#space wip

[mischiefiswritten]

I'm really looking forward to getting the worldbuilding fleshed out for my WIP so I can stop putting bracketed phrases in my prose...

[NAME], [WEAPON], [POWER] lol. I can't wait 'til I actually know what's going on.

[maple-writes]

I'm finally getting to actually writing again and its been so long I feel like I'm in third grade learning to write a story but it's good to be writing again anyway so here's an excerpt:

---

Volt stepped out into the cramped little living area filled with two couches and an old coffee table. Laid down across one of them Richard held up a tablet, tapping and messing with a spreadsheet. His one biological eye tracked the numbers while the other long-ago shattered mechanical one only scraped against itself in attempts to keep up despite the hair grown long to cover it up. He tapped delicately with the pads of his fingers where titanium claws wouldn’t scratch the glass.

Antennae by his ear flicked and he looked up from his work. “Smooth landing.”

“Thank you.” She sunk into the couch opposite him, spreading her arms out across the back. “Skyler’s handling the offloading.”

Richard smiled, warm and soft against the sharp features and mechanical implants just under his skin. “He’ll do fine.”

Of course he would. He’d done it over and over by her side but hint of worry still tugged at Volt’s heart. What if something went wrong? What if something happened? No. She sighed and sunk deeper into the couch. He could handle himself. He’d proven it over and over.

“Worrying about him?”

Was it that obvious? “Of course I am.”

He set the screen down and rolled over onto his side, wincing just a little at the twist in his back. “He’ll be fine.”

“I know.” She sighed again but couldn’t help but smile just a little. “He’s a smart kid. He’ll be fine.” Richard was always right about these things it seemed so why doubt him now? “And how are we faring?”

Richard tilted his head a moment before glancing at the tablet. It clicked in his one working eye and he stretched out. “We’re in the green for now. Might need to cut back a bit after we get the wiring in the hold repaired but nothing to panic about.”

“Good, thank you.” She ran a hand through tortoiseshell hair, pushing it back from her face dark and freckled. She needed a haircut but it wasn’t always simple fitting something in between shipments. Maybe she’d just get Richard to trim it again.

A familiar thump and shudder of the ship told her the actual unloading had begun. Smooth, controlled, professional… Warm pride welled in her chest. That was her boy out there.

“Well,” She pushed off of the couch to stand. “I have a potential client to meet. Need anything while I’m out?” Richard grinned full of sharp teeth and a mischievous glint and Volt didn’t even have to ask. “I’ll see what they have in stock.” Even if the general store didn’t have his favourite they both knew she would make a trip to the candy store for him, even if she would never admit it.

“Thank you Volt.”

She waved him off. As if she would ignore his requests. He was stuck confined to the ship whenever they were anywhere near others. If anyone saw him there would be more than a headache to sort out.

---

I think I had a taglist for this story but it's been a while so sorry if I've forgotten anyone because I only remember @concealeddarkness13

I should really write it down if i do remember

[cookiecuttercritter]

The most remote, barren stretches of outer space are probably populated by the idiot ghosts of useless aliens the rest of their crews had to throw out the airlock. They’re ghost alien best buds.

[spacebookdoodles]

a few oc drawings from my manuscript, Mothman 3! (it’s because I can work if a project has no title :,)   )

ft some of @fancifulscrawl ‘s ocs!

[emdop]

Sci-Fi WIP Excerpt

We make our way down the hallway with our group getting smaller and smaller as everyone finds a room until it’s only me and another recruit. A tall blonde woman with short hair that’s shaved on the sides and longer on top. She still wears her civilian clothes: a grey silk button down and black ripped jeans. I shrink inwardly at how cool she is and how dorky I currently feel in my bulky, baggy uniform. Her nose ring glints in the light as we reach the end of the hallway and turn down a different one that intersects it creating a T shape. Henry stops at the first door of the new hallway and announces this to be our new room, but he squints at the tablet and then at us then back down at the tablet.

“You are Raven Golightly, correct,” he looks at me and I nod, “and you are Lake Salvo…as in The Salvos?” he questions.

“Yes,” Lake responds.

“You’re missing a roommate,” he states. He shakes his head muttering something about how someone always gets lost then he reaches into the box with keycards but comes up empty.

“Hmm, it seems I don’t have a room key for you either,” he sighs, “Wait here, I have to contact command. I’ll be back.” He walks away.

“So, I guess we’re roommates,” I start.

“Yeah, it seems so,” she states.

“Lake. That’s an interesting name. Is there a story?”

“My parents were stranded on a lake when I was born.  They felt it was…appropriate, I suppose,” she says, wincing.

“No way, really? That’s intense and kind of awesome,” I say. She nods, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

After a moment of silence, I ask her, “What’s your specialty?”

“Cartography and hand-to-hand combat,” she says.

“Wow! I just grow plants,” I say, “I have to say I’m a little intimidated by you… in a good way,” I amend. She smiles.

“Don’t be. I’m merely a person,” she says, tucking her hands in her pockets. I nod and give her a small appreciative smile. Who knew someone who looks as badass as her would be so humble? Lake leans on our door, and I stand with my back to the neighbor’s door across the hall, stretching my arms above my head. Some time passes in silence until I break it.

“Do you know any Gallea?”

“A little. Why?” she says, casually.

“I heard these two girls say something earlier that I think was Gallea. Would you be able to translate?”

“Maybe,” Lake scratches her short blonde hair. I repeat the phrase to her and her eyes go wide and her mouth pops open. The color drains in her face as her eyes lose contact with mine.

“Oh no, what did I just say?”

“Um,” Lake mumbles, staring at something over my shoulder. I follow her line of sight and turn to see a figure standing behind us, facing the opposite direction. His back is ramrod straight, then he shakes his head almost imperceptibly while waving his keycard over the sensor. The door closes behind him without a backward glance. We stand in stunned silence for a moment then I find Lake’s eyes. She opens and closes her mouth a couple of times before letting out a resolute sigh.

“How do I put this delicately?” she starts then pinches the bridge of her nose, “Yeah, there’s nothing delicate about you just said. There’s no use. You just said huge cock.” Lake purses her lips together, stifling her laughter.

No!” I say as a wave of deep embarrassment crushes me. “Do you think he heard? Who was that anyways?” I ask in whisper even though the door is already closed.

“That was the captain,” Lake shakes her head while a few chuckles escape her.

“Are you sure?” I ask, clinging to some small hope that I didn’t just humiliate myself in front of my boss…on my first day.

“I’ve met him before, so yeah,” she says. The mortification I feel must be showing on my face because Lake offers me a sympathetic look. “Perhaps, it would be best for you to search your inquiries on the ship’s computer in the future.”

“This is like the tenth most embarrassing thing that’s happened to me,” I say, while I back up into the wall and slide down it next to Lake.

“Only the tenth?” Lake raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” I groan, “This isn’t the first time my loud mouth has gotten me into trouble.”

[the-worldsmith]

13, 14, 15 for the get to know your character thing

I’m kind of stuck between stories right now. Thinking about abandoning all my drafts. It would make me really sad but I think I might need to. We’ll see. These are from my space story.

13. What are your character’s sleeping habits? Heavy or light sleeper? Blanket stealer? One that always rolls onto the floor? Pushes their lover onto the floor? Sleep talker or walker?

Phoenix is the world’s heaviest sleeper. The kind that can fall out of bed and keep sleeping. And it has happened. She also snores. Loudly. She is absolutely a blanket stealer. She just wraps all the blankets around her and rolls out of bed. Would only push someone out if they were in the way of her rolling off. She’s a restless sleeper (i.e. the rolling off) but doesn’t actually sleepwalk. She talks occasionally. The only thing Wynn’s ever heard her say was, “The bees.”

Wynn is quiet. He’s not a light sleeper, per-say, you can’t be if you’re sleeping on a spaceship, but he wakes easily to any noise he isn’t expecting. Also a blanket stealer, but he just pulls them in really tight on either side of him. Doesn’t move much. Talks in his sleep a lot. Usually unintelligible.

14. Do they live alone or with family? How do they feel about their family/roommates?

Phoenix and Wynn live together on their ship, SN. Yes, it’s short for something. They’re very close; they both consider the other the most important person in their life. Phoenix was never close with her family; she had a lot of siblings and never much attention. She preferred to run around with her friends and never spent much time at home. She loves them in an abstract way. Wynn was always very close with his family but he was closest with his older sister. His parents were off at work for most of the day, so he and his sister spent all their time together. They left the planet together as soon as they could and she died about two years after. Wynn still has a necklace she gave him as a gift, a piece of the crystal they mined on his home world.

15. Is there a certain person in this world that they cannot stand? The very mention of this person’s name makes them tremble with anger or fear.

Not really? Phoenix hates too easily and Wynn with too much difficulty. There’s a clerk with the organization they work for during the story that has a really nasal voice that makes Phoenix want to rip her hair out, though. The both have enemies, however. Phoenix has a ton because she pisses people off really easily, though none of them are very serious. If one of Wynn’s enemies shows up, however, they run.

Thank you for the ask! Sorry this is so long…

[mischiefiswritten]

Writing Update | 7.8.23

Today has been a tough one. It's been hard to get the words to flow and to see the scene in my head. But I'm still proud of myself for persevering and getting started. I've written for three days straight now and written a couple hundred words a day. That's a big win for getting my writing practice back in order!

I've been thinking about new ideas of this new sci-fi WIP for a couple months now, and I'm starting to see some more concrete concepts. I've been working on the prologue, which is honestly the only part that I know what I want it to look like lol, but it's been fun so far!