One Of The Longest Non-descriptive Paragraphs In Prestissimo, Con Dolore Is Entirely A Serious Discussion

one of the longest non-descriptive paragraphs in prestissimo, con dolore is entirely a serious discussion of which blackwood sibling is most likely to believe in ghosts

WIP INTRO - Seventh Virtue

Genre: Adult contemporary fantasy

Status: Currently drafting / 155k words (summer 2021-present)

Synopsis: After being tormented by nightmares of his ex-boyfriend, Lonan, Harrison seeks a magical intervention from old friend, Reeve. But when she reveals she and Lonan are members of the Seventh Roost, one of seven magical families that coincide with the 7 Holy Virtues and 7 Capital Sins, she also unveils another secret: Lonan is part Virtue, the immortal bird that represents each house, and her family is holding him captive in hopes of extrapolating his power. Harrison must choose to continue life as he knows it or rekindle relationships he thought he’d left behind to save someone he once loved.

Setting: Manhattan NY, Buffalo NY

Vibe: Candles burned to the stump, indigo raven feathers, early 2000s pop, snowy woods at blue hour, dawn fog, a bloody lip, the clatter of city traffic, the singe of gasoline.

Characters:

Harrison Frost (narrator - 25) | loyal, impulsive, dependable, stubborn

Reeve Aldaine (narrator - 23) | persistent, observant, reclusive, unreliable

Lonan Clark (25) | logical, introspective, ambitious, impulsive

Darren Peterson (26) | sensible, focused, compassionate, reliable

Foster Creed (24) | empathetic, intuitive, wistful, unassuming

Excerpt (CW: gore):

Don’t blink when in an instant, none of this—the lake, the bodies—is there. When all there is in sight is a bird heaving in the centre of a concrete room. Approach him. Know him–and quickly. His black feathers so slick, they gloss indigo in the single floodlight fluorescing him. Notice he’s injured. Notice he has hands, fingers, that he grips something small, polished. Notice the blood, how it gels everything—his skin, feathers, the floor. Notice how he holds it all: the knife, the blood, his skin, the feathers, the floor.

Please ask to be added to the taglist! <3

writeblr introduction

hi everyone!

my name is em, i go by she/her pronouns and i’m nineteen years old. i’ve been writing since i was really young, and decided to finally step out of the void and make a writeblr. i mostly write ya fantasy, though i am open to na and other genres. i have one main WIP that i recently started, though i have a finished project that i need to re-arrange into something new.

MY WIP

YA Historical Fantasy set in an alternate world

The year is 1725 and the story begins in Thieves Hollow: an isle full of people with unique powers that affect their way of life. It could make life very dangerous for someone powerless….

Like the main character, whose name I’m not quite ready to reveal.

The plot involves a quest and a hunt for something taken, and a search for power for the main character

Tropes: major found family, knife to throat, rivals to lovers, possible corruption/redemption arcs & i’m sure i’ll add more as the drafts go on

and magic magic magic :))))

“how’s drafting going, kiki?”

LITTLE BY LITTLE

HI IM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS SILLY LITTLE STORY. it is:

a feel good lighthearted story about a bunch of kids in high school 👍

one half enemies to lovers romance, other half queerplatonic coming of age 🤨

dual storyline following two annoying siblings who will die for each other 🤱

set in chennai because i want to draw the city i grew up in and have a crisis over not having seen it enough 🤯

me deciding to compensate for my non existent final years of high school via fiction because who needs therapy tbh 🤔

BLURB

It’s Sameera’s last year of high school, and everything’s going her way: she’s a student council head, the captain of the girl’s Kho-Kho team, and she’s liked by almost everyone in her grade. Almost. Frigid, uptight Kayalvizhi, fellow council head, is the lone exception. Their first interaction was a nightmare, and while Sameera is told that Kayalvizhi’s just indifferent to everyone around her, she still feels personally attacked. So when the two of them are paired up as the cultural leaders for their school’s end-of-year ceremony, she’s more than thrilled to prove Kayal wrong by outshining her in everything. Too bad the latter’s determined to shut Sameera up by competing just as fiercely. What neither of them expects, though, is to find common ground, or to realise that the other person isn't who they thought they were, or, god forbid, actually start to enjoy each other’s company.

Anbu is a reserved kid, Sameera’s younger sibling by two years and the apple of every teacher’s eyes. Still just getting used to adolescence, Anbu is, to say the least, a bit disoriented. They’re exploring their confusing world, trying out new hobbies, grappling with their gender identity and pushing the limits of the life they’ve led so far. But right when they think they’ve got it all figured out, change hits them between the eyes in the name of Tamizh—their cool, mysterious neighbour who’s come back from Mumbai years after moving away. Anbu and Tamizh were childhood best friends, but that's childhood, and they know better than anyone else that adolescence upends everything with a rage. As the two’s rekindled friendship begins to deepen, Anbu is left questioning whether they see him as a friend, a crush, or something else entirely.

At least one thing’s certain for them all: this will be an unforgettable year.

CHARACTERS

SAMEERA. she/her, bi. annoying ass extroverted jock mf. everyones fave gremlin. needs constant love and validation or else she will perish

ANBU. they/them, trans. former sweetheart now saddled with a growing bloodthirst. going through too much all at once and is on the verge of emotional burnout.

KAYALVIZHI. she/her, trans, lesbian. moody ass introverted nerd mf. hates every single person to ever grace this planet and i love her so much actually

TAMIZH. he/him, aro. Resident Cool Kid™ except he feels very uncool and very unchill, ball of nerves just barely keeping it together. is unlearning a lot of toxic beliefs on gender and he’s doing it with style.

SO WHATS THE DEAL HERE

idk what happened in the last two years but i’ve gone from being a prose hoe to a webcomic bitch and it has been working out great for me. comics are such a brilliant format for someone who’s equal parts artist and writer and recently all my important all-consuming story ideas have been webcomic ideas and im so excited to get to make them!!

there are two parts to this story, two parallel arcs, one for each sibling: sameera’s enemies to lovers story with kayal and anbu’s queerplatonic coming of age thing with tamizh. i think the main inspiration behind this was a) bridgerton season two which was the first time i actually ENJOYED an enemies-to-lovers romance and which made me go hmm yanno what. i’m going to do the same but without british people. b) me realising that as much as i love romance and writing romantic relationships i also would like to write a queerplatonic relationship please and thank you [it is endlessly amusing to me that my favourite genre is romance despite me being aromantic lmao] and i esp wanted to try writing a qpr from the pov of the non-aromantic character, just for that extra spice!

in the very short time ive had these four they’ve taken over my brain completely and i love it so much!! im currently working to on getting the basic prep work done [character turnarounds, uniform designs, bg models etc etc] and i’ll post updates on progress whenever i feel like lmao

My short story, How Does an Orca Pray, is out now and free to read in the latest issue of Reservoir Road Literary Review! This story has gone through loads of edits to get to where it is now, and I can’t thank the editors enough for believing in the story and helping me with that final push. 

This is story about the complexities of faith, gender and co-dependency. It follows a trans narrator trying to understand their dysphoria and disconnect from their womanhood, trying to understand what masculinity is with the limited image of it they grew up watching, and ultimately realising that masculinity and gender can be whatever they want it to be. It also follows the unique relationship they have with the boy they’re arranged to marry, and the way they bond over their shared discontent. I love this story with all my heart <3 

content warnings: christianity/religious trauma, pregnancy, childbirth and child loss 

[image description: a screenshot of a short story opening, written in a black serif font against a white background. the text reads: 

Mama told me that the Baptism is the most important part of girlhood, because it’s when we stop being girls. I was twelve, still tucked snowdrops into my bonnet. My body shapeless, my prayers humble, I thought it was good to be a girl of God. Moonlight spilled through the curtains when my sisters woke me.

Fall leaves lily-padded the water. The girls hung rosaries around their necks and braided each other’s hair, and I imagined their braids as eels. Delilah held my hand to the lake and I kneeled in the grass with Mama as the girls kneeled in the water, pointed prayer hands to the sky and bowed until they submerged. Mama said my sisters were ready to be mothers, so they needed to be cleansed, to float like babies in utero. I was quiet, but I smiled, because one day I would be a mother. But the Baptism, as I understand now, was a prayer to the water as it stung your lungs, as it embalmed you in your womanhood. /end id]