#also taken from eragon as an idea

[tharelofthewoodlandrealm]

there's this guy on Instagram making tree nets called "Charlie's webs" and i can't help but think how much they would fit the Silvan elves. like, having the trees around their homes full of net spirals and bridges and platforms to hang out on and walk from house to house and climb to the treetops for some stargazing. plus, they're bouncy so the elflings would love it

[eliza-makepeace]

murtagh book thoughts

okay, it's been a while since i finished the murtagh book, and i've managed to figure out in coherent thoughts what it made me feel. it's coherent thoughts but it's not a coherent exposition, so you're warned.

in terms of the story, how its divided and all of that -- i liked the first half of the book very much. very enjoyable, murtagh's dealing with his past and his issues, trying to find where the stone comes from, we see his and thorn's bond... fun stuff. some parts are heartwrenching, but in general, it's interesting and enjoyable. still, it feels a bit like a videogame, where you have to get to point a, to point b, to point c in order to get your objective. and as much as i appreciate the new depths of worldbuilding paolini takes us into in "murtagh", i still feel like it's not "proper" worldbuilding.

by that i mean it feels like one of those old western movies where you know the characters can't walk too far away because what you think is a long field is actually a painted wall. the concepts are there: lyreth, the girl who fancied him at court... but you try to look a bit further into them and they're hollow.

the second half of the book, when they meet bachel and chaos ensues... not really my cup of tea. and it's not because i don't like storylines like that, where there's an interesting and fucked-up female character, cults and so forth. that's actually a pretty interesting idea, if only it had been properly executed. personally, my biggest issue with it is that murtagh already had gone through this. he'd already gone through having his agency taken from him, having to do horrible deeds because he can't help it, feeling hopeless and used... and i'm not complaining about this decision because murtagh is my poor little meow meow (although he is). i'm complaining because i feel like it reduces his experiences with galbatorix to nothing. back in inheritance, him being galby's name slave was the worst thing that could and had happened to him. now? bachel's worse. but it's the same principle. and i still think galby had more reason to be worse mentally and in terms of identity, for murtagh, than bachel was.

it also erases all of the healing and character development he'd gone through in the first half of the book. you could argue "oh, now that he's experienced freedom he can deal with bachel better than he could with galby" but i don't really agree and i don't really care. what's the point in destroying him in the ic, putting him relatively back together in the first half, and then obliterating him again (and worse, apparently) in the latter half. and then he's sad, and tired and devastated, but less so than in inheritance (which doesn't make sense if bachel was worse for him than galby), when he sees nasuada again.

the irony that murtagh's bond with alín feels more organic and natural than his with nasuada.... not in terms of characters being alike, just in the way it's written. paolini could've bothered with showing scenes of m and n at farthen dur, bonding, "courting" as he put it, so that the rest of their relationship actually has a strong base for the rest of the ic (giving a proper explanation which originally isn't there because the ic is in eragon's pov and not murtagh's), and so that their reunion is far more meaningful because it shows nasuada and him knew each other, actually bonded with each other before murtagh was kidnapped in eldest, to the point of developing romantic feelings for each other. if paolini hadn't put murtagh in random side quests throughout the book, he could've shown this and it would've worked better imo.

personally i think we didn't get enough tornac, or selena. i think murtagh should've pondered more about what it meant that eragon was brom's kid. what it meant about selena, how that changed murtagh's perception of her as a person. i'm a bit tired she gets reduced to just being his and eragon's mom, and it seems like that's the only way paolini wants them to see her too. murtagh seeing his mom like an individual, a person with her lights and shadows, with her depth, might have been an interesting thing and a new way to see himself as her son. every time paolini is about to reach something interesting with his characters, he changes course and i think that's a shame.

[modern-inheritance]

Heyy! Do you have any ideas for the cast of Eragon's new series?? Btw I loveee your posts

Hey Anon! Sorry it took me so long to answer this, but I wanted to give you a better answer...and I have failed. Thank you for the love though!

I don't know many actors/actresses by name. And none that I know of (besides Jeremy Irons) would fit any of the characters. But I CAN give you a ramble on what I'd like to see!

Eragon: Get those high cheekboned, cleft chinned, twink lookin' pretty boys out of here. Eragon in book one is not pretty. He is not headshot worthy. He is a 15 year old farm boy, doing physical labor, rarely bathing, hunting in the wild, and not caring about his appearance beyond the average. He's got thick, dark eyebrows. Dark hair. Apart from that, we have little to no description of how Eragon looks, beyond the mention in Brisingr that his hair curls at his temples slightly. But he is not pretty.

I want an average, slightly rugged, farm boy teenager. Not some model.

Brom: Jeremy. Fucking. Irons.

Arya: Not white and not a redhead. Elves are played as asian based. I don't want a skinny armed woman either, Arya's noticeably muscled in the books. Black hair, green eyes if possible. No wimps. Must be able to do the stunts or at least look like she can.

Honestly though? If she weren't older (I haven't seen a recent picture of her for a long time so I'm not sure about it), I'd tap Michelle Rodriguez. I love that woman. She's got the tough looks, attitude, and abilities needed to give Arya the presence she needs. But I'm looking through MIC tinted glasses. For canon Arya, we still need someone with a presence, a woman who puts of a 'don't fuck with me' vibe but can also sometimes dip her head in respect to politics (I said sometimes, but I'm gonna get shit for this I know it), quiet but sharp, and looks and acts like she can hold her own. If they're going to be more centered toward an adult audience (which apparently they are!), let's not sexualize her. But the history of torture, PTSD, etc can def be delved into and someone who can portray that respectfully would be fantastic.

Murtagh: Again, get rid of those pretty boys. Yes, Murtagh grew up with a more pampered life, but just...I don't want these model types. It's an issue when I've seen every single fan cast putting these models on there and come on. This is a medieval fantasy thing. Paolini at least tries to show some more realistic aspects of life and war. Models are not included.

Someone that can show both Murtagh's darker side AND his overarching vulnerability and pain. Murtagh is a hurt individual that keeps having everything taken from him or used to hurt him. He's complicated, especially in the later books. We need someone who can show that.

Nasuada: Please keep her natural hair. I've got a friend who read the books with me who was so happy to see a black woman with her natural hair in a fantasy book because she never had seen someone with hair just like hers in fantasy before. We need someone who can slump down in private, the weight of an entire war and country on her shoulders, but draw herself up and show willpower, regality, dignity. Someone who can use subtlety when doing the politics bits.

Angela: Something that I and others I've talked to about Angela always forget is that Angela looks no older than Nasuada, who is about 18 at the time of the books. Wild energy. Wild, curly hair. Not afraid to hold a live frog/toad for a scene.

Galbatorix: For the love of whatever the hell is holy, not John Malcovich. I get that we didn't know what he looked like at the time, but what the hell was that?!

Durza: Scrawny lean ass pale dude and can we move away from the scary fingernails and yellow teeth bit? The pointy teeth thing, fine, that's canon, prosthetic teeth are a thing. Otherwise I just want someone who just oozes lithe, cocky, oily, psycopath. Bared tooth, smirking, twisted grin type.

Uuuuuuh....who else? Roran can't be a model either, and he's more beefy than Eragon even in the first book. Someone who can grow a damn fine beard.

I'm probably forgetting a ton of mains but I am currently very hungry and my roomie is making me lunch so I must go stare at her like an unfed dog. Feel free to reblog with questions or send another ask for particulars, but again I won't have specific actors/actresses. If you know an actor/actress that fits any of my descriptions/wants then please mention them in a reblog or DM or ask! I'd love to see!

[dumbasshailey]

The Girl of Ink and Stars

By: Kiran Millwood Hargrave

_________________________________________

Disclaimer: these are all my personal opinions

_________________________________________

Honestly I have no idea what the heck I read. Those were my first thoughts after finishing the book. Not in a bad way though.

Ya know how they say: "don't judge a book by it's cover" well I will. The cover is stuning. It's well designed and captivating, to me the colors are amazing. The entire inside of the book is also very nicely detailed. It's just pretty.

For those that judge the overall outside likeness of the book by general lenght, rest assured this book isn't long (in my opinion) In the language I own it is 230 pages long and I belive it's similar in other translations as well.

Now the number of pages of course doesn't determinen the readability of the book. It was captivating from begining till the end. I must admit I was a bit confused in some parts. But the story went very smoothly. The way the book is written wasn't really for me. I didn't have a hard time reading it per se. But it just wasn't a good match.

Now the story is amazing. The setting is amazingly described without being overwhelming (I'm looking at you Eragon) and the story line literally flows. It's got some nice twists and not really twists XD. I love the idea that it has taken and explored. 10/10 for creativity on setting. I just wish it was executed a bit better. For me some parts felt a bit out of place and confusing sometimes. But other then that I don't really have many complains.

Overall it was a good read and I would recomend this book if it fit someones "what do I read?" But I can't say I'm crazy about it or that I would showe it into my friends faces (as I do with books I love)

My final verdikt is 7/10 would recomend

[shadeslayer]

We never get Murtagh and Thorn pov in Inheritance and he only speaks once, and Eragon says his voice is "surprisingly deep" if I remember right and I'm over here like ;~; I can't remember if he was forced to hatch but I do know the moment he did hatch it made Murtagh and Thorn mutual hostages essentially and I love the idea of them bonding despite that but possibly still holding resentment for each other. And honestly I don't know how many people are going to be willing to talk to Murtagh atm

he's a pretty well known figure next to a now dead king so hopefully it'll be a lot about the two of them, but I don't want to get both of our hopes up too high

deep voiced.... thorn baby boy i love you. also YEAH. like.... smh i dont remember when galbatorix got his true name but i imagine he had to have by the time hes getting thorn to hatch right? like he wouldnt have taken the risk of making a new rider unless he knew he had total control over them. but yeah like murtagh is 100% already controlled and at this point aside from the memory of eragon and nasuada he has nothing in the world to stop him really from even just killing himself to help eragon. giving him thorn was like. wow. what a play

giving the "nothing left to lose" murtagh thorn was like ....

kept murtagh alive by giving murtagh a reason to live, in the cruelest way possible

kept murtagh under control by making thorn galbs hostage

gave galb a new rider to his team (the main point of it all)

gave galb a new *dragon* under his control, via both hostage murtagh and iirc he knew thorns true name because galb had forced him to hatch and grow and he knew murtaghs name

galb pushing murtagh further down his path to darkness by tying him closer and closer in to morzan by making him a rider (& his "right hand" to an extent) like morzan was and exploiting murtaghs trauma from his father at the same time

i dont think murtagh ever wouldve killed himself though - one of the interesting things to his character particularly that u see when hes at his like... comparatively healthiest when hes with the varden & just leaving them in the first book, is he has this very deep and unerring desire to live. he sees himself (and tbh! mostly truthfully!) as someone no one trusts or can bring themselves to trust, and he doesnt go "im an evil person forever i should die" he goes "its bullshit and im being judged on bullshit standards and its not fair on me esp considering he beat the shit out of me too and i have the right 2 hate him and i really fucking hate him too. but since no one will let me into their home ill fucking find my own." and he just chooses more to like.. just strike out on his own and do his own thing. he seems interested in travelling, it feels? hes like a loner and a wanderer and its not even purely out of emoboy angst but more like "i get it. people hate me. ill have a life that makes me the happiest i can be, then. and that means avoiding people/people who know who i am. so i will do that" and we stan

gd yeah though its gonna fuuuuuucking suck being STILL Morzan 2.0 to everyone in alagaesia despite everything but tbh.... its not even that different (externally) from what he had before. hes probably just recognized more. i kind of like the open ended feeling of post-canon where theyre just left to do their thing and find their own healing together so im Interested in what the book has to say but dont worry cuz ive already got my whole fixit planned in my head of how he and thorn go off and have therapy and travel the world and he meets some nice girl in some far off place and they have a cabin in the woods together and all sorts of domestic fluff h/c recovery shit is happening

[imaginethatneathuh]

I've just started getting into Eragon (the first book of The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini) and I was informed that I should post my opinions as I read by @archangelsunited so that's what I'mma do.

Oh, and I haven't read or watched anything related to the series prior to properly starting Eragon. I have recently been reading some stuff on Tumblr.

Spoilers ahead.

I'm at the point where Eragon is waking up in the healer's hut after he passed out dragging his uncle Garrow to town (Carvahall) and I've got some opinions on what's happened so far.

First off, I read the prologue and it really introduces us to the world well. It's obvious that something's not right with this Shade going after a group of elves. Also, the Shade's treatment of the Urgals, despite their garish appearance, let's us, the readers, know that the Shade is bad news and the Urgals don't want to be doing this. The Shade using them as tools and discarding them like they're nothing makes us immediately sympathetic to the Urgals based on word choice and actions taken. Paolini's introduction to the world this way was fantastic. It definitely gives the feel of "the world isn't black and white" and it introduces us to the idea of mind/body control which is neat.

Second of all, Eragon, the person, is very intelligent for being so young. He obviously has a good understanding of how the forest works, he's smart enough to know to try and get rid of the stone (or egg as we find out later), and he knows to ask questions to people he knows are more or less trustworthy (aka Brom with the dragon questions). Eragon doesn't immediately think he knows everything about dragons based on what stories he's heard from spotty sources. He's smart enough to know that there's someone out there that knows more. That's what I can see so far, anyway. Despite this, he's also 100% a 15-year-old kid and acts like it. He has moments of 15 y/o-ishness like when he's upset that Roran is leaving and when he goes to talk to Roran but doesn't out of spite. That is a 15 y/o move. I should know; I did it when I was that age, too.

Third off, Saphira is a child. Like, literally, she acts like an impulsive child that doesn't think twice about what she's doing. I get it, she wants to protect Eragon and she probably has some trauma, but it's obvious that Eragon wanted to get to Garrow and warn him about what's going on and the dangers he's in but Saphira didn't give Eragon that choice or really any at all. It's frustrating. Also, she full well knew that Eragon didn't have any dragon-related training and yet still flew off with him when he was trying to calm her down. It's like she wasn't thinking at all about the ramifications of her actions and moving purely on instinct. She's young and that really shows. And, yes, there was that whole thing with the bird of prey but that felt weird and out of place.

Also, I really like the other characters. Yes, even Sloan. By that, I mean I like them as characters. Sloan, as a person, I despise. He's an awful, spiteful man that I would fist fight if I could. Horst is awesome though, same with Katrina. Roran is awesome so far and I really get why he left even if I do feel bad for Eragon. Garrow is a hardass and I like it. Good dude. Gertrude, Carvahall's healer, is also pretty cool. I don't like the Shade from the prologue. Don't know enough about the elves to have an opinion yet. Same with Brom. I've already talked about Saphira, who I do like (ish), and Eragon, who I also like and understand (mostly).

Overall, I like the story so far. It's entertaining and things follow each other well. The pacing seems okay so far. Lots of flowery words but they do help define the world well. I have no idea how to pronounce anything but that's fine.

So, yeah, that's what I think so far. Now I gotta go read some more.

[narrans]

#4: “Shoulder or pocket, your choice.”

PROMPT

“Shoulder or pocket, your choice.”

Living Art

Instruments lined the walls, strings and percussion alike. The metronome next to the window stood silent watch next to the sleek black grand piano. There were a couple of chairs nearby but, otherwise, the only other piece of furniture in the room was a mahogany desk.

The desk was usually covered with dozens of blank sheet music scores, scraps of paper, and fountain pens accompanied by their bottles of ink. That’s not what was on the desk now.

Instead, there was a lone figure.

Neomaya paced back and forth across the surface of the desk. She wrung her hands on way, and then the other way. She didn’t remember the last time she was this nervous.

Well…

That wasn’t true…

She did remember one specific time – the day she was taken to her new home.

She stood on the same desk where she first met… him – Nathaniel Eragon.

Nathaniel Eragon was a tall, lanky man with thick, dark and curly auburn hair that was about shoulder length. His features were almost over exaggeratedly thin. He had narrow lips that formed a thin line on his face when he was wrestling with something but didn’t want to say.

The musician carried a whimsical, quick-witted energy that lurked beneath his reserved exterior. He often wore button down shirts with rolled up sleeves, revealing a few subtle tattoos he often kept private.

His most notable feature, however, was his honey-colored eye.

This is what threw Neomaya off the most when she first met him.

The one eye.

Evidently, when he was young, he had an accident which took his right eye. Now, he wore an eyepatch to cover up what would undoubtedly make other uncomfortable.

Neomaya hated that people would see him and be uncomfortable with him, especially after she got to know him. He was very sweet and generous, soft spoken and very encouraging when given the correct circumstances.

She didn’t know that when she was presented to him.

She stopped pacing and closed her eyes to remember that day.

~~~^*^*^~~~

The box she was in rattled and shook around her. They came directly from the Facility and were going to her supposed forever home. Neomaya was a pet, a biologically engineered entity derived directly from the human race. Fully sentient with no autonomy, but that’s how things were.

She was small of stature, barely above four and a half inches, and had mousey brown hair the frizzed out at the ends. Slate black eyes and pale, cream-colored skin, Neomaya’s appearance wasn’t the only thing that set her apart from other pets.

She also received special conditioning, which was why she came directly from the Facility. Neomaya was registered as a therapy pet, meaning she was especially obedient, highly empathetic, and intuitive.

Neomaya wasn’t sure why she was purchased, but she did know that the family seemed especially concerned about who she was being given to. She was tossed from side to side in the box, quietly listening to the chatter on the outside.

“Mom, I know this is a good idea. Trust me! He’s been so down and out lately. Having a pet will give him something to do,” said the woman who purchased Neomaya.

“I understand what you’re trying to do for your brother. It’s just…” said an older woman.

“It’s just nothing. He’s going to accept his new pet, love it, and thank me later for it.”

More jostling and the sounds of footsteps. The quick, jolting upward told the pet they were going up stairs. There was furious knocking on the door. From where she was, Neomaya could already feel the chill of the late autumn air seeping in through the cracks in the box and through the air holes at the top of the box.

The door opened and a soft, deep voice with a hint of masculine gravel greeted the two humans at the door. Neomaya was shaking and too focused on maintaining her neutral disposition to hear what it was they were talking about.

All she knew was that the top of the box was suddenly thrown open and a female hand engulfed her entire frame with little to no effort. She was lifted out of the box and suddenly placed on a mahogany surface. She stumbled a few steps before looking up into the singular honey-colored eye of a very thin man in his late twenties.

Instantly, she used her training and stood at her trained “attention” stance, shoulders relaxed, head down with gaze averted, straight back, and no fidgeting. Long fingers suddenly came into her field of vision. Instinctively, she tensed, but the fingers only rested near her.

“Katherine, what did you do?” he asked, voice sounding tired and annoyed.

“I got you a pet. Now you have something other than your booze to entertain,” snarked Katherine, the woman who purchased Neomaya.

“You make it sound like I’m an alcoholic,” he muttered as he walked way, which released the tension in Neomaya’s shoulders immensely. She dared to glance up and watch what was about to happen. “And I don’t need a pet. I told you. I’m grieving. That’s all.”

“Great! And a pet will help you get back to normal,” replied Katherine. When the man gave no response, she huffed a sigh and approached. “Nathaniel, listen. We’re worried about you. Right mom? We are all worried about you. You’re obviously exhausted. You obviously aren’t eating, at least not well. You aren’t even writing music for Heaven’s sake! Music is your life, and you’re not even doing that. I know Liberty was a little more than a friend, but…”

At the mention of this name, Nathaniel whipped around, a fierce and deep seeded anger in his face. “Don’t…”

Katherine rolled her eyes and walked toward the door.

“Mom is in the car. We were going to invite you to lunch, but you should get yourself together. Seriously, Nathaniel. I know it’s only been six months, but this isn’t healthy.” With that, Katherine left the two of them alone.

Nathaniel’s posture shifted from hostile to slumped, despondent. He walked over and hopped up on top of the piano, which Neomaya only now noticed, and he laid back to stare at the ceiling.

He said nothing.

He barely acknowledged her existence.

An hour passed while Neomaya waited patiently for some sort of order. Her training taught her that. It didn’t stop her from looking around the room cautiously. It was beautiful and spacious, instruments clinging to stands and hooks on the walls. There were frames of what looked like awards, but the pet would need to get closer to read what they actually were.

Another hour had almost completed when Nathaniel pushed himself up, walked over to the desk, and plopped down in the chair across from Neomaya. She held deathly still as she stood there, waiting for him to issue some kind of command or to start messing with her. It was what they said would happen during her conditioning after all.

She heard him click his tongue just before speaking.

“I have no idea why she brought you here to me. Kat always thinks she knows best,” he sighed. His finger suddenly came into view and rested on the top of her shoes before retracting and pointing at her attire. “Kat probably dressed you like that. Skin-tight uniform. At least the colors suit you. White and sky blue. You look like a nurse.”

Neomaya felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. This wasn’t even the worst thing that had ever been said to her, but it was just his presence that made her sad. He was obviously skilled, otherwise he wouldn’t have so many instruments and pieces of paper with signatures and awards. Still, he seemed angry and sad, which made him critical.

“Are you scared of me?” he asked briskly. Neomaya took the chance to look up into his face and mechanically shake her head even though every instinct in her squirmed under his scrutiny.

“No sir,” she said clearly, which made Nathaniel snort.

“Not a very good liar. I can see it in your eyes that you’re either afraid or uncomfortable. Is it the patch?” he asked stiffly. Neomaya’s heartrate quickened as she remembered her training. Reassure. Regulate. Be ready.

“Just getting to know you, sir,” said Neomaya.

Nathaniel sighed and folded his arms across his chest, leaving a solid five minutes of air in the conversation before speaking again.

“It’s freaky, you know,” continued Nathaniel, eye glazing over and looking not at her, but at something distant that Neomaya couldn’t see. “You look so human except for your height. Eyes, nose, fingers, toes, heart, brain. Basically dressed up to play a nurse, here to tend to a soul not worth the oxygen and carbon constructing it. How human are you anyway?”

He sounded so hopeless. It was heart crushing.

Maybe it was because, mere hours ago, she was plucked from training to be taken to an unknown fate. Maybe it was just being in his presence and feeling the heartbreak in the air around him. Whatever it was, she didn’t know.

All Neomaya knew was that her eyes were glistening with tears and her shoulders shook slightly under Nathaniel’s gaze.

She heard him sigh and he leaned back while she attempted to steady her breathing. Heart racing, chest tight, Neomaya knew immediately her training was failing.

Or was it…

A few seconds later, Nathaniel sighed again, leaned forward, and reached out to press his palm against her back, thumb barely brushing the side of her head. It wasn’t a display of power, nor was it meant as threatening. It was meant as a comfort, which Neomaya noted as a good sign.

His fingers closed around her delicately, closing around her lower half, before he tilted his hand for her to sit in. He used his fingers like a human would use a seat belt as he lifted her to his chest above his heart and tilted his hand, letting her lean forward until his palm was against her back.

He was cradling her in his palm, pressing her ever so slightly into his shoulder. Neomaya wasn’t sure, but it felt like he was trying to offer some kind of hug. She leaned into the touch, both out of training habits and because, honestly, it felt nice. She gripped onto his shirt and pressed her face into the nice smelling fabric.

“Sorry,” he said quietly, which still reverberated in his chest like distant, rolling thunder to her. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m just… tired. Sad and tired.”

Nathaniel leaned back into his chair, taking Neomaya with him, as he sat there and breathed. Neomaya listened to his heart deep in his chest. It was rhythmic and soothing, lulling her into a dazed, dreamlike state. She could fall asleep to this sound. After some time, he tensed his fingers around her, which instantly gained the pet’s attention.

“I guess I need to find something to feed the both of us. Pocket or shoulder, your choice,” he muttered. There was hardly any debate in her mind. Neomaya saw that the pocket he was referring to was mere inches from her body and so close to the hypnotic thrum of his heart, so the choice was clear.

“Pocket please, sir,” she replied.

“Ugh, enough with the sir nonsense. It’s Nathaniel. Just Nathaniel.”

“Yes si—er… Nathaniel.” With that, he tilted his hand and she slipped easily between the folds of the fabric and watched as Nathaniel made his way through his home to the kitchen, noticing the entire way how he shuffled past all of his awards as though they didn’t exist.

What happened to him?

~~~^*^*^~~~

The days turned into weeks, which turned into months, and Neomaya had been tracking the idiosyncrasies of her human. First was when he woke up, which was late in the afternoon. Most nights, she accidentally fell asleep and woke up in her cubby he made for her in his bedside table.

He didn’t say much and, if he did, he was clear and concise. Mostly, if he talked, he would ask her if she needed anything or if she would rather be in his pocket or on his shoulder. Every time, she chose pocket. The shoulder felt so exposed and, if she was being honest, Neomaya was a quiet introvert at best. She also liked listening to the deep, rhythmic pulse of his heart.

Nathaniel had this way of shuffling his feet when he walked, but he had excellent posture when he sat down. He barely ate and sometimes muttered in his sleep. His touch was delicate, and he never pinched or grabbed her unnecessarily. In fact, other than the odd night when he would press his loosely closed fist against her back, Neomaya was left to her own devices.

Nathaniel installed ropes and lines for her to climb. One day when he felt energetic, he even installed a couple of ladder and bridge systems so she could get from place to place on her own.

Neomaya could wander and explore as she pleased through the house and found a lot of her time open and free. It was an odd sensation, not being watched or monitored every second of every day. What was even stranger was that she, not once, felt uneasy around Nathaniel. It wasn’t at all what she expected, being someone’s pet.

There were a few times where she found frames overturned or pictures that were clearly torn up and taped back together, but with pieces missing. It wasn’t her place to ask or pry, but she made note to remember it.

What made Neomaya very intrigued, however, were the instruments. She didn’t dare ask about them and, instead, made herself readily available and close by if he needed anything.

It was one fateful day, however, when he stepped out of the room and left her alone on his desk that she blundered into what became the most special interaction they ever had.

Nathaniel had gotten up from the desk because he was cleaning a couple of fountain pens and the ink cartridge broke. He had pulled out some pieces of paper from the desk drawer with these funny lines on it and began scribbling on it. The lines came in groups of five and were covered in little dots and lines.

He crumpled the first and second sheet before pulling out one that looked like it was almost filled in before the cartridge exploded. Neomaya wasn’t usually very nosy, but she realized only now that she knew very little about Nathaniel. It wasn’t her job to ask questions, but maybe she could get the answers on her own.

She hopped down from the little swing she made which Nathaniel had attached to his desk shelf and walked across the desk onto the paper to get a better view of the top of the page. The page itself was pristine, crisp around the edges. There was not a smudge in sight on the entire page. It was clear he took very good care of this document.

One of the benefits of her specialized function as a therapy pet was that she was taught to read. There were no words anywhere on the page between or next to the lines except for a few words at the very top of the page – Freedom for Liberty.

Neomaya had heard that before – Liberty. It was a concept, yes; however, the last time it was mentioned was when Nathaniel’s sister said it like a name. The way the sister used the name made it sound like this person wasn’t around anymore. Was this paper for someone? Was that why Nathaniel was despondent?

Neomaya heard the familiar shuffle of Nathaniel’s footsteps and turned around to walk back to her spot on the swing when her heart seized in her chest. Her eyes caught something, and she knew she was going to be punished.

When Neomaya walked onto the page, she walked through the spilled ink first – and there was a trail behind her of her little footprints across the page. She took a few involuntary steps backward, leaving several more prints.

No.

Please no.

Nathaniel’s shuffles were getting louder.

Neomaya thought fast and knelt, attempting to use her hands to wipe away the ink she left behind. It only smudged the page more. She started to hyperventilate, heart pounding so hard it threatened to break her ribs from the inside.

She started trembling, trying to think of what her training would say. Sadly, the only thought that was coming to her was that the punishment for destroying something precious to her owner would be more severe than anything else she had endured.

The footsteps stopped.

“What the… what did you…” Nathaniel asked, his voice having a noticeable tremor.

Neomaya choked back a sob and couldn’t bring herself to look up into Nathaniel’s honey colored eye. She took a few more instinctual steps back away from him, instinct ruling her movement.

“I… I’m s-s-so-rry. I-It w-was an accident.” Neomaya saw his hand in her peripheral vision reach out to the paper and touch along the shoe marks she made on the page. His fingertips were shaking. “P-p-please. I can make it right. L-let me…”

Neomaya was suddenly cut short when Nathaniel’s left hand came up and plucked her off of the desk, fingers pinching the back of her dress right at the base of her spine and lifted her a foot off of the page. A whimpering squeak escaped her as tears spilled from the corners of her eyes. Nathaniel held the foot smudged pages in his right hand for several seconds before setting them off to the side.

Neomaya was shaking violently, keeping her eyes pinched shut as she kept her arms wrapped firmly around her midsection as if, in some way, she could protect herself. She heard the drawer below open and close as well as the sound of paper being readjusted on the page. She also heard the sound of something pouring and, against her better judgment, opened her eyes.

The pet saw him pouring ink a small puddle of ink into a small tray next to the paper just in time as he lowered her back down onto the desk, setting her in the tray. He moved his hand a way, leaving her standing there, shoes soaking in the ink. She tried breathing slowly, but the compression in her chest from stress wasn’t letting her get a good breath.

“Walk across the page,” he directed, voice direct and unbelievably calm. Neomaya stifled another sob as she hesitantly stepped out of the tray and onto the page. Knees knocking the whole way, she made a direct line from one side of the page to the other, walking parallel to the lines on the page.

With incredible speed, Nathaniel reached out and plucked her off of the desk again, readjusting the page and setting her at the next set of lines down.

“Try again,” he said. Neomaya felt the intensity of his gaze watching her every movement. Was he going to make her do this to the whole page? Was this some kind of example he was going to use to punish her? She began walking again when he extended his right hand toward her. Instinctually, she flinched and stepped a few paces away, changing where she placed her feet. “Good.”

Neomaya’s heart still thundered in her chest, but there was something a little different in his tone. Fascination? Curiosity? He didn’t sound vindictive or angry. Could it be… he wasn’t going to punish her?

She took a few deep, calming breaths and looked up into his honey-colored eye, catching a gleam of something in his gaze. He wasn’t looking at her though – he was looking at the page. He could see something she couldn’t, which she took as a good sign.

Neomaya wasn’t sure what else to do but staying still didn’t seem to be the option. Instead, she decided to experiment slightly. The pet stared at the lines beneath her feet and chose a few different points to walk across that were on the top and bottom of the funny lines. She staggered her steps and leapt at one point until she reached the end of the line.

Sure enough, the process was repeated, pausing only to dip her shoes back into the ink, until the entire page was covered with her shoe prints. Nathaniel pulled a cloth from the drawer and set his pet on top of it before gathering up the paper in one hand and her in the other and walked over to the piano.

There was the slightest hesitation as he pulled the cover from the piano keys and set both Neomaya and the paper on top of the shiny surface of the piano. His eye was dancing with light as he remained standing and placed his right hand on the keys. With little effort, he pressed his fingers into the keys and began to play.

The reverberations under her made Neomaya jump slightly, but suddenly she was entranced by the sound. The rhythmic thrum beneath her reminded the pet of his heartbeat. A quick roll of his fingers suddenly caught her attention. She remembered dragging her foot across the page upward.

Was he able to do something with the little dots on the lined paper left behind by her shoes? Could he read the little dots?

He suddenly sat down, pulling the bench beneath him, as he placed his left hand on the keys and, both hands now dancing across the sleek black and white pieces of wood. He was making music – from the smudges of her shoes.

It didn’t last long and was incredibly repetitive and simple, but Nathaniel suddenly stopped playing.

“Not bad,” he muttered, eye suddenly flicking up to where Neomaya was sitting in the cloth which was now stained with the ink from her shoes. “Thoughts?” he asked

“I… um…” Neomaya was caught completely off guard by his question. “I… thought it was lovely.”

Silence. Did she say something wrong? Should she have been more specific? What did he want her to say? Should she…

Nathaniel interrupted her thoughts I the most unexpected way.

“I ought to apologize. I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that, and I should’ve explained my train of thought before acting. She…” Nathaniel stopped before looking back down at the keys, eyes locked on a memory in his mind. “Libs would’ve scolded me for behaving like that. So, Neomaya, I’m sorry I startled you.”

Neomaya, absolutely stunned, shook her head as she ran through her training’s mantra again. Reassure. Regulate. Be ready. Somehow, it didn’t seem to fit very well though. She glanced to her right and looked out the window, gazing at the drifting snowfall just outside.

Instead of relying on her training, she decided to rely on her instincts. She knew Nathaniel, and yet she didn’t at the same time. Maybe now was that time.

“Libs?” she asked, clearing her throat in hopes to relieve the tension in her chest. “Is… that for Liberty?”

Nathaniel nodded as he continued to stare at the keys. “She… was a friend of mine. I wanted us to be something more, but that never panned out; and it doesn’t matter now anyway. Libs… she had a taste for a thrill, and that’s what got her in trouble. I tried to get her off of them, but she wouldn’t listen to me. They’re addictive for a reason.”

It dawned on her all at once.

“Those words on the other page… was that for her?” asked Neomaya, daring to ask such a bold question considering she technically ruined it with her shoeprints. Nathaniel nodded, and Neomaya watched as he clenched his jaw and a gloss began to form over his eye.

That was what was going on. That was why he was quiet and not writing music. Everything suddenly made so much sense, and it made Neomaya’s heart clench in a terrible, untouchable ache. He was heartbroken, separated from the person he loved.

“Hey, you okay?” asked Nathaniel. Neomaya suddenly realized she was crying, tears uncontrollably sliding down her cheeks. She tried wiping them away with the ink-stained cloth she was on, but to no avail. “Oh gosh… I didn’t mean to scare you. I swear I just wasn’t thinking. I’m not some psychopath. I wouldn’t hurt…”

“It’s not that,” whimpered Neomaya. She felt Nathaniel’s hand come up behind her and press reassuringly against her back. She leaned back into the warmth as she tried desperately to gather herself. “I… I can feel your heartache. I can feel how much she meant to you. It’s not fair. You’ve been so kind to me, and you deserve to be happy. Libs had to know that too.”

There were several unsure seconds between them; however, thankfully, both refused to swerve in this game of emotional chicken. Nathaniel’s hand shifted around Neomaya but stopped before completely enclosing her.

“May I?” he asked. She sniffed and gave a slightly breathy laugh before nodding. He picked her up delicately and, as he had done so many times before, pressed her against his chest lightly. She gripped the fabric of his shirt for dear life, breathing in the smell of light starch and detergent mixed with his scent until it soothed her.

“Nathaniel?” she said after they stayed there for several silent minutes. He hummed in acknowledgement. “I’m… I’m glad you told me about her. Liberty I mean. I know it wasn’t easy and… and I hope I’m not speaking out of turn, but I don’t care what your sister says. It’s okay to be sad. It’s not okay to give up, but it’s okay to be sad.”

Nathaniel sighed and nodded before standing up and walking back to the desk. “Care to try again?” Neomaya looked up at him and smiled, wiping her red and slightly puffy eyes, before nodding. “We’ll need more ink and paper then.”

~~~^*^*^~~~

It had been a year since that fateful interaction, almost to the day. They had grown closer than ever and hadn’t stopped creating music with one another.

Nathaniel and Neomaya continued to write together, Neomaya dancing and twirling across the page and learning to place certain dots, or “notes,” together which she liked to hear. She listened to him bring her scribbles and dots to life.

It took some time, but she eventually developed a style of her own – but not through music alone. In an activity they tried together, Nathaniel discovered Neomaya had an extreme aptitude for clay sculpting. She made figurines of all shapes and sizes, some as tall as she was and some the size of her finger which Nathaniel had to see through a microscope to see in detail.

Sculpting was the pet’s forte, but, with some encouragement, Nathaniel watched her passion explode to sketching and watercolor, Neomaya sometimes using her whole body as her brush against the canvas.

They were exquisite, as was the music Nathaniel composed from their shared efforts. Then, after many long conversations, Nathaniel convinced her to give him permission to put her art on display as he recorded and performed their music.

When she was unsure, he always said the same thing which helped him be the musician he always wanted to be.

“It doesn’t matter if anyone else likes it. You like it. You have passion and a love for what you do. That is what matters. People will see your zeal, your spark, and be inspired by it. If they’re jealous and if they belittle you and criticize your work cruelly, it’s because they can’t do it themselves. They’re jealous because they see your talent and are disappointed in themselves. Feedback is one thing, criticism is another. Don’t confuse them. Finally, if you think you’re the only one who will enjoy it, this about this. What are the chances, in this vast world with the hundreds of millions of people, that you are the only person who enjoys art like yours? Don’t let their insecurities make you afraid to be the person you were meant to be.”

So…

That was where she was.

She was pacing back and forth on the desk in a sweet white dress with flowing sleeves that barely covered her shoulders that was smattered with all different kinds of paint starting at her belt and fading as it reached the ends of the white, flowing fabric.

Nathaniel stepped into the room, shuffling his feet as always, looking dapper in a white button down that was cuffed to his elbows to reveal part of his tattoo, dark blue vest and pants to match, and his unruly hair tied back in a low man-bun.

“Ready?” he asked. She nodded timidly, keeping her once low hanging head high.

“Yes, are you?” She replied.

“Always,” said Nathaniel, rolling his shoulders confidently. “Now, here’s the real question. Pocket or shoulder, your choice.”

Neomaya smiled and bit her lip, now filled with confidence.

“Shoulder,” she said, a sassy quirk to her lip. Nathaniel’s brows knit in confusion and playful curiosity.

“Really? Not feeling nervous? Why the change?” he asked.

“Because,” she said thoughtfully. “How can I be nervous with you by my side? I’m confident and proud to be yours.”

Nathaniel smiled as he extended his hand level with the desk for her to climb onto.

“We’re each other’s,” he replied. “Now, come along. We’re going to be late for our debut.” She climbed onto his hand and braced herself as he raised her to his shoulder. It took a moment to situate herself in her dress, but she found the right fit – just like how she found the right fit with Nathaniel.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

HUGE shoutout to @ratcatcher0325 for inspiring me with the world forged by pure imagination. Show some love to this astounding author!

Also, as a personal note, thank you to @duscarasheddinn for your support and feedback. You always have fun feedback making me a stronger author.

Cheers and, as always, stay awesome!

~Narrans

[codethyme]

FANTASY MEDIA TO INSPIRE SETTINGS  :  PART 2

this is a part 2 to my fantasy books to inspire your rps post, also known as please stop making harry potter rps 

the discworld series  —  i would absolutely kill for an rp set in ankh-morpork. like. it’s a city full of guilds for everything from legitimate occupations to assassins and thieves . how is that not the perfect setting for an rp. also the books are excellent  &  the hogfather movie is just as good as the book. also !  there’s a wizards university !  there are witches who live in the mountains !  they hate each other !  there are inter-university rivals !  computers that operate with ants !  there is so much potential for all sorts of plots, use it.

percy jackson & the grishaverse have been used as rp settings before but they should be more common than hp rps !  rick riordan  &  leigh bardugo are better writers than terf mcterfy-face too.  **  have been informed that these are also not as pure as the driven snow  (  some v not good racial stereotypes  )  so maybe not ideal.

the rainbow magic series  —  i am saying this with an absolutely straight face, an rp about fairies that all have different responsibilities in maintaining the order of the human world would be sick. like okay, the books are for small kids, but the concept  ...  limitless.

eragon  /  the inheritance cycle  —  tbh probably a little heavy on the worldbuilding, but i’m sure you could make it work. crucially, it has sentient dragons, elves, dwarves  &  magic.

the ernest drake cinematic universe  —  u know those epic books, dragonology & monsterology ?  the absolutely insane amount of lore squeezed into those books ?  if you got all that lore you could absolutely make the coolest rp ever. hagrid who ?

the deucalion sequence  —  these are actually sci-fi, not fantasy, and this is less an rp idea than a read these books they’re so good but. it’s actually such a good series that covers all sorts of topics from colonisation and political corruption to the ethics of experimenting on people.

the rose series by holly webb  —  the best cross between historical fiction & fantasy ever, which follows an orphan who discovers she has magic after she’s taken in by a magician.

[tallbluelady]

Also 📸 and 🎀

do they enjoy having their picture taken? what's their go-to pose? do they like taking photos? what do they take photos of?

Rowan doesn't like getting her portrait taking, but she likes the results most of the time. Her mother commissioned a family portrait before Charteneau, and while it was hard to stand still for it, she still really appreciates having it around afterwards. I think she'd appreciate the idea of a camera when it inevitably arrives in Eorzea, because it takes a lot less time to process a photograph than to sit for a portrait, and she likes having physical objects to remind her. Honestly, Rowan would take a bunch of photos of her friends and nature shots. It could be her hobby because she'd like to have reminders of things she appreciates.

how would they fit into other worlds / aus? what aus would you like to try out? what fictional world would they fit / not fit into?

OH MAN. Rowan is the third iteration of green-haired, blue skinned elf characters. So... she is already an AU character that went off the rails.

The first iteration is my WoW Hunter, who I have had since about 2005. Before I quit WoW, I had her story be that she was training as a Priestess of Elune and was constantly overshadowed by Tyrande. She has a sister in Suramar, and they got separated in the Sundering. Her faith is more or less shattered at that point, so she works with the Unseen Path to try and care for the world in her own way. She then reconnects with her sister in Legion and I kind of want to retire her story there because I haven't cared for the story in WoW since then.

The second iteration is from a completely original story. Basically, a dragon-rider elf goes to high school and dates an age-appropriate grim reaper. That project has been stewing in my mind since after I read Eragon in middle school and thought I could do it myself. Which... didn't happen, but I've kept the characters. That's where the Light Party characters come from as well (and Aclessica/A'quexta also has a WoW counterpart).

So, like, yeah, Rowan could be pretty flexible in AUs ^.^;.

Thanks for the asks!

[kagrenacs]

rules: google and post the meaning of your oc's name (if you made their name up or they go by a nickname, post an explanation of how it came to you)! bonus if you can find something for their last name too

tagged by @cruethys (thank you!!), tagging @valen-dreth @sexy-orc-singles @fruitpunchenjoyer @olibavee @hounskul @dilfsero

ohh it’s been so long since i’ve done oc stuff :0! Many of these names come from umedicated adhd’s tendency to misread words, which is helpful when creating names!

Dralli Rilvyon: Googling her name gives me gluten free pasta. Her name comes intially misreading, and then changing a syllable in the name Dralsi, Karliah’s mother and Barenziah’s daughter. I think Rilvyon was taken from mashing together a couple Dunmer last names.

Mere-Sa & Kaju-Mota: Both taken from existing Jel words. Mere-Sa has no translation, try as I might I couldn’t figure out a fitting name for them. Kaju-Mota means Sacred-Beast Hunter, being a warden bear guardian

Kaireth: It came to me in what i believed was a fit of divine inspiration. I later figured out I had just added a syllable in the name ‘Kireth’ I use Kai as a shortening often because many trans masc people like this name, and I considered going by it at one point :)

Ildenzah Aranleth: Also created by mashing together existing Dunmer names

Ariya: Google says the name means a ray of hope. My first tes oc, so it’s not a very Reachman sounding name. I took her name from Arya in the Eragon series who I was a little bit in love with. Only realizing a year later I misread it.

My favored D&D characters as a little bonus:

Rowyn: Meaning red-haired. My mom’s friend had a baby recently, and named her this. So I named a character in a public game after that baby.

Renn: Apparently meaning ‘Little prosperous one’, which is very funny considering this character is a con-artist. I’ve always liked that name, had no idea what it meant!

[basaltbutch]

(Some of) my inspirations!! I actually try to gather as much real-world material for my art as possible (preferably of photos I've taken myself), so this is nearly all story related. Studying anthropology and other related topics have really helped with my worldbuilding, hiking and exploring have helped with developing a cool environment, and my dreams help me come up with neat story ideas. I also listen to the Garages a lot which means it's snuck into some of my work, I've been playing Minecraft for around nine years now so it's themes have also found their way into my stuff, and uh. Yeah. Bird kid time.

Edit; There's also some other things that's influenced my stuff over time. I'm into conlanging because of Eragon, I have a warrior cat fan Clan that's so far removed from canon I could probably slap some new names on everyone and publish it as a book, but these guys are the ones I think about the most.

[I.D. Several rough, colored sketches. From top to bottom, left to right, is a neon blue, red, black, and white electric guitar and a baseball, a tan and red backpack, a piglin from Minecraft, an old arcade game in the middle of a jungle with white eyes in the background, two books stacked on top of each other with one open, and Max from Maximum Ride with her wings spread. End I.D.]

[inheritance-cycles]

Do you think Arya could end up with a mate that isn't Eragon? Just fyi, I am a Eragon x Arya fan though not as much as when I first read the Inheritance books.

First off, thank you so much for being patient! I know it has taken me a bit longer than normal to respond. I just found out I got into graduate school so I had to go through the process to officially commit to the program, which was waaaay messier and complicated than I expected, haha.

And second, NONNY. The sound I just made reading this ask! I don’t know how I could have overlooked this as an idea! I legitimately gasped out loud because I’ve only ever considered it from the will-Eragon-get-over-Arya perspective. *face palm*

Obviously none of us know where their relationship is going, or if Arya x Eragon are ever going to be endgame, but I think your explanation would be the most plausible for them not getting together eventually, or at all.

Paolini, IMO, has kinda set it up where I don’t think Eragon is going to outgrow or lose his attraction to Arya, mainly because of all the times Arya asserts that exactly that will happen. Eragon, in her eyes, is still a child (which he is), as well as very young and immature! So she fully expects him to move on and outgrow this crush because she doesn’t think his feelings hold any true weight (well, I’d argue until the very end of IC, but that’s a topic for another time). I’m not entirely sure how to express this last thought, but It feels to me like some of Eragon’s character growth and maturation has been tied to him maintaining his love for Arya, if that makes sense. It’s like his feelings for Arya being truly mature or Adult™ have been conflated with him finally making that last leap into adulthood... and I’m not sure if I’m here for it! So, the only other alternative would be Arya ending up with someone else. And I could see that as totally likely!

I’m not sure if I want Eragon and Arya to go canon or not. I’m real fucking conflicted and I relate so much to your being an “Eragon x Arya fan though not as much as when [you] first read the Inheritance books,” because SAME. If I’m remembering correctly, I think Eragon was the first actual book I read in my life. It was one of the books that taught me how to read! Eragon and Arya were the first couple I ever shipped in any series, in part because I was a little kid with very romanticized ideas of romance. I entirely believed that Eragon, even at 15, was an Adult because from my frame of reference, he totally was!

Looking back at the series now at 23 years old, I still have a lot of nostalgia tied up in Eragon and Arya’s relationship but I’m also able to view it through a critical lens.

TLDR: Yes! I totally think Arya moving on and finding a not-Eragon mate is totally plausible, and part of me even wants that since it’s arguably a much more healthy option. But in terms of the narrative, I’d tentatively say Paolini is heading in the Eragon x Arya direction? I just really hope he handles it in a way (if it even happens, that is) where Arya isn’t mating with like... a 16-17 year old. Cuz ick. I’m not sure if I’d even be comfortable if Eragon was in his 20s, or something. I’m still #waitafewcenturies LOL.

Sorry for the rant and stream of consciousness. I’m having a hard time putting words together right now, but thanks for the ask! And I hope this opens up a fun fandom discussion. :)

[modern-inheritance]

Nope, still not over this.

Brom FINALLY gets there and gives the equivalent of a neonatal dragon hatchling checkup, declares him fine if, somehow, slightly undercooked (iirc Fírnen's coloration sorta gradients down his legs to a very very pale green nearest his claws, but if not i have NO idea where that came from) which makes Arya panic for a second before Brom calms her down and tells her he's just messing with her, this is an uncommon but totally NORMAL coloration and she doesn't need to put him in Rhunön's forge or anything to even him out. He's eating well, he's even started hunting small mammals and fishing from the creek beside the hut, and he has...quite the bite force for a hatchling.

EDIT:

Oh my god it turned into a fic why is it a fic it wasn't supposed to be a FIC AND NOW I'VE ALSO ESTABLISHED FURTHER TIES THAT HAVE NO REASON TO BE THERE WHAT

MODERN INHERITANCE: STRING BEAN (POST WAR SHORT)

Brom set aside the scope and scooped the now protesting hatchling up, bracing his thumbs on his chest and carefully curling his fingers beneath velvet wings. "Has he taken a name yet?" Belly scales are hard. No sign of a hernia. Good. Perturbed, the amber eyed hatchling snapped at the old Rider's nose, earning further assurance of his intentions. "Eka aí fricai. Shh."

Arya scratched the back of her neck, still leaning against the low shelves. "He's not even got words yet, Brom. I was talking to him the whole way back in his egg, and he was kinda responding even before he hatched, but nothing yet." The elf rubbed the flats of her palms together, still unfamiliar with the dragonmark on her left hand.

The hatchling squawked in indignation when Brom flipped him over to examine his tail. With an almighty yank he freed himself from his grip and launched out of Brom's hands, squeaking up a storm to drown out the rough swearing as he glided into the waiting arms of his Rider.

"String Bean." Arya chided softly. She spoke both aloud and with her mind, sharing with her newfound partner and the elder with them. "I told you, he's going to be done soon."

Brom couldn't help but feel warmth at the sight of the young woman curling her arms around the little hatchling so naturally, the way the little creature's head pushed into the elf's hand in search of comfort and his tail curved around her waist. This was a new start to the Dragons and Riders, it all wasn't resting on Eragon and Saphira now. To be the first after so long was an honor, but in truth...it only mattered as long as Eragon and Saphira were not the last.

Wait.

"String Bean?!" Brom sputtered. The quick snap of both dragon and elf eyes to him was uncanny, the furrowed brows near identical. A match that had waited for over a hundred years. "What– Why–" He couldn't find the words, so he just repeated himself once again. "String Bean?!"

"Oh, hush!" Arya snapped back. "He's not complained about it! It's not like it's permanent, and I had to call him something! And look!" Ignoring the renewed squeaking, Arya gently took the hatchling under his arms and held him at arms length to show his gangly frame. "Look at him! He's scrawny! You're so scrawnchy! My long, spindly, string bean of a dragon!"

And Arya laughed, a laugh that Brom hadn't heard in years when the hatchling wriggled free and scampered up her arm to her shoulder, tail coiling gently around her neck. He nibbled on the back portion of her ear, as if warning her not to do that again, before settling in and burying his angular face against the corner of her jaw. A thrumming purr, so much softer and higher than the deep rumbles that last shook this little hut on the Crags, filled the air.

"What am I to do with such a scrawny dragon?" Still beaming ear to ear, Arya leaned her head into the hatchling's nuzzling. "You know, I used to say the same thing about Eragon. I did! 'what are we to do with such a scrawny little Rider? And now look at him, so strong, so handsome! You'll get there too, little String Bean. You'll eclipse the sun, and no one will ever forget it."

Brom just smiled as well and shook his head. Scrawny little String Bean.

He wondered, just for a moment, if Arya knew just where the name had come from, why it stuck in her mind.

"Islanzadí doesn't like it when I call her that." Evandar was positively beaming at Oromis' students. The king of the elves looked around, almost as if to check his mate wasn't there, and then unwrapped the bundle in his arms. Dark green eyes blinked in the new light, peering around curiously before Evandar shifted his grip and held the infant out under her arms. "But doesn't it fit? Her eyes are green, and she's just as scrawny as any elf babe I've seen. The doctors say she's healthy, and she's strong, but that she'll be tall and have to grow into her limbs."

Saphira lowered her azure head and sniffed the babe. 'She has much magic.' She pulled back, amusement evident. 'But maybe String Bean is a bit....'

"Childish?" Brom held out a cautious finger. The elfling removed a tiny fist from her mouth and made a grab for it, almost scowling when the Rider pulled away. Such a fierce expression for such a tiny creature.

"No!" Evandar turned the child in his hands and pulled her back to his chest. "It's perfect. Isn't it, Arya? My favorite String Bean? My perfect little girl?"

Arya, the first child of King Evandar and Queen Islanzadí, giggled in agreement, and Brom could have sworn the babe nodded.

The old Rider sighed, though the smile never left his face. "Fine." He snapped his bag shut. "String Bean it is. Just not permanently!"

*juvenile chuckle*

String bean.

[alagaesia-headcanons]

I think the most important thing Eragon could do for the reformation of the Riders, to ensure that they don't collapse like before, is to demand that only adults are tested against the eggs. Like I would say at least 25 years old.

The fact that humans used to be tested at 10 is abhorrent to me. They can't consent to the responsibilities of a Rider at that age. They wouldn't understand the huge ramifications on the rest of their life at all. An inherently immature child with such little life experience would just think that being a dragon rider is the coolest thing ever, they can't critically analyze this choice. Such an enormous, deeply affecting decision that cannot be undone, should never have been made available to children.

Also it's fucking indoctrination. We know their taken from their homes (Brom leaves Kausta to go to Illirea) and there's no evidence that their families go with them. They, 10 year old children, are taken from their homes, families, and cultures to be taught by and organization that they were expected to be a part of their entire lives (which were extended indefinitely!) and, as far as we know, they had no option to leave.

Oromis says the elves were tested at age 20 which I can think of two reasons for. One: elves age slower than humans and a 20 year old elf is as mature as a 10 year old human. This is the one I imagine is true. And so, the elven Riders go through the same stuff that the humans do and truly none of the Riders have the benefit of an upbringing outside of the Riders instruction. Two: the elves were given special privilege and the Riders deliberately waited until they were older to test them. This possibility is particularly awful because of the sense of racial superiority at it's core. The human children would be tested at a more vulnerable age so that the Riders would lean very heavily in favor of the elves, in their philosophies, politics, governing, and of course, their racial bias.

And even though I think the first explanation is the actual reason, the second one is still at play. Regardless of any equivalence of their mental or physical maturity at those ages, 20 years is twice as much life experience than 10.

Eragon included all the races in the spell that bonds Riders to dragons, which is incredibly important. But if he wants to actually make good on his promise to give them an equal place in the Riders, he has to fucking do this. What's the point if they leave their home, their people, and their culture as children and get all their education from age 10 (or equivalent) from the Riders? What new perspectives and ideas would they be able to bring? What understanding of or connection to their race would they have? What would be the point? All they would be left with is a group of people to powerful for their own good that were all taught to think and act in the same way and it would fall to pieces just like it did before.

And what makes me so sad is that Eragon still went through all this. 16 is still too fucking young. I feel like the benefits he got from being a bit older and being taught for a shorter span of time were really made up for by the way he was ensnared in so many enormous responsibilities that people presented as obligations or even debts that they could use to get him to comply, specifically the elves. He didn't deserve it and I want him to have the opportunity and the critical thinking to realize all this, both for his own sake and for the sake of every single Rider that will come after him.

It enrages me that the books never acknowledged this. It's fucking criminal to me. All those children deserved better and the Riders of old deserved to be dismantled.

[nautilusopus]

do you have any favorite books?

Coraline by Neil Gaiman is the obvious answer lol. Still my favourite book to this day, obviously hugely influential in my own bullshit. Seriously check it out if you can find a copy, it’s pretty short and absolutely worth your time.

The Devil’s Storybook by Natalie Babbitt and its sequel (The Devil’s Other Storybook) are more of an anthology of short stories starring the Devil, who occupies every role from vague background presence to put-upon protagonist that are funny and thought-provoking and genuinely clever and that pissed enough people off that it was a banned book for a while. “The Imp in the Basket” is the kind of short story I wish more people knew about and wanted to sincerely discuss what actually happened at the end.

ugh i haven’t read a book i actually enjoyed in over ten years at this point uhhhhhh

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I think potentially the only classic I had to read in school that I genuinely liked and actually finished in one sitting on my own time. And I think the first time any themes a book had for me actually clicked and I was able to do any kind of meta analysis of it completely unprompted. Baby’s first literary comprehension. Slaughterhouse-Five is a semi-autobiographical piece set during the bombing of Dresden in WWII, and also some period in the “future” (the 80s lol), and ALSO on an alien planet as the protagonist is abducted and taken to a human zoo. The story is told achronologically, and I feel is hugely influential to my own shit where it skips around, building a narrative almost entirely by juxtaposing specific moments in time against one another. It's surreal and thought-provoking, and if you only ever make yourself read one classic, it should be this one. *

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien. Bear in mind this thing has fuck-all to do with the movie, and while in retrospect I now am able to enjoy the Don Bluth movie as its own thing, I remember being fucking furious when they busted out a goddamn magical amulet. It’s a different kind of story, but is more magic realism than outright fantasy, and the titular rats get a lot more backstory, as does the late Mr. Frisby iirc.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. God that book fucked me up. It is about a snotty porcelain toy rabbit that gets dropped overboard a ship into the ocean one day, and the various owners he has over the years as he changes hands, and the impacts they have on him, and it makes me fucking cry every time and is to date the only book to ever do so so fairly warned be ye. Fucking shit I wish I could dish out gut-punches half as good as that book could.

The His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman, which in and of itself is an angry rebuttal against everything the Chronicles of Narnia has to say, as well as Christianity in general. You’ve probably seen shit floating around about the HBO series, which I have not watched. Lyra is a horrible gremlin child running wild around a parallel universe Oxford until she accidentally stumbles onto a conspiracy that goes all the way to the Church which unofficially runs the government and eventually starts an interdimensional war against God. The first two books I think are better than the last one, which really drags in spots (and in a twist of irony had Lyra’s sexual awakening censored from the North American release which like... come on man). Absolutely worth checking out though, especially if you’re an angry pedant like I am.

Tales from the House of Bunnicula, by James Howe. Honestly the entire "Bunnicula Expanded Universe"(???) is great, but in particular I'm mentioning this sub-series because I think it actually kind of taught me to write. The framing device used is that they're being written by Howe's pet dog and sent in to him to publish by proxy. On top of having just a lot of good storytelling tips for beginners (how to create a plot! how to create character motivations! how to write female characters like actual people!), they're also fun little satire pieces of various kinds of genre fiction. Like, the third book is a riff on Harry Potter and making fun of all of JKR's worst writing tendencies, like her compulsion to phonetically write out everyone's fucking accent.

these days i'm just too picky to enjoy books anymore idfk. you have no idea how fucking disheartening it was growing up with actual taste (snooty snooty snoot) and watching everyone go nuts over stuff like divergent and eragon and maximum ride and fuckmothering twilight and shit. like, yeah misogyny absolutely played into why people shat on it because teenage girls aren't allowed to like anything, but lest we forget they were still shitty books guys. that never stopped being true or anything. and you were a social pariah if you didn't like them and that sucked. and then a couple ostensibly good series, like harry potter and artemis fowl and hunger games just dropped the fucking ball for one reason or another as they went on and never picked it back up. i think the mid 2000s almost singlehandedly just killed any real enthusiasm i had for reading altogether (this is not even getting into the fact a lot of really fucking bad "grown-up" novels came out around that period too. whole era was a baaaad time for books). so here i am writing, i guess, because i've decided you fuckers can't be trusted to make anything good yourselves. if you want something done right...

(*I like to think if Cloud wrote a book he’d write something like Slaughterhouse-Five. I think at one point I was even working on a fic along those lines -- a fictional story vaguely based off the burning of Nibelheim and the fall of Shinra that was written, in-universe, by Cloud several years later. Abandoned it just because of how fucking complicated it would be to do. Might come back to it one day.)

[gailynovelry]

WIP List Tag

Thanks to @albatris for the tag!

Rules: Share a list of the stories you’re currently working on, regardless of whether or not you have introduced them to writeblr before. I’m going to apologize to you beforehand because all of these are going to long. They are also queer. I do not apologize for that.

Heralds of Rhimn: A YA Dark Fantasy and my oldest project. The first book in the series is Shadow Herald;

“Few gods remain on the world of Rhimn, and the ones that do use special servants known as Heralds as pawns in the conflict between themselves. And not every Herald is happy with their role…

As Navaeli the Shadow Herald comes clashing with the dual threats of the Irongardhe knights and her own vengeful goddess, she finds romance in a handsome hooligan girl and friendship in a young feyrie thief — and with them, the courage to fight back against the injustices of her world.

But can Navaeli break free from the chains of her duty, or will she be the first casualty in the oncoming war between the gods?“

In essence, Navaeli is a dark messiah lesbian who Does Not Want To Be A Protagonist Please, Crislie is a love interest who decides to put her brawling problem to work protecting Navaeli, and Meparik is baby, but baby with many issues. In the time you’ve taken to read these character descriptions, he has probably already stolen your wallet.

The series as a whole involves some good wlw rapid-yearning-to-mutually-protective-girlfriends, REVOLUTION, a new take on fairies and a big ol’ middle-fingered subversion to the Oppressed Mage trope, and eventually some good ol’ fashioned god-killing.

The first book is going to come out May 20th this year! I have made a pretty cover for it, and also for the sequel! I am very proud of this!

Mindhive: A NA dystopia and the first project I’ve written where my characters are explicitly allowed to say “fuck.” They very much need to use this word, given the world I’ve built for them to inhabit.

“Dead-broke and dead-set on paying off his student loans before he’s forty, Nathaniel Emersin signed up as a paid test subject for ReGene, a genetics company with a mysterious new invention that they promise will change the world; the Worker Bee Implant.

But Nathaniel has one little secret that didn’t make it onto paper…

He’s also been hired by ReGene’s rival company, Future Body, to sabotage the trial and steal the mysterious new technology that ReGene’s been working on.”

Complications arise due to the presence of a very amicable security AI and the fact that Nathaniel gets attached to the two other lab rats he gets assigned to for the trial. And by “attached” I mean “develops mutual deep crushes on both Lucine and Avery, has a few cover-compromising panic attacks over it, and eventually reveals to them that he’s being hired to be a secret agent guy doing secret agent things.”

So he sort of decides to run away with his new girlfriend and datemate to an activist group who could a) remove the implant possibly and b) sue ReGene?

Needless to say, ReGene nor Future Body are happy with this turn of events, and decide that they should probably stop him before they experience consequences for the human experimentation and corporate sabotage.

Also, they take the AI with them. His name is Vertigo and he would like for someone to explain to him what a Vocaloid is.

Galactic Empress: This story is me indulging in my very specific need to write a royalty space opera political thriller. It is very high up on the Maslow’s chart of needs for me. It showed up one day and did not leave my brain.

“After the unresolved assassination of her mother, sweet but politically-savvy Princess Glissandrah Ayamarak — known better as Gliss — ascends to Galactic Empress earlier than she’d ever wanted to.

With her mother’s murderer still at large, Glissandrah turns to outsiders to protect her while she figures out just what game is being played in the Galactic Quorum. And it turns out that turning three hardened mercenaries into loyal royal bodyguards is harder than she first thought… but when anyone inside the Quorum could be after the crown, what other choice does she have?”

The hot and slightly controversial bodyguard team in question consists of Li-ah-li, a polite and slightly tired space furry, Yuukmi, a plantperson gunslinger with a space blaster in each of xer four hands, and Jennifer, a gruff human mercenary with a protective streak for her two alien comrades. This story is also polyamorous!

The Ghosts of Grimmigkeit Manor: I literally started working on this one again yesterday; it’s a reworking of a VERY old fully-OC pokemon fanfiction I wrote when I was fourteen, which has been subsequently lost to time. The genre is uhhhhhh paranormal shenanigans with semi-mystery vibes and a strong dose of snark. Probably NA.

The story follows three protagonists. Firstly is Eustace, a coroner who is doing a terrible job of divorcing himself from his family’s slightly goth business and reputation. Secondly is his triplet sister Alison, who is currently being The Responsible One running the family business of selling funeral caskets and who maybe should stop breaking the maids’ hearts in her free time. Thirdly is Dirk, the other triplet, who looks up to Eustace quite a bit and would really like it if his siblings got along more and maybe relaxed enough to let him leave the manor to go to college?

Anyway, during Eustace’s yearly Christmas visit to the family manor, it turns out that Eustace and Dirk can both see ghosts! This phases Eustace significantly more than Dirk, since Dirk has schizophrenia and didn’t realize at first that the ghosts were separate from his usual hallucinations.

The story at large involves family secrets, intimidating and quirky relatives, a murder that happened a quarter of a century ago, and this one really terrible ghost who needs to STOP MAKING THE WALLS BLEED BLOOD and who maybe is the triplets’ father. They have to figure out how to yeet him into the afterlife so that he stops causing problems.

Also, a different and more chill ghost owes Uncle Freddie money.

Misc: I have a dozen other ideas that I float around but Deliberately Wait To Work On because my stories are stews and they need some time to simmer in the crock pot that is my brain. Among these are a mermaid/selkie wlw romance, a mlm post-apoc ??? story, and various wlw Eragon ripoffs where there’s dragons being ridden and cool things happening.