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

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

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.

OC Bag Game!

Thanks for the tag, @kaylinalexanderbooks (here)!

Rules: Name five things your OC would have in a backpack or any bag at school.

I'll go with some of the cast from Supernova Initiative and Enchanted Illusions.

(Since my characters live in a either fantasy or sci-fi world and are not school-aged, Imma just go with the contents of their regular bags to make this easier)

(Supernova Initiative)

Jack Tithus

Mint bubblegum

Ammo and chargers for his guns

A miniature first aid pack/painkillers

A holo-picture of him and Cassie

Sweet and crunchy energy bars

A to-go bottle of chocolate milk

Cassie Tithus

Extra parts for her projects and robots

Scrunchies for her hair + hair dye packets

A pocket knife/box cutter

An old, skrunkly plushie

An extra tablet

Inflatable neck pillow

Aleks Keldora

The "face-changer" (his high tech mask that can turn him into anyone's lookalike)

Dozens of stolen IDs, documents and government papers

A handmade drawing of his mothers

Tiny explosives and big explosives

A bottle of nail polish

Vesper Foxx

Self-repair kit for her cyborg implants

A bunch of extra parts in case she needs to replace something

The bracelet her little sister gave her for her birthday

Knives. So many knives. And guns. Don't forget the guns, and poison gas grenades.

A list of the names of each member of the mercenary crew she is hunting down

Artemis Zreeth

Leather gloves and old goggles

Cheesy snacks

His father's old scarf

Star-dust cigarettes

Eyeliner

A foldable speeder bike that becomes a tiny disk when deactivated

Pax Stellaryn

Void Program study material

Crumpled notes, messy journals and glitter pens

His diary

A picture of his cat riding a floating skateboard (don't ask lol)

Sour candy, and lollipops

Ethean Mirannir

Extra uniform

Pilot gear and an emergency kit for his spaceship

A holo-picture of his whole family and him during his graduation day seven year ago

Neon markers and a drawing sketchbook

Fidget toy for anxiety relief

(Enchanted Illusions)

Augustus Grimmure

Bloodstained handkerchief

A small dagger

Necromancy tome of spells and his journal

Recipe for instant magical coffee

An engagement ring he has yet to give Harriet

A bag of cookies from his grandma

Harriet Sharppe

Dainty silk gloves

Extra painkillers in case her cousin forgets

Pocket knife

The latest book she is reading

Lip balm

Chocolate bar

Agatha Greenwoods

Her overflowing journal, containing clues of the case she's trying to solve

A crumpled but well loved picture of her father

Sleep medicine

Switchblade

An extra change of clothes

Cailean Telkerly

His late brother's broken pocketwatch

Worn out brass knuckles and a pocket pistol

Multiple kinds of currency, all stolen

A bottle of cologne

Crumpled candy papers

Falsified documents for any given occasion

Sam Delaways

Snacks and extra food

A dusty old jacket

Very little spare change/copper coins, on good days

A bunch of useless knickknacks he proudly collects

His brothers' plushies when they don't want to carry them

Evangeline Daemitya

Her drawing sketchbook and a travel case for her pens and pencils

A locket with a picture of her and her father

Her intricate coinpurse

An enchanted rapier that becomes a tiny ring when not being used

Poison bottles and a botany guide

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

Five Lines Tag!

Thanks for the tag, @anoelleart (here)!

Rules: find five lines based on the prompts you're given, then change ONE of the prompts at the end!

I'm gonna go with Song of Thorns, Supernova Initiative, and Enchanted Illusions for this one!!!

a line about a building (Song of Thorns)

[...] Flickering orange lamplight, a stark contrast to the grey of the street, pooled from the imposing building up ahead. Owned by one Dame Abraxas, the foundry was a rather conceited establishment where Roselyn had recently acquired a rather poorly paid job as a maid and delivery girl. [...]

2. a sad line (Supernova Initiative)

[...] "Stay away from her." His words shook, and blood dripped from his wounded lip. Jack tried to ignore how his body trembled and his strength threatened to leave him. "Your deal... Your deal is with me, you asshole. So I don't fucking care if you and the twisted psychopaths you call scientists break me or do whatever the fuck you want. But this deal only stands if you freaks stay the hell away from my sister." Jack didn't intend to sob that last line, but he couldn't stop it - and deep down, he feared that was what the Director wanted. [...]

3. a line about a drink (Enchanted Illusions)

Augustus took a long sip from the cup of hot chocolate, leaning his head on the train's window and watching the snow-draped abyss that rolled down below the tracks. Laid across the long wagon's velvety seat, Harriet had long since dozed off to sleep, using his lap as a pillow. The necromancer found himself smiling fondly at his love, before a pang of fear for what tomorrow might hold disturbed this perfect moment in time.

4. a line that is shouted (Song of Thorns)

"What were you thinking?!" Tarrant all but yelled, before noticing the suspicious glances that earned them. He took a deep breath, dragging Cyriel over to somewhere more quiet. "...Do you have any idea how dangerous that stupid plan was? Gideon's men are still looking for you, and I can't keep you safe around here anymore, he's getting... dangerous. More violent. He won't listen to me."

5. a funny line (Supernova Initiative)

"So, don't get mad but -" Pax starts, stumbling over his words with a nervous chuckle, trying to come up with a good enough excuse. In front of him, his brother seems unimpressed.

"Pax, I don't know if you know this - but the words 'don't be mad' instantly make my blood boil preventively. What did you do this time?"

"... We kinda exploded a Junction building because people were hunting us and I got nervous and let a grenade fall."

Ethean sighs. "Of course."

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

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @willtheweaver

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

I've been writing... Sporadically with the process of editing. Nothing has seemed to stick for making me stay on task. Except for one thing. The pomodoro method calls for one to use a kitchen timer or something similar as a time tracker, and that's been magical to have a device that ticks down the time like my new red fox buddy I picked out. His name is Stormy (time, tempus, tempest, Stormy; it makes sense to me anyway).

But I have something on the horizon sure to kickstart my creativity. The second heartbeat of this blog, my dear friend @mysticstarlightduck , has gotten me into my very first dungeons and dragons game with her. I've wanted to play for years and now I can. The math and statistics are going to be a lot for me to track and I hope I'm up for it, but my beloved halfling warlock I've had waiting for over a decade has a chance to spread her... Uh, toes? She doesn't have wings, so...

That's my update for you fine folks. I'll be trying to report less inconsistently with progress as I make more of it.