#j. R. thorn

[arson-09]

thinking about the lost potential of feyre/rhysand mating bond but the plot is feyre deciding that FUCK the mating bond. she picked tamlin and no matter what hes who she wants to be with. Tamlin, despite his hate for rhysand is like no i mean, the bond :( and feyres just i WILL break this, my title isnt feyre cursebreaker for NOTHING. Rhysand actually continues to be a villain and no one gets character retconned

does anyone know a good fic with this concept/similar? i know im not the first to think of this

[tomesntreasures]

Greetings, Bibliophiles!

Greetings fellow book lovers! My name is Deanna and I decided to create this page so I can share my love of books and fully immerse myself in the book reading community.

I have always loved to read. As a kid, I spent lots of time zipping through books like Wild Magic and Stephen King's The Eye of the Dragon. The time I have spent with books over the years has definitely made an impact on me as an individual. While I lost interest in reading for probably 20+ years, I have recently found my love of reading again and have no intentions of holding back!

I am a wife and mother of 2 and currently work in a hospital as a med/surg secretary. While I am not a fast reader I find that I have a lot of time on my hands throughout the day so I manage to consume quite a bit of content. I am a little OCD and have a bad habit of obsessing over the things I enjoy. You'll see as time goes on how this comes into play.

But for now, I thought my first blog should be a "getting to know you" post so you can learn a little more about me!

1) Favorite book of all time

My favorite book of all time (at present) is A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas. While I do have several other books that are on par or even rated higher, this is the one that I think back on often and still swoon over.

2) Favorite book five years ago

My favorite book from five or more years ago would probably be Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones. This book was beautifully whimsical and so very different from the movie that first piqued my interest. The content left out by the movie was some of my favorites from the gifts given to the journey undergone.

3) Favorite Duology/Trilogy/Series

My favorite series to date is probably The Boys of Chapel Crest by K G Reuss. This is a Dark Bully Asylum Romance and it captivated me. The pain the characters go through and the unification between them is heart wrenching. While I haven't yet finished this series, I have one more book that I'm holding off on until the last two books come out so I'm not trapped on a cliffhanger.

4) Last book you read

The last book I read was The Ever Queen by L J Andrews. I was initially hesitant about this series after starting the first book. The writing is a little foreign to me based solely on the accents and terminology used but the characters. But that's to be expected since it's Vikings and Pirates in the same setting.

5) Last book of poetry you read

Ummm... maybe Edgar Allen Poe's collective works? I'm not much of a poetry or classics reader. I like my fantasy and contemporary romances.

6) What book most influenced your life

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas. This book renewed my love of reading to the point of obsession. I couldn't be more grateful to her and to this book. I had been struggling with my OCD the past several years as well as using the friends I had RPd with and this book fell into my lap when I needed an outlet most.

7) Book that made you ugly cry

When Lies Unfold by R C Boldt made me sob. The ending. That’s all I will say.  

8) Book that made you laugh

Oh gosh, definitely Lights Out by Navessa Allen. I listened to this one on Audiobook and it was well worth it. Josh was so funny, I couldn't get over how goofy and adorable of a golden retriever he was.

9) Character you’d like to be for a day

Honestly, probably Wendy Darling from the Lost Girl series by T A Lawrence. While she goes through a great deal, I love the idea of being a mother to all those boys. To being the light in their darkness to give them something better to work towards. Even Hook. I just loved this series (can't hurt me with a good retelling).

10) Book so good you dreamt about it

I can't say I've dreamt about any of my books recently. And anything older than this past year I wouldn't be able to say as it's been so long. But there are several that I think about regularly:

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

The Boys of Chapel Crest series by K G Reuss

When Lies Unfold by R C Boldt

Lights Out by Navessa Allen

The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros

11) Book you DNF

Ugh, I hate thinking about this. I've DNF'd two in the past year. Thankfully they're few and far between but the one that makes me angry at myself is Ours by A K Rose. I ordered the special editions of this complete 9 book series. I adored the first book. The second book I struggled through with the characters making some really stupid decisions and withholding information just for plot purposes. But I powered through! The third book, however, those same miscommunications and stupid decisions persisted and I could not get past chapter 5. I don't know if the rest of the series is any better but I'm still fuming that I spent so much money on a series that I DNF'd by the 3rd book. I have been rethinking my habits of buying series all in one go ever since.

12) Name a book you are excited to read

I am very excited to pick up Fairydale by Veronica Lancet. I've seen snippits about this book and everyone who talks about it is raving. It's definitely on my list to pick up next weekend when I go to the book store. If they don't have it I'll pick it up online. I want to read it that badly!

************************************************************************

I hope that you were able to learn a little bit more about me! I cannot wait to begin writing blogs and posting book reviews! Do not hesitate to give me book recommendations!

[books-in-a-storm]

Currently Reading 💛

Creature Of The Sky & Fortune Academy Underworld: Book Eight

[timelessphoenix]

Does not make sense in my brain that Feyre doesn't know how to read or pronounce a bunch of different words and the book is written in fairly descriptive first person perspective.

Sounds a tad elitist, but congnitive dissonance is all it is. I understand that just because I can say the word "position" doesn't mean I can attach the sounds to the letters of the word when I read it on a page. But it's weird to be reading words like "crimson" from her perspective when she probably couldn't read it off a page herself. Also, she's lived in poverty for so long; does she realistically know a lot of the words she uses in her perspective? This comes up in the same chapter. "I searched for the word in the half-forgotten part of my mind. Mural. That's what it was (114)." But she's got no trouble meandering through the labyrinths of books both in front of her and on the mezzanine dangling above. Seems like Maas picks and chooses when Feyre does and doesn't know words she may (or may not) have heard and/or known in her small time as a wealthy kid. And "meandering" is a word you pick up almost exclusively by reading!! Who SAYS that in common speech??

It's just an aspect of Feyre's character that makes me think it'd be better if this was written in third person pov. Anyhoo. I keep writing this to avoid reading. Back to trucking through.

[obsidian-vineyard84]

This is the second time i had to draw this (Medibang crashed as i went to save it)

[meeghanreads]

Top 5 books with cheese

Hello friends!! Welcome to Top 5 Tuesday!! This week’s topic is top 5 books with cheese!! You know, every week when I start drafting these posts I sit there and think… why the hell did I think this topic was a good idea?? And every quarter when I write the topic posts I’m always like “wow! that topic is so inspired. i’m a fricking genius!” Friends, let me tell you now. I am about as far from a…

[starboi-waiting]

GEIST YOUR SO COOL

Dan thorns as Odysseus!! Cantripped and epic obsession is coming back full swing now

[lostbetweenthepagesofthesebooks]

2023 Year in Books

2023 was when I was really able to get back into reading. I had finished college late 2022, and started my new job not long after. So between school, studying, and getting use to the new job, reading was e x t r e m e l y slow. Much sad.

With this being said though... 2023 starts with the final books in the Game of Throne series. I don't know how or why I thought it was okay to attempt to start these books while I was still in school. I survived. Looking at my GoodReads stats, you could definitely tell I was over it with the last two books because those two took me forever (granted Storm of Swords really does pop off, and the last two just don't hit that way).

Without further adoooo:

Started somewhere in November 2022, finished mid-January 2023 was A Feast for Crows followed by A Dance with Dragons finished around end of March. I won't be doing any review of these books. I just have zero interest. George R. R. Martin is a great writer, I (mostly) enjoyed my time with the books, and I have no interest in revisiting them any time soon. I read them because they're my partner's favorite books, and I did watch the series, so I wanted to see everything they couldn't include in the show. That's that.

I will do a brief review of The Name of the Wind and A Wise Man's Fear. I say brief because my memory is somewhat fuzzy on the first book at this point, I mostly remember the second one. These do deserve their own little post, as I am a fan of the series thus far.

I also do not think I'll be doing a review of Fire & Blood. I will say I did enjoy this book a lot. If you did not like all the POV's of the series, Fire & Blood has none, so good news there. Bad news, if you don't like historical texts... well, this reads like a history book. You also don't necessarily need to read the series imo. My book also had illustrations, so v. fun to see all the dragons.

I will do a review on Fevre Dream, ACOTAR, Dracula, and Some Will Not Sleep. These are all pretty fresh in my mind.

Finally... His Dark Materials. Ya'll. Two things. First, this is actually the book that just sparked some wild fire in me. It made me want to start annotating my books. Made me want to start blogging. My mind still wonders back to this world. Second, for me to do a review of this one justice, I will definitely have to reread this one. So this review is on pause. And maybe in that review I can try to explain why a book, under the "middle school literature" section, made me so passionate.

First official review will kick off with The Kingkiller Chronicle. Comin at ya'll soon. Read on my beautiful peeps.

[fandom]

Books

In which the demigods and a conniving triangle knock the necromancers and their cavaliers from their celestial heights!

This list is brought to you by Tor Publishing Group (@torpublishinggroup), which you’re probably familiar with, given that this is tumblr dot com.

Percy Jackson +1 by Rick Riordan

The Book Of Bill by Alex Hirsch

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

The Locked Tomb series -3 by Tamsyn Muir

The All for the Game series +3 by Nora Sakavic

The Warrior Cats series by Erin Hunter

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

A Court of Thorns and Roses series +2 by Sarah J. Maas

Dracula -4 by Bram Stoker

The Trials of Apollo series +9 by Rick Riordan

The Odyssey +10 by Homer

Wings of Fire series +5 by Tui T. Sutherland

Six of Crows duology -9 by Leigh Bardugo

Discworld -5 by Terry Pratchett

The Silmarillion -4 by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

Pride and Prejudice -5 by Jane Austen

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

The Raven Cycle series -5 by Maggie Stiefvater

Frankenstein -7 by Mary Shelley

The Iliad -1 by Homer

Stormlight Archive +2 by Brandon Sanderson

1984 +4 by George Orwell

The Folk of the Air series -2 by Holly Black

Romeo and Juliet +20 by William Shakespeare

The Simon Snow series -6 by Rainbow Rowell

The Secret History -9 by Donna Tartt

Captive Prince series +13 by C. S. Pacat

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Good Omens +20 by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

The Picture of Dorian Gray +18 by Oscar Wilde

The Sun and the Star -17 by Rick Riordan & Mark Oshiro

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

The Far Side +11 by Gary Larson

The Animorphs series -13 by K. A. Applegate

Throne of Glass series -4 by Sarah J. Maas

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series -3 by Rick Riordan

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde +8 by Robert Louis Stevenson

Mistborn -1 by Brandon Sanderson

Diary of a Wimpy Kid -16 by Jeff Kinney

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

The Song Of Achilles -13 by Madeline Miller

Crescent City series by Sarah J. Maas

The Twilight Saga -3 by Stephenie Meyer

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare

The Bell Jar -12 by Sylvia Plath

The Wicked Powers series by Cassandra Clare

The Dark Artifices series by Cassandra Clare

The number in italics indicates how many spots a title moved up or down from the previous year. Bolded titles weren’t on the list last year.

So many books, so little time. Come find your online Community for all things books and reading. Right this way.

[bbkoolkatz]

𝖋𝖆𝖙𝖊 𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖘𝖊𝖓!

comment to be added to the taglist for this story!

»»————> presenting;

pairing: barbarian!prince! Katsuki Bakugo x chief!daughter! reader.

synopsis: an arranged marriage to the prince of the barbarian clan to save your kingdom from being wiped out... cliche innit. stem's off the MHA fantasy au!

content warnings: FEMALE READER! strangers to lovers! slow burn! MHA fantasy AU! adult themes! arranged marriage! sexual content! rough n gruff Katsuki! mentions of blood in a lot of scenes! rituals! dub-con in some scenes! (for caution, because y'all can't understand each other) if u're religious, PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!! angst! fluff! smut! WARNINGS APPLY TO ALL CHAPTERS!!! and are there to exercise caution!

updated on Wednesdays and Saturdays!

𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖌𝖚𝖊↓; 2.5k+ words

»»————> LORE! [you can continue without reading all this]

the barbarian clan is known for conquering any village, kingdom and/or empire. they are brutes, usually settling anything by waging war and desecrating the land.

the barbarians speak in old Norse! conversing is difficult...

Katsuki is the only son and prince of the barbarian clan.

barbarians are stronger and bigger in size than regular humans.

your kingdom is ruled by your father—called cheif instead of king—who's a big softy and doesn't see the point in things like war... he prefers to talk things out and leave casualties to a zero. even if that means marrying off his only daughter...

you are the only daughter of your father which only makes you more precious and worthy of bearing the heir of both your kingdom and their clan.

tetsugami; a huge, semi intelligent crab. [there are few now as people have hunted them down to the double digits.]

crimson dragons; giant flying lizards. [they are very friendly despite their mean looking faces & their scales are extremely valuable.]

(more coming soon)

Old Norse Alphabet;

1. A/a- Pronunciation: ah as in "father."

2. B/b- Pronunciation: b as in "bed."

3. D/d- Pronunciation: d as in "dog."

4. Ð/ð (called eth)- Pronunciation: Soft th as in "this."

5. E/e- Pronunciation: eh as in "bed."

6. F/f- Pronunciation: f as in "fox." Between vowels, pronounced as v.

7. G/g- Pronunciation: g as in "go." After certain vowels, it softens to a y sound.

8. H/h- Pronunciation: h as in "house."

9. I/i- Pronunciation: ee as in "see."

10. J/j- Pronunciation: y as in "yes."

11. K/k- Pronunciation: k as in "king."

12. L/l- Pronunciation: l as in "lamp."

13. M/m- Pronunciation: m as in "man."

14. N/n- Pronunciation: n as in "name."

15. O/o- Pronunciation: aw as in "law."

16. P/p- Pronunciation: p as in "pen."

17. R/r- Pronunciation: Rolled r, like in Spanish or Italian.

18. S/s- Pronunciation: s as in "see."

19. T/t- Pronunciation: t as in "top."

20. U/u- Pronunciation: oo as in "moon."

21. V/v- Pronunciation: Often interchangeable with f, pronounced like English v.

22. Y/y- Pronunciation: Similar to ee but with rounded lips, like French u in lune.

23. Þ/þ (called thorn)- Pronunciation: Hard th as in "thorn."

24. Æ/æ- Pronunciation: ai as in "air."

25. Ö/ö- Pronunciation: ur as in "bird" (without the r).

M-LIST!

����𝖗𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖌𝖚𝖊 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 1 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 2 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 3.5 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 3.5

marriage. the best thing that could ever happen to a girl. all your life, you'd imagined being a bride; delicately decorating your hair with wild tulips, adorning your body in silver and white silk. spending the rest of your life with the person you love most.

now you're here, kneeling in front of a bonfire beside a complete stranger, cloaked in boar fur and animal skeletons, as the thick, warm blood of a lamb is poured over you. your marriage ceremony... filled with unfamiliar faces—including your now-husband—and traditions. drinking, dancing, and celebrating the union.

"nú ger hana konu þína!" a spiked-blonde woman, with an uncanny resemblance to the man kneeling beside you, announced, raising her hands in the air. you looked around confused as ever, as he leaned in, blood-stained fingers pulling you in by the back of your neck. your nose scrunched at the metallic taste of blood that his tongue shoved past your teeth. you push him away, gasping at the foreign feeling.

"hvat í helvíti, kona!?" he frowned, turning away from you, mumbling something under his breath, that you didn’t quite catch. not that you'd understand what he was carrying on about anyways...

the spiked-blonde woman—whom you guessed to be some sort of priestess or elder—shot you a sharp glare, her arms lowering slowly as she spoke in a hushed yet commanding tone. her words were incomprehensible to you, but the crowd seemed to murmur in agreement. your husband huffed, his frown deepening as he looked at you over his shoulder. you were kneeling there, with eyes pressing on you from all directions. the fire crackled in the silence, and the warmth of it did little to ease the chill settling in your chest.

two women approached you, their faces painted with intricate swirls of red and black. they tugged you to your feet without a word and began guiding you toward a tent decorated with bones, animal pelts, and dried herbs hanging from the entrance. inside, it was dimly lit by a few small lanterns. the air smelled of earth, smoke, and something sweet but unfamiliar.

they gestured for you to sit on a low stool and began pulling at your ceremonial garb, their movements quick but not unkind. your protests fell on deaf ears as they stripped you of the heavy fur cloak, wiping the blood from your skin with damp cloths. one of them muttered something, shaking her head as she scrubbed at your face. it was clear they didn't understand you either, but their disapproving looks were universal.

by the time they were finished, you were dressed in a simpler gown of rough-spun fabric, a far cry from the silks you were used to and had imagined for your wedding night. the older of the two handed you a wooden cup filled with a thick, bitter scented liquid. she pointed to it, then your mouth, her expression stern. reluctantly, you sipped it, grimacing at the taste. the woman nodded, seemingly satisfied, before they left you alone in the tent.

you sat there, staring at your hands, trying to gather your thoughts, but instead, they drift back to just a few mere hours ago...

-

"arranged?" you seethed in disbelief, looking at your defeated father, seated across from you at the council table, surrounded by old wrinkled elders.

"yes, daughter," he affirmed, voice devoid of emotion. "war against the barbarian clan would destroy everything we've built—"

"so they made a proposal, a very very rare one," one of the wart ridden elders interrupted-

"to make an arrangement," another continued-

"one that cannot be broken once forged," -

"a marriage,"-

"your sacrifice would save us all, child," the eldest croaked, concluding the proposal, "and as the chief's daughter, it is your duty to your people." one after the other, they all slowly turned their heads toward you, kneeling at the center of their godforsaken grey gazes.

your eyes flickered between them, their crinkled foreheads making you feel sick to your stomach as their words wrung your heartstrings. "marriage is sacred... it can only happen once. i don't know this person that you'd like me to be bound to for the rest of my life..." you snarled, stating the very obvious to those expired raisins.

"i'm afraid you misunderstood us, girl," the eldest fumed, weakly slamming his fist down, "it is arranged. you will wed the heir of the barbarian clan. that is why you have been summoned." firmly raising from his seat to intimidate you.

"that is my daughter you're speaking to, elder... as old as you are, mind your tongue." your father shifted his attention to you. "unfortunately, he is right, my dear. it's already been arranged, and you are to be wed at sundown."

dumbfounded... that's the look on your face. they we're giving you away to complete strangers... and at sundown!? despite all the colorful words that wanted to fly out your mouth, you grit your teeth and settled with a curt nod. you do have a duty to your people.

though it wasn't supposed to happen like this. it was supposed to be the happiest day of your life. you only get married once in your entire life after all.

-

the sound of heavy footsteps outside the tent snapped you out of your thoughts. the flap was pulled aside roughly, and your husband stepped in. his presence filled the small space, his broad shoulders and wild blonde hair almost brushing the top of the tent as his crimson eyes bore into you, a mixture of frustration and curiosity in his gaze.

he said something, his voice sharp and demanding, but you could only blink up at him in confusion. "i don't understand you," you said softly, shaking your head, as your voice trembled, despite your efforts to stay composed.

he huffed, combing a hand through his hair before pointing at you and then gesturing to the pallet of furs in the corner of the tent. his tone suggested he was giving you an order. when you didn't move, he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"leggjask. sofa." he barked, his frustration very much evident. when you still didn't respond, he crossed the space between you in two long strides, grabbing your wrist and pulling you to your feet. the roughness of his grip made you wince, but he didn't seem to notice as he guided you toward the furs. he pointed again, his expression leaving no room for argument.

you hesitated, thinking that maybe he wanted you to lie down, and slowly you lower yourself onto the makeshift bed. he stood over you for a moment, his intense gaze making your skin prickle, before he turned and left the tent without another word.

you let out a shaky breath, your heart pounding in your chest. you were alone in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers who you couldn't even get to know, married to a man you didn't understand. tears pricked at the corners of your eyes with the overwhelming thoughts, but you blinked them away, refusing to let yourself break down on your wedding night.

the two women that cleaned you up earlier came back with him, and they began to remove his furs. you quickly averted your eyes, feeling a heat crawling up your neck, as the thought of them removing more than just his cloak tainted your mind.

"nei!" the old one scolded, "Þú verður að líta!" ... why are they babbling their jibberish when they know you don't understand them... "she said, 'you must look'," the younger translated, seeing the confused wrinkle in your brows. oh thank the gods! you smiled briefly at the familiar words before coming back to your senses.

"must i?" you blush, slowly turning back to them.

"yes," she smiled, cleansing your huge husband before your eyes, "if you do not, you give chance for another woman," she carefully rubbed the damp cloth over his bloody forehead while you let the thought sink in.

"leave," you softly ordered, "I'll take care of my husband," and without hesitation she whispered to the old lady, they dropped everything and left. ain't no way you were about to let your husband be seduced away on the night of your union...

gently, you wrung the cloth of most of its water and brought it back up to his face, wiping away the dust and dried blood that covered little scars freckling his almost perfect face.

his eyes burned through your skull with his staring, slowly scanning over the curves and dips of your body as you moved. your finger danced over his skin, tracing the scar on his right cheekbone, moving down to brush past his thin lips, wiping away the remnants of dirt on his well built, chest. he seemed to relax against your touch, closing his piercing crimson eyes, and hanging his head back to let you do your work.

so soft... and smooth... the texture of his skin isn't what you expected. who would've thought that such a rough looking barbarian had the skin of a baby? would explain all the scars though. like this one running down his neck to his collarbone, and these over here trailing down his firm biceps. you almost forgot you were supposed to be cleaning him up... you've finished the upper half and tugged at the leather holding his pants up, struggling to get them undone.

a low chuckle rumbled in his throat and your eyes shot up up to his smirking face, "what's so funny?" you quiver, frowning, as he shifted to stand, undoing the leather and dropping his pants to the dirt floor. "þar," he rasped, smug at your flustered state.

having those women clean him up was starting to seem more and more reasonable now... nevertheless, you dippied the cloth in the bowl of warm water and squeezed it, before wiping at his lower abdomen. you're so adorable between his legs like that, avoiding his eyes at all costs, while you wipe your way down and around, to his back. again, your hands moved of their own accord, twitching along the scupletd bumps on his back.

he grunted softly as your fingers worked over the knots in his shoulders, his broad frame shifting slightly under your touch. emboldened by the lack of protest, you continued, pressing harder into the muscles along his spine. his head dipped forward, and a low sigh escaped his lips, sending a wave of warmth through you. he brought a large hand up to yours on his shoulders and guided you in front of him.

both your eyes reflected in each other's for a long moment before you tried to break the silence, your words sounding like nonsensical ringing in his ears. he pulled you into his chest, just holding you there in an attempt to shush you, closing his eyes as his brows pinched over them.

"what's your name?" you asked softly, your voice barely audible over the crackling of the distant bonfire. you paused, waiting for a response, but he didn't seem to react, his eyes still closed as if savoring the moment. you tried again, a little louder this time, "what is your name?" you pointed at his chest.

he peeped through his eyelids, a sliver of vermilion meeting yours with a flicker of confusion. "nafnið mitt?" he asked, the foreign words rolling off his tongue. he tilted his head, as though trying to piece together what you were asking.

you frowned, gesturing to yourself. "i'm…" you said your name slowly, pointing at your chest, then gestured to him, raising your brows expectantly.

he blinked, mildly confused, before a smirk tugged at his lips. "Katsuki," he said, his voice low and rough. he tapped his chest, meeting your eyes again. "Kat-su-ki," he repeated, in the same manner you pronounced yours, ensuring you understood.

"Ka-tsu-ki…" you tested the name on your tongue, the unfamiliar syllables feeling oddly satisfying. his smirk widened slightly, pleased that you had caught on.

you nodded, offering a small smile in return, then gestured to yourself again. "my name is…" you repeated your name slowly once more, hoping to bridge the language barrier. his brows furrowed, lips moving as he attempted to mimic the unfamiliar sounds. his effort was clumsy but endearing, and you couldn't help the small laugh that escaped you.

his frown deepened at your amusement. he murmured your name under his breath a few more times, his pronunciation improving with each attempt, until he finally said it with enough accuracy to make you grin.

"that's right!" you cheered softly, nodding in approval.

he held your gaze for a moment longer, his expression unreadable, before his hand came up to gently brush against your cheek. his touch was surprisingly tender, his calloused fingers rough against your skin, but warm.

"sofa," he murmured again, his tone softer this time. he gestured toward the furs, his crimson eyes watching you closely.

you hesitated, unsure if he was commanding you or simply suggesting something. this is it. you thought, heart racing, as you slowly nodded, giving him a glance over your shoulder, before crawling onto the makeshift bed.

he stood for a moment, watching as you adjusted yourself among the furs, before he joined, sinking beside your head with his weight on his palms, caging you in under him. his hair fell beautifully over his narrow, glowing eyes, his nose brushing against yours as he lowered to your quivering lips, sucking them between his, tugging at your plump bottom lip with his teeth.

footsteps thumping right outside your tent made your heart race, thinking someone was coming, but he didn't stop, nor did he care, he hiked up the thin fabric of your dress, his large hand caressing your upper thigh as he shed the leather covering his— good god... you look down and your eyes widened. he smirked and hooked the strap of your dress with a finger to pull it down, and expose your heaving chest.

"Katsuki!" the blonde woman from earlier yelled, barging into the tent, "Tak hendur þínar af henni, þú þarft at vera við ráðsafn. núna!"

"För Guðs sakar, kona!" he yelled back, moving himself off you to sit. he looked up at her worried frown... "Ek kem..." you had no idea what was happening... eyes darting between them as their words flowed out of their mouth and their hands moved in frustration as they spoke.

katsuki looked back at you, a worried expression overtaking the lustful one he had mere seconds ago. he kneeled down kissed you, then threw on his cloak and left. the woman rested a comforting hand on your shoulder, gently smiling before she too headed out, leaving you alone, following behind your husband.

»»————> 𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖘𝖑𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘; <————««

❈ "Nú ger hana konu þína." - now make her your wife

❈ "hvat í helvíti, kona!?" - what in the hell woman!?

❈ "þar" - there

❈ "nafnið mitt?" - my name?

❈ "leggjask" lie down

❈ "sofa" - sleep

❈ "Katsuki! Tak hendur þínar af henni, þú þarft at vera við ráðsafn. núna!"- katsuki! take your hands off her, you need to be at the council gathering. now!

❈ "För Guðs sakar, kona!" - for gods sake, woman!

❈ "Ek kem..." - I'm coming...

hope u enjoyed and look forward to more! don't forget to comment to be added to the taglist! mwah~♡

mlist!

[clanslist]

Warrior Cats Name Generator in 2025

FIRST LETTER OF FIRST NAME:

A - Apple

B - Bracken

C - Curl

D - Dune

E - Eagle

F - Fawn

G - Geyser

H - Heron

I - Ivy

J - Juniper

K - Kink

L - Lemon

M - Mouse

N - Nettle

O - Otter

P - Pear

Q - Quail

R - Ridge

S - Song

T - Thorn

U - Umber

V - Vixen

W - Water

X - Xantus

Y - Yarrow

Z - Zest

ZODIAC (SUN) SIGN:

Aries - blaze

Taurus - patch

Gemini - whistle

Cancer - mist

Leo - claw

Virgo - breeze

Libra - petal

Scorpio - frost

Sagittarius - mask

Capricorn - branch

Aquarius - beam

Pisces - dapple

[books-in-a-storm]

Currently Reading 💛

My Rotten Love Life & Fortune Academy Underworld: Book Six

[colouredbyd]

The Nightingale IX: City Of Stars

Regulus Black x fem!reader Hunger Games AU

summary: Blood stains the forest floor, marking the end of safety. While some stars lose hope, others begin to lose their grasp on reality. Harsh truths surface, unraveling illusions and deepening the growing darkness. The arena strikes.

warnings: Graphic content including death, animal slaughter, physical violence, descriptions of combat, the use of weapons such as spears and arrows, aftermath of brutal injuries, depictions of poisoning, hallucinations.

word count: 7.1k

previous part series masterlist main masterlist

It had been three hours. Three hours of silence and stillness, of Evan’s breath coming in soft, measured inhales beside me, of the canopy whispering above our heads like ghosts caught in a perpetual sigh. 

Three hours since Regulus disappeared into the maw of the arena, swallowed whole by its labyrinth of thorns and shadow, and the air still clung with the scent of pine and mint from the vial that had burned through my veins.

Three hours. 

It did not seem like much on paper, but in the arena, time stretched itself thin—each minute an echo of survival or a countdown to death. I had long stopped measuring hours in the rise and fall of the sun; now, time was carved out in cannon fire and the tremor of the ground beneath my feet.

Two cannons had flared during those three hours. Each boom cracked through the stillness like splintering bone, reverberating through the trees until the sound tangled with the rustle of leaves. 

Amelia Bones was the first. I did not see her fall, but the sky had flickered with her face just after the cannon, her eyes staring back at the world that had betrayed her. I remembered the way she had looked at me during Training—the sharpness of her gaze like she was cataloging every strength and flaw, every piece of me that could be broken or exploited. I wondered who had taken her down. I wondered if she had seen it coming.

The second cannon came less than an hour later. 

Wilkes from District 6. His death was less of a surprise. He had stumbled through the first two days with a wound that festered, the infection spreading up his leg like wildfire. When we crossed paths yesterday near the river’s   edge, he had been shivering, eyes glassy with fever. 

Evan told me not to look too long. I didn’t listen. His eyes had found mine, and there had been something there—a flicker of recognition, or maybe just desperation. It didn’t matter now. Nothing mattered once the cannon fired. His face followed Amelia’s, eyes closed as if in sleep, lips parted as if his last breath had been caught there, lingering between life and whatever lay beyond.

“Three hours,” I murmured, voice breaking the silence like a snapped thread. My fingers toyed with the edge of the nightingale still pressed to my chest, its wings curled beneath my touch. I could feel the slip of parchment hidden beneath my sleeve, the weight of those letters—R. J. L.—branded into my skin like fire.

Evan glanced over at me, his eyes sharp and unyielding. “He’ll come back.”

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that Regulus was more than just a ghost trailing through the underbrush, more than just the shadow I had clung to for years in the absence of truth. But three hours was a long time in the arena. Long enough for two cannons. Long enough for more.

I settled back against the bark, my gaze locked on the horizon where the sky dipped low and heavy with dusk. The trees stretched on endlessly, their shadows lengthening like fingers clawing toward something just out of reach. I pressed my hand to the wooden nightingale, felt its tiny wings against my ribs, and whispered the words I had been too afraid to say out loud:

“Come back, Regulus. Don’t leave me alone.”

The tremor came like a whisper at first, a shiver threading its way up the bark of the tree, barely enough to draw my attention. But then it grew—a rumble that deepened, stretched, clawed its way up from the roots of the earth until the whole canopy trembled. 

My eyes snapped open as the branches shook violently, leaves raining down like splintered glass.

“What—” I began, but Evan was already moving, his body snapping upright with a force that nearly sent us both tumbling. His eyes were wide, wild. "Jump! Run!" he barked, and I didn’t think—I just followed.

We leapt from the branch, the ground quaking beneath us. The earth beneath my feet felt like it was breathing, shifting, alive. Evan grabbed my arm and pulled me forward, his grip ironclad as we sprinted through the maze of trees.

Behind us, I heard it—a groaning, cracking sound like wood splintering under immense weight. I risked a glance back and my breath caught in my throat. 

The ground had ruptured, roots clawing their way up from the soil, thick and twisted, writhing like serpents. They snaked across the forest floor with impossible speed, tearing up everything in their path, devouring brush and stone alike.

“Go! Don’t look back!” Evan shouted, his voice ragged with fear I’d never heard before. I stumbled but kept my footing, my breath tearing from my lungs in jagged gasps. Behind us, the roots crashed through the trees, splintering trunks like they were nothing but paper. I could hear them, feel them, dragging themselves closer—hungry, alive.

And then the sky itself screamed.

The mockingjays burst from the canopy in a swarm, their wings slicing through the air like knives. But they did not sing. 

They screamed. Human screams. The echo of tributes fallen, stretched and distorted into something monstrous. They shrieked with voices I recognized—Amelia, Wilkes, even the boy from Two whose name I’d never learned. Their agony twisted through the branches, threading itself into my bones.

"Run!" Evan shouted again, but his voice was nearly swallowed by the crescendo of suffering that filled the air. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. My legs burned, my lungs seared, but I kept running. 

Because the garden was alive. Because the sky was screaming.

And because I knew—if I stopped, it would devour me whole.

We leapt from the branch, the ground quaking beneath us. The earth beneath my feet felt like it was breathing—shifting, alive. Evan grabbed my arm and pulled me forward, his grip ironclad as we sprinted through the maze of trees.

We ran until the sky bled red and the ground began to soften beneath our feet. Mud sucked at our shoes with every step, desperate, like the forest itself wanted to pull us under. I heard it then—a whispering, a crackling like embers snapping to life. I didn’t dare look back, but Evan did. His breath hitched, and his hand tightened on mine.

“Dont look back, just keep running.,” he whispered, voice hoarse. I barely registered the raw fear in his tone before he yanked me forward, nearly stumbling over gnarled roots that curled like fingers around our ankles. 

The fog thickened as we ran, swallowing the edges of the world, leaving only shadows and the distant screams of the dying.

The Blood Forest rose before us, its crimson leaves dripping with moisture that shimmered like garnet in the fading light. Fog curled low to the ground, tendrils of mist slipping between the roots like specters. The air grew heavy, thick with the stench of copper and rot. But it was what stepped from its shadows that stopped us cold.

Bellatrix Black.

Her suit was slick with blood, the number 2 emblazoned across her chest, her hands stained crimson. In her grip were two spears, their points dark and wet. Her eyes were wild, feral, glimmering with something that looked like madness. She saw us, and her grin stretched wide—too wide, like the skin of her face had been pulled taut just for the occasion.

“Little birdie,” she crooned, voice lilting like a child’s song. “Come out, come out...promise I won’t bite.”

Her laugh—fractured and raw—cut through the forest like a blade. Evan grabbed me, hard and fast, and yanked me behind a tree half-submerged in water. His hand clamped over my mouth, his body pressed firm against mine to keep me still. My heart thundered, echoing in my skull, loud enough that I thought she might hear it.

Bellatrix’s footsteps squelched against the mud, slow and deliberate, as if she were savoring the search. Her silhouette flitted between the trees, shadows stretching long and sharp as knives. The forest seemed to lean closer, branches cracking like whispers as she moved.

“Come now,” she whispered, circling closer. “I only want to play...I promise I’ll make it quick. Or maybe I won’t.” Her voice was silk wrapped around blades. “Maybe I’ll drag it out. Peel back the skin, see what color you bleed...I do love surprises!”

Evan’s eyes met mine, wide and unblinking, his hand trembling slightly against my lips. I didn’t dare move, didn’t dare breathe.

A crackle sounded, sharp and sudden, and her gaze snapped to the side. A deer emerged from the underbrush, its eyes wide and unblinking, its legs shaking like it had wandered into a nightmare it couldn’t wake from. 

Bellatrix laughed—a manic, gleeful sound that split the air like splintered bone. Without hesitation, she hurled both spears.

They struck true—right between the eyes. The deer crumpled with a whisper of breath, its body still, eyes frozen open. Bellatrix walked over, crouched beside it, and stroked its fur, leaving crimson streaks in her wake.

“Not quite the birdie I wanted,” she murmured, almost tenderly. “But it’ll do. Oh, you’re so pretty,” she whispered to the lifeless eyes. “Maybe I’ll take your eyes next. Or your tongue. I hear it wiggles for a bit after you cut it out. Isn’t that something?”

She dipped her fingers into its blood, drawing something on her palm, humming softly. It was a lullaby, I realized—one I hadn’t heard since I was a child. My blood ran cold.

I felt Evan’s grip tighten, his knuckles white, his breath feathering against my ear in short, ragged bursts. His hand did not leave my mouth, even as my pulse thundered like war drums. We did not move. We did not breathe.

Bellatrix looked up, eyes scanning the forest, her grin returning, more wicked than before. She picked up one of the spears, still slick with blood, and tilted her head as if listening.

“I know you’re out there,” she sang softly, dragging the spear tip through the mud, drawing circles. “I can smell you...fear is such a lovely perfume. It’s practically dripping off you!”

Evan’s hand slipped from my mouth, just enough for me to whisper, “We have to go.”

He shook his head, eyes locked on Bellatrix as she prowled, circling like a predator.

“If we move, she’ll hear,” he breathed. “We wait.”

But she was getting closer, her steps deliberate, calculated. My heart hammered against my ribs, panic clawing up my throat.

“Tick, tock,” Bellatrix sang, her voice drifting between the trees. “Tick...tock...I’m coming, little birdie. I’m coming to pluck your wings.” Her eyes darted to a shadow just beyond our tree, and I swallowed a scream. She paused, sniffing the air. Her smile spread slowly, painfully, like a wound reopening.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to disappear. But her voice grew louder, closer, that grin burned into my mind, dripping with crimson.

Evan’s hand found mine, squeezing once. His eyes met mine, fierce and unyielding. “When I say run,” he whispered, “we run like hell.”

We did not breathe. We ran.

The world blurred around us, roots clawing up from the earth like the fingers of the dead, snapping and reaching as if summoned by blood. The air grew thick with the scent of copper and decay, every breath like swallowing rust. 

Bellatrix's footsteps thundered behind us, her laughter serrated, cutting through the air with jagged edges. It wasn’t just a laugh; it was a war cry, a promise. My lungs burned, my legs screamed, but I did not stop. 

Evan's hand was iron around my wrist, pulling me forward even when the ground shook and knives whistled past our heads—one so close it sliced a strand of my hair clean off, floating to the ground like ash.

“Keep going!” he shouted, breathless. “Don’t look back!”

But I did. Just for a moment. Bellatrix was a shadow in crimson, hair wild and plastered to her face, eyes alight with something unholy. Her pupils were blown wide, black eclipsing gray, and her smile stretched too far, lips cracking at the edges, blood beading like rubies. 

Her arm swung back, and another knife came spinning through the air. It clipped the bark beside my head, spraying splinters that nicked my cheek, warm blood trickling down my skin.

“Run, little bird!” she shrieked, voice splintering through the trees. “Let’s see how fast you can fly! Make it good for me, won’t you? I love a long chase. Oh, how you’ll scream when I catch you. Maybe I'll start with your wings—snip, snip.” She mimed the motion with her fingers, her grin widening. “Would you like that, little bird? To know what it’s like to fall?”

The trees leaned in, branches snapping and whispering like they were alive, like the whole forest was in on the hunt. Roots twisted up from the ground, snagging my feet, clawing at my ankles as if they too wanted to drag me back to her. 

Evan’s grip slipped for just a second, and I staggered, feet skidding in the mud. My breath came out ragged, harsh, ripping through my throat with every gasp. I couldn’t feel my legs. I couldn’t feel anything except the blood thundering in my ears and the sound of her footsteps—closer, closer.

My foot caught. The world pitched sideways, and I crashed to the ground, breath rushing from my lungs in a single, shattering gasp. Evan screamed my name, but he was already too far ahead. I scrambled to my knees, dirt caking my palms, nails torn and bloody. And then—

Her shadow fell over me. Bellatrix loomed above, knife poised, blood streaked across her cheek like war paint. Her eyes were wild, unblinking, pupils pinned with the kind of frenzy that did not belong to the sane. 

Her fingers twitched around the blade, tapping, tapping against the hilt like she was savoring the moment.

“Caught you,” she whispered, voice dripping with glee. “Did you really think you could run from me? From this?” She knelt down, her face inches from mine, the stench of iron on her breath. Her fingers traced my cheek, nails biting into flesh. “You’re shaking,” she cooed. “I like that. Makes the blood sweeter.”

Her blade gleamed, catching the sickly light that filtered through the canopy. She twirled it once, the point hovering just beneath my chin. She watched me with the sick fascination of a cat with a mouse, her grin spreading wider, teeth bared like a wolf scenting blood.

“Oh, you think your little boyfriend can keep you safe forever?” she crooned, voice dripping with mockery. “You think his hands aren’t just as bloody as mine? You think you should be running from me?” Her knife traced the curve of my jaw, a whisper of cold metal. “Perhaps it’s him you should be afraid of.”

She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. 

“I bet he doesn’t tell you what he’s done, does he? How many he’s killed? How easy it is for him.” Her eyes sparkled, gleeful.

I saw the blade come down. I felt the rush of air. My hands shot up, palms crashing against her chest, and I shoved with everything I had left. But this time, it wasn’t just desperation—I felt something crackle under my skin, raw and searing. 

Bellatrix staggered, eyes widening as she tumbled backward. A branch—twisted and jagged—snagged her suit, catching her like a fly in a spider’s web. For a breath, she hung there, suspended, her grin still plastered across her face.

Her grin stretched impossibly wider. "Do you think he’d come for you, little bird? Do you think your sweet, haunted Regulus would save you from me?" She leaned forward, the branch creaking beneath her weight, but she didn’t seem to care. 

"He’s just like me, you know," she whispered, conspiratorial. "The same blood runs in his veins. Same darkness, same thirst. He just wears it prettier." Her eyes flickered with mirth. 

"Did he tell you how many he killed in his first Games? How he did it with his bare hands? Oh, it was beautiful," she sighed, almost wistful. "He’s not your salvation, little bird. He’s your executioner waiting for his turn."

Then she laughed. A broken, splintered sound that dug beneath my skin. Her eyes fixed on me, unblinking, glimmering with something unholy. 

She twisted against the branch that held her, the jagged wood tearing at her suit, but she didn't flinch. If anything, she leaned into the pain, relishing it.

"Run," she crooned, voice like silk stretched too thin. "Run fast. I’ll find you." Her head lolled back, eyes rolling before snapping back to mine with unsettling precision. "And when I do, I’m going to peel your pretty skin back, layer by layer. I’ll keep your eyes for my collection. Maybe even your voice...I could use a songbird."

My breath caught, and I staggered back a step, the world spinning. Bellatrix saw it—saw the flicker of doubt—and she laughed again, louder this time. "I’ll make you break."

I didn’t wait to see her reaction. I ran. My feet pounded against the earth, breath clawing its way out of my throat. I could still hear her laughter, echoing like the last gasp of a dying star, weaving through the trees, carried on the wind. It followed us, no matter how fast we ran.

When I finally caught up to Evan, I was breathless, shaking, but alive. 

He grabbed my shoulders, eyes wide and frantic, scanning me for injuries. His hands were shaking. 

"Are you hurt? Are you bleeding?" he asked, voice cracking. His fingers brushed my arms, my face, searching for blood, for broken skin. "I—I thought she—" His breath hitched, and he pulled me into a fierce, desperate embrace, his grip almost bruising.

I didn’t hug him back. I couldn’t. My hands hung limply at my sides, fingers curled and stiff with drying mud and blood. 

My mind was still back there, tangled in Bellatrix’s words, in the sharpness of her blade against my skin. "She...she said..." I started, voice hoarse. "She said things about Regulus."

Evan pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes blazing. "Don’t listen to her. She’s trying to get in your head." He cupped my face, forcing me to look at him, his thumbs brushing away flecks of dirt from my cheeks.

 "Hey. Focus on me. You're safe now. She can’t touch you."

I swallowed hard, the taste of iron still heavy on my tongue. "But she knew things. She said...she said he’s like her. That I should be afraid of him." My voice cracked, barely more than a whisper. "What if she’s right?"

Evan's grip on my face tightened. "She’s not." His gaze faltered for a fraction of a second, and I caught it. 

My stomach twisted. "You don’t believe that," I whispered, barely audible.

He exhaled sharply, eyes flickering away before snapping back. "I believe in you," he said fiercely. "And right now, we need to move. We need to get as far away from her as we can." His hands slipped from my face to grip my hands, squeezing tightly. "Can you run?"

I nodded, though my legs felt like water, my bones like splintered glass. But I would run. I would keep running until Bellatrix’s laughter was nothing more than a whisper lost in the wind. Until her words stopped echoing in my head. But I knew...I knew they never really would.

He grabbed my shoulders, eyes wild. “Did you—?”

“No,” I gasped. “But she’s stuck. We need to move. Now.”

We crashed through the trees, lungs burning and limbs heavy with exhaustion. The blood forest sprawled around us, its crimson canopy blotting out the sunlight, leaving everything drenched in shades of red. 

Evan’s grip on my arm was unyielding, practically dragging me forward as my feet stumbled over knotted roots and slick mud. My mind was still spinning, still clawing its way out of the echo of Bellatrix's laughter, the way it rattled in my bones.

We stopped only when the world turned silent. Evan slumped against a tree, chest heaving, wiping blood and sweat from his brow. I collapsed beside him, knees hitting the dirt, my hands shaking so badly I had to press them into the earth just to keep still. 

My gaze flickered to him, his eyes wild and darting around like he expected her to crawl out of the shadows at any moment.

He dug into his pack with unsteady hands, pulling out the raw fish we’d snatched from a shallow creek just before dawn. I stared at it, the scales glimmering faintly, silver against the blood-red light. It was grotesque, but my stomach twisted with hunger.

“Here,” he murmured, his voice hoarse as he tore a piece free and handed it to me. I didn’t hesitate, sinking my teeth into the cold flesh. It tasted sharp and briny, the kind of flavor that clawed at the back of your throat. It felt feral, almost animalistic, to eat like this, crouched in the mud with blood still drying on my skin. But survival didn’t leave room for dignity.

Evan watched me for a long moment, chewing slowly before he spoke. “You alright?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My hands were still shaking, and my eyes kept flickering to the shadows between the trees. I could still hear her, Bellatrix, whispering through the branches, her voice curling around my throat like smoke. 

I swallowed hard, forcing the bile back down. “This place… it’s all wrong.”

Evan raised an eyebrow. “You think?”

“No, I mean it’s fake,” I whispered, eyes scanning the blood-soaked bark and twisted branches. 

“The sky… when we looked last night… the constellations were wrong. I traced them. Orion was missing. And that’s not even the strangest part. In the north, there was Sagittarius, and it’s never in the north. It’s a southern constellation. The Big Dipper was upside down. And the stars didn’t twinkle. They just glowed. Steady. Like they were painted there.”

Evan blinked at me, chewing slower. “How the hell do you know that?”

My breath hitched, and I leaned back, gaze drifting up to the canopy above, the sky just barely visible between crimson leaves. 

“When I was little, Regulus and I used to sneak out to this little clearing just outside the village. No lights, just stars. He’d lie on the grass, and I’d trace constellations on his skin. I knew them all by heart. Orion, Cassiopeia, Ursa Major… he would close his eyes and let me trace their patterns on his back, his arms, his heart.”

I swallowed, the memory sharp and aching. “He always said he could feel them. Like I was drawing real stars on him. Like they’d burn.”

Evan’s expression softened, his hand still clutching the raw fish. “You were just kids?”

I nodded, smiling faintly despite the ache in my chest. “Just kids. And I knew every constellation by touch. That’s why I know this isn’t real. No matter how well they paint it, they don’t know the sky like I do.”

Evan stared at me, something like admiration flickering behind his eyes. “Well, guess they didn’t expect a damn astronomer out here.”

I snorted, the sound ragged and rough. “Not quite.”

But the unease lingered. The ceiling painted to look like stars, the way the air felt too still, too contrived. No wind, no real scent of pine or earth. Just theatrics. A cage with walls made of painted light.

Evan leaned back against the bark, shaking his head. “Means they don’t know it like we do. Means we have the advantage.”

I met his eyes, something sparking there. Hope, maybe. Or desperation. “We know the real forest,” I agreed. “We know what it’s supposed to be.”

The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken things. I took another bite of the fish, grimacing at the taste but forcing it down. We couldn’t afford weakness. Not now.

After a long pause, I finally broke the silence. "Hey, Evan?"

He glanced over, brow raised. "Yeah?"

I hesitated, chewing my lip before I forced the words out. "Why are you helping me? In the end… only one of us can win."

His expression faltered, gaze dropping to the dirt between us. The silence stretched, unyielding, before he spoke, voice barely above a whisper. 

"Because I know I won't make it," he said slowly. "I know it, Y/N. I don’t have what you have. That strength. That fire. You’ve got people to live for. A family. Friends. Regulus. You still have a reason to fight."

I opened my mouth to argue, but he held up a hand, silencing me. "The Capitol took everything from me. Everything. I don’t want to live like this. Not anymore. Eighteen years... that’s long enough. I think I’m content with that." His voice cracked, just slightly. 

"I think I’m content dying here, if it means you get out. If it means someone like you gets to live."

My throat tightened, the words sharp and heavy. "Evan..."

He smiled, but it was hollow, a shadow of something that used to be real. "I’m just making sure you get the chance I never did. Plus, I’d much rather die here. At least the arena is merciful."

I flinched, brow creasing. His eyes darkened, the light slipping from them like something that had long ago withered away. 

He leaned in, slow and deliberate, like the walls themselves were listening, like the trees had ears and the Capitol had eyes. His breath was cold against my cheek, voice thin and brittle, slipping from his mouth like something that had been trapped there for far too long.

"The arena ends... but the real Games never do," he whispered, so quiet it barely skimmed the air, like he feared it would be plucked right out of existence if he spoke any louder. "They begin when you leave."

The words pooled in my bones, heavy and unyielding, suffocating. His eyes met mine, and for a heartbeat, I saw it—the endless loop, the unspoken truth that survival was just another word for submission. 

I wondered how long it had been since he last believed in anything at all.

But those words—so quiet I almost missed them—sat heavy in my mind, a crack in the stone. They begin when you leave.

A long silence followed. The kind that doesn’t ask to be filled. It stretched between us, wide and aching, until even the wind seemed to hush itself in respect. He didn’t look at me. He didn’t need to. 

There was nothing left to say about it—not now, not here.

Still, something in him reached upward. As if the sky might understand what the world below never could.

He leaned back in the grass and I followed, both of us sinking into the hush of the night. For a while we just watched the stars in silence. 

Then I raised my hand and began to trace the sky.

"That one there," I whispered, pointing gently, "is supposed to be Orion. Or maybe just the shoulder of it, depending on the season. And over here, near the edge—Cassiopeia, see? The crooked W?"

His shoulder brushed mine as he leaned closer, watching my hand move.

"And up there, when it’s clearer, there should be the Hunter’s Bow. And on that side..." I hesitated, then smiled faintly. "That’s where the North Star should be. The one that tells you where home is, if you know how to follow it."

He didn’t say anything, but I felt his breath pause, just a little. Felt the silence shift.

He paused, eyes lifting to the stretch of sky above, vast and unyielding. "If I had a choice," he murmured, his voice slipping soft as breath, "I’d be a star. Burning because I want to... fading when I’m ready."

His gaze lingered on the pinpricks of light scattered across the dark, each one distant and unbound. I watched the way his eyes softened, the way his voice turned to something fragile and faraway, like he could almost reach out and catch one in his hands. 

Stars aren’t told how to shine; they simply do. They flare bright against the dark, defiant and unyielding, leaving trails of light long after the burning stops. There’s no tether, no hand to dim them—just fire and ash and brilliance.

He glanced at me then, a flicker of something soft in his eyes. "I may not know much about constellations like you do, Y/N" he began, voice turning almost shy, "but I know enough to see how they stitch the sky together. All those stars, scattered and burning... somehow, they find each other. They make shapes, tell stories. They guide people home." He paused, his eyes tracing the distant glow above. 

"And when they’re gone, their light still lingers. Light-years after. It’s like... even when they leave, they don’t really leave. They still lead people through the dark."

His voice softened, and for a moment, it felt like the world hushed to listen. "I think I’d like that," he whispered, gaze fixed on the sky as if it might whisper back.

"To burn bright enough that even when I’m gone, there’s still something left. Something that matters=that people look up to."

I didn’t speak. The words between us felt too fragile, like breath caught in frost, and I was afraid that if I moved, they would vanish. 

So I watched him instead, his eyes still tilted toward the stars as if he believed they might reach for him in return.

And maybe they would.

There was something in him the sky would recognize. A quiet brilliance, not loud or boastful, but steady and alive, the kind of light that flickers softly at first and then becomes impossible to ignore. 

I had seen that kind of light before. I had seen it in Evan when he smiled without fear, when he forgot the world was watching. I had seen it in others too, people who laughed like their hearts had never known hunger, people who still looked for beauty even when it cost them everything.

The world always seemed to find those people. It saw their light and reached for it with cold hands. Not to hold it. Not to protect it. Just to watch it burn. 

The ones who shone the brightest were always the first to be claimed, as if the world could not bear their brilliance for too long.

And now him. Sitting beside me with light in his eyes, speaking like he didn’t know he was already halfway to becoming one of them. I wanted to hold on to him, to keep him grounded, to tell him not to burn so beautifully because beauty never lasts in a place that feeds on it.

But stars don’t belong to people.

They belong to the sky. And I hope the Games never turn him into one.

Later, after the quiet had settled too long, my thoughts drifted to Regulus.

It was impossible not to think of him in a place like this—where the trees whispered and the stars lied. 

He had always been a boy made of shadow and silence, moving like a secret through the world. Even as children, he never said more than he needed to. But I could read the things he didn’t say—etched into the curl of his fingers, the tension in his shoulders when he thought I wasn’t looking, the way his eyes always found me when I sang.

Sometimes I wonder if he ever meant to stay.

Sometimes I think he tried.

I remember lying beside him in the grass, our fingers barely touching, the hush between us louder than any song. I’d sing to the sky, and he’d stare like it hurt to listen. Not because he hated it, but because he loved it too much. Like every note scraped something raw in him.

I used to believe that meant something. That the silence he gave me was sacred. A gift.

Now I don’t know what it was.

The Capitol's version of him—the smiling Victor, the beautiful boy—is a stranger. A ghost with his eyes and none of his soul.

 And yet, when I close my eyes, I still see him the way he used to be—kneeling in the dirt, pressing a star carved from pine into my palm like a promise.

I lay back against the earth, cold biting into my spine. My muscles ached, my body sagging under the weight of blood and memory. 

Every breath felt too loud, like the forest was waiting for me to fall asleep so it could finish swallowing me whole.

I fought it. Fought the cold, the lull, the dreams already circling.

But eventually, the quiet won.

My eyes slipped shut.

And then—

I jolted upright, heart pounding, every sense flaring awake. The silence was broken. Not shattered, not loud—but wrong.

I couldn’t breathe.

Panic clutched my chest with claws. I blinked into the dark, trying to piece together what had pulled me from sleep. My mind raced—Regulus, Regulus, Regulus—like a name could be a shield.

Then came the sound. The hum. Soft. Sinister.

The anthem.

The sky above began to churn, clouds unfurling like a wound. The Capitol's music drifted through the blood-colored trees, syrupy and slow, sickly sweet. I didn’t want to look—but I did.

Her face bloomed above us, pale and immense.

Alice Fortescue. District 12.

I exhaled so sharply it hurt. Relief, yes. Shameful, selfish relief.

Not Regulus. Not him. Not yet.

I sat there, heart hammering, eyes burning.

Then I turned to Evan. He wasn’t there.

“Evan?”

No answer.

The world tilted, sharp and crooked, like the ground had forgotten how to hold me. I scrambled up, knees sinking into the soil that pulsed beneath my fingers — warm, wet, breathing. My voice cracked when I called again. “Evan?”

Still no answer.

Then I saw it: a smear of red across the dirt, thin and glistening, winding like a thread of fate pulled too tight. Fresh. Alive. Leading into the trees.

I followed it. I didn’t think — I just ran.

Branches tore at me, slashing my arms and cheeks. The forest twisted around itself, trees curling like ribs of some dying beast, bark groaning. The sky above convulsed — stars warping, stuttering, turning black and bleeding back into color. I stumbled through, breath short, skin burning.

Then came the screaming.

At first it was a whisper — one voice, broken and shrill — and then more joined. A hundred. A thousand. Screaming the same two words in a sound so jagged it didn’t even seem human.

“Too late.”

Over and over.

“Too late. Too late.”

The voices ripped through the air like knives, layered and warped. Some were shrieking. Some were sobbing. Others sounded like they were choking on blood. I couldn’t tell if they were behind me, ahead, inside me.

I looked up — and they were everywhere.

Faces I knew. Faces I had buried deep in my thoughts. 

Pandora. James. Mary. My mother. Children I had seen die.

 All of them screaming. Mouths unhinged, eyes gone white, hands clawing at their own faces. Their skin cracked like porcelain, bleeding darkness, throats torn from the effort of screaming.

“Too late.”

The forest heaved. The ground pulsed like a heartbeat beneath my feet. My ears bled. My teeth ached. The sky was cracking open. I fell to the earth, covered my ears, but the sound was inside me.

The words beat in time with my pulse. Each scream a blade. Each echo a noose.

I opened my eyes and they were closer — leaning in, mouths at my ears, screaming the words straight into my skull. Over and over. Not stopping. Not breathing. Just screaming.

I tried to scream back, but my voice was gone. Replaced by static.

I wasn’t breathing anymore. The air was thick, cloying, sweet with rot. I could feel my thoughts slipping, rotting at the edges. I wasn’t sure if I was still moving. Or if I’d ever moved at all.

And still they screamed:

Too late.

Too late.

Too late.

I turned—and there she was. Mother. 

Her hair wild and tangled, knotted with feathers and dirt, eyes swollen and rimmed with tears, gleaming with madness. The same way she looked after Father died—when she stopped being human and started whispering to the walls like they held secrets meant only for her broken mind.

Her gaze locked onto me, sharp and hollow, cutting through the haze. “You’ll die out here,” she hissed, voice dry and cracked, like leaves scraping over stone. “Just like he did. Just like we all do.”

Panic ripped through me. “Stop—stop it, stop—” I clawed at my temples, hands trembling, but my vision blurred and the air thickened around me—sweet, suffocating, like the scent of decay on the wind.

The trees screamed.

A high, raw screech, like metal tearing, like something being ripped apart. Louder, louder—

“Stop!” I cried, falling to my knees.

Then it came. A voice so familiar it felt like breath on my neck, like the steady beat of a heart—but twisted and broken, tearing through the silence.

It was Regulus.

Screaming.

His name echoed in the forest, distorted and cruel, bouncing between the crooked branches like a mocking curse.

I clutched my ears, nails digging into my scalp, desperate to tear the sound away from inside me. “Please—please—”

Sobs racked my body, dry and hollow, as I curled into myself, rocking like a child lost in a storm.

I was sobbing now, dry and hollow. My body curled in on itself, rocking.

“Stop stop stop make it stop make it stop Regulus Regulus Regulus—”

I fell to the dirt. The stars spun above—wrong, wrong, wrong. 

The constellations blinked like cameras, like Capitol eyes.

I rocked faster, chanting in my head, desperate, frantic—

But the voices wouldn’t end.

Pandora laughing.

James sneering.

Mother whispering.

Regulus screaming.

“ i am not crazy. I am not crazy. I am not crazy.  I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

 I am not crazy. I am not crazy. 

This isn’t real, I am not crazy!”

a/n: this was fun <3 my girl is totally going crazy tho

taglist: @fadingcollectivenightmare @spidermansfangirl   @foulwaterss @slaybestieslay946 @aelinwya @yvessentials @sickly-afraid @urfunnyvalentin3 @hufflebubble53 @sterngvcker @rainfell-m @ell0ra-br3kk3r @revesephemeres @winterbearwonderland @revesephemeres @ell0ra-br3kk3r @th3b4tm4n @nyaaka @rinnjinx

[fushitoru]

wips.

a/n ok so these are my wips. I hate my brain for not being able to stick to one but I will try to lock in. requests are not on here but they are being worked on. im j posting in case you guys r curious and want to talk about them!

a few days prior to finishing and posting i will send out an announcement asking if anyone wants to get tagged. i hope to get thru this wip list maybe by the end of this year? we’ll see!

GOAL FOR 2024:

UNTITLED — geto x reader (REQ)

synposis: (cowboy/wild west!au + enemies to lovers) cowboy!geto x librarian!reader

so high school — choso x reader (REQ)

synosis: (college au + strangers to lovers) pizza boy!choso x reader

is it casual now? — gojo x reader (2K, 5%)

synopsis: (college au, fwb to lovers) fwb!gojo x reader

the alchemy — gojo x reader (1K)

synopsis: (olympics!au) provolleyballplayer!gojo x gf!reader

how to lose a guy in 10 days — gojo x reader (<1K, 1%)

synopsis: ad exec!gojo x journalist!reader

POST-2024

UNTITLED — gojo x reader (1K, idek bruh)

synopsis: miraculous/superhero!au cat noir! gojo x ladybug!reader

UNTITLED — geto x reader

synopsis: (break up + make up) geto x gf!readee

UNTITLED — gojo x reader (1K, 20%)

synopsis: (fantasy pet turned human) cat!gojo x reader

UNTITLED — nanami x reader

synposis: (bridgerton!au) duke!nanami x whistledown!reader

UNTITLED — nanami x reader

synopsis: (enemies to lovers academia!au) professor!nanami x professor/grad student!reader (think love theoretically haha)

i do not authorize any copying/stealing of ideas on here.

[COMPLETED] the season of thorned roses CH6 — gojo x reader (7K, 100%)

synopsis: (bridgerton!au) duke!gojo x diamond! reader

[COMPLETED] infect me with your love — gojo x reader (19K/100%)

synopsis: (spiderman!au + academic rivals to lovers) spiderman!gojo x reader

[COMPLETED] UNTITLED — sukuna x reader

synopsis: ghostface!sukuna x reader

[COMPLETED] the season of thorned roses CH5 — gojo x reader (11K, 100%)

synopsis: (bridgerton!au) duke!gojo x diamond! reader

[COMPLETED] finish her! — toji x reader (4K, 100%)

synopsis: boxer!toji x reader

[COMPLETED] back to the kitty, cause she's kinda pretty! — multiple x reader (REQ)

synopsis: porn tropes/hentai plots pt. 2!

[free-queer-books]

EXPIRED - Indie Author Summer Extravaganza - June 6-8, 2025

A weekend book blast of free and discounted indie ebooks!

The list of free books sorted by representation is below. Books in purple text that begin with an * are marked free at the event, but were not free when I built this list. They may be free by the time you check them - sometimes Amazon needs time to change a book's price.

Asexual characters

The Dreamer and the Marked by Airic Fenn (itch.io)

Apocalypse, Fallout, and Chaos by Hayley Anderton and Laura Swift - first three books in a series (Amazon)

Sloth, Gluttony, and *Greed by Hayley Anderton - first three books in a series (Amazon)

Bisexual characters

The Dreamer and the Marked by Airic Fenn (itch.io)

*Valentini's Day by Annabel den Dekker (Amazon)

Spring Dates & Sprinkled Cakes by Anouk de Rooij (Amazon)

The Isa Project by Gina R. Briggs (author website)

Pose for Me by Halli Starling (author website)

Apocalypse, Fallout, and Chaos by Hayley Anderton and Laura Swift - first three books in a series (Amazon)

Sloth, Gluttony, and *Greed by Hayley Anderton - first three books in a series (Amazon)

*Earth Sucks by Heather Chambers (Amazon)

Crown of Roses by Niranjan - multiple stores

Blade of Castrial by Niranjan (multiple stores)

The Elitist Supremacy by Niranjan (multiple stores)

After the End by Niranjan (multiple stores)

F/F

A Thorn Among Roses by Hayley Anderton (Amazon)

Save the Date by Rachel Bowdler (newsletter signup)

The Ashes of Winter by R.P. Dunwater (Bookfunnel)

F/M

The Isa Project by Gina R. Briggs (author website)

*Earth Sucks by Heather Chambers (Amazon)

Crown of Roses by Niranjan - multiple stores

F/NB

A Sharper, More Lasting Pain by Alex Harvey-Rivas (multiple stores)

Gay characters

*Valentini's Day by Annabel den Dekker (Amazon)

Winter Days & Historical Gays by Anouk de Rooij (Amazon)

Spring Dates & Sprinkled Cakes by Anouk de Rooij (Amazon)

Developing From the Negatives by Anouk de Rooij (Amazon)

The God of Vairrie Grove by E.N. Laurier (Amazon)

The Priest and the Adders by E.N. Laurier (Amazon)

Pose for Me by Halli Starling (author website)

Sloth, Gluttony, and *Greed by Hayley Anderton - first three books in a series (Amazon)

Thorn Princess by Melissa Widmaier (Bookfunnel)

Blade of Castrial by Niranjan (multiple stores)

The Elitist Supremacy by Niranjan (multiple stores)

Lesbian characters

*Valentini's Day by Annabel den Dekker - may be side characters since book is M/M (Amazon)

The Isa Project by Gina R. Briggs - while it looks like the primary romance is F/M, the book is heavily enough focused on friendships that I think it likely the lesbian character is a major character (author website)

Apocalypse, Fallout, and Chaos by Hayley Anderton and Laura Swift - first three books in a series (Amazon)

Sloth, Gluttony, and *Greed by Hayley Anderton - first three books in a series (Amazon)

The Risen by Hayley Anderton (Amazon)

A Thorn Among Roses by Hayley Anderton (Amazon)

Homebound by Hayley Anderton (Amazon)

Gloam by Jaime Munn (StoryOrigin)

V: Garcia by Lex Young (Amazon)

The Elitist Supremacy by Niranjan (multiple stores)

The Ashes of Winter by R.P. Dunwater (Bookfunnel)

M/M

Keepers of the Crossing: The Dark Friars by Ryan J Hemshaw (Amazon)

*Valentini's Day by Annabel den Dekker (Amazon)

Winter Days & Historical Gays by Anouk de Rooij (Amazon)

Spring Dates & Sprinkled Cakes by Anouk de Rooij (Amazon)

Developing From the Negatives by Anouk de Rooij (Amazon)

The God of Vairrie Grove by E.N. Laurier (Amazon)

The Priest and the Adders by E.N. Laurier (Amazon)

Pose for Me by Halli Starling (author website)

Blade of Castrial by Niranjan (multiple stores)

Sapphic

A Thorn Among Roses by Hayley Anderton (Amazon)

Save the Date by Rachel Bowdler (newsletter signup)

Trans and nonbinary characters

The Dreamer and the Marked by Airic Fenn - tagged with trans characters (itch.io)

A Sharper, More Lasting Pain by Alex Harvey-Rivas - nonbinary protagonist (multiple stores)

The Priest and the Adders by E.N. Laurier - categorized as transgender romance (Amazon)

My Only Monster by Hayley Anderton - nonbinary protagonist (Amazon)

Don't Lie by Sarah Jules - transphobia listed in the trigger warnings (Amazon)

Other books with tagged with queer representation

You by Alexia Muelle-Rushbrook (Amazon)

They Call Me Angel by Alexia Muelle-Rushbrook (Amazon)

Emergence by A.M. Weald (newsletter subscription)

Fever Dreams by Bethany Russo (Amazon)

Soulless Mates by Jill Corddry (Amazon)

This Time Around, So It Goes, Violet Wildflowers, and The Shoreline by Kristina Carmela - first four books in a series (author website)

Bearer of Masks by Lauren Jade Case (Amazon)

Feeding Lucy by Mo Medusa - categorized as queer horror (Amazon)

City of Dust and Blood by S.J. Reid (Amazon)

Afterglow Rising From the Ashes by Stacey LP (Amazon)

[kurishiri]

n.3 . . . “ the hunter hides the fleeting truth from the thorns ”

— this translation may not be 100% accurate or may contain creative liberties for characterization or narrative flow purposes. if you enjoy, please consider reblogging, but don’t repost or claim these as your own!

— thanks to @ndoandou for helping me with the jude lines! it's thanks to her that they sound a lot better than what they were before, ehe.

— cw: blood and injury, angst.

Ellis: Good evening. Are you Roger?

E: I’d like you to treat this person.

E: I can’t have him die now.

Roger: You ‘can’t have him die’?

When I looked to his side, I saw that the man had a terrible look in his eyes, with blood spilling out from his stomach.

Roger: Hey, who did this to you!

Jude: The hell does that matter, just hurry up ‘n get stitchin’ already.

At the time, I occasionally examined patients at my dad’s clinic while also working for Crown.

It was before the time Jude and Ellis even knew of its existence.

Jude was allegedly a former patient of my dad’s, but that evening, he got stabbed with a knife and asked me to treat him.

Jude: Even without a license ya still can do what you lot do.

J: But in exchange don’t go yappin’ ‘bout takin’ me in as a patient to save face.

Roger: I see, so you’re saying there’s something in it for both you and me? Can’t say I disagree there.

Ellis: ...So can he be treated, Roger?

Roger: Yeah, don’t you worry about that. There’s no way I’d go and let a practice partner die off before my eyes.

Ellis: Thank goodness, I really can’t have him die now.

(...He said the same thing before.)

Roger: What’s with the whole ‘I can’t have him die now’ deal? Just when is it okay for him to die then?

Ellis: Um... at life���s happiest moment... maybe?

My first impression of him was that he was a strange fellow.

But at the same time, Ellis was an honest person, which was something I immediately grew fond of.

It was almost as though I was going through the nostalgia of meeting a friend from long ago.

And finally, I found out the reason for that nostalgia.

Ellis was just like my first ✕✕——he was ✕✕✕✕✕✕ [1].

With my meeting Ellis as a turning point, I became even more immersed in my research.

(Ellis’ tragic fate is... ‘to die by the hands of justice.’)

To me, it was like I could see his death already.

And through Ellis, I could see the Cursed ones who have died meeting their tragic fates they had been dealt.

——To be honest, it sent me into a panic.

And it was at that time when Ellis once again appeared before me.

Ellis: Hey, Roger, come hang out with me.

Ellis took me to a place where you could get a panoramic view of London.

Roger: So you said you wanted to hang out with me, but how’re we gonna do that here?

Ellis: Just wait a little, Roger.

E: I think it’s right about now... ah—

Just then, a bang that seemed to break through the air resonated, and before my eyes, huge flowers bloomed.

Roger: .........

Ellis: I once saw these by chance with Jude, so that’s how I know there are fireworks around this time.

E: I also remembered that Jude was gazing at them, as if taken by them.

E: And I thought to myself, if something is beautiful, it has the power to make them forget what is bothering them, even just for a moment.

Roger: ...And? Why did you take me here?

When I lowered my gaze back, I saw Ellis was speaking while looking up at the fireworks.

Ellis: Well, when you found out I had the Curse of the Thorns, you... acted kind of strangely.

E: Or, probably not strangely... more like, you seemed sad.

Ellis’ silhouette was outlined by the flickering fireworks.

Ellis: ...Hey, Roger. It’s okay to forget everything.

Roger: Forget?

Ellis: Mhm. The fact that I’m Cursed, and whatever you’re going through that you can’t tell anyone else... everything.

E: I want you to be happy too, Roger.

Ellis’ words were so simple and to the point.

Roger: Pff...

R: Pfft, hahaha!

But they were also very kind, and strangely my heart seemed to metaphorically crack.

Roger: Now I think you’re just misunderstanding something here.

Ellis: Eh?

Roger: See, I own a dog at home, and I’ve just been thinking about how he’s been putting on a bit too much weight. And I was sorta moping about that.

Ellis: .........

E: Hehe, I see. That’s also an important problem.

Roger: Yeah. But really, I appreciate the sentiment.

We gave each other smiles before turning back to the night sky, which was decorated with fireworks.

Ellis: ...Let’s just leave it at that.

Ellis’ voice came out in a small murmur, but my ears, not caring about anyone’s intentions, picked the words up anyway.

But I only continued to stare up at the fireworks, pretending I didn’t hear.

(Sorry, Ellis.)

(But forgetting everything is probably impossible for me.)

(Getting destroyed by justice just doesn’t suit someone as kind as you.)

While thinking back on the fireworks, I flipped through the medical records again.

Jude Jazza. “The 13th Fairy.”

Problems with his bronchial tube. Also problematic in character.

I’ve long lost count of how many times I’ve saved his life.

Jude: Speed up n’ get stitchin’ ya quack of a doctor.

← prev next →

full masterlist ⛓️

NOTES:

[1] maybe a vague spoiler from Roger’s route: if I had to guess, the ✕✕ is something like “friend” [友達] (tomodachi), [友人] (yūjin) or “partner” [相棒] (aibō), something along those lines. Then the ✕✕✕✕✕✕ is probably “the bearer of the Curse of ‘Thorns’” [茨の呪いつき] (ibara no noroi-tsuki).