#especially living with bronwyn who would be so annoyed by it

[dragonsdendoodles]

In your humble opinion, which peculiar do you think would be the most likely to make the most god forsaken, awful, raunchy jokes known to man, but the second Miss Peregrine is around there is not a single trace of that humor and she would need some convincing to believe they’d make that sort of joke?

You had me so ready to say Enoch in that first bit but Horace. 100% Horace. You cannot hang out with Enoch that much and not pick up on that

[izzielizzie]

I’m guessing you’ve seen Bridgerton. Could you do a Which OOU characters would be which Bridgerton Character? It would be cool to see.

i have indeed!! also these explanations are so bad i'm really just choosing based on vibes so i apologize in advance <3

bronwyn: kate

bronwyn and kate both put their families first -- especially their sisters -- and they have their lives planned out and then they meet these men that annoy them to no end and mess up their plans (a drug dealer and a rake respectively) but in the end they end up with the people that they love the most.

cooper: gregory

okay gregory is a little menace and cooper definitely isn't, but gregory has always wanted the kind of love that his siblings had, and cooper has been surrounded by these relationships that don't mirror the way he feels and he wants to be like them

addy: daphne

they're these golden girls who get the guy but have a lot more under their beauty and allure and are actually quite fun and vibrant once you get to know them. only difference is simon isn't a jerk and jake definitely is

nate: benedict

nate and benedict both love the people closest to them, but they can be awkward and earnest and,,, yeah i don't have a reason it just fits

kris: sophie

they both come from worlds that are different than their partners, and sometimes it seems like they don't fit in, but they're so happy and they help their partners grow

luis: anthony

they shoulder so many family burdens so they have developed a façade that is so hard to crack and they end up falling for the girl no one expects

maeve: pen

i know this is super controversial and el or hyacinth would be a better answer but i feel like maeve is really overlooked by people in bayview but she's observant as heck and she picks up on dynamics and relationships. her narration in oouin really showed that she is an observant wallflower (no other character had that much knowledge of people they hardly interacted with) just like pen

knox: hyacinth

again, another one that doesn't really fit, but for a lot of the series hyacinth was just an observer that said stuff that was actually pretty profound and she was always right. which is really similar to knox. also: they're both the youngest in a big family

phoebe: francesca

they're just,,, there? i mean they're super kind and nice but i hardly even remember fran from her own book and phoebe is still getting her development so i don't know a lot about her.

[shepherds-of-haven]

Hiii Lena how are you? Okay now I have a FEW bebé-adjacent questions. Fist off: Anything you can tell us about Arainia and Blade’s kiddo?? I’m so soft for the thought of babies born into the Shepherds 🥺🥺(or just soft for beebies in general) Also is there like,,,any precedent set for pregnant Shepherds? Paid family leave 😅? I’m assuming they’d have to be upfront to their superior about it if they choose to carry to term and are probably put on desk duty? What about the other parent, assuming it’s a Shepherd-Are they like,,able to request assignments close by/shorter assignments later in the pregnancy? (for example I’m guessing all ROs would be pretty adamant about sticking nearby) In the original novels, were there separate setups in the compound for married shepherds/ ones with kids ? This is a LOT lololol 🙈

Hi kingdom, I’m doing great, and I hope you are, too! And yes, I’m all for bebé questions!!!

Anything you can tell us about Arainia and Blade’s kiddo??

Yes, their first child was a boy named Tamwyn, Tam for short! He was the spitting image of his father, but with Arainia’s eyes and Elvish ears, and he was a very serious little baby, peering around at the world with silent gravity befitting a Bronwyn. Arainia was kind of like “...is our baby okay” but it turned out that Uncle Chase and Uncle Trouble could always make him laugh! Thus, they were always on babysitting duty whenever both Arainia and Blade had to go out of town for a mission...

(This isn’t necessarily canon because it was written when I was like 15 maybe, which was before I knew Riel was going to blast off and commit treason and I’m pretty sure it’s an AU where Junoth didn’t die or I hadn’t done it yet RIP)

Anyway, as you can tell, it was a slightly chaotic but very loving infanthood for him! The official books stop when Tam’s about six months old, but I always had plans for him to grow up to become a strong Battle-Mage like his mother. He’d be a quiet, sensible, somewhat sensitive boy who had to dig deep to access his latent power in his youth. As a young adult, he would have been more confident and possibly headstrong--I feel like he would have had an intense teen rebellion phase--and eventually would grow into a powerful leader with a measured way of seeing the world, but still with a strong sense of empathy and emotional intelligence! He would have been very close to his uncles; would have had a teen crush on Kana, Halek and Wintry’s kid, that probably would have faded quickly; and I feel like he would have an academic side and would want to help Uncle Red with his magical research as a kind of intern, which would annoy Blade deeply, though of course he’d never say so!

There was also always the plan for them to have a second kid, a daughter four years younger than Tam named either Lyra or Amaya, who would have been more Ket like her dad and would have had an unusual mix of both arma and a little magic! She would have been more spunky and energetic than her brother and probably would look totally different from the rest of her dark-haired family due to the weird Mage genetics!

Also is there like,,,any precedent set for pregnant Shepherds? Paid family leave 😅? I’m assuming they’d have to be upfront to their superior about it if they choose to carry to term and are probably put on desk duty?

In the books, relationships were very strictly forbidden within the Shepherd’s Order, more so than they are in the game; it was a rule that had been carried out for hundreds of years, since the founding of the Order, so there wasn’t really a precedent set for both parents being Shepherds when one got pregnant! In the old days, you’d most likely be fired if you revealed that you got another Shepherd officer pregnant... 😅

Prior to Blade assuming command, there was paid family leave for a Shepherd officer to take time off and raise their children, but it was always expected that their spouse, partner, or what have you was from outside of the Order. Most were put on desk duty until closer to their due date, but some chose to take time off immediately upon discovering their pregnancy. Lunar Corps division officers (those who took on more urgent, specialized, or dangerous missions) were paid both a base salary as well as extra for most missions, which were graded according to risk. (The higher the grade, the more you’d get paid for taking that mission.) If you got pregnant and planned on having the child, you could take time off pretty much indefinitely and just keep the base salary, with bonuses thrown in if your superior liked you and thought you deserved it, of course. However, it was considered unethical to collect this money if you didn’t actually plan on resuming work with the Order after your baby was around three (though of course you could request to extend leave); so long as you actually came back to work afterwards, this was all legitimate.

However, things got messy once Shepherd couples got into the mix. Could both parties take leave, and for how long? Couples weren’t even allowed until Blade assumed command: he immediately changed the policy so that couples were allowed within the Order, but typically placed on different teams or missions, to avoid distractions during fights or work in the field. (This also applied to him and Arainia, though there were sometimes exceptions that had to be made.) He also allowed both parties paid leave with base salaries, but with the stipulation that one party should return to work after ten months to one year, unless they requested to extend that leave. 

Halek and Wintry’s child, Kana, was the first real “Shepherd baby”. Wintry chose to take the paid leave for the first year and a half of Kana’s life; they had also bought a restaurant as a side investment for whenever they retired, so there was income coming from that while Halek continued work as a Shepherd. And they were already on separate teams, so when she returned, it wasn’t that much of an issue!

What about the other parent, assuming it’s a Shepherd-Are they like,,able to request assignments close by/shorter assignments later in the pregnancy? (for example I’m guessing all ROs would be pretty adamant about sticking nearby)

If the Shepherds in question are Lunar Corps agents, it depends on their ranks! Lower-ranked agents were always placed on squads of seven and were assigned 80% of their cases and missions by higher-ups. But there were always missions placed on a roster that were “up for grabs” until a certain date, at which point they would be assigned to whatever team was available at that deadline. 20% of team missions could be one of those free missions, and if you were a higher-ranking agent no longer grouped into a team, you could also take on those missions of your own volition about 50% of the time. In short, you could choose about 50% of your own missions, because there were so many requests and petitions floating around all the time, so a Shepherd parent could just choose the missions that were close to home and pass on the ones that weren’t.

For the missions that they couldn’t choose and were assigned, you could always put in an unofficial request to your superior; they would usually do their best to accommodate you, but there were simply some times where there wasn’t any choice, especially if you had a specialized position that few others could replace. That duty comes with being a Shepherd, and I imagine it would be the same in the game! You can make the request and people will try their hardest to accommodate, but it's not a guarantee and if you can't meet the demands of the job, you'll probably be moved over to Solar Corps, which handles things like local patrols.

In the original novels, were there separate setups in the compound for married shepherds/ ones with kids ?

The Shepherds’ Tower in the books was actually more like a workplace and police precinct, so there were actually no living quarters or dormitories there! It was more like a skyscraper, and Shepherd officers lived in their own personal apartments or occasionally shared houses in Haven. There were some buildings that the Order rented out entirely just for Shepherd officers to live in, but these were few and far between.

In the books, most of the protagonists lived in small apartments in the Market Quarter; Blade and Arainia lived on the same floor of their apartment and the other team members lived close by or even on the same street; there was an ill-fated move where all seven (ten?) of them shared a big house in Whitestone (which in the books wasn’t just for aristocrats, it was just a nicer neighborhood) for like a year for some reason; and then Blade and Arainia lived in a house in the Market Quarter (I even remember their address, 771 Bomba Street) after they got married! 

Thanks for your questions, I had fun answering them! 🤗

[kaimelia]

Paper Rings (Ch 13)

a/n: dun dun dun here it is finally. I make no promises as to when my next post will be but I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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

“You don’t have to stay here. You can go to work, Link.” He brushed a strand of her hair back, frowning as she flipped to face away from him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed in their dark room, attempting to comfort Amelia after yesterday’s occurrences. He’d driven home afterward as Amelia stared out the window, her body shifted away from him. She was silent once they arrived home, only muttering a soft ‘Goodnight’ before falling asleep.

“I called in sick. No game today. Nico’s covering for me at practice.” He heard her sigh softly. “Can I get you something? Tea? Something to eat?”

“No, thanks.” He paused, waiting for her to say something more. Nothing. Link rubbed his hand up and down her leg gently, standing up and leaving the bedroom. 

The kitchen sink was filled with dirty dishes. He laughed to himself, knowing Amelia hated doing the dishes and probably hadn’t done them in his absence. He made a silent vow to spend more time at the apartment and help her clean up. Link busied himself cleaning various spaces in the apartment, opening up the curtains to let some of the morning light in, washing and putting away dishes before beginning to make breakfast. She came out of the bedroom an hour later, a blanket wrapped around her like a shawl.

“There are some leftover waffles in the fridge if you want some,” he spoke from the couch, scrolling through an article on his computer.

“Thank you,” she whispered, opening the refrigerator door. She sat down across from him on the couch with a plate of waffles loaded with syrup.

“You okay?”

“Not really,” Amelia admitted, shoving a forkful of food into her mouth.

“Why?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Link.” He sighed.

“You can’t just shut me out. You haven’t actually spoken to me since we got home last night.”

“I’m embarrassed you had to see me like that. Embarrassed that it even happened.” He closed his computer and set it down on the coffee table. “I know you said you didn’t mind, but I didn’t want you to have to know that part of my life.” Link sat up.

“I want to know every part of your life, Amelia. Even the bad parts.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to share the bad parts.” She snapped back, dropping the fork onto the plate. He cringed at the sound. “Sorry. There are just a lot of terrible things that have happened in my life that I don’t like to talk about with anyone. There are a lot of things no one knows. Things I don’t want to share, especially not with someone I met on Tinder, of all places.” Link raised his eyebrows.

“Really? I thought we moved past the Tinder thing.”

“It’s always going to be part of our relationship, whether we want to ignore it or not. You’re not someone I met naturally, and I’m not inclined to share certain things with you. Especially when you’re gone ninety percent of the time.” She muttered. He scoffed in disbelief, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You knew that I was taking this job when we started dating. It was always something that was going to happen and you agreed to be with me, knowing it would be difficult to manage.”

“I didn’t think it would go this far. I don’t plan ahead. I just live as things come. So, I didn’t think it would be something I had to worry about.” Amelia stood up, dropping the blanket that was wrapped around her shoulders.

“Where are you going?”

“To Meredith’s house. I don’t want to spend my day off fighting.” She dropped the plate into the empty sink, grabbing her phone and bag before slamming the door on her way out.

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

“And you just left?” Amelia nodded, shrugging her shoulders.

“It’s like, every time things seem good, something happens.” Meredith laughed, pulling out some bowls from the cabinet.

“What happened last night? At the stadium?” The neurosurgeon sighed, watching as her sister spooned mac and cheese into the bowls.

“We had to stop by the locker room, and one of the guys left his meds out in the open. I just got really freaked out, and I was embarrassed that Link had to see that. I mean, I moved to Seattle for a fresh start. And everyone knows about my past, but it wasn’t just my past last night.”

“You know how addiction works, Amelia. It’s not something you can just shove aside and forget.”

“I know, but I just didn’t want him to see that. I don’t let you and Maggie see the bit of panic I feel when someone leaves a bottle open on the table.” They moved towards the kitchen table, bringing the bowls over to the kids in the living room. Amelia slumped down into a chair at the table. “And now, he wants to have some big conversation about it all. Just so he can leave this weekend and ignore me when he gets back.”

“I mean if you told him all of this-”

“I tried! He’s just filled with the whole ‘we can get through anything’ mindset, and it’s ridiculous. He doesn’t understand that I’m not going to tell him everything.” Meredith wiped her mouth with a napkin.

“Do I need to kick Zola out of your room?”

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

“So what does it matter if we met on a dating app? It doesn’t change the way I feel about her, and it certainly doesn’t mean that our relationship is less real.” The beer bottle clinked as he placed it onto the glass table. Jo raised her eyebrows.

“You’re mad. It’s weird.”

“What am I supposed to do if she won’t talk to me? She just walks out and runs away. And Meredith? Meredith always has a place for her. She can just leave whenever she wants.” Link groaned dramatically. “I’m just trying to be there for her.”

“You’re never here, though.” He looked up. “This is the first time I’ve gotten to spend time with you since the season started. You can’t blame her for being annoyed about that.”

“And when I am here, she says she has to work.” Jo picked up his empty bottle, grabbing them both full ones from the fridge.

“So maybe it just doesn’t work, then.”

“But I want it to work. I love her. That’s not something I feel very often.”

“Except for Bronwyn,” Jo muttered, receiving an eye roll from Link. “You just have to learn to respect her boundaries. I didn’t tell Alex about Paul for years. I didn’t want him to know about that part of my life. I’m sure Amelia is doing the same thing.”

“I can’t help her if she won’t talk to me. We’re in a relationship. She should know that our lives are intertwined and that there’s no point in trying to avoid it.” Jo’s finger pointed, her eyebrows raised as if she had an idea.

“You know who you should talk to.”

“Who?”

“Amelia.”

[m88n]

ult group game 💘

tagged by @d-nghy-ck​ thank you so much bronwyn !! 🥰🥰🥰

rule: answer the following questions for your ult group! (nct)

who was your first bias?

if we’re talking when i legitimately started stanning nct as a group & not sm rookies, it was johnny HAHA. 😄👍🏻 dude has the best sense of humor i really vibe with, and when i watched the cup of coffee pt. 2 video, it really was game over lmaooo. during sm rookies mark’s always caught my eye since i used to bias xiumin hard and i saw them hang out quite a bit.

who is your bias now?

haechan + mark heh :D 💘 they occupy quite a large part of my brain interchangeably lmao.

what was the first mv you watched by them?

7th sense when it came out! i was a big exo fan and i was like oooo exo’s junior + that kid mark lee’s in it. gotta check it out. didn’t end up stanning them till years later tho rip

what’s your favorite mv?

superhuman 👁👄👁 that song (+ visuals !!!) was what locked me down as a stan for good tbh that song deserved much better fight me on this

if you could listen to one of their songs for the rest of your life, which would it be?

easy, it’d be make your day. 💗💞💘

who would you want to see them collab with?

to be honest i’m super biased but i’d die if i see them collab with the dpr gang. dpr live especially 😍🥰😚😚😚

what mv concept do you want to see them do?

a hot sorta rnb, hiphop/rap track with sexy hoe lyrics (LMAO) 😗😀👍🏻✨ wearing loose shirts n pants that might be a little too tight, situated in a high end clubby kinda setting, yk, total hoe vibes only make it kinda upscale and untouchable 😌👍🏻 (HAHAHHAA im being so honest here whatever a girl can dream alright) kinda like love talk but with a much bigger budget and darker tones w some neon fluorescent lighting here n there hah

have you ever had a dream with any of the members in it?

duuuuude HAHHAHAA @luvdsc knows forreal how my dreams are always so specific + vivid when it comes to some of the members 😂😂😂 i’ve had dreams with mark, haechan, jaehyun, johnny, jisung, and a glimpse of jeno.

if you could spend the day with one member, who would it be and what would you do?

this is honestly so hard. i’m debating between john, jaehyun, and mark for different reasons. john, because i just know we’d have the best chemistry and we’d have real good conversations both on light and heavier topics. jaehyun because i think dude’s been through a lot & keep things in and i want him to know for real that a fan like me really does care about his well being as a person, and not just as some idol i see from a distance. mark because i feel like i’d really, really genuinely enjoy my time with him, just talking about anything and everything💗💞💘 i think in the end i’d prolly choose mark just cos im biased like that hahaha 😅

which member do you think you’d get along with the best?

i feel like in terms of similarity in personality, i’d be more like jungwoo or jaemin in the way we have that on and off duality kinda thing HAHA💀💀💀 [19/02/22 edit: methinks i’m so similar to mark sometimes it kinda scares me lmaoo or sometimes jaemin too. cat’s the one who brought this to my attention quite recently] but tbh if we’re talking general compatibility it’d probably be johnny or mark, more so johnny i think🤔

which member do you think you would argue with?

to be honest, the first person i’d probably argue with would be haechan despite him being my bias, i know forreal he would drive me absolutely bonkers if i have to see him pretty often HAHA. like he’d be a sweetheart sometimes and we’d know how to emotionally bond, but at times he seems like he’d have a little bit of a needy/snarky/loud personality and at those times i could totally see myself feeling overwhelmed and getting annoyed by him hahahaa😬😬😬

if you had to let one member scroll through your tumblr, who would it be?

awwwwwwww damn ..... okay........ errrrrrmmmmmmm . prolly like ..... . i rly have no idea dude . 😐 i’d rather bring my blog to my grave than to show them my stuff HAHAHAHA ✋🏻💀💀💀 prolly johnny tbh cos he’d prolly be all like “hey whatever floats your boat you know ti? love how u wrote me btw, i sound real sexy” LMFAOOOO😔💀💀💀👍🏻

tagging @luvdsc @aqiaquas @starsuh do it babes i’d love to read your answers 🥺💐👍🏻✨ no pressure tho as always!

[whatshesaidabout]

One of Us is Next Karen M. McManus

*spoilers for One of Us is Lying*

Over Christmas, I read Karen M. McManus’ book, One of Us is Lying, and was hooked from the first page. It was one of my favourite books of 2019, so I had high expectations for the sequel. One of Us is Next goes back to the infamous Bayview High of the first novel, yet this time the focus is on Bronwyn’s younger sister, Maeve, and her two friends Knox and Phoebe, as they try to figure out who is behind a new truth or dare game. As secrets are revealed and friendships threatened, the characters realise that the motives behind this truth or dare game run much deeper than just revenge for high school pettiness.

What I really loved about this book were the characters. This didn’t surprise me as I really loved the original characters in One of Us is Lying, so I was really happy McManus was able to replicate this with new ones. One of my favourites was Knox. His cute and awkward demeanour was endearing, and it was funny to read how oblivious he was to Phoebe’s attraction to him. I was rooting for them from the beginning and their moment on the rooftop at the end was sweet without being cheesy. I just wish there had been more focus on them as a couple! However, I also really liked that McManus still referenced the main characters from the first book, but without having to involve them in the thriller plotline. It was nice to see how their lives had turned out since the events of the first novel, but without having to regress them to the high school world. 

I did have some issues with this book though. Firstly, although the concept of the truth or dare game was intriguing, it lacked the momentum of the first book to keep it that way. It petered out halfway through which, although made sense near the end, left the book without its structure and ultimately its hook. On top of this, I figured out who was behind the game about halfway through. Although it was an unusual and shocking choice by McManus, the rest of the book felt dragged out as I waited for the characters to figure it out. What did annoy me was that even when the person was finally revealed, McManus still tried to shock by attempting to replicate the double twist from the first book i.e. when it was revealed Simon was behind his own death but that he wasn’t working alone. Except, with this one, it just felt a bit too unbelievable and unnecessary.  

Ultimately, letting go of characters is hard, whether you’re an author or a reader, so I can understand how tempting a sequel can be, especially when the first book is such a big hit! But, more often than not, sequels don’t live up to their predecessor and, in this case, One of Us is Next just isn’t quite able to capture the same tension and suspense of the first Bayview High instalment. However, despite the plot being unsteady and a little slow at times, One of Us is Next is still a good read. The characters are as loveable, interesting and authentic as the originals and the truth or dare game still has a creepy enough quality to it. I just think it may be time to say goodbye to Bayview High. 

*a side note on format* I decided to give the audiobook a go and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, as I don’t usually listen to them – would definitely recommend! However, the guy who voiced Knox did sound more like a forty-year-old man than a seventeen-year-old, which I did find slightly off-putting at times. Haha!

[charmainelim]

Review: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Publication Date: January 14, 2014

Synopsis:

Jacob and several of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children have left their island. Running for their lives to save the ones they care about, they find themselves in the middle of World War II with no idea what to do next. Each day is getting more difficult than the last and enemies racing to find them, Jacob and the Peculiars must stay together and forge their way to an end goal that might kill them. BookDepository

Rating:  

Thoughts:

I raced to start this book almost immediately after finishing Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and read the first 100ish pages that night during my commute to and from church. It always surprises me how quickly I can fly through these books. On average, my reading speed is about a page a minute, but once I really get into these books, I can get up to a page and a half, maybe even a page and 3/4s. I found that I was more engaged in this book sooner than with the first one. I was able to get absorbed more quickly and enjoyed the story more because it was diving right back into the middle of the action, rather than reading a huge set-up like first books usually are. That isn't to say that the first book isn't great, but the first half definitely wasn't as action-packed as the rest of the series so far. The love story still bothered me just because the level of strangeness hasn't changed. The idea of Jacob and his...they're not even boyfriend and girlfriend. Okay, back to my point - the idea of Jacob and this girl being together kind of puts me off because so far, I still haven't seen any evidence that they each other for anything more than physical attraction. He has yet to mention something about her personality that draws him to her, and despite them not knowing each other for very long (maybe a couple of weeks at this point in the series), he claims to already be in love with her. I know that this is really common in YA because there are teenagers who actually do this in real life, but because I'm such a realistic person when it comes to romance, I find that characters falling in love after knowing each other for a few weeks usually puts a frown on my face. The action in this book is far more jam-packed and high-stakes than the first book, seeing as everyone is running for their lives now. Even though the intensity had cranked up, I didn't feel like I lost any substance from the story, as can sometimes happen when more action scenes start taking place. I enjoyed seeing how Ransom Riggs constructed each scene toward the end of the book and being able to see everything come together so perfectly. Reaching the end of the book made me want to pick up Library of Souls immediately, but I told myself to stop and take a bit a of breather before continuing, especially since I had to wake up and take care of a few errands in the morning. But hopefully, I'll be picking up the final book tonight before I head to bed.

Character(s):

I'm really enjoying the process of watching Jacob grow more into himself as a character. Seeing the different between who he started as and who he is at this point makes me really enjoy reading from his perspective. It's great to see him start gaining more confidence and being more assertive, especially when the situation calls for him to make a decision for the sake of everyone.  I have mixed feelings about Emma because I feel like I relate to her position as the leader and frequent decision-maker in the group, but I also have a hard time liking her for more than a chapter at a time. There were plenty of moments in which I really admired her, but then a few pages later, I would get annoyed at something else she did. At this point, I think Millard might be my favorite Peculiar because of how he conducts himself. We don't really read about him as much as some of the other characters, but whenever we do, Ransom Riggs really makes it count. Millard is the kind of teen you'd want to babysit your little sibling or child because you know that he'd take really good care of them. Enoch annoys me to no end with his constant pessimism. I can be pessimistic at times, but Enoch really takes it to a whole new level. As he hasn't contributed anything useful in this book, it really makes me wonder what Ransom Riggs has in store for him. I'm hoping that something might redeem him a little in the last book, but I have my doubts. Bronwyn is honestly one of the sweetest characters I've come across in awhile. The way she balances herself as the mom of the group really shows her caring nature. I love reading about her because it's nice to have a character who is so loving. There are several more characters in the book who are part of the group trying to run away, but I don't really have much of an opinion of them just yet. The ones I've mentioned are the ones that have stood out to me, and also appeared the most.

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 16.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 16.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000; min-height: 18.0px} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 16.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000; min-height: 19.0px} p.p4 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #454545; min-height: 14.0px} p.p5 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000; min-height: 18.0px}

Overall: 5 stars. I flew through this in 3 sittings and am so excited to pick up the last book in the series. I would definitely recommend this to people who are looking for a interesting adventure story.

via Blogger http://ift.tt/2uwZfU8

[izzielizzie]

Can we talk about romance and the Bayview girls for a moment? So often in mainstream literature, girls are thrown into a relationship whether or not they need one or they are compatible with the person, or their entire story is about them finding love and nothing else. But Bronwyn, Addy, Phoebe, and Maeve? They spend their books growing independently, and falling into or out of relationships when it suits them.

Let’s start with Bronwyn, shall we? She begins the book by talking about Evan, who she considers a good prospect for a solid senior year relationship. Bronwyn’s got the grades, the extracurriculars, and the family that fits her “rich ivy league legacy” appearance. To her, having a good boyfriend is the icing on the cake. But there’s no passion and joy. She’s just checking boxes. Enter, Nate Macauley. Bronwyn doesn’t fall in love with the bad boy because he’s sexy and irresistible (although that’s part of it), but instead she falls for his scars and broken pieces. She learns to care for others instead of focusing on herself. Because, based on her interactions with Maeve, she’s book smart but not always people smart. She pushes people to get what she wants, and Nate is the one who shows her that sometimes she needs to take a step back. Which is so important, because so many girls feel the need to defy every expectation because from day one the odds are stacked against them. It was wonderful to watch Bronwyn learn to love while still retaining everything that makes her a badass.

Next is Addy, who is almost the opposite of Bronwyn. Addy started dating Jake when she was fourteen, which is basically still a kid. Her life, her thoughts, and - let’s be honest - her body was controlled by him. Her mother pushed the idea that she needed a man in her life, and her friends praised her for dating Jake. But Addy was voiceless, her autonomy taken away. She made one decision and it nearly cost her her life. Now, it could have been so easy for her to be paired up with TJ at the end of oouil. Her life was getting back on track: she had good friends, she’d moved out of her toxic mother’s house and into her wonderful sister’s apartment, she joined a sports team that made her feel happy. Having a boyfriend could be the next step in her recovery from trauma. But she makes the personal decision to shut the door in TJ’s face. Because she’s deciding that a boyfriend isn’t necessary. And in oouin, she’s happy. She might not be on the stereotypical path for post high school grads, but she’s making her own money, living her life, and making her choices. And it could have been so easy for her to gripe about becoming the seventh wheel when Maeve went through her existential crisis about Luis, but she didn’t. Because Addy was perfectly content with her relationship status and passing on her happiness. She’s grown so much from the shallow popular girl we first saw her as. 

Speaking of popular girls, Phoebe Lawton is probably the most underrated main character, but her love story is amazing. She admits herself that she chose Brandon Weber because she thought she wasn’t worthy of loving anyone else. She made one choice, much like Addy, and it cost her her happiness. She lied to her friends and her sister, leading her to be a target in a vindictive game. She was called awful names and treated terribly because she made the choice that so many of the boys in the books made. I love Luis Santos, but he hooked up with as many people as Phoebe did, and he was celebrated for it. Phoebe is an amazing commentary on sexism when it comes to sex, but that’s not the point. This is about the romance, or rather, lack of it. Phoebe ends things with Brandon in the eighth chapter. That’s pretty early in the book, and we watch Phoebe struggle with the way she’s perceived for the rest of the book. But do you know who never says a word? Who never judges? Knox. Maeve seems judgey at moments, but never Knox. I know many people (including me) are annoyed that Phoebe and Knox weren’t together, but I’m so glad Phoebe herself is acknowledging that she’s not in a good place. She’s like Addy, but a little different. Addy is happy to be single for the foreseeable future, but Phoebe wants to be in a relationship. Not because she feels she needs one but because she likes being in a relationship. And that’s completely okay. It’s great that wanting to be in a relationship after her mental heath is stable is something that the characters, especially Knox who could have continued their kiss, understood.

And finally, my favorite, Maeve Rojas. Maeve hardly spoke ten words in the first book, but it was easy to tell that she was closed off and resisted affection. And it’s easy to see why: she’d nearly died before, and she knew that she scared the people she loved. I mean, she heard her father’s prayer about replacing her, and she made it her mission that he would never feel that way again. She’s so busy with making sure she doesn’t hurt the three people closest to her that she doesn’t have the willingness to let someone else love her. Because, let’s be honest, this girl needs to be loved. Which is where Luis comes in. He falls for her hard and fast, and she falls into him, like he was an old friend. She takes her time to open up, and in return he gives her space when she needs it, has her back when she isn’t able to protect herself, and isn’t afraid to call her out on her shit. It could have been so easy for Luis to be portrayed as “saving” her: the popular, handsome boy falling in love with the quiet girl who had cancer. But he doesn’t see it that way, and by extension, neither does Maeve. They supplement one another: he’s loud when she’s quiet, kind when she’s fierce, understanding when she can’t find the words. And the way she loves him is important too. If this was any other book, she’d probably suddenly become bold and willing to forget her entire past so they can be that popular couple with intense pda. But she doesn’t. She’s still broken and vulnerable and hiding being a façade, but she’s also learning to trust. She slept in his lap, which proves that she’s willing to try to love him in ways that are scary, and I think that’s so important: Maeve is learning to trust, something that is sped over in many other types of media. 

[izzielizzie]

Hey Iz, could you do a one shot about Natewyn growing up, based on It's Nice to Have a Friend?

Yes! I feel like we talked about this a long time ago and then I never wrote it. Here it is Jane. 

I realize that it doesn’t snow in San Diego, but let’s pretend shall we? Lyrics in italics. Definitely go listen to INTHAF by Taylor Swift, it’s one of my favorites. Enjoy!

(sorry for any typos, I wrote this really late at night)

School bell rings, walk me home

“Hey!” Bronwyn turned, and she saw a familiar looking boy waving at her. He had black hair and deep blue eyes. Bronwyn paused and smiled as he caught up to her. His black jacket was open to reveal his untucked shirt. Even at the age of nine, dress code violations annoyed Bronwyn. But there was something about this boy that interested her. He was funny, but he was kind too. Just last week, when someone was picking on a boy named Chad, Nathaniel Macauley had stepped up to defend him. 

“Hello Nathaniel,” Bronwyn answered. 

“It’s Nate, okay?”

“Okay. What’s up?”

Nate paused and looked at the ground. “Can I walk you home?”

Bronwyn hesitated. It was only earlier that year that her parents had decided it was safe for Bronwyn to walk the seven blocks to her house, and she was rather proud of the responsibility. But, company, she had to admit, was welcome. Especially when she had to cross the intersection with the grumpy crossing guard. After careful deliberation, during which Nate watched her patiently, Bronwyn came to a conclusion: “sure.”

Nate smiled at her, and he followed her onto the sidewalk. 

Sidewalk chalk, covered in snow

The flurries were light, but strong for Bronwyn, who had never seen snow before, and they were concerning. “Will they block the hop-scotch board?” Bronwyn asked Nate fretfully. Every day at recess, Bronwyn religiously drew the sloppy board in chalk with her best friend Olivia. Hop-scotch was one of Bronwyn’s great joys.  

“You do know they melt right?” Nate asked, looking askance at the girl he had, up until this point, considered to be the smartest person in the world.

“Of course I do,” Bronwyn snapped.

Nate’s smirk softened. “Sorry. That was mean.” 

Bronwyn smiled at him as they turned the corner. They both looked up at the sky, and, without thinking, stuck their tongues out to catch the thinning flurries. They laughed and jostled against each other as they walked down the street, side by side. Bronwyn marveled at how easy it was to be around Nate. She didn’t have to be perfect. If she had stuck her tongue out around Olivia, Olivia would have been scandalized. And Maeve, well, Bronwyn wasn’t quite sure what Maeve would have thought about her older sister sticking her tongue out like that. Bronwyn realized with a pang that her little sister wouldn’t be well enough to leave her hospital bed and look out the window to see the snow. She considered telling this to Nate, but she learned from talking to Olivia that other people didn’t want to hear about those types of things. Bronwyn didn’t tell Nate, but she thought that maybe one day she might be able to. 

Lost my gloves, you give me one

A few feet after the intersection with the guard who growled at people when they took too long, Bronwyn noticed Nate was shivering. “Are you scared of the guard?” Bronwyn asked him. Nate shook his head. His teeth chattered. 

“I’m cold. I lost my gloves, and my hat doesn’t fit me anymore.”

Bronwyn looked at Nate. His coat was still open, and his head and hands were bare. Bronwyn looked down at her own small gloves, with the fur inside. She pulled off the left one and handed it to him. “It might be small.”

Nate looked as if he was going to argue, but Bronwyn grabbed his hand and placed the glove in it. “You’re gonna get pneumonia.”

“I don’t know what that is,” Nate said.

Bronwyn didn’t answer, seeing as she didn’t know what it was either. She did know that it was bad though, and that people got it when they were cold. Instead, she pointed at his coat with her gloved hand. “You need to zipper that.”

“It’s stuck. I can’t get it closed.”

Bronwyn looked at the zipper for a few moments before tugging him towards her. She wiggled it to the left so it was straight, and pulled it up to his chin. “There.”

Nate smiled at her. They walked to Bronwyn’s house in silence after that, and they hovered at her door for a moment.

Wanna hang out?

Bronwyn bounced on the balls of her feet anxiously. She was waiting for Nate to say no. She was waiting for him to leave her. She was waiting for her life to go back to silent, too-large houses, anxious parents, and constant fear. 

Yeah, sounds like fun

Nate didn’t want to trek back to his house yet. Being with Bronwyn was a new type of comfort he had never experienced before. 

Video games, you pass me a note

“You really don’t have any video games?”

“Nope.”

They had tugged off their wet things and were curled up in front of the fireplace. Bronwyn watched as Nate looked around the living room, which was filled with books and board games and pictures. No video games in sight. 

“Fine. Do you have Battleship?”

“Of course.”

The next day, a note was dropped on Bronwyn’s desk. She picked it up and read five simple words: “Video games at my house”. For the first time in her life, Bronwyn couldn’t wait for school to end.

Sleeping in tents

It had taken a lot of conversations between their parents, but Nate and Bronwyn were finally going on a camping trip. Of course, they were only going to the end of Bronwyn’s yard, but she couldn’t wait. They spent the entire evening telling stories, laughing, and eating more marshmallows than generally acceptable. When it came time to sleep though, Bronwyn started to panic. She had never slept anywhere other than her white metal bed with the lavender quilt. She was about to admit defeat and head into her house when she felt a hand slip into hers. Nate squeezed her hand, and that was enough to calm her down. 

It’s nice to have a friend

It took Bronwyn five months after the night in the tent to tell Nate about her little sister’s cancer. He didn’t judge her, or pity her. He just pulled her into a hug and told her he was there for her. He didn’t tell her it was going to be okay, which she appreciated. Because sometimes it wasn’t.

It’s nice to have a friend

Nate spent a year calling Bronwyn his best friend before he told the clever, grey eyed girl that sometimes his parents’ yelling scared him. Without knowing how it happened, Nate spent every Friday with the Rojas in their house, where, for the first time in a long time, he felt safe.

Light pink sky, up on the roof

“Should we be up here?” Bronwyn asked fretfully. They were seventeen now. Half child, half adult. Some things, like Bronwyn’s cautious nature, hadn’t changed yet. When Maeve had made an offhand comment about how it was possible to get to the roof from her bedroom window the previous Friday, Nate was insistent he wanted to try it. Since it was as much his house as Bronwyn’s at this point, he did just that. Bronwyn went with him of course, since she was the one who made sure he stayed out of trouble.

Nate ignored her. 

Sun sinks down, no curfew

“I don’t have to be anywhere,” Nate assured her. When she still questioned the validity of their current location, Nate waved a hand at the sunset in front of them. “It’s so pretty Brownie. Stop worrying.”

Bronwyn blushed at the silly nickname. She wasn’t sure when her crush on Nate developed, but it was still lingering in her subconscious, no matter how many times she tried to suppress it. 

Twenty questions, we tell the truth

“Let’s play a game,” Bronwyn said, to get her mind off how far they were from the ground.

“Twenty questions,” Nate responded promptly. They always played that game.

You’ve been stressed out lately? Yeah me too

“I’m sorry Bronwyn.”

Bronwyn shook her head. “It’s fine. I just, Maeve hasn’t been feeling well and I don’t know if I’ll get into Yale, and I’m just so scared of messing up my future Nate.”

Something gave you the nerve to touch my hand

Without thinking, Nate reached over and placed his hand over Bronwyn’s. He was transported, suddenly, to the day she gave him her glove as they walked home. It was at that moment he knew he loved that bright, kind girl he watched from afar. He never knew that he would become as much a part of her life as she was in his. Nate vowed, at that moment on the roof, that he would do everything in his power to take the pain of her life. 

Without thinking, he leaned forward, and pressed his lips against hers. He was surprised to find that she was kissing him back. He was enveloped in the smell of green apple shampoo, and Nate could have sworn that he was in heaven.

It’s nice to have a friend

“Girlfriend?” He asked as they broke apart.

It’s nice to have a friend

Bronwyn held up their hands, their fingers intertwined. “Boyfriend,” she confirmed. Their grins spoke every word they couldn’t say out loud.

Church bells ring, you carry me home

Bronwyn was laughing as she watched her sister lean in to Luis. She had just caught Bronwyn’s bouquet, and Bronwyn knew her superstitious sister would take that as an omen. She shrieked however, when Nate picked her up at the bottom of the church stairs, bridal style, which, Bronwyn supposed, was incredibly accurate.

Rice on the ground, looks like snow

“The rice looked like snow,” Bronwyn said as they drove towards their apartment. They wanted to spend their honeymoon at home. 

“Like the day we became friends,” Nate agreed.

“The best day of my life.”

“Better than today?” Nate asked with a cheeky grin. Bronwyn poked his shoulder.

“Maybe.”

The car behind them honked for what felt like an eternity before they pulled away from their kiss. They spent the rest of the drive laughing. 

Call my bluff, call you babe

“I hate this dress,” Bronwyn grumbled as she nearly tripped over it as Nate set her down.

“No you don’t. You’ve been gushing over it all day.”

Bronwyn swatted Nate’s arm. “Whatever you say, babe.”

Feels like home, stay in bed

“I love this place.”

“Me too.”

“Should we finish putting up the pictures?”

“You, Mrs. Macaulay, are staying in bed with me. We can do that tomorrow.”

“Hmph.”

The whole weekend

“Nate, it’s Monday.”

“No it is not.”

“Yes, it is.”

“It’s too cozy to get up.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

It’s nice to have a friend

“I love you Bronwyn.”

It’s nice to have a friend

“I love you more Nate.”

It’s nice to have a friend

“You were the best friend that ever happened to me.”

“Agreed.”