#On the trail we BLAZE

[ememmerson]

⭐ Go stargazing with your muse (Em/Theo, please!)

Em was delighted to find a fellow adventurer in Theo. While Feyre made for excellent company for shorter excursions, he couldnt imagine how ling it would take them to hike the Appalachian Trail at her pace. In his opinion- Not every bug , plant, and critter needed to be catalogued. Though Feyres opinion differed greatly . Because science or whatever. That was fine when you didn't have miles upon miles of hiking ahead of you. As it Turned out Avens brother was the type to document too and managed to encourage Feyre to wait for them with Aven at the cabin that would mark the end of their hike by promising to take photos. Em was certain there was no changing Feyres mind once it was made up but it seemed that Theo was the trick to getting Feyre to agree to just about anything. Emmett chuckled to himself as he worked to set up the tree slung hammock that would be his bed for the night only to have his focus drawn away by Theos call of "Have a look at that." Em had come to learn that Theo wasn't a man of many words so an actual exclamation from the brunette was more than enough to draw Ems attention from the final tie he looped against the tree he stood behind. Emmetts Eyes shifted to Theo and then up into the direction he was pointing. He couldnt help but laugh out loud with pure surprise as he watched the rain of stars streak over the already star flecked wonder that was the unfiltered night sky that only places far from city lights and plumbing had to offer. While Em knew Aven would not have been enthusiastic about the walk and not to mention the moments of climbing-- He would have loved to share this with her. "You should radio the girls- I'm sure they can see this from the cabin." He smiled tenderly at the storm of light flashing across the sky as he fished a blunt from his pocket. "You want to really take a look at the stars?"

[arimabari]

bit of an idea I had at the start of July for a Seb/Hawke daughter who is also a member of the Veilguard! Lettie's a Veil Jumper apprentice under Bellara who ran away from home because she wants to find her mom (11 years post Hawke Sacrifice).

She's the Team Baby

[j-nipper-95]

2024 in review

Thanks for the tags @artsyunderstudy and @nausikaaa

Wow. 2024 has been ... a year.

I've spent this last year flip-flopping between periods of intense creativity and intense burnout. I've barely posted anything on here, and even less over on AO3, but I have been writing, and the plot gremlins have been working overtime when it comes to planning out where the WIPs are going.

Object permanence and keeping timelines straight in my head are things I struggle with, so I can't remember exactly when I actually achieved any of these things, but I did, and that's all that matters.

Huge thanks as always to Ashton for the incredible artwork in this fic, and for the beta help along with my editor Zoë, @cutestkilla and @iamamythologicalcreature

I posted one chapter of The Trails We Blaze, my 2023 @carryonthroughtheages fic, which is a SnowBaz/The Road to El Dorado au.

Simon and Baz have been through a lot together. Growing up as criminals on London's streets; surviving the Great War; dealing with a lot of repressed feelings. But after their latest con goes wrong, they're left with nothing but an ancient map, a signet ring of unknown provenance or value, and promises of a city that doesn't even exist.

Thrust into a world of adventure with danger at every turn, they're forced to decide how far they're willing to go for a myth, a fortune, and a chance at love.

This fic is going to be a real labour of love and I have big plans for it going forward. If you haven't started it yet, here's what to expect:

adventure across post WW1 England, France, and Spain

exciting action

political machinations

idiots in love pining for each other

epic romance (when they eventually get their shit together)

I know roughly how this is going to end, and I have a first draft up to the 'It's Tough to be a God' sequence (if you know the original film), but I'm currently trying to rewrite a large section of that draft. Discovery writing has been a massive learning curve for me, but I'm excited to get back to this fic and the characters.

Again, massive thanks to Ashton for the stunning artwork of Lauren. I never stop geeking out over the fact I get to call this incredible woman my friend, and that I get to actually look at my chaos gremlin MC anytime I want!

Most of my time writing this year has been spent on approximately the billionth rewrite of my original novel, A Survivor's Revenge.

I am desperate to get this story into the hands of readers, whether that's though trad or indie publishing, and so far I've had good feedback from my editor and alpha reader on the previous draft. But me being me, I couldn't leave it at that.

So now I'm rewriting the book and completely changing the way it's written. The shift from 3rd person/past tense to 1st person/present tense has finally got things moving in terms of developmental edits; the plot flows more smoothly, character interactions and growth are coming more naturally, and for once the villain motivations and plans are becoming clear! Praise the chaos gods.

Lauren Atkins is many things. Student. Daughter. Friend. But at her core, she’s a survivor. And she has one thing on her mind … revenge.

For the lovers of genre spanning sci-fi, morally grey main characters, full spectrum queer identities, and found family, A Survivor’s Revenge will have you asking, how far are you willing to go to protect the ones you love?

I went back and looked at some super old drafts of ASR a couple of months ago; after a conversation with my alpha reader decided to reinstate an old plot line that I'd shelved, and I am super excited to get back to this one. Lauren has become even more morally grey since I last handled this plot line, so things are going to get very bloody very quickly.

So the last two months have been spend sporadically rewriting this behemoth, and I'll be continuing that into January. Originally I was doing this as part of the PaWriCo writing challenge, but I don't think I'll manage to finish the full draft by the end of January. Currently it's sitting at 27.3k words, and if I wanted to hit par I should've been at 65.2k. So, likelihood of hitting 100k by 31st January is minimal.

This little floof is largely the reason for me falling behind.

Benjamin has been back in the vets consistently since the end of November for scans and surgeries, and now for an ongoing infection following the most recent surgery. It's safe to say my nerves and wallet are strained to the maximum, but he's 100% worth it.

So yeah. 2024 may not have been the most productive year for writing, but things have been happening behind the scenes, and I'm hopeful that I'll be able to share more in the new year.

I've missed interacting with people on here, I'm tired of just lurking. This chaos gremlin is back, baby!

Tagging (sorry if you've already done something like this):  @aristocratic-otter @blackberrysummerblog @bookish-bogwitch @cutestkilla @emeryhall

@hushed-chorus @iamamythologicalcreature @ic3-que3n @ileadacharmedlife @letraspal @orange-peony

@shrekgogurt @skeedelvee @theearlgreymage @you-remind-me-of-the-babe 

[pekingin-ankka]

Oh my god. I had to take a little break from writing. The Road to El Dorado soundtrack is playing on another tab. I've listened to "The Panic In Me" so many times tonight alone. I fall more and more in love with each listen. Anyway, this break is spent by obsessing over Tulio, Miguel and the gorgeous animation.

[gierosajie]

Gotta love how the hsr MC has nothing but to find their own identity due to the lack of their past and who they were

and then they decided that who they want to be is someone that sorts through the trash cans and causing chaos everywhere they go

[panncakes]

it is still so wild to me that the first full thai gl we got was filled with so many different types of kisses and sex scenes and explicit wlw love making i thank the stars every day for freenbecky

[trlblzd]

      "  SOMETIMES,  WHENEVER  SIOBHAN  ISN'T  LOOKING      during my shift down at dreamjolt holstery, i tend to mix weirder stuff like  gunpowder with the heavier drinks to see if it would hit me harder.     i think     ONE     of them accidentally drank an extra shot i made for myself     &     liked it     (  ...  )      now i can't tell anyone i put something like that in drinks.     but it's good, i could whip it up  for you some time.  "

@deadtrail ,, ♡'d

[sagnaevi]

Ah, haha. To be free from the schakles of his unjust life, death is the only answer. Now, wether it was true death or a dream one, didn't matter. In the end, the result of this gamble is the same; freedom. By sacrificing all his chips in one grandeous gamble; his cornerstone, his life, even betraying the trust of the Trailblazer and becoming the villain of his story - could Aventurine archieve that which he had dreamt of all his life: the right to live. It's a shame about his friend, though. That betrayed look in those golden depths - yeah, it stung, funnily enough. It's not like they were actually close, right? He gave the Trailblazer neverending credits, in return he recieved a valuable alliance for this endevour. It was all just a bussiness transaction. Life is a grand gamble, and nothing comes without a price. Aventurine knew this very well; it had been ingrained into his damned soul.

He had always been lucky. By betting all or nothing into this cursed luck of his, he always walked out a winner. If Giathra really had blessed him with boundless luck, then why did he never feel happy? Even now, as he had freed himself from the clutches of the IPC and the Family - and having found his way back to the waking world... All he felt was, empty? No that is not right. Dread gnawed at the corners of his conciousness - reminding him of the consequences left in the wake of his freedom. Caelus. Haha, he probably doesn't want anything to do with him anymore. After all, he had feigned the threat of detonating the stellaron inside his chest. Aventurine sighed as he made his way towards the Express. It's stupid. He could go anywhere he wanted now, and yet he comes crawling back to the Astral Express. For what? Good question. Why does he go back to them? To apologize in hopes of blazing a trail among the stars together with Caelus? Oh, it's a gamble, for sure. Once a gambler, always a gambler.

❛ We meet again, friend, but don't worry... I'm not here to instigate any discourse. ❜ The former stoneheart greeted, upon having caught the Trailblazer's eyes. Oh, he does not look happy to see him, which was understandable, of course. Nervosity sank in; dwelling underneath the Gambler's breath. Yet, despite the unfavored situation, he kept a calm appearance. // @iiryoku closed starter.

[ink-of-a-thousand-currents]

Fully scried Mass Hatch kids 10/55, fav scry showcase

Today's notes: #8 is a strong contender for a keeper, I adore that Gaoler scry. Meanwhile, #7 has been designated an Ugly Baby after many scry attempts. Not a fan.

#6 Wine/Sanddollar/Sanguine, Ice Common, Male

#7 Fern/Caramel/Purple, Light Common, Female

#8 Cobalt/Cerulean/Copper, Light Uncommon, Female

#9 Lavender/Sky/Teal, Shadow Uncommon, Female

#10 Black/Carmine/Ruby, Nature Common, Male

[mafaldaknows]

Forgot to add:

[flamboyant-king]

I know im the funny haha comic person but i really do want to sell merch at conventions or online too ya know. Think that would be easier than doing commissions once a year pshh

[hazelsmazecave]

I have to wonder what it is that's spurred multiple separate websites to purge inactive accounts... for Imgur, Twitter, and Google to announce it within a month of each other it's gotta be something, right? And it'd be weird for it to be a simple follow-the-leader thing with Imgur of all sites being the trailblazer. I'm still stuck at what the advantage even is. A bit of server space doesn't seem worth all the problems it causes. I guess it could be part of encouraging the whole content churn that advertisers love. Idk I hate the future.

[j-nipper-95]

Six Sentence Sunday

It's the first Six Sentence Sunday of 2025 (even though I'm posting this on Monday, shhh, the executive dysfunction kicked in last night as I was typing this post!)! Thanks for the tags @artsyunderstudy @nausikaaa, @martsonmars, @bookish-bogwitch and @mooncello, love seeing what you're all working on.

I haven't written anything new yet for either of my WIPs, but I thought I'd share a little something from both.

First off, The Trails We Blaze. I'm hoping to crack back on with this WIP in earnest in February, once I finish off my three month PaWriCo challenge with ASR. The last few days at work all I've been able to think about is the later plot points of Trails and I'm so excited to get back into this world.

I think this snippet is new, but apologies if not. This is Baz POV, way more than six sentences, and I've redacted one character name for spoilers!

The bedroom door slams shut and I slowly turn to face [redacted] and Fiona, both of whom are glaring at me and blocking my path out of the room. I cock an eyebrow and it sets [redacted] off. “What the bloody hell d’you think you’re playing at?” “Good morning to you too, [redacted].” “You think you can just waltz in here—” “You’re going to answer some questions,” I say, my tone brooking no argument. “Like hell I am.” “Leave it, Baz,” Fiona snaps, standing at [redacted]’s side, hands on hips and a scowl on her face. “Tell me everything I want to know, and I’ll leave.” [redacted] scoffs. “That simple, is it?” I nod. “It is.” “You jumped up little shit.” “Flattery will get you everywhere.” I perch on the edge of the desk, leaning back on it and playing with one of the figurines,

Now, onto the gremlins! I've been deep into ASR rewrites since November, and while I don't think I'll hit my target of a full rewrite by the end of the month or 100k (whichever comes first), I'm still plugging away at it.

In my last post I mentioned the change up in tense and how that's really helped, and I think working on Trails for the last couple of years (my God, it's been 2 years since I started working on that fic 🤯) has been a game changer for me.

Action has always been something I struggle with, but everyone has been leaving such lovely comments on the action scenes within Trails that it's given me a little more confidence when it comes to ASR. ASR is HEAVILY action reliant, and I still don't know why I thought this would be a good idea 😂🤦🏽‍♀️

That being said, read on for a snippet with Lauren being extra stabby.

I slip into another group of scientists who are frantically racing to the opposite side of the lab. No one notices as I slip the already knotted fabric over my head and tighten it. With my face hidden I shuck the lab coat and flick up the hood of my dark coat. Immediately the scientists are reeling away from me, shouting warnings to everyone close to them. They don’t get far. Throwing knives embed themselves in the lower spines of two, my sai plunges through the back of one man’s ribcage and out the other side, and as I’m pulling it from his limp body I sense someone coming up on my left side. The mercenary lunges with his combat knife, the blade whistling past my waist and stomach in a gutting motion; I’m now to the side of him, his momentum keeping him travelling forward as I angle my sai to penetrate his throat. His warm blood gushes down the blade and slicks my hand around the grip, the weight of his dead body threatening to rip the weapon from my hand. The whole thing happens so quickly it’s like the rest of the lab enters slow motion. I watch the light leave his eyes as he crashes to the floor, blood splattering around his head. Then the screams begin in earnest.

Tagging for other WIPs days this week:  @artsyunderstudy @aristocratic-otter @blackberrysummerblog @bookish-bogwitch @cutestkilla

@emeryhall @erzbethluna @hushed-chorus @iamamythologicalcreature @ic3-que3n

@ileadacharmedlife @ivelovedhimthroughworse @letraspal @martsonmars @nightimedreamersworld

@orange-peony @shrekgogurt @theearlgreymage @you-remind-me-of-the-babe 

[spyglassrealms]

Well I swear we got there last time, but I don't remember how / And the map is lost; the road is gone; what do I do now?

[wovetales]

˗ˏˋ      ᵖʳᵒˡᵒᵍᵘᵉ·      tags      ﹕      part   five.

[draconicfool]

There are few things, perhaps, that could get Eros away from the path he finds himself on. Though- there is, in fact, something that draws him away from Elation's grasp. A realization. And a fear. Realizing that there is every intention for him to be reset until he fulfills some sort of interest or entertainment, and realizing that perhaps the other folks at the tavern will never feel the way that Eros does, he leaves behind his mask and the title of 'Fool' and instead, accepts the invitation to travel on the Astral Express. Accepts the path that they follow and perhaps, excels even, at blazing a trail. Perhaps in a way, this was what he'd always wanted. To truly be free-. Because even if there's a goal- it's adventure that is the purpose. It is freedom that leads the way. Blaze a trail and never be denied. Never turn back or question your decisions. Simply experience freedom.