Marigoldbuzzing - Untitled

Heyyyyy any to kill a kingdom hcs? I'm sorry I'm not good with complimenting, I wish I was.

Hi! Of course:

Lira and Elian keep bickering

And whenever Lira boards Elian’s boat, the crew is always so on edge because these two won’t stop trying to kill each other

But in a good way

Everybody can see how truly in love they are

Even though Lira, in her human form, seems so much more threatening to all of the men and women on board

Elian still looks at her like she’s the whole sun

And during those trips, Lira and Elian can only find alone time during the night

He finds her leaning against the railing, her hair down, her eyes turned to the sea

He knows she can hear him, but she does not turn

Not even when he wraps his arms around her, touching his lips to her temple

“You’ve been like this all day,” he says, resting his chin on her shoulder

Her body relaxes against his almost immediately, but her eyes are full of shadows

Even as she turns her head to lightly kiss him, one hand underneath his chin

Elian pulls away, watching her eyes

“I feel the ocean restless,” she says

Elian turns his eyes to the dark waves, his hands circling her waist

“Do you wish to leave earlier?”

“No,” she shakes her head. “My sisters have told me everything is fine. It’s just a foolish notion, I’m sure.”

“Lira,” he insists

“Leave it be,” she turns in his arms, touching his cheeks. “I’m here with you now. And I want to make the most of it.”

As tender as her words are, her mind is not present

Elian touches her chin, lifts it

He says, “Your mother is not coming back.”

Lira blinks in surprise, though she doesn’t doubt that he can read her that easily

He always could

“I know,” she whispers. “I just-”

“Tell me,” he asks

Lira hesitates, trailing her eyes over his jawline

“I have a feeling something worse is coming.”

“It might be anxiousness for leaving your home,” he says, “and your people.”

She remains silent

Elian leans in, kisses her lightly on the lips, before saying, “If it is something - we will fight it together.”

“I don’t want you anywhere near the ocean should something come up,” she frowns, her voice cold

“You can’t stop me from being at your side,” he smiles, caressing her waist. “Look at me.”

She does

He whispers, “When have I ever turned away from you?”

She doesn’t answer, but Lira’s eyes look up at him, and her expression gets tender

“Never,” he says, “doubt me, Lira. I am not a man to run from the things he’s afraid of. And not a man to run from the things he loves.”

She shakes her head at him, as if in wonder, and leans her forehead against his chest

Elian wraps his arms fully around her frame, pulling her close

“I might die,” she murmurs, “from feeling this strongly someday. Your love might kill me.”

He smiles, a breathy laugh escaping his lips. “I could say the same for you.”

She looks up at him, eyes bright. “I love you.”

He smiles wider, touching his nose to hers

He catches her lips in a seering kiss, before he answers back, “And I love you.”

Shipping both zhongchili and Focacchino is funny because it almost looks like Celestia's plan to stop the Tsaritza's revolution is to have the Archon rizz up her harbingers.

Now their running theory is that Signora's death wasnt a lost duel but a really messy and violent break up.

Capitano and Columbina are being interroged to know if their type happens to be hot tall lady that could (try) kick their ass.

They will not confirm nor deny.

Beauty and the three Whining Little Bitches—

Headcanon: Penelope's Street Knowledge

We know that nobility during the Regency and Victorian era often did charity, such as providing food and clothes for the poor, and generally as an act of benevolence and their "noble duty". We know that this is a thing in the Eorka Empire with Winter. Thus, the illustrious and noble Eckhart family must also do such things from time to time, right?

Originally, they don't bring Penelope because of her horrid personality, thinking that she'd throw a tantrum. However, on one occasion, they begrudgingly bring her. Turns out, she is a great help.

The street children are wary of nobility and for good reason. They've developed a system of code words and hand signals that every child on the streets is intimately familiar with. Only those from the lowest of the commoners have knowledge of them; not even Winter, a noble known for his genteel kindness towards the ill-fated, knows.

In the past when the Eckhart men walk the streets and provide food, not many come, with a handful of the braver and older ones stealing closer. However, with Penelope, things are a lot different. She twists her fingers in a set of gestures, which to them, looks like it's from nerves. However, she's signing something different entirely.

"Safe, Helpful. Green."

"Taken in."

At the same time, she whistles a short tune, which all street children pass on to each other. A series of childish voices whistle back, completing the melody.

Before any of the Eckharts can ask what she's doing, children start flooding out of the dilapidated houses, from alleyways, from broken-down gardens.

Their hunger-starved faces and fearful caution make the Eckhart brothers realize "oh, this was Penelope's reality before she came to the duchy." However, none of the children go near the men, opting to huddle around Penelope, hands clutching at her skirts. They look at her with hope. One of the children taps a short code on Penelope's wrist.

"Safe for you?"

And though she hesitates, she knows that the children of the street will recognize the body language and the attitudes of the Eckharts towards her. So she signs, "Green for you. Yellow for me. Shopped. Replacement child."

Several tiny faces turn dark with bitter anger.

rights received

*at an Archon gathering*

Zhongli: Lady Furina. It's a wonderful sight to see you here.

Furina: Oh- hehe, uh... thank you, Morax...

Zhongli: There's no need to be shy, you're one of us. If anything, your sheer will is one we all should strive for.

Furina: R-Really? Th-Thank you for your compliments...

Neuvillette: ... Hm...

Nahida: Don't take it the wrong way, but jealousy is not a good look on you.

Neuvillette: *sarcastically* Thank you for your astute observation, Buer.

Made for @honeqq and they MrBillPines AU, one of my and my dearest friend favs au's. I made it so quickly, just for express this.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

4/5 stars

I finally found it! A book with a portrayal of fae that I liked almost as much as Holly Black’s!

Of course, that’s because Heather Fawcett’s depiction of fae is strikingly redolent of Holly’s. I could even dub them to be in the same universe and they would fit somehow. It is clear by now I only like a specific kind of fae (this is my personal preference)—the fairytale-esque / folklore version. I hate Gild or ACoTAR’s portrayal of fae; I do not see fae EVER as... macho men. The mere thought makes me gag. I will take Cardan’s goat tail over big, manly ‘alpha’ men that are also so-called 'fae', tyvm.

Sorry, I digress. But not entirely, because well, this book I’m reviewing, if the title isn’t obvious enough, is about fae. The way fae is categorised goes like this (I’m writing this down so that when the next book arrives next year, I still fucking remember):

Human-sized / big fae are called The Tall Ones or Courtly Fae. Tiny ones are called the Common Fae, further sub-categorised into Brownies (they strike bargains with mortals often) or Trooping Fae (they travel in troops and keep to themselves). 

One of my standout (if not my favourite) characters is Poe, who is a Brownie. OMG, he is so adorable with his sharp needle-fingers and his love for cooking. Also, that little thing makes fucking delicious bread, which is my absolute favourite thing to eat in the world. My heart broke for him when his tree got burnt, but yay that Wendell Bambleby fixed it for him!!! 

How is Poe not adorable? I heard from the reviews (LUCKY ASSES WHO GOT ARCS) that the next book will feature him again (and his lady), and I am so excited to read it.

Moving on from Poe, I’ll address a character much more important to the story: Wendell. I have to say that because everyone was saying the romance subplot is very small, I took it to mean that I would not see Wendell much, but I was wrong. Wendell is in the story most of the time. And while I can’t say I’m in love with him (the romance was too sudden IMO), I do love him very much. He’s hilarious. An absolute riot. I mean, just look at this part in his POV (do be mindful of spoilers in this snippet):

This man is clinically insane, lmao.

Random side-note: him having blonde hair is delicious. I just love blonde male characters. He is, quite literally, a ray of sunshine compared to Emily’s grumpiness. I usually absolutely despise the grumpy/sunshine trope because the man is almost always the fucking grump. But when it’s reversed? Utterly delightful. How can I not love a male character who is actually emotionally intelligent? Who on earth wrote into the romance fiction codex that an attractive male lead must have the emotional intelligence of a toothpick (Coughs at Love Hypothesis, coughs at Love on the Brain, cough cough cough)? Who???

Anyways.

This book surprised me in many ways, not just with Wendell. It’s dubbed as ‘cosy fantasy’ and many people complain that nothing really happens, so I was kind of bracing myself for a snoozefest.

Um, I was wrong.

I'm confused that this is what we consider cosy fantasy (I truthfully know next to nothing of this genre)? But… There is so much adventure and action that happens here. If anything, the stakes in this story feel higher / more engaging than in An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson, which I strongly disliked (even though I enjoyed some of its portrayal of fae). While the beginning was a bit rough, I was utterly hooked about a third into Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia. 

I was also A FOOL, because I read this thinking the next book was already out. T_T But no, it only comes out NEXT YEAR. Why are all the books I’m desperate for coming out next year? Okay, just two books including this, but whatever. 

One more thing to add before I close this entry: why do some people dislike Emily??? She was reserved, yes, but her kind heart really shone through her actions, especially in comparison to Wendell's indifference. She’s one of the many characters I adored in this book. In fact, I loved almost everyone in the cast; I was prepared to dislike Auds, the village headswoman, but I loved her in the end. It was lovely how the villagers rallied to support Emily later on, and also—I can't forget dear old Shadow!! Bless that baby.

Suffice to say, I will be sitting here, waiting for the next book very, very patiently.

- 11 Aug 2023

I love Suffering animatics/art where Odysseus has a chain or rope around his ankle, connecting him to the mast. not only is it a great reference to the source material, but it implies that someone on the ship was worried that the mere sight of Penelope might convince Odysseus to jump in the water, even though he knows its a siren who will kill him

and that they were so persuasive in this argument that Odysseus actually agreed to it

arlecchino becoming enamored with furina and sending her daily letters asking to meet post archon quest at her home with cakes and flowers attached and neuvillette mailing her money every month for groceries, luxuries, sending over books and plays and operas he thinks she will like, trying to make her come to the palais anyhow versus furina who believes herself to be undeserving of love and thinking they only do it all out of pity and guilt