#ashley graves core

[leyleys-funeral]

[rileitup]

kinda need a #1 fan.

the type that'll stalk me and every post i make and obsess over whatever little attention i may give to them.

[coffinsister]

I think the funniest part of Ashley always making borderline incestuous jokes is that shes fully ready for Andrew to return that energy and Andrew thinks shes just being weird on purpose

If Andrew had responded to "what do you want in return, my virginity?" With literally any semi positive answer I think Ashley would have been fine with it or kept up the energy. Andrews in deep denial though about wanting to fuck Ashley, while Ashley just accepts that, yeah, her brother definitely wants to fuck her

The main difference between the two of them is that Ashley fully embraces their nature and has completely given up on trying to fit into normal society ever.

While Andrew is in denial about it and is still masking 24/7 to try to keep some semblance of socially acceptable normalcy.

Basically yeah lol she knows how her brother is to a certain degree and he knows her too they are just silly.

[sunshine-jesse]

Ashley Literally Did Nothing Wrong, Fuck You, Fight Me

Alt title: Ashley Graves: The most convenient scapegoat in the world

I'm going to espouse a take here that will no doubt be controversial, as you can tell by the title. This is a take I've created from my hollistic understanding of the events of the game, and isn't dependent on any one single point I make in this essay. Because of that, I want you to read it with an open mind; if you hyperfocus on one or two smaller details I might've gotten wrong or are fallaciously interpretated, and either use that to discount the whole essay or go into the comment section and immediately try to debunk my interpretation of that event, that'll make it obvious to me that you're not trying to seriously engage with the core of what I'm trying to say. Because unless quite literally everything I've said here is wrong, I feel confident in saying this:

Ashley Graves did nothing wrong.

Moreover, I think Ashley is on the level of people like Rossiu, Shinji Ikari, and Skylar White as far as people who are mistreated by their fandoms goes.

At first this was going to be an essay about how I don't think the demons are evil, using textual and thematic evidence to show that they're just part of a system that deals mostly fairly with humans and doesn't have any nefarious plans, or at least nefarious plans that stand to fuck anyone over. But then I realized that, goodness gracious, that is boring as shit to write! But I looked at what I had written already and realized that I could write something else with it: something better. I could sum up a lot of the points made in my prior essays and elaborate upon them in much more detail, showing why I think certain themes are obviously present within this game. And here, I intend on doing that.

I've spoken a lot before about how Ashley is a scapegoat for all of Andrew's worst habits; and to a lesser extent, her mother's. The game makes it seemingly obvious that she's the bad one, and generally just a Very Not Good person. It shows her and her brother committing many different acts that are, under most moral systems, wrong, and implicitly implies that she's the reason that Andrew ever did those things. It implies that she's corrupting him, that he could be better and refuses- or is unable to- due to her poking and prodding. But… is that the truth? Is that how their relationship actually works, in practice? I don't believe so. I think I've made it obvious by now that I believe the exact opposite!

I'm going to start off by tackling the morality behind their actions, especially relative to the world they're in. Specifically, I'm going to tackle how the game presents the morality of their actions from a thematic point of view, and any statements it may or may not make.

First of all, TCOAL plays with a lot of different taboos- demon summoning, cannibalism, incest, murder- but the game goes through great lengths to muddy the moral weight of the siblings' actions. Every single action they commit is portrayed in the most neutral possible light- killings were done in self defense (with one notable exception), or done to people who greatly wronged them, cannibalism was a necessity to survive (also with one notable exception), incest is shown to come from a marked improvement in their relationship- leading me to believe that this game is taking a hard morally nihilistic stance. Else, they'd be shown to suffer for their actions, when in reality, the literal exact opposite is happening; they are being rewarded for it. This isn't necessarily glorifying the actions, but instead showing that even the worst of actions can potentially be excused, but whether or not you do is up to the reader. Hence, nihilism, or at the very least, skepticism (as noted by Lisafication). There's an existentialist reading of this too, but I think much of that is contingent on the events of chapter 3 so I won't get into that here.

It contrasts this mostly nihilistic perspective on interpersonal taboos with the deep societal ills that drive people to commit such actions. Evil exists at every level of analysis here, but curiously, the only thing that are shown to do direct harm to others without having a justification of some kind- be it self-defense or retaliation- are those societal ills. There is no (morally) good reason to quarantine people, starve them, and harvest their organs. There's no good reason to burn all evidence and then put a hit on the ones who did escape. There's no good reason to extort sexual favors from someone in exchange for food. These are deep structural problems that force people to either retaliate/lash out or enable people's most exploitative or abusive habits lest they just let themselves die.

And thus, the obvious evils become much less obvious. The game makes a point of subverting the obvious or the well-known when it comes to morals, and I think it does so when it comes to everything else, too. Outside of those societal ills (so far, ch3 might have something else to say), every situation where someone could obviously be shown as the bad person in a situation is immensely more complex than it first appears. So much so that I'd argue that displaying said complexity and subverting simplicity to force/encourage people to analyze things deeper is one of the central themes of the game.

So why, exactly, does he blame so much on her? It's because Ashley is the world's most convenient scapegoat, and the game is well-aware of this and displays it in ways both obvious and not.

First off: the title screen has Ashley wielding the cleaver, establishing that she’s the violent one. It's covered in blood, too, implying that she's the one more driven to kill. The reality of this is the opposite; Andrew is the one with less hesitation to inflict violence on others, the cleaver is his weapon, and most of the kills in the story are done by him (and fully justified). Ashley might push him to do these violent acts, but… does she?

Her reaction to the death of the first warden is one of utter shock.

And her expression afterwards?

This is not the look of someone who enjoyed the fact that someone killed for her sake. This is not the look of someone who finds joy to be had in violence. It's not even the look of someone who is apathetic towards violence. It almost seems to express shame or guilt, but at the very least, she's timid over it. At the very least, it's an "oh shit, he actually had to do that for my sake" face. Not a "haha, I am making him worse!" face.

Not to mention, not only does Andrew kill the first Warden without a care in the world, he proactively kills the 302 lady to eliminate all witnesses, and because he believes Ashley would want him to. But Ashley actually grills him for it; she didn't want the 302 lady to die, although she hardly had good-person-reasons for it. But that's not my point. The point is that she is not the violent one between the two of them.

The door doesn't open in response to violence, remember?

The game intentionally misleads us.

And what happens when Ashley tries to make him take responsibility for all this violence? To point out that she didn't force him to do anything and that he chose to do all of it, including lock Nina in the box? She lashes out, hits him a few times… and then he goes to strangle her, and doesn't let go until she acknowledges that he has no reason for her to be around. He literally doesn't cease his threat to her life until she acknowledges she's useless to him.

I acknowledge that this isn't the most charitable framing for Andrew, and maybe too charitable for Ashley. After all, she wasn't indignant. She was mocking him. She found it hilarious. But I have reasons for that charitability that I'll go over towards the end. But even with that charitability in mind, I don't think my reading is too off base. Defaulting to laughter or mocking in stressful situations is just what Ashley does. She's not indignant about it; she just finds it hilarious that people keep pretending to be better than her, when they're not.

Andrew killed the 302 lady and used Ashley as a scapegoat to justify it; this is indisputable, stated in the text during the dream. This alone validates Ashley's point of view. There is no interpretation of this event that doesn't paint Andrew as every bit as unscrupulous as Ashley, and thinking she corrupted him into this- when it was both one of the first actions he did on his own in the story and something he explicitly uses Ashley as a scapegoat for- is just ridiculous. It's frankly unreasonable. She has every right to be sick of being used as a scapegoat. And at the very least, whether or not you accept the idea that Andrew only let Ashley go once she acknowledged that she's useless to him, he's still so taken aback by his misinterpretation of Ashley's desires that HE goes to strangle HER.

This is NOT Andrew triumphantly standing up to his abuser. This is both of their masks slipping; Andrew revealing how violent and insistent on keeping up his internal narrative that he is, and Ashley revealing that she's getting tired of being blamed for everything.

And then, when he finally lets her go… she hugs him, and acknowledges that she's happy that Nina is gone, which makes little sense at the face of it. Why would that be her first response to being let go, when it was ostensibly what made Andrew so upset to begin with?

I think, to her, it's a conciliatory gesture. As chapter 2 showed us, she's more than willing to take responsibility for violence to relieve Andrew of stress over it, as evidenced by her finishing off their parents. This is an earlier instance of that; by acknowledging she was happy that Nina was dead, she took responsibility for it. She willingly framed herself as a bad person here, so Andrew wouldn't have to be.

She let herself be the scapegoat, because it's all she ever knew. She put the mask back on.

This alone is enough to challenge the idea that Ashley 'corrupts' Andrew in any meaningful way. How, exactly, can you define it as corrupt when society itself is twisted enough to force these actions to survive? In a more sane world, a lot of their actions would've been bad, sure, but they're also actions that the siblings probably wouldn't have done in a more sane world. Ashley's actions aren't making Andrew worse, they're helping to ensure their survival. You could say that this is still corruptive in its own way, but at that point it seems like your reasoning is motivated by having already had that narrative rather than making a good-faith reading of their dynamic.

At no point did she actually make him worse; he was already like that and just used her as an excuse.

Next up is the Nina situation. This one is obviously cut and dry- Ashley manipulates Andrew into killing Nina because she wants no competition between the two of them. It's not Andrew's fault and Ashley was an evil abuser from the jump. Obvious, right?

No. It's really not.

It's pretty strongly implied that Ashley was mistreated by people her whole life. The Lemon Cupcake scene shows this in more detail, about how people always neglect or ignore her birthdays, but she also says that nobody likes her because she's weird and loud in the Nina flashback too. But unless something big happened in between the two flashbacks, none of this behavior indicates particularly maladaptive or even strange tendencies on Ashley's part. She's a needy, bratty child, and the closest thing to a friend she has- Nina- wants to take away the one thing from her that's a source of comfort and emotional validation.

It's not entirely rational, sure! But it also -makes perfect sense-. NOBODY treated her well throughout her entire life; it's strongly implied that Nina never did either, given Nina's reaction to Ashley being there and the lower left-hand painting past the Questionable door showing her being distant from the two of them. We can also see a star bouncing off of her head, and stars represent closeness in this game, so it shows there was an attempt made somewhere along the line, it's just not clear as to who made the attempt.

At the very least, Nina's reaction of disappointment fed into Ashley's preconceived notions of how people treat her, and how she deserves to be treated. Although, from what has been directly stated, rather than implied, Nina was nothing more than an innocent victim in this scenario; I don't mean to take that away from her.

"But she didn't care when Nina died?"

So? If Nina treated her like trash for most of her life, why should she care? She didn't expect Nina to die. It was just an acceptable consequence. You can say "That's not how normal kids act!" all you want, but there's a level of spite and apathy that comes with intense bullying and emotional neglect that I don't think you really understand unless you've been there to the extent someone like Ashley has implied to be.

Andrew, meanwhile, was the one who told Ashley that they had to lock Nina in the box to keep them in there. He's the one who looked for and found the stick to keep them locked in. You could say he was coerced by an abusive person into hurting someone, sure, but you'd be wrong. Cataclysmically wrong, even. Like, if you actually think that a seven year old girl (nobody wears overalls past the age of seven) can have anything approximating an abusive dynamic with her as the perpetrator with someone both older and stronger than her, you frankly have some issues with women you need to work out. That's simply not how abuse dynamics work at that age.

Andrew wasn't entirely responsible for it either, mind- he was just a kid who should never have been saddled with this kind of responsibility. But that's not my point; the point is that it enables other people, Andrew included, to use her as a scapegoat to avoid his own responsibility. All this scene does is retroactively justify any preconceptions you might've had about them from seeing their adult selves first. But the moment you start digging, it becomes much less obvious who's really culpable here. Andrew was, as evidenced by the blood oath scene, fully aware that he held the advantage over her in strength, and managed to give up nothing when making the oath while he made Ashley swear to silence. He was fully aware that he could've chosen to do better, but he refused, and instead opted to reinforce Ashley's insecurities for the sake of exerting control over her.

I've said before that the 302 lady was murdered without any input from Ashley, but this is also relevant on a meta-level because it's done without any input from the player, either. Both of the murders in chapter 1 were like that, whereas all that we, the player can choose to do in that chapter is either solve puzzles, or hilariously, die. The only person with control here is Andrew, the character, and this is reinforced by the fact that we have no control over him for much of the Nina flashback, too. He locks her in the box regardless of our input, even though Ashley spends a lot of time trying to convince him. The main difference between the Nina flashback and the scenes in the apartment is that Ashley had absolutely no idea that any of that was going to happen in the present, whereas it's something she wanted with Nina- which isn't that big of a difference when discussing how much agency she really has.

As much as the game frames Ashley as a manipulator- and much of the fanbase uncritically accepts- she is given shockingly little in-game control over many of the actions committed. Even in the case of the Hitman- as a good friend of mine pointed out- the only choice the player is given is whether or not to check the closet and be killed; an impulsive decision leading to a swift and unceremonious end. In the end, Andrew is the one given the choice to kill the hitman, and we can consciously choose whether or not his reaction is panicked or measured. No such choice is given to Ashley, as most of her reactions are impulsive and spontaneous rather than planned. This is not the makings of a standard "manipulative evil bitch" trope. She's pretty consistently portrayed as someone with poor impulse and emotional control who loudly and aggressively states her intent in every single scenario she's in.

And you can still call what she says and does manipulative despite that, sure, but at what point are you just pathologizing relatively normal (if extreme and highly emotional) social interactions for the sake of fitting into a narrative you already held?

We see Ashley's status as a scapegoat for people to use to pretend to be normal reach its most blatant with the parents. This time it's pretty cut and dry to anyone that doesn't already have it in their mind that Ashley is evil and unforgivable. Mrs. Graves explicitly brings up the possibility of a normal life without Ashley to Andrew in the basement, and claims that Ashley was at fault for shutting her out. She would've been a normal parent otherwise, right? Well, no; the game wastes no time in showing that this wasn't the case in the Burial ending.

From when Ashley was a baby, Mrs. Graves was already tired of her shit, and too emotionally exhausted to be a parent. Despite her attempts at blaming Ashley, she would've never been a normal parent unless Ashley was a golden child in the same way that Andrew was. And yet Ashley didn't even deny shutting her mom out. She didn't deny the chance to be used as a scapegoat; it was all she ever knew. The fact that Mrs. Graves had the audacity to claim that she was a saint when she was never prepared to be a parent for a child who didn't make it easy, and when she was willing to sell out her children and let them die for a life insurance payment is absolutely astounding.

This alone should've been enough to recontextualize everything we supposedly know about how responsible Ashley really is in all of this, but bad parents have a knack for being great at manipulating both family members and everyone viewing from the outside, including the people playing the game.

And almost including Andrew.

Andrew almost accepting the mom's offer is the single most tragic moment in the game, by far.

Dandy said it best in his video essay: By Ashley leaving Andrew alone with their parents, she showed that she is capable of changing. That she is capable of getting better. She showed that she loves and respects Andrew enough to be able to put aside her usual role as the scapegoat and allow him to make the decision that was for the best for both of them. And make no mistake, it was for the best; if the mom really DID sell out the siblings, and given the two of them were already on the run for supposedly being dead, there was no hope of any of this ever working out. They saw through the conspiracy and knew the truth of how the quarantine operations really worked. They were an active threat to one of the most powerful entities seen in the setting so far, to the point where they had a hitman sent after them.

Mrs. Graves had every reason to sell them out again, for their presence in a public setting was more than enough to put everyone in their family in danger. Mrs. Graves had every reason to believe that the normalcy she wanted was nothing that could ever be grasped again so long as her children were alive, and as such, it was clear that she had nothing to offer either Andrew or Ashley. Ashley trusted Andrew to see through their obvious manipulations and lies, and understand that the parents had nothing left to give them. She trusted him to love her more than the false promises their parents could give.

…And yet. In spite of it all.

In spite of her love, in spite of clearly displaying that she can grow up and become a person that causes him less stress, and in spite of Ashley showing that all she wants now is their safety and security…

Andrew can still choose to consider Ashley the problem. He can still choose to use her as the scapegoat he always has.

He can still choose to see her as the one thing that caused him to be this way, that stands in between him and normalcy, when she, not once, forced him to do anything.

Were he to accept Mrs. Graves' offer, this would've been the single most tragic moment in the game. It almost was, and still stands to be, because he ignores every indication that things could be better for the sake of his own narrative, and a narrative echoed by much of the fandom.

But no matter what ending was picked, things could be better. They could've been better all along. Compared to chapter 1, their dynamic in chapter 2 is already much healthier. Their banter is less venomous, and while they still poke and prod each other in ways that aren't exactly great, they don't get into the same violent fights we saw in the 302 room. By all accounts, what happened in that room was an outlier. Even when they find themselves in their parents' house, where they stand to do the One Thing That Means They Would Never Be Normal Again, Ever (ignoring the fact that this is already a lost cause by then), Ashley doesn't get into any fights with Andrew in the same way she did back in the apartment. All she wants is affirmation and security. She doesn't even lay into her mom like she lays into Julia over the phone, even in their private conversations.

We’re led to believe that she’s still getting worse because the actions she’s taking are more extreme, but her attitudes and behaviors are much, much different. The actual actions they're taking are so obviously the right thing to do (both morally and practically) that I don't think it's until they eat their parents that you should make a double take and go "Wow, maybe these goblins actually are kinda fucked up," because until then, well… everything is justified! Perfectly so! Even then, eating their parents serves a purpose, even if not a mentally healthy one.

Maybe she’s calmer because she’s in control over the situation, but if the calls she made to Julia are any indication (independent of the theory that she didn’t actually say those things), were she unchanged as a person, she still would’ve lashed out at their mother over how much more useful she is to Andrew than their parents were, or something of that nature. Something about how nothing their mom offers could compete with what Ashley gives. But she makes no such claims. She feels no need to prove anything to her parents, or to reaffirm her place in Andrew’s life even in the face of her mother challenging it (or at least implying such a challenge). Regardless of her insecurities, she’s changed. It’s hard to see, but she has.

And then Andrew can ignore that and consider betraying her because he refuses to believe that she's willing to make their dynamic work, when she shows many different indications of being willing to concede as long as Andrew stops giving her mixed signals.

A friend of mine put it best, and I'm pretty much quoting her word for word here, because of how strongly I agree with it. When I look at Ashley, I find very few actual "flaws." I see familiar wounds.

The Burial ending, despite being triumphant and not nearly as "dark" as some people think, is still very, very sad. A lot of abusive dynamics are characterized by someone having to fight every step of the way to get what they need from the other person, usually some kind of emotional validation or relief. This is what happens between Andrew and Ashley for most of the game: Ashley wants Andrew to treat their relationship as special, to acknowledge there's something to it beyond just him going through the motions. And yet for most of the game, he refuses to, especially in chapter 1. And then, in Burial, when he does…

She's confused.

A lot of people view this as her being afraid of losing control over Andrew, since her "Andy," who she can push around, is gone. Andrew has changed, and the same tricks wouldn't work. But that's not what that is; it's not about control, it's about her finally getting what she wants from him without having to fight. She still thinks about using sex as leverage to keep him around, but that's because she's never understood what it's like to have someone actually want to be around her. And I speak from experience; when you no longer have to fight for every little bit of emotional validation or relief, when you no longer have to keep checking your messages to keep an argument going so you can finally be proven right, when you no longer have to force yourself to let go, to stop engaging, the reaction isn't happiness. It's not relief.

It's confusion. It's discontent.

Because something you've tied so much of yourself up in to is no longer there, despite it being more peaceful, it still feels wrong. The dynamic still has to be this way in your mind, because you've never known anything else. You latch on to whatever you can in order to justify that, and your actions are still heavily biased in favor of maintaining your place in that nonexistent dynamic. This isn't manipulation; it's trauma. And the fact that Ashley almost immediately understands that Andrew is changing is nothing short of a miracle. By consolidating past and present Andrew into a single person rather than splitting them into two, she showing that she can actually heal from that trauma. And all Andrew had to do to enable this is to acknowledge that she CAN change, that things CAN be better, and that everyone who claims to be better than her is full of shit.

I've analyzed the events of the story in a way that may seem needlessly antagonistic to some characters, and overly charitable to others. But I have to ask you, that if you disagree with anything I've said:

Where does that disagreement come from? What about my narrative clashes with your own? -Why- does it clash? Is it because the game presents your interpretation as obvious, whereas mine is not? Is it because you've experienced someone like Ashley before in your life, and you know it when you see it? Maybe you strongly identify with Andrew, and view his status as a doormat with no agency to be obvious? Or did you just accept the narrative that much of the fanbase has taken at face value, without further analysis other than building on top of it?

I don't believe these things to be contrarian; I've held most of these opinions since my first or second playthrough. I don't believe what I do because you don't, I believe what I do because I understand what Ashley has been through. I've experienced a lot of the specific traumas she had, such as deep feelings of isolation and being deprived of the emotional validation I need from the people who need to give it. I know what it's like to be misunderstood, to have who and what I am taken for granted, and to be terrified of being abandoned by the people I need the most. I see what I do because I understand.

And I want to give her that understanding that nobody gave me.

Maybe you should think about it. Why do you take it for granted that Andrew is a doormat who is strung along by Ashley? Why do you find it so odd when the trope of a woman corrupting a good man through leveraging sex is drawn into question? Why is Ashley seen as crazy, when all of her actions are so straightforward and rational? How is she corrupting him, when the single most needlessly violent act in the whole story- outside of the Nina flashback- is done without her influence? Why is Ashley seen as the abusive one when Andrew both threatens and resorts to physical violence and witholds emotional validation?

Weirdly personal tangent aside, Ashley and Andrew are two of the most well-written characters I have ever seen. They're not written like archetypes who interact with each other through a series of tropes; they're written like real people who's words and actions have astoundingly human motivations. They come from places that we can understand and relate to.

And just like people, they deserve respect. In spite of all they've done, they deserve love.

But make no mistake, Ashley is not the one stopping that love from happening. She just has the audacity to still want it in spite of everything telling her that she doesn't deserve it. We're led to believe she wants too much, but all she ever wanted was the bare minimum that she was never given.

And she has every right to be mad about it.

[centrally-unplanned]

the people need your takes on the new CoAaL chapter !

I liked it! From what I know, even though it itself is half a route split, it has within it two major subroutes, and I have only done one - the "Andy" subroute, let's call it. As such my opinion is incomplete, but anyway:

--- Obviously, it is not surprising or anything, but you gotta respect Nemlei for committing to the bit. You didn't have to have Andy having so deep an erotic obsession, things could have "developed naturally", but if you are gonna half-ass it in the cannibalism incest game what are you even doing. I thought the exploration of his obsession was mechanically well-done - the narrative was what you expected but the presentation of the puzzles and exploration in rooms like this really sold it:

It is the TCoAaL brand and the quality here kept up, the visuals and presentation marry the trauma, drama, and eros all together.

--- The conversation post-initial car talk when you call up Julia to... I am struggling to explain it, powerplay Ashley by shaming her for her inadequacy in front of your ex-gf while mocking Julia for being a shitty girlfriend is top 10 greatest shitheel moments I have ever seen. Their entire dynamic is captured in that conversation:

Get yourself a man who says this to his ex while staring you in the eyes and spiritually meaning every word of it while still being a complete lie to both of you, don't settle for less.

--- The game definitely had the "scope creep" problem I thought it would. It was initially conceived as being at least 25% shorter than it is now, and if you conceive of a heavily narratively driven visual novel like this in a certain way it almost certainly doesn't have the organic room to expand. This wasn't a huge issue at least because Nemlei kept things interesting enough with stuff like new demon lore, but Andy & Leyley def tread water a bit in the middle and some of the puzzles come off like padding. I think this was noticeable enough that in the May patch Nemlei actually reworked some of the puzzles as there was enough pushback on them by players for being unintuitive progression blocks - I would support that change, good on her for revisiting them.

--- The game has always had a lot of "sympathy" for its core duo but allowed the wider world to be comedically crapsack in a way that makes others characters one-note and goofy. This is fine for random cultists (and Julia never had this problem), but the more space a character gets in the narrative, the more serious and nuanced they need to become. Here I felt that the Graves Parents failed to pass this test - you have a lot of screen time of flashbacks about how in particular Renee's parenting shaped Andrew & Ashley, and she is just a bit too cartoonish for my taste. You should see her "fall" into giving up on them a lot more, not just being there out the gate.

--- Right now we definitely need a bit more of the Ashley side of things, but as mentioned I only did one subroute so I am expecting that to solve itself when I do the other one.

--- The part where you pretend to be on a date with Ashley to shake off a cop and he fucking wingmans you and Ashley doubles down:

If you chose "Stomach Issues" over "first date" you fucked up bro.

[juniperhillpatient]

also I think it’s funny that when the demon vision happens of Andrew & Ashley together he FREAKS out but when Julia mentions that there are rumors about Andrew & Ashley in the flashback to high school he has no reaction. He doesn’t flip out denying it he’s just like “yep. I’ve heard the rumors.” this confirms that it’s not about societal expectations for Andrew or what anyone thinks - I already knew that but I think this really confirms it. his freak out over the demon vision & absolute refusal to acknowledge that there’s anything between him & Ashley is purely about his own perception of himself & his sister. I think Andrew still has this idea that he’s not a bad guy - that he’s just been put in bad situations. He doesn’t care what some high school cool kids or anyone else thinks, he cares what HE thinks of himself. To me we really see this when the siblings find their parents & he almost starts to play house for moment - living in the fantasy that everything in their family isn’t rotten to the core until it all goes sideways - & of course he can blame Ashley for that too. Anyway I lost the thread of where this is going but I think the gist was that Andrew Graves is so fucking repressed & in denial about every aspect of himself 🖤

[galaxy-ramblings]

Kin list and info

~Fictotypes~

I am a spiritual fictionkin, meaning I believe in past lives and that I lived as certain characters in a different universe. That being said, this is the list of IMPORTANT fictotypes of mine. Ones I have stong connections to for one reason or another, these I believe affected me to my very core of my soul. If you don't like a source I'm from, that's a YOU problem, not a me problem.

🔀 = Canon divergent

If a source has multiple endings or universes, I'll write the ending/universe in parenthesis next to the source)

Ashley "Leyley" Graves - The Coffin of Andy and Leyley (Decaying Along)

Colin - CHANGED (True End)

Cyn - Murder Drones

GLaDOS - Portal

Linkle 🔀 - Age of Calamity/Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom

Midna 🔀 - Twilight Princess

Neuro - Vedal's Twitch

Pride/Selim Bradley - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Rachel Gardener - Angels of Death

Rei's Buneary/Lopunny - Pokemon Legends Arceus

Rouge the Bat - Sonic the Hedgehog (all medias)

~Otherkin and Theriotypes~

Unlike my fictotypes, these are psychological and not spiritual. However, these identities are caused by my time as certain fictotypes.

Demon

House Cat

Robot/AI

Shadow being

Vampire

Wolf

[enemywasp]

hiiii!! 1,2, 9 and 15 for the ask game pls and thank you 🤧🤧🤧

HEYYYY thank you!!!

1.) What is your favorite problematic theme/trope that appears in a lot of your ships?

I feel like the obvious answer is incest but I think codependency is more accurate. Even ships I can get away with posting on my main without prefacing it as a dark or com ship often have a sprinkle of codependency in them.

2.) Are there any problematic tropes that squick you out?

Oughhh this is difficult cause I don't really think about it till I see something and decide NOPE. I guess hard-core noncon/rape. [Had people argue with me that that's hypocritical given the kids in my ships can't consent but ffs they're characters NONE can] I don't mind the odd non-con elements, but when it's graphic. I can't handle it.

Same with lots of adult/minor content, I like it when there's supernatural elements but if it's just kid and creepy old guy and has more realistic, graphic depictions, it squicks me out more and feels too "real" even though it's obviously not, if that makes ANY sense.

9.) Problematic crackship?

Ooo idk, I've not been into many crackships lately. Monika from ddlc and Ashley Graves is one that... I can't remember why I thought of it but I guess it counts by them both being horrible people?

15.) Silliest reason you've been told not to ship a ship.

Cause! Cause! Imagine if YOU were already in a relationship with someone, but then people started shipping you with some other person who's more like a sibling to you!!

[Little do they know I literally experienced a weirdly similar scenario in secondary school lmao]

Ask game here :)

[fandomwave]

"No Guys I Swear You Have To Go Out Of Your Way To Find It!" And why I don't love this take

This is about the Ha Ha funny Coffin Game which includes but isn't limited to topics of: Cannibalism, Murder, and the core topic of this little rant, Incest.

feel totally free to skip this if that's a hard pass from you! No shame in knowing what you're about including things you'd rather not engage with.

"I know what I'm about"

Good! So this entire little rant? Vent? Observation? Comes from the recent uptick I've seen of posts in the Tcoaal tag where people come in to defend the game with more or less this argument:

"No no guys the incest is really easy to avoid. You have to go out of your way to find it. The game even WARNS you that this is a bad route. Its nowhere in any part of the game beyond this. Honestly it's just not there actually"

And I get the want to defend the game as being more than 'The funny Incest Game'. I agree that The Coffin Of Andy and Leyley is WAY MORE than just the funny incest game. To reduce the game down to that would be a disservice to the writing that went into this game. Andrew and Ashley deserve way more and Numlie themselves deserves better credit than that.

h o w e v e r

However, I think it's also doing more harm than good to try and sweep their dynamic under the rug as something that is 'easily avoidable' and 'totally optional' I hate to break the news but Andrew's romantic inclinations towards Ashley are pretty obvious in Chapter 1. They certainly aren't as obvious as they are in Chapter 2, I'll give everyone that. But they are there, and to act like they aren't... Not to mention the defense EVERYONE gives so readily is that 'The Game Warns You This Is A Bad Thing To Do' is a lot more complicated than it might appear on first blush. First and foremost the 'narrator' is the one to say: "Somehow it seems like a highly questionable idea to take this route"

which imho is a far cry from "This is the bad end" "This has incest" "you are probably a bad person for taking this ending" that some seem to argue is the 'warning' you get. Secondly we should remember it isn't 'you' the narrator is talking to here. Effectively it's still Ashley first and foremost. When Ashley responds 'I know what I'm about' that is also the game showing us that Ashley knows what this means and still wants it.

Enthusiastic consent if you will

So what's the point to this little post eh?

Well I think it's doing a little more harm than good to both the story but also anyone interested in checking the game out who might actually be genuinely triggered by such topics. Tcoaal has the siblings romantic inclinations laced into the story from point A to B. It's impossible to avoid actually. You can go the entire game ignoring any acts of kindness towards Andrew as Ashley or Ashley as Andrew, and you'll always get the scenes of Andrew playing with Ashley's hair. You will always get the text informing the player that Andrew fakes panic attacks to share a bed with Ashley. You will always get the CG of Andrew's hand in Ashley's belt loops. You will always hear the voicemail 'You think you're better than me because you can fuck him and I can't' from Ashley concerning Andrew. You will always get the hints from Mrs Graves that she knows they are too close but did nothing to curb that behavior.

It is wholly unavoidable no matter what route you take. Burial, Decay, Questionable or not.

I think to argue that it's just a silly little ending you can get does a disservice to people who might genuinely be upset by that, and I think more than anything a game that is at the very least talking about incest rather brazenly deserves the warnings it earns!

I love this game to bits, anyone who's been within ear shot of me has had to deal with me talking their fucking ear off about the Sibling Abuse Simulator. I've gone on in excruciating detail how I think Tcoaal's writing has been done dirty by saying that Andrew and Ashley's romance is just a 'ha ha shock ending', comparing it to the siblings ending in something like Corpse Party (a game where the incest ending is 100% totally avoidable, and the story has exactly nothing to do with incest as a topic, and is only brought up if you trigger that ending. One where I agree with the argument that it's just there for shock value)

Anyways I see where people are coming from, I can understand the want to defend the game as more than the sum of it's parts and I agree that it does suck that this seems to be the thing everyone is hyper-focusing on in terms of it's breach of containment. I get it man, I really do. It deserves so much better than being reduced down the way it has by the greater internet.

But to say it's avoidable.. I dunno it's like taking the dragons out of Game of Thrones. The story as a whole about so much more than the dragons.. However you'd have a fundamentally different story if they weren't there, wouldn't you?

[leyleys-funeral]

[rileitup]

"if he jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?"

is this even a question??? FUCKING OBVIOUSLY! id follow his ass to hell just to be by his side.

besides, id be the one jumping off the bridge and taking HIS ASS with me. next question, cunt.

[little-lemon-muffin]

My black roots are coming back in after forever… excited to tie it up and look like the girlfailure herself. Welcome back Ashley Graves-core. 🩷

[coffinsister]

it's more like: Ashley WANTS her mom to hate her. i need to make a whole separate post about this and how this ties into his mentality but Ashley has basically adopted some of his core beliefs: that EVERYONE is bad and rotten and horrible and shitty deep down. that's just how being a person is. he adopted that mentality being the sole child of Mrs. Graves. so Ashley herself is trying to desperately convince herself that her own mother ALSO has to be a bad person deep down (AND SO IS ANDREW FTR THATS A BIG THING FOR HIM) and wants her to hate her. saying she's a fat old cow? saying her self-harm scars are fucking hideous and she should finish the job?

if Julia hates Ashley it just proves everything right: everyone is awful and terrible and bad deep down and that includes her and Julia. that's just how the world works!!!!

Andrew Graves out here teaching his daughter that she's a bad person just from birth and giving her the strangest fucked up core beliefs what a man

Her desperately trying to make sense of the world and to ally what she believes to be true with what she's seeing in front of her knowing she's not hated and trying to make herself be hated with all she's got because nothing else makes sense !!!! That's so good !!

Now I'm wondering if Ms Graves has like any involvement whatsoever with Andrew's and Ashley's lives

[kasunex]

I've noticed there is a position being held by some fans of Coffin of Andy and Leyley that the game's reputation for incest is underserved. The logic being that there is only one time to this point that is explicitly sexual between the siblings, and it's something that comes only at the hitherto end and is behind multiple warnings.

To some extent, this is a fair point to make, and I am somewhat saddened that a game so intriguing and audacious is dismissed as shock content or gooner bait. Such is the price to be paid, though.

While it does raise interesting questions about how close siblings can be before they cross the line, even without the ending in question, incest is an extremely prevelant subtext throughout the game. It may not be as explicit otherwise, but one would have to be willfully ignorant to deny it underlies the core conflict of the story.

Ashley absolutely desires Andrew in an incestous manner. It's not necessarily motivated by sexual or romantic feelings, but her fear of abandoment means she wants to be his first and only priority. There is no other way to do that then by breaking down the boundaries of a sibling relationship into a romantic one. Lacking in a conscience as she is, she doesn't care that he is her brother. If anything, she likely sees this as a positive. A lover could cut ties and leave her. Her brother, in some sense, will always be tied to her. All she need do is break the boundary between sibling and lover and she will have total control over Andrew.

When you get past the natural disgust and the genetic issues, this is the real problem with incest. It twists and perverts between what is meant to be an unbreakable but purely platonic bond and a romantic one that is meant to be stronger, but also held together by consent rather than blood. The strength and yet danger of romance makes it incredibly toxic to be held together by anything else.

Which brings us to Andrew. He's the variable in this situation. He is deeply attached to Ashley as his sister, but some part of him also desires that same incestous bond that Ashley does. The difference between the two is that Andrew feels some semblance of remorse and shame. He knows that Ashley is controling and lacking in conscience, he knows the bond she wants is morally wrong and destructive, and he blames her for tempting him towards sin.

And yet, if Andrew had no desire for such himself, he would have cut Ashley off long ago. But he hasn't. He's allowed their relationship to grow and fester. This, I think, is part of why he spares Ashley's life at the end of Ep1. He knows deep down he cannot blame Ashley for his own sinful desires. Yet at the same time, he cannot escape these desires unless he cuts Ashley out of his life entirely, something he is unwilling to do.

Where does this all lead, ultimately? That question all comes down to the one major unknown at this point: why does Andrew desire Ashley in the first place? Is it brotherly instinct, perverted by Ashley's influence? Is it a despair, a self-loathing unwillingness to escape her, a thought that she is what he deserves? Or does he desire Ashley on some more fundamental level even outside her influence?

If it is the first, and Andrew truly loves Ashley in a selfless manner, they'll go their seperate ways. If Andrew is self-loathing and doesn't keep himself in check, he may well end up killing Ashley in an effort to escape her. Or perhaps if it is a fundamental desire, they will cross so many lines that Andrew will lose hope for himself and give into his degenerate and sinful desires, he and Ashley becoming an incestous couple.

Or it could be some combination, of course. Perhaps embracing his desire is exactly what Andrew needs to discover what he wants. Perhaps they will cross the line, only for Andrew to realize he was wrong to cling so tightly to Ashley and leave her - at which point Ashley will either have to accept his loss or drive herself to the grave to fight it.

It's a deeply fascinating dynamic, and the incest aspect is a core part that adds a new layer to what would otherwise be an interesting but far less unique toxic "romance". This game is absolutely about incest at the core, but it's not just shock value, nor is it festishization. It's about how destructive such a relationship would actually be, and how broken one would need be to pursue it.

[satanzayoru25341]

Fun Fact About the Thunder Doomstrike Season + Guardians of the Galaxy Thunderstrike Skins

Anticipate a dynamic new installment in the Marvel Rivals universe with the forthcoming conceptual season, Thunder Doomstrike. This compelling narrative arc derives its stark thematic inspiration from the influential Thunderbolts: Doomstrike comic series, heralding an intense, high-stakes conflict that will challenge the resolve and fortitude of its heroic protagonists.

Twelve seasoned heroes reunite this season to confront a universe-threatening dark force. This returning vanguard includes the mighty Thor Odinson, the cunning Loki Laufeyson, the newly transformed Ashley Magma, the agile Spider-Man (Peter Parker), the elemental Storm (Ororo Munroe), the precise Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes), the brilliant Invisible Woman (Sue Storm), the fiery Human Torch (Johnny Storm), the charismatic Star-Lord (Peter Quill), the mischievous Rocket Raccoon, the stoic Groot, and the cosmic Adam Warlock. Nine formidable allies join their fight, each armed with distinct abilities and complex pasts: Gamora strikes with deadly precision, Drax the Destroyer charges forward with relentless fury, and Nebula maneuvers with cold, enigmatic resolve. White Widow (Yelena Belova) plots with cunning agility, while Red Guardian (Alexei Shostakov) defends with brute strength. U.S. Agent (John Walker) brings controversy and aggression, Ghost (Ava Starr) phases through the battlefield unseen, Taskmaster (Antonia Dreykov) mirrors every move with lethal precision, and Sentry (Bob Reynolds) unleashes overwhelming power that borders on the divine. Their collective might is desperately needed to confront the ultimate architect of chaos: Doctor Doom, whose machinations threaten to plunge all of existence into an era of tyrannical darkness.

A pivotal element of Thunder Doomstrike centers around the dramatic evolution of Ashley Magma. She undergoes a profound transformation, emerging as Ashley Thunder, a literal embodiment of raw power. Her eyes now blaze with lightning-shaped pupils, complemented by crackling lightning bolt markings streaking across her cheeks. Wielding her devastating storm sword, unleashing concentrated energy balls, and soaring through the battlefield on newly manifested thunder wings, her presence crackles with raw, untamed energy. Meanwhile, the core members of the Guardians of the Galaxy—Star-Lord, Rocket, Drax, Groot, and Gamora—adopt a striking new uniform. They don sleek black suits accented with sharp yellow stripes, with an arsenal of advanced high-tech weapons and significantly upgraded armor, signifying their readiness for the grave threat ahead.

The gameplay offers an intense, immersive experience that puts players at the heart of the action, where they must choose characters strategically for both competitive matches and smooth team-based cooperation. The season is laden with exhilarating character-specific moments and fan-service references that promise to ignite the community. Imagine the unified might of Star-Lord, Rocket, Drax, Groot, and Gamora as they execute a celebratory fist bump, roaring in unison, "Let's volt in!" before charging into the fray. Picture Storm, channeling her inner magical girl, unleashing a spectacular lightning attack that explicitly references Cure Peace/Glitter Peace (Yayoi Kise/Lily Parker)'s iconic "Peace Thunder/Sparkle Lightning." Envision Thor, with Mjolnir raised high, thundering forth the classic declaration of He-Man (Prince Adam): "I HAVE THE POWER!!!" And witness Ashley Thunder, her storm sword crackling with cosmic energy, perform a signature move that directly nods to Voltes V's legendary laser sword.

These meticulously selected character references evoke strong, exhilarating emotions in players during combat, going beyond mere allusions to familiar figures. The ability to claim the character that most deeply resonates with them, driven by their powers, personality, or nostalgic connections, will deepen player immersion. Palpable intensity fueled by the game’s vibrant community—where camaraderie thrives through strategic brilliance and dazzling team executions—infuses every moment of gameplay with electrifying engagement. With each character bringing unique, referential battle cries and signature moves to the table, the multiplayer experience will be a thrilling, explosive mix of cherished nostalgia and pure, unadulterated adrenaline-pumping action.

What's even more compelling about the Thunder Doomstrike headcanon season in Marvel Rivals is the promise of unprecedented character depth. Each hero and recruit will boast unique special abilities and powers, ensuring a diverse and dynamic gameplay experience. Players will have rich opportunities to level up their chosen characters, unlocking potent new skills and custom-build options, allowing for deep strategic planning with their team to outmaneuver opponents, defeat Doctor Doom's forces, and ultimately emerge victorious. Coupled with stunning graphics that bring the Marvel universe to life with breathtaking detail and immersive gameplay that makes every punch, blast, and lightning strike feel impactful, the Thunder Doomstrike headcanon season in Marvel Rivals promises to be an unforgettable landmark experience for all fans of the Marvel universe.

Since I already created Ashley Magma in her Thunderstrike skin, showcasing her wielding the storm sword, crackling with energy balls, glowing eyes, and awe-inspiring thunder wings, it feels only right to extend the Thunderstrike treatment to the Guardians of the Galaxy for this headcanon season of Marvel Rivals. I'm calling this season Thunder Doomstrike in homage to the fantastic symbiote-themed skins of Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Squirrel Girl. This season delves into a world where cosmic heroes wield the primal force of storms and electricity.

The Thunderstrike Guardians’ signature look centers on sleek jet-black suits, boldly accented with vibrant lemon-yellow highlights for a striking contrast. Sunny amber-gold and crisp white details will further embellish the designs, adding depth and a touch of regal quality to their enhanced appearances. Imagine a blend of stealth and raw power, reflecting the potent force coursing through them.

Here’s a closer look at each Guardian's Thunderstrike transformation:

Star-Lord [Peter Quill]: The Thunderstrike skin of Peter trades his signature leather jacket for a more sophisticated, sleek black leather jacket with eye-catching gold accents running along the seams and zippers. He will wear coordinated sunny amber-gold leather pants and yellow gloves, combining protective functionality with streamlined style. Completing the look, his futuristic black boots enhance visual impact and agility. His helmet undergoes a complete overhaul, transformed into a sleek black design with golden accents highlighting the visor and crest, giving him a more commanding and powerful presence. His trusty dual blasters are also reimagined in a striking black and gold color scheme, making them a visual extension of his amped-up persona.

Rocket Raccoon: Rocket's Thunderstrike skin leans heavily into a rugged, tactical aesthetic. He includes the lemon-yellow suit in favor of a black and sunny amber-gold jumpsuit with intricate metallic white accents, giving him a more aggressive but heroic look. His new getup includes a utility belt overflowing with high-tech gadgets and specialized tools, all rendered in complementary colors. Golden-hued armor accents will crown his yellow gloves and black boots, uniting function with flair. His weapon is a sleek and futuristic blaster, a custom-engineered piece of hardware designed to dish out electrifying attacks.

Drax: The Thunderstrike skin of Drax embraces a primal, ferocious look. He will don a black-and-gold sleeveless tunic, its fabric etched with elaborate tribal motifs—each symbol a storied testament to his warrior ancestry. His pants are a deep charcoal color, complemented by metallic gold detailing along the seams, adding a touch of sophistication to his brutal style. Drax has a bold, intimidating look enhanced by gold gauntlets, yellow gloves, and black boots. His skin deepens in tone, heightening his imposing, battle-hardened presence. His signature twin blades are enhanced—now razor-sharp and charged with crackling electrical energy. With amplified precision and power, he becomes a relentless force in close-quarters combat.

Groot: Groot's Thunderstrike skin features a monumental transformation, encasing him in an all-encompassing, sizable black and gold armor suit. The armor is intricately detailed with leaf-like patterns etched into the metal, blending nature with advanced technology. Glowing yellow gems and gloves are strategically embedded throughout the suit, radiating power and evoking a commanding sense of regal authority. His matching black boots are accented with gleaming trim, tying the whole look together. He will be in his swole form like in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and Vol. 3. Wearing the full-sized suit causes his limbs to emit a yellow glow, like an aura. In this form, Groot becomes an unstoppable force, a living embodiment of nature's power unleashed.

Gamora: Gamora's Thunderstrike skin radiates a streamlined, lethal presence that embodies her precision, skill, and unflinching resolve as a formidable warrior. Her armor is a deep shade of black, a modern and futuristic aesthetic that pays homage to her classic design while incorporating cutting-edge technology. The suit is form-fitting and flexible, allowing her to maintain her agility and unparalleled combat prowess. She wears matching black boots, accented by yellow details throughout her outfit along with the gloves. Her preferred armament is a refined, double-edged energy blade, its surface alive with volatile energy. Held firmly in her grasp, the weapon heightens her commanding presence, fusing elegance with deadly precision in a spectacle that is as mesmerizing as it is intimidating.

All the Guardians’ Thunderstrike skins share a unified look, with bold black-and-yellow suits accented by matching boots and utility belts. Strategic yellow highlights emphasize their enhanced power. We are on the verge of embarking on an intense and invigorating season of Marvel Rivals, driven by dynamic speculative narratives—prepare to be thoroughly engaged.

[critical-quoter]

Reviews from Last Week

🐦‍⬛ Labyrinth of Broken Vows - Millie Moon ⭐️⭐️ This could have been so much better with content editing and expanding. I'm not talking about rewriting the entire book but there definitely needed to be more than 235 pages to build a story and create these characters. It feels like the author leaned too much on the expectation that only people who watch the movie, Labyrinth, would read this and would know who the characters were at their core. There wasn't any building of Brielle and certainly none of Thorne.

The dialogue was also uncomfortably written. It used inflections that felt too modern and didn't fit with the fantasy landscape. There's no telling what the inspired time period is but there are knights in metal armor, cobbled streets, and apparently no protections for battered women, so not modern day. There wasn't anything that screamed modern vernacular, but it also didn't feel pre-industrial age like everything else.

I have no idea what the magic system is, by the way. I don't know how the world really works. I don't understand how the Maze is separate but still adjacent (maybe) than the kingdom Brielle came from. I don't understand why people sang songs about Brielle's beauty in taverns. There were just so many plot holes that were never explained. Also, Thorne's mother being mentioned out of nowhere was so weird. I had to go back and see if I missed something (I had not.)

Anyway, not for me. I didn't obsess over Labyrinth and even this feel far short from my hopes.

🛸 Barbarian Lover - Ruby Dixon ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I don't think anyone goes into the Ice Planet Barbarians series expecting emotional depth. I know when I first started the series, I was looking for a fun time filled with alien fucking. So with each iteration, I am pleasantly surprised when it's more than just smut.

So with that, I want to say that I really did love the relationship between Kira and Aehako. Even without the resonance, Aehako knew he wanted to be with Kira and he really liked her despite her constantly pushing him away. And him calling her Sad Eyes as a pet name? I melted. Kira was great too. She was supportive of those around her and she wanted to like Aehako but didn't want to get attached in case he resonated.

Honestly, I only had one issue with this book and that was the ending. I don't want to spoil anything but spoiler I really would have loved a different resolution that didn't feel like an erasure of people that cannot have children.

I just really love this series, and although the ending kind of spoiled this book for me, it will still remain on my shelves (happily.)

✍🏻 Promised - Jayla Talbot ⭐️⭐️ So I think most of us would agree that the dubious consent scene was rape. Ariella was struggling and said 'stop' multiple times. Adam raped her. And he didn't get better. The sex scenes were violent and nearly constant.

Honestly, if Adam was absolutely foul. I would have enjoyed this. The pacing was good and I liked the plot line overall. I just don't think that Adam deserved anything other than a bullet and a shallow grave.

I am just so taken aback by how bad the MMC was. I'm not sure why it's a trend in dark romance to have an abusive man as the love interest. A love story can can actually be crafted with a man that doesn't hate and abuse the woman we're supposed to believe he loves.

Overall, this could have been great, but once again, a man has ruined it.

🚼 Washed in Blood - Ashley Lane ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really like MC romances (and Mafia romances) because there's a level of suspense and danger that keeps the plot moving. I don't want to sit in a bunch of cozy feelings throughout the book (most of the time, sometimes I like a good cozy romance.) But al lot of these romances have the same problem of having the most over-the-top, ridiculously cringe dialogue.

By all means, profess your feelings. But at 50% in the novel, do we ever really need a line like this: "Don't you see? If you're the king of the underworld, I'll be your queen." The answer is no, we do not need a line that dramatic. Especially when the FMC, Willow, hasn't even told the MMC, Priest, that she's pregnant with her abuser's baby and he doesn't even know her full name yet.

The plot was good. It wasn't revolutionary or life-changing but the pacing felt done well enough. There were several time jumps that felt a little drastic, but it didn't detract from the story terribly. The relationship building did feel a little underdone, and honestly, that's because Willow refused to Priest anything. It felt inauthentic to be frank.

Overall, I didn't dislike the book completely. But the 2nd and 3rd in the series are much better done.

🔪 Make Me - Summer O'Toole ⭐️ I am so exhausted by mediocre dark romances just being about abusive MMCs and the FMCs that grovel because they stood up for themselves. I don't have anything to say about this book that is nice. And everything I hate about this book can be summed up in 6 quotes, pulled directly from the book, within the first 50% of the story:

1. The restaurant has emptied out, and I haven’t yet decided how I want to spend this time alone together. Half of me wants to sneak up behind her, cover her screams with my hand, pin her down, and take what’s mine, not caring if she puts up a fight. My balls physically ache with the need to fill her. Claim her. Mark her as mine. Make her walk around with my cum dripping down her legs so everyone can see. 2. The memory makes me want to storm in there and rip the covers off her. Make her bare herself to me the way I’ve been bared, raw and bleeding, to her.  I’d flip her over and pump her tight pussy full of my cum, and if she protested, I’d shove her face into the pillow so I wouldn’t have to hear it. Because she’s mine. And I won’t hear otherwise. Even from her. 3. “You would have liked it too—though you’d never admit it. You would have fought me at first. And it would have only made me harder—your little pleas, your fright fueling your arousal, the sound of mingled pleasure and pain you would have made when I slammed into your tight little pussy.”  “That sounds a lot like assault, Cash.” She tries to sound tough, but her pupils dilate, and her telltale blush reddens her cheeks.  “No, baby. That's just me taking what’s mine.” 4. “You’re mine, Harlow. My woman, my property, my queen, my fucking whore, if I so choose.” 5. But I don’t trust myself not to hurt her if I give into that urge. Because once I’m inside her, I know it won’t matter if she’s moaning my name in pleasure or pain. I won’t fucking stop. 6. “Come for me right now. Right. Fucking. Now, bitch.”

This is just about a man thinking about raping a woman constantly until she has sex with him and then he gets off by treating her like actual garbage. If you like it, great for you. But it's an absolute no from me.

🐺 Primal - Kayleigh King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I have never been one to enjoy the omegaverse, mostly because it seemed like omega women were written to be submissive, spineless, and just props for the Alpha. And having a personality lacking protagonist is just exhaustingly boring. So when I started searching for recommendations for a rejected mate trope book, I picked the first one I saw that had a cover I liked. (I wasn't going for quality here, I was looking to satisfy a craving with what I assumed was going to be bad and then move on.)

Shocked! I am utterly shocked to say that I absolutely loved this. I binged this until 5 am on a work night. I am exhausted, I am brain dead, and I am impatiently waiting for book two.

This was just everything I wanted. Noa had a personality. She was vibrantly written and doesn't belly crawl to Rennick. And Rennick! The giant idiot asshole. I honestly can't help but love him, but I'm so ready to watch this man grovel and crawl for forgiveness. If book 1 satisfied the need for a rejected mates trope so well, I cannot wait to see how book 2 gives me the pleasure of a man begging for forgiveness.

Overall, I loved it. I will forever be chasing this high now of a fantastic het-omegaverse book.

🗡️ The Devils - Joe Abercrombie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really think that the best way to describe this book is if there is a Dungeons and Dragons campaign and the party is built off the inspiration of the Suicide Squad. And it was just a fun time. I don't think I stopped giggling, even the battle scenes were peppered with well-placed jokes.

Each one of the characters was just so perfectly written for the role they were in. I can honestly say that I loved every single one. Even the villains were just perfectly horrible and I couldn't help but enjoy how they set themselves against our adventuring party.

Everything about this book might be the best book I read in 2025. It gave me exactly the amount of "Fuck the Church" feelings I needed to feel vindicated for my exit from religion but not enough that I was bothered by residual trauma. I got all the relationship woes that come with a smallish traveling party without the focus being solely on that. I got battles, and drama, and girls kissing girls. I was handed heartbreak.

I loved this. I didn't want to put it down and now I'm left bereft until I get more of Sunny, and Jakob, and Vigga, and Rikard, and everyone else.

🍼 I'm Yours, Baby - Fiona Davenport ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I think if anyone asked me what's a good book to start with if you want to start reading with the breeding kink trope, it would be this. Because the only thing I really have to say about it is that Weston did not back down from being a dad.

I mean, this is less than 100 pages and I think there were like 4 or 5 smut scenes. And Weston didn't stop thinking about getting Aspen pregnant at all.

There's really nothing more to say. The pacing (for a novella) is pretty decent. The writing was done well enough. There's a suspense element (I guess) but anyone surprised about the "twist" is far too naive. Just a quick and smutty read.

🪴 O Dreamer Mine - Nicholas Turner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Say what you will about Booktok and the drama that abounds from it, but how else was I going to find a short story collection about a sentient, telepathic plant that is enacting its revenge against the human race, because they took it from its home on Mars.

I would not have found it and I would have missed out on such a quick and fantastic read. In the first story, we're on the Naval Space Station and I immediately started getting the same anxiety I had when I first saw the movies: Apollo 18 and Life. Just that dread of being trapped in space with something hell bent on killing you. The bonus here is that the plant was also really determined to drive the humans crazy before it consumed them.

Each story in this collection (there's 4) was uniquely devastating. There was just a sense of doom throughout that made you want to hope for humanity while also knowing that they kind of asked for this.

I really enjoyed this. It makes me interested in the rest of Turner's backlog.

🛥️ Mafia Madman - Mila Finelli ⭐️⭐️ So many times I wanted to DNF this and I chose not to. That is a regret I will probably take to my grave.

This was just a painfully slow-paced story about a man psychologically torturing a woman into Stockholm Syndrome. And he did. Enzo caged Gia, naked. He withheld food, and water, and the use of a toilet. I enjoy dark romances, but this gross. Like complete ick the entire time.

Even if I could get past the captivity aspect, I still can't get over that there's no relationship building. Other than fucking, these two hardly interacted, and certainly not enough to believe that they were in love with each other by the end.

And I know that Enzo's wife and kids were used as plot points in an earlier book in the series, because they really played no real part in this book. Overall, the pacing was slow, the characters were flat, the MMC was abusive, and the plot was weak at best.

👽 Resisting Maxu - Victoria Aveline ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Choosing Theo was one of the best alien romances I have ever read. I really didn't think that there was anything that could top it, but frankly, Resisting Maxu very nearly beat it out. Meg and Maxu did so well together even when they struggled to work well together (I know you know that makes sense.)

The world building is still a bit vague but we certainly got to see a lot more of it in this one. I do like that with the traveling, we got to see the different races and I'm wondering how that will end up playing out in the following books.

I appreciate the fact that Meg was excited to be abducted and dumped on an alien world. You don't see that in most alien romances and it was refreshing. I especially love the fact that Maxu worked so hard to be a good mate even though he just wanted to snatch Meg up and keep her locked down.

This is just such a great palate cleanser of a series. You can't help but enjoy it.

❄️ Craving Chaos - Jill Ramsower ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ You know what I like? Two hot people that don't want to like each other but secretly do like each other being snowed in to a remote cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Damnit, this was absolutely fantastic. Mostly because Shae could kick anyone and everyone's ass and look so hot doing it. I just really enjoyed her as a character overall. And Renzo worked so well with her. It wasn't about lessening or softening Shae to make her appealing to men, but to have an MMC that rose up enough to compliment her as is. And this was done so well here. They had such great chemistry together.

As for the suspense plot? Very well done. I had my suspicions but I really did not see that ending coming. The pacing was great. There wasn't a lull in the book that made it a slog to get through. If the suspense plot slowed, the romance building built up. This was just a well balanced book with fantastic characters.

🐾 A War of Hearts and Fate - N.E. Henderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really don't know what it is about rejected mates shifter romances, but every time I start one, I end up staying awake until 5am just to finish it. There's just always so much glorious groveling from these giant idiot men.

This was good. Predictable by all means, but so deliciously good. Kate was the perfect FMC for this. I didn't realize that I needed an Alpha female main character. She just kicked ass (literally) from the start. And Kane complimented her well once he got past all his dickishness.

Honestly, my only gripe with it was the information dump we were "blessed" with. This needed to be a show not tell situation. If the information was trickled in or given more naturally through dialogue and the actual scene that it was describing, it would not have been a problem. Instead, we got several pages just recounting what the issues and situation were and it came across so clunky.

I really liked this though. I've been hunting for more rejected mates books and this worked so well.

🐻 Bearly Mated - Lola Glass ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was very cute and cozy for a paranormal romance. There was no angst and just because of the length of the novella, there was really no delay in the romance. Callie and Hudson were childhood best friends so the relationship was already there to start.

I think this would have been better served by being longer and more fleshed out. The world-building really lacked depth and because of that the bear shifter culture just lacked any logic to make it believable. I know, I know bear shifters aren't real so there should be a suspension of belief. But a whole culture that just believes that the men can't stay with their mates? They won't sleep with anyone else and even if they love them, they won't stay? Come on, it doesn't make sense.

I really loved the characters though. Hudson being all in right from the start was absolutely perfect. Overall, it's just a fun little read.

🐻‍❄️ Bearly Taken - Lola Glass ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Man, I really think this novella would have been perfect if it was longer. Wren and Reed worked so well together as a couple and Reed was all in. I just wished that we had more. More world building, more bear shifter lore, more relationship building.

There really isn't much you can say about a novella that's less than 100 pages. I really enjoyed this. I just think it would have been so much better if it was fleshed out.