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Defeared

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Defeared

Story three of the D3 trilogy

Dascha Paylor
Mar 19, 2023
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Defeared

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Created on Midjourney

Stop!

If you haven’t read parts one and two of the D3 trilogy, follow the links below to do so prior to reading this story. Trust me, it will be worth it!

Dismayed

Eclectic Ink
Dismayed
Dismayed was one word for what Sofiy experienced when her world began to crumble around her. Others might be shaken, shocked, and appalled. But the word that best fit, the one she had learned only last week, was horrified. Yup. Horrified just about summed it up…
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7 months ago · 10 likes · 14 comments · Dascha Paylor

Defeated

Eclectic Ink
Defeated
Stop! If you haven’t read part one of the D3 trilogy, follow the link below to read it first. DismayedEclectic Ink is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Defeated Sofiy had thought the worst had happened when she lost both of her parents on the same night…
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7 months ago · 6 likes · 6 comments · Dascha Paylor

Defeared

Sofiy stood on the stage, delivering her TED Talk. At nineteen, she had seen and lived through more than most people do in a lifetime. One only had to peel back a layer of skin to see the deep wounds she bore. She had almost given up five years ago, ready to relinquish her life to the Russian soldiers crushing her city and its people beneath the tracks of their tanks.

But as she had sat in the rubble of her home, weeping over the too many losses she had already endured, her best friend, Natalka, who had just lost her family in the shelling, had found her. Together, they made a pact. They would survive and they would tell the world what was happening in Ukraine.

Defeared. That was the title of her TED Talk. Sofiy and Natalka had made the word up together. They had refused to surrender to fear. They had defeared their souls and stood up to the evil that had come to their country. They had survived and now thrived.

Sofiy was better with words than Natalka, who worked more behind the scenes in the charity they had created together to help refugees from war-torn countries, including their own.

Ukraine had survived Putin’s War, and continued to rebuild, just as Sofiy and Natalka had rebuilt their lives. There were still refugees who feared another invasion and refused to return. There were countless refugees in need of aid from other countries.

Sofiy and her friend had landed in Canada, so that’s where their charity was based. But that didn’t matter. They could work from anywhere, and often returned home to Ukraine to do what they could to help there as well.

Today’s TED Talk was designed to encourage others to do their part to be a positive force in the world. If Sofiy and Natalka could do it, anyone could. Yes, defeared was Sofiy’s word today, but it could have easily been empowered.


Defeared is a word I inadvertently made up. I was creating images from one-word emotion prompts and rather than typing defeated, I typed defeared. I loved the images that came up, especially the one I used for this story.

I really loved the concept of being defeared. From this, came Sofiy’s fascination with words and their meanings and the thread of this that runs through the three stories.

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For those of you who have hung in with this trilogy—it was pretty dark for a while—and those who have continued to read to this final section today, thank you. You’re my biggest supporters. What I write means something to you. You like reading both the stories I create and the stories behind the stories.

Please consider taking out a paid subscription if doing so would not be a hardship for you. I know there are so many places for all of our dollars to go. There’s also a question of what holds value for us.

A month’s subscription to Eclectic Ink costs $5. That’s less than the cost of a Grande Starbucks Blonde Hazelnut Latte, my daughter-in-law’s favorite order. Most people don’t think twice about shelling out the money for the drink, but supporting a working artist somehow seems like too big a stretch.

Taking out a yearly subscription cuts the cost even more. Instead of $5/month (which adds up to $60/year), a yearly subscription costs $50. That comes to just a little over $4 a month.

Know, as always, I appreciate you whether or not you take out a paid subscription, continue with a free one, or remain an occasional reader who pops in from Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram links. I will never think less of any of my readers. Thank you for being here!

Your paid subscription helps keep the lights on so I can continue writing stories for you to enjoy.

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Defeared

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Connie Earhart
Mar 20Liked by Dascha Paylor

Defear Me! What a wonderful trilogy, yes to creating new Worlds/Words. 🤸🏻‍♀️

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Laura
Mar 19Liked by Dascha Paylor

Defeared. Good word. And from our sorrow and loss can be born strength and hope 💕

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