Fantasy

  • “Rescue”

    “Rescue”

    They told him not to go out on the rocks, even when the sea was soft. The waters were still deep, and it only took a moment to lose your footing, with the shock to drag you down whenever the waves weren’t around to do so. Nonetheless, Quinn defied the warnings of his elders and…

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  • “Working Late”

    “Working Late”

    She pushed into her chair, arching her back until her muscles rippled with a satisfying burn. Then she glanced out the window. Her stomach folded into a knot. The sky had never been that color before—flat, inky, and impenetrable. She fought down a flare of anxiety as she sent her final file, entered her time…

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  • “Don’t Shoot the Messenger”

    Normally, she liked the cool touch of the stone beneath her bare feet; but tonight, it only felt stiff and icy—like a foreshadowing of the mood that awaited her. She fidgeted with the skirt of her dress as she waited for the council to settle into their seats. She knew she wasn’t going to lie…she…

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  • “Do You Remember Me?”

    She carefully hefted the ball, admiring the way it glittered in the light from the museum’s distant windows. Greed flooded her chest, filling her head with a buoyancy. She declined against the gallery wall, allowing herself a moment to reflect on another well-executed plan. From petty cons and small-time robberies, to orchestrating the entire scheme…

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  • Anakin vs Kylo Ren: How the Prequels Succeeded Where the Sequels Utterly Failed

    I don’t know whether it was posting over the holiday weekend, or the fact that this post’s previous title might’ve been misleading; but I’ve decided to repost this bad boy from last week with a new title and an updated intro. People likely hear “Star Wars” and “bad boy” in the same sentence, and worry…

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  • Empathy and Thought in the Modern Reader

    The market in the last several years (ever since the 2010s, really), has become oversaturated with surface-level tales of shock-value atrocities and aesthetically packaged suffering. Nobody is willing to dig into a deeper discussion on the repercussions of trauma and abuse; but they’re more than eager to coat deep and troubling topics in a rose-tinted…

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  • “The Crown”

    “The Crown”

    “Are you ready?” If there was ever a pair of eyes she could face with the truth, they’d be his. Ivy searched them for a moment, sifting through the memories in those soft blue irises. Then she reached for Kaiden’s hands, drawing on the warmth that closed around her fingers. A small smile twitched her…

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  • Why the Prophecy in Harry Potter Doesn’t Work

    I’m a sucker for a good prophecy. The trope of the Chosen One may be clichéd; but I’ll never get tired of a melodramatic tale of a fated hero versus an insurmountable evil. But that doesn’t mean all prophecies are created equal. Take the one from Harry Potter, for example. “The one with the power…

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  • How to Handle Multiple POVs

    First person and third person limited are the choices of trend nowadays. When you open a book, chances are you’ll either see a narration from one single person’s point of view, with little insight given elsewhere; or the entire narrative told from behind the MC’s eyes. But it’s also possible to handle more than one…

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  • “The Pen”

    “The Pen”

    He flicked the pen in his hands, as carelessly as if it were just a cheap device purchased at the dollar store. Which it might’ve been. Despite the whispers Joel had heard, the pen had yet to exhibit any special abilities, other than the ability to dispense ink. The neon light of the passing signs…

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