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gothmikasagf · 2 years

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can i ask for a stranger things ship pls? I don't care if you pick a male character or a female character. Romantically could love anyone. Asexual.

I'm like 5' 4" which is tall for the females in my family 😂 Female. Black hair. Blue eyes. Irish. INFJ. 23. Christian. Hufflepuff.

I'm super pathetically unfit and weak and would so die within like two minutes of being in the upside down. Bought weights watched a bunch of YouTube exercise videos, hated the entire experience, exercise is pain, waste of money and effort, 10/10 will not attempt that shite again.

Spend my time questioning why I waste so much time. Yikes. Reading is lit it's like the closest thing to living in a different world. I like collecting vintage trinkets and clothes and cassettes cuz vintage stuff is like the closest thing to time travel. Love graphic novels haven't recovered from reading locke and key the premise of that was so damn cool. DC comics. Murder mysteries. Fantasy. Detective. Horror. Will basically read anything except romance novels or love triangle stuff. Although I have a set of romance paperbacks from the 40s and they are the funniest thing ever. Tolkien. Agatha Christie. Philip Pullman. Currently reading the umbrella academy.

Comfort Movies: LOTR it's so good that it's so hard not to cry at it, like you know sometimes when you listen to music and you get an ethereal otherworldly feeling and sometimes in nature you get that feeling, watching lotr causes that feeling too. The Iron Giant. Casper. Coraline. Aladdin.

Last movie I watched was the foo fighters movie Studio 666

Last tv episode i watched is taskmaster

Some hobbies are embroidery, reading, listening to music. Will listen to any music. Comfort music is Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Emeli Sandi, GNR Don't Cry. Fav band is The Foo Fighters and Twenty One Pilots. Others I like are Kflay, In This Moment, The Pretty Reckless, Halestorm, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Donna Summer, Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, The Scorpions, Jinjer, Kylie Minogue, Queen. Violet Orlandi. Avril Lavigne. I'm gonna stop now cuz I've already said way too many.

Things I like about myself: I like that I'm trying, I like that I have a much better routine, I like that I don't hold grudges, I'm strangely proud that I got hufflepuff on pottermore 😂

My clothing style theoretically is a mix of vintage 30s-70s and 90s. Although in practice cuz I don't really leave the house I mostly wear pyjamas or tshirts that I've sewed my fav lyrics onto. I wear long clothing to cover myself for a variety of reasons.

Insecurities: really shy legit can count my irl friends on one hand and honestly if it weren't for the effort on thier part I probably wouldn't even have any friends right now, mental illness plus being kind of a recluse isn't the best for maintaining relationships, faded marks on my face where I use to have acne, scar on my forehead from cracking it open, don't like the sound of my voice, this is a weird one but I'm insecure about the size of my skull I dunno I just don't think it's right 😂

I match you with...

Eddie Munson!

He tells you that you don’t have anything to worry about and that he can and will protect you from any harm...and ends up tripping on his own feet two seconds later.

You’re both book nerds and lotr lovers, he would probably point out any incosistencies between books and movies but he loves the movies too.

Sometimes you exchange reading reccomendations when you don’t have any idea on what to read next and end up discussing in depth the plots.

He really likes your music taste and hopes that the music he does with his band will impress you.

We all know that slytherins and hufflepuffs are the best duo.

Lets you borrow any of his shirts if you want to.

He prefers staying home too so you’re stuck with him bothering you.

He finds it endearing that you’re shy and he’s usually the one speaking when you’re in public.

I hope you enjoyed it.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #stranger things x reader #matchups

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prrcyjacksons · 3 years

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Has this been done yet?🤭

#crap #i forgot about the house of wind #the house liking romance novels was so damn endearing #like gimme a 700 page book about all the brotps and I'll be content #nesta archeron #emerie #gwyn berdara #a court of silver flames #acosf spoilers #*bellmeme

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carpexiem · 2 years

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ENHYPEN'S REACTION TO YOU LEAVING YOUR DIARY AT THEIR HOUSE

PAIRING! bestfriend!enhypen x gn!reader

WARNINGS! none

A/N! two works in two days, just to fill the void i have created by releasing nothing but smau chapters for the past 2/3 weeks (i think-)

this is just tooth rotting fluff, and heart warming romance so enjoy :]

PERMANENT TAGLIST! @soobin-chois

please note that this does not reflect any of the idols in real life. this is just for entertainment purposes!

NOW PLAYING! wait a minute! ~ willow smith

~♪ L.HS! heeseung would probably spend the next few hours reading every page of your diary, seeing as it only included your lovestruck thoughts of your best friend. an undying smile would grow on his face and maybe, just maybe, you will receive a couple of letters in your locker, soundly placed on the cover of your diary.

~♪ P.JS! the blush that would paint his cheeks would have him extremely concerned for himself. he would read it like it's a whole damn novel, constantly needing to take a break from your words, looking at the invisible camera with his eyes wide.

"god, my heart is beating too fast."

~♪ S.JY! his arms wrapped around his pillow, he would flip throught the pages, eye trailing each stroke of your handwriting. he would bury his head in the cotton cloud every time he would come across the word 'love': your codename for him...which, after a while, you stopped using, for you had fallen so deep for him, and vice versa.

~♪ P.SH! the man would, no doubt, be hesitant to read your diary, but after seeing the first page, which was, flabbergastingly, a love poem written for 'p.sh', the urge to proceed through your sickenly sweet literature swallows him whole. his jaw drops at the revelation of his name surfacing, out of nowhere, in the middle of an entry named 'mon chéri'. french was your love language it seemed, and now, probably his too, 'cause he never expected his stomach to flutter at each french endearment you addressed him as.

~♪ K.SN! truth be told, he probably wouldn't notice your diary until he gets into bed and feels the hardcover of the moleskin book poke his ribs. he doesn't think anything of it, opening the cover with a tired sigh and he becomes absolutely invested in this exploration of your first love. no names used, he begins to feel jealous of whoever you were writing about, to have such loving words associated with their existence. just as he was about to close the book, the pages automatically disclose a section where it had been opened so many times that the spine was about to snap there.

a sketch of kim sunoo, smile wide, eyes shaped like crescent moons.

'him ♡'

~♪ Y.JW! the innocent bean, would just call you to inform you of the possession that remained buried beneath his bed. he doesn't read it, but a few days later, finds a folded piece of paper exactly where he had found your diary. by then, he had forgotten all about what happened a few days prior and thinks nothing of it, before he unfolds it, and reads the unintentional love letter written to him and it's then that he realises: it had slipped out of your diary. but it's the one thing he wouldn't give back.

~♪ NS.R! grinning, niki would proudly open your diary, eyes scanning every page deeply. in each entry you would write about someone, someone who you felt so deeply about, but knew they could not reciprocate that feeling back. he didn't know you were a songwriter, but when he meets the page 'mr mj 2.0' he laughs heartily, before he abruptly stops and comes to his senses: the whole diary was about him. nishimura riki. you bet he would send you a text saying 'your mj 2.0 😉'

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clumsy-hood · 3 years

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obey me! demon brothers + realizing they’re in love with mc

prompt: the order in which the brothers would realize they are in love with mc (sooner → later).

word count: 1,277

a/n: i know i said this in an earlier post, but the goal going forward will be to (hopefully) post my writing—commissions included—on weekends. i have quite a few concepts and rough drafts sitting in my notes that i still need to finish writing and editing. so far, it’s just a matter of finding the time to actually do it. but if anyone has any prompt lists they want to throw my way too, i’m open to finding additional inspiration!

1 → Mammon

Outwardly, yes, it would take him a while to drop the instant denial front he constantly threw up whenever someone accused him of having feelings for you. But inside? He knew he wanted to spend as much time with you as he possibly could and shower you with gifts he’d try to save up for or earn. And if it was possible to get a matching gift, then he’d splurge a little extra because it meant something more connected you to one another and was a special thing shared between you—and ONLY you two. Hell, with your permission, he even left the occasional t-shirt or jacket in your room—and even secretly stashed his toothbrush in your bathroom due to passing out after too many late-night movie marathons. Sure, his brothers’ constant teasing annoyed him to no end, but even Mammon couldn’t deny he was greedy for your time. He loved you so soon and suddenly, wanting to hold your hand and never let you go.

2 → Asmo:

Without a doubt, Asmo knew he was attracted to you from the moment he laid eyes on you—although it wasn’t your physical beauty that snared him but rather the aura you exuded. Of course, the physical attraction was undeniable to him as well so he couldn’t help the showering of compliments that rained from his lips; he is, after all, the Avatar of Lust, and actions such as those were completely second nature to him. It started with the lingering touches, though, when he realized something was amiss this time. His skin warmed unnaturally wherever your brushed against his—even if for just a moment—and lingered on him throughout the day. It never truly hit him until he’d regularly seek out your company for seemingly platonic or romantic reasons—without desiring any future sexual gratification. Obviously, those thoughts occupied his mind and the flirting with you never ceased—unless you asked him to, of course—but after centuries of experiencing lust and adoration, love consumed his heart, and he merely wanted you to feel the same for him in return.

3 → Satan:

With all his knowledge of fictional romance in TV shows and books, Satan was convinced he would truly know a romantic love—if he were able to experience it—by the excitement and explosive emotions it carried. However, he was quick to discover it was quite the opposite with you: The rage he carefully concealed with polite smiles and intellect was blanketed in warmth and peace whenever you were around. It was a sudden shock to him, the first time he realized he wasn’t consumed with anger, and all because he was in your presence. The demon regularly sought your company, adoring your attention—whether it was listening to him discuss the plot twist in a mystery novel he was reading or showing you his favorite spots in Devildom he never shared with his brothers. He was never in denial about his emotions for you; all he knew was that a human saw kindness and good in him, and he wanted to prove—at least to himself—he was worthy of such good.

4 → Lucifer:

It wasn’t so much that Lucifer would ever be in denial of these feelings—once he’d realized he was in love with you, it was like every nerve was set on fire—but rather he was concerned hi emotions would compromise Diavolo’s goals. Every moment you spent laughing and smiling with his brothers rather than with him left the demon frustrated and hopelessly hollow believing he couldn’t keep you as close as he’d like. Even the slightest graze from you, however platonic or intentional, left the spot blazing from your touch. You were meant to drive him crazy in the worst possible ways and yet all the traits he wanted to despise were only found endearing. Your stubbornness, your kindness, and your curiosity—all attributes that should have maddened him to no end, he noticed, came from a place of love as well. The demon may struggle to consider a human to be his equal, but he’ll never question his love of your presence, your smile, your touch, your damn—well—everything. And as much as he wouldn’t want to jeopardize Diavolo’s plan, loving you makes him doubt every other thing.

5 → Belphie:

Even if his hatred towards human quickly faded upon the discoveries of Lilith and her connection to you, opening himself up to the idea of being in love with you was a genuinely jarring concept to him. Especially if you found it in yourself to forgive him for, you know, killing you, Belphie wanted to prove himself worthy of your forgiveness in the first place—even if he tended to be a little shithead going about it. Like most of the brothers, he was rather needy for your time and attention, but where they often showed you their favorite spots in Devildom, he sought quiet areas around the House of Lamentation where the two of you could be alone. Something about you was so soft and warm to him. Honestly, most of his dreams were filled with visions of your smile and laugh, your body pressed snuggly against his. Maybe he wasn’t the most forthcoming with his love, but he never shied away from telling you how much he wanted to live with only you and Beel forever. He’s a demon with some regrets—hurting you being at the top of the list—but being the reason for your smile eased the guilt bit by bit.

6 → Levi:

An overwhelming sense of confusion and denial would leave him on the fence for a long time until he’d come to terms with his feelings towards you. And honestly, you couldn’t really blame the demon—Levi’s main loves for years have been 2D characters so suddenly developing such strange emotions or an attraction to a real human would be damning to him. It couldn’t be helped, though. For all he had tried to push you away or disregard your norm opinions, he couldn’t help how giddy he’d get whenever you’d agree to watch a new anime with him or introduce him to a new idol band. He was wholeheartedly convinced you must clearly be doing this out of pity or something—no matter if your heart was truly in it or not—because even his brothers never seemed to give his interests the rapt attention you offered him. He could be alone in his room and only think of how it’d be better with you there; or how he wanted to keep you so close, your fragrance would linger on his clothes so it was as though you were always with him.

7 → Beel:

Unlike some his brothers shacking up in a state of denial, Beel took longer to realize he was in love with you simply because he could never put his feelings into words. He knew he enjoyed spending time with you—rooming with you while Belphie was “away” was one of the initial highlights of your first stay in Devildom—and he was one to admit he considered you family to him, caring for you as he does for his brothers. Except, it was different. Maybe because you weren’t his actual family but his chosen family? He was never sure for the longest time. And yet, you were the only one he offered any of his food to and went out of his way to invite you out for dinner—which, in his mind, was a completely normal and friendly thing. But it’d strike him down like a bolt of lightning, realizing all of these feelings, once you’d offered to make him human food, and boy was he a goner.

#obey me #obey me!#obey me! shall we date?#obey me headcanons #obey me hc #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me belphie #obey me imagine #obey me blurb #obey me drabble #clumsy-hood #my writing #commissions open

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jeannereames · 3 years

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Hi, Dr. Reames! I just read your take on Song of Achilles and it got me thinking. Do you think there might be a general issue with the way women are written in mlm stories in general? Because I don't think it's the first time I've seen something like this happen.

And my next question is, could you delve further into this thing you mention about modern female authors writing women? How could we, beginner female writers, avoid falling into this awful representations of women in our writing?

Thank you for your time!

[It took a while to finish this because I wrote, re-wrote, and re-wrote it. Still not sure I like it, but I need to let it go. It could be 3xs as long.]

I’ll begin with the second half of the question, because it’s simpler. How do we, as women authors, avoid writing women in misogynistic ways?

Let me reframe that as how can we, as female authors, write negative (even quite nasty) female characters without falling into misogynistic tropes? Also, how can we write unsympathetic, but not necessarily “bad” female characters, without it turning misogynistic?

Because people are people, not genders, not all women are good, nor all men bad. Most of us are a mix. If we should avoid assuming powerful women are all bitches, by the same token, some women are bitches (powerful or not).

ALL good characterization comes down to MOTIVE. And careful characterization of minority characters involves fair REPRESENTATION. (Yes, women are a minority even if we’re 51% of the population.)

The question ANY author must ask: why am I making this female character a bitch? How does this characterization serve the larger plot and/or characterization? WHY is she acting this way?

Keep characters complex, even the “bad guys.” Should we choose to make a minority character a “bad guy,” we need to have a counter example—a real counter, not just a token who pops in briefly, then disappears. Yeah, maybe in an ideal world we could just let our characters “be,” but this isn’t an ideal world. Authors do have an audience. I’m a lot less inclined to assume stereotyping when we have various minority characters with different characterizations.

By the same token, however, don’t throw a novel against the wall if the first minority character is negative. Read further to decide if it’s a pattern. I’ve encountered reviews that slammed an author for stereotyping without the reader having finished the book. I’m thinking, “Uh…if you’d read fifty more pages….” Novels have a developmental arc. And if you’ve got a series, that, too, has a developmental arc. One can’t reach a conclusion about an author’s ultimate presentation/themes until having finished the book, or series.*

Returning to the first question, the appearance of misogyny depends not only on the author, but also on when she wrote, even why she’s writing. Authors who are concerned with matters such as theme and message are far more likely to think about such things than those who write for their own entertainment and that of others, which is more typical of Romance.

On average, Romance writers are a professionalized bunch. They have national and regional chapters of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), newsletters and workshops that discuss such matters as building plot tension, character dilemmas, show don’t tell, research tactics, etc. Yet until somewhat recently (early/mid 2010s), and a series of crises across several genres (not just Romance), treatment of minority groups hadn’t been in their cross-hairs. Now it is, with Romance publishers (and publishing houses more generally) picking up “sensitivity readers” in addition to the other editors who look at a book before its publication.

Yet sensitivity readers are hired to be sure lines like “chocolate love monkey” do not show up in a published novel. Yes, that really was used as an endearment for a black man in an M/M Romance, which (deservedly) got not just the author but the publishing house in all sorts of hot water. Yet misogyny, especially more subtle misogyny in the way of tropes, is rarely on the radar.

I should add that I wouldn’t categorize The Song of Achilles as an M/M historical Romance. In fact, I’m not sure what to call novels about myths, as myths don’t exist in actual historical periods. When should we set a novel about the Iliad? The Bronze Age, when Homer said it happened, or the Greek Dark Age, which is the culture Homer actually described? They’re pretty damn different. I’d probably call The Song of Achilles an historical fantasy, especially as mythical creatures are presented as real, like centaurs and god/desses.

Back to M/M Romance: I don’t have specific publishing stats, but it should surprise no one that (like most of the Romance genre), the vast bulk of authors of M/M Romance are women, often straight and/or bi- women. The running joke seems to be, If one hot man is good, two hot men together are better. 😉 Yes, there are also trans, non-binary and lesbian authors of M/M Romance, and of course, bi- and gay men who may write under their own name or a female pseudonym, but my understanding is that straight and bi- cis-women authors outnumber all of them.

Just being a woman, or even a person in a female body, does not protect that author from misogyny. And if she’s writing for fun, she may not be thinking a lot about what her story has to “say” in its subtext and motifs, even if she may be thinking quite hard about other aspects of story construction. This can be true of other genres as well (like historical fantasy).

What I have observed for at least some women authors is the unconscious adoption of popular tropes about women. Just as racism is systemic, so is sexism. We swim in it daily, and if one isn’t consciously considering how it affects us, we can buy into it by repeating negative ideas and acting in prescribed ways because that’s what we learned growing up. If writing in a symbol-heavy genre such as mythic-driven fantasy, it can be easy to let things slip by—even if they didn’t appear in the original myth, such as making Thetis hostile to Patroklos, the classic Bitchy Mother-in-Law archetype.

I see this sort of thing as “accidental” misogyny. Women authors repeat unkind tropes without really thinking them through because it fits their romantic vision. They may resent it and get defensive if the trope is pointed out. “Don’t harsh my squee!” We can dissect why these tropes persist, and to what degree they change across generations—but that would end up as a (probably controversial) book, not a blog entry. 😊

Yet there’s also subconscious defensive misogyny, and even conscious/semi-conscious misogyny.

Much debate/discussion has ensued regarding “Queen Bee Syndrome” in the workplace and whether it’s even a thing. I think it is, but not just for bosses. I also would argue that it’s more prevalent among certain age-groups, social demographics, and professions, which complicates recognizing it.

What is Queen Bee Syndrome? Broadly, when women get ahead at the expense of their female colleagues who they perceive as rivals, particularly in male-dominated fields, hinging on the notion that There Can Be Only One (woman). It arises from systemic sexism.

Yes, someone can be a Queen Bee even with one (or two) women buddies, or while claiming to be a feminist, supporting feminist causes, or writing feminist literature. I’ve met a few. What comes out of our mouths doesn’t necessarily jive with how we behave. And ticking all the boxes isn’t necessary if you’re ticking most of them. That said, being ambitious, or just an unpleasant boss/colleague—if its equal opportunity—does not a Queen Bee make. There must be gender unequal behavior involved.

What does any of that have to do with M/M fiction?

The author sees the women characters in her novel as rivals for the male protagonists. It gets worse if the women characters have some “ownership” of the men: mothers, sisters, former girlfriends/wives/lovers. I know that may sound a bit batty. You’re thinking, Um, aren’t these characters gay or at least bi- and involved with another man, plus—they’re fictional? Doesn’t matter. Call it fantasizing, authorial displacement, or gender-flipped authorial insert. We authors (and I include myself in this) can get rather territorial about our characters. We live in their heads and they live in ours for months on end, or in many cases, years. They’re real to us. Those who aren't authors often don’t quite get that aspect of being an author. So yes, sometimes a woman author acts like a Queen Bee to her women characters. This is hardly all, or even most, but it is one cause of creeping misogyny in M/M Romance.

Let’s turn to a related problem: women who want to be honorary men. While I view this as much more pronounced in prior generations, it’s by no means disappeared. Again, it’s a function of systemic sexism, but further along the misogyny line than Queen Bees. Most Queen Bees I’ve known act/react defensively, and many are (imo) emotionally insecure. It’s largely subconscious. More, they want to be THE woman, not an honorary man.

By contrast, women who want to be honorary men seem to be at least semi-conscious of their misogyny, even if they resist calling it that. These are women who, for the most part, dislike other women, regard most of “womankind” as either a problem or worthless, and think of themselves as having risen above their gender.

And NO, this is not necessarily religious—sometimes its specifically a-religious.

“I want to be an honorary man” women absolutely should NOT be conflated with butch lesbians, gender non-conformists, or frustrated FTMs. That plays right into myths the queer community has combated for decades. There’s a big difference between expressing one’s yang or being a trans man, and a desire to escape one’s womanhood or the company of other women. “Honorary men” women aren’t necessarily queer. I want to underscore that because the concrete example I’m about to give does happen to be queer.

I’ve talked before about Mary Renault’s problematic portrayal of women in her Greek novels (albeit her earlier hospital romances don’t show it as much). Her own recorded comments make it clear that she and her partner Julie Mullard didn’t want to be associated with other lesbians, or with women much at all. She was also born in 1905, living at a time when non-conforming women struggled. If extremely active in anti-apartheid movements in South Africa, Renault and Mullard were far less enthused by the Gay Rights Movement. Renault even criticized it, although she wrote back kindly to her gay fans.

The women in Renault’s Greek novels tend to be either bitches or helpless, reflecting popular male perceptions of women: both in ancient Greece and Renault’s own day. If we might argue she’s just being realistic, that ignores the fact one can write powerful women in historical novels and still keep it attitudinally accurate. June Rachuy Brindel, born in 1919, author of Ariadne and Phaedra, didn’t have the same problem, nor did Martha Rofheart, born in 1917, with My Name is Sappho. Brindel’s Ariadne is much more sympathetic than Renault’s (in The King Must Die).

Renault typically elevates (and identifies with) the “rational” male versus the “irrational” female. This isn’t just presenting how the Greeks viewed women; it reflects who she makes the heroes and villains in her books. Overall, “good” women are the compliant ones, and the compliant women are tertiary characters.

Women in earlier eras who were exceptional had to fight multiple layers of systemic misogyny. Some did feel they had to become honorary men in order to be taken seriously. I’d submit Renault bought into that, and it (unfortunately) shows in her fiction, as much as I admire other aspects of her novels.

So I think those are the three chief reasons we see women negatively portrayed in M/M Romance (or fiction more generally), despite being written by women authors.

------------------------------------

*Yeah, yeah, sometimes it’s such 2D, shallow, stereotypical presentation that I, as a reader, can conclude this author isn’t going to get any better. Also, the publication date might give me a clue. If I’m reading something published 50 years ago, casual misogyny or racism is probably not a surprise. If I don’t feel like dealing with that, I close the book and put it away.

But I do try to give the author a chance. I may skim ahead to see if things change, or at least suggest some sort of character development. This is even more the case with a series. Some series take a loooong view, and characters alter across several novels. Our instant-gratification world has made us impatient. Although by the same token, if one has to deal with racism or sexism constantly in the real world, one may not want to have to watch it unfold in a novel—even if it’s “fixed” later. If that’s you, put the book down and walk away. But I’d just suggest not writing a scathing review of a novel (or series) you haven’t finished. 😉

#misogyny in m/m romance #how to avoid misogyny writing women characters #writing complicated women characters #asks #writing life #writing advice

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riotwritesthings · 4 years

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When is a bed not a bed? (When you’re not in it)

WinterIron, T, 2.7k, crack, bedsharing, pining | AO3

Dear @hddnone, I hear you like bed sharing fic. I also like bed sharing fic, and I ADORE your work and also you. So here’s this. I wrote it in a night I never do that who even am i. As always, thanks to Stella for title assistance.

“I take it back,” Tony calls out the open doorway, “this safe house is not well stocked, they forgot one very important thing.”

Bucky appears in the doorway a second later, looks around the small bedroom, and then fixes Tony with an unimpressed look.

“There’s only one bed,” Tony says slowly, in case Bucky somehow missed it, but Bucky just shrugs. And of course it’s not a problem for him, he’s not the one uselessly pining away like a character in an old timey romance novel.

“So you take it,” Bucky says, “I hardly sleep anyways.” Then he turns to leave, like that’s just the end of the conversation.

“That is not the end of this conversation!” Tony says, following him back out into the equally tiny living room.

Turns out, that is the end of the conversation. For about three days.

For three nights, Tony tosses and turns on the lumpy single mattress, feeling ridiculously guilty even though it had been Bucky’s idea to sleep on the tiny moldy couch. He also has to keep listing out all the reasons in his head that he shouldn’t invite Bucky to come share the bed with him, laws of physics be damned.

Like the fact that it took long enough for Bucky to be comfortable around them all anyways, especially around Tony, and the last thing Tony wants to do is screw that up. Especially because he would almost, tentatively, say that he and Bucky are friends now, and it’s not like Bucky wants more than that, why would he? It’s Tony.

Tony doesn’t sleep very well, is the point.

On the fourth night, Tony puts his foot down. “Your turn with the bed,”’ he says after their nightly meal of tasteless canned meat, “little piece of advice, it does slope to the right, so be careful not to roll off.”

“No,” Bucky says eloquently.

“Yes,” Tony shoots back, then twists sideways on the couch and starts kicking Bucky in the hip as he says “go on, get out of my new bed, some of us need our beauty sleep.”

Bucky moves not at all except to grab one of Tony’s ankles. “I told you, I don’t need-“

“This is purely selfish,” Tony interrupts him with a bright grin, “that bed is terrible, okay, every inch of me hurts and I’m hoping this couch is better. Have fun with the torture bed.”

Bucky gives him a suspicious look, but slowly rises from the couch and heads for the bedroom. He doesn’t shut the door behind him, and Tony listens with satisfaction as the old bed frame creaks under Bucky’s weight.

The couch smells terrible. Tony is kind of tempted to hold his breath until he passes out, because for a while that seems like the only way he’s getting to sleep. But he feels way less guilty, and it's way less tempting to go crawl into the bed with Bucky. That would just be rude.

Eventually, Tony manages to get past the smell and the lumps and the way the one tiny window rattles in the lightest of breezes, and actually falls asleep. He wakes up in the bed, blankets neatly tucked in around him.

“Are you kidding me, you stubborn bastard?!” Tony demands as he storms into the living room.

“What happened?” Bucky asks, smiling innocently at him over a can of peaches.

“This isn’t over,” Tony tells him, very seriously, and then, “I was saving those peaches!”

On the fifth night, Tony comes out of the bathroom to find Bucky pretending to already be asleep on the couch.

“Bucky,” Tony says, standing over him, hands on his hips, and then continues saying it until Bucky finally squints an eye open at him. “Bucky,” Tony says, as reasonably as he can, “go get in the fucking bed.”

“I slept in the bed last night,” Bucky says and oh, Tony can absolutely see the smirk trying to break free from behind Bucky’s flat expression.

“You most certainly did not,” Tony says and he can’t help a small huff of laughter, because he has to respect the dedication.

“Agree to disagree,” Bucky says, shrugging one shoulder, and then closes his eyes again.

“I do not agree to that,” Tony says, “and I will stand here all night to make a point, don’t think I won’t.”

Bucky peeks his eyes open again, and Tony raises one eyebrow at him.

Falling asleep on the couch is at least easier the second time, but halfway through the night Tony wakes up in bed again.

“Damnit Bucky!” He shouts, struggling and failing to break free of the blankets tucked tightly around him.

“I’m sleeping!” Bucky shouts back, and Tony is pretty sure he can hear a smothered laugh. It’s unfair, really, that the sound of it has Tony’s heart beating just a little faster.

“The hell you are,” Tony grumbles, and falls back asleep before he can work up the energy to free himself and go kick Bucky off the couch again.

On the seventh morning, Tony wakes up to Bucky looming above him.

“What th’ fuck, Tony,” he demands, sounding something almost like plaintive.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Tony says brightly, feeling incredibly smug despite the way his entire body aches from sleeping on the ground.

”Mornin’, angel,” Bucky says flatly, “why aren’t you in th’ damn bed?”

“You can keep putting me in the bed, but you can’t make me sleep in it,” Tony says sagely, steepling his fingers beneath his chin.

“I can tie you t’ the bed,” Bucky growls, and Tony is incredibly thankful he managed to pull the blankets down with him because hello.

Tony can’t help the way he immediately responds by smirking wide and wiggling his eyebrows, he really can’t. It’s just instinct.

Bucky rolls his eyes and stomps out of the room.

“I’m counting this as a win,” Tony calls after him.

“I’m eatin’ your powdered eggs,” Bucky calls back. Like that’s any kind of a threat.

So it continues like that, they have nothing to do during the day except hurry up and wait, and there’s only so many times Bucky can clean his guns and sharpen his knives, only so many times Tony can tear apart the toaster and put it back together. At least fighting over the bed gives them something to do.

Tony would even dare to say that Bucky is enjoying the game, too. Especially on the eighth night, when Tony wakes up just as he’s being gently lowered to the mattress, decides to aggressively throw himself out of the bed, and nearly brains himself on the nightstand. Bucky laughs so hard he nearly collapses and Tony seizes the moment of opportunity, almost crawls all the way out of the room before Bucky grabs him by the foot and drags him back.

On the ninth night, when Tony tries to roll out of bed, he gets tangled in the sheets and ends up pinned awkwardly to the side of the mattress and has to yell for Bucky to come free him. Bucky stumbles in looking sleepy and smug, so gorgeous that Tony almost does something incredibly stupid. Like tell him that.

No matter where Tony falls asleep, on the couch, on the scratchy rug in front of the empty fireplace, on the kitchen table just to make a point, he always wakes up in bed. He doesn’t even stir when Bucky moves him, most of the time, and that’s as endearing as it is terrifying.

After the tenth night stuck in the tiny safe house, things start to get weird.

“Bucky,” Tony calls pitifully, and waits a full minute before continuing with “frosty, sweetheart, light of my life, oh kind and generous angel, would you please get in here already.”

Bucky finally appears in the doorway and Tony knows he took so long on purpose, this house isn’t that big. “What’s up, sugar?” Bucky asks and he’s trying to hide his smirk behind his coffee mug but Tony can absolutely see it in his eyes.

“Not much, just one little thing really,” Tony says pleasantly, and then flails his entire body as hard as he can. It accomplishes not a goddamn thing, because the blankets on the bed are all tucked in so tightly that Tony might as well be in a straight jacket.

Bucky chokes on his mouthful of coffee, clearly trying not to laugh, and good, Tony hopes it went up his nose. Bucky doesn’t actually move to help him though, just stays leaning against the doorframe and grinning.

“Bucky,” Tony says again, putting on his best puppy dog eyes.

“Darlin’,” Bucky says back, smiling sweetly. When Tony continues to stare him down, he takes a slow, obnoxious sip of his coffee before asking “what’s up?”

Tony attempts to flail again, then demands “would you just get over here, what the fuck, did you staple these sheets in place?!”

“Had to make sure you didn’t go anywhere,” Bucky says, completely unapologetic, but finally moves to free him.

“You’re a bad, bad man,” Tony tells him, already plotting how he’s going to steal the mug of coffee Bucky left on the nightstand.

“Whatever you say, doll.”

Tony wakes up slung over Bucky’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Disappointing,” Tony tells the small of Bucky’s back, “I always imagined you carried me like a delicate princess.”

“Not when it’s the third time tonight,” Bucky grumbles, voice low and sleep rough in a way that does things to Tony, “would you just stay in th’ fuckin’ bed.”

“You sleep in the bed,” Tony replies, “and leave me in peace.”

“You can’t sleep in th’ bathtub,” Bucky says heartlessly and drops him onto the bed, surprisingly gentle.

“I argue that I was sleeping in the bathtub just fine,” Tony points out.

Bucky yanks the pillow out from under his head and shoves it in his face.

“Are you serious right now?” Bucky asks, leaning heavily against the doorframe, his hair in his face and his eyes still mostly closed.

Tony freezes in the act of building a Tony-shaped lump of pillows under the blankets. “No?” He tries.

Bucky glares at him until Tony shamefully un-builds the Tony-shaped lump and crawls back under the blankets himself.

On the fourteenth night, Tony has a new plan. It’s not a good plan, but it is new, and considering how stir crazy he is that’s about the best Tony can do.

He’s pretty sure Bucky is already awake when he stumbles into the living room, so Tony just heads straight for the couch and throws himself down on top of Bucky. It’s super awkward, because Bucky is curled up on his side to fit on the tiny couch, and Tony definitely ends up with a metal elbow somewhere around his spleen.

“What th’ fuck, doll,” Bucky slurs out, and maybe he hadn’t been quite as awake as Tony had thought.

“I want the couch,” Tony says, “I don’t care where you sleep. Although I should point out that the bed is empty, so you might as well use it.”

“What the fuck,” Bucky says again. He tries to shift, probably because Tony’s knees have to be digging into his legs, and it would probably send Tony tumbling to the ground if not for Bucky’s other arm snapping up to wrap around him.

“Give in and surrender the couch,” Tony says, like Bucky isn’t the only thing keeping him from face planting into the ground.

“Why are you like this?” Bucky asks with a heavy sigh, and in one smooth move manages to push himself to his feet while simultaneously slinging Tony up into a bridal carry. He smirks when Tony makes a couple nonsense noises and asks “happy now, princess?’

“Thrilled,” Tony says with as much sarcasm as he can manage, but it still comes out entirely too honest as Bucky starts carrying him back towards the bedroom.

“Why won’t you jus’ stay in th’ damn bed,” Bucky asks and oh, apparently he actually wants an answer to that.

Tony ran out of reasonable excuses about two days ago, so he blurts out “I feel guilty hogging it.”

Bucky rolls his eyes, but there’s a warm smile hovering around the corners of his mouth as he says “told you I don’t want it.”

“Oh, well if you told me,” Tony says with an eye-roll of his own, because really, it’s like Bucky doesn’t know him at all. Bucky does huff out a soft laugh, so maybe he does, but still, Tony has a point to prove. As soon as Bucky sets him down oh-so-gently on the bed, Tony leaps into action and tries to throw himself over Bucky’s shoulder towards the door.

“Damnit Tony,” Bucky snaps, but he’s shaking with suppressed laughter as he catches Tony around the waist and tries to toss him back down onto the bed. “Shit,” he swears again as Tony gets his arms around Bucky’s shoulders and clings for all he’s worth, “sweet thing, would you just- fuck, Tony-“

At some point in the ensuing scuffle, in which Bucky tries very hard to set him down and Tony tries very hard to not let that happen, Tony’s heel collides with the back of Bucky’s knee. It knocks Bucky just enough off balance that they both go tumbling down onto the bed and the frame groans dangerously.

It also knocks all the air out of Tony’s lungs when Bucky lands heavily on top of him, and after a second Tony manages to wheeze out “tell my bots... they failed me.”

“Tha’s fucked up,” Bucky says with another soft laugh. Then he wiggles one arm under Tony, says “hold on,” and proceeds to somehow roll them both over without rolling straight off the bed. “I hope you’re proud of yourself,” Bucky says, dropping his head back and even managing to land on the pillow, “you’re makin’ this so difficult.”

“I am proud of myself,” Tony says, face smashed against Bucky’s chest and eyes already falling closed, “‘cause that’s what I do.” Honestly, Bucky is about as lumpy as the mattress, in terms of laying-on, but in much better ways. And he’s so warm, and his arm still draped around Tony’s waist feels so nice, there’s not a damn thing Tony can do to stop himself from drifting off.

“Are... are you falling asleep on me?” Bucky asks, and there’s something in his voice that Tony can’t quite place. Maybe he can figure it out later, when he’s awake.

“No,” Tony says, and then passes the fuck out.

On the fifteenth night, Tony falls asleep on the couch and wakes up sprawled out on top of Bucky on the tiny bed, both of Bucky’s arms wrapped tight around his back.

“‘S this your dastardly plan to keep me in bed?” Tony asks, not bothering to lift his face from where it’s tucked so nicely into the curve of Bucky’s throat.

“Worked last night,” Bucky says, voice more of a low rumble than anything, and tightens his hold just a little.

“You fiend,” Tony says, and falls back asleep.

On the sixteenth morning, Tony wakes up still sprawled out on top of Bucky, drooling on him a little, Bucky’s fingers running through his hair. They don’t fight over the couch, after that.

It’s another three goddamn days before someone finally comes to pick them up, and they share the very last can of peaches to celebrate.

“Am I gonna have to worry ‘bout finding you sleepin’ on the kitchen table still?” Bucky asks with a small grin that still manages to light up his whole face.

Tony takes his table to think about his answer, sucks the last of the sugary, corn-syrupy fruit juice off his fork. Takes stock of the way Bucky watches him do it. Considers. Runs the odds. Decides to take his chances.

“I think you’ve learned there’s really only one way to be sure,” Tony says, raising one eyebrow and even letting a nervous little smile show on his face.

Bucky’s grin widens slowly, and then it’s a full on smile, nearly splitting his face and Tony can’t take it anymore. When Tony kisses him Bucky tastes sugary sweet and he still won’t stop smiling, even as he pulls Tony in closer.

Tony really doesn’t mind.

#THIS IS HOW I SHOW AFFECTION #my fic #winteriron #buckytony #starkbucks

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sodalitefully · 3 years

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Enter freely and of your own will [GNR, Sluff AU]

I know, I know, I've written vampire AUs before… Several times. But I had to write something about what a nerd Slash is for vampire fiction! Mostly inspired by interviews Slash gave after gnr covered Sympathy For The Devil for Interview With A Vampire (so any digs at the movie adaptation are based on Slash’s opinion, not mine – I’ve never seen it!). Occasional mentions of blood and stuff, but not particularly graphic. This fic is expanding on an AU I originally drew here.

~~~~

In my mind, it all played out like the plot of a paranormal romance novel. I’ve gotten familiar with those lately, thanks to the collection hidden in the bottom shelves of Slash’s library, buried below the gothic horror classics, the crime thrillers, and about a mountain of nonfiction. Hell, I could probably write my own! “Tall blonde unexpectedly falls for rock and roll bad boy with a dark secret,” yeah, the readers would eat that up. Of course, our love story didn’t really start when the unsuspecting protagonist moved to a new city, or when the leather-clad love interest showed off his supernatural shredding skills. No, I’d say it started a couple years later, when I found out Slash’s other deep, dark, embarrassing secret.

It wasn’t a dark and stormy night… but it was a movie night at my place, a tradition for Slash and I. Whenever we needed a break from the so-called rockstar lifestyle, we’d get together for a night in, smoke some pot and put on a movie. Slash laid back on my couch while I dug through a cabinet packed with VHS tapes and listed off a few options:

“Let’s see, we have Jurassic Park, Alien, Interview With a Vampire – Uh, sorry, I guess that would be weird huh?” Slash made a sour face.

“Ugh. I hate that movie, it’s such a bad adaptation. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, seriously?”

“Wait,” I dropped The Empire Strikes Back and Blazing Saddles onto the growing heap of tapes and sat back on my heels to look at Slash in surprise. "You’ve seen it before?”

“Uh…” Vampires may not be able to blush but I'd known Slash long enough to tell when he’s flustered.

“And you’ve read the book?”

“… Yes?” I laughed, Slash ducked and hid his face, obviously feeling self-conscious, but I didn’t mean to laugh at him. It was just…

I’d assumed that a real-life vampire would roll their eyes at the cliche, over-romanticized movie interpretations of their kind. Instead, I learned of Slash’s (nearly) indiscriminate love for all things vampire, anything from Carmilla to Buffy The Vampire Slayer. He was a sucker (hah, get it?) for dripping fangs, swishing capes, even those crazy accents, ever since he was a kid. And I can’t lie, it was pretty endearing. I wasn’t in love with him yet, but the more he told me about his obsession, the more warm and tingly I felt, charmed by how genuine he was – Hell, I barely even teased him about it! Somehow, that conversation felt even more personal than finding out he was a damn vampire. I was really touched that he felt comfortable sharing his interests with me, that he trusted me with his softer, nerdier, more romantic side.

I resisted the temptation to press for more details that night, but a month or so later, I caught him in the act! I remember waking up in the afternoon after crashing at his place so late it was early the night before. I wandered around his big, spooky house until I found Slash curled up in one of his fancy antique armchairs, his legs dangling over the armrest and a paperback book cradled in his lap. I couldn’t make out the curlicued script on the cover, but from the captivated look on his face it was a favorite – his eyes were bright as they darted across the page, and his lips curled into a warm, gentle smile.

I couldn’t stand to disturb him, so I snuck off before he noticed me in the doorway, and headed down the hall to the room he’d transformed into a tiny library – The man had a library in his house; between that and the subtly gothic decor it was hard to believe I never noticed that Slash was playing up the vampire aesthetic, consciously or not! Anyway, I poked around until I found where he hid his collection of vampire lit, and snatched a few that were, shall we say, not quite as acclaimed as Dracula or even The Vampire Chronicles. I don’t remember the titles, but there were a couple paperback romances and a horror novel with a badass-looking dude on the cover.

I had to see what all the fuss was about, you know? Yeah, this kind of thing wasn’t exactly up my alley, but Slash usually had good taste, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to check it out. Plus, if it was important to Slash, I wanted to know about it! And not just the well-known classics either; I wanted the guilty pleasures, I wanted to see what it was that could make Slash smile like that when no one was watching.

I’ll be honest, it wasn’t bad. I wasn’t a big reader at the time, but I raced through the horror novel in just two days, and trust me, I barely slept the night in between! The trashy romance was more enjoyable than I would ever admit; even with all the cliches and melodrama there was something compelling about unraveling the tangled web of forbidden love in a world full of the supernatural.

At this point, I was very cautiously beginning to entertain the idea that I might see Slash as more than just a buddy and a bandmate. As friends, were were closer than ever, hardly spent a day apart, and I was beginning to notice things that I hadn’t noticed before. Things like the way he always smiled at my lame jokes, the way he leaned on my shoulder when he was pretending to be drunk, the way he tossed his hair on stage… And I couldn’t help wondering whether Slash identified more with the heroine or the love interest. Did he want to be the cool, mysterious vampire lover, or the unsuspecting protagonist who gets drawn into an alluring new world?

I got my answer a couple months later, in town again after a leg on the road. It was a steaming hot summer day back in L.A., and Slash was dozing on his couch. This wasn’t unusual in and of itself, Slash’s sleep schedule had been fucked for as long as I'd known him. No, what made this instance significant was that I was also on the couch, reclined with my feet over the armrest and Slash draped across my chest. Tales From The Crypt played at a murmur on a brand-new TV set, but I wasn’t paying any attention.

See, at this point I’d recently learned that, when Slash focused hard enough, he could hear a living person’s blood pulsing in their veins and detect changes in body temperature. And that had me wondering: Could he tell that my heart beat faster when he leaned against me on stage? Could he tell that my ears got warm every time he turned a smile my way?

Could he tell how much I was affected by his weight on top of me?

He was like a huge cat in my lap, relaxed from head to toe. If you paid attention, you could tell that he was breathing more slowly that an ordinary human should be and his bare skin was slightly cool. Other than that he looked completely normal… Except for his teeth. His mouth was slightly open, allowing his pointed, knife-sharp teeth to scrape against his lower lip.

To Slash’s chagrin, they weren't gleaming white, perfectly straight fangs; instead they more closely resembled a shark’s jaw, crowded with small flesh-tearing blades. It was rare to see them exposed, Slash was careful to limit himself to tight-lipped smiles and mumbled dialogue whenever his secret was at risk. Even in private he was self-conscious about it, and I considered myself lucky when he grinned openly in my presence.

“Hey, Slash?”

“…Hmm?” Languidly, he shifted until he was looking up at me. Midafternoon sun leaked through the blinds brightly enough for me to make out a hint of red in his eyes, the other (un)dead giveaway that was usually obscured by his sedately lidded gaze.

"You know how you said the other day that you have really strong senses? Well... I was wondering what other, uh, non-human traits you have. How true are the myths about vampires, really?”

“Well… Hm. My eyes are pretty sensitive to daylight. And technically I’m nocturnal. But I don’t have fangs, I don’t really look like a vampire and I don’t have superpowers.” I swear to god, he pouted a little. "All things considered I didn’t really get any of the cool stuff."

“No super-strength? Or mind reading? Can you shapeshift into a bat?”

“Don’t you think I’d tell you if I could turn into a bat? At least I don’t have any of those stupid weaknesses, I can be in the sun and eat garlic and whatever.” He paused ponderously. “…You know, I might be immortal, I was around a long time before Tony and Ola took me in. Guess I’ll find out in a few decades.”

“That would be pretty cool.”

“Yeah, maybe."

“So... do you enthrall your victims?” I prodded, in a spooky, menacing voice belied by my goofy grin.

Slash snorted a laugh and shook his head at my antics. “No, I can’t do that either. Well, I don’t know, do you feel enthralled?”

I laughed awkwardly and counted my blessings when Slash didn't notice that my unspoken answer was an empathetic Yes.

Slash chuckled with me, then sighed. “Fuck, I wish vampires like that were real, though…” he confessed softly.

“Like what?”

“You know, badass, seductive, awesome powers…” He waved a hand toward a pinup poster on the wall with a corset and fangs, then let his head fall back to my chest. He mumbled into my shirt, “Is it really so much to ask for a sexy vampire to come and sweep me off my feet?”

“Slash, I hate to tell you this, but…” I couldn’t make it through the sentence with a straight face.

He swatted my bicep – pretty hard too, was he sure he didn’t have super-strength? “Fuck you, Duff, you know what I mean."

And, yeah, dreaming of being wooed by a beautiful, badass, intelligent and darkly mysterious vampire? Who appeared in my life and changed it forever, who blew me away with his capability and his passion? Who could captivate me with just a look?

Yeah. Believe me, I could relate.

~~~~

Happy Halloween!

#don’t think too hard about the timeline in this au #my sincerest apologies to any of you who is sick to death of my vampire aus #hell I’M not even that into vampires #I’m just into slash being into vampires…#slash #saul hudson #duff mckagan #gnr #guns n roses #guns and roses #halloween #gnr fanfic #guns n roses fanfic #sodafics

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lady-griffin · 4 years

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I Became Engulfed by Desire...

This was a super cute episode and absolutely hilarious. Mary and Maria were the true MVPs of the episode. I loved that these two brilliant and accomplished ladies are absolute dumbasses when it comes to one specific dumbass.

Mary is just comedic gold. She is so goddamn funny and ridiculous. I love her so much.

I’m still laughing at this. Look at this desperate dork who just wants to be with her precious Lady Katarina.

Maria was also pretty funny, but she was really more of the straight man to Mary being amazing.

Alan was also a great delight. His and Katarina’s scenes were very sweet and endearing and just made me smile. I mean really, how could anyone not smile or have their heart warmed by those two at the end.

ALSO LOOK HOW STUNNING KATARINA WAS!!!!

This episode in general had some stunning scenes. I particularly love this one image.

Beautiful.

Overall, I enjoyed the episode.

It is just filler episode, so I will admit a part of me wants to gets back to the actual plot and get to certain scenes. As I am a bit worried that some of favorite scenes will not get the full-attention they deserve.

And I get a bit more concerned when I notice that there is still a sleepover and possible gardening shears extra to be explored in the anime. Based off these images.

While I absolutely love the extra Manga Ch. 17.5 (it’s an absolute delight and just so adorable), I am curious and nervous to see how they will do everything that they have to do in the remaining time they have left.

Though, perhaps the anime isn’t going to adapt the whole Ch. 17.5 plot, but take the essential core of it for a future scene. Similarly, to how the anime adapted Alan’s extra chapter in Vol. 5 (LN) to the last scene of this episode.

I have confidence in the anime, but I’m still a bit nervous.

SPOILERS BELOW

Plot Heavy Future

The anime does have a decent amount to cover in the next four episodes.

Bully Accusation Scene Maria Disappearing Katarina learning about Black Magic/Nightmare Katarina confronting Raphael Infirmary Scene – Everyone upset/why they love Katarina Katarina Revisiting her old life Raphael’s backstory Confronting Raphael Raphael and Katarina talking on her farm Graduation Party

To be fair, some of these scenes won’t take that much time and some could be excluded or combined. But still, it’s a lot.

We’ll have to see how the Gardening Shears and Sleepover Scenes happen and when. But if we only had a choice between the two, I’d picked the former. I really do love Ch. 17. 5 with all my heart and would love to see it adapted into the anime.

Angst

I do hope the next four episodes will do justice for future events. I want my angst and I want it now.

I particularly want Ch. 18 to get so much attention and love from the anime.

It’s one of my favorite chapters.

I love how everyone is thinking about how much they love Katarina while at the same time are at the horrific realization that Katarina might die and their helpless to stop it. I want that. Give me that angst and more.

I want to suffer.

Alan and Katarina

If you ship Alan and Katarina, then this episode was a godsend. I personally really enjoyed these two here.

I loved how the anime included Alan’s extra POV chapter and Manga chapter from Vol.5 (LN). in this episode. It was well done.

Their scenes were very sweet and romantic.

There’s something I quite like about Alan and Katarina. I think it’s because their relationship is based in a genuine friendship.

Alan is really the only one I can see who would take his shoes off and join Katarina up in a tree. So, it’s just nice seeing them interact.

Also, Alan at this point, is the most normal one. And I think to a certain extent he brings that out in Katarina…particularly in this scene. Katarina was just a lovely, normal girl. It was nice.

It was lovely. Absolutely lovely.

Despite no one thinking of him being a real threat in the race for Katarina’s heart, due to him being oblivious of his own feelings, he’s made the most headway.

Also look at him blushing.

Alan x Katarina have certainly moved up in my rankings.

The colors and scenery of the last scene were really stunning. Just gorgeous.

Katarina’s Desire

She just wants sweets and I love that. Also, she’s like legit eating the Witch’s house from Hansel and Gretel, so that was fun.

I know it’s not that kind of episode, but I would’ve also liked to see Katarina’s deepest desire – avoiding her doomed endings.

While the other characters (and sometimes the narration) believe there is nothing more to Katarina than what’s on the surface, we know that’s not true. Or at least not 100% true.

And I may be looking into this way more deeply than I should.

But since Katarina was essential to everyone else’s desire and she was actually in the book with them, that makes me wonder if Katarina wasn’t there – would they have been satisfied with a fictional Katarina?

Or would they be like Katarina and not be satisfied with their fictional sweets?

The Harem’s Desires

This might be controversial, but I didn’t think their desires for Katarina were honestly that bad as some people have made them out to be. When I had crushes, my ideal situations and fantasies were just as ridiculous and over the top.

That being said, they could’ve definitely improved on how they showed them with one simple fix.

Have Katarina blushing and eyes sparkling, more than what they showed in the episode. That would have easily worked – Katarina is a huge fan of romance. She is so into it (which is why it’s so hilarious she’s oblivious to what’s happening in her life).

I don’t think the desires were awful or even bad, but they were somewhat off-putting for me. And I did feel like they missed the mark.

Geordo

All I can think about is the weird Matrix moves in his fantasy…what a fucking dork.

But at the core he wants to get married to Katarina and have her all to himself without anyone interrupting them (for one night)…which yeah, I get that. Every time he’s alone with Katarina for more than 3 minutes, Keith breaks down the door.

I have mixed feelings towards Geordo saying he likes the uncomfortable face of Katarina’s. On the one hand, we’re seeing that so-called sadistic side of Geordo that we keep hearing about but never really see.

But still…bad Geordo. Very bad. I’m rooting for you, don’t make me regret it.

For me, that statement is a darker take on what Geordo’s desire are stated to be in The Light Novels.

There’s a difference between this –

And this-

It’s the difference between a cabin in the woods vs. a cottage in the forest. Essentially the same concept, but the words make all the difference.

Changing that line from uncomfortable to embarrassed or flustered would’ve been a huge improvement. But there’s nothing we can do about that now and in the end, I did find the overall scene funny.

Though I feel like the anime is a bit of a let down when it comes to Geordo, so there is that.

Keith

I liked Keith’s desire the least. Surprisingly enough, it really had nothing to do with the pseudo-incest.

It was just the most off-putting for me. I did not like the weird lip-licking thing he did… I wasn’t a fan at all.

Sophia

She’s very bold; I’ll give her that.

But also, poor Sophia. Katarina has no idea that Sophia (or the other gals) has any romantic intention towards her and just thinks it’s fully platonic

…because slamming your friend against a wall is super platonic Katarina…

Nicol

This one was probably the funniest fantasy to me. The sounds Nicol made when he was jumping around the city were so funny to me. It was like they were out of a video game.

Also, Nicol’s desire to be The Devilish Count means that either Katarina or Sophia (definitely Sophia) told him that Katarina sees him being similar to the Count. And I guess after he learned that, Nicol read the entire book series and wants to be that way for Katarina.

He wants to be confident around her and have the freedom (and no guilt) in romantically wooing her.

Which is nice, but also what a dork.

Also, Katarina’s dress in his fantasy is either the same as Katarina’s birthday dress, but in a different color. Or at the very least, very similar.

Possibly because Nicol got to dance with Katarina on her birthday and his fantasy did involve dancing with her. A nice bit of detail.

Mary’s reaction to his fantasy, was a gem among gems.

Alan

He wants to play a recital for Katarina. Which is just so touching. Seriously, Alan is killing me with his sweetness.

If I’m not mistaken, Katarina is wearing the same dress she wore to his recital during their summer break. So, it seems very likely he’s playing “Dedicated to You, My Beloved” to well his beloved.

I’m assuming there was more to his desire, but Mary shutting the book was hilarious.

Also, Alan got pretty damn close to his desire in the real world, so good on him.

I feel like it’s safe to say that Mary and Maria’s desire if they were amplified by the book, would be at the same level of everyone else’s’.

Which is fun to imagine. Especially Mary’s desire for Katarina.

Also, everyone realizing that not only did Mary and Maria sees their desire for Katarina, but Katarina experienced their desire was so funny. They all just stood up and left. A+ comedy.

The Study Session Growing

It was fun seeing everyone join in on Mary’s alone time with Katarina, one by one, and Mary’s frustration building up.

Evil Harem.

If we ever wanted to see the Harem as “evil,” this is not a bad reference point in terms of visuals.

Raphael

I love the red herrings surrounding him. It appears he’s just falling for Katarina, which technically he is, but that’s just scratching the surface of what’s actually going on.

Overall, it was nice and cute episode and really funny and ridiculous.

We got a bit more of a look into the characters and their desires for Katarina, but really the main development was between Alan and Katarina. Who would’ve thought?

Oh, and Mary being the funniest character alive.

#Katarina Claes #Hamefura #Bakarina #Alan Stuart #mary hunt #Otome game no hametsu flag #destruction flag otome #my next life as a villainess #Maria Campbell #Geordo Stuart #Gerald Stuart #Sophia Ascart #Nicol Ascart #Keith Claes

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angedemystere · 4 years

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My Rewatch of Les Miserables, 1998

Ah, yes, I have decided to revisit that much panned film version, directed by Bille August and starring Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman and Claire Danes (and Hans Matheson and Toby Jones thrown in for good measure). This movie holds a complicated place in my heart by being the adaptation that introduced me to Les Miz, inspiring love for these characters and spurring me to look into the musical and the Brick itself .... only to then earn my distaste for all the inaccuracies from the original text.

So, now that I’ve revisited it with fresh eyes and a barometer by which to compare it to other adaptions, is it as bad as everyone says?

Well ... it depends.

Let’s start with how this stands as a movie.

First, the cinematography. In terms of setting and sets, this film is gorgeous. It starts with nature scenes (opens early on with a shot of the river ~ooohh~ foreshadowing) and provides a strong sense of location and space. Now I think in certain urban scenes, especially when the story moves to Paris, there’s a lot of washed-out grey that kind of blends together. It does have a purpose: to portray the desolation plaguing the poor that’s stirring l’ABC to action. Even so, it can be harder to focus on the details when color blends too much. Other than that (and some not necessary close-ups), the filming is dynamic, easy to follow, and overall really nice to look at.

Next, the script and pacing. The scenes within themselves are for the most part effective at getting across character and important information and making interactions feel natural. (The one bench scene between Cosette and Marius might be the exception - can no one write romantic banter well? Or is this true to how awkward romantic banter is in real life? Tell me, I have no idea). Of course you’re dealing with characters like Javert (and lovestruck teens) who make natural dialogue a challenge, but in the movie’s first half, there’s a strong reliance on exchanges from the book itself to make it work.

Pacing within scenes keeps at a steady clip while giving time for important moments to breathe. But then the movie has to deal with time jumps, which can be awkward since we the audience are forced to reorient ourselves. The first jump works better because we’re meant to feel some suspense about what’s happened to Valjean between his encounter with Bishop Myriel and his being mayor. We instead meet Javert and follow him to his new post in Montreuil-sur-Mer I’ll ... get to that later. When he’s introduced to the mayor, we realize it’s Jean Valjean! That’s pretty satisfying. This movie most succeeds in the first half in giving us enough about Valjean, Javert and Fantine to get who they are, what their situation is and why we should pay attention.

The next time jump brings us to 1832 and teenage Cosette. This time we’ve missed out on seeing Valjean and Cosette’s relationship grow, and not a whole lot is shown to solidify what their relationship has been like in the convent and what they stand to gain or lose by leaving that environment. We do get some insight, just not as much as I would’ve liked.

Now, how are the actors? Everyone does at least a decent job, even sometimes a brilliant one. Liam Neeson brings warmth, shy awkwardness, and humanity to the character in ways that feel genuine. The awkwardness is most endearing when he’s interacting with Fantine, which is a deviation from the novel that I really don’t mind because, damn it, they’re just so cute! Speaking of which, this addition of a mild Valjean/Fantine romance (don’t worry, it’s as raunchy as kindergartners holding hands) actually plays a role in how Valjean handles Cosette and Marius’s romance. There’s a bit of lampshading when Cosette acknowledges that she has pretty strong feelings for a guy she’s known only a few weeks and it’s not rational, but her feelings are no less real. And Valjean respects those feelings because he experienced them in his own way with Fantine.

Hang on ... hang on a sec ...

Okay, I’m fine. BBC 2019 miniseries, eat your heart out.

Uma Thurman captures Fantine’s vulnerability without overselling it. She pleads for her case while flip-flopping between honest frustration and appeasing servility. But I must ask this: when her hair was cut, why wasn’t it cropped shorter? Maybe a clause in her contract? Also, no tooth removal. The filmmakers probably wanted Fantine to still look attractive enough for the little romance budding between her and Valjean. Points off for accuracy but still effective in pathos.

I remember not being a fan of Cosette when I first saw this film, not through any fault of Claire Danes or the writing but because I cared more about the Valjean-Javert dynamic than her romance (not predictable of me at all). And she can be pouty, but that poutiness is often justified by her cooped-up existence and a desire to live more freely. I also have renewed appreciation for the fact that Cosette 1) stood up to Valjean when he slapped her, especially given her abuse at Mme. Thenardier’s hands, 2) stayed fairly calm while lying to Javert’s face, and 3) held Javert at gunpoint while she freed Marius. For her sheltered upbringing, girl’s got nerves of steel.

This Marius, while still foolish (slipping out of the barricade that he’s supposed to be in charge of to visit Cosette and being not at all subtle while stalking her), has more sense than book!Marius. Granted, he’s undergone a fusion with Enjolras, but I understand the decision, which I’ll address shortly.

And Javert .... Javert is probably the hardest major Les Miz character to pin perfectly in any adaptation. This is for a couple reasons. One, because films have limited time, certain scenes that can establish an otherwise unseen facet of a character are often cut. This frequently happens with Javert’s later scenes: the police station (where he burns his coattails) and the Gorbeau house (twice - one when he’s disguised as a beggar, the other when he jokes about offering his hat and rebuffs Mme. Thenardier’s assault with his “claws of a woman” comment). Two, his frequent run-ins with Valjean are altered from being coincidences to international face-offs orchestrated by him, making him much more fixated, even downright obsessive, about catching Valjean. On both fronts, Rush’s Javert suffers from these cuts or alterations. But when it comes to the performance he delivers?

This is the silhouette of a man who makes criminals wet themselves.

Is he my definitive Javert? Oh no. That dream has yet to come true for me. But I rank him in my top five preferred Javerts. I do have issues with some of his actions, like toppling the mail coach (just .....why?), smacking Fantine, and pointing a gun in Cosette’s face. That’s the wrong kind of asshole or creep for him. I do think it interesting, on this rewatch, to be reminded that this Javert’s mother was a prostitute, and when Fantine is harassed by Bamatabois and then retaliates, he first holds back from interfering (and stops the captain from interfering) and then “takes care of this” by slapping Fantine when she tells him the gentlemen started it. I don’t see Brickvert doing any of these things, but the purpose of this moment is to give us a glimpse into the depth of his hatred for the class of people his parents came from. We don’t know why he hates them so much apart from his overall moral and philosophical perspective, but you can’t help but wonder about what he experienced in his early life that would make him act violently toward a woman with the same occupation as his mother, but ONLY when she lashes out (understandably) at a member of good society. This outburst could also explain why he fixates on Valjean, a thief like his father. It’s not just his commitment to his ideals; he’s living a morality play with his parents as the criminals he needs to punish in order to prove he’s not one of them, that he’s risen above them, that he will not and CANNOT fall to their level. The fact this movie captured that nuance and had it carry out in subtext is a credit, even if I don’t agree with all the actions this version has him do.

No surprise that, given how much attention has clearly been given to Javert’s character by the film, this adaptation chooses to keep the center of narrative focus on Javert and Valjean, sacrificing a lot of other characters in the process. Eponine? Gone. The Thenardiers overall, gone in the second half once Valjean has rescued Cosette (except for Gavroche, but you wouldn’t know he’s a Thenardier in this). The Les Amis exist as a collective but have no individual identities apart from Marius and, arguably, this movie’s Enjolras, who is reduced to a team lieutenant and stripped of all other book!Enjolras characterization. Again, a good chunk of Enjolras’s charisma and commitment to the cause is lumped into Marius. The writers were likely interested in making Marius a more dashing love interest. This doesn’t always jive with the moments he’s actually Marius: stalking Cosette, writing her pages of love letters, ducking out of meetings early to see her when he’s supposed to be heading the planning of the uprising. The clash can be distracting. Still, Matheson tries to balances these two sides as well as he can.

This is where a lot of Les Miz fans have or will have problems with this version. If you’re anything other than a fan of Valjean, Javert, Fantine or Cosette, you’re going to feel deprived. I don’t actually consider this a major flaw of the film because the filmmakers were at least consistent in their focus, preferring to develop a few characters than stretch too thin with more characters who would have ended up with shallow portrayals anyway. But I will highly suggest that if you’re a diehard Les Amis or Eponine fan and are annoyed when adaptations reduce those characters, you might want to skip this version.

Now that the issue of character omissions or reductions has been dealt with, let’s get to what I have problems with that are actually on screen:

Valjean’s outbursts toward Cosette - this aspect of his character isn’t as prevalent as I remember, to be fair. There is one scene where he snaps at her as a child (and he immediately apologizes) and two scenes where he yells at her as a teen and/or hits her. Nonetheless, the notion that physical assault was necessary in his character toward Cosette of all people--please no. There’s no reason for it. In fact, there’s better reason to go against it to show contrast with how Valjean reacted to stressful situations in the past. Yes, those knee-jerk reactions can be hard to shake, but Cosette’s presence in his life is meant to show how much he’s grown. Granted, Cosette acknowledges that his outbursts are out of character, that he’s “acting so strangely,” and we do see tenderness between them most of the time. Still, it taints the relationship when his and Cosette’s book relationship, while plagued by secrecy, is entirely wholesome. Any hint of violence makes me wary of when Cosette says she needs to be there for him after learning about his past and plans to flee the country.

Javert’s suicide - again, more on Valjean’s end. Obviously this version is different from canon; Javert makes it seem like he’s going to murder Valjean and let his body fall in the river, only to free him and do it to himself, and Valjean is there to watch. And he fails to attempt saving him, which, given his actions at the barricade and the kind of man he’s become, comes across painfully out of character. So does the glee he expresses when a man has killed himself in front of him only a minute ago. Maybe if Javert had said something or done something to make saving him impossible or clearly against his wishes, Valjean’s inaction would’ve been more understandable. I do also question Javert’s wisdom in killing himself in front of a man who tried to save him mere hours ago. Why did he not consider that Valjean might try rescuing him again? Well, he seemed to make the right call.

Both of these choices point to an attempt to make Jean Valjean more flawed. This is a conversation the fandom has had before, and the question of slipping in a sharpness to redeemed!Valjean has come up in other versions, even some actors’ portrayals in the Broadway show. I see the argument on both sides--he’s human, he suffered years of conditioning that turned him hateful and willing to harm others. But it should be noted that, while Valjean is physically capable of throwing someone around like a sack of potatoes, he’s never demonstrated an inclination to do so, not even from what few details we have of his life in prison. The movie adds that violent edge to Valjean’s narrative, from when he first hits Bishop Myriel on the head to smacking Cosette in the face. Javert gets some of this treatment, too--never shown violent behavior in canon, smacks around Fantine and manhandles Cosette in the film. Maybe the filmmakers were worried a modern audience wouldn’t find a nonviolent ex-con and a non-violent policeman believable. Yeesh.

All right, some minor issues:

The changing of names - Montreuil-sur-Mer becomes Vigau. Fauchelevent becomes Lafitte. Champmathieu becomes Carnot. What’s going on? Were they scared of pronouncing French names longer than two syllables? Oh, and Valjean as the mayor never has a name. He’s just “monsieur le maire” wherever he goes. You think his alias is M. Maire? So he became Maire Maire? No wonder he was pushed to take office.

Child actors - they aren’t great. Hardly any get dialogue and it’s no surprise why. For those who do, it’s obvious they’re being prompted offscreen. The kid playing Gavroche is the exception and there’s too little of him.

Illiteracy - eh, I kind of give this a pass. It’s not book canon that Valjean is illiterate post-Toulon, and I don’t remember if book!Fantine is illiterate, but it gives them a little bonding moment and gives Neeson the opportunity to show off his first-grader-concentration face when he practices his cursive.

Having addressed the big (and not so big) problems of the film, were there good parts in terms of adaptation? Yes--I think Neeson and Rush have a scintillating Valjean-Javert dynamic. I like how they have some understated snark jousting in the Vigau scenes. The 2019 series wishes it could achieve that level of sniping. But then, Brickvert wasn’t very subtle when he brought up how he knew only ONE man, one CONVICT, who could lift the cart, and Valjean is trying to deflect or ignore him while Fauchelevant is being crushed. Maybe not book-accurate, but entertaining as hell.

Also, while I don’t ship them, the Valjean-Fantine scenes were cute and made my heart squeeze. I know it was gratuitous. Their bond provided a little spot of light in their miserable (hah!) lives.

Also also, I like Javert’s informant in the 1832 scenes. He’s funny, cynical (he complains how nauseating Cosette and Marius’s romance is and swears off having daughters), committed to his job (he catches a cold from watching Cosette and Marius in the rain on Javert’s behalf), and respects Javert without being afraid of him. They even walk together to the barricade so Javert can get in and not draw suspicion. And for some reason he doesn’t have a name! Guys, if you like Rivette from the BBC series, let’s give this unnamed informant some love. I want a buddy cop series with him and Javert.

To wrap this up, I’ll say that Les Miserables (1998) is certainly flawed as an adaptation. Jean Valjean and Javert get injected with violent tendencies, Fantine stays prettier than she should, Marius and Enjolras have undergone fusion, and 80% of the book characters have vaporized or barely exist as bit parts. But I wont say stay away from this abomination because it’s not abominable. It’s ... ok. It’s serviceable in capturing the main plot arc of Les Miserables and a couple of its crucial themes. I think Les Miserables is one of those books where you’re probably not going to get the screen adaptation you want, so maybe watch a bunch, pick a few that least offend you, and fuse them together into your own imagined adaptation. With luck, the components are more cohesive than those of Marijolras.

#les miserables #les miserables 1998 #jean valjean #javert #geoffrey rush #liam neeson

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punkassbookjockey26 · 4 years

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Book Review: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

**This is not a spoiler-free review**

Warning: review contains strong language and mentions of violence.

I am not ashamed to admit that I stan Sarah J. Maas. I first read A Court of Thorns and Roses a few years ago and I loved it so much that I immediately read it again. And when my library did not have the next book because it was checked out, I went out and purchased it. And when the third and fourth ones came out, I didn’t bother going to the library because they had already been pre-ordered. The same thing happened with Throne of Glass.

That being said, I was hesitant to read this book. With her YA books, I know what I’m getting. There’s a strong leading lady who’s special, a romance with some hot looking dude that has a tragic backstory, magic of some kind, a whole lot of sass, and a bad guy that is evil just to be evil. Most of the characters have plot armor and your favorites likely will not die (or stay dead if they do). That’s part of the reason I enjoy reading YA books.

But with this one, I was incredibly unsure. I have expectations for adult fiction, that don’t align with my expectations with YA. While I figured I would probably enjoy it, because, hey, it’s my fucking queen writing here, I didn’t want it to simply be a rehashing of her YA novels with more swearing and sex. And in some parts, it is.

But hot damn, y’all.

First of all, I went into this novel knowing absolutely nothing. I didn’t read any spoilers. I didn’t even read the dust jacket summary. I just dived right in because I wanted to experience it wholly without any context. And hoo boy, did I not know what I was getting myself into.

Maas uses the first part of her book to describe this endearing friendship that main character Bryce Quinlan has with her roommate Danika Fendyr. Bryce is half-human, half-fae with little in the way of power or abilities, and Danika is the Alpha of her wolf-shifter pack. Two characters from wildly different backgrounds that manage to put that aside and become friends. I love the way Maas portrays this relationship. There’s no power or ego involved in their friendship - just two people who love and care for each other deeply and see each other as equals. Which is why when Danika and her pack are fucking murdered not even 70 pages into this 800-page behemoth, I was less than pleased (read: crying hysterically).

The next part takes place two years after this gruesome murder of her best friend, her almost-lover, and the rest of the pack. I struggled the most in this part due to Maas’ world-building. It was a giant info dump, some of which I am still unsure about. But the plot picks up when a murder similar to Danika’s occurs and Bryce is tapped to help with the case due to her previous relationship with Danika. Enter Hunt Athalar - a dark, tall, broody angel with a tragic backstory (already two for two on the Sarah J. Maas playlist). The two team up to tackle this murder mystery that Maas is carefully crafting. They also have to find out who stole Luna’s Horn, an artifact from the millennia-old Starborn Fae. One of the things that I pride myself on is being able to figure out the ‘whodunnit’ aspect of mysteries long before the get solved on the page. That being said, this particular part was fairly convoluted and a bit confusing because I was unsure where Maas was headed.

In this part, we see the beginnings of Bryce and Hunt’s relationship. Despite the issues with the mystery-aspect, Maas shines when depicting her characters’ emotions and their relationships with others. Bryce is incredibly vulnerable and we learn just how bad things got for her after Danika died. Hunt comes with his own baggage from his dead lover and fighting in the war that earned him a one-way ticket into slavery. But again, despite the overwhelming difference in power and a bumpy, aggravating start, Bryce and Hunt develop a friendship that is rooted in equality.

We also see how Bryce is with her half-brother, Ruhn. Ruhn is a Fae prince, but does not take after his cruel father. He demonstrates how much he cares for Bryce, and how much he hurts that their relationship fell apart. I love the fact that even though he has rare Starborn Fae powers and is “the chosen one,” he doesn’t hold that title over anyone’s head. In fact, he loathes how much weight he bears from that title. I love Bryce and Ruhn’s relationship so, so much. I feel like Ruhn is severely undervalued as a character, and despite the fact that he can be an asshole, he is probably my favorite character out of the whole book. Maas plays up the tortured prince aspect pretty heavily, but for Ruhn, it works.

In Part 3, Bryce and Hunt’s relationship develops further while they are still on the trail for the murderer. There are some awful things that happen in this part, and some horrible things that are revealed to the reader. The part where Hunt’s wings are cut off due to him and Bryce falsely accusing Danika’s mother of her daughter’s murder made my stomach hurt. We learn what synth is and what it does, which is incredibly messed up. We learn that perhaps Danika is not as amazing as Bryce makes her out to be, and Bryce ends up being betrayed by Hunt.

At this point in the novel, the murder case seems secondary. It is all about Bryce and her relationship with Hunt and her former relationship with Danika. And by the end of the section, the mystery seems to get wrapped up with a nice bow of convenience and a whole heaping of hurt for Bryce. I don’t hate that Maas chose to focus on the character’s relationships during this part. But I do remember feeling incredibly disappointed that the mystery part was over, and now we had to deal with all these feelings.

Which brings me to part 4, and the whole fucking reason why this book is fucking amazing.

I can’t even begin to describe how I felt when I made it through Part 4 and finished the book. This was one of the most satisfying endings I’ve read out of any book. The reader learns that the “solved” mystery was actually solved incorrectly, and it leads into a series of epic fight sequences that ends up with Bryce shooting a fucking Archangel in the head, chopping him, up, setting him on fire, and then vacuuming up his ashes like the fucking queen she is.

And that’s not even the best part.

The best part was her conversation with Hunt, telling him to tell her friends and family goodbye, telling him that she was waiting for him, before she reveals that she’s the fucking Heir to the Starborn Fae, uses her starlight power, and saves the whole fucking city.

I. FUCKING. CANNOT. DEAL.

Was this a murder mystery or a coming-of-age tale, SJM? It doesn’t matter because I am fucking here for it.

There is so much that this book offers. While it is convoluted at times, and there are a lot of questions that still remained unanswered (Why is Jesiba so shady? Who the fuck is Aidas? What is the Autumn King going to do?), I thought that this book was an excellent series opener for Maas. I know my review leaves out a lot of information, but come on, the book was 800 pages long. This review would have been even longer if I focused on every little detail of what happened. But Maas is to be commended for such a magnificent piece of work, and I, for one, am deeply, deeply saddened that the next book will likely not be out until 2022

5/5 stars. Fucking fight me.

#sarah j maas #crescent city #house of earth and blood #bryce quinlan #hunt athalar #ruhn danaan #danika fendyr #starborn fae #book reviews #urban fantasy

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odinsonsobsessed · 5 years

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Being With You

Bucky has broken your heart and he wants to make amends. Will you take him back?

Pairing: Bucky/Reader || Word Count: 1.4k || Warning: Mild Angst, Fluff

A/N: This was written for @fandom-and-feminism and @fadingcoast 's MCUvsBSB Writing Challenge! My song was Crawling Back To You by our very own lovely Backstreet Boys, with my character being Bucky. I strongly recommend listening to that song while you read, because it's amazing (as are all of their songs) and enhances the reading experience, but of course it can be read on it's own! With that being said, this fic was inspired by the song and I chose to use it as the theme, rather that write it in.

Likes, Comments, Reblogs, any type of feedback is greatly appreciated!!!

A quiet night in meant that you were curled up in your favorite armchair in the living room of your apartment with a comfortable silence lingering in the air, save for the clock ticking on the wall, mere background noise as you read your book.

It was peaceful, your mind quiet of any and all thoughts, completely focused on the romance novel resting in your lap, knees scrunched and your body turned slightly in the large, comfortable chair. That was, until the knock on your door disrupted your solitude. Damn! Just when the story was beginning to get interesting.

A sigh left your lips as you bookmarked your place and set the book down on the table next to you. You stood, slipping your feet into the house slippers on the floor where you left them not thirty minutes before.

Unlocking the door, you pulled it open, fully expecting your annoyingly concerned friend to be standing there, just like he had last Friday night. “Look Steve, I told you--”

But, it wasn't the overly protective supersoldier you called your best friend, it was Bucky. The man who broke your heart just under a month ago.

A tightness filled your chest as you shared his gaze and your first instinct was to run into his arms and take comfort in him, as you did many times before. But this time was different. He wasn't yours anymore. No, you weren't his anymore.

Bucky had abandoned you after the two of you been so happy, so content in your relationship. That's what you'd thought, anyway. You didn't realize just how wrong you were until you uttered those three simple, yet powerful words that ruined it all. His smile no longer reached his eyes and the mood between you had shifted.

“Bucky…” Your mind swirled with questions about why he was standing there at your door. “What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in?”

“No.” The words declining him of his request had flew out of your mouth before you could stop them. Perhaps a but harsh, but given the situation, you had a hard time caring. Anger was creeping in, the bitterness of the whole ordeal resurfacing.

Bucky let out a breath, “Okay, that's fair.” He swallowed, visibly uncomfortable as he shifted his weight onto his other foot. “Can we talk at least?”

You pressed your lips into a thin line, “Oh, you want to talk now? About what, Bucky? Would you like me to tell you how I really feel again so you can leave?”

His forehead creased and the corners of his lips dropped a little. “Doll…”

Your heart clenched at the familiar term of endearment he so fondly used to call you. Tears pricked your eyes and you held them back. “Don't call me that. Don't pretend like nothing happened between us.”

Bucky reached out to touch you, but deciding against it, he dropped his arm to his side with a sigh, looking down at the floor. “I was an idiot, I know that. But if you'll just let me--”

“Let you what? Let you explain why you abruptly walked out of my life after I told you that I loved you? Would you like to explain to me why you ignored me for weeks after countless attempts to contact you?”

“I was an asshole. I-I'm sorry, I--”

“Save it, Bucky. You don't get to just show up here out of the blue after you left me and expect to just say your sorry and all is forgiven.” The tears were flowing now and his eyes were watering, too. But none of that mattered. Not anymore. You were closing this chapter of your life and moving on. Without Bucky.

“Please, just let me--”

“Goodbye Bucky.” You closed the door and locked it, breathing heavily as you turned and leaned against the door. Your chest felt incredibly tight and you thought you would suffocate as you sank down to the floor as the evidence of your sorrow rolled down your cheeks uncontrollably.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That hadn't been the last you'd heard of Bucky. Over the next week, he tried desperately to win you back. He sent flowers to your work, he sent you multiple texts consisting of I'm Sorry, I was wrong, I miss you.

You wanted to be strong, but if you were being honest with yourself, his attempts were wearing on you. The feelings you were working on burying deep and trying to forgets were resurfacing and it terrified you. You were afraid that if you listened to what he had to say, you'd give in and take him back. If you forgave him, would he just do it again? Could you trust him once more?

You were in the middle of that debate with yourself after you stared at Bucky's last text message, when a loud knock on your door startled you out of your thoughts. More came seconds later and you gasped, zetting your phone down on the table so you could go and answer the door quickly.

“What in the world--Bucky? What's going on?” You opened the door, taking in the supersoldier's appearance. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy; his expression sullen.

“I can't do it anymore.” He shook his head, “I can't be apart from you anymore, darlin’, I can't.” His voice cracked and your eyes watered. “You're all I think about. Every day and all night. God, I was stupid to walk away from you!”

You opened your mouth to speak, but he beat you to it, “When you told me that you loved me… I got scared. My thoughts overwhelmed me and I had so many conflicted feelings.” He sighed, closing his eyes. “So I took off, somewhere far away from here. I didn't tell anyone where I was going, I just… went.” His voice was full of hurt and shame and he opened his eyes to look at you again. “Dumbest thing I ever did. By the time I cleared my head, I realized I fucked up. I missed you so damn much, I couldn't breathe.” He stepped closer and took your hands in his, causing your heart to hammer in your chest. “That's when I realized that I loved you, too.”

“Bucky…” Your voice wavered, tears spilling down your cheeks.

He pulled you towards him, crushing you against him. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please take me back. I-I dunno what else to do. Don't wanna be apart from you anymore.” He took a deep breath. “I'll beg you, if you want. I'll get down on my knees and beg.”

You wrapped your arms around him, clutching onto his jacket and crying into the crook of his neck. God, you'd missed him. “Shut up.” You mumbled. “Missed you, too.”

Bucky pulled back to look at you. He cupped your face between his hands and gazed at you with an affectionate smile, wiping the tears on your cheeks. “I love you.” When he pressed his lips to yours, you hadn't realized just how much you missed the feel of him until that moment. You sighed against his lips and held tighter in the embrace, not wanting to let him go.

Bucky guided you backwards, feeling for the door and closing it behind him. You pressed your palms flat against his chest and pushed him gently against the door before wrapping your arms around his neck. As he deepened the kiss, his hands slid around to your lower back, pulling you against him.

Heat coiled low in your belly at the sudden nip at your bottom lip and he pulled back with a grin and nudged your nose with his. “Marry me.” You were about to kiss him again, but you paused.

“What?”

“After being apart from you for just a measly couple of weeks, it drove me crazy. Thought about you every second, dollface. I realized that being with you was the best thing that ever happened to me. Be my wife and I won't let you go ever again. This is my promise to you.”

Your heart swelled and you found yourself nodding. “I'm yours, Bucky.” He kissed you again and you mumbled against his lips, “Always been yours.”

His chest vibrated with joyous laughter and he reached down mid kiss, grabbing the backs of your thighs and hoisting you up into his arms. You wrapped your legs around his waist, giggling as he carried you off to the bedroom.

@fandom-and-feminism @fadingcoast @igotloki @mrshiddleston-uk @nikkalia @manager-of-mischief @spidey-bites @dangertoozmanykids101 @xxloki81xx @devilbat @furstinnajoelle @exbandragirl @joyofbebbanburg @sabine-leo @officiallyunofficialperson @littlefrogstuff @wolfsmom1 @drakesfiance @awkwardfangirl2014

#MCUvsBSB #writing challenge #bucky/reader #bucky x reader #mild angst #fluff

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royal-writer · 5 years

Text

Right from the start

I knew that I’d found a home for my heart

---

Essätha lifted her head. Her fantasy dissolved from the novel drawing images in her mind, pitched back into reality from the sound of a spade hitting the earth. With a fingernail held to the line she was upon, her head tilted to listen for another sound that did not return. Only her breathing lifting the atmosphere, stirring the loose wavy hair framing her face.

She tried to focus on the last word she’d read, and the shovel struck the ground once more.

Grabbing the bookmark scrap of paper she’d kept of one of her beloved’s striking floral sketches, Essie gently shut the book and laid it aside. She brushed aside wisps of hair with her hand, blowing curls away with a whisper of wind. Her gaze curiously ventured to the window behind her, illuminating the sitting area for a good reading light.

The vantage point did not offer her a clue to the sound of the digging, however.

Determined as she was inquisitive, Essätha stood up to smooth her sundress down before trailing out of the room. Her fingers reached, grazing the doorframe lazily as she trailed across the cool floor on bare feet. The soft padding of her feet barely made a sound as she approached the french doors that lead out to the balcony.

Stepping out, the stonework balcony was quite warm beneath her toes. Where sunlight touched her, the warm undertones soaked in the rays to add a deep glow in her skin. For a moment she squinted; her eyes as golden as the sun above, while tentatively stepping closer to the railing.

She bumped into the edge and screwed up her eyes as they adjusted to the scorching rays. As her vision adjusted, she spotted the shirtless figure in loose slacks carefully patting soil around a small bush of peony flowers. She recalled the sprout that had been in the house some time ago; only just beginning to bud last she she observed it. Now in a bloom, the healthy thriving plant was being given its place among the other elaborate flora in the garden.

An adoring smile began to grow, and grow, and grow upon her face. She leaned over the edge of the railing columns to study the man; sunkissed from days of yardwork, a bit sunburned in the faintest hue of pink. His black hair had been trimmed shorter recently, but it made her long no less to card her fingers through them. She did however, pout when he’d shaven and preened the fine topiary of his beard recently, stating summer’s heat was making it too hot to have it grown so much. She’d grown used to those damn whiskers; the soft tickling when their cheeks nuzzled, and now he was merely a shadow of scruff.

He gave a loud huff, leaning back to huff as he wiped upon his sweat-dappled brow. Sensing none of her observation or quiet pining as she bent over the ledge, Lord Amon reached for a canteen of water nearby to take a large drink, allowing some of the water to spill out on his face and down his chest.

Essätha swallowed, and took a private moment to glance away to examine the other flowers before looking back to see him pouring the rest of the contents around the peonies base, turning the dirt nearly black. He gave the plant a final check, bending his head around to see if the transplant had caused it any harm, before standing to brush himself off.

His eyes, somehow, must have caught sight of the extended shadow from the balcony, and he looked sharply up with surprise.

Sinking back down so she no longer lounged over on the tips of her toes, Essätha offered a sheepish wave in the curl of her fingers.

Even so far away, she could see his extraordinary bright smile beam right back up at her. He raised a hand in greeting, before placing it below his ribcage and offering a dignified bow that made laughter well up in her like a fountain’s spring.

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Essätha is the sun,” Amon cried up to her with a passionate plea of his hand towards her. “Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon; who is already pale and sick with grief. That thou; her maid, art far more fair than she.”

“The moon is not even out to compare to!” she giggled, offering a dismissive wave of her hand. “You quote me Shakespeare and cast me as Juilet. I thought myself more a Perdita.”

“My darling Essätha, you are neither,” the nobleman replied. “You are only yourself. If I had the creative ingenious of a poet, I would read to you how the world and all her gold pales in comparison to you: precious, alluring, and compassionate.”

The smile tugging upon her lips made her cheeks ache. Settling her elbows upon the hard granite, she propped her chin upon her hands.

“Your sweet-nothings are all the artistic romance I need, my love,” she confessed.

Amon placed a hand over his heart in a gesture she’d touched him. His eyes were hard to read from this distance; dark and blinded by the sun, but his expression made her shiver regardless. His posture, his face; she could feel his love wash over her like an embrace. His eyes she could picture as though he was standing right before her, looking down at her. It was like being at the bottom of the ocean; being within the center of the darkest part of the universe. A place coldness did not touch despite the deep hues.

It made her tingle; down her spine, in her toes, to the roots of her scalp. His gaze, always protective, genuine, and adoring. The world floated so far away and she, a cradled pearl; a speck of starlight glistening in his regard, hidden securely in his arms.

She watched, slightly puzzled, as Amon raised his hand away from his heart. He took a step forward, taking a deep breath, and the depth of his voice carried in a tender ballad she recognized all too well:

“Wise men say: only fools rush in; but I can’t help falling in love with you.”

The heat of the sun was nothing compared to the inferno burning in her face. Emitting a shaky exhale she sank, her arms folding into the railing, where she could rest her cheek against her forearm.

“Shall I stay? Would it be a sin?”

Essätha melted. Her smile grew softer; more relaxed as she blinked in dreamy affection.

“If I can’t help, falling in love with you?”

Another sigh tumbled out of her chest. Her hips gave the slightest sway to the charming serenade of his voice; the melody in her head. The cascade of black waves from her hair fell in her face, and she pushed them back to better see her handsome nobleman, and beloved husband.

“Like a river flows, surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things are meant to be,” Amon sang, striding forward another step. His eyes remained fixated; an encouraging smile privately for her. Only made for her. The special kind that lit up his eyes, softened his features, made him appear vulnerable and delicate as the flowers he grew.

“Take my hand. Take my whole life, too.”

Wordlessly, Essie mouthed the next lyrics along with him: “For I can’t help falling in love with you.”

“Like a river flows, surely to the sea,” he held his hand out further, outstretched, as if he could touch her with sheer will; reaching for the stars glittering in her brown eyes like new galaxies.

“Darling so it goes, some things are meant to be.”

She hummed quietly now, pitching him the tune as she shifted her weight to one foot. The other, she tapped rhythmically against the stonework.

“Take my hand. Take my whole life, too. For I can’t help falling in love with you.”

He took another breath; this one hitching, and the sound of his voice wavered, damn near cracked as he rasped off in a flourishing finish, his eyes shining, drawing it out, “For I can’t help falling in love with you.”

This was love. Real love. Not the gesture; as lavish and sentimental as it was. No, it was in his tone; in his regard; in his posture. The performance for her; but the words, the meaning within them, was honest and endearing. The way he cherished those lyrics; held such a special, meaningful song just for her. The yearning curl in his fingers that said he only wanted her. Too far too touch, but still he hopefully reached out.

He true, and truly himself, and openly doting his heart’s fondness without regret.

She was forced to swallow a few times to make sure her voice was even, staring down upon the perfect sculpture of his face; the hard shape of his nose, how the stubborn lines in his face were nearly invisible beneath his broad smile and the raise of his eyebrows in a silent look of anticipation. He was truly magnificent in so many ways that there were no words in any known language to describe how beautiful he was, from the inside out, or how much she loved him. Only her heart, in the way it felt light and fluttered warmly beneath her breast; pulse jumping, knew the tongue they could only speak to each other.

“You honor me with your pleasant voice, m’lord Amon,” she softly called down. “If you would meet me upstairs, I would be happy to show my gratitude.”

He grinned a bit harder. “What does my lady offer?”

A lazy laugh rolled out of her. “A kiss, for my distinguished gentleman suitor and gallant life-partner who woos my heart.”

Amon scoffed, although he appeared slightly more flush. “You would still kiss me, covered in sweat, earth, and who knows what else?” he teased.

“I have kissed you covered in worse,” she reminded him, not daring to specify with an inward shudder. Blood did not make for a comforting kiss.

He seemed statuesque; standing still, staring up at her ledge. She was still weakly lounging into the banter, resting her face in her arms like a pillow and watching him beneath veiled half-closed eyes. Everything in her slump shoulders and serene posture exuded tranquility and calm. His flirtatious flattery made her faint-hearted and soft.

“If I was a younger man, I would try scaling to you,” he ventured aloud.

She snorted trying to withhold her laughter. “I think the stairs would be a more efficient method, beloved,” she snickered. “I would rather have my sappy husband unharmed then you dare breaking something climbing to steal a kiss like some love-struck romeo.”

His expression soured, and he sneered: “Romeo knows nothing of love in his short infatuation, compared to what I feel for you.”

Well, she couldn’t disagree with him. Propping her elbow up a bit, she raised her head to better look down upon him.

“Shall I thank you in person simply like this?” she mocked playfully once more. “Or will you come meet me, my dear husband?”

Amon’s face lit up like a child’s on Christmas morn. “Wait right there!” he remarked with hasty excitement, scrambling for the door.

She laughed once more, boisterous this time. “I’ll wait forever if I must; you needn’t rush.”

“Wait right there, I’ll be right up!”

He barely tossed a look over his shoulder at her; all glistening tanned and sunburnt skin, witty smile, and sharp warm eyes, before closing the door behind him in a haste.

Essätha gave a heavenly sigh, and rested her face against her arms once more before pushing herself up. Her limbs stretched; a satisfied groan in her throat, and she sauntered for the balcony door and the cooler air inside the manor. The sound of heavy boots, echoing all the way down the stairwell headed her way enthusiastically.

She shivered expectedly; hardly able to bare waiting to fall into his loving arms once again.

#royal writes #essamon ship #Essie rw #amon illiad

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valamerys · 7 years

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I really enjoy your blog so is it okay if I ask you top 10 pet peeves in novels? It can be tropes or even a niche moment in a particular book. I like writing myself and would appreciate the help.

hmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM sure, I can come up with some things! bear in mind I read almost exclusively fantasy, and mostly “low” ie not game of thrones fantasy at that, including a loooot of YA, so my items will reflect that.

Top (YA, Fantasy) Fiction Pet Peeves:

1) Unnecessary post-apocalyptic setting WHY THE FUCK. DO PEOPLE KEEP DOING THIS. WHAT DOES THIS GAIN ANYONE. WHAT IS THE POINT. Red Queen, The Selection, The Queen of the Tearling, and that weird TV show The Shanarananaharahahananaaa Chronicles all do this. It’s, frankly, a cheap-ass bid for Dark and Gritty points, and also an excuse to set things in America But Fantasy, and it’s always bad and awkward. This isn’t planet of the apes, just make your damn fantasy world; you don’t have to try to make it more ~realistic~ by putting the ruins of the statue of liberty in the background. That’s stupid and you’re stupid.

2) One-note characters Mostly present via The Bitch or The Bully stereotype, but also seen in The Bratty Brother, The Sweet Sister, The Spacey DGAF Parent, and the Eccentric Wise Elder. I get that there’s not time to flesh out every single person your protagonist comes into contact with, but certain archetypes are so fucking boring and done to death that I tune out immediately. It’s not 2004 anymore. The game has evolved. We can do better. We can be more interesting.

Related to the sweet sister trope, I’d like to bring up this text post from my other blog:

3) When the protagonists’ actions/ choices do not affect the plot Alright, this one isn’t even a pet peeve, it’s basic narrative construction. Your story is supposed to be about your protagonist (or your two or three protagonists, in a multi-pov story, but for simplicity’s sake we’ll talk about one) and their arc, how they change and grow. a) If their actions never have consequences, how the fuck do they, like, learn things? and b) if their actions have no bearing on the climax of the story, how the fuck does the story demonstrate that they’ve changed, or come to a meaningful conclusion that’s related to that? Sure there’s weird literary exceptions, and certainly some fantasy in particular is more plot than character driven, but if your character is honestly never proactive, particularly through the ending of the book, uh, i have a major problem and so should you.

4) The Mandatory Feminism Stuff we should all know these by now. “Not Like Other Girls” is bad. Hating on corsets and other femme paraphernalia is bad (and moreover i personally resent it because I love corsets). A book with a female protagonist and no other important female characters (or only evil female characters) is bad. A high fantasy series that builds its worldbuilding on a raging patriarchy for the purpose of elevating a few specific women into positions of power for superficial RAH RAH FEMINISM points while not addressing systematic oppression is really, really bad. Defining female empowerment as only one thing (IE picking up a sword and Proving Yourself just as badass as all those scoffing men!!!) is bad. I’m very tired and I want to read about women-- different kinds of women, with different moral alignments and interests and abilities and ethnic backgrounds and ages and sexualities and beliefs-- helping each other and being forces in the world and in each others’ lives. That’s it. That’s all I want. I have no clue why that’s so elusive.

5) Characters being flippant to the point of stupidity because........ that’s cool, i guess? Homygod, I am so sick to my teeth of characters who would get their asses kicked IRL for being obnoxious and overly glib be appraised with “wow, you’ve really got some nerve! I like you, kid!” or some variation therof. Mouthing off to superiors/ royalty? Charging into a fight on a stray heroic impulse despite everyone with a brain and their mom telling you you’re going to die because you just picked up swordfighting on tuesday? flagrantly and thoughtlessly disregarding engrained cultural things because they don’t align with your conveniently 2017 sense of social justice despite you living in an analogue-medieval world? Not cute. It will get you fucking killed. If your character doesn’t seem to grasp that, I’m going to think they’re a dumbshit, and if the book rewards rather than punishes that, I’m not going to take it very seriously. (obviously there are exceptions to this, particularly if your world doesn’t take itself very seriously, but if you expect to instill a real sense of danger in day-to-day life, your protagonist doesn’t get to be exempt from that because they’re hot and witty.)

6) Also, characters being stubborn. This goes with my last point, because it’s another trait people seem to think is like cool, or something? That stubborn people are stubborn because they’re Strong? that it’s a flaw but it’s actually a Cool Flaw, like in job interviews when they ask your weakness and you say “i’m just TOO hard of a worker, ha ha ha”? U see this a lot in female characters written by people who are uncomfortable writing female characters, i think because, again, it mistakenly reads as Strength on some really superficial level, and because the banter and petty conflict that arises from it temporarily distracts from weak overall characterization. If you’re going to write a character being stubborn, that’s great! But understand that a) it’s a real flaw that can genuinely blind them to good ideas and cause unnecessary friction that shouldn’t be treated as endearing, b) it’s not a replacement for other elements of characterization!! and c) it’s the flipside of being assertive, which is a good thing: no trait is only a flaw or a strength, and so any trait a character possess in abundance should both help and hinder them at different times, with maturity level tempering the bad, to a degree. stubbornness is no different.

7) Sexual assault (or the threat of it) all over the fucking place. Do i have to explain this one? Of course ownvoices books about sexual assault survivors are good and necessary but we are all sick to death of "fun” fantasy worlds where the female characters exist under the constant and unending threat of rape, where sexual assault is common as window dressing and the love interests are Super Special Feminist Snowflakes for being so revolutionary as to take consent into account. fuck that. that should be the bare fucking minimum. i am so tired.

8) The Six-Pack Sex Appeal Golem Honestly, I am not here to hate on love triangles, because I am ALL ABOUT the romance and the more the merrier. But what i do really, really loathe is the incredibly narrow parameters that have come to exist for male love interests, to the point where they all tend to feel like the same guy in need of anger management: a little broody, smart, serious, jealous and protective to a fault, if we get his POV we get real creepy sexual thoughts out of nowhere while he acts vaguely standoffish and probably a little patronizing to a woman whose Attitude gives him a boner. This man does not experience emotions that can’t be interpreted as darkly sexual, or possibly A Little Bit Vulnerable, just for that one scene of mandatory backstory reveal. I recently reviewed a real bad romance novel and described the hero as “a barely-consistent golem of toxic masculine ideals” and that’s what I’m talking about here. MAKE YOUR LOVE INTERESTS WELL-ROUNDED AND UNIQUE CHARACTERS LIKE ALL YOUR OTHER CHARACTERS. Forget what’s “sexy,” I wanna see the male love interests be Soft and Weird and cry in an unattractive way. For further reading/ a great case study of the Masculine Golem, please just read this article about how abysmal the romance in ROAR is. (For what it’s worth, I actually think SJM manages to avoid this in the ACOTAR series. Rhys and Tamlin suck but they are still mostly consistent characters, not just shells inhabited by the spirit of heterosexuality. your mileage may vary, though.)

9) Secret Superpower/ She Was The Missing Princess/ Queen All Along I think this is a trend that’s slowly but surely passing from YA, but for a while you couldn’t throw a rock in a bookstore without hitting a trilogy where a long-lost missing princess was established in chapter 1 and you spent the whole fucking first book knowing the orphaned heroine with a murky past was gonna turn out to be the princess and you were always right. Queens are also a huge fucking thing right now, although they don’t tend to follow that exact formula. See also the character’s discovery of a superpower catapulting them into a new exciting life-- basically any discovery of a Cool Sexy birthright as a catalyst for a plot is kind of played out and boring, at this point in time? This ties into my earlier point about wanting characters’ choices to shape the plot; it’s so much easier to have them reacting to external forces, especially dramatic, aesthetic ones, i get that, but you’ll get a more original and interesting story the more you resist that urge. And everyone is fucking tired of secret princesses and can spot them a mile away, y’all.

10) OMG magic is outlawed!!! BUT WAIT THE PROTAGONIST HAS SECRET MAGIC! CAN SHE RISE ABOVE PERSECUTION AND HER PROBABLE ROMANCE WITH THE PRINCE OF THIS POORLY-THOUGHT-OUT TOTALITARIAN REGIME TO LEAD ALL MAGIC-HAVERS TO FREEDOM AND ACCEPTANCE???? If you do this i’m going to come to your house and pour a cup of soda on your head. This is dumb and I can’t believe I’ve seen it multiple times. I’m not even explaining this it should be obvious.

Honorable mentions go to: Excessive mentions/ descriptions of eye color, really tired ways of describing kissing, elemental magic is super fucking overdone, instalove, and Training Montages

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a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit · 3 years

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Hi!! I love your reviews and would love to hear which Bridgerton books and couples are your favorite and least favorite so far. I have mixed feelings about these books (and the TV series), though overall the good outweighs the bad for me, and I love characters like Eloise and Penelope too much to ever stay away :)

Hello there lovely! I'm so glad to hear you enjoy my book reviews, that means so much! I swear 80-90% of my life is obsessing over books I love or want to read so it's always wonderful to meet with like-minded people. Seriously. I get little a thrill every time I meet a new one! :-D

Anyway, so far I've read the first five novels of the Bridgerton series. I imagine I'll get to the rest of them in due time. Like you, I also have mixed feelings about the books and show (there are some problematic elements in both, right?) but even so, they're mostly enjoyable. I love the big family dynamic with all of the siblings. It's warm and chaotic, with roughhousing and ribbing and sarcasm, plus all the "proper" way one's supposed to approach love and marriage given the time period. The Bridgerton family is a little reminiscent of the Bennets from Pride and Prejudice to me because of that. I love how they're always butting into each other's lives, how Violet's essentially scheming to get them all married off, one-by-one. Granted, she's not quite as advantageous-minded or nervous-hysterical as our dear Mrs. Bennet but it's that same Helicopter Mom energy. She also has a sweet, sensitive, and caring side to her which means she yearns to see all her children happily settled so naturally she's one of my favorite characters.

Ship-wise, my favorite pairing is definitely Penelope and Colin. Romancing Mister Bridgerton is my favorite of the series as well. I really enjoyed the Lady Whistledown subplot of that book. Plus, I think their friends-to-lovers dynamic is well developed. It took a different tack than I was expecting!

Kate and Anthony rank a close second. Like, super close. They have the enemies-to-lovers arc I salivate over in books. Also, I think I laughed the hardest throughout The Viscount Who Loved Me because of all the ridiculous situations they find themselves in together. There's the corgi chasing, the Pall Mall, the tumbling into a lake, the sucking out of bee poison--I just can't.

I want to say that Eloise and Phillip and Sophie and Benedict are tied for my next favorites. There were things I liked about both these ships and others I didn't care for, which, ironically, came down to how the heroes treated/talked/reacted to the heroines in certain moments.

Plot-wise, though, I liked To Sir Phillip, With Love better than An Offer From a Gentleman. I think I was more drawn to the idea of Eloise and Phillip falling in (idealized) love over letters first than I was to another same old-same old Cinderella retelling. Also, the former has the BEST sibling scene. I love it when all the Bridgerton brothers come charging into the house to "defend" Eloise's honor. It's hysterical. The kids were a nice addition to that book, too.

As for The Duke and I, you know, I think I'd rank the book and ship (Daphne and Simon) higher if only it weren't for that one awful scene where she tricks/manipulates him with alcohol. I HATE IT SO MUCH. It poisoned the overall story/dynamic for me, which sucks because I truly did enjoy the fake courting. And the fact that they forged a relationship built on mutual respect and friendship first. C'est la vie, am I right?

If we're talking specifically about characters now, females in particular, I will protect Penelope Featherington with my life! She harbors a lot of similar insecurities as I do so I couldn't help but relate to her. Kate and Eloise are fabulous as well. Kate has the fiery, I'm the oldest and am protective of my younger siblings, take no prisoners attitude I have myself but want more of in spades. And Eloise...she's just so endearing! I really do love that she has no filter whatsoever. She simply HAS to share what's going through her head. Sophie is a darn precious peach, too. She has this pure-heartedness to her. I also have a soft spot for Mama Bridgerton as well, like I mentioned before.

Out of the boys, I have to say Colin is my favorite. He's just so damn charming and agreeable! He's also a bit cavalier in the beginning, not really paying attention to what's in front of him, so his growth is the a lot of fun to witness. Anthony comes next. I love me a good brooding hero. You might say I have a soft spot for them. I don't know, there's just something so delicious about a repressed man who opens up, blossoms, only for the woman he loves, you know? Simon was a decent character overall, too. I liked some of his backstory, particularly the daddy issues and the speech impediment. He overcame a lot.

Benedict and Phillip I wanted to love more than I did. Benedict had a tendency to be a little patronizing with Sophie, getting angry, refusing to listen to reasons why she declined to be his mistress. As for Phillip, I did enjoy his nerdy side and how he was so invested in his plants. He didn't treat Eloise too great, though. He could be rather peevish and petulant. I didn't like hearing how he viewed being married to Marina, who was mentally ill, at all.

How about you? Who are your faves and least faves? Anyone you wish who would've been in the narrative more? Personally, I thought Amanda could've end up having her own whole book instead of just a happily ever after epilogue. And I would've loved to see more of Lady Danbury! I so relished her popping up in book 4.

#our-inner-heroines #replies #lovely people #bridgerton talk #ashlee bree's book babbles

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