kaatiba - Tumblr blog

[kaatiba]

Here's a useless thought my head just supplied me with that I absolutely can't use.

Co-op game where if one player sees another, they die.

Both die? Just the one who does the seeing? Just the one who is seen? All players or just one crucial character? Do reflections count?

"Don't turn around. I'm right behind you. I'm going to put the mcguffin down behind you and go around the corner, I'll tell you when it's safe to turn around; let me know when you're looking away again."

[kaatiba]

So I'm ruminating over a new WIP (whoops) -- though it technically isn't new, it's kinda an old one that I've repurposed. Ish. It's complicated. Anyway, I love the world I've created for it, even as it's still being built. So for a bit of novelty (especially on this blog), have a little snippet-y thing that gives you a bit of an intro into the world before anything else. ^_^

The Tea House's Tips for Survival: Just keep doing what you're doing. You've survived thus far, right? When you walk past the bar that always seems to be playing anachronistic music, you just keep walking. When you need to research something, reach for your keyboard, don't go to the library in the shadow of the park. When you see the deals at that rundown hotel keep assuming they're too good to be true. When the shadows of the strangers on the street seem to stretch overlong, even in the fading daylight, go about your business with nary a glance at their faces. Walk past the man who smiles with too many teeth. Continue past the alley that seems to whisper your name. Keep ignoring that passenger that sits a few seats over on the train, the one who looks like his fingers have too many joints. The fingers that stretch towards a faded Fedora and cock it down just so, hiding his face in an impenetrable blackness. It's a trick of the light. What else could it be? Nothing else. It is nothing else. These Instances may seem strange, but they are Neutralised. You are Safe. The Tea House makes sure of that.

[kaatiba]

thinking about how the word "haunt" can act as a synonym for both "pursuit" and "dwelling"

[kaatiba]

glance and maybe armor for namesake!

Thanks for indulging me, Riven! 💖

At first glance, what stands out most about Hades’s appearance? What's his distinguishing feature?

Before you gaze upon the Unseen one, you smell him first. Cloaked in a stench of mildew and rot, the assault of it comes later, masked by a virulent sweetness that curdles on your tongue. You won’t be surprised when you uncover the source of it: a skeletal figure waxed in dusk and enshrouded by serpents that have basked in the deepest trenches of night. Sparse remnants of greyed god-flesh cling to his exposed pelvis and clavicle. Pleas have since turned to slumber in his throat, but for all his might, he’s not all dead. Not yet. Hades collects new treasures in hopes of mimicking a body: mossy innards, blossoming peony pupils, and flowering ferns he dreams of as skin. 

[no armour i wish to share at this time :)]

[kaatiba]

Word 😎

Just discovered I can find emojis on my laptop keyboard. Delighted. Tagged by @loopyhoopywrites to find some, many and all! Going from The Crows Death ~

Some

They did use worms, actually - but not for the skin. The idea made Andy squirm, sicken. No, they had colonies of silkworms scattered all through the kingdom. It was expensive work, harvesting their cocoons, laborious and delicate for a very small scrap of silk - but the material made was gorgeous, light and thin, but trapping heat so easily. Even in the deepest depths of his kingdom, there was little chance of getting a chill if you had a cloak of silk - provided you could afford one. Some places had started to experiment with cave spider webbing as well, although that was too new to be wide-spread yet. For a while, he had been watching the progress with interest, hoping for a future where more of his subjects could afford such comfort, such warmth, where fewer deaths arose from frigid winters and unshakeable chills. 

Many

“I don’t want to talk to you,” their imposter said tiredly. “Piss off.” Well, then. They settled in, conjuring as many topics as they could. “It’s weird down here,” they added. “I thought it was cold when we first went down, but I think it’s actually warmer than most nights on the surface. Dolly was saying that’s common underground. Kinda cool, I think.” Their imposter grunted and looked pointedly in the other direction. 

All

“You want a human slave?” “Well. They’re hardly human, are they?” The second hunter’s tone dropped dramatically. “I’ve heard they smother their own babies to appease their god. Can you imagine?” Such taunts and lies had been following him all morning. This hunting party were nothing if not persistent – several times, he thought he’d outpaced or outsmarted them, and they’d appear. Most recently, he thought he’d fully shaken them off and had taken a second to catch his breath, then heard their careful footsteps. In a panicked bid for freedom, he had hidden, climbing up to the thin swaying branches at the top of the tree. It was not his best idea.

Tagging mmmm @ace-malarky @chauceryfairytales @kaatiba to find go, going and gone :)

[kaatiba]

Six Sentence Someday

Tagged a few days ago by @writingrosesonneptune here!

Tagging: @space-writes @acertainmoshke @mister-writes @kaylinalexanderbooks @ahungeringknife

I have enough written in TFE to share a bit, so here’s a little out of context something 👀

“Six times we have traded in secrets and food, and you’ve never doubted me before.” Her eyes found him again, searching for weakness in his resolve. “I told you that my people do not enter this forest.”

He stared into the yellow flames, unbothered by the smoke that made his eyes water. “Yes, but you’ve never told me why I should believe that.”

“Why, the Wailing Willow, of course.”

TFE tag list: @cilly-the-writer @writernopal (please ask to be +/-)

[kaatiba]

Some of my favorite magic side effects:

-Nosebleeds. Never gets old.

-Coughing up blood. The good ol’ “cough into your hand and pull it back to see blood” also never gets old.

-Headaches. You keep fighting as your head pounds, desperately telling you to take a break. At first they fade within minutes when you stop using magic, but overtime, they become chronic.

-Fatigue. After a big battle, you stand triumphant, and then just fall asleep on the spot.

-In a similar vein, overuse causing you to straight up faint rather than just fall asleep. Darkness begins to overtake your vision in the middle of battle, unconsciousness abruptly looming over you.

-Any of the side effects happening to another person. Maybe two close characters are connected, and whatever side effects character A would normally endure are transferred to character B. When A uses a blast of magic B screams loudly because holy shit that hurt.

-Magic gradually deteriorating your mind. Using it too much eventually caused hallucinations and an inability to retain memories, or even larger scale memory loss. 

Feel free to add more, I’m looking for some to steal

[kaatiba]

There's definitely some story mileage in a British dude with no cultural sensitivity whatsoever still wanting to return every artifact that Britain has ever stolen out of pure self-interest because one of those motherfuckers is Maximally Cursed and he can't tell which

[kaatiba]

Hello! Would you mind doing an example of not using filter words in a first person point of view? While I know that you can just switch out the pronouns for I/me/my, I just want to see it in action and when you should (and shouldn't) use the filter words. Thank you!

Hi there! I would love to! I think I’ll start out with an example with filter words and then cut out the filter words to show you the difference.

For those of you who haven’t seen my post on Filter Words.

Now, for the example:

I felt a hand tap my shoulder as I realized I had made a huge mistake. I knew the consequences would be unsettling, but I had no other choice. I saw the light of my desk lamp bounce off of the officer’s badge before I had even turned around. It seemed like I always found my way into trouble.

It was the first thing off the top of my head, so it’s a bit rough sounding….

Now for without filter words (And a bit of revision):

A hand tapped my shoulder as it dawned on me: I had just made a huge mistake. The consequences would be unsettling if I didn’t get out of this mess, but I had no other choice. The light of my desk lamp bounced off of the officer’s badge. I always found my way into trouble.

By taking out filter words, you get right to the point.

I’d also like to add a few more notes that I didn’t have the chance to post previously.

Some Examples of Filtering:

I heard a noise in the hallway.

She felt embarrassed when she tripped.

I saw a light bouncing through the trees.

I tasted the sour tang of raspberries bursting on my tongue.

He smelled his teammate’s BO wafting through the locker room.

She remembered dancing at his wedding.

I think people should be kinder to one another.

How can you apply this?

Read your work to see how many of these filtering words you might be leaning on. Microsoft Word has a great Find and Highlight feature that I love to use when I’m editing. See how you can get rid of these filtering words and take your sentences to the next level by making stronger word choices. Take the above examples, and see how they can be reworked.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: I heard a noise in the hallway.

DESCRIBE THE SOUND: Heels tapped a staccato rhythm in the hallway.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: She felt embarrassed after she tripped.

DESCRIBE WHAT THE FEELING LOOKS LIKE: Her cheeks flushed and her shoulders hunched after she tripped.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: I saw a light bouncing through the trees.

DESCRIBE THE SIGHT: A light bounced through the trees.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: I tasted the sour tang of raspberries bursting on my tongue.

DESCRIBE THE TASTE: The sour tang of raspberries burst on my tongue.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: He smelled his teammate’s BO wafting through the locker room.

DESCRIBE THE SMELL: His teammate’s BO wafted through the locker room.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: She remembered dancing at his wedding.

DESCRIBE THE MEMORY: She had danced at his wedding.

FILTERING EXAMPLE: I think people should be kinder to one another.

DESCRIBE THE THOUGHT: People should be kinder to one another.

See what a difference it makes when you get rid of the filter? It’s simply not necessary to use them. By ditching them, you avoid “telling,” your voice is more active, and your pacing is helped along.

The above list is not comprehensive as there are many examples of filtering words. The idea is to be aware of the concept so that you can recognize instances of it happening in your work. Be aware of where you want to place the energy and power in your sentences. Let your observations flow through your characters with immediacy.

Ok, sorry for the lengthy answer, I know you just wanted an example…. sorry!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask at my ask box

[kaatiba]

forever and always insane about the fact that haunting means "heimsuchen" in german which literally translates to "homeseeking". a haunting is a search for a home you can never return to

[kaatiba]

making a collection

[kaatiba]

Writing tip of the day: whenever you can, plug a plot hole with a character flaw!

Every time you realise that it makes no sense that the characters didn't do some super logical thing in the first place, figure out which character could have prevented it by simply the way they are as a person. You're not only solving the problem of the plot hole, but also the issue of writing flaws into your characters in a way that doesn't feel gratituous and contrived.

Why did the characters not use this weapon they had access to the whole time? - The character who could have told them about it wants to have control over people and had personally decided they shouldn't have it.

Why didn't that one genius character just tell everyone how to dismantle the robots? - They meant to, but being an absent-minded genius, they literally just forgot.

How did nobody notice that this little girl has been hanging out with an actual demon for seven years? - The demon made her pinky-promise not to tell anyone about it, and being naive and overly trusting, she didn't find that sketchy at all.

Why didn't the characters go to The Big Cool Guys for help in the first place? - The character who is stubborn and overly proud wanted to choose death before dishonour and didn't want to ask for help.

Every time there was a perfectly reasonable solution accessible to the characters all along, that could've resolved the whole plot in minutes, always try to find an angle where someone prevented it just by who they are as a person.

[kaatiba]

Would y’all be interested in seeing the cover for my YA Fantasy novel?? (That I plan to self pub in 3 months) 👀👀

[kaatiba]

Alejandro Zambra, Ways of Going Home (translated by Megan McDowell)

[kaatiba]

Favorite Lines from Writing Session (4/28/24)

My favorite part of today's writing session was dreaming up the adventures of the daring Captain Mattie and her trusty steed, Mr. Kerfluffle (her uncle) in their quest to steal the treasure of the evil Captain Roo.

I had too much fun with this exchange:

“Me and Uncle Richie found the lost treasure of Atlantis,” Mattie explained breathlessly. “We could’ve bought a palace but we used it to save the turtles instead. They and the dolphins won’t have to go to war now.”

“Wow, that’s a lot!” [Emery] and Richie exchanged a look while the latter laid on his side in the grass. A look that said “the imagination of this kid.” It was the closest thing they had to a bonding moment in a long while.

A determined shine came into Mattie’s eyes. “Did you want to help us take out the evil Captain Roo and take his treasure. I need a second mate. Mr. Kerfluffle can carry us to the other side of the island.”

Richie heaved himself up to his feet with a grunt. “Mr. Kerfluffle is an old steed. He can’t carry more than 50 pounds on his back and his knees aren’t what they used to be.”

[kaatiba]

I’d divorce him too lmao

[kaatiba]

Rewrite My Line

I got tagged by @tildeathiwillwrite! :D

Rules: Take the line the previous person offered and rewrite it in your own style!

---

my line:

The box's weight had a certain familiarity to it, almost like she’d held it before. Reese had the strange desire to shake it, but she held back in case the contents were breakable. Instead, she tried to pry the box open, but the rust kept it sealed tight.

rewritten as:

The weight of the box was... familiar. It was like Reese had held it before. She could shake it to gain some clue as to what was inside, as to where she knew it from. But the chance of the contents being fragile stayed her hand. She set it down and tried to open it, but the rusted lid was keeping its secrets.

---

I'm tagging @afoolandathief, @amethystpath-writes, @annakayy, @gummybugg, @kaatiba, @those-damn-snippets, @serenanymph, @surplus-of-sarcasm, @written-in-starlight, and anybody else who'd like to play!

Your line today is:

I put the bow over my shoulder and crouched by the water. I cupped my hands and drank two deep mouthfuls. The water was ice cold across my hands, and it brought back memories of knuckle hardening. That had been a painful phase of training. I looked at the back of my hands now. My knuckles were rough, and I'd been sure to keep them that way on the punching trees. I made a fist, watching the callouses glide into place, protecting my hardened bones. Squared knuckles and callouses couldn't protect from bad form, though. I'd broken my wrist for that lesson.

[sorry if this is kind of long; feel free to subtract where you want :3]

@thelazywitchphotographer :D