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fea-resources · 4 months ago

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Managing Your Drafts/Ask Count: A Roleplayer Guide

"I have so many drafts / asks right now. I'm feeling overwhelmed!"

Does this sound familiar? If it's not you personally, you probably know at least a good dozen roleplayers on your dash who have said some variation of this.

Overload and draft/ask stress is a pretty common problem in the RPC. I've seen some accounts that go well over 1,000 drafts! More than on one occasion. Yikes. That's super stressful!

So how do you manage that? And manage it in a way that keeps your followers / mutuals happy? Here's a few easy tips! From someone who has never let their draft count go over 50.

Set A Draft / Ask Limit For Yourself

The first and easiest step is to impose limits on how many drafts and asks you accumulate in the first place!

If you start feeling overwhelmed with answering things once you hit 30 drafts/asks, don't just keep pressing for more interactions until you start hitting double or even triple digits! Figure out where your comfort zone is and stick to that.

If you go a tiny bit past that (you set your limit to 30 drafts, but you have 31), that's okay! Just be careful about not using leniency as an excuse to move your own goal posts. If your limit is 30, allow yourself to go to 31, but don't start moving to 40 drafts, then 50, then 100. This is how you get yourself dug into a hole you can't get out of!

Set A Time Limit On Everything Before It Gets Deleted / Dropped

Yes, it sucks not having Asks answered and threads dropped, but it happens. Sometimes the muse just isn't musing for something, and that's totally fine!

If its an actual dedicated thread or a very special tailored custom Ask or Starter, I would recommend communicating it with your partners before yeeting it into the void, but if its just a random ask from a meme list, especially if you've already got 20 other things going with the person who sent it, you're probably safe to throw it away without much fuss. Chances are your partners won't even remember half the Asks they sent, especially if they're repeat customers who send you a lot of things.

The fact of the matter is, if something is clearly never going to be answered, there's no problem just dropping it. Otherwise its just going to be another number in an ever-increasing pile of things you're never going to answer stressing you out!

Set general time limits, like if it hasn't been answered in 2 months, it gets thrown away (unless its just one particular super ultra special ask/thread you DEFINITELY want to answer, you just haven't been able to yet ; everything else goes in the trash).

Set A Thread / Ask Limit Per Partner

Maybe you have that one person that has 50 unfinished threads with you, but lo and behold, they want to start another one! While you're still struggling to keep up with the 50 that you have with them.

If you want to give more people an equal chance, a simple solution is to divide up that everyone gets X amount of time and effort from you.

Feel free to set limits with your partners, such as "I will only do 2 threads with each person at a time". If that person wants another thread, they will have to either complete the ones you already have, or drop some.

Likewise, you might have a rule that someone can send you 10 Asks, but you will only answer up to 2 of them that you receive. The rest get deleted.

The same goes in reverse. If you already have whatever number of interactions you want with a particular person, you don't have to send them more interactions yourself until activity has dropped off enough that you want to create extra engagement to fill the void of whatever other interactions you had that used to be there.

If you're really determined to give all your partners an equal chance at interaction, this is a good route to consider going with.

Curate Your Mutuals List / How Many People You Follow And Interact With

Another one of the easy ways to deal with Draft / Ask stress: Don't follow too many people to begin with!

If someone follows you, you don't have to automatically follow them back, especially if they have a muse or universe you're unfamiliar with or not particularly interested in.

Setting yourself up to interact with muses or universes which barely hold your attention or that you struggle to figure out how to interact with is just setting yourself up to have a lot of unanswered stuff that never goes anywhere.

This is as frustrating for you as its going to become for the other person.

Likewise, only follow back and interact with the people you actually have the time and energy for. Mind you, there are ways to still effectively manage your blog if you're low energy, but that should come after you've found a comfortable number of people to keep up with, not after you're already overwhelmed!

Otherwise, you're bound to frustrate yourself with too many people you can't possibly interact with, and frustrate the people who follow you who aren't getting the engagement they're looking for.

Be Upfront About Playing Favorites (If You Do)

Nothing is more frustrating for both people in a writing partnership when two people who clearly aren't each others' mutual favorites try to interact.

What I mean specifically is that you have one person who tries really hard to engage, and another who barely puts in any effort unless its only for specific people.

Truth of the matter is, everyone has favorites. Some play favorites harder than others. Don't lie to people and say you treat everyone in your mutuals list equally if you don't. Lying to people about it is bound to create problems and resentments, and justifiably so! No one likes to be strung along.

What ends up happening is that you have one person putting in all kinds of effort to get nothing in return, and another person who keeps getting flooded with attempts at interaction they don't really want, adding to their pile of Things That Will Never Be Answered, adding to your stress with a high draft count.

The simple solution is be honest so your partners know what to expect. If there's only three people you ever care to answer and everyone else is a Once In A Blue Moon interaction, just tell people! They're bound to be far more forgiving about it if you set their expectations of you realistically. At worst, the person will quietly move along to interact with other people who actually put in the effort.

Delete Things That Just Don't Work For You

It happens. Sometimes we get an ask that no matter how we think about it, we can't think of how we want to answer it or a good situation we can turn it into.

Or sometimes we just get a bad ask.

You reblog that meme that has 100 options, and that one person you haven't agreed to Ship with sends the only 2 that involve something Shippy, like kissing.

Or they send the one Ask that would be completely out of character for anything your character would be involved with, like you've got a mustache-twirling villain who likes to kick kittens, and someone sent you a meme insinuating your character is catsitting out of the goodness of their heart.

If something just plain doesn't work no matter how you try to turn it around, delete it!

Alternatively, you can reach out to your partners and discuss how to turn the Ask into something. Maybe your partner had something specific in mind when they sent that particular ask, and its just not coming to you, but once you find out the vision of the sender, it'll be much easier to reply to!

Likewise, feel free to delete a few things that don't work for you if someone sends you a lot of Asks. Maybe someone sends you 10 different Asks. You don't have to answer every single one. Pick the ones that are easy to work with and delete the rest. If you answered 3 out of 10, you still answered 3, and that's good!

Stop Reblogging / Asking For More Memes

I'm not saying everyone should do this. Memes are great! They're good, easy interaction starters! Especially when you don't have a lot of interactions going already or you're stuck waiting in limbo for other people to reply back to you!

But if you're just using memes to run away from your ever-growing pile of unanswered things, stop yourself.

Chances are, at least half of your problem with being overwhelmed is that you're chronically reblogging memes when you don't actually need to be, further compounding your problem of having too many drafts and being even more overwhelmed as a result.

I get it. The instant gratification of getting something in your inbox is nice. Its a real dopamine rush that makes you feel good! At first. But its going to come back to bite you later.

Its also a good, quick way to ruin your relationship with people who want to interact with you. If someone is already waiting on you to answer a bunch of things they sent in, and you post "Wow, I'm feeling so overwhelmed right now because I have too many things I still need to answer! But send me more things!", that's bound to put a sour taste in peoples' mouths.

That tells your partners that you have an impulse problem and that they're bound to keep sending you things that will never be answered, which defeats the purpose of following another RP blog.

At worst, people will get tired of it and unfollow, ending all chance of interaction from ever happening at all.

Some people think the answer to solving this problem is to simply purge their inbox of everything or remake blogs "fresh". While these steps can help in some cases, if you never solve the underlying problem of actually managing your draft count moving forward, eventually you will just find yourself back to square one.

I've seen this happen plenty of times, where people purge or remake a good two, five, ten different times to make a fresh slate, only to go back to the same problem given a little bit of time, because they never took any other steps to stop from ending up in the same situation. They got rid of their draft pile, but never addressed the habits that got them there in the first place.

A good, easy first step in that is to stop endlessly reblogging memes when you already have a pile of them just sitting unanswered.

Instead of letting everything pile up to unmanageable levels and keep asking for more, prioritize going through what you already have first. Answer whatever you're able to, talk to your partners about Asks or threads you're unsure of, delete anything that you know for a fact won't go anywhere.

Then, once you've dealt with the things you already have, then you can reward yourself by reblogging more Memes and Starters and whatever else you want!

Don't Lie To Your Mutuals (Or Yourself) About Guarantees To Answer EVERYTHING

I've seen this a few times before. Someone talks about how they have over a thousand drafts, but they swear up and down to their dashboard that they answer EVERYTHING they receive, so keep sending in more!

Don't do this.

The moment I see someone saying something like this is usually the moment they instantly earn an unfollow / soft block from me, because I know they're completely full of it.

These are the people who chronically never answer anything and end up blog-hopping because they let it get so out of control that the only way forward was to purge or completely remake their blog fresh, often multiple times.

This kind of rhetoric will also establish you as a liar in the eyes of your mutuals, especially your mutuals who never get any engagement while they watch you reply only to the same five people and everyone else is just a number to brag about collecting.

There's nothing wrong with acknowledging the fact that you simply cannot and won't answer every tiny thing you receive. That kind of unrealistic expectation placed upon yourself is just going to end up creating problems for both you and your mutuals.

Learn to let some interactions and Asks go unanswered, and be honest with people that that is the case! You're a human being with finite time, not a writing machine, and your partners are more than just a number for you to collect and ignore.

Yes, announcing you're going to be dropping or deleting things may lose you followers, especially the ones who keep going unanswered, but it shouldn't really bother you if you weren't going to be giving those people proper engagement anyway.

Plot With People If Interactions Aren't Happening Organically

Everyone has their own style of RP and how heavily they want to plot things. Some people need things heavily plotted, others just like to wing it. Sometimes the heavy plotter ends up with the wing-it roleplayer.

Regardless, sometimes an answer to an Ask or Thread just won't come to you. Maybe your partner had something in mind already or a direction they want to take things, while you're just scratching your head with nothing.

Sometimes, getting to answering things is as simple as reaching out to discuss it with your partners!

Of course, there are times where this goes nowhere. Maybe both of you are stumped or didn't really think very far ahead. Maybe its just not vibing with either of you. Maybe you or your partner suck at communication and brainstorming. That's fine! But at least if you reach out, you can say you tried before dropping something!

And it gives you a chance to discuss doing something else that does work instead of such is the case!

Create Side-Blogs For Organization and Bookmark Purposes

The great thing about tumblr is you can basically create however many blogs and side-blogs you want to!

Let's say you're scrolling the dash and you see some neat stuff you want to save, but not reblog. Maybe its a PSA post. Maybe its a gifset. Maybe its a funny canon information/fanon post you saw and want to look back on.

Don't save "other" things in the same place as your Drafts and Asks go!

When you start mixing in "other" posts with your Drafts, your drafts are going to look even bigger and more daunting than they already are! Chances are you're not keeping a mental count all the time about those 50 other "drafts" you have mixed in with your real drafts.

Make a side-blog (or a Personal) for saving all those other completely unrelated things on! This will help keep your actual draft and Ask count in perspective, otherwise you might be stressing about having so many drafts when you actually have a lot less of them than you thought!

Use The Queue

If you find a lot of your problem comes down to having too many things at once, or your partners reply to your threads too fast so you can never make a dent in them, then you can always Queue up your posts to spread them out!

You can even customize how often and at what time frames your Queue posts things to the dash, which will slow down how fast you receive replies and allow you to get through things at a more comfortable pace.

You can always alternate using it as much as you want, such as using the Queue when you have a high volume of things to answer or return activity, and then publish things in real time or push things through the Queue faster as you like when things are going slow!

Prioritize Easiest / Favorite Drafts First (But Don't Do Them Exclusively)

This one is fairly easy, and I think most people already do this intuitively. The problem is, a lot of people do this, and then that's where they stop. They end up doing their favorites exclusively, instead of only doing them first, while letting everything else just rot in their drafts, never actually touching them.

But there's a good reason to prioritize easy and favorite threads first, especially when paired with the queue or other partners who are slower to reply. It's the easiest and fastest way to reduce your draft count and make it less daunting to deal with, without deleting and dropping things entirely.

Then you can focus on the other unanswered things that aren't speaking as easily to you, and get through those.

This step works, but only if you actually commit to answering the other stuff that you have to actually think about next. If you just answer your favorite things, and then do something like, say... immediately run to tell people to send you more memes and starters instead, you are falling back into the trap of overwhelming yourself with things you're never actually going to answer.

Instead, try to knuckle down and work on what you already have, whenever possible.

Prioritize Oldest Drafts First

Okay, so you've already gone through and answered the easiest stuff first! (Or maybe you didn't). Great!

Now what?

While this one isn't strictly an issue having to do with Draft Count, I find some people have insecurity about answering things simply because they're old.

While this inevitably happens to everyone at some point, as some threads or Asks may not be speaking to you until much later, I find that one thing that helps with this is to prioritize the oldest replies / first come first serve as much as possible!

Go to the oldest things you have, sit on them for a few minutes. Try to think of something, and work on that reply. If you try to work on it and its still not coming to you, then go on to the next second-oldest thing you have. Rinse and repeat.

Personally, I rarely have things sitting super old unless I just end up in a straight up writer's slump/block, because I prioritize oldest things first whenever possible, which helps to never have super old stuff just sitting there forever, taunting me.

This way, you're avoiding thoughts like "oh god, but they sent that thing 5 months ago. Should I really answer it at this point? Do they even want it anymore??".

Instead, you're replacing it with "Oh, they only sent that 3 days ago. That's not too bad."

Doing it like this means that my turn-around time is seldom ever so slow that I stress about how long its been.

Don't Be Afraid To Sit On Something For A While

Yes, we've talked a lot about deleting things if you just can't think of anything. And sometimes that is the correct and obvious answer! Likewise, sometimes we get something we need to set aside (but not forget about).

The more you manage the rest of your draft count, the easier this is to do without getting overwhelmed about it!

You don't have to just delete everything that doesn't immediately spring out at you. You can set some things aside however long you want to, just be careful not to use "I'll answer it later" to feed your bad habit of Draft Collection.

If you managed to answer 25 other threads and Asks, but those last 5 are just giving you a lot of trouble, that's totally fine! Even the best of us get hit with that sometimes. It doesn't always mean its time to delete them. Sometimes you sit scratching your head for a month, and then one day, the answer to that thread just comes to you!

But be honest with yourself about it. Are you really going to answer that thread, after you have some time to think on it? Are you really really going to answer it? Or are you lying to yourself and your partners? If not, there's no shame in dropping it.

Close Your Inbox

So let's say you're personally taking all the right steps you need to to manage your workload, but people are still trying to send you more things than you can handle to your Ask box.

You always have the option to simply close your inbox from receiving any new activity! Whether you just turn off Anon (not because of receiving hate, that's another topic altogether, just regular activity) or the entire Ask box, you can limit or entirely halt inbox activity from receiving anything new for a while until you have what you currently already owe into a comfortable and easy to manage state!

Yes, this means people won't be able to send you more, new things, and if they want to message you, they will have to do so through a different avenue (such as IMs or discord), but if you're already too overwhelmed with what you have, you don't need more activity.

Don't Keep People Around Who Make Your Dash Uncomfortable

And finally, though a bit of a sad truth, some people just make the tumblr dash a very uncomfortable place to be.

Maybe they stir up drama. Maybe they don't tag triggers (or they use stupid fancy tags that can't be filtered). Maybe they write too much of a topic or fandom you don't like to see. Maybe they write nothing but OOC and treat their RP blog as their personal blog. Maybe you're not even following that person, but they interact with someone you DO interact with and don't want to see them around.

Whatever the case, chances are good that if someone's presence makes your dash uncomfortable, its going to affect how well you're able to write.

Luckily, there are options available.

You can unfollow / block people.

You can filter tags and key words through tumblr.

You can use the mute function from the xKit extension.

Whether you make it public or private, you can have a DNI (Do Not Interact) saying who is and is not allowed to interact with you based on whatever criteria you set.

If people are sending you unsolicited Anons that you don't like, you can turn Anon off.

If people send you things you don't like with real or burner accounts, you can block those accounts or turn your Ask box and IMs off.

Ultimately, your tumblr blog is your space to curate, and you shouldn't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Having boundaries and expectations for how people act on your blog is your right and their privilege, not the other way around.

If other people aren't going to behave appropriately within and/or invade your yard space, you always have a right to lock people out of it by any means necessary until they either behave or leave.

Don't be afraid to do so, no matter who its coming from, even from so-called "friends" or "good people", because the only people who have a problem with you exercising your right to making your blog a good place to be for you are unsafe people who feel entitled to crossing your boundaries.

#roleplay tips #roleplay talk #RP tips #roleplay resources #RP resources

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sjsmith56 · 4 months ago

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Assignment Bucky Barnes, Chapter 15 - December 1941

Summary: Even though she knows it is coming, the attack on Pearl Harbor sends Ariel reeling. When Bucky gets his draft notice it’s almost more than she can bear.

Length: 4.5 K

Characters: Bucky, Ariel, Steve, Merton.

Warnings: Declaration of war, feelings of helplessness.

Author notes: Stepping away from canon with this chapter as the engagement changed Bucky's timeline slightly. Instead of Bucky being in art school with Steve (who continues to work at the diner) he continues to work on the docks, taking overtime whenever it is offered so he can build a nest egg, enough for a down payment on a brownstone. Like many men he believed in practical solutions to emotional matters.

<<Chapter 14

All day Ariel had been acting strange. She went out with Bucky in her uncle's van to purchase a Christmas tree for their apartment. After Bucky and Merton taught her to drive it in the fall she wanted to drive in the snow and ice, even though she was still not quite used to the driving conditions. Bucky looked at her uncle, trying to get his support for him to drive instead but he shrugged.

"Let her drive, Bucky," he said. "If she crashes the van, you can say you told me so. She does need the experience."

Trying not to grip the dashboard every time the van swayed a little in the slippery streets they finally arrived at a Christmas tree lot which was doing a booming business. Together they walked through the assortment until they found one that Ariel liked, a 6 foot spruce tree. Getting the operator's attention Ariel asked how much it cost.

"$1.25," he said.

"Last year they were 75 cents," protested Ariel.

"That was last year," he replied. "A five foot tree is still 75 cents whereas a six foot tree is a dollar and a quarter now. Them's my rates and you won't find it any cheaper at any of the other lots."

He was approached by a noisy family trying to find their tree and left Ariel standing there fuming.

"It's a nice tree," said Bucky. "I think it's worth what he's asking."

"Who asked you?" snapped Ariel then her face softened. "Sorry, I don't know what's bothering me but it's not you. It is a nice tree, isn't it? Look how full it is. I'll take it."

Bucky got the eye of one of the attendants and Ariel paid him for the tree. The man wrapped it with a cord then together he and Bucky loaded it into the back of the van. Ariel got behind the wheel and started the vehicle. Carefully she backed it out of the parking lot then headed towards the apartment.

"You going to help decorate it?" she asked. "I can make us some egg nog with rum."

Bucky smiled. "I'll help. Ma and Rebecca did ours yesterday while Dad and I worked overtime. The Navy put in an order for more destroyers and they're hiring on at the shipyard. By the scuttlebutt at the shipyards and at the docks they're pretty certain there's going to be a war with Japan. If that happens I might get my draft notice very soon."

Ariel said nothing, concentrating on the roads. She felt Bucky's hand on her shoulder, squeezing it and she knew he was trying to reassure her. It took all of her concentration not to blurt out that the attacks by the Japanese were already hitting Pearl Harbor. Finally, she turned onto the street where the store was and pulled into the spot in front. She could see Merton helping a customer inside. It was risky for him because of the blue laws prohibiting the opening of stores on Sundays but most of the shops in the neighbourhood did as several were run by Jewish people who closed on their Sabbath day, Saturdays, instead. Merton only did it in December to help Christmas sales. Steve was helping him as it was his day off from the diner.

"I'm going to ask Steve if he wants to stay for supper and help decorate the tree," she said to Bucky as she got out of the driver's side.

"Sure, I think he'd like that," said Bucky. "See if Merton can help me get this tree upstairs." He laughed for a moment. "Reminds me of when I hauled your trunk upstairs the day you arrived."

Ariel kissed him on the cheek and went into the store. The bell attached to the door alerted both Merton and Steve to her arrival. She waited while both men helped their customers. Finally Merton was free and he came out from behind the counter.

"Do you need help with the tree?" he asked.

Ariel nodded, gave him the van key, and he got his jacket on, asking her to cover for him. She waited as Steve finished with his customer and sent them off then he looked at her and grinned.

"It's been busy today," he said. "Almost as busy as the diner. Did you get a nice tree?"

"Yeah, I probably spent too much on it," she replied. "Do you want to stay for supper and help decorate it?"

"Sure, if you don't mind," he said. "I've been too busy to get my own."

Merton came back into the store with Bucky and she told him that Steve was staying for supper and to help decorate the tree. Suddenly a man came bursting through the door; he owned a business a couple of doors down.

"Turn the radio on," he said breathlessly. "The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor in Honolulu."

Immediately Merton turned on one of several radios he had for sale in the store. He tuned it to several stations before he found one that had the bulletin. It had just turned 2:30 in the afternoon.

"President Roosevelt has announced a Japanese air attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. There are also unconfirmed reports of attacks on the Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island as well as British held territories in Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong. It is expected that both Houses in Washington will convene in the next 24 hours to formally declare war on Japan and its allies. Stay tuned for further information."

A soft sob broke out of Ariel's throat and Bucky immediately put his arm around her, holding her close. Other than the sounds of her crying none of them said anything as music returned to the station.

"Bucky, why don't you take Ariel upstairs?" asked Merton finally. "There's scotch in the cupboard. I think she could use a stiff drink. We'll be up shortly."

He nodded and led Ariel out of the store and up the stairs. Inside, he helped her take her boots off then her coat. Leading her to sit on the sofa in the parlour he put a throw on her, which Rosie immediately jumped on, settling herself on Ariel's lap. Going to the kitchen he found the scotch and poured them each some, then came to the couch and lifted her onto his lap, forcing Rosie to sit beside them. Holding her glass, he encouraged her to have a sip then he held her closely as she whimpered slightly.

"Ariel," he whispered.

She shook her head. "Don't talk, just hold me," she answered, pressing her forehead into his cheek.

They were still sitting there when Merton and Steve came up. Bucky smiled grimly at them. He felt helpless, knowing nothing he said would comfort her. The thing she feared openly had happened and it meant he would have to leave her behind in the foreseeable future. Why now? Why did the Germans and the Japanese have to stir things up and interrupt everyone's lives? Steve sat next to them on the couch and idly stroked Rosie's back while Merton started the oven up and took a casserole out of the icebox that Ariel made earlier in the day. He would have turned the radio on, but the attack was on all the channels now, dominating the airwaves. Even though it was history to him he still felt the sting of disbelief that the world had turned very dark. It was a very solemn dinner and Ariel excused herself after to go to bed, leaving the Christmas tree undecorated. As the two young men left the apartment Steve looked up at his friend.

"Do you think they'll send the draft notices out right away?"

Bucky nodded. "Probably by the end of the week." They walked in silence for a few minutes then he opened up to his smaller friend. "You know Ariel saw this coming, last year even. I thought she was being silly. We argued about it."

"We have to stand up to them," replied Steve. "The Germans and the Japanese. I hope the training we've done makes me strong enough to go."

"I'll go but you shouldn't get your hopes up," said Bucky. "Besides, I need you to watch Ariel for me. I trust you with her."

"You don't think I'll pass the physical, do you?" Steve had a harsh edge to his voice. "Why do you always say I can't do things? You don't think I'm man enough to fight?"

They stopped under a street light and Bucky looked up to see small snowflakes blown by the slight breeze in the glow. He didn't want to be angry at Steve but it just seemed like the guy didn't see the big picture.

"I know you are man enough," he replied finally. "I just don't get why you're all keen to go. You have this heroic idea about what war is and it's not. My Dad and I have talked, and war is brutal. You're pushed to your limits and you still have to keep going because your fellow soldiers are counting on you, even when you're cold, hungry, wet through, and every part of you is screaming for rest but you don't dare because the enemy could attack at any moment. I don't want any of it but I'll go because it's my duty, nothing more, nothing less. I'll go even though the woman I love is terrified I won't return and she'll be left alone with a broken heart."

He began to walk again and Steve watched him before running to catch up. Scratching behind his ear he thought about what Bucky said, realizing that his friend was afraid because he had a lot to lose, his parents, his sister, and Ariel if something happened to him. It was certain that Bucky would pass his physical and likely begin basic training in the New Year. Steve knew deep down that his chances of passing the physical weren't good but he was still going to try. For just once in his life he wanted to be able to say he mattered.

Draft notices were sent out starting that week and although Bucky and Steve didn't receive theirs right away there were younger men in the neighbourhood who did and they went down to the enlistment centre to report in. An announcement was also made expanding the draft to men aged 35 to 64 and Merton found himself in line to register for it. He felt quite out of place amongst the young men who were waiting to volunteer. When he gave the corporal in the recruiting centre his information the man smiled and looked up at Merton.

"Don't worry, Gramps, there's millions of younger men who'll go ahead of you first. Your country thanks you for showing up, all the same."

It was a surreal experience registering and he recorded the whole experience with a button camera, then wrote up a notation of the process. Ariel smiled at him later when he related his registration process then hugged him.

"I'm glad they'll pick the younger ones over you, Merton," she said. "I would hate to lose you. Does that mean your other resident historians may be drafted? How does that work if they're chosen for the service?"

He looked pensive for a few moments. "I don't really know," he finally admitted. "Perhaps the Guild gives us something that affects our blood pressure or heart rates so that we're declared 4F. It's not like we have lots of qualified people waiting in the wings to take over. Will was young to be a resident historian but he was an early college graduate at just 19 and proved himself with several difficult assignments before he was 32, which is when he was assigned here. Most are well into their 40s before they're assigned a resident historian status."

Ariel tilted her head listening to the older man, learning something new. "How many assignments did you complete before your first residency?"

"Let me think, my first was when I was 22, in San Francisco during the Gold Rush years, a fascinating time. I did a similar one in the Yukon in 1897, posing as a government inspector. Did you know the Canadian government required anyone coming there to have a ton of supplies to last the winter? They had to carry it all in before they were allowed to begin searching for gold. By 1899 most of those people switched their sights to a gold rush in Nome that was easier to get to. I requested a warm weather assignment and was placed in Hawaii in the late 1800s. Beautiful place, beautiful people who didn't deserve how they were treated." His face reddened and he looked embarrassed. "Sorry, I got lost in the memories. I did at least a dozen assignments as a regular historian before I took a sabbatical and did research on Montana for my first resident historian assignment. Brooklyn was my second residency."

"Has it been worth it?" she asked. "Were you able to have relationships or were you always alone?"

"I was alone for most of it but I did have relationships during my sabbatical," he replied. He looked away then looked at Ariel again, smiling. "I've been in the presence of many fine people, working hard lives for little to no recognition. In a way, I'm the only one who recorded their contribution to history, so yeah, it was worth it."

Ariel wondered if there was more he wasn't saying but she didn't press the matter. When Peri first confirmed that this assignment was hers she described Merton as one of the best resident historians the Guild ever had. By the way Peri hugged him she wondered if they were also friends, not just colleagues. Certainly he had helped Ariel navigate her way through this deep cover assignment, the first one the Guild had ever attempted, deliberately allowing an actual emotional relationship to form with a subject. She didn't want to let anyone down, knowing how much rode on her work and the monograph she would produce about James Buchanan Barnes in the pre-war years.

Mrs. Barnes telephoned to invite both Ariel and Merton to Christmas dinner at their house. Once again Ariel offered to help with the cooking. This time Bucky's mother accepted the help and invited her over so they could plan the meal together and divide up the tasks. Now that Ariel and Bucky were engaged Merton suggested they get gifts for everyone and together he and Ariel were able to acquire some unique items that would fit the bill.

On Tuesday, the 23rd of December, Ariel was working as the Library would be closing at noon on her regular work day, the 24th. It would also be closed after Christmas until the following week. As she finished her shift at 5 o'clock she noticed Bucky waiting for her in the vestibule. It puzzled her because he usually worked extra hours on the dock, often until 6 or 7 o'clock. When she approached him, all bundled up for the walk home she could see he was nervous and she suddenly felt an icy feeling in her stomach.

"Why are you here?" she stammered. "Why aren't you working?"

He took her by the hand and exited the door. "I didn't work today. I was at the induction centre, getting my physical and my psychological tests." Ariel froze and Bucky sighed, grasping both of her hands. "I'm 1A, and I'm to report for transport to boot camp in Wisconsin on Monday, January 5. They have a train leaving from Grand Central Station after lunch that day."

Withdrawing her hands from his Ariel stepped backwards several feet, almost stumbling. Bucky reached out to steady her but she shrunk away from him. Her mouth was open in disbelief and her eyes began to fill with tears.

"Ariel, you've always known this would happen," he said softly. "It's sooner than I expected but it will still be a while before I go overseas. There's at least 12 weeks of training, then they'll divide us up for further training in specific areas. It could be a year or more before I'm sent overseas, and I'll be home on leave several times. We could get married, be together."

"No, I don't want to marry you anymore," she cried out, pulling her left glove off, and trying to pull the engagement ring off her finger.

Bucky stepped forward, grasping her hand. "Don't take it off, please," he begged. "We don't have to get married if you're not ready but if you took that ring off it would break me. Please don't."

It was his eyes glistening under the light of the streetlamp that stopped her, and she surrendered herself to his arms, both of them clasped tightly together in the darkness of the early winter evening. On the walk home he kept his arm tightly around her shoulders, trying to give her as much support as he could. When they arrived at the store they could see Merton inside, finishing with one last customer.

"Should we tell him together?" asked Bucky. "You don't have to come in with me. I haven't even told my parents yet."

"Alright," replied Ariel after some deliberation. Before they went inside she took her hand out of her glove and placed it on his face. "I'm sorry for my reaction. I'll try to be more supportive but you know it's hard for me to get past my fear."

"I know." He smiled slightly and kissed her gently. "It'll be alright. I have a feeling that we'll be okay."

They entered the store and Merton looked up to acknowledge them. When he saw Ariel's face he knew something was wrong, but he focussed his attention on the customer and finally got them to commit to the sale. After he rung them up and packaged their purchase, he escorted them out the door, locking it and turning the open sign to closed. He began to pull down the blinds and smiled at Bucky when he helped. Ariel stayed by the counter.

"What's going on?" asked Merton, walking towards the counter.

"I had my physical and psychological evaluation today," said Bucky. "I go for boot camp in early January, in Wisconsin."

"I thought it was something like that," replied Merton, placing his hand on Ariel's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"No, but there's nothing I can do about it," she answered diplomatically. "Let me help you tally your receipts. Bucky still has to tell his parents."

"What about Steve?" asked Merton. "Did he get called in for his physical?"

"Tomorrow," said Bucky. "He won't pass. I've been training him for months but he was so sickly when he was younger it's like his body just won't accept the benefits of physical work. He's gained all of a pound and can barely lift 20 pounds in weights. I know he feels like it's his duty as an American to be there but ...."

Bucky couldn't finish his sentence and Merton patted him on the back sympathetically. Kissing Ariel once more Bucky said goodnight to both of them and left to give his news to his parents. Merton waited to see if Ariel would say anything but she was busy tallying his receipts and he began counting his cash, setting aside his float for the next day. After dinner he respected Ariel's need for solitude and didn't intervene when she said she was going to bed early.

The following morning Ariel went for her three hours of work. She was surprised when she arrived to find the Head Librarian of all the New York libraries there. Just before they opened the door he pulled all the staff into the staff room and made the announcement that Mr. Grayson was retiring, effective December 31, and that Mrs. Houseman would be promoted to Library Manager. The Assistant Library Manager position would be posted across the city but he encouraged everyone in the branch to apply, as he felt most of the staff would make fine Assistant Managers. With his goodbye and good luck wishes to Mr. Grayson the doors were unlocked to a lineup of people anxious to borrow enough books to satisfy their reading habit for the next five days. The few hours passed quickly and gifts were exchanged between them prior to leaving for the Christmas break. When Ariel stepped out she was surprised to see Steve waiting for her.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "I thought today was your physical."

"It was," he said somewhat despondently. "They didn't even examine me. Just took one look and wrote 4F on my enlistment form. I didn't know what else to do or where else to go."

"Wasn't Bucky waiting for you?" she asked.

Steve shook his head. "Said he had to get one last gift. I'm glad he wasn't there. We worked so hard together and it was all for naught."

She placed her hand in the crook of his arm and walked with him, not saying anything but just being there for him as a friend. When they got to the store she asked him to come in to say hi to Merton but he didn't want to.

"Then come upstairs and help me ice some cookies," she said. "I have a couple of things I still have to do. Just keep me company."

He looked all around, trying to find a reason to say no but he finally agreed and Ariel waved at her uncle then went up the stairs followed by Steve. She turned the radio on, then put an apron on and began making icing for the cookies. After showing Steve how she wanted them done she left the task up to him while she made some brownies and gingerbread. While the brownies and gingerbread were baking she made hot chocolate for them, with a splash of rum. On the cookies that Steve had iced she sprinkled coloured sugar in patterns then put them aside to set. They both continued on with them after she took the brownies and gingerbread out to cool. By the time they finished the cookies they had also finished the hot chocolate and Ariel smiled at Steve with empathy.

"Thanks," he said. "I was feeling bad about myself. I'm still not happy about it but I feel better."

"Will you be at the Barnes house tomorrow?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, they're my only family, although you're pretty close to being like my sister."

"We'll be there after breakfast to open presents," said Ariel. "I'm helping Mrs. Barnes get the meal ready."

Pushing himself away from the table Steve put his jacket and scarf on. Impulsively he gave Ariel a warm hug then kissed her on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Ariel," he said with some emotion.

"Merry Christmas, Steve," she replied, and walked him to the door, watching him step down to the door to the street.

Returning to the kitchen she made the icing for the brownies and smoothed it on. So focussed was she on the process she didn't hear the door open nor Bucky walk in. He watched her from the entrance to the kitchen, smiling at her wearing her Christmas apron, and occasionally moving her hips to the Christmas music playing on the radio. Finally he knocked on the wooden frame of the entrance and stood himself under the mistletoe that was attached to it. Ariel turned around, seeing him standing there.

"How long were you watching?" she asked as she wiped her hands on a towel and advanced towards him.

"Long enough," he said softly. "I liked watching you dance."

She wrapped her arms around his middle. "You going to kiss me?"

He nodded and leaned over gently placing his lips on hers, then enclosing her in his arms. Still kissing each other tenderly they finally broke apart slightly to look at each other with fondness. Neither one stopped holding the other until Ariel finally pulled herself away.

"Do you want a coffee or a hot chocolate with some rum?" she asked.

"Coffee and rum sounds good," he said, pulling a chair out from the table and reaching towards one of the cookies.

"Those are for tomorrow," she warned, then smiled. "Tell me if they're any good."

He bit into it and chewed with the air of a judge at the county fair food competition.

"They taste pretty perfect to me," he said.

Ariel brought his coffee over and poured a bit of the rum in, standing extra close to Bucky as she did it. Without taking his eyes off hers he ran his hand up the outside of her leg under her dress. Gently he caressed the skin above her nylon, then ventured higher, under the edge of her panty, rubbing his thumb on the soft skin there.

"Do you have a fancy dress?" he asked quietly. She nodded. "Wear it for New Year's Eve and pack an overnight bag to stay at a hotel in the city. I'm taking you to a dress up party. I already spoke to your uncle about it as it will be the last time we can be together before I leave for boot camp. I just want to be alone with you, everything above board, no lying, no sneaking around. I love you, you love me and we're engaged."

"We won't be in violation of any laws?" she asked.

"No, because I already spoke to the hotel and we're both of legal age," said Bucky. "They're being quite flexible because of the number of men that will be leaving for boot camp. Kind of their way of giving a soldier a break."

"Alright," replied Ariel. "I'll get dolled up, just for you. We'll dance and bring in the New Year, then I'm yours for the whole night."

Reaching up with his other hand while Ariel bent low towards his face their lips met in a soft, languid kiss, and Bucky caressed the soft rounded cheek of her bottom under her panty. A little whimper escaped Ariel's throat and for a moment they both wanted the other, right there on the kitchen chair. Then Bucky slowly removed his hand and moved it to Ariel's face, just before ending the kiss. They heard Merton come up the stairs and Ariel stood up without hurrying, caressing Bucky's face before stepping back to the stove just as the door opened. The only sign of their erotic moment was Bucky repositioning himself to face the table so that he could camouflage the bulge in his pants. Merton never gave any sign of noticing as Ariel brought him a coffee and splashed some rum in it, bringing a smile to her uncle's face.

Chapter 16>>

Series Masterlist

Reblogs and comments are appreciated.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #buckybarnes original female character #james buchanan barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes romance #bucky barnes x ofc #pre war bucky #ww2 bucky barnes

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samuiattorney · 6 days ago

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Contact Review in Thailand

Contract review in Thailand requires a nuanced understanding of Thai legal principles, business customs, and potential pitfalls that differ significantly from Western jurisdictions. Whether you're drafting an employment agreement, joint venture contract, or commercial lease, failing to properly review terms can lead to enforcement difficulties, financial losses, or legal disputes.

This expert guide provides:

Critical clauses unique to Thai contracts

Enforcement challenges under Thai law

Industry-specific red flags

Strategies for dispute resolution

Step-by-step review methodology

1. Legal Framework Governing Contracts in Thailand

A. Civil and Commercial Code (CCC) Foundations

All contracts in Thailand are governed by Sections 354-452 of the CCC, which establishes:

Freedom of contract (with limitations)

Requirements for valid formation (offer, acceptance, consideration)

Statute of frauds (certain contracts must be written)

Key Difference: Unlike common law systems, Thai courts may consider equitable principles over strict contractual wording.

B. Mandatory Protections That Override Contracts

Certain provisions cannot be contracted out of:

Labor Protection Act (minimum wage, termination rights)

Foreign Business Act (restrictions on foreign ownership)

Consumer Protection Act (unfair terms)

2. Critical Clauses Requiring Special Attention

A. Jurisdiction and Language Provisions

Dual-language contracts must specify which version controls (Thai typically prevails in disputes)

Forum selection clauses may be unenforceable if requiring overseas litigation

B. Termination and Penalty Clauses

Termination for convenience often requires minimum notice periods

Liquidated damages exceeding 20% of contract value may be voided

C. Force Majeure

Must specifically list qualifying events (e.g., "political unrest" vs. generic "acts of God")

COVID-19 precedent shows Thai courts narrowly interpret these clauses

D. Intellectual Property Ownership

Thai law defaults IP rights to the hiring party in work-for-hire agreements

Must explicitly address moral rights under Copyright Act BE 2537

3. Industry-Specific Review Priorities

IndustryHigh-Risk ClausesThai Legal QuirkConstructionDelay penalties, change ordersMust comply with Ministerial Regulation on Construction ContractsManufacturingQuality standards, inspection rightsProduct Liability Act imposes strict liabilityTech/StartupsIP assignment, non-competeNon-competes limited to 1 year/30km radiusHospitalityRevenue sharing, franchise feesHotel Act requires specific licensing disclosures

4. Step-by-Step Contract Review Process

Phase 1: Foundation Checks

Verify counterparty authority (check Company Affidavit from DBD)

Confirm regulatory compliance (e.g., FBA restrictions for foreign entities)

Identify mandatory clauses (industry-specific requirements)

Phase 2: Risk Allocation Analysis

Indemnification clauses tested against Section 375 CCC limitations

Warranties must specify Thai consumer law carve-outs

Insurance requirements (verify local policy availability)

Phase 3: Enforcement Practicalities

Notarization requirements for land/property contracts

ADR provisions (Thai arbitration vs. court proceedings)

Tax implications of payment structures

5. Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

A. "Standard" Templates That Violate Thai Law

Example: Automatic renewal clauses may be void if not prominently disclosed

Fix: Insert boldfaced notice above signature lines

B. Unenforceable Dispute Resolution

Foreign arbitration awards require enforcement petitions in Thai courts

Better approach: Specify THAC (Thai Arbitration Center) procedures

C. Hidden Landmine: Stamp Duty

Unstamped contracts cannot be evidence in court (1% of contract value typically)

Solution: Factor into signing logistics

6. Dispute Resolution Strategies

A. Pre-Litigation Options

Negotiation through Thai Lawyers (saves face)

Mediation via OIC (for insurance disputes)

Expert Determination (common in construction)

B. When Litigation is Unavoidable

Document all communications (Thai courts favor written evidence)

Prepare for multiple expert witnesses (common in technical cases)

Expect 2-5 year timeline for commercial cases

7. Expert Recommendations

For Foreign Companies:

✔ Always engage Thai-qualified counsel for final review ✔ Build in 30-day cure periods before termination ✔ Use parallel English/Thai versions with clear precedence clause

For Thai Counterparties:

✔ Request board resolution proof for corporate signatories ✔ Verify commercial registration details match contract parties ✔ Insist on wet-ink originals for enforcement

Conclusion: The Thai Contract Review Mindset

Successful contract review in Thailand requires:

Understanding what the law actually enforces (vs. theoretical rights)

Planning for worst-case enforcement scenarios

Building flexibility into long-term agreements

#thai #thailand #property #contractreview #contractreviewinthailand #thaiproperty #thailandproperty #propertyinthailand

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webslinger-holland · 2 years ago

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The Emperor of Magic | Part 5

Summary: Now trapped inside their worst nightmares, the crows need to find a way out in order to stop the emperor. Thankfully, Kaz is always one step ahead and figures out a solution.

Warning: +18 Warning, verbally and mentally abusive parent, deceased relatives, blood, gore, many mentions of death, working in the menagerie, choking, attempted murder and suicide

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x Fem!Reader

Type: Series

Word Count: 6.8k

Author’s Note: This is the end of the series! I really hoped you enjoyed reading this because I have had this story concept in my drafts for a long time. Let me know your thoughts and have a great week!!!

Series Masterlist

The emperor of magic stood in the center of six fallen bodies. She could feel a single bead of sweat rolling down the side of her temple, uncertain if it was from the blazing hot heat waves or if it was from mental strain. Her eyes remained shut as she struggled to keep the six crows under the veil of darkness.

Normally, it wasn’t hard to get inside someone’s head and drive them towards the point of insanity. But this time was different. She needed to take all six crows down, which was no easy task at hand. It didn’t help that they were all incredibly clever and intelligent; they weren't just dumb witted folk. This made the mental battle all the more challenging for her.

Despite this, the emperor was determined to succeed. She needed to keep them unconscious, forcing them captive within their worst memories and nightmares. With great struggle, the emperor managed to break the chains that bound her. She also was able to get loose from the customized straight jacket that had failed to hinder her powerless. She threw those to the side.

Afterwards, the emperor pulled the bag off her head. She discarded it by tossing into the heap of sand. She removed the final eye covering and ear pieces strapped around her head. She was now finally met with the blinding rays of the sun for the first time in nearly three years.

Wylan’s Nightmare:

As soon as his eyes changed black, Wylan’s body succumbed to a dream-like or comatose state. When he managed to regain consciousness, his eyes began to flutter open and he could see a completely different atmosphere. He quickly sat up upon realizing where he was.

The mansion was known to be one of the most beautifully constructed and decorated house in all of Ketterdam. It belonged to the a well-respected member of the Merchant Council which just so happened to be Jan Van Eck himself.

Naturally, Wylan recognized the house that he had spent his early childhood years in. It all came flooding back into his memory; the marble floors sparkled as they must have been polished to perfection and the high wooden beams that stretched across the ceiling held brilliant chandeliers. The furniture was the most expensive thing on the market at the time. The mansion couldn’t be anything less than perfect.

Now looking down, Wylan saw that he was dressed in one of his old beige suits which now explained why his collar felt so tight around his neck. He went ahead and loosened it immediately. He also realized that his wild hair was tamed and combed down like it always had been when he was a young boy.

In the short distance, Wylan heard a voice talking in the other room. He carefully rose to his feet and made it way over to the door that was slightly cracked open. Peering through the crack, Wylan’s eyes fell on the man he once called ‘father.’ And his breath caught in the back of his throat.

“You stupid, stupid boy.” Jan Van Eck said with a shake of his head.

That familiar pang of guilt shot straight to his heart; he had gotten too squinted with those words in his childhood. His father always shaming him, calling him stupid or worthless. He clutched the frame around the door, squeezing his eyes shut to keep the tears at bay.

“You’re a disgrace!”

All of the sudden, Jan Van Eck slammed his hands down and discarded everything that lay on the desk which included books, pens, and papers of the sort. The burst of fury only caused Wylan to flinch something terrible; something else that he still hadn’t grown accustomed to.

“Can’t read, can’t write.” Jan Van Eck scoffed to himself. He gritted his teeth together. “You’re absolutely worthless!”

Without thinking, Wylan burst through the slightly open door in a rage of fury. For once in his life, he was going to tell it straight to his father and he wasn’t going to let him push him around anymore. His fists were clenched at his sides and his jaw was locked.

Upon hearing the door slamming against the wall, Jan Van Eck turned to face his disgrace of a so-called son. He narrowed his eyes at his approaching figure, not expecting much from him anyways.

“You...” Wylan began, but he struggled to find his voice as it was laced with red hot anger. He pointed a finger at him accusingly. “You do not know me,” Wylan claimed with tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

“I know you’ll never evolve,” Van Eck spat. “Spent years trying to change you, trying to shape you.”

“I don’t need to be changed!” Wylan yelled back. His face turned beat red in his fit of rage.

“You weren’t enough,” Van Eck said with a shake of the head. “You could have been so much, but you're worthless.”

“We never were the same person,” Wylan seethed. He jammed a finger directly into the man’s chest. “I am not you and I was never going to live up to your name.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Van Eck’s lips shifted into a sinister smile. “Because I’ll still always be there to haunt your nightmares.”

Very slowly, Wylan took a step backwards in his place upon coming to the realization that he wouldn’t be able to get rid of the image of his father in his mind. It will always haunt him and he can’t change that. He suddenly became aware of the situation; that he was living his worst nightmare. And his worst nightmare was being stuck with Jan Van Eck.

Backing away, Wylan wanted nothing more than to leave. He hurried out of the room, charging upstairs to escape to the place where his old bedroom was. He closed the door behind him, twisting the lock in its place. He moved away from the door then. But he didn’t know of the dark figure that stood behind him, watching his every move.

Back in reality, the emperor was left standing and staring directly at Wylan’s limp body in the sand. She studied him carefully. She caught a glimpse of a small tear escaping the corner of his eye and rolling down his cheek.

Jesper’s Memory

When Jesper finally awoke from his unconscious state, he too was most surprised with his surroundings. He shifted into a sitting position, rubbing the back of his neck as if he had a kink in it. He came to realize that he wasn’t in Ketterdam and he wasn't in Ravka either. It almost looked like...

Upon further inspection, Jesper found himself in the middle of a field. He rose to his feet slowly. His long trench coat danced in the breeze. His heart sank in his chest. The memories of his childhood came flooding back into his mind.

These fields were all too familiar to him. Amid the wheat, amid the soft golden ears, moved the unseen wind. The wheels of straw rested on their earthen bed, soaking in the brilliant sunshine. Under the sky that is made all the more pretty for the scattered clouds, the white puffs that radiate white light. It was a simple scene.

His softened gaze fell on the small little house in the short distance. It looked like something from an old photograph; a deep memory that he had almost forgotten. His feet began to carry him to the house. The dark figure followed after him without his knowledge.

Coming to the house, Jesper lifted a hand to pull the colorful blanket away from the doorway. He stepped into the entrance. His hand fell to his side and his heart had never felt more heavy.

It was a small house in the sense that it was all one room. The ground was made of fresh orange dirt and the walls had been lifted by his father at one time. A small stove sat in the corner. And there was a little wooden table for eating. Two beds lay on either side of the room. One of them had an occupant.

“Mama?” Jesper asked just as horrified as the moment he had found her years ago.

His mother always wore the most magnificent colors that made her complexion glow. Her favorite color was yellow in which she was dressed in. She wore these orange and yellow heavy beads around her neck. And her hands rested on her chest. She must have been asleep.

“Mama,” Jesper called again. He felt the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. He approached her bedside, dropping to his knees to be at her side.“Mama, wake up. I’m here,” Jesper pleaded.

He took her hand in his own, bringing it up to his lips to press a firm kiss to it. He failed to keep his tears at bay, feeling them now cascading down the sides of his face. He shook her hand gently as if half expecting her to wake up and rid him of this horrid nightmare.

“Mama. Wake up. I need you,” Jesper cried. The dark figure stood looming over him as he was forced to once again grieve the loss of his mother.

Leaving the memory, the emperor of magic shifted her gaze away in order to face her next victim. The heartrender lay motionless in the sand with a hand near the side of her face. She looked so peaceful in the moment, but she knew she was already experiencing the worst thing she could imagine.

Nina’s Nightmare:

The Little Palace had been home for so many years. All the Grisha were sent to live at the palace after they had been tested for powers at a young age. Depending on which order one was classified into, they would be dressed in the appropriate color coordination.

Every room was created by the most beautiful and delicate hand. The hallway floors were made from the finest marble, sparkling in the early morning hours. Grand oil paintings hung on the craved marble walls. The quartz pillars upheld the vast ceilings in the grand staircase.

For some reason, Nina found herself walking through those hallways she used to call home. She felt a little disoriented because, with every turn, the palace just seemed so empty. She’d peek into rooms and poke around a corridor, but still, nobody was in sight.

She called out for others. “Zoya? Alina? Where is everyone?”

When Nina finally approached her old bedroom, she saw that the door was already cracked open and a blood stain painted the once golden knob. She pushed the door open gently, cautiously stepping into the old room. Her breath caught in her throat.

Because what Nina saw was something she hoped she would never have to see. All of the Grisha she had once known and who she had grown up with were laid lifelessly on the floor. Their colored uniforms were burnt, torn, destroyed, and soaked in blood. She couldn’t tell if it was their blood or soemone else’s.

Glancing past the bodies, Nina named every single face she saw. Her heart never felt so heavy and burdened. She choked back a sob because even though she had left the little palace long ago, she still called it home. The Grisha were her people; nothing would ever change that. But now, they all lay dead in front of her.

At one point, Nina’s eyes settled on the still body of her old friend Zoya. She rushed to be at her side, dropping to her knees. Her hands went to hover over her heart with every intention of helping her. But Zoya’s hand came up to clasp her wrist to stop her. Her pained eyes shifted to face the heartrender beside her.

“Y-You,” Zoya grunted through her teeth. She felt blood seeping past her lips. “Y-Y..You left us,” Zoya claimed.

“I-I didn’t want to,” Nina said with a swift shake of the head. “I never wanted to leave you behind.”

“But you did,” Zoya pointed out. “You abandoned us. And for what? A Fjerdan who only murders your people.”

“H-He’s not like that,” Nina insisted. She felt tears streaming down her cheeks. “No, Matthias would never hurt me.”

“It’s because of his people that we are left scarce,” Zoya said. “They came in the night. They slaughtered us.”

This comment made the heartrender glance around once more to see the familiar faces that surrounded her. She saw the red blood that painted so many faces. She felt only one heartbeat in the room besides her own.

“I didn’t know,” Nina claimed.

“No,” Zoya shook her head. “No, you knew. You’ve always known that they hunt people like us. That they kill people like us. You’ve known, but you chose to ignore it.”

“I-I’m so sorry, Zoya.”

“And now, you will have to live with the fact that you got us killed. You let them in and made us vulnerable,” Zoya claimed. “Y-You are the reason the Grisha will be extinct,” Zoya finished.

All of the sudden, Zoya began choking on her own blood. It spilled out of her mouth in waves. Though Nina tried to help her, it was already too late. Her body became relaxed after the coughing came to a halt. Her eyes were glassed over in a haze. And her breathing came to a final halt.

All at once, Nina felt an overwhelming amount of shame and guilt in her heart. She dropped her head down, feeling the tears streaming out of her eyes at a fast rate. She raised a shaky hand to cover her mouth in hopes of muffling her sobs. She squeezed her eyes shut, struggling to regain composure.

The dark figure that stood behind her took one final glance around the room. It took a single step backwards before choosing to return back to reality. Her eyes fixed on the person laying beside the heartrender.

Matthias’s Nightmare:

For some reason, Matthias thought he was dreaming again. He only thought this because he always saw her in his dreams. His dreams were quite often unsatisfying since he never really knew what he wanted. There were times that he dreamed of finally killing the heartrender that tormented him and then there were times he dreamed about how her lips felt when he kissed her. She was always a mystery to him, which made him realize that he didn’t know what he wanted.

Now Matthias didn’t know where he was or where he was going. He had a feeling that he must have been within Fjerdan territory since there was a blizzard waging around him. He could barely see in front of him from all the snow and wind blasting in his face.

For a moment, Matthias shifted his focus to his footing. He watched himself lift each foot in front of the other, trudging forward through the heaps of snow. That’s when he saw red.

The dark figure had been following him this whole time. She watched carefully for his reaction. The splotch of red in the snow must have been blood. He followed the trail of blood until his eyes fell on a body laying in the snow a couple feet ahead of him. His heart sank.

“Nina!” Matthias called out.

He hurried to her side, basically collapsing beside her in the snow. He was able to pull her body to lay on her backside before taking a look at her wounds. His hands hovered over her lifeless body, unsure of what to do in the moment.

Her face was so pale; her lips were already blue from the cold. Her eyes remained shut since they had been closed long ago. Her hair was frozen from the blood that leaked from her head. In fact, Nina’s body was covered with various wounds. She must have bled out from them.

His eyes fell on a particular wound near the junction of her neck. It honestly looked like some creature had taken a large bite out of her neck, which ultimately caused her to bleed to death. But those bite marks looked all too familiar.

When Matthias lifted his head, there was a grand grey wolf standing in the short distance. It stood calmly as the wind brushed past it’s striking grey and black fur. However, the wolf’s mouth was dripping with the blood of its victim. It was in that moment that Matthias realized wolves might not have been as tame as his people once believed.

“You did this?” Matthias said in utter disbelief. He stared at the wolf blankly. “W-Why? She didn’t do anything. She didn’t deserve to die like this.”

Slowly, Matthias looked back down to the beautifully calm woman in his arms. He held her tightly in fear of letting her go forever. He lowered his head to press it against her own. He rocked back and forth with his love in his arms, crying quietly to himself.

“She was all I had left. She was the only one to love me for who I was,” Matthias sobbed. “She loved me even though she wasn’t supposed to,” Matthias whispered.

All Matthias could do was press a soft kiss to the center of her forehead. He stared off into the distance for he was unable to look at the wolf the same again. He cried for what felt like hours on end and he refused to leave her side.

Inej’s Memory:

The Menagerie was most commonly known as the House of Exotics. This was mainly because the menagerie advertised the exotic beauties of foreign women. They always dressed as specific animals that came from their country or region.

The House of Exotics was almost always filled to the brim with men looking for a good time. They often smoked which filled the house with a thick cloud. There was always heavy liquor seeping from their lips, which made their breath smell awful and their discernment rather thin. The men were able to do whatever they pleased as long as they paid the right price.

During Inej’s time at the Menagerie, she had never felt so low and empty in her life. Now she stood there once again. She wore her old clothes which painted her out to look like a lynx. Her soft brown skin reflexed wonderfully against the brilliant purple silks that hugged her body.

With each step, Inej heard the little bells that wrapped around her ankles. She maneuvered her way through the heavy crowd, passing by drunks and other girls dressed to impress. She didn’t think to question how she got back there or the fact that she was just relieving her worst memory.

When she was there, she felt numb to the rest of the world. And she entirely was right then and there.

For the moment, Inej was leading this half drunk man upstairs to the private rooms. He had already paid her for her time spent with him. She felt the kruge jingling in her pocket. She brought him to one of the rooms, letting him inside before closing the door behind them.

It didn’t take more than five minutes for the man to emerge from the private room, still in the process of buckling his pants back together. He closed the door with a satisfied smirk on his face before heading back downstairs to the bar for another round.

Back in the room, Inej lay on the soft bed in a heap of sheets. Her beautiful purple silks had been discarded on the floor. She stare blankly at the ceiling, feeling entirely numb. She felt a single tear seep out of the corner of her eye.

Her core was filled with a sense of shame. Her legs felt weak as if she already knew she’d have trouble walking. Even her shoulder ached slightly since he had bitten down during their time together. She pulled the sheets to cover her bare body, shivering at the memory engraved into her mind.

For a second, Inej closed her eyes as if to wish she could just disappear into the next life. She hated being there. She hated the things she was forced to undergo. She just wanted to be free. Why couldn’t she be free?

The dark figure that stood by the window was looking directly at the saddened woman laying in bed. She even went to turn away from the scene, because it was too much, even for the emperor herself.

Back in reality, the emperor was truly struggling to keep all six of the crows under their own spell. She only needed to hold off for a little longer because they’d eventually discover that they’ll be stuck. They won’t be able to escape those nightmares. That is, not unless...

Kaz’s Nightmare:

When the black clouds came to settle around him, Kaz Brekker was able to get a sense of his surroundings. He had come face to face with his greatest demon. The familiar eyes of his dear deceased brother were staring right back at him.

Very slowly, Kaz found himself rising to his feet with the help of his cane. He stared at his brother blankly as if he wasn’t at all surprised to see him after all this time. He observed him ever so carefully because one wrong step could be the end for him.

“Hello Kaz,” Jordie said. His lips curved into a mischievous smile.

When Kaz didn’t say anything or do anything in particular, Jordie furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion. He took a single step forward. He raised his hands in defeat.

“What? No hello for your long lost brother?” Jordie questioned.

“I know you are not real,” Kaz claimed. He still wore a blank stare on his face.

“Oh, aren't you the clever one?” Jordie almost mocked him. “Even if you think this isn’t real, you're trapped here with me until your brain starts to rot. You’ll never find the way out,” Jordie laughed.

Kaz’s lips twitched into a wicked smile. “Won’t I?”

Just then, Jordie’s face fell blank. He looked at his younger brother with a hint of confusion behind his eyes. He shifted nervously from one foot to the other. “Whatever do you mean?” Jordie laughed cautiously.

“You made one vital mistake,” Kaz claimed.

Though this time, Kaz wasn’t speaking to the image of his brother. More so, to the dark figure that stood behind him. In a slow manner, Kaz had turned around to face the emperor of magic herself who had been watching the conversation all along. Out of all the crows, Kaz had been the only one clever enough to notice her presence. She was slightly impressed.

“What mistake did I make?” The emperor of magic spoke through slightly gritted teeth. She clenched her fists at her sides to contain her anger because she hated being outsmarted by others.

“You discovered all our names,” Kaz began. He tipped his head to the side. “Through the same memory,” Kaz added.

Now the emperor tried her hardest to keep a straight face, but he could already see the small sense of panic hiding behind her eyes. She shifted from one foot to another in a nervous manner. She held his gaze strictly.

“Which means, all of these nightmares are connected in some way or another.” Kaz noted. He went to look at some of his surroundings, not necessarily recognizing where he was at the moment. “I wonder if they can hear me,” Kaz said mostly to himself.

“Who?” The emperor asked curiously.

“The other crows,” Kaz seethed through his teeth. He lifted his head to look towards the sky once more. “Jesper, Inej, Nina--” Kaz called for his crows loudly.

“You can’t get out,” the emperor said rather hastily. He directed his attention back to her.

Despite this, Jesper heard the message through his own memory. He raised his head and looked into the distance. All of the other crows were able to hear their boss too. Though it sounded more like a distance echo than anything else. They listened carefully to the conversation that followed.

“You're trapped here. You’ll never figure out how to get out,” the emperor claimed. She breathed a nervous laugh to cover up her slight fear.

“You underestimate me,” Kaz spoke. “Another mistake.”

Just then, Kaz took a single stride forward in his place. In a way, it was almost like he was taunting her or challenging her with knowledge of his own. Because if anyone knew something, it was that Kaz Brekker was always one step ahead of the game. He knew this was going to happen all along.

“Let me ask you something: when do you wake up from a dream?” Kaz questioned. He now stood directly in front of her, staring down at her through hooded eyes. “It’s always right before something terrible happens,” Kaz stated plainly.

The emperor couldn’t have predicted his next move. He immediately seized her throat with his glove clothed hand. She breathed a small gasp of shock as his digits began tightening around her neck. She clawed at his hand, desperate for some form of release.

“Sometimes, you get shot at. Sometimes, there is an accident. And sometimes, you fall.” Kaz recalled some of the dreams he once had and the ways he managed to wake up from them. “But you always wake up,” Kaz said while tightening his grip.

“And my guess is that if you die in this dream, you wake up. Is that right?” Kaz wondered. When the emperor said nothing, Kaz went to tighten his grip again. She winced at the contact. “Is that right?” Kaz repeated himself.

“Y-Ye-s-s,” the emperor struggled. “Y-You’ll w-wa-wake u-up.”

In the meantime, the other crows heard the entire conversation between the two of them in the distance. They finally understood what was happening and what they needed to do in order to get out of their nightmares. There was only one solution to waking up.

Without hesitation, Wylan found his old stash of chemicals in the floorboards of his bedroom. He riffled through various glass vials, searching for two in particular. He raised the two glass vials in his hands, seeing the bright colored liquid that they contained. If mixed together, those chemicals would create a deadly explosion. He popped the corks off them.

In the other dream, Jesper had been slow to rise to his feet. He looked down at the body of his deceased mother, still feeling the tears coming out of his eyes. He reluctantly pulled one of his shiny pearly guns out of his holster at his side. He cautiously raised the gun to the side of his head, squeezing his eyes shut in preparation for what was to come.

Now Nina was still sitting amongst the bodies of her dearest friends. She contemplated things for a moment, basking in the reality of the situation. She raised her hands in a particular manner, focusing all of her attention on the speed of her own heartbeat.

Meanwhile, Matthias discovered that he was moving towards the wolf that stared directly at him. He forced himself to place one foot in front of the other. He heard the wolf growling in a threatening manner. He knelt into the snow as if ready to accept his fate. He closed his eyes just as the wolf lunged for his throat.

In the menagerie, Inej had climbed to the rooftop of the institution. She peered over the edge, looking to see several stories below her. She climbed onto the ledge, keeping her arms out at her sides for balance. She put one step forward before falling to her death.

Back in his own nightmare, Kaz carried the emperor’s face a little closer to his own. He studied her carefully as if searching for any sense of faulty. He narrowed his eyes at her. He kept his grip firm, despite her desperately grabbing at the lapels of his trench coat. She was begging for release.

“B-Bu--t I’ll be l-long gone by then,” the emperor claimed. Her lips curved upwards into a smile. “Y-You’ll ne-never catch u-up to me.”

“You’re bluffing,” Kaz called it. Her smile fell. “You haven’t left yet. You’re keeping us under as long as you can. And once we are lost, then you’ll make your escape.”

And indeed he did call it.

“Y-You have n-no idea what y-your up a-against,” the emperor struggled to speak. She was quick to send a firm gab into his stomach, which caused him to release his grip on her neck. She ran past him as quickly as she could.

With the nightmares being connected, the emperor was able to open a portal into one of the first nightmares. She jumped through the portal, taking a brief moment to look at the scene in front of her. It was the old mansion.

But the once pristine bedroom was now covered in a thick layer of blackened ash and dust. The soft brown floorboard had been burnt, laced with an unknown chemical burning through the wood itself. The velvet curtains had caught on fire. And the wallpaper had been destroyed beyond repair. Amongst the destroyed scene was the small lifeless body of the demolitions expert.

“No,” the emperor whispered to herself. “He’s gone already.”

Which only meant that Wylan was awake in reality. In haste, the emperor went to open another portal into the next nightmare with every intention of stopping the next crow from waking up. All she was able to find was a limp body laying on the ground. The sharpshooter still held one of his guns in his hand, but a bullet had already entered his skull. He lay there as the blood spilled from the headshot.

The panic began to take over. The emperor dream hopped to the next one through the access of another portal. Amongst the bodies of deceased Grisha was the familiar heartrender. She lay peacefully amongst her own people, having chosen to slow and stop her own heart.

Now the emperor was growing agitated and frustrated. She went to open another portal which led her to the ice cold lands. She squinted through the blizzard storm only to find a wolf feasting on the body of a unmoving druskelle. The wolf raised its head and bared its now blood stained teeth.

Finally, the emperor forced herself to run as fast as she could through the final portal. She hurried to the edge of the building, being quick to peer over the edge. She spotted a motionless body nearly six stories below the building. She had jumped.

The emperor of magic had failed to keep them at bay. They all managed to escape their worst nightmares, which meant that they were all awake and ready to take her on in the real world. She needed to get out of this dream.

“You’ve lost. Admit it,” a familiar voice said from behind her.

When the emperor turned around in her place, Kaz Brekker was looking directly at her. He wore an infamous smirk on his face. He had followed her through every single portal, dream hopping right behind her. This also meant that he had seen each of his crows dead which couldn’t have been easy.

“They are back in reality by now. Getting ready to put a stop to you,” Kaz stated as a matter of fact.

“What about you? You can’t leave unless you die,” the emperor took notice.

“That was never part of the plan,” Kaz claimed. Her face fell. “The plan was to keep you under as long as possible because that is the only way you can be stopped from the outside. You can’t fight me in here and them out there at the same time,” Kaz explained.

Back in the desert, the five crows came to surround the emperor who stood in the center of them. The others turned to face the heartrender amongst them, giving her the signal through the form of a single nod. She raised her hands in a particular motion, slowing the heart rate of the emperor of magic.

In the dream sequence, the emperor grunted at the feeling of her heart being squeezed and slowed down. She clutched at her chest in attempts to stop what she felt. She lifted her head to look directly at the man himself. Realizing that she had been bested, the emperor was quick to turn around in her place and charge towards the edge of the building.

Without hesitation, Kaz followed directly behind her with every intention of stopping her from jumping over the side and waking up from this nightmare. Just as the emperor leaped from the ledge, Kaz grasped onto the emperor’s forearm to stop her.

From the mere pull of gravity, the emperor’s body slammed against the brick wall of the institution. He had been pulled down slightly, but he was still able to keep a firm grasp on her while hanging over the side of the ledge. She fought against his tight grip, trying to get loose so she could fall.

“I won’t let you,” Kaz grunted. He struggled to maintain his hold on her, but he shook his head at her careless behavior. “I can’t let you hurt them.”

“Then you’ll just have to come with me,” the emperor told him. She pushed off the brick wall with both of her feet. She used all of her strength to pull him over the edge of the building.

Together, both bodies began to plummet to the ground from the force of gravity. The two of them stared at one another, sensing that familiar feeling of falling to the ground with no control whatsoever. Just as the two of them would hit the ground, their bodies jolted awake back in reality. And the real challenge began.

It was rather odd. It was almost like the heartrender was holding the heart with her own two hands, forcing the heart rate to slow down. Just as Nina thought the heartbeat would come to a final halt, it was like she felt two hands envelope her own from within the chest.

Those invisible hands holding her own began to pry her fingers off of the heart itself. She eventually realized she didn’t have a grasp on the heart anymore; that it was probably back to its normal self in terms of heart rate. The feeling of those hands covering her own began to close in.

In a split second, Nina let out a terrible scream of pain as her hands got crushed by the ones that kept hers captive. The emperor of magic kept her hands clenched into tight fists as she broke every bone in the heartrender’s hands.

Naturally, Nina ended up dropping to her knees on the ground. She clutched her hands close to her chest for some form of comfort, but she wasn’t able to stop she blood from spewing from the joints in her fingers or the bones from poking out of the back of her hands. She never felt so much pain in her life.

“Nina,” Matthias called out to her.

Though part of him wanted to rush to her side, a bigger part of him wanted nothing more than to stop the emperor once and for all. With a mighty war yell, Matthias charged towards the emperor of magic who kept her back to him. He raised his two fists above his head and brought them barreling down.

But at the last second, the emperor spun around on the heels of her feet to surprise him. She drew her own fist back and sent it directly into the center of his chest. With the force of her magic, Matthias was forced backwards in his place. His body dragged across the desert sands as he felt the wind truly knocked out of his chest. His chest burned painfully.

Now the emperor went to face the other three crows standing amongst her. With Jesper drawing his two guns out of his holsters and Inej wielding her precious knives, Kaz waited to signal them to attack her with his cane. She went to take a step towards them, but was stopped when something hit the side of her head.

A bright pink powder escaped from the small glass vial that hit the side of her head. The powder sparkled in the bright sunbeams that beat down on them. She didn’t even realize that she managed to breathe the powder in, but it began to greatly affect her senses. She turned towards the small person who had through that at her.

In the short distance, Wylan went to grab another vial from his pouch. He hoped to hit her with something to make her sense weaken so it might be easier to take her down. Just as Wylan pulled the vial out, he felt an invisible hand wrap around the expanse of his neck. He was dragged forward by an unforeseen force until his neck made contact with the emperor’s cupped hand.

Without warning, Wylan’s body was slammed to the ground by the emperor. She went to straddle his chest, keeping him pinned to the ground. He grasped at the hands wrapped around his neck, desperately trying to loosen her grip on him. He gasped her air. He felt the life being squeezed out of him.

Before Wylan lost the oxygen in his chest, a gunshot rang through the air. The bullet managed to lodge itself directly into the emperor’s shoulder, which caused her to release her grasp on the boy’s neck. She slumped backwards in her place, reaching up to grasp the wound on her shoulder.

The emperor scurried to stand to her feet with every intention of finishing off these crows. Her vision began to blur and her head felt dizzy. Despite this, the emperor managed to raise her hands to put up a fight.

The three crows worked in a synchronous harmony, taking timed turns to throw different strikes. Now Inej was the first one to step forward with her knives drawn at her sides. She took a couple swipes which the emperor managed to dodge barely. Then Jesper fired a couple rounds from his pearly guns. He manipulated the bullets to fly exactly where he wanted, but the emperor waved her hands to direct the bullets elsewhere. Finally, Kaz went to step up. He raised his cane and swung with all his might. He struck her once or twice, but it wasn’t enough to take her down.

Suddenly, the emperor felt a large arm wrap around her backside which put her into a tight headlock. Her knees were knocked out from behind, forcing her to drop to her knees. Behind her, Matthias tried to maintain a tight grip on the smaller body. He grunted upon feeling her fight against him.

Slowly, Kaz went to approach her. He raised his cane in the air, bringing it towards her face. He stared her down carefully.

“Admit it,” Kaz repeated himself. “You’ve lost. We’ve bested you.”

The emperor choked upon feeling the grip tighten around her neck. “B-But I haven’t lost,” the emperor claimed.

“We’ll kill you,” Jesper explained. He came to stand beside his boss. He raised his guns to point directly at her head. “No hesitation,” Jesper stated firmly.

“And it will be slow,” Inej added. She pressed the edge of her knife against the emperor's check, swiping it away to leave a sharp mark. “And painful,” Inej said.

“You can kill me,” the emperor of magic told them. Her voice grew heavier as if the demon inside her was speaking. “But it will be your mistake because I always come back.”

Before the emperor could say another word, Kaz raised his golden cane above his head and brought it barreling down into her skull. The body ended up collapsing to the ground from the mere force of the swing. He continued to beat in her skull until there was nothing left, but a pool of blood and brain. The blood painted his face in a gruesome manner.

“Kaz!” Inej called out. She had hoped to bring him back to reality. He finally stopped beating the body to death. “It’s done,” Inej claimed.

The crows had gone through so much within the past few days. They had schemed their way back into the court and somehow managed to escape. They ended up having to relive their worst memories and became temporarily trapped in their own nightmares. They needed to escape those nightmares in the form of killing themselves. And they had to defeat the emperor after taking some heavy hits from her. Despite all this, they managed to survive, just like they always did.

But for some reason, Kaz just had a feeling that she’d be back just like she said.

THAT IS THE END OF THE SERIES! PLEASE TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS! SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO POST.

TAGLIST:

@d34drapunzel @adorawritesalot @vixythepixie @theghostofshadows @lonelywitchv2 @arcadialine @zeeader @cleverzonkwombatsludge @shara-ne @iloveinej @ireallydontcareanymorebrooo @mystic-mara @missymisha @tremendoushearttaco @home-of-disaster @gh0stgirl333 @harrydimples @marina468 @phoenix666stuff @grippleback-galaxy @mariar31 @theghostofshadows

#Kaz Brekker #kaz brekker angst #kaz brekker series #kaz brekker x you #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker imagine #six of crows #emperor of magic series #inez ghafa #jesper fahey #matthias helvar #wylan van eck #nina zenik #kaz brekker x inej ghafa

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resdraft · 2 months ago

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Smart Storage Ideas to Include in Your Garage Layout

Before you build or renovate, consult with a professional drafting service to map out your space strategically. With the right layout and the right storage solutions, your garage can become one of the most organized and useful spaces in your home.

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teriwrites · 28 days ago

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The Blind Oracle: Dream

My Live Reactions to Reading Through My 2024 Novel

Opening on a vision, god bless

'You will approach the hectic bustling of the marketplace. Its once-familiar maze now overwhelms you, boisterous shouts of vendors over loud haggling over the cries of livestock a dizzying cacophony. You dread every step bringing you closer, but it draws you in like a riptide. A town crier will stand on the outskirts of the market. One of their numbers are often there, proving their prowess as the kingdom's latest news soars over the dissonance. This particular crier is still unrolling his scroll, eyes darting across the page to devour each word as it appears. You see his eyes go wide, not in shock, but in confirmation; he's already surmised the news, but to see it laid out so plainly still strikes him with a force. The ringing bell will blare through the square. Nearby, vendors and customers alike lower their voices from screaming matches to mere loud conversations. His voice will crack as he attempts to begin. You've drawn about even with him as he clears his throat to try again. You will clasp a hand over your right ear just as he calls out, "Oyez! Oyez, Oyez! By Royal proclamation, the great King Rhydderch has declared that a draft of Fendwyth's eligible men be instituted! All men between the age of fifteen and fifty are required to report for their local enlistment [tent] to determine whether they are able to join the King's forces!" Tumult will break among the crowds before the crier even has the opportunity to announce where the [tents] are to be situated. A shriek rises from somewhere within the market. The young man - more boy than man, though he'll be called to fight anyways - selling pheasants out of cages flings behind his table to violently retch. The stench mingles with sweat and panic, a nauseating aroma that brings your eyes to water. You blink back tears as the masses flood around you, bees swarming without a hive. The coming months will bring more of this, you will think to yourself. War lies heavy on the air.' (a delight, as always)

Madooooc you just spilled ink all over the table in your dumb vision

Lowri, one of the Oracle scribes, is very chill about it

This clearly happens a lot lol

'Madoc was already convinced that he'd never learn how to reliably make sense of the countless words that ran across the pages of her books. Lowri's reaction to his obvious frustration remained the same. She let him mutter under his breath until he'd tired himself out, then swooped in with the obvious solution to his struggles. Madoc didn't know yet whether he liked or resented her patience.' (probably both)

'Madoc opened his mouth, but something made him pause. He'd very rarely shared what he'd seen before discovering what the visions meant; the images were already so real, speaking about them only ever felt like willing them into existence. Not that refusing to do so had ever prevented their coming true.' a superstitious man

His relaying the events to Lowri needs to be in only the most objective details - they have to start over multiple times because he keeps getting off-track

Jump ahead to the first symposium!

Newly-inducted Oracles have to sit in the front row for like a month of these weekly events so that they can get a close look at everything that happens

Rhonwen (the Prophet) waltzes in a lil late and has to leave early, classic busy-head-of-the-ranks

Oracles chosen at random will read the anonymous visions and basically it involves a discussion over meaning throughout the order

The first one read aloud is a vision of the Oracle standing at the front of the Palace, beside another (teenage) Oracle, everything very extravagantly decorated and nobility milling about. A Chief from one of the kingdom's territories arrives, but the actual guests of honor have not shown up yet

Which means it's likely political in nature (Oracles being present), but can't be confidential (for as low a ranking Oracle as the teen to be there), probably involving a foreign entity (even a high-ranking Chief coming in from out-of-town not being the guest of honor), and happening relatively soon (teenager being roughly the same age in the vision)

"It's the initial welcoming feast for some type of political council. Whether allied or otherwise, you would likely form a better judgment." Lowri sat up, head lowered in deference but eyes alight with a slight challenge. "Has the King planned for any convening with our neighbors?" oop Lowri and Rhonwen clearly have some kind of tension going on

Yeah things got Tense

The Prophet of the Halls of Augury is one of the members of the King's council of advisors

Madoc's vision is the next to be shared heck yeah!

Oh shit people are upset

"War?" one of the Oracles behind Madoc was demanding. "Is the King out of his mind?" "Don't speak of him like that," another hissed. "Surely he must've had some reason. With the tensions along the border, it's only a matter of time before something gives. It's foolish to pretend otherwise." "Careful who you're calling foolish." "So the King's allowed to be made a fool, but you're not?" (call them out!)

Lowri and Rhonwen are nearly at each other's throats again bc Lowri thinks the Oracles should be clued into more of the King's political movements

Lowri just stormed out

The Symposium ends quickly after that, ig there were only two visions this week

Fin catches him after the meeting and explains that basically there's always been a struggle between Lowri and Rhonwen because of their opposing ideas of how to best approach the Oracle involvement in the Monarchy

Rhonwen is legally only allowed to share as much as the King gives her leave to and believes that he ultimately has the final judgment over their guidance, Lowri believes knowledge should be more evenly distributed

'In his life, Madoc had given as much thought to the progression of the Fendwyth Kingdom as he had to charting out the stars in the night sky. That was to say, none at all.' (yeah that's not really a concern for a guy just trying to make enough money to survive)

Oop Fin has some more information to share that's a little less public

Or isn't as appropriate to discuss in public

"The reason [Lowri] got so up-in-arms against the Prophet is because there are rumors circulating about King Rhydderch's plans for how to handle the Aldburne issue." "Aldburne issue?" Fin hesitated, studying Madoc's blank expression for a long moment. He started to speak several times, only to stop again. Finally, he asked, "Do you know anything about the Aldburne Empire?" "Only that they're one of our neighbors." Madoc had heard the name thrown out occasionally by street criers, but otherwise had never had reason to think of them. Relief flooded Fin's face, and Madoc realized he'd genuinely been preparing for him to have never heard of it.' (on a scale from 'Ghislaine Agassi as a proficient foreign diplomat across Irim' to 'Madoc Medwin as a lower-class citizen who's never even seen most of the city he was raised in, much less the rest of the Fendwyth Kingdom', how self-aware is your protagonist to your worldbuilding?)

Small lore drop: the Aldburne Empire invaded Fendwyth's borders like twenty years ago and snatched up a sizable chunk of farmland, and the kingdom has suffered for it since

King Rhydderch has always threatened to take it back, but now he's actually having a lot more private meetings that have people thinking he might actually mean it this time

Oh, this will be relevant later, but in this scene, Madoc and Fin are standing on a balcony on the Halls' second floor, looking down, down, down to the street far below (the Halls sit on a tall hill)

'Madoc leaned against the door, pressing himself as far from the edge of the balcony as he could find. The thoughts of coming war and unrest felt unstable enough without standing along a precipice.' funny how i keep giving characters fear of heights, yet i've never particularly dealt with that

Ooooooh yes okay another fun scene, this time with Gareth

"What do you know about the Aldburne Empire?" Gareth turned to him in surprise. "I just asked you how you're adjusting." Madoc waved away his brother's concern with a roll of his eyes. Tossing him a candied date, he leaned back against the step he'd reclined on. "It's relevant. I swear." (you can tell i was really sticking to my guns with this period-appropriate dialogue /s)

"What I've heard is that the King is looking to form an alliance to try pushing back." so Gareth is a guard for the Halls of Augury, but the guards here often are pals with the guards of the Palace, which is just a hike down the road

AKA this information is more reliable than if it was coming from, like, some rando in the marketplace

But who would he form an alliance with?

Another neighbor! The Kingdom of Brevorn - another neighbor to both Fendwyth and Alburne, similar in size and strength to Fendwyth, unclear what their motives would be at this point other than maybe just weakening the really strong empire at their door

"Then war really is on the horizon," Madoc muttered between bites. A fog drifted across the cityscape below, muffling the typical clamor of daily business. Madoc imagined the mist as smoke, enveloping Cebryn in its hungry maw. After a notable silence, he looked up to see Gareth watching him uneasily.' (key thing to note - at this point, Madoc does Not remember that ol' vision he had in the prologue, like a dozen years ago. but i liked the idea of him naturally just gravitating to imagining smoke and fire without knowing why - he can't truly escape it)

Okay, actually, here's some more of the scene

'A warning bell cleared the smoke away. Quickly, stumbling over his words, he blurted out, "I shouldn't have said that! It was only musing, really, there's no proof. Just a vision someone had. Don't share that!" Silence spread between the brothers. Madoc's hands were still outspread, as though he could snatch back what he'd said. Gareth, meanwhile, kept a solemn gaze locked on his face. "I wasn't going to spread it," Gareth finally said in a low voice. An edge of something sharpened his words. Irritation? Offense at having been accused of gossip, maybe? That was likely it. "Of course not, I wouldn't suggest - " he began, but trailed off as Gareth waved the concern away. "It's nothing, Mad." Gareth twisted around to push himself up from the stairs. "But I really should get back to my post. I'll be back on duty in a half hour, and I still need to go strap my chest plate back on." He was gone in a moment, disappearing into the Halls. Madoc let him go, looking back over the hazy sea below. Something pricked at the back of his mind. Something hidden in Gareth's expression. Wariness, maybe, but not at the prospect of war. It was more like he was cautiously skirting around Madoc, expecting some reaction that he didn't give. And more, Madoc felt that he'd seen this expression cross his brother's face before, glimpses before he'd break out in a too-wide grin. Cupping his chin in his hands, he let the bag of dates slump and spill onto the stairs. A couple rolled down a few steps before slowing to rest along the staircase. Madoc watched the clouds slowly drift along the streets, allowing the soothing pace of it calm the agitation that lay uneasily in the back of his mind. But even as it cleared, its absence revealed a shred of something ominous, some hidden piece that watched him with the same fixed expectation as his brother. It, too, struck him as having been there longer than he was aware. But as he mentally grabbed for it, it disappeared back into the unreachable depths. The only impression it left was that of the fog below, curling and climbing like smoke. The muffled calls and cries of the people below could almost be wailing. Pulling back out of his thoughts, Madoc realized he was shivering as with cold. His hands brushed against the stone of the stairs as he snatched the dates, and the crackling of numbness sparked through his fingertips. Clambering jerkily to his feet, Madoc quickly retreated back towards the Halls, unsure of his aim. But any form of distraction would be a welcome one.' (a first draft, but like i like this sort of vibe for where he's at rn)

The next morning, Rhonwen calls for an unexpected meeting!

Here we go!

Turns out literally everyone has been right - King Rhydderch wants to retake the 'Aedion' region that Aldburne stole, with the assistance of Brevorn

"But it is the King's opinion - and my own, of course" what a loser monarchist

Also, some envoys are coming from Brevorn to discuss these matters, because obviously they can't just make this decision without talking it over

blahblah Oracles are being brought into the closest confidence blahblah gotta keep quiet about things blahblah yay war blahblah

Another lil time jump between scenes to the arrival of the Brevornish envoys, who are processing through the thoroughfare on their way to the Palace

Most of the people watching are the younger members of the ranks

FINALLY someone asks what Brevorn is getting out of all of this

Nobody has an answer lol but also tbf they're not the ones on the King's council, they wouldn't know

Omgggggg here they come!

'Several knights rode along on horseback to lead the small parade, armor polished so finely that it shone in the midday sun and reflected all the way up the hill. Each dappled horse wore a decorative caparison of purple, which matched the long feathers sticking out of the knights' helms. Behind them, footmen marched in rows, some carrying instruments and others with their hands brushing against hilts of rapiers. Their tunics were dyed a similar, deep purple hue. As they all filled the street, a massive carriage emerged from the obstruction of the squat guard house. Its frame had either been painted or forged from silver, even more radiant and blinding than the knights'. A flagpole had been attached to the back of the carriage, allowing a large banner to flutter against the wind. Madoc's heart stopped beating as the wind hurtled it open, revealing its insignia. A deep purple flag, nearly black where it wasn't caught by the light, bisected in the center by an upright, silver spear. Madoc choked into a violent coughing fit, moments before he could even place the sight. The vision returned to him in flashes. Desperately climbing the stairs - these stairs - to escape the burning city streets. The smoke, so thick that every breath seared his throat. The fires, enormous and spreading, swallowing the whole of Cebryn. The woman. Her desperation, running to the enemy in search of mercy. Her screaming, cut off with a strangled choke. The enemy, soldiers of silver and purple.' (siri, play 'It's All Coming Back to Me Now' by Cher)

He somehow wound up back in his room, with zero memory of getting there, and he's retched onto the floor. ew.

'A mop, Madoc thought weakly. He needed a mop. The thought drew out a startled cackle of laughter. A gasp cut it off, spasms of breath that wouldn't fill his lungs. Leaning down farther, nearly sitting on his ankles, Madoc choked on air, and he laughed. The Kingdom of Fendwyth was falling, and he was worried about polishing the floors. It hasn't fallen yet, Madoc reminded himself. But a voice crept into the back of his mind, a presence revealing itself after a dozen years of hiding in the recesses. It will.' (i tell you what, i love writing a character in distress)

See, this is probably the weakest part of this draft, though

I couldn't really draw on anything strongly enough to justify him not immediately telling someone about what he saw

(Tbf, there's not really any justification for keeping something that big a secret, but, like, with enough pressure from the elite to encourage the war, with enough self-doubt and imposter syndrome left festering and rotting within him for half his life, or if that's flipped and he shows obvious distrust of the elitism, if he twists it around into a sort of superiority for feeling more connected to the actual people of the kingdom and doesn't want the Oracles' involvement, I could at least make more sense of it)

Currently, it's just a Lot of questions

'Could he remember everything he'd seen? Was there any way to prove that the forgotten vision hadn't been a nightmare? Were some of the details filled in with the expectation of war?' / 'Who would he tell? Could he make anyone believe him, in a vision from nearly half his lifetime ago?' / 'And if you err? the voice whispered, somehow still audible over the roaring of fire. What if you mistook the insignia? Could you damn the King's honored guests? What if falsely accusing them leads to this destruction? Would you damn yourself for the chance at playing hero?'

'Shifting his hands, Madoc covered his face. He shook his head, but in the dark, the brightness of fire silhouetted soldiers.' bro just wait until act 5 to see some Real crazy

Awww he's trying to figure out who to tell

'Rhonwen. He'd tell the Prophet directly. Surely, she'd dealt with uncertainty in her ranks before. She'd know how to handle it. Her priority is first and foremost to the Kingdom. If she finds it in danger, she will do what she sees fit. Faceless, the presence smiled sardonically. Is that decision best left up to her? "Fin, then!" Madoc whispered aloud, his voice hoarse. The door to his room opened. The very man stood there, eyebrows raised. "You really are a divinator!" (nothing like a little humor to break through the intensity)

He doesn't tell Fin

He thinks Fin will do the same as all the rest of the Oracles, which would be to panic

Because obviously Madoc's not panicking lol

AHA!

First sighting of literally paraphrasing the lyrics of one of the songs i used in the playlist for this project: 'He had to tell him. The urgency pressed at the base of Madoc's throat like a blade. He struggled against it.' / 'But the sight held me fixed like a bayonet against my throat' (Pale White Horse by The Oh Hellos)

I never said they were good paraphrases! But there are so many more where that came from

'Others' visions would tell of the coming of war. If treachery was to be found, Madoc would not be the only one to recognize it. But he would also not be the one to introduce the seed of doubt and destroy any objectivity of the order. When Fin returned, he found Madoc already mopping up the mess with old rags. As he offered to finish the job, hoisting up the mop and bucket, Madoc smiled brightly, radiantly. "I can handle it!" Madoc promised.' (that's totally reassuring and believable)

Ending Thoughts:

I definitely was still flailing a little in this act, but I think I was starting to find my footing by the end of it. As someone who usually gets very invested in trying to flesh out the larger story and setting, the fact is that, none of that is really all that directly relevant to this story. The Fendwyth Kingdom as a whole matters significantly less than the inner workings of the Oracles. And even the Oracles matter less than Madoc's very subjective ideas about them. This is not a fantasy like The Lies in the Legend is a fantasy, or even Beyond Alder Creek is a fantasy. The Blind Oracle is really just meant to fixate on lil Madoc and how he justifies his own choices to himself. Choices that will get more fun as time goes on!

#teriwrites down memory lane #my wips

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