wallacejwriting - Tumblr blog

[wallacejwriting]

Indulging my most self-indulgent scene ideas has given me some of my best character details for Descent.

Why yes, there is a scene where a character stops a runaway subway.

And another one where two characters go to space to repair the space station. In nothing but the suits. No ship required.

And another one where a character catches a plane.

And another one where a character purposely falls off a skyscraper.

And another one where one character convinces the other to let go of them a good 8,000 feet above the ground.

And all of it shows off character and develops character and relationships and builds theme and setting.

Self-indulgence is key, y'all.

[wallacejwriting]

I have such a strong mental image of Nat and Rini in my head. They're up in the sky, positioned so that behind Rini is the sun and behind Nat is the dark storm clouds. Beneath Rini is the ocean. Beneath Nat is Veda. They face off. Eyes glowing because all Alphas have eye power glows - Nat's gold and white and blue. Rini's red and yellow and orange. Lightning and fire. Rini's hair is floating like Jean Grey's does a lot.

That's it that's the whole image.

[wallacejwriting]

I finally got a breakthrough for Descent (and got through my frustration) so now back to writing for at least a chapter or two.

I know how Nat meets almost all of the important players now. :D

[wallacejwriting]

The most common form of centaur in Beurkratti is some kind of goat. Followed by sheep. Followed by alpaca. Then caribou. I think.

Point is, horses aren't the most common and centaurs range around 6-9 feet tall (nice).

[wallacejwriting]

A good way to describe how I think of Beurkratti is "the Invincible of both high and urban fantasy." And gosh I hope that means something to someone other than me.

[wallacejwriting]

[wallacejwriting]

Descent Snippet

Wrote this in chapter 2 from Rini's POV. To show you Nat from the outside (to psychics, anyway).

Hey @hunter-kole I think you'll like this. It's not just Nicki that gives people the weebie-jeebies.

Below the cut, as always.

There’s a third person in the car, Rini can tell because Ms. Elion and Liesel know. But she can’t feel them. There’s no mind for her to poke at. No thoughts for her to read. She can’t even sense Nat on her own. Without Ms. Elion and Liesel, Rini wouldn’t feel them at all. Rini swallows against a growing lump in her throat. She tastes acid. The car stops in the drive, caught up while Rini was dwelling in her thoughts. The door opens. Liesel from the passenger’s side. Ms. Elion from the driver side. The door behind the driver’s opens and Nat Carter steps out. They’re taller than Liesel, broader shouldered than Ms. Elion, and when they lift their head, Rini is struck by the intensity of their gaze even at this distance. She can feel Nat looking at her. Even if she closes her eyes, she can feel their gaze on her. But not their mind. Her heart thunders in her chest. She tries again, but there’s nothing to read. Like Nat isn’t there at all. Clenching her hands into fists, Rini forces herself to take a deep breath. She’s being ridiculous. Everyone has a mind to read. Everyone has thoughts to find. The professor can hide them, so maybe other people can too. Maybe that’s why the professor is so interested in Nat. Rini squints down at Nat and focuses. There has to be something. She drifts a little lower, then lower still, trying to find something in the midst of the silence. The emptiness. Then, static. It starts low, a background fuzziness that Rini barely notices. But the longer she stares at Nat and the closer she gets, the louder and more insistent the static gets. Not a noise, but a sensation inside her mind. Like bees are eating her brain. Her feet touch down on the ground. She stands just past arms’ reach of Nat. She stares at them. But all she perceives is the static. It grows and grows, consuming everything around her, until she can’t feel Rini or Ms. Elion or anyone in the Institute. Until all she knows is that sensation, that sound. “Rini?” A hand on her shoulder. Rini jolts. The world returns. Ms. Elion stands behind Rini, her hand on Rini’s shoulder providing the lifeline that Rini clings to. The static is gone, vanished so abruptly it’s as if it were never there. Once more, there is only empty space in Rini’s mind where Nat should be. Only two minds besides her own around this car, instead of three.

[wallacejwriting]

Descent Snippet

Wrote this in chapter 2 from Rini's POV. To show you Nat from the outside (to psychics, anyway).

Hey @hunter-kole I think you'll like this. It's not just Nicki that gives people the weebie-jeebies.

Below the cut, as always.

There’s a third person in the car, Rini can tell because Ms. Elion and Liesel know. But she can’t feel them. There’s no mind for her to poke at. No thoughts for her to read. She can’t even sense Nat on her own. Without Ms. Elion and Liesel, Rini wouldn’t feel them at all. Rini swallows against a growing lump in her throat. She tastes acid. The car stops in the drive, caught up while Rini was dwelling in her thoughts. The door opens. Liesel from the passenger’s side. Ms. Elion from the driver side. The door behind the driver’s opens and Nat Carter steps out. They’re taller than Liesel, broader shouldered than Ms. Elion, and when they lift their head, Rini is struck by the intensity of their gaze even at this distance. She can feel Nat looking at her. Even if she closes her eyes, she can feel their gaze on her. But not their mind. Her heart thunders in her chest. She tries again, but there’s nothing to read. Like Nat isn’t there at all. Clenching her hands into fists, Rini forces herself to take a deep breath. She’s being ridiculous. Everyone has a mind to read. Everyone has thoughts to find. The professor can hide them, so maybe other people can too. Maybe that’s why the professor is so interested in Nat. Rini squints down at Nat and focuses. There has to be something. She drifts a little lower, then lower still, trying to find something in the midst of the silence. The emptiness. Then, static. It starts low, a background fuzziness that Rini barely notices. But the longer she stares at Nat and the closer she gets, the louder and more insistent the static gets. Not a noise, but a sensation inside her mind. Like bees are eating her brain. Her feet touch down on the ground. She stands just past arms’ reach of Nat. She stares at them. But all she perceives is the static. It grows and grows, consuming everything around her, until she can’t feel Rini or Ms. Elion or anyone in the Institute. Until all she knows is that sensation, that sound. “Rini?” A hand on her shoulder. Rini jolts. The world returns. Ms. Elion stands behind Rini, her hand on Rini’s shoulder providing the lifeline that Rini clings to. The static is gone, vanished so abruptly it’s as if it were never there. Once more, there is only empty space in Rini’s mind where Nat should be. Only two minds besides her own around this car, instead of three.

[wallacejwriting]

Descent Snippet

Wrote this in chapter 2 from Rini's POV. To show you Nat from the outside (to psychics, anyway).

Hey @hunter-kole I think you'll like this. It's not just Nicki that gives people the weebie-jeebies.

Below the cut, as always.

There’s a third person in the car, Rini can tell because Ms. Elion and Liesel know. But she can’t feel them. There’s no mind for her to poke at. No thoughts for her to read. She can’t even sense Nat on her own. Without Ms. Elion and Liesel, Rini wouldn’t feel them at all. Rini swallows against a growing lump in her throat. She tastes acid. The car stops in the drive, caught up while Rini was dwelling in her thoughts. The door opens. Liesel from the passenger’s side. Ms. Elion from the driver side. The door behind the driver’s opens and Nat Carter steps out. They’re taller than Liesel, broader shouldered than Ms. Elion, and when they lift their head, Rini is struck by the intensity of their gaze even at this distance. She can feel Nat looking at her. Even if she closes her eyes, she can feel their gaze on her. But not their mind. Her heart thunders in her chest. She tries again, but there’s nothing to read. Like Nat isn’t there at all. Clenching her hands into fists, Rini forces herself to take a deep breath. She’s being ridiculous. Everyone has a mind to read. Everyone has thoughts to find. The professor can hide them, so maybe other people can too. Maybe that’s why the professor is so interested in Nat. Rini squints down at Nat and focuses. There has to be something. She drifts a little lower, then lower still, trying to find something in the midst of the silence. The emptiness. Then, static. It starts low, a background fuzziness that Rini barely notices. But the longer she stares at Nat and the closer she gets, the louder and more insistent the static gets. Not a noise, but a sensation inside her mind. Like bees are eating her brain. Her feet touch down on the ground. She stands just past arms’ reach of Nat. She stares at them. But all she perceives is the static. It grows and grows, consuming everything around her, until she can’t feel Rini or Ms. Elion or anyone in the Institute. Until all she knows is that sensation, that sound. “Rini?” A hand on her shoulder. Rini jolts. The world returns. Ms. Elion stands behind Rini, her hand on Rini’s shoulder providing the lifeline that Rini clings to. The static is gone, vanished so abruptly it’s as if it were never there. Once more, there is only empty space in Rini’s mind where Nat should be. Only two minds besides her own around this car, instead of three.

[wallacejwriting]

im so normal abt sibling relationships in media i swear

[wallacejwriting]

Something that happens to Nat over the course of Descent is that they become fucking determined to end homelessness in Veda. Not the way Veda is - by kicking out everyone undesirable and pretending its not a problem - but by helping and housing every one of those people. And they probably grab... 10-20 people before the end of Descent? It'll be a long road. But Nat cannot let them suffer. They'll win the trust of these people and help them, no matter how long it takes or what help they want or need. No hurting. And until then Nat can certainly provide them with supplies, updated intel on people looking for them, and protection where necessary.

Trust is a long road. But Nat's not going to rush it. If it takes five years of hanging out in the tunnels a few times a week, they'll do it.

People are people. Their autonomy and feelings deserve to be respected. And Nat's not going anywhere.

Too much to do. Too much to fix.

Too many mysteries in Veda to unravel.

[wallacejwriting]

For me, a cozy setting is a setting with a darkness in the backdrop and the backstory. There's war, there's fires, there's the apocalypse, but the story is about characters.

A cozy story says that people prioritize helping each other. It's a story about people being kind and compassionate even when it can kill them. It's about choosing to be yourself even when it can get you killed.

It's Ghibli. It's Howl using his castle to dodge the draft. It's Nausicaa only being able to save her people because the captured villagers on the war ship helped her escape. It's the boy in Spirited Away running to catch this girl falling from the sky even though he's never met her.

It's the choice to be kind and compassionate even in a world that doesn't always reward it. And it's about how those actions change people.

And it's about how the worst parts of the world are always man made. That only people can be malicious. The planet is not malicious, even if it is dangerous. People are. And people make things out to be malicious even when they aren't.

It's about Nausicaa having this entire basement lab of plants and realizing the water is the problem, that humanity's wars are the problem, not the fungus.

It's. Solarpunk. But in high fantasy. That's how I feel about cozy. And so when you take that danger, that defiance, that we thrive despite it all from those concepts and try to market it as "cozy" that I go "but it's not".

Even Stardew Valley has a war in the background. A veteran for an NPC.

It's kindness and compassion and love and protection despite it all. About building a place in the world even if it's hard. About taking the time to love and cherish all the little things you have. About finding peace despite the horrors on the horizon you can't stop. About doing what you can.

That's cozy for me. And without that danger in the background, it just does not land for me.

[wallacejwriting]

Basil: You know, I was the first person to propose that all the magics could be united under one. I saw Wardens at work and did my own digging, discovered that all the magics in our world rest beneath the shadow of Deep Magic. Basil: No one believed me, of course. For over a hundred years people called me crazy, told me I'd finally gone too far with my experiments. Basil: Then the Wardens, Depths bless 'em, accidentally proved the same thing with an experiment of theirs. Proved to the whole damn world I'd been right the whole time. Basil: Now I keep getting asked to give lectures about my 'revolutionary theory'. Basil: People, huh? You know, I've been alive for over a thousand years, but I don't think I'll ever fully understand them. Chaos magic? I can do that. But the chaos of people? No one can predict that. Basil: Maybe that's why they all fascinate me, even so many years on.

[wallacejwriting]

2024 Book #1: The Hanging City by Charlie N. Holmberg

Intended Audience: Adult Genre: Romantasy (Romance-focused fantasy) Length: 335 pages Finished: February 17th, 2024

Narration: single narrator, first person pov

Summary: In a fantasy world consumed by an endless drought, a young woman on the run from her father has arrived at the last place that might take her in: the troll city under the greatest bridge ever built. But in order to get in, she must tell the leaders of her strange magic ability - she can push fear onto others, though she'll feel it too. As Lark, our MC, tries to fit into trollis (their preferred term) society, she finds herself struggling to fit in when kindness and compassion don't get you far in a society of strength. But some trollis soften to her, especially a handsome one named Azmar that Lark can't stop thinking about, no matter how dangerous it is.

Review: This is a very good book. Lark is a fun, compassionate, and quick thinking main character whose mistakes are understandable and who uses all the information at her disposal in clever ways. I loved how her compassion and struggle to fit in led to so much of the conflict in the story, and I loved how it also was a huge part of her success in the story, too. Lark's relationships with other characters, including Azmar and Unach, who she lives with, are just so, so good. I loved the job that Lark ended up with - monster hunting - and I really appreciate how it never stops being relevant to the story, both in activity and in social situations. In fact, this is just a very tightly written little book and everything circles around in some very fantastic ways.

The writing is lovely, too. I really enjoy the way this author writes books - I own a few of them - and I find there's a nice cadence to the words. It's smooth to read. And that spreads into how information is given to the reader, as well. Everything feels very smooth and easy flowing.

And, just to come back around, I really, really love compassionate protagonists. I love when characters want to help others, no matter the cost, and sometimes make stupid decisions because of that. Lark is such a fantastic protagonist who works around everything she is given. I love her. I love Azmar, too.

I think my biggest problem is that this is a seriously closed door romance. A few on-screen kisses and that's about it. Some light references. I would have loved to see more - I prefer my romances a little smuttier - but YMMV.

Just a fantastic book, seriously. So glad it was my first of the year.

Things I liked, specifically:

The romance was good. I understood why Lark was attracted to Azmar, and even though we never get Azmar's point of view, it was clear to me why he liked her. Watching them fall for each other was just adorable. Also, I love when a romance doesn't rely on badly done miscommunication for its third act drama. This does something SO GOOD that has nothing to do with that!

The worldbuilding was really neat. This is a standalone, so there's a lot of questions left unanswered, but the answers we got were fun. I also loved how it tied into the plot, as well as the culture of the trollis. You really get a sense for what their people value when the architecture is described. It's very evocative. And the cultural bits we get, the government and tax and law systems, the currency and caste stuff. God it's all so good and intriguing. Layered in just enough, in my opinion.

The friendships. There are so many good supporting characters in this story, including Unach, the trollis woman originally assigned to look over Lark. She's Azmar's sister and she's basically my fave. She's so gruff and short-tempered but also fantastic. Love her. I loved all of the supporting characters. All of them were well-written, well-rounded, and had motivations that were clear to me.

LARK. Again, emphasizing that Lark is just a fantastic, compassionate and kind protagonist. She is tired of fighting. Tired of having to hurt others. She wants a family, friends, and peace, and it is beautiful to watch her strive for her.

The themes. Sometimes you can't change a place, only you can change. Family isn't what your born into, but the people who will accept you no matter what you are. It is always right to try and save others. What is a monster? What is a man? Just to name a few that I personally pulled out of the story that I just adored the execution of. It's so good. And the trollis society embodies both good and bad, and you get to see the way it echoes into the themes and guh.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars.

Recommended for: Fans of romance who enjoy good worldbuilding, fans of Holes, fans of Gentle Giant men.

[wallacejwriting]

Doing research to figure out if I could feasibly have Nat break up a blood clot in someone else with their powers.

So far, the answer seems to be yes! It'd be tricky as fuck and they'd need contact, but I think they could do it.

[wallacejwriting]

Things Nat will regret for the rest of their life:

their last words to their mother were effectively "Leave me alone." because they were sick of her hovering.

She was dead two hours later.

The last interaction Nat ever has with their family is a stupid, minor, petty argument that they will never get to undo.

It'd almost be better if it was something big. At least then Nat would feel justified in their pain.

[wallacejwriting]

i love when by the time the story starts The Incident is already well in the past, and yet you can feel The Incident in every word every character says and the past keeps welling into the the present like blood through the cracks of dry and broken skin