Avra Blake

I have violent acts to commit elsewhere

[avrablake]

For decades the Military and Syndicate have been locked in a war for power. Both sides are desperate to gain the upper hand through any means necessary—including performing dangerous experiments to discover and enhance the strongest abilities.

Thea is a victim of these experiments. After her escape from a Military Research facility, her struggles to control her abilities put her in danger of being found. With both the Military and Syndicate after her, she finds help from an unlikely source.

A traitor and a war criminal, Nix is a wanted man on both sides of the war. He’s been running from imprisonment for years. Meeting Thea means he can’t run anymore. In order to help her avoid capture he’ll have to face his biggest regrets along with his worst fears.

With mysteries to unravel and secrets to reveal, both must learn to trust the other—and forgive themselves. If they don’t, they may end up with even more regrets.

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What to expect:

130k words

dual protagonists

found family

psychic powers

banter

hurt/comfort

chronic pain

multi-generational war

memorable side characters

low spice/fade to black

original poetry

CW:

trauma

ptsd

swearing

war

weapons including guns, swords, knives

stab wounds

blood

chronic pain

implied sex (fade to black)

manipulative character

toxic relationship

character death

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Cover Design by GetCovers

Artwork by @hinata-boke

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Links:

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Short Stories

Ghost or Man - Nix's PoV, tells the story of how Thea escaped from the research facility

Welcome Home - Kai PoV, tells what happened after Thea escaped from the research facility, and what happened to them in Senari

[nondelphic]

writing is just sitting in front of a computer and making up problems for imaginary people while ignoring your own. fun and casual hobby.

[lmbibitor]

“can mutuals dm you?” my mutuals can fire me from a cannon through a brick wall, looney tunes style. as long as we’re all having fun

[pikestaff]

"Stop saying 15 year olds with weird interests are cringe, they're 15" this is true however you should also stop saying adults with weird interests are cringe because who gives a shit

[themythicalcodfish]

To wit:

[switchelsweets]

I want to share some wisdom from my high school art teacher.

In my AP Art class, there was a girl who was just starting to experiment with mixed media. At this point she was still playing around, trying to decide what direction she wanted to go with her portfolio. So one critique day, she brought in an abstract canvas with some rhinestone highlights and painted and real peacock feathers. She loved sparkles and peacock feathers so she thought she’d try introducing them a *little*. And after everyone had given some input, the teacher gave her his advice, VERY roughly paraphrased here:

“So here’s the thing… I do not like this style. These are just elements that do not speak to me personally, but I see that you like them, and you’re doing interesting things with them.

“My biggest critique is, I only merely *dislike* this piece. I want you to make me HATE it. Go crazy with the things that you like. Don’t hold back trying to make it palatable to people like me. Because I am NEVER going to like it. And if the audience does not like it, it should drive them crazy seeing how much YOU love it.”

Her portfolio was chock full of neon colors and glitter and rhinestones and splashes of peacock feathers and it was a delight. Our teacher despised every piece lol, but she got great marks and I think even won some awards. And more importantly, she was happy and proud of the results. Because she didn’t limit herself by trying to appeal to people who were never going to enjoy what she enjoyed.

Takeaway here: be as cringe as you want. Don’t limit yourself based on other ppl’s tastes. They’re not you, and you are incredible 💕

[magnuspeccatori]

This is the most inspirational thing I've read all week. Possibly all year

[frogcroaks]

my "i love my mind horse that wants me dead" T-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt

[frogcroaks]

All good questions, let me clarify the nature of the mind horse:

The mind horse is the manifestation of ambition and subsequent humbling of an artist seeking to tackle a larger project or learn a new medium.

The mind horse is not a predator, rather she compels people to aim higher, but will not pick them up if they fail. She is a guide that will not save you if you get in trouble. This often comes with the metaphorical Killing Of The Artist — the feeling of frustration and defeat and inadequacy that you may face when you follow the mind horse.

The mind horse cannot force you to do anything but she will tempt you with a beautiful journey and the feeling of wind hitting your face as you run alongside her.

No, i took an oath to follow wherever she leads me even if i trip and fall. She may not help me get back up, but she never runs away

She's very orange and very cute

I hope this helps you to understand a bit more about the mind horse.

[kalgalen]

"i want them to make each other worse" i want them to have an impact on each other that's hard to define as objectively good or bad but is still sure to change the trajectory of their lives and alter their very being on a fundamental level forever

[sourdough-seal]

“what are you doing this weekend” i am going to fantasy land. i am hiding under the covers in bed. i am making things up. i am contemplating events that didnt happen. i am talking to fake people. i am listening to my tunes. i am envisioning scenarios

[woolandflax]

This one’s for the tumblrinas

[thesweetiepienovels]

Some is better than none. Some is better than none. Some is better than none. Walking for three minutes, is better than nothing. Drinking a glass of water and eating a snack, is better than nothing. Wiping down the counter, is better than nothing. Small things are not nothing. Small things are not nothing. Small things are not nothing. You don’t have to achieve grand things if all you’re capable of right now is the smaller things. They are still achievements. Don’t do nothing just because you don’t think you’re capable of doing bigger things, just do something you’re capable of today. 

[ariesrin]

I love characters who would die for each other but will not, under any circumstances, communicate a single honest feeling.

[dearausten]

not now sweetie, mommy is watching how the massive girlbossification of female characters has led to the belief that weak and vulnerable female characters are badly written characters because apparently every woman needs to be outspoken and witty and snarky and brave in order to be considered “complex” and have any value in a piece of media!!

[chilewithcarnage]

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

This phrase has already entered my vocabulary re: media criticism where like. The viewer has a concrete view of what they expect a story to be based on the tropes and cliches they're used to seeing together, and when that doesn't happen, they judge it as a failed depiction of what they assumed it was going to be instead of judging it as what it actually is.

"This show is problematic because the hero didn't kill the villain at the end": When does he steal the bread?

"These two characters who were close friends throughout the series don't kiss at the end! What the fuck?": When does he steal the bread?

"This feels like it's missing a conclusion! Like, the protagonist does bad stuff and because of a critical decision he makes as a result of his major character flaws, meets tragedy in the end! Where's the part where he learns better and brings is love back from the dead and becomes a good guy and gets a happy ending?": When does he steal the fucking bread??

[thetetra]

I heard this out as "When criticizing something, you must judge it for what it is, not what it isn't"

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

#this is why so many of us urge people to get a wider diet of stories

[sometiktoksarevalid]

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

Am I gonna kill you?

No, no, I'm not that nice. 😈

[skeletomez]

[ghostlychill]

Man I fucking love characters passing out from overusing their magic

[damazcuz]

Squeezing oc like a stress ball. Throwing oc at the wall like a tennis ball. Dribbling oc on the ground like a basket ball. Whacking oc with a club like golf ball. AND OTHER SUCH ACTIVIES THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE.

[damazcuz]

Biting oc in half like a hard candy that I sucked on for about three minutes. Etcetera!

[antlered-vixen]

I am so tired of short-attention-span, trim-the-fat culture. All writing advice these days is for how to write like Chuck Palahniuk. "Cut 'think', cut 'feel', cut 'wonder' - only action, only pushing forward, show and move and move and move." What if I could emulate this style, and still don't want to? What if I want to write like Henry James, with three paragraphs of introspective musings between each dialogue line? The music advice is, "make it shortform, make it Tik-Tok compatible, make it punchy, hit the refrain as soon as possible." What if I want that 10-minute prog rock piece? What if I want that symphony? What if I want it slow and luxurious and lazy? Movies. Series. Poetry. Bodies. Everything is "trimmed trimmed trimmed trimmed, stripped bare, you have three seconds to win me over, make it airport chic." I don't want to win you over, then, I guess. I want the fat left it. I want the pleasure and the indolence and the indulgence. Fuck this art-advice that's always "your art needs Ozempic."