#rere's story

[rere-the-writer]

Hi I love your writing sooo much. I was wondering if you could do a Elijah and Klaus with reader ✨spicy✨ story where someone was flirting with her and they get jealous.

Let's do Poly time

Warnings: Fluff, Protective!Elijah, Protective!Klaus, Klaus being Klaus, spicy

Klaus growled lowly watching a brave young vampire flirt with you, the hybrid was having a hard time holding hisself back. Elijah had joined his brother eyes narrowed at the young vampire who was now touching you.

You were in Klaus's words, Elijah's and Klaus's human. Their girlfriend of three years after they fought over you the first two years of knowing you.

You were an innocent librarian with dark curls and beautiful eyes. You met Elijah and Klaus though Finn, you were surprised that both Originals adored you.

Both tried to get you to pick, but you couldn't choose between the two. And told them you weren't going to come between the brothers. So here you were, three years later in a happy relationship.

"That is a brave vampire." Elijah said lowly eyes darkening seeing the male touch your bare back. Klaus's glare got darker when the vampire leaned closer to you whispering something in your ear.

"That he is. Completely ignoring our marks on her." Klaus said lowly wanting nothing more than to tear the vampire from you. You had clear marks on your neck, bite marks from both Elijah and Klaus.

"Unfortunately our darling is too sweet for her own good. Shall we put an end to their conversation?"

"Yes, we shall." Klaus said heading your way with Elijah. Marcel sighed having noticed the two Originals headed over to you and the vampire you were talking to. Marcel knew that the night might end with blood spilling.

"Beloved." You jumped hearing Elijah purr in your ear while his hand replaced the vampire's on your back. You heard Klaus growl when the vampire stood straightener, challenging the two Originals.

"Eli, Nik. Meet Thomas, he is new to the city." You say feeling Elijah nuzzle your neck as Klaus moved next to you kissing your hand. Both stared at Thomas noticing right away that he was challenging them.

"Lovely to meet you both. I wasn't aware that Y/N was taken by you two." Thomas says watching you lean into your lovers touch.

"I couldn't help but notice that you were comfortably flirting with her. Clearly she was taken, the bite marks on her neck says she was already taken."

"Right....well I thought some low raking vamp had her. And I was right." Thomas said sipping his drink. You swallowed hearing your lovers growl lowly.

"Watch your tongue Thomas. Niklaus and I are Originals, show some respect." Elijah said eyes darkening and you turned placing your hands on Elijah's chest.

"Right so called creators. The first ones, I mean no disrespect but Y/N should be with someone more stronger." Thomas said smirking watching you try hard to not let Klaus tear into him.

"Brave thing to say." Elijah says lowly eyes darkening clearly angry with the vampire. You swallowed looking between the vampires hoping that Thomas won't be stupid.

"Well I am sure you would agree if you were in my shoes." Thomas said and at that moment you knew the vampire had mess up. Klaus growled slamming Thomas onto the ground while Elijah moved in front of you.

"I do not take well to disrespect from baby vampires." Klaus said lowly eyes flashing yellow. You wanted to step in to calm Klaus but Elijah held you back.

"I meant no harm. But pretty weak of you to share her with your brother if you ask me." Once those words left Thomas's lips, Klaus tore the vampire's heart out. Elijah lifted you up carrying you up stairs as Klaus glared at the vampires.

"Anyone else that challenges me or Elijah. Will end up like little Thomas." Klaus growled out and followed Elijah up stairs to your bedroom.

"That was uncalled for Nik." You tell your hybrid when Elijah placed you down. Klaus smirked watching Elijah unlace your dress.

"Was it love? Or very much called for?" Klaus said taking off his suit jacket and tie. You frowned as Elijah kissed your neck wrapping his arms around you.

"You both can't keep killing men that flirt with me." You mumbled stepping out of your dress. Elijah smiled against your skin and Klaus chuckled stepping forward rubbing your sides.

"Now love, you know that you belong to Elijah and I. Other men should learn to stay away." Klaus tells you pressing kisses on your chest then lifted you up.

"Elijah, you agree with me." You whined seeing the vampire taking off his own suit jacket and tie. Klaus moved behind you making you jump feeling his bare chest against your back.

"Sorry baby but I agree with Niklaus." Elijah says moving down between your legs. You felt heat flood your veins when Elijah's mouth on your thigh.

"You two are the worst." You tell them your voice coming out breathy. Klaus was gently biting your neck while his hand cupped your chest.

"Yet you still love us." Klaus teases you gripping your hips once Elijah reached your center. You let out a soft moan, the first of many that night.

"Nik.....Eli.." You whimpered gripping Klaus's thigh while Elijah was practically devouring you. Klaus nipped at your neck playing with your chest.

"Let's see if we can make you scream tonight, love." Klaus whispered in your ear. You flushed shivering seeing the dark smirks on your lover's faces know you were about to have a long night.

[rhapsodynew]

The Rolling Stones as hippies, 1970

The symbol of peace is associated with the hippie movement, which appeared in the 60s of the last century.

Surprisingly, this symbol, unlike many others, has no analogues from the past.

It was coined by Gerald Holt to denote the expression "British nuclear weapons", combining the two English letters N and D from "Nuclear Disarmament" (nuclear disarmament). Holtom himself explained the image as follows: The lines enclosed in a circle are a man in despair and despair, with his arms outstretched downwards.

Interestingly, Holtom did not protect this symbol with copyright and over time it became a symbol of peace, freedom and the hippie movement.

The hippie sign is called pacificus.

It is obvious that this symbol carries a good intention: against weapons, war and for disarmament.

[petroltogo]

Hi! This is a bit out of nowhere but I wandered here from your AO3 account and wanted to let you know that I really love your KHR fic! The way you write the group dynamics is my favorite in general across all of them, but I'm especially in love the way you handle Lussuria and Belphegor in your Superhero verse. Whether I'm interested in the Varia depends entirely on who's writing them, and you hands down write my favorite Varia.

Hello and welcome to the madness!

Thank you so much for your lovely message. I love writing this series in particular (next to how way leads on to way and the this compass never pointed north series it’s probably my favorite atm) so it just makes my day when I hear someone else enjoys it too :)

And okay, I have a serious weakness for the Varia and adore writing them in this world, so I’m glad you like this take of them! It might take a while but I absolutely plan to add a few side-stories that will focus more on them. Lussuria definitely deserves his own fic, I just haven’t come up with the right plot for it yet. And Bel, Bel refuses to be left out of the main story, as can only be expected of the Prince.

As a fellow Varia-fan, do you know the fics by Umei_no_Mai? Because I love the deep-dive they take into Varia culture, the world-building is just *chef kiss*. I think my favorites are Obscured by Clouds for Timoteo’s well-deserved comeuppance and everything Varia, though The King is Dead (Long Live the King) is a close second. That one focuses less on the Varia though. Fair warning from someone who usually prefers Tsuna-centric fics: Tsuna is dead in the latter and plays almost no role in the former, but the in-depth exploration of those alternate scenarios more than makes up for it in my opinion.

If you have any fic recs, I‘d love to hear them!

[tonystarktogo]

tony stark being the villains' emergency contact is beautiful, and even more if he gets a phone call once in a while from the local hospital about, quite literally, being a villain's emergency contact and he's been admitted and these are the visiting hours and you need to sign on the dotted line mr stark very good thank you

The hands down best part of this entire interaction is that when Tony first gets the call, he assumes one of his various friends or associates is using a ridiculous fake name to get his attention while simultaneously flying under the radar from whomever is hunting them down.

[Naturally, Tony assumes it's Peter.

And panics immediately.]

On the other hand, the emergency staff on duty is Too Tired For This Shit™ to give a single fuck about the fact that this guy apparently has Tony Stark as his emergency contact.

"Doesn't he kind of look like Loki?" one kid asks.

"He does?" another nurse squints. "I don't see it."

"What kind of name is Loki and why should I know it?" asks the doctor.

Two floors below, the Iron Man armour crashes through the entrance wall, much to the exasperation of the receptionist.

[rerenah]

hsbdkdjdbf n I have to do fan art sometime but my dm gave Ahdia a holy avenger (corrupted, so there’s prob a quest or smth to go through to repair it) BUT AAAAA OMG,,, we’re in the Paladin end game now

[magic-is-something-we-create]

Writeblr Re(rere)intro that's a year late!

Hi! I'm Pax, and I write Big Books that keep getting darker and darker in subject matter 🎉🎉

Basics about me:

he/him or they/them, Mid 20s

Favorite genres: Fantasy, SciFi, Horror, Mystery

Favorite authors: N. K. Jemisin, Tamsyn Muir, Brandon Sanderson, Pierce Brown, Samantha Shannon

Other things I do: Digital art (including commissions!), Twitch streams (usually art or writing sprints, occasionally video games), digital art assets and fonts (PWYW on Ko-Fi!)

Basics about my WIPs:

THE MILLENNIUM SAGA

High fantasy/Steampunk epic, 8 books planned. Book one: Firebreathers (160k words; ~700 pages) Book two: Echoseers (148k words; ~600 pages) Book three: Goddess-Touched (15k as of posting; 3rd attempt at drafting) First person, Multi POV What starts as a simple rebellion against their local Citylord becomes a flight - and fight - for their lives, as Ember Timber, their family, and their newfound friends are forced to flee overseas from the vengeful general who will stop at nothing to earn her Eternal King's favor, and will in fact relish hunting her own son and grandchildren for sport. But along the way, the crew learns that the Eternal King's immortality was not granted in return for his success as the Chosen One long ago, as they have always been told - and the sacrifice for such a thing is not only paid dearly in blood, but on its way to being repeated.

WHISPERS

Dark fantasy Noir. Currently with beta readers. 172k words; ~750 pages. First person, Dual POV. Set in the same world as Millennium Saga, ~5 years after the series concludes. Marika Swiftfoot owes her life to the Shadow of Fowden, the sorceress leader of a terroristic crime syndicate based in the north pole. When the man she once loved finally comes to collect on that life debt ten years later, she plans to kill him the moment it's safe. Too soon, after all, and everyone else she's ever loved will join him beyond the Veil. But hate isn't the only feeling that lingers between them, and when they're offered another way out of their debts, the lives of a few innocents looks like a bargain compared to the life of cruelty ahead of them. Lorelei has been hunting the Shadow for twenty years, and looking for the sister who disappeared for thirty. And here, names are legacies: she wants to earn Hopebringer before her legs give out for good, to erase the stain her father's name has left with Vowbreaker. And for that, she sees one way forward: she must never break her vows, no matter how small. The Shadow must die, and the Whispers with her. Her sister must be found, even if all that's left to find is a story. She must find answers for every case she takes on, even if she doesn't know so much as the name of the man who's gone missing.

THE LOST

Space opera webcomic. First scene fully illustrated; will release once the first chapter is complete, a week after Patrons receive the final scene. In the far reaches of space, the term "Media Empire" is quite literal; the Watchers have extended their influence throughout their galaxy filament with the help of their beloved Coliseum, and the Champion therein. After all, having a shapeshifter capable of replicating anything leads to some gruesome, spectacular fights, made all the more heartrending when they are the last of their kind, trapped in the ship molded from their kin's corpse. But while the Watchers have total control over what happens in the pit, they cannot predict the audience. And they certainly cannot predict the malfunctioning psychic implant of an assassin in the front row, and the loss of both opponents and a long-time prisoner of war to the escape.

I also post art of all of these semi-regularly, including in-progress stuff, as well as excerpts and rambling braindumps!! I'm also a huge worldbuilding nerd, so if you ever want to learn more about the worlds I'm writing, don't be afraid to ask!! I love talking about them :D

Boosts are appreciated <3 tell me about your own WIPs in the tags/replies/wherever!! I love learning about what people are working on!

[tutti-says]

ReRe: Sexuality, labeling theory, and accepting your own ignorance in BG3 fandom

One thing I have learned in my life is to,well, learn. Discourse over companion sexuality surged on Twitter at a time I just happened to be on yesterday. As I preached my own QT about the characters being playersexual, I happened upon a tweet about this word being bi/pan phibic due to its history.

While I was confused, I took my post down and decided to find out the root instead. I began my usual route: asking questions and running a search on google. To me at a surface understanding, the term playersexual encompassed the gambit of all sexualities-allowing the player character (PC) to choose whomever they wish to romance. For those who are unfamiliar- BG3 is a dnd set CRPG where the PC is able to engage in romantic interactions. The more special part of BG3 is that these romances can play a substantial part in the overall story of your playthrough. And as most of the western hemishphere probably knows the name Astarion, it suffices to say that these companions and possible romances are important to the playerbase. Though the numbers aren't in yet, there is a sizeable chunk of queer persons involved in the BG3 fandom and it only takes a cursory glance at twitter in order to realize that. And of course, representation of queer romances plays into that. So, while I thought the term would resonate with people of the freedom to choose, the term "player -sexual" as Larian devs described the companions, only druged up old wounds. And I was very, very ignorant on this. From my conversations, I learned that the term was coined in the time of Dragon Age 2 by a confirmed biphobic dev in response to fans praising bisexual characters. As well, it was brought to my attention by my mutual Mish that Larian winning awards for inclusivity, while also using this term, left people feeling like the devs were once again erasing the canon sexuality of pansexuals. For context, Niel Newbon spoke in response to a question that Astarion is pansexual. This can be confirmed in game by Lae'zel possibly sleeping with Astarion during the night of the Tiefling party. The companions aren't just sleeping with any PC no matter what, but with other NPCs as well. Once my moot on twitter, mon, pointed this out-it suddenly made sense. I was wrong. There are some more conversations surrounding this topic I would love to expand on later, but for the point of this already being long I will save it. At first, I thought the problem of labels was solved by the term playersexual, but it turns out that label was stuck on to cover sexualities and their validity. Ignorance is often used as an insult; a euphamism for stup[id. However, ignorance in itself is nuetral. It is neither good nor bad until the option to learn is put forth, and the ignorant make a choice to learn or not. Unfortunately, most cause of discourse is rooted in willful ignorance, or refusing to acknoowledge and understand knowledge when presented. I don't use the words attached to phobics or isms without careful consideration. In this instance I do believe the word playersexual to be pan or bi phobic due to its history. I do hope that Larians reconsiders this word in the future. I can't win every war, but I can learn which wars to fight with not being afraid to be wrong and learn different. thank you <3

[kemetic-dreams]

The Yoruba religion (Yoruba: Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), West African Orisa (Òrìṣà), or Isese (Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practice of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in present-day Southwestern Nigeria, which comprises the majority of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara and Lagos States, as well as parts of Kogi state and the adjoining parts of Benin and Togo, commonly known as Yorubaland (Yoruba: Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire).

It shares some parallels with the Vodun practiced by the neighboring Fon and Ewe peoples to the west and with the religion of the Edo people to the east. Yoruba religion is the basis for a number of religions in the New World, notably Santería, Umbanda, Trinidad Orisha, and Candomblé.[1] Yoruba religious beliefs are part of Itàn (history), the total complex of songs, histories, stories, and other cultural concepts which make up the Yoruba society.

The Yoruba name for the Yoruba indigenous religion is Ìṣẹ̀ṣẹ, which also refers to the traditions and rituals that encompass Yorùbá culture. The term comes from a contraction of the words: Ìṣẹ̀, meaning "source/root origin" and ìṣe, meaning "practice/tradition" coming together to mean "The original tradition"/"The tradition of antiquity" as many of the practices, beliefs, traditions, and observances of the Yoruba originate from the religious worship of Olodumare and the veneration of the Orisa.

According to Kola Abimbola, the Yorubas have evolved a robust cosmology. Nigerian Professor for Traditional African religions, Jacob K. Olupona, summarizes that central for the Yoruba religion, and which all beings possess, is known as "Ase", which is "the empowered word that must come to pass," the "life force" and "energy" that regulates all movement and activity in the universe".Every thought and action of each person or being in Aiyé (the physical realm) interact with the Supreme force, all other living things, including the Earth itself, as well as with Orun (the otherworld), in which gods, spirits and ancestors exist. The Yoruba religion can be described as a complex form of polytheism, with a Supreme but distant creator force, encompassing the whole universe.

The anthropologist Robert Voeks described Yoruba religion as being animistic, noting that it was "firmly attached to place".

Each person living on earth attempts to achieve perfection and find their destiny in Orun-Rere (the spiritual realm of those who do good and beneficial things).

One's ori-inu (spiritual consciousness in the physical realm) must grow in order to consummate union with one's "Iponri" (Ori Orun, spiritual self).

Iwapẹlẹ (or well-balanced) meditative recitation and sincere veneration is sufficient to strengthen the ori-inu of most people. Well-balanced people, it is believed, are able to make positive use of the simplest form of connection between their Ori and the omnipotent Olu-Orun: an Àwúre (petition or prayer) for divine support.

In the Yoruba belief system, Olodumare has ase over all that is. Hence, it is considered supreme.

[caffeinewitchcraft]

i got "being heroes, being villains" today and i absolutely tore through it. it was so fun to compare some of the changed details to what i remember originally reading (and re-reading and rere-reading and rerere-reading...) here on tumblr, especially when they were just small enough to force me to pay even more attention than i already was, just in case. oh and dont even get me started on the structure of the anthology as a whole and the small interconnecting details because all of it was absolutely brilliant. even when it was an inconsequential detail, like a name drop or something, it still had me feeling like i was connecting all of the dots (jury's still out on whether or not i connected shit tho). god and that closing story? i was screaming and yelling and going insane. well. the whole anthology had me screaming and yelling and going insane, but that final one had me doing it even louder. also im in love with shireen and dominic. and jenny. probably more. idk. 10/10 would read again and again and again

I AM FLIPPING OUT THANK YOU SO MUCH

Wow, this really made my whole week! I don't even know what to say. I just got back from an 8 hour coffeeshop shift and I feel like I could run a marathon now

Dominic is lowkey my fave despite having one of the smaller roles in everything. Shireen is ruler of my heart though so I am so excited that you liked them all!

Seriously, thank you so much anon! I Am Beside Myself With Glee

Thank you so much for reading!

Being Heroes, Being Villains (X)

(All asks are tagged #caffeine answers)

[ilovedthestars]

Mal, aspec icon, and also reasons why I love Widdershins in general

So, as a birthday present to myself I recently bought physical copies of all ten currently available volumes of the webcomic Widdershins, and I’m currently rereading all of them from the beginning, and I’m just. Having emotions about it!! This post is part Widdershins propaganda (go read it) and part rambley thought dump on the parts I'm excited about on my reread. (I’ll try to stay away from major spoilers, but read at your own risk.)

A vague bit of context for anyone who knows nothing about Widdershins: Historical fantasy, set mostly in Victorian* England, centered on the fictional English town of Widdershins, which is the location of a magical “anchor” which is a source/amplifier of magic. Magical practitioners are called wizards (regardless of gender—witches also exist but are a very different thing) and the magic system revolves around summoning “spirits” of various emotions, and using/making deals with said spirits to imbue objects with magical properties. The tone is pretty light and adventure-y, and very fun. Every arc jumps back and forth between a few different sets of characters, but their paths all eventually cross.

(*technically slightly pre-Victorian. The ongoing and final installment is set during/around Victoria’s coronation. There’s also flashbacks, visits to other locales, and a Time Travel Episode)

The character I remember getting most attached to when I first read Widdershins, and the one I’m currently having the most emotions about on my reread, is Mal (aka O’Malley). First of all, I completely forgot that he’s canonically ace (and maybe aro)??** His significant relationships throughout his arcs are all close friends with found family vibes—when we first meet them, he and his longtime friend Wolfe have been traveling around Europe together for years, on what money they can earn from Wolfe’s busking (he plays violin) and Mal’s somewhat cheating at cards. Wolfe is an optimistic, calm and gentle person, and he clearly brings out the best in the very grumpy and abrasive Mal. They rely on each other, make sacrifices for each other, and generally have just such a lovely relationship--one thing I find particularly sweet is that it’s shown multiple times that listening to Wolfe’s violin playing helps Mal relax and makes him happy.

Pictured: Mal suggesting that Wolfe pacify a huge spirit of sadness by playing his violin, because "It works for me" 🥺 (In case my image turns out bad, here's a link to the actual comic page--I'm just excited about my physical copies!)

I’ve rambled before about “love as in significance” and how my favorite fictional relationships are ones where two characters are deeply important to each other, in a non-romantic and/or ambiguous way. To me Wolfe and Mal are a perfect example of that kind of deep friendship, effectively a life partnership, with no romance.

(**Widdershins also has multiple gay/lesbian characters, some of whom get romance arcs, and at least one canonically trans person. In Victorian England. There’s also a fair amount of non-white characters. I cannot stress enough how much this is just Not A Thing within the story. I believe the in-universe justification is that random magic ability evened the scales, and things like oppression and colonialism never got as bad as they did in our world. What it works out to is fun escapist adventures where homophobia and racism aren’t obstacles to the diverse cast, which is exactly my type of story. It’s definitely not trying to be historically accurate, but doesn’t get bogged down in modern labels, either.)

Mal also has a really satisfying character arc going on. He can see magical spirits, including the ones around people, and read their emotions—this is not a normal thing within this magical universe, and he mostly considers it a burden/annoyance, as it makes people (especially crowds) overwhelming. It turns out to be a whole thing, which I won’t spoil, but in my reread I just finished book 7, curtain call, which is the conclusion to the first big arc of Widdershins and includes a really cool flashback scene into Mal’s past. He’s got a whole thing going on where he makes some new friends, and eventually decides to stop running away from things. It’s really hard to talk about without spoiling, so I’ll just say that he’s still my favorite character and his arc is very strong.

Pictured: What it looks like when Mal sees spirits, and also another example of him being comforted by his friend's music. (Here's a link to the actual comic page)

Mal (and Wolfe) star in chapters 2 and 5, and feature prominently among a larger rotation of characters in chapters 7 and 9. The various chapters/books rotate through different sets of characters, but they're all lovable and you'll get attached to new characters quickly. Some other really fun characters from various Widdershins stories include:

Harriet “Harry” Barber, a bounty hunter who tracks down magical artifacts with the help of her magic-sniffing dog Gren (who she may or may not have stolen from the police)

Sidney Malik, who is cursed with accidental kleptomania (other people’s things just appear in his pockets, and he feels very bad about it). He got kicked out of wizard university for said kleptomania and is now pursuing his true passion of being a stage magician

Verity Cunningham, inventor slash bounty hunter slash Harry’s former-partner-turned-rival, and the greatest bounty hunter who ever lived, if she says so herself (which she will, loudly)

Lei Feng, who I can’t actually say anything about because all the coolest things about her are spoilers, but trust me she goes through some fun twists (she’s a magician’s assistant/inventor)

Alexa King, a baker with green hair who is going to Widdershins to win a baking competition in the year 2013, and if you’re wondering what this has to do with Victorian England and if it involves time travel shenanigans, yes, yes it does

Harry and Sid are the stars of the first chapter, and they're very close seconds to Mal in terms of my favorite cast members. If I have made this webcomic sound cool enough that you want to try it, please go check out their super fun story.

(P.S. A note about romance, since this post is partially about aspec things and i'm addressing it to my very aro corner of tumblr. Some of the chapters/characters in Widdershins have romance subplots, which never take up too much space in the story and are very well written in my opinion. I am someone who is super picky about romance in books, and I've rooted for every single romantic relationship in the comic--they're very sweet, and all built around two people who get along and are important to each other, as the friendships are. No forced romance or painful amatonormativity here.)

[isfjmel-phleg]

February 2023 Books

Death by Disguise by E. L. Bates

It was a pleasure to spend time with Maia and Len again! I enjoyed the Cambridge setting. The magical elements of the mystery were intriguing. And I'm curious to see where the new developments of the ending lead the characters, who are about to experience significant changes.

Freddy Goes to Florida, Freddy Goes to the North Pole, and Freddy the Detective by Walter R. Brooks

Frequently humorous, but I don't think I would read this series three at a time again (which is not the books' fault).

A Box of Bones, The Inn Between, and The Doll's Eye by Marina Cohen

A Box of Bones was my favorite of these (dare I say I liked it a little better than the also very good Small Spaces?)--readable blend of characterization and atmospheric creepiness. Also major points for the Lake Champlain setting and the mentions of the small town where I was born! It plays a small but significant role in the story.

The Inn Between was effectively creepy. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, which leaves the protagonist in a place where ideally she shouldn't be, but yet the wording subtly implies this could change?

The Doll's Eye had an absolutely horrifying ending. Yikes. It was well-written but yikes.

She, the Adventuress by Dorothy Crayder (reread)

I acquired a copy of this one a while back and wanted to revisit it.

The Princess Aline by Richard Harding Davis

This one has an interesting history. The fictional Princess Aline was inspired by Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt (the future Tsarina Alexandra of Russia), whom Davis was apparently infatuated with after having seen her once from a distance. Reportedly Alix's grandmother Queen Victoria and her daughters read and enjoyed Davis's book. Charles Dana Gibson's illustrations of Aline bear a resemblance to Alix too.

I liked the concept of this one better than the execution. An artist with rather shallow views on women becomes infatuated with a princess and follows her across Europe, only to gradually come to terms with the fact that she is unattainable and that he has actually fallen in love with a young woman he has been traveling with. I didn't care much for the protagonist, so it was difficult for me to get invested in anything he was doing, and the clarity at the end came maybe a bit too late to convince me.

The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo (reread)

Goodreads tells me I read this in 2011. I have no memory of it from then but liked it this time.

The Finches' Fabulous Furnace by Roger Wolcott Drury

A family moves into a house with a very small but potentially dangerous volcano in the basement. I was initially frustrated with Mr. Finch's approach to the situation; at first only he, his son, and the man who sold them the house know about the volcano, and Mr. Finch chooses to conceal this information from his wife and daughter on the grounds that it might worry them. The volcano affects significant things like the temperature of the house, and Mrs. Finch is naturally concerned, but her husband makes no effort to set straight her assumption that they have an unusual furnace. He and his son tie themselves in knots trying to conceal the problem rather than putting the problem out in the open and dealing with it. When Mrs. Finch and her daughter do find out, they have very realistic concerns, which the guys dismiss, and the daughter in particular wants to let the entire town know what potential danger they're in. By then, some important (male) figures in the town know too, and they also insist that the volcano be kept secret for the sake of appearances (heaven forbid a major town festival be compromised!). And it goes about as well as you would expect.

It seems to be a commentary on the importance of openly addressing problems with the people they concern rather than leaving people deceived/in the dark "for their own good." And that's a truth worth expressing.

Meet the Austins, The Moon by Night, and A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle (reread)

I didn't love A Ring of Endless Light as much this time as I did when I originally read (at what was just the right time--dealing with death was not so close to me this time around), but I do still like them, mostly for Vicky, who is very real and relatable in her struggles to figure out life. But I am begging this girl to, if she absolutely must date, date a boy who is a) her age and not a legal adult and b) not a condescending jerk. She repeatedly ends up with guys who are varying degrees of this.

If L'Engle absolutely had to keep bringing Zachary Gray back, I wish she would have just given him an effective, lasting redemption arc instead of handing character growth to him over and over on a silver platter and letting him reject it every. single. time. and keep on being The Worst.

The Boy in the Box by Cary Fagan

This was my Blind Date with a Book selection! I actually enjoyed it. The characters were engaging, and the world had that middle-grade-characteristic tone of being in reality (probably not magical) but just a little to the left in terms of bizarreness.

The Story That Cannot Be Told by J. Kasper Kramer

Middle-grade historical fiction set in Romania in 1989. I learned a lot about this aspect of history and enjoyed the narrative and its fascinating themes of the roles that stories take in a world full of surveillance and suppression and betrayals. Kramer weaves the young protagonist's retelling of a Romanian fairy tale in with the larger story to good effect.

And it had a happy ending! Stories in that sort of setting so frequently don't.

The Light Princess by George MacDonald

Enjoyable, in a Victorian fairy tale way.

The Faerie Door by B. E. Maxwell

Beautiful cover, and there was potential in the concept of a Victorian girl and a 1960s American boy having fantastical adventures together. Operative word being together, though. They got arbitrarily split up and the chapters alternated between each's seemingly unrelated adventure. Any chance for them to genuinely bond and affect each other's character development was gone, and the result seemed excessively long, derivative, and rather a slog to read, unfortunately.

The Little Princess of Tower Hill by L. T. Meade

What a difference over a century can make in how a story appears. I liked the protagonist, who wasn't really such a bad girl as the narrative seemed to think, and her male cousin, who is presented as a role model for her, comes across as condescending and obnoxious. There's a disabled girl from a poor family whom the narrative treats as only having worth when she can be of help/use/support to people with perfect health and/or more means. An interesting look at the rhetoric of children's stories of the time, but I can understand why this one hasn't been remembered.

Once on a Time by A. A. Milne

Very witty, as can be expected from Milne. The characters aren't always easy to like, but Milne does go out of his way to make them more than stock roles.

Along the Shore: Tales of the Sea by L. M. Montgomery

It was interesting to see some forerunners of characters and subplots from the Anne series (Montgomery was apparently straight up plagiarizing her own short stories sometimes).

Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison

Some of the action of this book dragged for me, but by the end it became a really interesting exploration of Rapunzel's relationship with the witch who exploited her. It's extremely difficult for this Rapunzel to accept the truth that she has been exploited by someone whom she considers a loving mother figure, and she spends a lot of the narrative making herself unpleasant and clinging to her delusions--they're all she has. Slowly, she has to accept the truth and figure out how to navigate the complicated feelings she has toward the witch. There's a surprising amount of nuance for a book on this age level, and I was intrigued enough by how this was handled to want to seek out the rest of the series.

The House of a Thousand Candles by Meredith Nicholson

There were some brilliant one-liners in this one. The Gothic-ish concept had potential. But the pacing didn't work for me, I couldn't warm up to the protagonist (what is it with the male leads from this era?), and it turned out to be much less of a page turner than I was expecting.

The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr

Middle-grade historical fiction about evacuees in Wales during World War II--how two brother adjust to their new life and host family while getting caught up in some local mysteries, such as the identity of the human skull the elder brother finds hidden in a tree. (There are some similarities to the real-life unsolved case of "Bella in the wych elm," which I found fascinating.) Both readable and believable in its portrayal of the historical setting (which is of major importance to me in historical fiction). This author has a couple of other books, and I think I'll seek them out.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Well, that was utterly devastating, but what else can one expect from Sepetys? I learned a lot about an event I had never heard of and am quite impressed by the amount of research that went into this writing. Sepetys's author's note provides additional background and even a bibliography.

Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson

Loved the premise of this one. It seemed to drag or get redundant as it progressed, and I don't think I'll look for the other books, but some of the characters were delightful. I was reminded a bit of the Mapp and Lucia stories, if they had had a much less cynical worldview.

No significant comics this month, just bits of things here and there.

[rere-the-writer]

Headcanons of Elijah being married to a Norse Goddess

Warnings: Fluff, cute Hope

A/N: I was playing God Of War and this popped into my head. Atreus is my boy and I love him

You married Elijah when he was human

Kratos was following you and Elijah around when you both were courting, this man is making sure Elijah isn't touching you

Showing Elijah your magic watch him be amazed by it

Faye already planning your wedding, your mother is always encouraging you to spend a lot of time with Elijah

Mikael and Kratos do not get along, Kratos finding Mikael too harsh on his sons while Mikael thinks Kratos isn't hard enough on Atreus

Going on the journey with your baby brother and father when Elijah was turned with his siblings

Doing old Norse traditions every Spring and Winter

Elijah teaching Atreus how to hunt when he was human

You coming home seeing that Atreus and Kratos sitting in the livingroom with Elijah who was smiling

"Surprise sister! Look we even brought Mimir." "I can see that."

You telling Hope stories of your childhood and adventures with your father

Hope curious about the Norse ruins tattooed on your body which lead you to tell her stories on why

Now Hope asks her uncle if they have their own tattoos which Kol tells her yes

"Daddy can I have one? I want ones like aunty Y/N." "When you are older Hope."

"Atti, aunty says you met the World Serpent!" "We did would you like to hear how?"

Elijah cursing in Norse when Hope is in ear shot so now Hope repeats the words, cue Klaus glaring at his brother

Elijah coming home to the sound of clashing swords and seeing you sparing with father as Hope watched in awe

Your heart melts at seeing how soft Kratos is with Hope as the old God shows her how to use a bow and arrow

"Aesir are Norse Gods little sister. Your aunt is part Jötnar, gifted with magic. " You over hear Mimir tell Hope making you smile as the head tells Hope stories

Hope asking Elijah questions about when he was human wanting to learn more about Vikings

Kratos answering Hope's questions about Spartans and Greeks finding her curiosity adorable

Everyone getting overly protective when you and Elijah tells the family that you were pregnant

"Elijah, your siblings are driving me crazy." "My love, they just want you safe."

Atreus carving a little wooden bears as a baby gift while Kratos made you a crib

Hope following you around the more you showed because she wanted to help you

Rebekah and Freya taking you baby shopping while Kratos takes your husband hunting

"Father I don't think the baby will need a sword." "How else will it fight." "Kratos, our child will not be fighting."

Atreus thinking of baby names with you saying it was his uncle's duty to help you

Atreus and Hope like touching your belly, they like feeling the baby move

The witches are more careful around you because Kratos and Elijah will not hesitate

[inexplicifics]

Hi! I re(rere)read Zofia's ficlet in the AWAU series and laughed at the comment about Jaskier thinking he was being subtle with his desperation to fuck Geralt. It got me wondering, how did some of the others take it as they smelled/noticed Jaskier's lustiness, like Eskel, Lam, Yen, Vesemir, Aubry, etc.? I can imagine Eskel telling Geralt to Hurry up and sleep with the bard already! :') thank you very much for your stories <3

I think Lambert definitely teased the hell out of Geralt. Vesemir rolled his eyes a lot. Yen kept elbowing Geralt and giving him Looks.

Eskel I think understands why Geralt was so hesitant.

[petroltogo]

It’s done.

About 42’000 words split in 7 chapters.

Somehow I’ve managed to finish writing the last part of [this could’ve been] a villain’s grand master plan in these last two and a half weeks.

I still have to edit everything, which will be a small nightmare, but doable so regular updates are a thing that will happen from now on.

Next chapter will be up this Friday and after that I’ll post a new one every week.

In the meantime would you be interested in snippets and cut parts?

[thebirdstoryfelloship]

More bird story stuff if you wanna read it and more lore will be out soon.

[l-r-christian]

Are you and rere-the-writer the same person? I ask because your writing styles and grammar/spelling issues are exactly the same. And you both reblog each other’s stories with an insane amount of hype. This fandom is on its last legs and the two of you are some of the remaining prolific writers for it. That’s why I noticed the striking similarities. Not a bad thing I just find it odd if you are the same person writing under two accounts and then constantly pretending the other person is such a great writer.

no....we have just known one another for awhile since old the old Devint Art days and old RP blogs that we used to do on Tumblr. And to be honest I've been thinking about leaving Tumblr due to family issues.