#reading lessons

[the-purple-dragon]

The Marauders fandom has supplanted canon with fanon and expects everyone else to do the same.

Not happening.

[vllygyal]

Her fingers gently traced the circles on his forehead as he read aloud, his voice soft and deliberate. He would pause occasionally, his brow furrowing in concentration as he carefully navigated through a difficult word. She would glance up at the text, giving him a quiet moment to figure it out, then return to her gentle tracing as his frown smoothed away.

“Your voice was made for this,” Ione whispered, her words barely above a breath, the warmth of her tone wrapping around them like a soft blanket. She relaxed further into the pillows beneath them, her gaze fixed on his face, fingers never straying from their gentle rhythm. He glanced at her, his ears warm then quickly turned his attention back to the book. Fenris stumbled over the words again, his growing frustration creasing his brow and interrupting her tender touches.

“You’re distracting,” he muttered, a hint of a smile playing on his lips despite the gruffness in his voice. “You weren’t made for teaching.” Ione’s laugh was a soft melody, her chest rising and falling under him as the sound filled the space around them. She shifted, gently cradling his head in her lap, her curls falling like a curtain around them, the ends tickling his nose.

“Well, I can’t argue with you there,” she teased, her voice playful yet full of affection. “But you’re a natural, so there isn’t much for me to do.” The book rested forgotten on his chest, his hands instinctively reaching up to tuck the loose curls of hair away from her face. Fenris traced the lines of her tattoo with his thumb, his gaze locked onto the dark depths of her eyes, losing himself in them.

She smiled, her eyes soft and full of something that he couldn’t quite name but deeply understood. Their breaths mingled as they leaned into each other, Ione placing a tender kiss on his forehead. Fenris closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of her hair, his heart tightening with an unspoken yearning that settled comfortably between them.

[keldae]

Fictober 2025: Day Three

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3 Warnings: none! Tags: Gale/Tav (pre-relationship), illiteracy, fluff

---

This was humiliating and painful and a severe blow to Devi’s ego. Any adult well into their twenties should have been able to read on their own just fine, thank you very much – and yet Devi lacked that skill. And gods, how she hated it.

It was still a mortifying ordeal that the man she fancied had to teach her how to read. Devi suspected that everyone in the camp knew she was illiterate; everyone was just too polite to say anything. Gale had been the one to step up and offer to teach her how to read, and at the time Devi had accepted the offer, but now, as she sat at his side, following his finger moving underneath some words on a page, she had regrets. This is stupid.

“The… cat… ch-ch-ch… fuck, I don’t know that word,” she grumbled as she tried to follow Gale’s finger.

“Sound it out,” Gale responded, surprisingly patient – more so than Devi would have been in his boots. “Go as slowly as you need to.”

Devi scowled down at the page. “Ch-chaaaaaassssssed? Chased?”

“Well done!” Gale sounded so proud. “I knew you could do it.”

“Most kids could,” Devi muttered. “What do you get out of this anyway, Mister Former Archmage? You gotta have a reason for helping some poor, stupid thief learn how to read.”

“I don’t need a reason,” Gale responded as he poked her in the ribs. “And if you refer to your good self with another derogatory word like ‘stupid’ again, I will throw you in the river.”

Devi looked at the wizard askance, one brow raised. 

Gale sighed and rolled his eyes. “All right, I’ll ask Lae’zel to throw you in the river on my behalf. But I hardly think I’ll need to do much persuading to get her to do it. And if she doesn’t agree, I’m sure Shadowheart–”

“Okay, fine,” Devi interrupted Gale. “I’ll shut up with the bad words about myself. But you still gotta have a reason for wanting to help me so badly.”

That got a shrug from the wizard. “Everyone deserves to be able to read,” he said. “And it’s hardly your fault that you weren’t afforded the chance to go to school as a child. Reading is a valuable skill, and a pleasure – and I want you to be able to use it and enjoy it.” He winked and gently nudged Devi again. “Besides, I enjoy a challenge, and you present a complexity that has my mind thoroughly intrigued. Teaching an adult may be harder, but it’s far from impossible.”

“I’m glad one of us is hopeful,” Devi muttered as she looked down at the page again.

“I’ll be hopeful enough for both of us,” Gale retorted. “And you already know your letters – that’s a very good start. Your brother did a good job teaching you that as a child. Every skill needs a strong foundation, and knowing your letters is an essential step to being a fluent, proficient reader.”

“I guess,” Devi mumbled. She scowled down at the page in front of her that Gale had written a few simple (by his standards) words. “You sure this isn’t just a hopeless cause and you’re a glutton for punishment?”

“I’m very certain, my dear,” Gale responded. “If I thought you were a hopeless cause, I wouldn’t have offered in the first place.” He gently tapped the page on Devi’s lap. “Go on. ‘The cat chased…’”

Wrinkling her nose, Devi looked back at the words. “The cat ch-chased the… the rat, down the… path?”

“Very good,” Gale murmured, a proud smile on his face when Devi looked back up at him. “You’ll be a voracious reader in no time.”

“Not if you keep using words I don’t know like ‘voracious’...”

[loxosceleslolo]

Call It Magic

my Elden Ring brainrot is so severe that I have yet another AU longfic in the works. This one involves both the Heart Stolen "ending" and the question: "what if Ansbach met us at the First Step instead of Varre?" (this was crossposted to AO3 if you prefer to read there)

“Can you teach me how to do that, Sir Ansbach?” 

Sir Ansbach looked up from the book in his hand, the crease between his snowy brows deepening slightly like a furrow in freshly fallen snow. His eyes, sharp as a winter morning, met Folly’s eager gaze.

Folly pointed to the book, her finger trembling slightly with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. “That. Readin’. Writin’, too, if you could. Please.” Her words tumbled out in a rush, like water over stones.

“You never learned?” 

“Can’t say that book learning was a real priority out there in the Badlands. Not with the sellswords I worked for, neither.” Folly tossed her black hair, obsidian waves catching the light, and squared her shoulders, almost daring Ansbach to say something about her history.

“What makes you interested in reading, if I may ask?” Ansbach's tone was gentle, coaxing.

“It’s magic. It’s magic I can learn, even.”

“How so?” Ansbach leaned forward slightly.

Folly leaned over Ansbach’s shoulder, close enough that the warmth of her breath ghosted across his cheek. She traced a letter with her fingertip, the touch reverent. The scent of ink and vellum clung to him, an intoxicating mixture that made her heart beat a little faster, like a caged bird. “You draw these symbols…”

She traced another word, her finger dancing across the page. “…and you can convey your thoughts across any distance. Across years, or centuries even, if the book holds up. It’s as close to real magic as anything, I reckon.” Her voice was hushed, filled with awe at the power contained in those simple marks.

Ansbach smiled, the expression transforming his stern features. Bright, genuine smiles from him were a rare and precious thing, like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. “Was that the only reason?” His eyes twinkled with knowing amusement.

Folly’s cheeks burned, a rosy hue spreading across her face like wildfire. Of course it wasn’t. She’d take any excuse to be close to the older man, to bask in his presence like a sunflower turning towards the Erdtree. Not that she would admit it. 

“If I’m going to be the Elden Ring’s steward until our Divinity and Luminary awaken, I should know how to read and write, shouldn’t I? I’d much rather do it myself than trust a scribe.” The words came out in a rush, a thin veil over her true motivations.

“Fair enough.” Ansbach gently closed the book, the soft thud resonating in the quiet air. He set it on his bedroll with careful reverence, then picked up a stick, its rough texture a stark contrast to the smooth pages of the book. “We’ll begin with learning the letters.”

Folly picked up a stick herself, mimicking Ansbach’s posture. She traced the marks he made, her brow furrowed in concentration. “Like this?”

He laughed, full and hearty, the sound warming Folly from the inside out. “You’re as quick a study with that stick as you are with a blade, dear Folly!”

Dear Folly.

Those two words set Folly’s skin ablaze, as if she’d been touched by the sun itself. They left her feeling as if an entire swarm of butterflies had taken up residence in her stomach, their wings beating in time with her racing heart.

Words were magic, indeed. And in that moment with the warmth of Ansbach’s praise enveloping her, Folly felt as if she had discovered the most powerful spell of all.

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Reading Lessons: The Books We Read at School, the Conversations They Spark and Why They Matter

By Carol Atherton.

[lethendralis-paints]

Reading Lessons

I couldn't sleep, so this happened :D

It looks like you're getting the hang of it, m'boy!

Text includes bits of in-game lore, a tidbit from Varric's 'Hard in Hardtown' and, lastly, a part of a poem by Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

[emmithar-blog]

Home for Now

Summary: He'd done well enough this far, gotten by on his own without having to know. He could shoot straight, and ride fast, and beat up any fool that dared to stand in his way. He didn't need to know how to read, didn't need to know how to write. What use was it to him if he knew how to scratch his name down on something, and it wasn't like he needed to read the paper. He could get any information well enough on the streets with a sharp tone and a well placed blow. That was all he needed. He didn't need to know any of that other stuff.

But god he wanted to.

Tags: Emotional hurt/comfort, self-doubt, Angst

[kaaras-adaar-a]

Reading Lessons || closed

@aylenlavellan || as discussed 

It was obvious from the first time that the Inquisitor had seen Aylen trying to write and read that she struggled with it. He’d offered to teach her how so that she could get in contact better with outside sources. She also did plenty of scouting missions, and it would do her well if she could write the reports herself versus having to get someone else to do it for her. 

He’d offered to do it somewhere private, but not in his chambers, because that might be too personal, and they were only just starting to get to know one another on a more personal level. They’d shared a few kisses and touches, but that’s as far as their intimacy had gone yet, and he didn’t want to push her too much when it came to learning.

He understood that reading and writing could be very difficult. He’d been exceptionally lucky in the fact that his mother had been a Tamassran who had taught language to the children of the Qun, so she we well versed in the common tongue--which was why he could read and write at advanced levels. The common tongue also had many tricky bits to learn, and some words were the same but had different meanings, so there was always that to consider as well.

Kaaras was generally a very calm teacher, though, and he enjoyed letting others learn and sharing his gifts with them. In the end, he had tamassran blood within him, which made him both a good teacher, but could also bring out his very stubborn and bossy side. 

With a few pieces of parchment in his hand and a piece of graphite to write with, he set everything up and waited for Aylen to arrive in the gardens at one of the tables. No one was here but some Chantry sisters, and being outside meant it would be a little more relaxing for them. He didn’t want her feeling trapped in a room somewhere and getting all frustrated. He’d start off very easy and basic for her.