Find my main blog @merry-makes! A blog dedicated to a story I've been chipping away at since I was in middle school (I am now a young adult, it's been a minute)
This blog will be all things Greener Pastures, whether it's dumb memes about my characters, less dumb art I or other people make about my characters, and hopefully least dumb planning and writing for my story
Stay a while and enjoy!
Hello! This is @merry-makes's side blog for my story project Greener Pastures, a book I’ve been trying to write since I was in middle school (it’s been over a decade,,, yikes). However, my passion for it has been rekindled recently, and I’m brewing up all sorts of fun new ideas, and even if it never makes it to print, I am having a god damned blast. Feel free to take a look around, and if you have any questions, you know where to leave ‘em ;)
Click here for a post collecting all current one-shots I have for this story in (more-or-less) chronological order
Continue below for: Synopsis, About Me, About My Story, Fun Facts [About My Story lol], and Tags:
Synopsis:
Carter James is no hero. She works a lot of jobs for not a lot of money, lives in a shitty apartment where she plays amenity musical chairs every time the bills are due, and drives an ugly Beetle that she affectionately calls Shitstain. The only heroic thing Carter had ever done was rescue her own ass from the reach of her emotionally abusive family, and she didn’t even do that all that well.
The chance to be a real hero comes to her from the strangest place: the afterlife. After a not-so-fateful encounter with a man claiming to be her Guardian Angel, Carter is whisked away into a place called Haven. There she finds the home base of the Guardians, a type of undead limbo military dedicated to shepherding the human souls of Earth to their own afterlives.
This is done by battling the Strix—monstrous half-bird beasts that gather where sin festers. More dead Strix means fewer sinning mortals, which means a lot of happy Guardians. However, as Strix activity begins to rise at an exponential rate, the Council felt it was time to take some drastic measures. And Carter, with the help of her Guardian, happens to be the key to just that.
Even as Carter finds herself the happiest she’s ever been—further from her shitty family than she ever dreamed, surrounded by a flock of new friends, a universally determined platonic soul-mate at her side, finally useful—she can’t help but think that there’s more happening behind the curtains than what the Council is telling the Guardians. And she’s worried that the price for pulling those curtains back is higher than most are willing to pay.
About Me:
My name is Rebekah, but occasionally online I also go by Disaster (my go-to gamertag, and the name of my other sideblog for my sona characters hehe), Merry (for my main blog), or Eirys (for my main sona)! I’m a young adult, queer, and use she/her pronouns.
You can find my main blog @merryweathermakes. There I post about my other creative projects, reblog posts about my interests, and continue to fumble my way through pretending I know how tumblr works (better late than never).
This is a safe space for those who need it, and an unsafe space for those people need safe spaces from! If you have to ask, I would take it as a sign.
About My Story:
Status: Planning,,,, and running out of things to plan. I fear the time to actually write approaches
Genre: Fantasy, action, romance, LGBTQ+ (i hate that that’s a genre i think all stories should be queer by default lol)
Themes: found family, war, corrupt systems, destiny, autonomy
Rating: YA to Adult—reads younger, but there is a lot of swearing, and I’m still deciding if I’m doing a closed door romance or not
Fun Facts:
When I first concocted this story in middle school, it was about a forbidden romance between a female human and her male guardian angel. Now they’re both gay—but they’re still besties!
I’ve technically only ever finished one draft of Greener Pastures, what I consider the sixth version (because it was the sixth time I started it over). Now I’m on version seven and not using much of what was in the last draft 😭 it sparked a lot of new ideas though, when I finally reread it!
I initially saw this story as a trilogy, but I think that was mostly because I liked trilogies lol. Now I have no idea how long this is going to come out to, but I wouldn’t mind if it was just a solo book.
Tags:
To be updated as needed
Categories:
greener pastures: writing - for posts containing writing about Greener Pastures regardless of length or depth--could be oneshots, could be snippets, may one day be whole chapters 👀
greener pastures: oneshot - for oneshots about Greener Pastures
greener pastures: art - for art done of Greener Pastures
greener pastures: planning - for posts about behind-the-scenes stuff for GP. This could be bits of world-building, character spotlights, screenshots of my mila-note board--the like 🙂↕️
Characters:
greener pastures: carter - for posts about Carter, the heroine of Greener Pastures
greener pastures: tuck - for posts about Tuck, a supporting character of Greener Pastures
greener pastures: sabel - for posts about Sabel, a supporting character of Greener Pastures
greener pastures: edence - for posts about Edence, a supporting character of Greener Pastures
greener pastures: meya - for posts about Meya, a supporting character of Greener Pastures
in trying to narrow down and develop what makes each aspect different from eachother (other than elements ofc) i have unlocked:
forbidden personality basketball
[not set in stone--this is an idea i am actively toying with and workshopping lol. but hey on that note if you have any personality traits you associate with the elements (esp light and dark seeing as those arent on standard lists lol) feel free to drop them below 🤪]
good news: no longer a basketball (and NEVER a baseball @the-bane-of-my-existence shut your whore mouth /j)
bad news: now its... whatever the fuck this thing is. biblically accurate angel? (ironic, for a story pertaining to guardian 'angels' i guess)
but hey while im here, here's some of my other aspect diagrams
(Firstly--the Aspect names of the very fist picture are currently the canon ones--these pictures include some earlier versions lol)
eye color is important to aspects--each one has a specific range of shades that are unique to them. guardians that are close to ascending to Full Fledged and earning their wings will have eye colors mixed based on whatever Aspects they're between realizing into--usually it'll be Aspects that are already next to eachother on the 'wheel' [that's a prototype term if i've ever typed one hellO], very rarely ones that aren't neighboring
each aspect also has different combat aptitudes--the more 'spicy' ones on the left focus on distance and speed, the 'calmer' ones on the right are tankier heavy-hitters, and top and bottom specialize in more magical abilities that i'm honestly still workshopping lol
also--not all aspects get along! nox in general isn't viewed the best even by its neighbors (ie their 'likes' are generous at best lol) due to a long, convoluted, not-totally accurate history of prejudice. you could imagine that if a guardian was between realizing into an opposing pair of aspects--say, luxa and nox--that there would be a lot of bated breaths going around... or something. idk. im writing this out at not even 5 in the morning whatever
ANYWHO, im working on a longer 'On Aspects' masterdoc (hence all the personality hullaballoo, working that out ahead of putting it in proper speech lol), so that will be shared... one day! eventually!
LMAO i forgot i shared that doc with you! i'll tell you now then that it is NOT ready to look at asdfghjkl--at least as far as polish goes, obv if i cared ab you seeing it in progress i wouldn't have shared it lol
thaaaank you, picking traits that were fitting w/out being stereotypical PLUS fitting opposing traits was a labor of several hours and i'm glad it turned out so well ^^ it is my hope that one day fangirls will make "what aspect are you" quizzes the way they did Divergent factions and Hunger Games districts (tho we are clearly a looong way from that)
in trying to narrow down and develop what makes each aspect different from eachother (other than elements ofc) i have unlocked:
forbidden personality basketball
[not set in stone--this is an idea i am actively toying with and workshopping lol. but hey on that note if you have any personality traits you associate with the elements (esp light and dark seeing as those arent on standard lists lol) feel free to drop them below 🤪]
good news: no longer a basketball (and NEVER a baseball @the-bane-of-my-existence shut your whore mouth /j)
bad news: now its... whatever the fuck this thing is. biblically accurate angel? (ironic, for a story pertaining to guardian 'angels' i guess)
but hey while im here, here's some of my other aspect diagrams
(Firstly--the Aspect names of the very fist picture are currently the canon ones--these pictures include some earlier versions lol)
eye color is important to aspects--each one has a specific range of shades that are unique to them. guardians that are close to ascending to Full Fledged and earning their wings will have eye colors mixed based on whatever Aspects they're between realizing into--usually it'll be Aspects that are already next to eachother on the 'wheel' [that's a prototype term if i've ever typed one hellO], very rarely ones that aren't neighboring
each aspect also has different combat aptitudes--the more 'spicy' ones on the left focus on distance and speed, the 'calmer' ones on the right are tankier heavy-hitters, and top and bottom specialize in more magical abilities that i'm honestly still workshopping lol
also--not all aspects get along! nox in general isn't viewed the best even by its neighbors (ie their 'likes' are generous at best lol) due to a long, convoluted, not-totally accurate history of prejudice. you could imagine that if a guardian was between realizing into an opposing pair of aspects--say, luxa and nox--that there would be a lot of bated breaths going around... or something. idk. im writing this out at not even 5 in the morning whatever
ANYWHO, im working on a longer 'On Aspects' masterdoc (hence all the personality hullaballoo, working that out ahead of putting it in proper speech lol), so that will be shared... one day! eventually!
in trying to narrow down and develop what makes each aspect different from eachother (other than elements ofc) i have unlocked:
forbidden personality basketball
[not set in stone--this is an idea i am actively toying with and workshopping lol. but hey on that note if you have any personality traits you associate with the elements (esp light and dark seeing as those arent on standard lists lol) feel free to drop them below 🤪]
good news: no longer a basketball (and NEVER a baseball @the-bane-of-my-existence shut your whore mouth /j)
bad news: now its... whatever the fuck this thing is. biblically accurate angel? (ironic, for a story pertaining to guardian 'angels' i guess)
but hey while im here, here's some of my other aspect diagrams
(Firstly--the Aspect names of the very fist picture are currently the canon ones--these pictures include some earlier versions lol)
eye color is important to aspects--each one has a specific range of shades that are unique to them. guardians that are close to ascending to Full Fledged and earning their wings will have eye colors mixed based on whatever Aspects they're between realizing into--usually it'll be Aspects that are already next to eachother on the 'wheel' [that's a prototype term if i've ever typed one hellO], very rarely ones that aren't neighboring
each aspect also has different combat aptitudes--the more 'spicy' ones on the left focus on distance and speed, the 'calmer' ones on the right are tankier heavy-hitters, and top and bottom specialize in more magical abilities that i'm honestly still workshopping lol
also--not all aspects get along! nox in general isn't viewed the best even by its neighbors (ie their 'likes' are generous at best lol) due to a long, convoluted, not-totally accurate history of prejudice. you could imagine that if a guardian was between realizing into an opposing pair of aspects--say, lux and nox--that there would be a lot of bated breaths going around... or something. idk. im writing this out at not even 5 in the morning whatever
ANYWHO, im working on a longer 'On Aspects' masterdoc (hence all the personality hullaballoo, working that out ahead of putting it in proper speech lol), so that will be shared... one day! eventually!
in trying to narrow down and develop what makes each aspect different from eachother (other than elements ofc) i have unlocked:
forbidden personality basketball
[not set in stone--this is an idea i am actively toying with and workshopping lol. but hey on that note if you have any personality traits you associate with the elements (esp light and dark seeing as those arent on standard lists lol) feel free to drop them below 🤪]
Rules: search for lines in your WIP that correspond to the prompts given
I decided to go Greener Pastures for this, and was able to pull lines from the oneshots I've written. Before that though--even though I have no one to tag--here's some prompts of my own:
a line where a character is heartbroken
a line where a character moves out of their comfort zone
a line where a character is honest
a line where a character realizes something important
continue below the cut for my responses to Trader's lines:
a line where a character is afraid:
She surged forward anyway, scanning desperately. For a place to hide? A conveniently discarded length of pipe? Another shriek from the monster as it approached behind her. She turned, screaming herself—in frustration, in fear. Tears welled in her eyes, but fell too soon, unobscuring her vision as her hunter ambled into the courtyard behind her.
from honey instead of coffee
a line where a character does something they'd rather not:
“May I have this dance?” Carter asked, extending a slender-fingered hand, and damn Sabel to the Bird Cage, she was too old for butterflies. But she was meant to be playing unaffected and aloof, and the unaffected and aloof didn’t run away from terrifying opportunities at proximity. So Sabel took Carter’s hand, her shorter and sturdier fingers contrasting the shape of Carter’s as much as Sabel’s darker skin contrasted Carter’s light. “You may,” Sabel replied.
from wait for me (i forgot how much i love this oneshot oh my god)
a line where a character justifies an action (to themselves or others):
He couldn’t voice the thought, so he bawled instead. He couldn’t even feel embarrassed about it. All he felt was heartbreak.
“There was nothing you could have done,” Edence said once Tuck had sobered, pulling away and wiping at his face. His expression was solemn, but firm. “You couldn’t have known.” Shouldn't he have?
from blood and bone, ash and stone
a line where a character is surprised:
[Meya] took a sip and hummed her delight, before joining the others in making Carter feel self conscious. “Carter! I didn’t know you were an artist!”
“I… haven’t had much time for it recently,” she muttered, which was true.
from the fence is a metaphor
open tags! i'd love to see anyones responses to the prompts i came up with as i was scanning my oneshots for material ^^
silver blood and golden eyes - a greener pastures oneshot
for Flash Fiction Friday 12/19/25, from @flashfictionfridayofficial
Prompt: Don't Be Afraid
Title: silver blood and golden eyes
Universe: Greener Pastures
Synopsis: A continuation of this oneshot, Carter makes a confusing discovery as she watches her coworker kick absolute supernatural ass
Content Warnings: slight horror element, slight gore
Words: 1,086
Authors notes: good news, i got a prompt i could use to continue the oneshot I wanted to! yay! so this IS a part 2, if any readers are confused, part 1 is linked in the above synopsis and listed in the link to my masterlist below
i am not very adept at writing combat (hence why i wanted to continue that other prompt), so constructive (AND NICE please im fragile lmao) criticism is appreciated
in a similar vein i really struggled with keeping the past tense consistent—i kept slipping into present tense lol. so if you notice anywhere where i didn’t catch and fix it, lemme know lol
ALSO: i did take slight creative liberty with the prompt-- i used "do not be afraid" instead of "don't". I hope that's aright--it was spoken by a character who, for reasons, doesn't often speak with contractions. I didn't want to compromise that, but hopefully that wasn't at risk of breaking any rules
[Continue below the cut, or click here for more of my writing!]
Carter nodded numbly, and Isabel dashed forward once more. The monster readied itself for her approach, widening its stance. Carter almost cried out for her to stop, wait, come back, but nausea warned her that her mouth was better off shut.
She couldn’t watch. She wanted desperately to look away. But her eyes were drawn to Isabel like a compass to true north.
In a feat of gravity-defiance, Isabel leapt into the air, hanging for a moment before arcing back down with her blade. A decayed wing met her strike, batting her away like a fly, but not without taking a nasty gash. Isabel flew back, twisting in mid-air like a damn squirrel, landing feet first against the walls of the courtyard before bending her knees and launching herself back into the fray.
She bellowed, twisting once more to alight on the monster feet first, thrusting down with her sword. She struck true, catching its shoulder—the bird one, not the human one—with the tip of her claymore, steel sinking deep into flesh. In a grotesque feat of strength, she kicked off to the side, wrenching the sword through the muscles connecting wing to spine. The monster screamed in pain, wing falling limp to its side. Isabel veered away once more, making distance between herself and the creature.
Screeching in rage, the monster leaned forward and charged, human arms outstretched. Isabel didn’t move. Carter was tempted to cry out for her when Isabel finally takes to the air, somersaulting over reaching claws to land once more on the creature’s mottled back. It bucked in response, and somehow Isabel kept a grip on it, clinging to its back like a bull-rider. She hacked down at the human back before her, chunks of pale flesh and grayed viscera flying into the air with each swing, arcs of silver blood glittering in the air before it splattered to the ground, against feathers, against leather armor and steel.
Carter watched as the monster finally bucked off its foe, Isabel twisting in the air once more. The moves were all gymnastic perfection, but there was something bothering her.
Isabel made another jump that was just a bit too slow to fall, like she was more resistant to gravity than she should be.
She maneuvered in the air a bit too well, more than twisting a little bit in the air should allow.
Carter had compared her movements to a squirrel, but that wasn’t quite right. Squirrels and other animals who could make themselves land on their feet would wiggle violently as they fell, spines and limbs twisting to uncomfortable angles to orient themselves feet-first. Isabel was spinning mid-air alright—as if to aid Carter’s observation she did so then, spearing down once more towards a fight she was slowly winning—but her body itself was staying relatively straight. Her movements looked like they were being aided by limbs she couldn’t see, less like a squirrel and more like a bird herself.
A bird.
Like the thought was a key to something beyond her, Carter could suddenly see something behind Isabel. Two somethings. Wings. Actual, Bona fife, feathery wings.
They weren’t white, like an angel’s you’d see in a painting. As a matter of fact, Carter couldn’t tell what color they were, with how fast Isabel was moving in the low-light. Some sort of brownish-grayish. But now, with the missing link in place, Carter could see the logic in Isabel’s leaps, propelled by a powerful bellow. She could see the reason in how she maneuvered in the air, wings angling to spin her like a torpedo as she propelled herself towards bleeding flesh. She could see the sense in how she suddenly switched trajectory, not through a jerky maneuver of her body, but a fluid redirection of her feathers.
It all made sense now. Except for the fact it made no fucking sense because humans didn’t have wings.
The creature was on its last legs. Both wings were now out of commission, the second one bent at an odd angle where Isabel had made a strike at its joint. One of its arms seemed to be broken, hanging limply at its side. Its heavy steps were staggered by fatigue. And its stupid serene mask was still adhered to its face, painted in its own blood and flesh.
Isabel, airborne, landed once more, blocking Carter’s view of the monster. Her outspread wings folded now, tucking neatly behind her back, crossing in an X by her ankles. It’s Carter’s first decent look at the wings since she forced her eyes to process them. They look familiar, even on a larger scale. She was sure they’re the same kinds of wings belonging to an actual bird, even if she couldn’t place which one. The feathers towards the tops of the wings are round, dark shapes ringed with gold. The ones beneath, edging the wings, are a dusky gray.
Isabel stalked towards the creature once more, but it didn’t go on the defensive. Like it knew it'd been beaten, it watched her approach without protest. Then it came low, bowing its head to Isabel. Carter couldn’t see her face. She could only see the claymore as she raised it, then swung, separating the human head from the rest of the miserable body. It hit the ground with a disgusting, wet thump, rolling for a few feet before coming to a stop. The mask cracked in the fall, but didn’t budge.
Isabel turned around, walking back towards Carter. Behind her, the corpse of the monster seemed to dissolve, silvery particles taking to the air. Some of those particles floated towards Isabel, but they didn’t land on her anywhere that Carter could see. It was almost like she was absorbing them. In fact, she seemed to stand a little straighter, walk a little lighter, as each glowing speck touched her.
It’d gotten darker in the time it took for the nightmare to come to a close, and Carter swore that Isabel’s abnormally pale eyes were glowing. Like the hunter’s moon had come out of hiding, and found itself in her gaze.
“Do not be afraid,” Isabel murmured. Her face is still splattered with silver blood, even as the last of the real evidence of her battle disintegrated into nothing. Claymore in one hand, the other was now out-stretched to help Carter up.
Instead of taking it, Carter promptly turned to the side and retched into the fountain, the first almost-liquid it'd seen in who knows how long.
The fight scene was pretty well written to be honest!! It made sense that not all of its details were conveyed, because Carter likely is freaking out so she's sorta spacey, so she probably wouldn't catch all the moves. But overall it was great!!!
The monster disintegrating is cool!! Those silver specks reminded me of Soul 👀was that intentional? Lmao. Neat either way!!
Carter girl I understand you're nauseated and stuff but get it together you just got saved by a hot angel lady!!!
LMAO thank you! it was a little vague on purpose tbh--its smth im trying out, beyond Carter not being All There. I noticed when reading a book (Warbreaker, Brandon Sanderson) that the author was actually pretty vague about what exactly a character is doing in combat unless its particularly interesting or skillful. My instinct is to over describe, so this is me trying to trust the audience to imagine what i'm describing without holding their hand. (Its something I struggle with a lot in general, over-describing actions or character appearances or locations what I can let be guessed at, which I think is rooted in my hypophantasia?)
there are definitely similarities between Soul and what Guardians get out of Strix--im not being vague on purpose, I just dont have a set name for it yet. but it does energize Guardians and has a role in how powerful they are. So it's a lot like XP in games--and in that, its like Soul!
and honestly im cutting Carter a lot of slack bc this is a lot of change to take in in the span of, like, an hour. maybe an hour and a half (including the previous oneshot lol)
silver blood and golden eyes - a greener pastures oneshot
for Flash Fiction Friday 12/19/25, from @flashfictionfridayofficial
Prompt: Don't Be Afraid
Title: silver blood and golden eyes
Universe: Greener Pastures
Synopsis: A continuation of this oneshot, Carter makes a confusing discovery as she watches her coworker kick absolute supernatural ass
Content Warnings: slight horror element, slight gore
Words: 1,086
Authors notes: good news, i got a prompt i could use to continue the oneshot I wanted to! yay! so this IS a part 2, if any readers are confused, part 1 is linked in the above synopsis and listed in the link to my masterlist below
i am not very adept at writing combat (hence why i wanted to continue that other prompt), so constructive (AND NICE please im fragile lmao) criticism is appreciated
in a similar vein i really struggled with keeping the past tense consistent—i kept slipping into present tense lol. so if you notice anywhere where i didn’t catch and fix it, lemme know lol
ALSO: i did take slight creative liberty with the prompt-- i used "do not be afraid" instead of "don't". I hope that's aright--it was spoken by a character who, for reasons, doesn't often speak with contractions. I didn't want to compromise that, but hopefully that wasn't at risk of breaking any rules
[Continue below the cut, or click here for more of my writing!]
Carter nodded numbly, and Isabel dashed forward once more. The monster readied itself for her approach, widening its stance. Carter almost cried out for her to stop, wait, come back, but nausea warned her that her mouth was better off shut.
She couldn’t watch. She wanted desperately to look away. But her eyes were drawn to Isabel like a compass to true north.
In a feat of gravity-defiance, Isabel leapt into the air, hanging for a moment before arcing back down with her blade. A decayed wing met her strike, batting her away like a fly, but not without taking a nasty gash. Isabel flew back, twisting in mid-air like a damn squirrel, landing feet first against the walls of the courtyard before bending her knees and launching herself back into the fray.
She bellowed, twisting once more to alight on the monster feet first, thrusting down with her sword. She struck true, catching its shoulder—the bird one, not the human one—with the tip of her claymore, steel sinking deep into flesh. In a grotesque feat of strength, she kicked off to the side, wrenching the sword through the muscles connecting wing to spine. The monster screamed in pain, wing falling limp to its side. Isabel veered away once more, making distance between herself and the creature.
Screeching in rage, the monster leaned forward and charged, human arms outstretched. Isabel didn’t move. Carter was tempted to cry out for her when Isabel finally takes to the air, somersaulting over reaching claws to land once more on the creature’s mottled back. It bucked in response, and somehow Isabel kept a grip on it, clinging to its back like a bull-rider. She hacked down at the human back before her, chunks of pale flesh and grayed viscera flying into the air with each swing, arcs of silver blood glittering in the air before it splattered to the ground, against feathers, against leather armor and steel.
Carter watched as the monster finally bucked off its foe, Isabel twisting in the air once more. The moves were all gymnastic perfection, but there was something bothering her.
Isabel made another jump that was just a bit too slow to fall, like she was more resistant to gravity than she should be.
She maneuvered in the air a bit too well, more than twisting a little bit in the air should allow.
Carter had compared her movements to a squirrel, but that wasn’t quite right. Squirrels and other animals who could make themselves land on their feet would wiggle violently as they fell, spines and limbs twisting to uncomfortable angles to orient themselves feet-first. Isabel was spinning mid-air alright—as if to aid Carter’s observation she did so then, spearing down once more towards a fight she was slowly winning—but her body itself was staying relatively straight. Her movements looked like they were being aided by limbs she couldn’t see, less like a squirrel and more like a bird herself.
A bird.
Like the thought was a key to something beyond her, Carter could suddenly see something behind Isabel. Two somethings. Wings. Actual, Bona fife, feathery wings.
They weren’t white, like an angel’s you’d see in a painting. As a matter of fact, Carter couldn’t tell what color they were, with how fast Isabel was moving in the low-light. Some sort of brownish-grayish. But now, with the missing link in place, Carter could see the logic in Isabel’s leaps, propelled by a powerful bellow. She could see the reason in how she maneuvered in the air, wings angling to spin her like a torpedo as she propelled herself towards bleeding flesh. She could see the sense in how she suddenly switched trajectory, not through a jerky maneuver of her body, but a fluid redirection of her feathers.
It all made sense now. Except for the fact it made no fucking sense because humans didn’t have wings.
The creature was on its last legs. Both wings were now out of commission, the second one bent at an odd angle where Isabel had made a strike at its joint. One of its arms seemed to be broken, hanging limply at its side. Its heavy steps were staggered by fatigue. And its stupid serene mask was still adhered to its face, painted in its own blood and flesh.
Isabel, airborne, landed once more, blocking Carter’s view of the monster. Her outspread wings folded now, tucking neatly behind her back, crossing in an X by her ankles. It’s Carter’s first decent look at the wings since she forced her eyes to process them. They look familiar, even on a larger scale. She was sure they’re the same kinds of wings belonging to an actual bird, even if she couldn’t place which one. The feathers towards the tops of the wings are round, dark shapes ringed with gold. The ones beneath, edging the wings, are a dusky gray.
Isabel stalked towards the creature once more, but it didn’t go on the defensive. Like it knew it'd been beaten, it watched her approach without protest. Then it came low, bowing its head to Isabel. Carter couldn’t see her face. She could only see the claymore as she raised it, then swung, separating the human head from the rest of the miserable body. It hit the ground with a disgusting, wet thump, rolling for a few feet before coming to a stop. The mask cracked in the fall, but didn’t budge.
Isabel turned around, walking back towards Carter. Behind her, the corpse of the monster seemed to dissolve, silvery particles taking to the air. Some of those particles floated towards Isabel, but they didn’t land on her anywhere that Carter could see. It was almost like she was absorbing them. In fact, she seemed to stand a little straighter, walk a little lighter, as each glowing speck touched her.
It’d gotten darker in the time it took for the nightmare to come to a close, and Carter swore that Isabel’s abnormally pale eyes were glowing. Like the hunter’s moon had come out of hiding, and found itself in her gaze.
“Do not be afraid,” Isabel murmured. Her face is still splattered with silver blood, even as the last of the real evidence of her battle disintegrated into nothing. Claymore in one hand, the other was now out-stretched to help Carter up.
Instead of taking it, Carter promptly turned to the side and retched into the fountain, the first almost-liquid it'd seen in who knows how long.
A collection of all short-and-longform storytelling works for this universe. One day that might include actual ass chapters--for now its just world-building/character exploring oneshots
ONESHOTS
blood and bone, ash and stone (1,082 words)- a (late) entry for Flash Fiction Friday set before the beginning of the story, setting up some of the emotional themes of the story. Narrated by Tuck.
honey instead of coffee (1,000 words)- an entry for Flash Fiction Friday set towards the beginning of the story, detailing Carter’s sudden departure from reality as she knew it. Narrated by Carter.
silver blood and golden eyes (1,086 words)- an entry for Flash Fiction Friday and a part two to the above oneshot, where Carter learns something interesting about her coworker. Narrated by Carter
the fence is a metaphor (1,000 words)- an entry for Flash Fiction Friday set in the late beginning/early middle of GP. Gives a good introduction of the crew Carter runs with. Narrated by Carter.
wait for me (1,441 words)- a oneshot exploring the dynamic between Carter and her love interest, Sabel, told from the latter’s perspective. Set in the middle of the story. Narrated by Sabel.
If you're interested in any of my other writing, you can check out my main blog, @merry-makes, or click here to see my masterlist for my Caelum oneshots!
for Flash Fiction Friday 11/28/25, from @flashfictionfridayofficial
Prompt: Broken Wings
Title: blood and bone, ash and stone
Universe: Greener Pastures
Synopsis: Set in Carter's youth, Tuck struggles with the aftermath of violent, heartbreaking betrayal
Content Warnings: slight gore
Words: 1,082
Author's Note: I'm a little late on this one! The prompt came out the last day of my Thanksgiving trip, and then I drove home all of the next day, so I sadly didn't have much time to work on it. However, I figured I'd go ahead and write for it, because it suited GP so well! It did NOT end up as a part 2 to last week's as I'd hoped, but it did allow me to write a oneshot I'd been planning on doing already, so it works out! I hope you all enjoy ~
Continue below the cut:
Tuck had been sitting on the edge of his bed for a while. The sheets and blankets were still neatly tucked around the edges of the mattress from when they’d made it that morning. The light overhead was still switched off to accommodate afternoon light that had long since fled the window before him. He had loosened his tie, and his dress uniform was a bit more rumpled than regulation. But he had not moved. He had not eaten, or visited the restroom, or showered—activities that brought comfort only, considering he left behind his need to partake when he first died three centuries ago. He tried not to blink, either, a much harder habit to kick.
Because every time he did, he saw it again.
Blood on the pavement. A sentence given that Tuck couldn’t hear over the ringing in his ears. Cries of pain. Betrayal. Heartbreak.
No. He wasn’t thinking about it. Tuck took a deep breath—another accessory function that was more comfort than anything. A feather danced between his fingers—a soft, dark, covert feather, shimmering iridescent in the little bit of city light that came through the window. He could just faintly see darker patterning through the already dark plumage.
Technically, it shimmered Contradescent, according to the other Guardians. But so far as he could tell, the only real difference between Iridescence and Contradescence was a white versus black base for the rainbow sheen, respectively. Contradescence wasn't cursed. It wasn't a bad omen. A sure sign of a disaster waiting to happen.
Was it?
A dark, bare back, bruised and bleeding. Muscles quivering through the skin. The surface gleaming with a mixture of blood and sweat.
Tuck had found the feather in their bed that morning. He had teased Cassir with it, who had insisted Tuck throw the thing out. It was just another molt, he'd complained. If Tuck had kept every feather Cas had shed, he could make another one of him and replace him.
But Tuck loved Cas' wings. He could admit that part of it came down to jealousy, having none of his own. But they were also divine. More than once he'd had his lover cover the two of them with his wings, and Tuck would watch the light play over each dark feather. Pretty wings for a pretty boy, he'd said more than once.
Dark wings mangled, broken at odd angles. Gleaming feathers discarded on the stove around them, mottled with blood. Bone. Ash. Stony faces so at odds with the war Tuck fought within himself. Golden eyes finding his own, begging, pleading—for what?
Surely it was all a dream. This couldn’t be real. The man he loved couldn’t have—
A knock sounded against the open bedroom door behind him. Tuck didn’t turn to look. He didn’t have to. Edence was there before him a moment later.
Edence and Cassir were not that visually similar, really. Cassir’s skin was darker, warmer, richer, where Edence’s was lighter and more neutral. Cassir’s hair had been in long, thin locs, while Edence’s braids were chin-length, pulled demurely back for the moment save for a few face-framing pieces. Cassir’s hair was a dark brown, and Edence’s was much lighter. Both were Full-Fledged, but there was little mistaking Cassir’s Contradescent Snowy Owl wings with Edence’s vibrant Road Runner ones. But with Edence’s favored tinted glasses discarded to make uniform, it made his rich amber eyes resemble Cassir’s sunlight yellow ones all the more. Tuck had to quickly look away.
Two lean arms enveloped him as Edence embraced him. “I’m so sorry, Tuck,” he murmured.
That broke the dam. Tuck hicced, and the emotion welled up in him all at once. He threw his arms around his best friend and sobbed into his shoulder. Edence shifted to sit beside Tuck, cradling the broken man as best he could. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Edence soothed. “You’re okay. Let it out.”
“How—hicc!—how could he have—” How could Cassir have killed his own Charge? Indirectly or not—how could Cas have let that happen?
How could Tuck have loved a man who would have let that happen?
He couldn’t voice the thought, so he bawled instead. He couldn’t even feel embarrassed about it. All he felt was heartbreak.
“There was nothing you could have done,” Edence said once Tuck had sobered, pulling away and wiping at his face. His expression was solemn, but firm. “You couldn’t have known.” Shouldn’t he have? “All you can do now is support your Charge. The Council said that the two of your Charges were sisters, right?”
Oh by the Strix, Carter. His own Charge.
Tuck had known that Cassir had somehow ended up assigned to Carter’s twin sister, Aydan. (He wasn’t supposed to know, but it was a hard secret to keep when the risk of running into eachother when checking on their own charges ran so high.) And Aydan… Damn. Now that Tuck was looking past his own grief, he could feel hers, like a second heart aching in his own chest. Little Carter’s sister was dead. She needed him more than ever.
“They were,” Tuck confirmed, sniffing. He wiped at his own face with his free hand. “You’re right. I need to go to her. I’ll send a report if it seems there’s any danger of Strix Flocking nearby. People tend to get real morose when kids die.”
Edence clapped him on the shoulder. “Good man. I brought some soup if you want some, before you go.”
Tuck shook his head. “Put it in the fridge. I’ve left her alone long enough as it is.”
The man looked at him for a moment. Did he want him to do his job or wallow, for the Iridescents’ sake? “Alright,” Edence said at last. “I’ll go open a Door for you.”
Tuck smiled, but even he could feel that it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I appreciate it,” he promised, rising to follow Edence into an area of Tuck’s apartment tall enough for a Door. Then he paused, remembering the feather he still clutched in his hand.
He walked back to the nightstand on—on the side of the bed he didn’t sleep on. Tuck opened the bottom drawer, not feeling capable of looking at what Cassir had left behind just yet, and deposited the feather into the empty drawer. Satisfied, he brushed his hands off on the sides of his dress pants and went to have Edence let him onto Earth.
for Flash Fiction Friday 11/28/25, from @flashfictionfridayofficial
Prompt: Broken Wings
Title: blood and bone, ash and stone
Universe: Greener Pastures
Synopsis: Set in Carter's youth, Tuck struggles with the aftermath of violent, heartbreaking betrayal
Content Warnings: slight gore
Words: 1,082
Author's Note: I'm a little late on this one! The prompt came out the last day of my Thanksgiving trip, and then I drove home all of the next day, so I sadly didn't have much time to work on it. However, I figured I'd go ahead and write for it, because it suited GP so well! It did NOT end up as a part 2 to last week's as I'd hoped, but it did allow me to write a oneshot I'd been planning on doing already, so it works out! I hope you all enjoy ~
[Continue below the cut, or click here for more of my writing!]
Tuck had been sitting on the edge of his bed for a while. The sheets and blankets were still neatly tucked around the edges of the mattress from when they’d made it that morning. The light overhead was still switched off to accommodate afternoon light that had long since fled the window before him. He had loosened his tie, and his dress uniform was a bit more rumpled than regulation. But he had not moved. He had not eaten, or visited the restroom, or showered—activities that brought comfort only, considering he left behind his need to partake when he first died three centuries ago. He tried not to blink, either, a much harder habit to kick.
Because every time he did, he saw it again.
Blood on the pavement. A sentence given that Tuck couldn’t hear over the ringing in his ears. Cries of pain. Betrayal. Heartbreak.
No. He wasn’t thinking about it. Tuck took a deep breath—another accessory function that was more comfort than anything. A feather danced between his fingers—a soft, dark, covert feather, shimmering iridescent in the little bit of city light that came through the window. He could just faintly see darker patterning through the already dark plumage.
Technically, it shimmered Contradescent, according to the other Guardians. But so far as he could tell, the only real difference between Iridescence and Contradescence was a white versus black base for the rainbow sheen, respectively. Contradescence wasn't cursed. It wasn't a bad omen. A sure sign of a disaster waiting to happen.
Was it?
A dark, bare back, bruised and bleeding. Muscles quivering through the skin. The surface gleaming with a mixture of blood and sweat.
Tuck had found the feather in their bed that morning. He had teased Cassir with it, who had insisted Tuck throw the thing out. It was just another molt, he'd complained. If Tuck had kept every feather Cas had shed, he could make another one of him and replace him.
But Tuck loved Cas' wings. He could admit that part of it came down to jealousy, having none of his own. But they were also divine. More than once he'd had his lover cover the two of them with his wings, and Tuck would watch the light play over each dark feather. Pretty wings for a pretty boy, he'd said more than once.
Dark wings mangled, broken at odd angles. Gleaming feathers discarded on the stove around them, mottled with blood. Bone. Ash. Stony faces so at odds with the war Tuck fought within himself. Golden eyes finding his own, begging, pleading—for what?
Surely it was all a dream. This couldn’t be real. The man he loved couldn’t have—
A knock sounded against the open bedroom door behind him. Tuck didn’t turn to look. He didn’t have to. Edence was there before him a moment later.
Edence and Cassir were not that visually similar, really. Cassir’s skin was darker, warmer, richer, where Edence’s was lighter and more neutral. Cassir’s hair had been in long, thin locs, while Edence’s braids were chin-length, pulled demurely back for the moment save for a few face-framing pieces. Cassir’s hair was a dark brown, and Edence’s was much lighter. Both were Full-Fledged, but there was little mistaking Cassir’s Contradescent Snowy Owl wings with Edence’s vibrant Road Runner ones. But with Edence’s favored tinted glasses discarded to make uniform, it made his rich amber eyes resemble Cassir’s sunlight yellow ones all the more. Tuck had to quickly look away.
Two lean arms enveloped him as Edence embraced him. “I’m so sorry, Tuck,” he murmured.
That broke the dam. Tuck hicced, and the emotion welled up in him all at once. He threw his arms around his best friend and sobbed into his shoulder. Edence shifted to sit beside Tuck, cradling the broken man as best he could. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Edence soothed. “You’re okay. Let it out.”
“How—hicc!—how could he have—” How could Cassir have killed his own Charge? Indirectly or not—how could Cas have let that happen?
How could Tuck have loved a man who would have let that happen?
He couldn’t voice the thought, so he bawled instead. He couldn’t even feel embarrassed about it. All he felt was heartbreak.
“There was nothing you could have done,” Edence said once Tuck had sobered, pulling away and wiping at his face. His expression was solemn, but firm. “You couldn’t have known.” Shouldn’t he have? “All you can do now is support your Charge. The Council said that the two of your Charges were sisters, right?”
Oh by the Strix, Carter. His own Charge.
Tuck had known that Cassir had somehow ended up assigned to Carter’s twin sister, Aydan. (He wasn’t supposed to know, but it was a hard secret to keep when the risk of running into eachother when checking on their own charges ran so high.) And Aydan… Damn. Now that Tuck was looking past his own grief, he could feel hers, like a second heart aching in his own chest. Little Carter’s sister was dead. She needed him more than ever.
“They were,” Tuck confirmed, sniffing. He wiped at his own face with his free hand. “You’re right. I need to go to her. I’ll send a report if it seems there’s any danger of Strix Flocking nearby. People tend to get real morose when kids die.”
Edence clapped him on the shoulder. “Good man. I brought some soup if you want some, before you go.”
Tuck shook his head. “Put it in the fridge. I’ve left her alone long enough as it is.”
The man looked at him for a moment. Did he want him to do his job or wallow, for the Iridescents’ sake? “Alright,” Edence said at last. “I’ll go open a Door for you.”
Tuck smiled, but even he could feel that it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I appreciate it,” he promised, rising to follow Edence into an area of Tuck’s apartment tall enough for a Door. Then he paused, remembering the feather he still clutched in his hand.
He walked back to the nightstand on—on the side of the bed he didn’t sleep on. Tuck opened the bottom drawer, not feeling capable of looking at what Cassir had left behind just yet, and deposited the feather into the empty drawer. Satisfied, he brushed his hands off on the sides of his dress pants and went to have Edence let him onto Earth.
honey instead of coffee - a greener pastures oneshot
for Flash Fiction Friday 11/21/25, from @flashfictionfridayofficial
Prompt: Hunter's Moon
Title: honey instead of coffee
Universe: Greener Pastures
Synopsis: early in Carter's story, she meets the fantastical side of it in the worst way--running for her life from an unearthly monster. But no worries! help finds her from an unlikely source 🙂↕️
Content Warnings: slight horror element, slight gore
Words: 1,000
Authors notes: For one thing, I originally had the idea for this oneshot a month or two ago to lead into practicing writing combat, which I am REALLY weak at. Spoilers, but I couldn't quite fit that in lol. So this oneshot may eventually become a twoshot!!
EDIT: I did in fact make a part two! You can read it here!
Also, there is a part in the story where Carter measures something by a metric of Shitstains. It should be noted that Shitstain is the name of her car--a really old Volkswagen Beetle that's more rust than metal. I could have used a proper term of measurement, but it was very important to me that readers know that Carter is an American.
Kidding! But this is set after Shitstain the car is introduced, and I wanted to write this with a vague hope of using it in the actual story.
[Continue below the cut, or click here for more of my writing!]
Carter gasped for air as she ran for her god-damn life.
It wasn’t a great position to be in—she was unathletic and a habitual smoker, for one. For another, whatever light the Hunter’s Moon would have cast this night was utterly obsolete in the alleyways she dashed through, low-hanging as it would be. But it was either run like the dickens or be bird food. So she ran.
She took another corner as it came, nearly missing it. A frustrated SCREECH!! rang behind her. Her knees wobbled a little—she pushed the fuck through.
“Split up, he said,” she gasped mockingly, attempting to soothe her own anxiety with humor. “It’ll come—for me instead! I’ll—find you, he said!” What a load of shit, she thought. Not out-loud anymore—she couldn’t spare the oxygen on half-assed jokes.
More turns. What kind of alleyway had this many turns? They were usually very grid-like here. Maybe a staggered, uneven grid, but more or less straightforward. This was feeling less like traipsing behind a series of overpriced small-businesses and more like she had found her way into a maze.
Another SCREECH!!!, accompanied by some concerning talons-rending-concrete-and/or-brick adjacent sounds, told her to shelve that thought for a later, more peaceful time.
Carter whipped around another corner only to find herself in a startlingly open area. It looked like a courtyard—an abandoned one. A dry fountain took center-stage, its statue cloaked by dried-out vines and wilted blossoms. The stone paving was cracked, scraggly weeds fighting for water that wouldn’t come. Saplings lined the walls, brittle and leafless, separated by once-maintained perimeters of rusted iron fencing in squares of cracked earth. A forgotten bicycle was chained to one.
And oh-so conveniently, she seemed to be standing in the courtyard’s only exit.
It was a spacious dead-end, but a dead-end all the same.
It also definitely wasn’t meant to be there—how could a whole courtyard be hidden in the middle of downtown? There was barely room for what was here—Carter just couldn’t shake the feeling that she didn’t have both feet on Earth, right then. Maybe one foot. But surely not both.
She surged forward anyway, scanning desperately. For a place to hide? A conveniently discarded length of pipe? Another shriek from the monster as it approached behind her. She turned, screaming herself—in frustration, in fear. Tears welled in her eyes, but fell too soon, unobscuring her vision as her hunter ambled into the courtyard behind her.
It was as big as two Shitstains stacked on top of eachother, and somehow even uglier. It was a colossal bird, covered in grimy, molting gray feathers, each talon as long as her forearm. It’s wings expanded as it stalked into the courtyard, seeming to enjoy the space compared to the confines of the labyrinth.
Where a bird’s head should have been was a human’s upper-body, sprouting from its feathered bird-shoulders. Malnourished and muscular all at once, its own hands were clawed with only finger-length talons instead of arm-length. It’s hair was patchy and limp where it seemed to be falling out of its skull, a white mask eclipsing its face. The mask was carved with a peaceful sleeping expression so at odds with the terror running through her, Carter was at risk of breaking into hysterical laughter. Then it shrieked again, and she was instead at risk of pissing her favorite jeans. And on her mother-fucking birthday.
Carter stumbled back, sobbing with her fear. She tripped over the lip of the fountain, falling hard on her ass into its basin, tearing at the skin of her palms as she failed to catch herself. The fountain didn’t even have the decency to piss her pants for her—by the feel of the stone beneath her, the fountain hadn’t seen a drop of water in who-knows how long. Ever?
Just as she was accepting the fact that her gravestone could potentially get a character discount with her dying the same day she was born (Carter James Kennedy, Born and Died October 11th, lived 21 years, every day one more than she deserved), a shout came from above, of all places. Before Carter could even look up, a dark form crashed right into the monster where its two bodies met, causing it to stagger. Silvery metal flashed in the pitiful moonlight as it was heaved into the air by the figure, and it suddenly registered to Carter as a claymore.
The fuck was a claymore doing actively monster-hunting in some random forgotten town?
The fuck did it matter if it seemed to be doing a good fucking job, she countered, as the dark figure, straddling the monster, cleaved down with the huge sword.
It screamed in response, spraying pale glowing liquid that Carter had to assume was it’s blood, wings batting and arms reaching to claw at its unwanted passenger. They leaped off, trailing gleaming metal and blood, landing light on their feet between Carter and the beast like it wasn’t anything. Except it was everything, because now that the figure was closer and standing relatively still, there was no denying its identity. She knew that long, curly black hair, held back in a bun. She knew that full figure, even if the tight black combat gear she wore showed that underneath her unassuming, lush weight, was a ridiculous amount of muscle. She knew those cheeks, that nose, those eyelashes.
“Isabel?” Carter croaked, sniffling. Isabel? Coworker Isabel? Coffee-and-reheated-pastry serving Isabel? Isabel who she just saw not-even thirty minutes ago in an ugly work apron and visor, and not in combat gear when Carter had originally left to go on her break for the shift Isabel? Isabel?
Isabel—fuck, it was Isabel—looked over her shoulder, and her dark eyes seemed brighter than usual. Like honey, instead of coffee. There was glowing blood sprayed across her face, and she smiled serenely. “CJ! Good to see you. Give me just a moment to wrap this up, alright?”
ok tag game for writblr. if u have ur WIP all in one place make a wordcloud to see the frequency >:)
i had to download mine off ao3 to do this which was actually p easy
link to site here
@whumpawaydarling @doumidas-whumps @pumpkin-spice-whump @inhurtandincomfort @cepheusgalaxy @oros-ash3s @sir-fenris @whumpologyy @lethologick @scumashling ermmm open tag $19 fortnite card who wants it !!!
the downside of narrating in the first person is that the protagonist's name isn't even in here 😔 #justiceforcarter
this is from the 8 chapters (and the one paragraph i wrote of chapter 9) that i have from my last draft of greener pastures. its the one i plan to reuse as much of as i can once i stop planning and start writing again lol
i started actually making playlists for my creative projects recently, and i thought i'd share them in case anyone was interested!
(i never used to bother with playlists since i cant listen to music when i write and i don't pay attention to it when i draw, but ive recieved advice that its good for getting in the right headspace for a project before you start working on it even if you cant keep it on during, so i gave it a shot. i also got weirdly stressed about not being able to know every applicable song that could apply to a story when making the playlist until i remembered that it is literally not that serious lol)
also for the disas-trio fans, if you go on my profile, there are individual playlists for aster, eirys, and tempest too! they're all songs on the actual caelum playlist, but if you're curious who inspired what songs i added, that's a good way to find out lol
