#stephanie garber ask me anything

[dat-town]

yours truly

Characters: fate!Sunghoon (prince of hearts) & mortal!female reader

Setting & genre: caravalverse au, fantasy, forbidden romance

Summary: “... ballads don’t end happily, and neither do the two of us.” ‒ Stephanie Garber

Warnings: Sunghoon’s character is canon-typically mean and flirty in the beginning, blood, dagger and arrow-caused injuries, mentions of people dying, ambiguous ending

Words: 2.9k

Playlist: moonstruck, criminal love, fatal trouble, still monster, lucifer, fate

Author’s note: for those who haven’t read the books, just imagine a world where deity-like creatures called fates walk among mere humans; for those who did read the books, imagine this as an alternative for the plot, the worldbuilding is the same but the actual romance plays out different since Sunghoon is NOT Jacks, just a different Prince of Hearts. i know personality-wise it’s very not Sunghoon-like but i chose him for visual reasons #theplot

for @restlessmaknae because you worked hard and i believe that you will see its results <3

The Prince of Hearts was exactly how the stories described him: devastatingly handsome and infuriatingly wicked.

The first time you met him, he just broke a naive girl’s heart.

The Prince of Hearts was the hopeless lovers’ Fate. Many turned to him to fulfill their hearts’ desire or get revenge on their unfaithful significant other but there was a reason why he had always been portrayed with bloody tears running down his sculpture-like face and his perfect lips pulled up in a cunning smirk.

“What did you do?” You heard the girl’s trembling, frightened cry over the garden fountain’s lovely bubbling sound and you could tell she didn’t notice you on the other side of the installment. She must have dragged the young man out of the celebration to have a word with him privately. Too bad it was your hiding place.

“Exactly what you asked from me. I made sure he can never look at another girl again,” the man replied in a silky smooth voice, his tone almost melodic. He must have sung lovely lullabies, you thought, but then he continued and his voice turned something dark, something poisoned and sickly amused. “Or at anything for that matter.”

There was a cruel laugh carried by the night breeze and your eyes widened, thoughts running wild.

“This isn’t what I wanted,” the girl protested weakly between sobs but no use, it didn’t seem to affect the man at all.

“Isn’t it? Then you should have asked more… precisely,” he scoffed and with a rustle of clothes you could tell he turned around, ready to leave.

“But… but I kept my side of the bargain. You are a Fate, you should keep your word, too!”

You sucked in a breath because you didn’t have to guess much to know which Fate she was talking about. There was an infamous one for broken hearts.

“Are you seriously accusing me of not fulfilling my part?” The Prince of Hearts spoke up again and this time you could hear anger bubbling up beneath the boredom in his tone. He spoke quietly yet every word of his punctured like bites of a viper. “You wanted your lover to not look at other girls, so I took his sight. Would you have preferred if I plunked his eyeballs out? Or even better, if I simply killed him? Is that it?”

The girl’s crying turned pathetic and you almost felt bad for her even if she should have known better than to make a deal like that. Fates tended to take more than what they had promised.

“Look at you, a sobbing mess. Is your great love really only enough for this? Will you leave him now that he’s blind? Who’s the unfaithful one now?” The ageless creature tsked, his harsh words enough to make the girl run, crying and devastated. The air was once again filled with silence and crickets chirping. Out of curiosity, you quietly stood up from where you sat in the fountain’s shadow but you could see nobody on the other side of the monument. You let out a small sigh, turning back around only to gasp in surprise.

Right in front of you, barely an arm-length away was the most beautiful man you had ever seen. He had porcelain skin and elegant features, artfully tousled raven black hair and almond shaped eyes reflecting the moon. His mouth was pulled into a lopsided smile as he leaned closer, resting his hand on the fountain’s rim beside your waist.

“You know, I can hear your heartbeat, love,” he said, syrupy sweet, and you had to deliberately remind yourself to breathe properly. “It beats rapidly like a trapped bird’s wings. Is it because of fear or attraction? Both?” The Fate arched a brow, provoking.

“I’m not playing your game,” you raised your chin with more confidence that you actually felt in yourself but you didn’t back down, not even when the young man’s eyes burned through you.

“Too bad. I didn’t even tell you the rules yet,” he pouted but he seemed more amused than anything else.

“Are all Fates this bored?”

“There’s a better question, love; are all Fates forgiving towards this blunt attitude of yours?” The Prince of Hearts raised a brow, challenging, his breath fanning over your cheek, his closeness painting it a rosy color. There was something predatory in the way he looked at you and your rabbit of a heart wished nothing but to run. Then he abruptly pulled away, his frown melting into an all too sweet smile.  “But see, I’m a gentleman and I will let it go. For now.”

The threat was clear in his velvet voice and the shine of his midnight dark eyes. It took your breath away and you only let out the air you were holding in when he walked out of sight, your heart still beating crazily as you watched him disappear like smoke in the dark.

The next time you met him, you were smarter than to walk into his trap. This time you were actually looking for him because you were about to do what you had never imagined yourself to: gamble for a Fate’s help.

But really, this was your last resort. No matter how many reasons and proofs you had listed, your best friend was dead set on marrying a duke with no land and no morals. He just wanted her for her family’s money but she didn’t believe you. She even told you that if you weren’t happy for her, you weren’t welcome at the wedding. So you had to make sure the wedding didn’t happen, that she realized that her fiancé was a selfish bastard. It was the perfect kind of job for the Prince of Hearts since he seemed to hate other people’s happiness. No wonder even his Destiny Deck card’s meaning was unrequited love and irrevocable mistakes.

As you opened the church's gate, your sister’s voice echoed in your ears. She had told you not to make deals with Fates but if you must, always make sure to double guess the meaning behind their words and not let them have leverage over you. She had known after having her own deal with the Jester Mad. Fates weren’t evil nor saints but as ageless deities, they had different moral compasses than mere mortals. They also lived a long, long life, so what could have been more fun for them than playing with human feelings?

Back in the days, Fates had been private creatures hidden from plain sight. People had built churches and altars for them, waiting for their miracles to happen. But then one day, the Fates disappeared. Nobody knew why or where. There were countless rumors but it didn’t matter because eventually they returned and they weren’t hiding anymore. The Poisonmaker kept wreaking havoc at events where drinking was involved, the Maiden Death started warning people about their loved ones’ dying in the middle of the main square and the Prince of Hearts had heads turning at every noble gathering pretty much in the entire country based on the rumors. Whispers followed his trail, so you knew exactly where to find him.

“Looks like wind blew a little birdie my way,” you heard the familiar smooth voice from behind you once you dropped your golden coins into the well inside the old marble church. You spun around, facing the Fate and you hated the instant effect he had on you. The way his mere presence was enough to weaken you. You tried focusing on the tiniest details on his face to keep yourself grounded like the moles adorning his cheeks, his defined eyebrows or the way the skin around his pretty eyes wrinkled when his mouth pulled into an amused smile. Your heart was a traitor once again.

“Missed me?” He teased, further decreasing the distance between you. He didn’t even touch you yet his closeness set the air around you on fire and you desperately tried to find purchase on the edge of the well, your well kept nails digging into the stone.

“I have a favor to ask,” you forced out and recited the entire monologue you had practiced with all the details in order to make sure there was no loophole in your request. You couldn’t have your best friend getting hurt because of you. You just wanted to get rid of her fiancé subtly. So you came prepared and judging by the almost impressed look on the Fate’s face and the pondering tilt of his head, he must have noticed too.

“Oh, you’re actually a smart one,” he mused out loud, a chuckle escaping him. “It sounds exactly like my kind of fun but you don’t think I’m doing it without a price, right? So are you ready to pay, love?”

You expected it, of course, there was always a price to pay. A bargain with both parties committing to something. You thought you were ready for anything the Prince of Hearts could ask of you: your reputation tarnished, memories of your first love destroyed, cursing you to never love again but maybe you were naive. Because in that moment he looked at you hungrily, eyes dark and tempting. He darted out his tongue, wetting his lips as he angled his face over yours, still not even grazing against your skin, yet you could feel yourself shiver.

For a moment you were sure he would kiss you. That he would kill you.

Because the thing with Fates was that all of them were cursed in one way or another. As for the Prince of Hearts, his kiss was fatal to all but his one true love. They said it was worth dying for and so many naive girls wanted to be the one to break this hex, he left a trail of corpses behind him.

“Not yet, love,” the Fate taunted as he swiped his thumb across your lower lip, leaving tingles behind, and you felt incredibly embarrassed for thinking he would actually kiss you. Gosh, you weren’t normally like this.

“What do you want?” You found your voice after pushing the silently laughing man away from you. You needed space, you needed to focus. You came to save your best friend’s future, not to kiss murderers no matter how much they erupted a garden of butterflies in your stomach.

“Let me be your plus one for the wedding and I promise to make sure your precious friend realizes her mistake before tying the knot. No bodily harm, no future consequences, yadda yadda,” the Prince of Hearts mocked your way of negotiating your conditions and you squinted your eyes because it sounded too good to be true.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it,” he flashed you a charming smile before leaning in close again, this time his breath fanning over your ears, teeth grazing against your skin, leaving goosebumps behind. “Oh and call me Sunghoon.”

The Prince of Hearts kept his word and you started to wonder whether he wanted to accompany you to the wedding because he wanted to see the drama he caused in person. He seemed rather amused when both the duke’s creditors and mistresses showed up and your best friend threw a vase at him.

It was naive of you to think so though, of course the Fate came on his own accord for his own ulterior motives. You didn’t even know that the infamous Witch of North, holder of the Fated object of the Unbitten Fruit, would be at the wedding but Sunghoon sure knew. He disappeared from sight in the middle of the chaos and you could only find him after calming your best friend down. The wedding hall was empty and broken into pieces and in the middle of it all, surrounded by blackened rose petals, there he laid like a beautiful fallen angel. His white shirt was snug over his broad shoulders and where his wings would have laid, blood spread like wine on tragic days.

“Oh my fates,” you mumbled as you rushed to his side.

Fates had once been immortals but even since their re-appearance, they were merely ageless and could be killed and while you shouldn’t have cared, something didn’t let you let him bleed out. Maybe it was because he just helped your friend like he had promised or because you had always been weak for the helpless ones even if the Fate was nothing but one.

“What happened?” You asked with trembling lips, pressing a torn piece of your skirt onto the bleeding wound on his side.

“Somebody wasn’t too happy that I said hello,” Sunghoon croaked a smile, still all too arrogant even with blood on his lips and pain on his features when his own laughter made him hiss.

“Do you have many enemies?”

“Enemies is all I have,” he said, reaching for the buttons of his blood-soaked shirt to get rid of it and you could feel your face flush at the sudden exposure of bare skin and toned stomach. But trust the Prince of Hearts to tease you even in his stabbed state. “No need to be so shy, love, you can look.”

You cleared your throat and hardened your gaze, looking him in the eye, unwavering. You accidentally applied a bit more pressure on his injury though because his face suddenly distorted in agony.

“Actually, there’s a vial in my front pocket. Would you be kind enough to pour its content on the wound?” He spoke up again, softer, a bit of breathlessness in his usually smooth voice and if it wasn’t for that, you would have believed he was still teasing.

But you actually found a potion in his pocket and once the liquid contacted his torn skin, it started healing at an amazing speed. Oh, so he came prepared, you realized and it made you smack his chest hard. He made you worry for nothing. So stupid of you.

Sunghoon caught your wrist and pulled it over his unbeaten heart, laughing at you. You should have been angry and yet, it was the most beautiful chime of bells you had ever heard.

That should have been the last time you saw the Prince of Hearts but he kept showing up. He kept bothering you at balls, scaring away suitors, stealing apples at the market you had to pay for. He found your reluctance and annoyance amusing, poking fun at the way your heartbeat spiked in his company. He put flowers in your hair, called you love like he meant it and touched you briefly only to make you crave more. You thought it was all just a joke for him because he was bored and you weren’t as easy as the other girls but then you were bleeding out and he looked ready to burn the whole world down.

It was a typical case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You were just in the way. It wasn’t meant for you but the arrow pierced through your chest nevertheless.

You coughed up blood, barely catching your breath, when Sunghoon caught you in his arms before you could have fallen onto the flower bed beneath. Deliriously you looked up at him in wonder, at Death’s most beautiful angel. 

“You’re not dying,” he told you through gritted teeth but his voice was torn, feelings you didn’t recognise scratching the surface.

“They say you can’t feel, not because you have no heart but because it stopped beating long ago. Is it true?” You forced out weakly as you put a hand over Sunghoon’s chest just over where his heart was still as always. “I wonder what kind of girl it was, the one who broke your heart.”

All Fates were humans once and their assigned traits and powers were aligned with how they had been once as mortals. It was silly but you couldn’t help being jealous of the girl who had once held his affection because the way he looked at you then made you feel like nothing else mattered to him but you.

You knew that Fates felt everything in extremes. They didn’t hold grudges, they took revenge. They didn’t know love, they only knew obsession. Yet so many made the mistake of falling in love with a Fate and you couldn’t find it in yourself to blame them. Not anymore. Not when the Prince of Hearts’ hands were stained with your blood but you wanted nothing more than to succumb to this overwhelming feeling of being held by him.

“Kiss me,” you whispered, feeling faint. You were dying anyways, it couldn’t have hurt more to try. Because what if it was true, what if true love’s kiss could cure all curses, what if he had been looking for you all this time?

“Love…” Sunghoon’s voice was ruined. It was just a word yet a plea at the same time. A simple word you associated with your name ever since you had first met him.

His eyes shining like bright stars in the night sky were the last thing you saw before your eyelids fluttered close. Tears streamed down your face or blood, you couldn’t tell, but the lips on yours tasted metallic like iron and the sweet taste of the forbidden fruit. Like sin and redemption at the same time. Like you were his in this fairytale and he was yours. Yours truly.

[onceuponaneverafter]

Let’s Talk About Jacks’s Apples PART 2

And again, their COLORS! Because after reading A Curse For True Love, I HAVE MORE TO SAY SO LET’S GET RIGHT INTO IT.

First, though:

You can find PART 1 here! It’s a quite thorough analysis of every single apple Jacks is ever described holding from Legendary to TBONA.

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS for ACFTL. I will also reference my earlier findings, so spoilers for every book!

The focus of this post is on what ACFTL adds to my earlier analysis. For a summary of my findings, go to the end of part 1 (where we left off) or to the end of this post (general conclusions of everything).

Every non-canon conclusion I make here is just theories, based on my interpretations and observations! They aren’t the only right interpretations and I do not wish to present them that way.

The page numbers are from my ACFTL UK hardcover so if you have a different edition of the book, they may be a bit off for you.

That being said, welcome! 🍎❤️

So, to put it shortly: Because Stephanie Garber didn’t provide us with any answers about the apple colors, I decided to take it upon myself and go back to my trusted spreadsheet <3

What we did get is two new apples and more context, so let's get into it!

Table Of Contents

Introduction / Updated Spreadsheet

Why Apples? w/ the answers that we DO get in ACFTL, and my favorite new discovery!

ACFTL Apples

The Apple Colors (feat. me losing my mind over the lack of actual answers BUT I HAVE THEORIES and more thoughts on most apples!)

Conclusions / TL;DR

Introduction

The Updated Spreadsheet

In ACFTL, we get two new apples: one black and one white. I will take a closer look into these shortly, but here's the updated spreadsheet:

The total apple count (including apples from Legendary and Finale, which are presented in part 1) now looks like this:

This makes the total apple count 22, and the apples seen during the OUABH series reach the satisfying count of 15.

I don't know if there is anything intentionally symbolic about the total apple count, but I found with a quick google search that the number 22 can represent at least balance and harmony – which our beloved characters certainly deserve after everything they've been through.

Half of the apples are still white, while the rest are other colors - with Black Apples being the second most common. Like in part one, I will later go over all of the apple colors individually.

Why Apples?

New Information

First of all, let's appreciate the one time Jacks addresses his apples at all during ACFTL, after Evangeline asked about them:

"It doesn't matter," he said softly. "I don't need them anymore." –ACFTL page 381

This practically confirms that Jacks indeed has the apples to control his urge to kiss people in order to try and find true love (see part 1 or other people's theories for a more detailed explanation). Now that he's found true love and can kiss Evangeline all he wants (yay <3), he doesn't need the apples anymore. He's fulfilled his goal, and honestly, it's no wonder he's had enough of apples now:

"Her Prince of Hearts was never far from her, except for when she went to pick apples. Jacks never so much as tossed an apple any more." "– –Jacks preferred to avoid the apple grove altogether." –ACFTL, Waterstones bonus epilogue

While this is not officially part of the book, it's more context regarding the apples. If you want to read the entire bonus epilogue, others have posted it here on tumblr – if it would be helpful, I can post it myself/link others' posts as well. The other two bonus epilogues are available somewhere here as well.

Physical Movement

Alright, there are some interesting things going on here so let's get into some of my favorite discoveries!

In part 1, I pointed out how Jacks avoids touching Evangeline at all costs while he's holding an apple, and the interesting contrast that he does touch Tella while he has an apple in his hand (at least twice). While his apples are more or less his interpretation of self-control, this didn't completely align with it.

Now, I think I have figured out what's going on here! And it has to do with the way he would do anything (including giving up his only chance to go back in time to save Evangeline, and giving up his heart if it means no one can harm her again) to keep Evangeline safe.

He only touches Evangeline while holding an apple with not his hands (OUABH silver apple in hand, touches dagger to Evangeline’s lips), only because he has to and it’s complicated (blue apple in TBONA, Evangeline tried to grab the luck stone from Chaos) or he’s not himself at all and doesn't care about hurting her like he normally would (in ACFTL after he gave up his heart).

With Tella, he's always been reckless – not the least because he didn't truly love her, and because she didn't die when he kissed her.

I’d also like to point out that he kept carrying apples around after he kissed Tella and she didn’t die. Only once he finally found true love with Evangeline (and she also didn’t die when she kissed him <3) did he not need them anymore.

Regarding what he does with the apples, there isn't much new information. I still think it has to do with his emotions (see part 1 for a list), and the ACFTL apples confirm the theories I presented there.

ACFTL Apples

Page 101, Black Apple

It makes a lot of sense to me that this is the scene in ACFTL where Jacks has an apple. He's watching as Evangeline sleeps, convinced that she's better off not knowing him and that their story can't end happily. Still, he can't stay away from her. He is trying very hard not to get too close, though, which is where the apple comes in.

The apple is only described once, so aside from more context on its color (that I will get into a little later), there isn't much to analyze. What is particularly interesting about it, though, is Jacks's thoughts earlier during the scene that are connected to it:

He'd never understood why someone would watch another person sleep... until her. Castor did it. He said it was how he helped manage his urges. It did the opposite for Jacks. – ACFTL page 98-99

Considering that apples are what do help Jacks, this just further proves that we've been right about why he has them.

Page 289, White Apple

First of all, I love how Jacks is written after he gave up his heart. Evangeline says that he reminds her of when she first met him, and it really highlights how much he's changed throughout the series. He's gradually grown softer and to genuinely care about Evangeline – the development feels natural, even if there is a lot of it especially throughout TBONA. The way he acts when that softness is taken away creates a sharp contrast that wouldn't be so noticeable otherwise.

I also really love how even the apple reflects that. I will get to the color next thing, but let's take a look at what exactly he does with the apples (see chart above in Physical Movement).

Like I mentioned above, he touches Evangeline while holding the apple, which already sets the scene apart from the others. He never does that, not really.

Then, he drops the apple on the ground (before he tries to kiss her). While that isn't exclusive to the first half of OUABH where I don't think he has really fallen for her yet, dropping apples on the ground/floor is a pattern there, whereas most apples in TBONA and the black ACFTL apple are last seen in his hand. It's just a small detail, but I think it really adds to the contrast even if it's subtle and may not be intentional.

The Apple Colors

White Apples

In part 1, I said that I thought white apples either were the default color or represented focusing on what's important.

Now, with the context of White ACFTL Apple in mind, I think it's the default color. Half of Jacks's apples are white, and the one time he isn't himself at all (one could say he's even "defaulting" when he doesn't have his heart), he has a white apple.

With the first apple we ever see him holding (during and before the first time he meets Tella) also being white, I'm inclined to say that white is the "default color" for his magical apples.

Black Apples

I still think that Black Apples definitely represent doing whatever it takes, but I also think that their meaning has a touch of desperation as well – desperation is what drives him to do whatever it takes, isn't it? This is the one thing in common with all of the Black Apples:

Black Apple #1: Finale, last apple. Jacks offers to help Tella and the others in exchange for getting to control Tella's emotions forever. He's very desperate at this point, thinking it's his only chance at finding love.

Black Apple #2: OUABH, Nocte Neverending. Jacks is controlling Apollo's emotions because to fulfill the key prophecy, he needs Apollo to marry Evangeline. Even if he doesn't care about opening the arch, he's working with Chaos and has probably promised him that the Valory Arch will be opened. Overall, he has his plan and is willing to do stupid things for it.

Black Apple #3: TBONA, Chaos' place. Jacks brought Evangeline there to be healed because she'd been shot. At this point, I believe he already personally cares about whether Evangeline is alive or not. And even if he didn't, he would still need her alive – not only for the reasons stated above, but also because as a key, she feels each stone's magic the strongest (TBONA page 123).

Black Apple #4: ACFTL, Evangeline's bedroom. Jacks believes that the price he had to pay for Evangeline being alive was her memories being lost, and now his primary goal is to keep her safe. During this scene, he plans on leaving her for good once he "got what he needed" – I believe this refers to the protective glass cuff thingy that will stop anyone from harming Evangeline. Considering the price he paid for it, and the way she died in his arms only days earlier, he's very desperate to keep her safe in this scene. So, this apple also supports my theory.

Blue Apples

As we have no new Blue Apples to analyze, I still think they represent happiness and success – though maybe success even more than genuine happiness, because he has got something he wanted every time he's holding a blue apple.

Also, at the times he's genuinely happy, he doesn't even need any apples (The Hollow, which the cursed forest shows as the best day of his life in ACFTL, and his happy ending with Evangeline, when he says he doesn't even need them anymore).

The Golden Apple

We also didn't get any more Golden Apples to analyze, which is a shame, because this one's a struggle. I'm not so sure the Golden Apple represents Tella anymore because he's quite obsessed with her for a good while and he only has the Golden Apple after all hope of ever finding love with her is gone.

A noteworthy detail is that Jacks's blood is described multiple times to have gold flecks in it, so this apple could be connected to that – maybe he's feeling wounded, or it's more symbolic to him and the Golden Apple simply represents failure, heartbreak, and/or overall feeling broken? Tella did literally stab him in Finale, and at this point he still believes Tella is his one chance at finding true love, which obviously didn't work out even though it was supposed to.

The Silver Apple

This one is also still a mystery to me, and I mostly stand by what I said in part 1 – the Silver Apple could represent success but something being incomplete, being a "milder" version of the Blue Apples. Something about both being related to Jacks's eye color – which is being described over and over – seems significant.

I'd like to think the metallic apples, Gold and Silver, would have some kind of a connection with each other. The only thing I can think of is that these apples appear right before the scenes where Jacks tells Evangeline to fulfill a part of their deal – the Golden Apple is before Evangeline kisses Apollo, and the Silver Apple is on their way to the Fortuna castle, where Evangeline kisses the Fortuna matriarch's cheek.

Something that doesn't add up, though, is the fact that when Jacks is holding the Golden Apple, he isn't expecting to see Evangeline – he tells her he thought she'd be happily married to Luc by now.

This could be a storytelling element, like I suspected in part 1 that the purple apple might be. However, their deal is never fully completed, so we're lacking crucial context for this theory. It would have been fun if we had got a scene with him holding a bronze apple, before asking Evangeline to finally fulfill the last part of their deal.

The Pink Apple

I still think that the Pink Apple represents Evangeline, and I've only grown more convinced about this as time has passed. Before this scene, Jacks is only intrigued about Evangeline – one useful piece of information that we get from his chapters in ACFTL is that he's been interested in her from the second he saw her, but at first he only connected this interest to her hair color and the fact that she was a key (or that's what he told himself) (ACFTL page 100).

However, between the Silver Apple and the Pink Apple, Jacks saves Evangeline's life and spends a night holding her. I think this is where he starts developing a more personal interest towards her, and the pink apple represents that.

The Purple Apple

This one is still a struggle to me, because it doesn't seem to be connected to anything. I stand by my theory that either the purple apple represents royalty, nobility, or power, or is a storytelling element representing mystery.

The last scene where we see Jacks before the scene where he has the Purple Apple is the dinner with Elantine, before which he's holding a White Apple. He's hoping to take the throne, which makes sense in relation to the meanings associated with purple color.

Conclusions

To summarize all of my findings and conclusions, both from part 1 and part 2,

There are 22 apples in total that Jacks is described holding throughout the Caraval series (7) and the OUABH series (15).

What Jacks does with his apples (tossing, biting, picking up, dropping) is connected to his emotions.

As Jacks is a Fate, he carries around the apples to help control his urge to kiss people, in search of true love. Only once he finds true love with Evangeline does he not need them anymore. Now he's happy and has had enough of the apples <3

The apples have different colors that I believe represent different things: white (11 of 22, default color), black (4 of 22, desperation/doing whatever it takes), blue (3 of 22, success), gold (1 of 22, possibly failure or feeling broken), silver (1 of 22, possibly partial success or intrigue), pink (1 of 22, Evangeline), and purple (1 of 22, royalty/power/nobility or mystery).

The origin of the apples is still unknown, as is how the apples take on different colors.

If you have read this far, again, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Today I offer you two apples as a reward: 🍎🍏

Almost all of my conclusions are just theories, but I'm so happy if I could provide something to think about – and some much needed "answers". I know I was losing my mind when I read ACFTL and got almost none of the apple-related answers I had been hoping for, but on the other hand, researching this has been a ton of fun!

In part 1, I said I'd be happy if just one person besides myself would enjoy looking at my findings and theories. As of writing this, that post has 103 notes. Guys. I'm blown away by all the likes and reblogs and nice things some of you have said to me and just,,, THANK YOU. All of you. I'm overjoyed that I could share my little theories and that so many of you have liked them, it means the world to me.

You all have made the hours upon hours I put into these posts and dedicating my heart to this little detail a thousand times worth it. Thank you so much for reading, truly!! 🍎❤️

[wish-i-were-heather]

okay soo i just finished reading caraval by stephanie garber here are some random thoughts i had (spoiler warning ofc)

at first i was really confused because i hadn't read any spoilers or anything about it. all i knew was that it was a fantasy and there was some magic carnival game. that's literally it.

i still kinda had no idea what was going on and if someone had asked me what it was about any time before halfway through, i wouldn't be able to tell them. as i kept reading i really got into it tho

like i said i had no idea what i was getting myself into so i lowkey couldn't tell if the whole julian thing was gonna be like a locke/adam situation from the cruel prince/shatter me. because i had zero idea who she ended up with. ive still only read this one and not looked up spoilers but like i feel like everyone talks abt them together so

the taking off two days of her life situation made me angryyyyyy like i was so upset wdym shes just gonna be dead for the next 2 days?? but then julian did the whole helpy thing and i was like 😍😍

i wouldn't quite call them enemies to lovers but the way i squealed when i read "who did this to you" was actually not okay

i mean i guess yknow i obviously was shocked at plot twists, like when her dad showed up with the weird fiance guys i was mad asf.

also for some reason i kept imagining her dad as madoc from the cruel prince and the fiancé count guy as the onceler from the lorax. and i kept seeing julian in the same outfit as mr smee from jake and the neverland pirates. just pirate/sailor vibes i guess

dont ask idk

ok but the end i was very confused because everyone kept dying. like yeah they came back but i actually screeched when julian died, i thought i was abt to die. but i knew there had to be more of him (and dante and tella) so i knew somehow they'd come back. like what would the next two books be if it was just scarlet being sad

idc what y'all try to tell me i dont even care if we dont know who he is i feel like legend is fine asf. thats the point tho isnt it-

anyway i dont really like tella idk tho she kinda annoys me

i just got book 2 from the library so 😈😈

[notbecauseofvictories]

Books of 2022

In 2022, I read fewer books overall (143, down from last year’s ridiculous 303) but I did manage to cut down on my romance novel reading---a respectable 52% instead of last year’s 78%. The consequence of this is that I did actually read more good books this year, books I could talk about with other people and inspired feelings and thoughts that rattled around my head afterwards. Plus some actual nonfiction!

Going through all of them, what I liked about them, why they made such an impression, would take a while---plus I’ve already talked about most of these in my books tag. So I’m just going to invite everyone to ask about anything that catches their eye!

BEST FICTION (IN THE ORDER I READ THEM) ** indicates a particular favorite

The House of Small Shadows, Adam Nevill

**The Cipher, Kathe Koja

Eartheater, Dolores Reyes

Hadriana in All My Dreams, René Depestre

**Tender is the Flesh, Agustina Bazterrica 

You've Lost a Lot of Blood, Eric LaRocca

The Beautiful Ones, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle

War for the Oaks, Emma Bull

Girl A, Abigail Dean

This Might Hurt, Stephanie Wrobel

**Burning Girls and Other Stories, Veronica Schanoes

Eva Ibbotson’s A Countess Below Stairs, A Company of Swans, & Magic Flutes

Deerskin, Robin McKinley

BEST NONFICTION

An Iliad, Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare

**Capitalist Realism, Mark Fisher

Urban Folklore in the Paperwork Empire, Alan Dundes & Carl R. Pagter

**Fun Home, Alison Bechdel

**Men, Women & Chainsaws, Carol J. Clover

[romance novels and most disliked books under the cut---I did give these a bit of an explanation, because being asked about romance novels makes me itchy. We shall never speak of these again.]

ROMANCE NOVEL READING

Vivienne Lorret (How to Forget a Duke, Ten Kisses to Scandal, The Rogue to Ruin, When a Marquess Loves a Woman, How to Steal a Scoundrel's Hear) Admittedly, nothing particularly unique about these---however, they are more traditional romance and a pretty decent attempt at actual regency-style manners, so I enjoyed myself reading them.

Olivia Atwater (Half a Soul, Ten Thousand Stitches, Longshadow) I actually sincerely loved these! Supernatural historical romance from a solid writer. Plus, the series has angrier, more class-conscious sensibilities than all the romance novels I've read---and is less hypocritical about it too, since the characters are largely not nobility, and there's no marrying dukes involved.

Alice Coldwater (His Forsaken Bride, An Ill-Made Match, The Unlovely Bride, Wed By Proxy) So admittedly, I don’t recommend reading all four of these together---it becomes increasingly clear that Coldwater can only write one and a half heroines, and both of them are excessively weepy. Nevertheless, I took a total leap of faith on this (historical fantasy romance isn't typically my genre) and was rewarded by a lot of delightful pining, some court politics, and the 1.5 heroines she can write are fun to follow around.

C.L. Wilson (The Winter King, The Sea King) If last year was about reading every romance novel about dukes I could find, this year was about finding all the fantasy romance novels. (Shout out to Stephanie Garber who also helped feed this inexplicable urge!) Anyway, this series was fun, similar to the above in that it’s fake fantasy politics and some romance, and that’s a combination that works for me.

MOST DISLIKED BOOKS

Redshirts, John Scalzi I have never despised a book quite like this one! I still can't tell if it's the smirkingly obvious Star Trek meta of it all, or the hat on a hat that is the last chapter/coda 1. I did like coda 3, but only because it felt like the only quietly, emotionally sincere part of the whole stupid book.

High Times in the Low Parliament, Kelly Robinson Novellas must be tricky to write---I’ve read a fistful or so, and find them to be wildly variable in quality and effectiveness. That said....the author’s attempt to resolve entrenched political problems via dance made me roll my eyes so hard I strained a muscle. It ruined what might have otherwise been a fun time, since I did like the narrator's charmingly disaffected perspective

Always Be My Duchess, Amalie Howard Emotional honesty and vulnerability has no place in romance novels. I read historical romance specifically so people won’t talk about their feelings, and the fact that romancelandia keeps shoehorning therapy-speak into my regency may in fact be my villain origin story. However, even worse than that is this book’s use of “totally” and "patriarchy" in a completely ahistorical way, betraying a nauseating disinterest in the time period being written about. Worse than even that: the total fucking coward's move it is to write a Pretty Woman fic but then have the heroine be a virgin and not a sex worker at all. God knows we can't be interesting.

Death, Laura Thelassa This one is my own fault. I did think "hey isn't that the romance series with the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse? I read one of those a long time ago; I should give it another shot." (I promise, I regretted it instantly.) However, it is another excellent entry in the long list of cowardly books that refuse to actually lean into enemies to lovers as a trope. Also, if you have undying protagonists? they should kill each other more.

[theaologieslibrary]

Okay, some acftl opinions under the cut, since I was asked. By no means all of them and they’re… a bit critical. Not here to ruin anyone’s day, please love it if you loved it, but I’m feeling kind of weird about this one

Obviously the HEAVIEST of SPOILERS FOR A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE

Nothing was tied up except EvaJacks being together. Like! Good for them! But even that wasn’t even… satisfying. Luc? Done. Marisol? Gone. Castor out just MASSACRING PEOPLE. LaLa, neutral toward Dane. The Valors? Just out and about now after like a thousand years of everyone just knowing they were dead for sure. ALL of House Fortuna massacred and basically no one blinked an eye. Jacks apples? Who gives a shit.

Is Jacks mortal now? In theory yes but it was never… really remarked upon? He shouldn’t have his powers anymore, he shouldn’t be a Fate, he shouldn’t be immortal… but not a word of this was mentioned.

What… was the point in mentioned Lysander having the ability to mess with memories if he had nothing to do with any of this? Did Aurora like… distill his powers? Unlikely, as it feels truly unrelated. This is something Jacks, Castor, and LaLa knew- why did none of them bring this up in an effort to restore Eva’s memories? Lysander’s ability, if I’m not mistaken, was not mentioned at ALL in this book, despite it revolving around Eva not being able to remember anything

You want backstory on Jacks? NO. Was Jacks from a Great House? Literally any information on who he was pre Fate besides trying to help people? No. Nothing.

LaLa deserves her revenge against Aurora. No joke. Aurora not being punished whatsoever besides still not getting to be with Jacks (called everything about Aurora no joke). Aurora’s actions were UH kind of the worst by far. Especially when it’s turned around that Aurora didn’t even love Lyric? Y’all.

I know a lot of this ties into the happy for now idea but it was just TOO much. Stephanie Garber has talked about this being the last book in the world for the foreseeable future which drives me NUTS after the ending. The whole book felt so rushed and so weirdly all over the place? With a handful of awkward walk backs chalked up to “well the story curse” and clumsy dropped plots?

“Where do we go now?” “Wherever you want” uh, no, 1) what. What kind of ending is that? After all this? 2) I mean. So long as that doesn’t include the Meridian Empire, I guess?

Idk, I’ve got more, but being left with FAAAARRRR more questions than answers bothers the hell out of me. I’m in the process of listening to the audiobook post reading it and I’ll probably physically read it again when my standard edition from faecrate comes in but for now. Hm. Gonna let this stew for awhile. I will say though it gave me the drive to write the fairytale book I’ve been wanting to lol

[flowers-for-em]

Get to know me post!

Hello!

This is a little bit about me!

My name is Emma I'm a minor (creeps and pedos will be blocked) I'm a capricorn - Birthday is January 12 I'm a Ferrari girl <3

My writing blog @the-ballad-of-us

Things I post about:

- Shatter me - The Inheritance Games - Once Upon a broken heart - Writing (cause what's better than actually writing? Reblogging memes about it!) - The Caraval series - Acotar - Folk of the Air - basically anything I find funny or want to rant about

The fandoms I follow:

- Shatter me - The Inheritance games - Ouabh trilogy - Caraval - The Dance of Thieves - Acotar - Swifties - Six of Crows - Powerless - Folk of the Air

Genres I like (books & Music):

- Romance - Fantasy - YA - Dystopian - Taylor Swift - Artic Monkeys - Chase Atlantic - A little of Lana Del Rey

Things I like:

Reading, writing, cooking, music, art, Christmas, daydreaming, coming up with new wips then abandoning them after two chapters, my dream is to open a bookstore/cafe/flower store in a city someday <3

Fave TV shows & Movies:

- Brooklyn Nine Nine - Friends - Alexa and Katie - Oceans 8, 11, 12, & 13 - Now you see me 1 & 2 - Knives out - Any chick flick really.

My Mood Board and things (mostly cause they're pretty):

My mood board <3

Fav Colours

Other pieces of info:

I will defend my babies Warnette and EvaJacks until I die.

I have a personal vendetta against Stephanie Garber until she releases information about what the apples were for.

I want to travel when I'm older - I have a list of places :)

I do have a wattpad account and a story.

My Wattpad

My Pinterest

I spend an unhealthy amount of time scrolling on Pinterest and Tumblr :)

Thats about all for now.

If you want to know anymore just ask! Seriously, I have like zero friends in real life, so you can spam me anytime. I love talking to new people.

Lots of Love

Emma <3

[maybxlle]

hi may! do you have any book recs? I'll read anything!

ACK I HAVE A LOT BUT I DONT KNOW WHAT YOU LIKE AND WHAT YOUVE REAF

caraval by stephanie garber (sia’s reading it rn if you wanna know more about it)

umm the lunar chronicles by marrissa meyer. it’s a fractured fairy tale of cinderella, red riding hood, rapunzel, and snow white. it starts off with cinder, who is a cyborg when she meets prince kai, the son of the emperor

good lord um, cursed by lish mcbride. i don’t remember much, but i remember it was pretty cute. you probably have to search this one up i’m so sorry

check the trigger warnings but the thousandth floor by katharine mcgee. it’s okay but im blanking and checking my goodreads rn

HEARTLESS BY MARRISSA MEYER if anyone asks me what my favorite book is i say this mostly because i don’t really have a favorite but this is so good. basically it’s the backstory of the queen of hearts

that was a lot, i hope you find one you like!

[howlsmovinglibrary]

7, 12 and 13 for the book ask?

7. What was your average goodreads rating? Is it accurate?

According to storygraph my average 2023 rating is 3.54. I am surprised that it isn't higher bc I had a lot of 5 star reads this year, but this also makes sense when you factor in the 1 stars :')

12. Any books that disappointed you?

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber just because... it is so bad. Don't get me wrong, all the books in that series are laughable in quality, but the emphasis is on laughable. I had a lot of fun with the first two books! The final one is really boring... I'm 100 pages from the end and still haven't finished it.

I was also disappointed by Happy Place by Emily Henry... I was expecting it to be a weaker book bc of the ratings my friend gave it, but I still wished the balance had been more towards romance than the angst over nothing.

13. What were your least favourite books of the year?

Oh boy.

My thesis required me to read a lot of Mediore Fantasy By Men. By far the worst book I read this year was called Grey Bastards, I can't remember the author and I don't want to :/// literally the worst book and the worst smut scene I've read in ANYTHING, both published and unpublished. Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames was also fucking terrible - his inability to write women is something white men truly aspire to.

The lowest rated book NOT written by a shitty man, was Idol, Burning by Rin Usami. I was really excited for the themes of that book, but it just didn't really explore them in an interesting or compelling way.

end of year book ask!

[burningfairytales]

Thanks for that Bokuto post of yours...! You're the first person that made me think more of Bokuto as a character (I have been Haikyuu fan since 2017 and Bokuto is in my top 5 fav Hq characters). Like, I never think that deep about him, until I read your mini meta....🌻🌷

Hope you don't mind if I ask from this ask game :

https://www.tumblr.com/threecheersforinking/677824836625694720/anime-ask-game?source=share

For series : Haikyuu, AFTG, Star Trek, and Once Upon a Broken Heart....

Ohhh, that is such an amazing compliment, thank you so much!

Also, it's a relief. Because I'm actually attempting writing fanfiction for the first time in years, and boy, it is not going great. I'm very much doubting my characterisation at literally every point, so.

As for your game, sure, I'll play! :)

Haikyuu:

Favorite Character: Bokuto-And-Akaashi. (sorry. they're joined at the hip. I literally cannot choose.) (If you held a knife to my throat I would say Bokuto. But it's such a close call, you have no idea.)

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: Easy - the training camp arc. Also if Fukurodani's match will be animated I will cry. If it will not get animated I will rage. And then cry. So there's that.

Character I Think is Underrated: Nishinoya. Also Kita. I adore them.

Character I Think is Overrated: (oh god don't come for me.) Tsumu. Listen it's NOT that I don't like him. It's just that I watched the show before reading the manga, the show made the very unfortunate decision not to continue after the game against Inarizaki, and mostly I ended up really loving the characters AFTER their games. Time-skip though is a different matter entirely.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: BOKUAKA. Always.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: How beautifully each character is written. It's very difficult to really dislike any of them!

All for the Game:

Favorite Character: Andrew. He chose violence and held my heart ever since.

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: "You gave me a key and called it home." Also the whole hotel scene. Oh, and "Thank you. You were amazing."

Character I Think is Underrated: Wymack.

Character I Think is Overrated: Honestly none of them. Riko. by the media.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Andreil. And lately JereJean.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: The found family trope. And also "foxes will never raise other foxes."

Star Trek:

Favorite Character: Jim Kirk, mostly because he's such a smart dumbass.

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: since we're talking about AOS, the whole scene where Jim dies. I mean. It was the scene that got me into Star Trek. I remember texting my friend like "listen, idk who they are but they are canonically gay right?" Imagine my shock when I realised that it was not, in fact, canon.

Character I Think is Underrated: Chekov. (I'd say Bones because I love him but he's definitely not underrated.)

Character I Think is Overrated: Ohhhhh I don't actually have one?

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Kirk/Spock. In any universe.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: That it was never about war. That they took the question, "but what if there's aliens??" and made it about science, and research, and interracial relationships.

Once Upon a Broken Heart:

Favorite Character: Evangeline. Out of any female character Stephanie Garber has written, she's the Queen of my Heart (oh, the irony.)

I mean, "children treat their toys better than you treated me"? Yes, queen.

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: Not gonna spoil anything. But the end of book two. If you know, you know.

Character I Think is Underrated: Lala, maybe? I also have to admit I have a fondness for Luc, even if he's an idiot.

Character I Think is Overrated: I'm sorry, I know it's not her storyline, but she's in the book so it counts: I really, really, REALLY disliked Tella. She annoyed me literally every time she had a thought, and I hated that she's so obviously the author's favourite. Scarlett deserved better.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Evajacks.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: Enemies to Lovers. Also the whole atmosphere of the book. It really felt like a slightly warped fairytale.

[jackstheprinceofhearts]

PROB NOT THE FIRST TO POST ABOUT THIS BUT OMFG??? MORE OF THE HOLLOW???

i was thinking about this and maybe jacks would bring eva back there to remind her of him???? maybe???? it could be a stretch but oh my god i am so excited

[mika-no-sekai-blog]

i’m saying this with the most complimentary intentions possible - but as someone who’s read your work from chapter one of heal me and am reading the new eris fic rn, your writing has improved so much i’m proud of you.

which is not to say that you weren’t a good story teller before - but you sound more confident of your command over the language and that shines through. i feel like you’ve also allowed yourself to be more experimental and expressive - and its so great i’m genuinely thankful that i’m able to read it for free haha

as a writer myself, i know it’s not always easy to realise what you’ve accomplished, which is the only reason i’m pointing out how you’ve evolved - because i think you should be proud of yourself too. hope you’re having a fun time exercising your creative muscles ahah, i’ll be sat here waiting for your next update :)))

Hi, anon. I'm sorry it took me soo long to answer your ask, but whoa 😮

This is the most encouraging ask I've ever got. You've tapped on the door of the biggest insecurity of mine and managed to close it for some time. Thank you so much.

It's so big relief to hear that others notice any improvements. As non-native speaker it's hard to pinpoint a change. There are still too many mistakes I'm not aware of, it takes forever to write anything and browser&translator are buddies that are greatly needed. But I'm definitely more confident than I used to be to the point I'm scared to open the very first story here🫣

Any of this would be impossible without my great teachers: Sarah J Maas, Jennifer Armentrout, Stephanie Garber, Clarissa Broadbent and the rest of list of the authors I've ever read in English. That's the best language school ever😘

[jessread-s]

hi jess !! im not sure if asking you anything is allowed but recently ive been stuck in a really bad slump because the romance books ive been reading just havent been it for me. i am in desperate need of a romance slump buster; do you have any cute recs i should try?

Hello @cynnamnbun ! Thank you so much for your ask! 🫶📖✨🌷 I LOVE giving recommendations. If you need more individualized recommendations (ex: by trope, genre, similar author, open door/closed door, etc.) please let me know and I'd be happy to fulfill your request!

My favorite YA contemporary romance books ₊˚ʚ 🧁₊˚✧ ﾟ.

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle

The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy by Jenny Han

Wait for Me by Caroline Leech

This Time It's Real by Ann Liang

I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang

A British Girl's Guide to Hurricanes and Heartbreak by Laura Taylor Namey

What Happens After Midnight by K.L. Walther

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

My favorite adult contemporary romance books ₊˚ʚ 🌶️₊˚✧ ﾟ.

The Cheat Sheet duology by Sarah Adams

The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas

Love Redesigned by Lauren Asher

The Dirty Air series by Lauren Asher

Bellinger Sisters duology by Tessa Bailey

Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

Lairds' Fiancées by Julie Garwood

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

If Love series by Ana Huang

Runaway Ranch series by Ava Hunter

The Deal by Elle Kennedy

Chestnut Springs series by Elsie Silver

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

My favorite romantasy books ₊˚ʚ 🐉₊˚✧ ﾟ.

The Selection series by Kiera Cass (YA)

Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy by Stephanie Garber (YA)

Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin (YA)

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (NA)

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin (NA)

Dance of Thieves duology by Mary E. Pearson (YA)

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson (YA)

Letters of Enchantment duology by Rebecca Ross (YA)

The Four Horsemen series by Laura Thalassa (Adult)

[unhealthy-obessions]

So I went to the library and actually found A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber, and it was GREAT

Ofc I need to rant ab it, bc I finished it late last night so I needed to the pass the fuck out cuz I had to wake up early the next day so I couldn’t post anything until now

spoiler warning!!

“Don’t be rude. The princess asked you a question. Answer.”

HES SO ADORABLE FOR THIS I ACTUALLY CANT BREATHE, STAWPPPP

“You could never look awful.”

HES SO WHIPPED, OMFG

“But he thought again about the guards talking about a murderous demon. Then he pictured the same murderous demon, ripping into Evangeline’s throat, killing her, again.”

Hes traumatized by seeing Eva die that he so fucking worried about his friend killing her, MY STARSSSS </3

“I don’t want you near her. Ever.’ Jacks pulled out his sword, and before Chaos had time to speak, he shoved the blade right through his chest.”

BROOOO, CHAOS IS JACKS LONGEST FRIEND AND JACKS “KILLED” HIM BECAUSE HE WAS WORRIED THE FIRST TIME LINE (where Eva was KILLED BY CHAOS) WOULD REPEATTT

IM NOT OKAYYYYY

“Yes, I am a murderer. I enjoy hurting people. I like blood. I like pain. I am a monster, but whether you remember it or not, I’m your monster, Evangeline.”

This shattered my soul, heart and STARS while reading</3

“She didn’t hear any voices calling for him, but she wondered if being here hurt Jacks the same way being so close to the memory of her parents had hurt her. If he, too, felt the pull of something he wanted but couldn’t have.”

For context, Eva still doesn’t have her memories and they’re currently in the Cursed Forest, in the Hollow.

THE BEST DAY OF JACKS LITERAL IMMORTAL LIFE WAS WHEN HE SPENT TIME THERE WITH EVANGELINE

ARGHHHHHHH, STOPPPPPP

“Nothing was going to be all right ever again if Jacks lost her now.”

NO WAIT, STOP, HES PANICKING MADE ME PANIC

“‘Splendid! Tell me about the apples.’

‘Next question.’

‘You said I could ask whatever I wanted.’

‘It doesn’t matter, I don’t need them anymore.”

OH MY STARS, JACKS EATS APPLES TO CONTROL HIS FATE URGES OF WANTING TO KISS EVANGELINE (bc otherwise he would kiss her and she would die) BUT HE DOESNT NEED TO DO THAT ANYMORE BECAUSE HE CAN KISS HER

THEY MAKE ME SO MENTALLY ILLLL

anyways, I just really needed wanted to rant ab Jacks bc ofc I do

I’m sorry if it was too long but I really fucking wanted to rant

[rosesfox]

I honestly don't understand what's the secrecy around elain or acotar's next book in general. Authors these days keep feeding their fandoms and looking at how fast stephanie garber announced the next sequel to her book just made me resent sjm even more. Maybe I'm being too whiny here but I can't help but feel very annoyed that there's no news from sjm. Her attitude in her last interview was kinda disappointing and the way she talked about elain as if she was bored or was being forced to do that, put me off even more. It's a fictional character at the end of the day not a passcode of some nuclear bomb or anything. The fandom is already thinning and people are moving onto other series I've also noticed a lot of people, even her owns fans are now realizing the flaws and inconsistencies in her writing and growing uninterested in her work. There's also the tv-show which she's involved in and I have no idea what will that bring out. Acotar isn't even completed yet...so why is a show needed?

exactly! she's taking herself way too seriously, when she had already stated that feyre's sisters would have books and it's been years since she revealed that she did research for elain's book (about gardening and stuff). she already talked about it, otherwise we wouldn't get our hopes up. why not confirm now that nesta's book is out? is so disrespectful to the fans, and we're not even asking for details.

elain is getting even more hate after acosf, mostly from fans of the secondary character or the big feminists in the fandom, the nesta stans. i just wish it wasn't so hard to like her and want to see her journey on paper. if sarah would just say that elain's book is coming, i think we'd have a little more peace.

you are not the only one! i've also been noticing the same thing and a lot of people are simply walking away from the fandom and getting seriously disappointed with sjm's stance. it's hard to maintain interest when the fandom is extremely toxic and attacks you for everything (like, liking elain or elriel, for example), and when there are no new details to be discussed.

i couldn't care less about this show and i see a lot of people can relate to me. it seems kind of misplaced given the moment of acotar, as you yourself said.

(btw some people have already come to tell me here on the blog that her silence is also due to the publisher and that she doesn't have to put the same effort into publicity as other authors, but i think it's sarah's fault too. she's not jk rowling or stephen king so if stephanie, kerri, holly black, jla etc, can work with their fandoms, so can sarah.)

[lyra-brie]

EvaJacks "Who Are You?" Fanfic

I don't normally write fanfiction, but my hyperfixation is really strong with Once Upon a Broken Heart, so this is an exception.

It takes place shortly after the end of The Ballad of Never After. It's loosely based on a lot of my random theories and stuff, mainly that Apollo was the reason that Eva sees Jacks's blood at the end.

These characters belong to Stephanie Garber, they're from the Once Upon a Broken Heart series.

Heavy spoilers for both Once Upon a Broken Heart and The Ballad of Never After.

~~~

My wrist started burning. Right where that tiny white broken heart scar was. Apollo avoided my questions about it, and now it suddenly started burning. I needed to find a way to figure out what it was or what it meant.

Don't trust anyone but me. Something bad happened to you, and we aren't sure who did it. Everyone is dangerous, Apollo had said.

But it felt wrong. Like he just wanted to keep me to himself. He dodged all my questions and wouldn't tell me much of anything about what happened before I lost my memories.

My door opened, and I jumped. No one should have been coming in here, and yet, there he was. His blond hair was almost gold, and his skin seemed to glow. Something felt off about him. Something I felt like I should've known. He looked at me as if he could see into my soul while he came closer.

Regret shined in his icy blue eyes as he said, "I'm sorry, Little Fox." The nickname was both familiar and strange, especially coming from this odd, almost-glowing man, who I had no memory of at all. Something like hope outshined the regret, and I felt like that was unusual for him. It lit up his face so beautifully. "I didn't mean what I sad at the arch. I never should've left you alone with him. We can make this work-"

My tongue finally decided to work as the question I wasn's sure I wanted to ask slipped out. "Who are you?"

He froze. His hopeful look dropped away. His hand shook just a little bit. Something I felt no one else would notice with the confidence he was practically oozing.

"What do you mean, 'Who are you?' It's Jacks. You have to remember." He seemed like he was almost pleading with me to remember who he was. I couldn't. The name barely even sounded familiar at all.

"I-I'm sorry, but I really don't remember who you are. How did you even get in here?"

"I told the guards to let me in." My eyes narrowed in suspicion. Apollo told them not to let anyone in. "The guards like me. What's the last thing you remember?"

The last thing I remember is my dad dying, but I don't want to tell him that. Apollo said not to trust anyone else, and he just seems strange anyway. But I did have a question for him.

"Do you know what this is from?" I lifted my wrist to show him the odd scar that had started burning when he came in. I wouldn't tell him it was burning, just in case, but I wanted to know, and Apollo wouldn't answer my questions about it.

Jacks smiled for a second, like he was just glad I was still talking to him, before it faded away.

"That's from when we first met."

"How did we meet?"

The corner of his mouth turned up again. "Let me take you out of the palace. I'll tell you everything, as long as you promise to hear me out. It'll help if I can show you the places we were together." Fear outweighed my curiosity. Apollo said leaving the palace wasn't safe. I don't know this Jacks. He could be lying about all of this just to get me out of my safe place.

"I'm not supposed to leave the palace."

"Do you just listen to everything Apollo says?" He said it like a challenge, daring me to go with him and see what happened. To step out of the box Apollo had put me in.

The box is to keep you safe.

But is it really?

"So you think I'm just going to trust you because you say you knew me and that we share some memories? I think I'll take my chances staying here." His expression didn't change as he turned away from me and started walking toward the door. I realized with a start that I didn't want him to leave.

He looked over his shoulder as he spoke one last time, "Alright. It's up to you. I'll be at the cemetery (A/N: it was the only place I could think of lol) if you decide you'd like to find out what that scar is." His voice was confident he knew what I would decide, but he still seemed so much dimmer than when he came in. With that, he left just as quickly as he came. I felt more alone than I had been before he left.

I paced around my room for a few minutes, arguing with myself about whether or not I was going to do this very stupid thing and leave the palace to meet a man I don't know. But I already knew exactly what choice I was going to make.

[ilovecoralineandotherbooks]

November Wrap-up:

Mix of romance dramione fanfic & fantasy, didn't read all of my November TBR butidid read a couple.

Any questions on content, or anything you want to know & any recs you have my DM's and asks are open.😊

Psycho shifters⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jasmine Mas

psycho fae⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jasmine Mas

Psycho Beasts⭐️⭐️

Jasmine Mas

Wicked beautiful lies⭐️⭐️

L.A. Ferro

Auctioned to the pack⭐️⭐️

layla Sparks

The hidden falling⭐️⭐️⭐️

kelly Cove

If we were villains⭐️⭐️⭐️

M L Rio

Perfectly in pieces⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CDLynn- A03

The Slytherin Princess⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

taylorikari - Ao3

Heart of desire⭐️⭐️

Liana Tiomzon

Rosemary for Rememberance⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

rubbersoul02- A03

Trial of the sun Queen⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nisha J Tuli

friends, enemies & all the broken people⭐️⭐️⭐️

lostpoet - A03

Rule of the Aurora king⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nisha J Tuli

Ever thine⭐️⭐️⭐️

evergreentuesdays - A03

Heart shaped bruises & late night kisses⭐️⭐️⭐️

dramionewrites - A03

fortuna Sworn⭐️⭐️⭐️

k J Sutton

Denied⭐️⭐️⭐️

evelyn flood

Devoted⭐️⭐️⭐️

Evelyn flood

Sugar & Spice⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In love with forever A03

The gloriana Set⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TheBemoon - A03

too much labour⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ceilidhchaos - A03

various storms & saints⭐️⭐️⭐️

Viridianatnight - Ao3

Imprisoned ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stein048 - Ao3

Fast burn ⭐️⭐️

Abigail Davies

Deep burn⭐️⭐️

Abigail Davies

Unperfect ⭐️⭐️

Susie tate

Once upon a broken heart ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stephanie garber

The ballad of never after⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stephanie garber

A curse for true love⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stephanie garber

Look what you made me do ⭐️⭐️

Catstclair -Ao3