700 words today and poor Thuan has failed to cheer himself up with tea. You know it's the apocalypse next (figuratively obv)
#murderbirds #wip
"Sen and Bach Lien were both, in their different ways, professionals at killing. Thuan was emphatically not. In any fight he'd have the lower hand."
Thuan, realistic about his abilities, lol.
#amwriting #murderbirds #dragonsAndBlades #book3
Asmodeus released Thuan, took one, two step backwards. In his eyes was nothing but pity--uncharacteristic and unwelcomed.
#wip #murderbirds
"Is that all?" Auntie Nga stared, for a while, at Asmodeus--who, unfortunately for her, had a habit of staring down at scary creatures. He simply stared back.
#wip #scaryAuntiesTeam #murderbirds
Auntie Nga put down a plate of dumplings on the table, with an audible noise. Thuan had to admire the way she did it, like slamming down a knife. Food as weaponry. Of course. She was an auntie.
#wip #dumplings #murderBirds #dragonsAndBlades
"We are not--" Long Tam started, but Nghien Hai stopped him. Good. There were at least two people in there who didn't want a fight. Sadly, Thuan's husband wasn't among them.
#wip #amwriting #murderbirds
"You look like you're brooding pointlessly," Asmodeus said, coming up behind him.
"It's not pointless," Thuan snapped.
A raised eyebrow. "You've been doing a lot of it and I can't think much of it is useful for your mental state. Come over here. There is noodle soup."
#wip #murderbirds #book3
"It meant there was a chance Diem Chau, too, was still alive. Hope was a thing of teeth, painfully squeezing Thuan's ribs and his heart."
#amwriting #murderbirds #murderbirdsTea
Thuan sighed, and settled down to look for the bandages. It was going to be another one of these long nights. "She did try to attack me." He felt a bit hurt more care was being expanded on the woman than on him.
"Mmmm. You didn’t look in much need of help."
#wip #murderbirds
"Ah, of course. Asmodeus could do court intrigues. He could do backstabbing. With some effort he might even manage subtlety. But friendly conversation with allies... that was definitely outside his comfort zone"
#amwriting #wip #murderbirds
"How did we get to that point?" Thuan asked.
"Apathy. Cowardice. Fear." Asmodeus stretched each finger as though it was a knife. "The mistaken belief that the system worked, whereas things worked out despite the system. Shall I continue?"
Thuan's breath burnt in his throat. "No." #wip #murderbirds
"I'll take over," Thuan said.
Auntie Nga gave him a look that doubtless made the dead quail in their graves. "You haven't slept enough."
Thuan had had plenty of practise with terrifying aunties, some of them being his own flesh and blood. "It's my tea shop," he said.
#murderbirds #wip
Auntie Nga glared at Asmodeus with the particular self-confidence of the Viet matriarch: utterly certain that the world would move around her rather than the other way around.
#wip
#murderbirds
Update: the war on the monastery is starting out well. Things are on fire. Not necessarily the things expected. #murderbirds
This is from book 3 of the murderbirds, but in the meantime you can get the other two!!!
www.aliettedebodard.com/bibliography...
#murderbirds #murderAndDiplomacy #ghosts
Thuan looked at Asmodeus, who looked back at him with what he doubtless meant to be a totally innocent look but just made him look extremely sinister.
#wip #murderbirds
"Many people who dealt with Thuan forgot that the dragon shape wasn't just an affectation: it was the shape Thuan had been born into. In truth, being human was what took an effort."
#amwriting #wip #murderbirds
Thuan said, "She's messing with me."
"Of course," Asmodeus said. "You're such a prude outside of the bedroom. It's tempting to mess with you, I have to say. But somewhat unkind, especially in the present circumstances."
"Hmmm," Thuan said. "Please don't touch me right now."
#wip #murderbirds
"Keep moving." Asmodeus half-pulled, half-coaxed Thuan after him. And, in a carefully pitched monotone in Thuan's ears, "He will stab you. He's scared, and right now he wants everything under control. Don't let your death be the one thing of yours he feels he can control."
#amwriting #murderbirds
Two pigeons on an old concrete slab patio. One is close to the camera eating seeds out if a small plastic trowel, the other stands a few feet away, looking in with suspicion.
Mrs Hat still much braver than Mr Hat, although the sound of my deckchair squeaking made her jump, a little bounce, then back to seeds. 🥰
Meanwhile the robins are fighting in the undergrowth 🙄 #MurderBirds 🪶
Saw this Lego set and thought of Thuan and Asmodeus www.lego.com/en-gb/produc...
#MurderHusbands #MurderBirds @aliettedb.bsky.social
Thuan lifted the other papers cautiously, in case they bit. Metaphorically. But it was just bills--these would go to Asmodeus, who enjoyed talking in a threatening manner to their suppliers--and a sealed letter for him.
#runningATeashop #murderbirds #wip
T-shirt with a picture of a cassowary and the text "Leave the Murderbirds in Straya"
www.cafepress.com/shop/mythopo... if you know someone who thinks raising cassowarys sounds like a fun idea. #murderbirds @neolithicsheep.bsky.social @tkingfisher.bsky.social
I'd forgotten how much I loved Asmodeus. #murderbirds