A conglomerate of WIP ideas including historical fiction, Westerns, Sci-Fi, & Romance
30 yr old // ♉︎ // She/Her // love to be tagged in games & wip taglists!
Genre: Science Fiction, Cyber/Solarpunk
Status: Draft 1 + In Progress
POV: 3rd Person
Themes: Found Family, UncannyValley, FireForgedFriends, and BadassUnintentional
Setting: Featherfall, a fictional Metropolitan EcoCity in the mid-east coast USA, several decades in the future; Cyberpunk meets Solarpunk
Wip Tag | OCKiss | Fictober21 | WIP Aesthetics | Excerpts | Characters | World Building | Playlist
Synopsis:
With new technology, at the brink of near utopian life, Humans expand on artificial intelligence. A team of Mediators, community-funded amity forces who operate to keep people safe, become the guides for a number of A.I.s in hopes of acclimating them to human interaction and emotions.
But even as complicated as A.I.s are, Humans are tenfold. Especially Mediator Unit 32. Some part dysfunction, some part dumb luck, this team is an utter conundrum. They bicker, complain, and are separately inefficacious, but as a whole are passionate and dedicated (verging on corny) to protecting their community.
But unrest may be lurking beneath the surface, a growing movement of those who believe technology is diminishing humanity. That Humans may be returning to their original path to destroying their planet. Vandals working under the name GodHead have begun to argue where to draw the line between what is Human and what is playing god, wondering if humanity’s remarkable return from the brink of climatic turmoil was for naught.
If Humans cannot change, are we merely existing on time borrowed?
Tagged by @kaiusvnoir in this really neat game I haven't seen. Thank's my dude!
Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!
Doing this for Garnet
"A meeting? With computers? Talk about could have been an email."
2. "Yeah, up yours, buddy. I am king of the Pittsburgh left!"
3. "So, what's the story on the HUD vasectomy?"
4. "Hey, how good's your insurance?"
5. "You got, uh, you uh, you got a girlfriend? You got a boyfriend? You gotta they/them? Do they know how to fight –answer quickly. Asking for a friend."
6. "Lieutenant's line –you like it rough, I've got the cuffs."
7. “You’re being super brave about this, bud. I’m proud of you.”
8. "I don't even know what you're trying to say, but it sounds like your breath stinks really bad."
9. “Oh, yeah! I agree with you. In fact, that’s why they don't usually call me out to these kinda things. Because I’ve got really shitty diplomatic skills. But see, that’s Officer Beau's job, and he does it exceptionally well. But we gotta problem when someone disrespects him and doesn’t let him do his job. Because then I gotta come out here and –believe me– no one wants that."
10. "Coño!"
11. "Let's get it, Shitbox. Either way, give'em hell."
12. "I made a choice to go out there. My whole job is to make a difference. And I didn't make shit of a difference! Okay?!"
13. "Ooh, they always say that when they're guilty,"
14. “What an Orient Express clusterfuck.”
15. "What? I'm not gonna lie about it. I didn't hit him though. I never hit him. I threw him around a bit, but I didn't hit him –And I wanted to."
tagging: @sleepy-night-child, @ashen-crest, @abalonetea, @artdecosupernova-writing, @pertinax--loculos, @ratracechronicler, @concealeddarkness13 and anyone else who woud like to join. As always, please don't feel pressured or rushed!
From Time Borrowed
Words: 1337
cw: gun mention, language
Taglist: @irnalia, @waysofink, @ashen-crest, @artdecosupernova-writing, @dustylovelyrun, @idreamonpaper, @abalonetea, @jaimistoryteller, @kaiusvnoir, @writeouswriter, @reininginthefirewriting, @concealeddarkness13, @athenixrose, @asomeoneperson, @winterandwords (Please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed)
Ryker drove them down the cracked and crumbled road about an hour northeast of Featherfall. He constantly glanced at Ives who was intently watching ahead. He pointed again and Ryker slowed to take the turn into an overgrown parking lot outside a decommissioned boathouse. A rundown thing that had once been used for a country club up the coast from the bay.
“Is this what you call a gut feeling?” Beau whispered from the backseat.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” Ryker assured quietly, leaning forwards to give the building a look over. “It just looks creepy. It doesn’t mean anything bad is going to happen.”
“Yeah, it’s a gut feeling,” Garnet whispered. “It’s probably a GodHead ambush. Look at this place. If I was hiding a chopshop, this is where I’d put it.”
“Jaime, can you not?” Ryker glared at him through the rearview mirror. “It’s just an old building. Besides, if it was GodHead, don’t you think they’d have surveillance. I don’t see a single camera, do you, Ives?” He scanned along the eaves again for good measure.
“I’m not getting any electrical signals,” Ives said, briskly opening his door to get out.
“A member of GodHead told Ives to come out here, excuse me for being a little pessimistic on the matter,” Garnet grumbled before he too got out. They all lingered outside of the car for a moment before Ryker took point.
Inside was mostly empty except for a few paneling of plywood that had fallen from the ceiling. It looked to have been an old lobby of sorts, most likely belonging to a long gone country club. There were dusty arm chairs and bookcases, with creaky floorboards and columns of cloudy light spilling down from skylights.
Ryker scanned the area with his flashlight, listening for anything unexpected.
Beau screamed. A thud.
Whipping around Ryker honed his light on Beau a few feet away who was reaching over his shoulder for his back, turning to Garnet who was still holding an old magazine he’d found somewhere -held out where he’d startled Beau. Until he doubled over laughing.
“‘S not funny, Garnet!” Beau snapped.
“Will you two quit?” Ryker hissed, glancing around.
“Yes, it is,” Garnet could barely contain himself, making another slicing motion on Beau’s arm with the magazine. “They might sneak up with their saws.” Beau swatted the magazine away before quickly crouching down to pick up the gun he’d dropped in his startle. “You could end up on CrAaAaigslist!”
“You’re irritating,” Beau grumbled, swatting at him again for good measure. Garnet took a moment to gather himself, teasingly shoving Beau. Ives ignored them, focused on his objective as he led them to a lower floor.
They all stopped when he opened a door leading down into the cellar. “Oh-ho-kay, no,” Garnet chuckled, light pointed on Ives who stopped halfway down the stairs. He looked up at them causing his lenses to reflect red in his pupils. “I’m not going down there.”
“Then keep watch at the door.” Ives dismissively turned to continue on.
“Shitbox, this is like the beginning of every slasher movie. What’s down here you’re so set on finding?” Ives stopped again, this time hesitating to turn and look back up.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I need to know.”
Ryker drew in a deep breath before starting down the steps as well. Ives continued on and Beau trailed down after. “Come on, Garnet. It’s just where serial killers lure people down to get chopped up.” He called. Garnet muttered to himself, unholstering his gun before he went down with them
There wasn’t much there. Some old boxes and crates, but mostly just graffiti-slathered walls. Ryker had his light trained on a sewer cap in the floor where Ives crouched down to lift it. “I think Garnet should go first,” Beau smirked.
“We came all the way out here to get in the sewer?” Garnet glanced around, scanning the empty room. He noticed a crowbar propped up against the back wall, not as dusty as any of the other items. “What did she say was down here?”
“I don’t know,” Ives clarified again. “But it’s something I need to see. She called us test-tubes.”
“Test-tubes, Shitbox, toaster, do you really get this bothered by nicknames?”
Ryker watched closely as the sewer cap grated free. Ives rolled it aside, not even flinching as he leaned over the opening, ducking his head down inside to see. When his head wasn’t blown off, Ryker relaxed. “See anything?”
“Just old tunnels.” Ives reported as he straightened back up. Ryker adjusted the protective vest he was wearing, attaching his light to his shoulder before he stepped forwards.
“I’ll go first.” he leaned over, searching for a ladder. Ives tried to interrupt, to insist he went first, but Ryker wasn’t having it. He holstered his gun, sitting down to get his footing on the ladder before making his descent. “If any of you,” he paused to glare at Garnet and then Beau, “try some stupid shit, I’m terminating you. On the spot, so help me God. Do you understand?” He stared at them for a stern moment.
“Yeah.”
“Yes, sir,” Beau whispered.
“I fucking mean it.” A pointed finger before continuing down. He was hit with the sour stench of decay. An old, musty smell that had been bottled for decades. “Woof, that’s bad.” Ryker adjusted his footing, gripping the ladder as his shoulder lamp scanned the dark tunnels. They stretched on beyond the light's reach, echoing and empty. "Watch your step." He warned Ives who descended after him. He had less of an issue stepping into the gelatinous sludge, activating the light on his vest as well.
There was still no visual end to the tunnels.
"BLUGH," Garnet gagged, spitting the smell from his mouth as he fumbled down. "Christ! That's spicy." It took him a similar amount of time to get his footing, using the ladder for help, shuddering as he pressed the back of his wrist to his nose. "You sure this is it, Shitbox?"
"I'm sure. Beau can confirm, whatever reading this is, it's coming from down here."
"It's close," Beau quickly followed, half sliding down and nearly knocking Garnet off balance.
"Watch it. You make me fall and I swear--"
"Wait." Beau touched his shoulder, he and Ives both staring at something down the tunnel, into the endless darkness. Ryker listened as the echo of Beau's voice faded, leaving only the distant drip of liquid. An unsettled sensation rattled down his spine, reaching for his sidearm as Ives and Beau remained frozen.
Garnet unholstered his gun as well.
"It's here," Ives whispered, taking a step forward.
"What is? You're freakin' me out." Garnet hissed, both hands on his gun, glancing at Beau. "What does he see? Can you see it?"
"It's not visual." Was all Beau offered, eyes distant and locked.
"I'm going to need a little bit more than that."
"There's... something. It... it isn't a signature in electric or thermal."
"A sensation," Ives continued moving forwards. Ryker drew his gun, following him. Whatever the sensation was, he figured if Ives was moving towards it, it wasn't dangerous –and if it was, they could handle it.
"My HUD doesn't pick it up. It's like... like something else does." Beau whispered, he and Garnet trekking in behind them.
"You think it's like a soundwave? Infrasonic?" Ryker whispered to Ives, watching his brow crinkle as he shook his head. "Or like a type of electromagnetic sense? Like when you can tell someone's watching you?"
"No, more like magnetoreception. In the way geese know in which direction to migrate. A pull." His stoic expression twisted as if uncomfortable, looking at Ryker. "I've never felt anything like this."
"Is it painful?"
"Not exactly. More like being filled with pins and needles."
"Maybe we should turn back."
"I need to know." Another uneasy gaze, a silent plea. Ryker hesitated before nodding, patting him on the shoulder.
"Alright. Let's find it. I'm with you, you know that."
This week was really tough to keep going mostly due to my day job. It took a lot of coffee. But I think I'm slowly getting over my fear of coming back to this wip and starting to love it again!
Section to Share:
"Thank you for what?" Garnet blearily skewed his face.
"For sticking with Ives, standing up for him. If you hadn't listened to him, given him a chance, we may have never found Ryker."
"I dunno what you're talking about. Ives' job is to get information. He had it, I just put it to use."
"No, Ives shared with me what happened in the locker room, when Royston wouldn't listen to him." Beau smiled when Garnet looked away with a mutter. "But you did. You listened to him –when you didn't have to."
"Look, that jagoff Royston is always pissin' me off. Who the fuck does he think he is? Ives isn't on his squad anymore. Technically, he's on mine. I was the acting C.O."
"So, you were protecting Ives?"
"Yeah –no, wait. No! I was keeping Royston from thinking he can just come in and do whatever he pleases just because Ryker isn't here."
"Right," Beau stretched out in the booth.
"The important thing was finding Ryker, and we did that."
"Because you helped Ives, you trusted him." There wasn't a response to this. Beau continued to stare, tilting his head trying to see into Garnet's face. He became suddenly fixated with the surface of the table, refusing to look up. "You didn't have to listen to him. You didn't have to stand up for him either. With Royston. With orders. You told Thatcher you gave Ives orders to go down to the basement. Ives shared his log with me. You never gave Ives any orders."
Garnet's cheeks expanded with air, holding it for a moment before releasing it on a sigh.
"Yeah, okay. Alright? Yeah. You got me." He smeared at his face, tipping his head back. "Happy?"
"Already was when I saw you helping Ives."
"Oh my God, let it go," Garnet massaged his brow, hiding his face.
Days: 1-4
Progress: Slow, but still progress
Focus: Decent
Patch Notes:
Combined Ch 2 & Ch 3
Surveyed progress on each chapter & created summaries
Chapters 1-4 & 23-25 need a complete overhaul
Marked sections that can be omitted
Ch 13 & 24 have alternative endings -it's time to choose!
Section to Share:
cw: gun violence
One of them got a hold of Garnet, taking two to drag him to the floor. They eagerly began pummeling him, kicking at his head and middle.
"Leave him alone!" Beau vaulted over servers, their attention drawn and weapons raised. A bullet grazed along the side of his head, arm blocking more from eating into his chest and neck. But he didn't slow down. He tackled the largest of the members, arm hooking about their throat, throwing his weight to topple them. His boots screamed against the cement floor, scrambling to get himself on top of them. He elbowed their weapon away, driving a fist across their face.
Garnet grabbed the ankle of another, yanking him off their feet with enough force the back of their head struck the ground.
"He has a Synthetic with him. Neutralize them both." A warped command on their comms. Beau looked up, finding the gunner emerging from the stairs was different. Heavier. Something like the armor Ives wore in dangerous situations. They lifted their rifle, slinging the thick barrel attachment into a defensive position –aimed for Garnet.
Beau shoved himself up, scrambling for balance, hands catching him as he threw himself forwards.
"Beau!"
He gripped the side of a server rack, yanking the bolts from the floor with one solid tug, and threw it. There was the thunk of the grenade launcher and an explosion of shrapnel and smoke. Beau threaded himself through the hole of the missing rack, audios buzzing feedback as he rushed through the smoke. Drawing Garnet's gun from his plackart, he emerged from the smoke before it could clear. On the gunman's right. Glaring. Pistol pressed to the slot in their helmet beside their ear.
"Drop your weapon!" He ordered loudly, glaring at the man through his visor. He slowly looked over at Beau, a moment of shock before turning his uzi and holding down the trigger. Beau slid under the arc of shots. HUD mapping the direction of bullets as they left the barrel. He slid around for the stairs, keeping the line of fire away from Garnet, before springing at the gunman. Beau grabbed their vest, their armored arms driving down to knock his grip free. He ducked under a swipe of their gun, grabbing the barrel of the grenade launcher before driving a kick into their side.
They sailed to the foot of the stairs, gun dropped, collapsing into three other gunmen.
"Beau, get down—!"
The blast drowned Garnet out. Audios screeching harshly before going silent. Beau's HUD cut in and out, code rolling in an attempt to sync information to visuals. It was several minutes before his optics connected, filled with static. He saw the ground rushing up to meet him before his vision went out.
Connection Lost
Loading . . .
System Error: tn_status_io_timeout_
Absolutely jumping on this brilliant idea from @winterandwords as I'm desperate to get back into writing and into the TB world!
Time Borrowed WIP Intro Here
Writing Goal
Focus on hitting important plot points in my chapters and getting them to flow
Doing the most work on the first & last 3 chapters
Not setting a certain word goal
Shooting for 4 chapters a week
I haven't worked on writing nearly all year and I want to use this as an opportunity to try and get back into the swing of things, dig into this draft, and get back into the writeblr community!
Draft 1 Word Count: 135.058
Draft 1 Chapter Count: 25
Self Care Goal
Stop doom scrolling
Read more!!
Set a bedtime!
I also wish all the best to everyone else out there partaking in NaNoWrimo and CalmNoWriMo! I'm also going to be updating my progress as I go — no matter how slow! I'd also like to send out more asks and interactions to fellow writers, regardless of participation, just to get back in the community!!
Don! Hi! I hope you're doing well. This was the perfect way to get my butt in gear and write something again, so thank you so much! I was torn a little bit, but finally decided on going with Charred Wings! (From this Prompt List)
August Prompts — Charred Wings
Words: 1200
cw: None
Starring Beau & Garnet from Time Borrowed
“You’ve never done one of these things, huh?” Garnet asked him as they made their way down the halls of Featherfall elementary school. Beau only half heard him, looking over the many colorful bulletin boards filled with projects and artwork.
“Nuh-uh,” he shook his head. “What do you do at career day?”
“Mostly just talk about what we do and answer a lot of questions. I mean a lot of questions. But I’m sure you’ll like that,” he playfully nudged Beau, half turning them down another hall. At the end was the wide entrance to the gymnasium, a fuzzy, cartoon blue jay standing beside the doors waving them in.
“What is that?” Beau whispered, falling a step behind. Garnet laughed, reaching back to grab his arm and tug him along.
“It’s a school mascot,” he snickered. “A guy in a suit.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Beau whispered, easing his way around Garnet to stand on the side away from the blue jay.
“Are you scared?” Garnet started to tease him, waving at the mascot drawing attention to them.
“Welcome to Featherfall Elementary! I’m Jay! Thanks for coming to career day!” The over-animated voice only seemed to unsettle Beau worse, slipping damn near sideways through the door as if refusing to let Jay out of his sight.
“Thanks,” Garnet couldn’t stop laughing, following Beau in. He tossed an arm around Beau’s shoulders. “It’s just a guy in a suit, probably a teacher.”
“I don’t care. I don’t like it,” Beau continued to glance over his shoulder in case Jay suddenly charged after them. Garnet led them around the different stations where a number of occupations were placed. There were doctors, mechanics, firefighters, cooks, artists, and more from all over the city.
Beau continued to watch the door as they arrived at their spot in the middle of the gym. Unlike other areas, they had brought themselves for presentations with vehicle visits outside. Garnet promised him Jay was going to leave them alone, but it wasn’t until the children started flooding in did Beau forget about the mascot.
Beau fidgeted with his hands as he watched the first group approach. “Firefighters are pretty cool, huh?” Garnet welcomed them as they chatted about the fire engine waiting outside. He offered out high fives as they scurried over, getting several, high-energy takers. “They’re probably not as cool as us, though.”
“Yeah-huh,” one boy protested.
“I dunno,” Garnet kissed his teeth, sounding iffy on the subject. “I mean, do firefighters have motorcycles? Or helicopters? What about robots?” He hooked his hands on his belt, mouth skewed unimpressed. “Bet they don’t have those, huh?”
“Robots?” They were instantly locked on Garnet, fully invested.
“You have robots?!”
“Of course!” Garnet playfully shot. “That’s way cooler than firefighters, right?”
“Yeah!!”
“Where’s a robot?”
“I wanna see one!”
They all began speaking over one another, louder and louder, more and more excited. Garnet glanced over at Beau, passing him a wink.
“Alright, alright,” Garnet ceded, hands held up before tapping a finger to his lips to quiet them down. “Where do you think they could be? First person who can find them gets a prize.” They all hurried to look the gymnasium over, speaking softly to one another. Beau smiled as he ran the start-up on Dave –the cicada-like drone buzzed as it detached itself from the magnetic holster on his back, vibrating before taking flight.
A small girl noticed, gasping softly as she locked eyes with Beau. The others noticed the drone as it made a small circle above them. “Him!” The little girl pointed to Beau. Dave made a wider circle before making a calculated landing on Beau’s outstretched arm.
“He’s not a robot, he doesn’t even look like a robot.” One of the boys piped up. Beau smiled, passing her a wink as he ran a short script to move the plating on his face causing the seam lines to appear and disappear.
The kids went ballistic.
“That’s so cool! Is that your drone? Is he like a pet? Does he talk to you?" They rattled off question after question as Garnet pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket, crouching down to let the girl pick out a sticker.
“This is Dave,” Beau spoke up, trying to keep his voice from buzzing at how excited he was. “He’s… something like a pet. But he mostly helps me at work to keep people safe.”
“Can I pet him?”
Beau nodded, crouching down and offering his arm out so that they could reach Dave. There wasn’t much feedback on Dave’s opinion of being akin to a pet or the attention from the children, but the kids were thrilled about it.
“What about you?” A boy was more curious about Beau. “If you’re a robot, can you go in the bathtub?”
“I can,” Beau chuckled. “I can swim too.”
“I like to swim.”
“Can you eat donuts?” another kid interrupted. “My mom says all cops eat donuts.”
“Yes,” he was doing his best to stop laughing. He’d expected questions, but not quite like this. “I don’t know that all cops do, but I can. I like the cake ones.”
“They make cake donuts?!” It was clearly the best news this kid had heard all day.
“Are swear words illegal?” The girl with the sticker asked, following Beau’s stare as he looked at Garnet. She was focused on the question, dead set on getting an answer.
“Uh, well, sorta,” Garnet fumbled for a moment.
“Why?” She frowned. “Why were they invented if we’re not supposed to say them?”
“That’s a really good question. What do you think, Lieutenant Batista?” Beau smiled, getting a look for his effort.
“Well, they’re like being able to drive. You have to be a certain age to use them.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” one of the loud kids interjected. “Because my parents say bad words all the time and they’ve never been to prison.”
“My brother has!”
“How do babies get in my mom’s stomach?” The kid currently petting Dave asked loudly. Garnet blinked, trying to process so much at one time. But before he could rebound, they continued, “Is it science or magic that makes it happen?”
“Science,” Beau assured.
“I knew it!”
Yelling broke out from the other end of the gymnasium, Beau and Garnet’s attention snapping towards the sound. A cackling child was fleeing the mechanic’s table, toting a butane torch that was currently spewing a flickering, blue flame.
“Put that down!” Jay was in hot pursuit, fringes of his blue bird suit charred, smoking, small flames here and there along the arms. One of the firefighters crossed the gym at full speed, tackling the blue jay and ordering them to drop and roll.
The children were in stitches. Several teachers rounded up the miniature arsonist, separating him from the torch with only a few burns.
“I told you firefighters are cooler,” one of the boys spoke up, earning a frown from Garnet. “He saved Jay.”
“Okay,” Garnet threw his shoulders, having a time of looking unbothered. “I guess that means we won’t get to have motorcycle rides.” He grinned at the kids who went up in choir of apologies, making Garnet smirk.
Beau felt like he finally had a routine. With work. With coworkers. It made him feel better about where he stood on their squad. The only place that was a grey area was Garnet.
Beau sat on the side of a nearby desk when he came in for the morning, not surprised to find Garnet already there and getting their hub ready for the day. He sat his coffee down as he wiped off the attendance board. He propped up his tablet as he uncapped the marker.
"Do you like me?" Beau finally asked. Garnet continued reading his coverage report, holding the marker cap between his teeth.
"Sounds defamatory to me," he mumbled before beginning to write down who was and wasn't on call
"So, you don't," Beau guessed. Should have guessed from the beginning. Even if he wasn't surprised, he could admit he was disappointed. After being part of the squad for this long, he had hoped he and Garnet had reached some level of friendship. He'd honestly been trying.
Garnet turned from the board, pulling the cap from his mouth. "You taking a survey or something? They make you get, like, product reviews?"
"No," Beau scowled. "I just wanna know." It always seemed to go like this. Beau would reach out, Garnet wouldn't be serious, and before he knew it they were both defensive and off track. "I don't just collect data and send it to BloomingTek. I seriously doubt Duras gives a shit if we get along."
"So, it's just you who gives a shit if we're friends?" Garnet smirked, already starting his game.
"Yeah," Beau shrugged, jacket puffing with the motion. "I mean, don't most people care about that?"
"I don't," Garnet turned back to the board, kissing his teeth.
"Well, that's probably why I'm asking you and you're not asking me."
