#searching circle

[sleepyowlwrites]

FTWT CCCLX

Every time I did this on my phone I regret it. But I'm all cozy by the fire and I don't want to get up and go get my laptop. So here we are. Words from my dearest Timespace - oh my darling, I've missed you. I'll send you a letter soon, okay? - @spacetimewraithwrites

All from city story d0

Clear

Rune makes a very obvious note of his presence but doesn’t say anything, and just sticks the object in her hand between her lips.

Jet raises his eyebrows, confused when clear smoke is exhaled through her nostrils. 

“It’s a personal diffuser,” Rune explains without prompting. “Helps me calm down.”

“Was Shadow riling you up? He’s in a bad mood today.” Jet takes his place beside her and leans back, staring at nothing across the street. 

Close

The day is terrible. It’s especially humid and Jet kind of wants to pull his skin off or swim across the street instead of walking. It’s making his temper sour and Moss has banished him from the garage to work off whatever is on his mind elsewhere. Generally, when he gets like this, Moss keeps him close, teaches him new self-defense or combat techniques, or makes him clean something, just so he knows that Jet isn’t going off and getting into fights.

But Shadow had returned from class with a storm in his eyes that he refused to talk about, and Jet hadn’t been helping the atmosphere, so Moss cut him loose instead of Shadow. Of the two of them, at least Jet can take care of himself on the streets. Shadow is scrappy, but lacks motivation. He’ll throw a single punch and then just get beaten up.

Call

He blinks. “You remember my name?”

She lets out the softest laugh. “I’m very good with names, and I heard Shadow call you that a couple of times last week when I dropped by.”

“I have a twin.”

“Copper doesn’t wear his shoulders the same way you do.” The phrasing is peculiar but Jet knows exactly what she means.

Crowd

He isn’t surprised that he picks Cam out from a crowd in a second. The guy’s face is branded onto his brain after their first and only encounter. Jet needs to be aware and able to defend Rune from the right people. He’ll fight anyone, really, but this is a face he’d really like to bruise.

It seems that Cam recognizes him as well, but the dumbass doesn’t recognize a predatory face when he sees one, because he actually detaches from his group of friends and comes over closer to Jet with just the most punchable expression.

Check (continuing directly from above)

“I shouldn’t be talking to you,” is what Cam leads with.

Jet agrees. “You shouldn’t. I’m very ready to just punch your lights out.”

Cam nods, unafraid, apparently. “My friends would just hurt you back. They’re all very good at it. Listen, I have a word of warning that you should pass on to Cloud. Max wants to see her, and if she won’t meet him, he’ll meet her. Soon. And she knows what happens if she doesn’t do what he says.”

Jet really, really wants to clock him. Those are a lot of extra opponents, though, and he reins himself in. He needs to have the strength to check on Rune tonight. “If you or your brother even think about hurting Rune, I will do much worse to you.”

Cross

On the one hand, it’s generous of his brother to put so much effort in reinstating their former bond, and from Jet’s fragmented childhood memories, very accurate to character. On the other hand, the further Copper delves into reasons and motivations, the more Jet is forced to think about them.

“You don’t ever have to tell me more than you’re comfortable with,” Copper reiterates. He’s sitting cross-legged on Jet’s couch, elbows on knees, chin on closed fists.

Jet slumps to the side a little, sliding his hands down his legs. “I’m uncomfortable with telling you anything.”

Light, dry, swing, allow. Bonus: alleviate, master. @ryns-ramblings @gwens-fiction @toboldlywrite @pixelw0rds @faelanvance @oh-no-another-idea

[josephinegerardywriter]

Tag Game: Word Find

Thank you so much for the tag @oh-no-another-idea!!

My words are taste, health, ankle, and ache, and I shall use my wip, Puppet Kingdom, for this. :)

-----

Taste

A pulse jolts through the air as we pass through and my scarf buzzes against my skin. Magic fills the air and my senses are plunged into its indescribable presence. It leaves a taste along the roof of my mouth and a lingering tingle on the back of my neck, like the feeling of being watched by some unseen entity.

Health

Goldie then signals her gardes and they close in on me. “We will escort you back and this time be sure to keep Lacolle with you. It’s good for your health.”

Ankle Feet

“Are your feet hurt?” [Royal] finally asks. He’s been letting me use his elbow as a crutch, but I didn’t realize I was leaning so heavily on it until now. “Do you need to rest for a little while?”

I shake my head, letting his arm go and giving a tense smile. “I’m fine. I’ll- they can wait.”

Ache

Days have passed too quickly since everything went to pieces, and figuring out how to glue it together again has been a constant on my mind. It plagues me even in my sleep, and I have since grown a headache of unbearable proportions.

-----

I shall tag (with no pressure!) @zmwrites, @the-orangeauthor, @sleepyowlwrites, and whoever else would like to do this! Your words are rethink, retro, retract, and random. :)

[enchanted-lightning-aes]

Find the Word Tag

thanks @papercutsunset for teh tag! i found the following lines from random fanfics.^^

my words are cook, afterthought, curve, weak, and repair. 

Cook

"Ah, yes, thanks for reminding me. Nope, because I can still cook some pancakes."

"Your cooking skills are rather questionable, sir."

Curve

“We're finally free from that spell!” Linda cheered with a similar laugh.

“Good, at least, his reign is over,” Caitlin remarked, her lips curving up in a smile.

Weak

"Um. . . just a little overwhelmed." Anissa weakly gestured at her surroundings.

Grace lifted her brows.

Repair

"Couldn't have you, I don't know, repaired it at least?" Ueos'ihn asked, raising her brows.

Raor grimaced, crinkling his snout. "Uh I would've, but I was tricked into giving it to that guy over there."

Tagging, no pressure tho: @gr3y-heron, @e-lisard, @puzzleddragon02, and open tag. your words are: ardent, fever, grove, and mangled.^^

also you can interact with this post, if you’d like to be tagged in word find games and maybe last line tag games too.^^      

[akindofmagictoo]

manuscript search tag game

my hands are sticky once again and I got them on an open tag from @zmlorenz :D 

my words are dawn, dire, day, dear 

dawn (Dragonsong) 

“Why not just leave?” 

“Who’s gonna be left then?” He wrapped a fresh bandage around her arm. “All the fanatics. And who’s gonna pay the price? It’s not the king.” 

Realisation dawned, a shiver down her spine. “The people.” 

dire 

day (Dragonsong) (two excerpts because I didn’t have dire) (I love Isi calmly telling Brendon to get stuffed! she’s so chill about it. the second scene kind of involves some calm roasting of Brendon as well but it’s before the excerpt) 

Brendon scowled at her as she drew closer. They were about the same height—in fact, Isi was fractionally taller—so he couldn’t look down at her the way he’d been trying to do to Robin. Isi had no complaints about this situation. 

“I was just talking to him. Not my fault he got scared.” 

“If you want to talk, you can do it in daylight and you can talk to me. If this is really ‘nothing’, your sector is that way.” She nodded curtly and walked past him to her front door. “Good night.” 

He stalked away, still scowling. 

- 

Robin eyed her outstretched hand warily, as though he didn’t dare believe she meant it. Tears welled in his eyes. She said nothing, just held her hand steady. Waiting. Waiting for his answer. 

He put his hand, small but already calloused, in hers. When he said “Thank you” it was choked, barely a whisper. 

She smiled. “You’re welcome.” 

He hadn’t just stayed one night. After the third night, she had once more suggested a squire-like arrangement. That day, he’d accepted it, and he’d lived in her back room since. She wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

dear (Dragonsong) (yay for nerd Robin and SB, as ever, being hilarious) 

Isi nodded as best she could while lying down, and returned her attention to Robin and SB. “So the key doesn’t make it easier to bring down, or anything like that.” 

“Nope,” said SB in a sarcastically cheerful tone. “We are assuming that we want to bring it down, though, right?” 

“You say that like there’s much choice,” said Robin. “You want to leave all those dragons to suffer for thousands more years?” 

“I don’t particularly feel like finding out my magical limits the hard way, no.” 

Robin shrugged. “We can at least go and investigate. Presumably we can get an idea of what will be required before we actually do anything. I’d love to know more about how it works; I’ve never seen a spell that big. I’ve never even seen a spell that permanent. Most spells I cast don’t stick around that long.” 

Isi smiled. The subject might be serious, but there was a light in Robin’s eyes that she hadn’t seen that much in the past year. His passion was endearing, though. If all of this worked out… well, it was hard to believe it would, especially given her current state, but if things worked out she hoped Robin would be able to study magic in greater depth. 

I will tag ... @ashen-crest (any RPS snippets for me? 🥺) @ellatholmes and @josephinegerardywriter (no pressure of course!) 

your words, should you choose to accept them, are rest, stars, trouble, veer

[drippingmoon]

Word Find Game XIII

Thanks for tagging me, @mel-writes-with-her-dragons! Much appreciated!I'm a little behind on these but I'll be slowly catching up. I have to find lost, land, love and later. Excerpts from Aquiver, Aglow:

Lost:

Starlight wandered lost down from its deep ends, but it would not be received in the Heaven. Sacred light and mortal’s lights did not mix; they parted. Like trickles of water, it shied away from their dome of light. But where was Heaven, if not in the skies?

   Her countenance changed slightly. “And usually, the very first before a fall.”

Land:

So, when she came down in a flutter of wings, he stared with distant eyes. She’d landed on top of their house, legs swinging freely off the roof. Her cowl lay forgotten at the base of her neck, and her heart was guarded.

   One above, one below, they watched each other.

   “Am I unwelcome?”

   How laughable. Neither laughed, for all the Mother would’ve laughed in her sleep if she’d heard.

   Tyrone looked at her soberly, “Have you come for Mom?”

Love:

   Graciously, she offered, “Why?”

   And this was it. If he was wrong, if the feather burned beneath the mantlepiece, if he was not enough – his breath caught in his throat at the immensity of it all. For a while, the Mother forgotten, he lay in the jaws of his childhood, of starry eyes If he was not enough…

   Enough for what? Enough when? Why, he’d never bothered with enoughs before.

   Enough to listen to a Mother. Enough to fear the angels, and never speak at all. Enough to cower before stories, the ones he loved so.

   Enough was not an angel with cunning eyes.

   “Will you stay?”

Later:

Anne was intent on the lulling crescendo, so when words did come, she didn’t register them at first.

   She took in the urgency, though. Eyes flaring open to a Malchior visibly ashen, her heart squeezed in her chest. A moment later, when she whirled around in a twirl of feathers, her pupils shrank.

   A gleam cut along the night sky, like a smile scarred into the firmament.

   Stardust descended.

   Anne moved before she was aware of it, serpentine in her motions. Wings flared, she dived.

   She couldn’t see, and couldn’t feel. It was as if the whole night had shrunk to the blur of shattered light, and its tail dusted desperation on her features.

For once, I'm glad my draft is wordy. I can freely give out new excerpts every time and steer clear of spoilers. Tagging @ambsthom, @fourteenzero, @vellichor-virgo and @nikkywrites to find hope, peace, morning and silence!

[sleepyowlwrites]

FTWT CCCLXIV

@oh-no-another-idea Idea you totally came up with the second set of words just for me. like. those are Jet words. you were thinking it. subconsciously.

conversation (apocalypse story)

Ty sniffs a little and rubs at his nose. “That’s different. You’re vulnerable.”

“And how are you not?”

The look in Ty’s eyes is something like steel and Ben is beginning to regret this conversation. “Isn’t it obvious?”

It has been on Ben’s mind, flitting in and out like an errant bit of hope, but now it sits on the metaphorical windowsill and glares at him.

Ty continues, annoyingly nonchalant. “I’m immune.”

spark (copper and carnelian, 2020)

My mouth caresses your edges and snuffs out your spark You were beautiful in all the ways earthly words could say And I swore with empty sounds, I drove you away

cover (to know your enemy, to know serenity, 2021)

still stars are shining, they cover the sky if you had a voice you would have used it to say your pretty lies

silence (city story d0)

Yarrow continues, unbothered by the silence. “I’m not mad that you got into a fight. Jet does that all the time, and we know Rune is a good fighter, too. I’m mad because Jet’s shirt has blood all over it and you both look like you’re trying to topple mountains all by yourselves. And that’s unfair. We’re here to topple them with you.”

Everything is so quiet. They’re all so quiet. Jet’s head is screaming.

“You want to walk into my troubles without knowing anything?” Rune finally speaks up.

“No, I want you to tell us about them so we know what we’re walking into,” Yarrow says sternly, “but we’re definitely walking in there, regardless.”

“You don’t know anything,” Rune spits back with tired venom.

Yarrow places a hand on each of her knees and stares at her straight in the eyes. “We. Are. Friends. That’s enough.”

“What did that happen?” She’s just tired now, no sharp edges.

“I decided.” Yarrow shrugs.

violent (city story d0)

“I’m capable of a lot more than you think I am, Jet. I don’t like it, not anymore, but I’m willing. Sure, I’d rather get out of a potentially dangerous situation by talking things through, but if I’m backed into a corner, I don’t hesitate. I’ll hurt others before they can hurt me and I won’t regret it.”

“You weren’t backed into a corner here,” Jet murmurs, his other hand brushing her hair back. “You walked into this one.”

“Yeah. I do that, too. I’ll snap and use violence because that’s what I’m used to. I am a wild thing.”

Jet holds [Rune's] face a little more firmly. “No, you’re not. You’ve been caged and controlled and who you were then is not who you have to be now.”

fist (city story d0)

Rune makes everyone shut up by ceasing to pace. Yarrow closes his mouth in the middle of a sentence and doesn’t whisper the rest of it into Copper’s ear, which is how everyone knows this is serious. Everybody is listening. Jet is fuming, but he’s listening too.

“My parents were murdered by my ex-fiancee and he wants me back,” Rune announces without preamble, her tone shockingly dry for the weight of the words she’s saying. “There’s more, of course. A lot more. You can each ask one question.”

What, that’s it? Jet stretches out his t-shirt by bunching the hem in his fist to keep his hands from attempting to destroy something with skin.

murder (city story d0)

“You want to hurt somebody?” Shadow’s tired skepticism is exactly is how Jet is feeling.

“No, of course not. My mom would never look at me the same. I want to destroy something that should be destroyed, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Shadow repeats, his sigh very audible. Not that it bothers Yarrow, who is just perpetually unbothered except for when Jet and the others persuade him not to act on his reckless urges.

Yarrow moves around again, and there’s a soft thump which is probably him sliding off of the couch. A heavier thump follows, accompanied by an annoyed “hey!”

Jet finally looks over his shoulder to see Yarrow smothering Shadow with either a hug or attempted murder on the floor. He rolls his eyes and gets back to work.

black (she stole the night from you, 2020)

she comes in quietly dripping black lace like ink off a letter left out in the rain and it drags behind her - staining the carpet, the walls;

mind, place, scream, weight. BONUS: obvious, skeptical. @moonscribbler @writing-moth @drippingmoon @ink-fireplace-coffee @asablehart @avrablake OR ANYBODY

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CCCLVII

thing I'm thankful for: I enjoy my job. I really do. like most of anything in life, there are parts that drive me crazy, but the camraderie and togetherness of our crew is fantastic overall, and I'm blessed to work somewhere that boosts instead of breaks my mental health. sparkly stickers from @diphthongsfordays

still (city story all the way down)

“You’re still holding my hand.”

Rune hums instead of answering. He thinks she’s saying you’re letting me, without mentioning it out loud. It’s a small thing. Jet appreciates it more than he would say out loud, too.

proud

“If I need help, I will ask for it. I’m not too proud, or too stupid, or under some illusion that I’m invincible. When I require your assistance I will ask, and until then, if I tell you to let me handle it, you will do so.” Rune disengages Copper’s hold.

Jet shakes Shadow off as well. “You’re a decent fighter,” is all he says.

floor

“I thought Rune would have more exciting stories to tell us,” Yarrow says from the floor.

“I have plenty of exciting stories, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell them to you,” Rune is grinning now, something that Yarrow matches even if he’s upside-down.

strong

Copper places his own mug on the table and grips Jet’s shoulders. The hold is surprisingly strong as he climbs down to kneel beside Jet, turning him so they’re face to face. Jet doesn’t want to look at his own face, his own face if it were kinder, more agreeable, more able to reach into that compassion instead of raging.

There’s a hand on each of his cheeks. Jet puts his own up to grab at them, but with tremendous self-control, just keeps them there instead of pushing them away. Copper relents and just holds his hands instead, a grounding contact.

expect, trust, gentle, friend. BONUS: faith, certain. @writing-with-melon @ettawritesnstudies @ambiguouspuzuma @drippingmoon @winterandwords @toboldlywrite

[sleepyowlwrites]

FTWT CCCLXV

I need to make a new "have a good time" playlist. but not right now. right now I'm doing a tag. from @talesofsorrowandofruin and @ashen-crest (some of these tags are so old gadzooks)

water (the sleepy stash)

“You do not love me.”

“I do not love you enough.”

And it hurt worse, this exchange, it stung much more to know that there was yet a little water here to drink, but not enough that one of us did not have to refrain, and thus, wither.

Better there had been no love, no water, and therefore no languishing. I turned from the drink, for it mocked me, and took my leave.

wait (summon story d0)

Zan deposited the firewood beside the stove. “They’re a monster, definitely.”

Shae hit the back of his head lightly. “Don’t be mean. They’re a good person. And the ibsin has kept up its side of the deal. Wryn doesn’t seem unhappy to have it.”

“Not that we would know, if they were.” Zan stared gloomily at the fire until Shae tugged him away. “How is Wryn going to manage, when they’re not them anymore?”

“I don’t know,” Shae said patiently, forcing him onto a chair. “We’ll just have to wait and see. Now cut up those vegetables.”

weapon (summon story supplemental)

“You’re mad to do that out in the open.”

Shae whirled around, one foot dragging through the ashes behind her, destroying the effectiveness of the array in seconds.

The voice had come from above her, a lump of shadow perched on the roof. The lump shifted and stretched, finding form while accompanied by the sound of bone on stone. Shae rolled her shoulders uncomfortably as the figure dropped down in a coordinated heap. As per usual, Shae had nothing on hand except her ruby knife, which she was loathe to use as a weapon.

weekly

wheel (that game where you go around in a circle and each write one sentence of a story and afterwards laugh so hard you cry)

Long ago in a space village there was a purple monkey. The monkey's name was Frederic Zebo II. He was the captain of the starship Zagoth. But his ship had no steering wheel. I can't describe what happened next. Just kidding, the ship crashed and everyone in it had a great bounce. They crawled out of the ship and saw a rubber duck army sergeant. This sergeant was the greatest duck in the force and an expert marksman. But the duck had lost his arms/wings in battle and was confined to a wheelchair. I wish social workers took care of him from henceforth on, but the government budget was slashed and he lived in solitude. The End.

seek (seafarer, searcher, 2021)

I knew the maps were faulty That there were treasures to be claimed I knew that I could find them If I sought and hoped and prayed I set off to seek my fortune But what I found was greater yet I came home with maps aplenty Of all the places that we met

no (city story d0)

“So then,” Jet feels his sentences slip-sliding around his head and scrambles to catch them. “You don’t really need me to stay over, or come and haunt me at my place?”

Rune echoes his sigh. “Having other people stay over at my apartment is for them, not me.”

Jet processes that. “So when it’s me, it’s for you?”

“Yeah. I told you, I feel safe with you around.”

It’s like Yarrow isn’t even there. Jet half-expects him to jump into the conversation. He doesn’t, just listens with his eyes on the sky.

“But do you then feel unsafe with other people around?”

“No.” Rune puts her hand out and up over her head. Jet accepts it but doesn’t do the holding. “I feel neutral, I guess. I feel like I’m the protector, and I know I can do that, so I just- I don’t know. I don’t feel anything. Or I feel everything. I’m aware. I don’t have to be aware of things around you.”

decline

floor (city story d0)

“Why are there two of you?” Rune also sounds exhausted as she retrieves the pillow and tosses it back over her shoulder where it lands on the floor instead of the couch.

Jet would feel bad about springing this on her except that he can’t feel anything at all. “Shadow was supposed to ask if he could stay over earlier,” he replies with a couple of elbow jabs to Shadow’s side.

Shadow shrugs in such a way that he looks like he’s trying to wrap his shoulders around his chest. “Sorry.”

Rune just holds the door open and walks away. Jet had presumed that she wouldn’t turn them away, and apparently, he’s right. Still. “Sorry,” he repeats as they come inside and shut the door behind them.

dry, fry, cry, try. BONUS: pry, wry. @ambiguouspuzuma @athenswrites @autumnalwalker @aohendo @akindofmagictoo OR ANYBODY