asher-writes

[asher-writes]

How's the week been, my dudes?

I've done some writing for Out of Sight and Mind this week, and a little for The Poison Complex. I also started writing...something else. lets not talk abt it. If we talk abt it it'll become a full blown WIP.

How has the writing been for u guys?

[asher-writes]

✨ FFF 315 Masterlist

Thank you for all your wonderful entries last week! We loved reading all of them ^^ (If we missed your entry, please let us know)

Consider checking out your fellow writers’ pieces, give out those likes and reblogs and gather some inspiration for the new prompt dropping at 12 pm CET!

We’ll see you then ✨

Dancing around the Dealings by @aalinaaaaaa

Did you...? By @fluffytheocelot

Dossier by @zorilleerrant

Did you...? By @genesisgrey

Hell on Earth by @rot-robbie29

What was said by @darkhorse-javert

EOTS by @nandawrites

Stay angry by @zennihilation

We can just be us by @btheleaf

Awkward by @drowning-in-cacophony

Lemons and limelight by @cocoamoonmalfoy

In the wake of fleeing gods by @bi-focal12

Alone on this plateau (you are here) (please take me away) by @it-s-blue-ink

Did you...? By @explosiontheory

Under the bed by @mayberosa

How to season yourself properly for a passage through the Lintari Gate by @raindoor

Did you...? By @stud-yawgmoth

you know, i ain’t evil, but i ain’t a saint by @ineedaplacetostay

The Easy Job by @meteor-writes

A pointed gamble by @lizardperson

just the three of us (we can make it if we try) by @of-potions-and-blades-official

a chance meeting at a police box by @anonymousdandelion

red & white lies by @your-reluctant-optimist

Enemy of my own by @ruvastuon

Did you...? By @landofspaceandrainbows

No better call out by @ark-inkweaving

Histories by @scatteriskity

Did you...? By @nyamadermont

action first, thoughts later by @hd-literature

Big red button by @jesmme

Did you...? @betweenthetimeandsound

Did you...? By @sowrotethegodless

Anniversary by @lisbeth-kk

Questions without answers by @baubeautyandthegeek

Bay rise by @mmaricarmen23

Choice by @asher-writes

Take a break! By @colection-of-chaos

[asher-writes]

now say it with me: authors/artists dont owe you moral purity. an author/artist job is not to hold you by the hand & tell you exactly what is Good™ & what is Bad™. you should be able to think for yourself

[asher-writes]

holy shit jacques!!! Look at you GO!!!! Super happy for you :D

how's it going folks?

i've had some on and off writing spells. A little of The Poison Complex, a little of Out of Sight and Mind, and a little consideration towards The Anthology of Cardinal Sins. I also wrote a poem which I submitted to a competition!

How has writing been for you this week?

[asher-writes]

that's super cool! What's the fun stuff?

The Anthology is something I've worked on a few times and I've posted some of it on Substack before taking a hiatus because I had more I wanted in there than what I had. It's a fantasy series of short stories that interlock with each other, based around the seven deadly sins. The seven sins are chosen by forces of Earth, Water, Air and Fire to try and guide humanity on the path to reincarnation and avoid their souls being trapped in the underworld. It sort of looks at the evolution of humanity and the complexity of good and evil over our collective lifespan, up until the modern age now which is increasingly more difficult to make moral choices.

It has a bit of everything in there, action and romance and discussions of identity and meaning, from heritage and culture to gender and sexuality. It talks about moral compass and death and love, and the meaning of existence and it is genuinely something i love writing. Unfortunately that does not stop the writers block 🤣

how's it going folks?

i've had some on and off writing spells. A little of The Poison Complex, a little of Out of Sight and Mind, and a little consideration towards The Anthology of Cardinal Sins. I also wrote a poem which I submitted to a competition!

How has writing been for you this week?

[asher-writes]

And while we're on the topic, can we do you talk about your constant pain like I ain't got none.

With no direction, just take it wherever it takes you :0

~ M <3

It built and fell away from his grasp like the wind itself. A gentle and patient anger, covered only by the crack of melancholia. "You talk about your constant pain like I haven't any." The words come so absently that he's surprised to find he'd spoke them, as much as he was to believe them, too. His throat ached with dehydration.

Eli falls silent. "I never said it was easy for you." The air stretched taut like a rubber band; Ari worried that a single word would snap the tension and hit him in the face.

"But you think it was easier, don't you?"

"No."

"But you want me to feel guilty, you want your anger to be the centre of the discussion."

"I-" Eli closed his mouth. He was a politician by nature, he knew to choose his words carefully. "I want you to know that I'm angry." His honesty was gentle, and a little surprised. Like all he wanted was for his brother to understand this simple thing about him.

"Well, I know, I knew from the second I left, you shouted at me, and then you didn't stop shouting at me for fifteen years."

"I was supposed to have you here."

"Do you think that would have been better?" A laugh, curled around his teeth like a snarl. "Elijah, you would not have me at all now if I had stayed, I would have been a lightless body - or as dead as our parents now are."

Eli frowned. "You would've been okay." You're always okay. It stays unspoken in the air, but his face is all that ten-year-old Ari left behind.

"I know the person I was and the person I am - I would not be okay." Silence. "I am not okay now." Ari closed his eyes, hard, then opened them, and the brightness would not fade. His head continued to pound, and his mouth stayed dried. "I need a drink," he stood, and shook his head. "You can be as angry as you like - it will change nothing."

[asher-writes]

how's it going folks?

i've had some on and off writing spells. A little of The Poison Complex, a little of Out of Sight and Mind, and a little consideration towards The Anthology of Cardinal Sins. I also wrote a poem which I submitted to a competition!

How has writing been for you this week?

[asher-writes]

Choice

Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial

WIP; The Poison Complex

Warning: A fresh rabbit is being made into dinner.

"I'm a vegetarian," April bit into an apple and looked at the carcass of the dead rabbit on the table, it's teeth too long for its mouth.

"Then starve," Viola muttered, grabbing it by its ears. Blood dripped on the already stained wooden floor, and April watched with absent apathy. "The rest of us eat what we can, when we can."

He shrugged his shoulders, then turned to the door. The golden glow of the evening sun made his skin look even paler, and his body even thinner, and maybe this made her pity him somehow.

"I'll make a separate pot for you."

"I don't mind, I can find some food myself," he gestured back to the forest, "...I saw some berries somewhere."

"I don't understand you," she gripped the knife, her eyes trained on the meat - for that's all it was now, meat and fur and eyes and the potential to rot. It was food, not a creature. Her cold eyes saw nothing in it, for her own sanity. "You've killed people," she cut into the fur, swiftly, practised, at the breast. April turned his eyes to the window.

"Allegedly."

"I know you better than you think - I know what you've done, I don't just let people into my work without research."

April looked back at her, flinching at the crack of rib bones and the sight of organs. "People have choices," he explained, watching with morbid fixation - no longer able to pull away. Her hands were full of blood, and she held that thing's little heart like it were nothing. Like it hadn't once beat - with joy, with excitement, with the terror of death. "Animals don't have that - they have instinct, not good or evil, just existence, they aren't capable of better or worse."

"So you don't eat them?"

"I don't eat them because I love them, I don't love people," he shrugged. "I'm not hungry, just sort your own dinner out." He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and shoved it hungrily into his mouth, his hand gently shaking.

"Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Kill somebody?"

"You said you already knew."

"I do."

"Then this is a test."

"It is."

April's frustration couldn't be hidden. He lit the cigarette in his mouth despite the disgust, but cut her off before she could complain. "I've killed two-hundred-and-six people," he punctuates each number with the full velocity of his annoyance. "And I did it for different reasons, and sometimes I felt bad and other times I didn't, but most of the time...it was just work."

"You're twenty." There's nothing in Viola's face now. Not sadness, not anger, or disappointment. Just absence. The way she had looked at the remnants of the rabbit.

"Yeah." April took a deep drag and exhaled the smoke over the room. "Yeah, I am."

[asher-writes]

OC outfit tag

Thank you so much for these tags @mysticstarlightduck and @author-a-holmes!! Today I bring you Quin Castle, from my sci fi story, Stars and Ships <3

Mostly known for his leather pilot's jacket (a gift he inherited from his father), and his prosthetic leg, Quin usually dresses in dark, practical clothes, plus any funny t-shirts that Jax gave him and he pretends not to like. ;)

I'll pass along gentle tags to @space-writes @winterandwords @zmwrites @sleepy-night-child @avrablake @vsnotresponding @sunset-a-story @asher-writes @tragicheirs @revenantlore and anyone else who'd like to share!

[asher-writes]

Tunesday

Chokehold by Sleep Token. AriEdward. Specifically this that I wrote: (can you tell I'm desperately trying to get all the pieces of their relationship together in this draft?)

Ari's eyes watched him like a hawk. Even in the early light, Edward could catch the sharpness of the gaze. He smiled to himself, pulling a shirt over his head just a little too slowly. He heard the way Ari breathed, a breath so deep and exhaled through gritted teeth; like all his restraint was held on his tongue flicking against the bones of his mouth. A sentry guarding his words. But that sigh betrayed him. Edward had him in a chokehold; and when he turned to look at him, Ari's eyes were heavy in their trajectory along the length of his body. He tried so hard to hide it, but the exhaustion had done enough of a number. "You look...feverish," Edward's tone locked humour over his desire. The way Ari used sarcasm to disguise the longing. "I'm hungover," his throat sounded sore. Or dehydrated. Or just turned on. "Sure thing, sweetheart." Ari's teeth sunk down on his bottom lip, hardly silencing some noise that could've been a growl. "You're safe with me." Maybe it was the words Ari needed to hear, grunting in pain as he slid to the edge of the bed. But no ache in his muscle or bones would stop him. He towered over Edward, who leaned against the wall, pure joy rolling through him. "You..." Ari's voice was deep, rough with the sleep and agony and the previous day. He sounded like a thunderstorm rolling over the hills, both frustrated and burning with relief. "...make me into someone else." "Are you good with that?" Ari did not answer, but he did kiss him. It was not any kiss he'd ever initiated before, always brief and shy. But he had almost died. They had both almost died. And maybe that brief moment he had thought of Edward's face before death had changed him. He gripped Edward's jaw, his thumb brushing his neck, and their breath and bodies crushed into each other as if they were intending to become one. As if some part of him had always been missing. As if he needed that piece in him before he disintegrated.

[asher-writes]

@winterandwords

#his prayer!!#i need to know the last line of it 👀#and I love how you write action from a very sensory perspective#your writing#writeblr tags

Just for you:

“Please,” the guard was weak now. “They won’t read me my rites, I have the key, in my pocket, please – just – please.”  Ari looked to Edward, whose face was sullen and exhausted. Ari reached into the guard's pocket and took the keys, handing them to Edward. “Go on, I’ll be just a moment.” He spat blood on the platform, and then crouched by the nameless man. “When you move between the worlds, may the ground be warm and the skies be clear,” he took a deep breath “...may the clouds part and the journey be smooth, is there any burden you wish to leave here before death?”

Essentially, Ari is reading himself his last rites in that scene. He's praying for a safe journey in death, not to live. Which says more about him than I realised until literally just now. Even when he thinks he's wanting to live, some part of him is just ready for all this shit to be over. That, and he doesn't expect Edward to come to him. Until this moment he's never thought someone would risk their own life, break their own vows for him (Edward does not carry a gun because he doesn't want to take a life - which he has had to do before, and it haunts him. But Ari gives Edward his gun to protect him, which is why Ari ended up having to fight close combat in the first place). But Edward would rather live with guilt than lose Ari.

Out of Context Lines Tag

Thank you so much to the very talented @kingragnarok-writes for the tag! Here's something I wrote last night:

Ari struggled against the grip, his hand clutching as tight as his aching fingers would allow to the man’s wrist. His heartbeat echoed in his ear, a timeless thumping that disorientated him further than the hand around his neck. It’s days like this he’s thankful for his weight, as he forces his fist forward into the guard’s face; the crunch of bone is satisfying, less the immediate stickiness of someone else’s blood, warm and inconsistent.  He could see, even from here, the advancing guard, carrying a baton that crackled with electricity. And heavens above, his lips repeat a prayer he rarely speaks; may the ground be warm and the sky be clear. Panic dried his throat and shook his hand, but he struggled anyway, swinging his foot down heavily on the guard’s knee, until he had no choice but to fall back. If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me, fucker.  He doesn’t stop kicking, even as running feet come towards him, that baton raised to beat him. He feels bones crunch under the weight of himself and his fury. This is not how he wants to die, he realises. He’s not sure if he wants to die at all. And with that realisation, he feels a burst of pain in his side, and struggles with a coursing agony that forces him backwards. Nausea grips him, the sound of his stomach lurching through his throat. For a second, he is both blind and deaf, and that same warm stickiness over his lips. His legs shake, locked in the course of the current. Ari has all but resigned to his fate as the second blow comes. He looks up at a man who should not be that tall. But they’ve always been bred that way here. He could never understand why. Now he understood why. A place with this many secrets needed security – blind followers gripped with faith and loyalty. And strength.  He closes his eyes for the second strike. His breath slows in a moment of sudden understanding. May the ground be warm, and the skies be clear. May the clouds part and the journey be-

Tagging:

@winterandwords @thegreatobsesso @did-i-do-this-write

[asher-writes]

Out of Context Lines Tag

Thank you so much to the very talented @kingragnarok-writes for the tag! Here's something I wrote last night:

Ari struggled against the grip, his hand clutching as tight as his aching fingers would allow to the man’s wrist. His heartbeat echoed in his ear, a timeless thumping that disorientated him further than the hand around his neck. It’s days like this he’s thankful for his weight, as he forces his fist forward into the guard’s face; the crunch of bone is satisfying, less the immediate stickiness of someone else’s blood, warm and inconsistent.  He could see, even from here, the advancing guard, carrying a baton that crackled with electricity. And heavens above, his lips repeat a prayer he rarely speaks; may the ground be warm and the sky be clear. Panic dried his throat and shook his hand, but he struggled anyway, swinging his foot down heavily on the guard’s knee, until he had no choice but to fall back. If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me, fucker.  He doesn’t stop kicking, even as running feet come towards him, that baton raised to beat him. He feels bones crunch under the weight of himself and his fury. This is not how he wants to die, he realises. He’s not sure if he wants to die at all. And with that realisation, he feels a burst of pain in his side, and struggles with a coursing agony that forces him backwards. Nausea grips him, the sound of his stomach lurching through his throat. For a second, he is both blind and deaf, and that same warm stickiness over his lips. His legs shake, locked in the course of the current. Ari has all but resigned to his fate as the second blow comes. He looks up at a man who should not be that tall. But they’ve always been bred that way here. He could never understand why. Now he understood why. A place with this many secrets needed security – blind followers gripped with faith and loyalty. And strength.  He closes his eyes for the second strike. His breath slows in a moment of sudden understanding. May the ground be warm, and the skies be clear. May the clouds part and the journey be-

Tagging:

@winterandwords @thegreatobsesso @did-i-do-this-write

[asher-writes]

holy shit HOLY SHIT. god thats so good.

Tag Game: Out of Context Lines

I was tagged by @zmwrites to share some lines from my WIP out of context, thanks so much!

I already posted Chapter Nine of my WIP, The Heralds of Blood, earlier today (all chapters can be found on my blog's pinned post), so I figured I'd share an out-of-context snippet from next week's Chapter Ten: Hearts of Darkness:

----------------------

Eli stepped into the lift, the walls lined with silver trim and black wood paneling, then headed for the main common room on the third floor, just outside the Amethyst Reading Room. When the golden grilles of the lift opened, strange music and a savage massacre awaited him.

Drums and woodwinds played softly from somewhere in the background, slowly building like the first steps of a dance to an unknown point. As Eli examined the blood-streaked hall, he thought he heard harp-strings begin to play, the swirling smoky sounds of a contrabassoon.

The doors to private chambers along the main corridor were closed, the absinthe-green lamps shining furiously. Scorch marks blackened the walls; the plastered molding crumbled along the vaulted ceiling. A frisson of leyline energy ran along the outside of every chamber, wards and spell-shields in place to protect occupants from the unknown dangers without.

Eli’s first instincts would’ve been to name those mages cowards, his brain boiling in a bitter broth as it was, but then he saw the bodies on the floor.

--------------------

All right, a bit dark, dramatic and moody, hopefully that intrigues someone enough to read to find the context (I'm having a lot of fun writing this story btw)

(Also the music playing in the background is supposed to be Ravel's Bolero but that obviously doesn't exist in that world so it is only described as I heard it while writing...)

Anyway, Open Tag for this and also tagging @winterandwords, @writingamongther0ses, @talesofsorrowandofruin,@asher-writes, @my-cursed-prince, @lordkingsmith, @aalinaaaaaa, @space-writes, @bardic-tales and anyone else who wants to share some out-of-context writing!

[asher-writes]

How's the writing folks?

Ho ware you all doing this week? I have been slow on my writing because I am ⭐struggling ⭐. It's been one of those weeks where both my autism and my adhd are locked in a hyper battle and nobody is winning - least of all me. I've done a little tiny piece of writing on my existing WIPS - Out of Sight and Mind, and Released namely. More one than the other. I've also endeavoured to write the most sporadic and unreadable ramble that has ever been known to man. And I posted my first book review which I was very nervous about!

How are you all doing? What were your writing goals, your yays and nays? Anything you've struggled with? Anything you've declared victory over?

[asher-writes]

This is Ari and Edward

[asher-writes]

@gabe-killed-me-with-ace-cream

Eddie has always been taught to treat others with care and respect, and that sexual liberation is not something to be ashamed of. It's why he works so well with Ari - who is naturally shy, and feels guilty of his own feelings and desires. Eddie spent a lot of time out on the road with a group of friends who he loved and trusted and who he knew so well and so intimately they may as well have been extensions of himself. Some were like brothers, others were like lovers, or somewhere else. He definitely has had at least one threesome, though. He's not shy when it comes to sex - he's shy when it comes to Ari. Because Ari is shy when it comes to sex, and that's new for Eddie. He hasn't spent a lot of time around old-school religious folk. And his boss is April.

Ari has been in a QPR accidentally. Neptune. I would class that as a QPR because they both loved each other very deeply, but Ari was not in a position for romance. He physically couldn't. It tore him into pieces that would wreck his ability to form meaningful relationships in his early adult life. That's way more than the average friendship.

OC Action Tag

Tagged by the wonderful @kingragnarok-writes

Rules: Bold what your character has done!

I'm gonna do Ari and Edward. Because they live in my head rent free always.

Ari: (Going post Out of Sight and Mind for both of them)

Killed someone under orders | Had someone killed on their orders| Killed in self-defense | Spared someone’s life | Invented something | Been hungover | Kissed someone | Slow danced | Been in a long-term relationship | Had sex | Had sex and regretted it | Had a one-night stand | Had a threesome | Experimented with their sexuality | Had a kid | Adopted a kid | Wanted to have a family with someone | Done something on impulse they regretted | Gone traveling | Had a bounty placed on them | Eaten an insect | Been groped by a stranger | Been groped by someone they know | Been dumped | Dumped someone | Smoked | Gotten high | Flirted with someone to get free drinks | Put someone in a headlock | Won a bet | Lost a bet | Forgiven someone who wronged them | Indulged in petty revenge | Hallucinated | Has a noticeable physical defect | Gotten a noticeable scar | Been permanently disfigured through injury | Kneed someone in the groin | Laughed themselves to the point of tears | Been kidnapped | Been sexually assaulted | Been brainwashed/hypnotized | Had a recurring nightmare | Been bullied | Bullied someone | Experienced survivor’s guilt | Been tied up/chained up | Given someone a massage | Received a massage | Been backed up against a wall | Shot someone | Stabbed someone | Saved someone’s life | Cheated on someone | Been cheated on | Been in an open relationship | Had a friendship with benefits | Been in a queerplatonic relationship | Had a stalker | Been betrayed | Been a traitor | Been possessed | Been in a bar fight | Been thrown out of a bar | Been arrested | Broken out of jail | Been to a brothel | Been to a funeral | Had surgery | Broken someone’s trust | Broken someone’s heart | Had their heart broken | Broken/damaged something out of anger | Broken/damaged something out of spite | Gotten a piercing | Gotten a tattoo | Used a fake name | Been beaten up | Been tortured | Been abused | Been blackmailed | Gotten away with a crime | Framed someone for a crime they committed | Shared a bed platonically | Been in love| Suffered from sleep paralysis | Been forced to flee their home | Learned a new language | Joined a rebellion | Fought on the losing side of a war | Fought on the winning side of a war| Became a godparent | Became an aunt/uncle

Edward:

Killed someone under orders | Had someone killed on their orders | Killed in self-defense | Spared someone’s life | Invented something | Been hungover | Kissed someone | Slow danced | Been in a long-term relationship | Had sex | Had sex and regretted it | Had a one-night stand | Had a threesome | Experimented with their sexuality | Had a kid| Adopted a kid | Wanted to have a family with someone | Done something on impulse they regretted | Gone traveling | Had a bounty placed on them | Eaten an insect | Been groped by a stranger| Been groped by someone they know | Been dumped | Dumped someone | Smoked | Gotten high | Flirted with someone to get free drinks | Put someone in a headlock | Won a bet | Lost a bet | Forgiven someone who wronged them | Indulged in petty revenge | Hallucinated | Has a noticeable physical defect | Gotten a noticeable scar | Been permanently disfigured through injury | Kneed someone in the groin | Laughed themselves to the point of tears | Been kidnapped | Been sexually assaulted | Been brainwashed/hypnotized | Had a recurring nightmare | Been bullied | Bullied someone| Experienced survivor’s guilt | Been tied up/chained up | Given someone a massage | Received a massage | Been backed up against a wall | Shot someone | Stabbed someone | Saved someone’s life | Cheated on someone| Been cheated on | Been in an open relationship | Had a friendship with benefits | Been in a queerplatonic relationship | Had a stalker| Been betrayed | Been a traitor| Been possessed | Been in a bar fight | Been thrown out of a bar | Been arrested | Broken out of jail | Been to a brothel | Been to a funeral | Had surgery | Broken someone’s trust | Broken someone’s heart | Had their heart broken | Broken/damaged something out of anger | Broken/damaged something out of spite| Gotten a piercing | Gotten a tattoo | Used a fake name | Been beaten up | Been tortured | Been abused | Been blackmailed | Gotten away with a crime | Framed someone for a crime they committed | Shared a bed platonically | Been in love | Suffered from sleep paralysis | Been forced to flee their home | Learned a new language | Joined a rebellion | Fought on the losing side of a war | Fought on the winning side of a war| Became a godparent | Became an aunt/uncle

Open tag! If you see this - it's for you!

[asher-writes]

A Review of "Black Leopard, Red Wolf," by Marlon James

So firstly, this is my first book review! Woo! Might be my last, we'll see.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf is a fantasy-adventure book that draws on African history and mythology. It follow the story of Tracker, a man who can track by scent, as he takes on the task to track down a boy across cities. He does so in a group of unusual people, including a man who is also a Leopard.

It's an incredibly engaging book with a fascinating world, creatures and characters that you just want to know and understand. And the writing is both blunt and poetic at intervals, exploring the depths of a world that seems boundless. It touches on the complexity of relationships, of love, of loss, and of isolation when you feel so othered by the world around you. It delves into political violence and gender inequality, and does so without holding back. It honestly had me in a chokehold for the two weeks it took me to read it. Which, for me, is insane. I am not a fast reader. I am dyslexic. But this book was so good, I couldn't even be frustrated.

So why don't other people like it?

Well, primarily, it is a dense book. It gave me back pains carrying it to work with me every day. Secondly, it is not a gentle book, it will not hold your hand and guide you through its pages and tell you with absolute certainty where right and wrong is. It's a violent book, sometimes sexually violent, and it will make you feel a little sick to the stomach on occasion.

None of those things are a deterrent for me, I like a story with meat and pain, and that makes me feel uncomfortable. That's a story I can delve into. You can probably find a full list of trigger warnings online.

I loved this book. I recommend it very highly.

Anyway that's my first book review. Woo.

Follow me on storygraph at your leisure!