#captain alaric's demise

[bodhranwriting]

Captain Alaric’s Demise by Bodhrán M.

(I’m clearing out my PC so I thought I’d share some very old snippets from various works I may or may not go back to)

(This draft was written May, 2017, so I was eighteen years and one month old. I’ve improved significantly since then.)

As soon as the study door swung shut behind them, Fyvie snapped, “What in Myrimus’ name are you doing? Where have you been?”

“Working on something.” Thorne shrugged off the grey fisherman’s oilskin and stored the sack in the desk.

“What is in that?”

“Materials,” Thorne said as he sat down in the chair.

Fyvie glared at his employer. His hair and clothes were damp, and he smelt of the ocean. His hands were scraped and salt-reddened, grains of sand clinging to his skin. But he was smiling, completely relaxed.

“Are you alright?” Fyvie asked more quietly.

“Of course,” Thorne replied easily. He held up his hands and his grin became more rueful, “I wasn’t concentrating and hit some rapids. No harm done.”

Fyvie nodded like he understood. Planting his hands on the desk and exhaling heavily, he said, “You should have left a note. I was worried.”

“My, how the times have changed.” Thorne raised a pale eyebrow and leant back in his chair, folding his arms. “I remember us having that conversation with you. Many, many times. Besides, Giles, I am an adult and in no way obligated to inform you of my constant whereabouts.”

Fyvie closed his eyes in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s not what I’m implying and you know it. If you haven’t noticed, Felix, you’re not exactly a popular man at the moment.”

“Still –“

“Still any one of the other nobles could’ve sent a servant to go knock you over the head. You could have gotten robbed. That damned wizard and his friends could have grabbed you. You could have drowned…”

“The last one is unlikely,” Thorne said defensively. “And none of the nobles would stoop to something so common.”

Fyvie thought of the sneering not-quite-threats in the court. “To them you are common,” he said, “They like poetic justice.”

“I can take care of myself,” Thorne drummed his fingers on the table.

Seeing an opening, Fyvie pressed his point. “I know that,” he said quietly, “But I’d rather be able to help if something does happen. How’d you like it if something happened to me and there wasn’t anything you could do?”

It was the wrong point. Thorne’s face hardened. “That was low, Giles.”

“Then maybe you’ll listen to me,” Fyvie stumbled over his words, watching as Thorne’s gaze flickered between the desk, the door, and upstairs. “You skulking about by yourself and not telling anyone what you’re doing while you have at least five people braying for your blood is the kind of thing you, Dad, and Mam would have had my arse for.”

“For very good reason,” Thorne growled. He stood up, smoothing down his trousers and running a hand through his salt-wired hair. “That’s how you get yourself killed.” Perhaps realising his mistake, he added in an offhanded tone, “And then I would never be able to go near a large body of water for the rest of my life because your parents would drown me.”

“Then why aren’t you telling me anything? What the fuck are you up to?”

[bodhrancomedy]

Full Descriptions:

Tocktick - Anxious single father Emmett Askren agrees to enter a prestigious airship race to clear his debts and save his home, but every member of his crew has deadly ghosts on their tail and their revolutionary engine is a time-bomb waiting to explode.

Captain Alaric’s Demise: When exiled wizard, Hywel Nyl, agrees to study an ancient map his only reason is boredom and infatuation with the handsome musician who found it. But when the map supposedly points to a legendary pirate’s lost treasure, he is thrown up against powerful nobles, bloodthirsty marauders, and history itself.

Flies in Amber: Archeology students Flora Beckett and Flora Avery are honoured when they are chosen to embark on the most important expedition in history. If they succeed they could turn back time and bring back the magic that held civilisation together. But the deep caverns at the end of the world hold far more than any of them could have ever imagined…

Soul-Glass: Monster-researcher Helene le Rosan was considering retirement when her “one last job” turned out to be a trap that cost her everything. Reeling from the guilt, Helene takes on a new crew to destroy the evil she unwittingly released. The only issue? That evil is using the bodies of the friends she led into its clutches.

Nostos & the Filigree Lantern: The day the mines burst open, deaf goat herder Nostos was only one to escape capture by the denizens of the underground. With no help forthcoming and the chosen heroes apparently defeated, Nostos descends into the underworld with nothing but his wits and the hope of a fabled light to save his family from eternal darkness.

[residentofthedisc]

What a lovely thought - in the next hour I'm either going to suffocate or be exsanguinated. Or maybe I'll get lucky and someone will shoot me in the head. You got any bullets left?

my wip

[bodhranwriting]

So. One thing about my writing is I tend to include cool old men. I don’t know why (I do know why, I miss my grandpa a lot), but I’d just like to see which one is the coolest/most interesting.

I had several complaints about not putting the reading first so, apologies.

1. Gideon Laurence “Six” Sixsmith (The Arcane Skies trilogy)

“How could you have been so…”

Stupid wasn’t the right word. Sixsmith wasn’t stupid. He was – in Emmett’s opinion – quite clever, if not well-educated. It was the lack of long-term planning which infuriated him.

If they’d both been given a keg of explosives and told to blow up a bridge to stop an advancing army, Emmett would have spent an inordinate amount of time calculating the exact force about to be exerted, the reach of the shockwave, and what would happen to the remnants, until he got a bullet in his head when the army arrived. Sixsmith would have lit the fuse before the commander had finished speaking and probably still been standing on the bridge.

Emmett still remembered his friend’s completely bewildered reaction to his first grey hair – the man had no right to have survived to adulthood let alone old age.

2. Professor Theodore Vincent (Flies in Amber)

She remembered him as a distant speck behind a lectern: a stout man with owlish spectacles and a gruff, taut voice who very matter-of-factly had laid out the realities in becoming a necrotic archaeologist.

Those facts had included the assertion of why he was so admired. While none of his discoveries had individually been as earth-shattering as his contemporaries, he had been steady and consistent in uncovering the pertinent, careful minutiae of the past. And, unlike, his contemporaries, he was still alive and not being treated for ‘nerves’ or ‘alcoholism’.

Some of that lustre was shedding, however, the longer she watched the exchange. The youth – his assistant, Beckett assumed – looked on the verge of tears, scrambling to gather the manuscripts as Professor Vincent loomed over him.

3. Albany “Alby” Kingsfoil (Soul-Glass)

“Alby! It’s me!” I reached out and took his face in my hands, firmly forcing him to look at me. His beard was soft under my palms, his skin as weatherbeaten as my own. “Look, it’s just me, I’m sorry.”

He groaned softly and batted my hands away. “‘Lene, don’t -“ the sentence dissolved into a bout of coughing and he laid his head on the edge of the table.

I took a step closer and squeezed his shoulder. “You bastard,” I murmured, “you lied about feeling better.”

“I do -“ his voice was muffled - “but you caught me off-guard, that’s all.” He raised his head and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Besides, nobody looks the pinnacle of perfection and vitality when you petrify them near perdition.”

I opened my mouth to defend myself when I noticed the half smile hovering around the corner of his mouth.

I threw up my hands. “I’m looking up that sentence later, I don’t think those words mean what you think they do.”

But Alby smiled properly and that made the sun come out again.

4. Lord Felix Nereus Lucius Antonio Thorne (Captain Alaric’s Demise)

Thorne stopped.

Now the sensible thing to do on a night like this, with a winter storm starting to whip up the ocean outside, would be to explore further one of his partially mapped tunnels. He would be deeper in the caves, yes, but he knew, at least, what to expect. He could move more quickly and wasn’t likely to get… distracted. He wouldn’t have to worry as much about getting lost. He knew vaguely where the corridors narrowed and where the ocean seeped in and where the ceilings sloped.

It was the sensible option so therefore he ignored it.

The third tunnel was wide, the mouth black as tar.

Thorne took a breath and walked inside.

5. Sebastiaan “Bas” Hanse (Dmitry Donne, Detective for Fun)

“I’ve got a spare room,” he said finally. “And honestly, company might be nice. But you’re gonna have to pitch in for the rent.”

Bas looked up at him, wide-eyed. “Really?”

“Really.” Dmitry offered his hand. “C’mon. It’s getting cold.”

Levering the bigger man to his feet was harder than he’d thought and it turned out Bas’ bag had split at some point so it was another ten minutes before they bid farewell to Katerina and were walking towards the Silk District.

“You’re sure about this, Dmitry?”

Dmitry nodded. “I think so. Besides, can’t resist taking strays apparently.” He pursed his lips and added, “I could use your talents, actually. Being able to see the future would be very useful in my line of work.”

“I can’t see the future.”

“Of course you can.”

“Don’t be silly. I’ve just got good intuition.”

Dmitry eyed him.

“I think I’d know if I was a seer.”

“Yeah… silly of me. Your, uh, “intuition”, then.”

“You think so?”

Dmitry exhaled heavily.

“Pretty sure.”

“That’s… brilliant.” Bas beamed at him. “Sounds fun, actually, I enjoyed assisting. It’s almost as fun as acting. By the way, did I say thank you for saving my life?”

“Yes. Five times.”

“Make it six. Thanks.”

They walked on in silence. Gentle flakes started spiralling down.

“Do you cook?” Bas asked suddenly.

“Cook? Sort of. Why, do you?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ll make dinner.”

“Brilliant.”

“Do you like fish?”

“Fish would be great.”

[residentofthedisc]

My WiP Characters as Troubled Birds Part 2

Thorne

Giles

The Captain

Velt

Kitty

Vale

[residentofthedisc]

My WiP Characters as Troubled Birds Part 1

Hywel

Kael

Tara

Clem

Burton

[residentofthedisc]

I’m Bored, Send Writing Asks?

I’ll tell you facts about my OCs from Captain Alaric’s Demise

1. The Wizard

2. The Musician

3. The Thief

4. The Actress

5. The Historian

6. The Bodyguard

7. The Strange Lord

8. The Captain

9. The Muscle

10. The Lady in Red

11. The Scheming Lord

12. The Lord Commander

13. The Pirate

14. The Parole Officer

15. The Director

16. The Child

[residentofthedisc]

Chapter 6 of Captain Alaric’s Demise would be going a lot quicker if I DIDN’T KEEP GETTING DISTRACTED BY MY MINOR ANTAGONIST. 

[residentofthedisc]

[residentofthedisc]

Chapter Titles

I’m writing a story (that was going to be sort of serious) and I decided to write down the chapters so I know what happens when and:

Chapter One: Help, My Boredom is Slowly Killing Me Chapter Two: This Play is Filled With Mermaids, Melodrama, and Cute Musicians (Not That I'm Complaining) Chapter Three: Open Mouth, Insert Foot Chapter Four: Wizards Are Weird and Vaguely Useful Chapter Five: Historians Are the Best Tour Guides Chapter Six: Dressing in Dark Colours is a Villain Cliché Chapter Seven: Please Stop Shouting About Treasure, You're Gonna Get Us Killed   Chapter Eight: No, Tara, We're Not Going to Dramatically Rob Him Chapter Nine: What Kind of Monster Locks a Child in a Prop Box? Chapter Ten: Another Day, Another Attempt at Murder Chapter Eleven: I'm Sorry I Broke My Parole But It Was Kind of Important (Part 1) Chapter Twelve: Never Look Your Heroes Up in the Hall of Records Chapter Thirteen: Hey, I Really, Really Fancy You (Please Be Gay) Chapter Fourteen: Oh, Gods, a Plot Twist Chapter Fifteen: Alright, So Now You're Efficient at Your Jobs Chapter Sixteen: I'm Sorry I Broke My Parole But It Was Kind of Important (Part 2) Chapter Seventeen: Would You Mind? My Cellmate is Dying. Chapter Eighteen: Fuck, I'm Surrounded by *Fucking* Heroes. Chapter Nineteen: I Told You There Were Magical Locks For a Good Fucking Reason! Chapter Twenty: Well, Shit. I Guess That's That, Then.

… I think the story has a different idea. 

[residentofthedisc]

Writeblr Intro!

I’ve just reached 100 followers, so I figured I’d do one of these! :)

About me: 

My online handle is ResidentoftheDisc/H.M because I’m not happy about putting my real name out on the internet. And I’m planning to change it soon anyway so… I also used to write fanfiction under the handles of YnitOcelot and later Agent_Talis.

I’m 21 years old, Irish, autistic, queer as fuck and currently studying theatre and film somewhere in Britain. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was 12 and discovered that I was not so great at acting. (Performing, yes, acting… not so much)

What I write!

In terms of media, everything except songs. Poetry, novels, short stories, screenplays, playscripts, radio… the lot. I write poetry for free if asked. 

Mostly fantasy, steampunk – all set in other worlds with diverse casts. Typically set in pseudo 1600s-1800s, so Golden Age of Piracy, French Revolution and Victorian colonies as inspirations. Because fuck colonialism.

Always with at least one disabled and one queer character in the main cast. Found family is a must, along with cool older characters, and probably some kind of cool vehicle like an airship or pirate ship.

Current WIPs

Tocktick: a group of disabled aeronauts participate in a race of a lifetime, but they all have powerful enemies out to stop them.

The Drowned Rook/Starling and Flint (working title): Sequel to Tocktick but set in a different country with new characters. A pair of quirky gay reporters get involved in a strange case involving a phantom thief, mysterious memory loss, and class warfare.

Captain Alaric’s Demise: an exiled wizard is approached by a one-eyed musician who may have discovered an enchanted map leading to a famed pirate’s lost treasure.

Favourite writeblrs!

@cogesque @inky-duchess @dustylovelyrun @thel3tterm @allinthismoment @writedragon

If you write fantasy, LGBTQ+, autistic characters etc., hit me up! I love finding new writers to read. 

[residentofthedisc]

How many stories do you have on the go at the moment, original or otherwise?

So. I’m shite at doing one thing at a time. I can focus, typically, on three ideas at a time in a medium. 

Therefore, actively on the go at the moment I have:

NOVELS

1. Tocktick, a steampunk/arcanapunk story about a group of queer and disabled misfits who enter into a grand airship race around an island chain battered by magical storms to showcase a new type of non-magical engine. Meanwhile, outside forces aim to bring them down for a variety of nefarious reasons. It’s a story about trauma, found family, the evils of colonialism, and ableism. 

2. Captain Alaric’s Demise, a fantasy gunslinger/post Golden Age of Piracy narrative about two queer men (a wizard and a musician) who discover an enchanted map which may lead to a famed pirate’s treasure, but a mysterious nobleman is willing to do anything to stop them. This is a story about tradition, the manipulation of popular history, bigotry, and classism. 

3. The River Northwards Home, a mute ranger is forced to flee his home committing a blasphemous crime: rescuing a kidnapped linguist who is in possession of a previously unknown set of fortune-telling stones. This is set in the same universe as Tocktick but about 500 years earlier. This is a story about ableism, religious extremism, trauma, and self-discovery and identity. 

RADIO

I have a 28-30min unnamed radio drama set in the Tocktick universe telling part of the backstory of one of the main characters. This is for university. 

SCREEN

1. Our Mutual Friend, a short film about coming-of-age in the age of the internet. 

2. VOX, a short horror film about a voice-actor being terrorised in a recording booth by a creature with his own voice. 

So, long answer to a short question, I have 6 stories on the go at the moment. 

[residentofthedisc]

Updated Captain Alaric’s Demise Titles

1. Help, My Boredom is Slowly Killing Me

2. This Play is Filled with Mermaids, Melodrama, and Cute Musicians (Not That I’m Complaining)

3. Open Mouth, Insert Foot

4. Wizards Are Weird and Vaguely Useful

5. Enthusiasm is Great in Small Doses (Also the Lies We Tell Ourselves)

6. It's Not Eavesdropping if You Don't Have to Try

7. Personal or Politics? Why Choose?

8. The Pros and Cons of Sneaking Around at Night

9. The Problem is Getting Them to Stop Talking

10. Dinner, Drinks, and Discoveries (of Historical Import)

[residentofthedisc]

Chapter five of my WIP is done! Although, may have to change the title: Historians Make the Best Tour Guides doesn’t really fit anymore. :-(

[residentofthedisc]

WIP Word Tag Game

Tagged by @inky-duchess Thanks!

These are from Captain Alaric’s Demise.

Princess

He'd sailed the oceans plundering and pillaging until the day that he'd settled down in a little green cove nestled on an isthmus with his lover, a princess exiled from her kingdom for daring to love a commoner. The town had grown quickly, welcoming outcasts from across the land.

Silk

Not that they would, Hywel thought sullenly, peering over the gold-coloured railing at the vivid silks clustering like the petals of an exotic flower in the Stalls.

Snow

He had strange eyes, Hywel couldn't help but notice – the pupils huge and black, the irises a pale glass-sliver around the edges – which coupled with his snow-white hair made it seem like they had leeched all the colour from his body.

Dangerous (because I do not have dangerously in any of my WIPs)

The actress did her part well; even Hywel found her sensuality attractive in an academic, dangerous sort of way. Like a mystery, he thought to himself approvingly, like what got him exiled here in the first place.

Bird (Because, again, I do not have songbird)

"It's a pirate one," Kael said, "Far East, I think, there's a type of huge bird which can carry you off. Not a speaking one like a phoenix or – I guess a gryphon, isn't a bird, really – or something like that. They used to take sailors on long journeys."

"And eat them?" Hywel was slightly bemused by the direction the conversation had taken, "Why didn't you put that in the play?"

Tagging @queer-crusader and @rebelqueenoftheliberator

Your words are fallen, terror, comfort, bronze, and green.