Product Placement
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KIROKAZE
Kaledo Art
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wallacepolsom
trying on a metaphor
occasionally subtle
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shark vs the universe
blake kathryn
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
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Janaina Medeiros
almost home
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@talesfromopenpages
Writing sideblog for @ankahikoibaat.
If you like what you find here, you can find me on AO3 as thebitterbeast and Bluesky as araopenpages! You can also follow along with what I'm working on and my writing thoughts over on Instagram as ara.openpages!
Things you will probably find here - writing ideas, rants and RP thoughts. WIPs, either writing or art. I also take commissions!
If you can, help me create more with a tip on ko-fi!
He kissed her, slow and deep. It was a show of possessiveness and of intent, and everybody knew it. “Bastard,” she murmured when he pulled away, her amusement evident.
“And yet you love me,” he teased with a smirk, eyes sharp when he glanced over her head but warm when they dropped back to her.
She huffed a laugh, unable to bring herself to play at affront. “And yet I love you,” she echoed in agreement without her usual attitude, sentiment written in her frame and her tone. He softened further at that, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear gently. This was not for show. This was just for her.
an excerpt from a story i'm not writing
This month's prompt was chosen by me! I've really enjoyed the songs we’ve used, and I’ve fallen back down the rabbit hole of Urdu shayari, or poetry, so I found a couple that I enjoyed and shared them in the Discord.
One of the two I shared spoke to me more than the other, so that’s the one I went with. It gave me a chance to revisit the character of Anam and the Waypoint from one of the first prompt stories I wrote, which is always nice. Let me know what you think!
[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: AUTHOR AVENGERS May PROMPT Aaj dil udaas hai Aur wajah maloom hotay hue bhi nahi maloom
Translation: Today my heart is sad and despite knowing the reason why, I still don’t know the reason]
INDEX: Aradhna Kaur (me!) - A Wait Now Over
As per usual, any stories going up after today will be added to the list later!
Cheers, Ara
The figure framed by that bit of light was familiar to her. Her eyes lit up, his name falling from her lips in relief. “What’s going on? Where are we?” He took a step into the room, features coming into sharp focus. Her name fell from his lips like a prayer, soft with reverence and disbelief, grief clinging to the edges of his eyes as he stared at her.
The Trek Upward is now available on Ko-fi for members at the Dedications tier.
now available for everyone on Ko-fi.
I spoke recently about taking my books off major e-retailers due to deleting my D2D account, which I promptly did. I’m not over what they’ve done – the annoyance and the frustration are still here. The lack of options available for people like me in other countries where our currency values so weakly against USD is pretty stark. It’s already a struggle at times to get our words out as marginalised authors, as non-Western authors, and now this? Sometimes it can be so disheartening.
Does this mean I have stopped looking for ways to share my stories on the major e-retailers? No. But it does make it a little bit more difficult. Especially if I am looking to publish physical copies of my work, which was the plan for later this year for Kind Regards And Warm Wishes. I have, at least, been informed by some writer friends of other (free) platforms I can use for formatting, which will be helpful. But the physical copy thing, and publishing that is something that will take some time.
Until then though, you can get my books on Ko-fi and Itchio! They also take less of a cut than D2D and major e-retailers did – in Ko-fi’s case, no cut at all!
Still looking at more options for distributing, if anyone has any! Or any tips and tricks – I would love to learn more ways to better myself as a writer.
Cheers, Ara
Her hold on the pendant of her necklace tightened. She shrank away from the man who was once her everything, eyes wide and betrayed. “It’s my mother’s, the last thing she ever gave me –” Nina was aghast at his callousness. “You know this! How can you ask me to give it away? And to her?”
“It is just a necklace. A trinket.” He sounded so dismissive. Nina pulled away from him further, dismayed. “I will buy you a bigger one. A better one.”
“You think money can replace what this means to me?” Her offense was clear. Her heart was not just broken, it was shattered at his arrogance and disdain. “You can buy your princess a bigger, better one,” she spat back. “I will not give her my mother’s necklace. It is all I have left of her.”
an excerpt from a story i'm not writing
What is faith? It is a question I ask myself many times and then I wonder if that means I lack it.
new poem ’What is faith?‘ available for members at the Acknowledgements tier on Ko-fi!
“Why are you here?” she asked again, her eyes fixed on the bandage he was wrapping around her forearm. He'd dodged her question the first time, but she could not keep her exhaustion from her voice or her demeanour. “It's been a long day, Sehban, and I told you to leave me out of –”
He cut her off. “I'm not here because of that.” The bandage was carefully cut and tucked and taped, Sehban's fingers moving with practiced ease. His touch was gentle, but even then the warmth of his skin set her nerves alight. It was not fair. He could probably feel her heart racing in her chest. She couldn't hide her reactions to him the way she usually tried to do. “My revenge isn't as important to me as you are. I almost lost you today,” and his voice broke. Megha stared at him, breath catching in her throat. “All that blood – I thought it was yours, I thought you were dead –”
Unbidden, Megha took a step closer to him. “I'm not though. And as soon as you remember that, you'll remember why you came here to begin with.” She laughed. It was an ugly sound. There was nothing funny about their situation. “Like you said, you didn't plan for me. I wasn't supposed to be here.” She touched his chest lightly to get him to look at her and pulled away when he did. There was a look in his eyes she didn't recognise. “I'm alive, Sehban, and that doesn't change anything for you, does it?”
His eyes darkened. Megha could not read them, but she didn't flinch when his hand reached for her face. She wasn't scared of him. She should have been, she knew very well what he was capable of, but she wasn't scared of him anyway. “It changes everything. You change everything.” His voice dropped, and he took a step even closer. There were scant inches between them. “I'd burn the world down if I lost you. I'm not a good man, Megha, but you're more important to me than my revenge. I can't lose you. I won't.”
The smart thing would have been to walk away. The smart thing would have been to tell him to leave, that he'd hurt her once already, broken her trust and her heart –
Instead, Megha kissed him.
an excerpt from a story i'm not writing
This month's prompt was another song - with lyrics translated and pointed out! - chosen by l'poni. I didn't use the lyrics specifically, but there was something about the music that immediately gave me a story idea. I don't know how well it worked but I might revisit this universe someday!
Let me know what you think!
[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: AUTHOR AVENGERS APRIL PROMPT Ali Project - Atarakushia, Soshite Taiji Suru Jiko]
INDEX: Aradhna Kaur (me!) - A Glitch In The System
As per usual, any stories going up after today will be added to the list later!
Cheers, Ara
Her eyes were dry as she bit down on her lower lip and kept them fixed ahead of her. Her hands curled into fists within the folds of her skirt. Her breathing remained steady and her attention unwavering. Her heart though – her heart was heavy.
Long Live The Queen is now available on Ko-fi for members at the Dedications tier.
now available for everyone on Ko-fi.
Draft2Digital, the platform I've been using to format and distribute my e-books - one that was helpful and convenient and affordable - recently added a maintenance fee for users. Now, this would not be such a huge problem if a) this were communicated before roll out, at least so we wouldn't be blindsided, and b) the costs took into account the users themselves. So many of us are primarily indie authors from countries outside of the US, and it honestly seems as if D2D does not care about that.
So I have decided to delete my account with that. Which also was more difficult to do than simply finding a 'Deactivate Account' button. One has to email them to get their account deleted, and then wait for a reply to confirm. (The reply I got asked me if I was certain, gave me the option of delisting my books so I wouldn't need to pay an activation fee if I ever decided to resign up. No thank you, D2D!)
I used the word “predatory” in my email to D2D to cancel my account to them, and I stand by it. It certainly seems that way when the platform is choosing to penalise those of us making under a certain amount - already struggling to sell our books - and not those authors who are selling their books well. It feels almost targeted to smaller authors, to possibly already marginalised authors, and for those of us living in countries where conversion rates mean the $12 maintenance fee amounts to more than, it can even be dangerous.
Maybe D2D will change their mind if too many of the writers using their platforms reach out. They did about their AI stance, after all. But if and until they do, I will not be using the platform. I have my account and with that, my books will no longer be distributed to the e-retailers that work with D2D. Even after they change their stance (if they do), I may not get back on the platform. The trust is gone for me.
Until then, my books are available on Ko-fi. I am looking at putting them up on Itch.Io as well, a few friends have spoken well of the platform - I made an account last week to get a feel of it - and I'll be looking into how else I can get my books back on the major e-retailers.
This has been a disappointing turn of events but I am taking steps to figure out where I go from here and I know many other authors are too. I hope you'll stick with us as we do.
And if anybody has any recommendations for other platforms similar to D2D for distribution or formatting, or both, please do let me know.
Cheers, Ara
Her answering hum is cut off by the door being flung open and Val pulling Isha into an excited hug that she would sink into if Val wasn’t squeezing her so tight. She laughs into Val’s shoulder silently, basking at the comfort of the familiarity of it all. “Hi! I missed you! Come in, Mom’s made your favourites!” Isha barely gets a chance to breathe or respond before she’s being dragged into the house.
Behind her, she can hear Jack chuckle again. Sardonically, he comments, “Hi, Val, it’s me, your actual sibling. I’m doing fine, thank you. How are you?”
Val pulls away from Isha and waves a hand at Jack with an impatient frown. “I met you yesterday, Jack.”
“You met Isha yesterday!” Jack sounds indignant but his eyes are dancing with laughter when they meet Isha’s. She grins at the byplay, unwrapping the scarf from around her neck and hanging it and her jacket by the door like she’s done so many times before. “I know she’s everybody’s favourite, but still, some pretence that that’s not true would be nice.”
an excerpt from A Season Of Change, the last short story in Facets; A Short Story Compilation
they say everything heals with time – the physical, the emotional, the mental – all your wounds will scab over and even the scars will fade.
new poem 'wounded memories' available for members at the Acknowledgements tier on Ko-fi!
The unfathomable look in Nick’s eyes would not leave her mind. She spent more time than she would admit trying to place the feeling in them, and the emotions they evoked in her. She would remember the weight of them in inopportune moments, the heat she could not explain that she still felt, and lost track of what she had been doing. It confused her, Nick’s reaction that night, and her instinctive response to him. It left her uncertain, unsure of her footing and her standing with him. It prickled under her skin, as did the anxiety of asking Nick if she had done something wrong.
All of it made no sense to her, and she did not want to care so much. She did not want to put weight on Samar’s words, but they circled in her head all the same. Nick’s opinion mattered to her, as did the ease he usually showed in their interactions. Jhanvi would hate to lose that.
For all her efforts to banish him from her mind and try to focus on Bharti's wedding as she should, she was unsuccessful.
Nicholas Cho had fixed himself firmly in her thoughts, and she could not dislodge him.
Jhanvi was not certain she wanted to either.
an excerpt from Lasting Impressions, the first short story in Facets; A Short Story Compilation
And the man sitting beside her now, stoic and silent and steady – he had been her rock. Purab did not have any reason to extend his friendship and his understanding, but she had underestimated him as well. He had let her rage and cry and break, away from her worried and stressed family. He had sat by her in silence as the despondency got too much. She had deserved none of his kindness. Jiya knew she had behaved abominably with him and still he sat with her at the mandap, offering her both his name and his support. It was humbling.
Was it fair to him? Once she would not have thought much of it, believing it was her right to act as she wished, love as she wished, speak as she wished. Now, with her dreams and heart and trust broken by a man she had considered the love of her life, she finally faced the realities of the world. He had laughed in her face when she had told him she was pregnant, and it had been Purab who had supported her since. One had all the advantages afforded him of wealth and connections, and the other was simply a genuinely good person.
He deserved better than her.
an excerpt from Lost & Found, the second short story in Facets; A Short Story Compilation