when in doubt, there's always the next draft

semi-hiatus. dedicated cat reblogger - or, I'm a writeblr. I go by Jan C., but feel free to nickname me, I adore it! Currently my life is owned by my sci-fi horror series (Aberration of Sunlight), but fear not, 'quiv (Aquiver, Aglow) has had her beta stage completed, and is very very close to being fully done. Anyway, hit me up whenever! I enjoy talking to people:)

[drippingmoon]

Yes, I know. I also have a calendar telling me it’s March 2025, hence the addition XD… but also, fuck that. We do what we want around here.

Nevertheless, it’ll be a much shorter wrap-up than usual.

I still mean to continue the tradition. These have started to feel like logs, which has made them even funner. It also absolutely hints hints, nudges nudges, that one specific Aberration of Sunlight has grown like fungi on my brain, and I couldn’t be happier about it. It is, after all, our sun of the year. Pun intended.

In real life terms… eh, it’s been pretty great, then it’s been the opposite of that, which means fantastically horrible and wrecked by health issues in my family… but overall, a normal human year, I guess? It’s spring, which means my neighborly pigeons have returned to the yard, and are probably going to nest in the central fir tree again. Bad decision. Their eggs kept rolling out and falling the previous years. But they do like the tree, and no cats get to them, and I guess we’re all stubborn in one way or another. One thing is certainly nice: they’re a cheery presence, and I love the staring contest we do whenever I prepare my breakfast. One of them always used to flutter away. Now he just puffs out his neck feathers, and I don’t know if they also share my occasionally goldfish memory, but he seems to have finally remembered me and is chilling.

(Or he’s finally gotten lazy enough. Also a family trait here.) 

Aquiver, Aglow

My baby! Is ready! 2024 saw the last of my beta readers wrapping up, and now it’s free real estate on to the final editing round. Much, much love to each one of my readers. You’ve all been a great help, truly. One in particular made a recommendation that blew my socks off… and I’ve come to another decision.

I’m not going to pursue self-publishing. I will never do the advertising bit myself. So! What my beta did, was to suggest I could turn Color’s chapter into a short story, at which moment, 1-year removed from ‘quiv, I realized, oh yeah, I can actually do that. Coupled with another dear beta basically telling me to my face the bonding between Anne and Tyrone had been realized to the level I needed earlier than my slow-burn-loving ass realized… I can actually, potentially, realistically, do this. Color’s is 15k-ish if I remember correctly. I can par ‘quiv down from 190k to 120k. It’s just going to be a biiiit of work.

Regarding that… yeah, I’ve just come off a great deal of editing and paring down word counts for AoS. (Had one chapter I shortened from 30k to 15k! And I did it! Still shook over how well it turned out! But the gist of it is, I wanna feel the wind under my feathers– cruise through writing again, for a bit, not edit my arse off again.)

So… I wrote ‘quiv’s final draft between AoS’s. I’m going to edit ‘quiv into her final form after I do another draft… of something.

Which brings me to it, but it’ll be another big decision.

Remains of a Night – Aberration of Sunlight

It’s also finished now! Full, edited 4th draft and everything.

My other baby’s also become so special to me, in different ways from ‘quiv. And… oh, this little story about a creature born in the pulse of the night (the Beast) hearing its every thought and cries for help, but still retaining so much curiosity. And in present day it’s become a living cataclysm, kickstarting our current story. Where two just as little guys go toe to void toe with it, trying to keep each other alive. I’m getting such a rush of adrenaline and love again thinking about it. Ah…

(Finished it at the start of March. When I simply combusted, burned alive again over my favorite adopted father and son duo. In which the son adopts the father.)

Yeah, so I’m a little at a loss. Though perhaps that’s not the correct term. Everything is in place. Editing took it further than I did ‘quiv (I… didn’t quite discover my editing process, since I already had the bones of it, but I perfected it, and it feels like sunshine in my chest), and honestly, everything I wish for currently is to talk and talk and talk forever about it because everything in me feels so alive right now, hahahahahahaha. Alternatively, I will substitute that for reading someone else’s thoughts… which means I will probably write up a beta post. Though I guess that also won’t be your normal beta.

But that’s not a talk for this log wrap-up.

Conclusion

Why am I at a loss? Hm…

Simply put, I am, and am not. It feels more like half-time, or a crossroads. I feel like a granny sitting on a porch with her shawl wrapped around her, and a mug of warmth in her lap, squinting and appreciating the crisp wind. I’m content, that is to say. I can start writing a new wip anytime now, but I’m in no rush. It’s great. It feels like clear skies in my mind.

And honestly… what the fuck do I do XD

So there’s Morning Right, which would be the direct sequel to AoS, yet not. The events of Remains of a Night and Aberration of Sunlight have ended, and we will still follow Madigan and Spica, but the book genre changes again (this is a maybe long and funny story, but if anyone is interested they can ask). Honestly, I intend for it to be an optional follow-up. Mostly because my brainrot is still intense, and I want to have it to read whenever I want, and so much content in it I’m already hyped for. But it won’t be AoS. Anyway, the condition I set for myself was that I had to finish AoS first… and that’s technically fulfilled. And I honestly do want to do it, but…

There’s also Infinity in Five, which is technically a spin-off of AoS. Or, uh, quite. I had to get a suicide mission off my brain in AoS to change the plot in the direction I wanted, and the best way to do it was to reserve it for a future wip. One song later, I had this concept (different worldbuilding, everything, from AoS by the way, though it’s still sci-fi. And this one has aliens) of five best friends being sent on a suicide mission on a planet, to blow up a dam, and despite all that, the story will mostly focus on how much they love each other. There’s also a ginormous centipede-like vehicle they steal from the enemy side. And it’s sci-fi. And it’s giving me the same fun vibes as AoS… and it’s technically a spin-off… so you see my conundrum.

And then there’s High-Noon Saturnalia, who was always going to be my next wip. It’s also fantasy, which I kinda crave to write again. With ghosts of places, gods, a desert reverting to an ocean as part of being the ghost of its place… and actually, the main point, the disaster cowgirl ex-wives and my first time writing romance. Which means it’s going to end well for none of the four girls. LOL. And now that I think on it, more plot twist than I’ve had since my Spirit (first big wip ever) days, and this is another one I’d love to start presently, at this exact moment. So what the fuck do I do, hahahahahahahaha.

I have faith in me I’ll figure it out… for suuuuure…

Either way, this concludes our log for this year! As always, I wish all of you happiness, and may the writing keep going! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve said this, but if any of you need to talk, my inbox is always open. Just keep in mind life can roll in like thunderclouds, and it might take a moment. But I always return:)

[talesfromaurea]

Tales from Aurea - Session 27.5 Now Posted!

Hello! Session 27.5 - A Look Back: Sakrattars can now be read on Royal Road (link here). Enjoy!

Chapter summary: Fifty years ago, the Merchant's Council of Arvisian Bay threw a party to celebrate the liberation of Ascalaria, and the young diplomat who made it possible: Celendros Swiftriver.

Taglist (ask to be +/-): @drippingmoon, @kainablue, @splashinkling, @space-writes, @aroyalpaininthecass

Curious what this story is about? Check out the pinned post here

Chapter preview under the cut

The Mistwood household was in chaos. Servants bustled through the halls, rushing to finish last minute preparations. There were clothes to freshen and accessories to polish, not to mention the monumental task of getting six people washed, combed, perfumed, and dressed. The Merchant’s Council was hosting several prominent dignitaries visiting from Aurea that night and, with their patriarch being the preeminent seat on the Council, the Mistwood family was expected to be in attendance. Sakrattars hid in his room, quietly reading a book on his bed, hoping no one would notice his absence. But when his father burst through the door, he knew he was out of luck.

“Sakrattars, what are you doing?” Lorsan asked, exasperated. He was wearing his best clothes in the traditional Arvisian Bay style, his long black and grey hair tied back elegantly with a golden silk cord. “Why aren’t you changed? We are leaving as soon as the carriage is ready.”

“I don’t want to go,” Sakrattars said simply. He turned away from his father, and towards the window. Outside in the yard, the stable hands were hard at work washing horses, braiding manes, and carrying out the fanciest tack they owned. The pageantry of it all seemed stupid. “I don’t like these fancy parties.”

Lorsan’s face darkened. “You are a Mistwood and my son. Whether you like them or not, you must attend. Or do you wish to embarrass this family by acting like a child?”

Sakrattars sat up, shutting his book with a huff. He thought it would be useless to try to argue that, technically, he was still a child. “I will embarrass you whether I stay or go, so why not let me stay?”

Lorsan grasped his son’s wrist. “You will get up right now and—”

“Fin doesn’t have to go,” Sakrattars argued, yanking his arm out of his father’s grip. They never forced his brother to do anything. He always got to do whatever he wanted.

“Finian is assisting with the Emperor’s fountain commission. What are you doing with yourself?”

Sakrattars shut his mouth, setting his jaw. His father returned his cold stare.

“That’s what I thought. Now get out of bed. I am sending in Quynn to make you presentable.” Lorsan left the room, calling for his own personal valet.

Sakrattars groaned and threw himself back down on the bed, arms spread, staring up at the ceiling. There was absolutely no way he was going to that gala, he just needed to find the right way out of it.

[talesfromaurea]

Felt like drawing some Tales from Aurea side characters so have Celendros (Sakrattars' love interest) and Kisha (one of Amale's love interests) <3

Taglist (ask to be +/-): @drippingmoon, @kainablue, @splashinkling, @space-writes, @aroyalpaininthecass

[oh-no-another-idea]

No dialogue tag

Thank you for this old old tag, @writingamongther0ses! Enjoy some Antonio-nearly-falling-off-the-train, on the house <3

Rules: Post a snippet of your writing without dialogue. Internal thoughts are okay, but no speaking is allowed.

Something caught the corner of her eye – a flash – Antonio stepped out beside her and was promptly jumped. Velia leaped to the side, nearly plummeting off the small platform in her shock. The figure attacking them was slight but strong, and it backed Antonio up until he was leaning far over the side, holding on with only one hand. Velia sprang up and yanked the hood off the figure’s head. It was a woman, dark and slight and familiar. The woman gave a start but allowed it to be the wind, and pressed Antonio further, Antonio bending almost in half backwards to keep his measly handhold. Velia would grab the woman around the waist and pull, but Antonio could lose his balance and fall. So, Velia slipped under the woman’s arm, boots struggling to find a place in the narrow space and reached out. Relief clouded across Antonio’s face, and he reached for her. To the woman, it looked like Antonio was trying to grab ahold of something, anything, but in reality, Velia grabbed his arm and hauled him close.

I'll tag @willtheweaver @writeouswriter @zmwrites and anyone else on the Invisible Girl taglist that would like to join :)

Hii guys, I know I almost never use this taglist, but this counts as a small snippet, right? Hope you're all well <3

@a-sunflower-at-night @drippingmoon @elgringo300 @sleepy-night-child @writing-is-a-martial-art @viskafrer @croctears @talesfromaurea @necros-writings @ashen-crest @teaflint @princeofthecactus @imaginationxlost @fiercely-raging-writer @memento-morri-writes @josephinegerardywriter @outpost51 @jellybeanswriting @stuffaboutwriting @reneesbooks @charlesjosephwrites @yejidoesthings @asher-writes @theunboundwriter @lady-grace-pens @thescatteredscribbles @karkkidoeswriting @winterandwords (ask to be +/-)

[solarsthoughts]

listen i may take 4 weeks to write a 3k word chapter, and i may take 45 minutes to decide whether i should use “laugh” or “chuckle”, but at least i don’t use ai and whatever you’re getting is pure chaos from a human brain

[artdecosupernova-writing]

WIP Acrostic Tag

Rules: You will be given a word, and you must share 1 sentence from your WIP(s) that starts with each letter in that word!

Tagged by @kingragnarok-writes, thanks! Tagging @drippingmoon, @space-writes, @pertinax--loculos, @zmwrites, @oh-no-another-idea, and open tag! Your word is PIANO.

EARTH—

E — "Excellent. Now…" DeCosta turned on the tablet and tapped a couple of times before sliding it to the middle of the table, sending a volumetric projection of the Emmuli home world into the air over everyone. Larger and definitely less precise in this iteration of the image, the black planet appeared to ooze smoke from every surface and wrap it around itself. "...This is Torris." (Aurora)

A — And now, as Warren watched that tech prepare the black box beside Guetry's bed, as he watched her press a finger into his temple, as he watched the port pop out of his skin for the final time, he wished more than ever that he could have one last moment to say goodbye, could have one last chance to see him awake. (Meridian)

R — "'Regenerative cellular structure pattern shows promise of extending to the repair of normal chronological degeneration.'" He scrolled to the right. "'Log fourteen. Gestation normal. Nothing significant to record.'" He paused. "'Log eighteen. Embryo has shown signs of accelerated development. Brain growth rapid and blood circulation beyond normal rates for this gestational age.'" (Eternal)

T — Thrive angled his face so he could level the eliyi with a curious, baleful stare. "My oath had sworn me to protect the obhelians your ancestors eradicated. It had sworn me to protect my wards, all of whom you've threatened to eliminate upon attacking our vessel." He stepped up to the viewscreen, lifting his head to look the eliyi right in its several, dripping eyes. "The naivete you must possess not to realize that I've given my soul over to exactly this." (Eternal)

H — His words were abruptly silenced as Warren lunged, throwing his full weight behind a punch that didn't land. Within barely a fraction of a second from the swing, Thrive caught his fist and backed him into the bulkhead, noisily slamming his other hand against the metal beside his head with a deep scowl. (Warpath)

[artdecosupernova-writing]

Specified Lines Tag

Tagged by @oh-no-another-idea! Thank you! Tagging @drippingmoon, @kingragnarok-writes, @zmwrites, @space-writes, and open tag!! You'll be finding:

A line your fans would likely quote the most

A line that secretly spoils something

A line featuring the color gold

A line you brought back from the dead

A line you KNOW you're sniping in later drafts

▶──◆─◈─◇─◈─◆──◀

My Lines:

A line describing the weather (Meridian)—

Then Warren felt it. A drastic drop in temperature that pierced his armor and form suit, plateaued through the sweltering heat, then dropped even more. His HUD blinked in alarm, unable to keep up with just how quickly the cold moved in on them.

"Oh, shit," Warren shouted. "We need to move!"

The celebratory air changed instantly. Rescuers scrambled into the shuttles with the remaining qrihk, and as Warren, Thrive, and Scot hopped into their vehicle, Warren spotted frost speeding over the ground, spreading rapidly, swallowing plants and rubble, almost claiming someone's foot as they sprang into their shuttle.

"Go," Thrive demanded the shuttle pilot. "We'll be lucky if we break the atmosphere."

"What the hell was that?!" Warren held onto a handrail as the vehicle began to vibrate, initiating a shuddering takeoff. "Was that normal?!"

"Not for a planet whose sun had gone supernova not even twenty-four hours prior."

▶──◆─◈─◇─◈─◆──◀

A sorrowful line (WASTE)—

A figure caught my eye through the crowd when I turned to leave the dock. Oren watched me from a bench against the wall, facing me directly, and I realized like a punch to the gut that he'd seen Adam, and he'd seen our goodbye. He'd watched us kiss for the last time, he'd watched me let go of the best thing that could've happened to me. He smelled my vulnerability. It stank up the place like reaver smoke.

His head tilted. A solemn expression, strange for him, that didn't change with every person that briefly blocked our views of each other. Almost sympathetic. But I'd seen that face enough to know better. I could practically hear his mind as clear as any silhou within range. His timing was impeccable as always, and if I didn't know better I'd say he'd had eyes on me since I'd left him, staking out for the moment I would be the most exposed, the most raw.

We existed feet apart, worlds apart, and yet his stare burned through me as if he'd held a plasma lighter to the middle of my forehead. He was in plain view of quite literally everyone, and I went numb. My stomach rolled and I tasted bile in the back of my throat.

I let a swell of foot traffic carry me away from the dock, then I let Oren into my apartment before midnight. He said all the wrong things, but it didn't matter. I hardly listened the entire night. He wasn't there to talk, anyway.

I'd never loved myself enough.

▶──◆─◈─◇─◈─◆──◀

A line with a laugh in it (Warpath)—

All Warren could do to begin with was stare. His brain shut down, almost entirely, and he eyed the ———, the ———, the utter lack of mirth in Thrive's expression… and he laughed.

The reaction didn't seem to surprise Thrive, though he looked on with interest as Warren's laugh swelled from a light chuckle into a cavernous belly laugh that rendered him all but asthmatic. Warren clutched his chest and attempted speech between gasps of air.

"Is this a joke? This is a joke," Warren wheezed.

"I can't explain everything to you, but—"

"Oh, no," Warren said, wiping his eyes with his knuckles. "No, no. You're gonna explain."

"Warren."

"Explain," Warren suddenly roared, his mirth gone in a flash, replaced with incandescent rage and uncontrollable trembling. "EXPLAIN!!"

▶──◆─◈─◇─◈─◆──◀

A line thought instead of being said aloud (Meridian)—

Warren narrowed his eyes. "...What do you think about the fact that he gave you a chance to live?"

Scot didn't move or emote in any way, but the seams on his face glowed faint, indicating he was processing. "I resent him."

Though jarring, the statement made sense. Guetry forced Scot to live an existence without him, and if Warren were in his shoes, if Thrive forced him to live without him, he'd resent him as well. "I get it." He sighed. "Well... I mean, your life is your life, now. You can do literally anything you want with it, and doing something to earn money while also fulfilling your purpose is never a bad thing. If you're looking for my blessing or something, you've got it."

"It would mean relocating," Scot said. "Possibly on a permanent basis."

"Nothing's permanent when it comes to ———." Warren smirked. "We'll see each other around. We can communicate. I'm not dumping this friendship, so we're clear."

Scot looked as if he wanted to say something, but refrained, and Warren wondered if he'd wanted to voice his own exact thought at that moment—he was the only friend he had left.

▶──◆─◈─◇─◈─◆──◀

A line said while under the influence (Meridian)—

[Warren] found Thrive loitering in the hallway with Corin.

"Was just asking him how he felt," Corin said, gesturing with his cup of wine. "Why don't you have a constant eye on your husband to make sure he hasn't keeled over?"

Warren quirked an eyebrow and took another deep gulp of his own wine. "Has he keeled over?"

"I'm quite alright," Thrive said.

Corin shook his head. "You see, he says that, but does he really mean it?"

Warren looked at Thrive. "Do you mean it?"

"Yes."

Warren looked at Corin. "I'm pretty sure he means it."

"He's a wily one," Corin muttered, peering at Thrive over the rim of his cup. "I don't trust him."

"Are you drunk?" Warren asked.

Corin nodded mid-swallow. "I should probably go do some critically significant science now."

[talesfromaurea]

Tales from Aurea - Session 27 Now Posted!

Hello! We're heading right into the Aravir trilogy with the beginning of Arc 4 - The Crows of Aravir.

Session 27 - The Building Chorus can now be read on Royal Road (link here). Enjoy!

Chapter summary: It is nearly one year after the end of Session 26 and the time has come for Kaja's first real assignment as an Ordo Draconis agent.

Taglist (ask to be +/-): @drippingmoon, @kainablue, @splashinkling, @space-writes, @aroyalpaininthecass

Curious what this story is about? Check out the pinned post here

Chapter preview under the cut

Sakrattars fanned himself as he waited impatiently, baking in the end of summer heat. Kaja was taking her time—time they didn’t have—picking and choosing over the various stalls at the market. 

“Come on, Kaja,” he urged irritably. “We are going to be late!”

“Okay,” Kaja replied, though she made no visible effort to speed up her decision making. “I waited for you at the apo—apo—”

“Apothecary. And that was different. . .” Sakrattars muttered and slid into the shade of the cloth canopy pinned above the alley. Even though he was able to nab a vial of the fancy ink he favored at said apothecary, he still very much regretted volunteering to go to market with Kaja while the others saved their seats in the audience chamber. This was going to be Kaja’s first official meeting as an Ordo Draconis cadet, and his first as an associated scholar, and he was loath to think that they were going to make a poor impression by strolling in late with a hand pie and a net of apricots.

As Kaja finally made her choice—stuffed mackerel baked in huff paste—Sakrattars allowed his gaze to wander through the market’s stock. Time had flown by quickly since they arrived back at Aurea last winter, and Sakrattars could hardly believe that yet another growing season was nearly over. Though land-trade had been disrupted with the north and west, enough grain, flour, and crates of vegetables had made it over from Taracosia across the eastern bay to stock the merchants’ tables. Sakrattars idly thought of his father, Lorsan Mistwood, back in Arvisian Bay, pouring over accounts books like he did every year around this time, making sure all shipments from the vast Taracosian farmland were reaching their buyers across the continent. He wondered how anxious his father must be this year in trying to navigate the fractured trading network.

“I’m done,” Kaja said, interrupting Sakrattars’ thoughts.

“At last,” he sniffed. As they began to walk, quickly, towards their destination, Kaja took a bite of the fish pie. She was the only person Sakrattars knew who would eat the huff paste and not just discard it. He couldn’t imagine that it tasted any good, but this was the girl who also ate bones and cockle shells so he no longer pretended to understand her tastes.

[talesfromaurea]

A New Trilogy begins on September 26th...

With the conclusion of the opening trilogy of Tales from Aurea earlier this summer, I am announcing that the Aravir Trilogy is beginning on Friday, September 26th!

The trilogy starts with Arc 4 - The Crows of Aravir 🐦‍⬛

Synopsis: It has been almost a year since the end of Arc 3 and the Aurean Empire's troubles are worsening. In an act of desperation, the council votes to cut loose the province of Balthissica. The problem? The country, and former province, of Ascalaria to the north has been politically unstable for decades - creating a flow of refuges, marauders, and mercenaries into Balthissica. The Empire fears if the problem isn't solved, Balthissica will become as unstable as Ascalaria, and so close to the Imperial heartland of Aurelia. The solution? The Emperor calls upon the former ambassador to Ascalaria - or Aravir, as the natives call it - Celendros Swiftriver, to negotiate a vote for the new High King of Aravir. Going along on such an important mission are an escort of legionnaires and several Ordo Draconis members, including the newest: Kaja. And where Kaja goes, Jo, Sakrattars, Amale, and Leif follow. But once the envoy and the companions arrive in Aravir, it quickly becomes apparent that the political instability is the least of the Araviri's worries. Evil has seeped deep into the soil of the land, and the past sins of the Aurean Empire's imperial ambitions have begun to take a new, horrifying shape. . .

You can read the completed first trilogy on Royal Road! Arc 4 will begin posting there on September 26th.

Hope to see you there! 🐦‍⬛

Taglist (ask to be +/-): @drippingmoon, @kainablue, @splashinkling, @space-writes, @aroyalpaininthecass

[winterandwords]

✍🏼 Writing share tag

@kingragnarok-writes tagged me for nine lines and @touloser-lautrec tagged me for seven, so I'm combining them.

Here are some lines from Miles From Morning...

It’s been forty-eight hours in detention and a few more sessions of PEP shots delivered along with what they have no right to be calling food. When I didn’t eat, they took it like some kind of hunger strike as if it was that fucking deep. As if I haven’t gone longer without food before. As if hunger is more significant than any other empty space. I feel the shadow across the window in the door before I turn around to see it, and I turn back before anything I do could be misconstrued as hopeful. Thing is, I didn’t feel the assholes with their PEP guns and shitty portion plates, but I feel this person. I never figured out how I could tell the difference between who mattered and who didn’t when they showed up outside a door I was locked behind. Maybe it’s a skill built from experience. Or maybe it’s just a series of coincidences misinterpreted as synchronicity.

Tagging @abitscripturient, @diphthongsfordays and @drippingmoon if you'd like to do it, with an open tag for anyone else who wants to share some writing 💜

Reblogs, replies etc on my tag posts are always welcome, but if you're doing this tag yourself, please make your own post instead of using mine to start a reblog chain.

[theeccentricraven]

Character Association Tag

Thank you @willtheweaver for the tag!

I had to do this for Justin 🥰

Seasoning- salsa

Weather- sunshine

Color- red, brown, white, and cerulean

Sky- cloudless blue sky

Plant- Saguaro

Weapon- Club

Social media- none

Makeup- Do kissmarks from girls count?

Candy- Lollipop

Fear- Losing family, live forever in poverty

Method of long-distance travel- Morphing

Art style- Cartoons

Stationary- Plain white paper

Celestial body- red dwarf star

Template:

Seasoning-

Weather-

Color-

Sky-

Plant-

Weapon-

Social media-

Makeup-

Candy-

Fear-

Method of long-distance travel-

Art style-

Stationary-

Celestial Body-

Tagging: @kitkins13 @kitty-is-writing @ieppiq @diabolical-blue @forthesanityofstorytellers

@agirlandherquill @talesofsorrowandofruin @lanawritesalittle @winterandwords

and open 💖

[ieppiq]

Thanks so much for the tag! Doing this with Iris from IRIS' L. WIP:

Seasoning - Spices

Weather - Cloudy

Color - Violet

Sky - Lilac

Plant - Rose, Lavender and Iris

Weapon - Gauntlets

Social media - Tumblr?

Makeup - Theatrical

Candy - Cotton Candy

Fear - Claustrophobia

Method of long-distance travel - Plane

Art style - Performance Art or Cartoon Style

Stationery - Glitter Pen

Celestial Body - Black Hole

Open Tag + Tagging (feel free to ignore): @drippingmoon , @aalinaaaaaa , @cheerfulmelancholies , @moremysteries , @garthcelyn , @odysseywritings and @wayfaringauthorofficial .

[willtheweaver]

WIP acrostic tag

Thanks for the tag @writingrosesonneptune @winterandwords

My words are: FEIGN, TEARS

F (from A Feather in the Forest): Fen felt his face grow hot. He had said too much again.

E (from A Feather in the Forest): Everyone was in high spirits. Even Leif found time to smile and laugh.

I (from Snow on the Pines): I am grace. I am emotion made physical.

G (from Wings of Twilight): Glass panels made up the walls, some were perfectly transparent, while others were as white and cloudy as snow.

N (from Snow on the Pines): No plants grew in the Deep, except on the Mound of the Night, where red spider lilies bloomed in the warmer months.

T (from Snow on the Pines): The Ringed Messenger, the Blood Star, Fen could point them out with ease.

E (from The Glass Cage): Everyone hour felt much like the one that came before.

A(from The Glass Cage): “Are you going to keep up this futile attempt to resist?”

R (from Wings of Twilight): Rain gently tapped against the sides of the ship.

S (from A Feather in the Forest): So preoccupied were they with escaping that no one noticed the foxes slipping into the forest:

Tagging @sm-writes-chaos @thegreatobsesso @cowboybrunch @magic-is-something-we-create @chauceryfairytales

@asher-writes @silencer-writes @winglesswriter @drippingmoon @tabswrites and open tag

Your word is: CHASE

[winterandwords]

✍🏼 Word find tag (everything, solid, free, imagine)

Thanks to @space-writes, @diphthongsfordays, @kingragnarok-writes and @willtheweaver for the tags!

📝 Search for the given words in your story. If your story doesn't have a word, you can use a variation on it or a word with a similar meaning.

These are from Miles From Morning and I'm using one word from each of the people who tagged me...

EVERYTHING

And I’ve already fucked everything up this much so I may as well keep going.

SOLID

And the weight of his body against mine, solid and heavy and—

FREE

It’ll be so long until I’m free that I’ll forget what freedom feels like.

IMAGINE

And I try to imagine what I could do to my body to make it something no-one would ever want to touch again.

Tagging @drippingmoon, @dyrewrites, @eyes-talks-ocs and @finickyfelix if you'd like to do it, with an open tag for anyone else who wants to join in.

The words to search your story for are hold, give, take, and return 💜

Reblogs, replies etc on my tag posts are always welcome, but if you're doing this tag yourself, please make your own post instead of using mine to start a reblog chain.

[oh-no-another-idea]

Unusual Associations Tag

Thank yous to @talesofsorrowandofruin for this eons-old tag!!! Today I'll fill it out for Velia Greene.

Seasoning: Rosemary

Weather: A cloudy and cool afternoon

Colour: Sage green

Sky: Pale clouds on a gray sky

Magic power: Invisibility, of course ;)

Plant: Dryopteris erythrosora "Autumn Fern"

Weapon: A small, handheld knife

Social media: If it existed, I'm sure she'd do numbers on tumblr

Candy: Sour lemon drops

Fear: Being alone, being alone, being alone

Method of long-distance travel: A steam engine train

Art style: Art Nouveau

Stationery: Silver fountain pen, lined paper

Celestial body: Saturn

Tags for @sleepy-night-child @drippingmoon @writingamongther0ses @starbuds-and-rosedust @aalinaaaaaa and anyone else who sees this!!

[ilovedainironfoot]

PART 4 !!

(oh it's getting so much better i'm so happy ! And I finally understood why people color comics with grey because it's soooooooooooo so so so so so much easier. Also Smaug still looks weird but i'm learning i'm learning !)

Oh and I apologized in advance because many of you thought Jrié was running to save his wife XD

He made this choice because the kingdom as a whole is more important to save than a single dwarf and like Barkhem said, once the sleep tone is coming, there is not really anything you can do about it (depending on the injuries) so now he is just hoping Parar will be fine and not entering it. (he is in denial)

I tried to draw children dwarves but they are a lot...skinnier than I wanted ^^' XD also for the babies dwarves, I didn't really know how to design or draw them so they look like round weird things with only eyes and maybe some limbs.

To be continued...

@shrimpsthings

@medievaliana

@drippingmoon

[artdecosupernova-writing]

WIP Acrostic Tag

Rules: You will be given a word, and you must share 1 sentence from your WIP(s) that starts with each letter in that word!

tagged by @pertinax--loculos, you flatter me! 😭 tagging @drippingmoon, @space-writes, @oh-no-another-idea, @kingragnarok-writes, and anyone who wants to participate! Y'all's word is SMASH.

CRACK—

C — Corin's expression dropped somewhat and he placed a hand on the top of Thoeala's head, dwarfing her face, and gently rattled it to and fro. "Hey, brat," he said to her, his words laced with heavy affection. "So, um...okay, we don't know exactly what's going on, but whatever it is was enough to worry the Consortium, so they ordered an emergency evacuation of every planet for a test run." (Meridian)

R — "Ravishing," Guetry finished, appearing beside him with his hands in the pockets of his long leather coat. He smiled down at Warren with a slick wink. "Rock 'n' roll annihilation, baby boy." (Eternal)

A — An entire week went by with no sign or signal from Thrive. Warren, along with the kids, had made every conceivable call to every conceivable soul they could think of without spilling the beans to the Consortium, from Ulliara to Angelina to Varussa and Emnophene, neither of whom had kept in touch since Guetry's passing but jumped at the chance to help find Thrive. (Meridian)

C — Corin kneeled beside Thrive and demanded Ryst run to grab some medical equipment. "Fine time for Gouna to decide his talents are better spent being a fucking babysitter," he grunted. He hooked his fingers in Thrive's form suit collar and ripped it clean down to the middle of his torso with minimal effort. "He's all but melted the fabric." (Aurora)

K — Kyllan and Kelly danced with Varussa and Emnophene, and Sussa sipped a beverage at the edge of the dance floor, making conversation with Hondris. Calen splashed a mixed drink into Ryst's cup, getting a few drops on the floor, and Genni rocked out just as hard as everyone else, jumping around and whipping her long hair all over, shouting the lyrics along with Guetry. (Aurora)

[artdecosupernova-writing]

Find the Word Game XXXVIII

tagged by: @kingragnarok-writes!! my words: night, wings, wander, lock tagging: @drippingmoon, @zmwrites, @space-writes, @pertinax--loculos, and open tag! your words: child, fern, mask, window, street

night(mare) (Aurora)—

Ommy cleared their throat. "OsilloLotas has expressed an interest in rejoining your party."

"Guetry Sympa is undecided," DeCosta said. "He's got some personal matters to consider."

"I've reached out to Varussa and Emnophene," Sussa said just as apprehensively as Ommy had spoken. "They also need to think about it."

"I have a few dossiers for your perusal," Latx said, taking a tablet from her companion. "I'll send them to you now."

"The rest of your crew will be chosen by the heads of our militaries," DeCosta said.

"I said I would make a team effort," Thrive interjected, "and you may hold me to my word. However, are we all truly aware of what we're asking our loved ones and our people to do?" He glanced around at everyone's faces. "Are we truly aware that we're expecting hundreds, maybe thousands of soldiers to die terribly painful and horrifying deaths at the tendrils of a living despair-fueled nightmare?"

A pause settled over the table, soaking into everyone's flesh.

"Some of us didn't ask," Warren murmured.

Thrive's eyes met his, and Warren witnessed, in real time, the wound opening behind them.

–––☆–::–★–::–☆–––

wings (Eternal)—

The silhouette at the window had his chin tilted upward slightly, just enough to expose the clean line of his jaw. His face turned to the glass, a patch of condensation growing and shrinking as he exhaled, silent. His chest rose and fell so steadily, no one would know he was breathing if it couldn't be seen firsthand. Eyes sharp and focused, pinned to something in the distance, pinned to nothing but the trees that went on for miles into the mountains.

Fat flakes of snow curtained the dismal sky, peppering the porch and accumulating on yesterday's layer of white ice. And on the offering from the day before that, and the day before that. No wind, not a single branch waving in an uninvited breeze or the flap of a bird's wings to rebel against the outside stillness.

Warren watched this as he gave up his posture to the cushions of the couch and kept a tight grip on his own hair. He bored through Thrive's darkened outline with his gaze, his mind a blank slate, dropped to the curve of his throat, stuck there for quite a while. What a cruel god it was that gave him that throat with a body that wasn't even authentic. And who was Warren to claim it? What manner of fate gave him that right?

The false doors in the cabin promised freedom they hadn't seen in days. At that point, probably weeks. Thrive told him to stop counting and he heeded him immediately. Shadows lurked in the corners of the house and they couldn't be shaken away. Bulbs couldn't scatter them and they swallowed the light, rippling into fine mist if agitated.

The times they couldn't bring themselves to speak reeked of failure, of bone-chilling misery no amount of quality time could dissolve. Warren watched Thrive stand in silence by the window. Obhelian spine straight and rigid, bathrobe over the form suit in such a way that hinted at how much he was afraid that getting truly comfortable would cost them their native reality. Lumping the responsibility onto his own shoulders again, dragging himself through a swamp of guilt.

"What is it that we've supposedly failed?"

At the sound of Warren's hoarse voice cutting through the hours-old ringing quiet, Thrive let his eyes fall shut. The condensation shrank and his chest rose.

–––☆–::–★–::–☆–––

wander (Eternal)—

Warren hadn't worn a form suit in so long that he almost forgot what it was like. He couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face as he stretched the glittery lavender material over his arms and throat.

Someone whistled behind him. "If we weren't both in committed relationships…"

Through the bathroom mirror, Warren caught Guetry's wandering gaze behind him as it lingered on the accentuated curve of his backside. "Committed, huh, Sympa?"

"Well, if Adam wants me, I plan to die with the bastard, sure," Guetry said, folding his arms over his own matte navy form suit. "We'll see how things go."

"I wish you two the best of luck. Since you brought up the subject of bastards…"

Guetry offered a knowing nod. "As you know, my mom's a fucking nightmare, so my dad had kind of a personal motto about how to handle a partner being hard to deal with. I don't speak more than conversational French, though, so I have no idea what it was."

"Real cool, Guetry. A fount of knowledge and wisdom."

"It's kind of a third calling, you know what I'm saying?"

"You're the stupidest person I know."

–––☆–::–★–::–☆–––

lock (Warpath)—

Thrive, in the middle of the hallway several feet away. Near his office. Clad in a very loose, airy tunic that looked to be a garment of appeasement than anything else. He regarded Warren, eyes shining with heart and warmth, and happiness.

"How was your trip?" he asked.

"I don't wanna talk about it. It's not why we're here."

"No?"

"No. Holy crap." Warren found he'd been having trouble keeping himself in check, gazing into Thrive's face in person for the first time in two of the longest years of his life. His breath came out strained, almost as if he couldn't physically contain his excitement, doing everything in his power to at least provide some preamble should he scale the distance and jump him on pure primal instinct. "...My god."

Instinct won out, and in perfect sync, Thrive scooped him up as Warren lunged at him, and Thrive supported him with one arm, smiling broadly at him as he carried him through the hall. "I never thought it possible, but you've gotten more stunning."

"Says you," Warren breathed, gripping Thrive's sun-kissed locks in tight fingers. He raked his nails through the beard. "You're glowing."

"I'm sure." Thrive brought him into Warren's bedroom, the lights immediately dimming and shifting colors upon their arrival. "Can't imagine why I wouldn't be, basking in your radiance. I've missed you more than words can adequately portray."

"Don't use words, then." Warren clung to him, successfully assuring that he would be carried to the other side of the room, all the way to the bed. "Tell me in the best way you know how."

"For you, I'd reinvent the practice."