Vera's Writing Archives

This is where I keep all my writing bits & bobs. Here you'll see my personal works, old and new, whole and fragmented, original and fanmade. I have an archive writing blog for others people content at verita-raizels-collections.tumblr.com and a personal art blog on maveart.tumblr.com. My primary blog can be found on drivingmebonkas.tumblr.com. My wips & fic ideas can be found on bonkas-blurb-hitlist.tumblr.com .

[holmesandtheroman]

NOTICE: As more and more fanfic writers are using generative AI for their works (you uncreative dweebs), I hereby swear on everything I hold dear that I have not and will NEVER use generative AI in ANY of my written work. Everything I post will be organically and creatively my own.

[madame-vera]

Character Birthday Decider

Having trouble deciding your characters birthday? Let's say you're not interested in symbolic birthdays, it's just a side character or you just need that spot filled and you honestly couldn't be bothered.

Instead of agonising or procrastinating on it (this one's me 😅) why not try this fun little game and let it decide for you. You don't need much and even if you don't like the result, it's a nice time killer. (again, professional procrastinator right here XD).

I've got screenshots of it here as well as a view only google doc and pdf you can copy and edit for your own use.

Shared Character Birthday Decider

Character Birthday Decider Can't decide what birthday to give your character? Play a quick and fun game to decide for you. You can always c

Have fun! XD

[madame-vera]

Character Birthday Decider

Having trouble deciding your characters birthday? Let's say you're not interested in symbolic birthdays, it's just a side character or you just need that spot filled and you honestly couldn't be bothered.

Instead of agonising or procrastinating on it (this one's me 😅) why not try this fun little game and let it decide for you. You don't need much and even if you don't like the result, it's a nice time killer. (again, professional procrastinator right here XD).

I've got screenshots of it here as well as a view only google doc and pdf you can copy and edit for your own use.

Shared Character Birthday Decider

Character Birthday Decider Can't decide what birthday to give your character? Play a quick and fun game to decide for you. You can always c

Have fun! XD

[madame-vera]

Cream Cheese Fudge - Director's Cut

I made a fic XD

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63740686

[madame-vera]

A Sister's Sonnet

Born and grown together, memories shared

Screamed arguements from either side o' the house

Hushed compromise over crossed arms and pouts

Still smiling, stifling tears to wipe their cheeks

Cracking macadamias between rocks

Under summer sun to split between us

Stuffing veges in meat to make them eat

Under night, reading tales til they slumber

Young yet old, standing tall, the head of four

Like little ducklings following along

For as long as they've lived that's all they've known

Sweetly they call me, Mother Sister Friend

Sweating 'neath the old weight of their laughter

Heart beats, lungs breathe for them, loving them so

Notes

I wrote a sonnet on the love of an eldest child/sister towards her three younger siblings. On what she gives and allows be taken, with hints of parentification throughout.

I wrote the sonnet blank verse, which means it follows the basic structure of 14 lines (8+6), each with 10 syllables per line. But it doesn't follow rhyming patterns. It's also still supposed to follow iambic pentameter, meaning each syllable is in pairs of two with a shorter or less emphsized sound by a longer or more empahised sound, with 5 sets of pairs (total of 10 syllables) following this pattern per line. I know i got the syllables right but I'm uncertain of the pentameter. Not entirely confident i got that one quite right.

I think I did pretty well overall though, especially given it's my first attempt at a sonnet. Or any poetry for that matter, not since high school years ago.

[writeblrgarden]

the writeblr garden's harvest season 🍎

welcome to harvest season, gardeners! 👩‍🌾 it's time to sit down and get to plowing some words down for our ninth event. gardeners will be participating in various writing challenges to collect as many fruits and vegetables before the season ends! those who have completed their monthly word goal will be named TOP HARVESTER 🍏

this event will be hosted on our discord server where we will be providing a spreadsheet of all the challenges and a scoreboard showing who's writing the most throughout the month! 🎃 participants will also be receiving badges for each challenge they successfully complete, but all challenges are optional! ⛺ word goals are also up to each participant, however you must have a minimum goal of 10k words to earn the role reward.

the harvest season will be running throughout the entire month of november, join our discord server here to participate! we're looking forward to growing with you 🌱

[madame-vera]

I joined this event a couple of days ago and so far it's pretty fun and doable. It's very adaptable to your own goals and abilities. I've already got green beans. Let's see how i go. 😁

[lesbianmessiah]

Ten Sentences Tag Game

Nobody tagged me but it was open tag! I’ll tag @differentnighttale @kaeru483 @imbecominggayer @grayed-out-typeface with no pressure ofc + open tag!

Rules: write a sentence with the number of words specified, so for 1-10 you write 10 sentences in total with an increasing word count each time.

I’m going to share sentences from my main WIP :)

1. Butterflies.

2. “You’re here.”

3. “What about life?”

4. To hell with regulations.

5. It was sunlight turned sunburns.

6. Left to linger in the air.

7. “Death is an event, not an end.”

8. “I’ve never felt so hopeful about my future…”

9. They don’t deserve our Motherland; those self proclaimed heroes.

10. It’s bad enough that every mirror here is covered up.

[differentnighttale]

Rules: write a sentence with the number of words specified, so for 1-10 you write 10 sentences in total with an increasing word count each time.

Sorry for the tag.

This is from my current WIP.

Tara: Wolf Chronicles

1."You."

2."I failed."

3."Life is a test."

4."He would call us weak."

5."I couldn't think straight now."

6."Im as intelligent as a rock."

7."Dont be a dumbass,Nate.Dont."

8." But girls had ways of dramatizing things anyway."

9.“I heard we’re getting a new student,”

10."Are you sure about this, Nate. This doesn't look good"

11."To be a good person, is that good people do nothing."

@wyked-ao3 @morganthepen @blue-endy @imbecominggayer

@furrywrit3r

[imbecominggayer]

"Acting!"

2. "I'm ruined."

3. "Coin Locker Baby"

4. Nobody wants your story

5. As your partner, I'm proud

6. "Let's just die right here together"

7. "I'm so pathetic I almost feel sorry"

8. "Closure is an imaginary concept for the traumantized"

9. I'm a victimized victimizer of my own infantile emotions

10. They don't want to bury something when it's still alive.

11. "Thank you so much God for making me rich and white!"

12. Like thousands of insects are squirming under the folds of his flesh"

I’ll tag @kaeru483 @grayed-out-typeface @12-cluh @blargh-500 @drivingmebonkas @wyvchard with no pressure ofc + open tag!

[madame-vera]

"Oops."

"Oh no."

"Here we go."

"No one saw that."

"No one saw that, right?"

"Alright, calm down, I've got this."

"It's just a little mess, no problem."

"They're not back for another.....three, four-ish hours?"

"I can clean all this up, I totally can."

"There's no way it takes longer to clean one room."

"I'll have it good as new in no time, easy peasy."

"Just gotta find a mop, rags, an alibi, maybe a new name."

That was fun 😊 thanks for tagging me. I'll put it on my writing blog so don't be surprised if it's not found on my main, @drivingmebonkas

Do you guys wanna go?

@toragay-writing @aspiringwarriorlibrarian @liliaailil @thewriteadviceforwriters

[writing-challenges-and-prompts]

Writing Prompt: Dialogue

“I hate this damn city.”

[madame-vera]

Brass Flowers

"I hate this damn city.", Stark grumbled, swatting away errant petals from his shoulder. "Plants everywhere. It's like I'm walking through some rich bastards' perfumery. What happened to good old rot, diesel and tobacco?"

Bettsy scoffed at him, throwing their head back in scornful laughter.

"What's wrong darling? Is a big, burly man like you scared of a few flowers?"

Stark tsked at them, "I have petals in my beard. I'll be stinking of them for months. At least your wig can be removed. Yesterday I had to tip my pockets of the damned things. Just because you and your lot like smelling of that flower soup shit doesn't mean I need it sticking to my coat."

They rolled their eyes at him as they turned into the plaza. Lamps lit the patterned pavement and spiralling fountain square. Night shirked from the bustle, retreating to the shadows of the tree lined paths and Park Quarters.

"It's called pot pourri. Show some class. We both know you know better.' they tilted their head to Station Tower, lamplight tinting gold on their ginger bob. "Now quit your whining and show the training the Madame wasted her time on. If you want this to work we need our best faces on."

His scowl stretched the sunworn lines of his skin into a sneer but he stood straight without complaint. He fixed his buttons, brass as the streetlights and station clock, brushed off his borrowed coat jacket and held the stamped, leather travel case firm.

Bettsy nodded. "Better. Let's hurry on Walter. We've got wallets to shake."

Walters' lips twitched in hidden mirth at the old alias.

"Whatever you say Ginny dear."

Ginny huffed at him.

"That's Ms. Caro to you, Sir."

[ad-wills]

[augustwritingchallenge]

We present to you, the AU-gust 2024 prompt list! 🎉

What is AU-gust? It stands for Alternate Universe August, and it is a creative challenge for everyone. Writers, artists, fans; anyone can join! Be sure to check out our FAQ for more answers! Join us on Twitter, AO3, Discord and under the tags #au gust and #au gust 2024.

Special thanks to @yaoyorozoops for creating our wonderful graphics!

[madame-vera]

My third attempt at AUgust has arrived! I didn't do so well last year but I think I'll do better this time XD

I'm still hoping to do different fandoms but I'm not as fussed over it as I used to be. We'll see how it goes. I am definitely aiming for those ideas and completed prompts though.

My 2024 AU-gust goals are the same as last years. Fingers crossed

5 complete prompts min.

Every prompt answered with a story idea

Every prompt from a different fandom (flexible)

Results formatted into a masterpost

[madame-vera]

AUgust 2024 Masterpost

I'll start with ideas and edit with results later

Canon Divergence (1) - Fandom - Title

idea

Colourless (2) - Fandom - Title

idea

Dark Academia (3) - Fandom - Title

something involving the movie 'Cracks (2009)'

Zombie Apocalypse (4) - Fandom - Title

idea

Chess Players (5) - Fandom - Title

idea

Reality Show (6) - Fandom - Title

idea

Farm/Ranch (7) - Fandom - Title

idea

Nomad (8) - Fandom - Title

idea

Accidental Baby Aquisition (9) - Fandom - Title

idea

Enemies To Allies (10) - Fandom - Title

idea

Retail Worker (11) - Fandom - Title

Danny vs a night ghost on the midnight shift (DP)

Animagus (12) - Fandom - Title

idea

Found Footage (13) - Fandom - Title

security feed from SYs death, System shows up (SVSSS)

Princes & Princesses (14) - Fandom - Title

idea

Secretly Alien (15) - Fandom - Title

Alteans hiddens on Earth, origin of elf myth (Voltron)

Hobby Drama (16) - Fandom - Title

idea

Flower Shop (17) - Fandom - Title

idea

Space Travel (18) - Fandom - Title

idea

Spies (19) - Fandom - Title

idea

Crossover (20) - Fandom - Title

DPDC

DP/The Martian

Flying Witch/Natsume

MHA/Code Geass

Absurd Tragedy (21) - Fandom - Title

idea

Orphan (22) - Fandom - Title

idea

Musician (23) - Fandom - Title

idea

Pretend Hate (24) - Fandom - Title

idea

Scientists (25) - Fandom - Title

idea

Victorian Era (26) - Fandom - Title

idea

Younger/DeAged (27) - Fandom - Title

idea

Caretaker (28) - Fandom - Title

idea

Forced Into Hiding (29) - Fandom - Title

idea

The Beginning Of The World (30) - Fandom - Title

idea

Two Of The Above (31) - Fandom - Title

30+4 - MDZS world born post zombie apocalypse

6+20 - Characters participate in Physical: 100 or Siren: Survive on the Island

Guardian (J1) - Fandom - Title

idea

Wings (J2) - Fandom - Title

idea

Thriller (J3) - Fandom - Title

idea

Everybody Lives (J4) - Fandom - Title

idea

[augustwritingchallenge]

We present to you, the AU-gust 2024 prompt list! 🎉

What is AU-gust? It stands for Alternate Universe August, and it is a creative challenge for everyone. Writers, artists, fans; anyone can join! Be sure to check out our FAQ for more answers! Join us on Twitter, AO3, Discord and under the tags #au gust and #au gust 2024.

Special thanks to @yaoyorozoops for creating our wonderful graphics!

[madame-vera]

My third attempt at AUgust has arrived! I didn't do so well last year but I think I'll do better this time XD

I'm still hoping to do different fandoms but I'm not as fussed over it as I used to be. We'll see how it goes. I am definitely aiming for those ideas and completed prompts though.

My 2024 AU-gust goals are the same as last years. Fingers crossed

5 complete prompts min.

Every prompt answered with a story idea

Every prompt from a different fandom (flexible)

Results formatted into a masterpost

[madame-vera]

bit of a strange one today, but tell me about a signature dish that your OCs make! Is it a family recipe? Something they make when they’re sad? Stressed? And for people with original universes this is a chance for you to infodump and/or flesh out the cuisine of your world!

👀👀👀 oh i love this one! fun XD

Verita

Jjamppong (spicy korean/chinese seafood noodle soup) - she cooks it from scratch with the help of her partners family. Everything from the seafood stock to the spice mix to the sauces to the hand pulled noodles (La Mian) are all carefully prepared together. As such it's a rare meal for special occasions and when they really really feel like it. She makes is very spicy.

Her everyday signature dish is Capped Stew. It's a thick stew made with water, animal fat, mushrooms and whatever veges she happens to have available. She favours rabbit, sweet potato and ginger. It's called 'Capped' because she also steams a thick, naan-like, herby flat bread over the top of the pot while it cooks, like a bready headcap. Afterwards it's eaten as is or ripped and dropped into the stew like soup dumplings.

Yuuji

Makes a good curry rice, spicy and savoury rather than sweet. He makes good flavoured rice balls too.

Myra & Lillith

Myra makes a good curried beef soup. Lillith makes good stacked pancakes.

Silvaiarin & Lale

Silvaiarin is good at making shredded vegetable fritters, cheesy chicken bakes and skirt cakes (small friand like cakes, very fluffy, shaped like meringues). Lale is good at steamed stuffed seaweed, charcoaled handpies and Kilnsly balls (sticky dough balls, fried or baked, stacked for coating)

Celine & Filor

Their cooking experience is limited to military rations so I'd reconsider before eating anything they cook for you.

Florian

He does the best cupcakes ever. And individual cob loaves

[madame-vera]

Yay! I got the Deck of Worlds and it's so much. I can't wait to try the story and lore boxes. So excited for them.

But first, my first World's attempt using the cards on the top.

I have the Hissing Spires, a grassland named after the hissing sound of the wind through the rows of spires. They're known for their seasonal great floods that cover the plains, a dangerous but beautiful sight as it reflects the skies above. They also have unique carnivorous plants like eating the mosquitoes and other bugs drawn by the floods.

The unique expansive spires and low grasslands were caused by a series of epic storms which wore down the mountains. It's a historic natural sight with no settlements (largely due to the flooding).

Scientists fear that the Great Storm is coming again due to a natural phenomenon seeming to hide the stars beyond sight. Now they must determine if their fears are true and what to do afterwards. Surviving the worst case scenario vs determining whatever's actually going on if it's unrelated.

I love this 💕

[madame-vera]

January Mages of Pages Writing Exercise

The writing discord server I'm on, Mages of Pages, usually runs 2-3 competitions every month. They have 1 that lasts about a month. and 1 or 2 lasting about a fortnight each. But this month they decided try something different. Instead of a competition the month-long slot turned into an interesting writing exercise.

Volunteers were to be paired up into groups of two and write a collaborative piece. We were given a hard word limit of 2000-2250. Our work was to be colour-coded and shared equally with no one writers individual work being outside the 25%-50% limits. Blue and red were assigned to authors for individual work. Black for pieces where both authors contributed equally to word choice, theme, character voice and tone. There was to be a minimum of 1 completely collaborative paragraph. The project had to be completely new and fit within PG13 guidelines. It could be an original work or fanfiction.

Pairs who completed this got paired roles.

I was paired with Bjorn Fenrissen and immediately called dibs on blue. XD After checking out each others tastes and preferences and finding shared ground, we settled on a modernish D&D style fantasy in the Underground. And we had a story! The time zone differences were tricky but splitting parts helped circumvent that particular issue and it was so much fun!

We got a cool roll too. Signs of the Underground!

And here's our end result! XD I'll type it out in full without the colour coding in a reblog.

Hope you enjoy

January MoP Exercise - Code Blue

[madame-vera]

Code Blue

By Bjorn Fenrissen & DrivingMeBonkas

It wasn’t often that his gigs went sideways, but given how often his services were needed, it was bound to happen sometimes.  Some in worse ways than others.

This, unfortunately, was one of those ‘worse’ ways.  And Kris was ill-equipped to handle this level of injury.  Rudimentary field first aid was the extent of his skills, and a bullet wound this bad with blood loss this severe was well outside his scope, and that wasn’t taking into account the delicate nature of elven biology. 

Which meant that he needed help.  Not something he needed often, but at least he didn’t have so much pride as to deny he needed it when he did.

The location they’d found themselves in made finding help a bit tricky, however.  In the middle of Espana, with a wounded, in-and-out-of-consciousness elf, and in a time crunch, there weren’t many options for help.  He had to keep them to the Underground, otherwise they’d be found and arrested.

Kris had heard rumors of a trained doctor in this region that was willing to help those utilizing the Underground, though he’d never met her personally.  Out of all the options available to him and the wounded woman in his care, that seemed like the best bet, despite the risk of the unknown.

So that was where he headed, hoping that he remembered the directions to her location correctly.  A false turn now could spell death.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A day later, rain pouring down over him and his bundled up charge in a makeshift cart, he knocked on the door to the building before them.  The Underground symbols scratched into the brick to the right of the doorframe told him that this is where he needed to be, and he hoped that the doctor was actually in.

When the door opened, pale gray eyes met the steely gaze of a young drowish woman.  He was exhausted, and hoped that she’d be willing to help.  Evanlyn didn’t have much time left, given how shallow her breaths had become.

Flashing the hand sign of a Friend of the Underground, he said, “I’ve got someone who’s hurt, and she needs a doctor.  Can you help?”  Rain drummed on the roof and pattered off the waterproof material of his hood, almost as loud as his raspy voice.

She glanced over the soggy brown lump in his cart and curtly nodded, leading them into a dimly gas-lit hallway.

"Madame! Urgent package! Postman says he needs your signature!"

"I can hear you Neti, no need to shout. Bring them to the delivery room."

Lifting Evanlyn into his arms and following her, Kristoff took the opportunity to get the lay of the place. The open waiting room and shared treatment space was clearly a repurposed pub. The rooms they passed were open with 2, 4 or 6 beds, some made more spacious by amateurishly knocked down walls. Each looked well-used, clean and most notably, empty. Not a good sign for a supposedly reputable doctor. 

The woman, Neti, stared him down when he hesitated before the 'delivery room'. It looked strange, different from a usual hospital room, even by what he'd seen of this place's standards. The bed had metal bars. A knotted rope hung over its centre.

"This is the delivery room. Put the patient down or leave."

Kris shifted the woman in his arms, shooting Neti a glare.  “I’m not leaving her until she’s healed.  She-”

"That's enough! Leave your bickering for after the urgent matter!"

Neti turned to the tall woman in a huff. The doctor, Madame Verita, gestured to the bed.

"Put the girl down. We'll talk as I work. Neti, get the man a blanket before he joins her."

He did as he was told, placing Evanlyn onto the bed carefully after watching Neti leave.  “What’s her deal?” he asked under his breath, more to himself than to the doctor, but she could still hear him.

Verita hummed, bustling around Evanlyn with medicine jars, red vials and surgical tools hovering around her. The elves’ very skin and organs shifted to her will. Kristoff turned from the frankly disturbing sight to the doctor who still hadn't claimed her price.

"Sorry about that, there's a new Family in charge of this town and we've only got 'til sunrise to book it. This delivery room was the last to close, good thing too or we wouldn't have the blood replenishments on hand. Unfortunately for you, that means we aren't accepting cash. But there is your services, Mr. Postman."

While that wasn’t a name he’d been called before, it worked as well as any other, especially in this instance.  “Which means that you need something else from me as payment, instead,” he replied.  “I don’t have much to offer.”

"We don't need much. Neti's making her own way to another clinic, I'll have her bring your elf if you're done with her. All you need to do is get me across the ocean to Vierre. My friend will take things from there. The undersea tunnel checkpoints are beyond me so how we get there is on you."

There was a moment of pause, then he finally responded, “I can take you where you want to go, so long as you can promise Evanlyn’s safety.”  It was, after all, what a Guide did.

"That's that then. I'm done with your package Mr Postman, she'll last until the next clinic and recover well. Get her ready to leave with us or Neti and we'll be on our way."

Looking down at Evanlyn, he could tell immediately that she did look much better.  And he’d kept his end of things.  She’d gotten away, and she’d be safe with these people now.

“Thank you.  I’ll just grab her things from the cart, and then I’m yours,” Kris said with a nod.  Without waiting for a response, he headed back down the hallway and outside, grabbing the bags from the makeshift contraption that had allowed him to carry the elf and their belongings all this way.

Dropping one bag beside the bed, he put the other, more worn one over his shoulder.

“Ready when you are.  Name’s Kristoff.  I’ll take you across the border, but you’ve got to do what I say when I say it, otherwise we might find ourselves in a dangerous situation.  I’ll be honest, it’s a dangerous path, but I’ve done it before and likely do it again, and so long as you follow my lead, you’ll get to where you’re going.”

Verita chuckled drily, “Don’t bother yourself over me, Kristoff. I’m a doctor, I know what it means to follow a specialist. I’m no fainting daisy either.” She looked up at him as she fixed a clean pair of leather gloves and her own bags. “This flower was raised upon blood-soaked soil and corpses piled to the skies. I can hold my own but I’ll follow you properly.”

“Alright, then.  Let’s get moving.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It didn’t take more than a couple hours to get well within the tunnels he’d used dozens of times before.  In fact, these connected to the others he’d been using to travel with Evanlyn, at least in part.  The fact that they’d been found down there meant that some Patrols were starting to get wise to the Underground’s movements.  Which was decidedly not good, but he could make a report about it when he was next able.

“I’ve heard a thing or two about you, Doc,” Kris said, breaking the silence that had fallen between them since they’d started out.  Other than their footsteps, only the clatter of small stones underfoot and the occasional drip of water could be heard.  The strong flashlight in his hands illuminated the dark tunnel ahead of them.  “You a member of the Underground, or you just work with them?”

“We’re not unrelated, but I don’t work with them, no. I work independently and stay afloat with favours and reputation. I’d play nice with the Head Family, keep my neutrality and I’d have a living. My work depends on niceties and relationships, thus the change in leadership landing us in this situation.” Verita looked around, eyes catching on the dripping stalactites and distant glow. “Not that I mind, I’ve been meaning to visit these tunnels. I heard the walls are bioluminescent, like a map of stars, or veins. It’s nostalgic, my home had cave systems like these act as Sanctuaries during the desert heats. That and this nonsense’s given me an excuse to resettle and build a life closer to allies. What of you? I've heard of your Guide duties.”

Kristoff gave her a small nod. “Not a member, myself.  Works out best for everyone that way.  I’m happy just doing the Guide thing when it’s needed.”  He shrugged, finally pushing his hood back from his face, revealing long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail.  “Like now, for instance.  I’m glad you were still around when I came by, otherwise-”

He cut himself off, senses screaming at him to stop.  Holding out a hand, he gestured for Verita to stop, too, then put his finger to his lips.  He thought he’d heard something up ahead, but now he wasn’t hearing anything.

A gunshot rang out as he took an investigative step forward, and he jumped back.

“Shit!  They’re here!” he hissed as he ran back towards her and tugged at her arm to get her to follow him.  “Espana’s Patrols!  We’ve gotta go!”

Throwing an arm out behind him, he summoned several Shades - tall, amorphous, shadowy beings with glowing red eyes - and ordered them to attack.  As he led Verita down a different tunnel, he could hear the screams of the soldiers behind them, as well as more gunshots.

The Shades would at least give them a bit of time, if only a few moments.

A few moments could mean the difference between life and death, so he’d take it gladly.

Thankfully, his charge seemed to agree with him. The Madame kept pace behind him, calm, grim faced and quiet as a shade. She stuck to the shadows, tracing his every turn before he even had a chance to indicate them. He recalled her earlier claims of competence. Clients often talked heights of themselves to their own detriment. It was a comfort she wasn't amongst them.

Scattered gunshots and wet, squelching gore echoed closer.

Kristoff made a sharp turn into a cavern. Thready curtains of algae-like plants hung from the roof, blanketing the walls and ground. Shadowy crevices hinted at exits, yet disappointed with cold walls.

Bright. Slippery. Closed off.

A recipe for disaster if not for his ability.

“If you’ve got something to help us lose them, now‘s the time to use it,” Kris said, hurriedly looking down the forked tunnels for the signs that would guide them where to go.  “My Shades will hold them for a bit, but not for long.  Bullets do work on them.  But once we get enough distance, I can transport us further down using the shadows, far enough to hopefully lose them in the dark.”

He paused a moment, as the Madame shifted into the entrance. Far from the stone-faced woman of earlier, her expression stretched into bloodthirsty delight. "A convenient ability, I'm almost jealous. As it is", she firmed her stance, long daggers flicking out from her gloves, "It seems I'll enjoy entertaining our guests".

High pitched wails heralded their pursuers arrival. And their end. Verita leaped, knives flashing, teeth bared like a wild thing. Verita spun low, rerouting bullets around her like a star in orbit, flinging them into muscle and sinew. Her knives flung past them, startling them into a scatter for count.

One. Inching to the entrance. Two. Knees buckled to the ground, resigned to his fate. Three. Bloody and crazed, stepping back, gun high.

A small yank to the heart. A wet gasp. A thud to the ground.

One.

Her knife pulled back, landing true into a back bowed over.

Two.

A tug to a belt. Panicked wailing swallowed into gaping eldritch maws.

Three.

Verita caught her knives, cleaning and hiding them in her gloves. She nodded to the dissipating shades, looking over her work in cruel satisfaction. Blood raged hot through her veins. She took a breath to ground herself.

One ~

Two ~

Three ~

Bloodthirsty euphoria simmered back into the quiet of a still lake.

Verita turned on her heels into the cavern where Kristoff had continued his work undisturbed by the macabre backdrop. Unperturbed by her red-splattered skirts, he pointed to a new, darkly shadowed tunnel. “Time to get out of here,” he said, holding out his hand.  It would take no time at all to Shadow-walk to the border from here, now that they’d ‘lost’ their pursuers.

She took his hand. He closed his eyes. And focused.  

It only took a second before his secondary ability activated, melding them with the shadows of the dark tunnel.  To Verita, the world seemed a grayscale blur as they ‘walked’, each step taking them as far as the eye could see and as far as the shadows could take them.  To Kris’ trained eye, everything was crystal clear, and he took in the information as quickly as it came, allowing their quick movement that would appear like teleportation to anyone other than himself. Grey rapidly faded to green, sending Verita to a stumbling halt. Kristoff steadied her as she took in the Silver Forests of Vierre.

They’d made it.

[madame-vera]

January Mages of Pages Writing Exercise

The writing discord server I'm on, Mages of Pages, usually runs 2-3 competitions every month. They have 1 that lasts about a month. and 1 or 2 lasting about a fortnight each. But this month they decided try something different. Instead of a competition the month-long slot turned into an interesting writing exercise.

Volunteers were to be paired up into groups of two and write a collaborative piece. We were given a hard word limit of 2000-2250. Our work was to be colour-coded and shared equally with no one writers individual work being outside the 25%-50% limits. Blue and red were assigned to authors for individual work. Black for pieces where both authors contributed equally to word choice, theme, character voice and tone. There was to be a minimum of 1 completely collaborative paragraph. The project had to be completely new and fit within PG13 guidelines. It could be an original work or fanfiction.

Pairs who completed this got paired roles.

I was paired with Bjorn Fenrissen and immediately called dibs on blue. XD After checking out each others tastes and preferences and finding shared ground, we settled on a modernish D&D style fantasy in the Underground. And we had a story! The time zone differences were tricky but splitting parts helped circumvent that particular issue and it was so much fun!

We got a cool roll too. Signs of the Underground!

And here's our end result! XD I'll type it out in full without the colour coding in a reblog.

Hope you enjoy

January MoP Exercise - Code Blue

[oc-factoids]

Tag the OC that paints their nails

[augustwritingchallenge]

AU-gust 2023 prompt list is here! 🎉

What is AU-gust? It stands for Alternate Universe August, and it is a creative challenge for everyone. Writers, artists, fans; anyone can join! Be sure to check out our FAQ for more answers! Join us on Twitter, AO3, Discord and under the tags #au gust and #au gust 2023.

Special thanks to @yaoyorozoops for creating the wonderful graphics!

[madame-vera]

Yay! AUgust is back! And I'm back in for my second round of it. Last time I tried to fill in each prompt and use a different fandom for one. I got ideas for all of them and completed 2. So this year I'll be doing something similar.

I will try to write at least 5 prompts and come up with ideas for all the prompts. I'll aim to use a different fandom for each but won't obsess over it as strictly as last year. Ok, I'll be honest. I'm far too stubborn to relax that one but it's good to remind myself. Maybe I'll actually follow through. I'll write each story as the ideas come instead of thinking through each individual prompt first. That one really stalled me last time 🙈. By the time I was done I'd forgotten what I wanted to do in the first place. Inspiration gone . Self-sabotage at its finest. 😅

So, for easy reading purposes, my 2023 AU-gust goals in list format

5 complete prompts min.

Every prompt answered with a story idea

Every prompt from a different fandom (flexible)

Results formatted into a masterpost

I'm really looking forward to this year's round, so fingers crossed. Let's all have fun!

[madame-vera]

I'll list my main ideas here and I'll see how I go.

Sightless - Loveless - Sightless

Yuiko x Yayoi - Pair called Sightless for their blind but wholesome love. They get pulled into Ritsuka's world.

Immortals - Fandom - Title

Yuri doesn't age a day until she's back in her times. (Red River)

Writer - Fandom - Title

Misaki tries to get back at Usagi-san by writing embarrassing things about him. He thinks he's smart. (he's not)

Runaway - Fandom - Title

Shen Yuan successfully books it post-transmigration

Shen Yuan successfully escapes LBH post abyss

Pet Sitters - Fandom - Title

LQR takes care of the rabbits while LWJ heals from the 33 whips

Shen Yuan takes care of monster/beast pets

Domestic - Fandom - Title

Idea

Boarding School - Fandom - Title

Idea

Robots & Androids - Fandom - Title

Idea

Cleaning Crew - Fandom - Title

Idea

Exiled - Fandom - Title

Kanawa can't return to Ukihara village because he's too changed by his time in the outside world. He joins Natsume instead as an unofficial shiki.

Doppelganger - Fandom - Title

Kei meets all their doppelgangers at once. They're all women. (Moyashimon)

Edward meets an unexpected doppelganger on Earth. (CoS)

Ed meets a doppelganger from earth in Amestris (CoS)

Book Store - Fandom - Title

Idea

Behind The Mirror - Fandom - Title

One of the MXTX couples get a sex room made by Melanie Rose from How To Build A Sex Room. She'd hide it behind a mirror, Might even make it a series of couples.

As above but with Misaki and Usagi from Junjou Romantica.

Wizards & Witches - Fandom - Title

Idea

Ancient History - Fandom - Title

Idea

Road Trip - Fandom - Title

Idea

Fallen Angel - Fandom - Title

Aziraphale falls and Crowley meets him in the middle.

As above but it's just off a ladder or something.

Time Travel - Fandom - Title

Idea

Shapeshifters - Fandom - Title

Idea

Reconnection - Fandom - Title

Idea

Coaches - Fandom - Title

Idea

Celebrities - Fandom - Title

Idea

Plumber Role Reversal (J423) - Fandom - Title

Kale gets swept into the Hittite Empire (or the modern world) and comes under the care of Yuri (Red River/Anatolia Story)

Crime - Fandom - Title

Idea

Eldritch Horror - Fandom - Title

Idea

Lighthouse - Fandom - Title

Idea

Fantastic Creatures - Fandom - Title

Idea

Royalty - Fandom - Title

Idea

Dark - Fandom - Title

Idea

Afterlife - Fandom - Title

Idea

Two Of The Above - Red River - Title

Shipwrecked and Time Travel

When Ishtar (Yuri) and her boat gets swept into the ocean after an attack (the one that ended her first pregnancy in vol.18-19), she wakes up on the shores of modern Lebanon.

[madame-vera]

In the end I skipped this years activities. It just wasn't clicking for me.

Rotten writers block

┻━┻ ︵ ＼( °□° )／ ︵ ┻━┻

ah well. better luck next time. but id did get a few ideas out of it so i'll keep them in mind.