#author has been through the same abuse mc suffered

[haru-naechi]

Second Rant: The Villainess/Mob/Side Character/ Random Girl Who Wakes up in a Novel She Read

Whoopie! Reincarnated to a novel/game, an interesting concept really. Seeing how there is already a pre-determined story to follow, I do wonder how they'll go about this.

*Several reads later*

Oh boy. They can't really think of anything else can't they?

Okay so, one thing I really really like genuinely hate about these stories is how the mc always acts so dumb. Like, girl, come on, I think for the past few years you've been in this world you ought to think that things develop.. idk NaTurAlly? Why do you keep saying that "things are changing" like no shit things are changing, you've changed and that's practically gonna cause a ripple effect on everything.

Oh, oh, and I hate it when ml is like obv showing feeeeelingsss but mc is just: (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠). "No OmG tHaTs NoT PosSIblE, cu'Z he'S supPosEd to FalL foR ThE OrigINaL FL!"

Fuck it even when the ml admits his feelings the girl is just like "no".

It's frustrating to me because authors tend to develop these ladies as quick thinkers and determined, always trying to find ways to avoid death flags set to them. But then they do those aforementioned things and it kinda makes you think how shallow they are. It's like they don't see the relationships they build as real ones and are all just superficial for specific reasons.

I understand the concern when you feel like you're trying to fight against fate but most of these stories don't even actually have that. Things do change and usually nothing terrible happens, but mc acts like there will be even though the author clearly only puts "horrible" things as plot advancers and nothing too serious.

Also, for those mc that woke up in their new body with a shit reputation paired with what everyone knows has a shit personality, why is everyone just okay with her changing all of the sudden — like its just plain stupid. If I knew someone who is evil suddenly becomes good overnight, I would not only be sceptical but also assume that she's possessed (seeing how magic always exists in these worlds i don't that's too far from the realm of possibility right?). This one honestly is what bugs me the most.

Suspicion is removed cu'z mc does something heroic or wonderful (blegh), but that kinda undermines the suffering other people have gone through with the original character. Some authors have even shown fully blown flashbacks where the original character is violent, verbally abusive and typical in every possible way. And these people just, flips a damn switch and say "Oh! She's changed!" Which boggles my mind every time I read something like that.

Which puts me to my next complaint. There is no real villain or even when there is they aren't really appealing. The problems set by the "original" story already gets destroyed like a couple chapters in, so what next? There are quite a lot of stories that just turn the OG Female Lead into whatever the villainess is supposed to be like: delusional, fake, etc. Which to me is, fine, but if you're gonna turn someone else in that world into a villain for the sake of having a bad guy, then why not put the stakes higher? Or at least give them more of a reason than just them feeling entitled to have the boyz. They don't have any substance to them and are bland af. Its a story vying for a downfall you already know will come.

Overall these ladies think too much and too little at the same time. Istg their dialogue can be summarized into "That didn't happen" "This didn't happen in the original.." "Is there a bug in the game..?" or "Why are things not going as the orignal!?"

It burns my brain trying to see through their eyes and understand their logic, until you realize they don't have common sense at all. They are geniuses only when they need to be, but is dumb af everywhere else.

Also, as much as I love puffy, frilly dresses I'm tired of mc changing the og characters seemingly sexiness into this cutesy vibe doesn't sit well with me. They're obviously trying to put this as more of a visual dichotomy between the original character and the current mc, but its not much of a statement. (But honestly this just may be me because I want more sexy mc you know?)

Trust me when I say this post barely covers half of what I truly feel about these stories and this is just the general gist of it. Also couldn't be bothered to add specific titles like the last rant.

#manhua #manhwua #manhwa #webtoon #villainess #heroine #transmigration #reincarnation #novel #game #reincarnated to a novel #rant #manhwa rant #mahua rant #webtoon rant

[vrishchikawrites]

I see a lot of people complaining abt how the wen remnants didn't get any justice, but tbh I love the book bc of it. Like, it would be so satisfying to see it, but it would completely break my immersion in the story, just like if people suddenly punished YZY for WWX's treatment. Satisfying, yes. But so unrealistic.

YZY wouldn't be imprisoned for abusing an orphan she took in, even if everyone thought she was awful, bc the classicism was too strong. For that to happen, the author would've to introduce a society where that was possible from the beginning, or show a change that would support it. Otherwise, it would sound like 'and everyone clapped' stories.

Stories where everyone ends up happy and in a relationship, where everyone suddenly has a change of heart so strong that they ignore anything else to deliver a perfect outcome for the MC, those just read as bad fanfic, for me, and what I love the most abt MXTX books is how well written they are. It feels like a real world, with real people, (even if WX are just perfect, their journeys are realistic.)

Stories with a perfect ending and with retribution for all the wrongs the MC suffered are extremely satisfying to read sometimes, but it just takes too much of my suspension of disbelieve in a way even high fantasy series don't. And the ending we got for mdzs was so perfect bc it felt real, like, it wasn't perfect, but it was happy and hopeful and felt purposeful and well thought out by the author.

sorry for the ramble, feel free to ignore (^_^;)

I agree with you. The story, itself, is very satisfying. The fact that there was no straightforward or clean-cut ending makes it very realistic but MDZS also isn't grimdark in a way that makes you rage against the plot.

But speculation, what-ifs, metas, and discussions are a part of the fannish community. That's what makes things fun. Looking at the implications of the Wen situation and how it fits into the story somehow enriches MDZS, it is a deeper dive into the world MXTX built and the characters she created. Through these discussions, we're engaging and exploring a very beautiful piece of work further.

I think the complaints aren't about how MXTX wrote the plot or how the Wen situation should have been handled differently. They're more about fans understanding the nuance of the situation.

I feel like the criticism isn't directed at the book or plot, but at the characters and the world within the book.

Which is, quite honestly, a great deal of fun.

What makes fanfiction so great is that we don't need to write it with the same realism that we expect from novels. The rules are different here. Fanfiction is about satisfaction, what satisfies you, what satisfies the readers. It is about wish-fulfillment. Things that you know won't happen in canon can happen in fanfics. That's probably why I rarely call any fanfic bad fanfic (unless they are bad by objective standards like writing quality, errors, formatting, etc). Because ultimately, it is all about exploring what is already there and creating tiny little universes that tick all of the boxes for us.

So yes, I agree with you about how Wens and other characters were handled in canon. And I love that we end up discussing just how unjust it was regardless.

#reader asks

[thatfantasynerd10]

Hey you guys, this isn't like my usual posts,bear with me:)

I kinda want to talk about redemption arcs and bad boys/characters. More specifically- what makes us like dark romantic interests, and what makes us hate certain other dark, mean, manipulative characters? I promise this isn't cringy (for the most part)

Pretty much every fandom has conflicting opinions on it's bad boy characters- be it Edward Cullen, The Darkling, Rhysand, Cardan Greenbriar, Rowan or Jace Herondale- people either say "this ship's so toxic I love it" or "yikes y'all stop simping over abusers" or "respect their trauma". The line between a dark character that makes everyone's heart melt, and just dark character is usually a redemption arc. The problem here? Most of them don't have one. The actions we think of as 'redemption arcs' are 90% of the time them being warm and cuddly and possessive towards the protagonist. This is tricky because when we read a book from the protagonist's perspective, we feel everything they feel. So if the bad boy is rude and cold to them, we feel the same bitterness that they do. And when the character shows them the slightest bit of affection after all that mean-ness, we go "oh well I knew they were gonna be love interests so this is amazing awwww". For example "your hair is clean" Is creepy and NOT a cute compliment. But when Tamlin said it, we thought of it as romantic because We Knew that Feyre would at some point be with him. Most of us ignored him being abusive towards Feyre till Rhys came around and went "he locked you up" and THEN WE REALISED omg Tamlin you manipulative freak😤 and then we were the "I can't see" meme when Rhysand repeatedly abused Feyre under the mountain, with the bright side being "the tattoos are for me to make sure no one touched you!! I never touched you below your waist!!"

See the pattern?!!?! We see what we want to through the protagonist's eyes (and usually this is a CONTRAST between a DEVILISH guy and a bad guy); and ignore the horrible actions of the bad boy love interests as long as they flirt with the mc.

Similarly with the Darkling, most of us ship Darklina and wanted Alina to become bad and for them to be on the same side. As long as he was good to Alina, we were fine with him killing everyone else. That's cute. But then he hurt Genya and killed Ana Kuya and ALINA WAS HEARTBROKEN. and then some of us went😐. Because as long as the protagonist is okay, we're okay with anything the bad boy does.

Another interesting thing is how when an author wants us to like one love interest, they immediately start making the other one do shitty stuff,, so remember the Darklina after-ball scene??? Remember how before that we were told that Mal wasn't writing to Alina??? And so our minds went "Damn girl dump him!! The Darkling is way hotter anyways🙄" but then but then... In the end, when it was obvious that Mal was gonna be the UlTiMaTe lover, all of a sudden the Darkling kills everyone Alina ever loved???

Kaz Brekker, however, is an amazingly written bad boy- because he's got the tragic past, the cold hearted murderer, the sly thief, the guy who seems too have no connections- but he actually cares about Inej, Jesper and the other crows. He's not an abuser, not manipulative, not possessive-

"Our hopes rest with you, Mister Brekker. If you fail, all the world will suffer for it." "Oh, it's worse than that, Van Eck. If I fail, I don't get paid." But also- "She belongs to know one". That's the perfect contrast that we all love.

Cardan however, is a different character.. Because he quite literally is the 'cruel' prince that turns out to be an emo kid with a crush. My point is redemption arcs don't usually work with COMPETELY bad characters who turn COMPLETELY perfect. There has to be some back story, some good parts that are revealed later for us to sympathise with them. Like how we learnt how Cardan was basically hated by his entire family, and then he turned cruel because that's the only way that he felt anything like a prince at all, and how Nicasia betrayed him and how he saved mortal servants from Balekin. It's easy to sympathise with characters who're struggling with their morality, who've been through shit. That's a good redemption arc. Again, it depends on how forgiving the reader is, but certain abusive and manipulative actions of characters cannot be overlooked.

Sooo, let's not be those annoying&stubborn fans. Accept the problems that these books( and many many others) have- be it lack of representation or presenting abuse an an okay thing. It's okay to like these books and comfort characters. These are after all, fantasies. But let's not let these problems become 'normal' in our minds, coz that's when we start extending the same mentality towards society and REAL issues.

#fantasy #ya books #bad boys #six of crows #the crooked kingdom #shadow and bone netflix #shadow and bone #jude x cardan #cardan greenbriar #inej x kaz #leigh bardugo #kaz brekker #the darkling #darklina #rhysand #feyre archeron #feysand #folk of the air #jude duarte #mal oretsev #a court of thorns and roses #acomaf

[belphegorbillickin]

Honestly, I love Mammon but I'm sick of his sweetness. I see him EVERYWHERE, and it's like the others don't exist. I like it when characters lose their calm you know? Esp that time when we reject Satan's pact, I really liked how he got worked up over such a thing lmao. And of course, most of the ones who tried killing mc had stupid reasons, except for Lucifer imo, but since when did demons make sense?

Alright, sure, they can still be sweet, but imagine if they ACTUALLY were dark characters. Corrupting human souls, selfish desires, blah blah. I'm not saying they can't love mc, ofc they can be sweet and lovable, but that doesn't mean they'd lose their normal habits and quirks. You cannot differentiate between them and normal humans now. The traits that would portray them as demons isn't there.

And perhaps yes, routes would've been fun. Right/wrong answers? Seems legit lmao. But like you said, the characters could've been done so much better.

I liked them at the start, now that I think of it asmo was never really what he seemed to be at the start, but in the recent events to me, at least, he's all but that. Diavolo, Barbatos, they have potential to be dark characters lmao. Asmo too, esp abt Helene, he sure was manipulative. Seeing Satan just be about cats/books upsets me bcuz he's one of my favs, and like you said, I feel he could've been a MUCH better character, plus idk he seems like he could be dark too. Other than beel & mammon, and I really don't know about belphie since he's become pretty sweet now, I feel everyone else could be written as characters with darker, more fitting demon personalities.

Though I love how we can go on about one topic for ages lmao. Lmk if my rambles become too annoying lol – 🍹

Don't worry about it, I really enjoy talking about it and I'm the queen of rambling lol. It's actually kinda hard for me to be concise when it comes to things like this.

And yes! Satan's reaction to rejection was exactly what I was thinking about when I mentioned that. I don't doubt most of the others would've reacted the same either tbh, but the difference between his reason for wanting to kill MC and his brothers' felt very different imo.

I'm kinda repeating myself, but I think people really overlook how cold Asmo was regarding getting MC killed. In that sense I can see how they get along with each other so well. I think I huge part of that is people coming in knowing that they're all gonna love MC and MC can't die so they don't even think about threats or subtle manipulation, but he's one of the most malicious imo since it was so cool-headed and planned.

Kind of like the theories about Barbatos and/or Diavolo purposefully sending you to a traumatic death because executing Belphie would cause the brothers to revolt. (Which I believe to extent btw.) Those four stand out as a lot more demonic imo because they can't be called crimes of passion. I miss the days where they both just casually admitted to taking part in a torture dungeon.

Personally I love the idea of unavoidable demonic corruption. Like the "tragic lovers suffering from fate" trope but where the demon isn't just an innocent victim that can't control it at all and MC doesn't just take it happily without consequences.

I'm not against MC suffering the consequences of a demon boyfriend, far from it, but even if you don't go the direct route there's so many ways to do it.

Even just slowly losing your morals because all the demons (and old-ass human with some most likely odd moral quirks, if only from being alive so long in horrible times) around you treat horrible things as something as mundane as breathing. Even if they snap back at least acknowledging it is a huge step up.

I'd be terrified and paranoid 24/7 knowing everyone around me wants to literally eat me and has eaten humans before. Even if they hated the taste or something knowing they're capable of it is scary af.

Like a Beelzebub who truly doesn't mean to hurt MC but doesn't think twice about breaking their beloved pet's bones right in front of them. A Beelzebub that finds it just as hard to avoid eating humans as he did in the intro even when he knows he shouldn't harm MC's family.

Or even just a Beelzebub so wracked by guilt and light on morals that can't bring himself to not always enthusiastically take Belphie's side even when he knows it's hurting MC. A kind of parasitic relationship where Beel guilts MC into staying and helps Belphie trap & manipulate them in ways Belphie could never do by himself.

A Leviathan that finds it increasingly hard to keep his jealously inwards now that he has someone to fight for and can't feel secure unless he can feel their envy. A Belphegor that slowly manipulates MC into abandoning all of their responsibilities and friends until their life is ruined and they have to depend on him.

I get that some of them are a bit harder to do without reminding people of irl abuse they may have faced, namely Satan, Levi, Lucifer, and ofc Asmo, but there are ways to make it more supernatural and less mundane. Besides there are way, way worse otomes out there that don't even market themselves as dark like Obey Me did.

I find it interesting that so much of the fanbase absolutely hates those kind of themes when they're so hard to avoid in otome and it was kind marketed towards people who like it. Like I genuinely wonder how they heard about it and got through demons insulting & trying to kill them in the early days of Obey Me before you knew they got better.

In the end though none of that can really happen without routes imo. Those kind of storylines can't be done well in the 10 seconds of individual interaction we get, even a whole lesson is too little time. And again even people who like darker things might freak out when Asmo's the one doing it or get turned off by Levi so they won't risk their money. It's so frustrating seeing the lost potential and knowing it's probably never gonna happen.

Speaking of I always thought Mammon was pretty robbed too. Not only did he never have the same freedom to harm MC as the others, but he was also directly responsible for their safety. Like sure they'd all be punished, but you have a different mindset when an authority figure constantly makes you aware and you have more chances to bond.

I think even cannon Mammon would've been more dangerous and a lot more rude if he wasn't their babysitter. The others, except Satan & Belphie ofc, probably would've been "nicer" and more controlled knowing Lucifer was breathing down their neck too imo.

Like he does seem less violent and hot-headed than the others, but they're not the same circumstances. Even a while after the pact he'd probably sell MC in an instant if he knew he wasn't going to be severely punished.

A lot of his possessiveness feels like a dog guarding a bone rather than true jealously imo, even when they're doing it as endearing thing. People automatically assuming he was lying when he said he'd rather MC die than be saved by someone else, but was he really at that point? Just because someone is tsundere at times doesn't mean they're incapable of being honest or not that into someone.

That's also kinda what I meant by infatuation too. Like sure they could like a human, but that doesn't mean they'll be that upset when they die or will never get bored. It's kind of like those people that immediately get a new pet after theirs dies, or even before so they don't have to be without a dog for a single second. Or the kind of demon that wants to "ruin" you with their sin until you can't go on as the ultimate act of love, even though they know it'll kill you.

#asks #personal

[badchoicesposts]

Loyalty Or Royalty

Chapter 12

Summary: Mia Bhatt spent years trying to escape her past, trying to escape the feeling of betrayal that was left in her heart after the fire, and she finally had. She was marrying the King of Cordonia and was finally going to get her happily ever after. But, after a momentary lapse in judgement caused her to send a wedding invitation to someone she was sure had forgotten about her, she realizes that sometimes the past has a way of crawling back to you.

Author’s Note: In this fic Anton and The Sons of Earth were caught before the wedding. Also this story will contain flashbacks that will be in italics.

Pairing: Liam x MC (Mia Bhatt), Platonic!Colt x MC, Past!Logan x MC

Word Count: 3,246

Song: Shoot Your Gun by 22-20s

TRIGGER WARNING: VERY BRIEF IMPLICATION OF SELF HARM AND PARENTAL ABUSE

Taglist: @flowerpowell​​​​​​, @dcbbw​​​​​​, @texaskitten30​​​​​​, @kingliam2019​​​​​​​, @hopefulmoonobject​​​​​​, @lovehugsandcandy​​​​​​​, @los-cafeteros​​​​​​​, @desireepow-1986​​​​​​​ @lovemychoices​​​​​​​, @kimmiedoo5​​​​​

Catch Up: Masterlist

Mia slipped out of Logan’s arms slowly, pulling the bed sheet up against her bare chest. He continued to sleep soundly on the bed, and she slipped into the loft’s bathroom and slid down to the floor, letting out a soft sigh. Logan was nice and he made her feel safe and comfortable. She had never entertained the idea of feeling secure in a relationship, but with Logan it was different. She wasn’t afraid of him, and she wasn’t on edge around him. Or at least she wasn’t on edge anymore. 

She had been at first, but that was her natural reaction around anyone she first met. She had begun to feel even more apprehensive when he had asked to take her on a date. She had seen examples of how relationships could go wrong all around her. But, Logan was different. He was a good person. He had a hard life and had suffered through more than his fair share of difficulties, but he still somehow managed to have a good heart.

A soft knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts. 

“Hey, what are you doing in here?” Logan asked, smiling down at her softly. 

“I, uh, I just needed a minute,” she sputtered out pathetically. 

“Wow, was I that bad?” Logan teased, holding his hands out to pull her to her feet. 

“It’s not like I would know. I don’t have any prior experiences to draw from,” she shot back, shivering slightly when he pulled the sheet away from her body and the cold air touched her bare skin. 

Logan pulled her into a soft kiss, and she sighed in contentment at the feeling. 

“I really like you, Logan,” she said softly, pulling away from the kiss and hiding her face in the crook of his neck. 

“I really like you too,” he replied, leading her back to the bed. 

~~~

Liam liked to think that he knew his wife very well. Maybe not as well as he originally thought since learning about her crime lord father, but still fairly well. He knew that her favorite Harry Potter movie was the second one, although her favorite book was the third. He knew that she loved sleeping on clean sheets, but hated having to do laundry. He knew that she claimed to be a dog person but secretly loved cats and that as much as she made fun of the social season for being a royal knock off of The Bachelor, the show was one of her guilty pleasures, and she watched it when he was working late. He knew that she had insecurities about her body and mental state in general and that deep down she felt that she didn’t deserve to be with him, something that he thought was crazy because he thought she was the most amazing woman in the world, and he knew that she had a fear of abandonment even if she didn’t call it that herself. He also knew the telltale signs of her anxiety.

The glaring and more obvious one was her nausea. When she was nervous or stressed she almost always threw up. She also scratched incessantly when she was nervous. He had watched her scratch until she made herself bleed before, a habit she had been trying to combat by having shorter nails. However, the more subtle tell, one that he wasn’t even sure she herself knew that she did, was the musical numbers. She always sang showtunes when she was upset. 

Since Colt showed up he had been hearing a lot of “Defying Gravity” and “Popular” from Wicked, “Marry The Man Today” from Guys and Dolls, and “We Both Reached For The Gun” from Chicago. Her renditions from Chicago sometimes made him a bit nervous. He loved Mia more than anything in the world. She was kind, caring, and compassionate, but she was also a force to be reckoned with, and she was definitely someone he didn’t want to be on the wrong side of. 

As she walked around their bedroom getting ready for the day she was belting out the words to “Run and Tell That” from Hairspray. The two of them were getting ready to meet up with the rest of The MPC and Kaneko, and the nervous energy was practically radiating off her in waves. Liam walked up to where she was putting on the bracelet he had made for her with the blue grotto pearl at her vanity and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back into his chest. She looked up at him in the mirror in surprise before smiling softly. 

“You have a wonderful voice, my love,” he mumbled, brushing her curls to the side and pressing a gentle kiss to the side of her neck. 

“Really? I’m pretty sure I’ve disgraced singers everywhere trying to hit high notes before,” she chuckled relaxing back into his arms. 

“Trust me, you’re much better than I am,” Liam said, smiling at their reflections in the mirror.

“That’s funny coming from a member of the infamous Cordonian Quartet,” she teased, turning in his arms and resting her hands on his chest. 

Liam smiled down at her and brushed one of her curls behind her ear. 

“I know you’re nervous, but I’m here with you. You don’t have to deal with this alone. I’ll always be here with you,” he said.

He could still see the troubled look behind her eyes, but he was there with her and that was what mattered. 

“I love you,” she said, pushing herself up to her toes and pulling him into a gentle kiss. “Thank you for being the kindest and most understanding man in the world.”

“You make it easy to be,” he said, pressing another kiss to her forehead. 

~~~

Mia sat down on the couch next to Liam, their fingers entwined as they looked over to where Kaneko was sitting in an armchair across from them. The rest of The MPC, Drake, Leo, and Bastien were with them as well, and Mia could tell that the rest of the crew was still in shock at seeing Kaneko right in front of them. Kaneko was watching Liam and Mia critically and his gaze was making her nervous. 

“What happened that night?” Colt finally asked, causing Teppei to turn away from the couple and face him head on. 

He let out a breath and Mia could see that they were settling in for a long afternoon, but she was ready to hear the whole story. 

“There’s not much to tell. After I drove into the barricade I was badly burned but not completely incapacitated. While law enforcement was busy trying to get the fire extinguished, I managed to escape,” he said simply. 

Mia wanted to be surprised at the way he spoke about it all as if it were not a big deal, but deep down she knew that if anyone was capable of making the process of faking their own death seem simple then it was Teppei Kaneko. 

“And after that? Why didn’t you just tell us that you were alive?” Colt asked, the hurt evident in his eyes.

“It was better that way. Easier. You had all already moved on and with me dead The Brotherhood had less reason to follow after us,” Kaneko said.

“Was it easier for us or for you?” Mia asked, posing the same question she had asked Colt when he had claimed it was easier for him to leave without saying goodbye. 

Kaneko turned to look at her, her hurt and anguish clear on her face, before turning to look at Colt who was wearing a very similar expression. 

“I can’t speak for everyone else, but I mourned your death for months, and I’m pretty sure Colt did too. Maybe not together, but we still did,” she said.

“I’m sorry if any of my actions have caused you pain. It was never my intention,” he said, his voice softer. 

Mia could see true regret in his eyes, and she wanted that to be enough. But, one half-assed apology wasn’t enough. 

“Did you really think we just wouldn’t care that you were gone?” she asked incredulously. “That we would just move on like it was no big deal?”

Liam wrapped his arm around her as a stray tear slid down her cheek. Kaneko made to reach out for her but immediately drew himself back. Mia was shocked at the action. He wasn’t the type to show physical affection, but the fact that he almost did made her seem special. It made her feel like she actually mattered to him, and she wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good thing or not. 

“Amelia, I truly am sorry. I’ve always tried my best to keep you and Colt out of harm’s way, and although my actions may have been misguided, I simply wanted the best for the two of you,” Kaneko said, his own regret clearly evident.

“Is that why you never claimed me as your child?” she asked sarcastically. 

 “Yes, it is actually,” he said. “I didn’t want to paint a target on your back.”

“There was a target on my back anyway,” she said harshly, referring to the years of abuse she faced from the man she grew up believing to be her father. “All you had to do was say something, anything, to make it stop.”

Kaneko looked pained now and some sick part of her felt happy about it. She was glad to know that he at least felt guilty about it. 

“He wouldn’t have given you up easily. You know how he was. He liked to be in control of everyone and everything. Even if I had said something all it would have done was make things worse for you and your mother,” Kaneko tried to reason with her. 

She could see the point he was trying to make. However, she still felt the need to be unreasonably mad. 

“You mean the mother you had killed?” she asked, her voice dripping with hostility. 

“I promise you, I had no idea that she would be there with him that night. I would never have done anything to hurt her,” he said.

There was a look of tenderness in his eyes that Mia didn’t think she had ever seen there before. She and Colt shared a look of understanding. He was in love with her.

“How did you end up in Cordonia?” she asked instead of addressing it. 

“I had been laying low for a while, but I had always kept up with you. I was there when you graduated high school, and when you decided to leave to travel to Cordonia. I kept up with you through tabloids and I decided to come to Cordonia myself after your scandal,” he said, a somber expression on his face. 

“And how did you get involved with Anton and Claudius?” she asked, noticing the shift from sadness to burning anger when she mentioned them, 

Mia sunk deeper into Liam’s side, the anticipation causing her body to practically vibrate. He squeezed her closer and although she felt like she needed a break to catch her breath, she couldn’t seem to pull herself away from the conversation. 

“I had heard rumors about a group that had plans to rise up against the monarchy and I knew that you could potentially end up in danger if their plans were to come to fruition so after a few months of slowly integrating myself into their system I managed to work my way to the top,” Kaneko began. “At first Anton didn’t trust me for obvious reasons.”

“And then you burnt down the Applewood Orchard?” she said.

“It was a necessary sacrifice,” Kaneko said, angering both her and Liam.

Mia could see that Liam was now upset as well. She had seen first hand the toll the assassins had taken on him and how troubled he was about Applewood in general.

“That wasn’t your sacrifice to make,” Liam growled out. 

Kaneko tensed and relaxed his jaw. This was a habit of his that Mia had noticed growing up. He would always do it when he was trying to control his irritation. 

“Anton wanted to attack at your wedding. His plan was to kidnap you, Amelia, and your friend Olivia, and lure Liam to location so he could kill you all. I convinced him to attack the rehearsal dinner instead, and while they were attacking I contacted Mona to let her know their exact location in the palace,” he said, causing everyone to look at the woman in shock. “I was supposed to be their getaway driver in case things went wrong, but instead of waiting for them I left once the coast was clear to make sure that you would catch them before they had a chance to escape.”

“You knew?” Colt asked Mona, his voice raising about three octaves.

“The boss needed someone on the inside he could trust not to tell anyone that he was alive,” she shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

Mia took a deep breath to center herself. She remembered the rehearsal dinner clearly. The bomb had gone off, shaking the castle and causing everyone to panic. In the midst of all the chaos Mona had told her she knew where the assassins were because she had seen someone suspicious before the dinner started and in the heat of the moments she had just gone along with it. Now looking back at it, she realized how flimsy the excuse really was. 

“So what now?” Mia asked. 

“Now we stop The Brotherhood,” Kaneko said, his voice determined. 

Mia scoffed.

“And there it is. You’re only now telling everyone you’re alive because you need help,” Mia said. 

“Why is that a bad thing? We all want to get even with The Brotherhood,” Colt defended, causing Mia to roll her eyes. 

“It’s a bad thing because last time we tried to take down The Brotherhood, he didn’t give us all the information and look where that got us. He didn’t trust us enough to tell us the whole truth but still expected us to follow his instructions without question,” Logan said, looking over at Kaneko hesitantly.

Colt and Teppei both seemed to be annoyed that Logan had pointed this out.

“If you don’t want to be here then you can go,” Colt told him harshly. 

“You may all leave if you don’t want to be a part of this. It’s been seven years, and I know you’ve all moved on with your lives. However, when we proceed with our plans this time, I promise to be completely transparent with you,” Kaneko said.

Logan, Ximena, and Toby shared a nervous look. Mona, however, looked completely satisfied with the way things turned out.

“I’m in,” she said without thinking, causing Colt to smile happily.

“Are you guys seriously plotting revenge right now?” Mia asked, actually surprised by how ridiculous this whole situation seemed.

“Yes, and I’ll give you the same choice I’ve given the rest of them. We can leave Cordonia and you can have nothing to do with any of this, or you can choose to join us,” Kaneko said, a look of almost hopefulness behind his eyes.

“You mean you want me to choose between helping my criminal father, who has done nothing but hurt me by the way, with his plot for revenge or my husband who has done nothing but love me and take care of me? I think the choice is pretty easy,” she said sarcastically.

Kaneko clenched and unclenched his jaw. He was angry now. He was angry with her. 

“Amelia, I may have done some terrible things in my time, but you shouldn’t fool yourself into thinking your husband is innocent,” he said, his voice filled with controlled anger. “Your husband was perfectly content with standing idly by while the press slandered your name. He was content with standing idly by while you spent countless days looking for Tariq and countless nights crying yourself to sleep. He would have been fine with making you his whore and marrying another woman if it meant he could protect his image. Even your friend, Drake, spent more time with you and offered you more assistance. You can hate me for the things that I’ve done to hurt you, but maybe you should look closer at your marriage before you go defending all of Liam’s decisions.”

Mia was seething. Her whole body was practically vibrating with anger. 

“Bas, arrest him,” she growled out through gritted teeth. 

“What! Mellie, what the hell are you doing?” Colt yelled, rising to his feet. 

“You burnt down the Applewood orchard and consorted with The Sons of Earth. That’s treason. Bas, arrest him,” she said, rising to her own feet. “Colt, you‘ll always have a home wherever I am, but I’m not going to sit by and watch you ruin yourself.”

Mia walked up to her and Liam’s bedroom without looking back. Her heart was beating rapidly, and she had no idea what to do to calm herself down. Kaneko had gotten completely under her skin. She grabbed her phone and connected it to the bedroom’s speakers, blaring her music as loud as she could in attempts to make her thoughts stop racing.

Spin me some sad story

Sell me some excuse

To help me understand the things you do

She hated that he knew how to do that, and she hated that she had just told Bastien to arrest him. 

‘Cause the way you treat your lovers

Well I just can’t relate

Well, where’d you learn to shoot your gun so straight?

She hated herself for everything that had just happened. She hated herself because she was now beginning to question her entire relationship with Liam. She may have been completely pissed off at Kaneko, but she still knew that a part of what he said was right. Nothing he said was anything she hadn’t thought herself before. She had just never allowed herself to address those negative emotions. 

Oh baby won’t you cry?

Show me there are some tears behind your eyes

Oh baby won’t you cry?

Show me there’s a hurt behind your eyes

Anyone who knew Mia knew that it was easy to make her cry. She had always been that way. She used to be embarrassed about it as a child because she would cry at the drop of a hat. She would cry if someone raised their voice, even if it wasn’t directed at her. She would cry if she thought someone was angry with her. She would cry if she was angry, herself. She would cry if she was stressed. She would cry if she was happy. But, now she didn’t even want to cry. She was so upset she wasn’t sure how to make herself calm down. 

She turned off the music and walked back down to the living room of the royal apartment. Everyone was still there except for Bastien and Teppei and they all looked up at her. Liam was trying to get her attention, and Colt was shooting questions in her direction, but Mia ignored all of them.

“Can you take me to the cabin?” she asked, her eyes filled with tears as she only addressed Drake. 

He gave her a look of grim understanding and rose to his feet, the two of them leaving the palace without a second thought. 

#the royal romance #the royal heir #liam x mc #liam #king liam #colt kaneko #colt x mc #logan x mc #rod logan #ride or die #rod #ride or die: a bad boy romance #rod:abbr #teppei kaneko #my fics #playchoices #choices fic #choices

[dyabolos]

I have been very vocal on this subject on twitter but since @hisohiso enabled me, here is why JFM is the worst and you should all hate him.

MDZS is filled with awful fathers. We have the Lan father who literally abandoned his family, we have JGS who’s JGS so like...it’s a lot. And we have JFM. All three of them have this thing in common. They are awful fathers (I mean, if even WRH looks more like a better father than you, you should start questioning yourself) and awful husbands. JFM, tho, JFM is one of the worst cause he does in a way that isn’t as oblivious at first sight. Because you know, as long as you’re good to the MC, it’s okay to be the worst asshole to others, especially if those others aren’t head over heels to said MC. (yeah, I’m salty, so what?) Let’s start with his treatment of Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng, who if you remember well, is his only son. JFM might have dreamed to have WWX as his son but he wasn’t. Even WWX says it himself. And yet, he favors him all the time while blaming his son and criticizing him, never once offering him kind words. Even when he says “Good job” when WWX reminded him JC helped during the whole cave thing, he only says so while looking at WWX completely dismissing his JC. It could look like he saw how different JC and WWX were but....1) it wouldn’t make it right. You have kids, you treat them equally!!! 2) he was already acting this way towards JC BEFORE he brought WWX to LP. 

Can you imagine? All his life until then JC probably thought that his father was just a distant man, that it was his personality and there, he sees that it isn’t true. JFM is distant only to him. Everyone knows it. JC knows it. Madam Yu knows it and even WWX knows it. He might downplay it but he admits it in the end. 

Now, I know a lot of people hate Yu Ziyuan for her treatment of WWX and while it was bad (but widely overexaggerated imo, the way she is depicted in fics is just...well, I guess that if you are not the “hot dad”, then you are a bitch), she was as much as a victim in this whole family dynamics. Does she pass on the abuse? yes definitely, she was an adult, she should have handle it differently, that doesn’t mean she wasn’t a victim of this whole mess too. Because listen. A lot of people see the marriage between JFM and YZY as a choice from YZY, like she was the one who trapped him into it. It wasn’t. She was the third daughter in ancient China society. So when her parents decided she had to marry him, then she did...even if they didn’t like each other and JFM was probably in love with WWX’s mother. So they were married. They don’t like each other but they could have had a civil union but instead, YZY had to suffer from gossips because of the way JFM always REFUSED TO EXPLAIN HIS SHIT. He never ever did. Let her live through all this bullshit ALONE. She bore his two children just to see him dismiss them completely. She tells him she was as much mistress of LP than him (and frankly, she probs could have beaten his ass, eyes closed, hand behind her back) but he always diminishes her authority (we see it each time he frees WWX from his rightful punishments). Can you imagine? JFM had nothing but his sect. I mean it in a bad way. It’s not the same way as JC later. JFM just inherited the sect and that’s all. He was known as a Sect leader, an average one with that...But Yu Ziyuan? She was the Violet Spider, she had won her reputation. Woman cultivators and powerful ones are a rarity and yet..but because of him, she was reduced to the awful woman JFM married. Also, I highly recommend you to read this thread and here on why the way he acted towards her was even worse than you think when you know more cultural/contextual information.  Back to JC now. JFM doesn’t like JC because he looks like his mother. Can you believe this? Something Jiang Cheng had literally no say in, and yet, JFM treats him like a lower son because he looks like his mother. As if it weren’t fucked up enough, the man keeps telling JC that he doesn’t understand the sect motto but who better than JC to know what it means????? Like I said earlier. JFM inherited the sect and for all his talk about “attempting the impossible”, he didn’t do shit to actually attempt it. He did nothing. YMJ didn’t thrive under his command. Worst, YMJ was burned to ashes. JC, for all his insecurities, inherited YMJ...what was left of it. AND HE BROUGHT IT BACK ALONE. I put an emphasis on alone cause neither WWX nor YL had a thing to do with it. After JC “got his core back”, WWX disappeared for 3 months, and yet, by the time he reappeared JC already had gathered a new war force, alone at 17. After the SC, he had to rebuild LP the way he remembered it and had to see his brother leave him for the Wen. Shit happened and he was left alone, no more brother, no more sister....and a nephew to care for. And yet??? JC thrived, thanks to him, YMJ went from nothing back to the place in the 4 top Sects. It’s even more impressive when you think that the 3 other Sect were lead by the 3zuns. They were allies, JC was alone against the world...and yet he raised his nephew, led his sect, made it thrive so much that he could loose 400 nets and not care about them being refounded. And by the end of the novel, no other sect thrives as much as YMJ. Gusu has a sect leader in seclusion, the Jins have to rebuild everything and regain a reputation and everyone still thinks Qinghe is lead by a headshaker. This isn’t attempting the impossible, this is crushing it altogether. JFM WHO ???  JFM will go down on history for being allegedly cheating on his wife. History will only remember Jiang Cheng, the Sect leader who went above the sect motto. And finally, he’s ugly. We know, for a fact, that JC is handsome, he’s described this way in the novel. We also know he looks like his mother, which means, she was a gorgeous woman. But then, we also know, Yan Li is described as average. Where does that come from you ask? From JFM’s ugly ass, that’s where it comes from. 

#anti jfm #he doesn't have any excuses #pro jc #pro yzy #jiang cheng #mdzs #he's the worst and you can't change my mind

[circe-poetica]

A Midheaven study, MC Leo conjunct Lilith and Regulus

The Black Moon is associated with all the dark faces of the Great Mother; Kali, Black Madonna, Black Tara and, with Mary Magdalene in her form as the Shakti of Christ, so she is a huge image of the Divine Feminine and it is no small thing to have her so powerfully placed. She has claimed you as one of Her own and wants you to be an agent for her power in the world. Any image of Lilith around our career life demands that we develop the sacred feminine warrior energies and give them expression. Black Moon/Lilith, especially in Leo, points towards doing it from a place of great personal power and individualism, as opposed to old beliefs that set us up for subservience. She can be found in people who work in areas like defending the rights of women, refugees, the under-privileged; in international law, in war zones, in women’s refuges. She is a gutsy advocate, activist, on the side of the deepest emotional truths and in any area of life where the feminine has continued to be dishonoured, rejected and abused.

She is as much found in deep therapeutic and spiritual process, as in those who work on the life and death edges, like hospice work, conscious dying or in casualty departments. (The word spirituality is too light weight for her energy here as she is a form of great Shakti, the transformative serpentine power of the sacred feminine!) Therapeutically, Lilith is comfortably operating in those who work with sexuality, masculine/feminine balances, sexual abuse and healing, relationship dynamics (especially in helping women regain their individuality and personal power) and in tantric processes. And in working with the deepest ends of the emotional spectrum; rage, grief, all forms of toxicity, past-life and trans-generational residues and influences, conception/in-utero/birth traumas. This where the “curse” label comes in, as anyone with strong Lilith positions is a carrier of the same, the accumulation of rage, toxicity, grief and betrayal that comes form lifetimes, ages and generations of rejection of the feminine in all her forms. So part of the journey of owning her power, and your own, is through processes that allow you to purify and release these carried residues. Whether through primal work, spiritual or shamanic midwifery, whatever takes you into these deepest places, it is absolutely necessary to be able to own this part of your birthright. The unfortunate truth is that distorted Lilith or any of the other “Dark Goddesses” are fully able to sabotage your life in their unhealed forms.

Regal Regulus at 29º Leo has the honor of being the closest star to the ecliptic and therefore closest to the red carpet path of the glorious Sun. Regulus is a triple 1.3 magnitude star that flashes white and ultramarine. It is found, naturally, in the brave heart of the constellation Leo the Lion. Regulus officially entered tropical Virgo on November 28th 2011.* Could Regulus crossing this symbolic sphinx cusp, Leo to Virgo, herald the age of Aquarius? Many astrologers speculate that Virgo will teach Leo to put aside ego, dispense personal glory, become more humanitarian and have respect for mother Earth itself. Other ‘star seed’ type commentators describe a switch from service-to-self (Leo) towards service-to-others. (Virgo=Service, Aquarius=Others).

Now all this assumes that Leo’s ego is somehow a bad thing! Conversely however, those with a weak sense of self are also those that suffer from narcissistic personality disorders (And other related Dark triad traits. See Ceres post.) Without a strong sovereignty, service-to-others can become co-dependancy and doormat syndrome! Regulus is the archangel Raphael, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. On the fixed cross, Regulus is one of four cherubim, symbolised by the Bull, Lion, Eagle and Human. These are the signs Taurus (Aldebaran), Leo (Regulus), Scorpio (Antares) and Aquarius (Fomalhaut) respectively. You can see these Archangels on the corners of the Rider-Waite tarot deck on the Wheel of Fortune and The World.

“Early English astrologers made it (Regulus) a portent of glory, riches, and power to all born under its influence”and this fixed star is generally considered fortunate, courageous, successful and all those great qualities associated with the sun sign Leo.

Regulus has its negative side. “It gives violence, destructiveness, military honor of short duration, with ultimate failure, imprisonment, violent death” Bernadette Brady associates Regulus with downfall. Regulus is pure divine-masculine energy, which these days is often portrayed in Hollywood at its lowest, crudest vibration.

Otherwise, Hollywood seems to delight in ridiculing and belittling Regulus energy. For example Disney has removed the Prince’s true love kiss in ‘Frozen’ and denigrates heroic, chivalrous men in ‘Enchanted’. This could also be seen as Regulus’s ‘downfall’, but it is a manipulated one. It suggests that all the testosterone-fuelled, courageous energy of Regulus’s past is somehow ‘wrong’ and so the solution is we must rip the balls off every feisty Lion.

Can we shift from service-to-self to a service-to-others mentality? It’s hard to feel like you want to be “of service”if you are essentially already living as a slave. The working classes suffer most from cheaper, imported labour. These working classes, (often vilified as ‘Chavs’ or ‘Rednecks’) are craving Regulus empowerment and fame through ‘selfies’ and reality TV shows. Why? Because the despised ‘populist’ working class are subconsciously grasping for their lost sovereignty and culture with this apparently narcissistic, negative-Regulus behaviour.

For approximately the last 600 years Regulus has been in Leo decan 3, which is ruled by aggressive Mars in both systems and Leo decan 3 includes the influence of Regulus so; “They are always right, their rule is absolute, any challenge to their authority is seen as betrayal. Loyality, loyality and more loyality, this is the number one demand of their loved ones.”

Medieval astrologers said Regulus would bring glory, riches and fame to all those born under it, and that it was the ‘Royall Starre’. Robson says Regulus gives “success, high and lofty ideals and strength of spirit, and makes its natives magnanimous, grandly liberal, generous, ambitious, fond of power, desirous of command, high-spirited and independent.” It is important to bear in mind, even with Regulus in Virgo, the ‘Royall Starre’. will still carry its original meaning for natal charts.

Regulus Keywords

Brave, bloodthirsty, gutsy, ambitious, driven, unstoppable, proud, pompous, majestic, magical, vain, arrogant, egotistical, regal, owning one’s sovereignty, loyal, poised, famous, flamboyant, fabulous, dashing, flash, outrageous, chivalrous, courteous, conquering, entrepreneurial, outré, controversial, glorious, bold, hot, brutish, sexy, passionate, diva-esque, haughty, naughty, playful, flirty, childlike, extremist, romantic, generous, fanatical, bossy, unhinged, stalker, predatory, man-eater, mentorship, ability to prophecy, seer, benevolent leader, assuming responsibility, parental, protector of the people, in service for the greater good, connection to ones pride, a statesman/woman, alchemical transition to the Red King (Rubedo), the path to individuation.

Regulus Midheaven

“Honor, preferment, good fortune, high office under Government, military success. If with Sun, Moon or Jupiter, great honor and ample fortune.” [4]

Jackie Kennedy Onassis;(03′) Regulus’s near neighbour is the rather bloodthirsty star Phecda, this I believe is what gives the Regulus its raw martial side. The beastly nature of the Lion isn’t afraid to throw itself into battle and get blood on its hands. This is graphically demonstrated with Jackie, for after John Kennedy was shot, she refused to remove her bloodstain pink Chanel suit. Regretting having washed her bloodstained face and hands, she stated “ I want them to see what they have done to Jack” [2] Of course the woman was an icon, more poised and regal then most real life royals and exuded bravery and loyalty. The Vatican; Much bloodshed in the name of Jesus Christ… Barbara Windsor; Soap matriarch and ex landlady of the Queen Victoria, with a regal sounding surname. Patricia Routledge; Famous for her portrayal of snob Francis Bucket (“pronounced Bouquet…”) in British comedy ‘Keeping Up Appearances.’ Mark David Chapman; Famous for bringing down king of rock John Lennon. Jimmy Page; Rock singer with wild blond mane. Prince; Well he’s Prince… Bernadette Brady;Astrologer. Also Michael Douglas, Clint Eastwood, Mata Hari, Patrick McNee, Henri Toulous Lautrec, Jim Carrey, Shania Twain, Claudia Shiffer, Peter Stringfellow.

https://danielsowelu.com/a-prominent-lilith-on-the-midheaven/

https://darkstarastrology.com/regulus/

#midheaven study #regulus #lilith in leo

[hot-mess-choices]

Poison, Chapter 1 “Numb”

Pairing: Nathan Sterling/MC (Penelope “Penny” Curtis)

Warnings: toxic relationship, trauma, angst, sexual content in next chapters

Word Count: 1853 Words

Authors Note: Hello internet people! This is my very first published fanfic so I am really nervous about posting this. Given that English is not my native language, I hope you can overlook mistakes that were made, but be kind enough to educate me on them. 

Feedback and constructive criticism is of course greatly appreciate!

Before we dive into this I want it to be completely clear that I in no way intended to romanticize abusive relationships. I’ve been in one in the past and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. This is purely fictional and I‘d like to make it abundantly clear that this is not a Nathan redemption story, he’s still a villain, charming and alluring and irresistible, but still a villain. However, I found the ending of his and MCs relationship very anti-climactic and decided to let my MC suffer a bit more. 

With that being said, enjoy the story kids!

I’m still not used to coming home to a quiet and empty apartment. It’s been close to two months since Zack moved in with Grant. I’m happy for them; I really am and maybe I’d be able to deal with being alone during Senior year better if it wasn’t for this damn suffocating silence. Every time I have a few quiet moments to myself, away from my friends and their shenanigans, I- I remember. Last year’s events creep up on me. I hear distant sirens, air that suddenly reeks of smoke, temperatures rising, glass bursting and his cold gaze cutting through me. It feels like I’m still there. I have left a part of me in this dark past and have not yet reclaimed it. I exhale deeply as I set down my groceries on the kitchen counter. Absent-minded I turn on the TV, not caring for the program; it’s just about to serve as a constant background noise anyway. As I unpack my bags, I play with the idea of maybe inviting someone over for tonight. But I quickly dismiss it. Most of my friends are too busy nowadays to make plans on such short notice. They probably wouldn’t turn me down, but I’d hate to bother them. Besides, it was already half past eight. I could probably call David. The two dates we had were going decent enough, but I’d risk sending him some mixed signals by inviting him over to my place at this time of day. He's been admirably respectful of my admittedly slow pace so far, and I don’t want to get his hopes up. I shouldn’t have gone out with him in the first place probably, given my current situation. So maybe I’ll just go to bed early and call it a day. The second I made my decision, the doorbell starts to ring. Cautiously I walk towards the door and press the button on the intercom: “Hello?” “Miss Curtis?” a deep voice fizzles through the speaker. I know who it is even before he says it out loud and my eyes dart to the small calendar that’s hung next to the door. “Miss Curtis, it is Felix Hail, he… he requested your company for the night and has sent me to escort you, as usual.” Felix is a good person. I hate for him to be caught up in this… this… whatever it is. “I was there last week. We agreed on meeting once every other week.” I try to sound confident and dismissive, but I can’t fool anyone. Felix can probably hear my excited heart beat through the intercom, it’s that loud. “I am well aware, Miss. Nevertheless, he insisted. You know how he gets when someone denies one of his requests.” A cold shiver runs down my back. I do know. I know it all too well. Why else would I still be paying for standing in his way one too many times. I am also well aware that if I do not follow his invite, Felix will get the end of it. I can’t let that happen. “Wait by the car. I’ll be with you in five.” I let go of the button. Piercing blue eyes dance mockingly through my mind and I can already see his pleased half-smile. I grab my coat and close the door on my way out. Once again obediently following the call of none other than Nathan Sterling, I disgust myself. “Should I turn up the heat, Miss?” Felix asks as I climb into the back seat of the sleek Porsche limousine. He always sends the same. I know he has other cars, but I think he takes great pleasure in making things my routine and being in control. “I’m good. Thanks, Felix.” He gives me a sympathetic look through the rear view mirror and starts the car. My mind starts to drift off. How did I end up in this mess? I walked right into it, on my own accord, that’s how. I’m such an idiot. After last year ended with the horrific realisation that the guy I’d been dating was a cold blooded sociopath who wanted nothing but harm to me and my friends, I just wished for a tame summer to recover from all this hurt. But the summer ended up being everything but tame. I was called as a witness to the trials of all the Alphas. I did my best to highlight how horrible their actions truly were. And then I saw Nathan and how he couldn’t be bothered by any of it. His family’s lawyer, stone faced and I knew that he would do anything to get as close to winning this case as possible. I remember how they made this stupid deal that put Nathan under house arrest with electronic monitoring, limited access of communications, an approved list of visitors for private meetings and a sheer endless list of people who could visit with his parents present. What a laughable sentence. Being locked up in your millionaire mansion should not be considered punishment. I don’t know how, but somehow I ended up on the approved private visitor list and he invited me over. Invited is probably the wrong term here. He sent Felix, who told me that “my attendance at the Sterling’s annual end-of-summer charity auction was demanded by the young Mr Sterling.” I should have declined. I should have sent him the meanest, coldest and most hurtful turn down in the history of turn downs, so he would not dare to even think of me ever again, but… I’d like to think that it was my curiosity that lead me to follow this highly questionable request. It could have been the journalist in me, that wanted to know what this was all about. It could have been the strong and empowered woman in me, that wanted to spit in his face one last time. But it was really just the lovesick vulnerable college girl, Nathan still held all this power over. I thoroughly searched my past far and wide, but out of all the people I’ve ever had a romantic connection with, not one of them made me feel the way Nathan did. It’s this primal feeling of raw soul-crushing emotion he gives me. Like we are two parts of a whole, constantly drawn to each other and unable to let go. At least that’s what it feels like to me. I know deep down that this will end badly. I know that he just wants to see me suffer and make me pay for what I did to him. But I just can’t bring myself to leave. All my friends told me that I needed time. That I should take time to heal. Abbie suggested therapy. Kait and Zack joked about a rebound. But none of that seemed reasonable when all I wanted was him. I needed to feel his skin on mine. I want his lips all over me. His scent embracing me. I want his eyes to impale me with their gaze. They don’t understand. His poison is running through every inch of my being and being near him seems to be the only thing that makes it bearable. That day in late August, I just had to see him. I had to be with him. I had to. That’s why I dressed up and let Felix drive me to the Sterling’s estate. I could barely take in all the expensive cars parked out front or all the rich folks dressed in their finest evening attire. I didn’t even have time to feel intimidated. Felix led me straight inside. Up the stairs. To him. It’s been like that ever since. Every other week Felix appears on my porch to take me there. Every time I come with him. Every time I leave the next day, more intoxicated and addicted than before. And now? Will this become a weekly appointment now? And then? Every second day? Every day? Will I be his live in plaything? Will he eventually grow tired of me or will this go on forever? Can I live like that? Do I want to live like that? A cold shiver runs down my spine. I do, don’t I? Something inside of me was terrifyingly excited at that thought. I think I’m going to be sick. “Pull over Felix” “Miss, is everything al—” “Pull over!” Quick to follow my forceful tone, the car comes to a halt by the side of the road. I yank the door open and step out. Cold air fills my lungs as I take deep breaths. It’s almost December, the sun had sunken hours ago, and I should be freezing. Yet, the cold is strangely calming. “Miss, are you not feeling well, you seem awfully pale. Do you want to sit down? I could take you back home, if you desire to do so.” Felix has left his place behind the steering wheel and now stands next to me. I’ll never get used to how tall he is. What is he? 6’5? Damn. His broad shoulders cast a looming shadow onto the poorly lit street. In combination with his deep voice, he could have the potential of being one of the most intimidating people I know but his kind features beg to differ. I never asked, but I’d assume that he is in his late forties, maybe early fifties. His once brown hair is turning grey and his soft hazel eyes are surrounded by small wrinkles. I force a weak smile on my face. “I’m good, just needed some fresh air, that’s all.” He doesn’t even try to look convinced. He has been working for the Sterlings for too long to know how bad for your health they can be. “I can take you back and tell him that you weren’t home when I tried to pick you up.” Felix gives me a troubled look, clearly struggling to keep a professional distance between us. “He’d not be happy about that. I really don’t want him to be angry with you.” Might as well be honest with him now, right? He lets out a small joyless grunt. “Occupational hazard. I’m used to temper tantrums by now. I’ve been working for this family for twenty-eight years after all.” His big hand twitches upwards as if he wanted to pat my shoulder, but he reconsiders and takes a step back instead. “My apologies, it is not my place to speak ill of my employers.” His back straightens. “I won’t snitch on you, Felix. Let’s go, Nathan doesn’t appreciate it when people aren’t on time, right?” Pressing my lips together, I walk past him and get back inside the car. Before I slam the door shut, I hear Felix sigh something along the line with “Poor girl, where will this end?” I’ve asked myself this question far too often to care anymore. Self-pity is really not a good look on me and a real wast of time. I don’t care about what’s going to happen to me. Nathan can do whatever he wants. I’m numb.

Tags: @immortalmurphy

#playchoices #choices stories you play #Nathan Sterling #The Freshman #The Sophmore #The Junior #The Senior #Natan/MC #fanfic #tf/ts/tj/ts

[cover2covermom]

Why hello there February!  Ta-ta January!!!

I don’t know about you all, but I had a fantastic month.  Not only was I able to slay my January TBR and read a total of 10 books, but I was able to get back into my blogging groove.

Let’s see how I fared in January, shall we?

» After being on a hiatus from October – December 2017, I feel like I am finally back into the swing of things.  I really focused this month on writing book reviews to clear out my backlog of NetGalley reviews.   This will most likely continue through February until I am all caught up.

» Moving forward, I will only be writing full reviews for books I receive for review.  For all other books I read, I will be breaking them up into genres (historical fiction, fantasy, thriller, etc) & posting mini-reviews once I have about 5 books to review in each category.  I wish I had time to review every book I read, but it just isn’t realistic since I read much faster than I review.

*Book titles link to Goodreads

» The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner

Feelings in a few thoughts:

this book is a gem – I wish it had received more attention when it came out in 2016 ¤ set on an island off the coast of Italy – small island living where everyone is in everyone else’s business

loved the inclusion of folklore & superstition (inspired by Sicilian & Italian folklore?

this book follows one family over the span of the 20th century – you would think character development would suffer as the different descendants come to the forefront of the story, but the author somehow pulls it off so well

family secrets & drama

interesting seeing the progression of the island community throughout the course of the century

» The Girl in the Tower (Winternight #2) by Katherine Arden

Feelings in a few thoughts:

Even BETTER than the first book!

I love Vasya’s character.  I love that she is fierce, brave, independent, level-headed, and kind

Political intrigue

Sibling relationships – complicated, but at the end of the day they always have each other’s backs.

Religious tones – not preachy.  Christianity vs. Paganism.

I’m a sucker for books where women disguise themselves as men – Think Mulan

The Bear and the Nightingale was a slower moving book for world building purposes – The Girl in the Tower is an action packed adventure.

If you enjoy this series, I’d recommend the YA historical fiction (no fantasy) series The Conqueror’s Saga: And I Darken & Now I Rise by Kiersten White.  It is a gender swap retelling of Vlad the Impaler.

» Tumbledown Manor by Helen Brown

Feelings in a few thoughts:

Same plotline as Under the Tuscan Sun – divorced woman moves to another country, buys old house, begins fixing up old house with goofy contractors, disasters along the way, and a wedding at the house at the end of the book… sound familiar?

The romance was very awkward.

Struggled with the writing at times: “But his pillow was as vacant as the wastelands of Antarctica” “It was her favorite pillow, so it probably harbored superbugs.” “The scar ran in a horizontal line across her torso like a ruler marking the end of a school essay.” “…row of suns yellow as egg yolks.” “Scott’s boots lay like a pair of drunken sailors under the step.”

Best part about the book is that the MC is an author who writes a series of books based off the Brontë sisters, so there were lots of tidbits of information about the sisters and their lives.

Love the cover

» May the Road Rise Up to Meet You by Peter Troy

Feelings in a few thoughts:

This book is about 4 hours too long – because of the length & slower moving plot, this book took me a month to read.

The convergence of the 2 love stories didn’t really work for me.  There wasn’t a significant enough connection between Ethan/Marcella and Micah/Mary.  They all just kind of met up at the end, which felt a little forced.

This book needed to be separated into two books: Ethan & Marcella’s story, and Micah & Mary’s story.  I enjoyed both stories, but it was too much all together.

This wasn’t a bad book by any means, just feel that the author was a little too ambitious.

» The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Feelings in a few thoughts:

The Handmaid’s Tale is timeless.  I cannot believe this book was written in the early 80’s.

With the current situation in the U.S., this book felt very relevant.  It is also what makes it so terrifying, the fact that it isn’t so unbelievable as you would hope.

This wasn’t exactly an enjoyable read.  It made me angry, which was Atwood’s intent.

Loved the open-endness of this book and felt it was really fitting of the story for us to leave some things up to the reader’s imagination.

The way THT is written took a little bit to get used to – switches from present to past frequently without clear indication.

This book isn’t action packed, but it still packs a punch.

» Nora & Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor

Feelings in a few thoughts:

Content/Trigger Warning: child abuse.  This book ended up including a topic that I am very sensitive to: child abuse.  Generally I can handle books that do not go into graphic detail, but unfortunately this one did.  This was a hard book for me to get through.

Going to leave this one unrated because it ended up include a topic I am sensitive to.  I don’t feel like it would be fair to rate this one because of this.

This book would have been better as a single POV book.  I feel like it would have been better to tell this one through Kettle’s eyes alone.

Loved that the characters in this story showed the aftermath of the interment of Japanese Americans during WWII, HOWEVER the author gave zero information about the actual event.   We only get small flashbacks of life in the camp through the characters’ eyes, but we don’t get any actual historical context.  If you are not familiar with this event in history, you would have to look it up to see what the author is talking about.

Less a Peter Pan retelling, and more like the story was inspired by Peter Pan – this aspect was well done.

» The Queen of Blood (The Queens of Renthia #1) by Sarah Beth Durst

*4.5 stars*

Feelings in a few thoughts:

I loved the world in The Queen of Blood: the idea that humans & spirits (water, earth, air, fire, etc.) have to coexist despite the fact that spirits desire the eradication of all humans.  The setting was also intriguing: people colonizing in trees together to form villages & cities… very whimsical

Daleina was such an awesome main character.  I admired her level-headedness, cleverness, dedication, work ethic, and bravery.  I also really appreciated that she was not the best, in fact she struggled, with controlling the spirits.  It was refreshing to see someone who had to make up for things that do not come naturally with hard work and cleverness.

I was worried at first that this book was going to be cliché, but it wasn’t like anything I had read before.  Some things were not a big shock, but I was still surprised a fair amount of times.

Positive female friendship – zero girl hate!

The ending was on point!

» The Hatching (The Hatching #1) by Ezekiel Boone

Feelings in a few thoughts:

I stepped WAY outside of my comfort zone with this one… I tend to avoid books that have to do with things I am terrified of, like man-eating spiders.

If I had no idea who the author was before reading this, I could have told you it was written by a man.  This book definitely feels like a book that would appeal to the “man’s man.”  This is not a criticism of the book, just that you should not expect “flowery writing.”

I would describe this book as being a little “rough around the edges.”  It has foul language and is crude at times, which doesn’t bother me, but if you are easily offended this probably isn’t your book.

Despite the fact that this book terrified me, it was very readable – I had to know what was going to happen next.

Loved that Boone had so many female characters in positions of power in this story: the president, a marine squad leader, a leading scientist in the field of spiders…

While I understand why the author chose to tell this story by introducing us to multiple characters, it was almost too much.  I would have preferred for the story to have been told through 3-4 main POVs, and leave the others off.  We were introduced to a new character every chapter up until the 30% mark before we cycled back around to some of the past characters.

The Hatching leaves us with a HUGE cliffhanger, enough of one that I am throwing around the idea of reading the next book.

» Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Feelings in a few thoughts:

I would have adored this book when I was in high school.  This is such an appropriate YA romance.

There isn’t much of a plotline – this is a very character driven story.

Would recommend to fans of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe BUT I felt the pacing of this book was much better than Aristotle and Dante

Positive family dynamics with parents that are actually involved with their children’s’ lives.  A teenager actually got grounded in a YA book?!  Thank you!  I don’t know about you all, but I spent much of my teen years grounded.

Positive friendships for the most part – just a smidge of “girl hate” in Leah & Abby’s relationship, BUT there was at least a reasoning behind it.

The author nailed Simon’s perspective – I really felt like I was in the head of a teenager.

There were two parts in the plot that annoyed me a little – they both have to do with separate fights that Leah & Abby have with Simon… Really?  HOWEVER I try to keep in mind that these are teenagers.

FYI: Simon’s last name (Spier) is pronounced “SP-EAR” – I just looked at the spelling and if I hadn’t listened to it via audiobook I would have been pronouncing it “SPY-ER”

» Binti (Binti #1) by Nnedi Okorafor

Feelings in a few thoughts:

This world gave me Star Wars and The Fifth Element vibes.

There were times where I had a difficult time following along & understanding the world & the concepts – this isn’t a criticism of the book per se, as it is probably more me not being able to wrap my head around everything.

The writing is breathtaking.

Themes: cultural diversity, peace, communication, customs & traditions, forging one’s own path, etc.

Binti was an amazing female lead – smart, talented, brave, level-headed, etc.

The audiobook is wonderfully narrated by Robin Miles,

I really wish this had been a full length novel – how was the author able to pack in such a mind-blowing world in such a short novella?!?

I think fans of The Fifth Season would enjoy this novella series.

  2017 Reading Wrap-Up + Bookish Goals for 2018

January 2018 TBR

2017 New Releases I Wish I Had Read in 2017

Book Event: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng Book Tour

Book Event: The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo Book Tour

Book Reviews:

Book Review: The Last Girl (The Dominion Trilogy #1) by Joe Hart

Book Review: North of Here by Laurel Saville

Book Review: Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend

Book Reiew: Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale by David Kudler

eBooks:

» As Good As True by Cheryl Reid

A powerful and haunting novel of a woman’s broken past and the painful choices she must make to keep her family and her home.

August 1956. After a night of rage and terror, Anna Nassad wakes to find her abusive husband dead and instinctively hides her bruises and her relief. As the daughter of Syrian immigrants living in segregated Alabama, Anna has never belonged, and now her world is about to erupt.

Days before, Anna set in motion an explosive chain of events by allowing the first black postman to deliver the mail to her house. But it’s her impulsive act of inviting him inside for a glass of water that raises doubts about Anna’s role in her husband’s death.

As threats and suspicions arise in the angry community, Anna must confront her secrets in the face of devastating turmoil and reconcile her anguished relationship with her daughter. Will she discover the strength to fight for those she loves most, even if it means losing all she’s ever known?

» Declaration: A Poetry Chapbook in Three Movements by Jeff Roush

This poetry chapbook constitutes the first collection published by Jeff Roush. Its inspiration and organizational structure come from Jefferson’s inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The chapbook focuses its linguistic eye and musical ear on quiet moments in everyday life that fall among and across these lofty concepts.

Physical Books:

» Beartown by Fredrik Backman

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream—and the price required to make it come true.

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world. 

Which books did you read this month?

Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month?  If so, what did you think?

Did you buy any books?  If so, which ones?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

How was your #reading month in January? I read 10 #books! See which ones in my #wrapup. #BookBlogger #Bookworm Why hello there February!  Ta-ta January!!! I don't know about you all, but I had a fantastic month. 

#Am Reading #Bibliophile #book blog #book blogger #Book Haul #Book Nerd #Book Worm #Bookish #Books #Bookworm #Reading #Wrap Up

[mfred]

According to Goodreads, it turns out I read the first Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club book, Rough Justice, way back in April 2016. Except I have almost no memory of it. At all. But that didn’t really stop me from diving in the rest of the series this week.

Books I read in 2017 (so far):

55. Beyond the Cut by Sarah Castille

Cade and Dawn had a wonderful two-night stand but then Dawn cuts and runs, much to Cade’s surprise. Then he finds her neck deep in shit with a rival club- and not only does he want to bone again, but he’s drawn in to her life and wants to help her. In the world of MC romance, I wouldn’t say this book is a stand out winner, but it’s decent and interesting. 3 stars.

56. Sinner’s Steel by Sarah Castille

Guys, I do not like secret baby plots. So imagine my surprise when I really enjoyed Sinner’s Steel. While pursuing a bad dude, Zane stumbles on the teenage love of his life, Evie. Living and working in his town! What a coincidence! Evie thinks he deserted her at the worst possible moment in her life, Zane thinks she betrayed him by marrying another man and having his child. And then there is an evil dude bound and determined to get Evie for himself! Nicely, the secret baby isn’t a secret for long and the drama between Evie and Zane isn’t eye-rollingly drawn out. Also, Zane is (mildly) kinky, so that is kind of fun. 3 stars.

57. Chaos Bound by Sarah Castille

Holt has been held prisoner and tortured by his MC’s greatest enemy for the past 3 months. Naiya is kidnapped by the same bad dude. They rescue each other and then go on the lamb, where Holt is nearly consumed by his revenge fantasies except for the fact that he is also really busy making sexy times with Naiya. I didn’t think either character was really tortured enough for the abuse the author made them suffer through. 3 stars.

#book reviews #mc romance #romance novels #sarah castille

[allenmendezsr]

Divorcing A Narcissist And Other Jerks

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/divorcing-a-narcissist-and-other-jerks/

Divorcing A Narcissist And Other Jerks

 Buy Now    

 Getting A Divorce?

Take Control.  Don’t Be Afraid To Find Out How To Survive A Divorce

(This divorce and this book is dedicated to my ex and his tax returns, his amended tax returns, the hidden invoices, the invisible invoices, the double set of books and the triple set and hiding it all until one day, he said, ‘I owe you a lot of money’ and walked off with it all.   Also dedicated to his Palo Alto attorney Jeffrey Kaufman who helped him hide it and told the pro tem, “Fraud is no big deal and we’re going to blame it on Ann.”

 But thanks to Judge Kathleen Lucero who didn’t believe either one of them, sanctioned them $10K for obstructionism and delay and ruled in my favor.  And to the CA 6th Dist Court of Appeals where, when they appealed,  told them, “go away, you harmed her, what do you think you have to complain about?”  And to PTH, who stayed with me, on a $1000 retainer for 2 years.  And to MC, an attorney who believed in me, believed mothers should not be hit over the head with a 2×4 and offered to loan me money.  I honor the ethics, compassion and intellect of people like yourselves.)

“Narcissistic Abuse in the Picture?   You Need Answers!”

Are you getting out of a bad marriage with a narcissist, sociopath,  abuser or control freak?  If so, I know you’ve had enough and you’re ready to get a divorce.

… discover the hidden dangers of divorce that can DESTROY your life…

…Here’s what everyone needs to know about divorce, but probably doesn’t.  Before you file for your divorce  – or even if you already have – STOP right now.

Listen to this free audio call on How Not To Pick A Divorce Attorney

https://www.divorceandlawyers.com/annondivorcelawyers.mp3

 and if you need more, this book is foundational – based on real life experience in a Silicon Valley divorce that ended with the author writing her own winning brief in the Court of Appeals. Narcissists take you far, but you can win. This is the story. Write your own ending to yours.

From: Ann Bradley

RE: Your Divorce

  A narcissist has a need to destroy to feel better. Many threaten: “I will grind you into the ground until you are gone.”  The narcissist cannot understand there is anything abnormal and evil in his actions.  The narcissist is aware only of his universe and his sense of entitlement overrides any pain he inflicts. Stealing doesn’t matter as long as he doesn’t get caught.  When caught, he does not apologize. Only by blaming and belittling can he feel good.  My divorce, the lawyers and the legal system are chronicled in DIVORCE: The Real Truth, The Hidden Dangers, Surviving Deception, Betrayal and Narcissism

But what you have ahead of you is a long difficult road, that no one – male or female – is ever prepared for.

Why?

Because divorce is one of those things that most people assume they know how it works  – and what you should do  if you are in the middle of one.

But divorce is a secret club with many things you never heard about. And divorce lawyers have secrets they don’t want you to find out about.

Naivete in divorce is dangerous.  If you have a deceitful and uncooperative spouse, you need information, a roadmap and a plan. Otherwise you lose custody, money, and everything you’ve spent a lifetime building.

 Divorce attorneys use unethical and just plain wrong tactics to try to “win” the divorce. They throw out accusations and lies to defraud the court so they can get a win.

These are the types of people you’re going to have to deal with in your divorce, and if you’re not prepared you’re going to be in for a terrible ride.

Trust me, I’ve been through a horrific and downright awful experienceof my life in the form of divorce, and you need to listen to every word I’m about to say, here is…

How I Survived One Of The Most Difficult Ordeals Of My Life…A Divorce From A Narcissistic Husband And His Unethical Attorney

Divorce is always difficult for everyone involved, and its especially hard on the children if there are any.

If marriage is about love, divorce is about money, power, control, and the manipulation of an unethical legal system.

THE DIVORCE INDUSTRY

Divorce is a huge industry. This book explores the culture of divorce in a dysfunctional legal system and what this means to you. Divorcing a narcissist makes every problem worse. Although my husband had told me hid assets and I had the evidence, we ended up at trial. His lawyer was a typical “scorched earth policy” divorce attorney.  Dirty tactics in divorce? You bet.  

For most people divorce is one of the only times they’ve probably ever had to stand up for themselves in life, and many are unprepared. But many men fall into that category too. Divorce is for the lawyers…everyone pays.

I was no different.

My ex-husband was probably one of the most difficult people to deal with in divorce, period. This man was a complete narcissist and helped by a greedy attorney.

SURVIVE DYSFUNCTIONAL DIVORCE! Many women from this generation are socialized to be “nice”. Part of this socialization process means that you trust what people tell you, look out for others before yourself, and give when asked.

Are you vulnerable to lies? Do you know what tactics lawyers use? Do you know what the “mommy tax” is? Is your divorce high conflict or stalking through the legal system? Why do narcissists keep on fighting? 

Why did a Professor of Psychology write a book called ‘Whores of The Court’ and what does this have to do with your divorce?

I was ripe for attack in the divorce process. Put this together with a narcissist and his narcissistic lawyer and the war was on.  I survived by wearing a metaphorical badge called “Target”. I wore this to remind myself I really was targeted and not insane.  

He made my life a complete living hell for over four years as we went through a complicated mess of a divorce, most of it spurred on by his lawyer.

I nearly lost everything, including my financial well-being, my health, and my love of life.

I was sick, my son got sick too, and we were both victims of a sick and dysfunctional system where corruption, greed, and money override everything.

From hiding large amounts of income, to withholding child support payments, to trying to “starve me out” so he and his attorney could get us to settle, my ex-husband did everything he could to make the divorce a nightmare. He even took me to the Court of Appeals.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Because I want you to know that I’ve been where you’re about to go.

I’ve traveled the same road, and trust me its full of turmoil, conflict, lies, deception, and even worse. I just don’t want you to have to suffer the same way that I did.

If you know the man you’re about to divorce is going to make it tough, then you need to listen.

Because, I ‘ve taken my terrible experience of divorce and turned it into a case study that will help you avoid the common pitfalls that will turn a peaceful split into a living hell.

After spending four years battling a corrupt lawyer hell bent on winning in a trial and an uncooperative husband who cared about no one but himself…I’ve created a resource for ANY ONE about to go through a divorce. Or in the middle of one. (It’s never too late. NEVER!)

DIVORCE: The Real Truths And Hidden Dangers Surviving Deception, Betrayal, and Narcissism

Ignorance is NOT bliss when it comes to divorce. This is about to be one of the most important events to ever take place in your life and you want to be prepared for it.

Information is power…having the right strategy and knowing what to expect can and will make your divorce go smoother and help you avoid some of the more hellish aspects of a difficult divorce.

In my book, “Divorce: The Real Truths And Hidden Dangers”, I not only reveal details of my horrible divorce, but I also give you real life tactics, tips, and techinques that you can use in your own divorce to be able to save yourself lots of heartache, headache, money, time, and most importantly, your sanity.

This Is The Book That Your Soon To Be Ex-Spouse And  Lawyers Don’t Want You To See!

Let me be more specific. Here’s a list of some of things you’ll discover once you get your hands on this book:

Why you should never announce your intentions for divorce, and what could happen if you did Why your divorce from a narcissistic spouse is really a war, and why you should never think that your spouse is going to be reasonable The shocking truth about your attorney exposed Why you should never believe a word an attorney says on the first consultation If your spouse is abusive here is the one thing you absolutely must have if you want to be able to get out safely The one thing you must have before you make any allegations during the divorce, and how to get it The male and female differences that matter in divorce and why you NEED to know them if you want to even stand a chance of winning The reason why, you as a spouse of a narcissist, is often disbelieved and thought to be lying, and what you can do about it What the lawyers in your divorce case know that you may not How even a conflict free divorce can become a battleground Why you MUST know the role of the attorneys in your divorce, they are NOT just a professional resource with no hidden agenda! The way divorce REALLY IS exposed and revealed Why hiring an attorney should NEVER be the first thing you do when getting a divorce, and what to do instead Why you should never EVER share an attorney with your narsassictic spouse How to use the dysfunctional legal system to your advantage and find case laws that will keep your husband and his attorney from harming you The only reason why your husband’s attorney would order him not to talk revealed What to do if your spouse is refusing to work with you The shocking truth about emotion in family court, and why your motherly instincts may actually do more harm in your case than good What to say to your children about the behavior of the other parent during the course of the divorce How one mistake from an attorney can spiral into a case so bleak and complex that you won’t be able to pay for anyone else to represent you The ugly side of the financial battle of divorce unveiled If you think you’re going to have a custody battle, here’s is the one thing YOU MUST do before you divorce even begins are you could lose your children! How to get the divorce you want on the terms you want How optimism in the midst of a stressful divorce from your spouse can keep you sane and grounded during one of the most taxing times of your life Why the real job your lawyer is trying to do is probably not what you hired him to do Whether or not you should mediate or litigate in your divorce, and how to choose which one to do Why nothing impacts the outcome of your divorce more than the attorney’s themselves How to choose the right attorney for your case Why a “fighter” attorney is really the worse person to hire for your case, and how he can quite literally make your life a living hell What you can do if your soon to be ex-husband is trying to starve you into a settlement Why you MUST always maintain control in your divorce, if you give up control to your attorney be prepared for a nightmare! The reason why financial planning must be done before and during the divorce proceedings, and NEVER after them The astonishing truth about family law judges and corruption in the court-room exposed A guide on what to expect if your divorce does go to trial so you can be prepared and not get taken by surprise

And much more!

 This is a powerful fact-filled resource on divorce. And don’t worry, I’m not going to charge you an arm and a leg for this information.

I need to get this into your hands as quickly as possible so you can avoid all of the pain and frustration that comes along with going through a difficult divorce.

  To learn how to navigate the pathways of a bad divorce, you need:

  “Divorce: The Real Truths And Hidden Dangers” For  Just $29.95!

My book is digitally delivered directly to you over the internet. There is no need to wait for anything to ship. You gain instant access to the materials just as soon as you complete the checkout. That means you can start discovering everything you need to know right now, even if its 3:00 AM.

  “Thanks for publishing this…”

Prepare for the lies. Have an answer. Be bold. You may have the truth on your side, but your spouse has no empathy and will destroy you with lies. Find a way to get the truth out that will show the lies up. There is always a lie you can build on. Take his lie and show how it leads to another and another.

I think its plain to see that my book can help you get all of the information you need to tip the scales in your favor in your divorce. And at only 77 pages it can be read in one short sitting. This isn’t a text-book.

As I share my own story with you, you’ll be empowered with all of the information you need to be able to get out of this terrible situation in your life.

Don’t Go Crazy

How much is your sanity worth?  What about your health?  What about your children if you have them? Don’t  sacrifice their well-being during a lengthy and hellish divorce?

This is a one time payment of only $29.95  – I wish I knew what I have in this book for you – I mean that. I was so naive and so many are – I know they come to me for consultations when it is very late in the game.

  “The Information In This Book Is So Valuable…”

Come

behind the scenes of a divorce and watch a dysfunctional legal system at its worst. Then, see what alternatives exist and how to find out what is right for you.

Order today and really learn the truth behind divorce so you won’t be taken for surprise.

If you don’t know what you’re doing you could end up spending tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary legal fees. You could get cheated out of thousands of dollars owed you for staying married to that narcissist for so long.

Narcissists can be so destructive to a peaceful life. Be prepared.

Your life could become a nightmare,. I know, because for several years mine was. But I interviewed lawyers, friends of the judge and got inside the legal system to give you the advantage I didn’t have. And by the way – I won my case. At trial and on appeal.

So avoid all of that now. You don’t have to go down that road if you don’t want to. Here is your opportunity to get the tools you need to successfully divorce your husband and get everything you deserve.

And I’m so confident that the techniques and strategies that I reveal in my book are going to work for you, I’m going to remove every single bit of risk from this transaction.

Your order today is completely covered by…

My 100% Risk Free Unconditional Money Back Guarantee

Look, I’m completely confident that “Divorce:

Real Truths And Hidden Dangers” is the resource you need to get what YOU deserve out of your divorce, and still be able to avoid the pitfalls that can make it a nightmare.

In fact, I’m so confident that it will work for you, that I’m prepared to let you try it risk free for an entire 30 days.

That way, you get peace of mind, and I do too.

You see, I don’t have to worry that you’re unhappy with your purchase at all, because if you decide that “Divorce: Real Truths And Hidden Dangers” is not for you, then you can get a full refund at any time during the next 30 days.

Read the book, and put some of my tactics, tips, and techniques to work in your divorce. And if you don’t get the results you’re looking for, just contact me right away.

And I’ll refund every dime of your money. No questions asked.

I want to make it clear to you that this is a completely no-risk purchase.

You Have Absolutely Nothing To Lose And Only The Information You Need To Have The Divorce Go Your Way To Gain!

Get your hands on this information right now, and get the power you need to take control of your divorce.

 Immediate download.  PDF format.  Works on any computer.

Remember, these are not theoretical divorce tips that were pulled out of some book somewhere. I’ve been through the ringer with divorce, and now you don’t have to.

Whatever your decision is, I wish you best of luck in whatever you do in life.

-Ann Bradley

P.S.

You don’t have to go through the pain and frustration of a hellish divorce. Now is your chance to get the information you need to avoid the sandtraps and pitfalls that are out there waiting for you. The only thing standing between you and a successful split from your spouse is action, so take  action and get your hands on my book now!

P.P.S

And remember, even if you’re not sure that this book is going to work for you, you don’t have to decide right now. Order it right now, and try it out for a full 30 days before making your decision.

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[momscookingthebooks]

Chapter Reveal Title: King Series: Sinister Knights MC #2 Author: Aria Cole Genre: MC Romance Publication Date: February 15, 2018’

#ChapterReveal #KING #SinisterKnights #AriaCole #NewRelease #MCRomance 

Synopsis: King Williams has seen the other side of hell, his tortured solitude hiding pain behind the cut of his marble jaw. Stubborn fortitude has gotten him this far, but one night with Piper at a club party is all it takes to unravel the walls he's built. Now he can't get her out of his head. His obsessive need rages before he pulls her in so deep both of their lives land on the line. The only thing that matters might be the only thing he can't protect.

When Piper Parish spots King, high-ranking member of the Sinister Knights MC, nearly naked late one night, it isn't the first time he’s caught her eye. It is, however, the first time she's set eyes on the cobblestoned abs and chiseled lines etched into this bad boy's body. Like a flash of lightning in the darkness, Piper finds herself thrown into a whirlwind ride with the brooding biker...a ride he will never let her forget.

Warning: King is one sexy, moody Harley ridin' bad boy. he's Piper's idea of devilish, dark, attractive and so off-limits. Until now. He'll stop at nothing to make her his, but is she ready to buckle in for the ride of a lifetime?

Purchase Link:  Amazon: smarturl.it/KingAC

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2BI33Iv

Chapter One

ONE

Piper “I love him, Piper. I know I've said it before, but I know for sure this time. Truly,” Anna breathed at my ear, squeezing my elbow once.

“Ryker is mad about you. I can see it. Just the way the grouchy old bear as glaring at us now...” 

Ryker huffed, taking a long swallow from his beer bottle. “Despite your sunshiny disposition, I'm glad you're back.” I glanced at the man of the hour, still hovering a few feet away from his girl, just in earshot, looking as if he were ready to steal her away from me at any minute.

He probably was.

I sucked in a sigh, eyes casting not for the first time at King, scowling from across the room, a matching beer bottle in his hand. I'd been wishing lately that King would look at me the same way Ryker was looking at Anna now.

Anna deserved happiness, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Ryker was the man who made her happy. But that didn't mean I wasn't a tiny bit jealous of the love she'd found. I'd taken to spending so much more time at the ranch in the last few years since Ryker had gone up to County, not that Anna needed a babysitter, but Ryker being gone was tough on her.

Some nights I'd just held her in her bed and let her cry on my shoulder.

There was nothing else I could do.

Not only had Anna been recovering from an assault suffered at the hands of someone she trusted. But then Ryker, the very person who'd saved her from a far worse fate, had been stolen from her life too. Anna was never quite the same after Ryker was gone.

And now that Ryker was back and Anna's face was plastered with a radiant smile, I was left with only one person on my mind.

Someone I'd seen hovering in the shadows for years now, just out of reach, broad and brooding and smarter than any other person I'd ever known.

I'd grown up like a little sister to the Sinister Knights, but from the very beginning, I'd had an uncontrollable crush on the quietest of the crew, King Williams. Always thoughtful, respectful, with a wry sense of humor and a full beard that sent butterflies fluttering around my stomach.

“I’ll text you later, okay?” Anna grinned, Ryker's hand pulling her from me already.

“Have fun!” I waved her off, unable to help her infectious grin from covering my face too. I loved nothing more than seeing my best friend happy, even if the guy who made her feel that way was one big, tall, scary motherfucker.

To each her own, I figured.

Just as my eyes settled on the sound system set up in one corner, King came into view, head bent and eyes trained on my heavily lined ones.

He was so devastating it almost took my breath away.

He closed the distance, eyes never leaving mine, and he was suddenly in my space and draining all the oxygen from my lungs.

“H-hi,” I stuttered.

“Piper.” He nodded, pausing at my shoulder, a thousand unspoken things in his eyes.

I gnawed on my bottom lip, not able to form a single word.

King and I had had a hundred conversations about a hundred different things over the years, but now I was suddenly choking on my tongue.

“How's Anna?” King finally asked, breaking his gaze.

“Great, now that Ryker is here.”

King nodded, a sly grin cocking up one side of his mouth.

The air hung heavy between us, energy so thick and suffocating it nearly swept me under just being so close. I no longer felt like a little girl next to this man; I felt like a woman, independent and strong, worthy of his attention.

I pressed my lips together, stomach swirling to the point of dizzying irritation before the first few chords of a Tom Petty song came through the stereo.

I covered my lips, stifling a giggle as I thought of one summer night when Ryker and King had caught Anna and me out after midnight, giggling as we talked about boys we had crushes on. Even then, King had sucked me in, the dark way his energy sucked up all the air in a room. He'd been making my insides turn cartwheels since day one.

“Wanna dance?” I blurted, half regretting it.

His guarded grin turned up, eyes dancing before a palm tucked in at my waist and pulled me a few inches closer to his body.

I nearly lost my head then.

I swallowed the ball of nerves in my throat and slid my hand along the hard muscle of his bicep.

“The only person I want abusing that pretty lip is me,” King muttered, thumb catching my bottom lip and pulling it from its prison beneath my teeth.

“Oh.”

His smile deepened when he twisted our fingers together, turning me in a circle under his arm and then leaning me back into a heavy dip. The strong angle of his Roman nose trailed up the dip of my throat, lips brushing against my fiery hot skin and nearly causing me to swoon into a pool of bliss between his leather boots.

“I swear, every time I hear this song I'm with you.” He pulled my lips closer, faintly touching as we danced close. His hand was positioned at the small of my back now, melding our bodies a little more.

“Really?” I asked.

He nodded, eyes darting to the ceiling as he thought back. “When Saint, Ryker, and I taught you and Anna how to drive by using the old diesel around the pasture.”

I shook my head, laughing at the memory.

Anna had stalled the old manual transmission at least a dozen times, and just when Ryker was about to lose it, he'd gotten behind the wheel to prove a point and stalled it himself.

“That was a fun day.” I giggled.

“We've had a lot of fun days,” he said, other hand slipping over the nape of my neck, drawing me a little closer into his orbit. Making me a little more drunk on all things King. “And remember when Prez almost caught you and Anna sneaking out of her window one night?”

“Oh, yeah.” I nodded, the faint memory growing clearer as I remembered King pulling up on his bike just at the moment Prez was about to question where we were going. Instead, he thought we were only out talking to King, no harm, no foul there. “We never went out that night, got too scared and crawled back into Anna's window. We made popcorn and watched The Breakfast Club.”

“I know.” King exhaled at my neck, sending a shiver skittering down my spine. “How do you know?”

His fingers looped into the hair at my temple, his hard body pressed so closely to mine I was sure I could feel his heavy erection stretching past my navel. “Do you think I would have let you leave? I got you off the hook with Prez, but that didn't mean I didn't know what the hell you were up to. I woulda tanned your hide if you'd tried to sneak out again.”

My knees went weak, my breaths suddenly ragged as I thought about his body against mine, our clothes discarded on the floor, his lips tracing the lines of my body...

His callused palms traced down to my backside, the dress that spanned high across my thighs suddenly feeling like too much fabric separating us.

I didn't know what tomorrow might hold, but I didn't even care. Just having King's hands on me was a fantasy I'd dreamed of so many nights I couldn't even begin to count. Now here it was, so close to all falling into place.

“King!” Prez's voice boomed from across the room.

King sighed heavily, hands gripping at the flesh of my backside as his forehead landed on mine. “I wish to fuck I didn't have to answer that.”

I pushed a hand through his hair, my urge to purge the frown from his face strong. “Duty calls.”

“So it does.” His grip on my backside loosened, lips hovering just out of reach.

I swallowed, waiting, silently begging for his lips to touch mine, before Prez bellowed one last time. “King! Now!”

My handsome, thoughtful biker grunted under his breath, nodding once, eyes catching mine for one long moment before he turned, head down, and walked away from me.

Having King to myself would never be easy around the Sinister Knights. What was I thinking? That maybe now was finally our time?

I was under the influence of Anna's contagious lovey-dovey shit, Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers, and that delicious, woodsy masculine scent that seemed to follow King everywhere.

ho the hell smelled that good anyway?

About the Author:

Aria Cole is a thirty-something housewife who once felt bad for reading dirty books late at night, until she decided to write her own. Possessive alpha men and the sassy heroines who love them are common, along with a healthy dose of irresistible insta-love and happily ever afters so sweet your teeth may ache.

For a safe, off-the-charts HOT, and always HEA story that doesn't take a lifetime to read, get lost in an Aria Cole book!

Follow Aria on Amazon for new release updates, or stalk her on Facebook and Twitter to see which daring book boyfriend she's writing next!

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Author Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorariacole Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AriaColeAuthor/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15148497.Aria_Cole Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Aria-Cole/e/B01FBKXQ7W

#Chapter Reveal #MC Romance #Available Now #King #Sinister Knights MC 2 #Aria Cole #Hosted by Ardent Prose PR

[scripttorture]

1/2 Hi! I'm the one who asked about the magical "truth serum." Thanks for answering my original question! I don't know if this changes things, but the police and the laws themselves have been portrayed as ineffective and often brutal, and the society that I'm writing about is already shaking itself apart because of huge injustices. The only times I've shown the spell in action, it's with people who were eager to co-operate anyway, and when it started to hurt the interrogation fell apart.

2/2 My MC does have lasting psychological damage from his encounters with them. If the way to proceed is to show that this technique is worse than useless, that it's one more reason why the prisons are filled with unjustly convicted people, and that the police who do this are torturers with everything that goes with that, I do think I'm in a position to write that.

For readers generally theoriginal ask with my original response is here.

 Yes that contextchanges things. It means that I think I completely misunderstood the originalask. That happens occasionally and I’m sorry about that. Thank you for being sounderstanding.

 A lot of askers tend toapologise for sending in long asks but honestly more information is morehelpful for me. Having wider context for the story helps. We’re tackling toughsubjects here and I think detail and nuance is incredibly important

 Knowing that you’reshowing this as ineffective makes all the difference.

 The original ask wasabout effects, both on the victims and society more generally. I’m going tostart with the MC, this is going to apply to victims generally though.

 I’ve got a summary ofthe commonpsychological effects of torture here. Symptoms are generally the same nomatter what technique is used (there are a few exceptions but even thoseinclude the common symptoms on the list). Victims won’t all experience the samesymptoms and it’s impossible to predict who will experience which symptoms.

 As a result I tend tosuggest picking symptoms based on what the author feels fits the character andoverall story best.

 Given the way you’reusing this magic I think memory problems would be an excellent fit for thestory.

 In the long term aftertorture memory problems can manifest in several different ways and theseproblems can occur separate or together. Broadly speaking they come in aboutthree categories: memory loss, intrusive memories and inaccurate memories.

 Memory loss can mean forgetting the traumatic incidententirely but that’s not a very common form of problem. More commonly what itmeans is forgetting chunks of time immediately before and immediately aftertorture. It can also mean a sort of long term forgetfulness which makeseveryday life much more difficult. Learning new things, remembering wherethings are, being on time- simple everyday things like that become a lot moredifficult.

 That sort memoryproblem is incredibly common and rarely shown in fiction. I’ve actually had afew survivors contact me to say they weren’t even aware what they wereexperiencing was a symptom.

 Intrusive memories are alot easier to explicitly link to torture. They’re basically continuallyremembering and going over a traumatic event. It means that the character isconstantly reminded of torture, by small everyday things. And those remindersprompt an extremely vivid, detailed memory of the abuse they suffered. It meansthinking about what they survived almost all the time.

 Inaccurate memories aremuch harder to identify as a problem from ‘inside’. They feel like normalmemories and people experience them generally are convinced that their memoryis accurate.

 They usually affectmemories of and around torture and they’re often about details. Someone mightsay that the door of the room they were tortured in was on the left, when infact it was on the right. They can affect things like remembering exactly whodid what when and in what order.

 This can makeprosecuting a torture case extremely difficult.

 For your story inparticularly I want to highlight the work Morgan et al did with US soldiers.The soldiers, who all had years of front line combat experience, went through afake capture scenario as part of a ‘training exercise’. Some of them were thenput through a ‘high stress’ interrogation which included shouting, abuse andthe sorts of clean beating US rules allowed at the time. The other had a‘low-stress’ interrogation, a chat over a hot drink.

 Morgan then tested themthe next day to see who recognised their interrogator. Depending on how theywere asked to identify the interrogator between 51-68% identified the wrong person. Most of them wereconfident they’d gotten the right person. (The paper can be found here: C AMorgan et al, International Journal of Law and Psychiatry in 2004, 27, 265-279pgs)

 The interrogations werearound four hours and I think this study is really relevant to what you want towrite. Don’t worry too much if you can’t access the paper itself. The generalpicture of memory problems are more important than the in-depth statistical andmethod analysis the paper concentrates on.

 I’ve stressed all ofthese memory problems for a reason: I think you should show this magic as worsethan useless and I think this is the most sensible way to tackle it. It’s not alie if you honestly think it’s true and our memories are incredibly prone toflaws especially when we’re stressed or in pain.

 To put that a bit morebluntly: what we think is factually true canchange if we’re in pain.

 And those falsememories can persist and feel just as ‘true’ as accurate memories.

 The next thing I thinkyou really need to consider are the police officers themselves. There’s lessresearch on torturers then torture victims but what we have overwhelminglysuggests that torturing other people causes severe mental illness in thetorturer.

 Idiscuss the kinds of effects it has in another ask here (the questionitself involves mentions of rape and sexual abuse but there are no graphicdescriptions in the question or answer).

 Have a read through ofthat because whether you focus on any of the police as characters or not ifthis system comes down that’s a lot ofpeople with those symptoms who will be out of work. Their society is goingto have to come up with a way of coping with that.

 That can take a lot ofdifferent forms. In Soviet Russia it was lethal purges. In South Africa it wasthe Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In the aftermath of the Bosnian war it’sbeen one of the most successful series of war crimes trials in history.

 On the nicer end you’relooking at long term mental health programs and re-training programs, jailsentences for the worst offenders and a structured plan to get these peopleback into the community in a healthy way.

 On the worse end it’signoring the problem and ending up with a lotof people who are violent, traumatised and can’t hold down a job anymore. Thatmeans a massive uptick in homelessness and problems related to addiction (iemore demand for health services then the set up can support).

 Those are problems forthis society afterwards. During all of this the problems are gonna be a littledifferent.

 This system will haveabsolutely destroyed the public’s trust in the police force. In a way that goesbeyond the ways torture normally destroys the public’s trust in the policeforce. There is normally a drop in people volunteering information to thepolice when the police torture but in most scenarios that’s because they’reafraid people they know will be tortured not because informants are at risk oftorture themselves. But everyone istortured in this scenario, including the witnesses and the people who reportcrimes.

 Simply put people willstop reporting crimes.

 The police might usethat to argue that crime has dropped and what they’re doing works.

 In fact you’ll have asystem of more or less complete collapse. I don’t know whether crime wouldactually rise but it would certainly go unpunished.

 With no onevolunteering information and a general culture of silence the police wouldprobably respond by arresting people at random. This is pretty common inpolicing systems that have come to rely on torture.

 Not only does this meanmore brutalised, injured people and less trust in the police it also creates aculture of fear. Because under these circumstances people tend to assume that there is a reason the police took the peoplethey did. They assume the raids and the disappearances are to do with someunder lying logic even when none exists.

 I think the best thingto read for the sort of societal affects you might see is Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth. And luckily it’snow available for free over here.

 The only parts of Fanon’sbook I’ve read in detail are his psychiatric notes on patients he treatedduring and after the Franco-Algerian war. These included torture victims,torturers and the families of both groups.

 But the majority of thebook is about the injustice of colonialism, shaped by Fanon’s experience of France’sbloody, unjust policy of mass detention and torture of Algerians during thewar. (For further reading on France’s torture practices in Algeria see H Alleg’sThe Question)

 You’ve essentially gota society where there is no law enforcement and at the same time citizens areperiodically and randomly pulled off the street and tortured. There’s going tobe a lot of fear and a lot of distrust of authority. People may or may not haveformed their own parallel social systems already (with their own law enforcersand their own back-room courts).

 And that’s now edgingtowards @scriptsociology’s area of expertise. This is going to be an intensely fracturedsociety with a lot of genuine grievances and a lot of really profoundly illpeople who’ll need help. I strongly suggest consulting @scriptsociology if youwant this society to be rebuilt or come together, because it’s a lot easier forsocieties in this situation to fall apart rather than come back together.

 That may not havecovered anything but I think it’s a decent broad overview. If you’ve got any morequestions feel free to ask as soon as the box is open again. :)

Disclaimer

#tw torture #tw police brutality #fantasy ask #police torture #effect of torture on victims #effect of torture on torturers #psychological effects of torture #effects of torture on society #effects of torture on public trust #Anonymous