‘The Three Musketeers’ By Alexandre Dumas [Book Review]

Found something in my draft and wanted to share it...

So, I just read Johnathan Swift’s Meditation Upon a Broomstick. Honestly, I barely knew its context yet the finishing misogynistic tone kind of threw me off. So, I did some digging and here’s what I could gather so far.

Let me give you some quick summary and the background context of it. Apparently, Swift had to do some reading of Occasional Reflections Upon Several Subjects by Robert Boyle to the ladies of the house. These are usually some observations of Boyle’s of the regular objects and his attempt to link a philosophical connection with the said objects using biblical references and such. Swift found them to be absolute nonsense and in an attempt to criticize Boyle he produced his very own lamentation on a regular object such as the broomstick which he called some kind of ‘meditation’ from his part. At the beginning, the ladies could not catch on to that but soon realized that the rant was taking an absurd turn instead of a philosophical one.

Now, upon reading some analysis of the text (Swift’s), I came to find out that not only he meant to ridicule Boyle but also his readers. And I took it personally. What kind of person mocks other people just because they take pleasure from certain kinds of entertainment that doesn’t appeal to this particular person personally?

Now, I might have considered that Swift genuinely believed that Boyle’s ideas were trash if I hadn’t read something in another article. There are hints that Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels were inspired by Boyle’s idea of creating such a romantic story. So, I would have loved to question, why Johnathan, why? Why did you despise Boyle so much? Is it because his works entertain more ladies than yours? Because he’s more popular among women than you are? Are you jealous?

I also came to another conclusion upon this matter. It is not new that we are ridiculed for our liking for anything. Women have been insulted time after time for something they are interested in, something that they can relate to, something that gives them comfort. Whether women enjoy romantic movies or K-pop or anything at all, they are sure to be made fun of. Because long before, they were even insulted upon liking someone who is now known to be the first modern chemist. In this context, Swift's witty nature seems bitter, doesn’t it?

I loved A Modest Proposal, which is the first and the only thing I read by Johnathan Swift. I really expected something better from him. Now, some of y'all might come at me saying it was only meant to be a joke. Swift and even the ladies might have had some laughs over this event. Of course, that could be the case. I wouldn’t even have to know about it then. The fact that he esteemed this manner was right to be made public in writing is what bothers me.

That was just my thoughts. Let me know if you have something to say as well. Also, feel free to correct me if I get anything factually wrong.

Red Hope! - Part 2

Specially requested by @lelewright1234. Hope you enjoy!

Note: This work is totally fictional and has nothing to do with BTS on real life. I mean no hate toward any person in particular. This plotline was requested. Though I personally hate bullies, I still believe there is hope for everyone.

Fandom: BTS Pairing: OT7 × OC (Leah) Warning: Bullies, heart condition, divorced parents, etc. Genre: Angst Summary: Leah’s little background check and the start of it all...

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 (Complete)

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The name’s Leah and I’m 17 years old. Being born with a heart murmur and having a heart surgery as a baby, gave me the advantage of being spoiled by my whole family.

My parents were originally from Trinidad and Tobago. But I was born and grew up in America. Everything in my life was great until I reached 9 and my parents got divorced, leaving my safe haven being torn apart from the center.

I said my last goodbye to my father with tears on my face and moved with my mother to South Korea. She remarried a South Korean retired marine within a year. My step-father too, like my biological one, spoiled me with everything I wanted.

The main problem was outside my house, the people from the neighborhood. I was always considered an outsider. Being the only black girl in school was really tough for me, until my best friend, Nina joined.

Then there was this boy in class, Jungkook. At first, I considered him to be extremely shy. I really liked him and wanted to be friends. But it turned out to be a nightmare.

Jungkook took me to meet his group of some older boys from the neighborhood. The first meeting proved how wrong I was about Jungkook. He was the naughtiest kid I had ever encountered whenever he was in front of his hyungs.

Speaking of his hyungs, they were crazy as hell. They teased me with such mean comments I never expected on a first meeting. I was on the verge of tearing up when one of them, Namjoon, stopped the others and told me to go away.

Since then I tried my best to avoid them. Even during classes I would avoid sitting with Jungkook and talking with him. But they didn’t give up. It seemed like they really enjoyed bullying me. During breaks, they would all come to our class often to tease me or to make some remarks about me, making others laugh.

This continued, even after we got into high school. Seemed like they always had something new for me and they never got bored. I tried my best to avoid them. But at times, I would aggressively react to their behaviors making them shut up for some days, only for them to return with more jokes after.

I did ballet since I was 2. It was something like breathing to me. I didn’t love doing it, but it was a part of me anyway. I was taking ballet class where every now and then I bumped into Hoseok and Jimin. They also took dance classes. Mostly when they were alone, they would either ignore me or would try to talk nicely. But if they were together, they could make me wish I never took the classes in the first place.

The boys’ behaviors were really confusing sometimes. Most people assumed we were close friends, since we could be seen together in many places, though it was always them following me. Sometimes the boys would actually try to treat me nicely and then again went back to being their old selves.

So, this was a life I was used to. The teasing and hurtful comments they made about me was somehow bearable until at a point, it got worse and I slowly started to hate them.

But if I had to tell the truth, I pitied them more than I hated them. Here they were, seven very young boys, living together without any guardian. Who could teach them how to behave?

I felt like these boys lack the most important emotion it takes to be a human. The Bangtan Boys lack love.

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My Masterlist

Little Things Matter

I know, BTS did honorable things by which they could be remembered in history. But have you noticed the small things (which are not really small if you think about it) that could actually show the kind of persons they really are?

Including sign language as a part of the choreography

Kneeling down while the youngest helps to tie the shoe lace

Recommending a feminist book for which many female idols had received hatred before

Doing every little action the fans request on v live to make them happy

Letting another artist stay in the middle of their performance even though she was okay to step aside

Letting the camera-people have a bite from their food

Picking up an army bomb from the stage and returning it to the fan

Buying slushies/ice creams for all the staffs because it’s crazy hot outside

Calling the fans his hope and vice versa

Helping the staffs to fix the stage lights/cleaning up with them

Requesting the food delivery man to drive safely due to the heavy rain and not to worry about being late

And I can go on and on...

Hello there. I want you to write a shipping story about Wanda and Loki.

Wanda Maximoff and Loki Odinson have so much in common that I think they will make a good couple. Here is a short story about Loki and Wanda falling for each other.

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Though most of the times I am alone, I don’t like being alone sometimes. Loneliness begets thoughts. And thoughts bring memories. Memories that are too ugly to forget. I have made some wrong choices in my past life which makes me question myself everyday, more precisely every time I’m alone with my thoughts.

I was sitting alone on the couch when someone sat beside me. I looked. It was Wanda Maximoff or the Scarlet Witch to most people.

“I was watching you for like last 45 minutes.” she said.

I asked “What has inspired you on the act?”

She chuckled and looked directly into my eyes “You.”

“Why, on the name of nine realms, me?” I suddenly became interested.

“Do you know that we have so much in common?”

I suspected where the conversation was leading to. So I said to escape “Better spend your precious time with others than with me.” I began to stand when she stopped me “You know very little of yourself, Loki.”

I looked her in amazement “I beg your pardon?”

“I know the feelings.” she continued “Trust me, you’re not alone.”

I sat down. I wanted to hear what she had to say.

She put her hands in both of mine and began “You can’t run away from what you did. But you have to learn to live with the guilt, Loki.”

‘Guilt’. Suddenly the word seemed very heavy.

She continued to talk while I conitued to listen. I felt more like home than ever. Why did I felt so? I know it now though I didn’t know it then. She is my home.

Might do it for my sake...🥹

a long, canon compliant marauders fic where year 1-3 (or 2) are in remus’ perspective (from the beginning of their friendship until the other three boys find out he’s a werewolf), year 4-5 are in sirius’ perspective (running away from his family, the prank), year 6-7 are in james’ (the aftermath of the prank, how he matured, his relationship with regulus and then lily)

and finally the war years, in peter’s perspective, where it’s finally explored the reason behind his betrayal, the peak of a change that had started years before but that we (and the other boys) didn’t notice.

"Harry, what did you do?"

"What you made me do!"

We Are Only Seven - Chapter 7

Fandom: BTS Characters: OT7 (Devil!Namjoon, Demigod!Seokjin, Wizard!Yoongi, Angel!Hoseok, Werewolf!Taehyung, Gumiho!Jimin, Vampire!Jungkook) For a visual representation check these >>> VMinKook & NamJinSope Warning: Heart break, crying, mention of battle, killing, death, suicide, panic attack. Word Count: 1.9k Words

Summary: In a world ruled by humans, the other worldly, non-humans are in hiding. But how long will it last this way?

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10  [Complete]

Yoongi stood in the rain, unable to move a muscle. He had been looking at the sky until Hoseok’s figure disappeared in the darkness of the night. He couldn’t believe he had been caught when he was so close to achieve his goal.

“How dare you dreamt of a bright future?” He felt his conscience asking him, “After everything you had done, did you really think you could turn back from your sins?”

“Why? Were my mistakes too ugly to be forgiven?” Yoongi asked back.

“You are a monster. You’re true place is to dwell in the darkness.”

Yoongi closed his eyes shut. He felt like he had stabbed his friends in their backs. But he was feeling all the pain instead. This pain in his heart was something worse than that of any physical one.

Yoongi looked at his wet white shirt. He laughed at the irony of it. The day he decided to wear white, was the day it revealed the blackest part of himself.

Slowly he walked back to his basement. The place that had been used just for experiments were turned into a home to Yoongi by the most unexpected people. But now, it suddenly felt just like a basement once again.

He looked around it. Things were just the way he had left them a few hours ago. But everything inside Yoongi seemed to have changed. He felt a sudden urge to change his clothes into his older ones. As if wearing something dark again would undone the damage and bring Hoseok back.

Even so, he got changed into one of his black outfits. Then, he went to sit at the very corner of the room where his desk was. The floor was freezing. But Yoongi didn’t seem to mind.

Yoongi buried his face in between his knees. Tears began to fall abruptly. He couldn’t stop them. For the first time since his grandfather died, Yoongi let himself cry.

Namjoon woke up in the middle of the night as he heard something. When he listened carefully, he found out that someone was sobbing. Namjoon walked towards it and saw Yoongi sitting at a corner with his head buried in his knees. His whole body was shaking.

Namjoon hesitated but decided to ask him instead, “Is everything… Is everything alright?”

Yoongi’s head slowly rose from his knees. He looked at Namjoon and shook his head. Namjoon noticed that Yoongi’s hair was wet and his eyes were puffy and red, suggesting that he was out in the rain and had been crying for quite a long time.

Namjoon sat beside him. But he didn’t ask Yoongi anything. After a few minutes, Yoongi, himself, broke the silence, “Can I ask you something very personal?”

“Yeah!”

“Why were you casted out of heaven?”

Namjoon was surprised by this sudden approach towards his deepest, darkest secret. But for some reason, he wanted to share it with Yoongi. Yoongi was the kind of person who would understand.

“Well, it’s because I had rebelled against the Gods and Goddesses’ order.”

“But why? What did they ask you to do?”

Namjoon exhaled out a heavy breath. Then, he began to tell it from the beginning, while Yoongi listened like an attentive student learning from his master.

“The world and everything within were practically created just for Humans. But you see, Gods and Goddesses aren’t always right. They make mistakes too. The difference is that they can erase them easily.

“One of those mistakes was creating the giants. The huge creatures with so much strength but a little to no brain at all. They had been a huge obstacle to the humanity since the beginning of time. So, Zeus decided to eliminate them all.

“That’s what the order was exactly. We, angels, were to kill them off from the surface of the earth. That time, I was made the leader to complete this task with my fellow angels. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“How could I? They wanted me to kill the whole race of giants just for the convenience of the humans. But in my eyes, they were just as important as humans were to this earth.”

Namjoon stopped there. He couldn’t go any further.

Yoongi nodded, “So the Gods favor them too?” By ‘them’, he basically meant the OHA.

Then, Yoongi slowly unbuttoned two of his shirt buttons and showed Namjoon what he had been hiding there all this time. Namjoon couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of that cursed mark.

“I’m going to reveal something about me which you might find surprising.” Yoongi began in front of the boys.

“I used to…” Yoongi hesitated. He glanced at Namjoon for assurance. Namjoon nodded for him to continue.

Yoongi cleared his throat, “I used to work for the OHA once.” There were some shouts of disbelieve. But nobody complained. They seemed rather curious to know more of the story.

Yoongi got the confidence to continue. Everyone believed everything he told them. In short, what Yoongi said were these:

Yoongi was an orphan raised by his wizard grandfather, who had taught him how to control magic. But he, too, died early, leaving Yoongi all alone in this cruel world. The ‘Master of Shadow’ used to be a close friend to his grandfather. So, after his death, the Master took all of Yoongi’s responsibility.

Since then, all Yoongi knew was hard work. He was never allowed to rest, never allowed to fail and most importantly, never allowed to give up. Yoongi grew up to dislike the ‘Master’, but didn’t dared challenge him.

After the formation of the OHA, the ‘Master of Shadow’ willingly joined the company to work on the Supernatural beings and expand his power. Yoongi had to join with him as well.

At first, Yoongi willingly worked for them too, doing all the research works and even hunting some species occasionally. At a point, he was appointed to experiment on an angel. And this angel was Hoseok’s friend, for whom Hoseok had come down to earth.

After some days of regular meeting with the angel, Yoongi started to take a liking for him. They eventually got close and became friends. When Yoongi learned that the angel’s wings were the last ingredient the OHA needed to acquire whatever their evil target was, Yoongi decided to help the angel escape.

Meanwhile, there was a rumor circulating throughout the facility that the only Gumiho they had been experimenting on had died. And before death, that Gumiho had foreseen a future. It was such that the downfall of the OHA would come by an angel’s hand.

So, instead of running away, the angel decided to tear the company apart so that it could not hurt any more creatures. But the OHA was wicked. They found out about their plan.

Unfortunately, the angel had to take his own life to stop the OHA from using his wings. And Yoongi had no other option but to flee.

Yoongi finished the narration of his story and sat down on his chair. The mood of the room grew much more depressing. Namjoon walked up to Yoongi and patted his shoulders with both hands.

“Since then, I dedicated my life on this mission. That’s why, I was so desperate to find an angel and a Gumiho. That’s why, I asked Jimin to look into the future.” Yoongi said, his eyes ready to tear up any moment, “I’m sorry for keeping this away from you, guys. It was a mistake. And now, Hoseok has left.”

Yoongi buried his face on his hands and once again started to sob. Jimin quickly came to give him a hug, while Namjoon kept patting on his shoulders.

“Don’t worry!” Jimin said, “I’m sure Hoseok will come back to us again.”

Momentary silence, everyone was thinking; Yoongi was still questioning his past, Jimin was getting ready to protect the members, Jungkook was missing Hoseok and Namjoon was making a plan.

Suddenly, there was a howling of a wolf from above the building. Jimin’s heart skipped a bit, “Taehyung!” he called.

Not a moment was lost. All of them went to check on Taehyung, who had gone to check on the wizard a while ago. What they found there was surprising and horrifying at the same time.

The door to the prisoner’s room was wide opened. A big black wolf lied in the corner of the room being curled up and shivering. The ‘Master of Shadow’ was nowhere to be seen.

Jungkook and Jimin went straight to the wolf. Jimin tried to calm Taehyung down saying all the comforting words he could come up with while Jungkook ran his hand on his black fur. It took much time to finally bring Taehyung back to himself again. He, then, returned to his human form.

“I’m sorry.” Taehyung wiped a tear from his face, “I couldn’t stop the wizard.”

“Oh dear!” Jimin exclaimed, “Did he hurt you?”

Taehyung nodded like a little child and added, “The door was already opened when I came here. When I tried to stop the wizard, he did something crazy to my brain.”

“Mind control!” Yoongi informed, “He’s a master at that work.”

Taehyung nodded again, “Yes, you’re right. I was under some kind of mind control thing. I felt like I…I was back at the laboratory again. I was chained up to their walls. I…I was locked up.”

“Ssh, baby.” Jimin whispered as Taehyung grew agitated. “You’re not at the facility anymore. You’re here, with us.”

“I’m so sorry.” Taehyung said once again, “I wish I could… I could change my mind. I always feel trapped inside it. It’s suffocating.”

“Don’t apologize.” Namjoon said, “It’s not something you did on purpose.”

“But one thing doesn’t make sense.” Yoongi said, “How was the door opened? The spell I put in there, it couldn’t be broken by anyone from the inside.”

“Maybe the ‘Master’ bewitched Taehyung to do it?” Seokjin suggested.

“But…” Yoongi was about to say something when Namjoon called everyone, “There is a note.”

Namjoon read out the note left by the ‘Master’ aloud, “All thanks to you, Min Yoongi, for doing the hardest job of locating an angel and pushing it away into our trap on your own. I hope you don’t regret the decision that you had made two years ago of betraying and working against the company.”

“No!” Yoongi let out a cry of agony.

“They caught Hoseok, didn’t they?” Jungkook’s voice cracked.

Jimin asked, “What do we do now?” while Taehyung kept shaking his head in refusal.

“We need to make a solid plan to rescue Hoseok.” Namjoon said.

Everyone kept suggesting whatever they thought right that should be done. But none of the plan seemed reliable enough. They could never fight hundreds of guards and wizards of the OHA all alone. They needed more people and strength.

“We can’t lose time.” Yoongi said finally, “If the OHA has his wings they will grow more powerful and defeating them will be impossible.”

“Then, what do you suggest we do?” Namjoon asked.

“I’ll go alone.” Yoongi said.

“That’s stupid.” Jungkook said, “We can’t even imagine facing them all together and you’re talking about fighting them alone?”

“I’m the one who’s responsible for this. So, it has to be me.” Yoongi further argued.

“But we can’t let you go without a plan.” Namjoon said rather boldly.

Yoongi nodded at him, “I think, I have one.”

My Masterlist

Tag List: @bts-ruu​,

RM - Purple

7/7 (Check out other colours/members here)

Review of “Me Before You” by Jojo Moyes

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Rating: 3/5

Summary: A very simple working class woman, Louisa Clark loses her best job in a café when the owner suddenly shuts it down. Louisa finds no other alternative but to work as a caretaker of a paralyzed man named Will Traynor.

Personal Opinion: This book is written in a very simple language; but bears a deep meaning. It was heartwarming as well as heartbreaking. Moyes presented a very critical issue the right way.

Romantic books are not my favourites; but this one has a very unique story. So, I gave it a go and wasn't disappointed.

Quote: "You can only actually help someone who wants to be helped."

How each quote represents the characters

Jo Ye Beom is a modern and a free thinker. Despite making sexist jokes, he easily accepts his friends’ criticism. We also see that he is inconsistent to his own opinion. That’s why, he easily ratted their plans out to the prosecutor. But when his friends find it out, he changes his loyalty towards them. His quote directs that with time the laws are also modified, just like his character.

Isn’t it obvious! Kang Sol B will talk about it since plagiarism is a matter of ethics. When she has to confront about it, her ethics are being shaken. She has learned that not only did she break the law but also did something unethical.

Jeon Ye Seul’s abusive boyfriend is a son of someone who has a lot of followers in law. That gave him the advantage of doing unlawful acts such as violence and rape. He does them because he doesn’t fear the law, which he thinks will be easily taken care of by his father. So we see Ye Seul quoting about those fearless people being punished by law. Notice how she is pointing at the sky? That’s to refer to her asshole boyfriend, to whom she finally stood up to.

Min Bok Gi is just us. We get to see his character as a typical student. And let’s be honest, we’ve all said something like “we’re not machines” when we were being crushed by the amount of homework and assignments on us at some point. Bok Gi literally said that on behalf of all the students out there.

Seo Ji ho has a revengeful mentality. He has given up his whole life to study law just because he wants to avenge his father’s murderer. His quote suggests that treat people the way they have treated you.

Han Joon Hwi has a strong moral when it comes to justice. His uncle is his role model. That’s why he quoted something from his uncle instead of any other famous person, which again talks about judging fairly.

And finally the most chaotic character of the whole series, Kang Sol A. Who else will be able to break the chain but her? This indicates how she is not our regular legal minded person. She goes along with what she feels is right. And most importantly she doesn’t need to quote anything to prove how smart she is.