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find the word

tagged by @toboldlywrite! thank you :D doing this with my current baby, a short(ish) story called Voiceless, which is a The Little Mermaid re-telling ft. pirates & also gay. I was challenged with the words heart, try, sense, and creep!

Heart

It starts with a prince.

Well—no.

It starts with a boat. A ship, really—a giant of a thing. It’s not a warship, nor a merchant ship. It’s not very fast, nor is it well-armed. It’s… a party ship, you suppose. That’s the only way you can think to describe it, as that is all you’ve ever seen anyone do on it.

When you first saw it, it was evening. Your sisters had all gone to perch on rocks somewhere, making themselves presentable before they started crooning to sailors, luring them to bash their ships on the rocks so they could eat their hearts, or whatever it is they did once the ships were battered and sinking. Your father was still home, in the castle, dealing with the minutiae of leadership and probably lamenting the fact that his youngest spent her time following and watching ships instead of luring them to her.

Try

Even as the ship begins to sink, the both of them remain. Neither of them are trying to save the ship itself. Instead, they focus on getting those they can to safety, away from the vessel that will surely claim their lives if allowed.

Your home is a cruel mistress—but you have already decided that there is one human she will not be sinking her teeth into.

Sense

“I do not raise nor commune with the dead—nor do I advise you to attempt such a thing. If you are not of the mind to be persuaded, however, I can direct you to someone who will do as you ask. I warn you, it’s a bit of a journey from here, and one that you will have to make alone. She is not as docile as I am, either, and she will not extend you the courtesy of warning you about what a mistake you are about to make. It will end poorly, and neither of us will be responsible for whatever happens, or doesn’t.”

You blink. “I understand,” you say. “That isn’t what I want, though.”

“Good! You have some sense, then—though not as much as you ought, given that you’re here.” She studies you some more, and then continues. “So what do you want, then? Looking to change Daddy’s mind about a suitor? Increased fertility? Get fit without putting in the work? Entice your crush with some feature change? Heighten the allure of your voice to better devour a sailor’s heart? Change your race, join the denizens of the deep? Or perhaps it’s a sex change you desire? I’ve done all of these and more. You need but name what you want—and if I can provide it, I will. For a price, of course.”

She recites the spiel as if she’s bored, but her eyes are sharp and shrewd, and she is watching you the same way a predator watches prey. But, oddly enough, you aren’t scared. Nor nervous. You should be, perhaps, but you can’t bring yourself to be. Floating here, before this witch who is so distinctly Other in a way that you cannot quite name, feels…

Natural is not the word. Right comes close. Destined is maybe the closest that you’re going to get.

Creep

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tagging: @aslanwrites; @reeseweston; @raevenlywrites; & @jc-shay if you wish to participate!! your words are: crown, burn, smile, and seam.

#sharing #writing

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Do you ever wonder what happened to the weird girl from your middle school?

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Throne - A dozen misfortunes by Svetlana Chib

This artist on Instagram

#:eyes: #art #sharing

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Archetype Inspirations | Eldritch Horrors

#aes #tb #tb :: aes #tb2

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how do you be a writer, they ask. how???? easy. every morning i get to the keyboard and unleash unspeakable violence on people that i made up

#humor

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You’re a mimic. You were disguised as a chair in a dungeon when an adventurer decided to take you as loot. You’ve actually enjoyed your life ever since as furniture in a jolly tavern. So when some ruffians try to rob the now-elderly adventurer’s business, you finally reveal yourself.

#sharing #op this is amazing <3

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honestly i just think we all need to slow down

#thoughts

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katherine blower ghosts

#!!! #friends #art

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WTWTHG BEGINS NOV 1ST

WTW will be hosting our sixth NaNo event, this time it will be a word crawl inspired by The Hunger Games series! Participants will be separated into the ‘districts’ of their choosing to support each other to reach their goal. Like previous crawls, we have prepared a spreadsheet to complete challenges and keep track of your word count. The crawl part of the event is completely optional so we encourage anyone participating in NaNo to join us! We will be organising teams on October 26th but you are welcome to join at any time.

You are welcome to join any district (so long as member amounts are equal to ensure it’s fair) and contribute to the event. Each team’s goal is to get the HIGHEST TOTAL WORD COUNT by the end of the event. The winning team will get free edits, playlists, covers, trailers, etc. from the server members! The event will run from NOVEMBER 1 TO NOVEMBER 30. 

TO VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE, JOIN OUR SERVER HERE (discord.gg/earlgrey)

#wtw

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I.B. Vyache, “The Rotting Dollhouse” from Conversations Over Sanguinaccio Dolce

#art

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[“When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell the students to make their characters want something right away—even if it’s only a glass of water. Characters paralyzed by the meaningless of modern life still have to drink water from time to time. One of my students wrote a story about a nun who got a piece of dental floss stuck between her lower left molars, and who couldn’t get it out all day long. I thought that was wonderful. The story dealt with issues a lot more important than dental floss, but what kept readers going was anxiety about when the dental floss would finally be removed. Nobody could read that story without fishing around in his mouth with a finger. Now, there’s an admirable practical joke for you. When you exclude plot, when you exclude anyone’s wanting anything, you exclude the reader, which is a mean-spirited thing to do.”]

kurt vonnegut

#advice

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Flash Fiction Friday - Ceremonial Chants

Monastery Service

The monastery’s grand hall was empty, every acolyte gathered in the field outside. Their voices vanished into the night sky as they began their chant. The language was foreign to this world, but familiar to their practiced tongues. Clicks and growls stumbled over one another in the song of summoning.

The portal opened with a flash, thunder crackling in its wake. The acolytes bowed their heads to the unseen gods of the Otherworld. The chant continued. The portal’s connection held strong.

The youngest of them was the first to look up, and the others followed. They looked into the Otherworld as the chant began to pick up speed. The portal grew bright with violet light, but their gazes did not falter.

Bolts of energy leapt from the portal, arcing to each acolyte in turn. The chanting swelled as the change continued, faster and faster until the final bolt had left its mark.

With the change complete, the chanting stopped, and the portal slammed shut as quickly as it’d appeared.

The acolytes lingered for a moment, eyes still fixed on where the portal had been. The youngest was the first to break away. She walked back to the monastery, her eyes now formed of solid silver and gleaming with an otherworldly light.

The others followed, all with silver eyes that would last them until dawn. They settled into the hall and began the rituals that must be done before the magic was gone.

@flashfictionfridayofficial

#flash fiction friday #flash fiction #horror #fantasy #writing #my writing #short stories #writeblr #writers on tumblr #fff 123 #ss #fff #ttgoy #? ish #dunno if it's canon #we shall see

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WTW PREPTOBER PROMPTS → WEEK TWO: THEMES OR TROPES

Decadent Courts ;

Here play the pseudo-gods ruling such vast estates, stringing the fates of the lesser with their jeweled hands and honeyed words. Of their daggered smiles that speak praises yet exhale scorn in the same breath. Here, in the marbled garden of the godless, fester and breed generations upon generations of wolves and vipers. Of lie-smiths and truth-spinners so proficient in the language of double-speak that it should make even the cleverest of tricksters weep in envy.

Succession Crisis ;

“'Stolen' is such an odd choice of words to describe something rightfully won.”

Fenice startled as he stabbed his fork against the mahogany table. The Pretender’s smile was full of teeth. “Stolen is the exact word to describe your father’s actions when he ripped the crown from my mother’s corpse.”

Enemies to Friends to Enemies ;

“To be truthful,” he continued, “I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for you. You have a brilliant mind, and if things were different, I dare say we would have been allies. Perhaps even friends.”

“Were we not friends, once?”

Silk Hiding Steel ;

Let them think her something harmless.

She pricked the silk with the thin needle—

Benign.

— and pulled the vibrant thread across.

Fenice is powerless now, but if she played her cards right, her fortunes would change.

TAGLIST (Ask to be +/-)

GENERAL → @charlesjosephwrites | @bearunicorn154 I @basilelestrange | @writting-in-blood | @trapped-inadystopianovel | @inky-duchess | @thats-my-type-writer | @yuriykovtun | @myhusbandsasemni | @aphaimaniis | @writinglyra | @belialwrites | @amoranza | @pseudepigraphic | @mel-writes-with-her-dragons | @uppoffringar | @fantasydisease

WCTD → @zmlorenz | @andiwriteunderthemoon | @ryns-ramblings | @marchdove | @cielnocturnes | @wren-is-writing | @paperburrows

#the vibes of this are so cool #really paints a picture i wanna know more #sharing

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more horror movies need to understand that i want to be on the side of the ghost

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UNTITLED GHOST STORY ; The chapter in which The Ghost forgets.

#i love the form of this omg!! #sharing

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Repeat after me:

Good rest is required for creativity

I am allowed to rest in order to restore and rejuvenate my creative well

I am not lazy for resting

My WIP will benefit from the rest I give myself and my creativity

My writing requires rest just as much as I do in order to flourish