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randomgentlefolk · 23 days

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CPC EPILOGUE

One last...One last review...before...*gasp for air*...it all fall into the pit of daily pass...*dramatically fall into the ground*

ALL THOSE CHAPTERS. Those were some damn rollercoasters. And yet with everything we've been through, we're finally here...

Let's get right into it

JACK FINALLY REUNITING WITH LEELATHAE!! Relationship goal fr <3 This whole Leelathae portrait stuff is actually making me curious about some things. For instance like, does Leelathe still sleep? I mean, she's pretty much a spirit now, right? Does she still do daily human acitivities, or does she roam around the castle all day?

It's awesome to see what the pastel siblings are doing now! :D

First of all, Lorena definitely deserve that A+++++. No questions asked. Hopefully this can make up for her whole grade, considering she said she has never gotten an A in her entire life XD

I love how Maria is becoming really ambitious towards her dream!

And Gwen bonding with her mom's side of the family <3 That is simply so sweet. It looks like Jamie love those food XD I wonder what are the recipes for those dishes.

Also pretty curious what those little beads are! I assume they are berries?

Jamie and Leopold creating lots of paintings so Leelathae can venture around!! Since Leelathae can also visit dreams, do you think she visits each of her children's dream every night?

Old guard name reveal HECK YEAH!! I've been waiting for that. So happy he got all those recognitions and promotion!!

And Becket getting demoted lmaoo

Is it rude for me to say that with what Beckett did before the invasion (ignore Frederick), and how he immediately decided to confess to Maria without any consideration for the room, he kindaa had it coming? xd I get that he was excited but don't just do that man.

Just wanted to say I absolutely love Lorena's outfit in this panel! Between all of the pastel siblings, her fashion style has always been my favorite. VOTE QUEEN LORENA WOOOOO!!!!

Everyone's getting their appreciations like they deserve!! I'm happy for everyone.

FREDERICK FINALLY GETTING THE RECOGNITION, THE APPRECIATION, AND THE PROUDNESS HE DESERVE!! I'M SO PROUD OF HIM EVERYONE LOOK AT HIM. LOOK AT THE BOY.

The Cursed Princess Club!! Everyone may have a hard time accepting them at first but they always have their family and friends' back <3 Love how Tori is just "CLAP YOU HEATHENS" Lmao XD

Also the fact that Whitney is just standing there so awkwardly :') he looks like the standing emoji.

Welp, out of the town and to the prison we go~

Leland not getting any visitors in the prison is honestly a really good punishment; a painful one too. How we see in the last chapters about how he realized that Jack actually love him and he has a breakdown, Isolde's speech to him about what else could he possible want, realizing that this whole time he has had everything. And now he's rotting in jail losing everything he once had. All because of envy and hatred. Just because he wasn't satisfied until he could see the man he once love the most suffer. Emotionally, that's really fucking painful.

Out of the prison we go~

So, Pizza exist in the CPC universe? XD That's not supposed to be surprising but I was taken aback for some reason. I guess CPC is set after the 18th century, then!

I can imagine it already. With Suzie moving to the Pastel Kingdom, Lorena will definitely hang out with her almost everyday. Them sparring and eating at a cafe in their free time <3 Sometimes Lance would join too :] They would share notes!!

FINALLY THEY STOLE THE PORTRAIT BACK!! I wonder where they will hang it up? Maybe at the Cpc? Or at the Pastel Palace?

Jack declaring the cpc's forest as a protected place is so damn awesome like, he cares about his daughter's friends!! ALSO THE SPIDER TALKING ABOUT NEWEST MEMBER?? I wonder who...

This panel is everything for me.

BENEDICT IS SO DAMN DEVOTED WHAT??? BRO He tricked the sea cucumber to curse him so he can find his lover!!! (This sounds so confusing out of context lmao) TRUE RELATIONSHIP GOAL.

BLAQUELYN LOOKS SO PRETTY???? I LOVE HER FASHION STYLE SO MUCH!! She rocks that outfit fr!! But Greyden 💀 Deep down I'm still wondering how very little of his hair could make a whole damn coat..

GUYS. GUYS IT'S HAPPENING. EVERYBODY STAY CALM

NELL AND JOLIE WEDDING LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO

Holy shit. First of all another point about the outfits cause I loveee observing everyone's outfit!! Their wedding dress is absolutely!! Pretty!!! The details Lambcat put is amazing. I can see that Jolie's wearing high heels, so can we assume she and Nell has the same height? Absolutely adore how Jolie's dress has ruffles look while Nell's more silky!!

The wedding's decoration is totally magical too!! It looks so majestic and angelic.

Celso and Aurelia is a couple I would never expect but honestly? I'm not complaining. Imagine their date is them sitting at a cafe right at the window seats, watching people outside while roasting each one of them <3 Dream date fr

I do hope it's true love though because if not, R.I.P Celso XD

Holy shit.. EVERYONE PLEASE, ALLOW ME TO MAKE YET ANOTHER FASHION REVIEW. BECAUSE GOODNESS GRACIOUS THIS DRESS IS MAKING ME SWOON. OKAY DAMN YOU GO MARIA YOU GO. First of all the blue fabric looks so metallic, I love that!! The light blue glittery ruffles with little pearls on its edges are also gorgeous. I love the lace necklace complimenting the dress and especially, I fricking love the blue transculent fabric on her arms!!! She looks so graceful.

She got noticed by her idol!!! That is so dang amazing. How she looks in the album cover is also just, woah.

Blaine buddy you cannot just do that. You cannot just. No. Please I'm begging you, reunite with your family. You can go on ahead with your self discovery journey, of course! But at least visit them once or twice :') Your mom is real worried about you, man...

I hope there's going to be a spin off or something about Blaine's journey...

NEW CPC HEADQUARTER??? HECK YEAH!!

Monika opening her jewelry store and achieving her dream!! So proud of her :D and Gwen opening her own bakery!!

Unfortunately I've run out of picture space...

Gwen can finally see her own reflection I am so proud of her :') She love herself!!

Goodness...Leelathae's letter... I need a moment to sob.

I fricking love the message this webtoon gives, man. It's just so damn wholesome and important. Beauty is on the inside. It's a simple message but damn it really is important to understand that message!!

Gwen is wearing braids Y'ALL 😭😭 SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL

Okay, I'm wondering about something here! In the panel where the pastel family are having breakfast together, we can see Leelathae eating pancakes in her portrait too! Does this mean she can eat? Can food be transported to portraits? Or did Leopold paint a pancake or smth XD

THE LAST. FUCKING PANEL.

Gwen and Frederick holding hands in front of the CPC building while being surrounded by sunflowers which once scare Frederick but now he looks so happy and in peace. I'm so glad everyone each got their deserved ending :')

Well, I suppose this is the last review, then. That's kind of sad, to be honest. But I've loved writing each of my reviews, and I want to say thank you to people who have interracted with them. I always love hearing y'all's thought and theories!! Maybe one day I'll find a new webtoon series which I can write these reviews on!! But for now, this shall be the last cpc review I write!

Mono out! (But still in to hear your thoughts)

#cursed princess club #cpc #mono reviews

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thatoneluckybee · 4 months

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OKAY PROPAGANDA TIME! @yttd-enjoyerNo pressure for any of these lol, I added a lot because rambling and procrastination. I’m copy-pasting some descriptions from another post of mine. I was trying to look for some with good lore and magic systems, or that had great characters.

Cursed Princess Club: This one is adorable and hilarious. It’s a fantasy and comedy. The Pastel Kingdom has four children. The eldest, Maria, is 18, and so beautiful that forest animals follow her when she sings. The second oldest, Lorena, is 17, and so beautiful that flowers grow where she sleeps. The third child is prince Jamie, who is so beautiful that he is constantly GLOWING (literally.) And his twin sister, Gwendolyn, is the sweetest and perhaps most loved of all! The three sisters are happily engaged to the Plaid Princes. When Gwen meets her soon to be betrothed, though…. he finds her to be really, really, ugly. Gwen has to learn to love herself as she is with the help of a club for cursed princesses (and one prince who wants to change the club name desperately.) It’s hilarious. Someone swallows her fiance whole. Jamie can taste feelings through food and keeps accidentally violating HIPPA. Lorena beats the crap out of a bunch of clowns. Gwen keeps getting mistaken for an evil witch. There’s a really spoiled drunk llama named Laverne. Maria buys merch of her boyfriend’s fanclub. There’s an omniscient clam. It’s a glorious disaster. (Also that was what the screenshots I was losing my mind and spamming last night. I relate to the plaid guy on an eerie level. This one has INCREDIBLE character arcs and parallels and foreshadowing and details and AUGH)

Space Boy: This one is one of my all-time favorites, and I believe it deserves an award for it’s realistic character arcs and characters. I’d be convinced if you told me they were real people. Sci-Fi Romance. (A lot of romance. Not a particular favorite genre of mien it’s just like 70% of all Webtoons.) In the far future, humanity is exploring the furthest reaches of space using the freezing sleep thing (real thing, forgot name.) Amy lives happily on a mining colony in deep space, until her father loses his job, and she and her family are sent away from the colony, and everyone she knows, back to Earth, where she wakes up 30 years later (frozen sleep thing.) Amy is adjusting to life on Earth, the new technology, and trying to come to terms with the fact her best friend is now in her 40s and she’s missed it all in sleep. Amy’s identifying trait is synesthesia: to her, people have flavors to match their personalities! Well, everyone except a strange boy she meets a school, who refuses to speak to her, and doesn’t have a flavor, Oliver. Amy decides that she WILL find this kid’s flavor if it kills her, and manages to get herself roped in the most chaotic mystery involving ancient cults, alien artifacts, unsolved murders, a government conspiracy, and whether or not Oliver is actually who he says he is. It’s so sad but I love it so much and I want to send everyone to therapy. I don’t even like sci-fi usually so this was amazing for me.

Nomads: ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES. The concept is your stereotypical “there were five kingdoms after a war 100 years ago:” the Sun, Sea, Sand, Sky, and Snow kingdoms. To maintain the peace, traveling between the kingdoms is banned for average citizens. You may, however, choose to become a Nomad, and travel for a price: you can never have a permanent home. Lance of the Sea Kingdom REALLY doesn’t want to be a Nomad. However, his little brother Mikah goes missing, and Lance has to find him in one year (once Mikah turns 18 it’ll be impossible to find him.) It’s going well and dandy until some unfortunate circumstances result in him, his new traveling buddy Satra, and a magic talking cat-thing being mistakenly accused of kidnapping a prince. And now they’re wanted bounties. (This comic is HILARIOUS so many shenanigans and I love Satra so much.)

Castle Swimmer: Can’t reveal TOO much of this ‘cause spoilers but it’s a really really good story. It’s a fantasy romance too. In this society of “Mers” (merfolk), every kingdom has long awaited the day a mysterious, mythicaeing known as the Beacon arrives. He will grant each kingdom’s prophecy, be that granting them fortune or saving their lives. When the Beacon arrives, though, turns out he’s literally just some kid named Kappa who has no idea what he’s doing. Siren is the prince of the shark kingdom. They have a curse that will cause them to suffer and become covered in scars and eventually die. The only way they can break the curse is whenever the Beacon arrives—and Siren, as predicted, will kill him. The only problem is that Siren REALLY doesn’t want to be a murderer, and Kappa REALLY doesn’t want to die, and they both are pining HARD.

Suitor Armor: This is a romantic fantasy but I like it because it doesn’t feel boiled down to JUST a “will they won’t they.” Fairies and humans have been at war for as long as anyone can remember, with heavy losses on both sides. A Lord rescues a child, a little girl named Lucia, to be his daughter, Kirsi’s, lady-in-waiting until Kirsi marries a nearby king. The only issue? Lucia is a fairy, and she and the Lord must hide that if she wants to live. After they’ve grown up, Kirsi and Lucia go to the nearby kingdom to prepare for the wedding, where Lucia meets their mage’s newest creation: an enchanted, sentient suit of armor named Modeus. And now we’re all aggressivley shipping a tin can with one of the coolest women ever. (And I LOVE the magic system in this… we don’t know everything yet, it’s being revealed as time progresses, but it’s amazing in my humble little opinion.)

Homesick: Recommending this one since you’ve read School Bus Graveyard! It’s almost a “sister series” in that the fanbases overlap lots and the creators have done collabs too! Disclaimer that it’s mature for a reason. It covers a lot of dark topics and is a HORROR FOR A REASON. School Bus Graveyard is incredibly dark, but it sort of eases you in to the terror while Homesick tosses you in like a flailing child. If you do choose to read it I can provide trigger warnings, though it may spoil some plotlines a bit. Rayne (my pfp!) wakes up on a rooftop with no memories at all and meets a boy named Samael, who quickly informs her that it’s the apocalypse. Cannibalistic creatures called murks roam the land, feeding on anything that makes eye contact. Rayne and Samael form a deal to survive, but things get really, REALLY messy when they encounter someone from Samael’s past and get wrapped up in something that might just be worse than the apocalypse. On top of it all, Rayne has noticed some strange things about herself, including terrible headaches that warn her of murks… (It’s so good I love it but good lord it gets dark. I really want to say more about it but the story doesn’t jump right into the main action or plot right away so I CAN’T WITHOUT SPOILING IT SOB.)

Okay limiting myself to six for now sheesh I typed a lot.

#fambles #webtoon #webtoon recommendation #space boy #space boy webtoon #cpc #cursed princess club #nomads webtoon #homesick webtoon #suitor armor #castle swimmer #webtoon propaganda

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princess-unipeg · 1 year

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Cursed Princess Club Predictions 👑👸🤴🫅👑

Maria, Lorena and Jaimie will weaponize their gifts to defend their home with the CPC members lending a hand with their curses

Laverne is revealed to be a cursed royal and becomes a human. Laverne becomes cursed and becomes a were-human. Either outcome has her leaving Leland in the dust to become the mascot of the CPC.

The Plaid brothers overthrow their father and banished him from the Plaid Kingdom and their lives

Blaine became king and delegated all the paperwork to Frederick but then decides to just let Frederick become king while he becomes a pianist who accompanies Maria while she sings for concerts.

Frederick proves himself as a capable king as his policies that were previously dismissed became popular with his subjects.

Maria and Lorena forgives the Plaid Princes but decides to hold off their engagement and try to get to know them more first only to leave them for other people but they still remain amicable.

Frederick is the only one of the brothers to marry into the Pastel Royal family but only after years later after courting Gwen while becoming a confidant king.

Aurelia makes peace with her curse and decides to call her stepfather Ronald “dad” to show she’s forgiven him.

King Jack fulfill’s Lilyth’s third wish and brings out her portraits with Lord Leopold redoing them all in a more flattering light.

The Pastel Siblings finally visit the homeland of their late mother and meet their maternal grandparents.

The CPC decides to go public and expands their membership to other royals with problems not cursed related.

The Pastel Kingdom gains more allies through friendship thanks to the CPC and Frederick’s new policies.

#my post #my posts #cpc #the cursed princess club #cursed princess club webtoon #cursed princess club #headcanon #fan predictions #predictions

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cornus27florida · 5 months

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Plaid Princes Rebellion!!!

Plaid Princes Rebellions : theory Leland's plan basically hopes that princesses againsts Jack as swooned by his sons for wedding which make interesting question related to LambCat newest ig post - why only plaid princes that complete? Why no Lorena and Jamie??? Those 2 the main characters maan

In nutshell and personal opinion.. I think Lorena role in the story is quite done (she knows that Lance truly cares about her, and from here she should know the reason why CPC came in = Frederick, but after that not much to tell) and Jamie already get his happy ending (ep 163)

Which leaving the 8 characters : https://www.instagram.com/p/C1Sit6HyUqS/?igsh=MTd3bWxiMzdzNXJ2aQ==

GwenDerick reunion is a must as they're protagonist and deuteragonist respectively

Prez as tritagonist of CPC representative is a must as well, especially as in nutshell CPC exposing themselves to plaid and pastel kingdom = what will happen? This club and the members in nutshell, all GwenDerick shippers

Laverne there as LambCat self insert

Leland is the main antagonist, ultimate villain

But why marne there? I am not talking in romantic sense, but in the way of them being the eldest in their respective kingdom - they held highest power of decision as both of the kings unavailable.. With Blaine as the ace of Leland, he likely knows everything about the "stupid" Plan.. And utter the honesty about lies that Leland utter - like what Maria in the imagination tell

Frederick knows how hypocrite his father is - about books especially (if my theory from MEPHISTO fanfic turn out to be true = Frederick knows the inside of his father's office)

Jumps at the middle part where Leland tricking Frederick so he got trapped in prison for weeks

Lance knows about the portrait that made as sickening home visit gift, and that's stolen item

So in conclusion - the rebellions hinted by the princess word, and over analyzing IG post

Here some random screenshoot to enforce:

#cursed princess club #cpc theories #cpc theory #plaid princes #character analysis

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jidem · 11 months

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So, yesterday i asked you all what your favorite character was, and you were all extremely based and i wanted to befriend all of you. Today tho? Today i want to make ennemies (affectionate).

So.

Pastel Princess x Plaid Princes :

Are they gonna break up or what?

Discuss.

Ill put my own thoughts under the read more. I also would like to say that even tho ive worded this like a call to discourse for comedic purpose, i dont think there's any wrong answer here, and i'd just like to discuss the BEST WEBTOON OUT THERE.

So i dont think im controversial when i say that gwen and Frederick arent in any real danger here? Like! They've talked! There's still are some things that would benefit from being talked further, but the heavy communication lifting is DONE. Those kids are, despite everything, still in a position where it's going to take all of one (1) conversation for them to make up and hopefully make out.

Tho i say that but Gwen is going through some serious emotional damage rn, so those crazy kids might decide to still take a break to rethink their relationship, which i mean. Good! For! Them. I dont have any doubts they'll rekindle even in that case, however.

Maria and Blaine tho 😬

Well. I say that but actually, i think that they still stand an okay chance. Blaine has NOT been showing the best of himself out here, and im still waiting to know how much of that was just an act before giving my FINAL JUDGMENT, but if there's some good intentions in there, then not everything's lost. Those two have been communicating, after all. Blaine has made a scincere effort to get to know Maria, and he has shared some of his doubt with her as well! That's good that's a good base ! Of course then he betrayed her and attacked her castle, she used his insecurities against him, and we still dont know how on board with The Plan:tm: he actually is, which does put a damper in my optimism.

I would be really disappointed if they just got back together immediately after the final arc. Those two NEED to take a serious break. It would be very good for Maria to consider some other options, and it would be GREAT for Blaine to get some therapy. I think that they need some time away from each other to reconsider. And if after that they wanna try again? Great! I really do think that those two can work together.

Lorena and Lance tho i really cant say the same thing. Of the three, i think that they have the highest chances of breaking up for good. They never really learned anything about each other deeper than surgace level, they have very conflicting life goals, and i think not enough deep affection toward each other to work through it. Plus, Lorena being the "warrior" amongst her sister, and aiming to take over the military, i just dont see her forgiving the man who INVADED HER KINGDOM.

Now, i do think that those two would be amazing besties, and i wish them a long and fructuous friendship. But it would take a LOT of legwork in a VERY short time for me to buy them as a romantic couple.

#cursed princess club #cpc #cpc frederick #cpc gwen #cpc lance #cpc blaine #cpc maria #cpc lorena #Jidem's silly theories #Watch my aromantic ass analyse fictional couple

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peefartress2 · 6 months

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part 1: lorena

an au where the pastel children's oddities are a bit more... extreme.

The thing is, Lorena knew that her friendship with Suzie wasn’t all like she made it out to be. There was a point in time where she really, really did believe that they were good friends. She looked past all rhyme or reason that would ever make her think they weren’t, and now she didn’t know why she ever thought Suzanna Winchester was on her side.

One question lingered in her mind: did she regret it, that half-baked excuse of a friendship? Every match that she cheered for her in? Their friendly battles? Her one-sided longing (?) for a friend like Suzie?

It sucked, thought Lorena as she rammed her fist into a punching bag, sweat beading at her forehead. (The gym was her private playground, the go-to place to work out in. No one thought to interrupt her training here.) It sucked because she wanted to hate Suzie so bad, for seeing her as a way to get to Lance, and she wanted to hate Lance for using her for power- because yeah, she understood the marriages in the first place were for their Kingdoms. But this felt different, it hurt, and it was why it hurt that she couldn’t understand. Maybe it was because of how genuine Lance was- or seemed. How much of that was real and how much of that was fake? And that just made her sad, which made her more angry, which made her so much more confused.

Tantrums from Lorena were common when she was a little princess. There would be no dessert left for 4 year old Lorena and she would get angry and violent, then thorns would form on her skin and Molly had to take care of all of it. Dear Molly, she was so steadfast and patient for dealing with all four Pastel Children as the King went on his missions. As well as Miss Agatha, who had helped nurture Lorena’s education, and was very familiar with young Lorena’s tear-stained face, red with frustration with a sheet of numbers that could only stare back at her. Miss Agatha decided she wouldn’t give Lorena worksheets anymore- it just didn’t work. And when things wouldn’t work, Lorena grew more rotten flowers that wouldn’t go away for days. A lot more made sense when Lorena was diagnosed with ADHD at 14 and she learned how to manage better. No one forget those legendary tantrums, however…

With Lorena’s ability to grow plants and flowers around her, it was sometimes that the flowers would grow inside her if her emotions went out of check. So the tantrums and the fits has to happen less. By the time she was age 15 Lorena was confident it wouldn’t happen again. But things growing on the surface of her body never happened before again… until now.

That morning after the Gala. Lorena remembered getting home in a silent fury, a disbelief and a great, blazing white anger. How could it be that someone who you swore to protect would be the one who would end up hurting you? Lance. Prince Lance of the Plaid Kingdom. He’d told her the most he’d ever wanted was to see his loved ones succeed. Flash forward one proposal later. She and Maria held a shaking Gwendolyn in their arms, who shrunk into herself as she weeped. They all cried and were left wondering if their father had been right in his caution- for when one of them ached, they all ached together.

Some stupid part of her still saw Suzie as a friend. She wanted to trust her so bad, cause what other friends did she have after that whole thing with Lance? Maybe Suzie was right to point out the conflicts in their goals, because now the gravity of marriage really started to settle in for her. She was so close with going through with it too… she hadn’t even had her own 18th birthday party. Birthdays for the Pastel Kids weren’t big parties or anything, but they felt real special, even compared to the splendor of a Plaid Social Event that was Lance’s birthday party… the very party she met Suzie.

Man.

“Stupid…!”

“Freakin…!”

“GAHHHH!” She’d hit a fierce jab after jaw-busting uppercut after killer right hook. The punching bag she practiced on seemed more exhausted than she was.

Lorena looked down at her hands and noticed they seemed to be rough and course. Her hands felt… angry, like they wanted to strangle and choke someone- and for a second, she was scared of herself. She needed to tell Molly or Miss Agatha or anyone, in fear that it may happen again. The moment she felt the fear of losing control, the quicker the thorns began to grow, and the rougher her skin became as they clumped up in different areas like tree bark.

Get out, get out, get out!!

The hallway doors burst open as Lorena dashed down the hall.

I want to run, she thought, and she commanded her feet to take her as far away as they could. She had no need for shoes, for the soles of her feet has become rough and coarse and green; like the tough material of tree bark.

Her feelings only grew.

#cookie crumbles #cursed princess club #series: pastel oddities #some lorena angst #i legitimately wrote this a year ago 💀💀💀💀#but yeah this au!! :)#could be seen as an extension from canon for lorena #but the other three have bigger power adjustments

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hello-from-the-night-archives · 1 year

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Was inspired by some similar posts to make a CPC bingo card!

[image ID: Cursed Princess Club Final Season Bingo

The options are:

Canon aromantic Prez

Gwendrick wedding!!!

Maria holds recital

Leland gets punched in the face

The 2 kings duel

The CPC fight Leland

CPC is no longer secret

Agatha/Curtis is canon

Jamie/Leopold is canon

Princels character development

Lorena and Suzanna fight

Lorena and Suzanna get together

Free Space

Isolde gets everything in the divorce

Lorena’s project is a weapon

Benedict makes an appearance

Witch helps pastel kingdom

Gwen wakes up bc she loves herself!!

Jellie wedding!!

The plaid brothers make up

Time skip at the end

Someone’s curse is cured

Laverne saves the day

Maria/Beckett is canon

Frederick and Gwen become king and queen]

#my post #cpc #cursed princess club #bingo #cpc spoilers

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historyhermann · 1 year

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Webcomics Focus: "Cursed Princess Club"

Cursed Princess Club tells the story of a princess, Gwendolyn, who stumbles upon a group of outcasts known as the Cursed Princess Club. Her life is forever changed.

Reprinted from The Geekiary, and Wayback Machine. This was the twenty-eighth article I wrote for The Geekiary. This post was originally published on February 2, 2022. Also, this post has been slightly changed from the original.

Cursed Princess Club by LambCat is a comedy. It centers around Gwendolyn, a princess with a big heart, who joins those cast out of society, who help her realize that even though she isn't "normal," she can still be a princess like all the others.

As a warning, this review discusses some spoilers for Cursed Princess Club!

Gwendolyn, the 16-year-old daughter of the king of the Pastel Kingdom has two sisters (Maria and Lorena) and a brother (Jamie). She and her sisters are excited about the princes from the Plaid Kingdom (Lance, Blaine, and Frederick) their father requested they marry. While Lance and Blaine bond with Maria and Lorena, Frederick does not bond with Gwen. Instead, he calls her "really ugly." After inadvertently overhearing this, she runs into the haunted forest, wanting to get away from everything. She is frightened by a group of mysterious women and awakens in the headquarters of the Cursed Princess Club. And the story goes on from there.

The King and his daughters

Cursed Princess Club has compelling characters and storyline. There is a focus on identity and acceptance. For instance, Gwen finds acceptance among the Cursed Princess Club (CPC), headed by Calpernia, composed of princesses like Nell, Jolie, Syrah, Thermidora, Monika, Abbi, Aurelia, Renée, and Safron (a man, but part of the club), with "incurable" curses. Later on, it is revealed that one of the CPC members, Nell, is the girlfriend of Jolie.

Apart from the CPC, Gwen's siblings are nice and caring. In fact, they raise her self-esteem, as does her father, who wants to marry her off. None of them care what she looks like and accept her for who she is.

There is a funny gag throughout the comic where people continually think Jamie (Gwen's brother) is a girl because of his feminine looks and hair, when he is actually a man. In this way, the comic subverts gender norms, and pushes back the idea that girls have to be physically "pretty" to be beautiful, with the idea that people can be loved no matter what they look like The CPC itself is a place for those who don't fit "societal expectations."

There is even, in one comic, a ceremony to awaken Jamie with a kiss, but people don't want to kiss him because he is "too pretty," and instead he is awoken when a waffle falls on his face. The comic is inspired by "Disney-esque fairy tales" and trying to turn those tropes upside down, than everything being hunky-dory for the princess despite her "curse."

Cursed Princess Club, has over a 100 episodes is written and illustrated by LambCat. In a 2019 interview, LambCat said she came up with the idea of the comic in 2019, liking the idea of "creating a comedy centered around fairy tales," and began imagining a world where fairytales weren't just success stories but there were princesses weren't "able to lift their curse successfully" or weren't saved, creating their own happily-ever-afters.

LambCat also said that Gwen plays on the trope of a female protagonist ignored or ridiculed for their looks but becomes loved by all when she becomes "conventionally attractive," with the character meant to remind people that "outward looks are just a small fraction of what makes someone lovely." She noted that Gwen's siblings were meant to look like "very stereotypical 90’s shoujo anime girls." In a 2020 interview, she added that she was glad people sympathized with Frederick, who grew as a character during the comic. Lambcat also said she hired new art assistants to help her, and stated that the future comic will be "4 acts" like most fairytales.

Unlike many other comics, Cursed Princess Club has music which accompanies each issue of the webcomic. LambCat has said that she added music because she feels it "brings extra life to the story." It is amazing that this is LambCat's first foray into comics, releasing over 100 tracks along with the comic to date! This is also thanks to the art assistants, which allow for more comic panels for each episode, and her editor, Eunice Baik. She has further said that she hopes the comic will inspire people who are "afraid their art isn’t good enough to make a comic."

Gwen and the CPC

Cursed Princess Club is available to read on Line Webtoon. It can be supported on Patreon.

You can find LambCat on Twitter and Instagram.

#cursed princess club #webtoon #webtoons #webcomics #lgbtq #lambcat #disney

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the-backwards-eel · 2 years

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Maria: Oh! Jamie! Are you going to get your portrait painted next?

Jamie: Hm? No…?

Lorena: Then why is Leopold’s sketchbook filled with drawings of you?

Jamie: Because I’m beautiful!

Gwendolyn: …

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annimalprint · 4 years

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Just your friendly neighborhood cpc fan!

#cursed princess club #cpc #webtoons #web comics #gwendolyn #cpc gwen #lambcat #plaid kingdom #pastel kingdom #princess gwen #princess maria #princess lorena #prince jamie

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thefreakishmuffin · 2 years

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Cursed Princess Club Analysis: Maria and Blaine, Lust vs. Love

(No pictures today because I don’t have the time to go grab them, but I’ve been wanting to write this for a while, so I hope ya’ll give it a read).

I think it’s fair to say that, out of all the relationships we’ve seen so far in Cursed Princess Club, the most shallow one by far has to be between Princess Maria and Prince Blaine. So let’s just cut to the core of it.

Both Maria and Blaine are very focused on appearances rather than the person as a whole. This includes both how they view themselves and how they view each other. And their relationship explores the dynamic of Lust vs. Love.

Blaine, as both the crowned prince of his respective kingdom and an extremely popular male model, with hoards of drooling fangirls swooning every time he enters a room, has come to pride himself on his beauty. He doesn’t mention it too often, but it’s there. We see this when Lord Leopold does his portrait and leaves out Blaine’s six-pack. We bear witness to just how seriously Blaine takes his appearance. He furiously asks Leopold about including his abs in the portrait, only for Leopold to mention that he “can’t paint what isn’t there.” This brings Blaine even further down in a spiral he was already descending, where he began to feel like he wasn’t living up to his father’s expectations.

Maria is a little bit of a different case. From what we’ve seen in the backstory between Jack and Leelathae, the Pastel royal family took their beauty and looks very seriously. They made it a point to try and produce the most beautiful and attractive offspring they could, so it’s no wonder that the children of Jack and Leelathae, with Maria being the oldest, turned out as lovely as they did.

However, Maria and her siblings don’t seem to have been raised with the lesson of “you must be beautiful” hanging over their heads like their ancestors did. Maria is naturally beautiful, but she didn’t need to anybody to tell her this. Not because she is vain, but because growing up isolated from the judgmental gaze of the outside world sheltered her from any reason to question her appearance.

So while Maria never fixates on her own looks, she does fixate on the looks of others. Primarily her fiance, Blaine. We see as soon as she lays eyes on him that she is smitten with him. But she isn’t smitten with his personality or him as a person, but simply just that he is one of, if not the most attractive man she has ever laid eyes on. From then on she is found to consistently focus on his appearance, and how handsome he is. She even goes as far as to buy Blaine-themed merch from his fangirls, and even has all this merch displayed up in her bedroom at home.

We hear her talk to Dandridge about her love for Blaine, saying that he is perfect from head to toe and without fault (we’ll dive into this conversation a bit more later). And when she and Blaine talk and it sounds like the subject is going in a potentially sexual direction, we see Maria practically foaming at the mouth in desire, only to snap back into reality when she discovers Blaine is referring to something completely innocent.

This is obviously where the lust sets in. We find that Maria sees Blaine as an object of desire, and not so much a person who is perfectly capable of having faults like anybody else. To carry on through this analysis, I need to bring up the differences between lust and love.

Lust is based on intense desire, often sexual in nature (but not always). It is focused more on physical wants and desires rather than romantic or emotional. Lust tends to come and go quickly. Relationships founded on lust tend to be fairly short-lived after the flame dies out, usually when one party or the other starts to see flaws and faults within the other.

Love is based on emotional, mental, and sometimes even spiritual connection. It can be experienced with or without lust. And while lust tends to hit pretty quickly, love, real love, takes time to grow and develop. It comes from understanding the other person and seeing all their strengths, quirks, and flaws and accepting them regardless.

There doesn’t seem to be too much lust on Blaine’s end, but it’s very prevalent on Maria’s end. Maria, who has been isolated from the world growing up, who appears to have quite the childish look on how love works and operates.

But, over time, she does make efforts to improve. She has her conversation with Dandridge about love, and him explaining that her fiance likely wants what everybody wants, to be accepted faults and all, is when it hits Maria. Those words have struck a chord with her. And so, she decides to make efforts to support and understand Blaine emotionally rather than drooling at his good looks. She takes moments to talk to him face to face about what she’s feeling, and takes his responses into account in order to understand his emotions as well. At the gala, during his piano recital where he seems ready to give up, Maria bursts in and cheers him on (It’s in a rather loud and bombastic way, but it’s the thought that counts). When he opens up to her about feeling that he’ll never be good enough for his father, she assures him that he shouldn’t have to worry about that, offering words of encouragement.

However, this all falls apart in episode 132. Blaine proposes to Maria and only mentions how entranced he is by her beautiful looks. He doesn’t mention anything else about her, only her physical beauty, showing just how much appearances matter to him. And then he drops one of the most savage, emotional bombshell lines in the entire series, when he tells Maria and her sister Lorena, “You two are actually beautiful!”, in regards to Frederick calling Gwen “ugly.”

This. This is the line that breaks everything. I do not believe that Blaine is truly a bad person, but throwing out such a hurtful line goes to show just how highly he values physical attractiveness as opposed to emotional connection and inner beauty. And it’s here that it finally clicks for Maria. She realizes that there was no real love here. Not really. And even though Maria had started to make progress in seeing and accepting his faults, this one is a deal-breaker for her. Showing that he believes that Gwen, Maria’s precious little sister, is ugly, is enough to snap Maria out of her lust-fuled mindset and face the reality of what is really going on. This was all intended to be a political union of continence that held no basis on love. And it is here that she throws the ring back at him, breaking their engagement off.

So what? What am I trying to say with this extensive analysis on the relationship of two characters that are not our main couple? Cursed Princess Club has been very good about showing us different kinds of love. Love between siblings, the love a father has for his children, the love between friends, romantic love, and even more importantly, how to love ourselves. But there is a topic in regards to love that I haven’t seen acknowledged here yet, and that is telling the difference between feeling lust or having a crush on someone as opposed to actually falling in love with them. We can get so caught up in the emotions of the moment, that we may fail to take the time to think and process if whether these feelings are fleeting or have the potential to be long-lasting.

What the story (so far) of Cursed Princess Club teaches us is that looks are only skin-deep. What matters is underneath. Who the person is. What are they made of? What makes them tick? What are their positive and negative qualities? There are two sides of the same coin here. While the love story of Gwen and Frederick explores a relationship built on getting to know one another, I believe that the ‘love’ story between Blaine and Maria exists on the opposite side. Although they try to get to know and understand each other later down the line, it initially started out as pure physical attraction and nothing more.

And that is why the relationship between Princess Maria and Prince Blaine was always doomed to fail.

#cpc #cursed princess club #cpc analysis #cursed princess club analysis #cpc maria #cpc blaine #cursed princess club maria #cursed princess club blaine #cpc gwen #cursed princess club gwen #webtoon #webtoon analysis #wow I spend a solid hour on this #but I had this in my mind and I just had to get it out

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screechingcheesecakecheesecake · 2 years

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The engagement between the Plaid and Pastel children

After rereading the chapter today, I have been wondering, why is Plaid King rushing the marriage so much?

If my memory serves me right, the marriage was brought up three times.

First is after the amusement park dates.

Next is during Gwen's dinner party.

And the third is during the gala

Although, notice how Maria is the one who said it, but the idea was brought because of what Blaine had said. And Blaine?

(Blaine sweety looks so terrified of his own father)

It was brought up, by Plaid King.

None of them are really rushing their relationships, in fact, after Jack had initially rejected the marriage, the Princesses and the Princes have been enjoying their time getting to know each other on deeper levels instead. In fact, both of the initial marriages was rejected by Jack.

And initially, Plaid King was bringing it up on Jack's presence, but after the rejection, it feels like he had resorted to forcing the marriage to continue by getting the princesses to accept the proposals in secret.

So why is Plaid King rushing it so much? Jack had mentioned before that he needed more time to find something before he can think about marrying his children off. I feel like that had sealed the deal for Plaid King that the marriage isn't going to happen anytime soon.

But regardless of Jack's wishes, he wants the marriage to continue as soon as possible.

To be honest, I don't feel like this is out of love. It's like he wants the Pastel Kingdom to be tied down to his kingdom. I feel like he was the one who proposed the arranged marriage in the first place and Jack accepted it because he wholeheartedly trusts Plaid King.

I feel like Plaid King is still bitter about Jack "betraying" him before. He got Laverne because it reminded him of Jack. I feel like he proposed to the Plaid Queen to perhaps make Jack jealous but it backfired because Jack was genuinely happy for him.

Heck, he doesn't even remember their first meeting but Jack does.

Maybe the Plaid Queen knew that she was used, and that she knew that her love rival is Jack, which is why she disliked the Pastel Children.

Also one of the things that Plaid King said that made me feel so bad about her.

(I forgot that his name is Leland)

There is a lot to say to how Jack raises his children but he genuinely loves them. And he loves Leelathae so much. Of course he is gonna gush about them. But it's like Leland isn't into the idea of it.

Maybe his competitive mentality that was passed down to his children was because he felt like he "lost" to Leelathae. Its so obvious that he is infatuated to Jack but its like he didn't manage to confess to him because Jack fell in love with Leelathae.

I lowkey hope I'm wrong because Jack trusts Leland so much, its heartbreaking if he had an ulterior motive all these time.

tl;dr Leland may have an ulterior motive behind the Pastel and Plaid engagement which is why he is rushing it.

I wonder if this would result to this scene:

#cursed princess club webtoon #cursed princess club

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inthedayswhenlandswerefew · 3 years

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We Were Something, Don’t You Think So? [Chapter 2: The Middle Of Nowhere]

You are a Russian Grand Duchess in a time of revolution. Ben Hardy is a British government official tasked with smuggling you across Europe. You hate each other.

This is a work of fiction loosely inspired by the events of the Russian Revolution (1917-1923) and the downfall of the Romanov family. Many creative liberties were taken. No offense is meant to any actual people. Thank you for reading! :)

Song inspiration: “the 1” by Taylor Swift.

Chapter warnings: Lots of shouting, if you never learned about the Russian Revolution then here's your mini crash course, references to historical stuff like violence and disease, Kroshka the mule emerges as the only emotionally stable character.

Word count: 4.1k.

Link to chapter list (and all my writing): HERE.

Please let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist! 💜

Taglist: @imtheinvisiblequeen @okilover02 @adrenaline-roulette @youngpastafanmug @m-1234 @tensecondvacation @deacyblues @haileymorelikestupid @rogerfuckintaylor @yourlocalmusicalprostitute @im-an-adult-ish @someforeigntragedy @mo-whore

I wake up feeling harder, as if sleeping on the ground with all its stones and cool indifference has taught my spine to straighten, to endure. This is a welcome revelation. I will need to be resilient, for my family and for myself. I also wake determined to set things right with my rescuer. I am a perfectly charming person, Mother and Papa have always said so; I’m not painfully shy like Olga, or aloof like Tati, or rather dull like Maria, and I certainly don’t run around putting frogs in people’s shoes like Anastasia. I make for excellent company. Surely Ben will realize this and we will become inseparable travel companions.

Outside in the overcast brisk morning air, Ben is already busy tacking the mule. He glances over and tosses me an apple. It bounces out of my floundering hands and rolls off into the woods. This is not an auspicious start to the day.

“You’ll still have to eat that,” Ben says. “There’s no extra food. I was only able to ask for as much as I could justify needing myself.”

“Right.” I go fetch the apple—rummaging around in leaves and sticks and shrubs—and take a bite, even though it’s bruised and definitely tastes like dirt. I beam at Ben triumphantly. I am tough! I am daring! I am enchanting! I can pull my own weight on this journey!

Ben doesn’t seem to notice. He pats the mule’s thick brown neck and smiles fondly at her. “How are we feeling this morning, Kroshka? Hmm? Who’s a lovely mule? Who’s going to take us all the way to the Trans-Siberian Railroad without even one measly word of complaint? That’s right, you are! Yes you are!” He lands a smacking kiss on the velvety grey fur of her muzzle.

I attempt polite conversation; more than that, I endeavor to learn about my dashing yet evasive rescuer. “So, tell me Ben, have you worked for Sir Buchanan long?”

“Four years,” Ben replies curtly.

“And you are…” I think of his notebook. “A…writer of some sort for him…?”

“I’m his press attaché.”

“Ah.” I recognize the French word for ‘attach,’ but not its meaning in the context of employment with an ambassador. “I can’t say I know what that entails.”

“I handle Sir Buchanan’s relations with the Russian newspapers. Drafting statements and briefing him on local opinions and the like. And since his health has declined, I find myself delivering some of his particularly confidential correspondence.”

“Oh, I see. And he could spare you for this mission? It seems like a burden that would be better carried by a man with military or exploratory experience.”

“My Russian is passable. And I can tolerate rougher conditions than most.” He points to a pile of clothes he’s laid out on a tree stump. “Those are for you. There’s a stream out that way.” He flicks a thumb towards the east. “Get ready however you need to, but be prepared to leave in fifteen minutes.”

I examine the clothing: plain and practical undergarments, a heavy wool sweater, stockings, boots, and something unexpected. I hold them up with clammy hands. “These are…” I swallow noisily. “Trousers.”

“Yes. They’re travel attire. Comfortable and easy to maneuver in if we need to move quickly.”

“I’ve never worn trousers before.”

“I thought you were amenable to a…a…what did you call it? An adventure. A grand adventure.” He says this melodramatically, like there’s some humor in it. Like he’s mocking me.

“I suppose I am,” I mutter, still scrutinizing the trousers.

“Fifteen minutes,” Ben reminds me sternly. Then he begins to disassemble the tent.

I trudge off through the woods until I find the stream. I clean myself with ice-cold water, drink it down until my teeth ache, change out of my nightgown and into these strange new clothes—Trousers! Mother would lock me in church for a month!—and gaze up into the cloudy, pastel blue sky that peeks between the fingers of the trees. It is very still here, and cold, and deathly quiet. I try to remember the last time I was truly alone, without Mother or Papa or my siblings or servants or guards within shouting distance. There is none that I can remember; perhaps there is none at all. Out here in the Siberian wilderness I feel unmoored from civilization, diminutive, vulnerable, peculiarly inconsequential. I decide I don’t like being alone. By the time I return to our campsite, Ben is ready and waiting beside the loaded cart. His right hand is resting on a clunky metal monster with ‘Olivetti’ written on it.

“I’m a press attaché,” he says with a mischievous grin. “And you’re a typist.”

“A what?”

“You work for Sir Buchanan’s office as a typist. That’s our story, anyway. You came along to assist me during my audience with the former tsar, and now we’re traveling back to Sir Buchanan’s headquarters in Saint Petersburg. So if anyone happens to ask, that’s what you are to tell them. Oh, and you’re British. Your English sounds clean enough.”

“Alright,” I reply, still gaping at the metal monster like a black box with gnashing fangs. “But what is that?”

Ben’s jaw falls open. “You don’t…?” Then he rubs his forehead, sighing deeply. “Jesus Christ. You’ve never used a typewriter. Of course you haven’t. Great. Fantastic.”

“We always write by hand. My penmanship is flawless, Mother saw to that.” She’s still battling with Anastasia, but that’s a war that may go on as long as the one between the sun and the moon.

“Okay. Okay. This works out, actually. Because I’m not going to entertain you all day. So here is your assignment.” Ben slaps the back of what he tells me is a typewriter, and then waves for me to come closer. He reaches into the pocket of his coat and produces a British passport. Every line is filled out except for the name. He slides the paper into the machine and makes some bewildering adjustments. “So, you insert the paper, set the carriage—that’s this roller-type piece here—and type.” He taps forcefully on the keys until two words appear in the blank reserved for the passport holder’s name: Lana Brinkley.

“That’s me?” I ask doubtfully.

Ben smirks, amused. “That’s you.”

“So you could have given me a better name if you wanted to!”

“But then how would you learn humility?” He removes the fraudulent passport, shakes the paper until it dries, folds it into a neat little square, and slips it back into his coat pocket. “If you’re typing a longer message, the typewriter will ding when you’ve reached the end of each line. Then you use the lever to move the paper down, reset the carriage, and resume typing.”

I nod, but without much confidence. This seems complicated.

“You said you wanted a carriage,” Ben teases.

“Yes, one with magnificent draft horses and velvet seats and preferably no less than two servants. Not…whatever that is.”

“Well, if you’re going to pass for a typist, I’m afraid you must learn to type.” He finds me a stack of blank paper in his collection of bags and trunks, and then climbs into the front of the cart as I get into the back. The trousers, I hate to admit to myself, do make it easier to move around, although I’m not sure I approve of how much they accentuate the shape of my body. The thought of Ben looking at me in them gives me a plunging sort of feeling that is half-mortification and half-thrill…not that he has exhibited any interest at all. “Before we go any farther, do you have anything with you that I don’t know about?”

He means things like the heirlooms I have squirreled away in the large steamer trunk: the jewels sewn into my dress, the photograph. I can sense that he wouldn’t want me to have them, although I’m not sure why. In any case, I have no intention of giving them up. The jewels are the only thing of value that I have to trade if we find ourselves in a desperate situation. The photograph is the only string left that connects me back to my family, my home. “No,” I reply primly.

“Good.” He whistles at the mule and she tugs us through the trees and out onto the dirt road that leads, eventually, to the train station. As we ride joltingly along, the creaky cart wheels bumping over every rock and mound and muddy trough, I practice my typing: very slowly at first, and with only my index fingers. I read aloud as I go, gradually picking up speed.

“There once was a German princess born in the Duchy of Hesse. She was very beautiful but very shy. She had a wonderful talent for playing piano, but would run and hide if anyone asked her to perform in public. One day, when she was attending the wedding of her sister, the princess met a prince from a distant kingdom. They were only children, but they instantly knew they had found true love. They snuck off together and carved their names into a window pane. Over the years, each conspired to marry the other. They refused many suitors and wrote each other hundreds of letters. His family did not approve of the princess’s religion and lack of charisma; her family did not approve of the prince’s distant and troubled nation. But at last it became apparent to all that no earthly forces could keep the couple apart. Ten years after their first meeting, the prince and princess were finally married. And they lived joyously and peacefully in each other’s service for the rest of their days.”

Ben lights one of his hand-rolled cigarettes. The smoke doesn’t bother me; on the contrary, it reminds me of Papa smoking his pipe in his study, in the garden, as he read to us by the fireplace, as he danced with Mother in ballrooms back when she could still dance. It reminds me of home. “I’m not sure if you’ll ever give Shakespeare a run for his money, but I’ll admit I’m marginally entertained.”

I smile to myself, sentimental warmth rising in my face. “It’s Papa and Mother’s story.”

“Huh. I didn’t know your people were allowed to marry for love.”

By ‘your people,’ he seems to mean royalty, and there is some derision in his deep voice. “Well, surely duty must come first. But when love can accompany it, that’s a happy coincidence.”

“And what if duty compels you to marry a man who is, say, cruel? Or dreadfully boring? Or in love with another woman? Or who closely resembles a mole-rat?”

I resume my typing with a new exercise. For each letter of the alphabet, I type a French word that begins with it. “I don’t think that sort of thing happens very often.”

“But if it did.”

I shrug, not especially enjoying this topic of discussion. “Then duty comes first, as I said. But I believe most royal couples are perfectly content. At least nine out of every ten.”

“That many!” Ben marvels sarcastically. “Have you ever considered that your own personal experience, as pleasant as it may be, could be coloring your perception of how the world works?”

I ignore him and continue my typing. Attaché for A, bisou for B, croissant for C, doux for D…

After a moment, Ben says: “You aren’t going to regale me with another fairytale? I’m devastated.”

“I’m busy practicing my French now. Please don’t intrude.”

“You speak French as well as Russian and English?” He sounds impressed; for a split second anyway, just long enough for me to catch it like a firefly in my fist.

“And Italian, and Latin. And I’ve just started on Japanese.”

“But no German? That seems like it would be an easier beast to slay.”

“I’ve always purposefully avoided learning it, even though Mother’s family is German. I never envisioned myself marrying a German. I figured Maria could take that bullet. She doesn’t care, she’d marry anyone who could give her a castle and ten babies and a bulldog or two. I would say she was a milkmaid in a past life, but Mother’s heart would stop dead if she thought I subscribed to reincarnation.”

“Not fond of Germans?” Ben asks. “Well, who can blame you. Half the world isn’t fond of them at the moment.”

“I suppose they weren’t so awful before the Great War. But they’re rather boorish, aren’t they? They always sound like they’re angry. Like someone just stole their horse and they’re screaming at them from the front porch to come back or else.” I smile dreamily as I type. “I’ve always fancied the thought of marrying a prince from a glamorous, romantic kingdom. Maybe Italy or Greece. There has even been talk of me marrying Uncle George’s eldest son David. He’s rather beguiling. Tall and slim. Clear blue eyes like a lake. And he’s going to be the king of the British Empire one day, you know. We could holiday together in beautiful, sunny colonies like the Bahamas.”

“You’re still as important as all that? Important enough to make a marriage of that political significance, I mean.” Ben glances back at me and lifts one thick, dark, inquisitive eyebrow. “Seeing as your family doesn’t have a kingdom anymore.”

This is an insensitive thing for him to say. I frown down at the typewriter. “A wife almost always assumes the kingdom of her husband, so why should she require her own? She needs only sound breeding and a suitable temperament. And besides, we might yet return one day.”

Ben twists all the way around to stare at me, the reigns falling out of his hands. Fortunately, the mule seems to know her own way around. “I’m sorry, what?”

“It has been a brutal few years. The Great War, the supply shortages, the bad harvests…the people are frustrated, and understandably so. They lashed out blindly, at those who didn’t deserve it, at us. But the dust will clear. And when it does, I think the Russian people will come to their senses and realize that they want us back. That they need us.”

“Are you insane?” Ben snaps. “Are you utterly brainless? What’s floating around in that skull besides fiction and languages you’ll never use once you’re married off to some prince who only sees you as a broodmare?”

“How dare you! You can’t speak to me like this—!”

“For years, for a bloody decade, Sir Buchanan warned your father about what was coming. He tried to get him to moderate his views, to give the people more voice in government, to stop murdering them when they protested. And when none of that worked and the end was apparent, Sir Buchanan tried to convince your father to abdicate long before he did. Don’t you understand?! None of this needed to happen! Your family could have fled to Britain years ago, before the animosity against your father spread like wildfire across the globe, and Russia could have established their own parliament like Britain’s and negotiated a peace treaty to stay out of the war and none of us would be here now if not for your father’s selfish, pointless obstinacy—!”

“My father is a good man,” I choke out as hot, furious tears burn in my eyes.

“And he was a terrible ruler!” Ben shoots back like artillery. “He ordered protesters to be butchered, he sent untrained boys to die in some other country’s war, he clung to the throne for no one’s benefit but his own—”

“And what about my benefit?” I demand, still weeping, feeling monstrously like a child. “What about my mother’s and my sisters’ and Alexei’s? He must have feared for our futures if we were dethroned and left without any resources, any security, anyplace to call home—”

“He did you no favors,” Ben says harshly. “Half the country—the country that you obviously have not even a rudimentary understanding of—are moderates scrambling to secure the Provisional Government and disentangle themselves from the war while still somehow preserving their dignity and that of the millions of dead soldiers Russia has already laid on the altar. The other half are trying to instigate a wholesale communist revolution. There is no one, no one, who wants the tsar back. And you better pray to God that the communists don’t manage to seize power before King George gets your family out, or your father just might be guillotined on the steps of Saint Basil’s Cathedral.”

I bolt to my feet unsteadily, grip the side of the lurching cart, and leap out onto the dirt road.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Ben shouts after me.

I take off sprinting down the road, the wind whipping my face, sobbing as I run beneath the shadows of trees until my lungs are columns of flames and my legs feel wobbly and boneless. I can hear the pounding of the mule’s hooves approaching, the hurtling of wooden wheels, the slapping of leather reins. I am forced to slow to a vigorous march as my body betrays me, wheezing and aching and as ineffectual as a woman is so often assumed to be. The salacious trousers have come in handy once again. Who would have guessed.

Ben pulls up alongside me, reining in the mule to match my pace. “Hey! Get back in the cart!”

“I’ll walk the rest of the way to the railroad station.”

“It’s 200 more kilometers!”

“See you there.”

Now Ben jumps out of the cart. The mule, perplexed but not rattled, comes to a halt and waits in the middle of the road with her long ears angled in opposite directions. Ben rushes in front of me and leans down until we’re at eye-level, breathing heavily. I can smell smoke on him, and something else too: maybe cologne, maybe soap, maybe aftershave, maybe just the scent of a man in his prime. His lips are pink and full and soft-looking, I notice, as if for the first time. His cheeks are irritated and red from the wind; the ruthlessness of the climate here doesn’t agree with him. It is the only way in which I am stronger than he is. His green eyes are wide and blazing. “Get. In. The. Cart.”

“No,” I whisper, tears all over my face.

“You can’t just run off like that,” he pleads, less angry now. “Where are you going to go? There’s nothing out here except trees and…I don’t know…probably bears and wolves and maybe even Siberian tigers. You can’t get ripped apart by wild animals. Don’t you want to make it to London? To argue for your family’s liberation? They could find no fiercer advocate than you, of that I am convinced.”

“How would you possibly protect me from a bear?”

Ben unbuttons his coat and pulls up his white wool sweater to show me a pistol tucked into the holster clipped to his belt. “Just in case,” he says, smirking crookedly, lowering his sweater again. “Now I am keeping no secrets from you, and you are harboring none from me. We’re even.”

I nod, sniffling, thinking of my jewels and photograph hidden in the steamer trunk. My words are so strained I can barely hear them myself, my hands are trembling; hell, I’m trembling all over. The possibility is unimaginable. “Do you really think they’re going to kill Papa?”

Ben sighs, shaking his head. “No, I don’t,” he replies gently. “I think the Provisional Government will be able to keep the communists in check for now. I think they will leap at the opportunity to ship the former tsar off to Britain without the potential controversy of a trial and execution. And I also think we should get back in the cart and keep moving now.”

“I’m sorry your boss gave you this assignment and now you have to risk your life for a family that you evidently hate,” I lash out like a cornered animal, hissing and brandishing its glinting claws. “For a grand duchess that you hate. This must be an awful inconvenience for you.”

“It’s rather more complicated than that,” Ben says. “There’s some opportunity in it as well.”

Of course: his leather-bound notebook full of observations, his scrawled recollections to one day build into a famed article about our journey. An article full of what he truly thinks about me. I feel suddenly, violently nauseous. I feel horrified.

What happened to the grand adventure that I imagined? Where did it go?

And all at once, I can’t even remember how I pictured this journey unfolding; I can’t conjure up some rose-colored vision of me and Ben falling into an effortless friendship, flirting lightly and innocently, discovering new corners of the earth together, parting ways in London as lifelong confidants. Now I can only see Papa as he murmurs folktales older than Christianity with candlelight dancing on his smiling face, as he chases me and my sisters around the gardens with outstretched arms and sparkling eyes, as he carries Alexei from one room to the next when my brother’s joints are inflamed and excruciating and useless, as he never unburdens his mind to his wife or children but spends long afternoons chopping wood as the sun sinks into the west and the lines in his pale face grow deeper.

He couldn’t be responsible for bloodshed, for mercilessness. He’s not that kind of man. He’s never been that kind of man.

“We really should keep moving,” Ben prompts.

“Fine,” I fling back as I shove by him. I mop my tears away with the sleeve of my wool sweater, climb into the back of the wooden cart, and sit as far as I can from Ben with my bent knees hugged to my chest. I stare silently off into the forest as the mule drags us towards the Trans-Siberian Railroad, towards Moscow and Saint Petersburg and the Baltic Sea and London, towards the conclusion of this tenuous partnership and the redemption of my family. I am looking forward to soon never having to see Benjamin Hardy again, and yet I’m also not; and this is a difficult paradox to put into words of any language.

We don’t stop until it’s almost dusk. Ben hops down from the cart, leads the mule off the road by her bridle (and gives her an encouraging scratch on the forelock when she hesitates), and begins to set up camp in a small clearing encircled by heaps of frost grass. Dinner is loaves of bread again—even more tough and dry than yesterday—and metallic-tasting water from canteens. Dessert is a hand-rolled cigarette for Ben and a handful of honeyberries I found in the bushes for me. And when Ben grapples with the tent, I come over to help him with it just to prove I can.

Ben builds a fire, and we sit wordlessly on opposite sides of it with the reflections of flames in our eyes. Ben jots down today’s thoughts in his notebook, every so often glancing off into nowhere and tapping his chin thoughtfully with the end of his pen, biting his full lower lip absentmindedly as he sifts through the ocean of word in his head to fish out the right one. Meanwhile, I read my copy of Tarzan of the Apes. I stumble across a few English terms I don’t know—quixotic, cartography, constellations, ruminate—but I don’t ask Ben about them.

After a long time, when the moon and stars have emerged bright and ancient in the night sky, Ben closes his notebook and watches me. At first I ignore him. And then, eventually, I can’t anymore.

“What?” I ask irritably, keeping my place in Tarzan of the Apes with my pinky finger, which is nearly numb from the cold.

Ben’s words are calm, restrained, painstakingly chosen. Firelight is fierce and bloody on his face. “I had two infant brothers die of pneumonia, a perfectly preventable illness had they had access to good doctors and proper nutrition and a warm dry home, which they did not. I had a sister die in childbirth because there was no midwife available to attend to her. I have had friends come home from the war with limbs or half their faces missing, a fate which I myself am spared only because of my employment with Sir Buchanan. You have no idea what the world has been through while you were off playing board games and reading novels in greenhouses and lounging on lakeshores with your idyllic little family. You have no idea what life is like for the rest of us. And perhaps that’s not your fault, and it is unjust of me to resent you for it, and I must learn to temper this wrath I’ve been carrying around in my chest since childhood. But it’s still true.”

He stands, clutching his notebook with hands that are red from the savage Siberian wind, and vanishes into the tent.

#ben hardy fic #ben hardy x reader #borhap cast fic

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cornus27florida · 6 months

Text

Another LambCat reply at the IG! If what I predict gonna be true then I say the following CPC gotta become like this:

9 chapters left to wrap up everything (based on thumbnail of fastpass episodes and image leeks we have possibility: Blaine VS Frederick, and then with Prez; Prez becomes a were-spider, Maria finally forgives Frederick as she sent along the animals ensemble to help him 'running to the opposite direction of everyone, the reveal of the big bad wolf in Gwen's dream and the giant serpent in Frederick's dream, the stolen portrait be shown and thus relates to the third dying wish of Lilyth, continuation of Lilyth's story as her image still blurred although she's smiling + How Gwen wakes up from the slumber spell while Leland approaching)

Those things really hard to wrap up in merely 9 episodes - but I know LambCat could manage, with likely every episode has new OSTs? That's gonna be so amazing

'One Epilogue Episode' likely gotta be the episode 170 - which uploaded after the wrap up of everything till ep 169. There's so many 'loose ends of plot points along the way' outside the Pastel Palace like: What does Nell see in her vision? What Isolde cooks in Plaid Kingdom? Does the unnamed elderly foot guard that wants to opening up the limoncello gotta be important like deus ex machina? How Jack reacts after seeing everything - and will he brings the Omniscient Clam? The future of relationships between Pastel and Plaid kingdom - especially Gwen and Frederick? What happened to the CPC as the entirety, as they're bursting in the Pastel Palace should already shows 'abnormal' they are to melts the iron barred door etc?

OEE could be anything but I feel it's likely gotta be timeskip - for how long? I somehow can't imagine for years (if that's the case we get Gwen and Frederick wedding, but I feel that's too soon and likely happen later as not in OEE) but in shorter time as the following:

Days: that means the wrap-up and cleaning up of Plaid mess -> we have Jack's reaction properly as his bubble burst out horribly with the worst betrayal by Leland

Weeks: the clean up is already done, then season changes to the winter and everything finally 'return to normalcy and peace' -> I imagine this gotta be the perfect opportunity to welcome Frederick (having him had Slumber Party!) properly as the newest member of the CPC, with Gwen likely that gives him the PANDA keychain and everyone at the CPC gets resolutions (like the hopes of curses could be broken, is not always with the 'cure-it-all' of true love's kiss but other things like self-love w/ hint of romance)

Months: the nice timeskip to shows resolution of things being established, relationships - CPC likely get renovated and established properly as proper instituion to helps the cursed people - Plaid Kingdom had rulership changes as the Plaid King got accountable to his crimes (who'll ruling? or if the rulership changes from monarch to anything else? Whatever it be, I just want the Plaid folks espc Plaid Princes to be happy) - Pastel Kingdom accepting the CPC existence properly and make adjustments for them, and already dealing with portaits stuffs espc Lilyth's. This gotta be the most wide but plausible timeskip to not skipping most of details instead going with years timeskip

Little Side Stories: I predict it gotta be like these https://cursed-princess.fandom.com/wiki/Template:EpisodeList:BonusEpisodes

How many is unpredictable, but if could crazily speculates:

A retake of Red Riding Hood, but with Prince Blaine as Red Riding Hood, his mother Queen Isolde as the woodcutter, and Princess Maria as the wolf. -> the resolution of Maria/Blaine relationship, they might not be together but I want both to be happy as Blaine be 'free' and Maria chases her dream

A retake of Jack and the Beanstalk, but with Princess Lorena as Jack, who climbs the huge beanstalk to the place on the clouds where Prince Lance, the giant, resides. -> the resolution of Lorena/Lance relationship, they might not be together but I want both to be happy as Lorena finally leads her kingdom's army and Lance be the leader of Plaid army

A retake of Hansel and Gretel, with Prince Jamie as Hansel, finding a gingerbread house owned by a lonely witch. -> I feel if Jamie meets the witch again, he'll said his thanks to her as Gwen is saved with her info - and he grows closer to Leopold

Prince Frederick dreams about one of his favorite fairytales, about a man stuck in a hole being lifted up by an angel of fortune - but he's the man stuck in a hole, and the angel of fortune is Princess Gwendolyn. Frederick dreams about becoming the hero of the Dogyssey, encountering monsters along the way to reach his angel of fortune.

Frederick is very unique as the character that had two bonus episode with the theme of him as the protagonist of his fave tale and Gwen becomes his angel of the fortune. I predict if we get 'little bonus episode' it's gotta be a retelling of the tiniest prince which shows his journey so he could return to his lover - the rose - the Angel of the Fortune - Gwendolyn

The CPC members that didn't attend Gwendolyn's Dinner Party try to entertain themselves - and Saffron asks the backstory behind Jolie's curse. Jolie's story starts in her homeland, the Lace Kingdom, which was 'saved' by a mysterious dealer... Jolie's curse story is concluded when the mysterious dealer asks for his end of the bargain...

If the Omniscient Clam isn't omnious and won't asks dubious price for being asked, I say it's gotta be deus ex machina that helps the CPC members to breaks their curse. I find it's gotta be interesting little stories as each member has chance to learn more about their curse and how to breaks it. I am stand to belief that every curse could be broken somehow, by learning more about the nature of the curse first - and, the cure isn't always to be "the true love's kiss" but other else...

Curses can be cut short (or lifted or broken) by:

Giving back a stolen item, apologizing, or otherwise setting right the original offense. = meet the curser basically

Completing an Impossible Task.

Dying and coming back, usually as part of finding a loophole in the curse. = only could work if there's time travel element

Passing it on to someone else, like a bad penny.

Killing the curser or otherwise getting them to die. (Not effective in cases of a Dying Curse.)

Beat the Curse Out of Him: A less drastic tactic. Results vary. For a country, putting the rightful king on the throne. (This may or may not fall under the first as well.)

The Power of Love. Sometimes this simply requires actually being loved by someone else, sometimes it requires the person to receive True Love's Kiss to seal the deal. Furthermore, many curses are susceptible to the Power of Love even if it's not supposed to be a condition of the curse

+ act of kindness and love: Elsa's curse is broken by Anna's act of kindness, Kirana from golden snail tale simply by reunion meeting w/ her loved one = not by true love's kiss

#cursed princess club #Predictions #long text sorry

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