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horizon-verizon · 2 months

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I think people don’t realise what a nightmare Fire & Blood is to adapt compared to ASOIAF. Often, characters are named and placed in situations in order to flesh out the family trees and marriage alliances, and then many of them are left waiting around during all of the actual interesting stuff. This can’t happen in a TV show, and frankly this is (unfortunately perhaps?) the most logical thing to do with Rhaena.

Fans understandably want everything in the source material to be faithfully adapted but visual mediums are not the same as literary works. Storylines have to be consolidated and streamlined to save costs for ensemble casts and to provide faster-paced storylines that don’t bore audiences, unlike books which can take their time with a story and gradually develop their characters over hundreds of pages.

Characters like Nettles and Rhaena simply don’t work in visual medium, because both characters would just not have enough to do that would warrant investment by the audience. Combining elements of both into one character, if done right, can strengthen the overall character and subsequent story.

Besides, the jealous lover trope for Rhaenyra in the book being the source of her and Daemon’s fallout is uninspiring. Daemon being forced to choose between Rhaena and Rhaenyra is a far more compelling angle, and would provide a stronger perspective on Daemon as a whole, especially with how lacking of a father he was in S1.

Anon responds to several recent posts about the likely merging of Nettles and Rhaena of Pentos's storylines that starts HERE or HERE.

I understand that HotD might be very entertaining to some people...but implying that the writers couldn't have done better bc F&B is supposedly incoherent (when it's far from so) AND thus it is as good as any adaptation could get--thereby seemingly to admit that it's not great and then seemingly simultaneously saying that it is actually pretty good...

is not the vibe.

In all, a lot of the issues you bring up are ordinary issues with adaptations (and seem to make as excuse for these writers who point blank already said/showed they were intent on creating a totally different story with Rhaenicent replacing the original storyline) but the mess of storylines we get in HotD can't be excused by this idea of how "difficult" it is to adapt what does have pretty clear characters, events, etc. Also, good planning and foresight and integrity couldn't hurt.

unlike books which can take their time with a story and gradually develop their characters over hundreds of pages.

A contradiction. So F&B is very detailed and a rich text with solid characterizations and definite events now?

...So Gwayne Hightower, who was given a lot more material than he ever actually had...that made sense to you? Hugh the Hammer becoming a family man when he already had the Caltrops deal with Ulf the White? You can't show an increasing amount of frustration from Ulf and Hugh without trying to make us sympathize with either of them and make either underdogs? We can't follow Nettles as a young street "urchin"? We can't do the same for two separate girls, make up stories and backgrounds?! HUH?! We can't have flashbacks to Marilda of Hull and the Hull boys? No?

We did it for those irrelevant nutjobs, but not for Rhaena or Nettles? Anon, please. Address the misgynoir or at least this major discrepancy.

You assumed two things: that Rhaenyra believed Daemon x Nettles was real AND that I believe they happened romantically. The first one, that's more than understandable since that is the prevailing impression the fandom has had for years and a lot of people don't really like F&B for how differently it's written from ASoIaF (I think it would have been improved just with some female voices put to paper, like Daemon and Otto in Rogue Prince and some of F&B...esp Rhaenyra or her ladies and a few history-loving septas).

I even am rethinking the whole "Rhaenyra thought Nettles seduced Daemon with magic and stole him from her" bc....SEPTON EUSTACE SAYS THIS HAPPENED THIS WAY, after he already describes Mysaria a "witch" who manipulates Rhaenyra as if casting a spell. The guy who speculated that she and Daemon were sleeping together as Rhaenyra gorged herself while a war was going on. Like the true religious sexist that he is.

Aside from that, I still think that Nettles being revealed as being Daemon's bio daughter is FAR more compelling AND sensical than Rhaenyra willing to kill her husband's daughter who she partially raised...or was supposed to and not treat as if she serves her like some servant....which, again, is very misogynoirist. For some reason, people keep ignoring this particular point I'm making...

Anyway, once again, like I said HERE about Rhaena at the Vale, you could have her flourish in diplomacy and meeting certain characters who will be important later in the overall storyline...plus imagine what we could have had as how Rhaena manages to finally hatch Morning?! The process and tension--from the suggestion of those different "experiments" she tries that are all different from what she did when she was just a child--that's built up to that by some specific egg-interaction scenes...some epiphany she could have had...something to tie her into actual magic! And this is just one way you could have written Rhaena at the Vale!

I don't think you guys understand what you've lost.

A lot of the weird shit that happens on the show!blacks' side in terms of why Daemon kills at Harrenhal when he canonically doesn't and why it's made out to be as if he's paid for a bad prize in winning the castle is because they have Rhaenyra acting like there isn't a war already happening whether she likes it or not (their argument back in e2). If they hadn't made the woman who was canonically "tempermental" and just as willing to assert her rights as some people Robb Stark or Stannis Baratheon were more a reality-denying doormat as she was who only fights bc he dad said stuff abt the ASoIaF prophecy instead of having any ambition for herself (in the attempt to make her more "moral" or whatever)...we wouldn't have had the mess of a storyline we got now.

Daemon's magic plotline, I'm not that angry about. More how he got there and the taking reframed as him trying to prove a point to his wife after a nonsensical argument and not being very successful in getting allies for her. And him doing so without thinking of how his leaving the way he does could impact Rhaenyra's hold even further, and for real this time (no, B&C would and canonically does nothing to dissuade anyone from supporting Rhaenyra). Rather than him "requesting" or being sent to Harrenhal, an argument there or not but likely after an actually sensical argument.

A point that he instantly invalidates by again going off without first establishing plans they are both aware of. This is war, not sitcom TV suburbia where the father leaves the house for a bit and there's low stakes for that to make sense. A much different sort of war from the Stepstones as well. All their lives are on the line, not just soldiers...which they didn't have (or as much) at the moment. And Dameon (book-wise) was not that petty as to cross into dum-dum territory.

D) Other Stuff

"compared"....not "impossible", and the way they have for several characters were very unnecessary, so...I can't agree with this sentiment that these characters are so, so difficult to have adapted as they are, esp since if you read well, you find a lot of evidence that shows who some important characters are and a few of their critical motivations. Now if you didn't don't want to do that, all the power to you. Doesn't mean that it was impossible or valueless to do so in the first place, since that is what we were supposed to do with this FICTIONAL historical document.

Often, characters are named and placed in situations in order to flesh out the family trees and marriage alliances, and then many of them are left waiting around during all of the actual interesting stuff. This can’t happen in a TV show, and frankly this is (unfortunately perhaps?) the most logical thing to do with Rhaena.

...funny you say that, since there was a lot that could have been done for Jacaerys' diplomacy arc to the Vale, then to the Manderlys, then to Cregan Stark where he stays and becomes great friends. I don't think you realize how much we lost here. Jeyne Arryn's words to Jace abt women sticking close and the reveal of her female lover; Wyman Manderly and the court that they didn't show in GoT, here is where they could have showcased the Merman's court; flashbacks to Cregan's times of getting his regent greedy uncle out so he can reclaim his own seat as his father intended as well as showing us their Jacegan(?) bromance's development. Like, this is at least 3 episodes alone!

You act like specific words, events, and actions are not told or narrated and done so with good enough detail (and reliably) in F&B for us to understand the and glean truth from fiction. As if the entire project is a haphazard collection of just names...when those marriage alliances (one of Joffrey to Desmond Manderly's youngest daughter) was made fully within the larger, variously-detailed and overlapping-storied context of the current Dance/war.

Jacaerys was not "waiting around". He went to the North to get alliances for his mother and in one of them, he meets with a Manderly and that is how he gets Manderly's promise--Joffrey's betrothal to his daughter. This is not even the most well known accomplishment Jace had in his particular mission, he'd go on to meet with two other, more famed, leaders with pretty badass moments DETAILED in the book that even could have been depicted/expanded more live.

These writers simply didn't think his diplomacy arc was important enough to expound and show in their time crunch...meanwhile, we got one-liner Gwayne Hightower speaking nonsense to Criston Cole, Alicole sex scenes, Alicent bathing as if she wants to ice her entire head to block out the world up the wazoo. And NONE of the Daemyra-Dragonstone family scenes that the time jump of last season's epi 8 came from. We're told, canonically, more about this unit than we are about Gwayne, yet here we are.

Perhaps I'm just assuming, but like I said in this post, it appears that people think the Dance portion of F&B was just the Dance...no, it started with "Heirs of the Dragon, who were Jaehaerys' children/grandkids towards the GC of 101. Which means that with as much context and history F&B actually gets into a lot of detail for a historical document, these writers had a lot of material for bringing Princess Rhaenys properly to life, for example. Even if you don't include how she wanted to go fight the Myrmen with her father Aemon while pregnant, this fact from the book should be enough to let you know what sort of person she was. Which is supplemented by her plans for how to defeat the greens in the first black council. Also, how we hear her response to Jaehaerys choosing Baelon and the lords choosing Viserys over her and her kids. And we have her protest angrily and freely how Jaehaerys was taking away her and her kid's birthrights...That's at least 3 incidents showing the true, real and solid "Rhaenys" of the orig story. It is consistent.

There was so much from Jace, Daemon, Rhaenyra-Mysaria they could have done (note how I keep talking about the blacks...bc the green characters actually have some notable plot action going on from their characterizations aside from the Alicole nonsense...not Helaena, though, but she was always meant to further Alicent and be an accessory, not her own person to these writers, so....)

Apart from that, F&B has Gyldayn castigate Rhaenyra from going to war herself...while Aegon was burnt into useless pork at Rook's Rest. You can have Rhaneyra do shit without going to war at Dragonstone with Daemon and Mysaria planning shit out as a sort of "good" change from the canon. You could even try to argue that since...

Gyldayn was looking to rebuke Rhaenyra for being a woman and going to war at all for nay inheritance like a man and thus paoint her as incompetent, that she didn't actually fall into a graceless heap and have the men around her do everything in her mental absence...

that she/Emma was simply sequestered to collect herself and work behind smaller spaces while calling this and that person to her to make plans, etc. Instead, we have her impersonate a septa and go on endangering herself thinking Alicent of all people not only would but could do anything with or without her to prevent a war that's already happening...This is called working with the original to make something "new".

...............................................................................

I've seen too many logical inconsistencies or places where they could have improved some's scenes if they had just....though ahead or read F&B more than twice in total good faith.

Deliberate giving black-specific stuff to the greens as well, which they also didn't have to do but did...willingly and BEFORE S2.

The writers, I mean. This book may have been created like a historical book...doesn't mean that we nor actual historians manage to find truths in said documents...otherwise we wouldn't know anything of certain events and wittle some more ambiguous events down to a few LIKELIEST possibilities. And we still have made pretty great movies from ambiguously told historical-legendary events (Vikings, hello?!)

I don't see this as a proper excuse.

#rhaena targaryen #rhaena of pentos #asoiaf asks to me #hotd critical #hotd comment #hotd characterization #rhaena of pentos' characterization #fandom commentary #fandom critical #fire and blood writing #hotd writing #book vs tv characterization #hotd rhaena-nettles merge #hotd #fire and blood #asoiaf

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alexzalben · 2 years

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Shadow and Bone Season 2 premieres March 16, 2023 on Netflix

First look images, followed by quotes from Eric Heisserer, Daegan Fryklind, and Leigh Bardugo, as well as a synopsis and more info on Season 2, which I cannot frickin' wait for.

Eric Heisserer and Daegan Fryklind (Co-Showrunners / Executive Producers / Writers) & Leigh Bardugo (Author / Executive Producer) on what fans can expect this season:

HEISSERER: The most wonderful thing about Season Two is that we get to advance the story of these characters that we'd left in precarious positions at the end of Season One. There's a lot of potential for them this season. They have to face the consequences for their actions, and then they get to meet new people along the way. The Grishaverse also expands in this season, both in mythology and in characters. In doing so, we expand the world, we go to new locations, we visit Novyi Zem and Shu Han, and those are all integral to the narrative.

FRYKLIND: We've also really dug into more of the mythology this season in terms of the amplifiers, but also the creator of the amplifiers, Morozova, who he was, what his backstory is, and how he ties into this world. We go out and we go deeper.

BARDUGO: I think the readers now trust our writers the way that I do. This season I was able to step back and put the show more firmly in their hands. I think when we approached Season One, a lot of people were like, "It's impossible. It can't be done. Why would you bring SHADOW AND BONE and SIX OF CROWS together?" And I think now, we have that trust. And I think it's going to be very, very exciting for them to see the way that trust pays off in Season Two. Every part of the Grishaverse is coming into play. We are going to get to see some incredible new characters. We're going to see characters interacting with each other, questing with each other, fighting and laughing with each other, who we never got to see together in the books. And I think that's a unique thing about this show. Readers are not only going to be surprised by the way that these storylines crash into each other, they're never going to know where the next move is coming from—and that actually was a pleasure for me because I got to be surprised by my own stories.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Co-Showrunners / Executive Producers / Writers: Eric Heisserer (Chronology) and Daegan Fryklind

Author and Executive Producer: Leigh Bardugo

Executive Producers: Shawn Levy, Josh Barry, Dan Levine, and Dan Cohen for 21 Laps Entertainment, Pouya Shahbazian (Loom Studios) and Shelley Meals

Directors: Bola Ogun (Episodes 1 & 2), Laura Belsey (Episodes 3 & 4), Karen Gaviola (Episodes 5 & 6) and Mairzee Almas (Episodes 7 & 8)

Season 2 Format: 8 x 1 Hour Episodes

Cast: Jessie Mei Li (Alina Starkov), Archie Renaux (Malyen Oretsev), Freddy Carter (Kaz Brekker), Amita Suman (Inej Ghafa), Kit Young (Jesper Fahey), Danielle Galligan (Nina Zenik), Daisy Head (Genya Safin), Calahan Skogman (Matthias Helvar), Lewis Tan (Tolya Yul-Bataar), Anna Leong Brophy (Tamar Kir-Bataar), Jack Wolfe (Wylan Hendriks), Patrick Gibson (Nikolai Lantsov) and Ben Barnes (General Kirigan)

Synopsis: Alina Starkov is on the run. A beacon of hope to some and a suspected traitor to others, she's determined to bring down the Shadow Fold and save Ravka from ruin. But General Kirigan has returned to finish what he started. Backed by a terrifying new army of seemingly indestructible shadow monsters and fearsome new Grisha recruits, Kirigan is more dangerous than ever. To stand a fighting chance against him, Alina and Mal rally their own powerful new allies and begin a continent-spanning journey to find two mythical creatures that will amplify her powers. Back in Ketterdam, the Crows must forge new alliances as they contend with old rivals and even older grudges that threaten not only their place in the Barrel, but their very lives. When a chance at a deadly heist comes their way, the Crows will once again find themselves on a collision course with the legendary Sun Summoner. Based on Leigh Bardugo's worldwide bestselling Grishaverse novels, SHADOW AND BONE returns for a second season of new friendships, new romance, bigger battles, epic adventures — and a shocking family secret that could shatter everything.

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ahhvernin · 2 years

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Back in middle school and high school, I had an English teacher Ms.C. She often said was I bad reader and my analyzing skills were bad and that my skills of interpreting stories and reading in between the lines were non existent. That the reasons why I liked certain books over others and certain characters were 'wrong' or 'not meant to be liked or supported' and that I just didn't understand the literature at all. I had her for over 3 years. Then one year, in high school, I had a different English teacher, Ms.T. We had an assignment to write an analysis report for one of the books we had read during the year. I went to her, feeling ashamed, and telling her that I did not feel like I could write a good report because the only idea I had couldn't possibly be a good one. She asked me what it was. I told her, I wanted to compare The Secret Life of Bees to Huckleberry Finn, and how the Secret Life of Bees had many comparable themes and that the story was a Huckleberry Finn-esque adventure but with a girl and woman protagonist. She asked me why I didn't think it would be a good analysis. And I told that I always did poorly on reports because I could not interpret stories or understand the author's message correctly or read in between the lines because English was my "second language" even though it was my primary language and that the stories took place in different time periods. And that I had read Huck Finn a year ago and didn't do well on the report because I "missed the themes". Ms. T said "I don't think any of my students have compared those two stories before. Now I'm curious. Why don't you write it. I think it would be interesting to see how you read the two novels. Go ahead and write it. If you need help just let me know." So I wrote it. I don't think I worked so hard on a book report. I don't really remember exactly what I wrote, but I remember filling my books with bookmarks, cutting out strips of lined paper with excerpts and gathering them together on the carpet, this was.. before CTRL+F was in my tool box and before the two books were in digital format. I really wanted to show the parallels and show how each kid left a town with an abusive father, ran away with an adult black companion who were their trusted adult figure, their friend, their parental figure and reservoir of wisdom. How their companionship would have been frowned upon during their time period but were integral to their growth as a kid. I remember reluctantly handing this chunky report in, I had exceeded the page count, I was telling myself that despite all that work and all the pages I had typed out and the cover that I had illustrated because I couldn't find good pictures online, that it wasn't going to get anything higher than a B or C because most of my English reports hovered around B or C in the past. I fretted over the few weeks it took to grade these papers. Then the day came to return the papers, and Ms. T had arranged it so each kid would get in line, find their paper and leave. I could not find my paper. My anxiety flew SKY HIGH even though she said "Perhaps she left in one of her folders. So I waited until everyone else got theirs thinking mine would turn up. It did not and then she called my name and she pulled my paper out from under her notebooks and handed it to me. Then gently and firmly said, "You did a great job. Some spelling and grammar issues, but otherwise it was a great analysis. Don't be afraid to discuss your favorite books or stories okay? Not everyone reads them the same way. Don't let anyone tell you that the way a book impacts you is wrong. Everyone has different life experiences and everyone has different need and wants, that means what they get from a story will be different from one person to the next. Don't be afraid of your next book report, okay? Because your reading skills and writing skills are just fine." I don't think I was ever so happy to see an A.

Because for the first time in English class, I felt like could understand the language and the literature. All because...someone accepted my thoughts and ideas, and didn't tell me I was wrong. Someone who told me that, I was free to apply my thoughts, experience and world knowledge to the things I read. And that growing up as a kid with two clashing cultures, was fine and that I didn't have to think exactly like everyone else around me and I didn't have to feel guilty or stupid for wanting to share my differing thoughts on a subject matter. And most importantly, that it was okay.... to just read to enjoy a book and not have to worry about having to reading it "right".

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rottenbrainstuff · 7 months

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BG3 playthrough - chugging through Baldur’s Gate

Mild spoilers below the cut

A million side quests in my journal, slowly chugging through them all… Act 3 is huge and the random little quests all over the place are kind of… like… look it’s a huge amount of content, it’s amazing, but I do prefer act 1, where yes we had less things, but those less things were all integrated better and flowed together. That being said, what’s neat about act 3 is that there’s so many little surprises here and there that I’m finding things I didn’t manage to spoil for myself: like the identity of the Stone Lord, and finding Ethel again.

So first of all… I seem to be having a RANDOM BLOODSTAIN CURSE???

A little while ago I found a large random bloodstain on the ground in town and I was trying to figure out what happened. I assumed maybe it tied back in with the murder trail I was following. When that didn’t seem to be it, I thought maybe I had missed an important event, so I backtracked through my save files and pinpointed when the bloodstain appeared. I still don’t know what happened here though. So I found the spot… in one of my save files in between me talking to the book seller in Sorcerous Sundries, and me going through the portal up to Rolan’s tower, a non-interacting NPC (a refugee) about a block away was standing over the bloodstain with one missing hit point. There’s nothing there in the area that should have caused that. There’s no event, no fight, no interaction, no dangerous thing, it’s so weird.

Then more recently, the very first night I went to sleep in my brand new room at the Elfsong, I woke up to a massive bloodstain all over one of the beds!! Before bed - nothing. Morning - massive bloodstain. What in the heck is going on?

Gale can now summon a deva courtesy of the amazing books in Ramezith’s vault. I like having it out the same time as Wyll’s cambian: my devil dude and his angel pal. Or maybe they hate each other. They were both summoned here while they were trying to eat their lunch and now they’re wordlessly glaring at each other, like two siblings who don’t get along. I love it.

I love all the cats in this game, someone on the dev team loves cats - but also remember to sometimes try interacting with them without using “speak with animals”. I tried petting Malta without it and got kind of a funny narration where they said the cat was pretending to act like they didn’t care, and failing. I have read online that if Baelen isn’t with Derryth in act 3 - either because you didn’t save him from the bibberbang field, or because you gave him the noblestalk mushroom and Derryth left him - you are able to get Derryth to take Malta to live with her??? Between this and finding the letter in her house about how much Derryth wished she married this other guy, I’m feeling pretty sad about saving him, wish instead I had either left him in the bibberbang field or gave Derryth a push to finally leave him. Oh well.

Got to the infamous squiddy romance. Nope, not for me in the end. I mean obviously I TRIED it, just to SEE, of COURSE I did, and got the achievement of shame lmao, but in my actual save game I am not having that. First of all: vanilla and garlic? Uff no thanks. It’s interesting, isn’t it, how the game has described the specific smells of a few different characters (Astarion, Raphael, Mizora, now this), and how every description includes some unpleasant undertone. (well maybe not Mizora who just sounds all around unpleasant lol) But second of all…. My specific tav just is not buying any of this. I’ve been very very wary ever since the big reveal, and this whole little side event just feels to me like more Emperor manipulation bullshit. Oh let’s go to my old room because there’s some equipment there that can help you. Oh wait would you look at that… it’s my old doggy’s collar. And a recipe for my favourite soup. And a present from my mommy. See look at all these things, look at how much humanity I have, oh yeah I guess there’s a weapon and some armor there too. Phew what a great chat, now we trust each other COMPLETELY, right? Oh hey btw I’m totally sexually attracted to you - see just another way we can be intimate, right? What great sex! You trust me completely now right? Ok back to business.

No thanks, not for my tav.

You have the option to ask the Emperor to change back into the old Guardian form… it was nice to see mine one last time, he’s so pretty! If you go this route, the next morning is pretty hilarious. You wake up next to the untransformed mindflayer Emperor with an “ew gross what did I do” face, I took screenshots, I was laughing so hard.

The face of regret.

I tried going to get Minsc last night but I wasn’t expecting how big the counting house was going to be… I’m leaving it for now and I’ll take a crack at it later. Instead I went and found the hag support group. KLED. Augh Kled, what a sweetheart, why is no one talking about him and why is there no fan art??? I gave Mayrina the wand to resurrect her husband’s corpse way back in act 1 and now I’m wondering if that was a mistake as well… she’s still dragging the body around with her, and poor old Kled says Mayrina is too kind and too pretty for the likes of him. AUGH BABE. I wonder, after I fight Ethel and finish the quest, if Mayrina and Kled might have a chance? Mayrina mentioned that lately she feels like she doesn’t see that little spark of what used to be her husband there in the corpse anymore… I think eventually she’s going to move on and hopefully appreciate this lovely lovely guy who’s there for her without any expectation and things will be great and amazing. Yep, that’s what I’m going with.

I really like the personality the game has put into the “monster” races, the goblins, the bugbears, the hobgoblins. I love how they’re more than just “rarg ebbil”, they’re fun to talk to, they have their own cultures, it makes me sad to kill them quite honestly because under different circumstances I think we could have had fun hanging out.

I love Kled, big and handsome and kind, and the fact that I don’t seem to be able to find a single thing with him on AO3 is a crime and you should all be ashamed.

I've been thinking a lot about post-Cazador Astarion. He's changed so much. Like. Yes ok he's still kind of a loveable bastard, he's still grumbling at me when I give beggars money, wouldn't want it any other way, but he's so honest now, he can be sweet, he can be soft. His pre-spawn backstory is not currently fleshed out. I know there were development ideas that he used to be a corrupt magistrate, and I am honestly ok with that, in fact perhaps I even prefer it. But the actual canon is a blank slate and I find myself wondering about Astarion's softness and honesty, if this is his old personality that Cazador couldn't torture away, growing back like the first hints of green after a forest fire... or if this is something totally new for him, not just healing from Cazador, but that all of the suffering he's overcome and this adventure he's been somewhat unwillingly dragged through have made him a better person than he ever was. Either possibility is neat, I think. I like to think about it. Man I really... I mean I've had this game so thoroughly spoiled for me, and yet I still find things that surprise me - I was really unprepared for act 3 Astarion and what a beautiful personality he has. Man I am so proud of him. My Star. Makes me wanna cry. This game.

Patch 6 still hasn’t been released for Mac… *whine* come on Larian, I want all my fancy kisses before I get to the end of the game…

EDIT: omg I think it was literally JUST RELEASED??? Aaah when’s my next work break, I wanna check it out…

#bg3 #bg3 playthrough #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 spoilers #kled

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thequeenofdarknessblog · 2 years

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The Wallachian Rose| Alucard x Reader| Chapter 4

Words: 2,402

“All flesh is like grass and the glory of man is like a flower of the field, the grass withers and the flower falls. But the word of the Lord will remain forever, there are no nightmares from which you cannot wake up, nothing remains of your castle or your feudal estate; all your subjects have died. Even the site of your Eucharistic host has disappeared, it will no longer be yours. Count… you have nothing left. You!, miserable Lifeless King!, you no longer have anything, nothing!

"Arthur, she will never be yours… ever." It was inevitable, with your arrival many emotions inside Alucard were shaken.

"A dream, a nightmare... how stupid" the vampire exclaimed as bloody tears slipped down his face.

For 30 years Alucard had learned to live with the personal hell that was inside his mind, and he had gotten used to that underground cellar that he always had around him when he opened his eyes. And Alucard couldn't care less.

The cold... or the loneliness.

Before other people he was just a monster. And he acted as such, because the only person who thought otherwise was not him.

Darkness and loneliness became the confidants of his pain.

He wanted you, he longed for you.

Among the few dreams of him you were, reaching out your fine hand to caress his face, offering comfort with your arms. Rocking him like he was a child

Giving him love and affection.

Something that Alucard believed he didn't deserve.

All a fantasy.

Take reality, since you were here, next to him, you were real.

And when you went down those stairs, Alucard felt that that cold and dark basement was filled with color and heat.

“Did you have another Mon Amour nightmare?” and listened to your sweet voice, which certified that it was not a dream.

"I would call them memories" he answered, pretending as always that nothing was happening.

“memories that make you cry… and suffer, your wife is here with you. Don't pretend anymore... I'm here" you expressed approaching him to kiss him and hug him like no one had ever done before.

You were his goddess, and he would praise and adore you.

Regarding the others (specifically Integra, Walter, and Seras Victoria), they were surprised and curious in a certain way. They had two thousand-year-old vampires living with them, besides being together in that basement, you and Alucard enjoyed taking night walks around the mansion and wandering around scaring the employees.

And of course, making love without stopping and fucking like wild beasts until dawn.

You two were such a particular couple, you were not the type of lovers who would walk hand in hand through a park, go to a movie or have dinner in a romantic restaurant. But you loved each other, you represented the concept of falling in love between powerful and eternal beings, expressing unbridled passion and love that you had never felt so strong and real before.

But above all, you were the novelty of Hellsing, the members of the round table did not take long to bombard Integra with doubts, questions and demands.

“Draculina Roses is not a danger to us, she has been under our noses for 523 years and has not caused a stir. Why would she do it now? As long as Alucard is on our side, she will be too ”she reiterated, integrating her skeptical colleagues.

"And do you know the extent of her powers and abilities? Can we control them?" asks one of the older people at the table.

"Not yet, but Roses is more than willing to collaborate with us" Integra concluded by giving you the floor.

"I'm something you can call an energy or psychic vampire" you explained to those present "among other abilities of course, but in short, I have the same basic abilities and powers of a vampire. Although I must emphasize that I am an expert in getting into people's minds... and destroying them" you finish with a smile, I really wasn't going to show them all your arsenal

After spending the whole night devouring thick books of human literature, you decided to rest in your coffin, the time in England had really affected you, Alucard always wanted your attention 24 hours a day and you gladly gave it to him.

One dawn, your husband opened your coffin and said: “get ready, we will go to Brazil” while he receives your morning kisses.

"Mm, as soon as I get to England, now we're going to Brazil?"

After Integra hired the Mercenaries named "The Wild Geese" and after the unpleasant encounter with the Iscariot Maxwell (who not only called Integra "Protestant Pig" but also called you "Harlot of Hell" causing Alucard to go crazy)

If it hadn't been for the adorable intervention of Seras Victoria, a disaster would have happened, and what did you think of enjoying the museum?

When Alucard massacred the Brazilian SWAT and fought against Alhambra Tubalcain, you remembered the golden days when Alucard was the vigorous Count Vlad Dracula, tall, beefy and hungry for you.

You really were sick of getting turned on by such a massacre, and of course, Alucard didn't hesitate to tease you and Integra about it.

Highlighting the stimulated who were witnessing the battle.

When Alucard discovered Millenium's return and plans through Tubalcain's blood, they returned to England to make a report, and you took the time to have a little chat with Seras Victoria.

"You're not a scary cat, I see something special in you, I'm sure you'll be a good Draculina" you consoled her for the shock of seeing Alucard massacre humans, you understood her feelings, how she went from being a human to being a vampire . But she gave you the feeling that Captain Pip would make her happy and make her evolve.

When you came back, Integra told you that Queen Elizabeth herself wanted to meet you, so you, Alucard, Seras Victoria and Pip went back to England.

"I'm back, my teacher" Alucard said, opening the doors wide, finding the table where the Protestant knights and members of the Vatican alike were, and the queen being the leader of all.

"Welcome my servant, please take off your glasses, you are before the queen" Integra ordered to which Alucard complied.

You on the other hand adjusted your red coat to cover your plunging neckline (before Maxwell said something you knew he was going to say), Alucard and the queen treated each other like old friends, you looked expectantly. You could perfectly imagine Alucard meeting Queen Elizabeth in her younger years.

But what you didn't expect was for her to notice you.

"Please come closer" ordered the queen, you reacted modestly and obeyed, feeling Alucard's gaze with every step you took. "Are you the famous Rose of Wallachia?" she interrogates her while you curtsy.

"That's right, but that's just a title from the past" you answer wistfully

“What is your name now?”

"Roses, my queen, they know me as roses" you answer again, and then there was a long silence.

"Wow Alucard, you have a very beautiful couple" praised the queen with a smile.

"I know" he answers proudly and smiling "She is my queen"

"And you roses, you are quite a French lady"

"I've been told that very often" you say amused while you rejoined

"Very well Alucard, present your report"

After that order, Alucard recounted how 60 years ago, together with a young Walter, they destroyed a Nazi base in charge of carrying out experiments to create a legion of ghouls, but that they took refuge in South America, then that cat boy arrived with a message from the famous " Major" who I do not hesitate to name you.

"Here is our queen, I am waiting to appreciate your potential" he exposed while his eyes distilled a strange ecstasy when he spoke of the war, a war that apparently he wanted you to be a part of. Alucard was vigorously congratulating the major on his excellent declaration of war and after watching his Nazi ghouls massacre a man, leaving everyone stumped, Integra ordered Alucard and Seras victoria to shoot.

Seras smashed the small television with shots and Alucard blew the catboy's head off.

Who in the blink of an eye had disappeared without a trace

You were able to "scan" his mind, and that being was there but at the same time it was nowhere, and it had left you disturbed, Alucard who had access to your thoughts looked at you very interested.

"She can see me Major, feel me and know exactly where I am, it's really impressive" the cat boy explained when he returned to the base.

"I know, it won't be long before the Queen makes her big move on this chess board, I'm so excited" he replied, sitting on his chair. "But the most interesting thing is to know what Alucard will do about it"

Then there was only blood, death and war.

Alucard got "stuck" after murdering Rip Van Winkle.

The members of the round table were wiped out one by one.

Zorin attacked the Hellsing mansion, and unfortunately Captain Pip lost his life protecting the woman he loves like a man, and Seras Victoria woke up to be a true Draculin unleashing her monstrous powers and killing Zorin.

You protecting Integra.

The Nazis arriving in England and making a massacre.

Walter had disappeared.

And you were angrier than ever, the ghoul Nazis were destroyed by your abominable shock waves, which looked like a reddish nuclear explosion, not counting all the minds you had to torture and shatter. Frankly, you had Integra worried. And yet there was one last battle to be fought.

More Nazis covered the battlefield, and Maxwell had brought his own army with him, plus Anderson, Yumei, and Hankei who had also entered the fray.

And among all this chaos, everyone was asking one question: where was Alucard?

While the others waited for his wild card up his sleeve, you were worried about your husband, you feared for his well-being. Until in the distance you could appreciate a ship... A ghost ship, where Alucard was with a huge smile, and with a jump and unsheathing Casull and Jackal, he entered the battlefield, joining him that werewolf from Millennium and Anderson .

The three warriors looked at each other.

Your skin crawls, Alucard knows it, Integra knows it, The Major wishes it and you longed for it...

If Integra says Zero… Alucard would no longer be restricted.

The werewolf and Anderson started attacking Alucard. And the other soldiers were not far behind. But they only penetrated Alucard's shadow.

"The bird of Hermes is my name, and I eat my wings to tame myself"

And the river of blood and death was unleashed, Alucard's more than three thousand souls were expelled, along with Rip Van Winkle and Tubalcain, they destroyed everything in their path. After the Janissary army, Maxwell and Anderson were stunned, and finally understood why Alucard couldn't die.

And finally, and rising in glory, the flags of the Wallachian Army rose from among the blood emerging from hell itself.

“Your soldiers, your challengers, your people… What kind of monster are you!? The Devil… DRACULA!?”

You felt that your world broke, time stopped and everything started again. Everything from scratch.

Your dead heart began to beat and your emotions hit you like never before.

It felt like your world was rebuilt a second time.

In front of you, was him, your King, your beloved, your husband, your man, your lord. Vlad Dracula.

Finally he had shown himself and with a beautiful smug smile he ended up summoning the rest of his army.

That as always, they ended everything in their path without mercy.

And there were only bodies staked everywhere, and among them were Integra, Seras Victoria and the count who prostrated himself with respect before his teacher.

"Welcome back, Count" said Integra

"I have returned, Countess" answered this

"W-Welcome, Master" Seras spoke, who hid behind Integra in fear "W-Master... Did you have a mustache before?... a mustache?" funny question, Vlad stands up and Seras is startled by her huge height difference, but she only felt a heavy hand ruffling her hair.

"You will be... You will be Victoria" he said with a sweet smile after having impaled many people.

What memories... but someone was missing who was a spectator from afar.

The earl's evil eyes focused on a small space where a small and slender figure came out.

You approached between blood and bodies staked up to him... slowly like a wedding march,

unreal and idyllic

He was before you, once again, with his armor on like the first time they met, your eyes never left his,

"Vlad..." you whisper slowly bringing your hand closer to his manly face.

"My Lifeless Queen" he said, taking you closer to him and kissing you, kissing you without caring about the presence of the two females. And you reciprocated, with passion, love and desire.

"It's... you... really... it's you" you said between kisses.

Then you stroked his long mane and felt his features as if he were going to disappear.

They didn't say anything, but the looks from him were enough.

But unfortunately... it didn't last long, Anderson suddenly appeared attacking Vlad who, holding you by the waist, dodged the attack.

And a new and touching battle began.

It hurt you to see how Alucard remembered all the past and rape of him.

But it all ended with the moving death of a great human being named Anderson Alexander.

And Walter's betrayal

For everyone present the situation was a whirlwind of emotions.

But what you didn't expect was the departure of Alucard, who vanished into thin air after absorbing the catboy's blood.

You cursed yourself for not finishing him off when you could.

"Instead of yelling at me... my queen should give me one last kiss" and you did so, you kissed him while his eyes slowly closed without caring about Integra's orders.

And he vanished in your arms.

You fell to your knees on the floor screaming heartbroken and dejected

So much time apart and so little time together.

You stayed there, crying in silence.

While Integra and Seras finished off The Wolf Man and the Major. And as the last act of redemption, Walter finished off the doctor.

And 30 years passed...

30 years without Alucard.

You were so destroyed and hurt.

You thought about everything you had to tell him, the I love you's that you didn't tell him.

The eternal conversations at night.

And you believed that your destiny was to learn to live without Alucard, without your other half.

While on the other hand you and Seras became very close.

@lunasguard

#hellsing #alucard x reader #alucard x you #hellsing ultimate #The Wallachian Rose

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gatespage · 1 year

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Gates McFadden Talk City Online Interview

Thursday 25th June 1998 at 9.00 pm E.S.T.

Copied and edited from here.

Mysterygirl:

Gates, welcome to Talk City! What are your thoughts on the ever-popular Star Trek series and its impact on society?

Gates McFadden:

Dear MysteryGirl, many books have been written answering that question. I think, obviously, the series speaks to a lot of people about the possibilities of our future.

Aspects of the series interest me in particular, such as Prime Directive, the concept of people being very different, but yet finding ways to work together successfully and collaborate in non-dogmatic ways is intriguing.

imzadi-1 says:

I loved you on Mad About You. Do you plan to do other sit-coms?

Gates McFadden:

I have no specific plans about doing another sitcom in the future but if a good script crossed my path, I would certainly consider it!

ezguest3 says:

Hi Gates! Does your son's mouse and your two pet cats get along?

Gates McFadden:

LOL! Our two cats believe that they get along very well with the mouse. The mouse however, thinks they are liars! The way we solve this is to keep the doors to my sons room closed at all times!We however, sometimes allow them to observe each other while we are present.

ocampa says:

It is said that you play a larger role in this new movie that's coming up than the last one, in what way?

Gates McFadden:

Where did you get your information ;-) Certainly not from the writers, alas the role is not a full meal.

boncers says:

I have several friends that were lucky enough to see you in Voices in New Jersey... I wish I were any of them!

grin:

They all are still on cloud nine that you stopped your car to speak with them. I feel their joy by proxy... so thanks!

Gates McFadden:

You're welcome! They were a terrific group of women!! I really was very touched that they came to see me in the play. It was nice to know that they were out there in the audience.

nanite says:

Hi there! I saw "Voices in the Dark" with a group of friends on closing night in April (thank you for stopping to talk to us! You have guts!) and we must know when is it going to Broadway and how long will it be there? (Yes, it's going, I just have to know when- you're not allowed to say it isn't going to be there. Thanks :)

Gates McFadden:

It looks like there will be another production sometime in October, (rehearsals with rewrites). But the details have not been worked out so it may change. I will certainly put it on the Star Trek website when I have the information.

trexphile says:

Besides "Voices in the Dark," do you have any other projects/convention appearances scheduled?

Gates McFadden:

:-) Very likely I will be in Australia the end of September or beginning of October. Then I will be in Germany in January and perhaps early May. All of this could change depending on the schedule of the play.

For the next two months I'm concentrating on being a mother :-) Having just come off a play in New York and three months of the movie in LA.

lolalee32 says:

Jessica Lange recently said that she would not start acting today, that back when she was starting "the business attracted integrity, it attracted artists, and I don't think it does anymore". Do you think she's right?

Gates McFadden:

I don't know whether she's right or wrong, that's her opinion. Certainly the entertainment business has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. However, I find that there are still pockets of extraordinary work being done by actors in theater, film and television.

heartofgold says:

Are dramatic arts taught differently in France? Is that why you left to study in France?

Gates McFadden:

I left to study with Jacques LeCoq in Paris because his school offered a unique approach to acting. LeCoq believed artists had a responsibility to work Together to change society for the better. I had classes with musicians, architects, and dancers as well as actors.

He had emphasis on both the spoken word and silence. We studied movement in order to better comprehend immobility. He was the greatest influence in my development as an actress and director.

Now there are many people all over the world, who have incorporated his ideas and techniques into their teaching of acting. Geoffrey Rush, the actor in the movie "Shine" was a student of his. Emma Thompson studied with someone in England who had worked with LeCoq for years, and so on and so forth.

kit_angel says:

I've heard that you've done a lot of stage work but never had the opportunity to see you on stage. What kind of plays have you done and do you prefer stage to television?

Gates McFadden:

I most definitely prefer stage work to television! My roles have ranged from Helena, in "A Midsummer Nights Dream," by William Shakespeare, to Ruth in "The Homecoming" by Harold Pinter.

I've done many comedies such as "Cloud Nine" by Caryl Churchill. I've also done serious plays such as 'To Gillian, on her 37th Birthday" which later was developed into a movie.

mrswizz12 says:

My 13 year old son would like to tell you that you're a great Actress and you're very beautiful

Gates McFadden:

Thank you! One can never hear that too many times!

sarah says:

As you've probably realized by now, there is a large BonC contingent here - all dying to know is the Picard and Crusher romance totally dead - or is there a possibility it may be revived?

Gates McFadden:

In this movie it is definitely not revived.However I encourage you to write letters to Rick Berman the producer suggesting that it be resurrected.

boncers says:

Thank you for being here. Would you be willing to reconsider you stance on an official fan club if it were run professionally?

Gates McFadden:

Yes!

zippity says:

Love Star Trek, and your character is superb - a strong woman, but feminine - wish men could relate to women like that in today

Gates McFadden:

I have found that often they do!

pygmalion2 says:

The drama coach in our school says that acting is not about feeling the required emotions while acting on stage, it's about PROJECTING those emotions as you act on stage. She says if you feel the emotions you'll be distracted from acting. But if you don't feel like the character is feeling, then won't your portrayal look phony?

Gates McFadden:

Keep trying don't give up! This is a tough question to answer quickly. She is not incorrect, however, I often find that during a show the feeling and the technique all come together in moments of pure poetry. It is like an adrenaline rush where you are the character, the play is bigger than yourself and you are almost inside the character and outside it at the same time.

I don't feel that there is only one method to acting. Work with as many good teachers as you can and find what works best for you.

ocampa says:

William Frakes seems like a very nice guy, how is he in private?

Gates McFadden:

Terrific!

boncers says:

Thanks for being here... is there a specific directing project that you'd like to tackle?

Gates McFadden:

Yes, but the script is not finished and has been in development for a year and a half. It's a silent film in black and white.

mick_mouse says:

Why do so many actors want to direct? It seems to me that since power is money, then the real power is in producing since it's the producers that bring the money in. Ultimately, the producer can put financial pressure on a director to make him do what she wants him to do. Am I right?

Gates McFadden:

Sometimes, not always. I went into acting because I loved it. I loved the way it made me feel, the power of my voice, the power of my imagination, the power of a situation, the words of a playwright.

If you are interested in who has the power as in the big boss who makes the most money, then it's a different situation.

Directing is an art, acting is an art, and many fine producing an art. Personally I find acting and directing more creative, but everyone has their own passion.

temporalrift says:

- looking at short description of "guest" - Have you written anything recently?

Gates McFadden:

I haven't finished a script I've been working on for years but with time and courage I hope to finish it soon.

nan1 says:

This question if from my daughter, Rebecca (sorry!). She would like to thank you for your letters and wants to know how Jack's birthday was and how is Coc and Mary Alice. Thanks for giving her someone to admire who is worth admiring!

Gates McFadden:

My sons seventh birthday was probably as good as a seventh birthday could possibly be. We had a bowling party! The cats are fine and hope you're all doing well.

mericcc says:

In your eyes what has been the most significant contribution Dr. Crushers has made to STTNG?

Gates McFadden:

A hypo-spray in the neck .... no ..... just kidding. Probably her determination to rank compassion over the Prime Directive.

captbevpicard says:

Ms. McFadden, I want to thank you for giving us six years of great acting.

Gates McFadden:

Thanks for watching!

jneff says:

What do you think of the Voyager show?

Gates McFadden:

How can I say this without being rude. The truth is I have only watched a part of one episode. Not because I don't like it, but because I watch very little television.

tori says:

What inspired your interest in mythology and masks which Jeff Greenwald brought up in his book, Future Perfect?

Gates McFadden:

I loved Myths ever since I took a class in High School. The man I worked with in Paris, introduced me to the techniques of mask acting. I then researched masks in the major cultures of the world and found they were a significant part of most cultures, so I put together a plaque on the history of masks in theater when I was teaching at the University of Pittsburgh.

Masks can be beautiful in and of themselves, but they become magical when a performer makes them come alive by the way she moves.

hondo1 says:

who was the best male actor that you enjoyed working with over your career

Gates McFadden:

I don't have one favorite. I'd rather say there have been very few that I haven't enjoyed working with.

molakai says:

Hello Ms. McFadden My real name is Michael! I would like to know do you and Marina Sirtis get along like friends as your characters did on the next generation? Thank you for your time to view my question! You're the first star trek actor or actress I have met!

Gates McFadden:

Marina and I are friends, but unlike the characters that we play we don't talk about men together very much, but we laugh a lot and cover a range of subjects.

dixonhill says:

Do you have any plans to do projects with LA Theaterworks?

Gates McFadden:

I performed the Neil Simon play "Chapter Two" this year but have no other projects scheduled with them at this point.

ocampa says:

Could you think of yourself as an doctor in real life?

Gates McFadden:

Oh I think it would be wonderful to be a doctor in real life, especially when I feel awful or my son has the flu.

bsisko says:

where can we write to get autographs

Gates McFadden:

I am taking a short hiatus from signing autographs through the mail because of my need to spend more time with my child. Next year I will probably have more time and at that point I will again be available to sign autographs through the mail.

It is always the best idea to send the mail to Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California. 5555 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, California.

I worry that people won't understand my reasons for not signing autographs, but the truth is when my son wants me to play with him and I have a stack of pictures to sign, I know I'm making the right choice, even though my fans will be disappointed.

kit_angel says:

If tribbles were real, would you actually want one running around your house as a pet? LOL

Gates McFadden:

Absolutely! I would continue to try to train it!

CCCMyst:

Gates, our time is nearly up for tonight. You've been a wonderful guest!! Do you have any final thoughts you'd like to leave us with?

Gates McFadden:

I literally drove home today from Mammoth Lake where we shot some of our final scenes in the new Star Trek movie. I had never been to the mountains in that area and was overwhelmed by the sheer beauty and power of the Sierra Nevada's.

The cast had a fabulous time and I just want you all to know when you watch the movie that even though we were pretending to be very scared, we were having the time of our lives!

Thanks to all of you for the years of support! I love you all!

#gates mcfadden #year: 1998 #type: interview #star trek #media: star trek #source: linked

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smokeybrandreviews · 8 months

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Monster Mash

The final episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is in the books and it has been one hell of a ride. This show had no right to be as good as it was. Seriously, Monarch was a solid, refreshing, little entry that squeaked in just before the end of the year and I’m glad it did. Obviously, it’s not highbrow, intellectual fair but it is very well written, with strong characters, great performances, outstanding effects, and a whole ass realized world. I have my issues, of course. Off the top, I don’t like any of the original monsters being introduced by the Monsterverse. These things suck balls, every last one of them. Admittedly, this is an overall Monsterverse thing, not just a Monarch show thing. The US is just so uninspired with their kaiju design, always has been. Ren Watabe is kind of awful and doesn’t have the acting ability to carry such an emotionally involved role. Also, this thing just blows open gaping plot holes and raises so many questions about all of the content which came before. I like a lot of the “revelations”, I just wish they were integrated with the established lore better. There’s only a handful of films. You can’t be f*cking up that narrative like this so soon. Those are minor gripes, of course, because Monarch has been a beacon of what streaming originals can be and it has found a pretty broad audience because, and this is kind of the point of this essay, the lead is a lesbian Japanese woman and no one seems to care.

You would be forgiven if you thought this was Kurt and Wyatt Russell’s show, the marketing pushes that narrative strong, but you would be wrong. This show is about the Randa siblings, Cate and Kentaro. The aforementioned disappointment, Ren Watabe plays Kentaro but, in direct contrast to his flaccid performance, Anna Sawai plays his half-sister Cate, and she is the engine that makes this show go. You watch Cate’s character develop, spend so much time with her, learn so much about it. This is HER show and it never she’s away from who she is, which is kind of remarkable because Cate kind of checks every box of diversity bingo. Woman? Yessir. Japanese? You betcha! Lesbian? Check. Overtly carrying romantic feelings for Kiersey Clemons’ bisexual May? Check, again. Also, May is black. Just wanted to throw that in there for reference. Oh, and she basically left Kentaro FOR Cate, too. You’d think having a queer relationship presented front-and-center in the middle of A-spec Goji content would get all the neckbeards in a tizzy, but I haven’t heard a single peep. But the representation doesn’t stop there. The leader of Monarch is a woman. Mari Yamamoto plays the Randa siblings grandmother, Keiko, and she’s also a founding member of Monarch, itself. Michelle Duvall, Sandra Brody’s sister, is this bad ass Monarch operative who goes rouge with Lee Shaw, eventually taking over his band of defectors after the good Colonel goes missing for the second time. This show is riddled with POC, queer, and female representation. By all means, it’s woke as f*ck and no one has said a word. Why? Because it’s f*cking good.

I will dies on this hill, man. There is no such thing as “Go Woke, Go Broke.” There is not Superhero fatigue. The issue is that this stuff is poorly written. Identity politics can encapsulate your entire goddamn narrative, as long as you write it well. Your lead characters can be two, gay ass, men, as long as the character work is there to make those aspects part of who they are, not define them as a whole. I’m speaking, specifically, about The Last of Us. They did that sh*t twice, actually. Nick Offerman’s episode as some of the strongest television I have ever seen in my entire goddamn life. It was beautiful It was tragic. It was inspired f*cking television. That’s how you do representation and identity on television for the wide audience. That’s what Monarch has done with Cate and May. That’s what we need to see more of out of Disney, Lucasfilm, and the MCU. There has to be nuance when developing these characters and stories. They have to feel real, not just performative checkboxes for Xitter clout. You’re always going to have Neckbeards upset that The Force is Female, but don’t feed the trolls with more lazy characters like Rey. Write better ones who line up closer to Ahsoka and Dr. Aphra. Interestingly enough, Chelli is also a queer woman of visibly Asian descent. An just like that, we’ve come full circle! Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is a great show. It’s probably the best thing The Monsterverse has produced to date, and it did so while incorporating a ton of diversity, without alienating the entire audience. That, alone, I think, is worth a watch. And, more to the point, worth the entirety of Hollywood taking note. We need more shows like this, Atlanta, Beef, Reservation Dogs, and The Brothers Sun. It’s not hard to write “Woke” content for the masses, as long as what you write is organic and true to the characters. No one wants to be preached at or pandered to. Monarch towed that line beautifully and every follow it’s example.

#Monarch: Legacy of Heroes #Monsterverse #Godzilla

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smokeybrand · 8 months

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Monster Mash

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choicesficwriterscreations · 2 years

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CFWC Writer of the Month May 2022 Bebepac

Each month CFWC highlights one of our many talented fanfic writers and this month’s writer of the month is @bebepac ! We hope you will enjoy learning more about her and her work below! Writer is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page.

Blog: @bebepac

How do you want to be known on Tumblr? You can call me Bebe or Bee.

Quick Links:

BLOG MASTERLIST

See More Below!

1- When did you start playing Choices? What's the first book you played?

I started playing choices in mid-2018 or early 2019 I think?: TRR was between books two and three because I caught up to where the series was and had to wait for weekly releases

I played Rules of Engagement and The Freshman at the same time. TRR came on my radar when I saw that Leo was the Leo from there.

2- When, and why, did you join Choices fandom?.

I saw a post on Reddit talking about the Tumblr choices fandom when was looking for TRR information between books

3- How did you pick your url name?

Bebe is actually one of the nicknames I go by and Pac is actually because I still want to go back to school to become a Physician Assistant a PA-C.

4- Go back to your archive and tell us about the first post on your Choices blog.

My first posts were TRH inspired, with pictures of the Royal Heir. My first chapter I wrote was a one-shot called Ride With Me

5- How long have you been writing fanfiction?

I started writing in January 2020

6- What is your favorite Choices book to write about?

TRR, I use the characters, but they’re not always royal in the series I put them in.

7- Share the first fanfic you wrote with us. Do you still like it or would you change anything about it?

A WIP is the earliest thing I can find that I shared on CFWC

8- What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Greek Meat - in May 2020 I was supposed to spend 12 days in Greece, but due to the pandemic, my trip was canceled. That fictionalized series was kind of the time I hoped to have with me and my good friend who planned to go together.

9- Do you have a fic that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to be, but it could use a little more love?

I didn’t expect The Rotten Apple to be well received, and I have gotten some very negative messages about it. It does have a taboo storyline, but I truly enjoy writing the story, and the evolution of the characters.

I expected The Life of Riley: Book One to do better. It made me feel like I was the only one who really wanted Riley to have a backstory, so I created one for her that explained integral parts of her life in the canon story where she didn’t have family there to support her.

10- What is your specialty as a fanfic writer?

Drama and angst, I can write fluff, but fluff is not my go to. I do promise on my page, you get original fics with dramatic flair.

11- If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Angst. They say you write what you know, and I’ve had to deal with tough things in my life.

12- Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MC’s or in your writing?

All of my MCs have components of me, all are left-handed like myself. But if I had to rank them the most like me is My original Riley Brooks Character (most emotionally like me when I explain how my Riley reacts to things, I always put myself in her shoes.) Mia from my series Pop’s Place and Mia’s World My New Riley (from The Blue Honey Cafe)

13- What element of writing do you struggle with most?

Not adequately conveying what I’m thinking to the page, or giving as much detail as I should. I know what I see, but I need to help you see what I see. This is something I’ve been working on.

14- Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?

I have several series that are really close to being done. Just the Way You are (TRR x Perfect Match crossover) The Days the Earth Stood Still (TRR)

15- If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first?

Funny: Greek Meat Drama: Fast Forward

16- Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing?

@dcbbw on the fandom, my struggle point I mentioned about my writing, is something she gave me as constructive criticism and I appreciate it.

Giving me the courage to write when I told them I had a story idea fandom peeps @janezillow @dcbbw. Thank you for believing in me.

17- Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series?

Greek Meat

18- Do you write original stories?

I write very little canon in my stories so I think of them as original and most of my storylines aren’t actually set in Cordonia.

I also write a lot of pieces based in my hometown area which I think gives them a very unique feel.

19 - What other hobbies do you have?

Music, movies, and now that the pollening is no longer among us I want to get back into the great outdoors more until it gets too hot!

20 - What’s your favorite emoji?

Right now it’s the red apple for my series The Rotten Apple 🍎

21: BONUS - tell us anything you’d like (if you want to).

I am very appreciative of everyone who is reading and following the storylines that I am creating. Tumblr can feel hard sometimes, especially when you are a small blog, and I am. I appreciate liking, commenting, and especially reblogging, as that’s how others see your work as a writer on this platform. Thank you to all that are supporting me for supporting my writing.

#choices fic writers creations #cfwc writer of the month #writer of the mont #bebepac #cfwc

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sharonccrter · 2 years

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*Spoilers ahead*

I’ve been seeing a lot of discussion surrounding whether Bridgerton will change the sequence of the books; namely Colin and Penelope being season 3 rather than season 4. Here is why for me that doesn’t work and it ruins the integrity of the books.

First off its important to note that book 1 (Duke & I) book 2 (The Viscount Who Loved Me) and book 3 (An Offer From A Gentleman) take place in the span of three years from 1813-1815. Book 3 also introduces John Sterling and has him and Francesca get married. Unless they don’t plan on making it to season 6, aka book 6 (When He Was Wicked) it is imperative that we see them meet and get married or else the entire emotional crux of book 6 will not land.

Then we time jump 10 years, yes 10 years because book 4 (Romancing Mr Bridgerton) take place in 1824 and that is important. In my opinion in order to like Colin and Penelope’s love story, you need that time jump. If they switch book 4 with book 3 then that time jump won’t be possible because then Benedict’s story wouldn’t make sense.

Penelope should be in her late 20s and Colin should be in his early 30s (or just turning 30) that matters. By this point Penelope should have spent 10 years thinking she wasn’t going to ever get married; Colin has had time to mature (yes his still an idiot but that’s more a Bridgerton trait then anything else.) I can’t imagine their love story working with only a 1 year time jump. That would make Colin 22 at most 23 and Penelope at most 20, give or take a year. There isn’t enough time and them being young when their love story takes place in my opinion ruins the narrative being told and rushes the whole thing too much.

It also effects Eloise because book 5 (To Sir Philip, With Love) takes place at the same time as book 4. Hell the only reason Eloise considers marriage is because she’s lonely without Penelope. Again Eloise in my opinion benefits from the time jump her getting married in her mid to late 20s makes sense for the character. Also (and I’m not going to get into the Theo thing because I still think its going to be Philip they wouldn’t have even bothered to have him in that scene during season 2 if it weren’t hinting at what’s time come) the twins (Philip’s kids) need to be old enough for their to be hijinks with Eloise.

A big part of Eloise’s book is her helping the twins and Philip deal with the grief of losing their mother and wife and Eloise taking on the role of a mother as well as her falling in love with Philip. The twins can’t be 2 or 3 they need to be way older hence the reason for the time jump. Having Eloise’s story take place way after Colin and Penelope also doesn’t work either the three of them are too connected for that.

Lastly Francesca, the events of book 4 directly tie into the events of book 6, it reinforces her always feeling left out and like the black sheep of the family. Like for example her not being invited/not told about Penelope and Colin’s wedding until after the fact to which she responds “fuck it then you all aren’t invited to my second wedding!”

All of this to say that each book has its place in the timeline for a reason book1&2&3 then 4&5&6 then 7&8 changing the order tells me two things, they don’t care that much about the source materiel and plan to wreck it, and two they don’t plan to get renewed past season 4 so basically their not bothering to plan ahead but that’s a shit plan because what if they do?

#bridgerton #benedict bridgerton #eloise bridgerton #colin bridgerton #penelope featherington #francesca bridgerton #john sterling #michael sterling #philip crane #daphne bridgerton #anthony mackie #sophie beckett #simon basset #kate sheffield #kate sharma #hyacinth bridgerton #gregory bridgerton #spoilers

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aminiatureworld · 3 years

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Enigmatic Feelings

Characters: Albedo, Diluc, Xiao, Zhongli, gn!reader

Word Count: 5,544

Warnings: None

Premise: Love is a potent force. And sometimes little things take on larger meanings, especially when one party is unaware of them.

In which the reader’s s/o is jealous

Author’s Note: This trope is 100% my guilty pleasure. I hope I did it justice.

I also realized while writing this that all these characters have the emotional understanding of a teaspoon, but they’re trying their best, so that’s what counts.

Albedo

Albedo was many things. A great alchemist, a man of secrets, a weapon with which one might someday bring destruction. He was even a lover, albeit an unpracticed one. But what he was not was emotional. Or so he thought.

Of course Albedo knew what jealousy was, knew the sort of stupidity that people could fall into when altogether too infatuated with their own love. But just because one knows what jealousy is does not mean one must fall prey to such things. Or so Albedo assumed.

It was the fourth day in a row that a knight had approached your door. Friedrich was his name, and he was doing a stellar job at capturing your attention, and pulling on emotions that Albedo had long told himself he didn’t contain.

Today the flower was a Windwheel Aster, swaying this way and that in the pocket of space between your two hands. You were smiling at it, or rather at Friedrich, brightly, fingers mere moments away from Friedrich as you went to claim the fourth flower this week. Though the was nothing necessarily untoward in Friedrich’s movements, and Albedo would much rather a person of integrity be attempting to woo you, even if the idea itself turned knots in his stomach; nevertheless it still left a bad taste in the alchemist’s mouth, and a worry in his heart that he was not so immune to jealousy as he’d previous assumed.

“Thank you!” You spoke to Friedrich, giving one last wave before walking back over to Albedo. “Albedo look! It’s a Windwheel Aster. It’s very nice of Friedrich to give me one, maybe I can use it, or maybe it’ll be helpful for your experiments?”

“Yes, thank you. I, I think you should keep it.”

As much as Albedo wanted to take the flower and throw it in the incinerator, he couldn’t bring himself to shatter the smile on your face. No matter how dearly it cost him to see you smile down once more at the delicate red petals. And no matter how much it haunted him the rest of the day to imagine you, face framed by a smile, a bouquet of a random knight’s making in your hands.

That knight as Albedo put away the Bunsen burners and the graduated cylinders he kept his mind preoccupied by thoughts of you. Surely he had to tell you his feelings, for if not they would keep building in his chest; building and building until one day he erupted, with you in the line of fire rather than the knight who was creating this whole dilemma, perhaps even unwittingly. Though Albedo had never been in a relationship before he knew stories. Weren’t books full of those kinds of moments? Men, women, people, all of them running over one another in their misunderstanding, in their overwhelming guilt.

No, he wouldn’t turn out like that, wouldn’t let the two of you be hurt in such a way. He had to tell you. Had to make you understand how much his chest constricted when he saw you carrying the gifts of others, had to let it be known before he lost control of these emotions. After all, wasn’t that what happened with emotions? They grow and grow and one day they spill over. And Albedo never wanted these emotions to spill over. No matter the cost.

“May I tell you something?”

The sunlight was streaming through the laboratory windows, the air warm enough that Sucrose had tied up her hair during her shift. And yet Albedo felt cold, oh so cold. He was going to tell you today. He hadn’t been able to tell you three days ago, nor two days ago, nor yesterday. And now the bouquet of flowers that occupied a tiny glass on the windowsill felt quite large indeed. Today would be day eight if Friedrich showed up at lunchtime, and before that Albedo would tell you.

“Of course you can Albedo, I’m all ears!”

You turned around, a soft smile once more spreading across your face. Putting down the pencil you’d been holding you leaned back against the lab table. Albedo took in a deep breath. He could do this. He would do this. He had to do this. No matter what, today. Today, he would do this.

“I-I’m jealous.” The words hung in the air for a moment, as if not understood.

“Jealous?” You tilted your head slightly, worry making your smile slip. “Albedo, jealous of what?”

“Of Friedrich, of you and Friedrich, or rather, I mean, of Friedrich giving you flowers.” Albedo paused, words tangling in his mouth, tripping on each other in an attempt to be understood. What if this was a mistake.

“Albedo,” you shook you head softly, walking over to cup your partner’s face, “I promise that there’s nothing in it. The flowers are lovely, of course, but nothing in this world could replace or stem my love for you. You have nothing to worry about.”

“I know,” Albedo replied hurriedly, worried still that he might be misunderstood, “I’m not trying to accuse you of anything, or say that I doubt you. My love, I will never doubt you. I just, I just feel so uncomfortable when he brings you flowers. It feels like, like I don’t know; it feels like I’m being poisoned, suddenly and all at once. And I don’t want it to affect the way I act towards you. So, so I wanted to tell you. You don’t have to stop, if those flowers make you happy then that’s what matters. But, but I just wanted to tell you.”

You said nothing, staring into Albedo’s eyes, gaze piercing through the alchemist. It was always that way with you. How you managed to destroy the control he thought he had, the wall he’d erected between himself and humanity. How you made him feel unsure and fallible and whole. And, just as before, now your gaze softened and you shook your head, your smile a balm for the raw unfamiliarity of putting together emotions.

“It’s okay Albedo, I’m glad you told me. Just like my emotions matter to you, I’d rather not see you unhappy. To be honest, I just never saw Friedrich’s actions in the way that he probably meant them. We all struggle with our feelings sometimes, I do just like you. Just as long as well tell each other, all will be well. Alright?”

“Yes. Thank you. I don’t know what I do without you.”

“Well you’ll never have to find out, so it doesn��t matter!”

There was no eighth flower that day, at least not one that was successfully given. Albedo supposed that he could pity Friedrich, but in reality he felt nothing but relief. The emotions that had left such a bad taste in his mouth seemed so far away now, for there was you, only you. It would only ever be you for him, and the days in which you said the same thing of him Albedo felt as if he could truly be happy, and truly acknowledge the emotions that swirled inside him, the love for you so great it spilled over into a vast ocean.

Diluc

Diluc found most merchants loathsome, something perhaps not entirely fair considering his own status as a mover of goods.

Still, merchants in general were an unlikeable bunch. Prone to complacency and greed, this elite circle was comprised of people who thought of little than of ways to line their pockets anew. It disgusted Diluc and as he stood there, watching as a man who had enough jewelry on his body to weigh down a pack mule and a smile that made one want to run in the other direction, throw compliments and boasts your way, the winery owner was reminded about all that was wrong with the world in which he worked.

“So your goal is to attempt to find a route through which we might trade our wine in Inazuma?” You repeated the words the man had just spoken, expression skeptical. “As much as it would mean good business to begin another trade route, I believe the border restrictions will cause no little difficulty.”

“Restrictions such as those are nothing for a man like me.” The merchant smile once more and Diluc felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up. “I have the ability to wave past such an issue. Indeed with the right price I believe I could expand your network to include all of the seven major lands, if you haven’t been trading internationally.”

“Thank you for your offer.” You replied, too focused on the work in front of you to notice the merchant’s roving sort of gaze. “I’ll see what Master Diluc has to say. However I warn you, as much as international exports are important for a growing trade, smuggling wine into locked countries will do little good. Especially considering what the damage could do to this winery’s reputation if such a thing was found out.”

“Don’t worry, I assure you my methods are completely secure. In fact, if you’d like to discuss it in more depth, I do believe that I may be able to enlighten you over a meal.”

“Perhaps, although Master Diluc would certainly have to be there.” You smiled slightly, and Diluc wondered for a moment if you were being purposefully oblivious or simply didn’t notice the meaning behind the merchant’s words.

“I will be back tomorrow, perhaps you’ll have an answer then?”

“I’m sure I will.” You replied, smiling as the two of you shook hands. As the merchant walked out of the winery your smile morphed into a sort of smirk and you looked up towards the balcony of the second floor.

“You can come out now Diluc, I know you’re there.”

Diluc couldn’t help but smile at those words, he truly couldn’t get anything past you. Hurrying down the stairs he swept you up in his arms, sighing slightly into your neck as you tightened the embrace.

“Ever so observant, my darling.”

“I know that you’d never let a transaction or a business conversation take place without your knowledge.” There was a playfulness to your voice, coming from the knowledge that you were utterly correct. “Still, you could’ve come downstairs you know. I don’t think that anyone would need to believe that you were going through your ‘very important paperwork, and lurking around is your night job.’”

“It seemed somehow wrong to suddenly appear in front of you two and derail the conversation.” Diluc drew away and placed a soft kiss on the tip of your nose, chuckling when you immediately wrinkled it. “Especially since you were doing so well on your own.”

“Oh he’s just like the rest of them,” you sighed, “altogether a bit too full of themselves.”

“Especially in this one’s case.” Diluc said, finally letting a scowl cross his face.

“What do you mean?”

The look on your face was one of innocence and confusion, and for a moment Diluc felt his thoughts stammer, as he realized that you truly were unaware of the way that the merchant was looking at you, unaware of the manner which caused Diluc even now to continue to press his hand gently against your lower back. If you didn’t notice it, then surely Diluc was overreacting, surely there was no reason for his heart to stutter and his stomach to drop. Surely there was no reason, and surely he shouldn’t tell you.

“Nothing at all, I just didn’t like his face.” He hurried now to reply, realizing how odd his pause must’ve seemed. “Will you be accepting his proposal for a business dinner?”

“I’m not sure. I suppose it couldn’t hurt. And then it might be a good venue for the two of you to talk. Since you find him especially ghastly, I think a more public meeting might be easier.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t think that invitation was meant for me.” Diluc replied, before realizing his gaffe and falling silent.

“What? What do you mean of course it’s meant for you. I mean you are the owner of the Winery. Who else would it be for?”

“For, for you my darling. Why else would he ask you in such a way?” Diluc tried to keep the acid out of his words. It wasn’t your fault after all. It wasn’t your fault that some louche was asking after you.

“But I’m not the one in charge.” You furrowed your brow. “I can’t make the final decision. And I won’t allow him to attempt to bypass getting your permission either.”

“My darling, I, I think he meant it a different way.”

“What way?”

Diluc sighed, capitulating quickly to his want to tell you. Even if it was perhaps selfish of him, he was never truly good at keeping his feelings masked away, at least in a way that didn’t result in him completely shutting down. And you meant to much to him than for Diluc to try and lie to you.

“You see, I think he was attempting to ask you on a more romantic sort of dinner.”

“What?”

Your reaction was immediate, your expression quickly turning into one of shock and then of disgust. Letting out a groan you buried your face into the front of Diluc’s coat, eliciting a short laugh from its owner.

“Why? I… I… Even if I weren’t in love with you I’d never go out to dinner with him.”

“I don’t think he would appreciate the sentiment.”

“Diluc.” You let out another groan, shaking your head as if to rid yourself of the thought. “Archons, ugh thank you for telling me. I, disgusting.”

Diluc said nothing, simply tightening the hold of his arms around you. Though your reaction was certainly justifiable he knew there was something more behind them, and he felt grateful for your consideration. Though he knew that would always have been your reaction, it didn’t stop the pressure that ha been building in his chest, the thoughts that screamed what if, what if, what if. What if there is something better than you.

“Hey, are you alright?” You voice drifted up through the fabric of Diluc coat. He smiled, relaxing his grasp around you and pressing a soft kiss to the crown of your head.

“I will be. May I hold you a little longer?”

“Of course. You’re the only one for me, you know.”

“And you for me. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Those words, though so small, were somehow enough.

Xiao

The new guest at the inn had been speaking to you for quite some time. That was Xiao’s first observation. The second was that you didn’t seem to mind. The third was that for some reason he suddenly felt incredibly irritated.

It was a beautiful evening, the kind that would’ve normally had you and Xiao sitting on the roof together, fingers entwined, the silence of nature cushioning the two of your from the outside world. It was a ritual, something that Xiao had come to rely on, had come to almost sanctify. Yet here he was, sitting on one of the thicker branches of the trees that dotted the outside of the Inn, trying desperately to quench the anger that bloomed in his chest as he watched you and the guest talk the minutes away.

Perhaps the worst part was that you didn’t seem to mind. Instead of pulling the conversation towards a close, you seemed perfectly content to keep talking, smiling brightly and quickly answering the questions of this uninvited guest. Normally Xiao didn’t care about , or rather didn’t keep track of, the people you spoke to. Of course you would have friends, would have people that mattered to you. Just because Xiao had disconnected himself from humanity didn’t mean that you had to. So why was he so angry?

His patience ran out when the guest reached for your hand. Sidling next to you as fast as he could Xiao peeled off his invisibility, enjoying the shock that registered across the uninvited guest’s face as he moved his hand back. Reaching to entwine his hand with yours Xiao shifted his gaze towards your face. Shock was painted into your expression, but there was also something else, a glimmer of happiness or of satisfaction. Somehow it unnerved Xiao, and he focused instead on the task at hand, whatever that task was.

“It’s getting late.”

“Oh, of course.” Turning back to the guest you smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but perhaps we’ll speak again some other time?”

“Gladly!” The man’s face lit up, before Xiao’s glaring left him scampering down the steps.

“Xiao, is something wrong?” The question was so genuine, without any sense of knowing more than you let. Unfortunately the question was also unanswerable.

“It’s late. We should go.” Xiao gestured towards the roof, hoping the reminder would flush the question out of your head.

“You’re right, I suppose it is getting late. And we wouldn’t want to waste such a wonderful evening.” You smiled. And yet somehow Xiao felt unplacated. He was happy, wasn’t he? So why, why did the question hang in the air, and why did the discontent remain?

The next day was a lazy one, as Xiao waited for you to be done with work. More than usual he missed you, and he wished that the hours would go faster, so he might be able to once more enjoy your presence, to banish the discontent that he still felt, evening after an hour spent wholly in your company.

Eventually the sun made its descent from the heavens, and Xiao pulled himself once more to the perch on the tree he’d taken the night before. Gazing down at the balcony he saw the familiar figure of the unwanted guest, and a stab of anger flashed through him. This was made all the worse by your entrance, and the fact you once more stopped to make time for this intruder.

The man was just as insufferable as before, full of jokes that Xiao didn’t understand and words that though praising of you felt somewhat hollow, almost insulting. You laughed along to these jokes, smiled at these odd compliments. And when the man asked if you might be willing to talk more over some sort of meal you merely smiled.

Xiao, however, found the whole ordeal unbearable. Why should this person be asking all these things, be prying you with words of intimacy and familiarity. Had he not arrived yesterday? Was he not an utter stranger? Confusion mixed with irritation in Xiao’s head, and he found it difficult to hold on to the stony reason he’d built up. What was going on? What was this terrible feeling of anger and want? He couldn’t understand human ways. Less could he understand why they should have any sort of effect on him.

Still he had to do something. Had to do anything. Swooping down once more Xiao began the same charade. This time, however, the man merely jumped, and for all his glaring Xiao couldn’t dislodge the guest from his place on the balcony.

“It’s late.”

“Ah it is. Are you hungry?” He asked, addressing you once more.

“I’m not at all, but Xiao’s right. It is late. If you haven’t eaten yet then perhaps you should. Smiley Yanxiao is quite strict about his rest.”

“Ah, then perhaps you’re right. Still, why not join me? You can tell me your name, and we can talk a little more about the things you do.”

“You don’t even know their name.” Xiao spat out the sentence, barely able to contain the odd sort of irritation that still spun around him. He asked you all those questions, said all those words of praise, all without knowing your name. It felt somehow dehumanizing, somehow… wrong.

“I would be glad to learn it.” The man smiled.

Xiao simply shook his head. He needed to leave. It was becoming too much again, and the last thing Xiao wanted was for a stranger to see him this way, see him unsure and confused and not a little frightened of these alien emotions. Glaring at the man one more time Xiao scooped you up. Ignoring the surprised shriek that you let out he shot up into the sky, moving towards the familiar sanctuary of Jueyen Karst, deeply grateful that the guest, whatever he could do, could never fly.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” You asked, barely giving Xiao the time to set you down onto one of Liyue’s sloping peaks before asking him the one question he couldn’t answer.

“Nothing.”

“Well it’s certainly not nothing. You’re being awfully rude to that guest, and I can’t understand why. Usually you don’t really care about those sorts of things. So something must be wrong, and I want to know what it is.”

A pause.

“Please.”

“I can’t.” It was all Xiao could say, the only thing that would truly encompass the truth, because in truth he couldn’t. He himself didn’t understand it.

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“My chest hurts.”

“What?” Immediately your face shifted into one of worry, and you placed a soft hand over Xiao’s heart. Somehow the gesture was calming, and Xiao closed his eyes, enjoying the receding of the hot bands that had just been restricting him.

“My chest hurt when I saw you with that, that guest. My chest hurt and I felt angry. That’s what’s wrong. My chest hurt, but now it doesn’t; and I don’t understand it.”

There was a pause, and Xiao studied the expressions on your face, watched as they shifted from worry to confusion to caution.

“Xiao, is it possible you were jealous?”

“No.” The idea was somehow insulting.

“It’s alright to be jealous Xiao. It just means you care about someone very much. You don’t have to just dismiss it like that. I want to make sure that you’re alright, so please be honest. Is it possible you were jealous?”

Xiao let another gap form in the conversation, trying to figure out how to answer. The suggestion felt demeaning, felt as if he somehow had no control over himself, no trust of you. And yet it somehow made sense, and even as he shook his head he found himself letting out a different answer.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s okay if you don’t. I know that new emotions can be frightening, can be difficult to deal with. But Xiao, I’ll always love you. It doesn’t matter who else I meet or what else happens in my life. I love you the way that a bird loves the sky. You’re a part of my life I could never lose. So even if this isn’t jealousy, even if I’m wrong, I still want to let you know. I love you.”

Xiao sighed, a smile finally gracing his lips, the pain in his chest finally melting away. What did he ever do to deserve such a person as you, he would never know. He wished he could repeat those words back to you word for word, wished that he could explain that his love for you was all encompassing, had seeped through the cracks of his existence and his life. He wished he could form together the words necessary to convey his love for you. Even if it was impossible he still wished it.

So instead he leaned over towards you. Letting out a gentle sigh he brought his lips to yours, reveling in the soft sensation of your mouth against his, reveling in the way you leaned against him, bringing you arm up to his neck, letting out a soft breath of contentment as the two of you disconnected.

You didn’t ask him anything else, and for the rest of the evening you two sat on the grass, watching the fireflies dance around you as you leaned against one another.

Perhaps Xiao didn’t yet understand the extent to which he loved you, the emotions that had now risen up, given life by the love you’d poured into the adeptus. Perhaps he didn’t understand this yet, but he knew that all would be well. For with you all that irritation seemed so far away, as if it belonged to a Xiao of yesterday. Because here and now you two were together, breathing in the same mutual contentment, the same mutual trust, the same mutual love. And that present was more important than any jealousy could be.

Zhongli

Looking back on the matter Zhongli admitted that maybe pretending the problem didn’t exist was probably not the best solution.

It was only that you two had seemed so oddly content in talking, so, compatible, that Zhongli couldn’t help but feel a twinge of discontent, a tension that spread through his jaw and down to his stomach. He didn’t quite understand the nature of the emotion that now spread over him, but he did understand that it was connected to the bond that was now forming between you and the vendor in front of you.

“Dearest one.” He spoke softly, walking over to where you now stood.

“Oh, Zhongli!” Your face lit up as usual, and the ex-archon felt a piece of him uncoil. At least some things seemed to be unchanging, just as wonderful today as they had been the day before.

“I’ve been looking for you. I know you spoke of wanting to learn more about the nature of Cor Lapis, and the tea shop has been offering a new brew. Perhaps we could share a drink?”

“Oh that sounds lovely!” Turning around towards the vendor you smiled gently. “I’m sorry, I’ll have to try that lovely soup you were speaking of some other time.”

“Not at all!” The vendor’s smile was good natured, and Zhongli didn’t understand why he nevertheless felt a twinge of uncertainty. “I look forward to it. I hope you two have a nice day, and we’ll talk about it more later.”

Though the stall receded into the distance as the two of you turned the corner, Zhongli couldn’t help but let the moment run through his mind once more, finding it as sore to think about as a bruise might be to the touch.

“That vendor? Oh they’re new on the scene.” You smiled, taking a sip of tea.

The tea house was as calming as ever, the noises of the outside a distant song, and the hushed whispers inside adding to the intimate atmosphere. Zhongli normally loved to sit here, drinking cup after cup of tea, watching as the people came and went about their business, immersed in a small fragment of Liyue life. Now, however, he found he couldn’t stop thinking about the vendor. If he closed his eyes he could still remember their face, and the way yours was lit up while they were talking to you.

“Their name is Eli.” You continued on, oblivious to the way Zhongli’s hand tightened around his teacup. “They said that they set up shop maybe… two weeks ago? It hasn’t been a very long time, and they’re still struggling a bit. I hope that they’ll be able to get their business off the ground, who knew that street food was such a cutthroat world.”

“The city of Liyue is full of people who might make their way in the world, doing whatever they can. Perhaps it is unsurprising that competition is second nature to Liyue’s citizens.” Zhongli replied, hoping his tone wasn’t too curt. If it was you didn’t seem to mind, nodding softly in agreement.

“Speaking of Liyue and stories, perhaps you would like to tell me the story you were going to tell? I very much doubt that Cor Lapis is the blood of Morax.”

“How humans love to spin their stories.” Zhongli chuckled.

But even as he began to speak of jewels and pressure and the minerals that lay deep beneath the earth a bit of him was still preoccupied by the vendor’s easy words and your smiling face.

The next time he ran into you with the vendor the pit in his stomach had only gotten heavier. Standing a little ways away he let the conversation between the two of you flow in and out his ear, frown slipping deeper the more he heard.

“I cannot believe that your stall nearly caught fire on your first day! How unlucky.”

“Even worse that I didn’t know who to try and tell about it. If I had known you were part of the Guild then I would’ve asked you.”

“Well next time there are troubles you can just send a message to the Adventurer’s Guild. We can’t have our citizens being injured on our watch.”

“You sound like true heroes. I wish I could do the sorts of things you did. Your commissions sound fascinating! I would love to see how you go about your day some time.”

“Really it’s nothing, most days it’s quite boring really, just like any other job. Still, it’s nice to know that people have an interest in what we do.”

“Oh certainly! I find what you do very interest– ”

“My dearest one!” Zhongli called out, unable to continue listening to the conversation, feeling somewhat guilty and certainly upset. You turned slightly, smile brightening as you saw your partner.

“Zhongli! So sorry that I didn’t meet you outside your office, I must’ve lost track of the time. Eli here was telling me all about their first days at work.”

“I’m sorry that I got out late. I hope that you did not have to wait awhile.”

“Oh not at all Zhongli, like I said I’ve just been standing here. You don’t need to feel bad at all!”

“I’m glad. Perhaps now we can go?”

Zhongli attempted to smile, but it felt a lot more like a grimace. You stared at him, face the picture of confusion. Taking a step forward you glanced one more time at Eli, shrugging apologetically. Before any more words could be passed between the two of you Zhongli grabbed onto your hand. Walking quite quickly he didn’t let go until the two of you were at your apartment and he could finally breathe again.

“Zhongli, what’s the matter with you?” You asked, closing the apartment door behind you. Walking back towards Zhongli, who stood there silently, you let your hands rest lightly on his shoulders. “You can tell me you know, I can tell you’re unhappy.”

“I have a confession.” Zhongli started, feeling somehow compelled to reveal his thoughts, as if keeping them locked away would only be dangerous.

“Yes?”

“I, I did not like the way that the vendor spoke to you.”

“Eli? But they were perfectly nice.”

“I do not mean that they were rude. They were perfectly cordial. I mean, when the two of you were speaking, I, I felt uncomfortable. It was as if there was a barrier between us in that moment. I, I did not like it.”

“Oh Zhongli.” You breathed out, an indulgent smile on your face.

Reaching up you planted fleeting kisses on the archon’s face, peppering his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, touch featherlight. It was a familiar gesture, one of comfort, one used in darker nights, when shadows dotted the periphery of Zhongli’s vision.

“Zhongli, I assume you know what jealousy is?”

“I know the term and what it means. I admit I am not personally familiar with the concept.”

“Well I am, so let me tell you. What you experienced, that was jealousy, plain and simple. I know it’s very uncomfortable. Jealousy can be such a messy feeling, it sticks everywhere. But it’s also normal. So you don’t need to worry. I promise that nothing will happen, and I promise that these feelings would go away. I also promise that I love you very much, so even if you feel these emotions, you don’t have to worry.”

“How could I ever worry about you?” Zhongli murmured, wrapping his arms around you, basking in your proximity.

The apology only came in the evening, after words and kisses and love had hung long enough in the air to dull the feelings that Zhongli had been carrying around. Now he lay there next to you, chin resting gently on your head, suddenly realizing that he’d most likely acted quite rudely.

“I’m sorry I ignored Eli.”

“I’m sure they’ll understand.” You murmured. “Though I’m not actually sure what got you riled up about them.”

“You are also a bit oblivious dearest one,” Zhongli let out a soft laugh, “it seems they were quite taken with you.”

“Were they?” You asked, tone betraying your surprise. You paused for a moment, as if trying to replay your interactions. “I never noticed. To be honest, I don’t think I could ever notice, not when I have you.”

“Thank you.” Zhongli whispered, oddly overcome by the confession.

As he lay awake, carding gentle fingers through your hair and listening to the even breaths of your sleeping form he pondered just how lucky he was. Precious gems might come from pressure and earth and chance. But you were more precious than all of them. And he’d never forget that.

#genshin impact fanfiction #albedo x reader #diluc x reader #xiao x reader #zhongli x reader #genshin impact #albedo #diluc #xiao #zhongli #scenarios #requested #my writing

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yurimother · 4 years

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LGBTQ Light Novel Review — I'm in Love with the Villainess

A stunningly profound, entertaining, and queer title that eclipses other isekai and Yuri series

There are few titles the general public seems to be as excited about as Inori and Hanagata's I'm in Love with the Villainess, as it has been sitting at or near the top of Amazon's LGBT Manga list for months and Twitter is consistently abuzz with the latest news on this isekai Yuri series. I was somewhat more skeptical, as I have had relatively poor experiences with isekai and fantasy Yuri. Still, my excitement went through the room, and I eagerly boarded the "hype train" upon the cover reveal for the third volume. Yuri families, where two women raise children together, are one of my greatest desires and something I rarely see portrayed in the genre. However, I still had mostly low expectations for the series going into the first volume. I looked forward to some light meandering comedy and typical boring trope-filled isekai shenanigans. However, I'm in Love with the Villainess more than exceeded my expectations. No, even this statement is far too moderate to describe how utterly stunned and blown away I was by Inori's creation. I'm in Love with the Villainess is completely shattering and easily one of the greatest light novels I have ever read. Thus, I have no choice to award a perfect 10/10 score, my first ever for a light novel.

After waking up in the world of her favorite otome game, Revolution, protagonist Rae is ecstatic to be faced to face with Claire Francois, the game's villainous rival. However, Rae never played Revolution for the thrill of romancing any of the three attractive young princes. She was always in love with Claire. She attends the academy and studies magic in the fantasy world alongside Claire, the princes, and various other supporting characters. Using her skills from the modern world and her encyclopedic knowledge of Revolution, Rae manipulates the situation to be close to Claire, becoming her maid, and garnering status and money along the way. As an inevitable conflict looms closer, Rea begins to enact plans to protect herself and Claire, many of which are not fully understood or explained until the finale fantastically reveals the reasons for her actions. There is a natural and steady pace to the narrative that awards readers’ predictions and attention to detail.

I'm in Love with the Villainess has some excellent supporting characters, all of whom have unique personalities, histories, and abilities, some of which are revealed by Rae's exposition and others naturally throughout the novel. However, the stars of the show are the central couple, Rae and Claire. Claire is an elite aristocrat and extremely bratty. She often sneers at commoners and makes her disdain of Rae very clear from early on. On paper, she sounds like the perfect villain and someone all readers would despise. However, Rae's utter devotion and infatuation with Claire is so sincere that we cannot help but be pulled in and adore Claire and all her tantrums. Rae is a delight herself, continually flirting and poking fun at Claire, which gets her verbally berated, much to her masochistic pleasure. However, she is also exceptionally cunning and intelligent, and some of the light novel's greatest joys are listening to her analyze a situation or watching one of her plans fall into place.

“Ah, I’m… Well, it doesn’t matter. I mean, it’s irrelevant to cuteness—because, Miss Claire, you are cute.” “Huh?!” She pulled away. It was perfect—such a pure reaction. “Miss Claire, you hate me, right?” “Of course!” “That’s fine. Please keep teasing me. I love it.”

The beginning of the book does not immediately clue one into its brilliance. Sure, Claire and Rea get some great one-liners as they bully each other, and the scenarios are authentic and fun, but it is nothing shattering. I was feeling pretty relaxed and having a lot of fun with the characters, their relationship, and the various slice-of-life style scenarios they encountered until one section, I remember the exact page, 81, as it stopped me dead in my tracks. I was flabbergasted and briefly frozen before shooting up out of bed, shouting expletives as I ran to my office to immediately record what I had just experienced. It all begins with the line, "Hey, Rae. Are you what they call gay?" What followed was one of the most thoughtful, condensed, informative, and nuanced discussions of gay and queer identity (both terms used in this scene) I have ever seen in Yuri. Everything from representation in media, the perceptions of and prejudices against gay people, and the role gender plays in romance for bisexual and gay people are analyzed. Its commentary is succinct yet so respectful and forthright that it could have only come from genuine experience, thus selling the book and its characters so much more.

"Queer people were still overwhelmingly closeted in this world, which was rife with prejudice and nurtured little understanding. As I noted, the queer people depicted in the story were either the sex fiends Claire imagined or the free-loving sort Lene had in mind. Diversity and acceptance were a long way off.”

Thus, Inori's writing's beauty exposed itself, and the book opened itself up to a delightful cycle. The narrative masterfully integrates isekai slice-of-life hijinks, like running a cross-dressing café or battling a giant slime with nuanced and challenging moments that dissect complicated topics. The latter mainly consists of a growing rift between the aristocracy and common people, mirroring real-world wealth gap issues, but the novel also touch on matters such as unequal prison sentencing and segregation. Every scene helped further the complexity of the characters and their relationships or else built onto the world of Revolution. Speaking of which, I'm in Love with the Villainess has some of the best worldbuilding ever seen in a light novel.

Initially, brief exposition establishes much of the world, which is adequate if not exciting. I will mark up to a casualty of the light novel's serialized nature, as it must present readers its setting immediately. However, Inori does not stop here. Through the narrative, new elements are established, such as a magic system and the kingdom's politics. Rea notes and describes how the world, while clearly based on medieval Europe, has many modern Japanese attributes, as Japanese game developers created it. Her pointing out the intersection of the two is fascinating. Furthermore, A great deal of time is spent establishing characters and organizations all have their own wants, agendas, and methods, many of which are not even directly involved with the story. Instead, they act as a background and help further contextualize others. For example, the Church publicly appears to lean towards supporting the commoners in their efforts for equality but has its own agenda of superseding the nobility. While they play little role in Rea and Claire’s adventure, they are one of numerous factors contributing to the unrest of the lower class. All these additions are interesting, and it never feels like the story or characters suffer for their inclusion, quite the opposite.

“The Bauer Kingdom had started a step behind other countries when it came to magical research. They dominated the surrounding countries in military strength, and this had made them complacent, leading them to underestimate the value of new magic technology until the best researchers had all been enticed to other countries. Even after the king came up with his magic-focused meritocratic policy, Bauer lagged behind.”

I can only make complaints by scraping the very bottom of the barrel. Hanagata's beautiful art is too infrequent to add much to the light novel, and many scenes crying for illustrations are left to the readers' imagination. However, Inori so wonderful writes the story that one hardly cares and can easily picture every moment with delight. Besides, the manga adaption will nullify this issue. Where I cannot complain at all is the spectacular translation by Jenn Yamazaki and Nibedita Sen, one of Seven Seas best (which is high praise considering the competition). Sure, I was slightly disappointed at first to see the adaptation left off honorifics, but the more I thought about the setting, the more sense it made. I am sure people much smarter than I gave the issue much more consideration, and I am happy with their decisions.

I'm in Love with the Villainess left me reeling with how pleasurable and powerful it was. The story and characters are such a joy, and I cannot wait to see Rea and Claire bully each other again in the next volume. Astounding worldbuilding and powerful, thought-provoking politics surround their antics and the high stakes plot. Every moment of their journey will enthrall readers as they squeal with glee at its hilarious set pieces or are shocked by its commentary of society's most significant challenges. Inori has created one of the most delightful, heartfelt, complex, profound, and genuinely queer light novel series ever. If you only read one thing I recommend this year, let it be I'm in Love with the Villainess.

Ratings: Story — 9 Characters — 10 Art — 5 LGBTQ — 10 Sexual Content — 2 Final — 10

Review copy provided by Seven Seas Entertainment

Purchase I’m in Love with the Villainess in digitally (9/23) and in print (11/10) today: https://amzn.to/32NEyG1

Supports creators by purchasing official releases.

#yuri #lgbt #lgbtq #reviews #lgbtq+#i favor the villainess #i'm in love with the villainess #girls love #gay #queer #light novel #manga #gl #politics #feminism

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oneoftheprettynerds · 4 years

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Belle Of The Ball: Dark! King! Steve Rogers x Reader

A/N: So this my first ever proper dark fic and I’m so nervous. I finished it but my mind thinks it’s garbage. so I’m gonna post this now when I’m feeling a random spurt of courage and am confident in my work. So here’s my masterpiece, cookies.

This is for Dark!MCU Festive Fic swap hosted by @darkficsyouneveraskedfor and @darkmcuficswap

My giftee is @hermesmaximoff Hope you enjoy it love!

Thanking @firefly-graphics for the dividers: both personalised and general.

There is also an amateur somewhat okay shitty poster I decided to make which is included at the end.

WARNING: THIS IS A DARK FIC CONTAINING DUBIOUS CONSENT BORDERING NON-CON AND EXPLICIT SMUT. YOUR MEDIA CONSUMPTION IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. LOSS OF VIRGINITY, ABUSE OF AUTHORITY, BREEDING KINK ALSO PRESENT.

Summary: Invited to the Royal ball by the benevolent monarch, you could barely control your excitement to visit the Capital. While you were busy admiring his prosperous reign, King Steve was quite occupied getting enamoured by you. As you try to fulfil the King’s demands, secrets find their way out.

CHARACTERS + GENRE: DARK!STEVE ROGERS X READER, SUPERNATURAL STEVE ROGERS X READER (read to find out what), ROYAL AU, HALLOWEEN THEME (I tried for the request, hope you do like it)

King Steve Rogers invites the princes and the princesses of all Kingdoms, near and afar,

To celebrate his several years of reign.

He requests thy kind and noble presence

At the joyous regale

of his auspicious ball

On the thirty first of October,

after sundown, in His Majesty’s finest castle.

Challenging thy with the unique theme of

A Halloween Masquerade Ball,

The King expects exceptional indulgence from all.

The Most Grandiose Halloween Celebration is being organised with the spookiest of events within.

Come here if you dare.

“We have been invited to a royal party! My day couldn’t have been better!” Your elder sister exclaimed, jumping quite unladylike in your chambers, as you went through the details of the venue. You chuckled at her antics, knowing rather well that she would be scolded if someone else was present.

“Emma, Mother has to approve first. As Lady Ava always says, don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

“As if mother would really decline an invite from the King, dear sister.” She rolled her eyes at you, not letting her enthusiasm die as you pondered over her words.

Your sister had a point though, the King summoning your presence was not to be taken lightly. The invitation came up handwritten in a scroll with the King’s wax seal atop it. It was placed elegantly beside a golden mask in a rectangular black box, that bore the Majesty’s sigil on the front.

The theme of the ball wasn’t that peculiar if you reflected over it, the renowned monarch was also recognised for his distinct interest in eerie, unearthly beings. He was known for adventuring into haunted lands, mysterious manors and sinister soils, meeting up with people rumoured to be sorcerers and occultists.

Of course, the reason for his encounters was sometimes rumoured to be because of his familial distress, how he couldn’t find a mate to procreate with and conceive his own heir no matter what. Three females, who were pregnant with a progeny of his blood, none his wife though, had died during the first two or tercet months, reason unspecified why.

Coming to You, you and your sister weren’t actual princesses, rather the daughters of one of the esteemed Ministers in the King’s cabinet. The benevolent King, however referred to the daughters of the town, more exactly, the Kingdom, as noblewomen. He held high reverence for the females and was the sole creditor to the improved condition of the women in this era. No matter how troubled his own life was, the King was the most merciful royal to be crowned to date, his people prospering under him.

Your sister nodded eagerly to your mother, drinking in her words like the fine tea you all had in the afternoons, while you just smiled at her advice.

When you both met your mother for dinner, you were surprised to find her already informed about the invitation. Her conformity to the celebration astonished you even more, but Emma’s zeal was starting to rub off on you too by the end of the meal.

Your mother continued, “Your father mentioned The Majesty is looking for a wife, quite possibly. He has been insistent in trying to get a successor the correct way this time, by courting the lady who piques his interest. Even though this might be a rumour, or some gossip spun by the ladies of the Cabinet, you both should try your best to be graceful and presentable. Among the hundreds of guests, he’d be having over, on the off-chance, if Gods allow, that either of you manages to entice him, it will only promise you the most pleasant of all forthcomings. It would also do me and your father some good, if you managed to find some other suitable bachelor, from a nice background to engage with.”

Your sister had always been one with the more overactive imagination out of you two, while you had been the more serene and poised one. When she’d be out playing with the children in your town, you’d be talking to the younger toddlers, drawing with chalks on the side. For every kid she splashed with water in the nearby sapphire river, you made tots flower crowns. These were the values you both grew up with, and these will be the values you’d die with.

After days of shopping velvet fabrics and silk textiles, and bothering your seamster to make sophisticated and stylish dresses, you both neared your day of departure. After some instructions to you both to represent your father and town well, your mother bid you adieu. It was nerve wracking to not have your mother by your side, for an event as big as this was, but since you both had passed more than twenty name days, you were expected to be proper, independent ladies.

With a heavy heart and some self, positive affirmations, you and your sister embarked on the voyage, which was filled with her chitchat.

You only hoped that the gala was as exciting as your family made it out to be. That it was just a King trying to celebrate his sovereign with some western festival integrated together. That the event would not be as unnerving and creepy as the last line of his invitation made it out to be.

For some unknown cause, it did not sit well with you. Your apprehensive intuition made you wary of the invitation for some reason, but you let your sibling’s zest take you over. What benefit would fretting get you?

The ball was far more pompous than anything you’d have imagined in your little head. All the ideas that Emma had come up with during your journey, to anticipate the extent of extravagance for the ball, were all exceeded with tenfold finesse. You had travelled to faraway, distant lands with your parents, but the King’s mansion, with all the festivity happening, was truly a sight to behold.

Entering The Capital had been the highlight of your excursion, you were sure earlier, but well you were proved wrong. Your father greeted you both when you had arrived, eager to see his angels after almost six moons, and had ensured you both got the best of the accommodations in the well-built, enormous fort. He introduced you to several of his comrades as well as their brooding, young lads and then, left you both to rest for the main event next eve. With two maids at your every beck and call, courtesy of your father, your time went smoothly and now you found yourself at the said Halloween themed celebration, staring around in awe of every little detail that had been so meticulously handled to make the event as dazzling as it was.

The servants were dressed rather ridiculously as cats, wearing some bizarre structure resembling cat ears, horribly short black dresses barely past their thighs and some whiskers draw using either coal or makeup, you weren’t sure. It was a poor attempt to make them appear feline. However, the food was as immaculate as everything else, entirely themed like only blood red wine, candied apples, chicken pumpkins, cheesecake brain, mummy muffins, some appetizer with bell peppers as jack-o-lanterns; these were the few that met your sights.

The hall was so grand, almost the size of three jousting arenas and playing fields combined with pillars having detailed architecture supporting the place. The walls were covered in scarlet, golden and black velvet drapes, the royal colours, and beautiful masquerade masks were pinned atop them, along the walls. Almost hundred round, white clothed tables filled the ballroom, with gold plated candlesticks and utensils upon them. The entire place had entertainers progressing around, the essence of it being magicians, clowns, contortionists, palm and tarot card readers.

In the centre of the hall, was an empty space, reserved for the soon to be ensuing dancing. An orchestra on the side had beautiful instruments, playing soft melodies for now, reserving the upscale beats for later.

You had only read a few books on Halloween to be prepared but nothing could have geared you up for this. Your small-town self was gaping at everything with a childlike wonder while somehow your sister was quite composed and calm, somehow your roles had been reversed.

Emma was wearing a blue gown, having several layers of nets and cloth, each a different shade of azure. She tried to dress as the mythical creature called mermaid, with crystal heels and a beaded neckline. Her masquerade mask had scales like fish, made using shining sequins. She looked so gorgeous, truly managing to look captivating.

You on the other hand were dressed like an angel, which you were against, finding it too mainstream and typical and wanted to dress like an enchantress with violet and jade colours, which your mother immediately negated. On demand of your sister, she let you wear a fluffy white ball gown, and had you made wings with dove feathers, an apparatus which was astonishingly light to wear. Using her art and craft skills, Emma made you a headband with two wires attached to a metal ring, shaped like an angel’s halo. The loop at top made of some special metal that glowed golden in the dark, making it look like a real, floating halo. Your mask had a fur lining on it, and silver sparkles were sprinkled all over you, with pretty makeup on your face, courtesy of your sibling.

The change in music brought you out of your reverie, as trumpets and harps began to hum, signifying the arrival of the King on the grand staircase. He had a crimson red velvet cape descending his broad shoulders, his tuxedo underneath could hide neither his long legs nor his bulging, protruding biceps. His black, shining shoes cost more than your entire apparel, you were certain.

As your gaze ascended his masculine form, you were mesmerised furthermore with his high cheekbones, full lips tainted cherry pink, a Grecian slanting nose, sleek eyebrows, luscious blonde hair, a thick beard and the best of all yet, cerulean blue eyes, the prettiest you’d ever seen in the entirety of your small life. The ladies beside you, Emma included, had the same reaction whether they had witnessed his Highness before or not. Every female’s gaze seemed to flicker between his azure eyes and the Golden crown resting atop his blonde locks, flooded with rubies and emeralds and gemstones you weren’t sure your books had.

For a moment you felt his eyes land on you, which surprised you even more so, that you questioned yourself about it, but his cheeky grin and wink confirmed it, make you shiver involuntarily as heat spread through your face while a titillating stir ran through you, a first for you. His impeccably white teeth were clearly visible now, showing two elongated canines, which finally gave you a sense of his attire, paired with his blush lips, A Vampire.

He spoke a few words, eyes unsteadily wavering, observing different members of the gathering. He let the dances commence, partnering with his most suitable match at the festivity, the daughter of the wealthiest lord. After the first song was over, other couples joined alongside him while you stood at the side, observing everything. Only mere moments ago had your sister been courted by a young man, the two of them shooting each other coy glances since they had entered.

A tap on your shoulder had you puzzled, you turned around focus landing on warm, brown eyes. You recalled him to be Lord Stark’s son, Peter, having met him yesterday at dawn. His familiar brown eyes gave you sense of comfort, which you liked, not being alongside Emma now.

“Shall we?” He asked, his cheeks ruby like yours were, as he extended the palm of his hand towards you. You giggled, smiling like a little babe who got extra cookies for dessert, and accepted his hand. Sauntering to the dancing arena, you only prayed to The Heavens above that Lady Ava taught you enough to embarrass neither yourself nor your guild.

Tracing his steps and following his lead, you did manage to dance without falling, which was a surprise seeing how spread out your wings were. You and him made easy conversation, about your hometowns and interests. You saw your Father proudly looking at you and Emma, dancing with lads, you guessed, he approved of.

As the song ended and the orchestra played a transitioning tune between the melodies, a cough sounded beside you as you and Peter stopped. Your eyes widened as you nervously curtsied beside Peter, A ‘Your Majesty” falling from both your lips.

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I share a dance with the most stunning dame here?”

Peter politely stepped back, letting go of your waist, as The King’s wide stature more than filled his place. Your heart was beating rather loudly, blood pumping to your ears as you tried to make sense of what was happening. In your peripheral vision you could see the prying eyes of others looking at you both, ready to criticize you for one wrong move. Your father watched intently, a slight warning in his eyes to not mess this opportunity up while your sister comfortingly smiled at you. You tried to even your breaths and make sense of what he was saying, to not just stand and gape like a fool in court.

As the harmony played out, he swayed you around, lifting you up and twirling you around. Compliments spewed out from his lips, making you crimson like freshly ripened apples. You couldn’t keep up with your expression of gratitude through your words as he admired your eyes, your elegance and your ensemble which just couldn’t make him shift his eyes from you.

After two songs had played out, he left as suddenly as he had come, with a promise to meet you later. You watched him dance with other maidens, who approached him when you were dancing together, entertaining every approaching lady like an excellent host.

You made your way to the side, hoping to get some liquor, or at least some fluid in your veins and not faint right there this moment. Emma came up beside you while you were having wine, and rubbed your back in a parental way. Her eyes communicated her understanding of how overwhelmed you felt at the instant. Her date and Peter soon came and kept you both company for the rest of the night. As duos danced and people got intoxicated, you had to call it a night on behalf of your sister, her incessant giggling make you worried for her inebriated self.

You slipped her out before your father caught her and gave her a stern talking to and tucked her in her bed keeping a glass of water and some fresh fruits for her on the bedside wooden bench. You concluded retiring for the night yourself but only after assuring your father of your whereabouts and well beings. Before returning to the hall, you took off your wings and the halo, also opting to leave the mask behind as the fur tickled your skin. Your makeup hadn’t ruined in the heat of the hall, it was a miracle. You made your way to the Hall, hoping to find your father, assumingly drunk with all his entourage.

Two hallways before the decorated ballroom were you pinned to the wall, one hand of your attacker covering your parted lips while the other held your face delicately, with a lover’s touch. A split second was all it took for you to be immobilised by this man and another by your wavering form to recognise the cobalt blue eyes and blonde curls. When The King was certain you wouldn’t scream, his hand left your mouth slid upwards, mirroring his other hand, with thumbs in front of your ears and palms resting on your cheeks.

“Your Majesty?” You mumbled back, your voice somehow even lower, afraid for yourself and even more so terrified to offend him.

“Say, would you come for a while to my chambers, the view of the creek from my balcony is splendid.”

His choice of words gave you an option, but his eyes, almost hypnotically told you there was only one correct answer.

“You are the one, I can feel it.” He whispered lowly but your heightened senses gladly picked it up.

You meekly nodded, your inner self surprised at your body moving of its accord alongside him, as your mind started voiding of thoughts like reporting to your father, checking up on Emma. You felt like you were trapped in someone else’s form and fought with an invisible force to take over the reins of your own body.

You did not fail to notice the lack of guards outside the King’s chamber and how every entrance managed to open itself. The King wasn’t lying about the picturesque scene though, as you stood in the balcony, hair getting ruffled by the strong breeze that seemingly came from nowhere.

Your body stiffened as King Steve came uncharacteristically close to you and slid his hands around your middle, his nose nestled in your locks, inhaling deeply.

His lips descended your neck, laying feathery kisses on his path as you stood there, unable to even move your hands or turn around. This out of body sensation was broken when you felt intense pain on piercing of your skin where your head met your torso. You suddenly gained all wits and enough strength to flail your limbs around but all your might wasn’t enough to even stir the man from his task. Your throat couldn’t gather enough energy to scream, though you doubted anyone would come. You started getting light headed and only then did he stop, carrying you in his arms to his widespread four poster bed, mattress as soft as sponge and sheets as silky as butter. Too weak to fight him off, you harvested all your energy in staying conscious as your gaze danced around, trying to make sense of every object present but not awake enough to notice too many details. The wine you drank did not make it any better.

As you laid on the stranger’s bed, you felt his body sit beside you, holding your neck; leaning down, his lips meeting yours for the first time. You did not reciprocate, neither did you have the strength nor the will, while his tongue slipped inside your mouth, roaming around like a traveller in foreign land.

As the kiss drew on, you felt some energy sidle inside you, enough for your mind to function again but not ample enough to fight off the brawny thief who robbed you of your first kiss. King Steve broke off the kiss and connected your foreheads together, his indigo eyes turning black in want, leaving you a frightening and gasping mess.

He backed away, sitting more straighter now as his hand drew back from around your neck and slid along your stomach, nearing the most intimate part of your body, even though there were still layers of cloth present. His hands did not stop there, however, and made their way downwards only stopping at the hem of your gown and slipping inside.

You shrieked out suddenly, becoming aware of his intentions quite late and grasped his wrist that rested now on your knee.

“Your Majesty, I……I can’t-”

“Do you wish to refuse your King?”

You looked down, caught in the dilemma of wanting your safety and offending him once again. Your virtue had to be preserved till marriage, your mother had taught you, but on the other hand, the King’s words were the law.

“Answer Me.” The King’s cold voice broke through your thoughts, not a shout but still scarier than a yell.“

Your Majesty, I’ve never engaged in s-” You started tearing up, lower lip wobbling and body shaking at the thought of the future. You did not see this ending beneficial in any scenario. If you lost your virtue, you would never get wed but if you refused the King and he felt insulted, your family and your connections would be in the ruins, he held that much power over you.

Cradling your face with his other hand, he began again, “You think I’m not already aware, pretty one?” The man who was reprimanding you only few moments ago upon not answering him, had a smile on his face this time: not assuring or comforting, but malicious and sinister to its very core. “I could smell your untainted scent from my room, before even descending the stairs.”

“Your e-eyes..” You gaped again as colours morphed in his eyes, red now swirling around in the pools of darkness, his words lost on you as you felt your fear rising due to the inhumane action.

“For an intellectual, bibliophilic girl, you sure are oblivious, sweetheart.” He scoffed, looking unimpressed at you, “Come on, prove to me you aren’t heedless like the rest, draw the conclusion." His eyes held yours, again altering into hues of different colours, seemingly mocking you now.

You don’t know how the thought jumped into your head, maybe because the two holes on your neck stung suddenly or because the automatically opening doors entered your mind, the contemplation that his fangs appeared so realistic and authentic the more you stared at them paired with the blood on his collar, not just the fresh red stain of your plasma but also the burgundy stain present there, giving his lips the cherry red shade you admired hours ago on his arrival at the event.

“This is not a co-costume, no-” You inhaled a quick breath, “you are a vampire.” Your face paled in realisation while he smirked proudly, tapping your knee in a weird, twisted form of appreciation.

“Tremendous, my dear. But only half, you see. My mother was one, yes, but my father, he gave me an even better ability, he was an Incubus.” You shuddered as the words sunk in, your only worry being staying alive now, when your life was in the hands of this sex demon, having the greatest of powers and strength. Your mind did not spend any time mulling over the existence of supernatural beings, only dwelling on possible escapes now.

“That is why even your untouched body couldn’t help but react to my form and it is also the very reason, that I can read what goes on in your mind, all your memories, your hobbies, every book you’ve read, your precious sister, Emma isn’t it? So please, do not even think about fleeing if you don’t want your family to suffer.”

The threat loomed in the air, nasty sobs wracking your body as his thumb came to wipe the tears off. His hands started undoing the lace on the front of your bodice as you sniffled. Managing to quieten down just a bit, you begged, “Please don’t do this, I’ll have nowhere to go if my family found about me partaking in this unholy deed before marriage.” You had little hope about him seeing reason but there was optimism nonetheless.

“Darling, do not fuss that I’ll leave you unhinged and deserted after finding pleasure in your body, you are to be mine now. Essentially, you already are.” His lips claimed yours again as the front of your dress slackened, bundling around your waist.

You pulled back, surprised at his promise, “You mean that?” He nodded, coming to kiss you again. You turned so that his lips met your neck, tongue licking the salt residue of tears there. “In what sense?”

“In every sense you could think of and more. I’ll give you everything, make you my queen, would you like that?” He mumbled in your neck, tongue now soothing the two punctured cavities residing there.

You could feel yourself crossing your legs involuntarily, trying to caress the abrupt yearning in your intimate part, your underclothes dousing with wetness somehow. Steve smirked in your neck, sitting upright and playing his trump card.

“I’ll marry you and we’ll rule together with the plenty of successors you’ll give me. Won’t that make your parents proud? Isn’t that what your parents taught you? Catch the King’s eye?” You meekly nodded, his charisma of an Incubus winning you over. “I’ll make your father The King’s Hand and send your mother the finest of jewels and gems, satins and silks.” He looked over at your submissive form, looking at him with the innocence of a toddler, swayed by his promises.

“I’ll let your sister have a grand wedding with the man she dears. All you have to do is surrender yourself to me and be my Queen, rule alongside me. So I ask, will you?” You cut him off, your lips pressing against his as you tried to mimic his earlier movements. He held your waist, surprised but pleasantly so, crushing the layers of the rolled top half of your dress underneath his hands. You had very little idea about what bedding someone meant but you had this primal urge to not have any skin of yours covered or untouched by him.

Steve shed his cape and threw every cloth on his torso away, almost as eager as you to get skin to skin contact. Your hands tangled in his hair as he lifted you up and sat you in his broad lap, not before sliding your dress all the way down. As he broke the kiss and took in your body, parts of you hidden under the smallclothes, he let out a growl that frightened yet excited you with another shiver down your spine.

He made quick work of his bottoms, his cock standing and reaching his muscled chest almost and you gaped. Your sister, Emma had informed you of men’s parts being far much smaller than what you had just witnessed. His member stood erect and proud, glistening as he pumped it with his fist. His eyes drank in your surprise and trepidation, getting amused and turned on even more.

You still laid stretched across the bed, legs straight ahead of you while your torso rested on your elbows, eyes wary of his every next movement. He eyed your scantily clad body, gaze filled with lust and nothing more and climbed between your legs, one hand coming down on your waist while the other grabbed the back of your head and pulled you into a possessive kiss, robbing you of your breath. Your mind was slowly registering the reality of it all, this was going to happen no matter what. You were going to sin by engaging in fornication. But is it really wrong if your benevolent king demands that of you?

His hand sliding from your face to your bosom distracted you from your chain of thoughts. He slid the cups of your garment revealing your nipples and took one in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it while his other pinched the abandoned one. You didn’t know if you should be more surprised at his actions or the rush of the feelings that ran through you.

He slowly released your nipple and trailed soft kisses down your stomach to your most intimate part yet, kissing it through the cloth there. His delicate touch was abruptly contrasted with him grabbing the fabric, tearing it into two and revealing you bare.

You closed your legs out of instinct but his heavily muscled hand took them apart in a single push. He eyed you with a warning, to not obstruct him anyhow anymore.

“Let me taste that sweet nectar of yours, sweetheart. I really want to find out if it is as addictive as my senses picked it up, as sweet as the aura that surrounds you.”

And with that he dove into your pussy, his tongue roaming your wet cavern. Neither did you understand what he spoke of nor had you sister told you about the activity happening right now. But all you could do was focus on the astonishingly pleasant shivers running through you as you had an out of the body, more accurately an out of the world experience. You had no sense of the time that passed and how long you laid there clutching the silk sheets letting out mewls. But out of nowhere, something in you snapped and all your energy left you.

As your blurry vision cleared and your eyes found his face, he licked his still glistening lips, his beard moist and wet but erotically so. He dove right into kiss again and you tasted your own sweet nectar for the first time ever. His hand roamed your body, grabbing your curves and caressing your soft flesh.

One of his hands made its way down furthermore and spread your fluids along your folds, and then lined up himself along your hole. With a sudden push, you felt yourself being full like never before, and a sudden pain hit you as your face visibly flinched. Steve swallowed your grunts of pain with his kisses and started rubbing your bud above your linked bodies.

The shudder that ran through you once again made you incapable of thinking, the ache slowly subsiding behind the pleasure you felt. When your moans filled the air, Steve kissed your collarbones and sucked leaving bruises there, and started thrusting again. As his movements became faster and consistent, and his callused hands rubbed you and pinched your intimate flesh, you ascended to another world. Each action of his introduced you to a new star in the wide galaxy. The same unknown descended upon you again as something snapped in your abdomen and you experienced pure bliss.

“Going to make you the mother of my children, you will carry my seed and bring the Kingdom several heirs. This time I’ll succeed, you will be mine, my Queen in every sense.” His words made you clench around him and that was all it took for him to achieve ecstasy as well.

Your head lolled and your eyes met his sweating frame lying across the silk sheets as a sinister grin adorned his face again, “I need to fuck a successor into you tonight, you ready?”

#dark!steve rogers #dark!steve x reader #king!steve rogers x reader #king!steve x reader #steve rogers x reader #steve x reader #darkmcufestiveficswap #darkmcuficswap #marvel imagine #dark mcu #darkmculibrary #dark!steve rogers x reader #chris evans #steve rogers #royal au #halloween au #masquerade ball #darkmcufestiveswap #ray writes

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nabrizoya · 3 years

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honestly would LOVE to hear your thoughts on the nikolai duology because i really only see blanket praise or blanket hate for it whereas I see a lot of wasted potential. Bardugo's actual writing was beautiful as ever for the most part, but the choice of the plot/beats feels baffling to me. I love Nina, but her parts felt so separate from the rest of the book until the very end, and even that felt off. I liked the first 2/3 of KoS enough, dealing with the monster, political tensions, 1/2

and even the cult of the starless saint was at least interesting because dealing with people trying to rewrite the narrative of their greatest enemy (who hurt these young leaders in deeply PERSONAL ways) was really compelling (making him literally come back was. a choice) but I feel like somewhere in the last third, KoS went in a wholly differeent direction, and RoW has this vibe of feeling like she definitely wrote it after reading the show scripts or even seeing some footage. idk. 2/2

I will try to be brief (1/12)

Hey anon! Thank you so much for asking this even though it took 38756588247834 years to answer this I’m so sorry !! The Nikolai duology was good—wonderful too maybe because of the myriad of themes and topics it discussed and explored, all in addition to how beloved these characters are. For me, it’s the end of KoS as it is for you, and the entirety of RoW in particular that irk me the most.

I have very little issue with KoS, and I agree with everything you’ve said. The political tensions, the sort of urgency in trying to secure a country at the cost of personal reservations, preparing for a war that seems unforgivably near the door, etc. was all thrilling. After all, it is the first installment in the duology, and it’s supposed to set the course for the upcoming books.

KoS managed to introduce the stakes and the circumstances, lay the rails for what the characters will face and what it might mean to a vast set of entities connected to the events. And it’s hardly out of sense to expect Rule of Wolves to pick up where the previous book left off and carry forward the themes and plot points introduced in the first book.

Except, RoW failed spectacularly in that aspect.

Rule of Wolves: the second book, and the supposed finale to the Grishaverse and the Nikolai duology; it fails to continue the other number of threads that KoS set up for it, effectively compromising the characters, their characterizations, the themes and other political tensions and stakes. The due importance that should be given to the heavy set of topics that get brought up in the povs are not through, nor are the small details that Leigh added to the conversations evolve into something worth talking about, which are the actual points that could have been given some more page time to explore than just making them facts or points of nostalgia for the characters.

If you take a step back and analyze the whole timeline, events, characterization, objectives of the arcs and the plot points etc. etc., all the way from Crooked Kingdom to Rule of Wolves, there’s so much that is left out and tied in, quite haphazardly, which leads me to believe that Leigh wanted to attempt writing a duology that is more plot-driven than it is character driven. And we know that Leigh writes character driven stories brilliantly, and SoC, CK and TLoT are testament to the same. Heck, even TGT has more consistency than whatever TND has.

So, objectively? Plot possibilities? Characterization? Potential? Personal goals? Addressing the very serious themes it brought up, in little or major light, but give no proper elaboration about them?

The lost potential readily compromised the characterizations of many characters, and it all amounted to their arcs being very underwhelming.

I’m dividing this into four parts and here’s the basic outline.

Writing and Plotting

The Plot, Possibilities and Potential.

Characters, Characterization, Character Potential.

Remedy (what I think would've worked better to tie this all up)

This can get very looong, so be forewarned.

I. Writing & Plotting

Now, Leigh Bardugo’s writing is exceptional, no doubt. The sentences are short and flowy, and convey the tone, psyche, environment and the setting and its effects on the pov character marvellously. It's also immersive. It’s the same in Rule of Wolves, except, a little or a lot weaker.

The two main parts of this is that one, that Leigh slightly overdid showing a lot more than telling, and two, that the RoW (and perhaps KoS too), was more plot driven than character driven, the latter of which is actually Leigh’s strength.

In Rule of Wolves, Leigh’s writing seemed very choppy and snappish. The descriptions were lacking, or maybe that’s just me wishing for more internal conflict and dilemma, and going back and forth in one's own head for a bit. It felt like she showed more than she told.

Example being how Zoya ‘snaps’, ‘drawls’, ‘scoffs’, or ‘scowls’ less, and even if that’s supposed to be show Zoya beginning to be a little less unpleasant than she usually is, the tone in those chapters was not strong enough to distinguish how and why the character was acting a certain way. Nor pinpoint an explanation on what brought that change about. (And there were many instances like this with many other characters), which resulted in the characters themselves feeling so off to me.

Leigh’s characters are important to the story. They carry tremendous weight and actively contribute to the plot. Except, by focusing a lot more on the plot, some parts of these characters’ relevance was not up to the mark. It is greatly due to how weak the plotting and pacing of the book was, tbh, more than just her writing.

Consider: Mayu Kir Kaat. She is integral to the story, but she is thrust into responsibilities, and that doesn’t give us much time to see her as a person, and then as a person with a duty, like we see with most other characters. Whatever parts of her we did see were very circumstantial and timed, which is probably the reason why not many we’re unable to appreciate Mayu as much as we should. (Maybe fandom racism also plays a part, so, well,,,).

Like, we know from Six of Crows and with The Language of Thorns, how great care went into describing the characters’ state of mind, which further heavily influenced their choices and decisions. This time though, I think she wanted it to be more plot driven, hence the whole crowded feeling of the book and general worry about oh my god too much is happening, how will all this be solved and all that.

And this, I think, greatly hampered Leigh's writing, leading to unsettling and rather unsatisfying character arcs. Not to mention that there was quite little space given for the characters to develop or let them grow in a satisfying way which touches on most of the elements and themes that get brought up with regard to their powers and potential,,, and when it was indeed brought up, it was all in vain since they were never followed through.

That's one of the biggest problems for me in RoW: Plot points brought up in KoS were not brought forward in RoW.

II. The Plot, Possibilities and Potential.

Phew. Truly buckle up because this train has too many coaches. And to discuss them all, let’s keep the starting point as Crooked Kingdom.

a) Parem

Now, by the end of Crooked Kingdom, we know some important things about the parem.

It's dangerous asf for the Grisha who have to sacrifice their will and capabilities for a short time superpower high that they didn’t even ask for

Which means they are more often than not forced to consume the drug

Shu Han is the creator of the Parem and are also creating a new kind of soldiers called Khergud (who additionally require Ruthenium, but we’ll talk abt that later)

Fjerda snatched the formula after kidnapping Bo Yul-Bayur, keeping him away in the Ice Court and in their possession, and used the Parem to further their own heedlessly heinous agenda

I think it’s easy to understand how KoS started off on the right track, considering that Kuwei Yul Bo is mentioned, the antidote and jurda is brought up and so come the political tensions alongside it (what with the impending war, the demon, the lack of funds in the coffers and security and peace for the country alongside safety for the Grisha).

The point is, parem is a character of its own. CK was its inception, and its fate was decreed along with its lifespan and its doom. Ideally, by the end of RoW, parem should have been vanquished while addressing its nature as a deadly drug, the addiction and aftermath, and the key person who will guide the plot: Kuwei Yul Bo.

Parem is a political tool that pitted countries against each other, making one another their allies or enemies. (Though parem is not the only one factor). Ravka doesn’t yet know about Kerch’s neutrality. The Shu made their move to assassinate in the end, just as Fjerda cleared the air about their goals.

Point is, parem is weapon, a new kind of warfare that keeps getting alluded to in KoS. The first book gave a glimpse of how the Shu and Fjerda are using parem, thereby exploiting, prejudicing etc. the Grisha in their countries. Khergud whose humanity is washed away with parem + ruthenium, and the Fjerdan Grisha (are targeted) drugged and exploited while be subjected to torture, training and imminent death, parametres of these outcomes being severely gendered.

Ravka too wanted to weaponize it and create a usable strain that would still give the Grisha their powers but at a minimal cost, until Nikolai’s conversation with Grigori convinces him out of it and to use only the antidote for the Grisha.

And when are the contents of this conversation brought up again?

Never.

Another aspect of parem (that the conversation also covers) is this: that what was once merzost, parem is its strange cousin. Parem parallels breaking the bounds of Grisha norms unnaturally, while merzost takes it a step further to break the bounds of nature itself, which comes with a heavy price. They're both the same with little differences. Amplifiers are in tune with this discussion, hence the conversation between Zoya and Nikolai about how, and whether or not the abomination in him, the parem, and the amplifiers are tied together. This gets brought up again in the conversation with Grigori.

Parem parallels the superpowers, something that Zoya too manages to achieve once the corruption of the amplifier business is resolved, which makes her realize how in tune with nature the Grisha must be, and how limited the Grisha powers until then had been. And why the amplifiers were a corrupted piece of magic.

Zoya was supposed to be the conduit in that sense that she reversed the Grisha norms and understood the importance and nature of small science. This is alongisde parem getting abolished or resolved in the least, be given a redressal.

Yet instead in RoW, we barely see any of Zoya’s powers, nor even her experimentation and hunger for power which would give her protection. We don't see how she begins to realize that while power was indeed protection, it was also a responsibility. Not clearly, anyway.

So like, not only is this entire discussion thrown away in Rule of Wolves, but no matters are resolved either. Parem did not reach its end like it was supposed to. Merzost with regard to parem would have been an excellent thing to address, with or without the Darkling being present, because the blight is there. But that doesn’t happen.

What happens instead? We get one chapter of Grisha getting the antidote during the face off at the start of the book, the women in Fjerda are not brought up again and instead we jump to Shu Han. Kuwei is also conveniently forgotten because hey, the Zemeni are here so it’s all sorted!

RoW could have (should have actually) sought to address both the political and medical (?) aftermath and implications. Maybe it did succeed in showing the political side of it, with regard to Mayu, Ehri, Makhi and Tamar’s storylines. But that’s only in Shu Han, whose state of affairs we had NO idea of until RoW. No idea, so much that it was completely out of the blue.

And what we did know (get to know about in KoS) is Fjerda and the affairs there remained… unsolved.

(...sorry).

b) Grisha Powers

Re: From the conversation between Nikolai and Grigori, and Juris and Zoya, about how parem and the amplifiers are parallel to each other in terms of being abominations, a corruption of Grisha powers. Now the theory of it is not entirely explained, but we do know that the parem and whatever Zoya learnt from Juris was meant to move along in the same direction.

But we don't see another mention of it, except maybe we could dig a little deeper and realize that it all adds up because Zoya is the Grisha Queen of Ravka, Summoner, Soldier, Saint, all of it rushed and unnecessarily magical in a war so dire and realistic in RoW.

Welp.

c) Spy business

Just… genuinely what even was Nina up to in RoW? A spy, sure, but only to garner information on the pretender?

Why couldn’t there have been two responsibilities for her to uncover: the lies or truths about the pretender while the Apparat causes hindrances, and Nina trying to seek out more documents of the locations and labs where the Grisha women are being tormented and the other Grisha being weaponized? It could have been a leverage to discredit Fjerda in front of everybody in the Os Kervo scene. Imagine if Nina whipped out the documents of Grisha labs and brought the truth of the exploitation and killing and kidnapping etc. in front of the convention of all nations. All of it together would have upped the political tensions by quite the notch.

Even then, there’s a possibility that it wouldn’t matter either because the Grisha aren’t exactly valuable to all the nations. But killing and exploiting is still wrong so maybe it might have worked? Or see, even if it wouldn’t have, the slow and sluggish realization of Mila’s identity by Brum, and alongside writing it as a tragedy where Nina’s efforts seem to have gone to waste, or where Nina is telling Zoya about not accounting for Prince Rasmus’ word and she informs her about the documents she has snatched? Something could have been done here?

The point is, KoS focused on Fjerda and its unraveling, and it wasn’t continued with and through in Rule of Wolves. Instead it sought to find the problem in a whole new country, Shu Han, and fixed it within the same book leaving the other country as it is.

d) Ruthenium and the Blight

Ruthenium, the metal that is an alloy of regular metal and Grisha made steel, could have been utilized more significantly in the books.

I mention it in association with the blight because while on one hand it is true that the blight is an area full of nothingness, ruthenium as a metal could have been utilized to show the effects of rushed industrialization that is leading to the ground losing its essence. This is supposed to be advanced warfare after all. Besides, Makhi loses someone very dear to her. Perhaps ruthenium is more dangerous in Shu Han because the Shu use it to create the khergud, so the constant manufacturing of it has been leading to the metal leeching the lands of their fertility, along with the blight.

And so also to broker peace, Ravka could have provided aid in some ways. :

1) The Darkling sacrificed himself, as a result of which the blight vanishes. While the blight took away her niece, the possibility of a blight persisting despite the ending of RoW could be attributed to ruthenium.

2) Ravka could provide the reversing effect to the alloy of ruthenium and metal using Grisha and otkazt’sya engineering and ingenuity to replenish the lands.

All in addition to whatever will be Shu Han’s policies to bring lushness to their lands.

e) Women and War:

Holy fucking Shit, where do I start with this?

Whatever we saw in Fjerda was haunting, and we see it from Nina’s chapters. There’s literally no resolution for it, nor is it ever brought up again, at all. In Zoya’s chapters, we see through her eyes the brunt that Grisha faced with the war, and in a country that has refused to recognize Grisha as the citizens and considers them expendable.

Add to it her own narrative of how the women are never mentioned, let alone the ones that she has lost or has known to suffer, at the hands of the war, at the Darkling's torture and powers. The description of these women suffering, often being forgotten and thrown aside as mere casualties… where or when was it ever going to be brought up again?

Like, switching between such horrifying things happening in Fjerda to whatever was happening with Zoya and Nikolai and Isaak is such a contrast, horrifyingly demeaning and insulting, even more so when it failed to align with the importance of parem and offer a solution to both these problems.

Now switch to Rule of Wolves, where the Tavgahard women immolate themselves on Queen Makhi’s orders. Not only is that such a cheap and insensitive thing to do, it gets treated a simple fucking plot point in the book, and it barely gets addressed afterwards. Women in Asia have a vastly complex and complicated history with fire, and this is a serious criticism that culturally affects readers in personal ways. And what gets done about it? Fine, Zoya feels baaaad, sorry oops why would the women do that?!?!?

Where is the adequate sensitivity to the topic? Where is the continuation of the pain Zoya feels for many people, despite them being the enemy? How does she honour them? Where is all that dilemma and pain? Why does she not think of them or just get a line or two to talk about them?

Where is the due importance for this suffering given? Structurally and culturally?

f) Soldier, Summoner, Saint / Yaromir the Great

We never really get any explanation for why Zoya deserves to be the Queen, and why she is the best. But we do get to see why Nikolai isn’t the one supposed to be on the throne, and it’s not just because of his parentage but also because of his failings and doubts and the need for acceptance with the secrets he carried.

Here's the thing though; it’s not just about her showing mercy. It’s very subtle, and in good sense, should actually have been given a little bit more importance that be loosely brought up at random times.

Keeping aside the fact that Zoya is representative of Ravka—a woman, a Grisha, a Suli girl who changed the course of war and who knew what it was like living in poverty, being as an underprivileged person of the society in addition to the trauma from then and the state of living at her aunt’s place—which is meant to be covertly apparent, the other reason tracks back to Yaromir the First, who with the help of Sankt Feliks of the Apple Boughs—the one who raised the thornwood—lead Ravka at that time into the age of peace.

The Darkling testified that in his POVs, that while Feliks and Yaromir worked in tandem for Ravka, Aleksander worked for safeguarding the Grisha. In one sense, Zoya is supposed to reflect that moment in history in the present moment, except she is Queen and Sankta, and Grisha, all three at once.

It is brought up in one of the Darkling’s POVs and once in the conversation with Yuri in KoS. Other than that, we never actually get any more hints of this explanation in the text, which is the reason why the entire ending felt so so rushed, and like a fever dream, that even if it was a plot twist, it was kinda very baseless when it should have been more ohhhhh sort of a thing.

g) The Starless Cult and Saint Worship

This cult had immense potential to blossom into many things, some of which were indeed touched upon in KoS when Zoya says that she saw a bit of herself in Yuri, and brings up time and again how easily she’d been led and had not been aware enough of what’s right and wrong, just as she supposes Yuri is too. And to some extent, there is truth there, because in the Lives of Saints, we do see why Yrui comes about to hail the Darkling and how it parallels Zoya’s, of being helpless and ten being saved by a different power/ their own power, respectively.

That’s where it forks, that Zoya is older and realizes the path that Yuri has chosen and understands that it won't happen until he realizes it himself because the Darkling’s crimes are so obvious.

Even then, there’s still more potential: This cult could have been the mirror that would make Zoya reflect on the questionable methods of the Darkling, and the ways in which she might be mirroring them, despite or not it is the necessity because of the war. How she is training soldiers too, just as the Darkling did, and while the need to take children away from their homes just as soon as they were discovered Grisha was abolished, it was war, and they needed soldiers.

So like, there’s quite a big narrative going on here, how mere children are pushed into one path of becoming a soldier and the whole system that was that the Darkling followed to train the Grisha and all of that. All of this in addition to the juxtaposition to the Grisha being seen as elite despite them being hunted, and the people who are not Grisha frowning upon them. This is also the work of the Darkling, which actually paves the way to see how there can be a world where the Grisha are not feared or seen as abnormal, despite or not they are given a Saint-like narrative.

This cult could also have been the segue to discussing Yuri and his brainwashing, and the sort of cult-ish behaviour of believing in something firm when you couldn’t believe in yourself, or not seeing the magnitude of the crimes of their supposed Saint, alongside always staying focused on becoming a soldier only and never actually thinking beyond what is told.

Some of these are very subtle and some are brought up, but never given too much of an explanation.

Genya brings up another good point in the funeral chapter, about how Fjerda seemingly taking into the whole Saints thing could mean that if the Darkling moved there, he could very well sprawl his influence there to bring in supporters. Which leads to another discussion that gets brought up towards the end of the book: about Nina telling about the Ravkan Saints to Hanne and therefore to the Fjerdans,,, which doesn’t exactly sit right with me. It’s still a very nascent topic, and I think SoC3 will explore this path of faith and personal beliefs etc. but leaving it just there, while talking so much about Saints in both the countries,,, don’t exactly know how to put it into thoughts here.

But regardless, the cult of the Starless had different potential to talk of (blind) worshipping of an ideal without critically examining why the person must be put on the pedestal in the first place (and if it is simply power, then there is actually a narrative right there, which RoW gets right, about the people valuing the power still, as a result of which the monarchy still persists at the end of RoW. Even then, there’s more discussion awaiting there).

Not sure if any of this makes sense, but I’ll leave it at this here for now.

edit: 05/07/2021 | I think what I was trying to say here is that we do not have any kind of narrative evidence to seeing how and why it seems right that the Fjerdans will worship Ravkan Saints; is it merely because they are all Grisha? Or is it because of the segue explore this path of faith and personal beliefs and all of that, of the talk of the monastery and the Grisha there being of all identities, that a monastery is in Shu Han, that it has Djel's sacred Ash tree so far away from Fjerda... much to think about.

III. Characters, Characterization, Character Potential.

Mostly going to be about Nina and Zoya, but I’ll bunch up the rest of them at the end.

a) Nina

*head in hands*

I severely mourned how poorly Zoya was written in RoW, but then I realized that more than Zoya, it’s Nina whose potential was severely undermined and wasted. On one hand, I’m glad she uses her powers and quick thinking,observation and her own tactics to analyze the population and opt for the best way to make them see the truth she wants to show them (eg: making Leoni and Adrik and Zoya saints and also showing that the Grisha are the children of Djel via people’s belief to Joran and Rasmus’s mother).

But then, it’s like you said; her parts were so offbeat and outpaced and completely disjointed, when in fact, Nina is the thread that ties all the characters, their plotlines and potential, together. Nina is connected to Zoya and Hanne, two equally important characters and main characters of the duology. Whatever scope Nina has, they are greatly in parallel to Zoya and Hanne. And it’s all literally there, in the text! What a waste.

Though keeping aside these parallels, Nina’s own journey from Ketterdam to Ravka to Fjerda, while is spoken about, doesn’t touch some other parts that I see potential in. Or this is just meta.

Nina has grief not just from Matthias’ death but also from the loss of her powers as Heartrender. So much of the Second Army was built on being a soldier, and perhaps the Darkling was not outright disdainful of racial differences in his army, yet he still stripped every part of the children away until they weren’t children anymore in his view. They’re all soldiers… (albeit his soldiers, preparing them to do his bidding because hey, give and take right?). Nina was a soldier, and she is a soldier still under Zoya’s role as a General, but an ‘other’ of a soldier. That’s her only identity, and the loss of her powers means that she’s a different kind of soldier.

I imagine that this entire time, some small part of Nina longed for normalcy, or whatever settled as normal for a life like hers. In the sense that she wants to go back, but what is back and where exactly did she want to go back to? What was the before and after and where did things go wrong or change? There’s tragedy in the realization that whatever you were before what you became is not a place you can return to, and that’s a different kind of loss that she has to bear, and all by herself. She has powers over the dead now, a strange power she learns to grow to, but all the places she has been, all the lives she has led and people she had been, everything might seem like they’ve all been locked away in some strange place leaving her barren and indisposable.

She’s off to Fjerda as someone she isn’t, figuratively and literally. In KoS, Nina brings up many times how odd she feels as Mila and in some capacity longs to be Nina Zenik again. This ties in with the previous point of returning to somewhere, but where?, but is also a segue towards body dysmorphia, the thing that Nina and Hanne’s storylines parallel and connect too with in a small way. It’s a great line to follow to discuss what her discomfort with her body means to herself while it means something entirely different to Hanne, who is also not entirely comfortable being who they are. (This discomfort further which leads to gender dysphoria, while for Nina, it will be about learning to accept her powers. I’ll add on to this in a bit,).

I'm mourning the lost potential of that experience being a parallel to Hanne’s own feelings, of a discussion between people being uncomfortable with their bodies, something that can mean multitudes to each person and on their own accord.

In parallel to Zoya, I like to draw it from the fact about Nina wanting to go back to who she was, while Zoya actively tries to lock her past away and drown it somewhere or throw it to the storm, never to hear of it again. She has no identity other than being a soldier, and that’s enough for Zoya, because who she was before she was a soldier is not pleasant. But moving from being just another expendable shell of soldier under the Darkling’s rule, Zoya becomes the one third of the Triumvirate, and then the King’s general, all of which bring self-awareness of Zoya’s capabilities and challenges that are bound to excite her. But all of these also compel Zoya to be many other people to others as she slowly grows to realize that power is not just protection but also a responsibility, and it will inadvertently mean confronting her past of her lost identity, realizing the how of the Darkling, and how harmful it was. As Genya puts it perfectly in Rule of Wolves, that they were all taken away when they were young kids, not even barely children, and then thrust into responsibilities that didn’t allow them to be anything else other than what the Darkling told them to be.

Back to Nina; a few other great parts about Nina’s arc could have been about her connection to languages, as language being a mode of strengthening identity, in addition to growing to her powers. In RoW, there’s this line that goes ‘how sweet it was to speak her language [Ravkan] again’, and the feeling of homesickness. Like, Nina is trying to connect to Ravka through what she knows best—language, and then stories. In that, Nina realizes a part of her identity, which could also act as a segue to Zoya reclaiming her own heritage and ethnicity. Not only that but Zoya and Nina’s stories are literally so intertwined that it’s hard not to see how their choices and line of thought affect one another’s arcs, in the grief they have and how they choose to treat it, and also show why Zoya is particularly protective of Nina (and keeps wishing that she doesn’t become the monster Zoya had become, in the sense that Nina is more mature in handling her grief than Zoya was and the entire mercy plotline ties Nina, Zoya and even Genya together. More meta, haH).

And that’s why the ending doesn’t make sense. Even though the part about her not being comfortable as Mila is not brought up many times in the continuing chapters (and that’s why perhaps naming Nina’s discomfort as body dysmorphia may be wrong), there’s still the part of Nina readily accepting to be who she was a Mila and remain in Fjerda that seems iffy to me. Especially when Nina and Hanne literally a few chapters ago think about running away (it may be just another alternative they might be fantasizing about, but I think it still means that they both want to be their true selves without hiding any parts of it away). So her staying as Mila… well, it doesn’t exactly add up.

I’d also add the part of Nina’s story mirroring Leoni’s, and how she is from Novyi Zem and being a part of the Second Army meant that she had little to no connection with her past, her culture etc. But maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part that Leigh went for that arc.

edit: 05/07/2021 | I don't agree with my point anymore about Nina not having the kind of ending I assumed she might have, considering that it is very well possible for Nina to treat her identity as Mila as a fresh start, as a Grisha with a command over the the dead and begin a new normal that is suited for her. You can read more here.

b) Zoya

For one, white passing Zoya is not canon to me. I simply pretend I do not see it.

See, her race was handled very badly. Making her half-Suli was supposed to show the struggles and the trauma that the ridiculing of her identity by other people has caused to her. Except, not enough time nor text is given to thoroughly discuss it. Not to forget how problematic of a narrative in itself it is to make Zoya white passing.

It would have made more sense to make her dark skinned and predominantly Suli-looking than whatever yt bs she was put through. Her not being white-passing would have led to conversations about tokenization, or people caring little about her and not giving her any respect because she is Suli. Or being called beautiful to the face and praised just for it or a harmless tumble in their point of view.

So like, instead of making the ‘mistake’ of seeking for acceptance, seeking appreciation and love, from her mother at first and then the Darkling, Zoya instead makes herself someone to be feared, if respect was not what she deserved. The iciness is a part of her and has always been, but all of it soon became a shield, an armour that she vowed to harden her heart with. Just the sheer impact of this narrative and her reluctance, and seeing Nikolai love her for beyond who she thinks she is… if all of this was canon, I’m pretty sure I’d have built a shrine for this duology.

Let’s now talk about her grief, and...

…

Okay it’s not for me to point fingers at how Leigh chose to write about grief because there’s no one way or one proper approach to go through that pain, and if that’s how she chose to write about grief for Zoya, fine! But I really wish we’d have gotten a little more into her head to see how the trauma has affected her thoughts and how she struggles against why and what exactly it is that Juris wants her to do. That enough time and text was dedicated to Zoya’s feelings and the mayhem it caused her, as a result of which the dragon’s eye took its cue and made things more unbearable to her because she was the only one to bear them all.

Like, I feel like Zoya was overwhelmed throughout the book and in between she had some skyhigh responsibilities to discharge and it’s all so inconsistent and poorly woven,,, it completely dissolved her character from KoS and made it 10000000x more miserable for me to read her POVs. And honestly, what even were her assignments that the Kirkus review mentioned? Never an inch of text in RoW is given to decipher her complications of her mind, the muddled sense of hopelessness and fear that grips her time and again. Why overwhelm her so much that you fail to do her mental state and capacity any justice?

I’m not going to be harsh about how much David’s death bothered me-- no actually fuck that; what’s the point? Fine, he died. All because you wanted to make his death a plot device to make Zoya reconcile with loss and deal with it? Where was Genya’s grief? Literally no point of having a death in the book at all, and it didn’t even achieve anything. (I’m still trying to wrap my head around why David’s death was important and maybe if I find some straws, I’ll consider…)

There were so many other ways around it; could have brought back Lada and killed her off, or have the Darkling piss her off so badly or just. Something. Instead of whatever happened with David. I think this is too harsh and insensitive of me to say about Leigh, but still… there’s a myriad of other ways to have gone about it. Helping Zoya deal with her grief with Nikolai at her side, to understand that the rage that was fueled from her loneliness, like it had been in the past, could now be a weight that Nikolai was willing to carry with her… Helping someone with their grief, staying and choosing is also a love language you know?

So in that regard, I won’t regret saying how flat the garden scene was to me. Zoya’s lines, though tinged with grief, were so out of what I would expect KoS Zoya to say. Maybe it’s also because of how bitter I was reading about David's death, despite that part being spoiled for me.

The cost shouldn’t have been David’s death, especially not when his death too wasn’t properly handled at all, and Genya’s grief was never spared a second thought beyond bringing Titanium.

Now let’s talk about how Out of Character Zoya was throughout the book. Her punchy attitude was missing, and even if she was warming up to her friends, we see little of the iciness she continues to retain. Another part of this is about exploring her relationships, particularly with Nikolai and her growing feelings for him. I wish we’d have seen them grapple with more of their confusion and propriety, if only for the yearning™. Besides, no matter how cute their scenes were, they were mostly (like maybe some. 70%) awful to read them, simply because it felt so odd to see Zoya be so open with Nikolai, all of a sudden.

A part of this definitely has to be the fact that we don’t know just how much time has passed between the end of KoS and the start of RoW, and we never, never see any description of they regarded their feelings for each other and how they understood it themselves. I don’t actually know how exactly I can put this into words in a manner that will make sense, but the only scenes where I appreciated Zoyalai were in the Ketterdam chapters, ONLY. The rest was… bleh lmao. Their scenes were so cute and brilliant, and if only we’d seen more of the internal conflict and had given some more time for them to practically approach their feelings but still end up in the puddle of it. If only.

Their scenes apart were the good ones, because that’s where we finally see Nikolai feeling the loss, no matter how temporary (on the verge of being permanent since it’s the war), of not having Zoya with him, of not being there with Zoya because who else would it be if it wasn’t her? Zoyalai had good scenes but they barely lived up to the mark lol. Their feelings are never thoroughly explored, nor their mental capacities.

While we’re talking about Zoyalai, let’s also talk about how lame it was for Zoya to say that Nikolai was the golden spirited hero all along, from the very start, when canonically we know Zoya had little to do with him in the earlier books, that she may have only been physically attracted to him and never saw him as more than just some guy with a responsibility to manage, and had sooooooo much distrust about him. And that it was only in the next few years of working with him and alongside did she grow to recognize his efforts and relish in the hope that he was building for Ravka, inadvertently making Zoya hopeful too.

Nope. Instead, we’ll just throw in some destiny bs that he was the one all along rather than show that the beauty of their relationship did not stem what they perceived of each other, but was instead built on strong respect and admiration for one another and their capabilities. 100% destroyed their relationship for me.

Some good parts about Zoya’s arc in RoW was how she acknowledged her past mistakes, and the nuance that was touched upon in seeing sense in becoming a soldier from the start, that offered her a chance to be anything other than a bride. That some part of her was grateful for the Darkling for teaching her how to fight, while still keeping Genya’s words in mind about how they were mere kids, children who had only one path to traverse because the Darkling (who wanted their acceptance and loyalty) nor the Kings of the country let the Grisha be anything else other than pawns of the war. That she recognizes her mistakes as a teen and how self centred she was, that her being snotty had at times cost some peoples’ lives too. And she doesn’t take the blame all up on herself, because it’s not hers alone to bear. Super good.

Also, the way Zoya comes to view power as responsibility instead of merely as protection was something cool to read about. It’s not clear in the books, but Zoya actively tried to not be the Darkling while still continuing to build an army for the war out of necessity, and actually sharing some parts of the dream that the Darkling had for the Grisha. I can’t articulate this so perfectly, but the point is, Zoya trying to avoid becoming a tyrant like the Darkling was an active process that she was constantly trying to change, and where Zoya could not recognize her own feelings and inherent thoughts about warfare that in some ways did mirror the Darkling’s, by the end of book, Zoya is much more self-aware and conscious of herself and her power than she was at the start of the book. And this was well done.

Now, what is up with YA and making people turn into giants or animals lol wtf. Why couldn’t we have seen Zoya use her dragon powers in a way that symbolizes the conditions of her dragon amplifier and the power of the knowledge she obtained from Juris? She is a Saint, and we’ve seen that their powers allowed them to cause ‘miracles’ and such, as we see at the start of KoS and at the end.

Why couldn’t we have seen Zoya dabble with her newfound powers and completely lose her shit in anger during the wae, only to rein back in mercy, just as someone from Fjerda begs for forgiveness since they see her then as a Saint? Adrik and Leoni used their powers in Fjerda, so having Zoya bring about a conundrum of all orders and do something about it would also have been cool, wouldn’t it? In the funeral scene we see her turn water into ice, thereby making a path for Genya. Why couldn’t we have had more exploration of the importance of the dragon’s eye and the general nausea of being overly empathetic every. damn. time? Why didn’t we get to see her powers? Why couldn’t we have seen her fail in them and realize that the reason she was not perfect was because she was trying to be strong on her own and was not relying on others and joint effort?

Her turning into a dragon was genuinely the most baffling part bc here’s a war that’s so serious and dire with metals and bombs, and then here’s this magic that will solve all of it entirely. Like I’m not saying it was bad, (I am actually saying just that) but I also don’t know what I am saying, except that the ending felt like a fever dream.

…?

Not sure if I’ve managed to convey it properly, but well. Zoya felt out of character throughout RoW, and that the only place I saw KoS Zoya was in the final Os Kervo scene where Zoya finally agrees to be the queen.

c) Nikolai

Nikolai’s arc was very satisfying and brilliant to read about in RoW. In KoS, he seemed very much like a passive character, one of the reasons why his stunt with the Shu in RoW was appreciable, no matter how ill-timed of a plot turn it was. His journey throughout this book was also introspective to see why others deemed him unfit as the King, and even if they were his enemies who thought that in want to dispose him from the throne, Nikolai realizes that him being on the throne is not of much value and that this book was entirely about him seeing his privilege and making decisions to counter and correct the mistakes he’s made. That was nice. Oh, also his father not being an antagonist was a pleasant surprise.

I don’t have many complaints about him, except perhaps wanting some more internal conflict and elaboration about his feelings for Zoya. Them being apart was where it was satisfying, and then in the Ketterdam chapters. His arc could have been better in KoS, but that’s to blame the plot for the characterization.

d) Hanne

Now, from the very start, their arc was super good and it only got better and better until… the ending. Except it’s so odd that Hanne, a poc, has to now live as white person, while feeling comfortable in their transmasc identity. Icky, no? That you need to eliminate one part of your identity in order to feel safe and comfortable about another? Add to this the whole white-passing Zoya thing,,, doesn't exactly send off the right message.

Together with Nina, the ending seems uncharacteristic for both of them. Them coming to accept their powers and knowing to use their powers on their own accord was brilliant, though the entire husband business felt very,,, eh to me, even if it did make sense. The ending about their name and their new identity was too vague.

e) Genya, Leoni and Adrik, Kuwei, Mayu,

Genya is the one who faced the most disservice along with David. While there were exceptional parts to both of their plotlines, it's still sad that even if David's death was necessary, we don't get to see the entirety of her grief and the possible anger, and that her kindness is simply used as the justification for lack of portrayal of grief.

It really did take me by surprise, mostly because I wasn't a fan of the original Shadow and Bone book, but seeing David's conscience and self-awareness, along with Genya's (and Zoya thinking of how she wouldn't let any harm come to them, which shows a bit of her development towards her character development), was plenty refreshing. David and Genya were genuinely the highlights of the book and to kill David off was just. doesn't sit right with me.

Leoni and Adrik deserved more page time. They’re saints and immensely capable (no wonder they’re now the Triumvirate), but a few more pages for them to shine would not only have been nice, but also a necessity.

And now, Kuwei...

....

I mean,,, parem should have been the plot, alongside the entire weaponry and the discussion of making a city killer. But uh… that didn’t happen.

There's not much I have to say about Mayu, Tamar and Ehri, except that their plot was superb, only very badly timed.

There's more to talk about them in the remedy tho.

IV. Remedy

Here’s the deal. Before KoS release, there should have been a Nina novella.

Nina is a very important character. All of her potential, alongside many other parts of her personality--from dealing with grief, to accustoming to her powers, to growing stronger--there could be so much to do with her as a protagonist, alongside another character: Mayu.

A whole book dedicated to Nina in Fjerda with Hanne? Brilliant. Show Stopping. Mind blowing. It gives SO much page time to explore not just Nina and Mayu, Hanne, but also Zoya, Leoni and Inej. All together.

How?

Nina’s plotline carries the entire medical effects of the use of parem, just as Mayu’s will carry the pain she feels about her brother being a part of the khergud program. The novella will give ample time to flesh them out as characters and protagonists, each dealing with plot problems and problems of their own--like the loss of ones powers and newfound responsibilities, and the shared loss of a beloved person in parallel, even if neither Nina or Mayu interact on page.

Fjerda and Shu Han could be tied together with one chapter as a POV from Zoya (or maybe two), who, along with the Triumvirate and Nikolai, are completely at loss with the political scenario in the country, and are debating over what should be the course of action. Zoya receives news from the scouts, and missives from Nina, and Tamar takes care of the information she garners from the rest of the network, including Shu Han.

Like, the entire surprise of finding a Zoya POV, from a character whom until CK we’ve known as cold hearted and stern and not giving a fuck about anything or anyone, be humanized in that one chapter, thereby building up the anticipation for her arc,,, the very potential,,, *chef's kiss*.

And by the end of book, we could have an POV--or maybe a cameo if not a POV--of Inej meeting Nina on one of her travels of slave hunting. Inej could help take care that the women that Nina has rescued (as Nina does in KoS) reach the Ravkan shorelines safely. But, for a price.

The entire parallels between Leoni and Hanne and Nina could be set up, while also building up the narrative for the Saints’ plotline with Adrik's, Leoni's and Nina’s powers (like it was at the end of KoS). KoS and RoW would thereby continue it by tackling the weaponization and the antidote, Sainthood and the rest of the politics of it all.

Coming to Shu Han: one key aspect that I’d love to have explored would be the importance of art, during or despite the war. Of how war or pain chips away culture, while detailing on the ill effects of it from the commoners' perspectives, from the soldiers etc. Art is integral to Shu Han and could be portrayed by Mayu’s pain finding balm in poetry, of seeing glimpses of Ehri poring over poetry also mayri ftw, of politics that Makhi is weaving against Ravka, etc.

Or also add some more length to Zoya’s POV and explore a bit of Tamar and Tolya and Kuwei’s interactions and perspective added to it, of missing a home that they seemed to not know, or know; of discussing culture and differences on the basis of where they’re from (maybe the twins are from the borders, while Kuwei grew up near the capital or somewhere distant from the borders etc.), all while directly pointing at Zoya’s heritage and how it ebbs at her conscience, no matter how much she wants to bury it.

POTENTIAL !!!

Like,,, Nina novella would have been too powerful. It would have been perfect. I think I’d excuse bringing back the Darkling too if this was the case. (Or maybe not).

But welp.

Hey, thanks for reading! Not sure if you could make it this far, but if you have, you honestly deserve a medal for sitting through this all. I can’t imagine how tiring it must be to read through this, considering it seemed to take it more than month to compile this there’s also me procrastinating on it too so i’,mbhbdhshfsdn

Drop an ask if you want to talk more about this!

Sincerely, thank you!!!

155 notes · View notes

hockeyboysimagines · 3 years

Text

Ashes and Wine

Chapter 4

Warnings: Angst, language, mentions of sex, I think that’s it.

I hope you enjoy this! Thanks to everyone who submitted a prompt from the Song series. There’s still 5 left!

-💕

“Did I do something to you?” Mat asked Kaitlin from the doorway. She had been home for 3 hours and had barely spoken two words to him.

“Nope.” She said turning to face away from him.

“Okay but see that’s how I know I did something.”

She turned and fixed him with a glare, so angry that he took a step back. He had never seen her this mad before, and whatever he had done he had messed up.

“Did you have fun while I was gone?” She seethed.

“What? What do you mean?”

She whipped her phone out and stood, storming across the room and shoving it in his face. The photos of him and Leighton, and the other wags were displayed on the screen. He was still totally confused.

“What-“

“I don’t want you seeing her anymore.” She snapped.

“Kaitlin you told me to go.”

“I didn’t tell you to flirt with her! And I didn’t tell you to integrate her into your life more than you ever have with me!”

Mat didn’t understand. They lived together, they were getting married and she was flipping out over a photo. He hadn’t done anything wrong, or at least he didn’t think he had.

“I suppose now all the other girls love her and Ginny, and I’m just someone who’s always been on the outside! Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”

“No because I have no idea what your talking about.”

“This!” She yelled shoving the phone in his face again. It was the photo of them smiling at each other “Do you not get how this would make me uncomfortable? Or do you just not care? You’ve never looked at me like that ever. We haven’t had sex since she showed up here!”

May opened his mouth and thought about it. They hadn’t, and he hadn’t even noticed. He felt awful about himself. And there was no words he could say that would fix this right now.

“Kaitlin I-“

“Do you still love her?” She asked, tears welling in her eyes. When he didn’t answer she asked again.

“Do. You. Love. Her?”

“No Kaitlin I don’t.” He wasn’t sure if he was lying or not. In his heart he loved both of them, but in his souls he wasn’t so sure.

She took a deep breath and blinked several times before she spoke “ If you don’t love her, then stay away from her.”

Mat felt his heart sink as he watched Kaitlin turn on her heel and storm back to their room and slam the door. He sat down heavily on the sofa with a huff.

Her heart was hammering in her chest as he set his solo cup down, and moved closer to her one hand coming up to her face and the other resting on her hip.

“Can I?” He asked quietly, gripping the fabric of her sweater.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

He stared for a minute and leaned in ever so slowly, nose brushing hers. She closed her eyes and he finally pressed his lips gently to hers. Fire ripped through him as he let his hands tangle in her soft hair. He pulled away and came in at a different angle, lips beginning to move against hers, more forceful than before tounge swiping against her bottom lip. She opened her mouth allowing him to push his tounge inside, and melted into him like putty. When he finally pulled away he was breathless and she was red. He kissed her very softly a few more times and pulled her gently into his chest.

And that was how it all started. From that point on he couldn’t stop kissing her. In his car, in her bedroom, and whenever he could get his hands on her during school. He just couldn’t keep his hands to himself. She didn’t mind not one bit, and she fell just a little bit more each time he smiled at her.

“So? Mat Barzal huh?”

She frowned at Ginny and pushed her glasses further up her nose “what?”

“Oh please don’t even try it bitch.” Ginny slapped the book out of her hand and fixed her with a glare.

“Your making me uncomfortable.”

“I’m making you uncomfortable? I’m uncomfortable with the fact that you didn’t tell me and I had to hear about it from the rumor mill!”

“There’s nothing to tell. We’re just friends.”

“Friends don’t kiss eachother under the bleachers when they think no one is watching.”

“How-how did you-“

“Eyes everywhere babe. Now tell me everything.”

Mat sighed and stood to knock on the door. When Kaitlin didn’t answer he jiggled the handle to discover it was locked. She wanted space so he would give it to her. So he did the only thing he could.

“Hello?”

“Beau? It’s Mat. Can I come over?”

“Sure. Are you allowed to?”

“Ha. Ha. I’ll be there soon.”

Beaus apartment was a short drive away, and as he neared his front door he frowned. He thought he could hear voices from inside but couldn’t be sure it wasn’t the tv. He opened the door, not bothering to knock and turned the corner, coming face to face with Ginny. She looked surprised to see him, and then confused.

“Wow already?” He chuckled, but looked over her shoulder to find Beau, fully clothed and Leighton seated at the counter. She looked up, startled to see him, but then she smiled at him. He stood there in the middle of the kitchen jingling his keys, unsure of what to do. Ginny and Beau were bickering somewhere behind him. Her smile faded slowly, before she sighed and braced her arms on the counter.

“You can’t see me anymore can you.”

He let his head fall and set his keys down, slouching into the chair opposite her. She could read him like a book, she always had been able to.

“Kaitlin is uncomfortable with the idea of you and I being alone together.” It sounded ridiculous even as he said it.

“Kind of like right now.” She said gesturing to the empty kitchen. Ginny was taking a phone call down the hall and Beau was in the other room doing something.

“I guess.”

“I don’t want to get you in trouble Mat.” She leaned forward and grasped his hand, giving him a real genuine look of sadness “And if you have to stay away from me then I understand.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Then we’ll figure it out. But she’s going to be your wife.”

“I gave you up four years ago. I’m not doing that again.”

He squeezed her hand back and stood from his chair, coming around the table and pulling her to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into him. He wanted to tangle his fingers in her hair, but he didn’t, instead resting his chin on the top of her head. Beau and Ginny were peaking around the corner watching the exchange.

“They’re so gonna bang.” Ginny whispered, small smile on her face. Beau opened his mouth to respond but stopped when he saw Leighton pull back to look at Mat, and time seemed to freeze. They stared at eachother for several moments before they both leaned forward ever so slightly. Ginny and Beau stopped breathing.

“Holy shit.” She said grabbing his arm.

Mat couldn’t have stopped himself even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. Their lips were almost touching, and she could feel his hot breath on her face. She sucked in a breath as her eyes closed in anticipation, but the kiss never came. He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing heavily just as their lips started to touch but then shook his head.

“I can’t-I can’t do this.” He didn’t back away from her, but kept her locked in his arms, eyes still closed “I want to. So bad. But I can’t. I’m engaged.”

“It’s fine.” She said, noticing that she had a hold of the front of his jacket. It was like they were on autopilot, falling into the same way things were before. He could understand now why Kaitlin was worried, because he was too.

They stayed that way for a while, until Beau cleared his throat and they broke apart slowly. Mat was still staring at her with such an intensity it was making her uncomfortable. They didn’t talk with each other much as the afternoon wore on, but when food was ordered they sat close to one another at the table, and next to each other on the sofa, closer than they probably should have.

When the girls decided to leave, he gave her a hug, tighter and longer than it should have been, before he watched her walk out the door and then turned to Beau.

“Need to talk about something buddy?” Beaus asked with a smirk, but when he saw the look in Mat’s face, the smirk faded and was replaced with a look of concern.

Mat sat down, head in his hands “She’s fucking me up.”

“I couldn’t tell.”

“She is. I’m fucked. I’m fucked up Beau.”

“Okay calm down.” Beau sat across from him and leaned forward “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know!” He said throwing himself backwards “She was gone for four fucking years and she’s back now and I moved on. And now Kaitlin says I can’t even see her anymore.”

“Wait what? Is that why your here?”

He nodded and sighed “Yeah. She saw all the pictures that were posted on Friday. And she flipped out this morning and I get it, but I can’t just give up my friend.”

Beau laughed and shook his head “Dude come on. Give it up. Friends don’t look at each other this way.”

He held up his phone to show him the picture of him and Leighton at the bar. It was true, he could see the way he was staring at her, a way he had never looked at Kaitlin. He hadn’t been trying hard enough to stay away from her, or be her friend. He would have to make a tough choice if he wanted to keep them both in his life. This was painful, and this choice would rip his heart in half if he was forced to make it.

“I know. I’m gonna have to let her go.” He stood and grabbed his keys.

“Barz, dude wait don’t-“ but he was already crossing the apartment and out the door. Beau stood for a minute, before kicking his coffee table and muttering under his breath.

********

“Kaitlin!” He called when he had kicked the door to his apartment shut. She came padding around the corner, eyes red from crying, arms crossed.

“What?”

“Listen to me. I love you, not Leighton. I don’t wanna be with her, I want to be with you.”

“Do you really? Cuz ever since she came to town your not acting like it.”

“I know and I’m sorry.”

“Mat I don’t know if I believe-“

“I want to get married sooner.” He blurred out. Her eyes widened.

“What?”

“I can’t wait another year. I want to get married as soon as we can.”

“Do you mean that?”

“I do. I really do. How fast do you think we can pull it off? 3 weeks?”

She gasped and then smiled, throwing her arms around his neck “I can try! I love you.” She said softly. He swept her up and carried her back to their bedroom.

********

Leighton rolled over in bed and closed her eyes. She felt weird. Sad because he was marrying someone else, guilty because he had almost kissed her while he was marrying someone else, and mad because of both of those reasons. Truth be told she didn’t really care about Kaitlin’s feelings, because Mat was hers first. But she had given him up, and it wasn’t fair for her to try and take him back now when he had moved on and built a life here.

“Hey.” Ginny was standing in her doorway “You okay?”

“No.” She rolled on to her back and stared at the ceiling with a huff. Ginny laid down next to her.

“I still have feelings for Mat.”

Ginny laughed softly and sighed “I know.”

“And I don’t want him to marry Kaitlin.”

“I know.”

“This is so fucked up.”

“I know.”

Leighton scowled at her “ Is that all you have to say?”

“Babe. I know you better than anyone, even Mat himself. And it’s been all over you face since we got here. And based on that almost lip lock in the kitchen today, I’d say those feelings aren’t just one sided.”

“You saw that?”

“We both did. It was like watching a movie that I saw 4 years ago. Same Leighton, same Mat.”

“I can’t take him from her.”

“No that would be wrong. Let me talk to him. See where his heads at.”

Leighton nodded and Ginny grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze.

“This is all gonna be okay. I promise.”

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