Writing Excerpt - Tumblr Posts

random excerpts - #1

It occurred to me that if getting exposure for my book is my goal, then posting some excerpts from it might be beneficial. With that said, here is a bit of the very first chapter.

Chapter One

Taka screamed in terror, and shot up in his bed. His heart drummed in his chest at a rapid pace for what felt like an eternity before it finally settled down. Beads of sweat formed upon his forehead as his eyes flitted around the dim room. Everything was as he’d left it—door closed, his things atop a medium-sized, rectangular storage chest in the corner...

“Hah..”

Breathing a sigh of relief, he reluctantly slid out of bed, recoiling slightly at the cold touch of the floor on the bottoms of his feet. It was moments like these that made him wish he knew even a few spells. The entire room seemed to creak loudly as it lurched to one side, the ship rocked by the violent waves. Steadying himself, he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

" ’Smooth ride’, huh?”

When the ship finally leveled out and Taka felt he could move about safely again, he did so, heading over to the lockbox in the corner and kneeling down by it. He pulled his comfortably worn dark leather boots off the box and onto the floor, then slid them on one by one. Then, he attached his pouches to his belt, and stretched the remaining dredges of sleep from his body.

Afterward, he headed over to the small mirror that sat atop a dresser alongside the leftmost wall.

In the mirror now, was himself. In this lightless room, he could just make out his defining features; a sharp nose, and roughly chin-length deep brown hair complimented by his hazel eyes and pale skin.

It cornered his face which gave him an almost wolf-like, mischievous appearance.

“My hair's a mess…”

Grumbling, he spent a few minutes combing through it with his fingers and wishing he’d brought a comb.

When his hair had been made somewhat acceptable, he adjusted his scarf, then nodded.

“That seems good enough. Okay… Already dressed, so…”

He had on a black long-sleeved top and pants which both had dark-brown accents. His top had no left sleeve, and the remaining sleeve was a slightly lighter shade of brown than his hair was. Making his final adjustments, Taka turned from the mirror, and returned to the lockbox.

“Almost forgot.”

He muttered, bending down to grab his short bow and quiver from atop it. Slinging the bow around his shoulder and tying the quiver to his waist just above his pouches, he gave a final nod.

“Right.”

One last time, Taka scanned the dimly lit room. He didn’t want to leave anything behind. When he was content, secure in the fact that he had indeed not forgotten anything, he left the room behind and found himself in the bottom halls of the ship. Yet, this was not his destination, so he headed quietly through the bottom levels, guided under the gentle, orange light of the lanterns affixed to the walls, until he reached a door. Beyond this door was the ship’s kitchen. At the moment, there was no designated ship chef, as the vessel captain, Dane, tended to come down here himself to make meals. But, all of their food was stored in this room, and Taka had been given permission to eat whatever, whenever he liked. He entered, quickly grabbed an apple, then quietly left. Taking a deep breath to calm his rising nerves, he traversed through the halls as slowly as he could, until he finally came to a wooden staircase. Heading up it, wincing with every creak, he found himself on the upper deck. The sky was still dark, but it felt as if he could see better. There was a slight chill in the air, tinged with the scent of the sea. Taka breathed a sigh of relief, which turned into a massive yawn. As far as he knew, he hadn’t woken anyone up.

“Sun should be rising soon,” He murmured to himself, leaning against the taffrail and looking out across the vast blue ocean as he took a bite of the apple he’d procured. He’d always liked apples, and fruit in general.

‘One of nature’s best things,’ if he said so himself.

Idly, he tossed the apple into the air, and then felt himself jolted to the side – “Aah!” -- as the ship rocked against a massive wave that sent seafoam and seawater spraying everywhere. The wave crashed and broke, finally rescinding back into the sea, its anger having passed.

 “Great.”

Taka sighed. He’d lost the apple.

Normally, he would have just gone and grabbed another one, but he didn’t want to risk waking anyone up, nor did he want to overstep, and take too much.

'Then Dane might make me give him some of the money he gave me back, and I don’t really want that to happen.’

Looking out across the great blue, its color becoming more vivid as the sun slowly rose, Taka turned to his thoughts for a while. He was no stranger to sea travel and the whims of the sea and of ships, thanks to Dane who’d taken him on countless trips over the years. Yet, he still felt a tinge of annoyance.

“It’ll likely be a gentle ride.” Those words rolled over in his head several times.

‘Yeah, right. ‘Gentle’, huh?’

Suddenly, another thought struck Taka, and distracted him.

“Hmm,” He hummed.

“How long have we been at sea?”

He had no earthly idea. Weeks? Definitely less than a month. Perhaps this one had taken longer since Dane had opted to visit all the major ports that ran along the Advent Route this time around. Normally, he wouldn’t have been allowed to do that, but due to several unforeseen issues, the other ships running the Advent Route this time had been severely delayed. So, Dane was being allowed to pick up their slack. Despite being an independent contractor who ran his own business, even Dane had people he answered to. He couldn’t just do whatever he wanted.

Taka could guess what the problem had been, anyway. As Summer reached its end, the sea itself would, independent to the temperature of the world around it, begin to get colder and colder, until it became so cold that everything living in it would enter a state of hibernation to protect themselves. It would reach it’s “peak” when Winter rolled around, and then sea-travel would be at its annual safest. Traveling by sea during the Advent month and onward was safe, but you could still definitely run into trouble if you were unlucky. Summer was ending and ushering in Winter, slowly but surely, but the rain had not yet turned to snow, and the monsters living in the sea had not yet begun their long sleep.

Advent Month. Advent Sea Route. Things established to make the “advent of new adventurers” as easy, organized, and accessible as possible. The month was a sort of holiday organized by the Kommodian Government, the only difference between it and a “normal” holiday was that participation was not an option. Whether you liked it or not, swarms of adventurers would sign up at guilds. Like it or not, Leln would be very busy. And like it or not, you’d have a lot of work if you agreed to run the Advent Route, as a captain. Of course, lots of work meant lots of rest after, but come to think of it, Taka had never seen Dane take so much as a day off. Maybe a half day. He was quite the workaholic, now that he thought about it. The Advent Route itself was a route stemming from every major Kommodian port, trailing down the neighboring oceans, along a carefully curated path the result of years of research and trial and error. Depending on the port, you’d typically be taken to either the leftmost meeting point, which was rather mountainous and hilly, or the rightmost one, alongside the Leln coast.

‘Adventurers, huh..’ Taka had just turned fifteen himself, not too long ago. That was the age the Kommodian government formally recognized an individual as an adult—and the earliest age the Guild would accept you as one of their own. Over the course of the last month, they’d picked up countless adventurers and merchants alike, all seeking passage to the bustling town of Leln. A full circle around the Kommodian continent should have, by rights, taken them months to complete, but this ship – which the captain had modified himself – was special. Voyages that should have taken months could take weeks, ones that should take years only months. With this ship, Dane had made quite a sizable amount of coin, being able to complete more than double the amount of work a normal captain would normally within the timeframe of a year. Due to Dane’s intense work ethic, he quickly found himself one of the most sought-after ship captains in the world. Indeed, there were many who’d in this world who would pay lavish amounts of gold just to have him captain their ship, and some would pay even more for him to simply be part of their crew. To put it bluntly, he was something of a celebrity in the seafaring world.

“Oh!” Taka exclaimed. “I can see it!”

Finally, the coastline had come into view. It was a far away sight, and by his wager they wouldn’t be there until the sun had peaked in the sky, but he could finally see it! Land! Their destination was inching closer before his eyes!

When they finally laid anchor and docked on the Central Coastline, they’d be halfway there! There, the merchants and adventurers would part ways and take carriages the remainder of the way to Leln, which would take about a day and a half if things went smoothly.

Not every ship combined merchant and adventurer both. Dane’s was certainly unique in that regard. The reason most ships didn’t mix merchants and adventurers, was simply for the fact that most ship captains had never been adventurers themselves. Dane was an ex-adventurer, and so he knew the commonly held “merchant stigma” of: “Adventurers are all savage beasts who’ll rob and rape at any opportunity!” was entirely false. Sure, there were some adventurers who weren’t really good people, and there were certainly adventurers who used their job to do bad things, but they were a minority. The majority of adventurers were good people. So, Dane reasoned, mixing merchant and adventurer is no problem. Because in reality, there was no problem. The chance you, as a merchant, got attacked by an adventurer on a ship, was about the same as your chance of being randomly attacked by an adventurer in a town. Very, very low. Exceedingly so. Sure, you’d occasionally hear the disheartening case of some awful crime occurring, orchestrated by some nutcase who happened to be registered as an adventurer, but those were far and few between.

Taka shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was a bit nervous, so his thoughts were running wild. Taking a deep breath, he shifted his pose and re-laid his hands over the railing before him. He’d been staring into empty space, but now he found himself gazing beyond the sea, towards his destination. The sun had finally begun to clear the horizon, casting a beautiful orange glow on the waters ahead. The sky was like a painting, a myriad of colors composed of purples and blacks, oranges, and dark reds. As the sun rose higher and higher still, the last remnants of the stars overhead began to fade in the presence of the dawn of a new day. With this wondrous sight before him, he was truly thankful he’d woken up so early. There were a few other people on the deck now, an older-looking man and a younger one who was currently vomiting over the siderail, but nobody so far had engaged him in conversation. With a subtle smile, Taka took a small comfort in that solitude. But even still, he considered going over to him and doing something. Like asking if he was okay. But he quickly decided against it; the thought alone made him extremely nervous.

‘I guess it’s probably better if we all leave each other alone. I mean, I hope that vomiting guy is ok. But I don’t know. Should I talk to him? Should I not? It’s obviously easier to sit here and… It doesn’t really matter, why don’t you just chill out? Obviously, I’m nervous. Today’s a really big day, lots of stuff happening, so I’m obviously nervous. But chill out, alright Taka? Chill out. No worries. No problem. It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things if I talk to that guy or not. Here’s a question. Do you want to talk to him? Do you? If so, why don’t you? If you don’t, then don’t. But it’s okay, don’t worry about the right or wrong answer. As far as I know, there isn’t one here. I mean, yeah, I hope he’s okay. But also, I’m nervous to talk to him. He’s a random guy. How would I react if, well I guess it depends. Right? If they were nice or mean. If I was vomiting and…’

Silence punctuated by his rambling thoughts and the sickening sounds of vomiting filled the air. Taka looked away and turned his eyes back to the seemingly endless ocean before him. Eventually, the sun reached its peak in the sky, and by that time the coast was more than just a distant sight—it was directly before them. They had arrived! Pulling into the dock, the ship creaked and cried as the anchor dropped, rocking unsteadily for a few moments before gradually smoothing out. Now that he could see it up close, it was almost unremarkable. A vast clearing spread outward, marred by the coastline sand, several pieces of foliage, and a well-trodden dirt path which split out in several directions. Cornering the clearing was a massive forest that Taka couldn’t even begin to see the end of. Lastly, in the center of this plain were a few small buildings, and several carriages awaiting their cargo—the adventurers.

Then, as if it were being projected directly into his head, he heard a familiar voice say:  "Attention, all travelerssssss. Thisss is your captain ssspeaking. We have reached the Eassst Leln Coassstline. I repeat, we have reached the Eassst Leln Coassstline. All passsssengers, please prepare to disssembark. Thank you for ssssailing on the Marvelad."

END OF EXCERPT

thanks for reading if you did :) comments are more than welcome. i'll post more if i can think of any more that im happy with.

also, please remember that my book isn't entirely finished-- some of this may change when its fully complete! :D

some random exposition things i deleted from my book #1

This is a bit of a less formal post, but I thought people might want to see some of the lore I ended up deleting because there was no point in having pace-breaking exposition in the middle of a random scene. I had a *lot* of these and for the last few hours i've been working on compressing/removing them because they were just too much imo. Here's a few of them, for anyone who is *really* interested in reading about my world :P

On the import/export process of one of Leln's taverns:

Original page: pg. 142

reason for deletion: not really necessary even if its kinda cool

It should have gone without saying, but as a drink-serving establishment, they had a wide variety of things. From coffee, to tea. Obviously they specialized in alcohol, given that they were a tavern first and foremost, but that didn’t mean the coffee, tea, or food took a backseat in quality. In fact, one might find every item on the menu to be within the same margin of quality, regardless of what they ordered. It wasn’t the most expensive food on the planet, nor was it ridiculously decadent. It was simple and hearty, perfect for adventurers. The beans for the coffee were imported from a small village that specialized in the harvest of coffee cherries. In that same village, those coffee cherries would transform from seed to bean, where they would be sent to the various establishments who had contracts with said village. The tea was a similar affair, a product offered by farmers who held contracts with establishments. They would procure the ingredients, fill the tea bags, and through a long process of trial and error, make truly quality tea flavors, which could then be served at any number of establishments whether high or low end. The ale was, of course, created in-house and kept fresh in taps. Of course, if another establishment wished to share their blend of ale, they’d have to pay a hefty price. Taverns did not tend to share their specific fermentation process or their brewing secrets, and when and if they did they didn’t come cheap. The best tavern in Kommodia had been rumored to have declined an incredibly exorbitant amount of money, simply because they would have had to give up their secrets for it. It would be, of course, prudent to keep in mind that the quality of coffee and tea available to adventurers and commonfolk, and that which was available to nobles was quite different. It was not, of course, to say that the quality of these goods available to those who were not royalty was bad, but it certainly was not the top of the tree, so to say. Nevertheless, Beriyl enjoyed the tea he was served, even if to him, it was a few cuts under what he was used to.

On a certain merchant's business life:

original page: pg. 29

reason for deletion: not necessary for the reader to know any of this, breaks flow

Managing a store was not cheap, and neither was purchasing supplies to stock the store with. Luckily for him, he’d caught a big break recently, signing numerous contracts with several big name merchant companies. Essentially, he’d have a continuous trickle of arms and armour, amidst other things, delivered to him on a semi-regular basis. What he had was good, for where he was, anyway. Technically speaking, it’d be more profitable if he decided to move to the capital, Hamelan, simply for the fact he’d have even more business opportunity. More contracts and more contacts meant better equipment, which meant higher prices, which meant more money. Of course, he’d have to give an agreed-upon portion to the contractor, but that’s how it was already, and he was paying some pretty steep rates with a few of his existing contracts. While the dwarf shopkeeper was willing to negotiate on certain things, “nobility discounts” was not one of them. If he handed out discounts to every fool coming in claiming to be the heir to some renowned family, he’d be bankrupt in a week. Well, at least living in Leln had some benefits. Cheaper tax than Hamelan’s, at least. Perhaps it was obvious, but Beriyl had no way to know any of that. Putting aside the fact that he grew up in the definition of the lap of luxury, he had no window of insight into the man's confidential business affairs.

About the Adventurers Guilds rules/rankings/other nonsense:

context: i deleted this because this was just completely unnecessary, way too much exposition for something that isn't the biggest part of the story at a certain point, especially because the reader can infer 90% of these rules and a vast majority of them dont need to be shoved into the readers face like this. Ranks are fine imo to have shown and the rest should just be inferred.

original page: pg. 27

As Taka was told, the ranks went something like this, from highest to lowest:

Rank S: Legendary

Rank A: Platinum

Rank B: Gold

Rank C: Silver

Rank D: Copper

Rank E: Bronze

Rank F: Clay

(deleted stuff starts here, just added the stuff above for context)

Apparently, job board requests also followed this structure, although S-Rank missions were never really seen. However, for job board requests there was a special category of missions above S-Rank, known as "Crisis" and "Calamity" class missions. These were reserved for world-ending calamitous threats and other extremely dire situations. For example, in the event of a world-endangering natural disaster, a Crisis-Class, or CC-Rank mission would be placed. In the event of a mad magician rising up from his labyrinthian dungeon to take over a small part of the world, there would be a S-Rank mission placed. If, say, an ancient evil rose to destroy all humanity, that’d be a Calamity-Class, or CC+-Rank mission. However, these two types of requests hadn't been seen in a very long time according to the receptionist. Typically though, they'd be issued by the guild or government itself, as most people lacked the authority to post quests above an A-Rank. In any case, it seemed that the exceedingly high rank of S was more of a social status thing than an actually awarded title.

For adventurers, rank was important. It dictated what type of jobs you could accept, and by extension, how much you would earn for completing them. Dangerous, high ranking quests paid more, but had more risk associated with them than lower ranked, lesser paying quests. Of course, not every adventurer had to take on monster-hunting jobs. There were also crafting and gathering jobs, for those skilled in those fields. There were also rules associated with job-taking. Namely, you were allowed to take jobs ranked one higher and of the same level as you, but not one below. This was supposedly to "push fledglings from the nest" sooner, so that they might start contributing to the realm in larger amounts. It was also to keep a steady influx of low level jobs available for new adventurers, who were always in constant supply. There were also rules for forming parties; you were allowed to create a party with members your rank, or one higher or lower than your rank. This prevented lower ranked adventurers from joining very high ranked adventurers and simply riding their coattails. "You have to work for your rank", seemed to be the message the guild wanted to send with this rule. In essence, the guild was just a medium through which freelancers could band together and find work. In parties, it was common courtesy to split the gold, but different parties did things differently, and the guild did not have any formal regulations on how parties should be run. Most things were left up to the party leader's discretion.

Although it was not said in this exact order, Taka was also told that only the party leader may accept quests, and only one quest may be assigned to any one party at a time, barring a special government exception. He learned of "Clear Tags" which were small tags, much like the adventurer tags he noticed sometimes around people’s necks or wrists, used to verify the completion of a quest. They were given to clients of the guild who posted a job, so there was a clear "verifiable" way to prove that the quest was indeed completed without wasting the time of client and adventurer both, by dragging them both along into the guild and having a lengthy chat to ensure nothing went wrong. This was a recent technology; in the past, adventurers were subjected to long chats after each clear. Essentially, when you completed a quest, you would check in with the client, who would give you the Clear Tag. They'd press their finger on it, and the status depicted on the tag would change to "cleared", thus, the name "Clear Tags". By this point, Taka was beginning to feel sick with how much information was going through his head, and he worried that he would forget it all. He realized he was starting to space out, so he pinched his arm discretely to try and stay focused. Then, he learned that jobs could "expire" if left uncompleted for too long. The time until "expiration" varied from job to job, but mostly depended on the job's rank, although the client could set a "expiration" date themselves, if they so specified. There was a limit on how many quests parties could accept in a day, set at three. A and S-Rank parties however, were given special privileges, and allowed to accept and complete up to five in one day. Reasonably, the risks present and consequences suffered if you faltered in your duty or fell in the field while undergoing a higher ranked mission, could be much more devastating than the consequences of failing a lower ranked mission.

It was for this reason that the guild did not simply hand out promotions-- they had to be earned, by doing work for the guild or by proving yourself in battle against a particularly tough foe. Even then they weren't just granted, you had to go through a special interview process with a representative of the guild, as well as a member of the local government who had been trained in such matters. Parties were not forced to accept promotion offers, should they not feel ready for the correspondingly ranked jobs. If a party turned down such an offer, they would be able to request that promotion at any time going forward. Of course, they would still have to go through the interview process. There were no penalties associated with declining an offer and asking for it again at a later time. With this system in place, the guild was able to assure those who issued requests to the guild that their problem would be solved. However, as with anything in adventuring, nothing was certain. A single mistake could spell doom for your party. It was only a small assurance that those who had proven themselves, and not fledglings would be undertaking these quests. Anything could happen during an adventure. Veteran adventurers die to the seemingly simplest of things, and newbies pass through the most seemingly impossible of tasks. All it took was a bit of luck and skill. Those who failed quests but came back alive were reprimanded and punished, sometimes demoted. How close a party came to demotion would be decided on how many "marks" you had on your card. That is to say, failing three quests in a row would result in a demotion. For F-ranking parties, there were no such punishments, as F-Rank quests were usually inconsequential. However, those who came back alive and succeeded were rewarded with the money as per the quests description and were a step closer to a promotion. One last thing Taka learned was that if a party was confirmed to have wiped, or they simply did not return for a certain period of time while away on a mission, that job would be reevaluated by the guild, assigned a higher rank if deemed necessary, or extra addendums would be put in the description. But, that did not happen often. At least, not in Leln. Sometimes, mistakes happened and job posters tried to post jobs without the guilds permission. That's where things got a bit tricky, as that could lead to double job postings if the guild was also paid to post a job, which could lead to two parties going into the same quest, which could, understandably, lead to all sorts of confusion and conflict.

This did not tend to apply to F-Rank quests, as for the most part they were safe, relatively easy, busywork quests that had you assisting people around town. Maybe you'd kill an oversized spider or two, but monster quests for F-ranks were pretty rare. Job difficulty markers did not just denote the rank an adventurer had to be to accept it, it also denoted the job's threat level. An F-rank job possessed barely any threat to your life, whereas a D, or C rank job possessed some. Put simply, the way Taka saw it was like this:

● F and E-Rank, Clay and Bronze: You'll most likely be fine, unless you drop something on your head and break your neck on accident. Barring insane coincidences like a sudden monster attack, these jobs weren't very dangerous and typically consisted of varying degrees of busywork. Sometimes you'd get a small monster elimination based job with E-Ranked duties. ● D and C-Rank, Copper and Silver: You could die. You will almost certainly fight monsters. Be on your guard, come prepared, and you'll be fine. ● B and A-Rank, Gold and Platinum: These are dangerous jobs, with high consequences but higher rewards. You will die if you do not come prepared. Although, from what Taka had been hearing, you'd die if you weren't prepared on a D or C-ranked job.. ● S-Rank, Legendary and above: Exceptionally dangerous. Exercise the utmost of caution.

That's all for now. I have a few more long deleted exposition dumps, about Dane's backstory and about a type of monster crab that a certain restaurant in Hamelan uses as a food source, but I think I'll post them later. Maybe. we'll see :d

I'll leave you with this:

THE DIE IS CAST

i love this song and how he says that, so damn cool, imma watch code geass

Trauma.

When the room had cleared, Sunny glanced at Harmony. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Harmony closed her locker and draped her duffle over her shoulder. She looked Sunny up and down, then down and up, frowning. “You look like shit.”

A laugh threatened to come up, but Sunny couldn’t find the energy to release it. “You say the sweetest things.” she deadpanned.

Harmony smiled, softly. “Seriously. You should get your shoulder checked out.”

“You should get your head looked at.”

“I should.” Harmony rubbed the side of her temple. “I think I might have a concussion, that has to be the reason I keep going through with your crazy plans.”

“Wasn’t this one your idea?”

“See? Your stupidity is contagious.”

An awkward silence filled the air. Sunny cleared her throat. “About earlier…” she trailed off. The words got stuck in her throat. How could she bring up what had happened? What was the protocol for the invasion of privacy Damien had forced upon them? Harmony saw everything. She probably thinks—

“It’s fine.”

Sunny’s eyes shot open. “Huh?”

“We don’t have to talk about it.” Harmony squeezed the strap on her duffle, eyes downcast. “Honestly…I don’t wanna talk about mine either.”

Sunny almost forgot, she wasn’t the only one who had her privacy invaded. “Okay.” she agreed, voice meek.

Answers.

Harmony took a staggering step back. “Did you just freeze her?”

“I did.” Sunny stared at her hand, not quite believing it herself.

“Mage!” Harmony whisper-shouted, “You can’t just freeze people!”

“You know she can’t hear you, right?”

Harmony glowered. “Why’d you even do that?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sunny pulled Harmony by the elbow and led her down the infirmary halls. “C’mon, we only have five minutes before my spell breaks.” The mention of their time limit sped Harmony’s footsteps. Together they scoured the empty cots until they came across the twins in the back of the room. A tiny slice of light shined out from the split in the red curtain keeping them enclosed.

Through the split, Sunny could see Aiden and Axel resting in separate cots. Aiden’s face was gray. Like all the color had been drained from it along with his magic. His chapped lips were parted, as if a scream of terror clung to his tongue. And maybe there was one, trapped in his mouth. Sunny didn’t recall hearing a sound from him when Damien tried sucking his life away.

The springs in the cot next to Aiden’s squeaked. Sunny met Axel’s frightened eyes through the crack in the curtains. He grabbed a handful of the bedspread and pressed his back to the headboard. Those frantic eyes made him look like a cornered animal.

Harmony held her hands up. “Don’t worry, Zimmerman.”

Axel darted his eyes between the two of them as they stepped inside.

“We just wanna talk.”

Sunny closed the curtains behind them.

~~~~~

Tag List: @k--havok (let me know if you want to be removed)

Last Line Tag

Shout out to @writingpotato07 for tagging me in this awesome game! I’ll be handing it off to @lexiklecksi @awordchemist and anyone else who wants to join is always welcome! But don’t feel pressured to do so.

This snippet is from my current wip Sunny Mage: The Time Child, chapter 34.

Sunny jutted her chin up when the water started to lap at her neck. She held out her hand, shouting Harmony’s name until her throat turned sore. It was hopeless. Sunny didn’t have a plan to keep them afloat, but she knew if they stayed together things would work themselves out. But the rampant waves kept them apart. The panic in Harmony’s eyes stayed with Sunny, clinging to her mind, as the water swallowed them whole.

Darkness followed.

Burnout.

Sunny woke up sprawled out in her bed with an assortment of blankets weighing her down.

“Don’t try getting up.”

Harmony? What was she doing here? The last thing Sunny remembered was seeing red. The kind of vision one acquired when rage managed to sink its talons into them. Then she remembered the memory crystal, and the horrible truths it revealed. Sunny squeezed a handful of the bedding in her fist. Red started spotting her vision, fueling her spout of rage that hadn’t simmered in the slightest. Instead, the pot was ready to boil over.

Sunny tried sitting up.

“Mage! What did I just—”

Sunny screamed.

“Told you, idiot.”

Sunny plopped back on the bed. It felt like a million needles were jabbing into every section of her flesh. Moving her body, even a little, caused a domino effect of pain. “W-What happened?”

"Great, she can still move her mouth.” Harmony rolled her eyes.

A tall figure appeared on Sunny’s left. She shifted her gaze. “Mr E?”

Ervin looked down at her with a concerned frown. “What happened to you? Harmony ran to my office and told me that she found you passed out on the floor. I thought it was something I could help with, but I had to call Goodley to give you a proper work up. She had to leave to deal with other patients but she got your vitals under control before she left. There's a potion from her with your name on it." He pushed his hair out of his face, "You should’ve seen the look on her face when she saw you—she was whiter than a ghost."

"W-Why does it hurt when I move?"

"Goodley told me that your magic flared.” Ervin said.

Sunny frowned. Flared?

“It’s when a mage over does it with their magic.” Ervin rubbed at the bags under his eyes. It made Sunny wonder how long he and Harmony were waiting up for her. “We talked about this a little bit before, about how a mage’s core has a certain amount of magic, and how they can continue to increase that load with the proper training. But we’ve never talked about this. I didn’t think I would have to, it’s not something that’s meant to happen this early in your career.”

“Why not?”

“Because, solar flaring isn’t something you want to make a habit.” Ervin tried to explain, “It goes back to the basic tenets of magic. Our bodies are meant to hold our core—which holds our magical essence in its purest form. But when our bodies become weak, they don’t have the ability to keep holding in all that magic.”

“Oh, so my magic sorta leaked out?”

Harmony snorted. “More like, busted out.”

“Basically.” Ervin said, “That’s why you were glowing, your magic seeped into your bloodstream. But Goodley managed to get here in time, thank the Sages. She collected every trace of your magic and put it back in your core. All you need to do is give it time to heal back up.”

“Wait, can't she take it back out?” Sunny asked. “I felt—”

“No.”

“But—”

“No. I mean it. This isn't something to play with.”

“I don’t get what the big deal is, all you’ve been trying to teach me is transferring magic from one object to another. Didn’t my magic jump from my core to my blood? How is this any different than what you taught me? I’m living your lesson plan, you should be happy.”

“Your core cracked, Sunny.” Ervin’s voice sounded colder than the harshest winters in the North. Even his stare kept Sunny frozen. “You’re right, the most skilled mages shed their cores and have their magic leak into their blood. That’s called sage level. You’re nowhere near ready for that scenario.”

But it worked. The words threatened to spill from Sunny's mouth, but she bit her tongue.

Sunny wanted to tell him how exhilarating it felt to have all that power racing through her veins. Wanted to tell him how she casted a time-jump spell on herself. And how she moved at a speed that felt faster than lightning, while the world lagged behind her. But she knew he was right. Reaching her flare point shouldn’t make her feel like crap in the aftermath.

---

Tag List: @k--havok @writeblrsupport

Memories.

Sunny took his hand. “Show me.”

Maxi opened the door up to an endless hallway that spiraled out of sight. There were countless doors with varying labels carved into the wood. Sunny assumed they were his memories. “It’s all the way down. Don’t let go of my hand.”

Sunny tightened her grip. Maxi led her up and down the spiral until they stopped in front of a looming door padded down with locks and bolts. Maxi’s hand trembled in hers. It shocked her to realize that even the strongest sages could be afraid.

Sunny squeezed his hand. “I’m with you.”

Maxi released a heavy breath, then raised his free hand and aimed it at the door. He curled his fingers in the air. The sound of bolts unlocking sounded through the hallway. Sunny took a step back when the chains and bolts fell to the floor in a loud clangor.

The door cracked open on its own. Like it was daring them to come in.

Maxi pulled her with him and pushed open the door. They stepped inside. At first the room was dark, but then it slowly filled with color. A large office space was then created out of the color pallet. Maxi guided them off to the side, near the window behind the office desk. He walked through the office with familiarity. That struck her as odd. Locks and bolts had encased the memory, so he couldn't relive it. But thinking back on her own worst memory, she understood. Just because she kept it locked up, didn’t mean she freed herself from its clutches.

Sunny looked out the window. The Shrieking Hollows were in clear sight. Her eyes went wide. So that meant—

A door swung open and slammed into the wall. Sunny spun around. A much older looking version of Maxi stepped into the office looking unkempt. Strands of hair had broken loose from the bun that sat low on his neck. He slammed his fist on the desk. “Damn it!” More strands came loose.

Sunny backed into the windowsill.

“Don’t worry.” Maxi said, “He can’t see or hear you. It’s only a memory.”

Tell that to Sunny’s racing heart.

----

Tag List: @writeblrsupport

Find The Word Tag

Quick shoutout to @on-noon for the tag. Much love!

I’ll be tagging: @cabaretofwords @spuddlespud @jezifster and anyone else who wants to join.

These are your words: dead, runaway, forest, tower, and blanket.

My words are: claw, afford, hold, ruin, and longing. All these snippets came from my current wip, Sunny Mage.

Claw

Thomas put the necklace on. The chilling look on the kid’s face had sold it for him. That wasn’t a look that could be easily imitated. That kid had been through something and had managed to claw his way out.

Afford

A knot of unease twisted inside Sunny’s stomach. With the next level fast approaching, and the devious plans their enemies had cooked up for them, Sunny couldn’t afford to lose an ally.

Hold (I have like 74 of these, holy shit...)

Sunny threw her arms up. “Hold up, in your example the snowball still made direct contact with the flask. Yeah, the energy was conserved, but the objects still physically touched. So how can I transfer energy to something that’s out of reach?”

Ruin

“Ruins the vibe.” Harmony said, “They want the audience to see us the way we really are: damaged and resilient. My older brother, Cam, competed a couple years ago in the semifinals. The guy who became the champion got hit with a pipe to the chest during the level. It missed his heart, but it nicked the bottom of his left lung.”

Longing

Despite what hollow fairytale books said about Mermaids, about them being kind hearted creatures who broke out into song, they were far from the truth. In real life, Mermaids were worse than sirens. Because at least sirens lulled their prey in with peaceful songs and longing looks—giving them at least a sense of security before they pounced.

“So… what happened?” Twilight asked, walking over to time. He was undeniably a ghost, that much was obvious. His form shimmered under the moonlight, a soft, pale blue. Twi sat down next to him, and Time looked back up at the moon.

“I died.” He said joyfully, and Twilight rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I got that much- but. How? And why are you in… a puppet body?” He clarified, and Times' cheeky grin dropped to a soft smile.

“I died to a black blooded monster. There was a camp near the Lost woods in my era, and… I didn't realize how strong they were until it was too late.” He spoke, his voice soft, like chimes blowing in the wind. Twilight wasn't entirely sure Time was even talking- his voice rattling around in his head.

Twilight looked down at the grass, chewing the inside of his lip. “What about your new body?” He asked. Time made a strange face, staring at the moon intensely. Twilight mentally smacked himself- Time never talked about his past, why would he want to talk about this?

“It was a compromise with Hylia.” Time said, and Twilight’s eyes blew wide, staring at him.

“What?”

“My journey wasn't over.” Time said. “I wasn't supposed to die- at least. That's what she told me. She needed to bring me back, but… I couldn't stand the thought of Malon losing me again- so. I asked for a body that made it so I couldn't. I asked for enough time to be with Malon for the rest of her life.” He said quietly, before barking out a laugh. “I didn't expect her to turn me into a Puppet.”

Twilight stared at Time, baffled. This made Time laugh loud and clear, finding his surprise immensely humorous. “You don't believe me?” He asked, and Twilight shook his head.

“No! It's just.” Twilight struggled to find the right word for how utterly insane it sounded.

“Crazy? Yeah. It does seem like that.” He smiled. And Twilight couldn't help the nagging feeling in his chest. Seeing him now- the armor, the markings, and the way his voice echoed in his mind-

“at the beginning of my journey…” Twilight started, before clenching his jaw. He already started. He needed to finish it. “There was a ghost I met…”

Oh boy, another voice tag, uhh

Yeah I'm not gonna lie, I suck at these. Coming up with how a character talks on the spot doesn't work for me, I do a lot better in scenario and with context

Most my stories are also fantasy so no WiFi lol

Gonna have to go with The Box in that case, he doesn't really talk though cause he's writing his thoughts down. Best I can do.

John: Of course it was to happen now, a failure of modern convivence just as I search desperately for some voice of reason within this world. How normal, how casual, how average, yet undoubtedly devious. As though the universe, worse, the Angels work to prevent a return to sanity. For what purpose? Could the profession and the medical undo a plot stretching back eons, before even our vary universe creation? Impossible to imagine. And yet for some reason they seem to prefer me mad and frothing at the mouth from obsessive pursuit. so much for answers, so much for help, so much for the vast interworking of modern society.

If you get tagged your line is: "Get down from there!"

@dyrewrites @backtoshittyfirstdrafts @mangowords

Thanks for the tag @somethingclevermahogony!

Character Voice Tag

My line is: "Get down from there!"

Your line is: "Oh damn, the wifi stopped working."

(Let's do an antagonist edition, because they deserve some love too)

Vermir: "Why the fuck are you in my ceiling? Are you a rat? Get down, damn it!"

Daedryn: "Uh, excuse me, but could you please step down? It's not safe up there, I don't think."

End: "Get down, flesh of ours. Such behavior does not befit an avatar of the stars."

Undeta: "Get down, you're making a fool of yourself."

I'll tag @hallowedfury @addicted2coke-theothercoke @mk-writes-stuff @pluttskutt and anyone else who'd like to join :)

The Revenant

Sirens screamed like an old Drekavac now immortalized in cold steel, their cries accompanied by violent red lights of warning which shone upon blood that bathed dead corridors. Once soldiers of courage fled down winding halls in panic, more, in dread. Rightfully scared scientists, engineers, cooks, janitors, piolets, all that remained, that is, crammed themselves into every tight corner that provided a haven of safety. God-fearing roars of resident announcer Micheal Shirk bellowed out mechanically an omen that all could see. The Revenant had arrived once more.

As hell broke loose, and the stranger from across the stars massacred the occupants of Travelway Haden, Captain Philip prepared to take his own life.

Philip thought first of despair, of agony, of pain soon arriving and to be delivered by his own pistol. A vellian shot through the chest would be the force of a raging bull, the shock of the electric chair. Millions of volts were to course through his body instantaneously on impact. A violence beyond nature that would evaporate hair, burn skin, twist bone in sudden spasm, and partially cremate upon corpseification. Even all this would not act quick enough to prevent Philip from the second pain. From feeling the gaping hole in his chest, lungs popping and hearts punctured, muscle dropping to the floor, blood pouring.

As the Revenant drew near, and the last dying screams of attempted hiders vibrated upon metal, the choice became clear.

Philip's next thoughts were of regret, for Cassandra told clearly of the knife in her hand, and how she would come to exact payment in pain. It was clear from that start that whatever was trapped within the vessel, its construction of solid tungsten and alien alloy, was never meant to be. Yet Haden had welcomed the unknown stranger, nursed it, taught it. Taught it science, and religion, and history, and culture, and politics, and above all the purest way of man, the greatest pastime of humanity, how to kill. It so passively demonstrated its clear lacking need for instruction, standing idly and with disinterest at every world not involving food, until we had come to the topic of death. Foolish as children, we were but toys that interested it, animals barking such funny noises, but when a dog bites an owner, the dog must die.

Screams had all died down now, even the howls of Shirk. Not even the Drekavac and its fellow red dared announce the coming presence, for without warning Haden was silent and dark. Silent, that is, except for the soft foot prints of the Revenant outside the command rooms very door.

Steeled, prepared, Philip turned the gun rapidly not at the mortal monster beyond but towards his own life. Pulling hard the clicking trigger so that a finger paled from pressure. Dying. Alone. One billion miles from family. But safe from the Revenant. Safe.

The Revenant did later then open the heavy door to find a bloodbath. Mangled and burnt body that smolders atop fine carpet now dipped in red, half the chest thrown against the wall. It surely smiled at this site.

--the end

Wasn't included in the no pressure tags but thought I'd hop on for fun regardless. Didn't really see rules anywhere, but I'm pretty sure I just have to share some amount of what I've been writing, probably at least a paragraph

Gonna go with the same "story" from last time

Screw it, lets just post everything I've got so far. Its unedited and its a tad long, so doesn't really need read I suppose

----

The central hall of heaven was lined with lockers and doors; though I couldn’t imagine what a corporeal being needed a locker for. I think the white, hinged doors and elongated cubbies have simply always been here. They felt older than the occasional passing angel, the whole infinite architecture did—as old as god, maybe older.

Although the building showed no signs of wear or repair you could feel its age. It reverberated. It vibrated. It teemed with sentience, as though a great cordial beast lined the innards of walls, or as though the place itself was living; the great things warm breath traveling through HVAC.

In fact, the only aesthetical attribute which felt relatively young was a word painted in glamorous gold:

Heaven.

It must be under new management.

The central hall of heaven was lined with lockers and doors; though I couldn’t- I could. I remembered something, here, now, yet I’ve never thought it before. A memory I had never had. The building was already beginning to change my perception. A haze formed; an intoxicating clear smog of the beast's breath. It smelt like a warm broth—it smelt like home.

At the end of the hall and lockers of white there was a split of two pathways. Left led to the infinite maze. It was ever changing, shifting with the low groan of bowing marble. Were the walls and halls a creature, then here laid its tentacles. 

They swayed like a cat's tail in motion, one experiencing joy.

Whatever could have caused this joy I knew not.

I lost myself in there.

The central hall of heaven was lined with lockers and doors, and near the doors were angels. They were tall, and slender, with the hunched back of a broken spine suspended by a thread. They smiled, with a full mouth of shark-like teeth, but there was no violent emotion meant by such an action. In fact, I hardly think they cared about me at all. 

Unexpectedly they were dressed corporately in rather old fashion business suits. The kinds with shoulder pads. The building, alongside its faint and throbbing glow, had a strangely contrasting administrative feeling. Down to the front desk, with its PA system, and a rather tired looking figure. His eyes were sullen. His glistening teeth beginning to dim. Too much work, never stopping, always. 

The angel, without even a glance in my direction, passed along a plain lanyard. Grey, with an emblem of many rare gems, and small letters in rose:

Visitors pass.

My trip was quickly coming to an end, the beast was waking up—I could hear its hunger like a deafening drum.

The central hall of heaven used to be lined with lockers and doors, but I can no longer remember the way; I can’t even remember being there in the first place, but I remember that I must have been. Before me lies only the maze—it's beginning to slow. It feels like it wants me to get through, to reach the middle, or perhaps the end, but whenever I feel the glow of void it bowes again and I am gone.

I’m lost again. I’m lost forever. Perhaps, even frighteningly, I’ve always been lost. I can’t remember leaving the maze, it simply gets too strong and I faint. How could I have left and wound up a visitor card if I never left? How could I have left when this is all there will ever be? You can’t run from an infinite space. For all intents and purposes this is not the beast's tentacles, but its stomach, and it's killing me. 

I’m nearing the exit again, I can feel it. Whenever I near the exit I feel empty and shallow, like I’ve been drained of all fluids and my gut was dumped along the marble floor.

It's going to change again, I’m already beginning to feel it move, it goes slowly at first but picks up speed with ease.

I can’t remember who I am anymore; maybe I never was anyone in the first place, just a guy in a maze.

Central hall of heaven, something, something, something about the central hall of heaven; always at the central hall of heaven, lined, and with two paths at the end. The maze called again as it always did. Echoing emotion down the halls that allured. Lights of the beast flickering mesmerically. They pulsated like the lure of an anglerfish preparing to feed—to shred skin, tear muscle, and crush bone.

I, however, was not the food. The creature was hospitable, and welcoming of the insignificant things that lived within it. It tolerated angels, it tolerated me, but it hungered for something. Whatever could satiate such a beast? I imagined something of equal size and might, but unbound by the imprisonments of stone, freely floating across the aetherium. It would no doubt slumber for centuries to preserve power; perhaps it would even hibernate long enough for something to build upon it.

I must not look at the maze, it is not for me—whatever it is for it is not for me, I must avoid it. The other path led to a grand atrium with chandeliers of blinding light.

Corneas bled, retinas sizzled, veins bursted. My scream vibrated through the walls just as the beast's groans did, perhaps even in tune with them; we were in pain together.

...

---

No pressure taging @dyrewrites and @illarian-rambling

✨Writing Share Tag🪽✨

Thank you for this writing share tag, @fortunatetragedy , and this one @quillswriting ! 💛✨

Here’s another share from Tenshito, where Itazura and his father-figure/bodyguard Yoji talk about a lightning storm that struck Japan (who could’ve caused that, I wonder? 🤔✨),

This part reminds me of @wyked-ao3 ’s new Supernatural/Good Omens fanfic The Storm (which is really good and you should click and check it out ✨).

“So, how’d you find us?”

“Walked.” Yoji looked nonplussed.

“You….walked…?” Shito raised an amused eyebrow. “Did you manage to sleep?”

“No. That’s why I’m in a shitty mood, Ita.” Yoji sighed. “My own car’s fried due to the storm, and I figured you and Ten tried heading back to the dojo.”

“Hah, yeah. Didn’t quite make it there last night….” Shito chuckled.

The bodyguard shrugged. “So, you two managed to escape the city at least….” Yoji looked back down the winding highway towards the big city. “….I’m surprised you got your car to operate at all, considering the freak thunderstorm that occurred.”

“Yeah, hah…” Itazura rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly. “….That was…..quite a storm, right?”

“….” Yoji squinted his eyes in suspicion. “…..Right.”

Tagging (no pressure) @tildeathiwillwrite , @aalinaaaaaa , @agirlandherquill , @theink-stainedfolk , @yourpenpaldee , @astramachina , @scribble-dee-vee , @corvys-clover , @glasshouses-and-stones , @froggy-pposto , +open tag to whoever wants to join! 💛✨

👇Tag list for my stories are below the cut. Let me know if you want on or off 👇

Tag List for writing tidbits (lmk if you want + or -)

@autism-purgatory , @jev-urisk , @talesofsorrowandofruin @sunglasses-in-the-bentley , @glasshouses-and-stones , @alinacapellabooks , @gioiaalbanoart , @fortunatetragedy , @deanwax , @dyrewrites , @honeybewrites , @drchenquill , @paeliae-occasionally , @lychhiker-writes , @thatuselesshuman , @kaylinalexanderbooks , @katenewmanwrites , @zackprincebooks , @fantasy-things-and-such , @finickyfelix , @billybatsonmylove , @madi-konrad , @houseplantblank , @far-cry-from-finality , @froggy-pposto , @fractured-shield , @avaseofpeonies , @topazadine , @thecoolerlucky , @theaistired , @willtheweaver , @rivenantiqnerd @somethingclevermahogony , @noxxytocin , @leahnardo-da-veggie , @addicted2coke-theothercoke , @illarian-rambling

Progress with Everduring continues, though I'm beginning to reach some hiccups. It's taking so long to work on the first section of the dream I've forgotten much of the other two parts

I always really want to pause this and write a short story for Jo's birthday

Either way, here's some more of Everduring

--

The central hall of heaven led to a large and cavernous atrium, its high ceiling scarcely lit by a dim chandelier. On the far side of the room the white walls bled into a vast panel of glass—outside there was only the void. When I would approach the windows my bones began to rattle, and my veins would oscillate. It hurts to draw near, causing a gradual building pain that rises until I could only flee.

The atrium felt different from most of the building. It was, for lack of a better explanation, preserved. The outer nothing was smoke, it had dried the living flesh eons ago, the marble coarse and like sandpaper upon my fingers. It was so dry that it seemed to draw out water from my skin like a vampiric, desert dwelling lizard. The beast was thirsty.

I think if I tipped a cup of water from my hand it would vanish instantaneously; a lake would seep through the cracks faster than you’d imagine; and only all the melted sustenance of the universe could purge its desire.

Dehydration did not go far enough to describe it. 

The beast was a grand and arid desert, but there was once a time when this was not so. If the beast could dream it would dream of these long ago days.

Writing Share

Thanks to @the-golden-comet here, here, and here, @paeliae-occasionally here and here, and @mysticstarlightduck here!

Rules: post some writing!

Alright, let's go back to TSP.

From The Secret Portal Part Two (Akash POV)

I squinted at the chess board in front of me. I pursed my lips before moving my pawn on F2 forward a step. “Y’know you can only move pawns forward two spaces on your first turn,” said Robbie. “Yeah, I know,” I said. “I just didn’t feel like it.” Noelle moved her E7 pawn forward one. “See!” I said. “The chess master did the same thing!” “Yes, but she has a plan,” said Gabriel. “Who says I don’t?” I asked. Gabriel laughed. “Singh, I lost against her. I never lose.” “Hm,” I muttered, turning back to the board. “Just go with your gut instinct,” said Lexi. “This early in the game hardly matters.” I moved the pawn on G2 forward two steps. “There,” I said to Robbie. “Two steps. Happy?” Without hesitation, Noelle moved her queen to H4. “Checkmate.” “What?” I said. “Checkmate.” “No, there’s no—” I realized that with the two pawns out of the way, there was a straight shot to the king from where Noelle’s queen was. “Shit.” Robbie and Lexi doubled over laughing while Gabriel gave Noelle a high five. “Rematch!” I demanded. “Move your airborne ass, Akash,” Robbie said, pushing me aside. “I said I played the winner.” “Good luck,” I said, floating aside to be next to Gabriel. “That was brutal,” Tyler said, standing on the other side of the couch with Carla. “Rob! I call next turn with Noelle!” “How do you know I’m not gonna win?” “You’re not,” Tyler said. Carla laughed.

Fool's Mate is brutal. Happened to me once with a friend of mine, only he did it accidentally.

Tagging @addicted2coke-theothercoke @winterandwords @bookish-karina @orphanheirs @aziz-reads

+ ANYONE ELSE

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@nebula--nix @literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet

Okay, I don't think I'm going to end Everduring, but I am trying to write a short story for Jo

Calling it Amalgaton for now

Literally just started writing it so It might be bad

---

The cold mud which blanketed Steve's face was affecting him more then expected. While the ditch provided suitable cover, and the chilling slop allowed him to avoid thermal sweeps, it would mean nothing to a frozen corpse. As his time in the muck increased Steve could no longer feel his toes. There was a gradually rising urge to emerge from the ditch while he still could, but with the nearby wiring of mechanical legs Steve's surroundings were unsafe.

In fact, till the amalgaton left, leaving the mud could prove fatal.

It was not currently hunting, instead only prowling the highway under a routine excursion. However, should the metal beast have found Steve then it would be upon him instantly; it's great legs tearing earth by the bound. /////////

---

Or at least it is for me lol

From A Ballad Of Silver and Swords:

Napoleon swallows, forcing the words out, because Illya is so close and so familiar, and if the russki does not step back, he will not be able to help himself any longer. He might do something he will regret forever. His voice shakes a little as he whispers, “Illya… that’s not fair.” It sounds a weak protest, even to his own ears. Illya grits his teeth, eyes hard. “Is it? Is it so hard to answer?” Do you love me? the russki has asked.

tagging @justabigoldnerd, @too-young-to-fall-in-love, @bighandsforabigheart, @the-golden-comet, @yallwildinrn, @huggiebird, @falling-into-peril, @cha-melodius, @nicijones, @heytheredeann, and anyone else who wants to join!

💗

I am going to do all of these, all from the same story I'm working on(currently referred to as B1), because I feel like it and I'm bored

--

Writing Share:

Edmund was dreaming of a dark red sea, one tainted heavily with iron. At the bottom, seven hundred feet beneath air and light, geysers plumed in thick, sluggish patterns. It churned the water, bringing bubbles to rise upwards and break upon exposure to the sky; they, to Edmund, likened the final breath of a drowning body. And he knew, for no explainable reason, simply through inside knowledge oh his dream, that the body would be his own.

Would be.

As in yet to happen.

--

Last Line:

The chartreuse that quickly emptied itself within him became torrential red, crashing on the thick tube with its waves.

--

Out of context:

At one hundred twenty miles per hour Edmund plummeted, shattering the protective barrier between that world below and heaven, crashing upon hard rock.

--

tagging(no pressure):

@dyrewrites @illarian-rambling @katy-books

✨Writing Share/Last Line/Out Of Context Tag 🪽✨

Thank you very much for tagging me here @mundanemoongirl and here @aintgonnatakethis . I appreciate ya! 💛✨

Take a last line, out of context writing share from Tenshito 🪽💫

Just like that, Tenshi hopped down the rabbit hold in the stump and appeared back where he started three days prior. Arriving in the forest outing, he looked at the direction of the sun, walked 15 minutes south, and arrived back at the window of Shito’s dojo.

Leaving this as an +open tag! 🪽✨

✨👇Tag list for writing snippets below. DM me if you’d like to be added 👇✨

Tag List for writing tidbits (lmk if you want + or -)

@autism-purgatory , @jev-urisk , @talesofsorrowandofruin , @sunglasses-in-the-bentley , @glasshouses-and-stones , @alinacapellabooks , @gioiaalbanoart , @fortunatetragedy , @deanwax , @dyrewrites , @honeybewrites , @drchenquill , @paeliae-occasionally , @lychhiker-writes , @thatuselesshuman , @katenewmanwrites , @zackprincebooks , @fantasy-things-and-such , @finickyfelix , @billybatsonmylove , @madi-konrad , @houseplantblank , @far-cry-from-finality , @froggy-pposto , @fractured-shield , @avaseofpeonies , @topazadine , @thecoolerlucky , @theaistired , @willtheweaver , @rivenantiqnerd @somethingclevermahogony , @noxxytocin , @leahnardo-da-veggie , @addicted2coke-theothercoke , @illarian-rambling , @the-letterbox-archives , @theink-stainedfolk , @saturnine-saturneight , @words-after-midnight , @sableglass , @cowboybrunch , @moltenwrites , @pixies-love-envy , @davycoquette , @writeahurricane , @nczaversnick , @greenfinchwriter , @oliolioxenfreewrites , @lavender-gloom

I haven't written in so long and I'm so excited to share stuff I'm gonna go ahead and start sharing this story I've been working on with very little editing done

Its an attempt on that old story based on my dream, told in a very different format. Honestly its a different story, just based of the same inspiration

Seven sentence Sundays are always fun so lets give it a go, even though its monday

---

It was an escape, one of few provided. That empty book was a keeper of sorrows. It was an abyss I could scream into, a physical chest to lock my heart within, and into that book I poured every ounce of fury within these bones. My writing was quick as lightning and forceful as the storm, tearing shreds through layers of paper. And I sought to destroy, to corrupt, bleeding black ink across the pages. That book was abused. I tore tentatively at its pages if only so that it would feel the pain of skin shredding; I broke its spine upon my knee so that it would bellow out; and, after fits of writing passion, I would read my own words and bawl as I clutched the book closely, fingers digging into its leather binding sharply.

---

✨Seven Sentence Sunday 🧞‍♂️✨

Thank you for tagging me here @justabigoldnerd and here @pippinoftheshire ! Excited to share my weekend progress with y’all! 💛💫✨

Guess who finished the climax last night? That’s right; we’re in the endgame baby 😎🧞‍♂️✨

“Oh, Noah….” Ali exhaled quickly before sucking the anxious breath back in. “….Oh, Allah, oh……It’s a long story, I…..I just need to hold you a little longer…..”

Noah nodded in understanding, or….partial understanding. Ali gently rocked their bodies back and forth on the soft sheets, his arms locked around Noah’s torso in a protective hug. Ali was a shield, and Cauldwell his sword.

No, I’m not screaming. YOU’RE screaming 👀🧞‍♂️

+Open tag for whoever wants to join! ✨

✨👇Tag list for writing snippets below. DM me if you’d like to be added 👇✨

Tag List for writing tidbits (lmk if you want + or -)

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anyway here’s an excerpt from the best writing i’ve done lately (aka last night)

Edith’s words echo in my head. The Unreality will never make us real. She’s right. She always is. And I half hope that the phone will begin to ring again. That her presence will be on the other end and I’ll be the one to answer and Jenny won’t have to yell at ten past one. That she’ll make my racing mind go quiet, because she’s Edith Kingsley Stevens, and her very existence can pause the world for however long she needs it too.

The phone doesn’t ring though. And I find my hope of the ringtone turning into hope that she is safe and warm in a hotel thinking about anything but the argument. The phone doesn’t ring. So I sit in the kitchen and wait until it does.

what

...my. my notes...!???? i put ALL my notes in the summary so they don't crowd the main text area. i dont use the comment thing

(you have to go to google drive now and look at file information and scroll. gee thanks. i put it in summary because it was easy to look back to while i was writing instead of switching tabs. guess thats fucked now.)

..now im glad i write down my notes on discord first lmFao. so i can STILL avoid drive (i barely even use drive as it is..). with the exception of notes i wrote down there instead of on disc. at least its usually story-related notes that i write down as a part of the fic so it doesnt matter that much... haha.

(spoilers for jjk shibuya arc)

and that i decided to put my notes in the main writing area for once because. because! (idfk my reasoning)

anyway while im here take another wip excerpt!

continuation from my previous wip excerpt

---------------------

Book 1 and 6 spoilers, slight novel spoilers (havent read it myself but ive seen ppl talk about parts of it, which is where the embrace and umbilical cord comes from)

the lack of honorifics on trey after he used his UM (thats the right abbreviation right?) is what cater actually does to trey in book 1 (and is intentional. in the novel its mentioned that cater only uses yobisute with trey when he's being serious)

also this is a mix of canon dialogue and non-canon dialogue

also i cant remember what honorifics teachers use with their students. or what crowley uses. i know he uses last names, but idfk if he uses kun or, say, san. shrug. teachers in general use like kun and chan tho i think so.

-ryocho means like. dormitory leader, or dormitory director, i think. ive seen fan translations use it so im taking it.

--------

anyway thats a lot.

i dont know when cater ended up as one of my favorites (i wanted to write him to get used to writing his character cause he and idia were the ones who i admittedly struggled with the most. but now im here with this super long cater-centric fic.)

reincarnation

ive been writing a reincarnation series for twst

so i might as well share it now.

(in timeline order instead of publishing order. some of these might suck a lot, honestly.)

🌸: flower fields, amidst they weep (KnY x TWST)

Yuu had memories. They weren’t quite a past life, as much as they sometimes wished it was, but.. The truth was, in the modern world, demons existed. Those demons had existed since the Heian Period. Things that ate humans to survive, and burned in the sun. ..Although that wasn’t quite true, because they’d been born human, but through various reasons, had been turned into a demon. It could be desired, it could be forced. In the end, it was a mercy to end them, by demon slayers, wielding Nichirin blades. Yuu was one of them. Having lived among those who saved others thanklessly. They didn’t want child soldiers, but in the end it was often they were the last ones to survive, and would use up the rest of their life for revenge, before they eventually burned out. They were lucky, that way, because they still had the option to live their life. But there was only so much they could refrain from taking action. Once you know of the monsters in the dark, there really was no turning back. ---- Former Modern Demon Slayer!Yuu (WARNING FOR MANGA SPOILERS)

~ Excerpt ~

Pink flower petals followed the blade in a direct trail, almost like its own shadow, and shot straight past with a speed that could be almost seen as inhuman, were they not in a world with magic.  It struck true at the side, shattering the glass of its head on impact, and spilling blot everywhere. Rosehearts-senpai staggered. Everyone was stunned in silence, if only for a moment. The path wasn’t as straight as they’d liked. They probably shouldn’t keep throwing stuff with the hope that it’ll go in the right direction. “Yuu-kun!? How’d you–” “Ace!” Yuu’s head turned to where Ace was, bleeding sluggishly. Oh shit. They weren’t fast enough– In their panic though, Rosehearts-senpai suddenly moved, hand reaching out as the blot started to drip away from his form, shrinking away from the light that formed on his fingertips. Left underneath was a ruined dorm uniform.

🦋: Ignoring the ways of right and wrong (BSD x TWST)

"Ignoring the ways of right and wrong, eternal life or lasting fame, we turn to face each other, loved and lover, face to face." – Yosano Akiko, River of Stars: Selected Poems of Yosano Akiko Riddle Rosehearts is Yosano Akiko (or has her memories.)

~ Excerpt ~

His hand reached out in blinding light. Butterflies fluttered past him.  “Thou Shalt Not Die!”   And for a second, she felt free.  Everyone was silent. (Ace had been fixed up, good as new, in a flutter of wings.) His panting sounded too loud in his ears, more than disheveled for the first time in his life. His eyes were wide in– (“My ability can easily save lies,  so the lives of those in my proximity  end up as something cheap.  It's my fault that those close to me died.  I'm sure...  That will happen again.  Is there some place  where it's okay for me to live ?”) His eyes burned. ("I'm keeping a tally. I'm counting the number of times you've saved my life .”) (“When you tally things as they're done and finish the word, " correct / right ," it feels like the " correctness / rightness " in the world has gone up by one.") (“This is your “ correctness ”.”) ("That righteousness has taught me. No matter who you are, everyone's spirit has a limit .") ('You are too righteous.') Seventeen years. Seventeen years without this accursed ability. And then— What is wrong with me? Righteousness. ‘Correctness’ . How could I? In a life ruined by those words, I am here again, repeating my errors.  Bile rised up her– his? Throat. A gloved hand clamped over his mouth– He faltered. Blood. On his hands, his– Someone could’ve died and it was his fault– !  ‘You are too right.’ Wrong. Wrong. All of this is wrong!  Out. I need— I —

🔥: The past never dies (MHA x TWST)

From the time Leona was born, and from the time he grew a proper awareness, there'd been heavy expectations weighing down on him. (From the time Touya was born, he was made and trained for the chance to surpass All Might.) Compared time and time again to his older brother, always seen as lesser. Worse, no matter what. Their personality differences, even bringing up an ability of his and calling it 'terrifying' when they wouldn't fear such a thing from his brother. (The problem with Touya wasn't that he lacked in motivation. No, it was that he was simply born with a weaker quirk. An unfortunate combination of powerful flames, with a resistance to cold, thus being liable to harm by his own. He was deemed a failure and no more training was to be done.) --- Where Leona Kingscholar has Todoroki Touya's memories. (I know it's weird, but TWST names sound better with first name-last name, while anime names sound better last name-first name.)

~ Excerpt ~

From the time Leona was born, and from the time he grew a proper awareness, there'd been heavy expectations weighing down on him. (From the time Touya was born, he was made and trained for the chance to surpass All Might.) ... Falena didn't understand. How could he? What was the point of anything if working hard gave you nothing, and the only thing that got you far in life was privilege and when you were born? 'I'll show them,' Leona promised. 'Show them that I'm worthy to be king.' (So what if dad refused to train him!? He was the one who lit the fire under him in the first place! The one who gave him the desire to be a hero! To be stronger! What right did he have to suddenly stop just because Touya could get a little burned?      He started training in secret.) Everyone would find fault in him no matter what, all to be able to praise his brother. No matter what he did, he couldn't win. (Then there was Natsuo, who'd also inherited mom's quirk. Touya had slowly fallen into despair, when the golden child had been born– Todoroki Shoto. The perfect combination of half n' half. What?) "Must be nice to be the firstborn, huh? You can spend every day singing and napping and still become king." (Touya hated Shoto. He meant everything that Touya wished wasn't true. That maybe he wasn't needed. That his purpose, his dad's attention-! He kept training.) "Leona... You may never become king, but you are still wise. There is much you could do for this country." Was that supposed to comfort him? That he still had a purpose? Really? ('Stop training' , he says. 'There are things beyond being a hero you can do'. 'Do things like play with your siblings, or make friends at school.' "But everyone at school says they're gonna be heroes..! ..There's no way you'd understand..! Because I'm your son.") Why did he have to feel this way, just because he was born a few years too late? ("What would you know, mom!? You think dad's the only person that got me going? Your family was poor so they sold you away and you had no say in the matter. Isn't that why I was born in the first place..!?")

👶: i want the world to go away (KHR x TWST)

For a while, Azul had been unhappy with his life. As a child, looked down upon, bullied and laughed at as a silly little octo-twerp– It hadn’t been that great. Looking down upon himself, feeling like an idiot, and a good for nothing. He hadn’t been good at academics, not at sports, and the lack of a tailfin like the others meant he couldn’t catch up to them half the time. He was useless. Except he couldn’t let it end like that. Refused to let it end like that, and thus came an obsession with getting back at them. Proving to them that they were wrong. They would learn… After all, came his signature spell. Every single thing that made any of the others special, better than him could easily be taken. All he had to do was offer what they desired, and that was pitifully easy. ‘I’ll take your singing voice–’ ‘Your unique spell–’ ‘That tailfin of yours..–’ All were expendable, and all could easily be his for a price. It felt right. Like he’d found what he wanted to do. (It was meant to be revenge against those who’d wronged him, but now..?) --- Azul with Viper's memories, hell yeah

(ive never seen khr so im going off wiki knowledge.)

~ Excerpt ~

“Interesting. That's a pretty tempting offer.” “Then—” His heart sank. “Here's the thing, though.” How could he stop his worst nightmare from happening..? “No offense, but none of that's gonna be enough to justify me returning these contracts.” “What?” “See, if I don't help Team Ramshackle dispose of these contracts, they'll make a huge racket outside my room every day until morning.” “Huh...?” He blankly replied. “If you take their dorm away from them, they take my good night's sleep away from me. I want them gone from Savanaclaw, so these things have gotta go.” What.? “Sorry, Azul.” What could he– What…? And then he found his answer. (It popped into his head, like it had always been there. Something he had the confidence to know that he could do it, even if he’d never done it before.) “Viper Mirage R. ” Leona tilted his head, “Hm?” Rule set: Do not use King’s Roar. If this rule is broken, then the target will be damaged with a wound determined by the caster. This affects everyone in the area. “Do it and you’ll regret it. This is your last warning.” He steely spoke. “Sure, I’ll call your bluff. Kneel before me! King’s Roar –” Leona's hand twitched, watching as a wound opened up. “Huh. Fancy trick. I wonder what other tricks everyone must be hiding.” “Leona!” The hyena called worriedly. The brunette shrugged it off, “Just a papercut. Whatever. I don’t actually need to use it, no matter how convenient it may be.” Azul braced himself.  ------------------------------------------------- Leona let a smirk grace his lips. ‘Sorry, lil’ bro, stealing one of your ultimate moves. Not like you’re here to catch me.’ “ Jet Kindling ,” he mockingly muttered as his fist burst into flames. He could tell that the both of them had startled. After all, most magic came from a focus, their pen. These flames were nothing, compared to being nearly burned alive once upon a lifetime. It’d heal easily anyway. What was the point of having these memories if he couldn’t put them to use, eh? The contracts went up in flames. -------------- Azul couldn’t.. Believe it. He’d been a fool. “Ah.. My.. contracts.. reduced to ashes… I don’t believe this..”

🥀: my riddled heart i had to cradle back together (BSD x TWST)

Riddle had been a little puzzled on what he wanted to do. After the realization, he hadn’t known what he wanted to do about his mom. Winter break was looming ever so closer with every day that passed. ---- Or, It's winter break, and Riddle decides to have a chat with his mom.

~ Excerpt ~

He still felt a pang of fear at the thought of being taken away from his friends anyway. ‘You can do this.’ “Even more than you had been before? What were you going to do when I got older? Keep treating me like a puppet who can’t think for itself?”  His thoughts went blank for a moment. “You raised me so dependent on you and your dumb rules. So sheltered.. If you kept me locked in all the time I don’t think I’d even be able to live. So many things could’ve gone and I- I can’t even believe you.” “..I can’t even understand what you were trying to do. It’s so nonsensical..”  Nonsensical was like the Queen of Hearts, herself. Except, maybe they were both flawed. Not someone to be followed all the time unquestioningly.  Not someone he should follow.  And while he himself had enforced the rules, they were less rules and more guidelines that could be followed. But it didn’t make much sense to follow them all the time when all it did was make him miserable. What was the point of rules? Usually to stop things from happening, things that could cause harm, generally.  The Queen of Hearts’ rules could be attributed to causing stability in where there is chaos. Something to strictly follow in a mess, and a form of control, in a way. What help did the rules enforced by his mother do? It controlled him. Sure, she helped him learn so much, but what was the point of it all without freedom? She wasn’t the ruler of anything, she didn’t need rules like that to keep order. Yet she did it anyway. And in a way, she was to blame for why he was like this.  “Riddle!” She chastised.  His mouth turned to a thin line. “I’m leaving. I’ve accomplished so much more away from your influence. In a year, I’ll graduate, and then you can’t do a thing.” Riddle was scared at first. Then subdued. Then angry. ..And then.. numb. Tired.  “I’ll give you the courtesy of ignoring what you’ve done so far, because it truly could’ve been worse.” ... “Don’t you dare, Riddle Marie Rosehearts ! I am your mother, and–!” You will listen to me. Maybe it was concerning that he’d gotten so used to it that he already knew what she’d say. “ ‘You know best’?” He mockingly muttered under his breath. The prefect had once shared a popular children’s story, along with the songs, from back in their world, and they’d both had a fun time laughing and making jokes while it was explained. He didn’t really know if he understood the story very well, admittedly, but Yuu had confessed that it’d been awhile since they’d last seen it so they hadn’t remembered it too well.

🎪: can you hear this? (HB x TWST)

Kalim had never been attributed to being particularly observant. He was always the one with no thoughts in his head, always smiling. Innocent. Naive. Gullible. It was seen in the way the ones with an intention of using him, he let get close. He’d let them steal from the many riches he’d been set over time. And maybe people felt bad for him, in the way kicking a dog would be (‘pathetic’), but otherwise unimportant. Except the truth was, Kalim trusted none of them. He understood from a young age that he was quite privileged, so it was only right to let them take and take, wasn’t it? Understood that not everyone was treated as nice as he’d been. Kalim was overly aware of the world as an heir should be. Aware that so many things could go wrong. If he got hurt, it would be on Jamil’s head. If he made a fuss, accused someone of anything, that person would be blamed even if they were completely innocent. It was a lot of power. ..And the truth was, he wanted none of it. The thing he wanted wasn’t something he could achieve. --- Kalim | Blitzo - Jamil | Stolas

~ Excerpt ~

Jade. “Kalim? Are you alright? Please speak to me.” “No,” He answered stiffly. He startled, “Huh?” “Why did you do that..?” “Hm? You mean..” “Hey, Rakko-chan. Didn’t you see? Umihebi-kun was gonna turn everyone against you and boot you out.” “I know.” “?” “..I knew already. You didn’t need to step in. You shouldn’t have stepped in!” “..So you were just letting it happen?” “Fuck! None of this even matters!”  Everyone was startled at the curse word. Tears of frustration were escaping him anyway. “I didn’t care! Him ruining my life was the least he deserved! After everything! But then you just had to get involved! So what if he was mind controlling me?! I didn’t even want to be the Housewarden anyway! I don’t care about any of this! In fact, I hated it. Him bringing it all down was doing me a favor! But oh.. Kalim wouldn’t notice this, Kalim’s an idiot! Kalim’s too kind for his own good! So I couldn’t turn you away because I’d already established myself as the kind of person to welcome everyone! But fuck it all! It doesn’t even matter anymore! Because Jamil could die, and it’s all because of you guys!” 

🎤: Idolization / Inconsolable (OnK x TWST)

Vil Schoenheit had felt like the only path in life was the entertainment industry. His father loved him, he knew, was supportive in every way, yet his father was also a famous actor. ..And regardless.. The truth was, he remembered another life. A life where the industry had sunk its claws into him already, messing him up deeply. Acting had been all he was– All she was, and to stop made him feel hollow. --- Vil Schoenheit having Ai's memories (warning for manga spoilers sort of?)

~ Excerpt ~

The first time around, she was meant to be cute and dazzling..! Emotive, and loving of her audience (she’d be a fool to think it was only innocent adoration they gave her) .  But that was okay, because she only mattered as much as her fans loved her, right? Maybe it was the drawback of being someone who hasn’t had love outside of that, doesn’t have someone to care for them like that. ..Or maybe it was a plus, because she would’ve always put her work first then some false validation.  Ai was shaped by love. And that ‘love’ she gave, throwing the word around like candy, deeply wishing that one day it would come true. And it did. And then she died.  It was with Vil’s eyes that he’d noticed the injustice. The undeserving blame, for being ‘imperfect ’. This time around, he’d taken the form of elegance. Of beauty so overwhelming, it felt intimidating. Vil understood what love was. He saw it in the way his dad would encourage him to do what he loved. In the way he cared for him when he had a nightmare, and in the way… But in the end, both were confined to their own roles. Any point of straying was met with backlash. An idol wasn’t allowed to fall in love. And an actor was nothing more than the role they played. ..Perhaps the media had simply forgotten one simple fact– Their age. Ai Hoshino was a teenager. (Twenty when she died, though.)  Wasn’t that age all about finding love, and experimenting? And Vil Schoenheit was a teenager as well, having started acting since he was a child. Didn’t everyone at one point dream of being in the spotlight? Dream of being the star that dazzled them all?  ..It felt unfair. The world felt unfair. ... .. Vil from then on had begun putting his all, hoping that someone would see his light. Would see his potential. But maybe it was his fault, that he was–  ..What were those words they used? Too perfect. Otherworldly. Special. Maybe that was Ai’s fault, for being such an efficient liar. After all, her smile had never been as genuine as it had been when she’d had something to love, to adore. Her children. That smile was what people loved, and that smile was what she learned to copy for the next time. Vil didn’t quite have that frame of reference, not anymore. Sure, he still felt happy, but the media invaded his life over and over. Acting was his life. It consumed him. The thing about entering it even once, meant that suddenly your privacy meant nothing.  He doubted he’d look as beautiful with a wide smile like that. Not with how he looked this time. Expecting one thing and getting another was hardly something that made you pretty.  ..Vil just wanted to win. Wanted to be seen as more. 

ive finished book 6. and i already have an idea of who idia's reincarnation is (how the fuck does one even get started writing a fic centered around book 6. like .HELLO so much stuff happened. and also theres a malleus appearance so im better off figuring who to make malleus first so i know how to write him as a character...)

started book seven. and honestly. i have zero clue who to make malleus, haha...