When I said I might have a new little obsession with this, I truly meant it. In my head this is how I pictured these idiots and yes, the boys are giants.

According to the sign-ups for far, these are our top ships! (Bodhi x Ridoc and Liam x Jesinia are tied for fifth).

Which is your favorite?

Divine Fault Line

Somehow I’m over 20,000 words into this fic and haven’t posted about it but there are five whole chapters up on ao3 now! Garrick’s POV, a very slow burn Imrrick but I promise I actually do love them, set after Iron Flame so spoilers for sure.

Here’s the first four chapters:

one / two / three / four

And yay! Chapter five:

In which Garrick continues to be excellent at figuring out runes, and equally excellent at not figuring out anything else.

Excerpt

“Poison,” Imogen tells him. “She loves poisoning people. It’s her signature move. Apart from bringing down the power of the heavens, I mean.”

“It’s not poison.” Violet’s voice is defensive. “It’ll just keep someone asleep. For awhile.” She considers. “A long while.”

“Well,” Garrick says. “That’s handy - I usually just knock them out with my sword hilt and hope for the best.”

“Yes, but you are a brute.” Imogen pats him on the head.

“I thought we determined I was also very brainy?” Although he doesn’t feel especially brainy at the moment. Something about her hand on his hair seems to have short circuited his neural pathways.

“Very occasionally.”

Taglist: @yanny-77 @alexandia03

Let me know if you’d like on or off the taglist for this! I am about as good on tumblr as Garrick is at recognizing his own feelings (quite bad one might say) but nevertheless

TUH Ch 7 Sneak Peek

I’ve finished the first draft of chapter 7! Usually at this point, I hate what I’ve written and want to quit writing, but for once, I actually like what I have so far.

I’ll spend this weekend editing and have a new chapter published for you on Tuesday!

They paused outside Imogen’s room. “Do you love her?” Bodhi asked.

“You of all people should know why—“

Bodhi waited for Garrick to finish his thought, sighing when it became clear that he wouldn’t. “Do you at least know what you’re going to say?”

Garrick shook his head. “I thought about it the whole flight here but nothing seemed right. I’m hoping something comes to me in the moment.”

“Do you want me or Xaden to give the eulogy at your funeral?

Read the first six chapters of The Underpants Heist on AO3!

Pls delete if you have already been asked this, but which characters or what plot lines do you hope receive more attention in Onyx Storm?

I really don’t care as long as we learn Garrick’s signet and get an Imrrick crumb or two. If Garrick dies I’ll dnf

Oh and Andarna lore. I want Andarna lore

Imogen and Garrick attending a ball (for some reason) and Imogen is like “fuck no I’m not wearing a ball gown” so she shows up in her regular leathers and Garrick looks up and still thinks she is the most beautiful girl in the room.

divine fault line: chapter 11!!

these lyrics from kiss and run by quiet houses pretty much sum up this chapter:

It's obvious I'm just not quite there yet

But please stick around cause I could be in love with you

Can't you see I'm nervous

Cause I feel like we're starting out and it's all too soon

💛✨🫶🏼 @yanny-77 @alexandia03 @ubiquitouslyme @siobhanbooks @pretty-pleaseee @greeneyedwildthing @housetomte @littedidyouknow @taumoebaa @caeli0306 @justallihere

(and thanks @yanny-77 and @alexandia03 for basically doing therapy with me and garrick, ily)

Memento vivere

Okay so I just found out that people post links to their fics on AO3 here as well? Yeah, I hate to be late to the party so here is some shameless self-promoting because I am prouder of this fic than I am of my thesis.

How do you write this kind of stuff? Is there some sort of template anywhere? Fuck it, I'll just wing it.

For those of you who don't know me, hi, I am Lydia Alexandra and I am one of the first Imogen apologists and the president of Imrrick shippers in this fandom (self-appointed of course). What does this job entail, you might ask? Well, for starters, being absolutely obsessed with a side character that is basically you but with a dragon and writing 91,069 words about her and filling in some blanks the author left.

What is in this fic? Imrrick stuff. Trauma. Found family. Imrrick. Childhood friendships. Dragons. Imogen being obsessed with Garrick. Stupid decisions. Even more stupid decisions. Garrick being obsessed with Imogen. Grief, angst, young adults having the weight of the world on their shoulders. Them not admitting their feelings which leads to even more stupid decisions and... yeah, I should have named this Stupid decisions instead of Memento vivere.

No, but really now. I try to focus not only on Imogen and Garrick, but on the dynamic between them and their other friends as well. So far, mostly Xaden, but I have big plans for some scenes with Quinn and Bodhi because I live for this trio.

There are 9 chapters already, most of them in dire need of some editing, but that is a problem for future Lydia.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

And... yeah, I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I sure know I love talking to you all, be it on Discord, in the comment section or here - not even joking, you always make my day, guys.

Now, because I don't like to leave people hanging quite like that, here are some of the fics I am absolutely obsessed with at the moment. Consider them homework:

Divine Fault Line

Mess it up

Anything ramzes writes with the marked ones. Pure addiction.

The Underpants Heist

An Interlude

Taglist: @yanny-77 @istarbel @sarahydeart

Garrick and Montserrat (because that already has me in a chokehold) and Make Death Proud to Take Us (BECAUSE HUH WDYM) pls and thank you 😌❤️

Well, Maze dear, you picked the two documents that are just messy ideas gathered in a folder. But I like oversharing so here we go!

Garrick and Montserrat is the temporary title for the chapter after the next one and as the very ambiguous and mysterious title suggests, it will be a Garrick POV and it will focus on my favorite FW theory - Imogen erasing the memory of her squad to going on a solo delivery while in Montserrat. It will be a bit of a rollercoaster, but we will see protective Garrick and the whole inner circle (with one exception) angry with Xaden for putting Imogen in such danger (and almost getting her killed). Oh and the one bed trope from chapter 9? It gets an even cuter encore and I have this little bit of dialogue for you (who remembers Imogen in chapter 2 giving Garrick her sister's dagger because I almost forgot for like 5 chapters):

Imogen, seeing the dagger and biting her lip: You still have it. Garrick, like the idiot he is, completely dumb: Have what? My otherwordly charm? Was there a question about it? Imogen, smiling faintly for the first time that night (Garrick doing a little happy dance in his head for managing to make her smile, finally): No, you dumbass. The dagger. Garrick: Of course I do. I always have it on me. Imogen: I thought you might have lost it in a challenge or something… I never saw it on you. Garrick: You insult me, Im. As if I could ever lose a challenge. Then after a small pause: I guess I should return it to you now. I was supposed to return it when we saw each other last year, but… Imogen, closing his hand over the hilt instead: No. I… I feel better knowing you have it Garrick: You don't have any weapons on you, right? Imogen: No, why? Garrick: So you cannot nick me when I say this gift obliges me to protect you. Imogen: You're wrong. I wouldn't have NICKED you. I would have stabbed you. Protect ME? (Smiles again.) Never mind. Come here, I'm cold.

As for Make Death Proud to Take Us... this is the title for the Athebyne battle. It is a pretty cool Shakespeare quote actually and I found it fitting, especially as the marked ones will hold a funeral for Liam and Soleil.

And you didn't hear it from me, but this is also the chapter Imrrick will finally kiss.

Hello!

I’m Sarah and I draw comics and illustrations as well as write fan fiction. I’m currently deep in a fourth wing obsession but I just love fantasy in general (also, rom coms and graphic novels and coffee)

Imogen and Garrick are my Roman Empire and I am sailing that ship off into the sunset (and writing a slow burn fic from Garrick’s POV that you can find here)

Updated version of Chapter 1

Yes, I spent more than a week rewriting and editing the first chapter of Memento Vivere and I basically doubled the content of the chapter. I went from almost 6K to over 20K words.

Why? Well, it helps me with the plot of Inkpot Gods and I also really hated how cringe and awful it was. What is new?

More details in every scene.

Some foreshadowing here and there.

New scenes (a little flashback with Derik and Imogen and two scenes at the end with the four musketeers and the Mairi kids).

(I hope) some more emotional depth to the characters.

The dragons are not okay (sorry).

Everyone needs a hug.

Oh right, now I have a public Spotify playlist too

Anyway, hope you guys will like it (I will admit that I am pretty proud of it atm). Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Tag list: @sarahydeart @yanny-77 @greeneyedwildthing @istarbel @siobhanbooks @taumoebaa @housetomte

Divine Fault Line

Chapter 7 ! 🖤✨

Excerpt:

“So,” he asks Imogen, coming to stand next to her. He eyes the daggertail as she approaches but is careful not to actually make eye contact. “I’m guessing she hasn’t forgiven me yet?”

Glane turns her piercing golden gaze on him and he quickly stares at the ground with what he hopes is the appropriate amount of reverence and apology.

“Would it make her feel better if I told her how bad I feel about injuring you?” He asks, still looking down. “And that I promise never to hurt you again?”

There is a short pause. “She says not to make promises you can’t keep.” Imogen’s voice is flat, and when Garrick turns to look at her there’s something in her expression he can’t read, a sadness he doesn’t know how to interpret.

He opens his mouth to argue with her, but she cuts him off. “Don’t worry, she isn’t going to scorch you. Where are we going, anyway?”

🫶🏼

Inkpot Gods?? I'm listening 👂👂👂

Ahhh, yes. This is my baby project that started as a little joke and spiralled into me planning a spin-off fic for Memento Vivere. It is still in the early stages and I had a separate post prepared for this but...

Inkpot Gods will be a collection of stories about the other Cardulo-Tavis idiots I absolutely fell in love with (and everyone gave them a warm welcome so far so...). The first chapter already has 3K words and unlike with MV, I have no idea where I am going with this story. It will mostly be a place where I will throw all the stories and flashback scenes I come up with about Braelyn and Derik (if I am suffering I am taking you all down with me).

And there will probably be many 'afterlife' chapters with these two watching over their younger siblings because I love to make myself suffer like that.

The title is inspired by this goddamned song from The Amazing Devil, which reminds me a lot of Braelyn and Derik's dynamic as a couple.

And now a little sneak-peak...

I look at the soldier standing closest to the bars, laughing at a joke his colleague made, paying us absolutely no mind - we are a threat they have already neutralized, in their arrogant narrow minds. But oh, I could make him throw me his sword though these bars with just a couple of words… better yet, I could make the rider next to him, a mountain of a man who is twice my size and who probably has a lame-ass fire signet, turn on his friends and kill them for me. I could do it all and even more.  “No, you couldn’t.” Derik groans and I am vaguely aware of his spectral presence squatting next to me. I don’t even know when he moved through the cell to come next to me by the cell bars. “You haven’t eaten anything since before you were captured by General Bitchgail, you haven’t slept in days… not to mention you almost drained yourself when you manipulated those two dragons yesterday.”  “Since when are you the voice of reason?” I grumble, my voice barely above a whisper and still refusing to look towards him. He is not here, not really - I know he is just a trick of my own sleep-deprived mind and the last thing I want is to draw the attention of my mom and Mrs. Tavis by arguing out-loud with this fucked-up hallucination of my dead boyfriend. 

Seven Sentence Sunday (or Monday in my case because I just saw it)

tagged by the darling that is @siobhanbooks

seven sentences from my WIP... easier said than done when you have two WIPs. But I am feeling generous so I am giving you a snippet from both (the 'secret' project) Inkpot Gods and from what I am working right now (sorry, not the new chapter, but I am rewriting the first chapter of MV, so keep an eye on that these days)

Inkpot Gods

“But you are not truly here…”  “Says who? Just because you assumed I am a figment of your imagination, it doesn't mean I truly am. I never said I was. Like I would ever leave my girl on her own when she needs me! Frankly, Cardulo, I'm hurt you would think so poorly of me!”

Rewritten version of Chapter 1 of Memento Vivere

“Maybe some of them are still out there… maybe…” “No one is coming to save us, Bodhi.” Garrick cuts him off, stopping his pacing around to look at us. “Think about it. Who knew about the location of the safe house? Only the high ranking officers. The only reason we are here is because one of them probably broke under interrogation. And if they supplied that information, they surely gave them the locations of all the possible hiding places. Everyone who could have come to our rescue is already rotting in a cell somewhere in this godforsaken place!”

Not gonna tag anyone because it is Monday and I already cheated a little so... if you wanna post a snippet, this is your sign.

Flashback time!

No update on the main thing, but until I do get the time to write the actual chapter... I think I will give you a little sneak peak every now and then.

Anyway, enjoy this little moment with Derik Tavis and Imogen Cardulo before the Battle of Aretia. I have a ton of ideas for Derik Tavis so get used to this lovable asshole (there is something special about these Tavis boys, damn!)

"You know your sister has been looking for you everywhere for the past..." He pretends to check his nonexistent watch. "... I'd say, three hours, but if you ask her, it has probably been 200 years. And who are we to contradict Captain Cardulo?"

I scoff at the use of my sister's new rank and turn my back to Derik, looking out at the commotion in the courtyard instead. "How angry is she?"

"Angry enough that I decided it was a good idea to make myself scarce before that vein in her forehead explodes right in my face. I'd say she is not above sending a search party for you." He shrugs, pushing me gently in the side with his boot to make me scoot over before he crouches next to me on the balcony. "So, what are we looking at aside from that sorry bunch of infantry soldiers running around like headless chickens?"

Despite myself, the corners of my mouth twitch a bit upwards at that last remark - he is certainly not wrong about those soldiers. They are leaving for battle in a couple of hours, but some of them apparently decided it is the perfect time for pranks as at least half the battalion has bright pink uniforms. "Waiting and hoping your dad or mine sees these buffoons?" I offer, knowing full well that Derik is not here to laugh at the infantry idiots with me.

But he has never been the serious kind. Well, not overly serious, at least - which is probably why my sister got the promotion and not him. "If the colonels catch them, these idiots will be dead before they even get to see a Navarrian." The older Tavis brother agrees. "But as entertaining as that would be, we kind of need them."

"At least they will be easy to distinguish from the Navarrians from dragonback." I say, but my attention is on the rolls of churram Derik fishes out of his flight jacket.

He extends me one, but right before I take it, he snatches it back playfully. "Not a word to your sister about this, are we clear?" He instructs before finally giving me the roll and helping me light it.

"I have never been a snitch, Tavis." I retort, grinning mischievously. I doubt my sister would actually care about me smoking as she was basically the person who taught me how to smoke in the first place, but she would certainly go ballistic if she found me and her best friend hiding to have a smoke while she is searching for us.

For a couple of moments, we don't say anything, just enjoy the churram as we continue to watch the infantry cadets who are now visibly sweating as the first dragons land in the field. A brown and a red - so not Jyst or Aynde. Good, my sister's orange dragon would certainly snitch on me if he were to spot me.

"So, why are you avoiding your sister?" Derik finally asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

"The pot calling the kettle black! I could ask you why you are not with Garrick too." I point out, returning the questioning look.

"Touche." He laughs shortly, humourlessly. "Guess... I am trying to postpone the pointless tear-jerking speeches and all that. It is just another battle and I don't want to make a big deal out of it."

We both know he is putting on a brave front right now. This is not just another battle. But I am as eager to admit that as he is. That is why I am avoiding my sister - the moment I see her getting ready to leave, saying her goodbyes... it will all feel real.

"We really should go find them..." I say as more dragons appear on the field and this time around I notice the red morningstar belonging to Colonel Durran.

"We will, once we finish." Derik agrees with a sigh, taking another hit from his churram. That playfulness gradually disappears as he turns to look at me with a serious expression that is... unnatural on him, at odds with his usual crooked smirk and mischievously gleaming hazel eyes. Seriousness is typically his brother's thing. "Listen, Imogen... I have a favor to ask of you."

"If you are going to ask me not to fight with Garrick in your absence, we both know I will break that promise before you even take off on Aynde." I say, trying to act cool and unbothered, as if that could take from this moment's seriousness.

"Gods, no! Someone has to keep his arrogance in check, he would get insufferable otherwise!" Derik smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Just... promise me you’ll stick around, even when he is insufferable? He is too cocky to admit it, but there are times he still needs someone to look out for him and in case I... you know..."

In case he doesn't make it back, I finish his sentence in my head. I bite the inside of my cheek as I nod. "He's not gonna get rid of me that easily." I promise, trying to give him a smile along with the promise, but it comes out more like a grimace than the intended reassuring gesture. "Out there..." I begin, hating the way my voice shakes slightly. But I know I don't have to ask Derik to have Braelyn's back on the battlefield - Malek himself would have to come to pry them from each other. "You two better come back in one piece, Tavis."

He stands and extends a hand to help me up as well. I pause a moment to take him in - the crooked smile, with the chipped front tooth from that time Braelyn punched him when they were fourteen (I’ve always wondered why the hell he never mended himself when he got his signet), the warm hazel eyes, the exact same shade as his brother's, the permanently wind-ruffled hair, a few shades lighter than Garrick's, but just as curly... the black flight leathers that are devoid of any patches, unlike his usual leathers that are practically covered in patches for all the weapons he can wield, for his signet and marking him as my sister's XO.

"I will do my best, Midge." Derik says after pulling me up, ruffling my hair affectionately - that and the use of the annoying nickname would usually make me push him, but this time I just roll my eyes. "Now that we had our warm up, let's go face our stuck-up siblings, what do you say?"

"I would rather face Malek, truth be told."

"That makes two of us."

Tell me about...

Bitter are the wars between brothers

Okay, I was actually waiting for someone to ask about this one and now I am thinking how to talk about it without giving too many spoilers (I am the kind that tells you the entire planned plot when asked because I am that excited).

Basically, Bitter are the wars between brothers is the only semi-complete snippet I wrote so far (like it has 10 pages so far) and it focuses on the main conflict of the second part of Memento Vivere (when I finally get to the IF events), namely Xaden's fallout with his inner circle after a series of mistakes and neglect. RY never talked about how Xaden's friends might feel after he becomes obsessed with Violet and it angered me a little to see that Bodhi had to return to Basgiath with a broken arm (and suffered for months from it) when Brennan was basically there and could have mended him had he and Xaden not decided that saving his energy in case Violet needed something else was more important.

And because the people on the discord server already have access to it, why not give you a little sneak-peak?

“The bones healed wrong after the battle of Resson…” Brennan begins and I bite my tongue not to scoff. Yes, that much we already knew... Anyone with eyes could tell as much. Well, most of us, at least, judging by the bewildered look on Xaden's face, as if he just found out his favorite puppy died. “… so in that regard, the fall was rather fortunate if you want to see it that way, because it reopened the wound and once he regains enough energy for it, I should be able to properly put the bones back in place. Tomorrow, most likely. The mending today took a big toll on him.” And on Brennan himself, I complete in my mind with a scowl. Garrick frowns, his grip on my hand tightening almost to the point it hurts, but I know it is unconscious – and it actually gives me something else to focus on aside from the boiling rage in my chest. “Fortunate? You mean to tell me he lived with a broken arm… for six months?!” He all but shouts, his voice taking a dangerous tone as his hazel eyes moved between Brennan and Xaden, finally understanding why it was so easy for Bodhi to fall off Cuir, why he was favoring his left side. “How could you let it happen?” “Of course, we never meant to put Bodhi in such a position, but after Resson, we had to chance his fracture healing on its own as there were more pressing…” Brennan starts explaining and there is a slight grimace on his face, a prang of guilt. But I came to understand there is a difference between guilt and remorse. “Wait!” Garrick cuts in, his eyes widening even more, but his attention is now solely on Xaden who is uncharacteristically quiet. “You knew his arm was in such a bad condition?” Xaden doesn’t even look at Garrick as he opens his mouth to answer, keeping his eyes on Brennan instead. “You never told me the wound was that serious… You said it would heal in time and there would be no issues. Had I known…”

Or maybe two sneak-peaks because I am feeling generous <3

Anger. And it is pointed towards me like an arrow aimed to pierce my heart. “Fucking traitor. I guess I should have seen this coming.” Traitor? Traitor?! He can’t possibly be talking to me, right? He is probably talking to Brennan after he stopped him… – Fuck it! Who am I freaking trying to fool? He is talking to me and I can’t even lie to myself and say that I didn’t see this coming. “What did you just call me?” I growl, my hand itching to wrap around the hilt of my dagger, but I resist the urge. No, I won’t resort to violence, it’s not the moment and it certainly isn’t worth it. At least not yet. The bastard has the audacity to scoff and roll his eyes at me. “Drop the act. You have been sneaking between me and Bodhi for years trying to push him away from me. It ends today, Imogen. Gods, I can’t believe I have been so blind until now… it’s my fault I allowed this situation to get so far.” “Oh, you are at fault here for a lot, but like always it is easier to blabber about shit than to take responsibility for your fuck ups. You want to pin it on me now that you saw you can’t do it to Brennan? Be my guest, but I can’t take credit for how much you fucked things up with Bodhi, that is all you, asshole.” I bite back, that bit of patience and restraint I was holding on to up to this point finally snapping. Gods, this is truly not the moment for this, for any of this. This is not the time for this stupid argument, not now and certainly not in here, while Bodhi is in pain in the next room. It is not like Xaden will actually listen to logic either, so it is pointless anyway. So I do the only rational thing I can do right now – I turn with the intention of going to Bodhi’s room. “Oh, the fuck you are! I am not letting you anywhere near him to poison his mind with all this vitriol you have against me! Leave him alone, Imogen, I mean it!” Xaden all but yells, shadows extending to form some sort of wall to the door.