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TWTR: A COMIC SANS INTRO

as requested/voted on for my 1k follower celebration! thank you so much to everyone who voted and who cares enough about this story to want to know more 💕

artists featured: check them out!!!

@neapaulatan, @ichimakesart, @littlestpersimmon, @akiwitch, @vacantgodling

below the cut is a full image description and twtr's taglist! reply here or message me if you want to be added ✨

[Image Description:

A Comic Sans WIP intro of 9 slides with dark gray background and various images.

Slide 1: Title page with a dark background of green leaves with the title "TWTR: a comic sans wip intro as requested by my followers <3"

Slide 2: "So WTF is TWTR?" with an image of illustrated art of a forest scene with a tree growing through a cottage in the background, a silvery ax with a dragon design sticking out of the earth in the foreground. The slide reads, "a retelling, sorta, more of a sequel ! the prologue is a little red riding hood retelling, and the rest of the novel is the aftermath. red is not so little anymore. the wolf is back for blood and the woodsman has to finish what he started 6 years ago." In smaller font, a note in parentheses says, "and no i will not tell you what twtr stands for. it’s an ongoing joke now that half my betas still didn’t know what it meant even though it was on the signup sheet 🫠"

Slide 3: The Story. Has an illustrated gif image of the woodsman facing away from the audience, his cape blowing in the wind. He has an ax in his left hand, a raven sitting on his right shoulder in the woods. the slide reads: "the woodsman, an outsider, saves a little girl from a legendary beast, only to find out that she’s?? whoops?? the nearby kingdom’s princess and only heir??? so naturally, if you were the queen, and some strange outsider dude pops out of the evil magical forest with your 10yo daughter claiming he saved her from The Wolf™ ... uh, yeah, that’s sus. he’s arrested and has to prove (via dark shit i won’t go into) that he’s magic-free before he can join kingdom society."

Slide 4: Yikes, then what? Has a banner image of the woods with a cloaked figure in the center, fog rising from the bottom, with a raven with glowing eyes in the corner. The slide reads: "over the years, he works his way up to become red’s personal guard. he has his first real friend of his entire life?? 🥺 until the wolf shows back up, working its way through the kingdom devouring people. avery must kill the beast once and for all before it gets to red. as he tracks it, though, he uncovers lies that go deep not only within the kingdom, but his own past. he finds The Wolf™ in the woods, where it offers him a deal: the truth, for red. which will avery choose??? 👀"

Slide 5: Wait so who are these people?? Has 3 icon images of the main characters. First is "Avery, The Woodsman. known for being short, baby-faced, and a man of few words; mysterious past prior to saving red and joining the kingdom." His icon is an illustrated profile view of a short dark-haired tan-skinned man with freckles and a bit of scruff and a serious expression. Second is "Red, Princess Anara. the spirited heir to the throne; angry that she’s not included in royal affairs and wants to learn everything." Her icon is illustrated art of a young girl with blue eyes, red hair in a braid, wearing a dark hooded cloak looking at the audience. Last is "The Wolf™, a monster of legend, rumored to be immortal that lives in the dark forest surrounding the kingdom; the size of a room and devours people whole :P yum yum." Its icon is a dark image of a wolf with glowing white eyes looking at the audience.

Slide 6: Surely there are other characters, MJ??? Slide is plain with a bulleted list of info, which reads: "Honorable Mentions: MAGNUS, the elite guardsman who trains avery and has a complicated history (an unintentional fan favorite); QUEEN ETIENNE, the queen of the kingdom and red’s mom; "GRANDMA", an elderly woman who red liked to visit (secretly) in the woods and was devoured by The Wolf™."

Slide 7: Also Featuring. Slide reads "a badass ax, hand-crafted by avery’s long-deceased parents; giant trees the size of houses; giant burrowing lizards; religious coercion :); magic metal; magic plagues; magic soup; intimate platonic hair braiding; cute child cameos; southern hemisphere world (aka the north is warm and the south is cold)". To the right is an illustration of avery's ax, a dark handle with silvery ax with an etched dragon design.

Slide 8: Ok, but is it gay? with small parentheses note: "how dare you ask me this honestly." Bullet points read: "unfortunately this is classified :) (tbf even in the book i keep it loose and open to interpretation), but here are some themes which may or may not be queer: “(unconscious) true love’s kiss breaks the spell” except does it tho???; princess “uninterested in courting”; handsome shy wallflower guy gets asked to dance by 100 girls and declines them all (think cullen from dragon age lmao); shapeshifting as a metaphor for... things :); found family / family doesn’t have to be blood / adoption; lights vs. dark not being a clear-cut good vs. evil, nuanced morality etc.

Slide 9: Art credits! Slide reads: "a HUGE thank you to all the artists i’ve commissioned! they’re all linked below! check them out! in order of appearance: dark forest scene by neapaulatan; avery cape gif by ichimakesart; foggy banner and wolf icon (fan-made); avery icon by littlestpersimmon; red icon by akiwitch; avery’s ax by vacantgodling. Below the credits, it reads, "Thanks for reading! and as a reminder, all my works have a taglist! if you want a notif every time i post about this wip let me know :)"

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@aether-wasteland-s @annetilney @artbyeloquent @ashirisu @bebewrites

@cljordan-imperium @dogmomwrites @dustylovelyrun @elijahrichardwrites @eventideintrigue

@faithfire-writes @flowerprose @forthesanityofstorytellers @ghafasinej @helioscenic

@isabellebissonrouthier @jamieanovels @lexiklecksi @little-mouse-gardens @marlowethelibrarian

@marrowwife @mr-writes @macabremoons @perasperaadastrawriting @phantomnations

@tate-lin @thyroidhormones @verba-writing @vsnotresponding @wildswrites

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WTW PLANET PROMPTS - PLANET NAME: Day 2 - Venus - Politics

The Council is the governing body that controls Heim. Seven members are elected from a pool of the elite families of the city, tasked with the running of the country for an undisclosed period of time. Whilst the only democratic government in the known world, voting rights are restricted to men of certain age, background, address and status. Elections are held in secret and whilst the families are not permitted to promote themselves, many a seat has been bought and paid for.

Taglist @reignnyx @writinglyra @pressedpapyrus @serpentarii @thevintagelover @seas-dubh @dameschnee123 @donutwithinadonut-blog @giuliawritesanddoeskpop @sunora @mayawritesbooks @trapped-inadystopianovel @veneritia @hysteriwah @mothertaemresa @rise-again-2001 @underwoodinc @seamaiden @writer-somewhat @lord-fallen @writingoflarka @ashen-crest @pen-and-inks @strawstories @nerdygoblin @ortolon @chigyowastaken @residentofthedisc @elysianluv @lividdreamz @ladywithoringes @imawriternotamathematician @writeblrfantasy @ginghampearlsnsweettea @spicysequoia @ethereal-puppet @carmensapientia @snapdragoncrown @thats-my-type-writer @intellectualintelligent @ezra-ezra-ezra @rosemarys-for-remembrance @looking-for-the-stories @asingledropofwinter @queengiuliettafirstlady @gwensparlour @miladydreams @iespeciallyme @princess-summershine @six-1mpossiblethings @kaeiguess @smolandweirdwriter

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WTW PLANET PROMPTS - Venus: Politics

“Your Royal Highnesses.” The chieftain turned first to Teodema and then to Keroesa in turn. “Clan Hea sends its blessings in honor of your union, Prince Teodema. And my wife and I send our thanks for the pleasure of these festivities.” “I receive your blessings joyously,” Teo nodded, “but you must thank my Father in regards to the hospitality.”

The Clans of Siruna

Merim, like all kingdoms in Siruna, is a highly hierarchical society. At the highest level, a monarch has absolute authority over the whole of the kingdom, but beneath them is a complex system of clans and tribes.

Every Sirunan claims descent from a specific clan, of which there are likely hundreds spread across the eleven kingdoms. Clans are, essentially, extended family groups, all claiming descent from a common ancestor or ancestors. At the head of a clan is its Chieftain, (typically) the most senior male in that clan's bloodline. Chieftain is a hereditary position with a degree of prestige, but chieftains don't hold much political power outside their clans unless their clan is particularly powerful. Mostly, chieftains handle small-scale disputes within their clans, fulfill ceremonial roles (alongside other clan elders), and represent their clans to those higher up on the hierarchical ladder.

Groups of clans mostly live together in a particular area, intermarrying and cooperating, and are, as such, further grouped together into what are called tribes, which are the most basic administrative divisions in Siruna. Tribes are led and managed by a Chief, who is the chieftain of one of the clans that make up the tribe. The Chief usually belongs to the clan with the highest "prestige", but which clan this is for any given tribe is mostly a matter of tradition. The ruling clan of a tribe does not typically change, but intra-tribe conflicts can cause dynamics to shift. The ultimate authority on which clans serve as Chiefs is the monarch, in their capacity as a prophet of the gods, so loyalty to the monarch is paramount to Chiefs to remain in power.

Most of the day-to-day governance in Siruna is done by the chiefs. They settle disputes, make trade agreements with each other, distribute resources, and muster armies. But above them is them are the royal Governors. Governor is another hereditary position, roughly equivalent to the rank of Duke in a Western aristocracy. They manage large swaths of land on behalf of the monarch and work closely with them. The particular clans serving as governors is the most variable of all the titles in the hierarchy. The monarch is free to mix and match and swap them out as they see fit, and so it is only the most loyal and powerful clans that have the honor. And many royal family members, including Keroesa's aunt Princess Ilana, marry into these families.

And, at the very top, is the royal dynasty itself which, in the Kingdom of Merim, is the Royal Clan of Kalona. Like all clans, it claims descent from a particular ancestor, but in the case of the royal clans, this ancestor is the legendary founder hero of Siruna, Alamesu. Of the eleven kingdoms, Merim is the only remaining kingdom to be ruled by a direct descendant of this clan. The others have since fallen to junior branches or "lesser" allies. However, having this ancestral claim is not enough to hold onto power for centuries. In the end, the power of the monarch is vested in the loyalty of the clans that make up Merim. If that loyalty is lost, disaster awaits.

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WTW PLANET PROMPTS - Mercury: Locations

She followed his eyes as they turned North. Tried to see the memory he saw in the blank expanse, but could not. He was remembering his home. Remembering Taso. [...] “It doesn't look much different to here,” he said, shrugging. “Smaller, of course. And softer, maybe. There aren’t so many rocks.” Keroesa could tell, even as he trailed on, that it was very different indeed. Different in ways he couldn’t speak.

Taso

Taso is an isolated island about three hundred kilometers north of Merim. Thirty years ago, Keroesa's grandfather, in his time as King of Merim, facing economic pressure and the promise of riches, sent his armies over the sea. After a long struggle, the forces of Siruna colonized it, declaring Taso the rightful territory of the Kingdom of Merim and thus part of the sacred alliance of Siruna. Resources were extracted and Tasoan labor was exploited for the enrichment of the homeland, with little thought given for the consequence.

Suffering under this regime, the Tasoans rebelled in a devastating war that waged on for years, taking countless lives on both sides. After nearly a decade, Keroesa's father, Ifema, inherited the throne and, within his first year, definitively ended the war, surrendering all claim to the island of Taso.

Now, years later, the war in Taso is a sour memory to those in Merim who remember it. And to those who don't, it is a haunting presence that hangs over their nation's history.

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Classified Information

Echoes of Mercy — An introduction by @zorya-km

Genre: Coming of Age Spy technothriller

Status: Outlining & first draft

POV: First Person

Theme/Tropes: Found Family, Unlikely Mentorships, Bioethics, Genetical Engineering, Espionage, Biohacking, the Human Mind

Warnings: Non-graphic death, Mild Violence, Psychological abuse

Blurb:

Eighteen-year-old Mika's life is thrown into chaos when her parents die in a suspicious accident just as she starts her freshman year at university. Thrust into a world of espionage and secrets, Mika discovers her parents' involvement in a twisted scientific project led by the sinister organization Genesis. Blackmailed by the government to spy on her pre-med teacher and driven by a quest for the truth, Mika must navigate a dangerous double life. Protected and trained by Yakov, a high-ranking Genesis operative with mysterious motives, Mika uncovers the terrifying reality of Project Deus, a biochem weapon aimed at controlling minds. As she teeters between two worlds, Mika must choose her path and decide who she can truly trust. In a heart-pounding race against time, Mika's courage and resilience are put to the ultimate test. Can she stop Genesis’s deadly plan and honor her parents' legacy, or will she become another pawn in their game of power and control?

Characters: Mika | 18 years old | Just | Rigid | The trainee Liam | 20 years old | Passionate | Judgemental | The shadow Yakov | 46 years old | Disciplined | Manipulative | The weapon Stevens | 41 years old | Dedicated | Unprincipled | The doctor

Links : Main tag Excerpt Tag

Taglist under cut (send an ask/dm to be +/-!):

Echoes:

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WTW PLANET PROMPTS - PLANET NAME: Day 1 - Mercury - Locations or Travel - Cyre

The town is not on the same grand span as Anspol. It is even smaller than Kuzgrad. It's nothing but hundred houses clinging to the edge of that stony shore. It was an insignificant fishing village until some Vasily King decided to spend the warmer months here. But even a succession of royal tourists and that bloody day when it all came crashing down, could change this place from what it always wanted to be. Stubborn as only a northerner could be.

TLP Taglist

@reignnyx @writinglyra @pressedpapyrus @serpentarii @thevintagelover @seas-dubh @dameschnee123 @donutwithinadonut-blog @giuliawritesanddoeskpop @sunaora @mayawritesbooks @veneritia @trapped-inadystopianovel @hysteriwah @mothertaemresa @rise-again-2001 @underwoodinc @seamaiden @writer-somewhat @lord-fallen @writingoflarka @ashen-crest @pen-and-inks @strawstories @nerdygoblin @ortolon @chigyowastaken @residentofthedisc @elysianluv @lividdreamz @ladywithoringes @imawriternotamathematician @writeblrfantasy @ginghampearlsnsweettea @spicysequoia @ethereal-puppet @carmensapientia @snapdragoncrown @thats-my-type-writer @intellectualintelligent @ezra-ezra-ezra @rosemarys-for-remembrance @looking-for-the-stories @asingledropofwinter @queengiuliettafirstlady @gwensparlour @miladydreams @iespeciallyme @princess-summershine @six-1mpossiblethings @kaeiguess @smolandweirdwriter @uhkayshuhmae

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WTW Planet Prompts

Day 1: Mercury- Locations

Willowhaven had never been an important town- at least, not in the history books. It wasn’t mentioned in any elite schools and hardly given any thought in national government. It was important to its residents and not much beyond that.

Of course, such anonymity came with benefits. No threats from evil forces, for one. After all, attacking a small, insignificant town was hardly going to make headlines compared to, say, the capital. But on the other hand, the government probably wouldn’t do anything beyond shake their heads if even the entire village was burnt to ashes.

However, in Olivia’s mind, Willowhaven wasn’t insignificant. 2453 residents strong, it was her childhood personified, given a name. It was somewhere she shared a lot of memories with, the good and the bad, the painful and the hilarious, first love, first heartbreak, and all the complicated emotions entangled inbetween.

It was family. It was home. How could that possibly be insignificant?

Photo: Iga Palacz- Unsplash

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WTW PLANET PROMPTS - MERCURY

LOCATIONS

Kingdom of Farosek

Ruled by the royal family of Vexin, Farosek is an archipelago with a diverse population. Loyal shifters, clever faeries, and the hot-blooded drakon call the lands of these islands home. In the surrounding waters swim the selkie-folk guided by the steady hand of their ancient queen and ever at odds with the mischievous and dangerous sirens who roam the coasts. Even the enchanting mer can be seen further out at sea from time to time, playing among the sapphire waves.

Image Credits:

1 // 2 // 3

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WTW Planet Prompts - Mercury: Location

Eloria: Homeplanet of Evya Castellanos & her family. It is a mostly composed of deserts, occasional oasis and oceans. Its vibrant market showcase the marvellous local products and imports from neighbouring planets. Whilst walking around, you'll see speeder & small ships alike for transport of goods & citizens. The days might be warm, but the nights get cold.

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WTW PRESENTS OUR 41ST EVENT!

WelcomeToWriteblr brings you another prompt event, this one themed around the planets of our solar system! Like our last prompt event, this month is a redux of an older event that we’d once again like to bring to the community! 

From MAY 25TH TO JUNE 2ND create something in response to that day’s prompt and post it. You’re welcome to do absolutely anything for the prompt of the day, whether it be a drawing, an excerpt, a playlist, or a moodboard. This event is aimed to get everyone involved and we will accept all submissions! 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Tag your posts as #WTWEVENT and #WTWCOMMUNITY

Format your posts like this: WTW PLANET PROMPTS - PLANET NAME: CHOSEN PROMPT

Wait for your post to be added to the queue. 

NSFW content will not be posted to the blog. 

OPTIONAL: Join our discord server if you would like to ensure your post makes it onto the blog! Tumblr’s tagging system can be unreliable and we want to make sure everyone’s creations are shared! Please note, you must be 15 OR OLDER to enter our server! 

PROMPT LIST 

Day 1 - Mercury - Locations or Travel 

Day 2 - Venus - Politics 

Day 3 - Earth - Nature 

Day 4 - Mars - War or Conflict 

Day 5 - Jupiter - Religion or Commerce 

Day 6 - Saturn - Luxury or Cuisine 

Day 7 - Uranus - History or Science 

Day 8 - Neptune - Lore or Mythology 

Day 9 - Pluto - Death 

GO BEYOND THE STARS, JOIN OUR SERVER HERE! (discord.gg/earlgrey)

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The knight knelt in the Temple of Ideas.

The altars around them were decorated with various symbols, rough primary coloured designs on the shiny white temple surfaces. This hastily scrawled iconography would be wiped clean at the end of the day, so that the next day's ideas could begin to be worshipped in the morning.

The knight had chosen one of the tomb-like alters that stetched along the floor on either side of the temple's walkways and she had drawn upon it all the things that had been taken from her on her adventures.

After hours spent scribbling, she began to address the drawings:

"Dear Loss,

In my time following your path, I have lost much. Friends. Lovers. Enemies and innocents. Faith and fear and hope and rage.

I have painstakingly put aside every part of myself - sacrificed all that I had to give and more for something greater.

And, as I am all that's left, I can only assume that the greater thing was me.

After all, have all that I have lost not made me strong? Have my scars not become armour? Do my arms not bear the strength of all my grief?

Is this, Oh Loss, what you were trying to teach me? That it is my place to rule, since I have lost so much and thus proved myself to be great?"

Of course, ideas can be many things at once and they are not always what we first think them to be. Still, it was some surprise to the knight when the colours on the altar began to swirl and spell out an answer.

"Nothing is gone forever.

All that you have lost, has simply been given to someone else. Or become something else

Or gone somewhere else, to spread the lessons they learned from you in other places.

You cannot cling to everything forever, good Knight. That which you call Loss, others simply call Experience. Or, perhaps, Adventure.

And Adventure loves you. And will love you still more, if you can find her again."

And the Knight's interest was piqued by this, so she asked:

"And where might I find the Lady Adventure?"

And the ink began to shift again and if you looked closely, you would have been able to see a smile in its swirls.

When it was done, the ink was in the shape of a map.

The knight smiled slightly. Then she stood, and set off on the path that had been shown to her.

She would lose still more on this journey. It would be hard. For, despite what she thought, there is always more to lose, just as there is always more to learn.

And she was about to learn so much.

And she would never meet Lady Adventure, but would keep searching for her all her life. And thus, even without meeting, the two of them found a way to spend their lives together.

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M O R D L U S T ; progress update

so.............it's been a while. finally going to get back to my #priswritesmordlust tag like i said i would a million years ago. my summer break is coming up, so hopefully i'll be able to get a decent amount of writing done then (lie). i also reached another follower milestone so mayhaps a celebration/giveaway 🤭

finally hit 64k on my draft (69,420 i'm coming for you) and ig that means i've finished writing a little over 70% of it if i'm able to stick to my projected wordcount

took out the intermission side stories but added in more 2nd person pov dream sequences

i've slightly altered the names for voir and salem, so instead of voir vératre and salem salicaire they're just vératre and salicaire

↳ even tho i try to update old wip posts to keep everything mostly consistent, i'm not going to be doing that when it comes to these name changes in particular, since i don't feel like meticulously remaking 50 graphics just because there's an extra word or two

the glossary & dramatis personae list have been added back into the draft for extra flavor 🤌

realized i need a stronger midpoint but that is a future me problem

also realized i need to make everyone weirder

if anyone wants to paypal me enough for a book cover by st. marlowe lune hmu

im jk

but yeah i'll maybe someday post mordlust to kofi or itch.io or smth

no excerpts this time, since i'm lazy, but below the cut here's some gorgeous art of isme i commissioned from pimientosdulces a few months ago 🦢🖤

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It is a little known fact that angels cannot step foot in hell.

Note: this does not mean that angels *don’t* enter the burning depths, only that they cannot touch the floor. You see, the fires that rage below are not regular fire. They do not consume fuel and oxygen and spit out heat. Instead, they chew on reality and drink down order, and the flames that lick up at you are made of chaos-filled void.

This is antithetical to the very substance of angels. If it touches them, at *best* the angels will be spat out as they are forcibly reminded that *they don’t go here*.

At medium, they will be unmade.

At worst, they will be *changed*.

You might think they could avoid this by simply flying through the pit, right? Oh, would that it were so simple. Remember the flames that burn up reality? Hell is an alchemical reaction of exploding space and logic and time and souls. You try flying through a place that is not a place, where up and down can hardly agree on which is which for more than an instant.

But there is a way around this. It was originally discovered by the guardian angel Cambiel. You see, under Cambiel’s protection was a woman named Ruth. Ruth was a shining light who Cambiel cared for greatly.

Ruth, in turn, had a woman she cared for very much. And, sadly, a demon had stolen Ruth’s love away from her.

“Do not follow her,” warned Cambiel, “for if you follow your heart through the gates of perdition, I cannot go with you.”

“Sorry, babe,” replied Ruth, “but I am *very* gay and *very* romantic and that has made me reckless.”

And Cambiel nodded sadly, for all of this was true and good.

But as Ruth walked the lonely, tortured path into the underworld, an idea occurred to Cambiel.

Sure, they couldn’t walk or fly into hell, but maybe they could *ride* there.

Now, a fully grown horse could not hope to navigate the depths beneath the world, for their sense of self-preservation was too strong. An adult horse would flee from the screams of imploding souls and the winding geometry of impossibly winding roads.

But a young horse? With a child’s innocence, with bright young eyes, who had not yet been tricked into believing in its mortality?

That was a mount that could bear an angel (who was, after all, light enough to dance on the head of a pin) into the fearful caverns of the beyond. Honestly, the little horse seemed weirdly enthused about the whole thing. 

And so did Cambiel guide a pair of reckless and romantic (and useless) lesbians out of hell.

When the pair thanked the angel, all they said was this:

“Don’t thank me, thank the little horse. It turns out … foals rush in where angels fear to tread.”

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The Faces of Fractured Magic

Fractured Magic is a queer fantasy webserial about political and personal accountability, monstrosity, and regret. it is FREE to read online, with new chapters being published every Monday. READ FOR FREE NOW

or SIGN UP to have new chapters sent to your email inbox!

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The master heartsmith once gave his apprentice three lessons:

1 - “Child, you make a heart out of steel for strength. It will bend around most heartbreak and will hum happily at the iron in the blood. But be warned: when faced by that which is too lovely, it may melt.”

And the apprentice made a heart from steel, beaten and folded with care in a forge heated by burning romance novels.

And the master plunged it in the forge fires until it melted to nothing.

2 - “Child, you make a heart out of stone for steadfastness. For it will stand stubborn against the scrub of time and beat with the slowness of a mountain long after the one you loved is gone. But be warned: it can be cold and hard and slow to soften, even when it should.”

The apprentice sculpted a heart from marble, painstakingly chipping away the surplus with a single rose thorn.

The master threw it out the window and thither it promptly brained a passerby.

3 - “Child, you make a heart out of wood for warmth. For exposed to the spark of love, it will surely catch. Then, so long as you nurture it between you, it shall keep away the darkness. But be warned, if not tended carefully, you will burn it to ash to keep others warm…”

The apprentice grew a heart out of ironwood, slowly coaxing the shy sprout into shape by feeding it blood from their own chest.

When they were done, the master opened up his own chest to show the apprentice the ash where his heart had been. He placed the wooden heart within his firepit ribs. Looking at his apprentice, it immediately caught alight.

The apprentice only taught their master one lesson in return. It was the only one that was needed.

“Child, this heart you have crafted is made of glass. It is pretty, but it will shatter…”

It was a very pretty piece of glass though; a mess of prisms looking off from a bulbous, rosy core. Its facets seemed always to be catching the sun's rays (even at night), so it was a constant flutter of kaleidoscope colours.

And the apprentice smiled.

“No,” they said, “it only appears to be made of glass.”

And the apprentice dropped it on the ground. It smashed into a thousand pieces and the slivers of crystal spread across the room, their tinkling sound a shivering song that tingled down both their spines.

The light that the heart had contained was left dancing in the air. A gently pulsing spectrum.

“This heart was made of rainbows."

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Miklos & Evya — Training

The air is crisp, biting at my cheeks as I wrap my fingers around cool steel, the hilt of the practice sword an anchor in a tempestuous world. I swing, muscles straining, each stroke an expulsion of frustration and fear. Sweat beads on my brow, a testament to my exertion, mingling with the dust that billows with every movement.

"Give it a little more spin off your back foot." Miklos’ voice cut through the rhythm of my solitude. Startled, I stumbled mid-kick, narrowly avoiding a graceless fall. The Vanyalian prince emerged from the shadows, his figure outlined by the dusk light that bled into the arena.

"Or perhaps you prefer being predictable," he added, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Predictable?" I scoffed, regaining my footing. "I suppose you're here to teach me the art of surprise?"

"Maybe," he said, stepping closer, the air between us charged with a strange tension that was neither entirely hostile nor friendly.

His gaze held mine, unwavering, as he picked up a training sword, the balance perfect in his hand. "Let's see if you can keep up."

We circled each other, two celestial bodies locked in an orbit dictated by the silent language of battle. His movements were fluid, a dance of danger and grace, and I found myself drawn into the tempo. Was this a lesson, or was there a sharpened edge of malice behind his strikes?

"Focus, Evya," he said as his blade met mine with a resounding ring. "Your enemies won't show mercy."

"Neither will I," I replied, a surge of determination propelling me forward.

Our swords sang a metallic duet, the notes high and clear. Whether he intended to guide or wound me, I would not flinch from what I could learn from the crossing of our blades. Atreus always said that training with someone was the best way to learn about them—I resolved to do just that.

“Are you truly always this excited to fight, or is that just for me?” he taunted. 

I smiled back, feeling the thrill of anticipation in my veins. The sting of the cut on my forearm was a sharp reminder that Miklos’s lessons were far from gentle. 

“Move your feet! Come on, you've got to move if you don't want to end up flat on your buttock!” As he stepped back, allowing me space, I pressed my hand against the fabric of my sleeve, feeling the warm dampness of blood seeping through.

"Cosmos' sake Miklos ! Are you teaching or mocking me ?" 

"Perhaps a bit of both sweet girl," he replies, his voice carrying the weight of steel and dark convictions. I cringed at the nickname. "Or maybe I'm here to learn. After all, one never knows when a friend might become an enemy—or an enemy, a friend."

I grit my teeth, countering his offensive with a calculated retreat.

"Your vision for your kingdom," he presses, aggression lacing his tone as his blade meets mine with a force that suggests more than just a sparring match. "It's naive, Evya. You must show power—it's order; it's control. Without it, your kingdom will crumble."

I shook my head, trying to ignore the pain and focus on the ideological duel now unfolding. "Control through fear is tyranny. People need hope, not an iron fist."

"Hope?" He scoffed, tossing his sword aside with a clatter. "Hope is the carrot dangled before the donkey, leading it to pull the cart. And your people have been dragging the weight of your father's legacy for far too long."

"Then help me lighten their load, not add to it!" I argued, my voice rising with passion. "Together with your kingdom we could—"

"Rule?" His lips twisted into a wry smile. 

"Serve," I affirmed without hesitation. "A ruler who does not serve their people is no ruler at all, Miklos."

"Admirable," he admitted, but his eyes betrayed a flash of scorn. "But idealism doesn't rebuild cities or fill stomachs. You must accept that the path to victory now is one of violence."

Before I could retort, the hurried steps of the page echoed across the stone training grounds, interrupting our heated exchange. [...]

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lamb teeth by @thanataes

wild boar, cardiff castle, photo by martin beek // jen mazza "peripety" // peter goodfellow