#eading problems | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

flxwerydreams · 2 months

Text

I think I like you (I hope you do too)

Lily Evans x Fem!Reader

a/n: first fic!!! pls be kind :) the title is from your text by sundial.

c/w: die joke, swearing. (lmk if i missed something)

You stared at the man with undisguised incredulity. “800 pounds? Are you kidding me? I thought we agreed on 500?” Trevor - or perhaps Troy rolled his eyes at you derisively. He probably thought he was being subtle - that stupid prick.

“It's just how it is, Miss. Moving stuff inside the 'ouse? Well, that's gonna cost you a bit extra, innit? Wouldn't want you gettin' in over your 'ead now, would we?" he jeered at you. His twin, Trevor, you identified from his tag, snickered stupidly at that. The universe was really testing your patience today.

"Seriously? It would've been decent to tell me upfront that moving stuff indoors meant extra charges. This is ridiculous." Trevor turned to you then, all six feet of him tensed and towering over you. "Miss, it ain't on us. You got a problem with it, you take it up with the higher ups. Give us our dosh, we've got other bits to be getting on with." With a sigh you handed over the cash, regretting the choice of passing on your friends’ offers to help you with the move.

With another sigh, you turned back to the big mess in front of you, your hands resting on your hips, visibly expressing the exhaustion you were already feeling. This had seemed like such an exciting idea at first, having your own space all to yourself. The independence and freedom that you had anticipated was certainly there and you were definitely feeling it now. Having to arrange all this furniture by yourself …… very exciting.

You let out a third sigh and felt the weariness seep into your bones. This was going to be a very long day. You took a step toward the covered couch - ready to begin settling into this new place, which would hopefully become your home.

Suddenly, you were ambushed by a lasso which was thrown at your legs with murderous intent. The lasso then purred and you died ….. due to the lasso’s cuteness. “Hello, kitty! Oh, you’re so precious”, you cooed. The cat (not lasso) meowed up at you, rubbing against your shins. “What’s your name, buddy?” you murmured softly, picking it up and settling it in your arms. The only response you received was another meow, and a curious paw on your face. Noticing your open door, you walked towards it, all the while, gently scratching the cat behind its ears. “You seem like such a distinguished member of the society. Oh, is that where you came from?” you wondered to yourself, noticing another open door down the hallway. “And you’re my new neighbour too, it’s so sweet of you to welcome me like that, kitty.” you giggled, shutting your door carefully. “Let's get you back to your owner, shall we?” You walked up to the threshold of your neighbour’s house and knocked on the open door.

Just then, ‘Kitty’, as you had begun to call the cat in your head, jumped down from your arms and ran inside — towards the kitchen, you assumed. Standing on your neighbour’s doorstep awkwardly with no apparent reason was definitely not on your agenda for the day but before you could say or do anything, a figure emerged from said kitchen, you assumed again. Following that, your heart skipped around five or at least two beats.

Standing in front of you was probably the most gorgeous woman you had ever seen. Her red curls were tied up in a top bun and there was a smudge of flour across her left cheek. And she was saying something — to you. “— hall?” She asked, with a curious gaze fixed on you.

“Huh? Sorry — I didn’t hear that, I was - I was thinking something else, sorry” you felt heat rise to your cheeks.

At this, a teasing smile spread on her lips. She replied with a playful lilt to her tone "I said, I hope Crookshanks didn't give you any grief, darlin', and I was wonderin' if you're the new neighbour down the hall."

“Oh yes, I am.’’ you replied hurriedly. “I’m in 403. Which you probably already know, cus' of all the noise.” Then you registered her previous statement. “Oh, wait — his name is Crookshanks? That’s such a cute name! How old is he?”

“He’s four!” she replied eagerly. “He’s Himalayan. And I’m Lily Evans. What’s your name, love?” she asked, walking up to you.

It was so hard not to stare at her — she was radiant, and you realised with a start that your palms were sweaty as hell. Quickly wiping them on the back of your thighs, you extended your right hand forward as you told her your name — mostly so that you would have something to do with them, but also because she was just so pretty. Although you didn’t want to be a creep, her hands looked so soft. You realised too late that they also looked dusty. The apologetic smile on her face just made you want to cringe even more.

"I'm terribly sorry. I was actually just whipping up some cookie dough for your welcome biscuits. Seems I've spoiled the surprise, haven't I? But I do hope you're rather fond of chocolate chip! It's one of my specialties, you know." she winked.

In your opinion, if you fainted, at that moment, it would be completely valid. The little nicknames, the supposed flirting (you hoped), and that wink? It was a surprise you were still standing straight. It took you a few seconds to find your voice again. “Oh, you didn’t have to, you know? But also thanks a lot. Crookshanks and his owner both definitely know how to give a warm welcome.” That was brave. And also slightly lame, in your opinion. But it seemed to have its desired effect or so you thought, judging by the slight twinkle in Lily’s eyes. Her body language shifted. She leaned in a bit closer and hummed playfully. "Looks like I owe thanks to my mate for leaving the door ajar as he left. Annoying as bloody hell, but it seems to have finally come in handy."

You quirked a smile at that, hoping her close proximity didn’t mean she could feel the heat emanating off of your face. “Looks like you do, I guess. Anyway, I should get going. I’ve still got a shit ton of stuff to do and not enough time. I’ll see you — and Crookshanks, later though?” Judging by the way her smile seemed to soften around the edges, she definitely caught the hopeful tone at the end of your sentence. “Yes, you will. Fancy joining me for dinner tonight? I'm not exactly a master chef, but I reckon the gas ain't sorted yet at your place, love.” this time, her tone was quieter and she was looking directly into your eyes with a small smile. You shifted your weight to the other leg and looked to the floor, considering it. Was this a date? You desperately wanted it to be, but what if something went wrong? Then you would have to live next to her with that and it would be awkward as hell. Looking back up at her, you saw that she was waiting patiently for you to respond, and you decided to give it a shot. What will happen, will happen, right?

“Sure.” you replied, hoping your voice didn’t betray the conflict you had felt. “I’d love that.” She smiled brightly and clapped her hands together, leading to a small cloud of flour enveloping the both of you. At that she grinned sheepishly and whispered “Sorry.” Guess you weren’t the only nervous one, after all."I'll see you after you're done with work, love. Just give me a shout, yeah? I’ll be waitin’."

And with that, you left for your own flat, and the big mess that awaited you. You knew the nerves of the date — was it? — would power you to get through a majority of the work. A giddy smile on your face, you began with the Herculean tasks.

And if the exhaustion of the day seemed like a good excuse to sit a bit too close to each other on Lily’s couch while watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine after eating slightly overcooked pasta, who were you to object to that?

i hope you enjoyed it! leave a comment :) special thanks to @mxssingmemories for being an absolute angel 💖

53 notes · View notes

anonymousewrites · 8 months

Text

One Hell of a Love (Book 2) Chapter Two

Sebastian Michaelis x Demon! Reader

Chapter Two: One Hell of a Prosthesis

Summary: (Y/N) and Sebastian learn more about the circus and audition with Ciel.

“‘Ere we go,” said Joker as he led (Y/N) and Sebastian to the doctor’s tent behind the circus proper. “Right this way. Beg your pardon, the place is rather a mess.” Various performers from the circus watched Joker led the strangers through what was essentially their home. “Oh! Snake.” Joker waved to the snake man. Snake looked up. “Is the Doctor in the first-aid tent?”

Snake was silent, but one of the snakes curling around him pointed to the side.

“Oh, dear. Bad timing,” sighed Joker. “Seems he’s out on business. Come on, we’ll find him.” He continued on.

“Oh, isn’t that the lad who was bitten by the tiger?” said one of the acrobats, the sister.

“You’re right! What a lob of a lad,” said the brother.

“There he is!” said Joker, ducking into another tent where the knife-thrower sat on a chair.

(Y/N)’s nose twitched. Another prosthetic limb, this time on the knife-thrower’s leg.

“Doc!” greeted Joker, and the Doctor turned around in his wheelchair.

“Heya, Joker. I was just working on Dagger,” said the Doctor. “Your arm giving you trouble again?”

“No, I’m not ‘ere for me today,” said Joker.

“Ah…” Dagger looked at Sebastian. “If I think back, yer that feller that got ‘is ‘ead bit by Betty!”

“Betty bit you?!” cried the Doctor. He pulled Sebastian down to his level to look at him properly. “That’s awful! Come, to the medical tent with you!”

He wheeled the group back to the medical tent and looked over Sebastian’s head while (Y/N) watched in amusement as the Doctor’s brow furrowed in surprise since Sebastian had no bite marks.

“Were you really bitten by the tiger?” he asked. “There’s nary a scratch on you.”

Sebastian smiled happily. “It was but a play-bite!”

Play-bite? Dagger and Joker stared at him.

He really does love cats, thought (Y/N), smiling fondly.

“Well, if nothing’s wrong with you, that’s just as well,” said the Doctor.

Joker sighed in relief. “I’m so glad you’re fine. If a member of the audience had been hurt, our troupe leader would’ve had our heads!”

(Y/N) raised an eyebrow. “You’re not the troupe leader?”

“Nope!” said Joker jovially. “I’m just the Ring Master! The leader is someone else entirely and quite scary to boot.”

“Don’tcha come cryin’ to me when ye get chewed out for sayin’ that,” said Dagger.

“Doctor. I was hoping you could take a look at me leg…?” The animal tamer ducked into the tent.

“Beast!” cried Dagger joyfully.

“You!” cried Beast, glaring at Sebastian.

“I’m ‘aving problems with my leg, too! Gossssh, this’s gotta be more that we’re tied by the red string of f—!”

Beast brushed past Dagger and his words. She pointed at Sebastian and spoke angrily, “You’re the eccentric gentleman from before! What are you doing here?! Thanks to you, the act was completely ruined!”

“Beast!” admonished the Doctor. “How could you talk to a member of the audience like that? You have only your own carelessness in being unable to control Betty to blame!”

I doubt he’d be saying that if he’d seen Sebastian praising Betty, thought (Y/N), amused.

“B-But he approached on his own—!” argued Beast.

“No buts! You’re a professional, right?” said the Doctor.

“Now, now, Doctor. You mustn’t raise your voice in front of a spectator,” said Joker brightly.

“Yeah, yeah! Please examine Beast’s leg first!” said Dagger eagerly.

“Haaah,” the Doctor breathed tiredly. “Beast, retrain Betty again after this.”

“…Yeah,” said Beast.

“Good, now let’s see the prosthesis,” said the Doctor.

(Y/N) and Sebastian exchanged a glance. Another prosthesis? Quite the pattern was emerging.

“Prosthesis?” remarked (Y/N). “Like your hand?” They leaned towards Joker slightly, looking like an innocent, curious cat.

“Yeah,” said Joker, smiling. “Ye might say there’s a little reason behind this circus.” He nodded to where Beast rolled down her stocking to show her prosthetic leg to the Doctor. “One way or another, we’re a collection of folks with problems. I was missing an arm myself, but thanks to the Doctor, look at me now. Pretty fine, eh?”

“And it’s always going bad because you insist on having a prosthetic limb in that shape,” huffed the Doctor, glancing at the skeletal hand. “I wish you’d give some consideration to the person who has to maintain it.”

“Do you make artificial limbs for all of the troupe members?” asked (Y/N).

“Yes, that’s right—It’s a lot of work, I tell you,” said the Doctor. “From carving the parts to installation, I do it all.”

“Carving? Are they made of wood, then?” said Sebastian. He leaned over the Doctor as he worked on Beast’s leg, a completely artificial limb.

“Nope, ceramic,” said the Doctor.

“Ceramic?” said Sebastian.

“I say ceramic, but I use special materials to make it light and durable,” said the Doctor.

Special materials? (Y/N) raised an eyebrow but didn’t voice the question.

“I see. It also feels nice to the touch,” said Sebastian, running a gloved hand over the carved calve of the limb.

“Right? To ensure its smoothness, I also use ball-shaped parts in the joints,” said the Doctor.

“Oh?” Sebastian hand didn’t leave Beast’s leg.

(Y/N)’s nose twitched. They didn’t like Sebastian touching Beast so intimately. It irritated them. They loved him. He was a powerful demon. No human was worthy of his touch. (Y/N) shook the thoughts from their head. Now was not the time to be distracted by their feelings. Besides, Sebastian had made it clear humans were of no consequence to him. Could a demon be?

“This is indeed delicate workmanship,” said Sebastian. He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What is this hallmark?” He had caught sight of a mark carved into Beast’s limb. It could give clues, so he raised her leg and leaned it. The entire sight was far from innocent.

“What are you playing at you, you letch?!” said Beast, attempting to kick Sebastian in the head, but he leaned back to evade

He smirked as he stood. “Aah, excuse me. You did not strike me as one so chaste as to be bashful at something of this sort, so—”

“Why, you!” Beast cracked her whip towards him.

Sebastian stepped to the side casually, still grinning impishly.

“Hey! Beast! Stop that! He’s a spectator!” cried the Doctor. He looked back at Joker and dagger worriedly. “You two stop her qui—!”

“You barmy bastard!” shouted Dagger. “How dare ye lay a hand on Beast’s pale, silken skin! How dare ye! How dare ye! And when I haven’t even laid a hand on it yet!” He threw several knives at Sebastian, who flipped to avoid them.

“Though I did not touch her skin directly, I do seem to have touched your anger,” observed Sebastian, landing on a rope spanning the tent as it held drying clothes.

“Dagger, stop it, or the tent will—!”

Dagger ignored the Doctor. “Forget the tent! Beast’s chastity is more important!” He launched more knives.

(Y/N) intervened. They leapt into the air, catching the knives between their fingers as they landed beside Sebastian.

“No way?!” Dagger blinked in shock, and Joker whistled, impressed.

“Don’t push your luck!” Beast’s whip cracked up at the pair.

Joker blocked her with his baton. A solemn look was exchanged before Joker grinned, and his baton popped open to reveal a bouquet of flowers. “Here!” He grinned at everyone in the tent. “Alright, alright, that will do for today!”

“But Joker!” Dagger wanted to fight for Beast’s honor.

“Why didn’t you stop them sooner?!” cried the Doctor helplessly.

“But he—!” Beast was still angry.

“Come, come.” Joker hugged Beast and patted her leg. “Ye have such lovely legs, after all. I can understand why he would want to have a touch. I’m going to give you these flowers, so let’s see a smile!” Beast blushed and looked away as she attempted to remain upset in the face of Joker’s flattery.

(Y/N) and Sebastian landed on the floor of the tent, and (Y/N) grinned at Dagger’s annoyed and astounded face when they handed back his knives.

“But I saaay,” continued Joker. “Leaving all that aside, you ‘ave some terrific reflexes. So much I’ve half a mind to scout ye for our troupe here.”

(Y/N) and Sebastian glanced at each other. Now that was an idea to gather information.

“Are you sure?” said Sebastian. He sighed and pretended to look forlorn. “To tell the truth, our current master is so willful that I have quite had enough of him.”

(Y/N) nodded, playing along. “Truly troublesome.”

“Master, ye say…Are ye a servant at some grand house?” Joker blinked. “You’re dressed well, I figure ye two for some nobles.”

“No, we’re not nobles,” said (Y/N).

“We are merely a butler and maid,” said Sebastian. “So, were you serious about scouting us for your troupe? If so, I would like to join at once.”

“Are ye really serious?” said Joker.

“Of course,” said (Y/N).

“Haha! You two are amusing! I like ye,” said Joker. “If ye wanna join up, ye can come by anytime.”

“Hey! Joker! How could you decide just like that?” cried Beast indignantly.

“Now, now, they’re quite the talents,” said Joker.

“If you please,” said Sebastian. “There is one other I would like to introduce to you.”

“Certainly! If I can get a third like you two, I’d just love it! But I would like to run him through our tryout,” said Joker.

“Understood,” said Sebastian. “Well, then, the three of us shall impose upon you tomorrow. Thank you so much for today.”

(Y/N) smiled as they left the tent with Sebastian. “You do not need to show us the way out.”

“Now, then,” said Sebastian. “The larger tents.”

(Y/N) nodded. “I haven’t sensed children, but there’s something else here. Farther in.”

“Yes, I noticed the same,” agreed Sebastian.

They took a few steps in, but a sudden hiss caught their attention. Snake stood beside them, one of his snakes extending out towards them.

“Entry beyond this point is forbidden -says Wilde,” said Snake. “The exit is over there -says Goethe.”

Sebastian smiled. “Thank you for your kindness.” They would have to investigate once part of the troupe.

“Goodbye -says Goethe,” said Snake as Sebastian and (Y/N) walked away.

“Huuh?!” Ciel glared at Sebastian when the butler explained the situation with the undercover work. “Why did things turn out that way?”

“Why, you ask? Like we said—”

“Ciel!” Sebastian’s second explanation was interrupted by Soma running into the room. “You were late! Are you done for the day?!”

“Welcome home,” said Agni politely, and (Y/N) smiled and nodded to him in greeting.

“Teach me chess today!” said Soma.

“When did I order you to do such a thing?” said Ciel to Sebastian, ignoring Soma.

“Is there any harm in it?” said Sebastian.

“Hey! Ciel! What a sour face you’ve got there. I came out to greet you, so you could at lease smile!” cried Soma.

“Shut up! I’m busying right now! Keep your mouth shut,” said Ciel, an irk mark appearing.

Soma pouted as Ciel walked to his room. “Luck will run away if you’re not smiling, you know.”

“Like I was saying,” said Ciel once they were in his room. “How did it turn into me having to join the circus as well?”

“No one is having you do anything,” said Sebastian. “You will try out for the troupe and be asked to join.”

“You two are the only ones that need to infiltrate the place. Living in a tent is no laughing matter!” said Ciel.

“Are you sure you wish for us to act of our own free will within the circus? Sebastian would have no commands from you,” said (Y/N), smirking. “He could do anything.”

“…Point taken,” said Ciel. “But the ability to do tricks is essential to being a circus performer, right? I can’t do anything like that.”

“Indeed,” said Sebastian. “Please, do your best with the tryout tomorrow. As your butler, I shall be cheering you on from the bottom of my heart.”

Ciel huffed. “There’s nothing for it. I’ll have to join the circus, too.”

“As you wish,” said Sebastian, bowing as he and (Y/N) left the room.

“How much are you going to enjoy manipulating Ciel into getting into the circus?” said (Y/N).

“Manipulation? You wound me. I would hardly call steering my Master in the right direction manipulation,” said Sebastian. He paused. “But if you were to call it such, I would say it is simply a bit of innocent fun on my part.” He smirked. “He said he had to join, and it is my duty to ensure he does.”

(Y/N) smirked. “And enjoying yourself while doing it?”

“That is a fortunate byproduct,” said Sebastian impishly.

(Y/N) chuckled, and Sebastian’s eyes gleamed in victory at having drawn out such a sound. Just as he loved (Y/N), he loved knowing he made them feel good. It was a matter of pride to him, to know (Y/N) enjoyed his company. He would win (Y/N)’s affections, slowly but steadily. And then he would draw a myriad of other sounds out of them.

Of course, he had no idea they had been won long ago.

“Goodness me! Ye sure brought along an incredible adorable child, eh? Are you a boy?” said Joker as he gazed at Ciel, dress in plain clothes and ready for his tryout.

“Yes,” said Ciel. “I was a pageboy at the manor. I’m Finnian…”

“What a grand-sounding name ye ‘ave!” said Joker cheerfully. “We’ll give ye a stage name if ye make it into our troupe. But being cute isn’t enough to work in a circus. Ye gotta know how to do tricks. So little fellow, what are ye good at?”

“…Darts?” said Ciel.

“Knife throwing it is! Dagger, lend him your knives,” said Joker.

“Here ye go,” said Dagger, handing a few daggers over.

“Hit that target over there from here,” said Joker, nodding to the target. It was quite far away from Ciel.

“Aww man. What a bully y’are, ol’timer. With them scrawny arms, ‘e’ll never ‘it the target.”

“I’m not being mean. Ye couldn’t call it an act if it ‘twere any closer,” said Joker.

Ciel threw the knife, and it pitifully began to fall short of the target. Before it hit the ground, though, Sebastian flicked a pebble into the hilt and sent it flying up into the center of the target. No one but (Y/N) could see the pebble, though, so the humans gaped in amazement.

“No way?!” cried Joker and Dagger.

Over and over, the same thing happened—Ciel threw the knife, and Sebastian saved it at the last second.

“Will that do?” said Ciel, turning to Joker.

“Ye seem to have good control,” said Joker. “Then next up is this! Tightrope walking!” he dragged Ciel into the tall tent, and Doll, the tightrope walker, guided Ciel up onto the platform. “Doll! Tie the lifeline nice ‘n tight now! He’s yet a novice, so he’ll hurt himself if he falls!”

“Won’t you test me with something else?” said Ciel.

“Ooh? Retiring already, hmm, little fellow?” teased Joker.

“N-No, but something other than this—” Ciel swallowed and looked down.

“Then get a move on, would ye?” encouraged Joker.

Ciel took a step out and swayed dangerously. Sebastian flicked a pebble and hit him in the side, straightening him. Ciel gritted his teeth at the pain, and (Y/N) glanced at Sebastian, who was smirking impishly. The raven demon was having a little fun (just a little). Ciel rubbed his back as he descended on the other side of the tightrope and glared at Sebastian.

“Amazing! I never thought ye would actually walk the tightrope!” said Joker.

“Thank you,” said Ciel, staring down his butler who had a smirk on his face.

“Then this cutie-pie passes right, ol’ chap?!” said Dagger, patting Ciel on the head.

“Not yet,” said Joker. “The little fellow’s missing something important. A first class…smile!”

Sebastian and (Y/N) snickered together at Ciel’s aghast face.

Ciel clenched his fist. “…” And then he forced himself to give Joker a big smile.

Taglist:

@technikerin23

@im-making-an-effort

@izzieg3987

@jinxxangel13

@alexpangender

@otomyoli

@neenieweenie

@nex-crowley

@anxious-chick

@bellacastiel

@v1l-ismissing

@agentdedf1sh

@idkhowtoplayhoyoversegames

@iamsexytrash

@oceansfloor

54 notes · View notes

asexualbookbird · 6 months

Text

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon ⭐⭐

I followed this book from it's conception, through it's editing, and hyped it's publishing date on twitter. I was genuinely excited to read it, and really thought and hoped I'd enjoy it. I wasn't a huge fan of what I read of The Bone Season, but everyone assured me this was different! And to be fair, it was! I think in my heart, though, I knew the truth because I waited so long to read this and I'm sorry to say I did not have a great time.

My problem with Samantha Shannon seems to be she creates these wonderful worlds full of interesting magic systems and characters that are fun to follow, but there's too much crammed into the book as a whole. In The Bone Season, I felt the Rephaim were unnecessary. In Priory there are too many points of view. There were things I liked, this wasn't a complete waste of time, but wow they were hard to come by in the end.

What did I like?

-Ead! Ead was clearly the main character and I think it would have worked better if it was just Her Book (I'd also settle for her and Tané, please Tané deserved more page time than she got) -Sabran. I'm surprised, but not really, that people didn't like her. She's complicated! She's mean! She loves deeply! She's a person! People just hate women who are mean lol -MAGIC! Magic comes from fruit that comes from the stars? It's fire and water and ice and air? NEAT! COOL! Cool magic systems seem to be SShannons strong point! -High fantasy with no sexual assault or threats of sexual assault. There was a little misogyny with the way Sabran and her line is treated for their ability to give birth (and no, one throw away line of "This is bad actually!" doesn't fix it lol) but it fit in context and considering no one was mean to women for being women I'll let it slide!

What didn't I like?

-LACK. OF. DRAGONS. yall there are dragons on the COVER, every time someone talked about this online, they added dragon emojis. So why, in the more than 800 pages, did dragons show up for maybe five pages TOTAL. Like if we went line by line and pieced all those lines together, it would maybe take up five pages. Ten if I'm being generous and include the dragons that are The Enemies. Which, by the way, -Dragons are Mean. I've discovered that I prefer dragons to be neutral to allies, I don't like dragon books where we are slaying dragons. It's nice that we have both here, no group of people? Creatures? Are a monolith, but I want more of the eastern dragons! They were pushed aside and we hardly saw them! We hardly saw any of them! If you promise me dragons, then deliver! The! Dragons!!!! -Writing style. I'm thinking maybe SShannon's writing style and I do not vibe at all. I'm not sure what it is about it, I know she doesn't like writing action scenes and so avoids them, and I love reading action scenes, but that didn't feel like the entire problem here? But something about this writing detached me from the characters. Yes I liked Ead, but I felt nothing about Tané, other tha wanting MORE of her. SShannon spent a lot of time saying not much at all, it's really rather impressive. -Tané in general. Part of the writing problem is the way the POVs were split. It was most obvious in Tané's storyline. She has everything stripped away from her, but the emotional impact wasn't there because we hardly spent any time with her. -The Priory. The book is named after it, but we're hardly there at all. I spent a good chunk of the first half wishing Ead would go back to the Priory, but once she was there, I wanted her to leave. The Prioress' motives also seemed iffy to me? Ead was right, why spend nearly ten years trying to keep Inys afloat and then go "actually! Nevermind! Let it burn!' -Plot....holes? Not so much holes but Convenient Plot. I was ready to ignore some of it, suspension of disbelief and all that, but nah I"m going to be picky now! The scene that stuck out the most was Ead being chased and hunted down and CONVENIENTLY wyrms attacked her pursuers and she was the one who got away. Or how about Niclays at the LITERAL LAST MOMENT deciding to have a change of heart because......plot has to move forward? Also. What the fuck happened to Ishari lol Tané noted Ishari was disappointed to be sent to Feather island, but said she hoped their paths would cross again one day! And then! Tané goes to Feather Island! And NO MENTION OF HER AT ALL! Or how abut Loth learning a VERY BIG VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEIGHBORING KINGDOM AND THEN NO ONE MENTIONS IT UNTIL NEARLY THE END LIKE "OH YEAH BTW THE PRINCESS THERE IS COOL LOTH SAID SO" -Wrap Up. I didn't really mind the final Big Fight. I know even fans of the book have been disappointed, but honestly it's one of the strongest stretches of the book, even if it was a little hard to follow at times. What bothered me was after. I know I tend to be impatient when reading the final chapters of a book, the What Happened Next bits, but never have I been so annoyed as to have to read a wrap up from the POV of someone who WASN'T EVEN CONSCIOUS. I suppose it's better than a book where a single first person POV character is knocked unconscious mid battle and then the next scene is "and then everything was over" but come ON.

I know she had to edit this book down a LOT, which. Girl. It's 800 pages how was there MORE. So maybe my questions were answered in things that were cut, but I could not physically handle any more of this book. I got fatigue from her writing, I cannot handle more of it at once, but considering how long it takes her to finish a book (not a complaint! Everyone has a different pace!) I also would not have wanted to wait that long for a conclusion. There's no winning for me here. We were simply not meant to be. It's just that if I'm going to read a book that takes hundreds of pages to say nothing at all by an author that puts out a book once every few years at best, I'd read VE Schwab or Patrick Rothfuss.

#bookbird babbles #book reviews #my review #books #booklr #the priory of the orange tree #tpotot #LOOK AT ME POSTING REVIEWS AGAIN #WITH A NEW HEADER AND EVERYTHING #I think i accidentally used the same or similar fonts as last time lol #but hey! I like them!

39 notes · View notes

moonah-rose · 1 year

Text

Chassar: Don't fall in love with the Queen.

Ead: That won't be a problem.

-A few chapters later-

Ead: THERE'S A PROBLEM!

#incorrect priory of the orange tree quotes #incorrect tpotot quotes #tpotot #sabran x ead #sapphic literature #wlw fantasy #the priory of the orange tree

149 notes · View notes

duskyashe · 2 years

Text

NaNoWriMo Day #9

[masterlist]

Prompt found here

Thanks @stealingyourbones!

=========‹«⟨···•••∞•••···⟩»›=========

There were a lot of old, weird, or old and weird things Tim's parents had picked up over the years, but his favorite was the ornate, almost delicate looking mirror in the entry hall. Most of the time, it was just a very fancy mirror, but at three am, when he's just pulling himself back in from a night of photographing vigilantes, it showed something different, something not of this realm. Of course, it didn't always happen; when it was especially overcast out or it was a new moon, the mirror wouldn't show the swirling green void with the occasional floating purple door. But when conditions were just right, he would sit on the chaise across the entry hall, and watch as doors drifted in and out of the mirror's view until he fell asleep.

He'd just sat down with his homework to finish a few last problems before laying back to watch the mirror, when something... Different happened. He heard an echoey voice, coming from the mirror of all things.

"What the—? I could have sworn this was a mirror earlier... Why are you showing the entry hall of a manor? And at night, no less... Is that—is that a kid?" Tim looked away from the mirror at that, then froze. If whoever was on the other side of the mirror was seeing him, then him moving in response to them talking was beyond stupid, why did he do that? "Ah frick, kid, can you hear me?"

Tim did his best not to move or show he could, in fact, hear the other person. He'd gone on an internet spiral a few months back and ended up learning all kinds of things about fey-like beings and creatures, and he was fairly certain that responding to someone, or something, that was talking to him through a freaking mirror would bring nothing good to him.

"Right, stupid question, even if you could, who knows what's showing on your end of whatever connection this is. For all I know, you can't see anything at all, and you're just hearing a disembodied voice in your entry hall. That would freak anyone out, so yeah, I'll give you a pass on answering that... Though I would like to know why you're awake at, what, two, three in the morning? Just going off the position of the moon in the window and the fact I doubt you're anywhere in Asia with a house like that." Tim rolled his eyes without meaning to and cringed at the cry of victory his interaction invoked. Ohh, he was going to get himself into so much trouble, he could just tell.

=========‹«⟨···•••∞•••···⟩»›=========

Over the course of the next few weeks, Tim cautiously started interacting more with the voice from the mirror, who'd introduced himself as Danny the next night. Tim had yet to work up the nerve to verbally respond, no matter how many quips or sarcastic remarks he had to bite back, but tonight was different.

The past week and a half had mostly been a bust on vigilante stalking hunting, but today he'd leaned why. Jason Todd was dead. He was dead and his funeral had been announced during the evening news. Considering how Batman had nearly beaten Joker to death two nights ago, Tim was willing to bet the Clown Prince of Crime was at fault. Jason his Robin was dead and he wasn't coming back and—

"Woah, hey kid, I don't know what's wrong, but I need you to take a deep breath for me, alright? Can you breath in—hold—and breath out, that's it, breath in—hold—and breath out, a few more times for me buddy, breath in—that's it—and breath out, breath in—you've got this—and out, one more time, breath in—there we go—and out. There, much better, right?"

Tim nodded, shakily rubbing at his tears as sobs shook his chest. At least he could breath, now. "Jason's-s de-ead," he managed through the emotions lodged in his throat. "My-my neighbor's kid, J-Jason, is dead, a-and he has been fo-or almost a-a week." And I didn't know, was unspoken.

Danny cursed softly and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry to hear that, were the two of you close?"

He shook his head, nearly making himself dizzy with how hard and fast he was shaking it. "No," he grunted, "we weren't, b-but I really looked u-up to h-him. He was doing things I could only hope to be able to do, a-and he was h-helping so many people, but now he can't anymore because he's dead, and I can't do anything about it! His dad's in so much pain right now, but I can't help him cuz he doesn't know me and I barely know him, but R-Jason was my hero and I want to help, but I don't know how!" Tim was breathing heavily by the end of his tirade, his eyes burning and his head throbbing, but no longer actively crying, so that was something. Focusing on his breathing, he slowly unclenched his hands. He hung his head in defeat as he whispered brokenly, "I never know how to help."

=========‹«⟨···•••∞•••···⟩»›=========

Over the next few months, Danny and Tim talked as much as they possibly could, making plans and figuring out all the ways those plans could, and likely would, go wrong. Through careful questions and even more careful answers, Tim had revealed that Jason had an older brother who might be able to help him help Bruce, so Danny had taught Tim how to approach to a grieving older sibling for help. Tonight was the culmination of all their preparation.

Tim took a deep breath before releasing it. Well, he thought, here goes nothing. He stepped forward and knocked on Dick Grayson's door.

=========‹«⟨···•••∞•••···⟩»›=========

Well. I'm not exactly happy with that ending, but I started writing this really last minute, plus I made dinner at one point, so ¯⁠\⁠_⁠༼⁠ ⁠ಥ⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠ಥ⁠ ⁠༽⁠_⁠/⁠¯ this is what came of it! It got pretty angsty cuz I kinda didn't have an actual plan for this beyond "Tim likes to look at the ghost zone through his magic mirror, but Danny is a chatterbox and wants to protect the little kid on the other side" and I needed somewhere for this to actually go, so boom. Tim's first steps towards becoming Robin with a spooky twist (⁠^⁠～⁠^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ I feel like now would be a good time to mention I don't actually know the actual timeline of when Jason died and Bruce nearly killed Joker in response, let alone how long it took Tim to go to Dick with his concerns, so if things were too rushed or out of order, I apologize and claim creative liberty (⁠；⁠^⁠ω⁠^⁠）

Now, obviously, with Danny's influence, Tim will have a different story from here on out. Danny has become a confidant for Tim, even though Tim's never actually seen Danny, so eventually Danny's going to find out about the vigilante thing and start training Tim in other skills he'll need to be successful (things a human can replicate (⁠◠⁠‿⁠◕⁠)) which will likely broaden his skill set quicker in my humble opinion. Not sure if I'll add more to this, though, so if anyone has thoughts, please, add them!

Have a good morning/day/night!

260 notes · View notes

shehatescalories · 1 year

Text

i keep on loosing and gaining the same kilogram and i hate it bcs everytime i‘m at 44.1 i somehow loose control and get to 45.5.

i need to get to 43 this month, i‘ve been wanting this for so long and i owe this to my body. i did not starve for nothing. i haven‘t been starving myself for the past two years for me to be stuck here.

19 notes · View notes

n64retro · 1 year

Text

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo EAD, 1998) is certainly one of the - if not the - most iconic games of all time. It is for sure one of the most beloved and most commented game from our era. So, maybe I'm being a little bit repetitive with this week's poll. No problem, once nostalgia is about repeating the past and trying to reconnect and re-signify our memories and experiences. There are more than 12 dungeons in TLoZ: OoT if we count the side-dungeons and the final castle. But for this survey purpose I will restrict only the Temples throughout Hyrule that Adult Link had to defeat in order to reach Ganon's Castle. Hope you consider as many aspects of the dungeons as possible, like the general feel or "theme", the puzzles, the battles - especially those with the bosses, and other details.

Forest Temple - here we have four spirits (Sisters Foes), and a labyrinthine dungeon structure. The first sword battle with Stalfos, the Fairy Bow, and the encounter with Phantom Ganon with his black horse.

Fire Temple - here we need to release some Gorons which they're being serving as dinner for Volgagia. Flare Dancer battle is very iconic mini-boss and we have the Megaton Hammer and the before mentioned Lava Dragon boss.

Water Temple - dozens of vertical puzzles involving the water level, a high difficult level and requires much patience with the Iron Boots. But it is very rewarding when everything is put in its right place. Boss is an amoeba called Morpha but it's OK. Can't forget the mythical encounter with Dark Link.

Shadow Temple - the most obscure of them all. It's dark, spooky and everything in this particular dungeon resembles death and doom. Enemies are Dead Hand, Skulltulas, Red Deads, Stalfos... The soundtrack is frightening and the boss, Bongo Bongo is a classic conga player.

Spirit Temple - the only one Link can reach as kid using the Ocarina of Time. It's a dusty place with several architecture references to Arabic culture. There are very interesting battles with and Iron Knuckles and the final boss is an spectacle, the withc sisters Kotake and Koume and their transformation Twinrova.

#the legend of zelda: ocarina of time #legend of zelda #ocarina of time #loz oot #dungeon #best temple in loz oot #poll #forest temple #fire temple #water temple #shadow temple #spirit temple

61 notes · View notes

fravenwood · 6 months

Text

[Book Review] The Priory of the Orange Tree

This review is as spoiler free as possible!

Book Title: The Priory of the Orange Tree

Author: Samantha Shannon

Genre: Fantasy

Publication Date: 26 February 2019

ISBN: 9781635577921

Introduction:

Hi! Today’s book is The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon! Fantasy is my genre of choice for most reading and writing, and this book has been on my radar for a while. A standalone epic fantasy novel with strong characters, worldbuilding, LBTQ+ rep, and…dragons? Yes, please!

Plot Summary:

The Priory of the Orange tree follows the events of a grim fantasy world. About one thousand years prior to the beginning of the novel, there was a fire dragon (or wyrm, in the novel) known as the Nameless One. He was prophesied to return one day and destroy the world, infecting all humans with a disease known as the red sickness. We start by following the story of Tané the dragonrider, but we are soon introduced to Niclays the alchemist, Ead the spy, and Arteloth the messenger as our other POV characters. Each of them has unique goals and character arcs, and everything wraps up really nicely in the end. A breath of fresh air compared to many modern fantasy novels wishing to be the next Game of Thrones with massive cliffhangers and no resolution.

Characters:

Oh, Miduchi Tané. There’s a lot more to delve into about her backstory, but she doesn’t get a lot of attention during the plot. She makes a mistake in the beginning of the book, one that ultimately defines her path throughout the story—but she definitely has the least amount of thought and care put into her.

Niclays Roos has a bit more going on. He wants to create the Elixir of Life, a pursuit first given to him by Queen Sabran of the kingdom of Inys. He was cast out to an island after failing to provide it to her, and he decided to continue trying to create it only to deny her its power. An interesting premise, and backed up by a past relationship that gets further explored throughout the novel.

Ead Duryan is by far my favorite character, and I suspect Samantha Shannon’s as well. She gets the most attention, and her storyline is the only one related directly to the book’s title. Working as a spy for an organization known as the Priory, she seeks to protect Queen Sabran Berethnet at all costs. There is a legend that this royal bloodline must continue to prevent the Nameless One from returning. Her arc of learning to live in Inys and being pulled between life there and her duties as a member of the Priory is the most compelling in the novel.

If Ead wasn’t the best character, it would’ve been Arteloth Beck. He is sent away on false pretenses of an important espionage mission to separate him and Sabran. Evidently, the two are too close, and people worried they might be rizzing it up. This is a problem for those who wish to weaken the queen. Along the way he has significant growth, and his character traits are intriguing and complex.

Writing Style:

The prose in this book is beautiful. There are a few times where it comes across as a little infodump-y, but for the most part Samantha Shannon writes a vivid tale and somehow never runs out of steam through this chonker of a book. She uses lovely descriptive writing, being sure to bring each location to life. Aside from a few clunky dialogue lines or expository paragraphs, this novel’s writing is what really sucked me in.

Themes:

There are several themes in this book that deal with relevant social issues or moral questions. Whether or not someone is a good or bad person based on their past comes up multiple times, as does the issue of bodily autonomy for women. LGBTQ+ representation is also high in this book, a wonderful change from the norm in adult fantasy. It never felt forced, nor did it feel out of place. There are also great themes of perseverance, courage, the typical fantasy themes.

What I Liked:

The scale of the plot is massive, and the characters are still somehow lovable in their own ways. Even lesser-developed side characters have so much charm. The way Samantha Shannon brings them to life is unparalleled! There are lots of fun twists and turns, and those twists have turns themselves. I’m also a sucker for the “dragons were gone but they’re coming back” trope, and she executes it really well. The political sphere felt fully realized and imaginative, and the magic system takes the classic fire versus water idea and takes it in a fresh direction.

What Could Be Improved:

As previously mentioned, I could tell which characters were her favorites and that wasn’t necessarily a great thing. There were exposition moments that dragged on, and sometimes the pace was a little too slow or fast. Tané’s storyline in particular was odd, because the dragonriding thread should’ve been one of the most fun. Unfortunately, we rarely see her riding a dragon because the plot keeps throwing conflicts at her that prevents it.

Conclusion:

The Priory of the Orange Tree is a great fantasy novel. Beautiful prose, colorful characters, a lifelike world and gripping plot threads make this a must read for fans of fantasy and adventure.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5

#fantasy #reading #books #libraries #writing #book review #the priory of the orange tree

20 notes · View notes

mytragedyperson · 8 months

Text

Thoughts I had while reading TCF/LCF chapter 16

Quick note before I begin – the reason I call it TCF and not LCF is because that’s technically what I’m reading. I’m currently reading it on EAP. If there’s an official English version I can read feel free to point me in the direction of it but, since TCF is what it’s called on the site I’m reading it on, that’s probably what I’ll refer to it as. If this is a problem, please feel free to unfollow or block my posts but I don’t really refer to the book’s name at all in the actual posts though I do use names like Beacrox and stuff. I’m hoping this isn’t a huge problem for anyone, but I just thought I’d put that out there. This applies to all posts I make about TCF so I won’t repeat myself. As far as I know, there is no official translation, and it feels slightly wrong to use LCF because that’s not what the version I’m reading is called. This probably won’t change unless there’s an official English version. Just wanted to put this out there for those who care about this. Without further ado, I present to you, my thoughts

That right there, Cale’s “who will go if I don’t” perfectly sums up this character and why he does the things he does. Why does he mess with the white star so much? Who will if he doesn’t? why does he loot so many places? Who will if he doesn’t? why does he save so many people? Who will if he doesn’t? that might actually be one of the most consistent parts of his character. He does these things because, if he doesn’t, who will? No one else is gonna save the Black Dragon, or Paseton. They might try, if they knew but they don’t. so who will if he doesn’t? no one. And that’s not acceptable to him. This isn’t to say he’s the only one who would or could help people, just that, in most situations, he’s the only one who can.

And Venion is officially present. Wish he wasn’t but he is.

The fact that this utter waste of oxygen is considered a typical, authoritative noble is really sad. No wonder their world is doomed if this is a typical noble.

I feel like most villains are at least slightly smarter than Venion, honestly. Maybe not necessarily in this novel, idk about that, but villains in general. Most of them would know not to try and tame a dragon. I feel like that’s pretty basic common sense. You know what, yes, even the villains in this novel are probably slightly smarter at least. Even the bandits I was making fun of last chapter were smarter, though not by much. They had no way of knowing this carriage belonged to a noble travelling with a Choi Han and an assassin and a torture expert. Usually having the numbers game is an advantage. But my point is they didn’t know these things. Marquis Stan and Venion know this is a dragon, that’s the whole point. That makes them a lot dumber than the poor bandits who just chose the wrong carriage on the wrong day, imo.

One thing I do admire about Cale is his patience and ability to keep a calm ead even in front of something like Venion. I can’t call whatever he is a human, but calling him garbage or even human garbage is an insult to garbage and, considering OG Cale is supposed to be considered trash, that just feels more wrong. So Venion is a lot worse than living garbage, but calling him a monster feels like giving him more credit than he deserves and also is offensive to monsters so idk what he is. Also can we just think for a second about the fact that, in this novel, in this world, someone who drinks a lot and trashes places, has a worse reputation than the people torturing a baby dragon and watching it for amusement. Now, I know they’re not exactly adverting that fact but most people know he crippled (am I allowed to say that? Is there a better term? Idk, sorry) his older brother, and yet somehow more people hate or look down on OG Cale than Venion. Again showing that the typical nobles have some serious issue and skewed perspectives and priorities. You can do a horrible thing and everyone know you were responsible but, as long as you have status, power and appear like a normal noble, well, that’s just how it is. All this to say fuck Venion Stan, Marquis Stan and anyone who allies with him. Taylor is the only good person in that family and idc what anyone says about that.

Also I know the man was tortured but I don’t remember Choi Han punching him, and if Choi Han didn’t punch him, I think he should have, as a treat. He deserves it. Both of them do.

And nobles are supposed to have class and care for their people. I guess we’ve both been disappointed today. If someone has clearly fallen and you can see that, you stop. Get your head out of Venion’s ass. You can kiss it all you want, he’s still not going to respect you. sorry, I know he’s like a servant or something but that doesn’t make what he’s saying less asshole-ish. This is why we don’t associate with Venion. We become assholes if we do.

Also I know this isn’t the time but can we just take a second, before Venion or his lackey piss me off again, to admire this relationship, dare I say friendship, between Hans and Choi Han. The way he cares for him and doesn’t want him to get in trouble. I feel like Hans is definitely cheering him on on the inside and agrees with him but can’t say anything due to being a servant for the Henituse family. Hans and Choi Han friendship. I wish we saw more of this. I hope we do as the novel goes on, even if it's just a little. I want them to be besties. Idek why.

You know, I feel like it would be so easy for people to look at Hans and just see him as dumb or something but he’s not. It’s not his fault no one tells him anything. He actually has a decent amount of knowledge on things, like the noble families and what he says about the rock towers and stuff. He’s not dumb, he’s just working with the information he has.

So they were trying to get Choi Han in trouble, right? And it probably would’ve worked, except Cale saw everything and is a generally good person so agrees with Choi Han’s actions… except doesn’t this look worse for Venion? Like, another noble, and someone travelling with that noble, who is known for being trash, shows more care and compassion for this guy than Venion. It definitely reflects badly on the Tolz family, or at least it should, that a noble from another territory, who is known for being trash, is kinder and less intimidating and cares more about your people than you do. Like, I know this is unlikely but I feel like, if ever this bar/inn owner heard someone talk trash about Cale he’d be like idk he isn’t that bad. You know he actually stayed here once, one of his guards saved my life, and would kinda defend him a little, but he wouldn’t do that for Tolz. If a good way to tell what nobles are like is to look at how people in their territory act, then the fact this guy wouldn’t defend Venion or Tolz from criticism but arguably would defend Cale says more about Venion and Tolz than anything really. Especially after Cale becomes Young Master Silver Shield.

I may be wrong but this is the first time we see Cale actually mad/genuinely annoyed by someone right? For all he says Hans annoys him, he’s actually never seemed particularly annoyed at Hans. And everyone/everything else he’s been more surprised or scared than mad. He wasn’t even annoyed when he was brought to this world. On one hand I get it, I’m angry at Venion too. I just think it’s interesting to note.

Cale really thinks about everyone, even this old man.

Idk why but Something about Cale right now, the way he tells Choi Han to calm doen is so attractive to me. Maybe it’s how calm and level headed he is, maybe it’s how in control he seems. Idk. Also not important but in my head I don’t see red haired Cale Henituse, I see black haired KRS and idk why.

You know who I think of when I remember Venion? Years ago, when I first got Facebook I’d stumble across photos of like hunters posing with animals they’d just killed and looking so proud of themselves, and it always just filled me with anger and confusion. Like, I’m not a vegetarian or vegan but something about that just seemed so wrong to me. Venion reminds me of a worse version of those people. So pleased to see an innocent animal hurt and proud of themselves for having something to do with it.

When I tell you that reading this man’s torture/punishment scene will be so satisfying to me. He deserves so much worse than he got.

No he stole the carriage. He’s never even heard of Count Henituse. And those knights are paid actors. Why do people insist on asking obvious questions? To start conversation? There must be a better conversation starter than that. Honesetly how Cale hasn’t rolled his eyes at this amazes me. He doesn’t even think the sarcastic thing. I simply couldn’t do that.

I think Venion has bigger problems than being rude.

It makes sense that most people would just naturally be disgusted by him actually. Humans in general typically have fairly good instincts. We can kind of sense when others are terrible human beings. Obviously it isn’t perfect but it is there. The people who follow him probably either fear him or are just as terrible but if most people hate him, it’s probably not just because he’s rude. Venion would probably be too arrogant to pretend to be someone he’s not, so his bad traits would be fairly obvious and I think, when someone is this horrible, they can’t fully hide it anyway. He may not be advertising the Black Dragon thing but there is so much wrong with him and he has so many bad traits it would be impossible to hide them fully, if he even bothered to in the first place.

I don’t get how he’s convinced himself any version of Cale is somehow worse than him. The worst thing OG Cale did was probably what he said to Choi Han, that didn’t happen this time, so the worst he’s done is get drunk and trash some bars and shops. Meanwhile Venion has permanently injured and plans to murder his older brother, and is regularly entertained by a child, no, a toddler getting tortured. He needs to be smacked back down to, well, not earth, whatever their world is called.

Again, still don’t get how Venion would ever look like the better or superior one in this situation. His carriage nearly ran someone over, his lackey berated the person who saved the guy they nearly hit, and then he randomly tried to start shit with another noble and insulting him in public, when the other noble hadn’t actually said or done anything to anyone. No matter how you put it, Venion is the asshole in this situation, and everyone would see that so idk what superiority he thinks he’s showing here.

See Cale gets it. Why ask something you already know about? Oh so he can point out Cale is trash. pOk the trash is still like the least problematic person in this situation so really it just makes you look worse. Btw not saying Choi Han is problematic or anything, hopefully you get my point, it’s a rare occasion of Cale being the best behaved from the outside. Is behaved a word? If it wasn’t it is now.

Idk I think Cale’s doing pretty well at being a noble and this type of talk. If that was me I’d just be rolling my eyes every time Venion spoke.

Also fuck Marquis Stan. He’s just as responsible for Taylor and The Black Dragon and is a shit father and noble. He should’ve been tortured just as much as Venion. Idc.

Is the three other children including Taylor? Because if not 3 siblings and either none of them know or none of them care about the dragon being tortured. I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt but idk if I can.

Ok so it doesn’t include Taylor.

And none of them care that the oldest brother was crippled by their other brother? Not one? Man, what is up with this family? Why do they all suck so much? Taylor deserves batter.

Imagine if KRS was transmigrated in the Stan family instead. He’d hate them so much but I feel like their downfall would come even quicker, and he’d still help Taylor and Cage because he doesn’t want to be the Marquis. He could even tell them about the black dragon to help Taylor take down his family. And he’d still be in the capital so be able to help with the plot. Can’t decide how he’d get the Shield, but idk, could be fun.

Kinda love how he refers to it as our family already. That’s cute.

Tbf I don’t think nobles not wanting to Take / associate with Deruth’s territory has much to do with it being greedy, because even if it would be greedy, what are the chances the other nobles would all care. It’s probably more to do with the Forest of darkness. Whoever’s responsible for Henituse territory is responsible for watching the Forest of Darkness and, let’s face it, most nobles won’t want that responsibility. Like looking greedy might be some nobles’ concern, but at least one noble family wouldn’t care about that.

This bitch really had the audacity to try and compare himself to Basen? Please those are two completely different relationships. Basen isn’t a complete psychopath/narcissist. And for that matter Cale isn’t Taylor. And did he really just try to call Taylor the trash eldest son and himself the pretty smart younger brother? God he’s delusional. It’s so much worse than I remembered. Delusional, arrogant, dumb, pathetic, horrible. There’s not a single good quality about this guy. Also claims he’s smart but doesn’t realise that Cale dislikes him, dare I say hate him, more than he hates Cale, but that could also be arrogance so idk.

If Venion didn’t like me and compared me to Taylor I’d take that as a huge compliment actually.

Hate to point this out again but he failed to appear as a proper noble when his carriage nearly ran someone over and his lackey blamed that person. Doesn’t seem very proper to me but what do I know? Maybe that is proper behaviour.

Also all these people just heard you call this man a waste of time and an obstacle. I know that some rich people do see poorer people like this but surely this is one of those things that, as a noble, you’re supposed to think but not say out loud? I know they’re not your people but it still seems wrong. Also wouldn’t it appear to most outsiders that he only told his lackey to stop because he realise another noble was there and he wanted to look good in front of him. Again, there’s no way Venion actually realistically comes out of this looking morally better or superior in any way to Cale.

You can practically hear the disgust in Cale’s thoughts. That’s truly impressive.

Don’t worry Venion. Cale did a very good job of teaching his people that distinction. Although his idea of people who have a right to walk this earth may differ from yours. Also again he just very publicly stated that this man, who hasn’t actually done anything wrong, doesn’t have the right to walk the earth or whatever… because he’s not a noble I guess? Honestly, can you imagine a noble in our world saying this shit like in present time? I mean not much would happen lbr but everyone would at least be like we hate you, that’s a disgusting thing to say.

Also is now a good time to admit I have no idea how nobility actually works and therefore have no clue of the hierarchy? Ok so google has informed me that Marquis is higher than Count and now I’m sad that a dragon torturer has a higher rank than Count Henitus, and say what you want about him, but at least he actually cares about his people to the best of his ability with the knowledge he has.

That’s offensive to dogs. At least sometimes when they yap it’s for a good reason, usually not but sometimes. (I’m not hating on dogs, I love dogs, I have two dogs, but they do tend to bark for no reason)

I don’t think there’s actually a word for how much I hate this man. Hate and despise come close but feel too weak a word. loathe maybe but every time I think of the word loathe or loathing I think of the song from Wicked, and that song could so easily go the complete opposite direction. Maybe abhor but again these words feel too weak. They don’t fully capture the anger, the disgust, the complete inability to find even one good thing about him.

What I’d give to see Choi Han punch him, just once.

The Tolz family also seem like idiots but they also seem too pathetic to actually hate? Like they just go along with keeping a dragon on their territory and letting the Marquis torture it there? Dumb, dumb as hell. I’d feel sorry for them but they brought it on themselves and so instead I look about them in about the same way I imagine most people look when they see Florida Man in the news, just a why would you do that? Confusion but still more angry than I probably would be at most Florida men or similarly stupid people in the news. A more confused version of the anger I feel when there’s a child abuse story in the news and one of them is like oh but I didn’t abuse them, when there is proof they knew it was happening and were fine with it/amused by it/encouraging it or just didn’t care. You know what I change my mind I do hate the Tolz family, just less than Marquis Stan and Venion. But yeah fuck the Tolz family too. Being pathetic and dumb is no excuse honestly.

Cale needs a reward or something purely for not punching this man.

Also can we tak a second to discuss the difference in anger and how it’s expressed by Choi Han and Cale. The best way I can put it is Choi Han’s anger is like fire, right? It’s heated, passionate, comes on and spreads quickly and suddenly, is very destructive, hard to stop and contain, though it can be, and is harder to hide. Cale’s anger is like water, like the ocean. It’s cold, he looks very calm on the outside, so you don’t realise he’s angry, but under the surface he’s raging. I’ve always thought the ocean was beautiful and at the same time thought it was one of the most terrifying things there is, and not just because I can’t swim. With fire, the danger is there, it’s obvious, you know it’s dangerous, you know if you touch it you’re gonna get hurt, you’re gonna get burned, and that leaves a permanent mark. But the ocean isn’t like that, the danger isn’t as obvious, at least if you can swim, you could go in the ocean a million times and be just fine, and then one day you get stuck in the wrong tide, and you try to fight against it but you can’t. and there’s so much we don’t know about the ocean, so much mystery surrounding it, a lot of stories, some true, some not true. And the most dangerous thing about the ocean is how peaceful it looks, how calm, how it lures you in. even though I know I can’t swim, I still feel the urge, when I see the ocean, to just jump in, even though I know that would be a very bad idea. A lot of this applies to Cale, there are a lot of stories and rumours about him, he looks more calm than he is, he draws people in, a lot of those people survive and are just fine, but some get dragged away by the tide. The thing is fire and water, with all these differences, still have similarities: they both can hurt/kill you, and they can both be suffocating, and they’re both pretty to look at but can hurt you if you’re not careful. And that just feels so similar to Choi Han and Cale to me. Plus Cale managed to calm Choi Han down, a bit like water can douse a fire and put it out. Cale is water, Choi Han is fire, they’re both forces to be reckoned with and Venion pissed both of them off. He played with fire multiple times but he also earned the ocean’s fury, and an angry ocean… well, we all know how terrifying, how dangerous, that can be. This turned out more poetic than I intended so I’m gonna go ahead and move on.

Again he’s awfully judgy for someone who gets his kicks from torturing a 4 year old.

Cale subtly messing with Venion by purposefully using the hand he helped the old man with to shake Venion’s hand. Also the fact Cale is more disgusted to touch Venion and Venion doesn’t realise it.

also is the lackey a servant? I thought they were but idk. Oh well, not important

Cale’s ability to say these things without giving away that he’s lying is truly impressive.

Oh good, Venion’s gone. I apologise that this one is more angry/less positive. I just can’t stand Venion or people like him.

Cale: lowkey rants about everything wrong with the interaction with Venion

also Cale: I’m not that angry though

maybe not angry necessarily but he is very much disgusted. Even then he is a little angry, which is fair

again don’t get how exactly Cale would look bad in this situation, especially when compared with Venion

honestly Choi Han and Cale’s conversation here is actually great. Cale almost comforts Choi Han, and shows that he understands how Choi Han feels and where he’s coming from, and he agrees with him. He validates Choi Han so much but his plan to destroy Venion is different. Choi Han could and would beat Venion up, maybe even kill him, but Cale, Cale takes the things he and the Marquis care about the most, their status, their power, their image, their money. For people like Venion and the Marquis that’s much more devastating than a beatdown they could recover from and use as ammunition. And then he doesn’t even really ask or demand Choi Han helps him, he offers, gives him the chance to decide or agree to help on his own, and it’s such a subtle difference, but an important one nonetheless. Also don’t think either of them realise but they’re already besties at this point.

Choi Han is such a delight

Here’s the thing, Cale was already pissed at Venion before they even met and now he’s made him even angrier. i don’t think anyone can help him now. Like he was already beyond help but, now, it’s not just I’m going to punish you for what you did to Raon. It’s I’m going to do that and I’ll enjoy every second of tearing you apart and watching you be clueless I’m responsible until it’s too late. God I love that version of KRS Cale. Kinda want a dark Cale fic now. Not necessarily a villain but also kinda. Same Cale, just wants his people safe, but if anyone regardless of the side their on messes with his people they get the same treatment as his enemies, whether they’re a hero, villain, neutral. And where he enjoys bringing them down as well. Idk the idea of dark KRS Cale is so interesting to me. And slowly the characters around him become just as dark. Like he simply can’t lose anyone else so if anyone poses even the slightest threat to his people, they’re very quickly dealt with. Anyway not important

25 notes · View notes