Casey wasn’t that different from his parents. He grew up with their views in mind and seeing Acacia’s fascination he was never loud about it, but he didn’t think all that much about magic. And when he met it outside of his family, it wasn’t in any positive way. People arguing about magic types and who is worth more, commotion in cities, attacks and confrontation in news about another mage scuffle…magic seemed not to bring any good to the table.
Casey was actually planning to give up his own magic altogether, just like his parents. He had it, and he didn’t care. He thought the world would be much better off without it. And he still does.
But Acacia couldn’t give it up. No, his sister had to be obsessed with it so much she became a genius with it.
Then the war broke out, soldiers requiring kids to join and because Acacia was so good, her parents tried to hide her affinity - and the sudden lack of Acacia’s magic in public was suspicious. Acacia was too rumored for her talent, she stood out from the start, so of course the soldiers that came for her didn’t quite believe it.
And when they tried to take him instead, his sister stood up for him and revealed herself and kicked all his plans to give up his own magic out the window with them. So of course, as a good brother, he had to follow her to the army, had to make sure she was okay.
And then the rebellion came, and the hideout came, and other mages came and and and…Casey was stuck with magic defining his life despite his internal aversion to it.
Now Casey isn’t above using magic. He is making the best out of the worst situation, playing with with kids, training to be better with it. He has to hold his own in this magic ruled world.
Then Acacia’s obsession with the myth of 5th magic came, this insanity that no one knew how to prove or disaffirm. Nothing tangible again other than Acacia’s detoriating condtion. This led Casey to really start hating magic altogether.
But he loves people. He sees mages as humans more than anything else, that’s why he has no trouble accepting other types. He is compassionate, loyal and protective. He took little Nicole as his own almost immediatly upon meeting her, and treated her as a little sister ever since. Then Mira came, and Jayden and all the other kids and mages looking for a home and Casey can’t do anything less than be there for them, fight for them, protect them.
The whole war seems like needless insanity to him. He can never understand Acacia and what she stands for in her belief to have magic be an art, but he could never leave her. He is defined by his relationships with the Circle, by how much he cares about his family, which cannot compare to how he resents magic. If anything he resents it even more for what it did to the Rogue Mages, to what it’s forcing people to become.
Casey is always torn between hating magic and his loyalty to the people he loves, but he will always choose his family above everything - and if magic is the way to do it, so be it.
Casey is such a good brother
I’m sure you’ve mentioned this somewhere but I can’t remember, what is the age difference between Acacia and Casey? How old is he in the story? Of course I understand that years have passed between Acacia first being taken to join the army and the rebellion but still, just curious
I really like how Casey is so not bothered about magic. Just kind of wanting to give it up, to wish no one had it because its creating so many problems. It’s such an interesting thing to think when most/all of?? the world has magic, but I do understand his reasons.
And yet, even with his indifference to magic, he doesn’t try to force this view of “never use magic” on anyone at all. So many fantasy stories that include magic always have stigmas of magic where it must be hidden or they exploit the use of magic (and do not get me wrong, I love a good bit of this trope as much as the next - just look at my love for Street Magic ) but I just mean it’s so good to see a subversion to the trope. Where magic is common and accepted in a way. Of course not all of it is accepted otherwise there wouldn’t be a war but you get the idea.
The point is that he doesn’t try to shame people for using magic when it is so destructive and so dividing. He accepts it, he accepts he and his sister have it, it’s a part of his life, and he still uses it from time to time. But he doesn’t try to force others not to use it.
Standing there proudly, every bit herself took Kyler’s breath away. He was sure now - Acacia could never pretend to be something she wasn’t - and he really envied that.
Acacia represents the theme of being true to oneself the most. She is the epitome of this, but at the same time she isn’t irrational. She puts other people and the interests of the hideout in front of herself, she plans and strategies and keeps secrets that would hurt the people she loves. All her life she is fighting all her other desires for the simple wish to live true to herself, the girl that loves magic and art, connection and fun, never meaning to inspire so many people along the way.
His discipline was of range she has never seen before. It was more than desire, more than need, more than love. His willpower was absolute. He could achieve anything he would set his mind to and it scared her and excited her at the same time.
NowKyler represents in many ways the opposite to Acacia. He is defined by his discipline and willpower, by how much he can overcome himself and who he is to adapt to his circumstances, to survive. He sees the truth, doesn’t fight what he can’t change and accepts what doesn’t align with how he sees life. In a way he can see the world the most objectively, because his desires always come last to him. Which is also the cause of most of his grief.
Wes cared easily, felt intensly and shined brightly in his lose canon way. A complete opposite of him, but Kyler found himself drawn to his reckless passion. It was that kind of life he gave up by rationalizing his feelings, the kind of living he never dared to imagine, but sometimes secretly wanted more than anything else.
Consequently he is drawn to people like Wes. Wes seeks freedom, the freedom to care and feel and do whatever he wants. Now he isn’t actually free, because the power he has combined with such intense passionate feelings come with a prize for a spirit like him, but he acts like it. He dares. Challenges the world and life for the rules set on him. In a way he is the most selfish of the trio, since he doesn’t have any scruples, no loved ones to hold him back, no responsibilities he considers. What he doesn’t realize is that giving himself the space to feel so much for everything, he irreversibly binds himself to it. He cares too much, and he can’t escape the impact of that.
I mean you already know how much I love themes of identity and true selves so this is an incredible breakdown of the main trio
Having them all have different uses of their emotions to their advantage. Acacia’s loving caring side being slightly tactical with what information she does and does not share. Kyler’s reluctance to Emote ™ and how this does allow him an objective view of the world. Wes using his passions to get his views across.
Looking at Grayson before was always like looking at a distorted mirror of everything Kyler tried to cut from himself, everything he hid and supressed glaring defiantly at him.
It was different now. It felt like a cetrain…not peace exactly, but maybe truce.
Kyler can’t open up to Grayson the same way he can with Acacia and Wes. Now this isn’t weird at first, when he arrives into the hideout with the mission to kill his brother.
His dynamic with Grayson will become a problem, when Kyler does change, admits to his mistaken views and adapts to a different kind of life the Rogue Mages stand for, but it doesn’t really solve anything between the two.
One thing is Grayson and his misdirected anger and hate at Kyler he used as his fuel for years. I will adress this in another post, since this is a pretty big part of what makes Grayson himself in the 5th Magic universe in comparison to the Street Magic Spinoff version of him, where he doesn’t have anyone in particular to hate.
Kyler has another qualms. In a way it’s easier for him to open up to Wes, whom he doesn’t see as human at first and Acacia that gets under his skin with their mutual respect. Now Acacia and Wes accept him.
But Grayson knew Kyler before all this. They were two innocent boys manufactured as General’s clones, but they had no idea of the war or their role. It was just this big institute with kids that all looked alike, looking for their roles and meaning, but really just exploring, training, having fun. Every clone starts a little boy with a healthy spectrum of emotions.
Kyler had to abondon that in the Heir Trials, cut that part of himself to move on. Because if he acted emotionally, he wouldn’t be able to. Grayson is the epitome of everything Kyler hates about himself, every feeling, passion and anger that Grayson fosters in himself, Kyler lets go.
Grayson survives against the rules though, against what Kyler thinks should be possible with so much emotional baggage. Cutting it off, not feeling is Kyler’s solution and Grayson’s very existence contradicts that.
Accepting Grayson would mean accepting the other way was possible. It would mean Grayson managed, what Kyler didn’t, while knowing Kyler started the same and could have chosen.
Acacia and Wes accept him, seeing him now for who he is. But Grayson saw what he was before, what he could have been and what he decided not to be, and that’s a whole new level of terryfying.
Their entire dynamic is amazing and I love them just the idea that these brothers - who are practically identical (in a genetic sense) but raised differently, with one using their lack of emotion to continue their way in the world, and the other using their anger to do exactly the same thing.
thank you to @wherearetheplants for this tag! Rules: list all the names of the wips in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snipper of it or tell them a bit about it! Than tag as many people as you have wips (I’m not doing that).
:’]
these are in order from most recently thought up to oldest, or roughly so! (short stories are in italics.)
The Other Ones
Icarus
The Rose Librarians
Rotten Deal
Sunshine Boy
Pretty Girl
Death
Killers Get Caught
Valarie Saintly is Totally Normal
The Intriguing Death of Thalia May
Death and Taxes
WCTOG
Chivalry Is Dead
Man Up
Stealing Sorrow
Follow Your Muse
Robots over Romance
Story About A Lesbian With A Sword and MURDER
The Secrets of Thomas Byrne
The Oddities of Quincy Hackett
Alright, that’s 2022, 2021 and 2020 <3 here are some older ones now:
Three Leaves
Ayla (werewolves)
Draft 1 of Fantasy Book
Capitia’s Story
myth story thingy
birch
number 101
THE BELL RUNG
the story of mira
this is not about you
two weeks
My name is Xxxx Xxxx
HYPNOSIS
none of the gfs books are on this list! because i don’t want to give their titles and their titles are very much in their documents! but yeah there’s 5 of those too. so.
I have been here for a long time now, but I’ve been very inconsistent through the panini, but especially this year. My studies have been very demanding and my mental health has been not great, which is why I’ve been writing barely at all during this year. But the uni semester is basically over and I finally got ADHD medication (yey!!!), so I feel like I can handle more things at a time now!
All that said, hello, hi, I’m Karkki (she/her)!
I write queer fantasy in different forms for adult audiences. I like to write dark, a little twisted and bittersweet stories with historical and mythological inspirations. I love doing meticulous worldbuilding and genre combinations. Outside of writing I do art (more on my art side blog), sew, obsess over dress history (more on my other side blog) and study architecture and architectural history. I miss doing tag games, it was so much fun, and I’m very happy to be tagged to them (do people still do them?) though as a warning I’ve always been bad at answering them in timely manner (I blame ADHD). My blog (and art blog too) is in dire need of some updating. Only WIP page I have up is for BCC and it’s very out of date.
I know a lot of other writeblrs became inactive or less active during the panini, so I would love to hear who of my mutuals are still here or here again posting about writing, and find other active writeblrs too! So please let me know if you post about your writing, even if not very actively, and show me your WIPs! I want to check them out!
I’ve acquired some new WIPs even if I haven’t been writing really so here’s a quick little intro to my ongoing WIPs some of which I have talked about here before, some of which I haven’t. I also have WIPs that are currently shelved but I might get to back to at some point.
In The Name Of Violence
status: outlining
Living in the poor side of the great port city Mearemin isn’t ever easy, but more so, if you are an ex-assassin hunted by your former comrades of the crime organization you once called family, hiding in a forgotten and very sentient library, which doesn’t want to let you go, working as a private detective to survive and watching by as the dead body of your father figure turns into something very monstrous while terrorizing the city. So Ainur isn’t doing great. Things change though, and not necessary for the better, as a noble knight comes for their help to figure out who murdered her husband, son of the most notorious crime leaders of Maeremin, their former boss.
Dark fantasy | Gothic fantasy world | Crime | Murder mystery | Cosmic horror | Body horror | Illusion magic
Bear Castle Chronicles
status: drafting, on hiatus
Thirteen years after a civil war the four surviving children of the disposed duke are living in hiding. Valeri and Fiolew, the two youngest, live have finally gotten out of poverty to a middle class life under a pseudonym, thanks to Valeri’s military career. But that same military career separates them as the empire is heading into a continental war. Cassia, the second oldest, acts as an opera singer and courtesan to spy for the enemy of the empire. Faerathos, the oldest, is hostage in the imperial court trying to uncover the secrets behind the civil war while dipping into politics as much has he is allowed under the empress’ watchful eye. Industrialization and war on horizon means big changes and maybe a possibility for revenge or justice.
Dark fantasy | Industrial fantasy world | Political intrigue | Mystery | Horror elements | Steam punk elements | Dragons | Sentient magic | Vengeful spirits
Golden Maiden, Silver Bride (working title)
status: development
A mechanical maiden forged from silver and gold, Miävi, travels the foreign northern lands with her human protector, Tiera. She is on the run from a veere (demigod race) ruled empire, after her creator tried to dispose of her, when she didn’t live up to his vision of a perfect bride. A curse that will slowly crumble Tiera’s body starts spreading and the only thing that can stop it is releasing a god imprisoned in the imperial palace. To save Tiera in return, Miävi will have to face her creator again.
Dark fantasy | Loose retelling of The Forging of the Golden Maiden myth | Medieval Finnish fantasy world | Music based magic | Finnish mythology elves
Gothic Vampire WIP
status: research and development
Mary falls into depression following her friend’s untimely death. After she swears she sees her alive one night, people around her are convinced she is loosing her mind. The only ones who believe her are members of a strange spiritualist group, who suspect her friend is a victim of vampires. Mary volunteers to infiltrate a castle allegedly owned by a vampire in an effort to unearth the mystery behind her friend.
Leena is a young peasant woman living in early 18th century Finland. She meets a fascinating foreigner, who teaches her how to write and read and many other things in exchange for her blood. But soon brutal invasion and genocide break her whole world apart.
Gothic horror | Gothic romance | Psychological horror | Mystery | Historical fantasy | Victorian England as main setting | Vampires
It’s been a while since I used my tag lists and to make sure everyone’s a) still here b) still on board to getting tagged, let me know if you want to be continued to getting tagged on these tag lists! And of course if other people want to be tagged too let me know :)
[Image description: a banner image of the Boston skyline, mostly comprised of buildings and trees. In the middle is a drawing of the sun in white. The bottom half of the sun is covered by waves. Overtop of the drawing, in all-caps cream serif font, is text that reads “The Boy From 5th Avenue”. /end description]
The Boy From 5th Avenue | WIP intro.
Logline:Having just dropped out of college, a wayward soul finds himself alone in a new city until a family heirloom connects him to a boy from another world.
Genre:New Adult, Contemporary with speculative elements.
Setting: Boston, Massachusetts. USA. Modern Day.
Content Warnings: thoughts formed out of depression and anxiety, smoking, alcohol abuse.
Summary:In the summer following his departure from college, Avery del Rosario moves to Boston with only a bag of clothes, enough money for three months of rent, and an old portable radio that his father gave him before passing away. Struggling with his newfound sobriety, Avery finds himself in good company when his radio mysteriously connects him to Emile, a violinist living in New York City.
Together with Mickie, an enigmatic barista who lives in the apartment right above Avery’s, Emile seeks to remind Avery of the beauty of living. As Avery and Emile get closer and eventually fall in love, the question of when they can meet in person becomes less and less hypothetical. It isn’t until multiple failed attempts that the young boys discover something so absurdly heartbreaking.
They aren’t just in two different cities. They’re in two different worlds.
Mostly told in third person, this book features sections in second person that tell of a life so beautiful you can tell it’s just an illusion. Your early 20s can be so lonely, so full of grief and longing for something - anything - more grand than what you’re actually facing. I wanted to capture those feelings and work through them with you.
The Boy From 5th Avenue stars two main characters -
Avery del Rosario: “You”, the wayward soul. A half-finished portrait; Avery, you are more than what your past paints you to be. Your life has only just begun.
Emile Richmond: “Him”, the butterfly prince. Handler of a white violin; Emile, your symphony includes more than your own breath. Have confidence.
And one side character -
Mickie Moore: “Her”, the divine companion. The torn pages of an unfinished memoir; Mickie, abandon shame and fear. It’s time to rewrite history.
If themes are more your style, this project includes a slow-burn romance between two trans characters (nonbinary x transmasc), nonlinear storytelling, a critique of American higher education, and lots of art metaphors.
Excerpt, from a dream you had once:
You have begun to write things down, because otherwise you’ll forget them later. Nothing pressing or urgent; to write those down instead of dealing with them immediately would be disastrous. Instead, you write down things – thoughts, memories – that make you happy. The neighbor’s daughter smiles like your mother, her lips slightly parted. The grapes you bought taste so sweet they make your mouth hurt. The sheets, fresh out of the dryer, are so warm that you almost doze off trying to fold them.
It’s been 55 days since your last drink. The boy reminds you. He reminds you because he knows you’re afraid to write it down, and he reminds you because he loves you.
And you love him back. You don’t write that down. You want to rediscover that, over and over and over again.
✨I’ve also got a website! Right now, it has synopses, artwork, and a newsletter sign-up.
✨If you sign up for the newsletter, you’ll get Aspen, a free short story all about your favorite forest spirit!
The newsletter is honestly way less spam-y than it sounds. I won’t email more than once a month, and it’s a great way to keep up with my stuff if you leave Tumblr or if/when Tumblr goes down. Plus, you’ll get content there that won’t hit Tumblr until later! We’re talking snippets, artwork, book cover reveals, release dates, book-related recipes, a whole bunch of cool things. I’ll keep the emails short, too. Promise :)
[ID: a short story cover that’s a watercolor of an aspen branch. The text reads “Aspen” and “R.K. Ashwick.” end ID]
By the way, here’s the official cover for Aspen! You may recognize it from my watercolor a few months back. A big thank-you to @theramwrites for helping edit the story, and a big thank-you to everyone who beta-read it. Your feedback was immensely helpful.
Would really appreciate it if you boosted this! Thank you to everyone who’s supported my writing this past year!!
Both TSS and RPS taglists under the cut, since the website pertains to both (ask to be +/-):
I’ve been around writeblr for a few months now and never really made a proper intro, so here it is, something of an intro/re-intro mixture.
About me:
Hi, I’m Oleg! 17, they/them, ace. The rest I’m still trying to figure out myself. My native language is Russian, but I mostly write in English. Dog person. Cat person. Obsessed with learning languages. I try to be funny a lot more than my sense of humor can allow me.
About my writing:
I frequently write and post short stories, sometimes poetry, and I’m currently working on three bigger projects. I normally write fantasy and/or sci-fi, always with a touch of comedy. I love cosmic horror and I’m trying to explore the comedy-horror genre, even though I lean heavily into comedy.
My current projects:
Just Your Typical Fantasy Story is my main WIP. It’s a fantasy/comedy/adventure that focuses on the adventures of Mary Chang, or Mary Sue, as she’s called, as she becomes the Chosen One and has to defeat a Dark Empire. Heavily sarcastic. A lot of subverted tropes and subversion of expectations.
The Foolish, Foolish Stars is a fantasy/comedy/sci-fi story about Irik, a court jester, that has been abducted by aliens to rule an intergalactic empire, and Magician, their friend that’s finding her way to space to rescue them. Ft. dragons, space pirates, and a lot of tomfooleries.
An Inn at the Very End is a short sci-fi story about a mysterious place at the very edge of the universe and an Innkeeper who is trying to understand themself, their work, and their origin.
A Tale of Daggers and Cupcakes is a fantasy/coming-of-age/adventure/romance/dark comedy retelling of the events in the life of Shikimalut, a female assassin from a culture where only women are allowed to kill. Set in the same world as JYTFS.
Cozy Little Horrors is my attempt at the comedy-horror genre, a rural fantasy that is slowly becoming the story of a vampire couple running a magical academy, with a side of tea parties, Eldritch Gods, and student loans.
Original writing (sometimes), writing advice (mostly reblogs, but sometimes original), lots of worldbuilding/conlanging-related posts, and of course, writing memes.
Feel free to tag me for tag games and your writing, I’ll try my best to respond and check out your work!
All your projects seem so cool! I love the unique angle you take on these tropes; although I personally don’t write satire, I’m a sucker for it. Would love to be added to the taglist for The Foolish, Foolish Stars :D
Here is “Knot”, a short comic I drew to sell at Mocca and TCAF this year. The printed version is going to be SO PRETTY. I’m in love with the cover (which I will post later).
I just wanted to do something fairy-tale-like that talked about doubts and frustrations and how to deal with them. I’m really happy with how colorful and adorable the story turned out to be.
If you enjoyed “Knot”, please consider reblogging it and/or checking out my ongoing webcomic Namesake! HUGS TO ALL OF YOU!
this comic made me so happy and afdjghsglkfj heart swell feelings
[ID: a digitally drawn banner. On the left, a man with light brown skin and dark, curly hair holds a lute with glowing flowers coming out of the sound hole. On the right, the text reads “The Stray Spirit.” end ID]
WIP Re-Intro: The Stray Spirit
Struggling bard Emry Karic has only one path home: impress the Auric Guild, join the ranks of the elite musicians therein, and return to his family with his honor in hand.
Difficult to do on a good day. Impossible to do with a possessed lute.
Just before the biggest performance of his life, a talkative forest spirit named Aspen traps themself in Emry’s lute. Emry swears the spirit to silence on stage, in exchange for a favor: he will help Aspen investigate the magical earthquake that forced them into the instrument.
But Emry is a bard, not a scholar, and their research leads them straight to the person who resents him the most: Cal Breslin, his academia-entrenched ex-girlfriend. As they delve into the forgotten mythology of spirits and gods, they uncover an ancient folktale. The tale recounts an earth-shattering quake, one whose magical energy consumed all living things as it swept across the country. The story’s details echo what Emry and Aspen experienced the night before.
And as the apocalypse looms, the Auric Guild taps Emry for a callback, throwing his family’s ultimatum into conflict with their very survival.
The Basics
Light-hearted NA/adult fantasy with a romantic subplot, self-publishing this year! Recommended if you’re running in the opposite direction of grimdark. Think blankets and hot cocoa, Diana Wynne Jones and Tamora Pierce. I specialize in soft and emotional.
Characters
Emry Karic: mid-20′s, anxious bard just doing his best. For better and for worse, he’s a man of his word.
Cal Breslin: mid-20′s, brilliant and slightly snobbish Academy student. Not thrilled that her ex-boyfriend is coming to her with a major metaphysical discovery stuck in his lute.
Aspen:140 going on 14. Childish, curious, energetic, naive. Just wants to protect their grove.
Themes & Tropes
Prodigal son, exes to lovers, self-esteem, luck, facing fears, truth within myths, Friendship™, found family of the “I am adopting myself into this family” flavor
More Info!
Mypinned post will have links to character posts, the WIP intro page, side drabbles, and a list of the WIP’s main tags.
I also have a taglist! If you want to get notifs (~once a week, likely less) for upcoming character posts, snippets, artwork, and release updates, please ask/DM/reply to join.
Anderell, and especially in Karella, is certainly the land where dancing and singing are the most practiced and part of the culture ; the biggest festivity on the continent, Riverfest, is the most important in Anderell : in addition to all the performances and festivities, it is tradition to put an object of yours into a lotus flower and light it on fire, before pushing it onto the River or any close body of water. It is said that the wish will come true in the following year, allowing the person to make a new one on the occasion of the next Riverfest.
Also, in Anderell, furrells are very common and widespread, more than in the other lands. They are little fox-like animals that behave like squirrels and are used to carry messages from one person to another. They have a long bushy tail and two big ears, along with a cute pointed snout, and can be of any colour and have any kind of marking on their rich fur. In Karella, they usually roam free in the city, fending for themselves on markets and looking for things to deliver, although each member of the royal family has a personal furrell that only responds to them. Adarian has a blue one and has named him Furball ; Aysel has one as well, yellow, but its name is unknown to Jahzara.
I seriously loved the unique concept of the alphabet hierarchy! I’ve never seen anything like it in a story before. And the rule that states that the eldest heir apparent will have more power than a spouse, be it male or female is a nice, fair detail too! Do you ever use questionnaires or guides to write your worldbuilding posts? *sorry for the constant questions with these, I want to become better at it*
Don’t worry at all!! I’m always very very happy to see your questions and interest!! Thank youuuu ajsaksjdk!! :D
But I have to say that no, I don’t really use questionnaires or guides ; I just thought “okay, let’s do some worldbuilding posts ; what could I explain?” Then I decided to split the info between the three Lands and… to say anything that’s relevant about them I guess. So it won’t be the same for every Land! The history part will be there for all of them, but then it’s gonna be about other stuff.
Fun fact : the alphabet hierarchy happened quite by accident I had already named Adarian and Aysel, and I realised that both their names started with the same letter ; so at first I was like “aw man I have to find something else for Aysel, otherwise it’s redundant”… and that’s when my brain said “WAIT! What if-“ and yeah, I got that idea XD
This world seems so freaking cool It gives me Eastern European / Ottoman Empire vibes. ALSO THE NAME HIERARCHY IM-
“No way. No way. that can’t be real.” Allen brings his hands up, sliding fingers through his hair and pushing it away from his face. “Dinosaurs ae dead.”
Max shakes his head. “If we don’t get to the docks right now… We’re going to miss the boat and get stuck here all summer. I don’t know about you guys, but that’s the last thing I want.”
They were both studying in the library, Ary working on her runes, Khal trying to finish an essay, and Khal was getting bored. She looked up, about to ask something to Ary, but her eyes landed on her friend, and her breath got caught in her throat.
Ary was focused on her paper, a light frown decorating her face. The late sunlight streaming throught the high windows was illuminating her, making her skin shine like gold and her eyes look like melted amethysts. She gently tilted her head, dark hair softly falling in front of her face, and Gods she looked like a treasure, a Nymph or an Angel, Khal wanted to -
Yelana understood, then. She understood that along the way, somewhere, she had taken a wrong turn. She had made a unfortunate decision, leading to this situation.
Jo would never trust her. And Yeleana would never be able to control her, to use her the way she had plan to do so. She had help in her creation, had wanted the perfect weapon. But Jo was stubborn and rebellious and angry.
Yeleana was… not afraid, of course not, she was a Goddess after all. But she couldn’t help but watch warily and wonder. Wonder if the next person to fall because of Jo would be a God. And she wondered if Jo would be able to kill one.
After all, Yelana had created her for this purpose. But she never thought it would backfire against her.
Allen shifts a little closer to Harper, grinning crooked. “What happened to quitting?”
“Changed my mind.” Harper pulls a little menthol tin out of his back pocket, popping it open with one thumb. It’s filled up with cigarettes. “Figured it would be a bad time, too, coming out here and all that. You want one?”
“Pass.”
“You sure?” Harper tugs his lighter out, too. It’s got a heavy metal casing around it, shaped like a cat. The first puff of smoke drifts out into the air – and Allen reaches over, plucking it from between Harper’s fingers.
“Positive,” Allen says, taking a drag off of it. “You know me, not a smoker.”
Harper laughs, and it gives him dimples. He holds his hand out, and waits for Allen to pass the lit cigarette back to him. “Oh, yeah, not a smoker at all.”
They sit there like that for a while, looking over the video that Allen has taken so far, passing the cigarette back and forth between them. The fire gets low and then dwindles out completely, until the hot coals are the only thing that remains.
managed to get some more of All Summer Long done! dinos are coming soon!
“Austin?” Andrew’s voice comes out small, and shaky.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s me. Come on, we’ve gotta go. Exit stage left, right?” Austin says. He makes to take a step backwards but doesn’t get far before Andrew launches himself forward, throwing his arms around the other man’s neck. He curls his trembling fingers into the back of Austin’s shirt and sobs.
A pause, and then arms curl around his back, settling there. Even in the dark, it’s easy to see that he’s filthy, mud and blood dried in clumps in his hair, and easier to tell that he’s lost weight; his clothes too loose and baggy, shoulders jutting prominently against the thick fabric of his heavy canvas jacket.
“I thought you were dead,” Andrew sobs out. He hadn’t been willing to say it, but it had been there, lurking. An undeniable option. The biggest chance.
But here he is, alive, solid, freezing.
Today’s Coaltown update! Don’t forget that you can read full chapters of it over on patreon.com/abalonetea!
The grimoire looked old. It was thick, enveloped in brown, used leather. It didn’t have a title, nothing was marked, not on the front nor on the back, not even on the spine. It had a lock, though, that didn’t seem to need a key, at least not a physical one. It was also so full of magic that Jo felt it from meters away.
It didn’t seem… dangerous, but it could very well be.
But Jo wasn’t known for her patience or her carefulness, so she decided to open it.
The first page was blank. The second wasn’t. There were words, a title, in the upper middle of the page : “THE ART OF RUNECRAFTING”. And Jo smiled, because a comment had been added, in a different writing, all pointy and sharp letters, just underneath it : “shitty title”. Another comment, an answer to the first one, written with larger and rounder letters, said : “But it’s straight to the point.” There was nothing else on the page.
“Well, this looks interesting.” Whispered Jo.
She turned the page and snorted. The title of the first chapter was in big letters but obviously written by the author of the “shitty title” comment : “simple guide for basic runes for idiots” a comment was added underneath it, with rounded letters : “stop being mean.”
“I’m going to enjoy reading that.” Jo said to herself.
i LOVE how this is connected to your other story, Under the Moonlight! That’s so cool!
“You’ve got grease on you,” Noah says, leaning over the ledge of the counter to scrub a thumb over the sharp of Eza’s cheek.
He rolls his eyes and snorts. “I was half under a car. What’d you want on me, glitter?”
“Tempting,” Nico tells him, thumb smoothing out and giving way to his palm, which he presses against the side of his boyfriend’s face. “Very tempting. I think I’d way to see that, actually.”
“You’d be paying a lot for it,” Ezra grumbles, holding out his hand. “Help me up.”
Nico takes it after a moment and tugs, Ezra easily uncurling. The creeper rolls partway back under the lifted car. “Is it going to take a lot to get it back up and running?”
“Dunno.”
“Let me reword that,” says Nico, teasingly. “Are you going to come and get lunch with me, or should I just get it on my own?”
“Fuck, is it that late?” Ezra glances at the neon lit clock hanging on the far side of the wall, rakes a hand through the part of his tangled brown hair hanging against his neck. “Shit. No, s’alright. I’ll come get lunch with you.”
Nico smiles with his teeth. “Exactly what I was hoping you would tell me.”
