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Also if you liked juniper and thorn you might like the bear and the nightingale by Katherine Arden

I rented it at one point but never read it.

I will say i actually dont like fantasy, j&p was an exception because it felt more like magical realism & gothic fairytale

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You should try Kelly Link! She writes weird dark short stories

Valley of the girls, pretty monsters, and the specialists hat seem up your alley

Thanks i’ll give her a shot!! Been blowing through audiobooks like crazy while i work

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top five non vca books

Off the top of my head, in no particular order:

Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale

Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid

Hating Game by Sally Thorne

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

My taste is kind of all over the place but lately i find it harder and harder to find books i truly vibe with and love :/

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would you read a romantic cathy x chris fic? im writing one for so long but also scared of not quite getting the ghotic vibes and being just cheesy lol

I would!!

I think its fine for fanfics to switch up genres and vibes, it makes it fresh. I also get stuck in a perfectionist loop when writing or drawing, sometimes it helps to just bulldoze through it and fix it up later lol

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the scene with cathy's hair and the tar is actually so distressing i'm feeling her anguish and horror through the pages, how do people dismiss flowers in the attic as a trashy novel? this is incredibly well written and completely terrifying

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Flowers in the Attic, V. C. Andrews (1979)

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Have you read the orphan mini series?

No! I got kinda burnt out on the ghost written series

But i have heard the mini series are rather good so im not completely counting it out. Just havent gotten to it between my biannual readings of the dollanganger series akshshaksh

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Do you think in another life where the children werent products of incest Cathy and Olivia could have had good relationship? Even before the attic Cathy never really thought Corrine was smart. Do you think Olivia might have respected that Cathy wasn't just a pretty face?

Its hard to say because of inconsistency in the series

From corrine’s perspective she says her mom as always been jealous of her and mean. But in the prequel book, olivia seems to really love corrine and not treat her badly at all. So i guess it depends on whether or not you see Garden of Shadows as canon.

It seems like Corrine and Chris marrying was the big issue between them so its possible Olivia would have been more “normal” towards the kids in this scenario. But she was still a religious zealot with extreme views so she probably would have still been critical and strict with the kids while judging corrine on her parenting skills

Also her father was possessive so who knows, maybe he’d have been pissed and vindictive no matter who the man was who took his corrine away.

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I have another question: “Why did Olivia warn the kids not to eat the donuts if she was the one who brought them there to eat them?” Did she felt guilty for a little moment? In the second book she looks quite satisfied with herself actually. I am very new to V.C Andrews and I read the books not too long ago

Welcome to the vca fandom! I hope you’re enjoying these wild books 😁

I think Olivia rationalized that SHE wasn’t poisoning them so it’s not HER fault, she’s just a “bystander”. She felt it’s not her job to clean up Corrine’s mistakes or intervene with her scheming.

Really in her heart she knew it was wrong and that it had gotten out of hand. I think she was even scared God would punish her for it one day. But also she truly believed those children were abominations who should not exist.

When she would spend time with the kids it seemed she would have flickers of doubt and realize they were just normal innocent children, but if she let herself believe that then she would have to face the fact that she abused and tortured real innocent children. So it was easier for her to continue pretending they were evil and deserved it.

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How would Chris, Cathy, Carrie, and Cory fare mentally if they stayed in that attic room for the rest of their lives? Would Corinne's crimes be exposed?

Tbh i dont think they’d have lived much longer. Carrie was on death’s door when they met Paul, she definitely would have died shortly if they had stayed. Which would have made Cathy and Chris more unstable and grief stricken. Cathy probably wouldn’t have been able to forgive Chris im sure she’d have blamed him for not wanting to leave sooner. Cathy had already considered suicide at one point and I can’t see either of them surviving without the other.

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Why Corinne didn’t put the kids in an orphanage? She could just enjoy her life without feeling guilty then!

I think Corrine did genuinely go into her plan with good intentions. Trick dad, get the inheritance, leave with kids.

Because remember, it wasn’t revealed to her that the special clause had been added (if its ever proven corrine had children from her previous marriage then she would lose everything) until later.

So in her mind, she thought she could keep her children and get the money too. By the time she had discovered that clause, it was already too late. She had re-experienced the life she had given up- riches, popularity and status, having a father and boyfriend to dote on her. She couldn’t give it back up for her kids. And an orphanage would be too risky if they claimed her as their mother. So… keep them locked up forever or kill them :/

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Would you consider posting art of Cathy again? I really adored seeing it! Love this blog.

Thank you so much!!!

I have so many half finished pieces and ideas i want to draw 😭 But I’ve been working like crazy on my original comics these past two years and have put all my fanart on hold 🫠 i’ll try to finish something of cathy this month

Thanks for the encouragement 🙏🏻

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I wonder how petals would have gone if Cathy had ended up disfigured in some way from her time in the attic. I feel like she probably would have still got with Paul, but probably not Julian or Bart

The story definitely relies on Cathy being beautiful lol

Maybe she would have felt self conscious, like damaged goods, and gave into Chris sooner thinking hes the only man who’d want her 🤷🏼‍♀️

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I can never understand why Cathy never blames Chris for ruining her life? Yes, Corinne and Olivia had a bigger part, but Chris wasn't blameless. He raped her.

It’s complicated, theyre trauma bonded

First, Cathy never views it as rape (as a coping mechanism) and she thinks because they love each other then its ok that he did that to her. Cathy was so young at the time and she needed Chris in order to survive. It wasn’t really an option for her to get away from him or shut him out. Their survival depended on them being a united front.

Second, she sees Chris as a victim himself. Which he was! He was right there with her being abused. His victimhood by no means absolves him of his own abuse towards Cathy, but that’s a lot for her to process.

I’d say its rather realistic for Cathy to follow this line of thinking. Irl people are abused and assaulted by loved ones all too often. And many of these victims dont ever recognize it as abuse/assault. Because you think “well i love this person and they love me so if its that important to them then I guess I have to do it”

Plus, she felt a lot of guilt around the situation. Because she had developed feelings and attraction to Chris she probably saw herself as a willing participant. Like if she really didn’t want it to happen then she could have tried harder and stopped it. She probably thinks because she’s had thoughts about it before then it’s her fault for “leading him on” or whatever.

Whether it was intentional by VCA or not, I find the portrayal of their nuanced relationship impressive.

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What’s really realistic/fucked up about Paul is Cathy acts like she’s the pursuer in their relationship and Paul was convinced into by her. Happens IRL all the time

Also it’s so weird how Paul basically says as he’s dying that since he’s done with Cathy she can now go and be incestuous with Chris if she wants

Right!! Like he acts passive and blames her for “seducing” him. Such a classic groomer move lol

Chris was so pitiful even paul was like damn cathy just let him hit

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Something something Christopher and Cathy

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You know, I find it pretty interesting how with Game of thrones viewers were kinda accustomed to incest, but in every other literature or film, it treated wayyyy differently and immediately judged.

I kind of missed the GoT train like i was somehow oblivious to its existence through most of its run so i cant say how people initially reacted

But off the top my head i feel like star wars fans also just shrugged the incest off because it wasnt intentional?? Lol also i dont think anyone cared much about the incest in Bates Motel because its accepted as horror. I think Crimson Peak had a good reception tho underrated

I really think fita particularly gets flack because the people mad about it havent read it and also think its like… a romance novel? I mean ive had people irl tell me its not horror 😀 like??? Who do you think you are, I AM! right?