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tarotwithlove · 3 months

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PAC ⋆ the worst date you will ever have

reminder that this is a general reading and messages found here may not apply to everyone. take what resonates, leave what doesn't, and don't force anything if it does not fit.

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GROUP ONE

cards · two of swords, the high priestess, eight of cups, strength, ten of pentacles, queen of cups.

channelled songs · cozy by beyonce. friday i'm in love by the cure. lovers rock by tv girl. no snakes by cable.

my dear group one ♡ the worst date you will ever have will honestly not even be that bad. i’m thinking of a bad date i had last year, where while the date itself had been bad, the aftermath is something i look upon fondly -- i had a lovely chat with the security guard outside the restaurant, then took my brother to this quaint little market that gets held every saturday, and bonded with my friends and family by complaining and laughing about the experience with them.

so this bad date will be much like this, though, in your case, it might bring you and the person you’re on a date with closer together. especially as this may not be your first date together, and a precedent has already been set that your dates are good. especially, as well, as a lot of things that make this date ‘bad’ are out of either of your control.

you may have plans to go to one restaurant, only to be told that you don’t have a reservation there -- even though you both know that you did make one. you’ll argue about this reservation and show proof that you made the reservation, only to be told there’s nothing the restaurant can do.

you’ll have to go looking for another restaurant, which may be annoying as you’re both all dressed up and not exactly dressed to walk from place to place. you may settle for a cheaper restaurant that doesn’t need a reservation -- one that you both have visited in the past -- only to get there and see that it’s also full.

you’ll end up going back home, miserable and frustrated at the way the night turned out. you may grumble and complain. but your partner will turn things around by deciding to cook for you. and while they may not be that good of a cook, the effort and the conversation -- the genuine care you feel for each other -- is what will make this enjoyable.

GROUP TWO

cards · seven of cups reversed, six of cups, eight of swords, eight of pentacles, nine of wands, the devil.

channelled songs · hallelujah jonghyun. say my grace by offset. the beach by vince staples. wtf i want by megan thee stallion.

my dear group two ♡ the worst date you will ever have may put you out of the dating scene for a long while. this date may be with a friend or coworker, with someone who you find physically attractive but do not know all too well. you will get along well in your daily life -- as acquaintances or colleagues -- and so when they ask you out on a date you feel absolutely overjoyed.

only for the date itself to completely ruin your image of this person. the scene from white chicks comes to mind, where terry crews’ character goes on a date with one of said chicks, who does everything in her power to ruin his image of her -- eating messily, being crude, and burping. in your case, however, it will not be intentional on this person’s part.

they will bring up their ex a lot, complaining about how the relationship ended and how this ex was an awful person -- following up with stories and examples that makes you realise this person, not the ex, was entirely in the wrong.

they may eat or drink a lot, chew with their mouth open, and otherwise just carry themselves in a way that immediately makes them unattractive to you. and the more that they drink, the more touchy they become, encroaching on your space and being overly flirtatious. not keeping to themselves no matter how much you try to push them away and set a boundary that you’re not interested in taking the night any further.

they may try to kiss you and try to take you home, and while you may have been interested in the idea at the beginning of the date, at the end of the date you just want to run out of there. especially as the jokes they tell, which are unfunny and filled with crude sexual innuendo, only get worse as the date drags on and act as the final straw for you.

GROUP THREE

cards · knight of wands, strength, the world, ten of pentacles, page of wands, nine of wands.

channelled songs · no more ma boy by sistar19. dna. by kendrick lamar. i was king by one ok rock. greedy by tate mcrae.

my dear group three ♡ the worst date you will ever have may be with someone in a position of power. or someone with some kind of authority over you. this may be someone wealthier than you, more stable than you, and may be someone you look up to -- like a professor, manager, or a celebrity that you admire. and all these things come together to make you utterly nervous about this date, even as you are utterly excited for what will ensue.

you’ll be entranced in the beginning, as this person will go out of their way to spoil you. bringing you a bouquet of flowers and picking you up in a luxury car. you’ll feel awed, loved, and appreciated.

but the date itself will make you feel as if you are completely out of your depths. they may go out of their way to ensure your date is as private as possible and that you are comfortable as possible -- the latter, because they are taking your power imbalance into account. they will choose the place -- which will be a place they’re familiar with -- and, thus, you will run into a lot of their friends and colleagues. these friends and colleagues may be as famous, wealthy, established, or intellectual as them, which will make you feel insecure.

you’ll feel as if everyone is looking down on you and making fun of you. that to even be asked out of this date was a joke that everyone is in on but you. you’ll look around the room and feel like you just don’t fit in. that you don’t belong. and that it was obvious to everyone but you, from the very moment that you walked in.

this will be mostly projection on your part. your partner will pick up on your anxieties and try to put you at ease, but you’ll be so in your head that you won’t believe them. you might have a panic attack or feel like crying, to the extent that you have to excuse yourself and run to the bathroom to take a moment to breathe or to break down into tears. you may end the date early, which leaves your partner feeling confused because -- as far as they know -- they hadn’t done anything wrong.

GROUP FOUR

cards · ace of cups, nine of wands, six of swords reversed, the chariot, strength, nine of pentacles.

channelled songs · obsessed with you by central cee. sparkling by chung ha. no blueberries by dpr ian. as it was by hozier.

my dear group four ♡ the worst date you will ever have will be with an established partner. you may be in a long distance relationship, and when you finally get to see each other you are absolutely overjoyed. you are thinking about all the things you will do together, all the cuddles and kisses you will share, all the dates that you will go on. you even think that this may be when you finally get engaged -- something you’ve wanted for a long time, and something that you thought they wanted just as much.

up to this point, all your conversations may have been about the future. about how you plan to marry and spend the rest of your lives together.

but on this date, this will all fall apart. surprising you. actually, shocking you. you’ll go out on this date, all dressed up and holding hands and not really feeling like anything is different. they may be on edge, so you’ll think that it’s just because the proposal is coming or because they want to tell you something important. you won’t think too much about it, figuring you can ask when you sit down for dinner.

when you do ask, they’ll heave a deep sigh and tell you that they didn’t know how to bring it up but they think you should break up.

you’ll feel your world shatter around you. you’ll feel confused. you’ll feel like you’re in physical pain. this may lead to an argument in this restaurant and may lead to you running out, tears streaming down your face; unsure about what to do now that this person has so plainly told you that they no longer love and want to be with you.

#**#tarot #pac #pick a card #tarotblr #tarotonline #tarotcommunity #tarotcreator #witchblr #witch of color #witchythings #spirituality #spiritualism #divination #channelled message #channeled message

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miryum · 9 months

Note

Okay okay okay I feel like a genius and I know this is a lot and I’m so so sorry I just think it’s make a really compelling story!

Princess!reader is betrothed to Arthur. Neighbouring kingdoms with palaces very close together (this is important I promise). She’s like six months younger than him and it’s been set up since she was born. So she arrives at the palace, looking absolutely stunning, and she’s terrified. To his credit Arthur is very nice, very sweet. He shows her around, introduces her to people, makes sure she’s comfortable, etc..

But how could she possibly be looking at him when the middle brother is the same young boy she would secretly meet over the summer, the first boy she ever liked, kissed, and danced with around the forest before they both grew up? The boy she always thought she’d marry? The boy who is now sneaking into her chambers to kiss her absolutely breathless.

The same boy she still loves…

@bright-shiningstar I am SO SORRY that this didn't come out sooner, but every single time I looked at this request it literally made me squeal out loud, so I had to make sure it was perfect!! I think I rewrote it at least five times, so I hope you like the finished product! Thank you so much for requesting!

Buddies in the F1 world: @hey-kae @vinvantae

Warnings: Some swearing, probably some grammatical errors

Day 0

“Y/n, do you remember the Leclerc’s?” Your parents had sat you down after dinner.

“Yes, has the agreement gone through?” Your parents had spent most of your life drafting a treaty with the Leclerc’s, offering your hand in marriage as a staple. Prince Lorenzo was married to a young queen of a neighbouring kingdom, joining the two realms. Prince Charles was deemed too old for you. So that left the youngest. Now that you were old enough, the treaty was solidified.

“We got confirmation today,” your mother said, smiling proudly. She was so pleased to see her eldest daughter married off. “Prince Arthur is officially your fiancé!”

Your younger sister leaned into your side, trying to be a rock of comfort. You weren’t completely angry about being forced into marriage (the few times you had visited the Leclerc patriarch and matriarch, they had been kind and enchanting to you. You had no reason to think that their sons would be any different.) but you were petrified. You would be moving away from your family and home. You didn’t know what lay in front of you.

“And you’re leaving tomorrow…” your mother tied the strings of your distress.

“What?” Your sister, Megan, cried out. She latched onto you, pulling you close. “That’s not fair! Why can’t she stay for another week?”

“Because the wedding is in a week,” your father explained. “The Leclerc’s have it all set up. Luckily, they’re kind enough to give you a week to acclimate yourself to their family. Chin up, darling,” he said to you. “This is a joyous occasion.”

“I mean, I would’ve preferred the middle son,” your mother whispered. “More status and closer in line for the throne, but the youngest is acceptable.” Your father rolled his eyes.

“Why don’t you retire for the night?” your father prompted you. “You need to look your best tomorrow.”

“I can’t believe you’re leaving so soon!” Your sister dragged you away from your parents. “I thought I would get more time with you.” She hummed sadly.

“Megan, it’ll be alright. I’ll make sure you’re invited to the wedding.” You felt odd reassuring her, wondering if it should be the other way around.

“Oh, that’s right,” Megan groaned. “You’ll be Princess Y/n Leclerc in a week. That doesn’t sound right at all.”

“Why don’t we have a sleepover, hm?” You needed to distract Megan with something else, otherwise her worries would double your anxiety and stress. “Just like old times.”

“Yes!” Megan squealed and ran ahead of you. Her slippers padded down the hall. “I’ll grab my pillow!”

You grasped at this moment of silence to try and calm your racing heart. Unbeknownst to your parents and sister, the marriage to Prince Arthur wasn’t the biggest of your concerns. Your breathing was uneven and you palmed your eyes, getting rid of any semblance of tears.

Were you ready to see Charles again?

***

You couldn’t breathe. Tears and snot obscured your face and clogged your airways. The rational part of you that would’ve been saying, someone would realise you were missing and come find you, was drowned in your fears of, oh my gosh I’m going to die alone and have to spend my few remaining days eating tree bark!

You weren’t sure how you had run this far, but you were sure it was to be your doom. If only you had stopped by the stables to grab your pony, Newt. If only you hadn’t strayed from the path. If only you had turned around once the sun started to set.

Internally chastising yourself, you sat down at the base of a tree. You knew that yelling would be no use and you should probably conserve your energy. You wished that you had paid more attention to those survival lessons the knights had taught you.

“Um, excuse me?”

Your head shot up at the sound. “Who’s there?” you called out, jumping to your feet.

“My name is Charles,” the young voice explained. You couldn’t see the owner. “Are you alright? I heard someone crying.”

“Where are you?” you demanded to know.

A boy, a couple years older than you, maybe seven or eight, stepped out from behind a tree. “Hi,” he said, smiling. He wanted to show he wasn’t a threat. “Can I help you? You seem lost.”

“Yes, I am!” You couldn’t help a new onslaught of tears. “I was walking and I guess I took a wrong turn? Are your parents somewhere around here? It’s almost dark and I need to get back.”

“My parents are at home.” Charles prompted, “but I can walk you home?”

“I don’t want you to get lost, too.” You shook your head. “Can I come with you back to your village? I’m sure there’s transportation I could find.”

“Oh, no.” Charles shrugged, causally leaving out the part that he was a prince, and if he wanted, could snap his fingers and order a ride home for you. “It’s alright. I know this forest like the back or my hand. Where do you live?”

“Uh…” You wiped your nose on your dress. “I live at the L/n castle.”

“That’s not far away at all!” Charles smiled and you grinned back, already infected by his charms. “Did you know this forest is actually the border of Enza and Haas? I don’t live that far away, either. Do you know about the Leclerc’s?”

“Yeah, my- the King and Queen,” you corrected yourself quickly. “They’re friends with them.” You weren’t sure why your five-year-old self wasn’t telling this new friend that you were royalty. Maybe you didn’t want to scare him away?

“My family’s house is right next to their palace,” Charles said.

“We’re practically neighbours!” You stood up and beamed.

“Can I walk you home, neighbour?” Charles giggled at his joke. You nodded and grasped his hand in the trusting way only children can.

It turned out that the Enza palace and the Haas castle weren’t far away from each other. Once the pair of new friends realised this, they made plans to meet up more often. At the Haas gates, you made sure Charles would be safe and get home quickly. He reassured you that he had explored the forest for hours and would never get lost. He promised to meet you the next day at the clearing where you had met so you knew he wasn’t being mauled to death by a pack of wolves.

Little did you know that a great friendship and a great love was suddenly born.

Day 1

“Y/n. Y/n.” Megan placed a hand on your bouncing leg. “You're practically shaking the whole carriage. I know you’re nervous, and this is an awful thing to say, but maybe try to hide it?”

“Sweetheart, what I believe your sister is saying, is ‘calm down’.” Your father held a piece of parchment and peered over it at you. “This is nothing to worry about.”

“Your father and I had the exact same disposition when we were your age,” your mother smiled softly at you. “I know the uncertainty you’re feeling, but trust me, it will get better.”

No it won’t, mom! You wanted to scream at her, how will it get better if the boy I used to love is living in the same palace as me?!

“I’m sure it will,” you said. A minute or so passed with Megan trying to fill the space with meaningless conversation.

“Wait, wait!” The carriage passed a grove of trees that looked eerily familiar. “Stop! Stop the horses!” Your cries turned frantic and banged on the side of the carriage. Sticking your head out the window, you repeated your demand. The driver yanked on the reins and before it came to a complete stop, you jumped out.

“Y/n! Where are you going?” Megan shuffled to get out after you, tripping on her dress.

“Y/n, get back here!” Your mother cursed, yelling towards Megan, “get her back here, Megan! We’ll be late!”

You wanted to rip off your dress. It was scratching at your body and snagged on branches and twigs as you ran. You needed to make sure it was still there. Then you would go back to your family. But you just had to be sure.

“Y/n!” Megan groaned in frustration as her high-heel got caught on a tree root. She tugged on it and cried out, “You cannot simply leave!”

“Please, just give me a moment!” you called back. The forest easily came back to you. It felt like a force was pulling you towards the clearing.

“Do you wanna play hide and seek?” You sat on the grass, watching a nine-year-old Charles throw a ball up into the air and catch it. And then throw it back up. And catch it.

“Really?” Charles groaned. “That’s such a baby thing to do.”

“Hey!” You kicked him in the ribs. He yelled out and squirmed away. “First off, I am not a baby! And second, you’re not being very entertaining right now. I’m trying to think of things to do.” Other than having to sneak away from the castle, a hard thing about being friends with Charles was the age gap. He was entering a stage in life where he was determined to be cool and stoic and you sometimes wondered if he regretted his friendship with a little girl.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry,” he mumbled, offering a pitiful apology.

“Well, if you’re not going to talk to me, then I’ll just go back home.” You stood and slowly shuffled over to Newt, who was tied up by Charles’ horse, Scuderia.

“Y/n, wait.” Charles suddenly appeared behind you and grabbed your arm. “I’m sorry, really. It’s rude of me to ignore you. We can play hide-and-seek.”

“No, you’re right,” you conceded. “It’s a little too childish. Wanna just talk?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m cool with that.” Charles couldn’t help the smile that overcame him. He didn’t know much about Y/n L/n’s personal life, but he definitely knew that you were one of his best friends.

“Y/n, what the hell are you doing?!” Megan plucked a twig out of her hair.

“I can’t do this,” you whispered, collapsing to the ground. The tree stood in front of you and the clearing still looked picturesque. It was where you had met with Charles all those times all those years ago. You wondered if you initials were still there or if the tree had scabbed over them. You didn’t want to check.

“What do you mean? Y/n, you can’t back out now. Mother will not allow it. Think of the Enzan royal family. This will ruin our relationship with them.” Megan crouched down next to you, sweeping your hair out of your face. You silently wondered how she matured so quickly.

“Megan, it would be better if this was a faceless prince that I had no connection to.”

“Is it not?”

“No, I-” You sighed. “Nevermind. Let’s go. I’m sorry.”

After a tense carriage ride that consisted of your mother berating you for running off and you apologising profusely but not giving any explanation of why, the Enza palace came into view.

“Stand tall, good posture, don’t speak unless spoken to, and let your father and I handle the political aspects,” your mother reminded you. She swept your hair back into place and ran her fingers along the creases of your dress. She huffed at the dirt stains courtesy of the forest floor. “It’ll have to do. Now, come along.” A footman sprung open the carriage door and your father stepped down to victorious trumpets. He helped your mother down and the footman offered his hand to Megan who took it graciously. You refused the footman’s hand, jumping down on your own.

“Y/n, you look dejected,” Megan whispered to you.

“And that’s because I am.” You clutched your dress and Megan huffed, wrestling your hand away. You understood her gestures and held out your arm. Megan took it and led you closer to the Enza royal family.

“Look up,” your mother whispered. “At least look at your husband.” But it wasn’t your husband that drew your eyes. There, on the steps, was Charles Leclerc, or Charlie.

“Do you like anyone, chérie?” Charles felt odd asking this. Wasn’t it always the girls who had to be obsessed with crushes and who-liked-who? Why was he bringing this up?

“Uh… why do you ask?” You were eleven and it was weird to discuss this with a fourteen-year-old boy.

You weren’t sure how your feelings for Charles started. You guessed that because he was the only boy even remotely close to your age that you saw, it was bound to happen.

“I don’t know,” Charles mumbled. “My older brother’s seeing someone and my younger one is now obsessed with girls. I wanted to know if you’re also caught up in this lovey-dovey stuff.”

“Is it bad if I am?” You were afraid that Charles would ridicule and tease you for being swept up in the romance that was apparently ruining the continent. Even your sister gushed about a stable boy that she was infatuated with.

“No, chérie,” Charles said slowly. “I just need to know if there’s another guy I need to compete with.”

You laughed and said, “Don’t worry, Charlie. You’ll always be my number one.”

“Good,” Charles tried to hide his smile. The butterflies in his stomach made it harder. Charlie. You called him Charlie. It was like you were trying to intoxicate him in this new thing called love.

***

When Charles heard your name for the first time in three years, he froze. And to hear it directed at his younger brother, no less.

But when he saw you, time stopped.

You hadn’t changed much over the three years, albeit your hair was a styled different and the way you carried yourself had stiffened. He desperately wanted to run up to you and kiss you until you both saw stars. He wanted to fold you in his arms and never let you go. He had lost you once and he wasn’t going to let that happen again. At least with you marrying his brother he would be able to see you. If he couldn’t touch you, seeing you would be enough. It would be torture, having you just within reach but unable to hold you, but it would be worse to not see you at all.

It had been torture all these years.

He cursed Arthur for being the youngest. If Charles had been born just after his youngest brother, he could’ve had you for himself. He cursed his heart. It wasn’t fair to fall for someone he could never have. He wondered if his parents would try to marry him off too. He wondered if he could marry someone while you were in his home. For certain, he could never love anyone as much as he loved you. Would he stay single his entire life, watching you and his brother grow old together? Would he marry someone in a loveless marriage? Or could something else happen that changed it all….?

And then you looked at him.

Sparks ignited in his body. Then you looked at his brother. His heart was cleaved in two. Right. You weren’t there for him. He had to remember that or he would torture himself into oblivion. He already was torturing himself. Charles didn’t know if it would be better to avoid you or indulge himself in your presence.

His father started talking to your father and Charles noticed Arthur stepping forward to greet you. Your mother pinched your side and Charles’ jaw clenched. From your stories, he didn’t like your mother, but this only solidified his opinion.

Charles felt Lorenzo’s stare on him- the only person who knew about his rendezvous with you. Charles plastered on a smile and stayed stock-still.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he heard Arthur say to you.

“You as well.” Your voice was just as he remembered, if not more formal. You never spoke that way to him. Your words were always filled with laughter- not diplomacy.

“May I give you and your sister a tour of our home?” Arthur proposed.

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Megan detached yourself from your arm so you could walk with Arthur, your sister trailing behind. You brushed past him, holding your gaze forward. It would only pain you more to see him.

“Charles, you need to talk to her,” Lorenzo whispered harshly to him. “It won’t do anyone good to have you sadly avoiding her. Arthur can’t have his wife and his brother looking lovelorn without knowing the cause.”

“Arthur can never know,” Charles growled. “It would make things worse.”

“He doesn’t need to know if you and Princess Y/n work things out before the wedding,” Lorenzo persisted.

Charles took a breath and finally said, “I’ll think about it, alright?”

Day 3

Arthur had spent yesterday showing you around the Leclerc palace and luckily, it was of similar design to the Haas castle. Megan had left with a tearful goodbye, promising to visit a day before the wedding to help you prepare. Your mother left you with a kiss on the cheek and your father had hugged you tightly.

You had spent the third day in your new room, handmaidens helping you unpack and commission new dresses for you. The Steward and Housekeeper had sat you down, giving you an overview of what the wedding would entail and the customs of Enzan marriages and politics. Of course, you already knew most of it as your mother had begun drilling it into you at an early age.

You had collapsed into bed after they had gone, too tired to join the Leclerc’s for dinner or even change out of your dress. Yet you still couldn’t find purchase in sleep. It just wouldn’t come.

It was late at night when a knock resounded on your door. You slowly peeled yourself off the bed- which didn’t feel at all like your own- and said, “Come in.”

“Hi,” Charles softly said.

“Oh. Hi.” You straightened up and bowed your head in a form of a curtsy.

“Don’t- don’t do that.” Charles shook his head. “I was never your superior.”

You stood silently for a while, the awkwardness resounding. It seemed like a chasm was between you two.

“I’ve missed you,” Charles admitted carefully.

“I missed you too,” you said. “It’s been a while, huh?”

“Yeah,” Charles chuckled uncomfortably and you joined him. “And to see you with my brother, no less.” Your laughter stopped immediately and you looked at the ground. “Right,” Charles swallowed harshly. He couldn’t seem to unstick that lump in his throat. “Sorry. I’m sorry. For it all. I should’ve never ended-”

“I forgave you a long time ago, Charlie,” you admitted. A wave of relief passed over his face and it looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. In one sudden movement, you tumbled forward and engulfed the boy in a hug. Charles swept his arms around you, reciprocating immediately. It felt nice to have you in his arms again. It felt like home. He pressed you closer to him, inhaling. Charles placed a soft kiss to your hairline, mumbling about all the times he missed you.

“Charles? Can you promise me something?” you asked.

“Anything.”

“Can you promise to never leave me alone again?” Your voice sounded so small and for the third time today, you unintentionally broke his heart.

“I’m sorry, chérie. I never meant to leave you alone in the first place. But yes, I promise to always stay by your side from now on.”

“Even though I’m betrothed to-”

“Don’t talk about that, please.” Charles shook his head.

“Okay,” you conceded. “But what will we do? Charlie, I still love-”

Charles cut you off with an Earth-shattering kiss. His hands circled around your lower back, gripping you even closer- if that was possible. You circled your hands around his neck, running them over his shoulders and down his torso. Every dip and curve was like you remembered. His kiss was just like you remembered.

“Charles?” The newly eighteen-year-old hummed in response and you glanced over at his figure. He was laying on a soft pitch of grass that was illuminated by a stream of sunlight that broke through the trees. His eyes were closed and a small smile graced his lips, showcasing one of his dimples. He had obviously been working out, and he had nicely grown into his body. He was wearing a loose tunic that highlighted his arms. The curve of his muscles made your heart jump a little quicker. You loved these moments with him alone, and you would be damned if your title of royalty got in the way. “Have you ever thought about growing up?”

“Sure I have,” Charles said. “What about it?”

Your brows settled into a frown. “My parents have started talking to me about marriage.”

“Already?” Charles opened one eye to find you already looking at him. Your hands were clasped over your stomach and fiddled together with anxiety. “You have a few more years.”

“Yes, but they want to lock down a husband before it’s too late,” you explained. “Apparently, I’m already betrothed. I just don’t know to whom.”

“You’re already married?!” Charles sat up on an elbow, looking incredulously at you.

“No,” you scoffed. “It’s synonymous with being engaged.”

“Geez,” Charles exhaled and laid back down. “I didn’t realise I was pining after a practically married woman.”

“Excuse me?!”

Charles smirked. “Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner, chérie. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one in this relationship.”

“Charlie.” The nickname made his facade drop and his heart rate rise. Was it all a big mistake? Did he just throw away this coveted friendship that he had worked so hard to cultivate? “Are you serious?”

“As serious as death,” Charles whispered.

“Death?” You couldn’t help but let a laugh escape. “Couldn’t you choose another word? Death sounds so cruel.”

“What other word would you like me to use to express my love for you?” Charles joined in your laughter, and once again, you relished in the sound.

“I don’t care.” You rolled onto your side and Charles copied your actions, taking your hand in his. His fingers tapped over yours as if planning out the wedding dance. “Just so long as I can say it back.”

It was all you could imagine for a first kiss.

You gasped, pulling back from the boy you loved. “Charlie, I can’t do this. I- I’m about to marry your brother, for goodness sake! I can’t be kissing you and- and-”

“I know, chérie, I know,” Charles stepped back and he instantly missed your touch. “But I love you too. And I can’t bear seeing you so close, but knowing I can’t feel and love you. It hurts. It hurts being away from you.”

“Charlie… we can’t.” It pained you to say it, but it was true. You weren’t about to be the type of person who cheated on their husband with their brother. Even if it was for love, you still had morals.

“You’re not married yet,” Charles tried to smile. “Let me come to your room at night. Just to talk to you. Just to be around you. We’re still best friends, are we not?”

You chuckled sadly. “You always find a way to bend the rules, huh, Charlie?”

“For you, I’d do anything.”

Day 4

“I wish we could have met under better circumstances,” Arthur admitted. “You’re an incredibly nice girl and I have a feeling we would’ve made good friends. I mean, we’ll still make good friends, but what I’m trying to say-”

You let out a light laugh. “I get it, Arthur. I think we’ll make good friends too.”

“How are you adjusting?” your fiancé asked. “Are you comfortable? How’s your room? We can repaint it, or redecorate if you wish?”

“Arthur!” You chuckled at the boy’s concern. “Everything is perfectly fine! Thank you. You’re making this transition much easier.”

“Well, I want to make sure my future wife enjoys herself,” Arthur shrugs. You stilled at his words. “And I wanted to introduce you to some of my friends. Maybe they could become your friends too?”

“Sure,” you agreed. Arthur proceeded to lead you around the palace, presenting you to a series of guards, dukes and duchess, butlers and maids. You met Earl Carlos, Duke Pierre, Baron Daniel, Knight Max, Lady Carla, and attendees such as Lily, Lewis and his daughter, Lando, Sara, and Esteban. They all seemed extremely accommodating and pleased to meet you. Everyone promised to help you through your time in Enza and to be loyal to their new princess. Arthur hovered a hand over your lower back the entire time, and as much as you appreciated the gesture, it didn’t feel the same as Charles’ touch.

“Arthur?” Like you had summoned him, Charles appeared behind you. “Mother and Father are requesting your presence in the throne room. It’s about finalising the formalities for… your wedding.”

“Yes, of course,” Arthur nodded. “Can you keep Princess Y/n company, Charles?”

“Anything, brother.” Charles clapped Arthur on the shoulder. “Did I ever congratulate the two of you?”

Arthur’s brow twitched and you wondered if he could also see the buried sadness in Charles’ eyes. “No, but I’ll gladly take it now.”

“Well, congratulations. You’re lucky Maman and Papa found you a good one.”

“Yes, I am.” Arthur pressed a sweet, chaste kiss to your cheek before rushing off to his parents. Agonous jealousy was splayed on Charles face the moment Arthur turned away.

“I don’t know how many times I can say this in four days, but I’ve missed you,” Charles said, a sweet, awkward smile on his face as he shoved his hands in his pockets, stepping towards you. “Whenever I’m away from you I miss you.”

“And I don’t know how I’m going to stay away from you if you keep proclaiming your love for me.” You reached out and touched his forearm.

“Then don’t stay away.” Charles wrapped you in a hug and you felt yourself giving in. “I can talk to my parents and I’m sure if we just explain the situation, they’ll understand. We could get married and be together. Arthur could marry a princess from Wolff or whoever he wanted! Y/n, we could-”

“Charlie, my love, what of my parents?” you asked. “They signed an agreement about me and Arthur. Not me and you. As much as I love the situation you’re describing, as much as I love the possibility of being with you, it’s impossible. Unless you can convince my parents otherwise, which is impossible, it’s not going to happen.”

Charles hummed, slowly separating himself from you in fear of someone seeing your embrace. “Then the least I can do is try.”

You tied up Newt, silently counting down the minutes until Charles arrived. The seconds ticked by and you sat down at the base of the tree that had your initials carved into it next to Charles’. You traced Charles’ initials with your finger, still in the euphoria of love. It was only a couple weeks ago that you and Charles had confessed your love for each other and he couldn’t seem to stop saying it whenever he had the chance. It became greeting, conversation starter, and goodbye.

But for some reason, Charles seemed to be late today. As time ticked by, a light mist coated the air. Normally, he was early, even getting to the clearing before you, but you tried not to worry. He probably had some duties to attend to, like you had had a couple weeks ago. You had apologised profusely to Charles, but he had forgiven you with the price of a kiss.

Newt started to get restless after twenty minutes and the mist turned into drizzle. You, now eighteen, fished out an apple to calm him down. It was another fifteen minutes before Scuderia showed up, Charles practically standing in the saddle, rain dripping down his body. “Charles!” You stood up, waving him towards you. Instead of the brilliant grin that usually graced his face whenever he saw you, a frown was burrowed into his brow. “What’s wrong?”

“Chérie,” Charles didn’t even bother to tie Scuderia up before bundling you in his arms and peppering kisses to your forehead, temples, cheeks, and nose. He twirled you around so his arms were crossed in front of you, cradling you, and started kissing your neck, collarbone, and earlobes.

“Charlie,” you laughed lightly. “What are you doing?”

“My chérie, mon amour, I’m sorry. I didn’t want it to end like this.”

“Charles,” you spun around in his arms, taking his face in your hands. You gently caressed his cheek in an attempt to calm him down. “You’re scaring me. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

“I love you, you know that, right?” Charles assured you. You nodded along. “Then you have to believe me when I say it pains me that I can’t meet you here anymore.”

“What?” Your heart dropped and your stomach twisted. “Why?”

“My mom and dad are getting suspicious, chérie. I think they know I’m meeting a girl out in the forest,” Charles tried to explain it to you but you just became more confused with every word. “I’ve already turned down one marriage proposal and they’ll get frustrated if I turn down another.”

“You’ve done what?” You stepped back from him and Charles’ hands reached out, trying to keep you close to him. You backed up, away from him, until you could feel Newt at your back. “You never told me about that.”

“I didn’t think it was important,” Charles argued. “But what I’m trying to say is that I think it’s best if we take a pause on the meetings for now. My parents are already breathing down my neck and it doesn’t help that you’re betrothed. Lorenzo found out about you and I’m worried what will happen if someone else does too.”

“Charlie, you turned down a marriage proposal?” You couldn’t wrap your mind around it. “You could’ve had a wife by now? And who cares if Lorenzo knows about me?! I almost- it feels like you’re embarrassed about me?” It came out like a question. You tangled a hand in Newt’s mane, hoping for some sort of stability. “You never cared about my betrothal before this. Why now?” Charles swallowed and you could see a war debating in his mind. “Answer me, Charles,” you demanded. “What happened that made you bring this up?”

Charles took a deep breath and said, “you’re the princess of Haas, aren’t you? It all makes sense. Your betrothal, your outfits, your manner of speaking. I thought you were just a duchess or countess, but no. You’re the princess.”

You weren’t sure how to answer. How did you find out? seemed too accusatory. I thought you knew? was too deflective. What does it matter? was too aggressive. You settled on saying, “yes. And you’re Prince Charles Leclerc. I’ve kind of always known.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Charles whispered.

“I’m not sure,” you admitted. “It never really came up. Some part of me thought you knew- thought you had connected the dots and just accepted it. I didn’t intentionally hide it from you. I’m sorry.”

“Y/n,” Charles started. “I can’t hang out with you anymore.” The beginning of tears pricked at the back of your eyes and your face grew hot. You opened your mouth to say something, but Charles beat you to it. “It’s not proper for us to visit each other outside of the court. If people found out they could…” He trailed off and shook his head. “I’m sorry, my chérie.”

You couldn’t meet his eye, instead focusing on a patch of wilted flowers. “Okay,” is all you could say. “Goodbye, Charles.” Newt’s mane was slick with rain as you climbed on. Your horse seemed to sense your urgency and quickly wove through the trees, leaving Charles behind. You wiped at your eyes, letting Newt take full control. You regretted it when a branch snagged on your arm and you cried out, a line of blood starting to appear. When you returned to the Haas castle, Megan didn’t question it when you collapsed on your bed, instead opting to help you change out of your rain-soaked dress before curling up with you under the covers.

Little did you know, Charles was still sitting in that clearing, silently crying. Scuderia bumped his nose against Charles, but the prince just pushed him away.

Day 6

“So, what’re you going to do about it?” Megan asked.

“Absolutely nothing,” you admitted. “There’s nothing I can do. The treaty has been signed, the preparations are underway, and Arthur…” You sighed before continuing, “he’s really nice. I could envision a future with him.”

“But what about Prince Charles?” Megan sat on your bed, the night before the wedding. You had given in and told her everything. “Can you envision a future with him?”

“I want a future with him.”

A deeper voice whispered, “I want a future with you too.” Charles stood at your door, and peeking out behind him was Arthur.

“Shit,” Megan muttered.

“What are you doing here?” You stood up, eyes flickering to Charles before sheepishly locking eyes with Arthur. “Prince Arthur… I’m sorry! I didn’t mean-”

“No, no,” the boy reassured you, his small, anxious smile seeming almost… hopeful. “You’re a wonderful girl and an even better friend, but you’re not who I would’ve chosen to marry. No offence,” he quickly added. “We just don’t click. We don’t have that same spark that you and Charles do. And, well, I kind of have my sights set on someone else. Charles explained it all to me.”

You laughed. “Guess we really are the perfect pair, huh? Both pining after other people.”

“And you after my brother?” Arthur joked, gasping dramatically. “How unfaithfully devious of you.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“What does this mean, then?” Megan asked for you. “We can’t just swap Charles out for Arthur at the wedding.”

Arthur grinned and said, “Why not?” He slung an arm around Charles, clapping him on the chest. “Guess you’re getting married, big brother.”

Charles laughed loudly before turning to look at you. “Y/n L/n, will you marry me tomorrow?”

Your lips separated in half shock and half elation. “I- I… yes! Though I admit, I expected something a bit more extravagant.”

“Chérie, I’m just upholding my promise.” Charles opened his arms cheekily and even though you were confused by his words, you fell into them, happy to be able to hold him in the presence of others.

“Hmm?”

“You don’t remember?” He lifted an eyebrow, throwing you his signature smirk.

You tossed a ball to Charles who threw it back. “Anything new in your life?” he asked.

“Nope. You?”

“Nope.”

After a minute of silence Charles said, “Let’s make a deal.”

“Alright, what is it?”

“If, in ten years, we still have the same, boring lives,” You scoffed at his words. “then we get married and make our lives un-boring, together.”

After a moment’s deliberation, it didn’t seem like a bad deal to an eight-year-old. “Okay,” you readily agreed. “But I doubt my life will be boring in ten years.”

“Sure…” Charles snickered at you. “I’ll let you believe that.”

“How can you not remember my completely legitimate marriage proposal?” Charles scoffed quietly, leaning down to bump his forehead against yours.

“Well, pardon me for not remembering something you said thirteen years ago,” you tapped him on the chest.

“How could you not remember a proposal?” Charles asked.

“I would like to know the answer to that as well,” Megan spoke up.

“Well, does it matter as long as I say ‘yes’?”

“No, I guess not,” Charles beamed as he bent down to kiss you.

Day 7

Charles kissed you again, but this time it was in front of an altar, before a crowd, and with you wearing white.

Surprisingly, it hadn’t took much convincing for your parents to understand the situation. Apparently, Charles had stayed true to his word and contacted your parents, explaining everything. Your father was just relieved you were still marrying someone and your mother had always preferred Charles anyway. King and Queen Leclerc, after hearing of the years of meetings you and Charles had shared, were more than thrilled. They were eager for you to join their family and a marriage of love always went better than a marriage of politics.

The wedding was already planned, the chefs already prepping, and the priest already booked. All they needed was to switch out Arthur’s name for Charles’.

“May I present Prince and Princess Leclerc of Enza!” The priest announced to thunderous applause.

“Hello, chérie,” Charles whispered and his nose bumped against yours. “Or should I say, Princess Leclerc?”

“I like that name best,” you grinned.

“I do too,” Charles admitted.

#charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc one shot #charles leclerc imagine #monarchy au #monarchy #royalty #arthur leclerc x reader #arthur leclerc #lorenzo leclerce #pascale leclerc #herve leclerc #f1 #formula 1

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 4 months

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Just read your link to sassy's Tumblr post from aristo anon and realized it may have confirmed an old forgotten rumour about Archie's name.

In this post, aristo anon tells us that Meghan and Harry had sort of picked the name Louis for their unborn child (that was rumoured to have been concieved before marriage and was the reason for the rushed marriage.) And they even asked the queen and prince Phillips permission to use this name. Then meghan supposed miscarried (??) and couldn't use that name. But when Catherine had her baby, she named him Louis. Which Meghan and Harry may considered "stealing".

And hence, they later "stole" the name Archie for their own son. Archie was supposedly prince George's security name. This had come in a social media post shared by a person who met a toddler George in a park on a walk with his nanny. When asked, the young price told the lady his name was Archie.

So I'm guessing that's the reason Meghan night have stolen George's nickname to spite Catherine and William. And also may be the reason she insisteds on calling him "Lewis" instead of " loo-vey" as is intended. We have seen, over time, that Meghan is absolutely capable of being petty like that.

Personally I think William and Catherine wanted 'Louis' for George's name but they needed something more kingly for the heir, so they made it a middle name, probably to still use it. Their second child was a daughter, so no issues, and then a third child/second son came, they still liked the name 'Louis,' so why not.

I'm a little skeptical that they asked permission from The Queen and Philip to use 'Louis.' As I understand it, permission isn't needed for the baby names. The Queen might have an opinion (as she did when Sarah and Andrew wanted to name one of the girls Victoria - or so the rumor goes) but I don't think the permission thing is true, especially since Meghan never otherwise asked for permission on anything else. Frankly it sounds like something Meghan would make up to further paint Catherine as evil. But devil's advocate: maybe they really did ask for permission with the name, it didn't go the way Meghan wanted, so she stopped asking for permission and just did.

And I will say, in Meghan's defense, I can understand why she might at first call Louis 'Lewis' instead of 'Loo-ee' -- Americans pronounce Louis as 'Lewis.' But once she heard the correct pronunciation from his parents, she should've been saying 'Loo-ee,' and that she didn't is 100% the petty thing she would do.

Which I find totally interesting because there are two kinds of Megans in the world. There are Megans who don't care how you spell/pronounce our name and there are Megans who do care how it's spelled/pronounced and will rip you a new butthole when you get it wrong. Meghan Markle is absolutely the latter kind of Megan.

#ask #brf

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rewrite-this-story · 5 months

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I know no one watches this show, and that's really unfortunate, but I have so many thoughts about Smash that I want to share, so you all get to either hear them or ignore this post entirely. I don't really care which.

First of all, Megan Hilty is an absolute queen!! I wish her name was more well known on Broadway because wow. Her voice is so powerful and I cry every time I hear her sing don't forget me. And I actually love ivy as a character with all my heart. She's beautiful and strong and so interesting. Yeah, she's flaws and human, but she tries so hard. I was so happy when she started getting the recognition she deserved in season 2. She makes mistakes, but then she gets back up every time. I also think she had incredible potential for directing and would have like to see that explored. She just deserved better in general.

I also don't like Karen at all. Not only is she kinda boring as a character, but she's not nearly as talented as everyone seems to think. Yeah, she's pretty and has a gorgeous voice, but she's really just a so-so actress and dancer. Her songs rarely make me feel anything like Ivy's do. At the end of season 1, I only cried during her version of don't forget me because I felt Ivy's frustration so deeply. Also, Karen is kinda rude and arrogant. Like, she has no clue how theater works but acts like everyone else is constantly out to get her just because they're asking her to do something differently. She can't remember her blocking and then complains that people don't like her. And she's so sensitive. No one can tease her or even comment anything that isn't 100% positive about her without her getting upset. Furthermore, Ivy's an interesting character who makes us really care about her because of how hard she tries and fails only to get back up again. Then, they throw in her past and emotional trauma and struggles with addiction. It's really hard not to care about and root for her. Why should I care about Karen? I liked hit list only because of Jimmy, Kyle, and even Anna. Karen didn't matter at all to me because she didn't really have to struggle or fight for anything. She was kinda just along for the ride.

Third thing, Derek sucks and is super problematic, but it was nice to see him stay to grow and improve. I would've liked to see where season 3 might've taken him. I do really like his relationship with Ivy because she calls him out on stuff, and he actually listens to her. It was dumb that he never saw how truly incredible an actress she was. They would have made a great team after she really became more sure of herself and he realized how awful he was. His obsession with Karen was really weird, but I like to imagine he probably got over it by the end of season 2.

Tom and Julia were interesting, but I was actually happy to see them split at the end of everything. She always kind of took advantage of him and it bothered me. He also deserved a real relationship story, but I'm not surprised he didn't get one since he was a gay character in 2012. His relationship with Kyle was kinda creepy and Kyle should've dated either Sam or that dancer we saw him flirting with earlier in the season. Either one of those would've been less uncomfortable. Him and Sam were also never really a good match. Plus, he did Sam kinda dirty in season 2. But yeah, he should've gotten a good relationship.

I do think Sam should've gotten the lead in hit list. He deserved it, Jimmy didn't. Jimmy did a good job, obviously, but he wasn't reliable and was really uncooperative. He could've just given feedback as a writer instead of being the lead actor. I get why they did it the way they did for the TV show, but realistically, it just didn't make sense.

Kyle's death was awful. I wish we saw more of him. I think his relationship and history with Jimmy was interesting, I think it should've been explorers more instead of Jimmy and Karen, who's relationship was kinda predictable and overused. It would've been nice to see him and Jimmy sing together sometime. I wish he sang a few more songs in general because he has a really cool sound.

Jimmy and Derek also could've had a really interesting relationship if it hadn't centered around Karen as much as it did. I think they could've really helped each other. Jimmy didn't take any bullshit and Derek didn't put up with any bullshit, so they could've kept each other in line. Derek also saw something in Jimmy that few people did and I think it would've been neat to see him become a bit of a mentor.

Finally, Derek and Tom had so much potential that was never explored. Their history and their future are so unclear, but I have so many questions.

So yeah, I really did enjoy the show. It's not the most incredible show ever made, but it was fun and interesting. It's a shame it only got two seasons. I kinda blame the marketing team since so few people know it ever existed.

#smash #nbc smash #jimmy collins #ivy lynn #karen cartwright #kyle bishop #tom levitt #jeremy jordan #megan hilty #andy mientus #christian borle #im sick of writing names #so that's it for the tags #i also doubt anyone's gonna see this anyways #i just finished my rewatch of smash and wanted to share my many many thoughts

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batmanisagatewaydrug · 2 months

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reading roundup: February 2024

I literally completely forgot I needed to do this oopsie poopsie

WHAT DID I READ IN FEBRUARY!!! LET'S TALK ABOUT IT!!!!

Rouge (Mona Awad, 2023) - listen. there are some very cool ideas in this book, and it's definitely big creepy in places. some of the childhood flashbacks, in particular, had me shrieking with pure dread. but ultimately my issue with this book is the same as my issue with Awad's most well-known novel, Bunny: I would just... kind of like to understand what's going on? like even a little bit? at literally any time? you don't need to explain everything, but man, give me something. vibes alone do not make a meal, and I left this book not really feeling fed.

Our Share of Night (Mariana Enríquez, trans. Megan McDowell 2023) - god, this book makes you WORK FOR IT, but I'm glad I stuck it out. Enríquez has written a fucking doorstopper of intergenerational drama, about an Argentinian family deeply embroiled in a cult that worships something otherworldly and... hungry. perpetually sickly Juan is the Order's prized prophet, but after his wife's death is orchestrated by her own mother he becomes determined to get their young son, Gaspar, away from the Order's control by any means necessary. a wrenching read that swings through every kind of horror, swinging from the supernatural to Argentina's military dictatorship in the 70s to the AIDS epidemic in the 80s and 90s to an absolutely brutal ending.

Red String Theory (Lauren Kung Jessen, 2024) - some of you may recall that Lauren Kung Jessen wrote Lunar Love, one of my favorite romance novels of last year thanks to a zodiac-obsessed protagonist who's (unintentionally) giving major Rebecca Bunch pre-diagnosis in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend vibes. Red String Theory also has a female lead obsessed with mythological matchmaking, so I was really hoping for another unhinged queen, but please don't make my mistake: everyone in this book is devastatingly hinged, and the only real conflict is two characters who like each other from the jump repeatedly coming up with unsatisfying excuses for why they can't date each other. my least favorite was "we'll only in the same city for A YEAR," which is absolutely hogshit wild. "only a year." get out of here. I hate you guys.

Drinking from Graveyard Wells (Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, 2023) - a tiny short story debut by Ndlovu, a Zimbabwean sarungano. one of my very favorite genre of short story collections is "women having a bad time taken up to 11," and god does this deliver. Ndlovu writes about the many indignities heaped upon Zimbabwean women at home and abroad, weaving together tight stories about misogyny, war, poverty, and immigration with restless spirits, bored gods, ignored wise women, and unsatisfactory afterlives. there's a story about a near future in which diamond miners are purposefully set up and sacrificed to an angry underground god to create more diamonds that was so fucking clever, and the final story - the titular Drinking from Graveyard Wells - was just... an absolutely perfect short story. suspenseful and eerie and just enough of a hint of explanation to really chill you. chef's kiss.

It Happened One Summer (Tessa Bailey, 2021) - shout out to all of my patreon supporters who voted to make me read another Tessa Bailey book; you truly wish darkness and despair upon me. here's the insane thing about this book: if you just completely ignore the actual central romance, it's just a sweet book about an infinitely likeable young woman unplugging from her shallow socialite life and finding a new niche reviving her deceased father's bar in a tiny fishing town in Washington. it's like, you know, the plot of a pretty okay disney channel original movie? it's no Minute Men or High School Musical, but it's cute. it's a solid Dairy Girls or Princess Protection Program. but then there's the love interest, who's just a fucking tool all the way down. reader, I kept wishing he would get swept over the rigging of his own crab boat and die ingloriously at sea. this guy sucks so bad. also the sex scenes were identical to the ones in Unfortunately Yours and they did not taste any better reheated. fascinating treatise on cishetero gender norms, rancid romance. I wrote a whole thing about it on my patreon if you're into that kind of nastiness.

#bookblr #reading updates

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fahye · 1 year

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hello! i followed you ages ago bc of your capri fic and have since been introduced to a number of great books and things bc of you. recently i've been in a reading slump until i tried reading capri again. i was wondering if you have any book recs for books that give you the same sort of feelings as capri did? thanks!

hello anon! this has been sitting in my inbox for a while because it's an interestingly subjective request: the kind of feelings that captive prince gave me are not necessarily those that they will give anyone else!

but here, nonetheless, is a brief list of books which made me feel like capri did: immersed, swept away, and both envious and delighted.

you made a fool of death with your beauty by akwaeke emezi

the bone orchard by sara a. mueller

gaudy night by dorothy l. sayers

summer sons by lee mandelo

the queen of attolia / the king of attolia by megan whalen turner

solomon's crown by natasha siegel

the magpie lord by k.j. charles

the absolute book by elizabeth knox

the kingdoms by natasha pulley

pansies by alexis hall

#ask replies #book recs

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transvaltrans · 4 months

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Looking back on the books I read this year, and was reminded of just how much Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief- absolutely frustrated and disappointed me. Spoilers ahead.

To some degree, this was going to happen; the whole series has been heavily hyped up to me, it's hard for any book to live up to such lavish yet vague praise. But, you know, I actually got through most of the book without being distracted by my own expectations. It was tense, and spare- it felt like every word mattered and hinted at an underlying truth. I love when books withhold from the reader, and nudge at you to consider what might be left unsaid. And I was so, so satisfied when my predictions paid off (totally called Gen palming the stone rather than losing it).

The worldbuilding was interesting and unique, I enjoyed that the author wasn't committed to a super specific and our-world-accurate timeframe for technology, and I found the characters compelling and variable. I always enjoy travel stories, nevermind stories about thieves.

Which is exactly why I was so annoyed by the ending.

Again: I love twists. I love being able to predict them, and I love being surprised. I did not feel like any of the twists in The Thief were unearned; it's a well-composed book, with plenty of foreshadowing.

However, one of the twists, despite being foreshadowed, absolutely blindsided me- because I would not have considered it as a possibility, due to undermining exactly what had me so excited to read The Thief in the first place. Fantasy literature sometimes shies away from politics, into pure escapism and fluff. Even some of my favorite fantasy books are pretty hollow when it comes to their fundamental beliefs, and shy away from challenging the status quo- unless it's to restore old glory (cough The Old Kingdom series).

But I can almost always count on stories about rogues, and thieves, and con artists, to at least bring up the issue of class. These characters so often come from disenfranchised backgrounds, from the poor and displaced. They're street rats and gutter scum, who have clawed their way up from the bottom, and never forget where they came from- can never forget, from the way others treat them. Theft is subversive; there's a reason we won't let go of Robin Hood, but even more self-motivated thieves often have something to say about the unfairness of wealth distribution. Stories about thieves almost always have something to say about the relationship between the wealthy and the poor.

So, yeah, I was really fucking annoyed at the reveal that Eugenides was actually the Queen's cousin. That pretending to be from a lower class background was so insufferable to him; that of course he's only so educated and knowledgeable because he's a noblemen, that it was so hard for him to pretend to be stupid and crass like a peasant. That the reason he was so pissed about being disrespected by his captors wasn't because they beat him and imprisoned him and insulted him constantly, that they treated him as less than human because he was poor and a criminal, a tool for their own use and disposal- but because he was one of them, and it injured his pride- his noble pride, not his human pride- to be treated like that. Like he wasn't one of them, and deserving of their respect.

Fuck, I hate it so much. It immediately took away my favorite parts of the book- the tension between Gen and the magus's companions, the weight of the magus having been a commoner once, the way Gen constantly stuck by himself and refused to just accept his shitty treatment- the way every monarch treated him as a means to an end. I thought there would be more tension in Gen having conflicted feelings of resentment and camraderie with the magus- I thought it would pay off with either some of them acting in his interest for once, and/or some of them rejecting their freindship and leaning back into that class difference between them.

I'm not opposed to Gen having been working for the mountain kingdom the whole time! But there are so many other ways to do that- I was suspecting that someone was holding his family hostage in some way. It's easy to imagine a story where Gen is a lower-class thief, who was also being used by his own country's royalty.

But, making Eugenides a nobleman is a subversion of the classic trope- which means it's clever and interesting. Uugh. It just exhausted me, and- disappointed me. I loved so much of this book, and it had been a while since I'd read a good low-fantasy story about thieves. It was suspenseful, with rich descriptions, and interesting character dynamics. I thought I was getting something like Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge, or The Goblin Wood by Hillary Bell- not necessarily stories about thieves, but stories about the underestimated and undervalued, peasant con artists and hedgewitches. But with more of the tension and bite of your average dnd rogue getting up to stupid shit (my go-to class since I was a kid).

I totally understand why people love this book. There is a lot I really admire within it. But man, I don't think I can get over how much that final twist- not just rejected my original interpretation of the story. That's fine, plenty of good science fiction or horror does that. But that it specifically rejects the character and story type of the lower class thief. The very name of the series, The Queen's Thief, had me expecting a story about that seeming contradiction; about the power imbalance, and a constant game of cunning, of maintaining autonomy despite being bound to a royal power. And I expect there will be some of that, in the later books; it just loses a lot of its appeal, when it turns out Gen himself is a nobleman, who was doing a favor for his cousin, the queen.

I liked that the book ended with more insight into the mountainous kingdom, and Gen's feeling of belonging and pride to a cultural group everyone else had been deriding- but that didn't have to be accomplished by him being related to the nobility of that country. None of this had to be accomplished through Gen being a nobleman; it just felt like a 'gotcha' subversion, taking away, rather than adding more.

#I emerge from the mists a hater sdfghjdf #god I wanted to love this book. and I did- up until the very end.#also gotta be clear: I was not expecting The Most Class Conscious Themes- just the basic ones all thief stories dip their toes into #anyways I read this several months ago ergo me not naming the various kingdoms. because I'm lazy and just needed to get this out of me #going to main tag it because- I'm curious if anyone else felt the same way! I've seen so much love for this series on tumblr #and again: totally get why! It's well written! it's fun and compelling and tense!#but boy it was a let down for me personally #the thief #the queen's thief

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the-forest-library · 10 months

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June 2023 Reads

Return of the Thief - Megan Whalen Turner

Moira’s Pen - Megan Whalen Turner

Once More With Feeling - Elissa Susan

Cassandra in Reverse - Holly Smale

Ciao for Now - Kate Bromley

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley - Courtney Walsh

Same Time Next Summer - Annabel Monaghan

Meet You in the Middle - Devon Daniels

Not Here to Stay Friends - Kaitlyn Hill

What Happens After Midnight - K.L. Walther

The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer

Some Shall Break - Ellie Marney

Bryony and Roses - T. Kingfisher

As Old As Time - Liz Braswell

Such Sharp Teeth - Rachel Harrison

Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win - Susan Azim Boyer

Yellowface - R.F. Kuang

Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective - Katie Siegel

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret - Judy Blume

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Deya Muniz

She-Hulk, Vol 2: Jen of Hearts - Rainbow Rowell

Happily Ever After - Debbie Tung

Book Love - Debbie Tung

The Worrier’s Guide to Life - Gemma Correll

Cryptid Club - Sarah Andersen

Escargot - Dashiki Slater

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - Judi Barrett & Ron Barrett

Hooked - Sutton Foster

Better Living Through Birding - Christian Cooper

Have More Fun - Mandy Arioto

Notes from a Public Typewriter - Michael Gustafson

These Precious Days - Ann Patchett

It Was An Ugly Couch Anyway - Elizabeth Passarella

Dear Girls - Ali Wong

Where to Start - Mental Health America

The Vegan Week - Gena Hamshaw

Bold = Highly Recommend Italics = Worth It Crossed out = Nope

Thoughts:

I am now in a world with no more Queen’s Thief books to look forward to, but what a marvelous ride it was. This is now one of my favorite series, and I eagerly look forward to whatever Megan Whalen Turner does next.

Also, I didn’t mean to read two beauty and the beast retellings back-to-back, but it was fun to compare them. The highlight was T. Kingfisher’s Bryony and Roses, which was absolutely lovely.

Goodreads Goal: 210/400

2022 Reads | 2023 Reads

#2023 reads #book reviews #book recommendations #books #booklr #bookish #reading #bibliophile

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tmnt-tychou · 2 years

Text

Was thinking about head canons and wrote down a list of random thoughts.

Bayverse Random Quirky Head Canons:

Mikey

-Likes to watch cooking shows. Every now and then he gets it in his head he's going to be the world's first turtle chef and starts whipping up things in the kitchen. Most of it is edible.

-Picks up different languages really easily. Fluent in Spanish and can have basic conversations in several other languages.

-Has a weird obsession with the original Space Jam soundtrack. Can sing all the lyrics to “Hit 'em High.” (Okay, all four of them can.)

-Likes a lot of 90′s music in general.

-Knows a lot of drag queens after he foiled a shooting at a drag bar. He is always welcome whenever he comes by. The girls call him “Mitch” or sometimes “Michelle.” You can tell when he's been spending time there as he'll mimic their mannerisms or call his brothers “gurl.”

-He has been IN a pride parade. Leo was pissed when he found out. Mikey made him go to Pride the next year. Leo was propositioned several times. (But he had a blast.)

-April makes Mikey wear an elastic band on his wrist that the brothers can snap when he's running his mouth. (Mostly saying lewd things to/about women.) It was intended to break him of this bad habit so if he ever did meet a girl who likes what he's selling, he doesn't chase her off with his mouth. (It's tough love from April's view point.) This seems to have backfired as Mikey will run his mouth and then ninja away while his brothers chase him. It's now his favorite game as he tries to say the most inappropriate and offensive things at the worst times.

-No, he won't take the band off himself until April says he can.

Raph

-Feels the most unseen of his brothers. Leo is the favorite son, Donnie is the genius middle child and Mikey is the rambunctious baby. The only times Raphael could get any attention from his father is when he started fights. But around age 10 he accidentally broke Mikey's arm in a fight and felt so bad about it, that he began teaching himself to hold back and stopped getting into full out brawls with his brothers. Arguments and a few arm punches yes, but no using his full strength on his brothers in a fit of rage. As such, his one avenue for attention was closed and Raphael has become used to doing his own thing and gets the attention he craves from his brothers and not his father.

-Raph and Casey bond over their anger management journeys.

-He and April are super tight.

-Is the most self aware of the four and the most likely to self-correct if he’s made a mistake.

-Mikey is the brother he is closest to, but Raph absolutely loves spending time with Donatello. When his brother has time for him. If he's having a particularly frustrating day, he will go and sit in the lab to chill out. Because Donnie is zen when he's deep in a project and Raph eats up those calm vibes. The two can and often bond by sitting in a room together not talking, but just being near one another.

-Really values time spent with Leo when they're just chilling and there aren't any arguments.

Donnie

-One of the chillest people (turtles) you will ever meet. Rarely has a temper, though has a short attention span for his brothers (Mikey's) nonsense.

-Very few things phase him. Jump out of an airplane with no parachute? No problem.

-Kills spiders for Raph.

-Introvert. Can go weeks without interacting with another person.

-Cranks the raunchiest rap music you have ever heard while he's working on his projects. (If you peek in, you might catch him dancing to it, too.)

-Raph and Mikey sometimes call him the “Savage” and quote Megan Thee Stallion's song of the same name at him. “Donnie's that bitch. Been that bitch, still that bitch.”

-There's a reason for that nickname. It takes a lot to get under Donnie's skin, but if you cross him looking to start something, he IS going to finish it. Like Batman taking out the whole Justice League, Donnie knows everyone's weakness and he will use it all against them.

-You will never know when it's coming. This bitch can hold a grudge forever, waiting until the right time to drop the bomb on you.

-Cryptid enthusiast. Considers his family to be New York Crypids and entertains the theory that other cryptids could be mutants of some kind.

-Likes to watch true crime shows with Leo.

Leo

-Turns into an old man whenever he has to interact with technology.

-Never texts unless he has to. “Forgets” his phone a lot so he doesn't have to deal with it.

- A little OCD.

-Can get over stimulated when there's too much noise and will need quiet time to decompress. This was difficult growing up as all three of his brothers enjoy constant music and chatter. It's one of the main reasons he gets cranky if his brothers have been smothering him all day. (They all want his attention and sometimes they're exhausting and he has to go find a place to hide.)

-If he's feeling social, he likes to de-stress with Mikey. Mikey is nearly insufferable when they're all together, but when they have one on one time, Mikey's more chill and will talk in lower tones when he isn't trying to talk above the other brothers.

-Leo will plop down next to him and just say “I need a laugh.” Mikey will spin all sorts ofjokes and dumb stories about Raph to make Leo snort. Then he'll share any new music he's found. (Played on low for Leo's sake, and also so the others don't find them because Mikey treasures one on one time with Leo.)

-Many songs on Leo's playlist have come from Mikey. (The one thing he does use his phone for.) He will sometimes listen to them while he trains.

-Donnie and Mikey quote Mean Girls at Leo all the time. “Stop trying to make fetch happen, Leo.” Leonardo had no idea what they were talking about for the longest time. Which confused them because he was in the room when they were watching the movie. He finally realized when they were quoting and watched it again.

-He once said “Boo, you whores” to his brothers and they all LOST THEIR SHIT.

#tmnt #ninja turtles #tmnt bayverse #tmnt 2016 #headcanon #head canon

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nakanotamu · 3 months

Text

ShuPro Awards 2023!

Normally I would post this on Twitter but I don't use twitter any more so now you guys get to deal with me instead! ShuPro dropped their awards for 2023 today so here they are in english. Right off the top, note that these are fan voted awards, so yes they're absolutely biased towards larger companies & popularity. To be clear I am not publishing this to be an unbiased news source I am posting this to be a bitch and tell you everything they got wrong bc I am right all of the time and have incredible taste. The numbers are how many votes they got. Anyway here we go.

Pro Wrestling Grand Prize

Hiromu Takahashi - 1748

Tetsuya Naito - 1516

Kenoh - 1269

Sanada - 915

Tam Nakano - 838

Will Ospreay - 301

Jake Lee - 266

Unagi Sayaka - 233

Yuma Aoyagi - 219

Natsupoi - 182

[Three women all being in the top 10 for the overall GP feels really big to me, especially Tam in the top 5. Also Kenoh in 3rd is very cool. I don't remember for sure but I think women have made top 10 before, but I don't think this many. Also all of them being Cosmic Angels? Oh my heart 🥲]

Best Match

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Great Muta - Noah 1.1 - 1258 [😒]

Tam Nakano vs Giulia - Stardom 4.23 - 1046 [should have won]

Tetsuya Naito vs Keiji Muto - Noah 2.21 - 725

Tetsuya Naito vs Will Ospreay - New Japan 8.12 - 566

Hiromu Takahashi vs Hayato "Jr." Fujita - Michinoku Pro 10.15 - 437

Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada - New Japan 8.13 - 411

Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay - New Japan 1.4 - 355

Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Kento Miyahara - Noah 7.15 - 336

Kentoh Miyahara vs Kenoh - Noah 1.1 - 235

Will Ospreay vs Shota Umino - New Japan 11.4 - 204

[Best Match is always kind of a side eye category that is sometimes kind of just the "which match was the G1 Finals" award and once again it proves Japanese fans are also capable of having bad taste but at least Tam & Giulia got 2nd place.]

Joshi Wrestling Grand Prize

Tam Nakano - 2092 [Holy shit that's a lot of votes. They're right but wow]

Giulia - 1192 [Like seriously stunned Tam swept it by that much. Just wow.]

Suzu Suzuki - 823

Unagi Sayaka - 737

Saori Anou - 563

Mizuki - 548

Iyo Sky - 502

Maika - 323

Rina Yamashita - 279

Sareee - 210

[Tam getting it by such a huge margin is crazy but I'm so happy. Also Tam, Una, & Saori all getting in the top 5 is incredible, Cosmic Angels are unstoppable. I'm really surprised Poi didn't get on the list though, especially after getting 10th in the overall category. Anyway clearly this is the most important category and god willing one day soon this and the overall category will both be all women.]

Best Unit

Cosmic Angels - 1973 [So true bestie. This is the 3rd year in a row Cosmic Angels have won this award which is insane, especially given the 2023 they actually had. They are fucking unstoppable. Girlfriend power is unbeatable.]

Los Ingobernables de Japon - 1361

Good Looking Guys - 1149 [I have a few friends who like GLG and mostly I just like seeing anything other than New Japan on these lists so I'm glad.]

House of Torture - 940 [lmao seriously?? did 940 people just not know who else to vote for or like are you guys really huge Sho fans or what]

United Empire - 418 [If you like UE I'd ask you consider growing better taste thanks]

Pheromones - 404 [Should have been way higher smh]

Just 5 Guys - 386

Free WiFi - 385 [SHOULD HAVE BEEN WAY HIGHER SMH]

Queen's Quest - 262 [SHOULD HAVE BEEN WAY HIGHER SMH]

Donna del Mondo - 209 [Hey good for them!]

Okay honestly 4 of these being women's units AND Free WiFi getting on this list owns.

Best Foreign Wrestler

Will Ospreay - 3487 [God really. Are you guys serious. Always with this shit]

Megan Bayne - 1045 [r u kidding me.]

Max The Impaler - 963

Zack Saber Jr. - 627

Chris Brookes - 599 [Should be way higher]

Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. - 548

Mariah May - 420(nice) [SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRST PLACE]

El Phantasmo - 222

Luis Mante - 106

Jack Morris - 105

Best Rookie

Hanako - 1842 [WOW!! It's not ToSpo's rookie of the year award but still very big for her.]

Oleg Boltin - 1673

Wakana Uehara - 1523

Kizuna Tanaka - 944

Zones - 417

Dark Unagi - 316 [LMAOOOOO]

Ryoya Tanaka - 233

Chi Chi - 218

Yu Owada - 198

Mifu Ashida - 181

[7 women on this list & the win going to Hanako is AWESOME but also LMFAO DARK UNAGI GOT 6TH PLACE ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME Una's power is limitless. Kayfabe is alive and well.]

Favourite Pro Wrestler [I always love they do favourite separate from best]

Tam Nakano - 1542 [HELL YEAH WRESTLING FANS GET ONE RIGHT]

Tetsuya Naito - 1384

Natsupoi - 892 [Poi in 3rd overall as well is HUGE]

Saori Anou - 887 [COSMIC ANGELS SWEEP]

Kenoh - 683

Hiromu Takahashi - 597

Hiroshi Tanahashi - 593 [I remember a lot of times this feeling like the Hiroshi Tanahashi award so Tana down in 7th is surprising]

Wakana Uehara - 577 [Honestly Wakana seems crazy popular and they're pairing her with Yuki Arai now right? God that's like a print money combo]

Kazuchika Okada - 533

Mina Shirakawa - 514

Unagi Sayaka - 461

Starlight Kid - 375 [Wow crazy she got 12th place with how out of shape and lazy she is 🙄 THIS IS SARCASM if you don't know what I'm referring to I envy you. Hope 2024 is the year a certain someone finally gets fired Stardom would be better with no subtitles]

Yuki Arai - 364

Mayu Iwatani - 361

El Desperado - 359

Will Ospreay - 343

Giulia - 341

Kento Miyahara - 316

Maika - 290

Sareee - 283

Minoru Suzuki - 273

Taichi - 248

Sanada - 236

Saya Kamitani - 231

AZM - 198

Katsuhiko Nakajima - 183

Jake Lee - 179

Utami Hayashishita - 172 [Not enough lesbians voting obviously]

Jun Kasai - 170

Yota Tsuji - 164

Naomichi Marufuji - 163

Yuma Aoyagi - 154

Rei Saitou - 148

Hayato "Jr." Fujita - 147

Suzu Suzuki - 145

Arisu Endo - 141

Yuki Kamifuku - 137

Mizuki - 131

Hazuki - 130

EVIL - 128

Saki Kashima - 126 [SAKI SWEEP. TOP 10 NEXT YEAR]

Iyo Sky - 125

Shingo Takagi - 122

Great O-Khan - 121

Kairi Sane - 120

Miyu Yamashita - 119

Shinsuke Nakamura - 118

Kaito Kiyomiya - 115

Syuri - 113

Go Shiozaki - 111

Overall these awards are just popularity contests but I still liked a lot of what I saw. The Favourite Wrestler top 50 actually being half women is great and soon enough it'll be all women and we can finally admit we just don't need men's wrestling any more. I can't believe how insanely popular Cosmic Angels are, especially with the let's say rocky 2023 they had, but I guess some things are just so undeniably great people can't miss it.

#long post #my writing

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wormwoodandhoney · 11 months

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mid-year book freakout tag

I’ve read 81 books so far this year! I like to look back on my last half of the year and see what kind of books have stuck with me! I stole these questions from YouTube. Here are my answers from last year.

best book you’ve read so far in 2023? I'm going with the Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (graphic here!) & It's OK That You're Not OK by Megan Devine, Goblin Emperor is about a young goblin who unexpectedly becomes emperor after his estranged father dies. It's about fantasy politics and learning court intrigue, but it's also about kindness. It's OK is about grief and I felt very seen.

best sequel you’ve read so far in 2023? Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones (graphic here). This series is about Jade Daniels, an outcast Indigenous teen who is obsessed with slasher movies. She begins to recognize the signs of an impending slasher coming to her town, and she attempts to stop it.

new release you haven’t read yet, but want to: Painted Devils by Margaret Owen is the sequel to one of my very favorite fairy tale retellings. To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Monquill Blackgoose is a about a young Indigenous woman who enters a dragon academy. I'm waiting for both of these to come into my library!

most anticipated release for the second half of the year: My two most anticipated books are Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo, the adult debut of one of my all time favorite YA authors; The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, an absolute staple author of horror. I read a nonfiction book based on a similar real-life event and I know Due is going to bring such depth to the idea.

biggest surprise: The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff was a book I picked up on a whim and ended up being one of my favorites of the year!

favorite new author (debut or new to you): Either Tre'vell Anderson for their nonfiction book We See Each Other about trans representation in media, or Jumata Emill's the Black Queen.

newest favorite character: Oh definitely my sweet Maia from the Goblin Emperor.

book that made you cry: Hide and Seeker by Daka Harmon is a delightful middle grade horror, in which the main character is dealing with a monster as well as the death of his mother, and some of the grief stuff made me cry.

book that made you happy: The Witchlings series makes me so happy!

most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received): Probably a special edition of The Song of Achilles.

what books do you need to read by the end of the year? Waiting at the library for me right now are Hamra and the Jungle of Memories and Empire of Exiles!

#book ask #book tag #books #book recs #if you do this please tag me i love seeing what people are reading!!

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emrystheedgedancer · 5 months

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Do you have any recs for any other fantasy books that someone could enjoy if they liked mistborn & storm light archive ?

Ooo I love this question!

Okay here are some of my faves in no particular order:

-The GrishaVerse world by Leigh Bardugo. The Shadow and Bone trilogy are pretty good YA fantasy but the Six of Crows duology hits it out of the park.

-The Mirror Visitor series by Christelle Dabos. It’s sort of a mash up of Victorian steampunk, fantasy, and post-apocalyptic that is just really cool and really well done. Fantastic world building and really good characters.

-The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini aren’t the BEST fantasy books every written but goodness do I love them. Again it’s very YA fantasy and uses a lot of common tropes but the world is cool and also you can rarely go wrong with dragons.

-The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner isn’t *technically* true fantasy but I consider it fantasy adjacent enough to recommend it to fantasy lovers. I love this series and the twists and turns in each book will catch you by surprise.

-If you’re into more gritty adult urban fantasy then the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher are pretty good. I haven’t read all of them but the ones I’ve read have some really cool world building and interesting stories.

-Most things Neil Gaiman writes but most particularly The Graveyard Book. It is my favorite of his books but I don’t see people mention it much.

-Okay and finally this is a series that is definitely geared towards younger readers (like 12-13) but I absolutely love it even as an adult- The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. She wrote this series before she wrote The Hunger Games and I happen to like it a lot more than The Hunger Games. It’s more fantasy-esque and it deals with the morality of war and child soldiers and prophesy in the guise of an underground adventure.

I’m sure there are more I’m missing but those are my top recommendations that come to mind.

-Additional bonus rec: the How to Train Your Dragon books by Cressida Cowell are delightful. They’re also aimed towards younger readers for sure (like 8-12 year olds) but the audiobooks have David Tennant reading them and they’re just fun fantastical popcorn kind of listens where wild things happen that are silly but still emotional.

#fantasy #book reccs

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stuckinapril · 3 months

Note

and i think nicki is spiralling particularly because she sees megan as a threat to her music career? if u know what i mean. she does this with SO many other emerging and chart-topping black woman rappers it's absolutely unhinged and insane. the only thing keeping minaj's career alive is a couple of unhinged fans like herself and the nostalgia of her early 2000s Pop Queen Era. also she is LITERALLY 40 yrs old....she's too old to be doing this shit

i agree w eveything you said EXCEPTTT for her age. honestly i would've loved to see a 40 year old female rapper thrive--which, btw, nicki was. i think it's a concotion of being married to a literal sex offender + her antics w other female rappers like u said + also the fact that the music just?? isnt good anymore?? she's no longer hungry to prove herself and you can tell. it's the same thing w drake too. except w nicki i don't feel bad for her downfall bc she's an actually shitty person w a public record to prove it

#ask

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nervousgardenerkid · 2 years

Text

Bruised hearts and bloody noses

a/n: okay this was so CUTE and was on my mind for WEEKS when i got the ask!! i hope you guys enjoy it and again i'm sorry it took me FOREVER 😭 i'm doing my best i SWEAR!! credit to the gif owner <3

warnings: reader is not the one to fuck around with, mentions of blood, mentions of weed i love u weed, reader is female presenting and she/her pronouns are used, eddie being nonchalant but then all cute, that's all i can think of rn

“I fucking hate gym class.” You mutter under your breath while walking next to Robin. She lets out a hum to let you know she agrees with you.

“Me too, but it could be worse!”

You snort, your eyes falling on Rebecca.

“Yeah, nothing like having gym class with the biggest bitch in Hawkins.”

“And me!” Robin exclaimed while throwing her arm around your shoulders. She did have a point. Although you hated gym and half of the people in it, you were glad you at least had Robin with you. You open your mouth getting ready to reply to her when you trip over someone’s foot. You're lucky that reflexes kicked in and you grab onto Robin who held you steady before you whip your head around to the laughter that's coming from beside you.

“Wow, you should be really careful going up these stairs y/n! You could get hurt!”

Rebecca Donaldson. She’s the queen b of Hawkins at the moment, the b standing for bitch. You're not entirely sure why she has it out for you, but it's a game you're getting sick of real fast. You see, Rebecca always chooses someone to bully throughout each school year. First, it was Kate from science class, then Megan from history. The school was shocked when she made Richard Hernandez switch schools, and now she has it out for you. The moment she saw you walk into the school’s gymnasium she sunk her talons into you and has yet to release you from her suffocating clutch.

“Thanks, Rebecca! Love the new outfit by the way. Did mommy buy it with the divorce money she took from daddy?”

That struck a nerve. Rebecca stands up from where she's sitting and smoke is practically coming out of her ears.

“You little-”

A loud whistle is heard throughout the gym as the coach steps out of his office and into the center of the gym.

“Okay class, everyone take a seat and listen up!”

You and Robin scurry to find a seat but not before you blow a kiss to Rebecca and wave goodbye.

“She’s going to have your head on a stick and wave it in front of your weeping mother,” Robin said while stepping aside to let you sit first.

“Then you can tell my story. Y/n L/n, the girl who told off Hawkins’ designated bitch.”

Robin shakes her head muttering under her breath how absolutely insane you are.

“As much as I loved watching that, I have to agree with your friend there.”

Eddie Munson. The freak of the school and your chemistry partner. How you two haven't blown up the school yet no one knows, but they prepare for the day Eddie reads the measurements wrong. You and Eddie weren't exactly friends, but you also weren't strangers. You'd see each other in the hallways and give each other a smile and a small nod, but you both have yet to speak to each other outside of room 203, until today.

“Oh, c’mon you're supposed to be on my side. We're on the same team!”

Eddie chuckles and shakes his head slightly.

“I'm just saying,” he said while putting his hands up in a surrender motion. “As someone who stands up to their bullies from time to time, they aren't scared to fight back.”

You snort, eyes falling back on Rebecca as she whispers and laughs with her friends.

“She’s not my bully, just a major bitch who loves to pick on me.”

“That's the textbook definition of a bully,” Robin said under her breath.

“My point is I can take her.”

Eddie turns around to look at you, a chuckle leaving him as he does so.

“Okay, just remember what you're saying.”

“Why do you care?”

He shrugs his shoulders. “I don't.”

The conversation comes to an end when the coach dismisses everyone to go do their own thing. Eddie is quick to climb down the bleachers and make his way toward Gareth and Jeff, all three of them aren't dressed in their gym clothes so they get to walk around the gym the whole class period.

“Wait, what are we doing?” you ask while following Robin down the steps. She shrugs her shoulders.

“Basically whatever we want. As long as coach doesn't see us just standing around.”

You nod your head, liking the answer you heard, and look over at Robin. “So do you want-”

Your question is cut short when you feel yourself fall to the ground clutching your nose and tears pricking your eyes.

“Holy shit! Are you okay?!” Robin asks while stumbling to help you up.

A small crowd has gathered around you and all eyes are on you as you pull your hand away from your nose. You see blood on the palm of your hand wincing at the small puddle that sits there. It's not a lot, but it could've been much worse.

“Sorry y/n! I was totally aiming for Derek.”

“Thank god she fucking missed,” Derek mumbled under his breath.

Soon enough the crowd begins to scatter leaving you and Robin alone, but you could still feel some eyes on you.

“I'm going to kill her.”

“Um, maybe we should get you to a nurse first?”

You tune Robin out as you grab the dodgeball that hit you in the face mere seconds ago.

“Y/n, no-”

A loud smack goes throughout the gym as the ball hits Rebecca in the back of the head. Students in the gym let out quiet ohhh damn as she tried to wrap her head around what just happened.

“Really? That's how you want to do it?!” Rebecca screeched as you wiped away the remaining blood that was under your nose.

“Bite me, bitch!”

She stomps her way over to you with fire behind her eyes and you feel Robin trying to drag you away from her rampage but you're standing your ground. You are so sick and tired of her thinking that she can do whatever she wants just because she comes from a rich (now divorced) family, and you know you're not the only one. You know this because out of the corner of your eye you see Derek roll a basketball toward you making sure to send you a wink when it hits your foot.

The students let out a gasp when they see the ball leave your hands and fly straight into Rebecca’s nose. She falls to the ground just like you did before except she doesn't make a noise, she doesn't move.

“Oh my god, you killed her!” Robin shouted loud enough so only you could hear.

“Nice shot L/n.” Eddie chuckled while standing next to you.

You say nothing. You're not sure what to say because you really do think that you killed Rebecca, but those thoughts are cut short when you hear her let out a groan. Her friends gather around her to help her up and the gym erupts with groans and hands flying up to their faces. She sits up and lets out a scream when she sees a drop of blood fall onto her lap. You assume the pain starts to set in from the way her hand is hovering over her nose, it's almost like she's too scared to touch it.

“You asshole!” She shouted at you.

“I'm not the asshole! You're the fucking asshole, bitch!”

The gym rattles with every shouting student and Rebecca stumbles to make her way toward you but the coach was quick to step in between you two.

“Everyone to the locker rooms now!”

Students scattered while looking at the scene in front of them but they all stayed right behind the locker room doors, making sure to listen to what was happening.

“What the hell is going on here?!”

“I was just walking around the gym when she hit me in the face with a ball!”

“Oh, bullshit! You're such a fucking liar-”

“ENOUGH! Y/n, clean yourself up,” he said while gesturing to the dry blood that stained your shirt and skin. “and head to the principal's office.”

“That's fucking bullshit-”

“Go! Rebecca, grab your things and go to the nurse.”

You don't even bother to listen to her response as you stomp over to the girl's locker room. Girls scramble around trying not to get in your way and Robin is hot on your tail as you open your locker.

“What happened? Are you going to the nurse?”

“No, little miss perfect is though, I have to go to the principal's office.”

Robin opens her mouth ready to complain for you but she stops when she sees one of Rebecca’s friends grab her things from her locker.

“Hey, Maria,” you said while taking a step toward her.

Maria turns around to give you a glare silently asking what you want.

“Tell dearest Becca that I'm so excited to see the new nose daddy buys for her.”

“You're a fucking dick, you know that right?”

You roll your eyes as her friend rushed out of the locker room trying to get back to her in a short amount of time.

“Are you really going to the principal’s office? She started all of this shit!”

“I pretty much have no choice,” you sigh. “I'll see you after school.”

You quickly exit the locker room, throwing confused looks at your classmates when they salute you and thank you for your service. Once you're out of the locker room you see Eddie leaning against the wall.

“Finally. You take forever to change.”

You furrow your brows.

“What?”

“You were waiting for me?”

“Duh, I heard you were going to the principal’s office.”

You nod your head at him.

“Wrong. You're coming over to my place, I need help with my chemistry homework.”

You don't even have time to answer him before he throws his arm around your shoulder and leads you out of the gym. There are two ways this situation can go. The first one is you tell Eddie to leave you alone and you actually go to the principal’s office, or you could go with Eddie and end this day on a better note.

“Also, I don't need help with the homework. Just figured you didn't want to go to the principal’s office for finishing a fight you didn't even start.”

You chose the latter.

The drive to Eddie’s trailer was anything but quiet. He had Metallica blasting through his speakers and he wasn't the best driver in Hawkins so there were lots of sudden stops and red lights being run through.

“Jesus Christ Eddie, how the fuck did you get your license?!”

He roughly puts the van in park and hops out of the car with a smile on his face.

“Who said I had a license?”

You step out of the van ready to ask him to explain how he hasn't been pulled over yet when you let out a sneeze. A groan soon comes after that, your nose still sore from the ball that hit it earlier and you roll your eyes when you feel the familiar warm liquid trickle down again.

“Shit, let's get you patched up real quick.”

Eddie grabs your hand and brings you inside the trailer. He nods his head over to the kitchen telling you to have a seat somewhere while he looks for the first aid kit. You're a bit familiar with the layout of his trailer, you've stopped by to work on projects, homework, and even to buy what Eddie sells, but you're not familiar with the older man who comes out from where the restroom is.

You stare at him with wide eyes and your head slightly tilted up to make sure blood isn't pouring out.

“Hi, I'm y/n. I'd shake your hand but I'm a little preoccupied.”

A chuckle leaves his lips and he smiles at you.

“I'm Wayne, sorry the place is a mess. That boy has a bad habit of not picking up after himself.”

Eddie comes back with the first aid kit in his hand but stops in his tracks to look between you and his uncle.

“You two talking about me?”

“Not everything is about you, Munson,” you grunt out while taking a seat on his kitchen counter.

“I was just telling her how you live like an animal. Never clean up after yourself.”

Eddie chuckles. “I told you I’d clean around today. I have no practice today, and we're short a campaign member.”

Wayne mutters out I've heard that before while he puts on his hat that hangs on a hook near the door.

“I gotta head out, be gentle with her, yeah? Looks like a nasty bruise is gonna form. It was nice meeting you.”

You waved goodbye and promised that the next time you meet it'll be under better circumstances.

“Alright fighter, let's go ahead and get you cleaned up.”

You've never been this close to Eddie before. Sure, you've shared textbooks and copied off each other's work, but this was new. Eddie stood between your legs with his hand gently holding your chin to make sure you didn't move. He wipes away the blood that sits just below your nose, letting out a curse when he sees you flinch slightly.

“Why are you cleaning me up?” you whisper.

“I told you, I know what it's like to fight back and suffer the consequences.”

“Thought you didn't care.”

He lets out a sigh and steps back. “I don't care, but…I could see myself…starting to care for you.”

Your cheeks heat up as you watch him put ice in a small bag and wrap a towel around it. He hands it to you, his hand resting in yours for a few seconds before he pulls away and clears his throat.

“Um, just put it on your nose for ten minutes or so.”

A quiet thank you leaves your lips as you gently place the rag on your nose, wincing when it first made contact with your sore nose. You both sit in silence for a bit until you speak up.

“I can see myself caring for you too. In case you were wondering.”

Eddie bites on his bottom lip trying to conceal the smile that's making its way onto his face as he leans against the counter.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, you're cute or whatever.”

He lets out a soft laugh and grabs his keys from his pocket ready to leave the trailer with you but you grab his hand to stop him.

“No way in hell you're driving again.”

“Your nose is fucked up though.”

“Yet I’d still be a better driver than you.”

Eddie rolls his eyes and hands you the keys that were in his hands and helps you jump off the counter. He watches with stars in his eyes as you balance the small bag of ice on your nose and stick your arms out trying to feel your way to the front door of the trailer. He doesn't care that he's a shit driver and that neither of you has a license yet, he’ll let you drive him off a cliff if it meant he could spend just a few more seconds with you.

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#once again idk how to end things #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #eddie munson blurb #stranger things x reader #stranger things imagine #stranger things fluff #stranger things angst #stranger things blurb

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