#the daughter of odren

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

Hi Wendy! I'm looking to start reading Ursula K Le Guin's novels, especially the Hainish and Earthsea ones; but I'm unsure of where to start. The reading order seems on par with that of Discworld. Do you have recommendations, by any chance? And if you have recs for short stories too, I'm all ears! (I'm planning to read at least Omelas) Thank you! 🙏

Disclaimer that as much as I love Le Guin, I have actually...not read that much of her work yet 😔😅 I will tell you what I know, but I will also direct you to vaunted Le Guin Understander @aurpiment.

As far as I know, Earthsea has a fairly straightforward reading order, or at least the main books do: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, and The Other Wind. Tales is itself a collection of short stories plus a bit of reference material. As far as I can tell, there are two more short stories outside of Tales: “The Daughter of Odren” and “Firelight.” Of all these, I'm afraid I've only read Wizard and Atuan; I really need to get back to this series.

I'm not sure that there really is a reading order for the Hainish Cycle, unless you really wanted to go in publication order. Of the Hainish works, thus far I've only read The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, plus a handful of short stories (“Winter's King,” “Vaster than Empires and More Slow,” “The Day Before the Revolution,” and “Coming of Age in Karhide,” plus her “pronoun experiments” for TLHOD). I can heartily recommend all of these, though I would start with a book, not a short story, since many of the ones I listed are directly related to TLHOD and The Dispossessed. I do think you, specifically, might enjoy TLHOD.

Thank you for asking!! I really hope you enjoy her work, no matter where you start. Her writing sticks with me in a way that many others do not.

#ursula k. le guin #asks #bookshop-cryptid #i'm like 80% sure i've read omelas at some point but i'm gonna go (re?)read it now to make sure dfdjdhgkl

[isfjmel-phleg]

A minor Blackberry Bushes spoiler, if you want, as a treat in lieu of content I should be giving you but haven't:

Obviously Ateva's romance with her officer was hopeless from the beginning. They both knew it deep down. She still hoped it could somehow magically work out. (I don't know what he thought, but it probably wasn't much of anything because he was rather an airhead). He married someone else, rather abruptly, and that was the end of that.

Despite multiple people's best efforts in Book 2, she does not marry Delclis. I have a different fate in mind for him.

Instead...remember the royal family of Norin? The one whose awful daughter Josiah gets stuck entertaining? Yeah, those people. Ateva marries their elder son, Viori. It's a hasty arrangement on Odren's part, done partially from spite at how things worked out with Corege, but it's an advantageous match, and it's all the press can talk about for months, and the wedding is highly publicized, and everything seems like a fairytale. One of the most eligible bachelor princes on the continent finally finds the perfect princess to settle down and have beautiful babies with, that sort of thing.

Ateva's not thrilled. Her officer was shy and soft-spoken and charmingly awkward and therefore the most attractive man alive, and the sophisticated social butterfly Viori is distasteful in comparison. He, meanwhile, is just relieved that he dodged the bullet of possibly ending up with *gasp* the plain Callon sister and landed the one who looks more like his type.

They've got a lot to learn about each other. And that's where she'll be in Book 4.

#The Blackberry Bushes #The Blackberry Bushes OC facts #Ateva Callon

[the-cosmic-bookshelf]

The Books of Earthsea. Ursula K Le Guin. Illustrated by Charles Vess. Saga Press. 2018.

#the books of earthsea #a wizard of earthsea #the tombs of atuan #the farthest shore #tales from earthsea #tehanu #the rule of names #the other wind #firelight #the daughter of odren #Earthsea Revisioned #ursula k leguin #bookblr #book #book blog #literature #books #book shelf #studyblr #book shelves #bookblogger #literatura #mine #my collection #my shelf #my photography #fantasy #Ursula K Le Guin #Charles Vess #illustration

[todisturbtheuniverse]

i read so many books in 2019.

in retrospect, the real standouts were Uprooted, Spinning Silver, every single last installment in Earthsea, the Aftermath trilogy, Bloodline, the various Thrawn books, the Winternight trilogy, Lords and Ladies, Reaper Man, The Lies of Locke Lamora, An Unkindness of Ghosts, and all of The Murderbot Diaries.

i read a lot of Star Wars, both New Canon and beginning my dip into Legends (some of which i read as a kid when they were still called EU, and that i’d like to return to and expand on). i went on a romance binge early in the year and then dipped back in toward the end. i used discworld as buffers between other reads a lot of the time; they’re reliably decent books that i’ve largely enjoyed.

honorable mention goes to the local libraries; this much reading just wouldn’t have been possible without them. i got in the habit of placing holds on things i wanted to read, and then, whenever they came in (whether physical copies or ebooks), i knew what i was reading next. no more agonizing over which book to take off the shelf; i had a time limit and a goal and a thing i wanted to read. i ended up reading several series in bits and pieces in that way, and didn’t find that my enjoyment was lessened just because i had to put the series down and pick something else up while i waited.

some fun stats courtesy of goodreads: i read 31,891 pages across 101 books; the shortest was 32 pages (The Daughter of Odren) and the longest was 752 (The Lies of Locke Lamora).

i’m not setting a much higher goal for 2020, even though i overshot my goal by so much in 2019. i definitely felt like i was...over-reading, at times? like i remembered less of the stuff i’d read because i was reading so much. so i’m just aiming for 52 books this year, about 1 per week, and won’t sweat over it if i do happen to overshoot.

still. it was a cool mark to hit, 100 books in a year. despite the fact that i’ve really only tracked my reading since 2017, i’m pretty sure i’ve never read that much in a year before.

#universe rambles

[caballerodelatristefigura]

Charles Vess illustrations (sketches, 2016) for The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition project —

In 2018, Saga Press will publish all six of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea novels in one volume, to mark the 50th anniversary of her landmark fantasy series. What’s more, The Books of Earthsea will be the first fully illustrated edition, with the cover and both color and black-and-white interior illustrations (including chapter headings, full-page illustrations, and smaller pictures) by Charles Vess. Along with the six Earthsea novels, The Books of Earthsea will collect a number of Earthsea stories, including “The Word of Unbinding” and “The Rule of Names,” as well as the new, never-before-published-in-print “The Daughter of Odren.”

“I first read A Wizard of Earthsea in 1970 and over the following years all the other books in the series. I loved each one of them and even circled around Ursula at a few conventions, but I didn’t have the nerve to speak to her. Then, about 2 years ago when I was asked to take on this project and knew that I would have to talk with her first, I was still nervous. But that first conversation proved to be a delightful experience; as has the continuous e-mail back-and-forth that followed it. Our long struggle to get her dragons and her world “just right” was equally rewarding. Now it gets easier for me to slip into her brain and try to depict what Ursula sees in her mind through the drawings that fall from my fingertips. It still amazes me how much her dragons evolve both visually and in character throughout all six books and I want to show that evolution in my illustrations.”

—  Charles Vess

#ursula k. le guin #ursula le guin #earthsea #art #charles vess #illustration #books #lit #literature

[number63liveblogs]

The Daughter of Odren, part 2

This might actually be a satisfying revenge for Weed. At least if not for her, then for Clay.

But the things around the revenge, those were definitely unsatisfying for both. They had a picture in their heads of what would happen when they met again, but the thing was that it was different for each one. They both blamed a different conspirator, and I bet Clay had heard from her teacher about the “wickedness of women’s magic” and that colored his understanding.

Also, I can’t help but to notice that Clay called Weed by her old name at the end. But at the same time Weed’s husband called Clay “Garnet”, and you’d expect that if Weed talked about him she’d use his new name. So this points to them both seeing the other as the person they were before they left their mother’s house.

But Weed “got” to murder Ash with her own hands, and Clay didn’t get his father back as he surely assumed would happen, so maybe I was wrong at the beginning and it was a satisfying revenge for Weed but not for Clay.

Well, in the end they both could go back to the lives they wanted, Weed to her husband and step-daughter and Clay even farther back, to his family home. In a way this is the only ending it could have had, Weed’s life continuing as it always had, but then again I would have liked to see how the fact that they just murdered two people in front of a bunch of witnesses changes their lives.

#the daughter of odren #earthsea cycle #liveblog #number 63

[a-ramblinrose]

“Before daybreak in late summer and early autumn, fog gathered on the waters of the Closed Sea, drifting up over the steep eastern coast of the Island of O, blurring away the upland fields and pastures that run out to the cliffs. Every blade of grass and frond of fern bows to a burden of waterbeads. The fog smells of salt and seaweed and smoke from the early fires of farmhouse hearths.” -- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Daughter of Odren

#The Daughter of Odren #Ursula K. Le Guin #Earthsea Cycle #Current Reading #Not out of void but out of chaos

[isfjmel-phleg]

I am not making progress with the Josiah and Marela story and am rather sick of it, but I felt like sharing the first scene, the only one so far that's from her POV. She's horrid, but once I know what I'm doing with her (which is much less than I would like), she's entertaining to write.

At least, Marela consoled herself, her grandmother would have hated it too. Dowager Queen Rieta—Bunica, to her grandchildren—would have had uncomplimentary remarks for the entirety of the Königsstadt skyline, shrouded in the smoke of ceaselessly churning Liennese factories. She would have disapproved of the Liennese royal family—hadn’t there been some scandal about King Odren’s parents, years ago? And she would have made Marela’s parents turn the royal yacht around and go straight back to Norin, and they would have listened to her. But Bunica was gone now, and no one listened to Marela. 

And that was why Marela was huddled in an upper deck, wedged between a bench and the railing, wishing she could become violently seasick and thus have to forgo disembarking and meeting Princess Ateva and her family.

The taste of saltwater had splashed Marela’s lips, but that was all that the sea would oblige her. Illness never came for the asking. 

She was screwing up her face again and imagining her insides in knots when a frustratingly familiar voice called her name.

“There you are!” said her brother Viori, sprinting toward her. He landed gracefully on the bench and sprawled his long legs across it. “I’m supposed to tell you that we’re going ashore in an hour, but judging from the…” He pointed at her cramped form. “...contortionism act—you already know, don’t you?”

“I’m not going,” said Marela, as if she thought it would help. They could drag her ashore, but not without first being clearly informed that she joined them only under protest. 

“Sorry, hedgehog. Our entire family is obliged to enjoy themselves today, whether we want to or not. Anyone caught not having a good time will be taken out and scolded severely until they do. Hate to have to break your vow of No Fun Ever, but that’s life.” 

He was trying to make her laugh. She set her jaw. Nothing, not even her favorite brother, would cajole her out of this mood. “I don’t care. I don’t like Lienne.” 

“Come on. Sooner or later you have to like something. You like me, don’t you? Oh please, say you like me. I couldn’t bear it.” He flashed her one of those dazzling grins that silly girls liked so much. 

Marela scoffed. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. You’re conceited enough already.” 

Viori only laughed. “What can I say?” he said. “I know what I’m worth.”

“Half a monedă,” replied Marela promptly. 

“That’s what the pater thinks, anyhow. Judging from my last allowance.” He paused hopefully. She did not laugh. “Come ashore with me and we can slip away somewhere later and spend it all on something frivolous and make a spectacle of ourselves and the pater will shout at us all the way home. No? You don’t like that one? Well, I guess not. I do have a princess to make a good impression on.”

Princess Ateva, younger daughter of King Odren of Lienne, was most of the reason that the royal family of Norin had made this ridiculous journey at all. Ateva’s father wanted her to marry Viori, and Marela’s father hadn’t had the sense to say no. But he hadn’t said yes yet either.

“Bunica wouldn’t have wanted you to meet her,” said Marela. “She would have said Ateva was unsuitable for you.”

Viori bristled. “Well, I’m sure she would have, but that doesn’t matter now, and besides, I don’t care.” His annoyance faded as that dangerously faraway look crept into his eyes. “Because I do want to meet her. Very much.”

“Is that why you cut out nine pictures of her from newspapers and pinned them to the wall by your bed?”

Unsurprisingly, that earned her a scowl. “What were you doing in my room?”

Marela shrugged. “You left the door open. Anyone could see.”

“For your information, Princess Ateva happens to be one of the most beautiful girls on the continent. Anyone would want to have her picture. I had to fight off at least three fellows to collect all those newspapers.”

“Beautiful?” Marela wrinkled her nose. “She looks like a cow.”

“She does not!”

“She does so! A fat, goggle-eyed cow. I’m surprised at you.” 

Marela could tell by her brother’s face that she had gone too far, but she couldn’t take the words back. She had meant every one of them.

“And I’m surprised at you, Marela,” he said. “Have you seen her pictures? Really seen them? Those eyes sparkle. She is perfection. She is molded like a goddess. I—I think I’m madly in love with her already.”

This confession would have had greater impact if Viori had not been madly in love with a different girl approximately every other week since he was fourteen.

“You’re in love—with a picture?” said Marela, her voice dripping with disdain.

He shrugged. “It’s a start.”

She hugged her knees tighter to her chest. “Even if she is pretty, she could be horrid, you know. She could be stuck-up.”

“A girl who’s got…well, eyes like that, stuck-up? Never. Give her a chance, won’t you, hedgehog? Not everyone in the world is a prickly little horror like you. They say the Liennese girls are awfully hospitable and obliging. I’ve always wanted to meet one.”

“And you’ll be disappointed,” said Marela. “What if she doesn’t like you?” 

She rather hoped so, but Ateva looked like exactly the sort of girl who would swoon over Viori’s curls and blue eyes and “boyish charm,” whatever that meant.

Viori laughed. “What if the sun doesn’t rise tomorrow? Honestly, you worry too much. I adore her; why shouldn’t she feel the same about me?”

“She won’t if she knows what state your room’s in. Or what you’re like in the morning. Or how you spent your twenty-first birthday. Or—” 

“But she’s not going to know any of that,” said Viori, “because none of us are going to tell her. Do we understand?”

“I make no promises.”

“But you won’t be able to tell her anything anyhow, because you’re not going ashore, remember?”

Marela hated it when he was right. 

“I might decide to after all,” she said in her loftiest voice. “If only to keep you from making a spectacle of yourself gawking at Ateva.”

“If you dare speak to her,” said Viori, “if you dare tell her anything embarr—unflatteringly exaggerated, I will tell her everything you’ve said about her. Word for word. There’ll be an international incident, and it will all be your fault.”

Marela stared fixedly at the sea. “I don’t care. We should never have come here.”

Brother and sister shared a silence as the waves lapped against the yacht and the inevitable Liennese horizon loomed nearer and nearer. An unseen gull screeched.

Viori shifted in his seat. “Seriously, Marela,” he said in quite a different voice. “I really like this one.”

That was what he had said about the last girl. And the last one and the last one…

“Please don’t make this difficult for me. Promise?”

Marela promised. 

She promised to go ashore as required and not say anything to Ateva that would disgust, scandalize, or in any way put her off interest in the continent’s most eligible royal bachelor. And Viori beamed at her and caught her up in a crushing embrace and kissed her forehead and called her the best sister ever. Then he dashed off to devote every final minute of his time aboard to preening for his adored object.

Once he was out of sight, Marela wiped the kiss off her forehead. For someone who purported to be a grown man, her brother had not lost a drop of his childhood gullibility. She may have promised to behave herself for Ateva, but she had said nothing about the rest of the Liennese royal family. If she had learned anything about state visits in her nearly fourteen years, it was that younger princesses such as herself were always saddled with the host’s younger offspring. Ateva’s wretched little brothers would not enjoy her company. She would make sure of that. Her brother’s future depended upon it.

#The Blackberry Bushes #The Blackberry Bushes short stories #my writing #Marela Dalscu #Viori Dalscu

[isfjmel-phleg]

Not a big deal, and nobody asked for this, but although I try to keep clothing descriptions in my stories in moderation, I do think about costuming for OCs, and exactly when everyone's clothing dates from. It's not always as simple as matching it to the year the story takes place.

Rachel, for instance, is from a family that isn't wealthy, and she doesn't often get new clothes. Her family wears what they have as long as possible, so her clothes probably tend to date from a couple years or so behind the time--she's about fourteen when we meet her and hasn't done a lot of growing recently. But she also wears clothes that were her mother's as a young woman in the 1880s. They've been made over a little to reflect current fashions--obviously she's not going out in public in outdated bustles--but the basic 1880s structure and color/pattern choices remain. Very few of her clothes are things she has chosen herself.

Rietta and Tietra are kept on a tight budget, so what they wear on a daily basis at home is probably a few years behind the times, more so in the case of Tietra, who doesn't need to replace clothing as often as Rietta, who has grown a lot shortly before we meet her. Even though most of Rietta's clothes are now well-worn, they are of high quality and were the very latest fashions when they were first made. Her wardrobe is of course going to be significantly fancier than Rachel's. However, anything worn for public appearances is always going to be new and stylish. Rietta exerts as much control as she can over styles and colors, so her clothing reflects her preferences well.

The Coregean royal family is very well-off and not suffering from the effects of a long war in the way that Faysmond is, so they are going to be wearing new, expensive, fashionable clothes almost all the time. Talfrin and Bethira maintain a very public image, and their fashion sets the tone for the rest of the nation. Bethira was raised much more modestly and might wear somewhat older clothing in private, informal settings whenever she can get away it. Delclis prefers older, comfortable clothes also, but he's a growing teenager and has to replace clothes fairly frequently. All of Elystan's clothes are new and chosen by either him or Bethira; he has never worn Delclis's hand-me-down anything.

Amarantha's wardrobe in Book 2 is almost all new because it was recently purchased for school. Her family is better off than Rachel's but not wealthy, so her clothes will be of a nice quality but not elaborate. Edmara is not present enough to play much role in choosing her daughter's clothing, and Amarantha selects everything herself, taking pride in her ability to select becoming colors and styles.

Tamett's in a similar situation with new clothes for school in Book 3. His wardrobe is clean-cut and well-made but deliberately chosen not to outshine Josiah's in any way. He tends not to take good care of clothes, and they have to be replaced more often than his mother would prefer. His sisters wear clothes that are of a similar quality to Amarantha's, but Emenor is the only one who tends to get new clothes on a fairly regular basis, since the younger girls mostly wear her (...or Lovisa's or Cille's) hand-me-downs.

The Liennese royal family can afford the best, most fashionable clothing, and Odren employs a very gifted tailor who can give him (and Josiah) the desired image. But Odren also wishes his family to be a model of Liennese Thriftiness™, so they do tend to reuse clothes more often. Ayra and Ateva especially wear older clothing in more private settings. Josiah doesn't do this as much because he's still growing (a lot), so most of his wardrobe is going to be fairly new and expensive, but most of his old clothes are saved and remade for Mikaiah. Clothing choices have to be approved by Odren or a representative of his, and his children frequently wear clothes that match or coordinate with each other--when they're not actually in uniform.

#The Blackberry Bushes #The Blackberry Bushes OC facts

[isfjmel-phleg]

It's Tamett's birthday! I haven't written because I've had zero creative energy and haven't felt like guilting myself into trying to get anything done, but I wanted to post something for the day, so you get to see all that exists of a draft of a Tamett short story.

This one is a flashback to Tamett and Josiah's first meeting. It's very unedited (there's still a place holder in brackets, I am aware it is ridiculous) and not especially exciting (I think), but it's something. Please feel free to tell me what's not working, because I lost steam on this one. I know how it ends, but getting there...?

All Tamett had to do was make a friend. That was simple. His uncle had said so, all the long journey from Noriber. All Tamett had to do was convince Josia, Crown Prince of Lienne, a boy whom he had never met or hoped to even see, that the two of them could become devoted companions, all within the space of an hour’s interview. Anyone could manage that, Tamett’s uncle had blithely claimed. Even Tamett.

Tamett already had a companion of his own, tucked away in his pocket, and that was enough for him. He unbuttoned his pocket to check on his friend one last time for comfort, for the doors had opened, and his uncle had shoved him into one of the royal family’s private sitting rooms. It was dusty purple and no grander than his aunt’s drawing room back in Noriber. Every available surface was covered in framed photographs or piles of books or half-abandoned knitting or knick-knacks. Potted palms half-hid most of the furniture, and the floor was likewise littered with toys and discarded shoes and baskets of mending and old newspapers. The deeply cushioned armchairs beckoned Tamett to plop down on one of them, kick off his shoes, and curl up for a nap. But his uncle clung to his hand, and Tamett was forced to step slowly, gradually, across the well-trod carpet toward the man enthroned in a wingback chair by the window.

Although the man sat stiffly, as if on his best behavior for visitors, his expression drooped. His clothes hung crisply, as if he weren’t used to them. Tamett knew about that; he had been fitted with several uncomfortable suits of clothes before he left home. His were for school, however; this man was in deep mourning. Everyone at the palace was, Tamett’s uncle had said, because the queen had recently died. The man now overlooking Tamett with the enthusiasm normally granted to [BORING THING] was His Majesty King Odren.

Tamett hardly heard the words exchanged between the king and his uncle as he scrambled into the position of a Liennese bow—right leg back, bobbing halfway down on the left leg, right hand over heart—as he had practiced under his uncle’s critical eye. 

“How do you do, Master Lockridge?” said the king.

“How do you—” Tamett gulped the rest of the sentence down and tried to remember the odd expression. “My heart beats in your service, Your Majesty.”

His heart was actually beating so hard he was half-afraid it was visible through his jacket, but presumably the king didn’t care to know that.

The king extended a hand toward a nearby sofa, where two big girls, practically grown-up and clothed in the same deep black, sat arm in arm. “My daughters, Ayra and Ateva. Ayra will be attending to household concerns in the absence of her stepmother, if you have any particular needs.”

Tamett wobbled through the bow again and recited the formula for greeting princesses. “My honor is at your disposal, Your Royal Highnesses.” He didn’t know which was Ayra, but he hoped she was the red-haired one who smiled at him. The other princess was as somber-faced as her father. She must have been awfully sad about the queen too.

“Josia,” said the king, “come and meet your new companion.”

A tall-backed chair facing a wall on the far end of the room creaked reluctantly, and a form slowly emerged from the cushioned depths and approached the king’s chair, ducking behind furniture and plants rather than crossing past Tamett. He didn’t look at the visitors but stood at his father’s elbow with his face turned away. The king said something to him in a low voice and nudged him forward.

Tamett had been told that Josia was nearly a year younger than him, still only seven, but he was already taller and bigger than Tamett. His mourning was immaculate in the way Tamett’s mother always wanted her son to keep his good clothes, and his dark blond hair lay as smoothly away from his forehead as if molded from china like Emenor’s doll’s head. Despite his proper appearance, he wore a sulky expression, which deepened as he surveyed Tamett with reddened eyes.

“How do you do, Tamett?” he said, as if he were hoping to hear that Tamett was suffering from some wasting disease. But he used the familiar form of “you,” as if with a friend. Perhaps this was a good sign.

Tamett hurried through his bow. “My hands are at your command, Your Royal Highness.”

Josia said nothing. He only stood staring at Tamett, who dared to smile back. Josia did not return it.

“Why don’t you show Master Lockridge your books, Josia?” said the king.

“Yes, Father,” said Josia, and with a flick of one finger he beckoned Tamett into the corner with the tall-backed chair. Bookcases hemmed the walls, crammed with dozens of gilt volumes, all the same size [...]

#The Blackberry Bushes #The Blackberry Bushes excerpts #my writing #Tamett Lockridge #and other people that I don't feel like tagging right now

[isfjmel-phleg]

"Selections from the Correspondence of the Lockridge Family": The Context

The Blackberry Bushes stories are set in a world that's basically an alternate Europe in the 1900s. Similar culture, different nations and political dynamics. "Selections" takes place in 1908.

Lienne is an up-and-coming nation that occupies several territories besides its own. One of these is Noriber, which has been under Liennese rule for centuries. Lienne forbids any expressions of Noriberrian national unity/patriotism. Many citizens are content with Liennese rule, but many others desire independence. This doesn't come up directly in "Selections," but the relationship between Lienne and Noriber is important to bear in mind.

Lienne has been ruled by King Odren VII for the past thirty-four years. He is committed to building his nation into a formidable world power in step with the new century's exciting advances. Lienne's royal family lost a lot of prestige under Odren's father's reign, so it's very important to him that his family now set a flawless example of domestic life, conduct, and accomplishments.

Odren has four children: Ayra (age 23 at the time of this story), Ateva (18), Josiah (12), and Mikaiah (5). Ayra and Ateva are the daughters of his late first wife, and Josiah and Mikaiah are the sons of his beloved second wife, who died in childbirth. Ayra has taken on consort duties since her stepmother's death. Ateva is being angled at various kings and princes as an advantageous political match. Mikaiah is mostly overlooked.

Josiah is the Crown Prince. One of his titles is "the Hope of Lienne," which more or less sums up the weight of expectations placed upon him. He is a prodigy in both academics and music (Lienne considers itself the music capital of this world). He has excelled at the few royal duties that his father has entrusted him with. His public conduct is irreproachable. He is very much his father's favorite.

To keep Josiah company in his studies since he has no siblings near his age, Odren has hired a live-in companion, Tamett Lockridge (13). Tamett has been with the royal family for about five years, shortly after the death of Josiah's mother. He and Josiah tolerate each other but are emphatically not friends. Josiah considers Tamett his intellectual inferior, and Tamett finds Josiah absolutely insufferable. He is correct. Josiah is a self-important jerk.

Tamett's family is from Noriber. His parents, Edvin and Elina Lockridge, are of respectable birth but neither titled nor wealthy. Elina is the sister of Tamett Kassbeck, Duke of Reierwardt. This connection allowed her son Tamett to land the companion job at the palace. The Duke is married to Klariesa, and they have no children. Tamett Lockridge was named for his uncle in the hopes of inheriting from him eventually.

In addition to their son, Edvin and Elina have four daughters: Emenor (14), Lovisa (11), Cille (7), and Zella (4). Tamett is close to all his sisters, and they write to him frequently.

The Lockridges can use all the financial help that they can get, so Tamett's well-paying job is very important to the family's stability.

And that's pretty much all you need to know, I think! If something isn't making sense, do feel free to ask for clarification.

#The Blackberry Bushes #Selections from the Correspondence of the Lockridge Family

[isfjmel-phleg]

@fictionadventurer was curious about background for the adult OCs' names, so here it is! Plus Josiah's siblings since they didn't make it into the other post.

Marielle Tietra Valencourt (nee Mariella Philene Gremondi): All the Gremondi sisters, like many Otionovian women, have the first name "Mariella" and use their middle name instead. Philene was named for her great-grandmother. That name didn't translate well into Faysmondian, so she chose "Tietra" as an anagram of her fiancé's name.

Etriat Donatien Odilon Valencourt: As the only son of his parents, ended up with a high-pressure name, in honor of his grandfather, father (named for one of Faysmond's patron saints), and a deceased uncle.

Antavia Edella Ellaset Phemister: Lots of pressure here too! She is named for the descendent of Gearalt III from whom the Phemisters get their claim to the throne, her grandmother (a much-beloved and -respected queen consort who did a lot for Corege), and the arguably greatest reigning queen in Coregean history. Probably went by Tavie in childhood. Since taking a different title after her abdication, she encourages people to refer to her as "the Duchess." Hardly anyone gets to call her Antavia anymore.

Andras Marbert Adrend Phemister: Named for an obscure early king of Corege, the king who founded Hollingham College (his mother, Edella, was of course very interested in education!), and one of Edella's many brothers who died young. As a second son, he didn't have expectations of inheritance placed on him, so his parents could use names with more personal significance for him.

Bethira Catrin Liddick (nee Goswick): The Goswicks gave their daughters names that were stylish among their peers. Bethira's common name has made her seem more approachable to Coregeans.

Talfrin Gearalt Stamwell Liddick: His middle names are for his father and Gearalt III (the common ancestor of the Phemisters and Liddicks), but I have no idea where his first name came from. His mother might have just liked it.

Edmara Nelsie Melbray (nee Delford): The family names were all used by the time she was born (fourth of five), so she has a normal, down-to-earth Coregean middle-class name with no more to it than her parents' preference. As a child, she was Edie to her siblings; Elystan is literally the only person who calls her Mara.

Levico Dermond Melbray: Probably the same goes for him. He was also fourth of five (all brothers!), so who knows where his name came from. I don't think he's ever cared much for it though, hence the use of initials professionally.

Odren Linnaf Norlo Adrend Callon: Named for his father, because the Liennese are big on carrying on tradition. His middle names are for his uncles who died young (yes, that's the same Adrend Andras was named for--Edella was Odren's paternal aunt), a sentimental choice on his father's part. Maybe the association with lost brothers had a subconscious effect on the elder Odren's reluctance to get close to his heir.

Mariele Liane Rosanna Callon (nee Marielle Liane Rosanne Valencourt): Liane, as the youngest of a large family, was given fashionable rather than dynastic names (Faysmondians often use "Marielle" as Otionovians do "Mariella"). When she married, her name was simply translated into Liennese; lee-AHN became LY-uh-nuh.

Nyella Josefa Callon (nee Mellsbach): Her middle name (pronounced yo-ZEH-fa) was chosen for its resemblance to her father's first name, Josia.

Ayra Liane Edonora Callon: Named for her aunt, mother, and great-grandmother. All safe, conventional choices, with dynastic significance in case this child ended up having to inherit.

Ateva Edella Rika Callon: Named for her paternal grandmother, great aunt, and distant cousin Rietta. The first name was an attempt on Liane's part to mend a damaged relationship, and the others were useful for pleasing international connections.

Nyel Mikaiah Tilo Callon: Named for his mother and her two brothers. Nyella and Odren had not chosen names before the birth. Not knowing what his wife would have wanted, Odren chose all names of significance to her. No one has been able to bring themselves to call him Nyel, so he has always been Mikaiah, or Miki.

#The Blackberry Bushes #The Blackberry Bushes OC facts #Tietra Valencourt #Etriat Valencourt #Antavia Phemister #Andras Phemister #Bethira Liddick #Talfrin Liddick #Edmara Melbray #Levico Melbray #Odren Callon #Liane Callon #Nyella Callon #Ayra Callon #Ateva Callon #Mikaiah Callon

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OC birthday facts: Ayra

Ayra’s birthday was yesterday and I missed it (completely forgot and was very busy)! So to make up for it:

Birthday: March 5

How she usually spends it: As the King’s eldest daughter, now that she is of age and out in society, she is expected to make a public event of her birthday. She reviews her regiment, makes an appearance at some sort of parade, hosts a luncheon for her peers of the aristocracy, attends concerts in the afternoon, and is the guest of honor at a ball in the evening. She doesn’t dislike it, but it’s rather exhausting.

How she would choose to spend it: An excursion to the mountains for a lengthy hike, either alone or with minimal company, followed by a picnic and a leisurely rest, regardless of any lingering snow (it’s still cold in Lienne in March).

Favorite birthday dessert: Bee sting cake, a sort of yeast cake with custard filling and a topping of honey and almonds.

Best birthday in her past: When she turned nine, the family planned to spend a week at one of their vacations homes, out in the forest. For some reason, her mother and Ateva were delayed, so Ayra and her father made the journey together. She helped him with his paperwork on the train, joined him in waving to crowds as they passed through towns, and followed in fascination as he led her over the train explaining its working. They had a few days together one-on-one in the forest, riding and taking long hikes and talking, before Liane and Ateva arrived by the birthday and completed the enjoyment with a quiet celebration, just the four of them. (The journey back was less pleasant; Ayra and Odren developed bad sore throats on the way, which turned into diphtheria, which led to Liane’s contracting it and not surviving.)

Worst birthday in her past: It’s a toss-up. There was her tenth birthday, when her new stepmother decided to throw her a grand party with lots of other children and a lot of fuss (something Nyella would have loved as a child), which ended in Ayra getting overwhelmed and storming out in tears. And then there was her nineteenth birthday, when her father was called away on official business and she had to continue the expected festivities without him, escorted for most of the day by Josiah.

Best gift: She was very excited to get her own horse as a child.

Worst gift: Josiah once gave her a box of chocolates and then proceeded to eat them all himself over the course of the day.

What she says she wants: New knitting needles and an appointment book.

What she actually wants: A month’s holiday alone in the forest.

#The Blackberry Bushes #The Blackberry Bushes OC facts #Ayra Callon

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4, 5, and 10, please!

4. Are there any characters who don’t realize just how strongly another character feels about them, whether those feelings be positive or negative? Over the course of the story, does anything make them realize? If so, what?

I don’t think Delclis realizes how much of a crush Rietta has on him. She doesn’t make much sense to him in general, and he privately considers her a rather bizarre but ultimately harmless eccentric and tries to avoid too much interaction. He’s also not around girls much, if all, and it probably wouldn’t occur to him to consider someone being interested in him as a possibility. Does he ever find out? I honestly have no idea. Haven’t worked that far ahead yet.

5. In your story, are there more close relationships between family, or between friends? Talk about one of these relationships, and why they’re so close.

Already answered, but for variety, how about a close family relationship? Ayra and Ateva are four years apart but close because they’ve always been treated as a duo. They were dressed alike as children and were expected to be each other’s constant companion. They have more common life experience than their brothers--shared a childhood, shared a mother, still share a bedroom. Their priorities are becoming increasingly different, which is starting to make things difficult.

Ateva and Mikaiah are close too, inasmuch as siblings with a thirteen-year age gap can be. She’s the only one of the family who really took much interest in him from the start. Odren was severely grieving for a long time after Mikaiah’s birth, Josiah has always seen his brother as a poor trade for the mother he much preferred, and Ayra was too busy taking on Nyella’s social responsibilities to bother with a baby. But Ateva is the sort of person who feels better herself if she has someone to look after, and taking care of Mikaiah has given her purpose.

10. Are there any relationships in your story where one primarily “protects” the other? Do they protect this person physically, or do they keep secrets for the sake of the other’s well-being? Does this take an emotional toll on them?

Rietta and Tietra both play this role for each other. Tietra has chosen to protect her daughter by keeping her as far removed as possible from the court and politics, which she sees as a corrupting influence. There are a lot of people who would seek to separate Rietta from her mother and use the young Queen to their own advantage, and Tietra is not about to relinquish the one family member whom she has left.* Meanwhile, Rietta from an early age has realized how much her mother gets walked over, and since Tietra can’t or won’t stand up for herself, Rietta will have to do it for her--which is more responsibility than someone her age ought to have to take on.

*She has a mother and six sisters and their families still living, but distance and Faysmond’s distrust of anyone connected with Otionovia have prevented her from having any steady contact with them.

#asks #valiantarcher #thank you! #The Blackberry Bushes Q&A #Delclis Phemister #Rietta Valencourt #Ayra Callon #Ateva Callon #Mikaiah Callon #Tietra Valencourt

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OC Ask: Ayra

Thank you! Another character I’m still getting to know.

Something really awesome they can do: She knows how to repair watches and is no stranger to using a revolver.

A person, creature, or thing they adore: She’s not much of a people person, but she cares deeply about her sister Ateva, even if she gets a bit frustrated at times with Ateva’s prioritizing her own feelings above the greater good for Lienne.

A secret they’re hiding: Well, for one thing, she’s stolen her brother’s telescope for whatever purpose of her own.

Something they truly fear: Lack of information. Knowledge is power, and someone in her position needs every scrap of control she can scrounge.

A fond memory of theirs: Her father takes the family on long yachting excursions every summer, and one year they toured the Norriberrian coast. They went ashore one afternoon, and Ayra managed to sneak away from the others to do some hiking on her own. The solitude was glorious. She was gone for hours, long enough for everyone to get frantic about her, until she casually strolled back to the beach and refused to tell anyone what had happened or where she had been.

A place or item which gives them strong feelings: There’s a coronet she has to wear whenever performing official consort-substitute duties. It belonged to her late mother, and she…well, I can’t really say likes wearing it, but putting it on helps her more concretely transition into the role she needs to play, like a costume.

A dream or ambition for the future: She’d love to be among her father’s council/cabinet/advisors/whatever they’re called in Lienne so she could be in more of a position to stop him from making what she considers foolish mistakes, but this is probably a hopeless dream. The closest to this role she can hope to get is to marry a king and politically influence him through that role.

An angsty fact about them: Her mother died when Ayra was nine and her father lost no time remarrying a woman nearer his eldest daughter’s age than his own,* and Ayra never really cared for her. Then along came Josiah to edge her out of her role as possible heir to the throne, and Mikaiah to make it even less likely. It’s not such a big deal now that she’s older, but there’s still some underlying resentment of her half-brothers and late stepmother.

A domestic fact about them: While she and Ateva have a lady’s-maid who handles their clothing and hair and schedule and so forth, the princesses do a lot for themselves. They make their own beds and tidy their own room and mend their own clothes when possible.

A random other fact: I think she and Delclis are going to end up being friends. I think they would understand each other.

*I looked this up on the family tree I created for them, and Nyella was ten years Ayra’s senior–for comparison, this is also the age difference between Ayra and Josiah. And yeah, the nearly twenty-year age gap between Nyella and Odren is creepy but regrettably typical of the era.

#asks #fictionadventurer #The Blackberry Bushes #Ayra Callon #The Blackberry Bushes Q&A

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OC/WIP Stuff for Reference

The current series (which I’ve called The Blackberry Bushes for now) is set in a sort of an alternate 1900s Europe. But other than not taking place in the real world, it’s more pseudo-historical/political than fantastic.

The cast:

Rietta Valencourt, Queen of Faysmond (15/16 in Book 1)

Tietra Valencourt, her mother

Rachel Doncath, friend of Rietta (14 in Book 1)

Delclis Phemister, King of Corege after his stepfather’s abdication (14/15 in Book 1)

Elystan Liddick, his half-brother (12 in Book 2)

Bethira Liddick, mother of Delclis and Elystan

Talfrin Liddick, husband of Bethira, father of Elystan, stepfather of Delclis

Edmara Melbray, Elystan’s nurse

Levico Melbray, her husband, author of the Morrick Hopeley series

Amarantha Melbray, their daughter (12 in Book 2)

Josiah Callon, Prince of Lienne (13 in Book 3)

Ayra Callon, his half-sister (22 in Book 2)

Ateva Callon, his half-sister (18 in Book 2)

Mikaiah Callon, his brother (6 in Book 3)

Odren Callon, King of Lienne, father of Ayra, Ateva, Josiah, and Mikaiah

Tamett Lockridge, Josiah’s paid companion/schoolmate (13 in Book 3)

The Lockridges, Tamett’s parents and sisters

Etriat Valencourt, Rietta’s late father

Andras Phemister, Delclis’s late father

Liane Callon, Ayra and Ateva’s late mother

Nyella Callon, Josiah and Mikaiah’s late mother

Antavia Phemister, Delclis’s cousin/Andras’s niece, ex-queen of Corege

OC facts OC descriptions

Book 1: While staying with relatives in Faysmond, Rachel meets and gradually befriends Rietta. As they grow closer, the differences between them (in both character and background) create complications that get more out of hand as Rachel gets caught up in the conflicts of Rietta’s life, including dealing with a regency council that is determined to remove Tietra from the picture and control Rietta further as she nears her majority, while events unfold in Corege that unexpectedly leave fourteen-year-old Delclis king.

Not in existence yet but there are some chronologically preceding short stories:

Constellation of Six (six-year-old Josiah and family)

Seeing the Elephant (ten-year-old Delclis and Talfrin)

In a Nutshell (Elystan and Delclis)

Curative (Elystan and Talfrin - same)

Horrid Old Beautiful Ruin (Rietta and Tietra vs. the Regency Council - more or less complete)

Correspondence (Delclis writing a letter - drafty)

Short dialogue between Rietta and the head of her regency council set sometime in the middle of what will be Book 1 (scroll down to no. 18)

Book 2: About a year later. Twelve-year-old Amarantha’s story, in which she gets more caught up in the royal family of Corege (especially her nemesis Elystan) and political complications than she ever bargained for. Still very drafty and currently slowly in progress.

Chapter One

Early Morning Tea (short story set between Chapters One and Two and should actually be its chapter)

Chapter Two 

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Prequel scene from Ayra’s POV

Prequel scene from Elystan’s POV and scene from Chapter Three from Ayra’s POV

Scene from Chapter Eight from Elystan’s POV

Character sketch: Tell Me Where You Live

Short dialogue between Rietta and Delclis set around this time?

Short dialogue between Amarantha and Levico set before this book?

Book 3: About a year later. How thirteen-year-old Tamett and Josiah begin their education at Hollingham College, a Coregean boarding schools full of secrets–but perhaps nothing so surprising as some of its pupils, etc., etc. Also very not complete and experimental.

Short prequel scene from Bethira’s POV

Chapter One

Short story: Selections from the Correspondence of the Lockridge Family

Short story: Incognito

Chapter Two (potentially subject to alteration since I wrote it first)

Short dialogues involving Josiah and Elystan (separately) set later in the book

A Christmas Chapter (Tamett’s POV)

A Christmas Chapter (Josiah’s POV)

Book Four: About a year later. Delclis’s story. Otherwise, who even knows.

All the short stories can be found in their tag. Also Q&A, Worldbuilding, Art, and Aesthetics.

#The Blackberry Bushes #my writing #The Blackberry Bushes index #The Blackberry Bushes masterpost