small_grasshopper_celestial



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  1. Public Bookmark 66

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    “I think I am a mistake,” Nicolò confesses.

    “I thought God didn’t make mistakes.”

    “You tell me.”

    Andromache nudges his shoulder. “I do not think you are a mistake.”

    “If there is to be a man to walk the world for thousands of suns, let it be a man like Yusuf,” Nicolò says. “A man who understands the weight of the sword, who trades in kindness, loyalty and honor. A man who can find beauty in a simple sunrise.”

    “And what of a man like you?” Andromache asks.

    “There are already too many men like me in this world,” Nicolò answers. “And we can cause more than enough damage within a mortal lifespan.”

    Andromache is silent next to him. Somehow, Nicolò knows she understands. For as old as she is, she has likely seen far too many men like him already.

    They stand in silence for a few minutes before she asks, “Do you love him?”

    Nicolò ponders for a moment. “I do not think love is enough.”


    Nicolò di Genova has lived a long life. He has much to show for it, but somehow still nothing at all.

    This is Nicky's companion piece to 'Beautiful Ghosts'. 'Beautiful Ghosts' should be read first (but likely not imperative).

    Series
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    37,638
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    1/1
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    09 Mar 2026

  2. Public Bookmark 7

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    “Why did you start drawing?” Nicky asks, as if the question had cost him some earlier shyness, and he has just decided he would rather pay than continue to owe.

    “Because my hands were restless,” Joe says, not bothering to be clever. “Because I needed to tell the world it could not decide the shapes of things without me. Because it was the only way I knew to talk back to beauty and not be punished.”

    Nicky exhales a small, rueful breath. “I started with a church,” he says. “Not because I believed. Because I liked the quiet. The way the light was something you could measure and also not measure.”

    “You still like the quiet.”

    “Yes,” Nicky says. “Though I am learning to like certain kinds of noise.”

    Language:
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    11,382
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    26 Jan 2026

  3. Public Bookmark 24

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    The first time she met Andromache in the flesh, Quỳnh slit her throat. Andromache died with a smile on her lips.

    So you see, this has always been their story.

    Language:
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    26 Feb 2026

  4. Public Bookmark 31

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    “We did kill each other a lot. That I know. I know because it’s a story we’ve told so many times.” He shrugs. “But I don't really remember anything before loving him.”

    Nile pokes at the fire. “And you’ve loved him this whole time? Him alone?”

    Language:
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    25 Feb 2026

  5. Public Bookmark *

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    “Oh spirits,” Azula says, grinning widely. The Water Tribe is full of idiots. “You don’t want to marry Zuko, he’s useless. Also, he’s already engaged.”

    “He is?” Yue blinks at her.

    “Of course he is, he’s going to be the Fire Lord, he’s been engaged since he was twelve,” Azula says. A useless Fire Lord who she’s going to have to prop up, if not outright usurp, but Fire Lord all the same.

    The things she does for this family, she swears.

    Language:
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    Words:
    38,991
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    09 Dec 2025