Write Away: Crime

An aspiring crime writer, complete with some writing advice, a few stray prompts, and a big old WIP: Blood in the Inkwell. Sideblog MorallyGreyPrompts is where I dwell most the time.

[nb-nightwing-deactivated2022111]

Thanks @thewritingninja for the tag!! :D ❤️

📢 Rules: answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up with

❤️ Three ships: nurseydex, and my oc one’s, Perri and Marigold, and …idk I don’t have a third one rn actually!!

🎶 Last Song: 18 by Five Seconds of Summer

📺: Last Movie: Minutemen!!! Fun fact, Jason Dolley and Brenda Song are tied for most DCOM appearances at 5 each!!!

📚: Currently Reading: I’m rereading the first Welcome to Nightvale novel

Tagging: @daring-elm @wowimsogoddamnoriginal @patton-birdie and whoever else wants to do it 💗

[stargayzingidiot]

oohhh thanks for the tag Sunflower :D

📢 Rules: answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up with

❤️ Three ships: Moxiety (lol is anyone surprised??), Analogical, and FitzSimmons

🎶 Last Song: Cold-Blooded by Zayde Wølf

📺: Last Movie: Some Disney movie I don’t remember the name of xD something with second born royals i dunno

📚: Currently Reading: Not really anything xD 

Imma tag: @ent-is-undecisive​ @omgsomeonesomewhereonearth​ @chaoticturtledream​ @magpiemorality​ and anyone else who wants to do it

[chaoticturtledream]

Hey, thanks friend!

📢 Rules: answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up with

❤️ Three ships: uhh I don’t really ship characters all that often, I just kinda go with whatever (appropriate ships only, of course)

🎶 Last Song: Can’t Go To Hell by Sin Shakes Sin

📺: Last Movie: I think it was the Maze Runner movies

📚: Currently Reading: ‘A Game of Thrones’ and I’m rereading all of Rick Riordan’s books

Imma tag: @anxieteas-tea @constantly-fatigued  @abro-disaster  @the-aro-ace-arrow-ace @helpimobsessedwithpercyjackson @warrior-fish16 anyone else who wants to do it

[65binary]

Thanks for the tag! (@abro-disaster is my main blog that I really don’t use much anymore, so it’s going on here)

📢 Rules: answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up with

❤️ Three ships: Valdangelo (HoO), Vinira (TOH), Tiffany Aching x Preston (Discworld)

🎶 Last Song: Superpower by X Ambassadors

📺: Last Movie: Enola Holmes

📚: Currently Reading: Rereading Going Postal from the Discworld books 

Imma tag: @violentlynervous @mcleanjosten @prince-hyacinthus @daughterofathenathatsokwspiders (main blog @/aquaeclipse) @hyllatwicekill and anyone else who wants to do it

[im-sad-lets-kiss]

thanks for the tag @willsolacepositivity 💗

rules: tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up with

three ships: newtmas, valdangelo, scorbus

last song: waving through a window from fear evan hansen

last movie: 8 mile

currently reading: the maze runner

imma tag: @2musiclover2 @leovaldezisbadboysupreme @nicodiqueenangelo @i-have–no-idea @siriuslylovingyou anyone else who wants to

[i-have--no-idea]

Thank you so much for the tag @prince-hyacinthus !

rules: tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up with

three ships: valdangelo, scorbus, solangelo (we dont talk about the last one okay its complicated)

last song: Niverana by Sam Smith

last movie: Avatar

currently reading: Wind Rider

hmmmmm… @funkfuck @temptxtion-mxgic @purple-dreams-of-stars222 @earthtorosalie anyone else who wants to!

[funkfuck]

oops i missed this

rules: tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up with

three ships: uhhhh fine arts gang, poly squad and perpester i dont have ships 

last song: lone digger by caravan palace

last movie: does john mulaney kid gorgeous count as a film?

currently reading: nothing as of rn <3

uhhh tagging (hopefully yall wont be mad at me) @navi-863 @kiwii-chuu @withspaces @drillbeeautomaton @madd-creations @bubblegum-gf @hannasational @lumpyspaceprincessismybitch annddddd uhhh @bad-decisions-are-my-forte

[platy-pie]

Thanks for the tag!

Rules: tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up with

Three ships: my paras Emma and Minnie, catradora, and Roxanne and Megamind

Last song: lemon tree by fool’s garden

Last movie: Megamind (aka the best movie ever)

Currently reading: uhh waiting for the release or Tower of Nero by Rick Riordan

Tagged people: @toa-incorrect-quotes @nightskiesinparadise @oh-shit-i-think-im-abro @silverinkgoldenquill @writemeagoodprompt @mojang-official @light-blue-glazed-terracotta @pastel-daydreaming @madd-jewels

[silverinkgoldenquill]

Thank ypu for the tag 😊

Rules: Tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up with

Three Ships: McKenzie/ Raoul from my story Lure, Skinner and Mina from LXG, and Jaskai and Arzsa from my masks story.

Last Song: In Thee by Blue Öyster Cult

Last Movie: Murder in the Orient Express, the new one

Currently Reading: Oh I wish I was reading something. I need to finish Library of Souls (Miss Peregrine Series)

Tagging: Uhh, just whoever wants to do it. 😊

[silverinkgoldenquill]

you know i get like r e a l l y happy when you like my posts coz you’re like,,,,a very cool and big blog and i’m just like w o a h t h a n k s

You're very welcome. 😊Have more happiness because I really enjoyed your prompt and just wow- the oof in it! Hero having given up so much and now snapping. 😱 Will they decide to go back to heroism or are they lost forever, how would Villain react? Just 👌 Perfect! Such good angst and so awesome!!! Keep writing, my friend, you've really got talent. 😊

[silverinkgoldenquill]

A villian who is trying really hard to be a villian but has social anxiety so the hero has to soothe them and tell them they are doing a good job at being bad (big fan of your writing!)

Hero decided it was best not to struggle in their bindings, especially considering they were tied above a tank of piranhas. The last thing they needed was to fall into that. They looked up at Villain who seemed ready to start their victory speech.

“Was this… really necessary? Feel like you’re going a bit overboard.”

“You think?” Villain asked with a sudden uncertainty. “I...uh… I mean, maybe? Look, I’m trying my best, you don’t get to judge me. You think it’s easy being a villain and thinking of new things?”

Hero furrowed their eyebrows. “Uh… sorry?”

Villain sighed and sat down on the step near the lever to lower them down to their very grisly death. “I’m the worst villain ever.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that. You caught me, didn’t you?” Hero pointed out. “[Supervillain] is still trying to do that.”

Villain sighed. “That’s true, I just- I get nervous. I want to be the biggest baddie going and I just… I mess it up and second-doubt myself.”

Hero never thought they’d end up in a situation where they felt the need to reassure a villain. “Nah, you’re really good at being a baddie, but… I think there are other things you could do other than kill me, wouldn’t you like to get one over on [Supervillain]? That’d make you look so villainous, and they’d be so jealous of you!”

Villain looked up to them with a glum face. “That sounds amazing, but how?”

“Don’t kill me, lower me down on the ground, and lock me up instead. Then you can show off the fact you’ve caught me, and-” Hero gulped looking at the fish beneath them, “you’re really good at intimidating me.”

It worked. Good God, it worked!

Villain moved the crane and lowered them down away from the tank and untied their ankles from the crane. “Fine, I have a cell you can go in!”

Hero had to force their breath of relief back. “Uh, good job.”

Like my stuff and want to support what I do? Then maybe consider buying me a Kofi? Ko-fi.com/morallygrey

[jenny-jinya]

Short comic, while I work on something bigger on the side. It is nevertheless a very important topic. A lot of seabirds die because they eat plastic. They feed their chicks with the waste. It’s really tragic.

[duetly]

This is so fucking important you guys.

When I was in Hawai’i we got to dissect an albatross bolus and what it’s supposed to be full of is this:

Those are squid beaks, the albatross’ natural prey. The bolus is supposed to be full of them. Ours had a small amount but…

But this is what ours mostly contained:

That big black thing in the left picture? That’s a fucking pocket knife handle.

Tell me, in what world, in what universe is this ok??? This is so fucking tragic.

It’s only getting worse every year.

Please, please, please, please be mindful of where you put your trash. Pick up any trash you see. Avoid using single-use plastics as much as possible. Do your part.

(Obligatory tags: @drearncatcher37 @loveistherootofhappiness @runmild)

[jenny-jinya]

This is insane, a pocket knife handle ?!

[silverinkgoldenquill]

People argue whether climate change is real, and honestly, as one person there is little you can do to fight that, but plastic in the oceans? One person can do something about that. That wrapper you just threw away, that could suffocate an animal, that cigarette butt could get eaten. Throw away your rubbish correctly, volunteer to clean beaches or just do it anyway, go take a litter picker and a bag and go clean up the woods or something, maybe even press the government for rivers to be cleaned of their rubbish too- rivers lead to the ocean; anything you see there will end up in the sea.

Please, help save our planet, there are things you can do.

[silverinkgoldenquill]

Villain wondering why Hero hasn't showed up yet during their mayhem in town, so Villain thoight that there will be a surprise attack but none, then they wonder why. When Villain backed up and comes to visit Hero, there's the answer. Hero is holding Villain's baby inside, and Hero couldn't take the risk to be in the fight. Or else they'll hurt their baby.

Steer any writing prompts to my MorallyGreyPrompts side blog, please. If the inbox is closed it means I’ve got no space. I’ll admit I struggled to think of what to write for this one. I also did a stupid and couldn’t tell if the kid was Hero and Villain’s or just Villain’s so bear that in mind when we get to that part of the prompt. Anyhoo on with the show.

Villain knew Hero well enough by now to know that them not showing up was odd. As their men pillaged the museum for any valuables, they kept their guard up, sure that there would be some sort of attack headed their way. Hero was sneaky and very good at catching Villain unawares. But still, as the minutes went on, there was no sign of the city’s saviour. 

“[Detective]’s here,” Henchman warned, hurrying to the van with a bag of loot.

Villain waited and counted to made sure all of their men were back inside the van. The last henchman came running toward the van empty-handed, with Detective chasing close behind them. Villain hurried to step in between the two.

“You’re trouble is with me, [Detective]. Don’t be chasing my men.”

“Damn right my trouble is with you!”

Villain gestured for the van to go. They grinned as Detective tried to run at them. Villain sidestepped and spun around, avoiding their first strike.

“Easy now! Goody two-shoes like you can’t go hitting offenders.”

“You’re the exception!” Detective tried again, at which point Villain decided enough was enough and hit them in the back of the head. They took off Detective’s tie and tied their hands behind their back just as they were coming around.

“You can blame [Hero] for my success tonight, my friend. I’ll see you soon!”

Villain took off running, taking refuge in the rooftops until the Detective was released, stormed away, and the glare of the police helicopter finally headed away from them.

“Too easy. Now then… where did that pesky [Hero] wander off too this time? Finally found a hobby?”

At first, Villain was simply more curious than worried. They thought of all the ways they could tease them the next time they met. They pondered causing more trouble that evening, to push their luck and see just how much they could get before Hero caught them. But at the same time, it was so unlike Hero that maybe something was wrong. Investigating didn’t feel like a bad call. After all, their work was done.

Villain carefully made their way to Hero’s base, ensuring that no one saw them, lawful or not. They tried the door and found that it was open. What on Earth was going on? Villain was quiet as they went inside, checking for any signs of a break-in. There was nothing.

“[Hero]?” they called out.

The almost immediate response was crying. A baby’s cry.

Villain frowned, but before they could investigate, Hero came storming into the hallway with a bundle in a blanket.“Do you have any idea how long it took me to get them to sleep?” Hero glared. They turned their attention back to the child, hushing them and offering them their bottle. Villain stood awkwardly. “Uhh… sorry?”“What are you doing here?” Hero asked. They narrowed their eyes. “What did you do?”

“Robbed a museum,” they said very quickly. “You didn’t show up. I came to see if you were alright, but I can see you’re... occupied.”

Hero shook their head. “Nah, I was going to tuck them into my suit and come and fight all of you over some canvases and risk them getting hurt. Of course, I didn’t show. But since this is your kid-”

“What?!” Villain exclaimed. “How-”

“Shh! But you heard. Come on, comfort them while I go and make a new bottle.”

Villain took the bundle awkwardly and tried to hush them, but they weren’t so natural at it as Hero was.

“Well,” Villain mumbled to their baby. “Guess I found them.”

Like my stuff and want to support what I do? Then maybe consider buying me a Kofi? Ko-fi.com/morallygrey

[silverinkgoldenquill]

Writing prompt: 2 brothers that are the last surviving siblings of like 10, and they are both on opposite ends of a war. Go!

My Main Blog is more for murdery stab-stab things and my crime writing tbh, but this ask has been sat in my inbox for WAY too long, and for that, I apologise. But yeah, here’s the attempt. I’m making this as the two brothers are Hero and Villain since that’s all my brain is capable of producing rn. You said writing prompt, so I’ve gone a little wild with it.

The wind and the rain were agonisingly cold. It smashed off Hero’s body and made him shiver. The most warmth he felt was from the deep gash in his gut. He squinted to be able to focus on his brother in front of him in the dark, the knife was still in his hand, but mostly clean of blood thanks to the rain. Hero struggled to stay on his feet, with the wind pushing him and the rain spitting at him and mocking him.

“Why?” Hero managed. “Why did this have to happen? H.have you not lost enough? Have you not killed enough of our family?!”

“I did not kill them!” Villain spat. “You know I didn’t know that was going to happen.”

“It’s war, brother. What did you expect?” Hero insisted.

“This was supposed to keep them safe!” Villain stomped his foot. “Joining the other side was meant to keep all of us safe… But It’s too late now anyway.”

Hero took small steps towards him, bent over in pain as blood slipped through his fingers and turned orange on the wet floor. Hero whimpered and clamped his eyes shut. Villain didn’t move. “I have to finish what I started. I can’t back out now,” Villain said. “There’s no way to stop the fighting now.”

“I.it’s not too late,” Hero said, his lips were trembling from the cold. “You can’t change the past- b.but you can change the future. You can stop all of this... stop the fighting. You just have to help me.”

“I can’t.” Villain shook his head and tried to walk away, Hero tried to walk faster, only he lost his footing and fell onto his knee. He cried out, drawing Villain to a halt.

Hero choked out a sob. “[Villain], please… I’m begging you.” He struggled to their feet, only just able to make it to Villain’s feet. “Please, I.I’m afraid. I can’t lose another sibling. Help us. H.Help me… You’re all I have left-”

Villain tried to turn his head away, but as Hero fell forward, his instincts led him to catch him.

Villain pulled Hero into his chest, stroking his soaked hair. “I can’t go back, and this was never your fight… I’ll do all I can, but your fate isn’t in my hands anymore. I can only take you in as a prisoner of war. It’s your only chance unless you side with me.”

“No, please. [Villain]... please...”

Villain kissed him on the top of the head before he backed away. Guards swooped in to restrain Hero, which took very little effort. Hero tried to get to Villain again, but it was impossible.

“Help us,” they murmured before they fell limp into the guards’ hands.

Well, there it is. Hope it was decent ^^’

Like my stuff and want to support what I do? Then maybe consider buying me a Kofi? Ko-fi.com/morallygrey

[morallygreywrites]

(As Yet Untitled) Prarian Mask Story #1 Intro For NaNoWriMo

Summary:

When a thief breaks into a museum and shoves an old urn and mask into a bag, no one could expect the God of Death to escape from his prison and take a living mask infused with ancient power. Teenager Kiania and her newly found mask-carrying mentor, Gareth, are tossed into a mission to stop him and uncover the secrets of a long-forgotten mystery. But with Gareth’s mask being unable to remember her origins, this mission that holds the wellbeing of the universe at stake isn’t going to be easy. Part 1 of a 5 book series.

Excerpt:

“I need to talk to you,” they both said at the same time. Kiania cleared her throat and looked down.  The man smiled and gestured for her to go first. “Thanks… Look, I don’t know who you are, but with you fighting those… those things- I want to help you. I have to do something about this before they kill anyone else.” She threw her hands halfway into the air and sighed. “Before you give me a lecture on personal safety, I don’t care. I just have to fix this mess that I have caused.”

The man nodded, checking over his shoulders. Being on the rooftop made it far easier to see if any danger was near and for the time being, all was still, save for the purring traffic beneath them. The glittering of the city lights was soothing to her, but the man didn’t seem to feel such relief.

He quietly replied. “Now usually, I would give you that lecture, but the thing is, I’m here because I need your help, lass. Hm, how do I put this without sounding mad?” “After what I’ve seen, I wouldn’t worry about sounding mad,” she answered flatly. He inclined his head with a smirk. “Aye, that’s true. Well then, in that case, a… higher being wants you to help me fight these monsters- or Venatores to be more precise.”

Kiania frowned. “What? That’s Latin. That urn was Prarian and from the other side of the world-” “Well observed, but those are details that can wait. As you probably know, Venatore means ‘hunter’, and that is exactly what those monsters are doing. They’re hunting me. Rather like wasps, kill one and the rest come in swarms.”

The man sat down against the air conditioning unit and rubbed his knee just above his prosthetic leg, where he’d been bleeding a few weeks beforehand. “This is a fight I can’t win on my own, that’s become quite clear. So aye… I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Bit of a Mood Board for Visuals

If I start losing motivation, I might make a powerpoint on this like everyone was a few months ago. 

You can keep track of my NaNoWriMo project over on the official Nano website. Send me a buddy request if you like. My username is SilverInkGoldenQuill, I’d put up links but I’m not sure if they work.

[morallygreyprompts]

And so my suffering shall shortly begin. We can do it, guys!

Like my stuff and want to support what I do? Then maybe consider buying me a Kofi? Ko-fi.com/morallygrey

[silverinkgoldenquill]

Still me. I got BITI done last year, let's see if I can do it again!

[escapetoluna]

How to write about Grief:

There is no right or wrong way to experience grief. Just as there is no right or wrong way to write it. Everyone is different, each set of circumstances are different. 

The point of this post is to show you how different people react in different ways, and give points on how you might write that, depending on your character and story.

Reactions to Grief

Numbness: Your character may go into auto-pilot and be unable to process the events that have unfolded.

Anger: This can be aimed at other people, at a Higher Being, or at nothing in particular.

Unsteady: Your characters may be unsteady. For example, unable to stop their voice from shaking or they may find it difficult to stand.

Focusing on Others: Your character may disregard their own feelings because they are so overwhelmed and instead concentrate on someone else’s well-being. 

Seek out routines: Amid upheavals, your character may seek comfort in tasks that are familiar and “safe,” such as working, cleaning, making their bed, making absurd amounts of tea or taking a morning walk.

Pretending that Everything Is Okay: Grief is viewed as an emotion that should cease or be concealed once the funeral is over. So people mention the news in an offhand comment, then talk and laugh as if all is right with the world.

Denial: Some people deny the reality of death and convince themselves that the news is a joke or can’t be true.

Reactions from people surrounding your character:

People may avoid your character as they do not know what to say or simply can’t find the right words.

Some may even go as far as to cross the street when they notice your character approaching.

Even people that the character has known for years may act strange or standoff-ish, simply because they don’t know what to say.

On the other side of that, some people may be overly helpful and friendly.

It is not uncommon for estranged friends, family or others to suddenly reappear in a person’s life after they have experienced grief. 

Either because those people want to offer their support and love  or because they’re being nosy and they want to be kept up to date on the “drama”.

Most people will move on from the event fairly quickly if they weren’t emotionally invested. 

Some people may even get annoyed at your character for still being upset weeks or months later.

When talking about the person they have lost:

Your character may recall a memory or tell a story about their loved one, these are possible reactions. (I have encountered all of them.)

Your character may being to cry or get upset at the thought of the person they have lost. 

The person they are talking to may become awkward and avert eye contact when your character brings up the person they have lost. 

Others may ask or tell your character to stop talking about the person they have lost. They may roll their eyes, cough awkwardly, or cut off your character mid sentences so that they can change the subject.

Some people may ask inappropriate questions about the circumstances in which the character’s loved one passed away. Depending on the personality of your character then may react differently. 

Other things to note:

Grief is not constrained by time. 

One of the main problems with grief in fiction is that a character is typically heartbroken for a couple scenes and then happy again. But grief does not evaporate because the world needs saving. 

Allow your character to wrestle with their grief. 

Your character may feel guilty. Your character may feel a twinge of guilt when they laugh or have a good time with someone else; when they do something to remind them that they’re alive, and their loved one isn’t. 

Grief is a game changer. A previously outgoing character may withdraw and isolate themselves. Some people may take grief and/or bereavement as a sign that life is too short; they may make big decisions in an attempt to make themselves feel better and grow away from their pain.

Sometimes grief can help you find your purpose.

At first grief can be all consuming. It hurts and you can’t really control it. It may seem unrelenting. Eventually the grief will become easier to deal with, your character may find the days to be better, but that doesn’t mean that when the grief hits it doesn’t hurt any less.

For most people, grief never really goes away. “Sometimes you have to accept the fact that certain things will never go back to how they used to be.”

It is rare that a person will ever give a long speech about their feelings, a lot of people struggle to even find the words. But that’s okay. Show the reader how your character feels, rather than just telling them.

Don’t pause the plot to deal with the aspect of grief. This could overwhelm the readers and drag the pace down. In reality, life doesn’t just stop due to grief, the world keeps spinning and things still need to be done. Use the character’s grief as a backdrop for the story’s events.  

Yes, grief affects the character’s day-to-day life, goals, and relationships. But it shouldn’t drive readers away or stagnate the story. Instead, should engage readers and produce empathy that keeps them turning pages.

You don’t need to tell your readers that everything will be fine. You don’t need to provide all of the answers.

“Skirting grief and treating it lightly is easy. But by realistically portraying it through a variety of responses and its lasting effects on the character’s life, readers will form a connection with your characters.“

[giraffepoliceforce]

I really want a science fiction story where aliens come to invade earth and effortlessly wipe out humanity, only to be fought off by the wildlife.

They were expecting military resistance. They weren’t counting on bears.

[splintercellconviction-deactiva]

Imagine coming to a hostile alien world and being attacked by a horde of creatures that can weigh up to 3 tons, run at 30 km/h (19 mph), and bite with a force of 8,100 newtons (1,800 lbf).

By the time you realise that they can traverse water, it’s too late. The surviving members of your unit manage to make it back by shedding their excess gear and running for their lives; the slower ones were crushed to death within minutes.

You later describe the creature to one of the humans you captured, wanting to know the name of the monstrosity that will haunt your nightmares for cycles to come.

The human smiles as it speaks a single word, slowly and distinctly, in its barbaric tongue.

“Hippopotamus.”

[artdeactivate2025]

This is giving me the biggest, creepiest grin I might have ever grinned 

[skeletonmug]

Imagine being the next crew to go down to earth and thinking “it’s fine, we got this. We have the weapons and equipment necessary to deal with bears and *shudders* hippopotamuses. We’ll be fine.”

And at first you are, you’ve learned how to dodge. You’ve learned where their territories are. You know how to defend yourself.

But then one night you are sleeping in your shelter. You’re in a tree covered temperate part of earth. It seems benign. There are been no sightings of the dreaded “hippos” around. Not even any bears. But there is a slight rustle of the undergrowth. You try and ignore it telling yourself it is just the wind.

Then you hear the rustle again. closer this time.

You peer out into the darkness but see nothing amongst the trees.

The rustle again and now you realise you can smell something. It’s musky and slightly foul. It’s the smell of an omen, a warning. But what of? Where is this smell coming from.

You sit up, but it’s too late. The foul smelling creature is on you. You are hit with 17kg of coarse fur and vicious bites. Long dark claws tear in to you and you are pinned down white the striped creature tries to bite your throat.

It takes some doing but you manage to wrestle free. Blood drips from your wounds and already they itch with the sign of infection. The creature has a bloodied snout, rust rad, mingling with the black and white hairs. It lets out a terrifying growl from the back of its throat and looks to attack again. It’s between you and your knife, so your only choice is to back away.

Eventually the creature gives up and snuffles off in to the undergrowth, down a hole near your shelter you hadn’t noticed before.

When you make it back to your base you once again consult the captive human.

“Badger.” they say, with a solemn nod.

[jabberwockypie]

One word: Moose

[myurbandream]

“Our vehicles are far superior to the local human models, in range, speed, armament, and any other metric you care to name! Nothing could possibly-”

BAMrumblerumblethumpcrash!!!

“That’s called a moose.”

[morebadbookcovers]

Wolverines.

Also.. dolphins.

[ohgodshesloose]

The invasion is going slowly. The humans have caught on and are actively destroying information on the planet’s flora and fauna before Intelligence can capture and process it. All that they have are survivors’ accounts. Bears. Hippos. Badgers. Moose. It is becoming obvious this mudball planet is a full-on Death World to the unprepared, and you are so very unprepared.

You lost Jaxurn to a plant. Not even a mobile or carnivorous plant, just one that caused a vicious allergic reaction on contact that killed him in less than a rai'kor. Commander Vura'ko died to an insect bite, a tiny local pest that sucked a tiny bit of her blood and apparently replaced it with a bit of its last meal, which was full of disease. Backwash. She died to bug backwash. And yet you honestly envy them after that… thing you encountered…

When you got back to base the quarantine officer refused to let you inside. They had to roll a containment tank outside to put you in, because you all knew there would be no chance of eliminating the smell if it got into the ship’s air ducts. Smell. You wonder if your nasal slit will ever recover from this stench.

And the smell would. Not. Leave. After incinerating your gear the Q.O. had you use every cleansing agent they could think of, including a few janitorial ones, and still everyone fled the stench if they were downwind of your tank. Desperate to protect everyone’s nasal slits from the smell the quarantine officer interrogated the humans. From them, a glimmer of hope: there was a cure. Somehow the juice of a certain fruit on this mudball was the only thing that could break up the chemicals in the little horror’s spray. Immediately the Q.O. sent a team to recover buckets of the stuff and made you bathe in it. That was hours ago and it didn’t seem to be working, though. All it was doing was turning your blue skin an interesting shade of purple.

Sighing in frustration you wave the med-assist on duty over, who only approaches after checking the wind direction. Annoyed, you flip on the tank`s vox speaker.

“The humans did say it was “grape” juice that removed “skunk” stench, right?“

[majingojira]

Every night. 

It came for someone almost every night. 

Any soldier alone was a viable target for this native monster that moved unseen by any but the security viewers, usually only spotted in hindsight.  They were taken as silently as this earth-monster moved.  Sometimes they’d find the remains in the morning taken up a tree and hung there, mostly eaten, as if it were a grisly reminder that the monster was still there, waiting unseen, to strike again. 

What little they saw of the monster on the vidfeed showed true horror.  Yellow eyes that shone with all the light it could gather.  It had fangs as long as his grasping digits.  Claws half that size formed curved hooks that allowed it to climb up their fortifications with impunity.  And in the underbrush, its spots made it almost impossible to see clearly in the undergrowth, if it could be seen at all.

Even the native sentients, the humans, had a healthy respect and fear for it. 

The earth natives called the monster a leopard.  

It was a constant fear that muddied the senses, and let the monster hunt even more effectively as the soldiers were always on edge.  Sleep deprived with fear, it made them even better targets for the monster. 

But rumor was that there was worse on this planet.  Rumors of a monster like a leopard but larger, and bigger in every imaginable sense. Stripped instead of spotted, which leaped from the underbrush with a sound.

A sound that burst eardrums, paralyzed entire units, and let the monster kill with impunity.  While the Leopard wrestled soldiers down and ripped their throats out.  This other monster, the Tiger, killed with its pounce alone.

[lyricwritesprose]

“We’ve been through this,” Group Leader 455 snapped.  “The dissection of an Earth life form will help the scientists make weapons to combat the rest of this planet’s hellbeasts.  And these are domesticated.  Harmless.”

The troops were not-quite-looking at her in the way troops do when they don’t want to be seen to contradict a ranking officer, but can’t quite muster a correct Expression of Enthusiastic Assent.  “The name of this species,” she pointed out, “is synonymous with dullness and slowness in the language of the Earth barbarians.”  Well, one language out of several thousand—these creatures needed Imperial guidance more than any other world on record—but there was no point in confusing the rank and file.

More not-quite-looking.  455 bubbled a sigh and consulted her scanner.  “That one,” she decided.  “Alone in the separate pasture.  Scans suggest that it’s a male, which means it’s probably weaker.  Possibly it’s kept isolated so that the females don’t eat it before mating season.  And yes, I know some of you are here on punishment detail, but you’re still soldiers of the Imperium.  This squad is perfectly capable of handling a lone, helpless, pathetic male cow.”

[petermorwood]

I’m enjoying this immensely. Wait until the aliens try Australia for size…

It was a strange creature Tar'van glimpsed at on the vast island known to the humans as ‘Australia’.

“I would warn you not to fuck with us, mate.” Their forced guide, a prisioner, had warned with a chilling grin upon capture. “If you think a moose is bad, wait until you tango with a red back.” To this day Tar'van fears the creature known as the red back, and what horrors it would bring.

The prisioner turned out to be of little help,the stubboness of his people causing them to refuse the danger that the captured human warned of. Tar'van recalls a moment when one of his squad members approached a creature know as a dingo, insistent they had seen these creatures before and they were tame. They barely escaped with 5 of the original 7 members of his squad.

Another moment Tar'van recalls was the brutal mauling they witnessed by the hands of a creature called an ‘Emu’

“Don’t feel too bad,” the prisioner mocked. “We lost a war to the Emu’s as well.”

Now with only 4 members of their squad left, including themself, Tar'van had learned to listen to the prisoner, to be wary of the simplest of creatures. This human was of the sub-species of ‘Zookeeper’ after all.

The ‘Zookeeper’ looks off to the distance, where the creature is.

“It’s a kangaroo, leave it be and you’ll be fine.” Tar'van nods, a human signal of acknowledgement if they are correct. The human smiles a bit.

“That creature cannot possibly harm us.” Tar'van’s squadleader protests. “It is so docile. I will aproach it and bring back it’s head to show this human is a fearmongering liar.”

The human reels back, a look of disgust crosses their face and anger passes through their eyes.

“Fucking do it mate, I dare ya.” The human hisses. The squad leader puffs up their hoinn gland, a sign of pride to their species, and aproached the so called ‘Kangaroo’.

“This will be unpleasant.” A squadmate mutters as they watch their leader raise their fist and bring it down on the creature. The ‘Kangaroo’ looks a little stunned by the impact, before it raises itself upon its strong tail and uses its powerful heind legs to launch their squadleader backwards through the air.

Their squadleader lands upon the ground, unmoving with black blooded oozeing from them. It appears Tar'van is the squads leader now.

“I don’t know what they expected.” the human says, smugness filling their tone. “Kangaroos are fucking shreaded. 8-pack and all.”

Tar'van steps forward to the human, whom inches back in a sign of fear as Tar'van pulls their blade from its holster, and in their first act as leader, frees the human of the bonds around their hands.

“Please,” Tar'van bags. “Get us back safely.”

[miracufic]

@kryallaorchid, you guys really lost a war to emus?  Why was it necessary?

[kryallaorchid]

oh, mate, you never mess with the emus.

[kawaguardian-blog]

(Jesus christ. Dont get us started on kangaroos)

They had faced Emu’s. They had lost one in the battle but had experienced them. But this was no emu.

Looking to their guide, they all stare in horror as his face changes from calculating to fear. Pure, heart consuming horror as he stares at the large bird. “Cassowary…” They mimic him in fear. Squawking the horrific name as another joins the first in the mad run towards them.

The only ones to survive was the native guide and Tar'van. The guide was carrying the soldier over his shoulder as they made their way back to the settlement. Tar'van was a wreck. Periodically alternating between rocking in complete silence and whispering broken words in horror. When they consulted the native all he said was “Its spring…. Magpie season…”

[lemon-embalmer]

“Listen up, troops. This armour upgrade has been tested both in the laboratories of the best Imperial military scientists and in the field. We are impervious to the stings of any insect on this hellhole of a planet, striped or not! We can brave the perils of its wildlife, and conquer it at long last! Revenge for our fallen companions! Glory to the Emperor!”

“Excuse me,” the native Terran guide speaks up in a tired tone, and the squad’s cheers die on their lips. “This is Japan. You haven’t seen what–”

“Silence, worm! No sting can penetrate this plating!”

The guide tries to warn them once again, merely earning a blow that throws them to their knees. The troops set out, morale high, certain in their ability to brave the wildlife now and thirsting for vengeance against the non-sentient native species. One soldier thumps his fist against a tree. A hollow sound follows.

In an instant, the soldier is the centre of a storm of the striped insects. At first, no one pays it any mind. Their little stings cannot penetrate the new plating, after all.

But then the soldier falls to his knees, and the squad stares in horror as the insects enclose him in layer upon layer of their own bodies, all moving. The squad’s medic yells a warning at everyone to stay back, watching the readouts of the unfortunate soldier’s armour on their diagnostic screen with undisguised horror. The insects aren’t even stinging. They simply keep moving, one atop the other, and the soldier’s body temperature is slowly rising until he drops to the ground, quite literally cooked alive. The insect swarm takes off, unharmed save for the ones that were crushed when the trooper fell.

Finally asked about what happened, the human sighs. “Japanese honeybees. They do this to wasps, too.”

[murkymuse]

“How?” You ask. “How has your species dominated this planet?” 

The human bares its teeth. A smile, they call it. Something humans do when they are happy. Yet you can’t help but think of all the creatures with the their large fangs and sharp teeth. (What kind of species uses a threat signal as a sign of happiness?)

“Persistence and ingenuity.” The human answers, still smiling. 

It doesn’t matter that this one is your prisoner. Humans, you decide, are as terrifying as their planet.  

[ehyde]

“And scattered about it … were the Martians–dead!–slain by the putrefactive and disease bacteria against which their systems were unprepared; slain as the red weed was being slain; slain, after all man’s devices had failed, by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, had put upon this earth.” 

– HG Wells, The War of the Worlds,1898

[catbountry]

I’m picturing aliens going up against a hoard of Canadian geese, or a swan.

I think at that point they’d just give up.

[invaderdrey]

Or fire ants

[eeyore9990]

No one even MENTIONED snakes yet…

[breelandwalker]

This thing gets better EVERY FUCKING TIME I SEE IT.

[fir-trees-unite-deactivated2017]

“Let us try the creatures that the humans keep for domestic companionship”

“Is that a miniature tiger?”

“Why does this human own a small pack of wolves?”

The aliens ask their human captive why small wolves live with them. 

“Oh, you mean dogs? Yeah, they’re the only animals that can keep up with us.”

The aliens look at each other in fear. “What do you mean?”

“Oh well that’s why you guys ‘won’ is because humans aren’t super fast or strong. I think my middle school biology teacher called us pursuit predators? It means we evolved to hunt things by following them at walking pace until they had to stop to sleep and then catching up to them then. Dogs are the only animals that can keep up with us. Did you know one time a pack of wolves tailed a herd of caribou for three days straight?”

“Uh… okay, what about these small round things with big teeth?”

“Omg dude no if you give a hamster enought time that little fucker can chew through concrete :)”

The aliens wonder if the surrender of humanity was a trap.

[grimm-fairy]

Somebody do sharks or sea creatures next. Giant squids would wreak havoc on their ships.

[lady2828]

The aliens have sophisticated technology which pretty much allows them to live underwater, which is something even the inventive humans have never managed. Submarines have nothing on alien submersion pods, which can withstand the crushing pressures of even the darkest depths of the oceans and seas. 

The aliens aren’t expecting any difficulties with their underwater expeditions. Of course, that’s when four of the life signs on the central screen simply vanish, like they’d never been there. 

Alpha turns on the direct communication lines to the remaining submersion pods, and the only thing they hear through the tinny speakers is screaming. 

Alpha resists the urge to turn and stare at the shackled human standing behind them, but Beta, Gamma and Theta have no such compunctions. 

The human shrugs. “I mean, we’ve never really been down there so we’re not entire sure, but we’ve heard stories of giant squids and stuff. No smoke without fire, and all that.” 

“There can be neither smoke nor fire underwater, human, cease your prattling.” 

The human snorts. “It’s a phrase. A metaphor? Man, I don’t know, I studied marine biology, not literature.” 

The human is unable to tell them anything useful about what might have happened to the submersion pods, but retrieved footage later shows tentacled behemoths snaking out of the depths of disturbed silt and cold water, and crushing the submersion pods effortlessly, in full view of the outer-hull cameras. The monsters have giant beaks which rip through the organic alloy sheets, and into the bodies of the pod pilots within. 

The outer-hull cameras register the blue of fresh spilled blood and gore, at the same time the on-board cameras register screaming and the red glow of critical power failure. 

The last thing the aliens can see on the retrieved footage is thin, long, snakelike creatures appearing out of the darkness and gloom, creating their own light and descending upon the remains of their brethren. They are accompanied by creatures that look like plastic bags, but which feed upon the toxic remains of the organic alloy of which the pods were made.

The human appears completely nonchalant - there is no love lost between slave and master. “Wait till you see sharks.” 

[endangereduglythings]

I’ve seen this post go around a few times, but this time I have some thoughts: 1) This is more or less the plot of Animorphs.

2) Earth has Poison Dart Frogs, we’re clearly a Death World.

3) I’m now imagining them deciding to set up a base on the poles, because life on this planet is clearly dependant on plants. So, that frozen wasteland should be safe of any dangerous megafauna. Cue Polar Bear out of nowhere.

[iconuk01]

The squad was three days out on patrol when they lost the first member. The hellhole so awful that even the natives term for it frequently translated as “Dirt underfoot” was now seen as a place of punishment for many of the Legions, but there were still some who viewed it as a challenge.

Such a one was Sarcal-<clik>, respected Third Claw of the 87th Legion. Not only an admired leader and a feared warrior (They had led the assualt on Urpga-9 after all), but one whose exo-skeleton and mist sacs were amongst the most elegantly beautiful of their generation (though they were apporpriately modest about such things). In every respect they were a warrior to aspire to be like, resplendent in the finest, hand-polished ceramic body armour, guaranteed (so the makers claimed) to be able to resist the claws of even the “tyg’er”, though no one was too keen to put that one to the test. They had volunteered for this duty, partly out of a love of the challenge, partly out of a desire to excel… There was a Dirt-ian song which included the lyrics “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere” and this was being generally applied to the surivors of more than one tour of duty.

Simply having them on Dirt (There HAD to be a better name) was a source of pride for many, and relief for others (in the hope that a bad report from Salrcal<clik> would be enough to get Command to evacuate this godsforsaken planet.)

So it was a cause of great concern when Sarcal-<clik> could not be woken when it came time for their watch that night. Like any good soldier, they slept in their armour when sharing watch duty. Swiftly, an officer was called and when the visor was raised, it was not that they were dead which was the greatest shock, but the look of horror frozen on that noble visage.

The field surgeon performing the cursory autopsy could not identify cause of death beyond poison of some sort. The humans bearers on the squad hadn’t been near them, so they were in the clear, but beyond that, it was a mystery.

The prized armour was passed to the next in command, as Sarcal<clik> would have wished, and though the sqaud were not nearly as inspired as once they might have been, they continued the patrol, determined to honour their comrade’s memory. There would be poems composed of this mission on the Homeworld in Sarcal<clik>’s honour, and their behaviour would reflect on them all in the telling.

It was not long, however, before the second in command convulsed and collapsed. Not as stoic as Sarcal<clik> their death was just as horrific, but less restrained and though the surgeon was still not able to identify how such a powerful neurotoxin could have entered their system.

There was some understandable reluctance on the newly appointed second in command to take on the armour. it may have been beautiful and gleamed in the even the unpleasantly yellow Dirt-ian sun, but it now had a reputiation.

And it was one that was well earned. The scream of the dying soldier was heard by all. They took longer that the previous victims, and their last contorlled movement was to point to their hindfoot, but the armoured boot was perfectly intact.

After that no one would go near the armour, it had a bad reputaiton, it would be boxed up and returned to the Homeworld for display in some museum or other. Thus is was only two human bearers cleaning it before transport who were present when the small shape fell out of the toe of the boot.

“Careful matel! Funnel web!”

“Dead now. That explains a lot though. I guess tiger proof doesn’t mean spider-proof, and they LOVE dark spaces to hide in. Doubt the bite would show up on mottled skin like theirs.”

”Should we tell our high and mighty masters in case there are any more about?”

They exchanged a gleefully malevolent look and shared a smile.

“Why trouble them with such a trivial little matter.”

They saluted the remains of the spider as they left. If they noticed the egg sac that was hidden in the depths of the boot as they put it into the transport, they said nothing.

[humansarespaceaussies]

This is version one out of the two best I’ve found. I’ll combine them into one later, I think. The next one will be up soon.

[fatcr0w]

Having learned their lesson from the dirt continent from hell, the aliens attempt to try an ecosystem a hemisphere away, knowing the wildly variable fora and fauna should be different and therefore safer. They even chose a sub colony that the humans named ‘friend’.

After a month it was exceedingly clear that the human concept of friendship was NOT a state of mutual trust and support but perhaps fear and subjugation from nature. Perhaps it was one of those clever tricks the humans used to lure each other to death, just like the fabled ‘greenland’

You see, having learned their lessons in “Australia” they chose to settle in near the old human civilization, where the humans had razed the landscape to set up personal habitats, driving the wildlife back.

How were they to know that driving back meant only about 10 feet, because after a rain, a massive beast heralding from millions of earth years came out of the water and ripped Lieutenant Grakshw into pieces in broad daylight. Attempts to recover his plated insignia for his family was met with a CONFLAGRATION of about 20 vicious writhing snakes that were very soon found to be venomous, as the loss of Captain M'gbrak soon proved.

Immediate restructuring of the fence separating the encampment from the ‘bayou’ seemed to work for precisely one week…

Like most of this death world, the area was prone to hurricanes and tornadoes for most of the year. The human built habitats seemed to weather it poorly, with many having bits blown off, exposing their vehicle ports or bathing dens to the elements.

The exploratory team did not account for what the humans kept in their homes. There were many canine and feline miniatures that they of course had protocol for.

They did not have protocol for the beasts with claws the length of their chest that were very hungry after their human handlers were removed

According to the human guide of sub class “control officer” many upstanding human homes in human sub colony “texas” kept full size predators (lions, tigers, and bears, …..no home) as pets and as it was legal in this dont as long as the animal was fed, there was no documentation on where or how many were hidden away.

The final transmission from settlement group Xyytar-B came from their designated human actually HOLDING several of the venomous beings that slaughtered M'gbrak in a flimsy plastic tub. Her accent was as hard to translate as ever:

“Yea y'all really fucked up when ya tried to poof us all. Now the tigers are hungry and the wolves are breaking out of their yards. Try watching animal cops before picking a habitat next time. Animal control out”

With such overwhelming evidence, by order of the council the texas sub colony was marked as ‘completely inhospitable’ and added to the ‘hellspot" list right next to Australia.

[venidlara]

Imagine them entering the Amazon Rain Forest

[alien-reader]

(Again they barely mentioned snakes)

….

While the takeover of “Earth” was slow, and the humans only gave information after a life was lost, Na'axi would say they made progress.

Their squad, consisting of twenty, were sent to what the Humans called “South America”, and in a place called the “Amazon”. While the human looked scared, there surely cant be a place worse than “Australia”, right? Plus, Squad 024 was fitted with the best armours, no “Tigers” or even “Bears” could penetrate. (they weren’t quick to test the theory though) They even have a cooling system in case of “Japanese Honeybees” and antidotes for most natural poisons (though they dont know how they were poisoned in the first place, the Humans refuse to help)

So with confidence high and alertness even more so, Squad 024 traveled into the dense “Amazon Rainforest” in case there were anymore human settlements.

.

This mission was a mistake and the armour was not as it was advertised. Squad 024 had travelled by land, facing several creatures, losing Ja'ix to a “Jaguar” when the squad took a break near a small tree. They lost Fa'lu to a “Harpy Eagle” when they tried to have their meal. And the leader Guo'fi was killed by a poison that was unknown. Five more were lost to various diseases. The onsite Human, while he did tell them the names of such creatures, refused to tell them more.

So with Na'axi as the new leader, they decided to have Squad 024 travel by water. The Human had refused to get on the small travel ship, but was eventually forced on. Squad 024 was weary about what could be in these waters, but it was much too shallow for the “Giant Squids” and “Sharks” to be in.

Na'axi wished that they stuck to land. The “Amazon River” was so much worse than Australia, at least there they could see what was coming. The water was shallow, yes, but it was murky and full of tree roots. They didnt see the “Snake” coming. It was three Qwaxels long and had a crushing power sting enough to stop the blood flow of Ca'er, who had suffered and died. The human called it a “Python” and he was scared of the snake. The snake killed another, Ma'ox.

After they succeeded in getting the snake off the boat, they travelled upriver, trying to find a place to dock. Vi'to had fallen into the waters, scraping his arm on a tree branch.

The human was the first to see the dangers apparently, seeing as they jumped off the boat and onto the low hanging branch, around six feet above the water. Vi'to was only bones and green blood in a matter of minutes. “Piranhas” the human called the flesh eating fish. The second boat they had tipped over due to the splashing waters. Six were on that boat.

Ja'ju had petted a small colourful frog before they died soon after. The human stood ten feet away from the “Poison Dart Frogs”. Ja'ju hadn’t expected humans to name them so literally.

By the time they got back, it was only Na'axi and their last two squad members, Ja'on and To'as, as well as the human.

“We are never going down there again” Na'axi said.

…..

(I’m not very good at writing but I wanted to make an input, also I wanted to incorporate snakes more but I dunno what happened)

(Also piranhas, freaking piranhas)

[silverinkgoldenquill]

AGH I love it! Makes you wonder how we survive. 😅 I'll have to add my own sometime. And we can't forget the flora - for example the gimpy gimpy plant. 😁

[justwhumpythings]

Tag Game

go to this website and design yourself https://picrew.me/image_maker/9889 and then tag 4 people

I was tagged by @whumpingmydarlings - thank you! I made a new post because the other one was so long.

Here’s me :)

(We look quite a bit like each other it seems :))

[99point9percentwhump]

I’ve always hoped someone would start one of these!!!

Me:

Disclaimer: No, I do not have four arms but I was not about to go back and redo the whole damn thing and this just doesn’t capture my pirate smile… or used car salesmen grin (take your pick lol)

Anyone may join in but any none of the following has to participate if you don’t want to:

@cutiesonthehorizon @whumpty-dumpty @the-wandering-whumper @fanfictionwhump @whumpadoodle

[whumpty-dumpty]

Yay, I got tagged!😃

This was fun!

@lets-get-rickety-rekt @straight-to-the-pain @stuffndthangsndwhump

[prodigywhump]

was definitely not tagged but this is fun! 

@set-phasers-to-whump @aceofwhump @mickeymckeown @whumpywhumpwhump

[aceofwhump]

Thanks for the tag!!! Here’s me :) (this was fun)

I tag (I don’t know who’s done this already): @emomulberrygirl@pythagoreanwhump  @animewhump  @i-blame-my-love-of-whump-on-ryan

[blinded-and-bloody]

I have done this before, but my appearance is a bit different so thanks for the tag, @aceofwhump! Now, my hair is actually silver not white, but this is as close as I get.

@whumpandbandaids @whumping-newbie @ legit anyone else who wants to go this, consider this my personal tag to you.

[whump-did-you-say]

I wasn’t tagged but I wanted to join the fun!!

So I guess this is the super adorable kawaii version of me:

I’m tagging my fave whump blogs but haven’t checked who’s done it already (also whoever else wants to do it feel free! I did it even though wasn’t tagged, no judgement zone)

@straight-to-the-pain @whump-queen @whumpitywhumpwhump @heartlesslywhumping

[whumpitywhumpwhump]

Oooh thanks! This was super fun to do!!!! The hair color mismatch is the closest I could get to ombre, which is where my hair is at currently. Besides that, this is surprisingly accurate?????

I’m going to tag: @sam-whump @voidwhump @scath001 @pythagoreanwhump Sorry if y’all have already done it! Also anyone else who wants to do this, feel free to consider yourself tagged!!!

[scath001]

Oh my! Sweet :3c

Thanks for the tag @whumpitywhumpwhump! Love your stuff, especially your drabbles about Noah <33

And, welp this is pretty much what I look like except that I do not have a muffler. Yup I wear shades in school; being in my little corner at the dark studio staring at two monitors most of the time then suddenly heading out to the sun is… well blinding. Much funn. :D

I’m tagging @secrettheoristofwhump, @fwoofpotat, @jalomelo, @galaxy-whump, @impuremetals, @genesissane, @silverinkgoldenquill and of course anyone who wishes to do this! Sorry if I’ve missed anyone out/ have already done it >w<” 

[silverinkgoldenquill]

Thanks for the tag! I had to use black since dark brown hair isn't a think or brown eyes but that is fine. Behold my splendor and the face I make when I see books! 😂

I'm tagging

@tarotcard-fool

@to-the-writers

@eppic21 (if u wanna)

And @whimsical-sea-bird (also if you wanna) just a bit of fun.

[silverinkgoldenquill]

A-Z of Murder: #C

#C - Cover up.

This is for purely literature purposes. Crime is bad, don't do it. This might be a bit graphic for some, so read with caution.

Cases/ Killers Mentioned:

- Dennis Neilson

- Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay, as also mentioned in the A of my A-Z posts. 

For an offender, the cover-up is crucial. If they can cover their tracks then they can get away with murder, literally. I will mention I only studied criminology at A level and I watch lots of murder documentaries which is where most of this information comes from.

The best way I can think of covering this in literature is to look at the questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? And How? It’s helpful for thinking of ways in which your character can cover certain aspects up. If the offender can mask even a few of these they're more likely to get away with it. I'll go over them a little.

Who?

Not only will people perhaps commit a crime with their face covered or sometimes in disguise, but they can make an effort to hide who their victim is. I've heard of a lot of grizzly ways: acid baths, fire, dismemberment, being put in a body of water (so the bottom of the sea or a lake), Dennis Neilson, an English serial killer dismembered, boiled, and flushed some of his later victims down the toilet.

But all methods of hiding victims have their limitations. Neilson's disposal technique clogged the drains and got him caught, a fire won't necessarily eliminate all DNA, acid takes time. Even a burial can eventually be unearthed- especially a shallow grave. There is usually something a detective can find, especially when you write something up.

In some cases investigators can track how a person might have planned the cover-up, CCTV of them buying a large container to put the body in for example, or finding the receipt in their car or bin.

Yet, sometimes there is no body.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t evidence that can lead to a conviction of murder. If your fictional murder was an absolute bloodbath and the investigators have the crime scene, then no clean up will get rid of all the blood. Chemicals like luminol will be able to find trace amounts (that's the stuff that glows blue when it reacts with blood. I think you use UV light to see the glow.)

Even without the crime scene, people notice when people just disappear. Murderers are unlikely to know every conversation a victim has had with others. They have other commitments. Clubs, talking to friends, getting groceries and saying their usual hello to the cashiers. People have gut instincts and follow them, and sometimes report it to the police.

No friends? No commitments? Still not impossible to notice a disappearance. No one paying the bills? The government will get on that. Not going to check-ups at a dentist? Phone Calls not being answered- the point is when it comes to writing you can always make a reason as to why someone will suspect foul play.

What?

So simply what happened?

A smart killer would need to disguise what happened. If your detective doesn't know what happened, then it's very hard to say who did it - and even then, did what?

So if your killer has time, they might tidy up after a nasty struggle, delete phone records, wipe CCTV tapes, whatever they can get their hands on that might give them away as the killer. Alibis tie quite strongly into all this - if you can't have a fake alibi, you're more likely to get nicked. There's a lot of cases where killers have been given allies by other people, like their mothers, because they think they're innocent and they're just doing them a favour. It can result in more deaths because the killer hasn't been caught.

If there's no body it can be harder to tell what has happened, so it's harder for your detective to solve a crime since they don't know what the crime is! But of course, there will always be loose ends, and for writing, you need those loose ends to solve the case.

Where?

A lot of killers will take their victim somewhere of their choosing to kill them. Additionally, they might kill them in one place (the primary crime scene) and hide them somewhere else, (the secondary crime scene). Sometimes, this place is somewhere closely related to the killer - after all, you have to know your hiding place, for example, a game's keeper is going to know the best ditches in his land over someone from the city. That's a good loose end to use. Things can get tricky if a body is found on the edge of the road, but as long as your detective can find something, even a crumb, it can all unravel.

When?

Very tightly linked to an alibi. Go to the pub, have an hour, sneak out, murder, then come back, getting as much attention on yourself as you can. That has been done before, by Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay. The alibi fell through because they were wanting to get too noticed and it was suspicious. So yeah, Alibis are very important for your killer to get away with murder.

But also when the killer always kills after 5pm, it's likely that they work, just as one area means they know that area, so one way to cover their tracks. Maybe your detective realises it's only changed pattern because it was a bank holiday and they're off work? I think you get the idea.

Why?

Motive time! This one probably applies less to yee olde serial killer and more one time, or maybe two-time killers. (The second being a murder to silence a witness or someone close to the truth etc.)

But yes, why a person has killed another is important to hide. A rich husband getting a divorce from his wife makes it more likely that the wife would be responsible, to keep the detective off their tracks, the killer would have to mask that, frame another, throw the detective on another path, maybe the husband, for example, has run away with a young girl. That sort of thing.

How?

Should a professional grappler strangle someone to death, well, it's obvious who the finger is gonna point out. They're gonna maybe stab them for good measure, but that won't hide the bruises that form on the skin. Even the stabbing- what knife did they use. If it's one of their kitchen knives it's gonna tie back to them pretty easily. And that is another reason to get rid of the body.

Another thing I remember about the Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay case was that the killer, who killed his family with a bat, attacked them naked so that there were no bloodied clothes to find. He then showered in their home. That case shows some forward thinking, that your character may do, or it could be the spur of the moment, which is more likely to leave loose ends.

But the modus operandi reveals things about the killer. A really clever killer is going to be careful, choose a method that reveals as little as possible about them. Shooting using someone else's gun, maybe easy to get poison or drugs, something less hands-on, but even then, there are ways of finding out the truth. (So again don't be using this as a how to get away with murder post).

Hopefully, this will help you see the loose threads that your detective can pick up on. Good luck with your writing!

[silverinkgoldenquill]

Hey! I found your sideblog a few days ago and I love it. I really like your writing style and how realistic you make your characters. And if your requests are open, could you write something where the Hero has strong psychic powers and they lose control of then during a fight? And their friend(s) has to bring them back to their senses?

Well, thank you very much! I really appreciate that. It’s not the end of the world, but in the future, please send any requests to MorallyGreyPrompts. If asks aren’t available, it just means it’s closed for the time being, but it’s chill so don’t worry about it.

Hero struggled to mark Villain with their daggers as they fought in the middle of a junkyard, they clenched their teeth and kept trying, kept pushing forward. Villain deflected most of them with great skill, but they were both beginning to tire, to hurt. “Are you even trying?” they taunted, panting heavily. “This is pathetic- and you’re meant to be the saviour of this city!”

Hero didn’t answer, if they had strength to speak then they should be trying harder. They were putting everything into trying to stop Villain, to protect their mentor and free them. With a gust of strength they tried again, but Villain cut their arm again and used Hero’s slight falter of balance to cut their shoulder blade too, the deepest wound so far and Hero was sure it cut down to the bone. They cried out in pain. Villain kicked them down quickly, sending them sprawling onto their front. For a moment, Hero lay still, shaking, trying to accustom themselves to their new pain.

“Get up, [Hero],” Mentor pleaded. “I know you can do this!”

“That’s a different tune from what you said when we were alone,” Villain grinned. “What happened to how much you mistrusted your precious hero? How you wished you’d never agreed to train them? Of course, let’s not forget why you have to push them so hard in training, because they’re so weak.”

“Shut your filthy little mouth!” Mentor roared, struggling in their bonds. “I’ve never said such a thing! You leave them alone!”

Hero didn’t react. They were barely able to move, their strength slipped away from them as freely as their blood.Villain stalked around them for a few moments, their movements catlike and sharper than a knife. “What good are you, little hero? You can’t even beat me? Why would anyone want to help nothing more than a flea? Fleas should be crushed, and so should you. No one cares about the insignificants like you, not your friends, not your family, not [Mentor], not even [Lover]. You keep training, keep trying to prove a point, but it all amounts to nothing.” Villain ducked down and snatched them up by the throat, dragging them up to their knees as they choked them “Because you are nothing!” they hissed in their ear.

Blood began to suffuse in Hero’s eyes as the air failed to reach their brain. They scrambled to remove their grip but with their arms in such a bad way it was proving impossible. How could Villain always read them so well? Delving into all the cracks and crevices of their defences, all their insecurities. The words echoed in their ears, stirred up their gut. Hero could feel their power rising and the burning need for air was making it impossible to calm it. A refreshing coolness seeped into their face, and Hero quickly realised that amongst their tears, their eyes had begun to glow.

“What-” Villain began.

Hero screamed, and noise should have been impossible to make, but it blasted through the air and cut through Villain. They let go of Hero and cried out in pain at the piercing shrill that rattled their brain. They doubled over, clutching their head. For a terrifying moment, Hero couldn’t stop their power, their raw emotion. With a pushing gesture, Villain was thrown away, further than Hero had expected. They landed hard amongst the surrounding mess and didn’t move. After a moment, Hero saw blood dripping, trickling, pooling around them.

Hero’s glowing eyes slipped away, replaced with nothing but fear. That wasn’t meant to happen. They’d hurt them, they’d hurt them bad. That wasn’t meant to happen, had they just killed… Hero didn’t realise that the scrap cars and metal around them shook, wobbled, fell from their tall towers. The panic clouded their thoughts.

“[Hero],” Mentor called out. “It’s alright, we can fix this. Calm down for me, take deep breaths. Help me get free and I can help you. Listen to me, [Hero], please.”

But Hero did not. They looked down at their hands, pictures blood dripping from them and the illusion became real. They trembled and the shaking rocked the surrounding tonnes of metal. They didn’t know what to do, they were too upset. Hero was sure their eyes were glowing again, their power was rising and in their panic, they had no idea how to quell it.

“I’m sorry,” they managed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please, I’m so sorry!” the pleading turned to heavy sobs, the kind that was choking. Hero didn’t know what to do, their body took over, shaking, sobbing, they felt like they were being torn apart. Had they just killed Villain?!

The cars, kitchen appliances, and all the mess began to raise up from the ground. All but the rubble Villain had landed on. That remained perfectly still, their blood completely untouched from where it had landed.

“[Hero]!” Mentor tried again, louder. Hero turned at the noise. Mentor could do little being tied down, but Hero’s powers were beginning to raise the shell of a car they’d been tied to. Hero tried to lower that car, but in the rush of their emotions, it was impossible to single it out. It was like tracing a path of squiggles, they just couldn’t stop.

“You are not weak,” Mentor declared. “Don’t listen to what [Villain] says. You are stronger than they could ever comprehend, and I don’t just mean with your powers.”“I’ve killed them,” Hero whispered, but their voice echoed into a boom.

“You have the ability to heal,” Mentor reasoned. You can stabilise them. They’re not dead, but you have to calm down. We can fix this, but you have to let me help you.”

“I. I can’t, I’m sorry. [Mentor], I am so sorry-”“Breathe,” Mentor soothed, but it wasn’t easy for them to stay calm as Hero raised them higher and higher into the air. It was agonising for their shoulders but they managed to block it out, their sole focus being on looking Hero in the eye, helping them find the calm again.

“You can do this. You are not weak by any definition of the word.”“Than what is this?” Hero cried.“Even steel can break. Take deep breaths, think about your favourite place, think of the calm. You know what [Villain] said about me is a lie. You know how important you are to me, to everyone. How we act around you is not a lie. [Lover] adores you, you know that! Don’t let that be forgotten because of what [Villain] has to say. They want you to be like this, don’t let them.”

Hero struggled to breathe. The rubble stopped rising, but it still shook. “I’m scared,” Hero managed.“I’ve told you, fear is just fuel. Use it to be stronger. Find your balance,” Mentor stressed.

Hero closed their eyes tight, imagining anything that could help, perfectly balanced scales, ballerinas, they imagined all the cars slowly settling like feathers, coming to a gentle rest. They focused on their breathing, counting, imagining soft sensations on their skin: beach breezes, the warm sun, the gentleness of Lover’s kiss.

Hero slowly opened their eyes. Everything was calm, Mentor was back on solid ground and the air was silent. They huffed out a breath of relief. They’d done it.Mentor smiled encouragingly. Hero hurried to untie them. “It’s going to be alright,” Mentor promised them. “We can fix this.”

Hero nodded hesitantly and the two rushed to Villain’s side.

The rubble had almost gone all the way through them in places. Hero gulped back their panic and with Mentor’s help, they carefully lifted them free. Mentor gagged, Hero had to close their eyes and not look at the wound. One hand wandered to their neck to find a pulse, the other hovered over the wound. Then they relaxed again, imagining their heart slowing, becoming calm again. Then they pictured whatever they could that could resemble the wound mending: materials stitching, broken pieces of pottery being glued together, someone zipping up a coat. The more they imagined it, the more drained they felt, but they refused to stop until the wound was mended.

Then Hero felt a hand on their shoulder. “That’ll do,” Mentor said softly. Hero opened their eyes to see a much smaller wound, survivable. Hero felt something hot touch their lip, and when their fingertips wandered up to meet it they found blood. That was their usual warning sign to stop. No wonder Mentor had cut the process short. Villain coughed as though to prove they’d live.

“We’ll take them somewhere to heal them manually if you want?” Mentor said.Hero nodded. They had to fix this, properly. “I didn’t mean for this to happen,” they managed.“I know. No one is mad, and [Villain] brought this upon themselves… I think I can carry them. You’ve done well.”

Hero got up on wobbly legs and followed Mentor out of the junkyard, back to safety.

[silverinkgoldenquill]

This or That

I was tagged by @greencrusader13

RULES: bold in what you prefer and then tag 10 people!

(I’m so socially awkward to tag 10 people though) @thedaysidontremember @longlostghost @lovecakebacon uhhh, whoever else wants to do it.

coffee or tea (I don’t drink either but coffee smells nice)

early bird or night owl (If 1am counts ^^’)

chocolate or vanilla

spring or fall

silver or gold

pop or alternative

freckles or dimples

snakes or sharks

mountains or fields

thunderstorms or lightning

Egyptian or Greek mythology (I know most about Greek but Egyptian looks awesome too)

ivory or scarlet

flute or lyre

opal or diamond (Have you SEEN a fire opal?!)

butterflies or honeybees (Fuzzzyyy Jackets! Also stop us from like dying so thank you bees.)

macarons or eclairs

typewritten or handwritten

secret garden or secret library

rooftop or balcony

spicy or mild (I have an eating... issue, my diet is pretty much potato. The most exciting I get is tomato sauce)

opera or ballet (I prefer male opera singers though ^^’)

London or Paris (I may be English but London really isn’t somewhere I fancy going.)

Vincent van Gogh or Claude Monet (I prefer Monet’s style more but I love Gogh’s story)

denim or leather

potions or spells (Abracadabra cadabra kapoof!)

ocean or desert (I'm obsessed with the ocean)

mermaids or sirens (I’d rather not get munched, thanks.)

masquerade ball or cocktail party (PRETTY MASKS OMG)

[zburatorii]

Meet the Writer

rules: answer 10 questions, create 10 new questions, and tag 10 people

thanks @kirstentattersall i am always excited to read and write these!!

I tag: I’m gonna go ahead and tag the only ones I always do @bronzeagelove, @martieek, and @kirstentattersall​ you can asnwer my new questions if you feel like it (without having to write new ones)

Do not: feel obligated if you’re tagged!

Please do: join in even if you’re not tagged!!!

Note: the new questions are up top & my answered questions are under the cut. For specific questions, I only anwered with the story I’m posting on this blog, since I don’t want to get confusing with my other WIPs.

1. How many WIPs do you have?

2. Which is the oldest WIP (let’s not call them abandoned)?

3. In which fandom did you write your first fanfiction?

4. First thing that usually pops up when writing a new character? Their disign or their role in the story?

5. What’s the most (explicitly) sexual scene you’ve written?

6. What’s the oldest story you remember creating?

7. Are there words which you always spell wrong?

8. If you’d work on your main WIP in public and someone asked what you’re writing, how would you respond?

9. Do you prefer writing male or female characters? 

10. Do you imagine your work in other media, such as animation or live action?

Keep reading

[lmorasey-deactivated20230917]

Thanks for the tag @zburatorii!

My questions:

1. How old were you when you first became a writer?

2. Have you ever tried getting some of your work published?

3. Have you ever tried working on a WIP with another person?

4. What genres have you tried writing in?

5. Who is your favorite OC and why?

6. Have you ever made art of your OCs?

7. Do you prefer creating your own worlds, or writing within the world that already exists?

8. Do you prefer writing romances or friendships?

9. How many WIPs can you work on at one time?

10. Have you ever contemplated giving up writing?

My answers:

1. How many WIPs do you have?

Just The Sentry at the moment, I can’t focus on anything more than that.

2. Which is the oldest WIP (let’s not call them abandoned)?

My oldest WIP would probably be one I started back in high school called Utopia, but I haven’t even looked at it in years.

3. In which fandom did you write your first fanfiction?

My first (and only) fanfiction was a Harry Potter one :)

4. First thing that usually pops up when writing a new character? Their disign or their role in the story?

Well, in my current WIP characters have typical appearances based on their “orders,” so by the time I’ve decided which order they’ll be in I’ve already got a basic character design to go off of (assuming you meant physical appearance by this).

5. What’s the most (explicitly) sexual scene you’ve written?

I honestly don’t really like writing sexual scenes; the most sexual scene I can think of writing is in my first draft of the second book in The Sentry’s trilogy.

6. What’s the oldest story you remember creating?

I wrote a “book” with my best friend way back in third grade, but I honestly can’t even remember what it was supposed to be about.

7. Are there words which you always spell wrong?

Anything with “ie” or “ei”

8. If you’d work on your main WIP in public and someone asked what you’re writing, how would you respond?

I would probably get embarrassed and mumble something about it being a fantasy book.

9. Do you prefer writing male or female characters?

I enjoy writing both, but female characters typically come more naturally to me since I’m one myself.

10. Do you imagine your work in other media, such as animation or live action?

If anyone made any sort of adaptation of my work, no matter the form or the quality, I would probably keel over and die of amazement. Even fanart to me is super super cool.

Tagging: @cyraniadebergerac, @delerious-wordsmith, @g-marrader21, and @dragonscalesatdawn

[cyraniadebergerac]

Thanks @ lmorasey for the tag. Sorry for the wait.

My answers for you:

1. How old were you when you first became a writer?

       It was in Kindergarten, so around 5 or 6. The school was grouped with other schools in doing a Young Author’s thing that was sort of like a speech meet, except it required you to write and illustrate a story and had creative writing workshops. I wrote this story called One out of a Hundred where there were these 100 princesses (all sisters of each other) that got together to prepare for the eldest, Belle’s, birthday as a surprise. On the day, she was indeed surprised and first choose out this one wrapped in golden wrapping paper that turned out to be a crab that she kissed, danced with, then through golden light turned into a prince with a rose. They got married though only had five children and lived in a house covered in roses. Got second place for that story and had a blast the whole time. So that’s when I first became a writer and how I came to know that I liked the process. 

2. Have you ever tried getting some of your work published?

       Not really. I’ve just started “publishing” fanfiction.

3. Have you ever tried working on a WIP with another person?

         I did for a while. I had these two friends where we’d work together on creating these stories. It was incredible, but they worked better together than with me and we drifted apart before I became too annoying/clinging/not quite accepting that things were basically over with them already and they cut all ties. I do still enjoy collaborative writing though.

4. What genres have you tried writing in?

             Mostly sci-fi, superhero, and medieval fantasy along with some mystery and spy stuff

5. Who is your favorite OC and why? (sorry for the long answer, really excited to share him)

                Do I really need to pick favorites? While Rachel/Cyrania’s my main OC and I’ll always love her, George may be one of my earliest developed and one that I’m really proud of. He was a clone trooper developed for spec ops focused on hacking and leadership. He grew up though not wanting to enter this war and wondering why they’d have to fight but could see no alternative and so kept up his training. It wasn’t till his team was about ready to ship out that the Kaminos discovered that George’s brain chip didn’t work. As he was flawed, they sought to decommission him but Simon, one of his men, started up a bit of a rukus to know why which was overheard by Padawan Rachel, their soon to be Jedi commander. She stepped in and managed to save George’s life. His team was thankful, but George was suspicious at first about what she’d want in exchange. Their first mission, she got permission to give them names that she could call them. She had names for everyone else, Ivan, Silas, Simon, but she couldn’t figure out what name to give George. 

                 The planet they’d been assigned to turned out to be a farming planet, which enthralled George. Therefore, that night he tried to escape. Rachel let him go, not wanting to force him to fight and giving him George as a name. He managed to become a farmhand for one of the farmers when the droids attacked. He decided to observe what was going on, only to realize that Rachel had no real concept of tactics beside “try not to get your men killed while defeating the enemy” and didn’t really include herself among the ones not to be risked. He therefore came back and helped win that battle and ended up sticking around so that there’d be competent tactical leadership there. They became a better team for that and throughout the time of service, George came to realize that he’d fallen in love with Rachel. The situation was hopeless, especially with her crush for General Skywalker, but he’d do what he could for her even as the army kept being hostile to clones despite all she did to help them and the rest of his brothers.

                  Then order 66 happened. She only survived because his chip didn’t activate and they were both left reeling from the effects, especially with Anakin’s betrayal and secret marriage. He helped her to survive the initial years though, not wanting to leave her and wondering if now they could potentially marry. He even got her an engagement ring in case the day ever came. Unfortunately, he got a bit drunk and near suicidal after an Inquisitor nearly got control of his mind to turn against her. In his drunken state, he offered up marriage as the one sure sign that Rachel would still trust him and would mean that he ought to stay alive. Rachel panicked and caused him to sleep, wondering what to do. She’d never thought of him in that context. Even if she did deeply care for him, she couldn’t see herself married to him, especially if the farm life was still something he wanted. Yet he’d feel obligated to stay as long as she was around. And so, she did one of the worst things she’d ever done. She went back to that first planet while he still slept, contacted the farmer to look after him as a son, locked away his memories to only open if he was in mortal danger, and gave him new ones that mirrored the mental rhythm of his life as he recalled it. Intense battle memories that couldn’t be completely locked away were dreams or the fantasy of growing boys and her counterpart in his memories had died after chasing an unworthy man (as he’d viewed Anakin) and he’d finally started moving forward. She left and he lived a peaceful farmer’s life for a while and was content, though he hadn’t found anyone else he loved like he’d loved her.

               And things stayed like that until some of his neighbors decided to protest some of the Empire’s doings. He’d tried to stay out of it, but felt like he ought to at least see how it went though he had a bad feeling about this. His hunch turned out to be correct when the Empire started firing on the protestors. Captain George’s memories came back and he managed to save people from the initial volley before ordering them away. The situation was still pretty hopeless though until Rachel came back, coming as fast as she could after she heard about the Imperial plans for the protestors on this world. The group escaped, but there was a rift between Rachel and George for her actions of the past, even if he still tried to take care of her since her hero complex and guilt didn’t make it easy for her to take care of herself.

                The rift repaired itself over time, but Rachel never returned his love and confessed that she wasn’t sure if she ever would. Besides, he wanted a peaceful farm life where she wanted to continue to save lives, be a hero, and explore the unknown. She didn’t want to keep him following her type of life solely out of loyalty and obligation, but because he wanted to and that was something that was not going to happen. He stuck with her though, staying friends and working together in the way they knew how. When he followed her onto the Enterprise, she made sure that he’d be able to work in the biology labs at least and he checked out her other potential suitors to figure out who would be good for her and to be an avenging angel if they did her wrong, his engagement ring his seal of approval since that ring had always only ever been meant for Rachel.

               I’m sort of proud of him because of how sort of complex he’s become even though he started as a simple concept. A clone that was continually forced to fight even though all he wanted was to be a farmer, an opposite scenario to Luke Skywalker, as well as playing with a clone that never had the chip activated. His loyalty became his biggest obstacle to completing that goal, complicated when he ended up falling in love with Rachel. For a while, I tried to put them together, but Rachel never fell in love for him and so the rest sort of developed from there.

6. Have you ever made art of your OCs?

             I have drawn some of them, but I’m not really any good at it. I would love to see more art of them though.

7. Do you prefer creating your own worlds, or writing within the world that already exists?

                    Writing within a pre-existing world or world concept. I have sought to create my own worlds in the past, but I’m definitely not Tolkien levels in regards to that. I like having a framework that I can use for the setting that’s recognizable for the audience so I can focus on the characters instead of having to really flesh things out. Also, in my fanfics I mostly like to examine possible scenarios that occur to me, so I like exploring those in those settings.  

8. Do you prefer writing romances or friendships?

             Depends on what makes sense for the characters. Besides, the two are more or less the same sort of dynamics except one leads to marriage and has a physical component (and I’m never going to write a sex scene).

9. How many WIPs can you work on at one time?

               Not quite sure. Right now I have around five or six wips though a couple are definitely on the backburner for a while (but not abandoned) until I can get past a sticky point in the writing. I’m focused on two right now.

10. Have you ever contemplated giving up writing?

            Not so much writing, but imagination. My mom told me at one point that I needed to grow up and stop devoting time to childish things like fantasy, especially if I was so obsessed with it. I was a bit in tears that next morning after a night where I didn’t allow myself to imagine anything as I was going to sleep. Dad though came to my side and said it was alright, especially since I’d need it with the kind of careers I wanted. It turned out later that he does the tell yourself a story thing as you go to sleep or are waiting for something as well, so he understood that in a way. I was just glad though since my imagination is a large part of who I am and I didn’t want to have to give it up.

my questions for @silverinkgoldenquill, @yes-i-write-fanfiction, @writings-of-a-narwhal, @thependragonwritersguild, and anyone else would like to answer

1.) What’s an idea/concept you have in mind for a story or character that you have a hard time writing or can’t seem to get down on paper?

2.) What was the first thing you wrote that got you into writing?

3.) Do you tend to write things down as you come up with them or allow them to develop in your brain first before writing them down?

4.) At what point do you tend to get stuck in your WIPs?

5.) What are some tips that you’ve had work for you to help you write?

6.) What’s your favorite fandom to write in? Or do you prefer original fiction?

7.) If one of your characters were to come to life, which one would you prefer?

8.) Which character is the hardest for you to write for? Why?

9.) If the Myst series was real and books, movies, or games could literally transport you to another world that would affected by what was written/done in its source material, what sort of world would you want to write about in order to visit?

10.) What story or character idea/concept do you find easy and fun to utilize and/or tends to pop up in your stories? 

[silverinkgoldenquill]

I have been summoned! So, let’s get to it.

1.) What’s an idea/concept you have in mind for a story or character that you have a hard time writing or can’t seem to get down on paper?

Lot's of things, but my one of many current WIPs is definitely anything romance. I find it really hard to write anything where peeps are falling in love and even harder, in this one it's a love triangle! Help and advice, or examples are more than welcome.

2.) What was the first thing you wrote that got you into writing?

Cringe time! Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction. It was my obsession for a while but hey, to be fair the characters are pretty great. That was a small write up and it got me used to everything involved in a story. Then I made my super duper 160k League of Extraordinary Gentlemen fanfic of epicness in 2015 and am still editing and that set me up for being as decent as I am now and there’s no turning back.

3.) Do you tend to write things down as you come up with them or allow them to develop in your brain first before writing them down?

I write everything down, then I develop. It means I can ‘see’ my thoughts and it's actually a godsend. You don't realise how much easier it is I highly recommend, especially for complicated stuff.

4.) At what point do you tend to get stuck in your WIPs?

I'll end up doing ¾ planning and then write a few chapters and then… bam. I never know what else to write so it takes a good shove to get going again. Most of the time I just have to sit down and force it out of me or plan a bit more and try again.

5.) What are some tips that you’ve had work for you to help you write?

Planning the plot. Writing down everything down as you go because I cannot trust my memory. I write about a paragraph of planning for every scene just reminding myself of what needs to happen. I do it with my prompts too and by doing that writer's block often stays away. That and always back up your work. 😅

6.) What’s your favorite fandom to write in? Or do you prefer original fiction?

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and their French counterparts Les Hommes Mysterieux all the way (basically old book characters that get together in like an old fashioned Avengers.). Compared to my OCs there's no competition- I'm way too obsessed.

7.) If one of your characters were to come to life, which one would you prefer?

My OCs… hmm. This is a mean question. I haven't really got a massive favourite so far. Gordon Ellis is pretty great though - one of my retired detectives. Yeah, he needs some love. 😅 He's from Blood in the Inkwell and is very precious.

Fanfic wise (LXG fandom) Arsène Lupin, no contest. I need to marry him asap. He deserves worship and I would provide!

8.) Which character is the hardest for you to write for? Why?

OC wise… I'd say, Alistair McKay, also from Blood in the Inkwell. Definitely the clever and cunning types, at any rate, they’re always harder to write since they plan and scheme and sometimes it's hard to think of what realistically they'd do or say.

Fanfic wise (LXG again) definitely Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo. He's so mysterious and secretive. His behaviour is a lot harder to predict and since I write a lot about him in my fics it's quite a stretch of the imagination. And his dialogue is tricky.

9.) If the Myst series was real and books, movies, or games could literally transport you to another world that would affected by what was written/done in its source material, what sort of world would you want to write about in order to visit?

Hm. Tricky question. I'll keep in more general. But definitely historical - Edwardian era. Nice mix of rural and urban, I'd say. Maybe just a “smidge” less sexist and containing lots of mysteries and secrets to uncover. Ooh boi, yes, lots of mysteries. Good ones too that'd make you travel the world.

10.) What story or character idea/concept do you find easy and fun to utilize and/or tends to pop up in your stories?

Where I go whump and kidnap go almost guaranteed. There is no denying my love for whumperflies. I also like my broody characters that get chipped away at too until you start to understand them- my little geodes. Alistair and Gordon are those types to an extent.

I sadly don't know enough of yo  to tag so I'll just say all of you can do this one if you'd like. My questions:

1. What character are you most proud of thinking up, arc, backstory and all?

2. Have you ever had a WIP that you've been apprehensive to write, maybe because you don't feel ready to write it or another reason?

3. Favourite tropes?

4. What setting you've ever read about or written would you like to visit most?

5. What piece of writing are you most proud of making?

6. Are you a planner or an improviser with your writing?

7. Which character you've written about would you most like to hug?

8. Which would you most like to give a good telling off to (or worse)?

9. Do you have any writing role models?

10. If given the chance, which WIP would you most like to see as a film/ TV series?

[silverinkgoldenquill]

NaNo Update

YA BOI HAS FINISHED HER STORY!! I’m about 1k short of 50 but I’ll add some descriptions here and there. POINT IS I’VE DONE IT!! Blood in the Inkwell is written!

[silverinkgoldenquill]

Last Line Tag

Thank you @casegrey for the tag. I've never done one of these before so thanks for thinking of me.

Luckily my last few lines didn't involve major spoilers. This is a little choppy but here we are:

"Alright, that will be all for now.” "Ellis, I know it's your job but don't question the boy, please. Not yet,” Quentin implored. "This is too big a shock for him. He doesn’t handle things like this well."

Ellis raised a hand to reassure him "I understand that but I might still need to speak with him at least. Mr Richards, would I be able to use that Surrey of yours to go and collect Miss McKay and escort her home?" "The horse is too tired after today." Quentin scratched his head "But I'll put his sister on instead for you... Just give me a moment."

Quentin sent a long glance towards Jason. He clung to Alistair's chest and his shoulders shuddered as he cried. This was too big a shock for all of them.

Casegrey is actually the only tumblr I know who is participating in this so if you want to share your last line go for it. I’d love to see them.

[silverinkgoldenquill]

Durham Book Festival - Peter James

(I dont know why this got left in my drafts. This was a post from October but never mind.)

So only an hour ago I got a few precious moments with an author named Peter James. He's quite well known as a crime writer, and by quite I mean the man has sold millions of copies of his books.

So the first thing I'd like to say is that James had a little top 3 for the most important elements of his stories: 1. Character, 2. Research, and then 3. Plot.

James does an immense amount of research. He goes around with on duty police officers, he travels, interviews people of all types. He even stayed in a Monestary for a few days for his new novel.

And although it's unlikely we can be as extensive as he is, he pointed out things have to be realistic in a crime story. Your detective wont waltz up to a body without protective clothing for example.

So yeah, I thought I'd give a quick heads up of the advice from a best selling crime writer. You all should check out his writing. What a lovely man that took the time to guide me on my own research for my WIP. Thank you for this evening, Mr James.