#WIP: Shardkeeper

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Re-writing sometimes makes me feel like I should be keeping a bug-fix log or something.

Chapter 2 version 0.1.5: introduced conflict between character X and Y earlier in the plot. Removed buggy subplot C.

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The new scene is perfect for my Rebecca dragon!

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imposter

WRITERS

If you see this, spoil your WIP's biggest plot twist using ONLY ONE WORD

Here's mine!

Dying

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Last Line Tag VI

Thank you, @blind-the-winds, for the tag!

Just entered chapter 6 7 of book 2. Let's see how the kids are doing.

“Aritla form, huh?” asked Rebecca. Her own form was currently a weird blob that vaguely resembled a boa constrictor with a human face. She was wrapped around Kevor, who hadn’t uttered a word since our fight. “Easier to balance on uneven ground,” I said. I readjusted the bundle in my inner claws. “They really need to invent clothes that change with you.��� “Tell me about it,” said Rebecca. “I just sort of… um… formed around my clothes? It feels really, really weird and uncomfortable.”

When you and the bestie are both shapeshifters but are wildly different types of shapeshifters.

Tagging (no pressure): @ghost-town-story, @drippingmoon, @jezifster, @aziz-reads, @theboarsbride, and anyone else interested in sharing their latest writing!

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Heads Up, 7 Up Tag

Thanks for the tag, @blind-the-winds!

Looks like the last thing I wrote (the opening of a chapter!) was seven sentences exactly.

Alma was right about me and I hated it. I might have had all the adults on Earth fooled into thinking I was the responsible one but in truth I was a flake. Even I had to admit I felt relief when she turned down the offer. Back when Mahroa’s ship crashed I just froze even though I’d been the first to run to check it out. It wasn’t until Rebecca went aboard that I regained the will to move. I’d told Rebecca I trusted her and instead I [end of book 1 spoilers redacted]. I didn’t even have the nerve to begin to help [redacted].

Tagging (if you want): @thestorywitch, @that-chibi-writer, @copper-dragon-in-disguise, @akindofmagictoo, @dumbthunder, @andrewbelindo, and @bluefox4

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Figured out a quirk of zan biology that'll play a major part in book two and probably book 3.

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Two truths and a lie

Thanks to @autumnalwalker for the tag and deep apologies for taking so long to get to it.

Tagging: @afoolandathief, @blind-the-winds, @bayalexison, @charlesjosephwrites, @bluefox4, and anyone else who wants to.

Since I'm close to finishing up book one I'll make these about Paige (the narrator of book 2) to help me get into her mindset.

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I know where point A and point B are.

I just need to figure out point A-and-a-half.

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Initial theme I wanted to explore with Shardkeeper:

The rate at which the world changes is just so fast. The technology you were introduced to as a child is already ancient. People's living memory reveals a world with very changed opinions about race/sexuality/gender/etc. in just a handful of decades. Your world is so different from your parents' world. Your world will change before you own eyes, too.

Only, ya' know, represented by aliens being "just a thing" to a whole generation when the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life was introduced to their parents by a failed alien invasion and Earth's subsequent induction into an Intersteller version of the United Nations.

What I'm actually exploring:

What if I threw a bunch of kids into space together and they had to figure out how to survive?

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9 lines, 9 people

Thank you, @blind-the-winds for the tag.

Now I'll preface this with saying that I'm not sure this blog actually has 9 followers who would be interested in doing this, so just consider yourself tagged if you see it and want to share some writing.

The most recent nine lines paragraphs from Book 2:

“I speak a little, but not enough to really get me anywhere. And my pronunciation’s horrible,” I said. “Heck, I can barely say rockyour… ro-cal-you-car.” I was worried Ekver would be insulted by my continued issues with the name of his species but instead his eyes lit up like a fire had been ignighted behind them. “It might help to know what the parts of the word mean.” His beak was all the way open, exposing his grinning mouth below. “So we start with Calyu in the middle. That’s the name of our planet. Or I guess we should really start with the ro. See, ‘ro’ is a prefix that indicates a compound of a thing and the thing’s owner. Like an ‘apostrophe s’ in English only for things where the object and its owner are mushed into the same word.” I was taken aback. I found myself reaching for my notebook and pen before I realized it was pointless. “Now, ‘ro’ in particular means that the thing is going to be a lesser piece of or an offspring of the owner. The second part of the word is the origin or owner. In this case, Calyu.” “No one cares,” called Kevor. “The only thing no one cares about is your opinion,” I countered. I returned my attention to Ekver. “So it’s ro and then Calyu.” Ekver nodded. “And then the ending ‘ar’ or ‘car’ simply means a person. So rocalyucar just means a person who is a child of Calyu.” “Rocaryou,” I tried again. I felt my cheeks flush. “Bleh. Sorry, I still can’t get my stupid tongue around it. Ro-Calyu-car. So it’s like a human being called an Earthling, then.”

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Word count: 482

WIP: Shardkeeper

Summary: Two alien kids have a conversation.

Author's notes: I don't think I'll ever have the energy to do a writing challenge but I did want to write at least something for Pride. Have a short that technically takes place sometime in book two but there aren't any real spoilers or anything.

“So you… your shell is entirely mechanical?” Ekver crouched on the ground near where Alma was seated and studied her.

“I mean what else would it be?” Alma shrugged her shoulders. Her body language was relaxed but her gaze was cool and suspicious. It was unusual for Ekver to talk with her for long and even more rare for him to be the one to strike up the conversation.

“And you’ve never taken a living host?” asked Ekver.

“Of course not. It’s not legal to do that sort of thing on Earth,” said Alma. Then her gaze softened. “And anyway, it’s not like I’d want to if it was. I can’t get behind taking over someone else’s will like that. Seems creepy.”

Ekver’s antennae twitched.

“I’m not just saying that because you’ve got issues with zan, you know,” said Alma. Her eyes narrowed and she shifted her weight in preparation to rise to her feet. This was no good. Ekver hadn’t come for a fight. He just wanted to know…

“So you’re a girl?”

The question was out in the least elegant way he could have hoped for, but it caught Alma off guard and she paused.

“That’s quite the non sequitur. But yeah.”

“How do you know?” The question was out before he could stop himself and to his dismay he saw that Alma had become hostile again. Of course she had with a question like that.

“Wait. I just mean that… That zan usually just… don’t do the whole gender thing.” Ekver stumbled over the words. “Don’t you… I mean don’t zan usually just take on the gender of their hosts?”

“I guess the ones who take hosts do,” said Alma. “I wouldn’t know. I grew up on Earth.”

“So how do you know you’re a girl?” Ekver pressed. “With nothing to compare the feeling to?”

“How do you know you’re a boy?” Alma countered.

Ekver unconsciously lifted a hand to pull his antennae down. Did she know? He’d been sure that she’d never even heard of a rocalyucar before they met. She couldn’t have guessed their dimorphism. Couldn’t know that on Calyu he’d be considered a girl.

Could she?

“Anyway, it just feels right,” Alma continued as though she hadn’t expected him to answer in the first place. “I don’t need to know how someone else feels their girl-ness or whatever to be a girl myself.”

“Sa… same here,” said Ekver. He breathed the words out in relief.

“Is that all you wanted?” asked Alma. She kept an eyebrow raised and still looked like she might stand and leave at any time. It had been too abrupt. Too invasive. He shouldn’t expect her to want to continue talking.

“Sort of… but also no,” he said eventually. “I just… Look. It looks like we’ll be spending a lot of time together. I think I’d like to get to know you.”

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I did it.

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Making dragonsonas for these kids is fun.

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On the one hand, I'm pretty sure Paige swears like a Homestuck.

On the other hand, given the ages of my characters and the lack of adult themes I'd imagine swearing would be considered out of place if I ever publish these stories.

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I *was* gonna return fire on that ask you'd sent me today, but reading over your blog, I realize it's been a while. :') :') :') ERGO, CHALLENGE: POST YOUR FAVORITE LINE(S) YOU'VE WRITTEN RECENTLY. 8) (Do *not* make me whip out last line tags on you, lmao)

Haha, I'll admit I've been struggling with my current chapter. I'm redoing a scene where two separate groups of characters have to get each other up to speed, so balancing how I let them exchange information with trying not to make it a pure exposition dump is something I'm a tad self-conscious about.

Still, I like how the transition from the action scene to the information exchange scene turned out:

“If you want to talk, All-spawn, then prove that you’re different!” shouted Rik. Light shimmered and the rocalyucar reappeared in the middle of the field. They held the ray above their head with two arms to show they weren’t aiming it. “How?” I called. Shard rippled. “Leave your puppet. Crawl out of that body,” said the other rocalyucar. Ekver. He dropped his camouflage and stood back-to-back with Rik. I felt Shard sink. WE… CANNOT… Do you really need me to see and hear? With the way you changed me earlier surely you… NO… WE MEAN WE… WE REALIZED IT WHEN WE TRIED TO TAKE THE SHELL… TO GO WOULD BE TO BRING YOU WITH US, said Shard. WE ARE UNABLE TO LEAVE YOU. “What? No, no! You have to be able to leave,” I said. “There!” Rik fired the ray and Shard dragged my body low to the ground just in time to avoid the strike. “Rik, that’s not talking!” Ekver shouted. “It’s just the stun setting,” said Rik. “We can talk when it wakes up again.” “No. No!” I screamed. “I can’t do this!” I could hear the rapid leaping and landing of the rocalyucars moving toward me. My limbs stretched and contracted like gel as Shard prepared us – “STOP!” I was on my feet, my arms bent at the elbow and hands level with my head. Shard had stopped. So had the other two. So had time, for just a moment. The rocalyucars held still and watched me. The ray pointed toward the ground. “Shard… the All-spawn wants to run,” I said. My voice shook. “I want to talk. Neither of us wants to fight you.” I could have sworn I could hear the blood flowing in my neck. The sounds of wildlife became muffled. I was hot. Overheating. I needed to stay calm. BREATHE OR WE WILL LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS, said Shard. I was breathing, wasn’t I? I inhaled extra deep just to prove it and realized that I hadn’t been. I took a few more deep breaths and steadied myself.

I guess I need to actually post excepts more often (or just... actually use this blog more often in general, haha). Thank you so much for the ask, especially since I have a hard time figuring out how to talk about my WIPs unprompted!

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Every now and again I wonder if Shardkeeper might be better as a comic than as prose but I keep getting hung up on two main points.

A) If I don't have the focus to write regularly as is I def don't have the focus to update a webcomic.

B) There are some scenes I don't know how to convey visually that are significant to the first book (esp. the scene where SPOILERS Rebecca gets lost in Shard's mind for a bit and Shard takes over narrating until she finds her way out SPOILERS END).