#//Young Ed and sword practice

[fxckin-blackbeard]

ᒥ☠ᒧ—        Edward flicks the blade around, a soft whipping sound being made as he does so. He was never one for standing still long, and as there is a break in the duel practice he passes time as best he can.

"I get why I should step to the side, but taking the blade is just so much more fun. The look on people's face when you got a fuckin' sword to the gut and you keep goin'? Hilarious!" He pauses the energetic whipping of the blade, turning to look with a playful smirk under his scruffy, short black beard and a mischievous glint in his eyes near hidden by his wild, curly black hair.

"Have ya tried it? Being stabbed, I mean. We could go another round, I'll make sure to aim for the right spot." The young man looks a little too eager saying that.

"It'll only hurt for a moment, I promise. I'll show ya how to take it out after. That doesn't hurt, much, either." He begins to whip his blade around again, his eagerness showing as an excess of energy.

[aerynoakenshield]

[Boromir] - All I Ever Wanted

♫ - Perfect - Ed Sheeran

A/N: It's 2024 and I still adore this man, hopefully now this has been written the  brain worm leaves and I can move on with my life (i am lying to myself i have not moved on since 2007).

Thank you for reading, enjoy! <3

It was a joy to live in Gondor, the kingdom and its people were, in truth, simply beautiful. For you, there was everything here you could ever want. Kind people, a community, and most of all the man you loved.

Boromir and yourself had grown up together, as your father was a nobleman and therefore held position on King Denethor's council. With Boromir's father being that king, he was always looking for something to do or someone to talk to, which was when you stumbled into each other's lives as children. 

You often saw each other in the castle courtyard. At first, you barely spoke, nods of acknowledgement here and there and sometimes a greeting. You could not have been more different as people. 

Boromir was a boy who loved fighting, loved running around and learning how to wield weapons. You preferred your books, to write and study history and nature. The pair of you could often be found together outside the older you grew; you with your nose stuck in some ancient literature while you  sat under the tree as Boromir practiced sparring techniques in front of you. 

One was never really seen without the other. You were both like shadows, and never tired of being around each other. Your father was not upset by this, hoping one day perhaps you may marry the young prince. King Denethor, however, hoped quite the opposite. Nevertheless, that would not stop you from spending your free time together.

Boromir was there for you through every bad time you had, always offering a shoulder to cry on and a gentle hand when you would walk through the gardens. You were there for him whenever his father had been harsh on him. As the eldest son, Boromir was looked upon to be a leader, to have an heir to the throne one day and keep the family line in tact. 

He wanted none of that, not until he was older, maybe. He told you all the time of adventures he wanted, how he wanted to live first before thinking of that sort of thing. You grew to adults together, but your hobbies and interest had not changed.

Here you were, a bright morning in Gondor, sat in the gardens on your favourite bench reading a book. The area was secluded, barely anybody walked here, but it was filled with flowers and a lake with a fountain front and center. Before you, Boromir was practicing movements with his sword and a young guard. He had become a master swordsman, and had been trusted to train up new soldiers for Gondor's army should the need arise.

Setting your book down, you watched them spar. Boromir was quick on his feet, but so tentative in helping the young man with his own technique, and you couldn't help but stare. Something in your heart soared to see him smile, to watch him doing the thing he loved. For a brief second Boromir looked to you, catching your eye and winking.

"Back to your books, you."

Boromir had not dealt with his own feelings for you, yet. Each day you met, his heart grew fonder of you and it was at a point in which it became hard to contain. When you sat there and lost yourself in writing, he would look on at you in wonder. Often, his thoughts would drift, and he would ask himself what was stopping him from pushing you against a wall and kissing you. The fear of rejection, of you not feeling the same, was what pushed those thoughts away.

You had picked your book back up, though you were no longer reading it. You held it as though you were, but your eyes peeked over the brim, eager to watch him instead. His face lit up differently when he was training, his features became more beautiful than they already were. He had a love for swordsmanship, and it showed. 

"Agh!" 

You were snapped out of your daydream by Boromir's exclamation. Dropping your book, you noticed the young guard's sword on the floor and a look of horror on his face. Your eyes flicked over to Boromir, who was holding his arm. It appeared the man had caught the prince's arm with the sword, though it didn't look too bad. 

"My prince, I am sorry, I did not-"

"It's okay, lad. You run back to the castle and have a break, we'll keep you on the wooden weapons for now," Boromir said with a chuckle, and the guard nodded and ran off. 

How he could joke in this situation was amazing, but you knew it was to calm the other boys nerves, which were presumably sky high. Boromir caught your gaze and you beckoned him over.

"Are you okay? Seems like that's quite the gash." You gestured to the blood on his tunic, and reached into your bag for the first aid essentials you always carried. It wasn't the first time he had been injured in your company, so now you always carried them just to be sure. 

"I'm alright, got you to patch me up, haven't I?" Boromir winked at you, and you felt butterflies in your stomach. 

"Sometimes," you replied, swatting his nose with your finger. "I think you do it on purpose."

He feigned shock, but said nothing as he let you work on his arm. Your concentration face had him in a trance as he watched you work, eyes darting from your face to your gentle hands. There was no wound he had ever gotten that you could not fix with a bandage and some herb or salve, so the books were paying off. 

"You know," you started, working carefully to stitch the cut in his arm, eyes not moving from it as you spoke. "You are wonderful with those guards. You have always had a gift for combat, but it shows more and more each day. You look happiest when you're training."

Boromir could not help the smile creeping up on his face.

"It does make me happy, I love the art of swords, the craft of it all. The beauty of wielding a weapon is quite a thing. Though, I have to admit, I am my happiest whenever I am with you."

Pausing for a second, you look up at him, and he has a cheeky smile on his face as his eyes looked at you through his brow. He was so handsome, rugged yet boyish all at once. You could not have fallen harder if you tried. Realising you were staring, you turned back to your work with a blush rising on your cheeks. 

"There," you knotted the last stitch and wrapped a bandage around his wound. "You're all fixed up."

"Oh," he sounded disappointed. "Does that mean I don't get your special treatment and attention anymore?" His smile could light up a room.

"Boromir!" You playfully tapped his non injured arm and laughed along. "I'll give you special treatment if you carry on like that." He scoffed jokingly at your sarcastic mocking tone.

Your threat was hollow, knowing that you couldn't best him in a play fight, let alone a real one. The master swordsman stared at you, seemingly taking your comment to heart. 

"Or," he spoke lowly, moving towards on the bench and taking your chin lightly in his hand. "I'll give you special treatment."

Boromir leaned in and your heart raced. He never connected your lips, waiting for you to respond. He was respectful enough to wait for you to kiss him, to make sure this was what you wanted. You closed the gap, and he pulled you into him and deepened the kiss.

This moment was what you had dreamed of. Boromir's arm wrapped around your waist and his other hand held the side of your face as his lips made their way from your own to your jawline, pressing little kisses down towards your collarbone. Your hands lay on his chest, keeping yourself as close as you could be as quiet hums of content came from you.

Boromir brought his head back up to look at you, and he could not believed how stunning you looked before him. The sun lit your face up, eyes twinkling as they looked back into his own. The red tint on your cheeks gave you an almost ethereal aura. Your hands came to cup his face.

"I have wanted this for so long, Boromir. I never thought you would feel the same way. I was scared you saw me only as a friend."

He chuckled, pressing his forehead to your own.

"You silly thing, I would be a fool to not have fallen in love with you. You are incredible. I have loved you for so long now, I have lost count. I never thought you, with your books and your writing would ever want a swordsman who just loves fighting."

"Apparently you're a poet now, too." You giggled and his brow furrowed, but hearing his words back in his head, Boromir realised the rhyme he had made. 

"Then in that case, I'm perfect for you," he boasted, nodding in agreement with himself and making you throw your head back with laughter. 

Pulling you onto his lap, you sat with your arms around his neck and just took in the moment. You had hugged him before, but never like this. You had spent hours in his arms, but never under any circumstance other than comfort. Now, it felt different. 

"Hey, look at me, " Boromir whispered, and you lifted your head from his chest to look at him. "If you wish to court me, and I most certainly would like you to, I want you to know that being with me probably will not be easy. But, if you do wish to be mine, I will promise you now that I will do all I can to protect you and keep you safe, and I will always show you nothing but love and care for the rest of our lives."

Your eyes teared up a little at his words, and you smiled down at him. 

"You are all I have ever wanted, of course I will court you. It would be an honour to be yours, Boromir. I know it won't be easy, I know there are threats out there in Middle Earth that you will one day have to deal with. I am not afraid of that, I would welcome a future with you. I have spent my youth with you, so what's the rest of our lives in comparison?"

"You beautiful thing..." he spoke, voice quiet and full of love. "My beautiful thing."

With one more kiss, a kiss filled with hope for the future, Boromir brought you off him and offered his hand to you. You accepted, and with a kiss to your knuckles, you set off on your first walk as a couple and the first walk of the rest of your days as one.

[kattythingz]

ACCESS GRANTED: THE SECRET SATURDAYS ELRIC-YAOS

Yeah, that's right. I made a fucking Secret Saturdays au. I doubt anybody even remembers this show, but who cares baby!!! The brainworms whispered to me, and they told me to feature edling as Drew & Doc respectively, Nina as Zak, and Lumi (snake baby) as Fiskerton! And who am I to question the brainworms???

(Seriously, Ed is a ONE-TO-ONE of Drew. It's kinda scary. And also explains a lot of my love for them both.)

Just relabel the cryptids as chimeras in this au and the kur stone as the philosopher's stone, and bam.

Also, I have no design for him but Greed is absolutely Van Rook. Yes, Ed's ex in this au. Yes, Ling has BEEF with Greed at first. They'll be fiiiine tho. Probably. Iykyk lmao.

Alternative portraits and stupid design details under the cut!!!!

Edling wear their wedding rings as necklaces to avoid damaging them in battle. Given 90% of their job always leads to one. Technically, Ed started the habit, but Ling is a goddamn dork and wanted to match his husband.

Everyone in the family sports some kind of braid and belt. Ed wears a white smaller one over his purple as a nod to Ling's style bleeding into him, and—vice versa—Ling wears a black belt as a nod to Ed's.

The belt is also Ed's way of wearing his husband's culture somehow. (The leather is not going just because he's married now. It's practical!)

Ling's sun pattern on his shirt matches Ed's belt medallion. (Re: dork.)

Ed's spear (and medallion!) is a gift from Izumi! After he was separated from Al years ago, Izumi took Ed in and taught him all her arcane and martial ways. The spear itself is actually a detachable dagger, that Ed elongated into a spear because that's just more his style.

Like Drew's sword, when it's powered by the sun, Ed's spear can shoot fire. (That's what the pattern is, Ling. It's not a fucking lotus, for the last time!)

Ling's sword isn't powered, but the elaborate scabbard was a late gift from Fu.

(Ed's glove is also a gift from Greed from when they were dating.)

The family has been to enough colder chimera habitats that Ed's permanently switched to Northern automail.

Nina wears a mix of elements from both her parents. A Xingese shirt like Ling, and hardy tights and boots like Ed. The knee guards were a mutual insistence from edling.

The buttons on her shirt are poppies! Exactly like Ling's favorite nickname for her, yīngsù (poppy).

Her right-hand bracelets are color-inspired by her parents too. Her left hand's one is just a cute handmade one spelling her name.

She's strangely short for an eleven-year-old. Edling have gotten one too many comments confusing her for eight. Unknowingly being the philosopher's stone and unlocking said powers young does that to a child's growth.

She has a weapon to focus her powers. Unpictured cuz I failed to figure out what it would be lmao.

Lumi's breed is an evolution of the Nambian flying snake! Her species can't quite fly anymore, but they can still glide their massive weights with their head fins.

She learned all her facial expressions from Nina. Hence the happy flare of her head fins, and her big, adorable "beam".

She's also blind! She was blinded fighting a bigger predator in the wild when she was very young, and couldn't possibly survive on her own after that. Edling rescued her not too long after they'd adopted Nina, intending her to just be a pet... Now just as much "their girl" as Nina.

They did not anticipate her to grow so large.

Ed was the one who named her Lumi. Luminous like the moon; or Lulu, as Ling and Nina insist on using instead.

(Ed's grumbling is full of shit. Even he slips up sometimes.)

Her scales reflect light in pearlescent rainbows meant to mesmerize prey! Optimized in the wild, she can camouflage to practically anything.

[chloe-skywalker]

Magic Divide - Arthur Pendragon (Part 2)

Arthur x Fem!reader

Warnings: none

Word count: 2,554

Summary: Now in Y/n’s kingdom Arthur has some making up to do.

Authors Note: Maybe a part3 ? I’m thinking about it. Like Arthur see her do magic and getting to understand it.

Masterlist

BBC Merlin Masterlist

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It didn’t take them more than a day and a night to reach Valmore. As soon as they reached the city Morgana quickly caught eyes on Y/n. She jumped off her horse and practically ran over to the y/h/c-ed girl, everyone else followed in Morgana’s direction.

“Y/n!” Morgana yelled out happily.

“Morgana?” Y/n questioned with a furrowed brow as she turned around to fcae where she heard her name called from. Upon seeing who she thought she heard calling her name. Y/n moved away from her knights, handing her horse's reins off to one of them, meeting Morgana halfway in a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“You said to visit anytime.” Morgana smiled at the princess.

“I know I did. I just didn’t think you would so soon. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy you're here. All of you” Y/n smirked happily to have them in her home. Her gaze went across everyone but it lingered a little longer on Arthur before she cast her eyes down.

“What happened to your arm?” Merlin asked with a worried expression after everyone had greeted eachother with smiles.

With Merlin's question, all of them turned their eyes to Y/n’s arm. Noticed the not so pretty gash on her bicep. It was obviously healing and had been stitched up nicely.

“Oh, this?” Y/n pointed to her upper right arm. She shrugged, compared to other injuries she’s had this was a cakewalk. “Happened when I was training. Hadn’t done it in so long I botched a move and well this happened.”

Everyone felt shocked at how she addressed her wound as nothing. But then Arthur spoke up. “Are you ok?”

Y/n looked up at the blonde prince again and nodded before answering. “Yeah, I’ve had worse. Especially when it comes to training.”

Arthur nodded in understanding but it didn’t stop his concern.

“Was it a sword? Or-” Leon asked wondering what made the slightly jagged cut.

“No, no. Swordfighting I wasn’t rusty at.” Y/n shook her head at the young knight. “This came from hand to hand combat. Kind of- a few moves I was rusty at which made me mess up and fall. This cut I got from a very sharp nasty rock.”

Leon nodded in understanding. Gwen stepped forward with a worried look before she asked. “You’ve had worse? That bruise on your upper back looks horrid.”

The others had to agree the bruise looked worse than the healing cut.

“Oh, if only you’ve seen how into it we can all get when it comes to hand to hand.” Y/n smiled letting out an amused laugh. Things were different here than in Camelot. “We go full out. No holding back. Lots of dislocations, torn muscles, cuts, all of it.”

“Women fight?” Gwaine raised his brow in shock and it showed on his face.

Y/n smirked at their shocked faces, so she continued to explain. “In my kingdom, women are warriors, Knights, fighters. We don’t discourage women from wanting to join in on those kinds of things. We encourage them.”

“But the princess?” Lancelot raised one brow in a teasing manner, having seen her fight before unlike most of the others.

“Haha, Lancelot.” Y/n playfully glared at him. “Yes, even the princess. I should know how to defend myself and my kingdom, and my people.”

Y/n spared a glance to Arthur, trying to read his feelings on the words she had said.

“Well, we should probably go up to the Castle.” Morgana suggested with a proud smile on her face. She truly wished she could spend some time in Valmore, enough to learn skills in combat. Maybe even something more magical.

“Yes. I bet you're all tired from the journey. Follow me and my knights. We’ll escort you.” Y/n nodded in agreement to Morgana’s words.

Y/n headed over to her horse, as she went to get up Arthur noticed a slight grimace came across her face as she mounted her horse.

“Do you need some help?” Arthur asked stepping closer to just in case her arm gave out as she pulled herself up onto the saddle.

“No, I uh. I get it.” She answered flustered to having him so close after so long of being apart. Once she was up on the horse she looked down at Arthur with a small smile on her lip. “As I said, I’ve had worse injuries than this. They’ve never stopped me before.”

With that said Y/n escorted her friends from Camelot up to the castle. Once they got their Y/n and her knights took them into the throne room where her parents were currently. After getting them arrangements to stay for as long as they want. With that everyone was shown to their rooms.

It was the next day when everyone decided to do some training in the morning. Some from Camelot had come down to watch Y/n train.

And she wasn’t kidding when she said they trained hardcore.

“Should she be fighting with her arm?” Merlin asked out to anyone that would give him an answer. He winced as he watched his friend fight.

“No.” Arthur answered leaning against the waist high wall. He to was concerned about her but she could hold her own, he knew that. Arthur was more concerned about her fighting and breaking open the freshly healed wound. “No, she shouldn't be, Merlin.”

“Well, are you just going to stare and watch her or go over and talk to her?” Morgana spoke giving Arthur a knowing look.

Arthur glanced Morgana's way before turning his attention back to Y/n. “She’s in the middle of a fight. She needs to concentrate on that.”

“Y/n wasn’t kidding when she said they don’t hold back.” Leon commented as he to watched the training.

Gwen agreed. “Yeah. They really go hard at one another.”

“She’s fighting with men.” Lancelot stated impressed.

“And winning.” Morgana stated proudly.

“She can hold her own.” Merlin nodded in agreement before asking Arthur another question. “When are you going to talk and make up.”

“When I can get her alone.” Arthur told him refraining from rolling his eyes.

“Good luck with that. She’s always surrounded by her knights.” Merlin countered with a tilt of his head.

“They're her friends.” Gwen tried to defend but Morgana cut in wanting to join in on Merlin’s pestering of Arthur.

“Their also men.” Morgana smirked. There were a few girls as well but if she wanted to get at Arthur. Mention all the other men around the girl he loves.

Merlin sucked in a breath in a teasing manner. “She seems very close to knight Jon and Knight Wardlow.”

“I get it okay?” Arthur snapped at them. He didn’t need to be told what he was seeing with his own eyes. Not that he’d admit it but he did feel jealous.

^     ^     ^

It was the next day that Arthur found a moment to get Y/n alone to talk.

“Y/n!” Arthur yelled after her down the hallway.

“Arthur.” Y/n said as she turned around to look at the prince as he came to a stop in front of her.

“Can we talk?” Arthur asked and he glanced nervously to the knights that were beside her.

Y/n stood still just watching him for a moment before giving him a ‘yes’ nod.

“You gonna be okay?” Knight Darby asked the princess with a look Arthur couldn’t decipher.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” Y/n nodded sending Darby a grateful nod for checking first. She was indeed close with her knights and when she came back she had told them what had happened. So they were on edge about leaving her alone with the prince of Camelot.

“If not just yell out. I won’t be far.” Knight Jon stated with narrowed eyes pinned on the young prince. Which was very intimidating to Arthur. He’d seen the man fight, he was pure violence.

“Hmmm” Wardlow hummed and nodded in agreement with his fellow knight and friend. Y/n nodded as the 3 men walked to the end of the hallway not so subtly watching.

“What is on your mind Prince Arthur?” Y/n asked shifting on her feet.

“Can we talk in private?” he sighed not feeling comfortable being watched with what he wanted to talk about.

“Of course.” Y/n gulped nodding before turning and giving her knights a wave. Told them it was okay and to stay. So her and Arthur headed into the nearest room. “What is it you would like to talk about prince Arthur?”

He sighed leaning his head to the side. “Are we really going back to using ‘Prince before my name?”

“How else should I address you?” Y/n said looking down at her hands. She didn’t know how to act around him anymore. Not really.

“As just Arthur.” Arthur said loudly before taking a breath. He wasn’t mad at her he was pissed at himself. For putting them here. “Like before.”

It saddened him to realize he made her feel like they had to go back to the beginning. He hated himself for it.

“But things aren’t like before.” she told him with a sigh. God did she wish they were like before. She really missed him but how could they be together now?” We were together before. Now we’re not so I should address you with your title.”

“Are we really that far gone? Our relationship?” Arthur asked with slightly worried eyes. He couldn’t lose her.

“You tell me.” Y/n lifted her shoulders and then her eyes to look at him. The decision was in his court, he’s the one that ruined things, to begin with.

“y/n-” Arthur went to start but Y/n knew his tone of voice so she cut him off.

“No, Arthur. I can’t go through all that heartache again. I-I just can’t.” Y/n’s voice broke as she spoke and that made Arthur's chest ache.

“I’m sorry.” he didn’t know how else to start.

Y/n shook her head. “Don’t apologize when you don’t mean it.”

Arthur squinted in confusion. “What makes you think I don’t mean it?”

“Because you despise magic! An I have magic so therefore you despise me!” Y/n yelled out before taking a deep breath looking at Arthur with unshed tears in her eyes. The love of her life hated her because of something she frankly enjoyed about herself. “You hate me because of something that is a part of me.”

Arthur stepped forward shaking his head quickly at her words. “I don’t hate you.”

“If you hate a part of me then you hate me.” He couldn’t hate her magic and not hate her. And she couldn’t be with someone who hated her. “That’s how that works Arthur.”

Arthur raised his hands to cup her cheeks, using his thumbs to wipe away tears she didn’t notice were falling down her cheeks. “I could never hate or despise you Y/n.”

“The things you said to me when you found out and the way you looked at me and acted towards me all say otherwise, Arthur.” Y/n looked into his eyes, she could see the regret in his eyes.

“I felt betrayed and I was angry.I said things that weren’t true and that I didn’t mean.” Arthur explained but it didn’t make him feel any better and he didn’t expect to fix things. But she deserved to know. “It's no excuse for what I did. There’s nothing that could excuse my behavior from before. But I want to repair what we had. I want to make it up to you. If that's even a possibility.”

Y/n shook her head, it was a hard decision to make. And she didn’t know if she could, no matter how bad she wanted Arthur back. “I don’t know Arthur.”

Arthur sighed dreading asking this next question. “Are you afraid of me?”

“What?” Y/n looked at him in shock.

“Are you afraid of me? Were you afraid to tell me because you thought I would have had you killed?” He asked with a gulp afraid himself of the answer she’d give. He wouldn’t blame her though. With how Uther felt about magic and him raising Arthur to be the same. . .

“As much as I wish I could say I wasn’t. . . Besides hiding my magic I have never lied to you. I don’t plan on doing it now.” She told him before letting out a deep breath. “Yes, I was afraid that you might tell your father and we both know how I would have been ‘taken care of’.”

“y/n” Arthur's gaze dropped feeling even more disappointed in himself.

“It's not that I didn’t want to tell you, Arthur. It’s just-” Y/n hated that she felt this was but it was true. “I saw how your father flt about sorcery, and then how you felt about it. . . I was scared.”

Arthur nodded solemnly. “You had every right to be.”

“I’m sorry.” she said looking away from him. She felt guilty, even though she had no reason to be.

“Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry for.” He shook his head, dismissing her apology she had nothing to apologize for it was all him. “I’m sorry. For how I reacted and treated you. It was wrong of me.” 

“Its ok-”

Arthur immediately stopped her. He didn’t want her to forgive him that easily or pretend it was nothing. He treated her horribly, that wasn’t okay.  “No, its not. An I know I hurt you.”

Y/n but her lip as they starred at eachother for a moment. “You could’ve just given me a chance. Magic a chance.”

“I hate myself for hurting you. I’ll never forgive myself for all that I put you through.” Arthur agreed with her, he could’ve given her a chance. Prove and show him she didn’t use magic for evil. “But I do want to make it up to you.”

“How?” She asked with a tilted head. If his views didn’t change how could he make it up to her?

“Well, against my views I was taught growing up. I want you to show me your magic.” Arthur gave her a small smile. It didn’t excuse what he did and said but maybe if he could understand her magic and that part of her then they could get back together.

“Are you sure?” Y/n asked, she knew how he felt if this was uncomfortable for him then maybe things should just be done. She didn’t want to force him to like all of her. If they didn’t work then they would have to accept it.

“More sure than I am about a lot of things.” Arthur said shifting closer to his princess. “But I’m even more sure that I want us to get back together.”

Y/n took a deep breath. “Arthur- we can’t just go back to what and how we were.”

“I know that. It’s going to take time for me to gain your trust back. I’m determined to do so.” Arthur looked into her eyes with determination and passion. He was going to gain his princess's trust back. No matter what.

~

Tag list:

@gruffle1 @mininjageek @padawancat97 @evvy96

[izzyliker]

the weight of ed and izzy is once again hitting me - that they created the blackbeard legend together; that izzy was once happy; that they taught each other to fight - that they have pockets of each other inside of themselves - that there once was a time when it was izzy and ed on the deck, scoping out each other’s weak points, reading each other’s faces for hints, how to hide your emotions so your opponent doesn’t realize he just almost got you - how izzy obviously is in love with ed but doesn’t have the emotional intelligence to realize it - were there times when they were there, swords drawn, when ed’s gaze settled on izzy’s lips and never moved away? where izzy’s blade caught on a shirt sleeve and tugged hard enough to split the seam? were the nights once liquor soaked and heavy. ed realizing it’s just as important to know how to fall as it is to how to keep running. did he make izzy impale him on his sword to practice how to lose? and those big, brown eyes, refusing to fill with tears. is that, too, a pocket inside of izzy, when they were still young and working on the same dream?

[gallusrostromegalus]

tell! us! about! bleach! (aka ask game #37 "talk about your current wips" for AEIWAM. I stopped reading somewhere in the early stages of the arrancar arc but my brother keeps telling me Crazy Shit that happened and tbh the soul society arc had some really strong points, so I have some lingering affection for the early characters.)

An Elephant Is Warm And Mushy is based on:

That time I read about the... first half? third? of Bleach (Ichigo hit Aizen real hard with a sword and tried to quit being a protagonist about it) when I was in college and then dropped out due to brain damage from Dengue Fever.

Beloved children's book Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young.

A lecture I got to attend by Paleontologist Dr. Bob Bakker about how dinosaurs and other extinct animals are reconstructed from fragmentary evidence, and what kind of assumptions you can and cannot reasonably make from different kinds of data.

It's also me, once again, taking an excavator to the backstories of characters I like but I felt were underdeveloped or written weirdly for their stated motivations.

... Like how Unohana's later backstory of extreme violence and what sounds to me a hell of a lot like ND pleasure-seeking behavior, is great, actually, but nobody goes and practices medicine for 1,000 years and not get even weirder than before.

Or how Yachiru by herself is an interesting fucking character if allowed to develop and Zaraki is a DRASTICALLY more interesting if he's a guy who spent centuries killing but it's his decison to become a father is what finally grants him personhood.

Or Tousen, a character with an intense grudge against the system that he decided to infiltrate with a body that would *barely* allow him to do so (the weak reiatsu thing more than the blindness thing tbh), but made that system drastically more effective and less corrupt while he was actively betraying it and to me that speaks of a man much, MUCH weirder than a mere hypocrite?

There are Several Elephants in the room, and nobody can see more than a fraction of any of them :)

[ofliterarynature]

2023 Reading Wrap Up: Favorites from the First Half

Not to sound like a broken record, but I can't believe we're already halfway through the year! (and even further, given how late I'm posting this lol). I've read an ungodly amount of books already, and while I try my best to shout out my favorites as I go or in my monthly wrap-ups, I don't always succeed. So Here I Am, to do a little more shouting about the 10 most memorable books or series I've read so far in 2023!

The God of Endings by Jaqueline Holland

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

Sword Stone Table ed by Jenn Northington & Swapna Krishna

Sea Hearts (The Brides of Rollrock Island) by Margo Lanagan

Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld & Alex Puvilland

Will Darling/Lilywhite Boys by K.J. Charles

Lord Peter Wimsey by Dorothy L Sayers

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

More discussion below the cut!

The God of Endings by Jaqueline Holland had me entirely engrossed. It's slow and moving and dark, with it's own take on vampirism, with any number of the associated content warnings. All the content warnings actually (but harm to animals, harm to children, and domestic abuse are some of the big ones. Does the Nazi murder make up for it?). Best described as The Historian meets everything I wanted from The Invisible Life of Addie Larue but didn't get.

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez I have, in fact, already yelled about a bit. It was so good! Think A:TLA meets The Raven Tower and The Hundred Thousand Kindgoms, and queer! The thing that really blew my mind was the second-person narration, which is always a swing, and I think this nailed it! I loved how it worked with the story and frame narrative, and let me tell you, on audiobook parts of the story felt positively haunted. I won't say it's the perfect novel (I'm a little eh about the last third), but that in no way dampens my enthusiasm. cw for ritual cannibalism.

Sword Stone Table ed by Jenn Northington & Swapna Krishna is an anthology of Arthurian re-imaginings with about a 1-in-3 success rate (for me anyways. is that good for an anthology?) that snuck onto this list purely on the strength of Mayday by Maria Dahvana Headley. I just yelled about my love for unusual narrative structures, so when I tell you that this is a retelling of the Arthurian family drama set in late 19th century America, told only through found objects, newspaper clippings, and manuscript exerpts? I had *such* a great time trying to puzzle things out with my half-remembered memories of the lore (heavily corrupted by the show Merlin, lol). Additional shout-out to Spear by Nicola Griffith, which didn't make it into the collection due to length but was also amazing!

Sea Hearts (aka The Brides of Rollrock Island) by Margo Lanagan was an absolute surprise, for several reasons. For one, I own both a physical and digital copy under different titles and didn't realize it until I was cleaning up my goodreads account! And second, the Brides cover is an absolute travesty and is entirely the wrong vibe - this may be YA (technically?) but it doesn't read like it! Sea Hearts is the story of a small island community with a history of summoning wives from the sea, a tradition only whispered about until an outcast young woman revives the practices to sow discord and revenge among the community members we follow. Incredibly moving and sorrowful, this is for fans of literary, historical, and speculative fiction.

Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld & Alex Puvilland. This graphic novel is about a city hit by an unknown disaster that has killed or mutated everything and everyone who wasn't able to evacuate in time. Our main character sneaks back in to take pictures to support herself and her little sister, and while I have some reservations about the larger plot, the art of the Zone is GORGEOUS. Sketchy, eerie, hauntingly beautiful, I loved it, enough that I have no regrets. I could see this making a great comic series or animated show instead.

Major, heartfelt shout-out to K.J. Charles, who absolutely saved my sanity for a few months there. My brain was in a weird spot for a few months and I burned through a good chunk of her backlist, so it's absolutely necessary to name drop a few of my favorites. The Will Darling series, a 1920's spy adventure/gay romance, did not immediately win me over, but exposure makes the heart grow fonder? I don't think they say that, actually, but I love a competent dumbass, and when I finally picked up on the crossover with Charles' England duo, I absolutely cackled. I can't wait to reread these! Any Old Diamonds of the Lilywhite Boys series did catch me immediately, even if I managed to read it out of order with one of it's prequel series. Jewel thieves, a heist, revenge, family drama, what's not to love? I loved every single book and novella in this series.

Lord Peter Wimsey (series) by Dorothy L Sayers. This has been a work in progress since 2022 and has consistently made my favorites lists, but truly, she saved the best for last! Murder Must Advertise was stellar, but everyone who said the Harriet Vane novels were the best is absolutely correct. I don't know why I love them, other than that they're wonderfully complex mysteries, but I do. I definitely need to find another long mystery series for my mental health or else I'm going to start these from the beginning again (I still need to read the short stories after all).

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. I'll be honest, I didn't write a review for this at the time, and my memory for non-fiction is terrible. But I loved this book, I love John Green, and this was fantastic on audio. Thank you John for putting hope and goodness and beauty into the world.

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff was a beautiful little book for the book lover. It's a collection of letters between the American author and a used-book seller (and family and associates) in London in the 50s and 60s. Its funny, it's friendly, it's lovely, but there's also an underlying tension that builds throughout from the repeated invitations to the author to come visit, and the book copy saying that THEY NEVER MEET. It about killed me, and did make me cry. For further reading you can also check out the author's related memoirs, The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street and Q's Legacy.

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein. Frankly, I'm impressed by my nonfiction choices so far this year. This one is what it says and it HURT. SO. MUCH. I am absolutely a generalist and it's made life frustrating, so reading this was both extremely comforting but also enraging, because society doesn't need another reason to suck. Alas.

[adzeisval]

It's not my blood

First kill's always a mind fuck. Also on AO3.

Izzy woke early in the morning and enjoyed the quiet and the sway of the hammock. They were finally, finally on their way out to sea to raid. After the sickness and getting the ship back in order and the crew in sync it was finally time to do some actual piracy. 

He thought he was ready, he hoped he was ready. 

Izzy thought he had a good handle on the basics and knew his way around the weapons he was going to use. He could fight, he would fight. It was his job, it was his place to protect his fellow crew. 

But one thing kept popping into his mind. 

He’d never killed anyone before and he didn’t really have any desire to. He’d been taught that killing was wrong in most cases and he was working through getting his mind to realize that if he didn’t kill he would be killed.

Izzy wasn’t sure if any of the other young crew were having issues with the idea of killing. Maybe they weren’t thinking of it and were more focused on the thrill of a raid and the promise of treasure. 

He figured that it would get easier with time, that it would become just another chore to be done in the life of a pirate, but the first time was going to be a bit rough. 

Izzy got up and went out on deck and practiced with his sword, going through forms and going through some moves he’d refined. He looked at the weather and thought the sea would be still but the sun might be an issue depending on when the raid took place. 

“Hands!” 

Izzy jumped a little and quickly sheathed his sword and turned to face Hall. 

“Sir?” 

“Up early this morning Hands.” 

“Yes sir, practicing for the raid,” Izzy said. 

“You’re good with a sword Hands, and you’re tough for a runt but make sure you mind yourself. Don’t pay mind to what Teach is doing,” Hall said. 

“Yes sir.” 

Hall called all the young ones out on deck a little while after breakfast with news they would reach the ship before noon. They’d taken on a few more younger pirates after the sickness took out a few and a few seasoned pirates from other ships. 

“Alright you dogs, we’re going on a raid and you’d better fucking pull your weight. I don’t want any useless cowering and crying. You are fucking pirates and you need to act like it!” Hall yelled at them. 

Izzy stuck close to Ed as they approached the ship. He knew Ed could handle his own and he needed to focus on himself but it would be a little rough.

Kill or be killed, protect himself and his crewmates. 

The ship was a merchant vessel but there were several Dutch soldiers on board. Cannon fire started as the ships pulled side to side. Izzy looked over at Ed who also looked more than a little nervous. 

“To the ropes!” Hall ordered. 

It was chaos from the very beginning. Smoke from the cannon, and screaming from all involved. Izzy had his sword out the moment he landed. He tussled with a man and managed to unbalance him and sent him over the railing. 

Another man came at him sword drawn and Izzy found himself in a life or death fight for the first time in his life. There was a difference. A huge difference. There was a thrill with every training fight, the desire to do well and improve but this…if he didn’t do well enough it could very well end his life. 

He narrowly avoided taking a slash to his sword arm. He returned the move, much faster and his blade sliced through the man’s upper arm nearly to the bone. His opponent dropped his sword.

Izzy drove his sword into the man’s chest, just below the breastbone, ripping it free to cause as much damage, just as he had been trained to do. 

The man screamed in agony, Izzy felt him pulling away, felt the ripping and tearing of living flesh. Blood gushed from the wound spraying all over Izzy as the man fell. Izzy looked down at the man who was twitching and choking on his own blood. 

The fight was dying down at that point and Izzy couldn’t take his eyes off the man. If Izzy hadn’t done that though Izzy would be the one dying. Kill or be killed. 

Izzy felt sick and stumbled back. 

“Izzy!” 

Suddenly Ed was right in front of him, hand on his shoulder, “Izzy? Fuck where are you hurt?” 

Izzy frowned and looked down at his blood soaked clothes, “It’s not my blood.” 

“Good, good, fuck. Come on Iz we need to take the loot over,” Ed said. 

“Right,” Izzy said, somehow managing to clean most of the gore off his sword before his sheathed it with shaking hands. 

Izzy tried to hide how uncomfortable he was as he helped take loot over and clean up the mess they had made and whatever else he was yelled at to do. 

“Take a dip in the water with the other bloody bastards,” Hall ordered and Izzy went into the water to get the rest of the blood off.

He felt a little better but he still couldn’t fully process what he had just done. He’d run a man through, ripped him open. Watched his blood spill and watched him die. He couldn’t get it out of his mind the rest of the day but tried to do as he was told and go about things as usual. 

Captain Hornigold was pleased. The take was good, they all got extra rations and some good rum. Everyone was in a good mood. Hall told him he’d done well. Ed and Jack were having fun celebrating and Izzy tried his best to join in. 

Izzy hopped up into his hammock at the end of the day and hoped that sleeping it off would help. 

He saw blood when he closed his eyes. Heard the dying man’s gurgling in the quiet of the ship at night. Izzy was sure something was wrong with him and he started to cry. 

“Izzy? Iz come down here,” Ed said and Izzy couldn’t help but do it. 

“Sorry…” 

“Izzy what is it?” 

“I…killed someone…I…it…” 

“I know it’s hard…” 

“Was almost too easy,” Izzy said. 

“He was trying to kill you Iz,” Ed said. 

“I know, just. Fucking with my head a bit,” Izzy said.

“I’m sorry Iz, but we’re here for you. You did good protecting us today,” Ed said and Izzy couldn’t help but smile. 

“Thanks Eddie.” 

“Come on, we should sleep, we’ve both got dawn sail duty.” 

Izzy groaned and snuggled into Ed. 

[mistresslrigtar]

Extra chapter to my Zelink Week 2023 Prompt story. This is actually a one-shot I wrote for the Zelinktines 2023 prompt Butterfly Kisses, but it works for this. Enjoy if you haven't already read it.

This one-shot was originally beta-ed by @cooking-with-hailstones. the entirety of Adore was beta read by fioreofthemarch

Read the entire piece below or follow the link to read on AO3

A giant, craggy-faced monster bars the door to the chamber. The moans and cries from beyond have ratcheted Link's nerves to the edge of insanity. He paces back and forth like a caged animal trying to gauge the best route past the obstacle barring him. With the next loud wail, he runs both hands through his messy hair, tearing out a few large chunks in the process. This doesn't do much to assuage the worst of his anxiety as he stands with his back to the beast, body tensed with fight-or-flight instructions blasting from the back of his mind.

"Everything is alright.” His fists pound not so reassuringly against his thighs. "This is all going to plan."

With a loud growl, the beast lurches its way forward, and Link increases his momentum to move out of its path. He listens to the creature’s angry roar as it marches its way closer to him, and then Zelda screams. 

"Link!" Her piercing, terrified cry shatters the room and fractures him to pieces.

"You have to let me in there!" Link whirls to glare at the burly guard.

"Absolutely not!" The beast reprimands him, and Link’s vision clears as it speaks. The monster is just Oksana the midwife’s mother, Ilia, crossing her arms over her ample bosom and giving him a stern look, eyes narrowing. "The father has no place in the birthing room.” 

She has informed him of that fact for what feels like the hundredth time. But Link can’t stand the helplessness that threatens to consume him whenever Zelda screams.

"In Skyloft, the father does!" Link pulls out his most imploring expression, which always works on his wife. Wide, puppy-dog eyes, inner edges of his eyebrows pulled up, and bottom lip pouting.

"Well, you are not in Skyloft, young man!" His plea falls on deaf ears and blind eyes. "On the surface, you are not allowed!"

Link throws his arms up in despair. "This is barbaric!"

And indeed it was. Who had established the rule that men were not allowed at birth? It is an archaic notion. How had the Skyloftians advanced, and the few Hylians that remained on the surface wallowed in intellectual stagnation?

"I assure you, your wife is in good hands.” Ilia reaches out to rub soothing circles in the middle of his back. "You are not doing yourself or her any good fretting here. Go outside and calm yourself."

"Curse the goddesses!" Link emits a wail of anguish that startles even himself. With the release of his expletive, Ilia’s stern look returns, and she strong-arms him to the exit, shoving him outside and slamming the door in his wake. 

Link storms off, fuming, into the apple orchard outside their home, finding what little peace and relaxation it offers. Zelda's cries are muffled, but they still pierce his heart. He has put her in this predicament; he should be there to coax her through it. Damn, that meddling midwife.

Link wishes Groose were here; he'd cajole the senior midwife and distract her so Link can sneak past. But he and Zelda are on their own in this sparsely populated landscape. They settled near a small village, thinking having some semblance of civilization would be better than living in the middle of nowhere. If only they had known how uncivilized the people on the surface were. So small…so insular. They have been foolish; they should have made more effort to search out other races that may be more advanced than the Hylians.

The more he thinks about it, the angrier he becomes. It's all his fault. Now they are stuck dealing with primitive practices, and it's not like he can force himself past an elderly woman as if she is just another beast to smite with his sword.

There's no use thinking about it; Ilia will not allow him entrance. He follows the trail leading to the village's outskirts into a lush field of flowers. It is beautiful, but, oh, how he misses Skyloft and longs for it some days until the ache within feels like it will overwhelm him. Then, Zelda will smile and swing her lustrous blonde hair over one shoulder as she laughs, and the homesick pang subsides. She is his home, always has been, and no matter where they live, will be the only home he will ever need to know.

But today, he misses Red, his crimson loftwing, and he imagines Zelda must wish her violet-blue Keehar were here. The avian companions would be waiting expectantly to welcome the baby. The mother and father would present the newborn to them, and the feathered creatures would greet the infant with feather-light kisses from their wing tips. 

Link does not know how to recreate the tradition here. Most of the birds on the surface are small and wild, and he would never allow any near the infant. How strange that he trusts the giant loftwings more than the tiny sparrows that sing so merrily outside their bedroom window each morning. Not for the first time, he wonders if he is overly cautious, but Link doesn't think his heart could take it if anything were to happen to Zelda or their baby. 

All his strength and courage were expended chasing down Ghirahim, defeating him, only to then have to face the Demon King, Demise. Link still has nightmares of being unable to reach Zelda in time and watching her vanish as he falls to his knees, crying in despair. And a variation of Demise's final words lurk in the darkest shadows of his mind, like poisonous snakes, hissing, "I'll haunt you, Link." 

Pounding his forehead with his fists, Link pushes the foreboding thoughts back and locks them away. There is nothing to fear; Ghirahim is dead, and Demise was absorbed within the Master Sword, now secure in its pedestal within the Sealed Temple. Fi, her work done, is resting in an eternal slumber, and Link can only hope it is a peaceful one.

Taking a deep breath, he calms himself and sits in the middle of the field. He needs to focus on the here and now and not become lost in the past. Zelda needs him to be clear-headed and present; it is the least he can do and, frustratingly, the only thing at the moment. He lies on his back and stares at the crystal clear blue sky. Taking a few deep, cleansing breaths, after several moments, his eyelids droop as they grow heavy, and he dozes.

A tickling sensation on his nose and cheeks awakens Link several minutes later. His head has fallen to the side, and his blurred vision can only make out the various colors surrounding him when he opens his eyes. Then, as he focuses, he sees a few butterflies resting on the flowers beside him. The gentle whispering of their wings has woken him; he remains as still as he can and observes them. The meadow is full of fluttering creatures, as multi-colored as the wildflowers they are attracted to.

His body relaxes, and a butterfly gently lands on his cheek. It rests there for a while, and Link feels the soft brush of its wings against his face. The moment lingers, and his blue eyes grow wide as the grain of thought forms in his brain. It starts out very small but then strengthens, becoming a full-blown idea.

Slowly, Link sits up and rises to his feet. The butterflies nearby swirl around him, and his lips part with a face-splitting grin. He rushes back up the path and bursts through the door of his house.

"Has she had the baby yet?" He calls to Ilia, who is drinking a cup of tea at the scrubbed wood table in the kitchen.

"No, lad," she sighs.

"Great!" He exits as abruptly as he entered, but not before catching a glimpse of the highly perplexed expression on the elderly woman's face. He doesn’t care if she thinks he is crazy as he walks to the side of the house where the garden shed stands. Opening the door, he rummages through the various tools, tossing a hoe and a shovel aside until he finds Zelda's extra large bug-catching net. 

Next to be carelessly shoved aside are a couple of pails, a basket, and a broken shield he has been meaning to throw out but keeps forgetting about. He finally locates a good-sized cage lined with thin muslin windows and pulls it out. Turning it from side to side, he examines it to ensure all the muslin is secure and the door firmly latches. Then, slinging the net rod over his shoulder, Link gathers the cage and kicks the door shut as he heads back to the field.

Walking through the orchard, he snags an apple off a low-hanging branch and takes a big bite. The juice soaks over his tongue, cool and refreshing, and he quickly finishes the fruit before reaching the field. He drops the core to the ground along with the cage.

Pulling the rod from his shoulder, Link shakes out the net and gazes around the meadow. It is still full of butterflies, and he begins to amble through the field, gently waving the net through the air to capture a few colorful insects flitting about.

His mouth curves into a smile, and his eyes crinkle at the edges as he continues walking. "This is kind of fun. I think I like catching butterflies."

He sweeps the net through the air, and when he reaches the center of the field, he stops and balances on the balls of his feet as the winged insects settle around him. Hefting the rod, he preps to pirouette into a slow spin. As he begins to rotate, the startled insects swirl around him. He is in the eye of a butterfly hurricane; the net floats as he whirls, gathering his prizes.

As he comes to a stop, the net is now filled, and he quickly retrieves the cage, opens the door, and gently guides the fluttering creatures inside. He doesn't intend to keep the butterflies trapped for long, as surely the baby will arrive soon.

Now that the task is complete, the nervous energy he had felt earlier begins to creep back from the edges he had shunted it to. Link quells the panic that threatens to rise with the thought that he has tarried too long. He picks a flower bouquet before returning to the cottage nestled in the orchard. As he approaches, he sees crotchety Ilia standing in the doorway.

"Where have you been?" She scolds, shaking her head at him as if he were an errant child. "Come!” She gently pushes him into his home and toward the bedroom just as Oksana opens the door. 

She offers Link a silent congratulatory smile and steps aside so he can enter. He freezes at the threshold, the cage in one hand, a handful of flowers in the other. Zelda sits, propped up by several plump pillows, her sunny yellow hair haloing her face and shoulders, and in her arms, she cradles their newborn baby. She raises her tear-filled sea-green eyes to meet his stunned ocean blue.

"It's a girl, Link," she whispers, a beatific smile gracing her lips.

"A girl.” Link’s eyes widen, and his jaw drops. A girl to love and protect, but she will also need to fend for herself. His mind races with everything he will need to teach her when she is ready - how to fish, hunt, and fight with a sword and shield. And will she possess magical power, like Zelda? Only time will tell. The tiny bundle in Zelda’s arms squirms before he comes to his senses and rushes to her side. He lays the flowers on the nightstand and the cage on the other side of her before sitting on the edge of the bed to take a closer look.

Link gazes at the baby suckling Zelda's breast. The whorl of downy platinum hair, her delicately pointed ears, feathery light eyelashes shadowing her round cheeks, and her tiny, perfect hands curled into fists, kneading against her mother. 

"She's beautiful," he breathes in reverence. "Just like her mother." 

Zelda looks at him above the baby's head, and he leans in to kiss her. She glances at the cage by her side when he pulls back.

"I can't give her loftwing kisses," Link explains. "But will butterfly kisses do?"

Zelda's face scrunches up, her mouth puckered and crooked, as she struggles not to cry, and Link knows she is feeling homesick, too. "Yes, my sweet love."

He reaches past her and unlatches the door. A riot of color explodes from within, and Zelda laughs as a rainbow of fluttering wings surrounds her and the baby. The delicate creatures swirl and twirl around them, briefly clinging to Zelda's hair strands before flying off and fluttering at their cheeks, giving tender, light-as-feather kisses. The baby coos softly, and a small white butterfly lands on her round pink cheek. 

"I think you should name her, Link," Zelda gazes lovingly at him.

What should her name be? She will live an extraordinary life full of wonder, love, and happiness as they explore this strange, new land and unravel as many mysteries as possible. This will be a glorious adventure in a world that is bigger than they may ever know. And the knowledge of all that has passed that her parents hold within them, waiting to be revealed when she becomes curious and inquires. Link knows she will be inquisitive like her mother, intrepid like her father, and want to know the answers to everything. At that moment, he knows what her name should be.

"I would like to call her Fi."

[laslow]

Ever since those days back in Nevassa off the heels of the Mad King's War, those days where Leonardo taught him how to properly grip a sword and swing it, Edward's been ravenous in his wish to pick up more knowledge on swordplay, even if he was loathe to use it later on. It's a real balancing act between strength and finesse and agility, in his experience — But others, like the Black Knight and his hulking greatsword, and Ike, wielding that sword's twin, do things a bit differently. Even people who fight more like he does have their own flourishes.

His style? A patchwork that he's made into his own, a quilt never-finished. But even an unfinished quilt is warm and filled with memories, all the same.

Fódlan, too, is different. Edward's started to watch people have their own goes at training dummies, observe how people carry themselves, even out of combat, and that habit's carried over to those few hours he has to familiarise himself with his teammates.

Professor Laslow's a bit of a fun one — Despite his demeanor (wiles and whims and winks and whatnot), he carries himself with a practiced grace, a certain precision, even when he's as casual and carefree as can be. A bit like a dancer, maybe.

No, yeah, he knew when he first saw his attempt at lightening the mood, but Edward's decided he likes this guy.

"Professor Laslow!" he asks, cocking his head slighty — and soon breaks into a smile. "I'll be counting on you, so go ahead and count on me, too! Also, I'm looking forward to maybe attending some of your classes when we get back, so you better stay safe, yeah?"

Metal scrapes against the stone, creating a unique melody only his sword can dance to. He hums along to the staccato rhythm, brows furrowed in concentration.

A voice cuts off his song. Pink head snaps up, whetstone falling silent once his fingers still. It's that new kid...Ed...Edward! Laslow smiles in turn, gesture automatic.

"We'll guard each other's back, deal? Only maybe? Looks like I'll have to prove myself worthy of holding the title of assistant professor!" His tone remains light, teasing, a defense against the bone deep weariness of seeing yet another young soul forced to bear burdens too heavy for his shoulders.

The edges of his smile begin to dim. "Be on your guard, Edward. You never know how dangerous things can turn in an instant."

[bravely-default-archive]

Enigmatic Writings, 9/27

"I was awakened by the sound of sword practice, shouts of exertion, and the pleasant smell of toast.

One of the king's guard, perhaps? Looks about my age, and reasonably skilled. I lay in my makeshift bed, lazily counting his swings."

""Hurry up, Owen. You'll be late."

Upon hearing the inkeep's words, the youth replied and made his way down from the misty hilltop and into the inn.

The scent of breakfast coming from next door has me drooling..."

"One bite of my rock-hard bread brought me back to reality. The bacon burnt coal black and the murky, bitter coffee wish it hadn't. I suppose I can expect no more from a shabby stand in the port.

After choking down my fill, I climbed the hill toward the palace."

"Supplied by a series of lush waterways, Caldisla was once a formidable city-fortress. These days, its hooked central avenue is lined with a magic shop, general store, armory and other businesses.

A large gate stands as a vestige of that era, though now it serves mostly as a site for the town bulletin board."

""This year's boar hunt is set to begin once the final slot is filled! *Weapons provided by the hunting committee."

A boar hunt? With the duchy attacking?"

"I was speechless. As I made to leave, I felt someone grasp my shoulder.

"This fellow says he'll join the hunt! We ride today!"

I turned, shock and irritation laid bare, only to find Owen, the young man I had seen practicing in the fog that morning."

"My initial protests were drowned in a rising cheer, and as the smith handed me a broadsword and buckler, I dumbly accepted. Potions from the town chemist followed. Between their expectant smiles and Owen's grin, I found myself unable to say no."

"On the road, I was told a litany of facts I cared nothing about.

The search for food to fatten up before hibernating apparently drives the giant boars to local farms, where they raid crops and injure workers. As a result, the city gathers volunteers each year to hunt them."

"As captain of the guard (I discover), responsibility for overseeing the hunt falls upon Owen.

The armorer was slated to participate, but a leg injury has him on crutches. Owen says he was searching for a replacement when he found a promising candidate during his morning practice. Lucky him."

"We walked a full, tiring day stalking our prey. First the trader gave out, then chatter dried up between the two young castle guards.

Sunset found us upriver from the city, at the entrance to the Norende Canyon. Just as we decided to make camp, a rustling came from the thickets behind us!"

"The boar that lept out was indeed a giant-- a vicious, one tusked monster that had survived the last year's hunt. In a flash, it gored one of the guards, then the other, leaving Owen, me, and the trader. The boar stamped the ground, preparing to charge the old man now paralyzed with fear."

"I expect we'd all given up hope for the kindly old merchant, when the beast suddenly changed course.

With only seconds to react, Owen landed the mighty blow, felling the monster in a single strike!"

"I set about treating the young guards' injuries.

The trader, clearly still worked up, narrated Owen's victory to the two boys. With every reverent word, I felt as though I was being derided as useless."

"The others took to sleep, while I sat watch to keep the fire going. Owen rose, and came to sit beside me.

"Thanks for before."

I kept silent, but he pressed on."

[Image I.D: A black and white pencil drawing of Captain Owen. The drawing is a full body shot of Captain Owen, smiling while holding the large boar. The boar's eyes are X-ed out. End I.D]

""The boar only changed targets because you circled behind me and channeled your energy at it. It's thanks to you we're not carting home a corpse."

He sat waiting, apparently bent on receiving a response. His grin is infectious."

""I took the surest course of action," I replied as I held aloft my broadsword.

"I had my doubts this blade was up to the task."

The weapon's edge was chipped in places, its length bent. With a gentle shake, the pommel gave an unsettling rattle. Owen burst into laughter at the noise."

"Apparently my response passed muster. He continued, his grin never flagging.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll stay at my place. I'll give word to my father to open a room for you."

I was dragged on this hunt, but if it earns me a real breakfast, it's a bargain I'd take gladly."

[izzy-b-hands]

Woke up from a nap thinking abt what if Ed and Izzy and Jack did all meet on Hornigolds ship and honed their various skills there

Which sounds sorta cool and impressive until you remember that means Jack learning to use his whip and i just.

"Hey Jack can you grab that knife for m-NOT USING THE WHIP OH GOD"

"Jack my upper back itches could you-" Cut to Izzy or Ed immediately screeching in pain bc of course their darling dumbass used his whip to helpfully get rid of that itch, he's gotta take these learning opportunities as they come up dang it!!

I'm gonna guess the only time he stops for a moment, much like when he kills Karl, is when Hornigold asks him to do something and before Ed or Izzy can go Jack no, don't use the whip, and...well:

"Jack, be a good lad and fetch me my spyglass, sitting there on that barrel."

Cut to a shot of a clearly antique and ornate spyglass. Hornigold has either had it forever or stole it from someone who inherited it and has looked after it for ages.

Then, a shot of a younger Ed and Izzy making horrified eye contact bc they Know what's abt to happen.

Then, we move to a young, eager and grinning Jack, raising the whip in his hand...

The snap of the whip, the smash of the now broken spyglass, and a roar from Hornigold who's turned around and is looking at Jack like literally the fuck is wrong with you

Cut to a few hours later and a sniffling Jack, post a whipping of his own as punishment for breaking the spyglass. His whip is also confiscated, however Hornigold had Izzy take it, and Mr. Sentimental wouldn't want to be parted from his beloved sword, so how can he keep their friend from his own cherished weapon?

They stay up and sneak balms to put on Jack's wounds, and tell him he might want to wait a bit before using the whip again. If anything, practice when they go ashore, on a big empty beach.

Then:

Ed: Fuck, I left that other salve across the room. Hang on, let m-

Jack, despite laying flat on his stomach and weeping in pain, grabs his whip and gives it his all to get that damn salve for his friend...

only to accidentally nail Izzy right by his eye instead, leaving Izzy in pain and setting a new record for most curses uttered at one time on a pirate ship (impressive, considering the amount of cursing occurring on most ships)

Later, at another port, Izzy disappears for a couple of hours, only to return with the north star tattoo by his eye to cover the tiny mark left by Jack's whip.

Jack is absolutely thrilled and asks if he wants him to do the other side so he can get a tattoo to match there, bc he just can't help himself.

Izzy is less thrilled with that idea, and Ed supervises/doubles as a hype man for both of them after Izzy tackles Jack to the sand and they brawl for a bit

(it ends in tired laughter, and Jack swears he'll be more careful with the whip from now on. No one believes that, not even Jack, but the gesture is nice all the same.)

[bookshelf-dust]

eddie the grump

eddie munson x gn!reader

word count: 1,063

warnings: swearing, fluffy fluff

a/n: this is the first time i’ve written for eddie!! i’ve been wanting to for a while, and i ended up with this. i hope one of you out there in the void enjoys it. <33

————

Oh holy shit. No. Fucking. Way. No way you were putting your book down now. Not after that shit.

Just one more chapter, you thought, flipping to the next page and settling further into the couch. Then I’ll go to bed.

Pulling yourself out of your book for a moment, remembering who’s couch you were on, you lifted your head.

Your eyes landed on your boyfriend, who was sat at the small dining table, supposedly finishing up his next campaign for Hellfire.

But currently, Eddie’s left hand was holding up his head, his right still holding a worn down pencil. His eyes were fluttering, closing for a few seconds every now and then. You could see that he was vehemently fighting sleep, and—spoiler alert—he was losing.

Eddie’s eyes widened and he set his pencil down, moving to rub both hands down his face. He shook his head, bangs swaying with the motion. He was clearly determined to finish this tonight. He sat up straighter, shuffled his papers closer together, started writing again.

Only for the same sequence to occur again. Eddie’s eyes closing on him, his pencil falling limp, his head slipping from his hand and jerking him awake.

After a while, you continued reading, just trying to round out your night, knowing he did this to himself all the time.

Eventually, you shut the book, setting it on the end table beside you. Standing and stretching out your stiff limbs, you glanced at the clock, realizing it was almost two in the morning. And Eddie was completely gone at this point. His arms were crossed on the table, head resting on top of them, face squished against his fingers.

His cheeks were smushed, his lovely little nose along with them. His hair splayed about everywhere, practically covering all of the scribbles on the papers beneath his arms.

You walked over to him, stopping to run your hand up his back. Looking closer, you could see that there was a little figurine under his cheek, one that would most definitely leave an imprint of its sword behind.

Even in this position, he looked so peaceful. He wasn’t worrying, no ensuing wrinkles creasing his forehead, no frown lines around his mouth. He looked so young.

“Eddie…” you started, trying to wake him up and get him in bed. You brought both hands up to his shoulders, rubbing how you knew he liked. “Eddie, baby.” Your hands moved over his arms, up his back again, and he started to stir.

“Uh-uh.” He shook his head, trying to snuggle further into his arms, but the sword poked him in the face and he groaned. Eddie raised his head, picking up the metal elf and setting it away from him.

“Eddie, my love, you need to go to bed. It’s late and you fell asleep.” He pushed to sit up, shaking his head at you.

“No. Gotta fi—” he yawned, “finish this.”

“It’ll be here when you wake up, Ed. Come on.” You wrapped a hand around his forearm, pulling gently. He finally looked up at you, and he was pouting. Full-on, grumping. Furrowed brow, frown, stuck out bottom lip.

“Noooo. I need to finish it.” He yawned again. He could be such a little shit sometimes.

You let go of him. “Edward Munson. Get your ass up. You’re going to bed. Come on.”

Even in his groggy state, he could tell you were serious, and slid around in the chair so his legs were out from under the table. “You’re mean,” he told you, crossing his arms.

“Not mean. You’re bein’ grumpy sleepy Eddie.” He rolled his eyes at you.

“Carry me.”

“What?”

“Carry me to bed.” Was he serious?

“Eddie, I can’t carry you to bed. I might drop you. You’re bigger than me.”

“Am not.” He was. “‘M scrawny. You can do it.” He held his arms out to you.

“Eddie.”

“Pleeeeeeeease? I love you.” He was pouting again. Batting his eyelashes. You couldn’t take those fucking big brown puppy-dog eyes.

“How about a piggyback ride? Would that be okay?” Eddie perked up at the suggestion. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had one before.

Eddie Munson was very affectionate. And sometimes that meant hurling his body at yours, tackling you or throwing his arms around you. Other times jumping on you and hoping you don’t collapse.

“Yeah. That’ll do.”

You turned around so your back was to him, bending slightly at the waist. Behind you, Eddie clumsily pulled himself to stand, gasping when his back cracked, and then leaned over the length of you.

He wrapped his arms around your neck, spreading his legs on either side of you. “C’mon, Munson. Jump on.” He hopped, allowing for you to grab hold of his thighs, and try to hoist him up a little ways.

“Shit!” You laughed, almost dropping him to the floor.

Eddie was indeed quite the gangly boy, but having his entire body on you like this was rather overwhelming.

Eddie’s biceps were around your neck, almost cutting off your air supply, his head resting on top of yours. Your hands held on to his thighs for dear life. “Giddy-up, now darlin.’ Or else I’m going to sleep right here.”

With a roll of your eyes, you began the waddle down the short hallway to his bedroom, boyfriend in tow.

After smacking into his bedroom door, you turned around, heaving him off of you, letting him fall to the bed with an audible “thump.”

Eddie let out a groan.

“See? Knew you could do it. Now come to bed. To bed I said.” He made grabby hands at you. Who were you to deny the grabby hands of one Eddie Munson?

You crossed your arms at him as he lifted the covers and settled underneath them, snuggling up on his pillow. He stared at you, crossing his arms dramatically in mockery of you.

“I’m waiting.” Eddie sat for a moment, contemplating. Then, all at once, he sat up, threw off the blankets, and moved to the side of the bed, propping himself up on his knees in front of you.

He took your hand, bowing, and kissing the back of it. “Thank you for my piggyback ride, M’lady.”

“You’re welcome.” He grinned up at you, eyes filled with sleep, and grabbed you by the waist to pull you back into bed with him.

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

[randominagines]

Hi could you write a Edmund x Female reader one short?

Thanks for the request!

Pairing: Edmund Pevensie X Fem reader

Setting: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Warning: angst, fluff

P.s. if you find any mistake please correct me, English is not my mother tongue and I want to improve. Reblog, if you can, it helps a lot, thank you💕

P.p.s. gifs belong to the creators.

The Ice Queen

"How is Peter?" Y/n asked while sitting next to her boyfriend. Edmund sighed, his eyes stuck on the forest. He was more than tired after the failed attempt to conquer Miraz's fortress, not to mention how emotionally destroyed he was. "He blames himself." He said and caressed her hand. Y/n looked at him, her lips pressed and her hand still on the tilt of her sword. "He's trying his best." She said, not able to blame him too. Edmund nodded and finally stared at her: she looked beautiful, with the sunlight making her y/c/e eyes shining and her y/h/c hair messy because of the wind. "I know. I'm just glad you're safe, even if we lost so many of us..." He whispered, his eyes getting watery. Y/n caressed his cheek, her touch delicate. "Baby, you did whatever you could. Don't torment yourself further." She said and he nodded, firmly trying to keep hold back his tears. He felt a bit better when she hugged him, her touch was able to calm him. Y/n was a blessing in his life and he couldn't be more grateful.

Before he could say anything else, they heard noises coming from inside. They both stood up, hands on the swords and body tensed. "What was that noise?" She asked and Peter suddenly appeared. "Let's go check." He said and ran inside. Edmund nodded and followed him too, with y/n right behind him.

The last thing that Edmund expected to see was exactly what he saw. Standing right in front of him there was Caspian, looking right at the centre of a huge ice block, and inside of it, Edmund's biggest fear: Jadis. The Ice Queen looked like she hadn't age a single day, with her intense eyes and pale skin. Edmund widened his eyes in shock while y/n looked at him. "Ed, is that--" she couldn't finish her sentence, because Peter practically pushed Caspian on the floor to confront Jadis himself. Y/n looked at him, her body tensed, and she noticed that he was hesitating. "Peter! What the hell are you waiting for?!" She screamed, but the High King reached his hand to take Jadis'. Y/n widened her eyes and looked at Edmund: he was completely frozen, he couldn't even move.

She realized that he wasn't going to be able to do something and shook her head. "Shit!" She cursed before running to Peter, killing whoever tried to stop her, and brusquely grabbed his shoulders to shake him, her body now positioned between his and the ice block. "Peter, please, what are you do--" in that moment, she perceived the deepest cold inside her bones. "Y/n." Jadis voice was like a shiver on her skin. She slowly turned and looked at her: her eyes had the insane power to make her feel like she could never feel warm again. She swallowed her own saliva. "Jadis." She managed to say, her voice shaking. The witch smiled, in a kind and almost maternal way. "You are insanely beautiful, child. How is Edmund?" She asked, perfectly aware of the bound between her and the young king. Y/n felt a growing anger inside of her and raised her sword. "How dare you talk about him?" She asked, her tone now firm.

Jadis chuckled and barely touched her blade: the whole sword turned into ice and broke into a million pieces. Y/n gasped and looked at her hand: the tips of her fingers were almost blue, like completely frozen. She widened her eyes and immediately lowered her arm while the witch smiled at her. "So, you care about him, and I bet he cares about you too," she hesitated but just to look at him. Y/n turned too and saw her boyfriend: he looked like he was staring at a ghost. "I see, let's see how much you care about this girl." She said and surprisingly reached her hand a bit more and managed to grab her by her shirt. She tried to move, but her touch was so powerful that practically stopped her whole body, like her whole body was a huge piece of ice too at that point. "Edmund, don't come near!" She cried out, desperately trying to save him.

Edmund wasn't exactly the kind of person who simply threw himself into a battle without a second thought, but there were cases in which not even his rationality could stop him. One of those cases, regarded situations in which y/n was in danger. Hearing his girlfriend calling out his name with such a desperation made him completely snap out of his trans. He grabbed his sword and started to run, but he knew he couldn't simply attack her. In that moment, Peter lucky stood up too and tried to grab y/n. Edmund took advantage of the moment of distraction to run behind the ice block. "Don't touch her!" He screamed.

and he didn't even hesitate, he simply embedded his blade into the ice, exactly at the centre of Jadis' body. The witch gasped and widened her eyes, her hand letting y/n go while Peter managed to catch her a second before she fell on the ground. The ice block broke into a million pieces and Edmund ran to y/n. He grabbed her into his arms and looked at her. "Y/n, y/n, are you hurt? Have you been hurt?" He desperately asked, his voice shaking and his eyes travelling on her body to identify if there was a wound. Y/n took a deep breath and looked at him, her hand caressing his face. "Ed, I'm okay, I'm okay." She tried to calm him, her finge tracing his cheekbone. He started to breath regularly again and hugged her, his arms wrapping around her torso and his face hidden in the crook of her neck. Peter stood up and left them alone while they looked at each other. He had watery eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I can't believe I just stood there, she could have hurt you, she could have killed you and--" she shook her head and put a hand on his cheek, her thumb tracing his lower lip. "You saved me, you saved my life. Thank you, Edmund." She simply said before pressing her lips on his. Edmund kissed her back, his hand behind her head while she smiled on his lips. "I love you." She whispered, her eyes stuck into his. He rubbed his nose against hers. "I love you too, y/n, you don't even imagine how much." He said before holding her tight, grateful that nothing bad had happened to her.

[doks-aux]

Bellhands ask! I'm torn between Bellhands having met young, with Izzy still with some softness anyone would find lovable so of COURSE Sam would love him too, and thus still loves him even once he's hardened as an adult; and Bellhands meeting as adults, Izzy already a fully formed shouty grumpy guy, and Sam just being sprung for him immediately for reasons that baffle everyone ("why is the actual Prince of Pirates, Robin Hood of the Seas, handsome and charming Sam Bellamy for whom the universe bends backwards, so smitten with... that"). I've read some fics/your posts that explore them having met as youths, how do you feel an adult first meeting between them would go, and do you have a preference as to how/what age they meet, should it be explored in canon? Thank you for introducing us all to such a great ship and fascinating pirate!

Eee! Thank you!

First, I can't really take credit for the ship. I got into it because @thegreatblondebalrogslayer and a few others had written some very nice fics and he kept coming up during "Izzy needs a boyfriend" discussions with friends. I just researched him, got obsessed, and starting running my mouth in the tags about it.

It is a tough choice. Most folks do go the "met in childhood/youth" route, as do I for my own little AU--though I have kid Izzy already a prickly, stubborn little cuss who probably pushes Sam off a dock the first time they meet, and Sam is instantly smitten like "Friend??!! New best friend??!!!" I think it's important and fun that Sam (or anyone that falls for Izzy) likes Izzy for the rougher parts of him as well as the hidden softer center rather than despite them. So that is a big appeal of them first meeting as adults. Izzy is all briars and nettles, and the famed Prince of Pirates looks at him and thinks "I am going to love and cherish the SHIT out of this little man."

I've only seen a couple of fics/posts have them meet as adults. It would probably be tricky to have it happen during the Kraken era since Izzy's probably not in a good place for meeting new people. Maybe if he somehow got banished again or struck out on his own, maybe to find Stede? It might be best if they met while Izzy was separated from Ed and the others so he doesn't have the stress of dealing with them all or the pressure of performing his role. Maybe the Whydah fishes him out of the ocean. Maybe Sam is in the same port Izzy is seeking information in. Sam seems keen on quests and adventures; maybe he's heard tales of the Gentleman Pirate and of Blackbeard's strange behavior and figures, hell, he and his boys are plenty rich enough for the moment, why don't they help out this fascinating angry man in the leather trousers? If it's something post-BlackBonnet reconciliation, maybe the Revenge crew runs into or turns to Sam and his fleet while trying to outmaneuver the Royal Navy who are almost certainly hunting them down.

There are a lot of possibilities, and I don't know which I'd prefer. But I love the whole seeming opposites attract appeal of it all, Sam with his grand and romantic ideals appreciating Izzy's more practical concerns. Sam showing Izzy that it is possible to balance successful piracy and a formidable reputation with a more humanitarian approach to captaining and altruistic notions (Sam's known for his compassion but that doesn't mean he can't and won't take absolutely all of your shit); Ed and Stede were just too far up their own and each other's asses to have really genuinely tried to find that balance for awhile. They'd share a loathing of the aristocracy. Sam would respect Izzy's experience and sword fighting skills, and Izzy would respect how Sam brought himself up from nothing, how the luxuries he enjoys were properly earned (re: stolen) like they should be. This is a match that could actually work.

As for when I'd prefer them to have met should Sam show up in canon, I'm not sure. On the one hand, we know so very little of Izzy's background, that having an old friend show up has so much potential. On the other, it'd be nice for Izzy to bond with someone who has no connection to his own or adjacent baggage. The really important thing is that Sam be someone set apart from the Revenge and its shenanigans, someone who can see Izzy as he is and not as an extension or reflection of or in comparison to Ed or Stede or their merry band of lunatics. Someone who sees Izzy's own personal brand of lunacy and thinks "That. That is what I'm into. This is what I want more of."

Thank you so much for the ask!! I'm so glad to have people to talk to about this ship that doesn't exist. 💖🏴‍☠️

[chthonic-cassandra]

Recent books, fiction (including lots of retellings that I am a sort of a jerk about) -

Linden Lewis, The First Sister - reasonably strong sci-fi, quite solid for a debut novel. I picked it up and was drawn in for concubine narrative reasons; the most compelling of the novel's three protagonists is a young woman raised from childhood to be a one of an order of priestess-concubine women serving on spaceships and prohibited from speaking so as not to reveal the secrets they hear. I found this plotline affecting (as I would), but the novel as a whole needed to a work a little harder for the emotional investment of its readers. What was most striking was how vividly of the moment it felt within the genre - all these elements (neural implants, identity confusion of a somewhat dissociative nature, a particular relationship with empire, a particular handling of gender) felt recognizable as specifically characteristic of sci-fi of the past decade or so. I wonder how these stories will age.

Holly Black, Book of Night - this is Black's first foray into adult fiction; it's entertaining but not particularly memorable urban fantasy. Peculiarly, it bears a striking resemblance to Leigh Bardugo's first novel for adults, published a couple years back - both center around rough-edged female thieves (for a generous definition of thief) trying to work around wealthy men who are seeking power through magic while also getting entangled with a somewhat mysterious male love interest with an anguished backstory. This was fine. Black has always been a bit hit or miss for me, but this doesn't have the wild, self-indulgent edge of her strongest work, and the magic system is incoherent to the point of being distracting.

Swapna Krishna & Jenn Northington, eds. Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices - short story collection, new interpretations of Arthurian legends. Fine but not great. A few of the stories will stick with me, like Roshani Chokshi's Fisher King story about fate and Maria Dahvana Headley's epistolary retelling set in turn-of-the century America (interestingly, I haven't much liked the novels of Chokshi or Dahvana Headley's that I've read before?), but none of them deeply moved me or really made me see the originals in a new way. The modern retelling (by Jessica Plummer) with reincarnated (maybe?) Elaine as a barista will stick in my mind both because I was left puzzling over the author's choice of coffee orders for the Arthurian characters and also because it made me think wistfully about one of my old LJ friend's reincarnated Arthurian figures fic which I loved a lot and don't remember how to find again.

Gwendolyn Kiste, Reluctant Immortals - Lucy Westenra and Bertha Rochester are living out their immortal lives together in California in the 1960's when they have to deal with the reemergence of Dracula and Rochester into their lives. This was a cute novel in a lot of ways, but suffered from an unwillingness to commit too far in any direction - to its horror, to its humor, to its aesthetics. The liveliest parts of the book are when Kiste is setting the grotesquerie of Lucy's vampirism against 1960's Americana, and I think what the book really wanted to be was a kind of playfully feminist explication of the contemporary-set Hammer Draculas (probably without the Jane Eyre element at all, to be honest), but it didn't actually go there and so a lot of it fell flat. I was moved by Lucy's many deaths and her meeting Mina in the liminal space in between resurrections, but none of it was enough. Like another feminist vampire novel I read earlier this year (The Lost Girls), I theoretically appreciated its engagement with Dracula tropes from a different lens, but in practice it just played everything too safe, falling within this neat narrative of female revenge that is probably quite joyful for some readers but doesn't land for me.

Elizabeth Nunez, Even in Paradise - King Lear reset on Barbados. This didn't work for me; I found it scattered, tonally weird, and none of the characters felt emotionally believable.

Adania Shibli, Minor Detail (trans. Elisabeth Jacquette) - a contemporary Palestinian woman reflects on the rape and murder of another Palestinian woman by Israeli soldiers in 1949. This was moving and effective in its brevity, though the distancing effect of the one tragedy being seen through the other character's gaze/imagining was, I found, not quite what I ended up wanting out of the narrative. Interesting for my ongoing tracking of violence representations.

Katherine Duckett, Miranda in Milan - Miranda after the events of The Tempest tries to unravel the secrets her father has kept from her. This was enjoyable, at points quite so; the queer narrative was an especial pleasure after my Shakespeare group had just had a conversation about the pointed foreclosure of Miranda's opportunities for lesbian desire in the play ("no woman's face remember/save from my glass mine own"). But the plotting is pretty weak, and it's not as sharp a reading of the play as I would have hoped for. Still glad I read it.

Laura Sebastian, Half-Sick of Shadows - Elaine of Astolat retelling that I thought was just straight-up bad. Flat characters, incoherent world-building and relation to the legend (there are some pieces which are just imported assumptions from Mists of Avalon in a totally different setting), just really irritating.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau - premise should be clear from the title. This was solid, enjoyable, didn't change my life. This is always my experience of Moreno-Garcia - I liked her early novels and was excited to see her grow as a writer, but to my gaze at least she seems to have just...stayed consistent. I enjoy her books, but I always want something more - I wanted them to be weirder, darker, more emotionally intense. This was no exception. I'll probably keep reading her work.