Your gateway to endless inspiration
Happy STS! [Also, happy birthday, apparently? Hope you had an amazing day!]
What's your favorite mood to write about, when it comes to your fiction?
Oh, I was trying to say happy birthday to someone else- Sorry for the confusion. It is like... three months too late to be my birthday (Gotta love being a winter child when I freeze so easily-)
Anyway... I guess I like writing characters when they are more at peace. Or when they are just alone in a place they are happy about. Part of it is that I often have my stories start with somewhat peaceful scenes (such as a character alone in a forest) and that is my favorite part to write since it is usually the only part I write- I abandon stories a ton.
Happy STS, Night!
What’s a trope or tropes you like writing, even if some people think it’s cheesy?
Thanks!
You know, that's the first time someone went and called me Night here and it makes me happy for very little reason :>
Honestly, I don't know if I play into any tropes in my writing. I don't play into them, I guess. Or I don't realize that I am. But I guess after thinking on it, there are potential tropes.
If Stars of the Sky goes the way I initially thought, it would be enemies to lovers, if it goes differently, there would probably be friends to lovers. There's potential soul mates (Because I am random) and I wanted to make Eros and Hades have more to their abilities than the obvious one can tell when death is nearby to people and the other can make people get together. So there's that. But even that might be done interestingly due to how the Named are granted their abilities.
I dunno, there might be things that I write that fall within tropes without me knowing. (Though honestly, if we look only at fanfiction, if killing the mc was a trope, I do it a ton)
Happy STS! What's the best gift your OC has ever recieved?
I forgot to say happy birthday to you- Apologies-
Anyway, gift giving is rare in the setting of Stars of the Sky, especially where Hades grew up since the lifespan of humans there is so much longer and the Kingdom/general area has a tradition of giving gifts to the living when someone dies. So Hades has received gifts on two occasions, both of which were occasions where her parents died. One of the gifts she got when her mother died from family (aside from having to move in with her aunt and uncle) was a very very shiny dagger with phrases related to Hades (Hades' personal God) and Zeus (Her mother's Personal God) on the blade. She carries it everywhere with her, even if you can't see it. She doesn't even use it. She also doesn't exactly follow the gift giving tradition that much. She likes giving gifts.
Eros (Who, believe it or not, is not a second main character, I just like talking about him as though he is) receives gifts more often than Hades due to being a bit of a player. But his favorite gifts are a collection of gems Hades gives him. Not because people around them died, she just felt like it.
Ares' favorite gift was just the knowledge that somewhere out there, there is a woman with silver hair, black eyes, and a penchant for getting in his way. I don't exactly know why, but he likes the challenge.
Zeus (the Named, not the God) was once gifted lucky bamboo. He lives it and still has it and if you touch his bamboo in any wrong way, you are likely to lose the hand.
I was tagged by @houndsofcorduff to write the opening lines of about twenty of my stories/WIPs, note similarities, and choose my favorite. Might have missed something in that but close enough, I think.
Be warned, a lot of these are fanfiction. I feel no shame in admitting that I enjoy writing some good fanfiction. I might also note what I was going for with these stories because quite a few are somewhat abandoned-
Elevator There is something off in the forest. Blue eyes stare at a hole in the ground, cut squarely and surrounded in concrete.
Uhm, this one is just over a paragraph and a half or so and I can remember wanting to write what my recurring "dream" from when I was elementary grade. Partially because my Creative Writing classmates were confused about why I fear elevators. My fear is reasonable, I promise.
Focus on Me [MHA Edition] The clink of golden metal accompanies the young woman's footsteps, her molten silver eyes glancing over the area around her, her braided black hair trailing after her.
Congratulations, you've read the entire WIP. I had this character that I was obsessed with enough to write her into three different Anime. Funnily enough, she was originally an MHA oc and the other two stories have so much more- Nevermind the Demon Slayer one has nothing so I have to take that one out of the running for this and find another WIP-
Focus on Me {JJK Edition] Humans can have second chances. Eryn has believed that since she was a child. Injustice takes people away from families and friends, but she believes that humans will get second chances if they died unfairly. She has no evidence of this, but she continues to believe it.
I love this story and only abandoned it because other ideas flooded my head. A shame. So this was the first paragraph of the prologue, the very prologue where I slaughter Eryn in a very painful way. Fun times.
Brought to Ruin Forever is a long time. That's what she had been told since birth. Forever is how long it takes money to grow on trees, forever is how long it takes for love, forever is how long it takes for one to be immortal. But to her, forever is her reality. She will live forever, never truly dying, but forever suffering. She will exist even when the sun doesn't, exist even when she's turned to dust, exist even when humanity takes their last breath.
I was on something. Not drugs. Just something. Very philosophical, I'd say.
Sightless Curled black waist-length hair waves in a soft breeze as it weaves through a forest of giant oak and birch that tower high into the sky. A young woman sits under a tree, her pale hands resting in her lap, contrasting against the dirtied black leggings she wears. A simple black cloth is tied securely over her eyes, the cloth marking a stark line against her high cheekbones. Her eyebrows are relaxed, giving no real sign about how she’s feeling. A web of interlacing branches above her draws her attention, the sight making a slight smile grace her face.
That... Info dump? I think? That's the first paragraph anyway. I... Oh my skies I want to rewrite it for a fifth time and I haven't ever fully written it oh my-
Wolf Among Crows [Haikyuu!] Eryn Argyris is… an interesting individual. He went to the same middle school as Hinata, played in that first match against Kageyama's middle school, and was an insanely talented player. His receives were solid, with little error, and when he did spike, he tended to get past the blockers. Maybe not the receivers, but definitely the blockers.
Hey, it's another one of the Eryn saga! I guess he/she was in more than I thought- But that is the first paragraph. Don't worry that story was abandoned three paragraphs into chapter one-
Focus [Haikyuu!] Eryn Argyris comes from a middle school that impresses the importance of being skilled in every aspect of a sport, not just one area. Eryn is a deceptive player. He never showcases his own skills, only the skills of his teammates or his opponents when he analyzes them enough. When High School rolls around, his team disperses, but he finds himself in Karasuno. Eryn proves to be a silent trump card, choosing to hide within his teammates until they need him most.
...Another of the Eryn saga... and that's all I had written for that one. This is turning into the first paragraph instead of first line as this goes on-
Sukuna's Brother [JJK] The young child laughs as he runs along a beach, his parents watching from a distance. As he runs, he notices a glimmer at the corner of his eye. He stops, kneeling down and observing what he spied. A necklace, looking ancient and worn by time and the lapping shore, sits there, its dainty chain being tugged at by the water. Surely someone misses the necklace, the child thinks as he grabs it, tucking it in his pocket to tell his parents about later so they can take care of it.
Innocent child. That one is abandoned but I liked it while it lasted.
Golden Angel [MHA] Lyka has a secret. Not from his childhood best friends, they know all there is to know about him, like his favorite color is silver, his hair naturally has a stripe of gold, and he hates his mother with a passion unfitting of a future hero in training. That last is not as much of a secret as what he keeps from everyone else. Only his teachers know, aside from the two who know all there is to know about him, that he has two quirks. Two rather powerful quirks. One he uses to hide the other, the other the reason he hates his mother.
I abandon way too many stories. That's what this is telling me. There's more to this one than a first paragraph, but some of my brain's ideas are amusing... and this one I allowed myself to write an overpowered MHA oc when I am usually mutilating them somehow-
Ice Queen [MHA] She was overlooked. Her elder brother developed his quirk early, showing blue flames at the expense of his body. Her youngest brother is… just a weaker version of her. Not that anyone aside from Touya, her elder brother, knows of her flames despite her hero title. It took Touya leaving for her to realize she wanted to be a hero. A hero to spite her father and prevent families like theirs from forming.
Yeah... MHA is a common theme. Fanfiction too. Like only two of these so far have been not fanfiction. This one was actually a rewriting of my previous version of this same story.
Spirit Techniques [JJK] The sky is black up above, stars glimmering and flickering, the full moon lighting the Earth with a silver glow. A gust of wind sweeps between a duo, the younger of the two looking up at the elder. The elder smiles, her head tilting slightly. Her white hair sways in the breeze, golden charms clinking as individual braids brush against other braids. Her golden eyes are large, yet still feel intense as she reaches an arm out and pats the younger's head.
Honestly I like this scene only for the peace, since knowing me, I was likely about to throw the older of the two into a crap show.
Sable [MHA] The door crashing open was loud, louder than anything Gunvor Mochizuki had ever heard before, even with the enhanced hearing of her quirk. At twelve, she was a slight girl, with light blue hair that hangs to her shoulders, pale skin littered with the usual bruises expected of a twelve-year-old who climbs just about everything, and large, expressive azure and red eyes. She was small enough to be pushed into a cabinet under the TV by her mother, whose azure eyes were rather warm even as the sound of fighting erupted down the hall where Gunvor's father was engaging with the intruder.
Uhm... another MHA fanfiction... Don't worry, there wasn't any domestic violence in this one! I swear! Just thieves. And death- Not the MC this time! How wonderful is that? This one is a rewrite of a story of the same name. I think the original of this one might still be on Wattpad, actually? I loved this story, it was my baby.
A Court of Felines and Bats [ACOTAR] The winter is cold, bleak. Leafless trees stretch high overhead, skeletal fingers branching to the sky. Even the undergrowth, usually lush with leaves, is a collection of sticks and thorns hidden under snow piles. The black fur of her current form would usually stand out in this weather, but Gunvor's entire being is stealth. She sits deceptively still, crouched in wait, not even a flash of amber from her eyes.
I didn't kill Gunvor to throw her into ACOTAR in the prologue! Actually this one doesn't have a prologue, so I might have if I had written one. And yes, this is the same Gunvor from Sable.
Artistry [MHA] The sky is quaking. Not literally, of course. It isn't going to come crashing down on him. No, the quaking is thunder that follows flashes of lightning that almost blind those who look at the clouded sky. Fumie Kerr was sitting in his living room, the silver curtains of his windows drawn to block out the rather distracting flashes of light. His hand brushes against a page, leaving graphite marks on paper despite him not holding a pencil. Rather, the fingers of his left hand appear to have become pencils, brushing against the paper with finessed control due to him using his own body for his drawing endeavors. Eyes made of graphite stare at the paper in front of him, trails of the material leaking into the veins around his eyes as he tilts his head, staring at the sketch he's making.
Honestly, this character's power/quirk is amazing and I wish I didn't abandon him two paragraphs later.
Dreammare [MHA] Ayumu Amano knows his quirk isn't the most heroic. He hates that he was judged for it as much as he is. His quirk is a nearly perfect blend of his parents' quirks, even though they hadn't intended for his quirk to be so. Their quirks just meshed well enough to create his quirk. His classmates only see his nightmare side, avoiding his touch completely as though he would give them nightmares just by brushing against their clothes. It isn't like he has to make skin contact with five uncovered fingers anywhere but their face, or any amount of fingers to their face, which he has gloves to avoid. His gloves cover his ring and pinky fingers, which keeps even his accidental activation when he touches someone's faces safe for them.
I was rewriting this character, who is originally a villain, into a hero. Infodump, I guess. Honestly, he is interesting to me, but he is also so unique in how I think of him? Because he was never really a full villain in my mind before, and he's not really a full hero in this version (Like he met a villain on the street and chatted instead of fighting despite the danger- And no heroes were around aside from a nearly dead guy-)
Heteromorphy [MHA] What has he given up to get to this point? Pure black eyes narrow, staring at the street below. Black wings fold against his back, blocking the wind that blows from behind, his clothes creaking as he crouches. What memories were lost due to him rewinding? What people should he remember that he cannot? Slightly tanned fingers curl against the cement of the building he is perched upon, talons digging in slightly. His handler will have them filed eventually, a painful process since his handler believes in the complete removal, not just a trim. His wings spread out slightly, black against the daylight. A frown forms on plush lips, hidden by the collar of his zipped up jacket.
There's the first few lines/paragraphs. That guy is so unique because I get to write a forgetful character. Oh wait I abandoned him ;-;
Shattered Realm [JJK] Astra knows she's different. She sees creatures that no one else does, floating around and making warbling sounds that annoy her to no end. She hasn't met anyone who mentioned the creatures, even in passing. She was in her high school late at night for a club. She rests her chin in her palm as she watches the club president scratch at the paper covering of what the others are convinced is a paranormal object. Considering the aura Astra can feel coming from it, she doesn't think they are wrong.
My child with way too strong senses. I love her. She's in a different WIP, too. Honestly, this one was bound to get abandoned for no reason. That's just how I am, and the timeline fits for this one to be abandoned... Because of Stars of the Sky.
The Clearing Amari knows something is off about the clearing. Just looking at it sends signals of fear through her. Her werewolf instincts tell her not to comment on her fear, aware of the sensation of oddness radiating from the glade. It looks like a perfectly normal clearing. Oak trees surround it, grass and flowers fills it, a giant oak tree stands tall in the center. Yet even that is suspect.
This is a short story I did for my Creative Writing Class. It is still in need of some editing, hence its WIP status. If I'd actually written the Elevator to completion, and if the Elevator had werewolves, this would be it. Instead I got this. Not that it was a bad thing. I love how this one ended.
A Court of Death and Ruin(ation) [ACOTAR] Hades stares at the sky, watching it darken from a cerulean to an indigo. Her hands rest on her stomach, feeling her lifeblood leaking from her fingers. Her vision is going dark, blurring. She can still see the outline of her killer, feel his blood red eyes glare down at her, feel his hate in the air.
Ah, the prologue. The place where you give background to a story. Or a snippet of the future. Or, in this case, slaughter your MC. :) I threw Hades from Stars of the Sky into ACOTAR.
Stars of the Sky The forest is alight with life, the rustling of leaves, and chatter of animals. The trees sway in a soft breeze, creaking and groaning as some limbs are stressed by the weight of leaves and wavering in the wind. Within a small clearing, a young girl sits, her eyes closed as her silver hair sways in the breeze. Her head is tilted down, her lightly tanned skin glowing where beams of sunlight hit her skin. At her side is a sheathed sword, her left hand resting on the handle. She takes a breath, raising her head.
So uhm... I guess the theme of the opening paragraphs in three out of the four of my non-fanfiction stories is not using the main characters name. While Sightless holds the record for that among my stories (I think it took fifty-two paragraphs in the original) I think Hades did it best. Just the vibe I get.
So, a lot of them are describing scenery and/or characters. A couple have the MC dying. A few were the only lines of the story, a few had tons after it. Only one has lore behind the scene. A ton of them are fanfiction. Honestly, that is more consistent than I thought. Death, scenery, and info-dumps on what a character look like seem to be my norm.
My favorite opening line... It's a tie between Stars of the Sky and A Court of Death and Ruination. Maybe because they both have Hades. One has death. Maybe the scenery of these female characters existing in deadly situations (Well, is Hades in Stars of the Sky really in danger in her forest? Probably not, based on the existence of her Clan, but forests can be deadly. Just ask Hades in A Court of Death and Ruination.)
I could make this so much longer for a couple of these if I did first paragraph of chapter one + first paragraph of prologue if that applied to these stories, but I feel like my thoughts added a ton of length so I won't torture people further.
Tagging @rumeysawrites
I’m here with a Wacky Wednesday question!!
Hades has woken up cursed! She can now only speak in haikus. Describe her reaction and the reactions of others. How does this impact her life?
Bonus points: share some of her haikus
Answering this as a break from something important the day after it was asked, so I apologize for the delay and any spelling/grammar mistakes I might make. (It bothers me when I make them.) So Hades can now only speak in haikus. Great. The fun part about this happening is, no one knows what the heck is going on. No one knows what a haiku is, in her universe. She would feel like she's going crazy. If she were aware that she is a character in a written piece, she'd likely realize that her dialogue has been split.
Now, others would... Well, her teachers would either join along in confusion or try to get her kicked out of the school. No in between. Her friends would tease her. Her family is half dead so that doesn't matter. Her Clan would go with it--they respect her too much to even try to test her.
So I am not good at poems in general, and here you are, asking for a haiku. Because I want to fulfill the whole ask. I'll give it a few attempts.
This first one would probably be her messing about, honestly.
The stars glow golden Heart beats of fiery anger Sworn of dead and live
A cursed speech fights A dead blade lingers alone A woman gives life
Death brings to an end What was given to a life A beginning tale
I am not proud of these, but Hades would be messing around with her new curse. She'll suffer.
🐧 a funny quote (silly! laughs! jokes! puns!)
Uhm I don't think there are any funny quotes to be had in Stars of the Sky yet, but maybe-
Maybe this counts as a funny interaction? I dunno I lack the funnies.
"I'm Aphrodite!" The loud female rushes to Hades' side, hugging her arm. "How did you hear me? I was being quiet!" Aphrodite presses her plump breasts against Hades' arm, peering up at the younger girl with eyes of pure violet. Hades blushes slightly, tugging her arm free. The other girl is very pretty, which doesn't make suppressing the involuntary reaction easy. "And how did you fight while carrying all those bags? They look heavy! They didn't impede you at all?"
"You were right next to the door and talking much louder than the others. That's how I heard you." Hades scowls as Aphrodite tries to hug her arm again.
Aphrodite was just meeting Hades and has no sense of personal space.
Introducing Nightmaricwriter
I realized I don't have an introduction post here despite having things posted here, and that is the biggest pain since last week.
I have been writing since... I think third grade, but I didn't fall in love with writing until sixth grade. I have been obsessed with reading for about the same amount of time. I started with original stories with fantasy elements, then got into the world of writing fanfiction, but the spark for writing original stories hasn't faded.
Currently, I am working on a story called Stars Of The Sky, which I am hoping to turn into a book. It's about Hades, a god-named individual, leaving her Clan to discover how to better protect her Clan, but she discovers a myriad of things that she has to deal with.
There's also A Court of Death and Ruin (temporary name), an ACOTAR fanfiction. This is throwing Hades from Stars of the Sky into ACOTAR to cause problems for the original plot line.
Previously, I was working on Sightless, but I have abandoned that one temporarily because too many ideas go through my brain. This was about a female main character leaving a world that used her powers, alongside her twin brother and adopted brother, using her twin's power to travel to a new dimension and a new world. There, she discovers her absurd magic affinity and a dark god that only she has the capacity to slay.
I have also written a myriad of fanfiction, but will not discuss all of them because there is an absurd amount of them.
-I identify as biromantic, as I am not sexually attracted to anyone, but I am romantically attracted to the binary genders.
That being said, I have a bad romantic history and might be very unlucky in that regard.
-My characters are usually on the spectrum of being attracted to just about anyone. Partially because it amuses me to write bi panic for very little reason, but also because some of me needs to be in my characters.
-I have a terrible sleep schedule and do nothing with the additional time that gives me. Seriously, waking up at three am is absurd when I don't have to be up until seven. It isn't every night, but it is almost every night.
I might write some character introduction posts once I have more characters with information created.
This is a ACOTAR fanfiction story I started today. I couldn't get the thought out of my brain and it was begging to be written. So this is me throwing Hades, from my other WIP, Stars of the Sky, that has yet to be introduced because I am too busy loring it out, into the world of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. No idea where it is going at this time, but @aalinaaaaaa wanted to read the prologue, so I am giving the prologue here.
Due to my nature, I will be incorporating elements from Stars of the Sky into this story, and I have no idea how that will work out. Only that this isn't the first time I've killed the MC in the prologue. I sometimes write like this to explore an oc in a different environment because it amuses me to imagine how much my characters could change the novels I enjoy reading.
So, warnings before you seek the prologue: Death, blood, and injuries. No fighting though. Didn't give that in this... yet.
Hades stares at the sky, watching it darken from a cerulean to an indigo. Her hands rest on her stomach, feeling her lifeblood leaking from her fingers. Her vision is going dark, blurring. She can still see the outline of her killer, feel his blood red eyes glare down at her, feel his hate in the air.
Her eyes close, her breath slowing. It hurts, dying to a stomach wound. She knows she doesn't have the time to treat it, doesn't have enough time to seek treatment from others, either. She can't survive.
Hades feels her life slipping from her. She feels it more intimately than others. With her connection to her Personal God, The God Of Death, Dead, and The Underworld, Hades, she can feel who is close to dying. Right now, she is close to dying.
Her soul is slipping from her, and she can't gather enough strength to hold on. She can feel herself going weightless, her muscles no longer responding to her. She soon stops feeling her body, her consciousness going with her soul.
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Hades opens her eyes, expecting the meadow of Elysium, but she only sees a wooden roof above her. She's… alive? She groans quietly, pushing herself to sit up. The room she's in is small, with two doors leading to other places, she assumes, a table that takes up a good portion of the room, and she's now sitting with her back to a fireplace.
Her stomach hurts, but it doesn't burn. She tugs the hem of her shirt up, scanning where her wound had been. Not even a trace of the wound remains. Had Apollo gotten to her in time? Probably not. He wouldn't have been able to beat Ares.
Hades crosses her legs so she can set her elbows on her knees. She can vaguely feel four living beings in this building, but none in this room. She leans back, resting against the fireplace. She could just leave. She doesn't know where she is, but it shouldn't be too hard to work her way to somewhere she knows.
That would be her plan if she wasn't so exhausted. She lays back down, curling onto her side. Maybe she's safe enough to spend a few days here.
Remember the poll about the MHA fanfiction scene that I mentioned wanting to show off because I did something that I haven't tried? Well a majority voted yes (As in two out of three people) so here it is!
If I miss a warning, comment and I'll fix it. Trigger warning for under the break: Blood, injury, mutilation, losing limbs
Word count: 976
The hand villain laughs, as though this was an expected, accepted thing. He's going to have this Nomu rip his wings out, and Kaito can't do much about it beyond grit his teeth as the pulling on his wing starts hurting more and more. He can take it. His wings have been ripped out hundreds of times, but those were all after his wings were burnt to nearly nothing. Never with his nerves undamaged by fire. The pulling starts taking his wing from its socket, which feels as painful as getting his arm dislocated. Maybe worse.
"You were overconfident, Hero!" The hand villain laughs, even as the display starts drawing attention from the other villains, the mutant-quirked villains with extra limbs reacting especially harshly, recoiling at the sight, a few even getting pale with nausea. Kaito's wing is starting to bleed around the base, the pain making him dig his nails into the ground, seeing as the Nomu pushed him down at some point. "You thought we didn't prepare for the unexpected? We had another Nomu!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Kaito groans, feeling the muscles that allow him to flap his wings starting to tear as the pulling persists. "Think you're all that because you could surprise me…" Kaito glares at the villain, even if the villain doesn't see it as scary given that Kaito is currently trapped by a Nomu. "Think you're the first to have my wings ripped out?"
Kaito can hear villains murmuring among themselves, debating trying to help him. Most were villains with quirks that gave them extra limbs, the ones who could imagine how they'd feel if their extra limbs were pulled from their bodies, even as slowly as what's happening to him. He can hear the moment his wing was pulled out far enough to reveal muscles that are supposed to remain inside him, not outside. His will to silently bear the pain is slipping with each moment, his eyes watering from the pain. If he wasn't used to terrible things happening to his wings, if his pain tolerance was any less, he'd be screaming by now. The arm on the side that is getting a wing ripped out has gone limp, not responding to his attempts to even curl his fingers. Guess muscles for his arm were damaged, too… or pulled out. He can still feel his wing, is still connected to it by a string of tendons, and that is the sight that had villains vomiting around the plaza.
"Fool," the Hand villain spits as the Nomu fully rips Kaito's wing out. The hero is panting against the pain, still glaring even as his wing is thrown somewhere behind him. "Does the other wing need to come out for you to realize how useless you are now? You don't have the ability to fly now." The hand villain is laughing as the Nomu moves to start ripping out Kaito's other wing. This isn't the first time someone has done it. Not even the first time a villain has done it. What part of that does this villain not get? Kaito will fly again.
This time, the pulling had him grunting, his teeth gritting together so tightly that he can feel a few cracking. The pain is much worse like this. At least the burning tended to kill nerves when he usually has to suffer through getting his wings ripped out. He can feel his fingers spasming, struggling to obey his desire to keep his fingers dug into the cement. A choked sound somewhere between a whine and a whimper escapes him, a surge of pain flooding him as something beyond his wing is pulled out of place, his tears dripping as his hand goes still, his entire arm limp as this wing takes more than the last with it.
He can hear a few villains passing out, and even the Hand villain looks unsettled from what Kaito can see through teary vision. It hurts, hurts, hurts… His back hurts where his wings are supposed to be, one ripped out and the other tearing a larger hole through him with every millimeter the wing is pulled out. He would be passed out from the pain if his tolerance was any less. He had skipped the screaming state and went right to sobbing and whimpering, his throat making soft coos in an attempt to soothe himself through the pain, a reaction none of his punishments ever had. He's sagging in the Nomu's grasp, aside from where his wing is still being pulled out of him. This isn't the first time this has happened, but… it hurts worse… than every time it happened before. His thoughts are lagging from the pain, even though he knows it is about to get much worse.
More thuds erupt as villains pass out, even the strongest stomached of them starting to empty their stomachs of their breakfasts, if they had any. The Hand villain isn't looking at him anymore, either too sickened by the display of his own creation or bored of watching a hero getting mutilated. Kaito can't tell. Kaito bites his tongue as the pain gets worse, much worse, as the Nomu starts finishing up with this wing. He can taste blood even as he feels blood running down his back, the trails of crimson feeling like a mockery of his wings. The Nomu finally pulls the wing out, and Kaito can hear the thud of bone on concrete as the wing is thrown carelessly. Based on the sound, Kaito assumes that the wing took his shoulder blade with it. It had… happened before. The Nomu shoves him forward, leaving him lying there, his back bleeding from the holes where his wings used to be. His vision starts going dark, one last whimper escaping him.
What am I going to forget when I rewind this?
Sometimes I mentally rant about things. Sometimes those things are amusing.
Like I was thinking about an assignment that is due tomorrow, and I'm having this mental conversation between my brain and the voice of the professor that the class is for, as one does. So keep in mind that this is not an actual conversation, just mental rant based on something my professor has said.
Professor: "Worldbuilding isn't the same as setting."
Me: "Well if I want to steal this setting from myself, I need to know where in the world of my story it is!"
Professor: "You can't-"
Me: "I give myself permission to steal it. It is my creation. You can't stop me from yoinking the setting created for a short story that may or may not exist in the world that my eventual novel exists around. Therefore, I can steal it, and therefore, I need to know where the heck in my world this is. And for that, I need to worldbuild."
So yeah, I mentally talk to my professors in my brain. I am not delusional enough to think that this conversation happened. (I have had mental conversations that later happened in life. The deja vu from that was weird because I could have sworn we had that conversation already like two- What do you mean this is the first we've talked about this? Which has genuinely been a mental reaction to something before. Sure it will happen again.)
I don't need this ability.
Tagged By @illarian-rambling
Uhm I haven't written in this for a while, but I am not going to spoil some worldbuilding or character information. (I have like three thousand words I can shove at tag games so this is totally fine-)
Going with last line instead of last paragraph because either are equally out of context to what was happening.
Not with at least three out of the four named after the Ancient Gods and likely part of the same group of students.
Open tag because I don't tag people often.
So I have a map for my current WIP (That has been vaguely digitalized but the digital version is harder for me to read for whatever reason-) and- I went to look at the digital version as though it is the only version I have.
I created this map on paper.
In a sketchbook.
Which is stored in my dorm.
And I am in my dorm.
YET I WENT TO LOOK FOR THE DIGITAL VERSION WHEN THE PAPER VERSION IS JUST AS GOOD! AGHGGHHGHH!
Anyway I have like three kingdoms named and space for four more- *Sigh*
OO a tag! Thanks, @aalinaaaaaa
So I don't have folders for my WIP, kinda. I have a notebook and a collection of templates from the writing site I write on that I slowly fill out. Anyway
Within my notebook!
Stars Of The Sky
God-named
Ancient Gods
A bunch of pages dedicated to individual gods
Template collection (That have a few things filled out)
Characters
World
Yeah I don't have much. This doesn't include the main document, and what things I do have filled out aren't complete. However, I have thoughts on various things for this story. I also have a pronunciation guide, but don't know why anyone would want to know how I think names should be said (Like Hades' family line, Ariea, is said Ah-ree-ah. I doubt anyone can see it, but it is not said the same as area.)
If we looked at Sightless... Well... there's the document it was written on? I did nothing planning wise for Sightless.
WIP Folder Tag
Thanks to @ruvastuon for the tag!
The premise is to post all the headings under the folder/section for your WIP, and people can send asks for the titles that interest them!
For this, I'm going to go a little left field. In the past, I've presented my Scrivener files for this game.
But for today's edition, you're getting the headings from my notebooks! Two of them, in fact 👀
One of them is for any time that I know I won't have my laptop with me/otherwise in easy reach, such as the train or on holidays.
The other is my notebook. Story ideas go into this one, including ones that are dripping in spoilers for a book that doesn't truly exist yet!
—
The Fancy Paperblanks Notebook (The Prose and Pieces notebook)
A Deal With the Ancients
Limbo
A few scribbled lines
Writemas — Day 22
Another errant quote
No Good Choices
The Crow's Gift
The Forest's Disgrace
The Swans' Departure
The Markings of the Raven
The Temple of Verelise*
Alycja's ceremony*
The walk home*
A Deal and A Proposal*
Dinner that night*
A Conversation on the windowsill*
Ard na Preaghaun*
If You Must*
*These relate to the first redraft of Obsidian Sapphires; A Healing for the Birds is redraft #2
A Brush with Fate
Stir into life
Before the Blue Embers
Upon the Precipice
The Royal Council meeting
The Highest Bidder
A Promise to Keep
The New Status Quo
A Question for a Question
Star-Crossed (including a deleted starting paragraph!)
A Broken Seal
The Next Stage of Pilgrimage
The Chase for the Chalice
A Wish in Exchange
(Cerigo's perspective of the above scene)
A note
An unfeatured paragraph
A Conversation in the Aftermath
The first of the interrogations
Interrogation #2
A Prelude to the Questioning
The Third Interrogation
An Important Visitor
The Fool's Deal
A tidbit about Ruadhán's house
The Notebook I bought in Lidl (The Notes and Ideas notebook)
The meshaika
Background events of the Temple Chaos
The aftermath
The moment the friends vanished
A note on the High Councillors' strategy
The purpose of Morilast's Mark
What's the story's core?
Aileste
Eshani's manor
Claudia's manor
The central ballroom
Naimorste
Seldaikan mages and how they define magic
Alycja's career desires
Cerigo's stance on the aftermath of Chapter Two
For A Healing for the Birds unless otherwise stated
A comparison of the two balcony scenes
Throwaway ideas
The plot (Chapters One to Three)
Shifting of the Guard (happens towards the end/after Soulswapped)
Some major questions to be answered
Eshani and Claudia's response to the events of Chapters Two/Three and a bit beyond
Alycja's dilemma over the Chalice
—
There's a few more entries after this, but they relate to Chapter Four/onwards-ish of A Healing for the Birds, some notes on a potential sequel (they're on the aftermath of the end of the first one!) and what Cerigo told Cheyoria after she came home the night of the ruined ceremony. Extremely spoilery stuff (ask if you want, but maybe do it off-anon or in a private message 👀😅)
—
Anyway, I'm going to put an open tag to see everyone's wip folders, and also send tags to @nightmaricwriter @seastarblue @willtheweaver @bardic-tales @finickyfelix @yaboiii-azzy @thatndginger @winterandwords @wintherlywords @jev-urisk @writingamongther0ses @avrablake @ark-inkweaving @oros-ash3s @bloodlessheirbyjacques @space-writes @thebookishkiwi @vesanal
That feeling when you have a fully hearing character, but she also knows a specific form of sign language because there are deaf/mute kids and people in her community and she learned it so she could communicate with them, but she'd also sign her words with her hands while being very passionate about how that group is treated and she taught herself to sign what she is saying when she's angry or passionate about anything in general. She learned a specific sign language that isn't used anywhere else in her world just so she could speak with people she thought were being left out, and then it just spread to when she's passionate about something because why would she regulate when she's signing her speech? Practice makes perfect and- Oh, yeah, she can very easily insult anyone in her general vicinity with a number of gestures that I am not going to think of right now and she could very easily claim it to be a compliment or something if questioned...
She isn't the type to insult without reason, so it isn't like this would happen often. The insult thing not the signing thing. She's more likely to be passionate about something.
I'm making a Pinterest board for Hades and am currently collecting some things that remind me of her, and I have this other board called "Casual outfits" (That I never really look at aside from maybe outfit inspiration for drawings)... Well, that board is being flooded with not so causal outfits in my quest to find outfits that fit her.
So I've written fanfiction in the past. MHA fanfiction, Jujutsu Kaisen, other anime that are currently slipping my brain. So I was thinking... there is one MHA fanfiction I've written (and abandoned) with an absolutely brutal scene. The MC, in the second chapter (Or maybe third? I frame it as second.) of his story, gets brutalized. A major part of his quirk gets ripped off/out. He has wings. you'd think I should put had, but he has a second quirk and it's all fine. But the point is, I was exploring what I am willing to do to my characters. I was exploring how far I would go in an attempt to ruin the life of my own characters. How much detail would I put in a scene that I don't usually write.
Just a forewarning, the scene is describing a major injury. Blood and limbs getting ripped off level violence. If people are interested in the scene, I will hide the scene, naturally, but this is for the possibility of people voting yes who don't like scenes like that.
My mood is balanced somewhere between "I should write until three am so I can sleep a good four hours" and "I should attempt to make a pinterest board for Hades"
Neither will go well.
⁉️"what do you do when stuck on a scene?"
❤️"what are your favorite scenes from your WIPs?"
Honestly? When I am stuck on a scene, there are two things that could immediately happen. I just decide to time skip to a different scene as a temporary fix, or (the reason I have so many WIPs) start a new story because my brain churns out new story ideas. Worst case scenario, the story gets abandoned for a few months only for me to decide to rewrite it entirely and, in such rewriting, circumvent the scene that had bothered me or write it in a way that I like. Rarely do I ever erase a scene to write a new one. Often, for me, it's the case of the story wanting the scene for reasons unexplained to my conscious mind, but rewriting the scene tends to help.
For my favorite scene, it has to be the opening scene for Stars Of The Sky. I am not going to write it out here, but I feel that it is a perfect blend between describing the scenery, the area around the main character and the main character herself while not throwing every detail out. It describes major things for the scenery, then describes Hades, the main character, and then a mix of the two without putting every little detail in one paragraph, but over many paragraphs, and it helps establish a bit about Hades' Clan while still giving her the primary spotlight. It was also done in a way that I haven't done before, which made it enjoyable to do because it was new to me while maintaining my style of not immediately using the mc's name.
I've posted seven sentences of this opening scene, but not the entire opening scene. Just a small chunk. In total, the scene is 765 words, which... It is only a coincidence that the number does that (counts down). I don't really plan scenes, especially at the start of my stories, but I like how this one turned out.
From the behind the scenes game:
❗"how many WIPs do you have?"
🖊️"how does your magic system work?"
Thanks for the ask!
Currently, I have one primary WIP (Temporarily titled Stars Of The Sky) and in the upper end of twenty that I sometimes return to and add on to, but those are primarily fanfiction, aside from one.
I do have a secondary WIP that I return to, which has more of a magic system than my current primary, which is the one that I will talk about for the magic system.
In the world of Sightless, the WIP that I have a planned magic system for, people are born with a set amount of magic power. Everyone has some amount of it, but not everyone is given the same amount, and no one can increase the amount. Most people barely have enough to enchant an item, which is the majority of the populace. The next level are those who can enchant items but can't cast a spell. Then are those who can cast spells.
One can increase how efficient they are with their magic power through repeated use, but for those who cannot use it at all, as in, those who can't even enchant items, this route is not possible. Of course, there are limits to the use.
The first stage of magic overuse is blindness. For those with higher healing factors, this goes away, but for most mages, this is the end of their vision. This doesn't mean the permanently blind cannot cast magic at all, but they would be relegated to being healers and farming spells. The stage beyond blindness, if a mage ignores the blindness, is heart attacks. For the more resilient mages, or those with healers nearby, they live. For most, they don't.
The main character, for example, wasn't born in the world with this magic system, but she has quite the large magic power pool. She is also fairly resistant to the drawbacks of magic overuse due to having quite the fast healing rate without magic. She's also one of few whose occupation doesn't match her magic pool, as she's a guard/blacksmith, not a mage. Guards and blacksmiths tend to fall in the enchant but not cast spell range, and she can fairly easily cast spells without giving it much thought.
Her twin brother, Astro, works as a merchant, but he has a relatively good magic pool, falling in the enchant but no spells range, and he has less reason to use magic than his sister.
Their adoptive brother completely lacks magic power. Which is unheard of.
As for magic types, there are quite a few. Enchants and spells have the same types, but the range of effect is limited for enchants.
There are
Cultivation spells, which increase yield in harvest and mining
Fire, which has everything to do with fire (including fireballs)
Water, which is everything to do with water, but not ice
Steam, which occurs when mages or enchanters use both fire and water spells/enchants at the same time
Ice, which is everything to do with ice, including different shapes and temperatures
Holy, which includes healing, undo curses, and light
Dark, which includes poison, curses, and darkness
Holy and dark also include incantations for either banishing the presence of dark gods or evoking a dark god
Earth, which works with rock and soil
Location, which involves teleportation, locating, and gravity related things.
And many others.
There can be blending, as noted with steam, but one has to be careful not to mix the wrong elements because things can go wrong. Extremely wrong.
Yeah, Sightless has a lot just in the magic. That is ignoring the possible classification of powers as magic, in which case... That would be too much to get into.
Hope that satisfies any curiosity. Might add a magic system to my current WIP, but I haven't yet.
You know what... I wanna do this. I just lack people who would ask me things. *reblogs anyway*
Behind the Scenes Writing Ask Game
So behind the scenes won the poll, but I thought I'd do an ask game with it!
✍️ "when did you get started writing?"
✏️"what are your current WIPs about?"
📜"how did you get started on your WIPs?"
📝"what stages are you currently in your WIPs?"
🖊️"how does your magic system work?"
🖋️"what inspired you to write your WIPs?"
📖"what has surprised you about your WIPs?"
💻"what perspectives do you write in?"
🖥️"what types of writing do you do?"
❤️"what are your favorite scenes from your WIPs?"
😭"what are the biggest challenges writing your WIPs?"
❗"how many WIPs do you have?"
‼️"what has stayed consistent across all drafts?"
⁉️"what do you do when stuck on a scene?"
❓ask anything you want!
If anyone wants to reblog this to play with too that's totally fine with me!
That feeling when you start filling out a character sheet only to immediately need to world build because you don't have any locations in existence, but that character is trying to claw up from the underworld, tooth and nail, screaming to be fleshed out but, you can't because their birthplace doesn't exist in creation despite existing in concept but not actuality.
me with my fancy lil character building template
I am in a weird state. I want to do three different things for my current story. Each requires different levels of thought and different processes in general.
Which sounds fine. Just do them one at a time, right?
Wrong.
I want to do these three things all at once. I lack the number of brains and arms for that. And lack the laptop amount for that. I can't write on two different tabs at once on the same laptop. I also can't write in a notebook and type on a computer at the same time.
And none of the three things involve writing the actual story. I have the better part of two chapters written. I'm just trying to get lore and settings written out so I can reference these things.
My brain is just absurdly all over the place.
To explain the different processes thing
-I write my lore related things in a notebook. A notebook that is strangely perfectly themed for the story I am writing. Some setting things get mentioned, but they aren't the focus of the notebook. Plot things also go here. Except I don't write outlines for plot things. I know what I want to happen and don't plan things. Yes, it becomes a discombobulated mess.
-I do character profiles on my laptop. It is very easy to reference while writing. Just flip between tabs. Obviously, I could also write my lore on my laptop, but I personally like having the lore in a notebook because I can make myself a table of contents and use plastic tabs to note the themes of certain parts for the story.
-I am thinking of having more general worldbuilding that is unrelated to lore be done on my laptop. Yes, this is my admission that I don't do worldbuilding often. I just have ideas and write them out with no planning. But I realize that that process won't work as easily for the type of story I am currently writing.
You'd think with that idea in mind, I would want to world build more, but I... I want to do all of these things at once
I wanted those to be alphabetical. I am a chaos gremlin.
I had a momentary idea for dialect in my story
I wonder if this would work in real life.
"Could I meet with you in one event?"
"What...? Don't you mean an hour?"
"Our? No, I mean an event. You know, when the sun has moved a bit, not... What do you mean our?"
"I mean... when the sun has moved an increment across the sky. There aren't any events planned today, if that is what you mean."
"No, no! I mean an event! When time has passed! Not... not when something major has happened!"
"Could I have a few moments of your time?"
"Sure! What do you need?"
"Could you tell me where... and the park is?"
"I need to go... I have something to do in a few minutes."
"M...min...minutes? What is a minute...?"
"*sighs in not having enough time to explain*"
"Could I meet with you at the second period?"
"What? Second period? That just happened. Are you okay? Do you need to go to the healer?"
"Gods, what was it you called it? When lunch happens."
"You want to go to lunch with me? Why didn't you say that?"
"No, I want to meet with you during that time, not eat with you! Gods, why are you so irritating?"
If you couldn't tell
Event = hour
Moment = minutes
Period = either sunrise, noon, sunset, or midnight (second period being noon)
One speaker is of the more cultured city folk, the other is from an isolated clan of people who are not as cultured. The second person vaguely knows that the other group has different words for time, hence why they understood that the other could have been talking about a major thing happening when they were talking about an event, but they obviously don't know specifics.