#100 word blurb challenge

[junk-and-disorderly]

What little light remained was eclipsed by the writhing mass of flying creatures hurdling towards them, the sky going dark, the last of the sun's rays sputtering like the dying embers.

The shadows devoured the land below it, engulfing the tiny figure down far below, below of the swarm headed his way, or of their shreiks trumpeting the beginning of the end.

"Steve…" Dustin croaked, watching the scene unfold before him. This was no fantastic last stand against evil in battle where good prevailed--there were no heroes.

We're no heroes.

"STEVE! YOU HAVE TO RUN!"

He didn't care if he screamed himself hoarse--he had to let him know, he had to warn him, had to let him know just what was coming.

"RUUUUUUN!"

There's no shame in running.

[gilverrwrites]

ruined mascara please!!!

(i love your pieces)

AND for the ruined mascara i meant for jason and dick (forgot to say who in the other ask)

AN: Drabbles this time, 100 words each exactly. An I always end up writing something saucy for Dick when doing blurbs, so I double challenged myself to swap them this time.

Dick Grayson

Dick stares at you through the bathroom door, giving you those puppy dog eyes that you know so well. The ones that say help me, without him saying help me.

He’s been scrubbing at his make-up for 20 minutes, but all he’d managed to do is smudge glittery eyeshadow around his face and smear mascara down his cheeks. You can’t recall why he’s all dolled up, an undercover mission maybe, but what you do know is that you feel like a lecher.

All those times you’d judged men who said women were pretty when they cried; you get it now.

Jason Todd

“Fuck, baby, you’re so beautiful.”

It’s the honest to God truth, he’s never seen a more perfect sight than you with his cock between your swollen lips; cheeks hollowed, eyes glassy, you’re his 8th wonder. But something is missing.

Hissing, he sinks right to the back of your throat, holding himself there as you convulse around his tip, until a tiny, crystal-clear tear rolls down the side of your face. That’s what’s missing. The streaky black lines that follow your pretty tears.

He’s gotta find out what brand your new mascara is, has to ensure you never buy it again.

[loveshotzz]

For the dirty Thanksgiving 100 word blurb challenge. Here’s 300 🦃.

steve harrington x fem!reader

warnings: 18+ established relationship, smut, mentions of weed smoking, maybe soft!dom!steve if you squint.

The bed is soft under you, the joint the two of you dared to take a few hits of earlier with your friends heightening the way it feels molding around your naked bodies. The feathers of the duvet wrap around you as the mattress dips in the middle where you lay wrapped up in your boyfriend.

Sweat coats your skin, sticking to the soft patch of hair that covers his chest pressed warm against your breasts, nipples pebbling from the friction. Your arms are wrapped around his neck, fingers tangled into the damp chestnut locks curling at the nap of it, while his lips trail slow, lazy kisses up the curve of yours. He nips at your earlobe before nuzzling his nose into your hair, inhaling the sweetness of your perfume and the fruit of your shampoo that still lingers there. Smirking when he catches a hint of pine from the tree farm you spent the day at.

His fingers dig into the sides of your hips, the curve of his cock reaching that place inside of you that makes you shudder. The heat of his breath fans against your skin, leaving goosebumps on the fresh bruises already formed by his mouth that's moving its way back for more.

He’d been taking his time with you, fucking you in this position long enough to pull two orgasms out of you already. He was in the kind of mood where he wanted to be the one to do it, pushing your hand away any time it’d start making its way south to your sensitive bud. Obsessed with the way you always said his name when you came undone with a gasp, red nails digging half crescent moons into his permanently sunkissed skin.

“Be good.” He breathes, with a smirk against your lips and a hard snap of his hips.

[mouseymilkovich]

HIHIHIHIHI MOUSEYMOUSEY MOUSE!!!! I am here to request some filthy filthy filthy SIN from this sleepover

I would like your take on “you think you could handle us at the same time?” with carmy x luca from your 3some sleepover blurb prompts!!!

Bonus smooches if you add in any of the following: Spanking (back or front ;)) , Choking, Spitting in the mouth, overstim, breeding kink :D

EEEE im soo excited to see what you come up with, i know there will be 0 crumbs to be found!

capri my beloved, you came to serve horniness and i am here to deliver. brace yourselves this is a little longer than i usually do these blurbs

6. “you think you could handle us at the same time?” — from ; threesome smut prompts

Content Tags: Some light spanking, light choking, dirty talk, Carmy's literally such a perv my fucking god, bit of breeding kink, overstimulation, spitting ! I came to DELIVER FOR CAPRI MY LOVE!!

🎀 let's have a sleepover 🎀

⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆

You weren't 100% sure how you ended up here. One minute, you're at Ever's funeral, the next, you're in your apartment sharing a bottle of wine with your boss, Carmy, and your friend with benefits, Luca.

They both looked so good in their formal attire, all your tipsy brain could think of was taking it off of them, how much better those clothes would look on your floor.

Suddenly, a question from Carmy brought all three of you to your bedroom.

“You think you could handle us at the same time?”

Your dress was on the floor, both of them undressing quickly. Luca started kissing you while different articles of clothing were being discarded onto your bedroom floor. Carmy came up behind you, his lips tracing small kisses along your shoulder, then suddenly his hand met your ass in a harsh smack, causing you to gasp against Luca's mouth.

"You didn' tell me she was such a slut." Carmy commented as he sent another smack to your rear, making you whine.

Luca chuckled a little, glancing at Carmy as he ran his thumb over your bottom lip. "To be fair, I've only ever had her all to myself."

Everything quickly turned into a nasty game of twister as you straddled Luca's lap while he laid on your bed. Taking two dicks at once was something you'd never done, much less thought of doing, but you took Carmy's question that started this whole thing as a challenge. Though, as you felt the familiarity of Luca filling you, and saw Carmy's size, you wondered if you could actually handle them at once.

Luca's hands rested on your thighs as Carmy added two fingers to your wet cunt, so he could stretch you just a little more before he added his cock. Both of them were coated in lube to make it easier on you. As Carmy's dick replaced his fingers, you knew this would easily be simultaneously the most painful and pleasurable experience you'd had in a while.

Both you and Luca struggled not to cum immediately from the feeling of Carmy adding himself in. There was not a doubt in your mind that you'd be finishing multiple times between the two of them.

You quickly became a babbling mess by the time Carmy was fully in. Some sort of mixture of both of their names and incoherent words were all you could manage out, but words completely failed you as one of them started playing with your clit - you weren't even sure who, your eyes and mind were completely foggy, you were beyond overstimulated.

Carmy's arm wrapped around you, that's how you knew it was his hand that wrapped around your throat. You could barely make out the filth he was whispering in your ear.

"Doin' s'good for us, bunny, takin' it so well." He groaned softly. "Wanna be bred, huh? Want two cocks breedin' you, angel?"

Feeling you clenching around both of them sent them over the edge too. They basically came in tandem, and you fell against Luca's chest. Carmy pulled out, and Luca did for a moment, only to flip you onto your back. Luca's cock was back inside you to keep you full.

You looked up at Carmy with eyes glazed over, opening your mouth to speak but barely managing out a noise.

Carmy smirked at you through his panting. He muttered, "Little whore."

What shocked you was him spitting in your open mouth, your eyes widened a little but only cus you hadn't expected it.

Luca laughed softly, rubbing your sides in a soothing motion. "Let's get you recovered, love. We're not done with you yet. Night's still young."

[snek-panini]

It's Friday the 13th! Here, have a book completely unrelated to that:

It looks fairly straightforward from here, but this is a bind of @dietraumerei's wonderful Good Omens series, The Sprawl of Life. It's a canon universe, pre-season-2 South Downs Cottage fic, and I typeset it when I did because I'd just watched season 2 and wanted the fluffiest, sweetest, most slice-of-life thing I could think of and this was it. Seriously, if you have been personally victimized by the season 2 finale this might be the antidote you're looking for. Though admittedly some of the lines do hit a lot more bittersweetly now than they did when I first read it in 2019.

More pics under the cut! This one's got an unusual format, go have a look!

It's a dos-a-dos! My first one! Before I started making books I'd never even heard of this format, but I've been wanting to try it ever since I found it. It's hard to find stories that suit the format, though--they've got to be within a certain word count, about the same length, and related to one another, and they have to be a pair, not a three or four part story. They look super complicated without (I've found, anyway) actually being that hard to make. If you want to impress a non-bookbinder make one of these to show them; all my family were fascinated by it.

For materials, the floral cover is scapbook paper from Joann's (the fancy stuff that's very flexible and feels handmade) and the spine is Allure book cloth from Hollander's in the wisteria color. It's a perfect match for the lavender in the paper. I've only previously used the Lineco/Books By Hand book cloth and gotten good results, but my experience with that brand in general was that it's a cheap, readily available base for starting out, but there are wider and better quality options out there once you get away from chain craft stores. Working with this cloth was proof of that. It's stiffer than the Lineco stuff, which made it a little harder to glue down but not enough to cause problems, and it took HTV better than any other surface I've used it on. Here, check out the spines:

Images of the spines. In case the photos are a little blurry, that's Demolishing Proofs We Never Believed In on the left and The World and its Beautiful Particle Logic on the right. The titles gave me some worries. I didn't want to obscure more of the florals by putting them on the front, but was worried they wouldn't fit on the spines since they're so long. I got them on, but it took a lot of careful measurements. Still, though, I couldn't be more pleased by them, and I barely had any of my usual trouble getting the HTV to stick.

Handmade end bands on both sides, in colors matched to the cover paper. I was a little worried about making my own for this project since the text blocks are only about 100 pages each. I was worried they'd be too short. But they're not, and I got a really nice front bead on them. I wanted to do three colors but that proved too challenging for my current skill level. Maybe next time. The second image is the endpaper. Specifically it's the back endpaper, so you can see how the second spine fits into the case. When you read a dos-a-dos, you read the first part, then flip it over like you're going to read the back blurb and there's the second part ready to go. I only explain this because, having never made one, I thought you flipped it over top-to-bottom until I did the case fitting for this one. The top-to-bottom one it called a tete-beche and I think does not have the shared cover board in the center; the pages are connected upside-down. (This is all from my limited research; pro bookbinders please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Couple of interior images. All the graphics came from rawpixel and they are the same in both halves. I kept the typeset really simple on this one, without any extra graphics. Partly that was to keep the page count down (images can take up extra space) and partly it's a reflection of the text. It's a happily ever after story, mostly. Their lives are so much easier here than in canon, and the focus is on communicating without barriers or frills and on building their relationship without other things getting in the way. So it's got a fancy title page, because it matches the cover, but the rest is straightforward with just some simple swirls around the chapter numbers.

I couldn't be more pleased with how this turned out. I was worried it would be very complicated since it's a new-to-me build, but I was exaggerating the difficulty and that made for an easy bind. I hope the author likes it too.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich

* * * *

“Socialism is a scare word they've hurled at every advance the people have made. Socialism is what they called public power, social security, deposit insurance, and independent labor organizations. Socialism is their name for anything that helps all people.”

—Harry Truman, 1952

+

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

August 7, 2024 (Wednesday)

The Democratic presidential ticket of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota governor Tim Walz continues to gain momentum, with people flocking to their rallies and pouring money into the Democrats’ campaign: in the first 24 hours after Walz joined the ticket, the party raised $36 million from more than 450,000 donors, more than a third of them giving for the first time. In contrast, the Republicans seem to be imploding. For years, people have noted that the party seemed to be painting itself into a corner, but it’s very odd to watch it now seem to be trapped.

Yesterday afternoon, after Harris’s selection of Walz had hit social media and enthusiasm was building, Trump posted on his social media company an elaborate and bizarre fantasy that President Joe Biden would suddenly try to take back the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.

“What are the chances that Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST President in the history of the U.S., whose Presidency was Unconstitutionally STOLEN from him by Kamabla, Barrack HUSSEIN Obama, Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Shifty Adam Schiff, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and others on the Lunatic Left, CRASHES the Democrat National Convention and tries to take back the Nomination, beginning with challenging me to another DEBATE. He feels that he made a historically tragic mistake by handing over the U.S. Presidency, a COUP, to the people in the World he most hates, and he wants it back, NOW!!!”

Aside from Trump’s obvious yearning to go back to running against Biden, on whom his personal attacks seemed to stick, and his attempt to find some nickname that will stick to Harris, this rant shows that the Republicans seem unable to counter popular Democratic policies.

The heart of their policies were in Project 2025, the extremist vision of a country ruled by a strongman who took the civil service, the Department of Justice, and the military under his own control in order to slash the popular, secular parts of the government and replace them with Christian nationalism. Right-wing evangelicals liked what was outlined in the project, but when the majority of Americans began to understand what was in it, they were quite clear they wanted no part of it. Trump then tried to distance himself from it, although he had publicly praised it, his political action committee had called it his plan, and more than 100 of its architects were people who had served in his administration.

And then it turned out that Trump’s vice presidential pick, J. D. Vance, had written the introduction for a book by Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts, the chief author of Project 2025. The original publication date for the book, which calls for “a peaceful ‘Second American Revolution,’” was in September, shortly before the election, but today the publisher announced it would put off publication until November, after the election.

But advance reader copies of Roberts’s book are already in the hands of reviewers, and Madeline Peltz of Media Matters is posting some of the content online. In it, she notes, Roberts “rails against birth control, in vitro fertilization, abortion, and dog parks. He says that having children should not be considered an ‘optional individual choice,’ but a ‘social expectation,’” and that reproductive choice is a “snake strangling the American family.” It is no accident that Vance’s numbers with women continue to fall.

And the Roberts book is only one of Vance’s recent unpopular steps: it turns out that he also wrote a glowing blurb for a book written by ghostwriter Joshua Lisec under the name of far-right conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec. The book, titled “Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them),” calls for purging their enemies from society. “In the past, communists marched in the streets waving red flags,” Vance wrote. “Today, they march through HR, college campuses, and courtrooms to wage lawfare against good, honest people… In ‘Unhumans,’ Jack Posobiec and Joshua Lisec reveal their plans and show us what to do to fight back.”

Without popular policies, MAGA Republicans are simply falling back on the old narrative techniques they used in the past. This morning, Trump called into Fox & Friends, where he fell back on the old argument that Democrats are essentially communists who are undermining American culture. Of Harris-Walz, he said, “This is a ticket that would want this country to go communist immediately if not sooner.” Trump also tried to hit on the culture wars Republicans have fallen back on since the 1970s, warning that Walz is “very heavy into transgender. Anything transgender he thinks is great.”

Trump also tried to push the idea that Harris’s choosing of Walz over Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro proves that the Democrats are antisemitic. “I think it's very insulting to Jewish people,” Trump said. This is a hard sell considering that of the 26 members of Congress who are Jewish, 24 are Democrats, and of the 9 Jewish senators, 8 are Democrats and 1 is an Independent. And then, of course, there is the fact that Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is himself Jewish.

When the stock market tumbled Monday, Trump tried to pin the slide on Harris—calling it the Kamala Crash—and Vance seemed to bet against the United States, predicting that “[t]his moment could set off a real economic calamity around the globe.” When the market rebounded Tuesday, the two remained silent.

Indeed, Trump is largely off the campaign trail, raising suggestions that his handlers don’t want him in public out of concern about what he will do—not a frivolous concern after his angry performance last week before the National Association of Black Journalists.

Meanwhile, Vance is traveling around to the sites where Harris and Walz are speaking. His crowds are embarrassingly small compared to theirs, and he seems perhaps to be trying to intimidate his opponents as Trump tried to do when he loomed behind his 2016 Democratic opponent, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Today Vance and a phalanx of his team approached reporters near Harris’s plane to attack her, only to discover she wasn’t around, at which point he boasted the plane would soon be his.

But rather than seeming intimidating, he came across as so desperate for attention that he had to stalk a more popular figure across the tarmac. Former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) apparently thought so: she reposted Vance’s photo of his group of about nine people walking away from Harris’s plane and commented: “Looks like [Vance] brought all his rally attendees to the airport with him today.”

MAGA Republicans also appear to be reaching to their past by attacking Walz with the sort of “swift boat” smear campaign attacking his military service they launched against decorated veteran John Kerry when he ran for president in 2004. Indeed, the Republican operative widely thought to be behind the attacks on Kerry, Chris LaCivita, is now in charge of the Trump-Vance campaign. Vance today suggested that Walz is engaging in “stolen valor.” Vance served for four years as a Marine, including as a military journalist in Iraq, where he did not experience combat. Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years, during which he deployed in response to natural disasters in the United States and served in Europe in support of U.S. operations in Afghanistan.

A number of observers are saying that part of the genius of the Walz pick is that he seems to many people to be the dad and grandfather stolen away by the right-wing rage machine of talk radio and the Fox News Channel and replaced with frightened, angry people who suspect their neighbors and insist the country is going to hell. It seems unlikely that doubling down on that narrative will attract the voters the MAGA ticket needs to win a majority of votes in 2024.

Yesterday the Republican-dominated Georgia State Election Board passed a rule that could delay the certification of an election until “after reasonable inquiry that the tabulation and canvassing of the election are complete and accurate and that the results are a true and accurate accounting of all votes cast in that election.” In a rally on Saturday, Trump thanked the three Republican members of the board—Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares, and Janelle King—by name, calling them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory.”

In 2020, Trump tried to get Georgia to throw out its certification of Biden’s victory there, claiming the vote had been marred by fraud, especially among the state’s Black population. He told Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to “find” him 11,780 votes—one more than the 11,779 that had given Biden the state.

Yesterday, news broke that former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, who was indicted in Arizona for her participation in the scheme to replace the state’s real electors for Biden with fake ones for Trump, has agreed to a plea deal. In exchange for the state dropping its charges against her, she has agreed to provide information and materials about the scheme and to testify “at any time and place.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[courtingchaos]

I saw that dirty Thanksgiving 100 word blurb challenge and I sent this to a handful of people after watching episode 2 of Fargo and yeah.

This about sums up my mood.

Gator Tillman x Reader

NSFW 18+ Please

Putting a bullet between his teeth to hold. He can’t drop it or everything stops, full stops. Getting dressed and you leave for the night. So he has to hold it, tip of it pointing out from his mouth like a tongue. When he finally takes it from your hand, eyes full of defiance and disgust, you smile down at him.

“Good boy.” A light run of your hand over his hair before you crack your palm over his cheek. His head whips to the side and he gasps but the bullet stays put. “So you can follow directions.”

His jaw trembles with words he wants to spit out at you, venom he could puppet from his father’s preaching but then where would that get him? Alone with a hard dick and the knowledge he was a disappointment in someone else’s eyes too.

So he keeps his teeth clenched on the metal. He stays put on the ground. He keeps his hands untied behind his own back and he waits.

[oediex]

The Binding, by Bridget Collins

About two years ago, I sort of accidentally picked up a book from the library, The Binding by Bridget Collins. I was nearby looking for another book, which was incidentally also a story about books (People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks), and Bridget Collins's book grabbed my attention by its title and book cover.

It's a story set in a pre-industrial world in which book binding is a unique skill with which so-called Binders can capture a memory of a person, which is then forgotten by said person. It is used for forgetting painful memories or secrets that need to be hidden. Sort of in the style of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (one of my favourite films). The blurb on the book spoke of a "secret love affair" or something like that, which also peeked my interest.

I started reading it and it was beautifully written. And then something happened in the story which made me realise that this wasn't just any love story - it was an mlm love story! This wasn't clear from the blurb of the book, so it was a nice surprise. Any representation is representation, and all that. Finding queer love stories (as a main plot point) hidden in books that aren't advertised that way is something I quite like.

So if you like queer/mlm love stories, especially if they are slow-burning, angsty, hurt/comfort love stories, this is the book for you. (Please note, though, that it does take part in a homophobic world, which also plays an important part in the book.)

Anyway, I liked the book so much that I asked it for my birthday, and I'm now rereading it. This time, though, I decided to look up and write down all the words I didn't immediately understand. Note that I didn't look up any words the first time I read it. The story was perfectly understandable without it. But I really wanted to understand it completely, 100%. And there were quite a few words that I didn't immediately understood, or that I did understand, but I wanted to know precisely what they meant. Some of them are words specific to the craft that is described quite a lot, which is the binding of books. Other words I didn't understand (precisely) because English is not my first language!

I've reread 7 chapters so far, which is 108 pages, and a total of ...71 words. 🙈 I doubt people will read them, but I love having a record of them, so they are below the cut!

If anyone does look at them, I'd be interested to hear if these are words that you know or not, and whether English is your first language or not.

1. sheaf: a bundle of grain stalks laid lengthwise and tied together after reaping.

When the letter came I was out in the fields, binding up my last sheaf of wheat with hands that were shaking so much I could hardly tie the knot.

2. stook: a group of sheaves of grain stood on end in a field

It was only Alta, winding her way through the stooks towards me

3. pustule: a small blister or pimple in the skin containing pus

As if I'd been languishing in bed with a cough, or vomiting, or covered with pustules.

4. worry: (of a dog or other carnivorous animal) tear at or pull about with the teeth

I turned away from her and concentrated on sucking the cut at the base of my thumb, worrying at it with my tongue until I couldn't taste blood anymore.

5. stays: a corset made of two pieces laced together and stiffened by strips of whalebone.

"Challenge me again when I'm not wearing stays."

6. flare: gradually become wider at one end

She turned away, her dusty skirts flaring about her ankles.

7. scullery: a small kitchen or room at the back of a house used for washing dishes and other dirty household work

8. scullery maid: a female domestic servant responsible for washing dishes and doing other menial household chores

"Honestly, I might as well be a scullery maid ..."

9. clump: another term for clomp: walk with a heavy tread

Pa clumped across to the cupboard, bent down and pulled out a bottle of blackberry gin.

10. truss: tie up (someone) with their arms at their sides

If I have to truss you up and leave you on her doorstep, you'll go.

11. reel: lose one's balance and stagger or lurch violently; walk in a staggering or lurching manner, especially while drunk

I reeled across to the far side of the yard and leant against the wall.

12. vertiginous: relating to or affected by vertigo

a last vertiginous glimpse of sunlight before the blackness swallowed me.

13. gable: the triangular upper part of a wall at the end of a ridged roof

14. squat: short and thickset; disproportionately broad or wide

The moon had moved; now it was over the gable of the farmhouse and all the shadows were short and squat.

15. farthing: a former monetary unit and coin of the UK, withdrawn in 1961, equal to a quarter of an old penny

I could recall the clink of my errand-money in my pocket that day - sixpence in farthings, so bulking they bulged through my trousers

16. heady: having a strong or exhilarating effect

and the heady, carefree feeling of going to Wakening Fair and slipping away from the others, wondering what I'd buy

17. trestle: a framework consisting of a horizontal beam supported by two pairs of sloping legs, used in pairs to support a flat surface such as a table top

It was hardly a stall at all, only a trestle table guarded by a man with restless eyes, but it was piled high with books.

18. saunter: welk in a slow, relaxed manner

I'd sauntered over, jingling my money, and the man had glanced over both shoulders before he grinned at me.

19. reel: feel shocked, bewildered, or giddy

I nodded, still reeling from the visions I'd seen.

20. thatch: a roof covering of straw, reeds, palm leaves, or a similar material

Under the dark thatch every pane was like a rectangle of flame

21. palsy: (dated) paralysis, especially that which is accompanied by involuntary tremors

My hands were twitching as though I had palsy.

22. endpaper: a leaf of paper at the beginning or end of a book, especially one fixed to the inside of the cover

23. pare: trim (something) by cutting away its outer edges

24. tooling: the ornamentation of a leather book cover with designs impressed by heated tools

25. blind tooling: the impressing of text or a design on a book cover without the use of colour or gold leaf

I learned to make endpapers, pare leather, to finish with blind or gold tooling.

26. copper: (dated) a large copper or iron container for boiling laundry

We shared the rest of the chores, but after a morning bent over painstaking work I was glad to chop wood or fill the copper for laundry.

27. blench: make a sudden flinching movement out of fear or pain; become pale

He gave me a crooked, empty smile, as if he was proud of noticing, as if he was pleased I'd blenched.

28. lattice: a structure consisting of strips of wood or metal crossed and fastened together with square or diamond-shaped spaces left between, used as a screen or fence or as a support for climbing plants; an interlaced structure or pattern resembling a lattice

The light lay on the floorboards in a silvery lattice.

29. keening: the action of wailing in grief for a dead person

Long before I could see their faces clearly, their voices carried across the snow: a desperate mutter of encouragement, and above that the thin desolate keening I'd thought was the wind.

30. gobbet: a piece or lump of flesh, food, or other material

A gobbet of paste dropped from my brush onto the workbench, as if someone had spat over my shoulder.

31. cockle: (of paper) form wrinkles or puckers

32. pucker: a tightly gathered wrinkle or small fold

I'd let the paper cockle, and I'd let it dry; when I tried to peel it away it ripped.

33. pewter: a grey alloy of tin with copper and antimony (formerly tin and lead)

In this light my tools looked like pewter, and a silver smear of glue glinted on the wood like a snail's trail.

35. alarum: archaic term for alarm

There was a bell jangling too, a continuous clanging like an alarum.

36. kipper: cured fish

Now, get the old bitch out here or she'll get smoked into a kipper with the rest.

37. jamb: a side post or surface of a doorway, window, or fireplace

I put down my cold mug of tea and leant forward, and saw the gap between the door and the jamb.

38. hessian: a strong, coarse fabric made from hemp or jute, used for sacks and upholstery

39. upholstery: soft, padded textile covering that is fixed to furniture such as armchairs and sofas

At last I reached out and pulled the cloth down over them; then I stood looking down at the coarse brown hessian.

40. nacreous: adjective form of nacre: mother-of-pearl; a smooth shining iridescent substance forming the inner layer of the shell of some molluscs, especially oysters and abalones, used in ornamentation

I could still see the smooth edge of a femur, the nacreous curve of the skull, a miniature, perfect finger-bone.

41. scrimshaw: adorn ivory or shells with carved or coloured designs

42. burnisher: noun form of burnish: polish (something, especially metal) by rubbing

43. agate: an ornamental stone consisting of a hard variety of chalcedony (quartz), typically banded in appearance

I found a bone folder carved with faint scrimshaw flowers, a book of silver leaf, a burnisher with a thick, umber-streaked agate ...

44. daguerrotype: a photograph taken by an early photographic process, employing an iodine-sensitised silvered plate and mercury vapour

In one cupboard I found a wooden box full of trinkets, wrapped in old silk as if they were important: a child's bonnet, a lock of hair, a daguerrotype mounted in a watch case

45. tack: a small, sharp broad-headed nail; also, equipment used in horse riding, including the saddle and bridle [unclear which of the two definitions is meant]

and there were repairs to be made, tools and tack and a back wall of the barn that needed seeing to ...

46. camphor: a white volatile crystalline substance with an aromatic smell and bitter taste, occurring in certain essential oils

47. chilblain: a painful, itching swelling on a hand or foot caused by poor circulation in the skin when exposed to cold

For an instant I thought I could smell turpentine and camphor, the balm Ma made to ward off chilblains

48. slough: shed or remove (a layer of dead skin)

I'd sloughed that life off like a skin.

49. mottled: marked with spots or smears of colour

Against the mottled grey of the windows the binder's chair stood out in silhouette.

50. paroxysm: a sudden attack or outburst of a particular emotion or activity

At first it was as involuntary as being sick: great paroxysms like retching, each spasm driven by an unpitying reflex that made me gasp and sob for air.

51. range: a large cooking stove with burners or hotplates and one or more ovens, all of which are kept continually hot

When I woke up the range had gone out and it was nearly dark.

53. ragged: (of a sound) not controlled, uneven

54. peal: a loud ringing of a bell

The bell rang, for longer this time, a ragged angry peal as if they'd tugged too hard at the rope.

55. trap: a light, two-wheeled carriage pulled by a horse or pony

Behind him there was a trap, with a lantern hanging from the seat-rail.

56. unctuous: excessively flattering or ingratiating, oily

It was the first time I'd heard the doctor speak to her, and his voice was so tactful it was positively unctuous.

57. gorge: (archaic) the throat; the contents of the stomach

I had never heard Seredith struggle to control her anger, and it made my own gorge rise.

58. signet: a small seal, especially one set in a ring, used instead of or with a signature to give authentication to an official document

The signet ring on his little finger glinted.

59. morocco: fine flexible leather made (originally in Morocco) from goatskins tanned with sumac, used especially for book covers and shoes

60. sumac: a shrub or small tree with compound leaves, reddish hairy fruits in conical clusters, and bright autumn colours

61. headband: an ornamental strip of coloured silk fastened to the top of the spine of a book

62. nonpareil: having no match or equal; unrivalled - one of the basic patterns in paper marbling. It is made by using a comb-like implement to pull streaks across the marbling paint.

Black morocco, gold tooling, false raised bands. Headbands sewn in black and gold, endpapers marbled in red nonpareil.

63. crotchet: a perverse or unfounded belief or notion

64. -monger: denoting a person who promotes a specified activity, situation or feeling, especially one that is undesirable or discreditable

65. stick-in-the-mud: a person who is dull and unadventurous and who resists change

He thinks I'm a crotchet-monger. A stubborn, backward old stick-in-the-mud.

66. caddy: a small storage container, typically one with divisions

67. tea caddy: a small container in which tea is kept for daily use

The tea caddy was so old that the green-and-gold pattern was speckled with rust, and flakes of paint came off on my fingers when I opened it.

68. rennet: curdled milk from the stomach of an unweaned calf, containing rennin and used in curdling milk for cheese

69. rennin: an enzyme secreted into the stomach of unweaned mammals causing the curdling of milk

70. junket: a dish of sweetened and flavored curds of milk

71. curd: a soft, white substance formed when milk coagulates, used as a basis for cheese

There was no point taking her bread and butter - when Toller came I'd ask him to bring us some rennet, and then I could make her some junket

[sohypothetically]

Post 5: Girls Night Out

The stats:

2 years from first published to complete

300,000 words

8 couples (10 if you include Hayffie)

2 main OCs (original characters)

29 pages of outline

So many euphemisms

So much food

So much research

So much research

The fic changed my perception of Gale completely

First person

So, so much smut

Mr. Mellark lives!

If there's one criticism... it might be verbs. Or maybe that the first part feels a little too "crack fic" and ambles too much.

This fic changed my life. It changed how I felt about the fandom, my place in it, and my writing.

Blurb:

Contemporary A/U. Johanna Mason copes with a breakup the only way she knows how: going on a man-hunt. She brings her roommate Katniss Everdeen with her and the rest is frat party history. Rated M for explicit language, sexual innuendo, and general snarkiness. Written for Prompts in Panem Places Challenge, Prompt: Frat House. (Ships: Jo/other, Everlark, Gadge, Odesta)Rated: Fiction M - English - Humor/Romance 

Fanfic.net

A03

GNO Tumblr

For more about the genesis of this fic, read the Tolkien Food Blog description below the cut.

I'm going to apologize because I'm pretty sure my Anon response earlier sounded like sour grapes. Boohoo that I wasn't in the inner circle and that I wasn't regarded as one of the top 50 Everlark authors. So what?

I mention it because I think it's important to understand my headspace when I talk about this next fi. Where it came from and where it led me.

So it was March of 2013. I'm on the periphery of a fandom that was so freaking talented. HGRomance, Atetheredmind, Court81981, Dustwriter, Amelia_Day, DandelionSunset, Fnurfnur, Misshoneywell, Peetasbunmyoven, Annieoakley1, hutchhitched, jhutchmyanchor, Everlark_Pearl, JLaLa, Monroeslittle, Sponsormusings, Xerxia, pookieh, louezem, bleedtoloveher, katnissdoesnotfollowback, streetlightlove, famousfremus... the list of phenomenal Everlarkers went on for days.

We would regularly have something called "Prompts in Panem". (You can check this out at promptsinpanem.tumblr.com.) These were, well, what they sound like. Pre-A03 fic exchanges based on prompts. It ran for a week, with each day having a new prompt. Everlark only. They prompts would release maybe a week in advance? I don't remember how long, but I know that it was a Bacchanalian festival where we would gorge ourselves on all things Everlark. Creative. Full of pressure. The goal was to put out something that people would read and comment on. It was all about buzz. (To be clear, I miss these.)

At the same time, I was reading other bits and pieces outside of Everlark. Whiskeysnarker, who wrote the best Johanna Mason. Hawtsee, one of the best Gadgers. I beta'd for an Odesta author.

PIP started and I knew that there was nothing I had in my quiver that wasn't going to be done 100 times better by every other author in the fandom. I didn't have an angle, and I wanted one. I wanted something that would make for interesting reading. I had no ideas.

So I did what every writer does when experiencing a doubt-spiral. I poured myself a glass of wine. And one glass became two. I cried. Then I got mad, sort of like Katniss when she shoots the apple in the pig's mouth in THG. And I heard a voice in my head berating me stridently for my pity party. That voice became the voice of Johanna Mason for GNO. And let me tell you, she doesn't suffer fools. And she has opinions.

Everlark through the eyes of another? And that person is Johanna? And it starts at a frat party? Hell, yeah.

It was only ever supposed to be a one shot. And then honeylime08 made a comment about wanting more.

The rest is history.

[lightwing-s]

What about for the prompts you do Bruce with reader with this..

"Affection in the work place? Bold of you." It's like hug or something sweet :)

a/n: I cheated again and this time a lot more, as this was almost 200 words. gosh this challenge is too difficult 😩

Your relationship with Bruce started off as a secret, but you expected it to some day change. Although you enjoyed the privacy and the sneaking around, you also wanted the world to know how much you both loved each other.

With the coming of your third anniversary, you hoped your situation would finally change, but that wasn’t part of Bruce’s plans. Thus, leading to a nasty argument that had your storming out of the manor.

The next day, at work, you hadn’t seeing him all day, being glad for the solitude in the office. However, your peace was broken by his strong arms linking around your middle, and a kiss being planted on top of your head.

“Affection in the work place? Bold of you, Mr Wayne.”

“I came to apologize, my love.” he started, laying his chin on top of your head. “I love you, but I guess I’m just scared that what we have is going to change once we’re out. But it’s not what you deserve. I want the world to know you as my partner, the one that’s always by my side. Please, come with me to the gala tonight?”

.

send me a word/sentence and I'll write you a 100 words blurb x

[minijenn]

COMMISSIONS ARE OPEN!!! BOTH FOR ART AND FOR WRITING!!! 

As per usual, feel free to send me a PM through any of the above channels to request yours! Also, bear in mind that all payments will be processed over PayPal and that for most of these (outside of comics and full pieces) must be paid full price up front before I will start working on them. Also generally all prices are negotiable but I will uphold to the above prices mostly (though the line is blurred a little for the bigger projects)

As for what I’ll draw, basically here’s that list:

Art Commissions

Ok, so I should also make it pretty clear that all these prices are negotiable, depending on what your request is (and how complex it is) As for what I’ll draw, basically here’s that list:

Stuff for these fandoms:

Kingdom Hearts (includes Keys to the Kingdom content)

Owl House

Amphibia

Legend of Zelda

Gravity Falls

Steven Universe

Infinity Train

She-Ra: Princesses of Power

Avatar: The Last Airbender (extra cost, see above)

Disney (Any of their animated movies fit, also Pixar)

Other Nintendo franchises (Mario, Animal Crossing, Metroid, ect.)

(anything outside this stuff… I’m not very likely to have any talent in drawing, so be aware)

Expect pretty much anything to be in my usual style, as seen above, unless you have a specific request for a different style (which could cost a little extra, depending on how challenging it is) Here are a few other things to keep in mind: 

The most characters you can request in a colored character sketch is 6 (there is no character limit for uncolored)

The most sketches you can request in a sketch dump is 12

The most pages you can request per comic is 4

I will draw character death/blood/violence/gore/ect but not in an explicit manner

Here’s what I won’t draw:

NSFW (like at the very most I’ll draw a kiss tbh)

Ships I don’t support (and if you ask for one of these, I’ll let you know if I won’t go for it)

Fandoms/crossovers I’m not familiar with

I do reserve the right to reject or accept requests based on personal reasons!

Writing Commissions

$5 per 100 words

$10 per 1000 words

Max 10,000 words (so max $100), I won’t write more than that for any one comm

I will also only be taking requests from the following fandoms this time around:

Kingdom Hearts (Keys to the Kingdom specific content is fair game (encouraged even!)

Legend of Zelda (set in any game)

Owl House

Amphibia (never written for Amphibia before but I’ll try)

Anything else is on a case by case basis

And as for the rules of these writing prompts, they’re as such:

I won’t write any sort of porn/smut/lemon, other gross stuff

I won’t write for any ship I’m not familiar with/comfortable with

I won’t write anything with any non-canon OCs in it, sorry fam, they’re yours, not mine

Any and all tones are allowed, from teeth-rotting fluff to the angstiest of angsts

Be as specific as possible when requesting a writing prompt, just so I can make sure I’m giving you what you want (i.e. include a brief blurb of a plot you want me to tackle, or if you don’t have one in mind, a quote or a prompt works too! Heck, even just a character interaction you might want to see me take on is fine)

Lengths are negotiable, everything here is by a case by case basis

Again, I do reserve the right to reject or accept requests based on personal reasons!

Feel free to forward any questions you may have my way! As mentioned before, please send commission requests via PM please! I’m really looking to see what you guys come up with this time around, so let’s have at it!  

[maguayans]

LETHAL BLOODS | Camp NaNoWriMo ‘22 Update #2

Project Blurb: The Arestas took Camellia in when she was a few months old and abandoned. The family was known for their cut-throat ways and were notorious creature hunters to some. When her parents were reported dead, talks of disowning her began to circulate.

One night, on her way from the cemetery, she was attacked by a rabid figure—baring her throat to their mouth, nails digging into her neck and shoulders. Camellia survived. It made her a curious, potentially valuable asset to the family’s trade as hunters and others lurking in the dark.

Soon, she realizes her family functions more than it seemed, and the only way to keep safe is to ally with the enemies.

Genre: Paranormal-Supernatural Fantasy, Horror, Romance Word Count: +5, 000↑

Excerpt: 100↑ Content Warning/s: None

“Leave, I sai—” she paused, seeing two figures she hadn’t seen on the island before. Their bloods familiar to her nose, enticing her hunger, magic prickling at her fingers. “Well, what a surprise. You’ve brought gifts.” She glided closer, her feet centimeters off the ground, white dress flowing with the wind, dragging bits of leaves and debris in her wake. “What are your names, blue bloods.” Camellia and Khrysanthe looked at each other. Wariness painted on their faces, minds highly alerted and confused all at once. “Khrysanthe and Camellia Aresta, witch. I’m sure you can tell which one is which,” Khrysanthe replied with a little bite to his voice, hands tight on the handle of his cursed, thorned whip. “An Aresta?” The witch smiled, seemingly amused. “The two of you? I only smell one Aresta blood. The other…”—she focused on Camellia, Khrysanthe blocking her view out of reflex—“never in my life I’d expect to meet one. How do you do, binibini?” “Want to do you want with us?” The witch turned to Khrysanthe, her eyes piercing and pitch black, disrespected by him. “Your flesh and blood, of course.” Khrysanthe grinned, thrilled at the challenge. “You can try.”

Commentary: Sometimes, I think Khrysanthe is cool. Other times I think he needs to be put down. I mean, someone needs to tell/show him that he’s a mortal. One look could kill him. *eye emojis* Also, witches good.❤️ 

Banner: Love and Pain (aka Vampire), Edvard Munch

Notes: Thank you so much for reading! It has been a not-so-good writing week, but it’s better than not getting any words in at all. There were scenes that kind of ticked me off and I couldn’t get around them for a while. I made it through, but I’m not satisfied. I’ll have future me (who will have to deal with the revisions) worry about it. There were a few placeholders too. Hahaha—Good luck, Aye 2023. Have a great day/night!

[chaomother]

Infinite being named Zero?? Absolutely adore that, and this 100% gave me ideas to bounce off of for this little AU / Scenario The resistance, or the organization Team Dark works for, would most likely hire the Jackal Squad months prior after catching wind of a possible take over plan by Eggman. Of course, the logical thing to do would be to hire the world's best mercenary; in this case, Zero as we dubbed Infinite here. I'd imagine that the MC in this case, would have been forced to work under Eggman as a superior, and a similar case to Shadow defeating Infinite in the prequel episodes would occur. But their fear would be mentioned instead - something they could have held insecurities about. In one way or another this would bring them to be the one to at least test the Phantom Ruby - most likely due to the lack of men on Eggman's side at the current point in time. Eggman would only allow the MC to 'keep' the Ruby upon seeing the illusions-turned-real created during the test of how limitless the power truly is. In comparison to Infinite's illusions, which are mind-boggling and show raw power, MC's would be...complex, detailed, and most importantly, filled with horrifying false-realities that become a temporary reality the more power they put into them. Quite literally, their fear being used as a weapon. The Ruby consuming them to the point where sometimes even they are unable to draw the line between what they've created, and what they had not. This would be the flaw that would have allowed Zero the chance to see past the threat that became of them, and possibly allowed the prototype to activate and respond to him, causing the reality MC created to disappear right as it was about to finish him off. What if Eggman's plan was to be enacted over a longer period of time due to MC not quite having the level of control Infinite did? Sure, their usage can be seen as "stronger" in comparison, but fear can very well cause them to falter. What if it was just enough time for Zero and MC to have another encounter? For Zero to take the first step into trying to help the MC? Maybe even for him to say something similar in message to what Sonic had said to them in the main storyline? What if, during Eggman's plan, the only reason MC was able to create the reality in which a sun(or even something worse in this case, like a black hole or supernova) had been because of the words Zero spoke to them. What if they only follow Eggman out of fear and a twisted sense of loyalty?? What if they had a type of relationship with Eggman that went far deeper then just - a business type / transactional(I'm imagining maybe orphan/adoptive parent type at the moment for this). I may actually make this my character's storyline now that I rambled about it long enough - 🌑

i am absolutely thriving off all this, you went into greater (and interesting) detail and i'm so happy you were able to get some ideas off my thoughts! i would love to read anything that comes out of this, i think it's fantastic♡

it'd be a great way to explore zero/infinite's character outside of the power-hungry husk we see him as for most of the main game—i can actually also see zero enjoying 'the challenge' itself of conquering MC helping MC overcome their fears and chains to robotnik as well

foxy also raised a great little blurb for the MC + robotnik relationship (eggman is incapable of not causing problems ver 390836) :

[thepixelelf]

3100-word October!

hello friends 😊 I had a lot of fun this last february doing that 2800-word february "challenge" (let's be real, I struggle getting word counts up)

so! for the entire month of october, I will try to release 1 blurb per day -- but again, nothing big. I'll be aiming for each blurb to be between 100~200 words. except this time around, I'd love for the requests coming in to relate to autumn/spooky stuff/halloween!

if no requests come in, I'll still release something, but if you'd like to send in a request, please do! more details about request rules are under the cut 💕

if you'd like to send a request, please read the following guidelines!

all I really need is a Name (plus group so I know who's who) and a piece of inspiration

inspiration can come in the form of dialogue prompts, colours, aus, settings, pictures, or anything else that might inspire an octoberish blurb! and honestly, they can be big stretches lol; I'm not picky

please ask nicely :)

I am also open to writing short blurbs from existing stories on my blog! if you'd like a blurb in-universe, just say so in your request

there are some things I won't write. in that case, I'll just delete the ask from my inbox -- no judgement, nothing done wrong. I just won't write it because I don't feel like it, not because it's bad, so don't worry!

groups I will accept for requests this time around include:

AB6IX

ASTRO

DAY6

DRIPPIN

GOLDEN CHILD

SEVENTEEN

happy october!

[chicken-wayng]

✨Rank Rhaenyra and Alicent’s kids challenge✨

For me it’s:

Jace: the greatest king Westeros never had (George’s own words btw).

Luke: Westeros’ very on Princess Diana.

Aemond: idc how evil he is, this man was born serving cunt and losing an eye just made him sexier.

Joffrey: pint size Harwin Strong who wants to avenge his brother so bad he has to be held back by BOTH grandparents. What’s not to love.

Daeron: the only reason he hasn’t been in HotD is because the writers can’t handle his awesomeness.

Helaena: love you my sunshine.

Aegon II: he’s a rapist so I need him dead, but Tom plays him brilliantly.

Visenya: this has more to do with just how awful/forgettable her brothers are that a stillborn baby outranks them.

Aegon III: he’s so forgettable I forget he exists half the time, hands down one of the dullest Targ kings.

Viserys II: he stole his niece’s throne, forced his daughter to marry her rapist brother and claims his own mother is proof as to why women shouldn’t rule. This man encapsulates the very worst of House Targaryen.

If we’re including step kids:

Baela: HotD’s very own Arya Stark, she’s out there kicking butt and taking down dragons twice her size.

Rhaena: my pink princess, you think all the dragons are dead? Think again because here comes Lady Rhaena and Morning in all their Barbiecore glory!

Rhaenyra: she’s great but the Dragon Twins are better.

OHHH THIS IS FUNNNNNNN!!! So I'm just going to rank based on my favorites on the show, not the book:

1) Helaena (obs)

2) Baela (obs)

3) Luke (I got way too attached)

4) Aemond (he's so daddy)

5) Rhaena (I relate to her)

6) Jace (I made the mistake of getting attached to him)

7) I fucking agree with Visenya 100%

8) Joffrey (I'm trying not to get attached to him)

9) Daeron (I know he's not ON the show but I love how he's like Peggy of the Schuyler sisters, those jokes KILL ME)

10) Aegon 2 (they made him a rapist on the show. It's bleh, but I do love the plot line where Dyana gets her revenge on her rapist. However I don't think the books ever mentioned him being so, and so book him goes a bit higher for me)

11) Aegon 3 (this isn't really show but I agree. In the books (we haven't gotten a lot of him in the show) out of him and Viserys 2 he's better)

12) Viserys 2

DAMN 12 kids?! That's literally how many siblings I have🤯 Thank you for sharing yours too!!! I love your little blurb explanations bc those are reasons I love them as well!

[madi2112]

Back of the Book summary.

Also know as a book blurb, dust jacket synopsis or back cover summary it's a brief description of the content of the book and aims to generate curiosity about the book to hopefully entice someone to read it. Like a teaser trailer for a movie.

It's usually between 100 and 200 words and fits between a logline and a full summary.

If found this out when a few places I was submitting my book to for (an extremely remote possibility) the hopes of finding a publisher, request one.

I have a couple of weeks before it's due so I thought I'd throw out my attempt to see if it's even readable to anyone.

Let me know what you think.

All her life she was fighting the battle within. Often with devastating results. Every attempt ended in being rejected, disowned, and damaged.

Then she found love. Not as her true self but as the one she was battling with.

Years later when the battle escalated into a war, she lost it all. Family, loved ones, friends, employment, belongings.

Everything.

Fleeing the oppression behind the Zion Curtain she settled in Orlando, Florida to begin things anew, finally able to do so as her authentic self.

Only fate was not finished with her yet.

Shortly after finally beginning the transition she had dreamt of her entire life, she faced more challenges.

Falling to a Coma that would remove a month of her life, she was diagnosed with highly invasive Cancer.

Chemotherapy and multiple surgeries saved her life along with the help and guidance of some new friends.

The Battle Within marks the determination of the human spirit and that who your authentic self is will always win out in the end. That it's not a choice, not a fad or something open to political debate.

 Its knowing who you are inside.

SInce I'm my own editor right now I'd appreciate any honest feedback or suggestions from a different set of eyes.

~Madison