#evil!bronte

[crescentpaws]

(I am so sorry, please feel free to delete this and ignore it if you want, but I, much like Fintan, am not thinking straight after reading that)

A kiss. Fintan cursed himself for his foolishness. In the middle of an interrogation, and he asks a Councillor for a kiss. Bronte had thrown him off guard.

And yet with the lingering warmth of Bronte's fingers on his skin, his mind wandered, imagining how it might have played out.

Bronte's warm lips on his. His eyes full of hunger and desire. His hand tangled in Fintan's hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him closer, or perhaps moving down to his body, leaving trails of heat everywhere he touched. Along his collarbone...down his chest...wrapping his hands around his hips...

[Emery, outside the cell: good news, everyone! I've finally breached his mental barriers!

Oralie: Amazing! What have you found in his thoughts?

Emery:

Emery:

Emery: someone get me a Washer immediately]

oh my GOD

[ancientrimer]

you ever read a paper that has such a bad faith-take on a female main character that you know without looking that it’s by a male author

[artemismatchalatte]

What if my booktok was just a front to get people to read Anne Bronte? :)

[buddyhollyscurls]

Had to stop reading Tenant for tonight bc I got to the part Arthur reads her diary, burns her art supplies, and steals her money and jewels and I felt so many emotions

[keefeclothesandcrisps]

it's time for kotlc trivia!

[bypujagoyal]

Bat Soup

© 2024, Puja Goyal “Come home Papa, and soon.” Lily grabbed the phone from her mother,and held it tightly as she screamed.Then, in an instant, letting it fall on the bed,her mother ran to the kitchen to prepare bat soup.At dinner, at exactly 8.The bat lay face up in a bowl,Sprinkled with onions, salt and pepper,Some broth and vinegar.Half swimming, holding itself on the rim.Struggling to keep…

[0caljello]

people who ship bronte and fintan need to stop being afraid and start shipping keefitz. it’s the same ship you are all just to cowardly to admit it. snarky and dark haired with anger issues who upholds elvin society paired with slightly evil blonde with dangerous abilities who’s fundamentally minsunderstood but buries their feelings and doesn’t show it.

[saintmelangell]

Kinda want to get into horror and erotism. Do you have any essays, film, or book recs?

some very quick and dirty suggestions, certainly by no means comprehensive, and i highly encourage people to make recommendations in the comments/rbs:

non-fiction books:

erotism by georges bataille

literature and evil by georges bataille

powers of horror: an essay on abjection by julia kristeva

stigmata: escaping texts by helene cixous

the pleasures of the text by roland barthes

theology and horror: explorations of the dark religious imagination by brandon r. grafius & john w. morehead

gothic by fred botting

our vampires, ourselves by nina auerbach

dangerous bodies: historicising the gothic corporeal by marie mulvey-roberts

pretty much all of the non-fiction books on this list

essays:

the horrors of catholicism: religion and sexuality in gothic fiction by george haggerty

gothic and horror heroinism in the age of feminism by xavier reyes

gothic mirrors and feminine identity by claire kahane

beast's triumph over beauty in gothic film by kathy justice gentile

a turn to the center: the gothic spinster and erotic solitude by emily banks

the aesthetics of fear by joyce carol oates

from bluebeard's bloody chamber to demonic stigmatic by marie mulvey-roberts

women in the cut of danger by christopher yiannitsaros

mothers and other lovers: gothic fiction and the erotics of loss by ge haggerty

fiction:

the bloody chamber and other stories by angela carter

the letters of mina harker by dodie bellamy

varieties of female gothic edited by gary kelly

wuthering heights by emily bronte

frankenstein, or the modern prometheus by mary shelley

dracula by bram stoker

the vampyre by john polidori

carmilla by joseph sheridan le fanu

the hellbound heart by clive barker

our wives under the sea by julia armfield

salt slow by julia armfield

piercing by ryu murakami

film/tv:

interview with the vampire (series)

penny dreadful

bram stoker's dracula

suspiria (both original and remake)

the first omen

lisa frankenstein

possessor

the witch

the silence of the lambs

stigma (1977)

house (1977)

rosemary's baby

blood on satan's claw

crimson peak

hellraiser

possession

candyman

[wisteriadumster]

After Party ❥Arthur Morgan

ARTHUR MORGAN X FEMALE READER

CW➻❥ Semi public sex ⋆ orgasm⋆ drinking ⋆

WC➻❥1700➻❥ this isn't well proof read so any mistakes or odd things are purely accidental

Summary➻❥ After your father dragged to the mayor of Saint Denis’ party, you drunkenly but mostly soberly hook up with a Mr. Arthur Kilgore right outside in a carriage

A/N ➻❥ I didn’t think I would actually finish this but I’ve been on a writing groove lately so more fics to come hopefully

Do Not Steal Or Translate My Work!

You were at Mayor Lemieux’s garden party, your father had begged you to go, simply to find you a husband. You walked around, observing all the older men, did your father really think one of these men could sweep you off your feet?

“More wine?” A server came up to you, “oui, s'il vous plait” you set your glass on his tray, his other hand replaced your empty one with another glass, “merci.”

You examined the balcony, “important” men were staring back, one of them was Angelo Bronte. Your fathers most evil associate, you knew Mr.Bronte was nothing but a manipulative and greedy immigrant. You would beg your father to cut ties from Bronte but you were waved away every time.

“Ah there she is!” Your father wrapped his arm around your back, “oh Mayor Lemieux, what a party,” you smiled.

“Merci, are you enjoying the vin?” His voice seemed awkward, “why of course, you surely pick well.”

A small group had formed, your father refused to let you leave, in hopes you’d be attracted by these married “suitors.” A man that had been on the balcony joined the group, “Mayor, what a pleasure.” He clasped his hand with Lemieux’s glove, “are you enjoying yourself sir?” He cleared his throat against his accent, “it’s, different.” Perhaps your father was right to make you stay, “I haven’t seen you before.” Your father remarked, the man awkwardly laughed, “I’m an oil man out west, I’m visiting for business.”

“Well mister oil man would you mind grabbing a drink with me?” You unlocked your arm from your fathers. “I can’t deny a drink,” he smiled and began walking with you.

“Are you married mister?” You dragged, “Kilgore.” He answered, “I am a single man darlin’.”

You blushed and made it to the bar, “bonjour madame, monsieur,” the bartender grinned.

“Bonne soirée,” you greeted back, “I’ll have a glass of champagne, and for you Mister Kilgore?” He cleared his throat, “do you have whiskey?” Mr.Kilgore seemed nervous, “oh why of course monsieur!” The bartender gleamed, he set down the glass of champagne and began pouring the glass of whiskey.

“Merci beaucoup,” you cheered your class and stepped away from the bar. Mr.Kilgore set his hand on the bottom of your back as you navigated through the crowd.

With drinks in your system, you had been flirting with Mr.Kilgore the entire night, he wasn’t rejecting them either.

“What if we go somewhere, more private?” You giggle, “if we leave this party, you’re gonna love me tonight.” He remarked, “will you leave with me?” You advanced, he smirked and looked away from you, “are you sure about that darlin’?” His voice rasped, “I wouldn’t be asking now would I?”

You had both snuck just outside the mayor's home, an empty carriage sat just down the road. “What if we,” you hint as you slow at the carriage, “sweetheart that’s a bit risky now ain’t it?” He was hesitant, “well mister Kilgore, this whole ordeal is quite risky itself, I think it could be fun.” You smirk, your free hand opening the door,

Mr.Kilgore gently closed the door to the one bench carriage. It was small but how much room did you even need? Your ballgown surely didn’t fit within the confines of the carriage, but it didn’t matter, Mr.Kilgore would be tearing you out of it in a moment.

He scrunched his lips as he studied your dress, “oh don’t worry sir, it’s a simple one, just get the strings.” You had slipped in a rather simple ball gown, everything was already attached to the dress, the only thing you had to do was slip into it.

You turned yourself away from Mr.Kilgore, your back was touched by cold calloused hands as he worked through the tight strings.

“What’s your name Mister Kilgore?” You finally asked, you figured you should know the man’s name before he saw your bare body. “Arthur,” he pulled the final silk lace loose.

You took a deep breath as the constricting pressure released. You pushed the straps that laid on your shoulders, your breathing was heavy as Arthur’s hand hesitantly pulled on the fabric that covered you. “Are you sure about this?” He looked up from your cleavage, his eyes desperately searching your face for an answer, “absolutely.” You pulled on his bow tie, bringing him into a delicate and precise kiss. Your head was slightly cocked, your lips slowly connected, distracting you as Arthur’s hands meticulously removed your dress.

Your torso was exposed, the rest of your outfit was a large mass of blue that flooded the carriage.

You could feel your lipstick rubbing off against Arthur’s face, marking where your scandalous lips had touched.

“Darlin’ I need a bit of your assistance,” he pulled back, looking down at your body and the pestering ball gown. You did your best to stand in the cramped space, Arthur’s hands pushed the dress down your legs, revealing how carelessly you were dressed beneath your dress.

There was a moment, Arthur was quiet as he admired your body. You blushed at how vulnerable you had made yourself for a man you had only known for two hours.

You pulled on the buttons of Arthur’s dress shirt, “Mister Kilgore if you mind, I would like a chance to study your body.” You giggled.

You both tackled the suit that Arthur wore: removing his jacket, bow tie, and his white button up. His hand travelled around to it neck, touching the back of it before intertwining itself with your styled hair. He pulled you in for another kiss, his warm body touching against yours as your bodies shifted.

He was on top of you, his fingers squeezing and wondering over your breast. The kiss was hot and heavy; moments away from escalating to what you wanted.

He pulled back from the kiss, looking down as he directed his hand to his pants. You looked back up, fixated on his face.

He looked back to you, both of you making the same expression of shock as his cock pushed through, entering into your eager and wet pussy.

“Fuck,” you blurted as he continued to let himself fully fit. Arthur gritted his teeth and let out a groan as he adjusted himself.

His pace started slow, he analyzed you searching for the speed that pleased you best.

You gripped the back of the seat, your nails digging into the leather. Arthur was quiet with his groans, you could feel the hot air leave his nostrils as his chest rumbled.

“You like that sweetheart?” He asked, unsure of his next move. “Faster,” you mustered before wrapping a hand in his hair and pulling him into a kiss. Arthur obeyed the command and increased his pace, your skin smacking together a little harder.

You pulled at his short hair, moaning against his lips every time his tip hit exactly where it needed.

You pulled back from the ravenous kiss, “we should really get back to the party.” Anxiety had washed over you, what could your father be thinking right now, what if he needed you.

“Darlin’ I’ll do whatever you want,” he finished with a deep and aggressive thrust.

You practically belted out a moan at the sudden feeling, your hands gripping and digging into whatever they held onto.

The thrusts were delicate, Arthur slowly taking you through a growing climax. Arthur was nuzzled in your neck, kissing your fragile skin.

“I really think,” you sentence is cut by a moan. Every time you felt that you should really stop, your body would always react, begging to stay.

Your hands were travelling around his sculpted torso, taking in how his chest hair covered his body in a light layer. “Take a breath darlin’.” He smiled against your lips, you inhaled, deeply.

A hard thrust caused that air to come rushing back out, your nails to dig into his back, something you had only just started navigating.

A hot flash ran over you, your orgasm flowing throughout you. Your legs shook as the pleasurable feeling finally drained out of you.

You were panting hard, your body recovering from the surge of overstimulation.

Arthur pulled back from you, his body soaked in a layer of sweat, a combination of his and yours.

You opened your mouth to speak, but words were unable to process and come out.

“Best we should back, right sweetheart?” Arthur’s words pulled you out of the haze that he had put you in, as well as the alcohol in your system, if it hadn’t been sweated out.

“I suppose you’re right Mister Kilgore.” You sat up, your chest rising and lowering, synchronized with Arthur’s.

You searched through the sea of your ballgown, finding the corseted top.

You turned your back to Arthur, who was finishing the buttons of his dress shirt. “Do you mind?” You asked, “it ain’t gon’ to look pretty.” He admitted and grabbed the loose corset lace.

He pulled the final string tight and brushed your shoulders. “Would you like me to do your bow tie?” You turned, “nah, I think my outfit will do fine without it.” He tucked it inside his jacket coat.

As you stepped out of the carriage, cold and freeze air greeted your nostrils.

You looked back at the carriage, the mirrors were significantly fogged. You looked down the street, a man and woman watching from beneath the light of a streetlamp.

You embarrassing smiled, your face becoming flush in color.

You pulled your hair out of the now messed up-do.

You fluffed your hair with your fingers roughly, hoping the curls from the previous hairstyle could save your up kept look. “Darlin’ you look just fine,” Arthur looked at you, “are you sure?” You begged, Arthur stopped walking, holding your shoulders. “Sweetheart you look just as beautiful as when I first looked at ya.” A smile gently cracked from your worried frown.

“Now darlin’ would you like get back to that party?” He let go of your shoulders, his arm slowly jutting out. You interlocked your arm with his and continued your strut down the street back to the mayors house.

[aspenaspenaspenaspenaspen]

anonymous blogs are such a fun thing we have on kotlc tumblr, but I feel we as a community have been doing it wrong, so here’s some dos and donts for sending an anonymous ask!

do:

“my conspiracy is that Kenric is actually Gethen and has been a bad guy this whole time”

don’t:

“I know Kenric is only in kotlc for plot purposes but he’s actually so evil and is such a bad character”

do:

“y’all fintan and gisela are actually made for each other PLEASE <3”

don’t:

“bronte x fintan is such a awful ship like they’re literally enemies!!”

do:

“I think umbtrix is such a cute ship name for umber and trix like their names fit together so well!”

don’t:

“I am so tired of people calling umber x trix ‘shadowwind” it doesn’t make sense and it sounds like a crappy warrior cats oc sorry not sorry”

do:

post positive opinions or theories, they of course can and probably will conflict with other peoples opinions but

dont:

make negative posts or shut down other people’s opinions and ships, or just be hateful to characters, because that’s just not fun

[lillyponders]

Call for beta-readers

I have finally completed my novel, and need beta-readers to evaluate it before I go on to query literary agents. I cannot financially compensate readers beyond token amounts, but I am willing to return the favour by reading and giving detailed feedback on your own manuscripts (so long as they are not significantly lengthier than my own).

If you are interested, please say so in the replies. Then I will DM you a list of things I would like you to pay attention to during your reading, and provide me with feedback on those points. I would like the interested readers to complete the reading in a month.

Brief info about the novel:

Length: 126k words

Genre: gothic mystery-romance, historical, LGBT

Inspirations and comparative titles: Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (1847), Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla (1871-72), Sarah Waters' Affinity (1999), Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak (2015), Mexican Gothic (2020) by Sylvia Moreno Garcia, Bitterthorn (2023) by Kat Dunn, The Knowing (2024) by Emma Hinds.

Adult-grade, contains depictions of physical and sexual violence, and an explicit sex-scene

Story summary:

In 1872, a young prodigy spirit-medium Agnes Iddins is called to investigate a haunting of a great country house in Derbyshire.

The house, nicknamed 'Shrike's Barrow', had been a site of an extraordinary crime in 1831, when nearly the entire noble family and a few senior servants to boot were brutally murdered in a single night, 13 people in total.

Agnes is hired by the only surviving family member, baronet Sir Ethan Ramshaw, then a young man, and joined by a rationalist sceptic Dr William Trowley, Sir Ethan's distant cousin who is to inherit the estate. Agnes befriends the servants, especially the sardonic female gardener Heather, in an effort to uncover the circumstance leading up to the massacre.

When she contacts the spirit of one of the victims, her investigation takes an unexpected turn. Can Agnes solve the mystery and banish the evil spirit, or will she succumb to the darkness of Barrow?

[artemismatchalatte]

NaNoWriMo 2022: Day 1

Hey, everyone! So I’m going to be daily word count posts for my NaNoWriMo 2022 Project: Matt & Hess. 

Day 1 total Word Count: 2,971

Total Word Count To Date: 2,971

Excerpt: 

I left her, but tears sprang in my eyes. Most adults had been lying to us our whole lives and Rosie believed them. They always praised her for being such a beautiful, lovely girl. How proud our parents must be! What an equally beautiful, lovely bride she’d be. No one asked Rosie what she thought. I realized then with a bitter chill; no one cared. She was pretty and that’s all that mattered.

But they usually started when they saw me sitting or standing nearby. What a fetching lad her brother is! They would burst forth and wonder why I flushed and said nothing to them. Mama would correct them and apologize for my unusual dress.

It’s a shame your Matilda wasn’t a young man- the girls would fall over themselves to speak to her, thinking she was a strapping young lad.

There was a beauty to me is what I heard them say over and over again but it was masculine not feminine.

[crescentpaws]

kotlc sims updates from earlier this month that i keep forgetting to share 😭😭 (i haven’t played in a bit tbh… will probably check in on them again today tho so expect more updates later)

- added ro, sandor, & grizel (della died like right after i added them so grizel was almost like her replacement LMAO 💀)

- thinking of reviving della tho….. she is too cool to have her death be by kitchen fire

- also added brant, gethen, & ruy (& i had alvar move out of everglen and move in with them so they could be evil together)

- can’t remember if i shared this already or not but sophie has a raven familiar now :) it’s so silly looking

- also have tried to make ruedacted happen but it’s a bit hard when jolie keeps scaring brant all the time.. 💀

here they are tho…. they are talking about death i guess

- fintan & bronte got married tho! 🤞 was kind of a disaster at first bc why is the wedding expansion pack so glitchy…. the first time i tried to make the wedding happen fintan didn’t even show up 💀💀 man what the hell. he was probably too busy committing arson or whatever

was sad tho bc the original cake was so pretty 😞 it’s got galaxy icing loookkk. in love (second pic is the second cake i had to use bc the stupid cake seller wasn’t selling the galaxy cake the next day..)

- hired sophie as the caterer bc for some reason she was an option…. so like ok

- when it was time to kiss they ended up bonking their heads together TWICE 💀 which is so funny. come on guys this is embarrassing!!!

- when i saw the option that was like ‘feed each other cake’ i was like aww that seems cute. WRONG! fintan is a bitch.

(this also happened twice. which is also funny.)

- also here is their new house. stupid emo cottage couple.

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: the beard is blue

Anna Biller: submitted for the approval of the midnight society, i call this the tale of bluebeard's castle Mary Shelley: sup fuckers? Shelley: you telling a gothic story here? Biller: it's not gothic, it just uses classic story telling elements of gothic Biller: it's its own original thing Shelley: oh yeah yeah i'll be the judge of that Shelley: seein' as i invented gothic and all Biller: it's not gothic, it just uses classic-

Biller: it's not like angela's bluebeard story Biller: very different Biller: but let me explain angela's story in detail Biller: blow by blow Biller: for pages

Biller: this woman goes to a spooky secluded manor Biller: like daphne du maurier's rebecca Biller: with a brooding aristocratic husband Biller: like Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights! Biller: and she has a sweet heavenly voice Biller: like urkel!

Biller: this part of my story is a reference to Jane Eyre Biller: you guys might not have heard of it, its pretty obscure Biller: don't worry, i'll just grind the story to a halt so that i can describe jane eyre Biller: and this bit is a reference to dracula Barker: oh my god its like gothic ernest kline Poe: clive, be nice

Biller: anyway eventually she kinda just putters around until her brooding husband poisons her Biller: and there was nothing she could do to avoid it Biller: real girl boss hours

Shelley: what, she just gets poisoned? Shelley: couldn't be me Shelley: if i was there, i would have shivved that bastard but good Biller: UM no actually Biller: that wouldn't work! Biller: there's a whole concluding chapter about how stupid you, the reader, are for thinking she escape Shelley: rip to her but i'm different

Biller: so what do you think? Mary Shelley: i like the bit where you just repeated angela's version Poe: clive Poe: no wait i mean Poe: mary Angela Carter: no no i can see why she might like that part

Biller: the important thing about my work is to know that women and men should stay in their lanes and follow the strict rules of their gender Patricia Highsmith: poison's a broad's thing Biller: excuse me?! Highsmith: that's how a dame does a murder Highsmith: a real man does a murder with his hands Biller: Highsmith: or a boat oar

Highsmith: see, my ripley- Biller: oh god again with the ripley Biller: always with your OC patricia! we're all tired of hearing about your OC! Shelley: no patricia's right, killing a guy with a boat oar is cool Shelley: poison's sissy shit Shelley: i like how ripley does all those murders Shelley: fucker's got style Highsmith: that's what i've been saying!

Anna Biller: see, Bluebeard's castle is all about how men are men (evil) and women are women (stupid) Biller: as opposed to the love witch, which was about how men are men (stupid) and women are women (evil)

[cosmxc-ars3hol3]

Oh, ashes, ashes, Dust to dust

Title - Oh, ashes, ashes, Dust to dust

Rating - General Audiences

Archive Warning - No Archive Warnings Apply

Category - M/M

Fandom - Keeper of the Lost Cities - Shannon Messenger

Relationship - Councillor Bronte/Fintan Pyren

Characters - Fintan Pyren, Councillor Bronte

Additional Tags - Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 03: Everblaze (Keeper of the Lost Cities)

Summary - ‘After Fintan burnt Oblivimyre down during his healing, he sneaks his way into Bronte’s Castle in Eternalia so he has somewhere to stay. Bronte decides to help him stay hidden/keep people thinking he’s dead.’

its gonna be a multi chapter (hopefully) fintante fic that my tumblr mutual kale gave me when i was bitching about the appalling lack of fintante fics on ao3 (thanks kale!)

The fic is also under the cut

Bronte lightleaped back to his castle with a heavy heart; his and the other councillors' castle was luckily not in the section of Eternalia that got burned down by fintans Everblaze. He unlocked the door, his bodyguards trailing in behind him, patrolling the lower levels of the castle. The air was thick with the scent of ash, an unsettling reminder of the chaos that had unfolded, strange but not yet suspicious.

The goblins conducted a thorough search that ended with them telling Bronte it was safe, yet Bronte couldn't shake a feeling of unease. It must be leftover nerves from what happened at Oblivimyre. Going alone, he went to the more familiar and comforting parts of his castle. Weary both emotionally and physically, he went to his lounge room, intending to calm down and eventually sleep, if he could, for the night. But as he got into the room, a prickling sensation told him he was not alone.

"Who's there?" Bronte's voice cut through the silence, betraying a mixture of weariness and apprehension. He could tell there was someone there. Today had taken its toll on him, and now the break in felt like a cruel twist of fate. The scene of earlier in the evening rushed back to him: the council’s idiotic decision to entrust Sophie, a mere 13-year-old, with the responsibility of bringing Fintan back to sanity. to fix what used to be impossible.

Sophie is the only currently existing telepath with the ability to bring back a broken mind. He would say skill, but she didn't work for it; she was handed it on a silver platter by her creators, the Black Swan.

The Black Swan were a group of law-breaking rebels that, although they aren't totally law-abiding, they're also not as evil as everyone originally thought. They used to be the only known rebel group, but through a fiasco a few months ago, when Sophie was kidnapped, it was revealed that there was another rebel group, one that had everyone pinning their actions and crimes onto the Black Swan. It was then revealed that Fintan, an old friend to many of the current and past councillors, was a part of this newly discovered rebel group. The council decided to break Fintan's mind in an attempt to get more information out of him—information that he was refusing to give up willingly.

The break ended with many things going wrong, all of which are public knowledge and heavily talked about amongst people. Alden's mind broke, and with the help of the black swan, Sophie realised that she could heal him, something previously thought to be impossible.

The council decided, against Bronte’s better wishes, to heal Fintan's mind and try to get the same information that they previously failed to extract. It was a gamble that Bronte had foolishly hoped the council wouldn't take.

Bronte knew what his old friend? enemy? Bronte didn't know how to describe him; he knew what he is like. was like.

As he predicted, the healing went wrong—so much more wrong than he could have ever predicted himself.

Sophie, without a hitch, healed fintan’s broken mind.

That's where it went wrong. Bronte knew that it would be stupid to bring back Fintan's sanity, he was already too far gone from how he used to be.

Bronte looks back to those days with fondness and love.

Fintan used to be so good, so caring. Bronte knew that the person his old friend used to be was dead. and now his old friend has died.

In an attempt at something, while they were all in that building, all glittering and seemingly perfect, he called down Everblaze.

He's dead now, as is Kenric. and Bronte has to cope with losses.

Kenric, a trusted ally, was among the casualties, leaving Bronte to deal with the loss, although he didn't have it as hard as Oralie did. Kenric's death hurt because it was avoidable; Fintan’s hurt because Bronte was mourning the person his friend used to be.

‘Whoever is here, you better show yourself before I get my bodyguards,’ Bronte's voice held a steely edge, a futile attempt to mask his trepidation. The intruder remained hidden, refusing to reveal themselves despite Bronte's threats. With a resigned sigh, he shed his supposedly "fireproof" cape, not that it worked when faced with Everblaze, the sun’s fire on earth, only able to be summoned by the most powerful of pyrokinetics. Fintan did it in absolute zero conditions with a still-healing mind.

As much as Bronte hated to admit it, Fintan scared him.

‘If you don't come out now, I will be calling them in to find you,’ he warned. ‘I'm sure you're aware that goblins have excellent senses. They will find you in no time. So either show yourself or risk my bodyguards and jail,’ he finished. sitting down on one of the chairs lying around his lounge room, where he knew the perpetrator was hiding, waiting for them to emerge from their hiding spot to show themselves so Bronte could finally go to bed and try to process that evening.

‘I'm sure I can handle the goblins. Im sure I could take you out too,’ said the intruder.

‘Show yourself now, or I will send the full force of my inflicting your way. Responding tells me where in the room you are.’ said bronte with an eerily calm voice when compared to his threatening words.

‘alright, alright. I will show myself IF you agree to hear me out, not call for your goblins, or arrest me,’ replied the stranger. Although Bronte recognised his voice from somewhere, he couldn't place it, but the voice felt really familiar.

And why would I agree to that? Chances are, you're a member of a rebel group, probably the same one Fintan was working with. You're a criminal, a big one at that, because you chose to break into a councillor's office.’ Bronte stated, ‘You should be glad I didn't immediately get my goblins to sniff you off here and into a jail cell,’ he threatened, even though he knew it was pointless.

The ashy smell he picked up on entry to his castle that he mistook for his own clothes wasn't him. The intruder was a part of the same rebel group that fintan was a leader to.

He waited a moment before adding, ‘But I'm curious, so I'll agree.’

‘Hopefully curiosity won't kill the cat.' replied the intruder, about to finally reveal himself, ‘Hey bronte.’

It was Fintan. somehow it was Fintan.

‘You’re supposed to be dead,’ said Bronte in shock.

He punches Fintan.

[insert-clever-username-1133]

kotlc thoughts thread for book 5 :D

i should really not be reading these at such a lightning pace (i need airplane reading) but like. i can't not

and man. inflicting as her highest score??? bronte must really be done with his evil phase then

oh since this is the halfway point I'm tagging these kotlc spoilers now