fiction
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The hatch opened, flickering a beam of light down into the darkened hold of the ship. Rowan flinched, then scooted closer to the door of his cell, inching a bit awkwardly thanks to the way his hands were bound behind him. He heard the thunking of bootfalls before he watched a pair of hulking figures…
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It’s your destiny, he told himself, pacing before the narrow window. The few armor plates he’d managed to affix thus far weighed heavy on his limbs. The rest scattered over the table in the dim stone room. He was supposed to be tying them on and parading out to the noblemen awaiting him in the…
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It happened in a blink. One moment, she strode along the hall, her steps swift and sure. A few minor concerns rattled through her head, distracting her from her surroundings. Not that it really mattered—she’d walked this hall since she was a child. The twenty steps it took to get from one room to another…
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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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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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Spoiler warning! I discuss several movies in-depth here, so if there’s any you haven’t seen that you don’t want spoiled, then I’d advise you to skip the corresponding sections. The movies will be stated before I begin discussing them. * * * We’ve all heard of the classic hero’s journey. It’s extremely prevalent in western…
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November the 21st—an afternoon that had started just about as unremarkable as any other. It was one of those blustery days where winter had just begun to wrestle the hold of the weather away from fall. The sky blanketed in a bright but heavy shroud; a fog that inspired nothing but unease. I sat on…
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In a society that glorifies hustle culture, external validation, and people-pleasing, writing has long since ceased to be a hobby for the pure and simple joy of the author’s satisfaction. The age of social media has helped to wrest away the role of writing as a tool of self-expression. Nowadays, an author’s chief concern is…
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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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Every book falls into one of several predetermined age categories, intended to signal to potential readers the maturity levels of any given story. Or at the least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. In reality, age ranges have basically become tools for publishers to slot their wares in front of potential target audiences. A book…
