#prompt: dystopia or post-apocalypse

[daughterofbearsandrivers]

Horror | 0.5

She couldn't breathe. It was the first thing her mind registered as she came to consciousness. Her body felt lethargic and stiff limbed from being an awkward positioning for who knows how long. She blinked away the crusty edges of her eyes, feeling grains of dirt shift down in her hair and grimy clothes uncomfortably rubbing against her damp skin.

'It's cold.' She thought.

Encasing in strong sap like chrysalis made from secreted goop those things produce after ingesting organic materials, more preferably human remains, stuck to her body and other harvested corpses hung from the ceiling like a meat packing plant. She could literally taste the metallic iron of the rotten old blood.

'So disgusting.'

The female gripped the edge of her confining hardened goop, muscles in her arms and back burned like summer's sunrays. After several attempts she broke out, peeling away her hair and clothes from the other corpses, strings of undried fluids dripped down to the semi slippery tiled floors. She didn't have much energy to dwell on the fact she was absolutely filthy and in dire need of several washes.

'Vacations are overrat- shoot my nail is broken.'

She fleeting noticed as she tiptoed around the area, tentatively using her hands to feel around the place that is nearly pitch black. A very faint breeze of a broken air conditioning until brushed over her skin, briefly making her heart and spine become filled with ice. Swallowing back her nerves and increasingly permanent fear of the dark, the female noticed a dimly flickering light in the room across the hallway and swinging set of double doors separating the kitchen and dining area of the restaurant.

Just as she took a step in the direction of the light, she sensed it before it could she herself processed the swift action of jumping over the long industrial sized preparation table and crouching so low behind it, she might've been on all fours.

The trilling hallow clicks followed up by a rumbling growl and nearly nonaudible footfalls made the tiniest cracking noises as it's weight weakened the secreted hard goop on the floors.

She didn't dare breathe in it's looming presence. Taking small mercies and a vague sense of comfort in the fact most of the equipment here was aluminum or having an alloy of that same material. Or she would've gone the second she jumped over the table.

It steadily moved to the back areas of the restaurant in a practiced cautious manner that showed it's restraint and discipline in that moment. If she wasn't too much concerned about living, she might've found his physique to be...appealing.

The female inched her way forward to her previous designation, the flickering yellowed light that emitted low buzzing hum. Testing to make sure the swinging double doors didn't squeak or whine, she slipped through the opening. Moving in a half crouch she reached the light and found the dining areas of the restaurant to be in complete disarray of carnage and flies swirling in the air. The urge to vomit came to mind though there was nothing to regurgitate.

The remaining working streetlights of the main street spilled in an orangish yellow. Ceiling high windows were broken and it's glass fragments littered the floor like tiny diamonds. Sticking to the walls of the establishment, she carefully maneuvered around the glass, stepping on carcasses, not chancing they wouldn't hear the smallest noise.

'If there was an Olympics for 'A Quiet Place', I'd be reigning champion.'

A slow process that made her cheeks burn out of supposed embarrassment of an invisible audience and being caught unawares for making her escape too long. She swallowed thickly, she couldn't make mistakes, not one. Once she reached the door, she gently shifted the lower half of broken glass off then placed it on the ground before she quickly crawled out onto the sidewalk.

She shivered, rubbing her hands and forearms though wincing at the amount of mud she felt crusting and sticking to her skin. Lines of cars were crashed or abandoned in the main streets of the town. Looking around she waited a moment before she went over to the many vehicles, doing a quick cursory inside to look for anything she can use. Some of the vehicles were still on, a few emitting the silent broadcast of radio stations.

Seconds went by as the time ticked on burrowed minutes that stretched on for hours. On her knees in the passenger seat, she leaned towards the back as she found some water bottles and day old groceries. Just as her fingertips touched the cap of the water bottle, she felt the thin hairs of her arms raise up. Her eyes flicked up to see them, a black mass that sneered out a hiss.

'Oh shit.'

She didn't move but she couldn't stay with the passenger door open and being in a position that served her demise rather her survival. An echoing thump on the sidewalk behind her and on the rooftop of the car she was in made her cheeks blush and her ears hot out of anxiety. Most importantly they were sniffing or letting out raspy chuffs while they stood perched on the vehicles.

'I'm so screwed-'

The sudden wail of a car alarm shattered the silence, making the creatures screech then give chase to something. The panicked footsteps and labored breathing of a person sprinted by, they didn't see her as they shoved pass the open passenger door, sending her tumbling towards the back and her leg ache from getting hit by the door.

Their screams drew several more creatures from the shadows, the sheer volume of it giving ample time for her to get into the back seat of the car to sit among the groceries. Their shadows passed over head, their movements carelessly bashing into the side of the vehicles as their excitement for prey overruled their situational awareness.

'This is a nice car.'

She opened up the backseat, pulling it forward as she slid through the narrow opening of the back and pulled herself into the trunk. It was warmer in there, giving her a moment of solace and reprieve to let her body rest so her mind wouldn't be affected by lack of sleep tomorrow.

[rjalker]

since I keep forgetting and the post keeps getting too long:

feral cat going on a rant to a former, and only just recently strayed indoor only cat about how no, being feral does not mean you're some super cool hero who knows everything and is always one step ahead of everything and living a life of amazing fun adventure. It means never having shelter or safety and knowing that the humans who brought you here broke their promise to not only you, but to your parents and their parents, and now they're all fucking gone so there's no more chances for them to even fix it. Being feral means not knowing whether you're going to survive the day or whether the flowers you're walking past are going to kill you. It means knowing your existence is actively destroying the world around you but you can't do anything about it except decide to die, and what the fuck kind of choice is that?

for a book about the pets left to fend for themselves after the apocalypse.

you are 100% encouraged to take this idea and run with it. It came from a dream I had several years ago now that I just randomly remembered for some reason.

Edit:

You know what, all my books are gonna be public domain anyways, you can just have the two things I wrote for this and use them as writing prompts for your own original story.

= = =

Quote #1

That was the final straw.

"What do you mean you don't know?" [Indoor only cat] burst out, whirling on [Feral cat] "You're feral, aren't you?! You're supposed to know these kinds of things! What do you mean, 'I don't know'??"

[Feral cat] leapt backward and landed, back arched, ears pinned as [Y] hissed, tail twitching just above the ground. A growl started building in [Feral cat]'s throat as [Indoor only cat] stared, shocked by the display of open and abject fear in every line of [Feral cat]'s body.

"What are you--" [A] started to say, bewildered, taking a step forward.

[Feral cat]'s growl turned into a yowl, and [Indoor only cat] froze, unable to comprehend what was happening.

They stayed like that for a dozen racing heartbeats before [Indoor only cat] realized that backing away might be a good idea. And so would apologizing, now that [pronoun] thought about it. [A] backed up several steps, fighting to keep [C] body language relaxed and calm.

“I wasn't trying to scare you.” [Indoor only cat] said,

= = =

Quote #2

"You think that's what feral means? You think being feral means knowing this kind of shit? You think ferals are kings of the streets, fearing nothing, knowing everything? Who the fuck told you that bullshit, your family's free roaming dog? Probably wanted to cover for the fact that he hadn't killed any of us yet and wanted to make himself feel better! You want to know what feral means, lapcat? It means watching all of your siblings die from the cold, or disease, or because they ran into the road and didn't see the car coming. It means watching your mother get killed by a stinking dog with a fancy collar and a shiny tag because her owner couldn't be bothered to keep her on a leash, and she thinks disemboweling cats is the greatest fun since humans invented squeaky toys! Feral means knowing that every human who sees you either hates your stinking guts and will try to run you over, or doesn't give a shit whether you live or die, just as long as you do it somewhere out of sight. It means knowing that your parents parents were house cats, living it up in luxury, just like the humans promised, until one day their humans realized your grandmother was pregnant, and decided they weren't worth the effort of keeping around anymore, not when there'd be kittens to feed, and broke their stinking promise by throwing them out on the street to fend for themselves. Feral means starving every day until you get lucky, and knowing every time you do that every other animal in this stinking city wants you dead with a vengeance. We don't stinking belong here, do you even understand that? We're not supposed to be here! The humans stinking brought us to this whole island, and they were supposed to take care of us, keep us safe inside their homes where nothing could hurt us and we wouldn't have to hurt the wildlife!

We came with the humans, and they were supposed to uphold their end of the bargain, but they didn't! They just kept breaking it, and didn't even try to fix things!

Even the ones who said they wanted to help you, they don't really care at all, they just want to stop you from having kittens, but they don't care what happens to you!

You see this stinking notch on my ear? That's from the human I thought was going to adopt me, bring me home and keep me safe – Well guess what? She lied! She didn't want to help me, she just wanted to stop me from having my own kittens some day, and as soon as that was done, she threw me back into the woods! She just kept stinking saying it was better this way, because I would be so sad if I was brought inside, and she didn't want to listen when I begged her not to put me back! And she didn't listen! Because she didn't care!

The humans brought us here, and broke their promise, and now you, one of the stinking lucky ones, think being feral is a good thing? You think it's a stinking mark of pride? You think it means I know anything and everything I need to to survive out here?

You think I can tell you whether or not this stinking carcass is safe to eat? You think being feral means I magically know what's going to kill me? What's next, you're gonna tell me you think I somehow know when it's safe to cross the street without a human running me over? Have you seen my stinking tail? I'll give you three guesses to how that happened!

Being feral is not some cool heroic stinking journey, housecat, it's a stinking nightmare, brought down on us by shitty humans who couldn't be bothered to do the one job they'd accepted! And now it's too stinking late for them to fix any of it, because now they're all gone, and they're never coming back!

Even if some of them are still alive, none of them are coming back for us, because now you, and the rest of your housekept friends, are no better than we are – feral. And to humans, feral means stinking useless. And don't you give me some sob story about how your human is different, your human really cares, your human is going to come back for you. You lived right on top of ground zero. Your human was probably dead before the first night was even over.”

= = =

and yes these could just be part of the same scene but I wrote them separately, so you can just mush them together if you want.

The key point here is that they have to have actual cat body language though, so if you don't know what that looks like you should definitely learn before writing this. pro tip: cats don't hiss when they're angry.

[kleiner-ghost]

here's a fun prompt for all you post-apocalyptic/dystopian story lovers:

If severe epidemics in all five crops were to occur simultaneously, this would leave food sufficient for only 39% of the world’s population, but the probability of such an event occurring is very low indeed.

from: Emerging fungal threats to animal, plant and ecosystem health | Nature

[writing-fantasy-prompts]

We're told it started years ago before our parents time even, The older kids tell us that it was slow that the start was when they took our cash and all currency went digital from there it escalated all purchases tracked and some questioned with excuses of its for everyones saftey to protect "your" money and as it was still early many fell for the consolations and excuses some even believed and argued for them. It wasn't even ten years before our freedom of speech our weapons and our rights were limitedand taken. By our parents time they started to forcibly control population growth and distribution they claimed who was picked was by lottery "random" yet somehow many of those taken were the voices or the families and the loved ones of those who rebel those who pushed back and refused to fall in line. Now.........

[littlebearswritingcorner]

Juniper and Jimmy Meet-Cute

Juniper was wandering the wastes for a very long time. She had never really had a home or anyone who really cared for her, so she never found herself staying in one place for too long. She always found herself to be quite the oddity when it came to being around people. The zed had always followed and she tried to simply interact with them but it wasn’t as satisfying as talking to another person. It was one of those things that she was simply deprived of. Maybe it had to do with her blunt and monotone personality, but there was no real way of asking anyone because the only people who were around were in fact dead. She’d been walking a while and was starting to get a bit tired. “Fuck..I better find a place to sleep where the raiders will fuck off...” she sighed as stumbled closer to a building she’d never seen before. 

“Fuck man who the hell are you?” A tall, unfamiliar voice exclaimed as he slinked his shoulders, hands in pockets. From his perspective, she was covered in dirt and looked like she definitely needed to clean herself up, as though she was walking alone for months.

“I-I don’t mean to bother you, kind, gentle-- who the fuck am I kidding. Can I stay here for the night or not?” She scoffed, stopping mid stride, ready to keep walking. 

“Yeah...just leave your shit at the door.”

She looked up, trying to see the face of someone who for once, showed her kindness. It was a bit dark and all she could see was his silhouette. At this point, it didn’t matter to her what was to happen next. She just knew that someone for the first time in a very long time, didn’t simply point a weapon at her and tell her to fuck off. She stepped closer as he welcomed her into his home quietly. She took a minute to look around the room, scanning the house for knickknacks and things of interest that they might share. She shuffled through her bag for any type of compensation she could find and as she looked up, she could finally see his face. 

“H-Holy fuck...” She caught herself scanning him up and down. Eying his clothes, style, boots and most importantly, the knots and wrinkles in his face.

“What?” 

“Y-Your face dude...it’s so...” 

“Ugly? Yeah I get that a lot.” He chuckled softly.

“N-No... It’s gnarly but... I like it.” She smiled, almost a shit eating grin. 

“You sizing me up now? You know it’s not polite to stare. One might think you’re coming onto me.” He teased, catching her in the act. 

“N-No sorry...I-I--” 

“Stop being so fucking weird and chill out, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“O-Okay...” She blushed with whatever pigment she had left in her cheeks, searching through her bag for a bottle of hooch. “I-It’s not much but I want to say thank you...”

“Thanks man. I appreciate that.” He smiled with every layer of teeth he had.

She smiled, looking down as she felt her heart actually feel something for once. “oh shit.” She thought to herself, “I think I just made a friend. Act cool act cool. You don’t wanna blow this.”

“So uh, where are we?”

“In the Grove. East coast. It’s a good thing you found this place cause fuck dude, you would’ve been taken by the raiders in the area.”

“Damn, I wish I knew. I’ve been walking for so long by myself that I just knew if I stopped, I’d be toast. I don’t really know anyone that’ll let a stranger in nowadays.”

“Well now you do. My name’s Jimmy. And you?”

“Juniper.”

“Well now we’re not strangers so get over yourself.” He chuckled softly as he popped the hooch open and took a swig. “You party?”

“Y-Yeah occasionally. It’s hard to get your hands on anything when all you do is survive ya know?”

“Yeah I get that.” He handed her the bottle for her to take a sip. She did, leaving a bit of lipstick on the bottle.

“Shit sorry.” She wiped it off the best she could. Being polite and not cursing was a foreign action of hers.

“Don’t worry about it.” He looked her up and down, trying to figure out where she’d come from and how she’d ended up there, but a sly smile crept across his face as he zoned out a bit.

“If I didn’t know any better, you look like you’re about to eat me.” She teased as she crossed her leg over the other, her skirt gently draping across her legs.

“If I didn’t know any better, you just wanna get me drunk.” He scoffed taking another swig.

She looked over him once more, trying to read his body language without being too obvious. He was definitely the kind of person she’d never seen before and it was a bit overwhelming. “I mean... do you wanna get fucked up?”

He took a minute to answer, looking at the bottle and looking back up at her quietly, almost as though he was lost in thought for a moment. “Sure. Why not?” He said with a smirk as he handed her the bottle and got up to get anything else that he had around the house.

After a while, they had been laughing and making jokes like they had known each other their entire lives. He gave her a towel to get herself cleaned up and to take a hot shower while he continued to drink on his own. After a while she walked out and sighed heavily. “Jimmy... Can I steal some clothes?” She yelled from the bathroom.

“They’re outside the door.” 

“Thanks!” She grabbed them and quickly got dressed as she sat back down next to him. She looked up at him with a smile as they continued to share drinks together. Unintentionally they ended up sitting closer and closer to each other. Neither one of them realized until they tried to hand each other the bottle and Juniper accidentally spilled some of the hooch on him.

“F-Fuck I’m sorry!” She scrambled trying to find something to clean him up, her eyes meeting with his she froze. 

“It’s cool man.” He looked up from his wet shirt to meet her eyes. He felt himself stop for a second to glance her over. “oh...” He said quietly as he tried to think of something to say.

She blushed a bit and tried to ease the tension with a joke. “F-Fancy seeing you here...like this isn’t your house or something.”

He chuckled as he shook his head. “You’re cute.”

She felt her heart skip a beat as she tried not to stare directly at him as she blushed. “Y-Yeah? Y-You don’t look so bad yourself. Face falling apart and all.” She laughed nervously trying to hide in herself.

He grabbed her face and got a bit closer. “Is that how you feel now?” He smirked moving in even closer. She felt a natural pull towards him that drew her in, causing her to lean into him and start closing her eyes. 

“M-Maybe it’s the hooch talking or something in the air but I could almost think you’re trying to kiss me...” She practically whispered.

“And what if I was?” He said boldly.

She gulped softly biting her lip briefly as she closed her eyes, hoping he would. “You won’t...” She whispered.

“Yeah? Is that a threat or a promise?” He said inching closer, their lips practically touching. He smirked as he pulled away and gave them a bit more space between them as he got up and took off his wet shirt. “You were bluffing otherwise you wouldn’t pussy out.” He teased as he walked towards his bedroom.

“Oh no you don’t!” She chased him, jumping up and practically grappling him from behind as she blushed and laughed. “I’m no pussy!”

He chuckled and threw her on his bed, crawling next to her. “You don’t have the fucking guts punk.”

In that moment, she pulled him on her, locking her legs around him and pulling him closer to her. “And what are you gonna do about it, punk?” She teased back.

“If the shoe fits.” He smirked, holding her legs to him. They were softer than he’d expected.

She inched in closer and stopped close enough to where they could feel each other's breath on their lips. “Is that a threat or a promise...?” She whispered as she looked up into his eyes with desire. She kissed his lips softly and slowly, biting his lower lip as she pushed him off playfully. “Let’s sleep.”

He let out a short breath, laying down next to her quietly before grabbing her and holding her close, closing his eyes. “Fucking punk...” He said with a soft sigh.

She nuzzled into him and closed her eyes smiling softly and whispering, “Told you so. I’m no pussy” before they both fell asleep in each other's arms.

[venriliz]

did @birdietrait's random cas challenge again °-° yeah... they're quite random lol. rolls/prompts are below the cut! :]

Marius/Sim 1: punk, fantasy, blonde hair, no makeup, gap teeth Nylah/Sim 2: favorite tv show*, bratz (completely missed that one i think lol), brown hair, long hair, gap teeth Sachiko/Sim 3: cyberpunk, prom, red hair, white eyes, gap teeth

-> * ok ok ok! for favorite tv show i picked The Tribe bc i've been obsessed with the show since my early teens BUT... why have so many ppl never heard of that show? v.v it's literally so good, it's basically the first time i experienced media abt post-apocalypse/dystopia and it became my comfort tv-show to watch. °-° rant over.

[shurisneakers]

a writing challenge? in 2024? you bet

Hi! Hello! Hey!

I've been going through A Time and have chosen to cope by going back to the specific vibes of 2016 to 2018. That happens to include an incredible resurgence in my love for MCU fanfic, the community around it and all the love that goes into them. I've felt a bit distant from here for a while, but I still see so many of my old friends writing, ones who want to get back into it, and a whole lot of new writers I am dying to meet.

I've floated this idea vaguely on my blog and people seem to be interested so I figured it was worth a shot!

So yeah, welcome to Ari's Old School, Nostalgia Jam, Why-The-Hell-Not MCU Fic Writing Challenge 2024!

Prompts, rules and whatnot under the cut:

Requests:

If you could reblog this post to reach someone who might want to participate, I'd really appreciate it! No need to be following me, it's open for anyone.

Reader-inserts, OCs, solo character fics, character x character-- absolutely no limitations

Any and all MCU characters are allowed

Anything above 500 words should have a read-more/keep-reading tab. Series, multi-chapters, one-shots, drabbles, etc etc. The sky's the limit.

Please tag me in your fics (@shurisneakers) so I'm notified of them, and post them with the tag #arisoldschoolwritingchallenge . It may take me a while to get back to you due to the circumstances I find myself in currently, but I absolutely will. Please send me a DM if I haven't responded within 10 days.

Send me an ask with the prompt you would like. Feel free to pick up to 2 prompts

The only thing I request of you: no RPF and no dark fics. Smut is welcome, but non-con/dub-con/incest or anything along those veins is something I'd ask you not to submit for this challenge. Thank you for your understanding!

I know I've called it an MCU fic challenge as it's the community I've grown with, but if you feel like any of these prompts resonates with a character from another fandom, please go ahead and write it. This challenge really is just about the fun of writing fanfic and love for Your Little Guys

No submission cut-off date. Take all the time you need.

Prompts

I've tried to have a mix of classics and uncommon tropes/dynamics, so I hope everyone finds something they connect with!

Relationship Prompts

1. Enemies (taken by @theysaywhatasadsight)

2. Best friends/childhood friends

3. Coworkers (taken by @jaaneymann)

4. Internet friends

5. Neighbours/roommates (taken by @angrythingstarlight)

6. Fake dating (taken by @hungryforpowernotfood)

7. Commuters

Alternate Universe Prompts

1. Florist AU (taken by @hungryforpowernotfood)

2. Showmance AU (taken by @bombsonboard)

3. Social media/streaming/gaming AU (taken by @splintered-emotions)

4. Thieves/Heist Group AU

5. Time travel AU

6. Pirates AU

7. College AU (taken by @lovelybarnes)

8. Apocalypses/dystopia AU (taken by @targaryenvampireslayer)

9. Chef AU

10. Roadtrips AU

Some rarer miscellaneous ones for those who are so inclined!

1. Shipwrecked together on an island

2. Meet Ugly (opposite of Meet Cutes) (taken by @barnesandco

3. Both of you are ghosts but don't know the other is

4. Treasure hunters AU

5. Faking death

6. Professional cuddlers AU

7. Time loops/Groundhog Day (taken by @sxrensxngwrites)

8. Orpheus and Eurydice

9. Villain x hero

10. Hitchhiking

11. Carnival of Horrors

12. Robin Hood

13. Matchmakers AU

14. Insomniac x narcoleptic

15. Intergalactic Coffee Shop AU

16. Doomed By The Narrative

17. Enemies to Lovers to Enemies

18. Subversion of Classic Hallmark Movie Tropes

Dialogue prompts

You can tweak them as per requirements, but be sure to keep the underlying message!

Angst

1. "I should have trusted myself. I should have stayed far away from you." (taken by @waywardcrow)

2. "Has it occurred to you that how I feel matters too?" (taken by @jaaneymann)

3. "We failed. I would do it again."

4. "You do not deserve my forgiveness."

5. "You make me feel so alone." (taken by @reidishh)

6. "I'm not giving up on us." "I did. You should too." (taken by @targaryenvampireslayer)

Crack

1. "Ohhh, you wanna kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid." (taken by @pinkthick)

2. "I think you and I make the worst choices together." "Yeah, but it's always entertaining."

3. "I trusted you." "Terrible decision, really."

4. "I know I'm smiling but I want to push you off a very big cliff." (taken by @pepperonijem)

5. "I'm hilarious." "You're traumatised."

Fluff

1. "This is the only thing I look forward to everyday." (Taken by @bombsonboard)

2. "I think we should do that again. For the sake of the world and my sanity."

3. "You're all I think about." (taken by @waywardcrow)

4. "Don't go anywhere I can't follow." (taken by @iguess-theyre-mymess)

5. "Don't smile at me like that." "Like what?" "Like that." (Taken by @lovelybarnes)

Word Prompts:

Flesh

Strawberry

Bruised (taken by @juvenilearson)

Groovy

Jump

Sunflower (taken by @barnesandco)

Alchemist

Wayward

Offerings

Mischief (taken by @supraveng)

I hope you'll join in! Please do tag anyone you think would be interested, I'd love for this to have as wide an audience as possible.

Lots of love <3

-Ari

[theresattrpgforthat]

I really enjoy the Technomancers from Shadowrun, especially with the whole innate ability to connect to the wireless Matrix without augmentations and expensive hacking tablet. As fun (for me, not the characters) as it is for technomancers to be the central boogeyman that all the megacorporations are rounding up, it can be a bit disheartening that technomancers are treated like parayas, both in and out of game, with technos existence is basically illegal in the world, and long time wired matrix fans not liking them and the wireless Matrix because of the complex rules and lore in our world.

Do you think you got any games that have something similar to the Technomancers from Shadowrun, especially the ones from the later editions, since technomancers was more of a colloquial term for hackers instead of the mystical cyber wizard hackers.

Also, I'm more looking for hacker vibes with a side of mysticism rather than "Merlin emailed you a Fireball," but if you are feeling cheeky about it, both are good. :3

Theme: Hacking (with Magic!)

Hello friend. I tried to approach this request from a couple of different directions, so I can't guarantee that the following suggestions are exactly what you're looking for. I tried to approach this from both the sci-fantasy and cyberpunk routes. I hope that there's something in this collection that you can pick up and play around with!

Into the Glowlands, by Laika Small Press.

Into the Glowlands is a game of expeditions and delving in the Glowlands, the hellish tundra of a fallen world. Wielding blades, spells and half-understood technology, venture into the freezing wastes and see what treasures you can return with, while surviving the cold, radiation and the eternal war of the Glowlands' murderous machine armies.

Into the Glowlands combines a quick roll resolution system based on combining your character's Aspects, in an entirely new d20-based dice engine called the Aspect Engine. This is designed to allow players and GMs to play an in intuitive and smooth way, with quick tactical combat and deep character customisation. It is a post-apocalyptic, science fantasy strategy RPG for fans of Ironsworn, Best Left Buried, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Lancer. 

Into the Glowlands harks to many recognizable tropes within high fantasy, but re-contextualizes them in a technological post-apocalypse. Judging by the SRD, it looks like magic is available to all characters, regardless of what class you take. There’s a class called the Holographist, which cam create illusions using a substance that exists within most bodies, and there’s also a Technologist, which wields technology and magic together - and has access to something called technomancy. This looks to be a special class of spells. If you like tactical games about combat and strategy, Into The Glowlands might be your cup of tea.

199X: INFEST, by Thursday Garreau.

In the year 199X, the Z-TEK Industrial/Habitation District was walled off from the outside world - apparently a terrible nuclear accident with complete fatalities, swiftly forgotten. The truth is far stranger: a malign cult tore a breach between our world and the home dimension of the psychic parasites they revere, prompting the use of an experimental atomic weapon and a total quarantine of all survivors. Life endures in RAD ZONE 1… but those that rise above the ashes may be something more than human.

This is a future where megabytes are precious and lives are cheap.

199X: INFEST is an apocalyptic cyberpunk microgame using Jason Tocci's 24XX system. You play as mercenaries and scavengers within Rad Zone 1, tackling Jobs with your wits, salvaged technology mutant Twists, and psychic Powers. Clash against corporate kill-teams raiding the quarantine zone, hateful zealots on a petty crusade, vicious bandit warlords, and the cultists of phantasmal alien Bugs.

INFEST is more about a post-apocalyptic dystopia then it is specifically about hacking, but it has a character option called Relay, which gives you the ability to talk to machines. 24XX games are pretty lightweight, so don’t expect a lot of complexity in terms of how this plays out - your basically get a bit of a better chance into getting machines to do what you want, while other characters are turning invisible or zapping the technology around them. You might be able to combine the options in INFEST with the character options in its sister game, 199X: SHUTDOWN, which is created by the same author and meant to be combined with their other 199X games. SHUTDOWN has a Phreaker character option that improves your hacking - although most of the loot you’d be interested in needs to be connected in some way.

Cryptomancer, by Land_of_NOP.

Cryptomancer is a tabletop role-playing game made for hackers, by hackers. It features an original fantasy setting and gameplay informed by diverse security disciplines. Players assume the role of characters on the run from a shadowy organization that rules the world through mass surveillance, propaganda, and political coercion.

This is a game in which a fantastical world has its own version of the internet, and the methods your characters use to maintain secrecy and privacy are allegorical to the ways you can keep yourself safe on the internet in real life. Designed by hackers, this game was designed to educate even the non-internet-literate about internet safety. In terms of the lore, the ability to connect to each-other through the Shardscape does require shard-gems, but any character can use these gems. This is a fresh new take on both fantasy and technology, and I think it definitely merits checking out!

SYZYGY, by Ostrichmonkey Games. (@ostrichmonkey-games)

SYZYGY is a rules-light role playing game where players take on the roles of wandering, exploring, Mendicants in a vibrant science fantasy world. 

This is a two-page ashcan of weird science fantasy, that makes tech akin to magic in many ways. All of the characters will have some ability to channel, which gives them access to the artifacts and energy that pass for technology in this setting. The designer cites Destiny, Nausicaa, and Hyper Light Drifter as inspirations for this one. I like that having access to channelling isn’t reserved for a specific character here - all of your characters have the ability to do it, it’s just a question of what they’re using their abilities for. There’s also something called The Strange - paracausal energy, ancient technological ruins, god-machines - all of which can change the landscape and the stakes for your characters.

If you want a light toolbox to play around with, I recommend checking out SYZYGY.

[polizwrites]

The Thing With Feathers

This is a fill for today’s  @flashfictionfridayofficial  prompt [#FFF248 Watching Birds] and my @steverogersbingo   A4-Dystopian square  (though I went more post-apocalypse with this)  

Fandom: MCU/Marvel Pairing: [none - Steve Rogers POV] Rating: General Tags: Post-apocalyptic setting, Thanos Won, Dystopia, hopeful ending   Summary: In a battered, war-torn world, Steve Rogers finds a bit of hope.

Steve hadn’t realized how much he missed seeing birds, and hearing them sing.  Not that there’d been a whole lot of birds in the city besides sparrows and pigeons.  You’d get a bit more variety in the parks,  of course, but now - well, the skies felt empty and silent everywhere he’d gone. 

Not that there was much of any place to go to, or any good way to get there other than by foot.  Thanos’ attempt to save the universe by randomly cutting its population in half had unforeseen, devastating consequences, at least here on Earth.  

The loss of so many people so suddenly caused havoc with power grids and other infrastructure; plunging a good portion of the developed world into chaos.  Governments toppled, and madmen got their hands on weapons of mass destruction, setting petty scores with lasting consequences.  “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” seemed all too apt of a metaphor.   

There were survivors, of course, gathering together in small bands - some violent, some peaceful.  Steve Rogers abandoned the mantle of Captain America, instead becoming a nomad - offering his strength and his endurance to protect the latter against the former. He never gave his name and asked nothing in exchange other than what he needed to survive. 

It was somewhere in the Adirondacks where Steve heard two bright clear whistles, followed by melodic chirping.  A flash of red flickered between the trees and he followed, his heart soaring at the sight of a cardinal.   Maybe, just maybe, the world wasn’t lost, after all.   

[skrillien]

Valentine's Ficsplosion

or, a 14 day fic writing challenge i threw together to help a couple friends out of writer's block. if you want to participate, you can find it here and the collection will be revealed on the first of february- anyone from any fandom with absolutely any (or no) ship may join!

the prompt list is as follows:

Day 1: Coffee shop AU | party | wilderness | hurt/comfort

Day 2: Omegaverse AU | kidnapping | cathedral | seasonal/holiday

Day 3: Soulmate AU | body swap | traveling | whump

Day 4: High school AU | wedding | island | drunken confessions

Day 5: Genderbend AU | first date | abandoned building | sex pollen/mind control

Day 6: Crossover AU | only one bed | hospital | songfic/inspired by a song

Day 7: Sci-fi AU | meet cute | historical | pregnancy

Day 8: Superpowers AU | skating | public transportation | citrus scale

Day 9: Hybrid AU | stargazing | bar/club | kidfic

Day 10: Royalty AU | door-to-door | diner/bakery | archive warnings

Day 11: Dystopia/Post-apocalypse AU | power outage | castle | secret relationship/fake dating

Day 12: Magic AU | forced proximity | big city | fix-it fic

Day 13: Sex work AU | crossdressing | rural | rarepair

Day 14: Crime AU | fandom fusion | hometown | crack

reblog to spread the word and direct any questions to my inbox!

[sobriquett]

Dear Heart Attack Exchange 2024 Author,

Fuuuuuuuuuuck.

Write 10k in two weeks. One week to edit. Try not to die. Exchange on Dreamwidth or AO3.

I almost have two chapters of Good Hope in hand and an authorial death wish so LET'S GO

Without further ado, DNWs, likes, dislikes, fandom-specific prompts and ravings:

DNWs

Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics | Anyone being called “Daddy” in a sexual context | Bestiality | Body Horror | Gore | Medical Experimentation | Mpreg | Mutilation | Non-Canonical Amputation | Porn Without Plot | Sadism | Scat | Torture | Vore

General Likes and Loves

5+1 Times | Alternate Endings | Angst | Backstory | Banter/Bickering | Bittersweet | Canon Compliant | Canon Divergence | Character Death | Character Death Aftermath | Character Study | Class Differences | Coming of Age | Competence | Complicated Sibling Relationships | Cultural Differences | Dark Fic | Debt & Financial Pressures | Despair | Disabled Characters | Domesticity | Different Worldviews | Enemies to Friends/Lovers | Epistolary | Examining Societal Issues | First Meetings | First Time | Fix-It | Fluff | Found Family | Friends/Lovers to Enemies | Grief/Mourning | Grumpy Character/Sunshine Character | Historical Details | Humour | Hurt/Comfort | Last Time | Laws of Magic | Living Up/Down to Expectations | Long-Distance Friendship | Marriage of Convenience | Miscommunication | Missing Moment | Obeying Canonical Boundaries (Social/Cultural/Moral) | Outsider POV | Parent/Child Relationships | Peril | Pining | Platonic Intimacy | Politics & Intrigue | Poor Life Choices | Post-Canon | Pre-Canon | Pregnancy & Babies | Presumed Dead | Protectiveness | Redemption | Religious Elements | Reunions | Romance | Sad Endings | Secret Relationships | Uneven Power Dynamics | Unexpected/Unlikely Friendship | Unreliable Narrators | Whump | Worldbuilding

Darkfic Likes

Apocalypse | Betrayal | Character Death | Character Death Aftermath | Claustrophobia | Conspiracy | Debt & Financial Pressures | Degradation | Disease | Dubious Consent | Dystopia | Fire | Forced Marriage | Gaslighting | Hauntings | Humiliation | Hypothermia | Infertility | Miscarriage/Pregnancy Loss | Murder | Paranoia | Poisoning | Prison | PTSD | Shame | Suicide | Terminal Illness | Unhappy Endings

Smut Likes

Biting/Marking | Bondage | Canon Compliant/Historically Appropriate (esp. period fandoms) | Desperate Sex | Dirty Talk | Dubcon | Edging/Orgasm Delay | Fingering | First Times | Fisting | Foreplay | Hair Pulling/Touching/Playing | Last Times | Loss of virginity (either/both/all partners) | Oral (any/all combinations/intensities/setups) | Porn with Feelings | Power Imbalance (Physical or Social/Financial/Other) | Restraint/Held Down | Rough Sex | Semi-Public Sex | Sensual Details | Vanilla Sex

And now fandom-specific prompts in alphabetical order:

1. [Safety] A Date with Death (Visual Novel)

Grim Reaper/Main Character (A Date With Death)

I don’t know what it was about this that got in my head, but it did. Over a couple of days, I played it through until I’d seen all five endings. And weeks later I still can’t hear gentle background muzak without being straight back in this game in my head.

There are so many delicious tropes in here, even if some of the kink flavours aren’t your favourite. There are nicknames, delayed name reveals, Azrael, so much flirting, canonical soul bonding/telepathy (and explicit reference, if you choose, to that being useful for sex), starcrossed lovers, and more I can’t remember.

I am extremely curious about what on earth could happen next. If you continue your relationship beyond the bet, what happens?

Does the afterlife come looking for Grim? Does that place you or him in danger?

Does he fit into your life, your apartment? Do you need to leave it?

Spending too long in the mortal realm is bad for him, tips his soul out of balance towards light and if his soul is not balanced then he dies – so how does he/you bring back the darkness?

How does the afterlife function? Are there really nine hells, or is that blasphemy and there are, like, eight or something?

Mind bridges and soul bonding – does that become regular, routine, perhaps permanent?

What is Grim’s past? How did he become a reaper? Did he have a human life?

Perhaps follow the ending where the character becomes a reaper too, in the DLC – explore the bureaucracy, the vocation, the training, your gift/nature. Do you take an oath, live by and learn the reaper code?

First times all round, both in the relationship and in life experiences.

Themes of fate/destiny.

Use elements of the bad ending even in the good ending? I bloody love angst and peril.

And what exactly are soul babies?

One virtue of the visual novel is the extent to which you can customise your experience – character, name, pronouns, compliment style, appearance, pet, decoration, etc. I have typically played with female characters with she/her pronouns and that would be my soft preference for fic, but that’s not a hill to die on and I don’t think it’s totally out there to write a fic that can be read ambiguously – but perhaps that would be tricky to sustain for 10,000 words!

2. Bridgerton (TV)

Bridgerton (TV)

Anthony Bridgerton

Anthony Bridgerton/Kate Sharma

I just kind of want to watch Anthony suffer.

I love the mix of arrogance and angst in Anthony, the gap between what he thinks his duty is and what it actually is. I love Kate’s courage and lack of taking anyone’s shit, how secure she is until she isn’t, and when she butts heads with anyone - especially Anthony. I love Anthony’s actual relationships with his siblings and the different dynamics with each of them, and I am curious to know how Kate fits in. Is she more of a friend, a sister, a mother, a mix, something different?

Bees! Consequences of the gazebo scene! Canon divergence where the show characters have a similar outcome of the bee incident to the book! The responsibilities and duties of the new viscount and viscountess (real, imagined, fun or tedious)!

Please feel extremely free to add in or build on anything in S3 Part 1, I've already seen it one and a half times and it came out 42 hours ago.

3. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre/Edward Rochester

Jane Eyre/St. John Rivers

Jane Eyre is an unreliable narrator.

This is one of my favourite novels ever, but I read a new story each time I read (or rewatch – Ruth Wilson 2006 version, yes) it. I had a different experience of it as a child, teenager, young adult, and so on – and with time, I’ve come to see Rochester as more of a villain, and then also as a victim of circumstances and a product of his environment, and to increasingly believe that Jane Eyre lies to us. She’s also every bit as prejudiced and superior as those she criticises, but/because she’s also a product of her world. But I still love her, and love that she says she got a happy ending. But that doesn’t mean it has to stay happy, or even that she was telling the truth.

This is a fandom where I particularly enjoy a darker edge, and a playful approach to the text on the author’s part. The novel is a first-person autobiography. Have fun with that! Jane Eyre is an unreliable narrator. The novel is her autobiography and I don’t believe that the story she told is necessarily the story that happened. What did she conceal? What did she tweak? What did she exaggerate or minimise? Is she trying to tell a moral story, and if so for whom? Does her faith endure and guide her quite as steadfastly, perfectly and purely as she says? I adore fics that play with this idea.

I am 100% on board with outsider POV; Jane does not need to be present if that works for the story.

Post-canon happiness?

Post-canon unhappiness?

Canon divergence at any point.

A missing moment from the engagement - an evening spent together, a walk, a trip out. Tension, anticipation, uneasiness, a sense that all’s not quite right that can’t be entirely set aside. Rochester trying to claim more affection than Jane is yet willing to give, with either a playful or darker edge.

A missing moment between the interrupted wedding and Jane fleeing Thornfield? What if they do have a night of madness before Jane flees Thornfield, where just for a moment she gives in? Or is coerced? (Dubcon over complete non-con please? Also: gloriously awful or happy consequences welcome.)

How does Rochester discover Jane’s missing? How does Adele find out? Mrs Fairfax? How do they all react? What is that day like? (Jane’s absence would almost be the character in this case. She doesn’t have to appear, she’s still the focus.)

What if Adele’s mother returned to collect her, or for some other (nefarious) purpose?

Rochester dies in the fire. What happens then?

Jane goes with St. John as a missionary and it doesn’t start/go/end well.

Does “real” Jane go with St. John as a missionary and the miraculous ending she writes to her autobiography is a fiction she wished had happened?

What if the first wedding isn’t interrupted? Rochester’s a bigamist and Jane a fallen woman when it comes out. (I have started writing this but not finished it.)

In this situation, why/how does she write her autobiography in the way that she does?

Does Jane come to see Rochester as a villain? Does she find herself corrupted, tarnished or lessened in his eyes in some way when he comes to marry/possess her and the sharper, darker side of his character turns on her once she’s off her pedestal?

Jane dies on the moors. (Shit… 5(+1) things of different ways one or both could die and the other find out/grieve? Oof, that makes my id throb, but it is not to everybody’s taste!)

Does Jane resent being Rochester’s carer, his eyes and hands?

Is Rochester “really” as injured as Jane writes in her autobiography? Did she provide some sort of divine/literary punishment for his sins? Or what really happened instead, did he get a comeuppance?

4. [SAFETY] North and South (UK TV)

John Thornton

Margaret Hale/John Thornton

I love this fandom so much. I have requested it many times before and as well as past letters there are many pretty gif sets under this tag for you to enjoy. There’s such a rich setting to explore here - time, place, convention, mores, differences in education and worldview…

I love the context of the place, the contrast between north and south, old and new, leisure and trade, masters and workers, masculinity and femininity. It’s Pride and Prejudice with higher stakes. (Although arguably there are three worlds – Margaret’s, John’s, and Higgins’.) There’s so much pride in all these characters, and they’re all looking down on each other, and then they start to understand one another.

And the longing looks, the touches. The “look back at me”. And the train scene. (About which I have Feelings. That is an inappropriate amount of PDA for 1850s England and they should be halfway down the aisle in about two and a half minutes. Also, wtf unmarried lady just getting on a train with unrelated gentleman, while not wearing a hat. Shocking stuff. Shameful. Tut tut.)

Wedding fic! How does their wedding day/night go? How do their friends and relatives behave and respond? (Particularly in the context of the show’s ending)

How do they pass their engagement? Do they have one? Do they write to one another? Do they keep finding excuses to be in one another’s company? Do they keep finding themselves alone in back drawing rooms?

Do they live with Mrs Thornton? How do they all get on?

Does something in their (very different) pasts come back to haunt them?

Does Frederick Hale return to England? What does he think of his sister’s husband? Does he impact Margaret and John’s life? Frederick is Margaret’s only living male relative, but they have only seen each other once in a decade – and illicitly at that, and an event that caused both Margaret and John great pain. Does Frederick have a say in her life? Does he think he does?

Do Margaret and John have a traditional marriage or a more equitable one in terms of ownership and management of the mill?

Is Thornton traumatised, or at least significantly affected, by the loss of the mill and his close brush with disaster? Does it colour his relationships with his mother, who he nearly failed, and his new wife who saved him, and/or his management of the mill once he owns it? Can he feel the ghost of his father’s failure and shame?

John and Hannah Thornton and Nicholas Higgins have tasted poverty – or at least true difficulty. Margaret might think she has, but she has not. Is there conflict there?

Victorian bankruptcy was a deliberate cruel, destructive, public, shameful process, designed to grind a man down to nothing at all. Does Thornton go through this, either during the novel or post-canon? Does he survive, or is he weighed down by grief and shame? He is so very conscious of his place in the world, his responsibilities to his peers, his workers, and his family. And a bankrupt man has pointedly failed in every one of these things – and it would all be so terribly, terribly public. (Very interested in stories about financial pressures/public shaming/private support.)

What if the riot goes wrong? Is one or both of them more seriously injured? Is there a disaster at the mill, or in the police response? Does the incident become even more infamous?

Disaster at the mill! Fire, accident, disease. Mills were a very, very dangerous place to work.

John and Margaret’s marriage, despite their love for one another, isn’t accepted in either the north or south. John is not the right sort of man in the eyes of Margaret’s southern friends and relatives – a manufacturer, not a gentleman, soiled by his engagement with trade and industry and direct work, and even more so because of his father’s past and suicide. Margaret is not acceptable to society in the north as an outsider who meddles where she’s not wanted, doesn’t understand their world, and represents an old world with no relevance to their new modern vision. She says the wrong thing, values the wrong things, has the wrong priorities in their eyes, took one of their most eligible men. Can they be happy in such circumstances? Society thinks, alternately, that they either married to avert scandal (which means scandal happened) or Thornton wants Margaret’s fortune (which reflects badly on him in the south and Margaret in the north).

5. The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller

Achilles/Patroclus

I have just reread this for the first time in eight years, and I was just as emotionally wrecked at the end. It remains probably the most intense reading experience of my life, indisputably in the top three. I could talk for hours about the narrative voice, the imagery, the fucking ending because I knew absolutely nothing about Patroclus in 2016 and when my then-partner walked into the room just as, you know that bit, I literally threw something to get them to go away.

Could you please jab me sharply in the feels again, if you can? Whether that’s joy or angst or longing, the this and this and this motif, or… or anything. I’m in love and mourning; it won’t be hard.

This is not a fandom where I am at all bothered about smut but sprinkle it in if that’s your jam – just please note my DNW for porn without plot.

More with Briseis!

Fuck Pyrrhus with a really big stick – a narrative one if you like.

Post-canon… somehow?

Canon divergence – a happy ending? A return to Chiron? Growing old together?

In the Iliad, Achilles has a choice to gain glory and die young or live a long, uneventful obscure life – what if he had chosen the latter?

Missing scenes at Phthia, Pelion, the camp?

More/other/different prophecy?

[kptskinkmeme]

Prompt Fest sign-ups now OPEN!

The KPTS Kinkmeme Prompt fest is now open for prompts!! Please note that dates have changed. Everyone has until April 29th to submit prompts inspired by the tropes below. The fan week will be held in July now, from July 3rd to July 9th.

You can begin posting prompts for the Prompt Fest to the kinkmeme on AO3 (https://archiveofourown.org/collections/KPTS_Kinkmeme) or Dreamwidth (https://kptskinkmeme.dreamwidth.org) as of today. You can claim fills whenever you want (including after the prompt fest ends!), and can start writing or drawing fills as soon as you want, but we'll share the list of prompts organized into trope categories no later than May 1, and here's the schedule for posting fills by theme:

Day 1 (July 3rd)

Trope #1 Hurt/comfort Trope #2 Orgasm control (edging, orgasm denial, overstimulation, etc) Trope #3 Friends with benefits/enemies with benefits

Day 2 (July 4th)

Trope #1 Magic/monsters/supernatural Trope #2 Body worship/praise kink Trope #3 Soulmates (soulmarks, multiverse, reincarnation, etc)

Day 3 (July 5th)

Trope #1 Time loop/time travel Trope #2 BDSM (dom/sub; total power exchange; degradation; sadomasochism; cock/ball torture; spanking, paddling, and whipping; rope play and bondage; knife play; wax play; etc) Trope #3 Fake dating/engagement

Day 4 (July 6th)

Trope #1 Arranged marriage/marriage of convenience Trope #2 Alpha/Beta/Omegaverse (A/B/O) Trope #3 Mommy/daddy kink

Day 5 (July 7th)

Trope #1 Forced proximity (shared telepathy, handcuffed together, huddling for warmth, there was only one bed, etc) Trope #2 Consensual non-consent (CNC) Trope #3 Bodyswap

Day 6 (July 8th)

Trope #1 Role reversal Trope #2 Fuck or die/sex pollen Trope #3 Futuristic AU (science fiction, apocalypse, dystopia)

Day 7 (July 9th)

Free day! For the Free Day, writers/artists can fill any prompts they like on the kinkmeme, which means you can also prompt anything you like that falls outside the parameters of the tropes listed above. Some more examples of SFW tropes: royalty AU, genderbends, historical AU, second chance/exes to lovers, coffee shop AU, idol AU, college/university AU Some more examples of NSFW tropes: kink exploration, body modification, sex toys/object insertion, proxyfucking, breeding kink, exhibitionism/public sex, voyeurism, gangbangs

Let's get prompting and claiming! And have fun!!

[encrucijada]

catholicism gothic and the butterfly labyrinth for the title tag pls!!!

catholicism gothic as a concept sprung out during escapril of last year when i wrote the "poem" for the prompt act of creation and captioned it as "catolicismo gótico" as a play of things like southern gothic or small town gothic and the like. it was just some imagery i put together and added some "gothic" elements to (see: blood). here's the thing it's on my 2022 escapril collection

i really liked the imagery! and imagery is 90% of what motivates my writing so i decided i wanted to write something with that vibe. something was intentionally working with the imagery of latinoamerican catholicism but just, make it "gothic". basically write some dark magical realism. the problem was i had no characters or any actual plot, just the ~vibe~. now i still don't have any of that but i... might try to write a chapbook with it?? there are many things i could do with catholicism gothic because it's an aesthetic it's not really a story. the chapbook is about this group of cousins who find a fallen angel in their property's pond one day and decide to lock it away in the basement (or maybe the attic i haven't decided). but i could also do away with the angel plot and simply write a novel about rotten family vibes and just make the images of la virgen cry blood sometimes. many possibilities! i could write them all!

this is all i have for the chapbook so far lmao

as for the butterfly labyrinth, it is the title of my the maze runner ripoff. i love the concept of the maze runner. unethical human experimentation?? set during a post-apocalypse?? awesome. 10/10. if only the books were like... good. i read them all in high school and loved them. then i tried to reread them and never have i fallen out of love so aggressively in my life lmao. the writing was so bad, the dialogue was bad. i think i liked the books because i read them in spanish so when i tried to do the same in english and it was cringe i swore revenge. now: the movies?? i Love the movies. still do, probably always will. the feel and imagery of the movies is amazing. i love the post-apcalyptic outside world contrasted with the sleek look of the w.c.k.d. objectively they're probably not that good but i Love them.

so. with all that in mind i decided i wanted to write a the maze runner ripoff. you know how after the hunger games came out there was a teen dystopia craze? this is going to be my addition to that once that trend comes back. the butterfly labyrinth has a similar set up: scientists are experimenting on kids to find the cure to a virus. except because it's me and i hate zombies (cranks are just zombies lite, i do not like them) i decided to make the virus more... fantasy. so what the virus does is turn people into strange hybrid monsters. they are still locked away in a labyrinth but now the monsters aren't synthetic and made by the scientists (the way grievers are), they are the very same kids of the experiment, except it's those who have succumbed to the virus and turned. so the experiment revolves around examining three groups: the immune, the not immune who aren't infected, and the not immune who are infected and have turned into monsters.

no snippets for this because i haven't done any writing. but if i was to properly commit i would probably make it a duology? one where they are inside the experiment and one after they escape it. oh and it's called "butterfly labyrinth" because the process of transofmation is called metamorphosis.

[bulletnotestudies]

a new month, a new Winter Reading Challenge book rec post ❆

as always, we’re bringing 4 books into the spotlight, as well as giving you some additional recs beneath the cut!

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

One of the most famous short stories in American literary history, The Lottery paints a scene of a small town, where everything has been prepared for the annual tradition—a lottery in which every family must participate, and no one wants to win.

Ashes, Ashes by René Barjavel

This was to be the happiest day of young Blanche Rouget's life. In Paris, the now-electronic city of love, Blanche had been about to make her debut as a star. Then, abruptly, the Black Emperor of South America had told the world of the missiles already racing northward. Panic had broken forth. And then had come the real terror. A vast cloak of darkness had descended over the earth. And Blanche was hurled into a world gone mad in its death-throes.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

A sci-fi / post apocalyptic narrative about how life on Earth unfolds after a giant meteor crashes with the moon and sends it several kilometres closer to the Earth. The actual science part is done quite well! The writing style may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the (nearly) believable science really makes this book. (blurb by @mal-studyblr)

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time—from the actor's early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a nomadic group of actors roams the wasteland of what remains—this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, his would-be savior, the actor's first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet.

more recs below the cut:

1984 - George Orwell

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick

The Girl With All the Gifts - M. R. Carey

The Maze Runner - James Dashner

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

[therandomartmaker]

Rewriting a prompt response i did in english class

Iirc the prompt itself was, you can earn one of your five senses back through some kind of currency, you only have one sense now, and the world was post-apocalyptic. (The reason why this is in 2nd person is because there’s a rule about using no more than 3 ‘I’s with bonus point for not using them at all)

You breathe, chest heaving. They stole your eyes, broke your ears, burnt your tongue. They cracked your skull and drugged you beyond all reason.

You didn’t survive the outbreak for this, to be a slave, a servant, a jester. You had nothing; no sight, no hearing, no sense of smell, no taste and you couldn’t even feel the pain of torture anymore, not until that day. The day they shoved you into a cage and you tore out a man’s throat with your teeth, nails digging into something not quite there.

You were almost certain you were bloodied and looked horrendous, but you couldn’t care less. You’d earnt enough to gain something back with that kill- no, win.

You mouthed your wish over and over again, ‘hearing,’ you begged, to what you believed to be salvation. Mouthed it and moved your charred tongue around the word until it the was the only thing it could attempt to speak fluently. You got your wish, and the first thing you heard was mocking laughter, “Hearing? We can control everything you hear, darling.”

They proved this when they shoved a NewTech™️ Hearing Aid in and forced you to listen to your very own heartbeat at tenfold volume and made you wish you’d never hear again. You realised, then, that you were nothing more than entertainment. Another clown for their circus of broken bloody men.

[schlock-luster-video]

"The year is 2013. One man walked in off the horizon and hope came with him ..."

Doing the Bales 2021 Film Challenge on Twitter this month, and drawing new original art pieces for each prompt! Here's some Kevin Coster art inspired by The Postman (1997) for today's prompt of "Letter is Written!"