#Wirteblr

[harrison-abbott]

Granny took the bairns to the beach.

Right next to the brittle North Sea … but it was 20 degrees outside, on this sunny day, and that was something for this country.

The bairns were all explosive with childish zeal and she hated them for it.

Granny despised her varicose veins less than she did her grandchildren.

[may-the-silicon-be-based]

The Angels Part I: Biology

Compared to the Demons Angels are a young species. Their planet is unstable, their sun is dying, it is more than miraculous that sentient life was able to exist on their planet at all and its implied that their existence is not wholly natural.

Angels are much more similar to humans than the demons are, they are carbon based, vaguely mammalian and share a lot of the same biochemistry and basic features with humans. Their most obvious difference being their large feathered wings, long lifespans and their apparent golden blood. They have other features different from humans that will be covered in the seasonality section of this post. it is also worth noting that their feathers can grow on their extremities.

due to their planet being highly irradiated they have developed a symbiotic relationship with some radiotrophic fungi, that lives in their skin and provides energy in exchange for security. In most individuals excess energy that cannot be stored is given off as thermal or electro-magnetic radiation (this can include a broad variety of wavelengths, including visible light and ionizing radiation)

While the angels do have blood, it is not the gold fluid that I depict in the book. their actual blood, as in a circulatory fluid that transports oxygen and nutrients, is transparent and colorless and thus goes unnoticed when someone becomes injured, their much more visible golden ichor being a better indicator of how badly someone has been hurt. I haven't decided what exactly their ichor does, though i have toyed with it playing some sort of role in the nervous system due to its conductive properties, or something in line with temperature or a protective system against the ionizing radiation similar to how NASA coats the visors of space suit helmets for protective purposes.

by far the biggest factor effecting how and angel looks is the season in which they were born. in a pervious post i talked about how heaven has very long and very exterme seasons, thus angels and many other species are polyphenic, opting to adapt for one season rather than being hardy enough for all 4, this also effectivly set a cap on angels lifespans for a while since it would be near impossible for someone to survive well into the next season, esspecially summer or winter. since technological developments have improved things. triggers such as temperature and moisture are important in determining what phenotypes are expressed. For clairfication on how the seasons look see this post.

Winter

most of the angels present in the story are winter angels, heavens seasons are caused by an elliptical orbit so almost all members of the populace born around the same time will share the same seasonal phenotype

food is scarce during winter and simply staying still or moving slowly until something unsuspecting walks by is a reasonable and effective strategy to obtain food

these angels have many eyes to watch the enviroment around them, too look out from prey and to avoid getting eaten

they are generally shorter and stocker though this isn't as present in modern times as less of the population is malnourished, they will also conserve more fat on their bodies for warmth and to avoid starvation.

their wings are dense and insulated

they have a lower body temperature and slow metabolisms, they are capable of hibernating.

high portions of the population will be leucitic, albino or melanistic. Paler colorations are ideal for camouflage in the snow and aid in ambush hunting, individuals tend to be more carnivorous. Melanistic individuals have a high count of radiotrophic symbionts in their skin allowing them to maximize the energy they receive from the reduced amount of sunlight.

in general they tend to store as much energy as possible instead of expending it, even when excess energy is available, this is in contrast to summer angels.

spring

here you will find aquatic adaptations such as webbed hands and large lung capacity.

they have slightly flattened facial features for increase ... aquadynamic (fuck if i can look up words)

body feathers have been modified into more solid scale like structures that are usually iridescent in color

they do not posses body hair, facial hair is sparse if presence and head hair is short

feathers and wings are adapted similar to sea birds to be water resistant and now that albino and melanistic phenotypes are less present different patterns and colorations start to appear

skin is usally duller in color

many adaptions for temperature are still present as they are in winter to cope with the low temperatures of water.

Summer

skin is tanned or dark to deal with the ridiculously large amount of sunlight and ionizing radiation. the symbiotic radiotrophs provide most of the raw energy needed to survive, eating is still necessary to obtain specific nutrients and water.

hair and feathers have a tendency to become sun bleached over time.

skin on he waterline of eyes is often dark to prevent a glare

wings are large and flat, maximizing surface area to vent excess heat

all angels have a high temperature resistance in terms of "touching something hot will not burn them" due to the structure of their skin, however the other dangers of heat, such as heatstroke, dehydration and in some weird cases enzymes failing to work under high heat causing various issues all apply

feathers often have gold deposits in them allowing wings to reflect more heat away from the body

as mentioned in contrast to winter angels they will dispose of any excess energy they don't need or are incapable of storing.

they sometimes have gold deposits under their skin serving a similar purpose to that of the gold in their wings

fall first phase

as this part of fall is easily the most survivable individuals have less specific adaptions for survival

these are the only members of the species that are fertile, this is a fairly common adaptation for animals living in heaven

often don't survive into winter

young are born into a state of dormancy, still not fully developed and not phenotypically differentiated. healthy young will have an internal reserve of nutrients similar to how a yolk functions in an egg as well as having rudimentary protections for cold weather. Ideally young are then born into spring, when food is present again, this isn't always the case and a decent portion are born in winter and summer.

individuals do not often survive into winter, for other individuals surviving sever decades into the next season is completely plausible and with community support surviving a season is uncommon but not unheard of, however with the sudden onset of the later half of fall, their general lack of specialized adaptions and the energetic cost of reproduction survival is rare.

young are capable of surviving unattended but usally someone will try to find old winter angels capable of caring for them or otherwise people born in late fall to do so.

individuals usally have brightly colored plumage reminiscent of birds of paradise.

latter fall

generally comprises the smallest number of the population

they serve as an intermediate phase between fall and winter during a short and an extreme period of change and decay that occurs before winter starts

obligate scavengers and omnivores

they have a complex digestive system to eat almost anything, in any stage of decay

more muted colors for camouflage

have sharp eyesight and hearing

can often survive alongside winter angels and will pass off young to them went they can

greatest differences are cultural

all my posts about the angels have been much longer because i have to describe the differences between different seasons, luckily in recent years as heaven as been coming out of winter these differences have been less pronounced, with many of those from the previous fall still alive and a lot of their industrial revolution and recent history taking place during the winter time, attitudes have become much more homogenous though obviously favoring those that will get people though winter. In future post ill probably describe them as a group with only footnotes discussing specific seasons. with maybe the exception of those born in late fall, because their extra strange

[amzngdevil]

● The Amazing Devil lyrics + fantasy writing ●

[1/∞]

"She pulls right up to my ear and says: whatever you do, don't turn around"

The ghosty voice came along with the icy shiver of the wind behind him. The street was filled with shadows, as if even the moon was scared and used the clouds as a shield. With a deep sigh, he took the advice that was given to him and walk without looking over his shoulder.

He never came back home.

[kittensartswriting]

First one of the give away gifts is ready! She’s Goo Mihee from @contes-de-rheio‘s The Dragons of Jamaedo and I loved drawing all the details! She’s so cool and fierce!

[artisticmind]

I’m too busy dreaming about you

too busy thinking about you

it doesn’t matter if I’m asleep or awake

you always find a way to get right in there

and you’re not even trying to

[dramaqueeenamby]

“when are you updating _______?”

“are you ever going to finish ______?”

“what happened to ______?

[pencil-free]

Red Velvet Cupcakes - Chapter 4

Genre: Romance

Subgrene: Comedy, Warnings: Substance abuse, alcoholism, familial abuse, sexual themes  Intended Audience: (Young) Adult Fiction

“Are you finished making fun of my car?” Leverette asked, and Savill could only shake his head. He was no finished, not at all. In fact, he was just getting stared. There was a lot to make fun of - and Savill had only just begun to point out the things he’d made of fun the last time Levy had driven him around. Such as the headlights he’d so kindly reminded Leverette were still cracked from an unfortunate incident with a rock and an upperclassmen from the year prior. Savill thought it even kinder to not mention the upperclassman this time out of some semblance of politeness nor the night Savill spent with his girlfriend as revenge, either. He did, however, mention the shattered glass was unbearable to look at. As was the faded paint across the hood of the car, the rust speckled on the rims, and the stains that colored the fake leather seats as if even they were attempting to cover up the ugly brown shade.

Read More Here!

[lianabrooks]

Happy Release Day to CHANGE OF MOMENTUM!!!

CHANGE OF MOMENTUM is finally here! Oh. My. Gosh.

There were times I thought this book would never actually see the light of day. Not because it was particularly hard to write, but because it’s a beast of a story and editing took FOREVER.

And then I had to wait while pre-orders went up, ARCs went out, reviewers chimed in.

But, today’s the day!

CHANGE OF MOMENTUM is here! It’s here on Amazon! It’s here on Kobo! It’s here at Barnes and Noble! It’s here anywhere you buy books! And it’s there at your local indie bookstore so be sure to support them. And it can be at your local library is you ask.

I don’t know if I can put into words how much I love this book and this couple.

Normally I get a little burnt out on a book before release day. By the time you read the first page I’ve read the book cover-to-cover over fifty times. I’ve spent days pondering the wording of something on page 221. I’ve rewritten certain scenes dozens of times.

CHANGE OF MOMENTUM is a bit different.

It’s not the story I originally planned on writing. The very first draft had Rowena winding up with the grounder, [SPOILER REDACTED], and left Hollis as a side character in the series. I’d written three or four chapters of that, including a fight with Hollis, before I wrote the scene at the end of BODIES IN MOTION where Hollis gives Rowena a knife.

That scene set up potential for so much more conflict, and a much needed redemption arc for both of them.

It also set up a lot of fun scenes for me to write. Rowena and Hollis are delightful to write together. They understand each other. They’ve known each other most their lives. They’ve studied each other, fought each other, tried to kill each other… and there’s a point where even hate becomes a respect, of sorts, for your opponents skills. In the absence of provocation, as hate fades into memory, that respect becomes something else. Not quite friendship. Not yet love. But… something.

I hope you are as utterly delighted by these two troublemakers as I am and that CHANGE OF MOMENTUM gives you a much needed vacation from the troubles of reality

Buy it today in PRINT and EBOOK

Originally published on www.LianaBrooks.com - second image by @bookbookowl​  

[boardingtheargo]

I am, I am, I am (after Sylvia Plath)

(For Ari)

I am, I am, I am

tired. The nights are getting

longer but I’m sleeping

less and less.

I am, I am, I am

afraid. There’s a darkness that

feels familiar and eternal, and I can

see it when I look over my shoulder.

I am, I am, I am

silent. I can’t find the

words to express something with

this much weight, pushing

down on me somewhere beyond

my body.

I am, I am, I am

still here. because of

myself as much as

I am, I am, I am

here in spite of

myself.

I am, I am, I am

is the sound of the

human heart. The

pounding pulse of

iambic pentameter. Shakespeare was

written to be spoken because his

language flows from our mouths like

blood through our veins.

I am, I am, I am

trying to hear this sound

anew. Playing it

over and over again to

get through these

long nights, or

shrug off the heavy weight.

I am, I am, I am

listening. To my

body. To my heart, repeating the

refrain:

I am, I am, I am.

I am here. I am still

here and I am trying to

stay here.

[writer-candy]

My characters and plot making a fool of me

[rokokokokolores]

s

it’s like the world is

poking with a stick at me

fracturing my thin debris

demanding me to see

/

and feel

and touch

and gasp

/

“go” they whisper

take the pleasure

you’ll value the treasure

ignoring my whimper

/

and yet I seal away

and yet I stay at home

and yet they can’t grasp

[harrison-abbott]

The crows stalled on the tips of the trees in hard velvet dots and they had a magic menace which he couldn’t help but admire.

[may-the-silicon-be-based]

the Worlds II: heaven

locations discussed do not refer to the biblical location of heaven, this is just the result of Etymology.

heaven orbits the star Rigel, a blue giant approaching its end days...or end millennia anyways. Rigel is a system of 4 (possibly 5!) stars, but for the most part Rigel A the largest plays the greatest role in heavens enviroment. the planet itself probably didnt orignally belong to the rigel system, instead being ensnared by the stars gravity.

because of its massive star, heaven orbits at quite a distance, meaning that the sun lookly like a pinprick in the sky, dispite still being bright enought to light its planet. this also has the consquence of seasons being incredibly long, a single year in heaven is probably equivalent to 1000- ish earth years. heaven has no moons.

while the planet is far enough away for the water to not evaporate and the atmosphere to wear down quickly, it is still a very very irratiated ball or rock. for this reason, at its sometimes extereme tempuratures the planet is not suitable for long term human habitation, at least not without alot of luck.

while most of the organisims native to heaven are ruidmentary due to the stars young age, there are some more complex organisims that could be the mutated decendants of organisims native or earth

most plants are pale to avoid sun damage or blue to absorb light from the star, many plants and animals also use relfective coatings to deal with the suns rays.

radiotrophic fungi (which are a thing appearently had no idea) are quite common, they have melanin as a pigment and use ionizing radiation for energy.

also because of the solar winds, there is a near constant aurora occuring which can be visible even during the day. in other sky related details, sometimes earths sun is visible at night. the day night cycle is also slightly longer than earths, not very much to be noticable but enough that it requires a slightly different clock/timekeeping system.

uhhhhhh *looks at my notes*

"I don't even want to thing about what the fuck the wind is doing on this god damn planet" and "Got some hashtag weird structures on it that are like a little too fucking old to make sense"

...

seasonality is the single most important and impactful feature of the planets ecosystem, as mentions seasons are centuries long, which leads them to be very very extremes. almost all of heavens landmass is on the southern hemisphere, which also means that most terrestrial life will all experience the same season at the same time.

winter is arduous, most of the ocean on that side of the planet will freeze into thick ice floes, at the height of winter these basically become glaciers and are stable and long lived enough for semi-permanent settlement. food is scarce, most aquatic life migrates away and short days and years without sunlight near the poles makes it near impossible for anything to sustain life. most terrestrial animals enter some sort of dormancy period during this time and herbivores becomes less common as plant life becomes scarce. Many other plants and animals will reproduce in fall and then lay eggs or produce seeds that are able to survive winter in dormancy and then emerge in spring, the parents dying. this leads to large gaps of time between generations, a species that looks like it went extinct in winter will then suddenly reemerge come spring time. many organisms become albino for camouflage or develop more pigmented tissues to work with the lower levels of solar radiation.

the events of the book take place in early spring and at just the end of winter.

during spring time as mentioned there is often a resurgence of species who's offspring were dormant over winter. all the frozen glaciers begin to thaw causing massive flooding. most species that thrive during this period are amphibious. disease also becomes an issue during spring, many fungi coming out or dormancy and then wet and warming enviroment being a breeding ground for bacteria. monsoons also.

summer like winter, is harsh, especially with Rigel. if it was an irradiated mess then its more of an irradiated mess now. organisms employ similar strategies to those in winter, becoming dormant or producing seeds and eggs to survive the season. the whole hemisphere becomes a desert, the waterline recedes exposing seabed and at the height of summer the sun will never set for years at the poles. past the equator a more tropical enviroment forms on the seabed near the new water line, plants have to be highly resistant to saline soil and are thus specialized. similarly near the poles where some liquid water may exist oasis may form. radiotrophs thrive during this season due to getting the maximum of ionizing radiation they can. most organisms are small, have reflective coatings or large cooling structures to control the heat if they are still active. the aurora borealis also becomes much stronger during this time.

lastly there is fall [quick content warning for mass animal death and horror elements] fall can be split generally into two parts, the first part is much like spring where organisms come out of dormancy after summer. rains come in and rehydrate the desert and plant populations that migrated to the poles or coast begin to spread outwards. unlike earth most organisms reproductive cycles occur during fall, not spring. overall this is the most survivable time of the year, when food is plentiful, temperatures are moderate, weather is not extremes, and water is readily valuable.

the latter period of fall is relatively short, only occurring over a roughly 30 year period. when writing the season i like to take inspiration from earth's own seasons and then dial them up to their extremes. for fall i decided to go with that element of decay, leaves falling etc. So essential during this short period there is a mass death of most animal life as plant life begins to go dormant for winter. most plant shed their leaves and other nutrient rich parts to conserve energy and what's left is often too tough or nutrient deficient to support life.

because this happens so quickly there are no existing large populations of scavengers and decomposers to remove the dead. during this time practically the only strategy that will succeed for survival is dormancy or scavenging/decomposing. various fungi and insects are prevalent, as well as scavenging fauna.

*checks notes again*

"

Hey nice flesh world

No comment

"

the only reason this phenomenon does happen in spring when organisms are preparing for summer rather than winter is because a sufficient amount of plants, making up the bottom of the food chain, slowly migrate to the poles and coasts animals that eat them following. of course some still die but this migration is slow enough that no mass death occurs. autotrophs also usually do well during the summer because of the increase in energy they can absorb, most heterotroph deaths not being caused by lack of food but due to dehydration and heat exposure.

i know this post is way longer than the hell post, mostly because the seasonal explanation was long but really it was necessary so whatever.

i will in a later post get into the cultural implications of all this for the sentient species living there (the angels) as some of this stuff can make them pretty odd folks.

[andyfire122]

Writetober day 19: Death

Ro was in complete control of herself today. Her mind was clear as it could be so today she decided to go with the business suit. It was also fortunate that today was when she was gonna make the deal with a few of the locals for some better shielding.

Though, the only difference this meeting would have any other day was that she was sure things would go right. Also to redirect any supprises back.

Either way, this will be fun.

"Miss Sanchez, I was under the impression the ruler would be speaking."

She sighed. It was one of the few Ricks that decided to show up. "I am the ruler of this empire, now back to the topic. The generator could mimic a signal to block any citadel tracing."

Never doubt walking into someone's house you stupid piece of shit.

The man smiled. “Yup, those shit like to think they control everything but hey when is that true.”

As he was unveiling his device, her attendant showed up with drinks. She was an older woman, but Ro trusted Cecil in any state of mind.

She smiled. “We took some time to prepare beverages special.”

The rest of the sellers took their drinks readily. Most of them dealt with the empire before so they knew their standing. The Rick was new and was grinning the entire time.

The citadel has outdone itself in this attempt.

"Now, if I'm looking at these specs right. This is a jammer."

His eyes widened in fear for a moment. “Now, I see how it can look that to anyone else but Ricks are geniuses. I know my work.”

Smash him in. Turn him into a paste. Tear him to pieces.

She grinned. Oh, she could let herself slip into the old madness. It would be so easy. Though this method would have a much bigger impact.

“Then you should know my old file. It takes a genius to recognize this work and I see it as a jammer. Just like I saw your other trick.”

He quickly grabbed his neck like he was in pain. Most of the other guests shook their heads as they knew better.

She got up. "Did you think I wouldn't notice? I knew of your little plot and took the measures to direct it back to its owner. Your mistake was trying this on a day like this. Even then, it's almost hilarious to think you could even bribe one of my people?"

Oh, the look on his face. I love it.

As he collapsed the last thing he saw was Ro grinning down on him. He calm was still there but it was slipping a bit. “No need to worry, I'll send you back home and since I'm so generous, it won't be in the box you put that stupid piece of junk.”

Now contemplate that for the rest of your miserable existence.

She kicked him once after she was sure the man died and buzzed in to have the body cleaned up. After this, she was ready to kick off the real meeting.

“Now, let's get to the actual business shall we."

[artisticmind]

You don’t care about me

don’t even try to fake it

sometimes I think that you

don’t care about nobody but yourself

and I’m sure that must be such a shame

because you don’t get to see

how much you meant to others

[theflowofink]

Project Idea? *because I totaly don’t have enough WIPs*

 Steampunk/Magepunk superhero story? Like the son of the biggest supervillain in the world, a half-demon with magic powers teams up with a team of other teen supers, think  a young Constantine or Dresden joins the Teen Titans?