Writing Share Tag!

Writing Share Tag!

Thanks for the tag @willtheweaver (here), @diabolical-blue (here), @tabswrites (here), and @rickie-the-storyteller (here)!

Rules: Share some writing!

I'll share a snippet from Song of Thorns for this one! Backstory scene yay!!!!!

[...] The young man walked down the vine-covered steps of the manor, his posture as immaculate as his attire, long jet-black hair styled into a polished braid.

At the bottom of the staircase, an intricate obsidian carriage stood at the wait. A small hand tugged at the hem of his robe, then five-year-old Renn standing right behind him, "Papa?"

He smiled fondly, turning around to face his son, "Yes, darling?"

Renn pouted, still holding onto the hem anxiously "I... I don't think we should go. I have a bad feeling."

Kyrie sighed, gently releasing his son's vice grip from his delicate robes and kneeling before Renn, speaking calmly "Nothing's wrong, little bat. It's just a diplomatic visit - human lands are no more dangerous than hours, my dear."

The child frowned again, hugging his stuffed wolf plushie tightly. "But Momma said Grandpa hates you! Last time we visited her, she said she feared he was planning something bad." Renn's voice was high-pitched, nervous "I think he is evil."

Kyrie's expression softened, understanding his son's concerns - which, given their strained relations with the human side of the boy's lineage, were more than valid. The young man sighed, humming in agreement.

"Well, your grandfather is a prejudiced, cruel man, but he is not stupid. He wouldn't dare do anything to an Ambassador of the Fey Courts." At least I hope so, he paused, refraining from voicing the thought, before confidently resuming "I have diplomatic immunity, whether he likes it or not, and you're my son, no harm will come to you." He gave the boy a reassuring smile, placing his hands on Renn's shoulders "Do you trust me?"

Renn nodded steadily, "Yes."

"Then you know we'll be okay. I'll ask your mother to give you those delightful sweets you like when we get there, how about that?" Kyrie offered, hoping to change the subject.

The boy perked up at the idea, beaming a bright smile. "Yes, I'd love that!" As Renn answered, Kyrie noted the tiny fangs peeking from his son's smile - they'd grown in rather later than he'd expected for a vampiric child, but were still adorable, nonetheless.

"Come on, let's not waste moonlight." Kyrie picked Renn up in his arms and smiled back at him. He patiently walked down the remainder of the staircase, until he was standing by the carriage.

With the door open, he placed Renn on the antique silken seat, wrapping him in a blanket. He sat down beside him, but before closing the door, he leaned outwards, addressing the coachman "To Vellforst, my good sir. Do be swift, I intend for us to be back home next week at the latest."

The coachman nodded politely, and Kyrie closed the door. Soon, the carriage began to move, rolling down the moonlit forest road. Renn leaned on the window, curious despite the familiar sight. In a few hours, their surroundings would be replaced by the sunny glades and villages of the human lands - it wasn't a new journey for them. However, Kyrie couldn't help but ponder, with a healthy amount of concern for their safety, if there was more to his son's fears than just childish worry - and consider that maybe, just maybe, this trip was a bad idea after all. [...]"

Tagging: @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab, @little-peril-stories

@the-ellia-west, @winterandwords, @cowboybrunch, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG

For the character dynamic asks, between supporting characters - What secrets or conflicts exist between them?

Thanks for the ask, @mk-writes-stuff! I'll go with the cast of Song of Thorns (because I'm working on a chapter for it today/tomorrow!)

So, mild spoilers for those WIPs below the cut!

Between supporting characters - What secrets or conflicts exist between them?

Between Tarrant & The Twins - While there are next to no conflicts between them (except when Tarrant loses his patience at Dimya and Cyriel's recklessness lmao) there is a secret between them. Two actually (a secret Tarrant keeps from the twins and a secret the twins are keeping from him).

(Tarrant's Secret) - Tarrant hides from his cousins the fact that he is showing signs of being infected by the blood curse plague - for three reasons: 1. he is terrified of the Corvus, the royal alchemists tasked as plague doctors, as he knows the truth that the "salvation" the royal family promises plague victims is actually being used as magical experiments, 2. he does not want his younger cousins to worry about him, 3. he fears his boss (who holds his soul contract) is going to kill him or otherwise discard him (or hurt the twins) if the man finds out he is sick. As you can imagine, this has less-than-ideal consequences for him as the story progresses.

(The Twins' Secret) - As Lantern Keeper for a group of underworld mercenaries, Cyriel is plotting to find a way to overthrow/betray their leader and save Tarrant from his contract, which is a very tricky plan that backfires immensely when the mercenary leader finds out and makes Cyriel be framed for treason, caught by the local city guard and (unsuccessfully) sentenced to death. She doesn't tell Tarrant about her plan because she knows he will freak out - until he inevitably finds out either way. On the other hand, Dimya, her twin, is pretending to still be loyal to their leader (mostly because he is trying to continue Cyriel's plan in a moe subtle fashion but also because he is very much terrified of the situation they're stuck in), and has a secret he did not tell neither Cyriel (his twin) or Tarrant - he found out their boss was smuggling live, unfortunate vampires into a fighting ring and other dreadful places sponsored by the elite, but was so terrified by this discovery (and horrified that he was working for a man that would hurt so many innocent vampires for money) he didn't tell a single soul, fearing their leader would kill him for knowing more than he should, and is very much traumatized by it.

... So, basically, family communication issues at their finest.

Cadenza Novalie & her Dad - Cadenza is a young noble fey from the vampiric lands whose relationship with her Dad has become pretty strained in the past few years due to, mostly, a very bad misunderstanding. I can't go into much detail without spoiling an important plot twist but vaguely, the gist of the situation is: her Dad had to, secretly, make a tough decision in order to protect her, knowing that she would likely hate him or at least dislike him for it (it isn't anything too awful but from outsiders point of view it does look worse than it is) but would at least stay safe. They've become pretty distant since then, but still care for one another deeply and their relationship heals later on in the story once they get over this misunderstanding.

Elveryn Haven & The Main Cast (prior to his redemption arc):

As mentioned in a few other posts, Elveryn is a monster hunter tasked by the King to hunt and kill Renn (an adult dhampir) and arrest the rest of the main cast. This makes Elveryn a strong - and oftentimes terrifying - antagonistic force throughout the earlier acts of the book, as his thirst for revenge against all monsters (even good ones) makes him hunt down his targets relentlessly. So one could safely say that yes, there is a lot of conflict between them. And even after he starts to undergo his redemption arc while being forced to work with the main cast for a common goal, there is still a lot of tension between him and them (he considers them his enemies and they still haven't really forgiven him/still fear him for trying to hunt Renn, though they do find a common ground eventually and do become friends later into his redemption route).

The main cast only later finds out that the real motive for his hatred of monsters wasn't prejudice, but actually a thirst for revenge and grief over losing his little brother in a monster attack years ago, and the fact he - deep down - blames himself for not finding him. After his redemption arc, they make amends and finally become good friends, as he realizes the wrongs of his ways.

Renn Atrius & Prince Alaric:

While they technically are friends/allies from the very beginning and are on the same side of the book's conflict, there is some tension between them. Renn has a strong hatred and distrust for human nobility - as when Renn was a child, he witnessed his beloved Dad (Kyrie, a vampire) be murdered by a monster hunter sent by the royals - and Prince Alaric is a human noble - though they have a common goal of stopping the corruption of the royal family - so the distrust/tension is always ready to reappear on the back of Renn's mind in every single interaction, though they're mostly polite to each other they do have a bit of a mix between rivalry/friendship. To make things worse, Alaric has no idea of Renn's past trauma and sometimes is painfully oblivious (not on purpose, he is just not very perceptive in that way) to any signs of it, which creates a lot of rocky patches in their communication at times.

For the character dynamic asks, between Supporting Characters: What are their backgrounds and connections with each other? How do they contribute to the main plot? And, how do their relationships change over the course of the story?

(I like side characters ^_^)

Thank you so much for the tag, @diabolical-blue! I'll go with some of the most relevant side characters from Song of Thorns for this one!

Some small spoilers below the cut!

What are their backgrounds and connections with each other? How do they contribute to the main plot? And, how do their relationships change over the course of the story?

SONG OF THORNS

There are quite a few secondary characters in this WIP, and they range from secondary protagonists sort of characters to actually just side characters! Let's start with a few of them:

Tarrant - Tarrant is a close friend of Cyriel - one of the mercenary twins who becomes Roselyn's friend - and is overall rather important to her backstory. Tarrant is the twins' half (illegitimate) cousin and is the only family they've ever really known. He taught them how to survive on their own, abilities that allowed them to thrive and eventually be taken under the wing of a local bounty hunter. Tarrant, unfortunately, had his soul sold against his will by his parents to a cruel local mobster/warlord, Gideon Alameth, in a contract in exchange for a lot of money, and currently is looking for a way to free himself from said binding contract - he wants to be able to choose his own fate and no longer be the plaything of people much more powerful than him. He contributes to the Main Plot in two ways: 1. He has his own subplot where he is trying to free himself from his contract, and 2. He serves as a voice of reason for the reckless twins and is very knowledgeable about their lawless hometown's inner workings, making him a very valuable ally for the MCs.

Elveryn - Elveryn is a human monster hunter, the deadliest of the land. As of the start of the story, he is an antagonist, tasked by the King with hunting down and killing Renn, who is a dhampir, and bringing Renn's human associates/friends (Alaric, Roselyn, Orianna, etc) back to the capital for judgment. He is an infamously ruthless and resilient young man, whose hatred of monsters is only surpassed by his thirst for revenge and his grief for his little brother, whom he believes was murdered by vampires (and blames himself for not saving him in time, though he won't admit it). He is intelligent, fierce, and relentless, wielding a crossbow of his own creation armed with explosive silver bolts. He proves to be, over time, a truly terrifying opponent to the main cast, but there may still be redemption for him down the line. He is one of the most important side characters of this story and is a part of one of the most emotional plot twists in the book.

Aelia the Bloody - The first "successful" victim of the Sanguinex, Aelia was an innocent girl whose soul was bound to that of the eldest princess of the royal family 100 years ago (Princess Cordellia was dying from the plague that had swept through the land - which is very very important to the current plot - so the Royal family funded the studies of blood magic by human mages, dubbed Sanguinex, in search for a cure for the blood curse plague. The magic serum created was said to grant people vampiric abilities and more - and Aelia was one of the test subjects used by Prince Larkin - who is currently the ruling king of the city and the princess' younger brother - to achieve the cure, and the only successful one, the only one who survived. Aelia transformed into what is currently called a Faux Vampire or a ghoul and her now immortal soul was bound to the dying princess', granting her an extended life. Aelia was locked away in the bowels of the castle, and the princess never found out the truth about how she was cursed. 100 years later, now, Aelia has grown into a young adult - vampires like her age very, very slowly - and has been driven slightly unhinged by her transformation and imprisonment, though she yearns for freedom and revenge and wants to be reunited with her family (who are all long since dead, unfortunately). Aelia is the first person to ever be artificially turned into a living, or unliving, vampire, and is tied to the origin of the Sanguinex Arts currently wielded by the Royal regime. She befriends the main cast after they discover her existence, the first friends she made in a whole century, and proves a valuable, if unstable and murderous, ally.

Lady Elenah - She is Prince Alaric's stepmother and essentially the person who truly raised him, being a true mother to him. She is a very much motherly woman, and also has a fiery, loving temper that imposes respect in those around her. She cares for Alaric own as her own. She is instrumental to the MCs discovering some of the intrigues from the royal court and being a very much no-nonsense, determined woman, she is also important in other aspects of the story and is a very active character in the plot! She is also willing to manipulate others and lie through her teeth to get what she wants and keep her son safe, but would never hurt a fly if she had the choice.

Jasen Lethia - He is more of a secondary protagonist or at least very important character. Jasen is the older brother of Roselyn Lethia and him being kidnapping is the inciting incident that sets the story in motion. Since he spends most of the earlier acts of the book, until mid-act 2/3 actually missing from the story due to him being held captive by the nobles, before he is found and becomes an active part of the plot, he can be considered a side character during those acts in the book. I can't go into too much detail about him without essentially spoiling a lot of important plot points, but know that he is important to the story and is also a great older brother to Roselyn and Portia!

Once you get this, you have to say five things you like about yourself, publicly. Then you have to send this to ten of your favorite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool~)

Thank you so much for the ask! @kaylinalexanderbooks

My current hairstyle! I know I said this in another one of these, but I'm really happy that my hair naturally grew into the style I had been intending to have for a while, it's very short but very cute!

My art! I love making art, especially drawing and digital paintings!

The way ideas flow to my mind when I am specifically inspired to write something. That is one of my favorite feelings in the world and I love when I get to be productive and have fun at the same time! It's like time flies by when you're enjoying what you write.

The way I try to be cooperative and try to make people feel better! It took a while to develop the skills I needed to not be an awkward loner anymore and finally start interacting with people and making friends, and I really enjoy it rn.

Not necessarily about me specifically, but it is something I really enjoy doing: playing with my pets! They're just the squishiest little balls of cuteness (both my cats and my dogs), and I just adore them!

OC Questionnaire!

Thanks for the tag, @eccaiia (here)!

Your questions are:

Do you have any weird or unusual habits?

Are you a night owl or a morning bird?

Who is the person you hate the most? Why

Gonna go with Renn from Song of Thorns for this one!

Are you an outdoorsy person or a fair-weather freak?

"I don't really like the sun to be honest. I'm... a dhampir, I believe that is what you humans call it, so that isn't such a surprise, haha. While I am not as sensitive to the sun as full-blooded vampiric fey are, I still don't like it - my eyes get dry and my skin hurts after a while. I absolutely rainy weather, and being indoors - especially if I can read a good book close to a fireplace. Luckily, our continent's 'gloomy' weather more than provides moments like that."

2. Do you like animals? Have any pets?

"Yes, I adore animals! All of them, and especially those people usually stigmatize as being dangerous or weird - probably because I know what it is like to be called a monster. I have a pet raven called Cornelius, but I call him Corn for short!"

3. What's one thing you keep on you at all times?

"A hidden lockpick and my thieves' equipment. You never know when it'll come in handy. I also keep my father's blood magic charm, though I never really had to use it and mostly keep it for sentimental reasons rather than anything else."

Tagging: @smol-feralgremlin, @kaylinalexanderbooks @littleladymab @cabbojage @lassiesandiego @little-peril-stories @oh-no-another-idea @thepeculiarbird @rickie-the-storyteller @crowandmoonwriting @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @gummybugg @forthesanityofstorytellers @doublegoblin @aalinaaaaaa @starlit-hopes-and-dreams @elshells @illarian-rambling @clairelsonao3 @conkers-thecosy @anyablackwood @diabolical-blue @cowboybrunch and OPEN TAG

Just saw your WIP's. Just wanted to say, they all sound brilliant and I want trilogies for all of them please and thank you.

Thank you so much @fweenix! It always means a lot to me to hear that someone likes my WIPs! I'm glad you're invested in them!

Currently, I am working on outlining/plotting and starting the first drafts of those WIPs!