Status Update

The Reading Frog is 25% done

"If you had a son, would you do the same to him?"

(...)

Baird clenches his jaw. "I don't have a son."

"But if you did, would you? If it meant preparing him for his curse to come? Would you hurt him?"

"I-" Baird crosses his arms. "Maybe. Probably not."

"Because it hurts," Hemming says and pulls one leg onto the sill. "Because it's a terrible thing to torment those you're supposed to love."

— Oh Baird :(

— May 20, 2026 05:35AM

3 likes · Like flag

The Reading Frog’s Previous Updates

The Reading Frog is finished

I can't say more than "Oh, Baird..." right now.

I have to digest this one a little before rating and writing a review. Definitely enjoyed reading it though!

RTC

— May 21, 2026 08:09AM

The Reading Frog is 95% done

Chapter 34??!!! Hello???!!

— May 21, 2026 07:47AM

The Reading Frog is 83% done

"I swore to keep the manor safe, (...) With my last breath, I will serve. I am bound to it. (...) I don't want what it wants anymore. But I can't abandon it. I can't abandon them."

"They abandoned you."

"And I am not like them." He inhales shakily, salty tears running into the corners of his mouth. "I refuse to be."

—Oh.... This one has a lil kick to it 🫡🥺

— May 21, 2026 07:02AM

The Reading Frog is 70% done

"The 20th of June, 1784. Hell.
Crying hurts."

Oh... :'(

— May 21, 2026 05:58AM

The Reading Frog is 66% done

Baird's past journal entries are actually breaking my heart 😩

— May 21, 2026 05:41AM

The Reading Frog is 42% done

Oh, Baird... When is it your time to get something you want?

— May 20, 2026 01:42PM

The Reading Frog is 38% done

I love the exploration of the trope 'touch starved'.

Specifically, starving in a way where introducing food after malnourishment results in stomach aches and nausea. Where a body craves sustenance, yet is unable to receive what it hungers for without copious amounts of pain and violent rejection.

Basically, I love when touch starvation is depicted as something similar to refeeding syndrome

— May 20, 2026 11:30AM

The Reading Frog is 17% done

Forced proximity, but like, literally.

When "It hurts to watch you walk away" isn't meant as something poetic, his heart isn't aching metaphorically, that shit is really hurting!

I'm curious where this exploration of pain will go. It seems to be an intricate core theme in multiple story layers.

— May 19, 2026 11:13AM

The Reading Frog is 7% done

The story room/rituals mirroring religion???
Oh, we're so back!

— May 19, 2026 06:05AM

The Reading Frog is 4% done

Ahh, the dynamic between Baird and the manor is already so fascinating!
Way more intertwined than I expected, which I love 👏

I LOVE sentient houses / when a house is a character of its own, and I can't wait to find out how this will all play out.

— May 19, 2026 05:27AM