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Chapter 23: Limon

I have posted a new chapter! Here’s a sneak-peek, but you can read the whole chapter here:

Hey Lucy, look what I found.” David held up a long slender bottle containing yellow liquid, in his other hand he had two glasses.

“What’s that?” Lucy perked up at the sight of her boyfriend.

“Oh, nothing. I just happened to find a stray bottle of Limoncello in the garage.” David smiled devilishly. 

“No you didn’t, oh my gosh.” Lucy replied excitedly, unable to contain her smile. 

“Lucky, huh?” David raised one eyebrow as he poured generous portions into two glasses.

“You remembered.” Lucy accepted the glass and lifted it to her lips, adoring the citrusy scent. 

“Of course I did. But before you drink -” David interrupted her, and Lucy looked at him confused. He brought his glass to hers, the clink sound ringing through the basement. The couple then took a drink of the sugary liquor. 

If you’d like to catch up, or start reading, here are the links!

Chapter 1: Hot Breath

Chapter 2: Staunch Silence

Chapter 3: Quick Breather

Chapter 4: Empty Swell

Chapter 5: Alarm the Sensorium

Chapter 6: Serene Cut

Chapter 7: Reluctant Slinking

Chapter 8: Flow Like Velvet

Chapter 9: Heaviness Lifted

Chapter 10: Pillowy Lips

Chapter 11: Fists Clenched

Chapter 12: Black Hole

Chapter 13: Bounce

Chapter 14: Obsessed

Chapter 15: Spoonful

Chapter 16: Identity

Chapter 17: Deep Breath

Chapter 18: Candid

Chapter 19: Permanent Surprise

Chapter 20: Wax

Chapter 21: Structural Integrity

Chapter 22: Moonlight

Chapter 23: Limon

[glasskaleidoscopes]

Chapter 22: Moonlight

I have posted a new chapter! Here’s a sneak-peek, but you can read the whole chapter here:

Carolyn whipped her head around, noting the genuine enthusiasm in her brother’s voice, “What do you mean?” 

“Mom is here! She’s talking to Miss Janet right now. Come on!” Sam shouted, then he ran back upstairs. Carolyn froze, not believing that her mother was actually here. She hadn’t seen her in almost three years. Everyone in the room was staring at Carolyn, and the room had fallen silent except for the background battle music of Smash Bros. Carolyn stood up automatically and robotically walked upstairs, with Nat, Lucy, and Adrian following closely behind her. 

Lilith’s soft shadowy voice floated in from the next room, and Carolyn felt herself turn to stone as she heard her mother’s voice. Carolyn paused before she headed up the half-flight of the stairs to the sitting room, and Adrian came up behind her, lacing his hand in hers. Carolyn didn’t react, but instead felt herself pulled magnetically to her mother, her almost estranged mother. Each step brought her closer and closer to the moonlight radiating from the sitting room.

If you’d like to catch up, or start reading, here are the links!

Chapter 1: Hot Breath

Chapter 2: Staunch Silence

Chapter 3: Quick Breather

Chapter 4: Empty Swell

Chapter 5: Alarm the Sensorium

Chapter 6: Serene Cut

Chapter 7: Reluctant Slinking

Chapter 8: Flow Like Velvet

Chapter 9: Heaviness Lifted

Chapter 10: Pillowy Lips

Chapter 11: Fists Clenched

Chapter 12: Black Hole

Chapter 13: Bounce

Chapter 14: Obsessed

Chapter 15: Spoonful

Chapter 16: Identity

Chapter 17: Deep Breath

Chapter 18: Candid

Chapter 19: Permanent Surprise

Chapter 20: Wax

Chapter 21: Structural Integrity

Chapter 22: Moonlight

[glasskaleidoscopes]

Chapter 21: Structural Integrity

I have posted a new chapter! Here’s a sneak-peek, but you can read the whole chapter here: 

“You’re smart on your own. You need to have more fun.” 

“Well what do you propose?” Lucy knew she was flirting, but she replied quietly, hoping to not catch Maddie or Quinn’s attention. 

“I’m throwing a party this weekend, you should come. It’ll be a ton of fun.” 

Lucy stared at David incredulously; this was the first party, house party, she had been invited to. “Oh, I don’t know.” 

Quinn turned around, and Lucy’s stomach dropped. “Oh my gosh yes you should totally come! It would be great to see you there!” 

“Umm, okay.” Lucy replied hesitantly, eyeing Quinn’s tight and fashionable camisole. She looked over at Maddie’s short skirt, and her skinny legs below it. She would never be skinny like that.

If you’d like to catch up, or start reading, here are the links!

Chapter 1: Hot Breath

Chapter 2: Staunch Silence

Chapter 3: Quick Breather

Chapter 4: Empty Swell

Chapter 5: Alarm the Sensorium

Chapter 6: Serene Cut

Chapter 7: Reluctant Slinking

Chapter 8: Flow Like Velvet

Chapter 9: Heaviness Lifted

Chapter 10: Pillowy Lips

Chapter 11: Fists Clenched

Chapter 12: Black Hole

Chapter 13: Bounce

Chapter 14: Obsessed

Chapter 15: Spoonful

Chapter 16: Identity

Chapter 17: Deep Breath

Chapter 18: Candid

Chapter 19: Permanent Surprise

Chapter 20: Wax

Chapter 21: Structural Integrity

[glasskaleidoscopes]

Chapter 20: Wax

Here is the newest installation of Glass Kaleidoscopes, with a chapter excerpt. You can read the full chapter here.

She checked the time, realizing she could stall no longer. She counted each step as she descended it, feeling the plush carpet against her feet. She felt like she could sink right into the stairs, melting and dripping down them. Nat caught a glimpse of her mother in the sitting room. She was sitting straight up, as if her back had been replaced by a board. Her hands were clasped, her knuckles white against her green dress. Janet noticed Nat and stood up abruptly, “Are you ready?” Her voice was tense and shrill, her eyebrows raised, her smile forced.

If you’d like to catch up, or start reading, here are the links!

Chapter 1: Hot Breath

Chapter 2: Staunch Silence

Chapter 3: Quick Breather

Chapter 4: Empty Swell

Chapter 5: Alarm the Sensorium

Chapter 6: Serene Cut

Chapter 7: Reluctant Slinking

Chapter 8: Flow Like Velvet

Chapter 9: Heaviness Lifted

Chapter 10: Pillowy Lips

Chapter 11: Fists Clenched

Chapter 12: Black Hole

Chapter 13: Bounce

Chapter 14: Obsessed

Chapter 15: Spoonful

Chapter 16: Identity

Chapter 17: Deep Breath

Chapter 18: Candid

Chapter 19: Permanent Surprise

Chapter 20: Wax

[glasskaleidoscopes]

Chapter 19: Permanent Surprise

I just published a new chapter! Here is an excerpt of it, and you can read the full chapter here:

Lucy looked over at David, completely bewildered, “Why do you want to talk to me?”

“Gosh, you don’t have to bite my head off.” David recoiled.

“Ah I’m sorry, I was just surprised. But tell me, please.” 

“Well, it’s just that you’re cute and I’d like to get to know you better.” David bumped his shoulder against Lucy’s.

Lucy inhaled suddenly, causing her to launch into a coughing fit. When she finally recovered, she eked out, “What?” 

If you’d like to catch up, or start reading, here are the links!

Chapter 1: Hot Breath

Chapter 2: Staunch Silence

Chapter 3: Quick Breather

Chapter 4: Empty Swell

Chapter 5: Alarm the Sensorium

Chapter 6: Serene Cut

Chapter 7: Reluctant Slinking

Chapter 8: Flow Like Velvet

Chapter 9: Heaviness Lifted

Chapter 10: Pillowy Lips

Chapter 11: Fists Clenched

Chapter 12: Black Hole

Chapter 13: Bounce

Chapter 14: Obsessed

Chapter 15: Spoonful

Chapter 16: Identity

Chapter 17: Deep Breath

Chapter 18: Candid

Chapter 19: Permanent Surprise

[glasskaleidoscopes]

Chapter 18: Candid

Here is an excerpt from my new chapter, you can read the full version on wattpad: 

Carolyn was completely lost. She was lost in Adrian’s every movement, every stretch, every turn. Adrian had smiled and waved at Carolyn when he ran out onto the field, but otherwise he was very focused on warming up. Carolyn absolutely loved watching Adrian play baseball. Honestly, Adrew was exciting to watch as well, they were a real team together. But when Adrian was out on the field,. Carolyn couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

If you’d like to catch up, or start reading, here are the links!

Chapter 1: Hot Breath

Chapter 2: Staunch Silence

Chapter 3: Quick Breather

Chapter 4: Empty Swell

Chapter 5: Alarm the Sensorium

Chapter 6: Serene Cut

Chapter 7: Reluctant Slinking

Chapter 8: Flow Like Velvet

Chapter 9: Heaviness Lifted

Chapter 10: Pillowy Lips

Chapter 11: Fists Clenched

Chapter 12: Black Hole

Chapter 13: Bounce

Chapter 14: Obsessed

Chapter 15: Spoonful

Chapter 16: Identity

Chapter 17: Deep Breath

Chapter 18: Candid

[glasskaleidoscopes]

Chapter 17: Deep Breath

Here is an excerpt from my new chapter, you can read the full version on wattpad:

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Nat got up slowly and grabbed a tissue to wipe her eyes. The three girls headed downstairs and sat at the dinner table, which quickly filled up with Nat’s family. Dinner marched on slowly, and Nat felt paralyzed with fear again. But every time she looked to Lucy or Carolyn, they would shoot her reassuring looks, and it reminded Nat that she could do this. 

As dinner was wrapping up, it was Nat’s time to shine, “Hey, could everyone stay at the table for a little bit? I have something I want to talk to you guys about.” 

Janet looked a little confused, “Sure Nat. What would you like to talk about?” 

Nat cleared her throat, “Well. I wrote a letter, and I’m going to read it to you. All I ask is that you let me read the whole letter before interrupting or asking questions.” 

If you’d like to catch up, or start reading, here are the links!

Chapter 1: Hot Breath

Chapter 2: Staunch Silence

Chapter 3: Quick Breather

Chapter 4: Empty Swell

Chapter 5: Alarm the Sensorium

Chapter 6: Serene Cut

Chapter 7: Reluctant Slinking

Chapter 8: Flow Like Velvet

Chapter 9: Heaviness Lifted

Chapter 10: Pillowy Lips

Chapter 11: Fists Clenched

Chapter 12: Black Hole

Chapter 13: Bounce

Chapter 14: Obsessed

Chapter 15: Spoonful

Chapter 16: Identity

Chapter 17: Deep Breath

[glasskaleidoscopes]

Chapter 16: Identity

Here is an excerpt from my new chapter, you can read the full version on wattpad: 

“Well, Adrian literally broke up with her for you, just remember that. I know that kind of shit is infuriating, but you’re the one who gets to go home with him.” Lucy tried to comfort Carolyn. She turned to Nat, who had been completely silent. He was staring straight ahead, wringing his hands, looking completely nervous, more so than Lucy had ever seen.

“Nat?” Lucy gently shook Nat’s shoulder. Carolyn turned her attention to her best friend, happy to have something else to focus on. 

“Yeah?” Nat seemed to snap out of his zoning out, but he still looked dazed and nervous.

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

Nat looked down at her hands, willing herself to say what she had wanted to say ever since her Valentine’s Day resolution. She took a deep breath, “I want… I want to talk to you guys about something.” Her voice was shaky and weak, she felt her heart pounding hard, like it could burst out of her chest at any moment. 

If you’d like to catch up, or start reading, here are the links!

Chapter 1: Hot Breath

Chapter 2: Staunch Silence

Chapter 3: Quick Breather

Chapter 4: Empty Swell

Chapter 5: Alarm the Sensorium

Chapter 6: Serene Cut

Chapter 7: Reluctant Slinking

Chapter 8: Flow Like Velvet

Chapter 9: Heaviness Lifted

Chapter 10: Pillowy Lips

Chapter 11: Fists Clenched

Chapter 12: Black Hole

Chapter 13: Bounce

Chapter 14: Obsessed

Chapter 15: Spoonful

Chapter 16: Identity

[glasskaleidoscopes]

Chapter 15: Spoonful

Here is an excerpt of the new chapter, you can read the full version on wattpad:

“What’s the most you’ve ever eaten in one sitting?” Carolyn asked curiously.

Adrian pondered for a minute, finished chewing and swallowed. He took a drink of his soda then responded, “A couple years ago I got home from a particularly tiring baseball practice, and I was so hungry. I think I ate two whole frozen pizzas and the better part of a rotisserie chicken.”

Carolyn laughed in surprise, “Are you serious? I get full after eating just a couple pieces of pizza.” 

“I swear I ate that much. I just couldn’t get full. I’m pretty sure I even went back to eat more later that night.”

“Wow,” Carolyn replied, shaking her head, “You should be a competitive eater.”

Adrian laughed, “I probably could make a living like that. Eventually all that eating would catch up with me though.” 

“Well, I would like you regardless of your weight.” 

If you’d like to catch up, or start reading, here are the links!

Chapter 1: Hot Breath

Chapter 2: Staunch Silence

Chapter 3: Quick Breather

Chapter 4: Empty Swell

Chapter 5: Alarm the Sensorium

Chapter 6: Serene Cut

Chapter 7: Reluctant Slinking

Chapter 8: Flow Like Velvet

Chapter 9: Heaviness Lifted

Chapter 10: Pillowy Lips

Chapter 11: Fists Clenched

Chapter 12: Black Hole

Chapter 13: Bounce

Chapter 14: Obsessed

Chapter 15: Spoonful

[glasskaleidoscopes]

[glasskaleidoscopes]

A little story about ghosts, and roommates, and getting to know each other.

[glasskaleidoscopes]

i’m close to straight up writing the line “what if we kissed? haha just kidding. unless…?” into my wip fhdkjgfdkjg

[glasskaleidoscopes]

How to write a kiss

Rebloggable version, as requested by davrosbro. :)

Oooh!  Yes!  I love kisses.  Kisses are where it all starts ;).

Okay, first, remember that a kiss is much, much more than just lips.  It is lips, but also tongues, teeth, eyes, faces, hands, noses, bodies, heartbeats,  breath, voice- and most importantly, a kiss is emotions.  A kiss without emotion is just wet mushy lips stuck together.  Ew.  Gross.  The most important part of a kiss isn’t the how, but the who- because of the emotions between the two people.

Okay so:

lips- Lips can slide, glide over each other smoothly, or they can be chapped and rough and dry and get stuck on each other.  They can match, top-to-top and bottom-to-bottom, or they can overlap, with one person’s top or bottom lip captured between the other person’s lips (yummy).  If there is lipstick or chapstick there is lipstick or chapstick flavor, otherwise, lips don’t have a taste (can you taste yours?).  Lips also can smack- the sound of two of them coming together or pulling apart, because they’re wet and warm and soft.

tongue- Tongues are always wet, and always warm.  They’re very versatile.  They can trace over lips, teeth, or another tongue.  They can be smooth and graceful or teasing and flicking.  When tongues are involved, there is drool.  It’s only sexy when you like the person you’re kissing, or else it’s kinda gross. :P

teeth- teeth can clack together awkwardly, or teeth can bite down sensually.  A person biting their own lip is cute, a person biting another’s lips is sexy.  A person biting gently is sensual, a person biting roughly is sexual.

eyes- Eyes can be wide open with surprise, half-lidded with desire, fully closed with pleasure.  Eyes can gaze lovingly, lustfully, wistfully, hungrily, seductively- it all depends upon the emotions of your characters.  Have them do whatever you like, but don’t leave them out- give them at least a mention!

faces- Faces are what the lips are attached to.  Noses bump, cheeks flush, ears turn red, foreheads either wrinkle or relax.  Kisses can leave lips, quite easily, and become kisses on chins, cheeks, noses, foreheads, ears, necks, throats.  Kisses on noses or foreheads are cute and adorable, kisses on cheeks are sweet, kisses on chins, ears, and throats are very sexual.  And a kiss on the lips can be all of those! <3

hands- Hands are super-important.  In order to describe a kiss, usually you want to also describe the hands.  Where are they?  Does one character have their hand behind the other’s head or back, holding them close?  Are they on someone’s shoulders pulling them near, or pushing them away?  Fingers brushing someone’s cheek or palms grabbing someone’s ass convey two very different kinds of situations, even if the kiss itself is exactly the same.

noses- Noses are annoying.  They easily get in the way, especially for first kisses!  People have to tilt their head to one side or the other, and if they don’t, noses bump.  I’d only mention noses if a kiss is supposed to be awkward or uncertain or nervous.

bodies- bodies are either close together, or far away.  Someone can be surrounded comfortingly by someone’s arms, or terrifyingly trapped by them.  Bodies are warm or hot, they are calm or nervous, relaxed or tense.  Body language says a lot.  Is your character pulling away, or moving closer?

heartbeat- Hearts can beat fast or slow, and that’s about all they can do- but there are lots of reasons why they do!  A heart can beat fast with fear or excitement or nervousness; a heart can pound with lust or race with terror or sing with joy.  Hearts can glow, cower, or shatter.  When you really want to drive the emotions of a character home, mention the heart.

breath- To me, the most consuming part of a kiss is the breath.  The air that someone else has just breathed going deep into your lungs is very intimate.  Lips and tongues don’t have a taste, but breath does.  Each person’s breath tastes different, smells different, and surrounds a person differently than anyone else’s breath.  Breath can be warm and sweet, breath can be hot and sexy, breath can be hot and frightening.  It is something that is very present and should not be left out.  A lot of writers leave breath out.  And it’s so important; it’s the most intimate part of a kiss.  Someone else is breathing into your lungs, and it’s either heaven or it’s hell.

voice- Voice conveys much, even without words.  A voice can groan, whimper, gasp, moan, catch, whine, scream, sigh.  Voice can convey emotion powerfully, and while some kisses are silent, usually they’re not.

emotion-  Emotion is the most important- and the thing you try not to say.  You want to describe it, through all of the things above, so that it’s perfectly clear what your characters are feeling, without you ever using the “feelings words”.  If they’re in love, their bodies will lean close, their eyes will smile, their voices will giggle softly.  If they’re nervous, their palms will sweat, their noses will bump, their voices will shudder.  If they’re afraid, their muscles will be tense, their faces will grimace, their lips will not open.  Emotion is the color that you keep inside your mind as you write; it’s the base line that drives the description behind everything else you say.

Wow, that was a lot!  Gosh I hope it wasn’t too much!  Keep in mind not every kiss has all these things- this is just a list of things to consider when writing a kiss, and based on how long of a kiss you want to make.  Keep in mind that typing “they kissed for a long time”…that’s six words, it takes half a second to read, so that’s a short kiss!  If you want a long kiss, you need long sentences that make the reader linger.

So maybe to start off, pick three things on the list to describe in your first kiss.  Don’t try to do it all- that would be too much for even the most epic kiss.  Just pick what’s most important to this particular scene, to these particular characters, and describe those parts along with the lips, and you’ve got yourself an awesome, emotional kiss. <3

[glasskaleidoscopes]

I have … a tip.

If you’re writing something that involves an aspect of life that you have not experienced, you obviously have to do research on it. You have to find other examples of it in order to accurately incorporate it into your story realistically.

But don’t just look at professional write ups. Don’t stop at wikepedia or webMD. Look up first person accounts.

I wrote a fic once where a character has frequent seizures. Naturally, I was all over the wikipedia page for seizures, the related pages, other medical websites, etc.

But I also looked at Yahoo asks where people where asking more obscure questions, sometimes asked by people who were experiencing seizures, sometimes answered by people who have had seizures.

I looked to YouTube. Found a few individual videos of people detailing how their seizures usually played out. So found a few channels that were mostly dedicated to displaying the daily habits of someone who was epileptic.

I looked at blogs and articles written by people who have had seizures regularly for as long as they can remember. But I also read the frantic posts from people who were newly diagnosed or had only had one and were worried about another.

When I wrote that fic, I got a comment from someone saying that I had touched upon aspects of movement disorders that they had never seen portrayed in media and that they had found representation in my art that they just never had before. And I think it’s because of the details. The little things.

The wiki page for seizures tells you the technicalities of it all, the terminology. It tells you what can cause them and what the symptoms are. It tells you how to deal with them, how to prevent them.

But it doesn’t tell you how some people with seizures are wary of holding sharp objects or hot liquids. It doesn’t tell you how epileptics feel when they’ve just found out that they’re prone to fits. It doesn’t tell you how their friends and family react to the news.

This applies to any and all writing. And any and all subjects. Disabilities. Sexualities. Ethnicities. Cultures. Professions. Hobbies. Traumas. If you haven’t experienced something first hand, talk to people that have. Listen to people that have. Don’t stop at the scholarly sources. They don’t always have all that you need.

[glasskaleidoscopes]

Naming Native American Characters

Anonymous said: I’m trying to do research for some Native American characters. I plan to use a mixture of some of them having Western first names and some having Native American first names that go with their tribe. However, it set in modern day I need last names and I can seem to find any solid sources on Native American surnames. With some saying the use last nature names like “Cornsilk” while other say Native American just picked western surnames. Do you know where I can find help?

[glasskaleidoscopes]

AND THEN THE WOLVES CAME ⫸ @thedreamsofthesky

Have an amazing NaNoWriMo, my sun and moon! No matter what you achieve, you’re doing amazing and I’m so proud of you. 

[glasskaleidoscopes]

Salt of the Earth (1954), dir. Herbert J. Biberman