kept saying “No! Don’t do it!”. I just know if she follows through, she really will lose everything she built. Her new family. Jaemin. Maybe even her job. It won’t end well if Jaemin finds out what she’s going to do! 😭 There has to be a silver lining somewhere!

I am loving this story! I know that even once it ends, it will continue to live on in my heart forever. I rarely get so invested in the stories I read and this one has me enraptured! Amazing job well done! 👏🏼 This story is everything and more! Excited to find out how everything will unfold! 💛

- ⭐️

oh, this message made my whole day—thank you, truly. you have no idea how much it means to have someone so present and invested in every messy, joyful, gut-wrenching detail. knowing you felt those highs and lows with jaemin, y/n, and haeun is everything i hoped for. you totally get it—the honeymoon phase is messy, loud, intoxicating, and there’s that ache of knowing love can be a lifeline when things are falling apart. i’m so glad you loved their freaky times too, because sometimes that physical desperation is the only thing that makes sense in the chaos—i wanted their intimacy to feel as consuming as their grief and their hope.

the found family moments, especially with little bubba’s excitement and the matching clothes, just bring a kind of warmth that’s precious to me, and i love that it landed with you. you’re so right—there’s no such thing as “too fast” when a bond is real, and these three have been choosing each other long before it was ever official. watching y/n and haeun build that mother-daughter love, full of small rituals and soft devotion, is one of my favorite threads, and i need you to know your hope for her adoption means so much. every memory is another stitch in their little family tapestry.

as for aseul and nahyun—oh, you felt the dread! that’s the undercurrent, right? just when things feel safe, the past claws its way in. you clocked it: the question of how nahyun got those things and what she’s truly capable of is going to spiral and you’re absolutely meant to be suspicious, to question every odd detail. their presence always signals trouble. i’m obsessed with how closely you read—your intuition about the medicine switch and y/n’s guilt is spot on. she loves so hard she’ll break herself to protect haeun, and sometimes that kind of love leads to ruin. her being on the edge, debating whether to risk it all, is a kind of devotion that terrifies me to write, but you picked up on every nuance.

your words about the cliffhanger honestly made me grin—if i can leave you a little hungry, a little haunted, i’ve done my job. thank you for being so honest about how the ending made you feel; you don’t shy away from the darkness but you hold onto hope, and that’s what this whole story is about. you saying this story will live on with you is honestly the biggest gift. thank you for loving it, for loving them, for sharing this much heart back with me. i hope i can give you a silver lining, or at least a kind of ending that feels earned. thank you again, star, for every word, every bit of care. please keep screaming and sending me thoughts, i’m here for all of it! 💛

[suniixfavs]

☆ BUCKY BARNES › COMPLETED SERIES

Caught in the Fire [111k] @/dreamwritesimagines [ao3]

Summary: Growing up in a city ruled by mobsters, you were made to memorize certain rules.

It didn't matter that your father owned the bakery built on the neutral ground, you still had to be careful, especially as a civilian. Never interrupting customers when they were in the middle of a conversation was one of those rules, ignoring the gunshots coming from different parts of the city was another but the most important rule was; you weren’t supposed to be friends with the children of mobsters.

“But I’m not like my father,” Bucky had told you once, making you scoff.

"You will be.”

You were wrong, though. His father was just one of the many mob bosses in the city.

Bucky Barnes on the other hand, was going to be a legend.

Note: This was absolutely adorable. I’m glad that the reader didn’t forgive and forget despite everyone telling them to

Vacant Mirrors [50k] @/pilotisms [ao3]

Summary: Dr. Hart shares an office with Dr. Raynor.

You share a waiting room with Bucky Barnes. ( set before TFATWS )

Note: FUCK this is good

Tangled [78k] @/vunblr [tumblr + ao3]

Summary: Between fear and fascination, a solitary creature struggles to protect his hidden world -and himself- after an unexpected encounter with a curious human woman makes him question everything he thought he knew about trust, danger, and boundaries.

Note: Never heard what a cecaelia was before this!! Super interesting and unique!

Toy Soldier [43k] @/vunblr [tumblr + ao3]

Summary: She had been the tool Hydra used to keep him operational; he, the weapon manipulated by their tendrils to execute their ambitions. Years after breaking free, fate Sam Wilson brings them together once more. Now, they must navigate the challenges of forging a connection beyond the twisted dynamic that once bound them in the past.

Note: Absolutely loved how this story developed, hit me hard in every possible way

Plus-One Problems [106k] @/skittle479 [ao3]

Summary: When your best friends demanded proof that your ‘perfect’ boyfriend wasn’t imaginary, there was clearly only one solution— fake a relationship with the grumpy-but-gorgeous neighbor across the hall. Bucky Barnes was many things: ex-assassin, world-class brooder, and definitely not your type. But when he needed a wedding date to avoid his meddling friends (the illustrious Sam Wilson), your mutually beneficial arrangement seemed to be foolproof.

The plan: fake smiles, strategic hand-holding, AND absolutely no falling in love.

The problem: Bucky was surprisingly soft beneath the gruff exterior, your friends were dangerously nosy, and it was hard to keep things just pretend when his smirk made your heart race.

When the fake feelings start feeling real, would you and Bucky survive the wedding season with your hearts intact?

Note: Wow, where has this fic been all my life

Every Devil [26k] @/godmadeaterribleerror [ao3]

Summary: There are a few things that simply aren't understandable in the universe. Things that push the boundaries of what we know, and understand.

Things like how, even through the Winter Soldier programming, Bucky was still able to find you.

Things like how, no matter how hard the world tried, they were never to keep you apart.

Note: I LOVE (subtle) SOULMATE AUS

Sky Full of Song [65k] @/wkemeup (tumblr)

Summary: Despite the bitter resentment of the crew, you found a home on Captain Barnes' ship; on the ocean where you belonged, at the side of a captain you swore loyalty and heart to. But when course is plotted for a legendary island, the secret that has kept you alive for years is threatened to be revealed.

Note: I LOVE PIRATE AND SIREN AUS