#Unferth

[savebatsartedition]

Beowulf Anime Opening (700 frame fully colored animation.)

Blood and possible eyestrain warning!

If this flops I will be so sad.

All designs, choreography and animation by ‪@savebatsfromscratch‬ (me) in my own interpretation of the text.

I believe that I will be making a video explaining all my creative choices in this video, so stick around for when that happens. :3

Okay, now you see why I couldn't do any of my dang map parts for like forever. 💀

(Credits under the cut.)

Song: Manic WarLord Mother by HoliznaCC0 The song can be found here, it's free to use music and the artist has some other good ones!: X (Btw there are no lyrics of this song available online. I’m doing my best with what I can hear but I cannot guarantee that they are accurate.)

Program: Turbowarp Bitmap Quotes: Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf. :)

I am not exaggerating when I say this took me forever to make. (Two months with MANY six hour days of animation in them, not to mention my design work and actual interpretation work of the text.)

[chaoticgoodthief]

You want art prompts? Okay. Draw ship art of Beowulf and Unferth

Ok, this was a ... bit of a challenge. But... Hope it at least gets a laugh.

Not extremely shippy since I have Very Limited Art Skills TM but I think it's definitely shippy enough to count.

[doodleferp]

Not me reading John Gardner’s Grendel so I can properly smooch a Jim Henson creation

AGAIN

[i-am-pinkie]

I don't remember Beowulf at all I'm ashamed to say. I'm waiting to make a decision....maybe I'll read the book...🤔🧐

[haljathefangirlcat]

My dealer: got some straight gas 🔥😛 this strain is called “Beowulf” 😳 you’ll be zonked out of your gourd 💯

Me: yeah whatever. I don’t feel shit.

literal years later, when I least expected it: dude I swear I just saw Cain's spawn lurking in the fens

My buddy the narrator pacing: Hrothulf is plotting against his uncle

The thing about Beowulf is... I never quite got the hype about it. (Yes, we're not Supposed to use words like "hype" about world literature Classics, especially from ancient times, or to make light of them in general. Shut up and contemplate the fact that social media posts expressing nothing more than personal opinions and feelings aren't generally meant to be the same thing as academic work to be shared between academians in an academic context.) Ofc, I understood its historical value, including in terms of linguistics and philology. But in terms of "would I pick this as reading material to obsess and fall into a research hole over"? Despite trying a few times, I never quite got past ALL the references to God every other line. ("Snorri was an Evil Zealot who set out to knowingly and purposefully Christianize Norse mythology For The Evulz" crowd, I will tattoo each and every single one of those all over your body so you can't look into a mirror without accidentally reading one ever again.) The apparently disjointed "Beowulf fights Grendel and then Grendel's mother in Denmark. Years later, after going back to Sweden and becoming king, he also fights a dragon but this time he dies" narrative didn't really appeal to me, either. Nor did the presence of (afaik) exactly one (1) named female character. (Wealhtheow, babe, in hindsight I'm so sorry.)

I'm not sure what changed, exactly. It's just that, some time ago, I finally got around to reading Grendel by John Gardner, and I loved it and thought "wow, this would have made me either bawl my eyes out or stare off into space for like five-to-ten minutes after finishing it, had I read it as a teen." And after that, I found myself thinking "well, now I should probably get to know know the original story," and finally picking up my copy of Tolkien's translation of Beowulf, and realzing there actually was a lot going on in the story, and getting way too engaged in the looming "Hrothulf kills Hrothgar's kids" subplot that doesn't even really resurface in any later material about Hrolf Kraki (though those aren't exactly free from fucked-up family dynamics, either...), and going "!!! Volsungar mention!!!!" at the bit about Sigemund and Fitela despite already knowing about the Sigemund and Fitela bit and the whole "who actually killed the dragon first/in which tradition" question, and losing my mind at the bit about Hama and the "necklace of the Brosings" and "Eormanaric's hate" because, yeah, I already knew about that one, too, kind of, but recently I've gone into a little bit of a Brisingamen deep-dive, and a while ago I read a really interesting commentary and translation of the Hildebrandslied that had quite a lot to say not just about the specific hatred/enmity of a powerful king for an adventurous hero but also about the shift from Odoacher to Ermanric as Dietrich' von Bern's enemy, which ofc (?) got me thinking about Eormanaric/Ermanric/Jormunrek's apparent widespread reputation for being an asshole, something there probably has to be some accessible paper in English about somewhere out there...

Ahem. Anyway, I also found myself alternating reading Tolkien's translation with watching Grendel Grendel Grendel, the weird and very simplified and toned down but still somehow very enjoyable and sad kids' movie adaptation of Gardner's Grendel. And Beowulf & Grendel, the one without any magic where Grendel's a traumatized Neanderthal on a quest of vengeance that's somehow also quite a good watch despite the wonky editing, the cast and crew being possibly cursed by the Norse gods, and ofc, the time-displaced Neanderthals. And Animated Epics: Beowulf, which I might have actually watched once as a child, thinking about it. And Simon Roper and Jackson Crawford's read-along, featuring interesting linguistic, literary, and historical notes as well as Australian!Hrothgar, Beowulf making it exceedingly clear that "some of my best friends are Danes!", and some unforgettable exchanges such as "I used to tell my students the story about that time I almost drove off a cliff when they were worried about their exams to make them undestand that I, too, had experienced the fear of death :|" "I'm glad you didn't perish :)" "Thanks. :|" (I'm on the Fits 8-11 video, btw. Even if, when it comes to Tolkien's translation, I'm already at the part where Beowulf says goodbye to Hrothgar and sails back to the land of the Geats. Look, I remebered thos videos existed somewhat belatedly.)

I think eventually I might also end up rewatching The 13th Warrior (which I'm gonna go out on a limb and say might be the true origin of the ahistorical Neanderthals in Beowulf & Gredenl, but I remember liking that one, too). And Outlander (my beloved "aliens crash-land in Viking Age Scandinavia and fight each other while being Sad & Tragic in their own ways" one, not the Scottish one) but specifically as a Beowulf reimagining this time around (rather than as "the movie that could have totally had the Brooding Hero, Fiery But Sweet Warrior Woman, and Hotheaded Rival-Turned-Friend invent modern polyamory, because that wouldn't have been weirder than having a character called Boromir" like every other time). Maybe that weird post-apocalyptic Beowulf that was the first to do the "Grendel's mom's got it goin' on" thing, too, at least if I can find that snarky review of it on Youtube again. Probably not the Uncanny CGI Desperately Trying To Be Live-Action 20O5 Beowulf where the titular hero keeps screaming "BEOWULF!!" and "I'M BEOWULF!!!" just in case the audience's intelligence levels can't be considered to be above the average rock's, and that also decided to add a foot fetish/body paint kink note to its cover of Grendel's Mom, though, unless I can find any snarky review of it. (I remember reading somewhere that the director actually hated Beowulf, as in the poem itself, and accepting the bit of info without question. The high heels-shaped feet are just one of the reasons why I wonder if anyone ever asked him if perhaps he hated women, too. At least his work supposedly contributed to the writers of Outlander being told "there's already too many Beowulf movies coming out!" and going "whatever, we're gong to do our own thing! With blackjack and hookers aliens and shieldmaidens", so I should probably thank him for that.)

Unfortunately, while I'm pretty sure I'll be able to avoid writing down a list of Adaptations I Absolutely Need To Check Out One Day Or I'll Die (i.e. Every Single I've Ever Heard About) like I did for The Nibelungs In Their Every Possible Form, all of this had the unforeseen side effect of reminding me that, even when I didn't have much if any interest in Beowulf, I used to have a bit of soft spot for Unferth. I mean, how could I not, when I imprinted on Hagen von Tronje when I was eleven-years-old? Give me a guy who knows all of The Hero's heroic deeds and still doesn't find him all that impressive from their very first meeting, and I'll just "👀" at him. Though from what I knew, this guy in particular seemed to go against his character type by becoming more friendly with the hero and lending him his ancestral sword, which seemed pretty interesting. Especially because he was apparently a fratricide, too? And you wouldn't expect a guy who killed his own brothers and got a "... and that's why you'll go to Hell!" by The Hero over it to have any kind of redemption arc/sudden reveal of hidden depths in any positive sense. And there was also that paper (which, ofc, I didn't bookmark at the time, and now I want to kick myself for that until I remember the title or at least the author...) arguing that maybe him telling off Beowulf about the swimming race was less about him as a person and more about him having a specifc role among the thanes in Heorot that included testing strangers requesting to speak with Hrothgar to figure out if they really were who they claimed to be or if they could actually live up to their reputation...

Again, I blame John Gardner, at least in part. He has a really crunchy Unferth, who definitely reawakened my interest in the character. The on in Grendel Grendel Grendel wasn't half-bad, either, though very different in some respects. But the original, too, ended up being actually so much more fun (meaning, so much more to chew on/rotate in my mind) than I could have imagined from my vague memories.

First you've got the iconic "didn't you look like a total loser against Breca, and isn't that literally all there is to know about you?" "shut up, you're drunk, a kinslayer, someone I have never heard anyone tell heroic tales about, and also, maybe if you were braver Grendel wouldn't keep eating you guys" banter, and I'm starting to realize that might be already more juicy, in terms of both Beowulf's and Unferth's characterizations and their interactions together, than I ever thought it was. Then you've got a line that sounds an awful lot like "everyone could see Grendel's severed arm hanging from the ceiling and that shut Unferth up" and seems to imply some sort of lingering bitterness on Unferth's side when Heorot is in the middle of the celebrations for Grendel's death. But then Unferth actually starts being described in much more favorable terms, almost as if the narrator were pointing out that, despite what the audience might think after his first appearance, there's a reason he's close to Hrothgar and has a good place in his hall... even if at the same time Unferth's praised for his "mighty heart" (something quite different from cowardice), wisdom, and the trust everyone in Heorot apparently has in his mind, there's actually another reference to him having had no mercy for his relatives "in the play of swords" in the past. (Fun little detail: that line comes right after one to the effect of "Hrothgar and Hrothulf were there and no betrayal had yet happened between them"...)

Until, finally, you get Beowulf preparing to go fight Grendel's mother and Unferth giving him his family's swords, Hrunting. And all kinds of entertaining things happen in relation to Hrunting.

You've got Unferth not remembering his first words to Beowulf because he was just really, really, really drunk when he said them, which seems to go well with Beowulf himself calling out his speech as a drunken boast but not with the "that shut him up" line I mentioned before. (Which leads me to wonder: was he actually too drunk to know what he was saying? Or did Beowulf give him an easy out in case he regretted it, which Unferth eventually chose to take to try and smooth things over?) You've got Unferth being "mighty of valour" yet not daring to go after Grendel's mother himself and "forfeiting glory" while giving his weapon to a "worthier" warrior, but his sword getting some lengthy praise nonetheless, to the point of being basically deemed infallible, and Beowulf not only not making any more comments on Unferth's supposed lack of bravery but calling him a man of "wide renown", praising his sword some more, vowing to succeed in his heroic feat with Hrunting or die trying, and telling Hrothgar that no matter what happens, Unferth must get it back when it's all over. And after that... you've got Hrunting utterly failing to kill or even harm Grendel's mother.

Except, that's literally the first time it ever fails at anything? And Beowulf can only kill Grendel's mother when, with the help of God, he finds a magical sword forged by giants, which implies there was no problem with it (and, by extension, with Unferth?) as the whole situation simply needed a little something extra to be dealt with?

Then, you've got Beowulf actually bringing Hrunting back, even if it wasn't much use to him when it really mattered. And praising it again, making sure to publicly clarify, while addressing Hrothgar himself, that no, it really is an excellent sword. And, after some more "the monster is dead!" celebration, Unferth himself (unambiguously "bold", now) having the sword brought over again not just to lend it Beowulf, but to gift it to him.... a weapon that is both nothing to sneeze at and, as Beowulf himself has acknowledged while praising it, a family heirloom. (From a guy who probably already has enough complicated feelings about his family without running around giving that kind of stuff away, to boot!) One Beowulf accepts once more, and gladly, already figuring it will be "a good friend in war, a power in battle" and saying absolutely nothing bad about it (the narrator goes "oh he's so gallant!" at him after that bit, which is admittedly kind of hilarious in itself, but still, imho, not really much to go on if you want to think he's not being sincere) right before he announces his intentions to sail back home.

I'm gonna be honest: I had already read most fics tagged Beowulf/Unferth on AO3 before this Beowulf binge. And now, I've gone and reread them. I've actually read the ones I'd missed the first time around, too. Not that it took me much time at all, but still. WildandWhirling has two really lovely ones. This innuendo-heavy one is a delight to read, too.

I think I might end up writing at least one more. Maybe canon!verse, if I manage not to spiral into researching Old English attitudes to homosexuality, or maybe Modern!AU, if I manage to find a good way to transliterate "sailing off to another country to slay monsters" in this century in a convincing way. Even just to have more than six works in the tag itself. But we'll see...

I suppose, in the end, the whole point of this random, almost stream-of-consciousness post (besides freeing up my head from at least some of my recent Beowulf thoughts) might have turned out to be just that, no matter who they are, fangirls will, indeed, always make them gay. (... I say, as if this was a surprise and I didn't already ship a number Nibelungenlied-and-adjacent gay ships I got into way before any of this.) It wasn't its original purpose but *shrug* I'll take it.

Then again... come on. All that talking about swords. *grin*

[violentdevotion]

i tried to read patricia lockwood's 'saving a life' and found the tone an especially insufferable white woman brand of writing where every semi serious statement is punctuated by a 'im so silly and goofy!!!!' impression of a joke. so i searched her name on tumblr to see if anyone else is a hater like me, and she's the one behind the miette tweet ! which isn't entirely surprising

[ao3fujoshevik]

moshang retelling of grendel, wherein: mobei-jun is grendel, and shang qinghua as both dragon and the shaper, and luo binghe, of course, is beowulf

[readreadbookblog]

The dog and i spent the day in our cages, he in his smaller one, I in my bigger one, and we were quite content. at a certain moment he grew impatient and at a different moment i did, but we were each other there to comfort the other both times. as night came on we crouched and listened for the man of the house to come home and rattle our bars Yesterday (174), Wait Till You See Me Dance: Stories by Deb Olin Unferth

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Reading Tolkien’s annotated translation of Beowulf, and learning all kinds of things about LOTR and the Silm from it!

First:

Leave here your warlike shields [from Beowulf]

[Tolkien’s commentary; bold mine:] Note the prohibition of weapons or accoutrements of battle in the hall. To walk in with spear and shield was like walking in nowadays with your hat on. The basis of these rules was of course fear and prudence among the ever-present dangers of a heroic age, but they were made part of the ritual, of good manners. Compare the prohibition against drawing a sword in the officers’ mess. Swords of course also were dangerous; but they were evidently regarded as part of a knight’s attire, and he would not in any case be willing to lay aside his sword, a thing of great cost and often an heirloom.

This gives me some perspective around Tolkien’s probable intended tone for the moment in Meduseld in The Two Towers where Aragon strongly protests against being told to leave Andúril (a sword of very great value and ancientry, and very much an heirloom) with the door-warden. From a contemporary perspective it’s easy to read it as Aragorn being unnecessarily prideful and combative, but this passage strongly indicates that Tolkien intends it to be Théoden who is being unreasonable in that event, an indication - along with many others in the scene, prior to Gandalf dislodging Saruman’s influence - that Théoden is being discourteous and behaving in a manner unworthy of a king who is recieving heroes offering aid. (The fact of Meduseld being a ‘golden hall’ like famous Heorot in Beowulf may be deliberate to strengthen the parallel.)

Second (immediately following the above commentary):

But against this danger [from swords] very severe laws existed protecting the ‘peace’ of a king’s hall. It was death in Scandanavia to cause a brawl in the king’s hall. Among the laws of the West Saxon king Ine is found: ‘If any man fight in the king’s house, he shall forfeit all his estate, and it shall be for the king to judge whether he be put to death or not.’

This adds context to the incident in the story of Túrin in The Silmarillion where Saeros taunts Túrin in Menegroth and Túrin responds by throwing a heavy drinking-vessel at him and injuring him (it’s indicated the injury is serious, so I’d take it along the lines of him giving him a broken nose and knocking out some teeth.) It is stated in at least some versions of the story that death is the punishment for drawing weapons in the king’s hall, in line with the historical customs mentioned here. This gives a further emphasis that what actually happens - Túrin is not punished at all and Mablung strongly reprimands Saeros for provoking him - illustrates that Túrin is, Saeros’ behaviour notwithstanding, in very high favour in Menegroth. (Saeros as the king’s counsellor is also in roughly the same position as Unferth in Beowulf, who taunts the titular character - Beowulf responds heatedly but without violence. Tolkien may be setting up a deliberate contrast here.)

Third:

The word hádor is an adjective meaning ‘clear, bright’…it is almost always found in reference to the sky (or the sun or stars). But that association is in description of brightness…

This was one a lightbulb moment: oh, in the name of Hador Goldenhead (the ancestor of Húrin, Túrin, and Tuor in The Silmarillion), ‘Goldenhead’ isn’t an additional name/epessë so much as it’s a glossed translation of ‘Hador’! The guy with bright, golden hair.

Fourth: Going back to the Rohirrim - Edoras, the name of their capital city/royal court, is basically just the Old English for ‘courts’:

under was very frequently used in describing position within, or movement to within, a confined space, especially of enclosures or prisons, ‘within four walls’. Cf. in under eoderas (eoderas being the outer fences of the courts), ‘in amid the courts’….‘eoder’ means both ‘fence (protection)’ and ‘fenced enclosure, a court’.

I’m also learning a lot about Beowulf - Tolkien’s notes are clarifying a lot of tone and nuances, not to mention the political/diplomatic relationships between the different kingdoms, which were confusing me - but it’s amazing how much it reveals about ways that Tolkien’s knowledge informed his legendarium!

[savebatsartedition]

Can You Name All 59 Women? - Beowulf Short Meme Animation

View my full "anime" opening for Beowulf here. | Youtube link Art coms are open for animations!! This would cost like 25 bucks!

Program: Turbowarp Bitmap Audio: zerohashtags on Tiktok Characters: Unferth, Beowulf, Wealhtheow, Grendel's Mother (from Beowulf) Art/animation/designs: @savebatsfromscratchsavebats (me)

[nightvaleofficial]

Vacation, by Deb Olin Unferth, was a major inspiration when Jeffrey and Joseph were first starting Welcome to Night Vale and will be the first book the Night Vale book club reviews. Book club starts: 1/6. Not a member? Join here (Weird Scout or higher): https://www.patreon.com/welcometonightvale

[doodleferp]

Here’s a list of shit that won’t get out of my head that I’m sure is to come about when the Grendel movie hits theaters

People are going to completely miss the point of it and call it woke or offensive. Nobody’s gonna read the book

LGBT/disabled/POCs identifying with Grendel because of how isolated and lonely he feels

People who only saw Beowulf 2007 bitching and moaning about the movie is woke and not faithful to the legend because Grendel’s Mother is a wicked awesome puppet and not being played by Naked Angelia Jolie™️

As the only other prominent female character, Wealhtheow will be infantalized and despised by the fandom, who will call her sexist, unnecessary, and bland

Grendel will be woobified, vilified or infantilized by people who don’t understand the point of the story

People will want to screw the dragon. I may be one of these people but we’ll see when the trailer drops

Fanon Hrothgar will constantly be reduced to a senile old man

People will ship Grendel with everything BUT Wealhtheow despite him wrestling with a romantic attraction to her. Additionally, Grendel/Wealhtheow shippers will be attacked because the ship is “problematic” while their attackers nut over even MORE problematic ships, such as Grendel/Beowulf or worse Grendel/Hrothulf (Hrothgar’s minor-aged nephew)

Trans Grendel headcanons because he doesn’t have visible male genitalia and is referred to as a “he” (I don’t mind that headcanon at all actually, I would LOVE to see where people take it)

Fanfic and fanart about Grendel interacting with The Shaper and seeing him as a surrogate father

Fanon Grendel will suddenly have a positive relationship with his mother

LOTS of fluffy and adorable child Grendel fanart

So many memes replacing Grendel with The Dude from The Big Lebowski

People suddenly remembering that Grendel Grendel Grendel (1981) exists and decrying that it is MUCH better than the Jim Henson movie

People nutting over Unferth because Aiden Turner (valid)

People nutting over Beowulf because Dave Bautista (also valid)

Fanart of Grendel meeting the other Muppets because they’re all created by Jim Henson. I myself hope to one day see him vibe with Uncle Deadly and Gonzo

So many historically inaccurate OCs

OCs that take note from Norse mythology

So much Unferth/Grendel smut because enemies to lovers I guess

The dragon is Grendel’s father theory

The Shaper is Grendel’s father theory

The dragon is The Shaper theory

People calling Grendel an incel and modern AUs where Grendel IS an incel

Omegaverse fanfics where Grendel is always the omega

Fanfics about Beowulf not killing Grendel and keeping him as a kinky pet

Incels identifying with Grendel and turning it into a major problem

[laiqualaurelote]

5 & 20 for the fanfic writer asks?

5. Is there a tiny detail in one of your fics that you feel goes tragically unnoticed?

There's this line in The Katabasis Job about the Orpheus Protocol:

“It’s nepotism,” the Notary goes on. “Literally, it’s nepotism. Endless trouble, is what it is.”

When I wrote this fic I sort of assumed readers would have knowledge of The Endless from Sandman, which I later realised isn't the case for everyone and I regret not footnoting it more clearly but: I think it's hilarious, actually, that Death is canonically Orpheus' aunt and bent her own rules to let him go to the Underworld for Eurydice, which is, as the Notary complains, literally nepotism. I like the idea that it's become such a trope that the Afterlife actually have to have a visa protocol in place to deal with separated couples trying to pull an Orpheus.

20. Is there anything about any one of your fics that you have been dying to discuss but haven’t had the chance to?

In still my heartbeat with your bare hands I was actually going to give them all Old English names. Edwin would have been 'Ēadwine', which means 'wealth-friend' (@dearheartdont's discovery of this etymology was what prompted this crazy AU to begin with) and Charles would have been 'Ceorl', which both means 'churl' (in Anglo-Saxon England, 'churl' was the lowest social class of free men and later went on to more broadly mean a 'common man', like your average bloke) and at the same time is associated with kingship, most notably via Charlemagne, literally 'Charles the Great'. Maria Dahvana Headley's translation of Beowulf opens with the line 'Bro! Tell me we still know how to speak of kings' - I changed this to 'heroes' because I think Charles has no interest in kingship, but he is invested in the idea of being a hero, which he thinks of as the pinnacle of a good man.

As for the others, I struggled with Simon, eventually settling on the Icelandic 'Sæmund'; for Brad and Hunter I considered, simply, 'Brād' and 'Hunta', but later changed Brad to 'Breca' (as a reference to the guy whom Beowulf beats in his swimming contest). For Ritchie I contemplated and rejected 'Rīce' (which is pronounced quite similarly but means 'kingdom' or 'authority', thus unsuitable), so I was going to call him Unferth, after the character who challenges Beowulf in the mead-hall and is verbally humiliated by him. Maren is the one name I would not have had to change, as it is Danish in origin.

Obviously I then abandoned all this because the effect was too estranging, but thanks for giving me the excuse to nerd out about it here.

Thank you for the ask! (from this fic ask game)

[inw-exp]

Poor Spooks is apparently named Unferth. (I like the audible sound of it, but I have read Beowulf, and that name is unfortunate.)

He also spooks in both senses of the verb. Pops slipped on the ice when he finally noticed the hovering marine in low-contrast black and navy in the treeline near the shore. (He's fine, no worries there.) Unferth, however, froze for a sec, then hustled deeper into the woods when Pops meandered towards him to have a chat. It took the both of them getting back to the house before I was able to bully the shiny idiot into introducing himself. Pops has proceeded to dad at Unferth as if he were something like a cross between me, Matt, and Momo. (Adult daughter, adult son, and mildly bratty labrador.) No one is surprised.

[elrallin]

Intro+Pinned

Hello hello! I'm El Rallin.

I write predominantly sci-fi and fantasy, with a focus on post-apocalyptic and post-post-apoc. As a queer person, I write a lot of stories with queer characters.

I'm an editing and publishing undergrad working part time as a copy editor for a scientific journal. I'm a huge nerd about the history of the English language, particularly Old English, which I will happily nerd about at any given opportunity.

Open to tags and asks! (Including tag lists for WiPs. And feel free to info dump to me about your projects in asks/similar.)

I often vanish for large chunks of time, during which the blog runs on a queue. I also just queue a lot of posts in general! If I vanish it's because disabilities+life are kicking my ass, and I'll return, though it mmmmay take a little bit. xD

WiPs

Fallen to Ashes - currently drafting

Post-post apocalyptic novel centering on a young drone pilot trying to get hired by a local vigilante crew to help make a positive impact on the city she has grown up in. Meanwhile, said crew's mission in the city is forcing them to either think in new ways, or give up and withdraw back to where they will be safe.

Bone-House - 24 hour novel project

Taylor, a newly hired library worker, discovers that they can see ghosts at the same time as they themself are starting to become one. Now, they need to work to save some library relics, including the bones of a ghost that has taken a liking to them, before the relics are permanently removed, and the library claims Taylor's bones to replace those that have been taken.

Voices Belonging to Monsters - summer project

A Beowulf retelling set after a viral apocalypse has permanently altered life on Earth, focusing on what it means to be a "good king" and to inherit a legacy. Told from the PoV of a Wiglaf/Unferth character who is overshadowed and overwhelmed by the legacy of a heroic leader.

Once, We Were Dragons - outlining

In a world where dragons were killed by a conquering empire, their descendants are still struggling for peace. A young half-human boy and his family flee for one of the few safe havens. Meanwhile, a human girl starts to challenge what she was taught about the world and her place in it.

I have other projects that I'll occasionally make mention of, and some characters, but these are the things that I'm working on getting drafted this year!

[agnesandhilda]

I'm not done reading beowulf yet but unferth gets such a raw deal from the narrator it's hilarious. yeah beowulf defeated grendel sicknasty style with the help of the man upstairs and it made unferth, that raggedy bitch, finally shut up