OC Mood Board Tag Game

Rose, after being cursed long ago, came to adapt to her unfortunate circumstances. While once completely wild, she has come to appreciate the finner things in life, mainly deserts.

I personally prefer her sketch design most, but the inked is a close second.

Last Line Tag

Thanks for the tag @kuebiko-writing

Sorry for the late response.

This is just a bit of my little bloodmage WIP giving a bit of perspective on Billy's motivations

Forest Guardian’s were, above all else, the protectors of nature and were often referred to as its shepherds. Long had they used their power and gile to protect their flock. That had been fine when the humans still held reverence for the sacred, but as that reverence faded, humans had changed. They become far too dangerous to rely on traditional methods. Defeat after defeat forced the shepherds to evolve, and Billy had been no different.

Handing his staff over to the strange human he watched as the living wood of his shepherds crook was twisted into a more fitting tool, no not just a tool, this thing was a weapon that he would use to sow vengeance.

No pressure tags: @kuebiko-writing @renasdoodles @davycoquette @flurrysahin ,

@literally-just-zay @creatrackers @somethingclevermahogony + open tag

(Let me know if you want to be taken off the tag list)

What's Bloodmage about? 👀👀👀

(I adore the title by the way)

Thanks for the ask! Sorry in advance for the ramble...

Oh boy, how to describe this one... (I will preface this story as insanity with plot. Most of the characters are severely brain damaged or willing to follow along with the crazies to keep them safe, and I love them all. )

An unofficial squad of soldiers and cryptids are trying to stop a vampire cult (who has infiltrated and overtaken a large world power) that plan to block out the sun and take over the world. All while a large war is happening in the background under the orcestration of the vampires. Most ordinary soldiers have no idea what is going on, and a collection of governing cryptids are trying to keep it that way.

After the squad is forcefully split up thanks to the trickery of the enemy leader, the medic of the group is in a plane crash while trying to reunite with the others. The wreck happens to land in a ritual cite put together by the vampires in an attempt to bolster their numbers with another type of volitile cryptid called bloodmages.

Caught up in the ritual, the medic is turned into a bloodmage, but he is one of the severely brain damaged characters and flasely concludes that he has been turned into a vampire. Unable to end himself with the traditional methods, he decides to find his fellow squad mates to continue their goal only to get caught up in another mess involving bloodmage politics.

Extra context: Bloodmages are beings who have been implanted with red blood crystals that are harvested from a deep pit known as the mouth of hell. After a long comatose incubation period the blood mages awake with enhanced durability/longevity and powers unique to their specific brood (powers have pretty significant variability with some potential for overlap such as the ability to make constructs, bombs, and weapons from their blood/blood they condense store up from others). Along with their other abilities, bloodmages are incredibly mentally unstable unless they have something or someone to tether them to reality. This makes them great short term soilders due to their drive for violence, but not for long term use as they tend to start attacking one another if they grow bored with easy combat.

Thanks again for the ask, I've been really bad about keeping on this one due to some hang-ups with the plot, but I love it to death :)

Choices

@flashfictionfridayofficial prompt

Summary: Tori, a loyal soldier, has his alegences tested and finds that his loyalty to his country isn't as strong as he first believed.

Finally, a Tori Story. We're getting the perspective of another in the rag-tag squad of my WIP.

Chapter warning: referenced violence, violence, killing, referenced torture, and the picture at the end shows violence and injury.

Tori had been raised like all of the other able bodied children in his village to be loyal soldiers. He killed and maimed without regret, without hesitation because the people that he was sent after were the enemies, and if he wanted to keep himself and others safe, they needed to die. He wasn’t a sociopath, they’d tested him for that. Tori was just someone who had long ago reconciled that he could live with himself. He could wait for regret if he ever made it to retirement.

He had never questioned orders, been a faithful dog, and he had planned to remain like that until the evening when he received a new set of orders. This time, he wouldn’t be hunting down a traitor or ripping the life from a target. This time, he was capturing something. He’d never been ordered to capture something alive. He’d never had reason to.

The creature in question was suspected to be some type of extra-terrestrial, an invader to their planet. He didn’t need to question his orders, and he’d never had reason to up until he laid eyes on the creature. The moment it had looked up at him with eyes that seemed to contain galaxies, everything became complicated. Then it had saved him. That was the only reason they had managed to apprehend it, and now he was haunted by the low bellows of its pained cries.

The creature never spoke, but its voice rang through the minds of its captors. The other’s in charge of watching the creature found the sound to be soothing or funny, but he couldn’t help but feel a hollow pang in his guts as the underground facility was flooded with the creature’s cries for help.

He couldn’t understand what the sounds were at first, but the more time he spent focused on them, the more clearly he could hear it calling out for something, begging for its freedom. When they had found the creature it had been hiding among a pack of wolves, peacefully living out a life of serenity, and now it was being poked and prodded by the deft hands of his own people, all in the name of some strange advancement that made no sense to him no matter what argument they gave to convince him.

Tori was off duty when the storm struck, when the sirens blared so loud that he was woken from his drug induced sleep. A sharp pain throbbed behind his eyes as he slowly rose to his feet, mind instantly turning to the creature. Had it escaped? A part of him hoped that it had, but then a sickening feeling crossed through him as he thought of what means the other guards might use to contain the creature.

If it were in better shape, but the creature was kept on the brink of life and death to avoid such situations. Gripping his gun tightly, Tori rushed out of his room, an idea springing so suddenly into his mind that he wondered if it had been planted there.

He could get the creature out of here, he could rectify his mistake.

His heart tightened at the idea. If he had a chance to free it, then Tori already knew what he would do. He had been far too deeply influenced by its song and eaten by newfound guilt to choose any other option.

The sound of a struggling guard rang out from the main lab as he approached, and Tori hesitated before carefully peaking around the door frame. Two hulking figures near the shattered containment cell instantly turned towards him. An operation? No, they were wearing POW uniforms or what was left of them, not only that they were quite battered as well. So why were they here?

The female POW tightened her chokehold on a guard, and Tori watched as the man suddenly went limp. Raising his gun, he wasn’t so foolish to enter the room with the POW’s even if he was armed. Catching sight of the creature that he had been so concerned for held gently in the male POW’s arm, Tori felt his heart hitch. They had come to free it?

The sudden realization hit him like a bullet. They were here to do the job he hadn’t been able to. Even if he could have made it out with the creature, he couldn’t protect it after what he had done. Even with his mind made up, every ounce of his training fought against him as he lowered his gun and moved to the side.

“Go down this path, and you can reach an exit outside the camp.”

He wasn’t wearing his proper uniform at the moment, but they could likely tell what he was, so there was no reason for them to listen to his words, but he had to try.

The POW holding the creature over his shoulder straightened up and smiled broadly. It was a stupid grin that lacked the usual grit that he so often seen in the eyes of soldiers.

“You got it boss man.”

He winked suddenly, and Tori was so confused by the gesture that he barely noticed the woman glancing between them before a look of realization seemed to dawn on her.

“So no more killing?”

She seemed disappointed by that, but the male POW patted her shoulder gently.

“It’s okay Ember, boss man called the shot, you couldn’t have burned them with all this water anyway.”

It seemed to satisfy the woman who released her final victim and followed the man past Tori with a matching nod of recognition.

Standing for a moment in silence after they had left, Tori tried to make sense of what had just happened. Their behavior was far too strange, too irrational, but he supposed all that mattered was that the creature was safe. He would miss it’s presence, but if it would no longer have to cry in pain like that anymore, then He had done was required of him. As the song of its voice faded from his mind, Tori felt a sadness sink into his bones as he settled back onto his cot. He wouldn’t allow himself to be sad knowing that the creature’s cries had finally been quieted. With a strange peace that didn’t feel deserved, Tori fell back into a dreamless sleep for the first time since the cries had begun.

one year of #FFF 🎉🎉🎉

so with this week's entry, i have participated in flash fiction friday for a whole year now, keeping up a streak of 52 :D and because i'm lowkey proud of that and also just love FFF a lot, i will yap a litte.

what is flash fiction friday?

FFF is a fun little event where the very cool people over at @flashfictionfridayofficial post a new prompt every friday at noon cet, then you have 24h to fill that prompt, and over the next week they will rb it to that official account and it gets put into a showcase post.

why is that so cool and why should you join?

for so many reasons!

first of all, the whole community (as in, the people usually participating, as well as "the bosses") is extremely nice and sweet and welcoming, and full of amazing writers. and it is alway such a varied mix of works! there's fanfics of various fandoms, ranging from more "popular" things to very niche, there's original works, both with people having their own ocverses/bigger works as well as just great little disconnected short stories, there's poetry, there's everything.

for me personally, the whole process is just very good and has so many perks: - one prompt a week, so there's a habit going on. even if i don't get my ass up for writing much all week, i can do a short friday bit, which means there's the accomplishmentTM as well as just keeping the writing muscle moving, so to speak - only a day time, so you can't overthink it too much, just hammer something out without fiddling with it forever (good for people with perfectionism-brainworms) - it feels kinda low stakes, but in a good way - that gives me the freedom to just try shit out. experimenting with style or pov, writing stuff i normally probably wouldn't (i did a random Saints Row fic because i was playing that at the time and the prompt fit so well - would have never written for that otherwise), or just producing random bits and backstory lore for my ocs (like, for example, fiona went from "has a name, died sometime in the past" to #fiona tag)

and of course, the rb comments on the official account are always SO NICE and SO ENCOURAGING and just... knowing that at least one person will read your stuff and comment positively on it - yea, that helps, lame as it sounds.

anyway, that's why y'all should join me and write :D

now what?

now on to the second year... :D no but seriously, i plan to keep the streak up. BUT ALSO over the next few day i will reblog some of this year's bits, with added author's commentary, just because i can. they're gonna be tagged #fff recap.

shoutout

as mentioned above, there's so many cool and talented people in that whole community, special mention of some of them - go read their things! (and i'm probably forgetting half)

@ineedaplacetostay @ruvastuon @aalinaaaaaa @zorilleerrant @ark-inkweaving @drowning-in-cacophony @hd-literature @starlightfireflies

the whole list

(incoming) special fff recap commentary is marked with "#!"

#252 spill the tea: what's a chicken? (fnv)

#253 pushing up daisies: pushing up daisies (fnv)

#254 horizon line: just one more step (fnv) #!

#255 in the heart: doing the right thing (fnv)

#256 muted colors: un-muting the colors (fnv)

#257 count the days: 4261 days (ocverse: daria) #!

#258 milky way dreams: mojave night sky (fnv)

#259 house of cards: wildcards (fnv)

#260 fear is a sickness: how to live your life without breathing (ocverse: july)

#261 maybe one more: nuka cola quantum (fnv)

#262 run far and fast: he runs and he runs and he runs (ocverse: gabriel)

#263 in the meadows: accidental baby acquisition (fnv) #!

#264 counting clocks: six damn clocks (ocverse: mika) #!

#265 galaxies away: this is my human costume (ocverse: el & quinn)

#266 great expectations: no one sleeps when i'm awake (ocverse: mika & aaron)

#267 gifted violets: viola sororia (ocverse: july & daria)

#268 fractured forms: picking up the pieces (ocverse: gabriel & kat)

#269 living weapon: can't win them all (fnv)

#270 lights and sirens: can you feel my bass (ocverse: valerie, annabelle & eli)

#271 tantrum entrance: pastry bribery (ocverse: mika & gabriel)

#272 change in tone: and let me sing forevermore (ocverse: aaron & mika)

#273 invisible guest: and there are days like this, too (ocverse: daria & fiona) #!

#274 empty house: the hills have eyebots (fnv: courier mags) #!

#275 full moon frenzy: low ebb tide and high full moon (ocverse: fiona)

#276 dark and stormy night: drift, drift away, into now (ocverse: fiona)

#277 silver sparks: jury rigging (fnv)

#278 singing in the candlelight: ever-drifting smoke (ocverse: fiona)

#279 warm hands: that familiar smell (ocverse: mika & gabriel)

#280 seek for insight: well, just you wait (ocverse: el & quinn)

#281 ripple effect: ripples (ocverse: july & daria)

#282 out of love: the el-question (ocverse: el & quinn)

#283 calling, calling home: mommy issues (ocverse: fia) #!

#284 noticing small things: all those little details (ocverse: mika & gabriel) #!

#285 how it begins: loud lights (ocverse: helena)

#286 anything could happen: any way the wind blows (ocverse: july, mika & aaron)

#287 i can’t stand it: good taste and where to buy it (ocverse: mika & quinn)

#288 loud lie, quiet truth: hard-hitting confessions (ocverse: mika & aaron)

#289 blinding gaze: first impressions (ocverse: fia & helena)

#290 midnight distractions: midnight creature feature (ocverse: mika & gabriel)

#291 stuff of legends: celestial love triangle (ocverse: fia & helena)

#292 paper promises: dear daria (ocverse: daria & fiona)

#293 unbridled rage: burn it down, baby, burn it down (saints row) #!

#294 cursed trio: what's in the cards (ocverse: daria & fiona)

#295 help not wanted: lonesome road (fnv)

#296 before the party's over: men of few words (fnv)

#297 like a weed: the legend of the courier (fnv)

#298 hidden chemistry: mmm... mentats. (fnv) #!

#299 stranger than fiction: something's missing (misc) #!

#300 let me go: shadow-maker (ocverse: daria & fiona)

#301 what happened here: the trouble with eyebots (fnv: courier mags)

#302 talk to me: foreboding silence (ocverse: mika & gabriel)

#303 out of the box: chess pieces (ocverse: fia & helena)

stats

ocverse: 33 fallout: 17 other: 2

What's your favorite part of the lore in your wip?

Oh, another tough one. Thanks for asking!

Not to give too much away since it's getting into a pretty important plot details. My favorite lore has to do with a chasm called the Gate of the Underworld or just the Underworld for short.

Legend says that the hand of an angry god opened the way to the underworld so as to punish humans for their hubris. Man decided to explore in their drive for advancement and, after traveling miles down, found large red crystals.

After experimenting with the strange and highly explosive substance, they found that it could be used to enhance people, and after several failed attempts, the first group of blood mages were formed.

At first, it was believed they could be controlled, but as the monsters began losing their minds, humanity began to question if the stories regarding the Underworld were really just stories after all.

(A very quick visual)

Pills and Pain

I reach out my fingers, aware they are shaking,

My body is sore, and I'm worried it's breaking,

I glance at strange pills, and fear what I'm taking.

Is the pain in my legs really worth what I'm staking?

My body is sore. I fear it might shatter,

I sit in my bed, pills still on the platter.

The ache in my bones refuses to scatter,

My hesitation remains, but soon, it won't matter.

Pick 3 OCs and give them each a song

Thanks for the tag, @literally-just-zay

I was planning to just do three but it was pretty fun so I just did the whole squad.

MA- Time in a bottle (Jim Croce)

Above all else, MA loves the world and wants to cherish every moment in it.

Owen- Army Dreamers (Kate Bush)

I had trouble with this one, but it fits him best because he could have been so much more if he had been given proper care.

Ember- Gasoline (Halsey)

Ember wasn't always a piromaniac, but one too many blows to the head, and one failed burning execution changed many things about her.

Bonus!

Tori-Baker (Aimee Carty)

He is quite skilled and, in his own way, very good at his job. He just works with crazy people who are better than him in their fields.

Hati- Believer (Imagine Dragons)

A core concept of Hati is his ability to change the world based on his beliefs

Billy- Gotta Be A Reason (Alec Benjamin)

The centuries have not been kind to Billy, but he has to keep moving because who else will?

No pressure tagging: @kuebiko-writing @renasdoodles @davycoquette @flurrysahin ,

@somethingclevermahogony @creatrackers

Project 32 'Night Hound'

A cruel punishment to set an example.

The dead companion had laid at its master's feet as loyal as it had been in life. No power had been enough to stop that. Desperation and isolation drove the master to make this creature from the body of a dead companion.

Night Hounds appear as tall, emaciated hounds that appear normal up until the joint between the neck and head where the head has been severed. Two tubes connect a skinless substitute head to the body. Hard to kill and exilent guard dogs, the hounds are also extremely loyal, and once choosing a master will stay with them until death.

If the bond is close enough, then the soul of their chosen master can animate and linger with them as they pass into the afterlife.

@kuebiko-writing Thanks for the tag! I'm not sure if I'm doing this right, but here we go.

My favorite books to read are about messed up people trying to be better for either themselves or for someone important to them, while everyone expects the worst of them, and the world just decides that it has no intention of giving them a break.

My favorite books as a writer (that I attempt to write)....

Honestly, it's hard to boil what I like to write down to a favorite, but I do enjoy writing stories about people who have been dragged into bad situations and try to keep their lives and sanity intact with varying levels of success. Not everything works out for them, but sometimes I give them nice things.

I have a question for everyone who would like to answer:

What are your favorite books as a reader and what are your favorite books as a writer?