What Can You Tell Me About Luis?

Greatest Honor

Thanks for the prompt @flashfictionfridayofficial

Short and sweet, no warnings.

They smile and clap, faces made of dull plaster with hollowed eyes. It was a crowd so dense that individuality was completely lost. All he could do was stand there frozen in place, a smile etched across scarred skin. This was suffocating. Why did they have to drag him out for this clown show?

*Merow?*

Gwen hopped onto his lap and butted her forehead between Van’s eyes, snapping his attention from the monitor. Her whiskers twitched impatiently, while sausers of sparkling darkness stared into his soul begging for attention.

“Pft… Don’t you know not to mess with millitary men Gwen? Your reputation could be ruined.”

Van returned her greeting with a small bump of his forehead, instantly elicited an echoing rumble from her stomach. As Van drew away, Gwen tilted her head to the side, inviting scritches that he was powerless to deny. Van’s fingers ran through her fluff, ruffling the emaculately groomed coat completely out of sorts. Fawn wouldn’t be happy about it, but Gwen enjoyed the attention.

Van placed a kiss on her forhead and let out the breath he had been holding.

“What would I do without you baby?”

Satisfied with his company, Gwen settled on Van’s lap as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for the first time in days.

Dialog tag game

Thank you for the tag, @aalinaaaaaa

A selection of dialog from a short story I'm trying to tackle on the side.

"Given your contributions, such a proposition is not unreasonable.. If I deny you this boon, will you follow in the footsteps of our brothers?"

"Of course not, I will defer to the will of the Emperor."

"And what of your soilders, would you take them on this fools errand?"

"My men are the finest soilders that the empire has to offer, barring your honor guard. They would better serve under your direct guidance."

"It seems at least one of my siblings was born with an ounce of sense."

No pressure tagging @renasdoodles @kuebiko-writing @laisley-writes @somethingclevermahogony @wyked-ao3 @creatrackers + open tag

Ultimate "Know Your Character Inside Out" Template

The ultimate template for creating a character, without losing your mind, while you're at it.

Character Background Template ... (open)

1. Name:

2. Age:

3. Gender & Pronouns:

4. Physical Appearance:

   - Hair color:

   - Eye color:

   - Height:

   - Build:

   - Distinguishing features (scars, tattoos, etc.):

5. Background and Upbringing:

   - Where were they born and raised?

   - What was their family structure like (parents, siblings)?

   - Describe their childhood environment and upbringing.

   - Were there any significant events or traumas in their past?

6. Education and Skills:

   - What level of education did they receive?

   - Did they excel in any particular subjects or skills?

   - Have they pursued any additional training or education since then?

7. Personality Traits:

   - Describe their personality in a few words.

   - What are their strengths and weaknesses?

   - How do they typically react under stress or pressure?

8. Motivations and Goals:

   - What are their short-term and long-term goals?

   - What drives them to pursue these goals?

   - Are there any fears or insecurities that motivate or hinder them?

9. Relationships:

   - Who are the most important people in their life?

   - How do they interact with family, friends, and acquaintances?

   - Do they have any romantic interests or significant relationships?

10. Past Experiences:

    - Have they faced any major challenges or setbacks in the past?

    - How have these experiences shaped their beliefs and values?

    - Have they experienced any significant losses or tragedies?

11. Worldview and Beliefs:

    - What are their core beliefs and values?

    - How do they view the world around them?

    - Are there any cultural, religious, or philosophical influences in their life?

12. Inner Conflict:

    - What internal struggles do they face?

    - Are there any unresolved issues from their past that continue to affect them?

    - How do these inner conflicts impact their decisions and actions?

13. Connection to Outer Conflict/Plot:

    - How does their personal journey intersect with the main plot or external conflict?

    - What stakes are involved for the character in the larger story?

    - How do their goals and motivations align (or conflict) with the central conflict?

(Shorter) Knowing Your Character Inside Out Checklist

Personality Traits:

   - Introverted/Extroverted

   - Optimistic/Pessimistic

   - Assertive/Passive

   - Empathetic/Self-centered

   - Logical/Emotional

   - Adventurous/Cautious

   - Honest/Dishonest

   - Ambitious/Content

Beliefs and Values:

   - Religious beliefs (if any)

   - Moral code

   - Political beliefs

   - Views on relationships

   - Attitude towards authority

Fears and Insecurities:

   - Common fears (spiders, heights, etc.)

   - Deep-seated insecurities (failure, rejection, etc.)

   - Traumatic experiences (if applicable)

Desires and Goals:

   - Short-term goals

   - Long-term aspirations

   - What motivates them to pursue these goals?

Strengths:

   - Intellectual strengths

   - Physical abilities

   - Emotional resilience

   - Social skills

   - Unique talents or abilities

Weaknesses:

   - Personal flaws

   - Areas of vulnerability

   - Bad habits

   - Limiting beliefs

Backstory:

    - Family background

    - Childhood experiences

    - Significant life events that shaped their identity

    - Education and career path

    - Previous relationships

-Josie

Desire Or Dispair

I would be much abliged if you could share a snippet of your character(s) experiencing either a moment of desire or despair.

Desires for anything from food to people and Dispair from betrayal to loss, I'm interested in how other people's characters express themselves.

Idk where this came from, but I figured it might be fun.

No pressure tagging: @renasdoodles @kuebiko-writing @wyked-ao3 @creatrackers ,

@somethingclevermahogony @laisley-writes @leahnardo-da-veggie +open tag

My own contribution below the break.

Warning for mentions of injury and medication administration.

Desire: Broken Script

Stepping forward onto the balcony with a glass of wine held lazily in his hand, Nihil examined the guests with a bored expression until his eyes landed on Alexia. The glass fell uncerimoniously from his hand as Nihil recognized the familiar robe that had somehow been fashioned into a dress.

As the glass shattered, Alexia looked up at him with a coy grin, batting her eyes in a playfully taunting gesture.

A smile played at the corner of his own lips as he considered her challenge. He'd never bothered to dip his toes in the field of romance before, but she was well on her way to changing his mind.

Despair: Blood Mage

Hati could tell that the injury on his neck was nothing to scoff at, that he might die here to a blasted Vampire after surviving all of thease years, but seeing Billy's arm being torn off so easily by the rampaging vampire made his blood run cold in a way he hadn't felt since he was burried under a mound of dirt watching his people being torn to pieces.

The hiss of pain that followed the creatures sudden retreat sent his brain into overdrive as the worst-case scenarios flooded into his terror stricken mind.

He couldn't lose his family again, not to the tech witches, and definitely not to some overgrown leech. Scrambling towards the snipper, he began babbling incoherently at the oozing injury until something cold peirced his neck, and he caught a quick glance of Owen before crumbling into Billy, panic still coursing through his veins.

Thanks for the tag, @seastarblue

Three facts about me

1. I have broken my wrist before

2. I love fantasy stories (but I'm good with most genres if the story interests me)

3. My favorite color is blue

Tagging in (no pressure)

@renasdoodles

@kuebiko-writing

@davycoquette

+open tag

Ah shit, I was gone for another ten days or so... Woops...

I finished editing during that time and am now currently taking a vacation from writing.

I should be doing some tag games now... Hehe...

God, why am I so bad at being active???

Thanks for another fun prompt @flashfictionfridayofficial !

Happy New Year!

This is another random snippet inspired by the prompt.

Cold Winters Night

The falling snow turned to slush around midday and had continued pelting down in an endless onslaught well into the evening. Annexed from the other houses and nestled between two towering warehouses, a pair of windows glowed brightly with an inviting warmth that seemed to cut through the howling wind. Inside, the fire burned brightly, keeping the week's soup and most of the bar toasty. It helped that Zora had finally invested in some proper insulation over the summer months, but what good did it do her if there were no customers filling the tables?

Usually, around this time, the bar would be packed with workers, just back from the mines, drinking and carrying on about whatever petty squabbles that had grabbed their attention this week. Today, it seemed that the slush was enough of a deterrent to send them all scurrying back to whatever holes they called home. Even the corner closest to the fire was completely empty. If the weather continued to get worse, and this became a trend, she might have to take Ruth up on her offer to go to the country for a bit. It would be nice to see the kids again, even if she’d end up suffering another lecture about starting her own family, and Prior had been asking to borrow the bar for storage anyway.

Just as she was convincing herself that the trip would be a good choice, Zora’s solitude was interrupted by the little bell above the main door ringing. A dripping figure draped in a brown sack stepped through her door, tracking in a mess of ice. The shivering child who barely stood three feet tall struggled to close the thick oak door before turning to the counter and tottering forward. From the boney limbs poking out from under her ragged clothes, the child looked to be a beggar, but Zora hadn’t heard word of any kids on the streets lately.

When the child finally made it to the bar, Zora watched in silence as the scruffy child pulled herself slowly onto one of the bar stools and shoved a bag across the counter towards her. As the torn burlap scraped forwards, the twine strap holding it closed came loose, spilling shining gold coins between them. The child looked from the coin up to Zora with a determined expression that didn’t belong on such a young face.

“I want you to be my father.”

Zora briefly wondered if her years of drinking had finally resulted in hallucinations but quickly decided that the child was just confused. Turning away from the child, Zora grabbed a clean bowl and filled it with soup. Her appearance had always been on the masculine side, sure, but usually flirtatious drunks were the only ones to mistake her for a man. Maybe Prior wasn’t completely off basis with how much she’d let herself go.

“Eat up kid.”

Setting the soup down, Zora watched the child’s eyes light up.

“Thanks Dad!”

After gulping down the soup like a starving animal, the child gave her a big smile and offered up the clean bowl. Zora chuckled and accepted it, filling the bowl once more, much to the child’s delight. She wasn’t sure what this father business was all about, but there was nothing else going on tonight, and it wouldn’t hurt to figure out what the kid was doing with so much gold.

Thanks you for the tag, @flashfictionfridayofficial

INTOLERABLE INACTION

How far can one tollerate injustice for the sake of advancement?

Bitter heat forced its way down Pearl’s throat, burning his lungs. Every muscle in his body ached to turn and do something, but his hooves remained planted firmly on the scorched stone. His tail flicked back and forth as bits of his fur began to singe, marring his pristine coat with numerous imperfections. Even that price wasn’t high enough to atone for his inaction. 

As he listened, wails of torment rang out over the sound of the crackling flames. They were merely mortals, their lives meaningless in the grand scheme of the world he lived in. Their suffering was a mercy compared to the life of mediocrity they would have faced. Still Pearl’s grip tightened around his staff. He could still recall the boundless fields, filled with lush flowers and children laughing as they ran down the uneven streets without a care in the world. That hadn’t been nothing. The cry of a baby echoed above his resolve, his ears flattening against his neck. The council had made it clear that they wouldn’t tolerate further insubordination from him, but Pearl hadn’t been all that interested in immortality anyway.

Dropping his branded spear, Pearl turned from his post and charged towards the burning village. Fire birds circled above, destroying every ounce of life that their burning eyes landed on. He needed to be faster, to make up for every moment of pain his inaction had caused. Rushing to the blackened river, Pearl planted his hooves deep in the soft stones.

Power coursed through his veins, bending the water to his will. They attacked without mercy, and he would swallow them whole. Great snakes of glistening water rose around him, swimming through the air as though they were traveling through the ocean’s depths. They hissed in anticipation, hungering for battle, awaiting his command. Swiping a claw across the night sky, Pearl ordered his constructs to feast on the burning fowl. 

Without hesitation, the snakes rushed to the village, biting down on their prey and extinguishing the fire in their souls. The swift formation led to unstable constructs, making Pearl’s skin burn as each of the snakes shattered. As their forms unraveled, torrents of water crashed against the burning buildings, enveloping the land in billowing clouds of steam. Now, they could run or rebuild. Either way, he wouldn’t let the council have their way here.

“What have you done!”

Pearl turned to face his former commander, one of the water serpents coiling around him protectively. 

“I have tried, brother, but I can not force my knee to bend in the face of tyranny, no matter how tempting the rewards.”

Prompt from @flashfictionfridayofficial

Well, I haven’t touched this story in years, but it was fun to get back to.

Summary: In the universe of a certain author who likes switching stories, there was born a character who was sickly. His entire purpose was to be one of the faceless beings that was saved by a hero’s benevolence. Not even his own family noticed him outside of the story, and he lived most of his early miserable life trying to figure out what was going on. One day he finds a crack in the universe left by conflicting story ideas, peering inside he learns that he is part of a fictional world and decides to take advantage of the illogical nature of things to propel his life forward.

Abandoned

Nihil stretched out a clawed hand and did his best interpretation of a yawn.

It was early morning and he had work to get to before the horrid sun rose and decided once more that he was to have an unlucky day. Damn author favoring the day time so much, if it weren’t for the implications of working at night, and the stories that went along with it, he would have been turned into a night owl.

No, the pre-dawn mornings were special in that none of the little pest’s were out and about causing mischief yet. They were all sleeping or training their fingers to the bone. Sure it might be impressive the diligence that they had, but even covered in sweat and bleeding they would become stronger than any being had the right to with three times their training, no matter how sloppy their technique.

Stepping down to the kitchen, Nihil began preparing something simple to eat when he heard the sound of a sword swinging powerfully outside the window. Raising his attention he mimicked a frown, the knight was no longer bond by the author’s methods yet still she trained like this, there were better ways, ways that both of them were quite familiar with at this point. Still it showed a dedication that he supposed was admirable. Changing his plans, Nihil began mixing up some hot cake batter and quickly flipped the dial igniting the stove top.

He continued to absently watch her training as he cooked until her expression suddenly shifted turning to him. He’d finally been caught. It sent a trill of excitement through him as he reveled in the feeling of being recognized in something so simple as the plain clothes he was wearing.

“Morning Nihil, did you sleep well?”

A smile bloomed on her face as the knight stepped through the open door to the kitchen. To even remember his name… He mimicked a smile back at her and raised a pile of hot cakes towards her direction.

“Seems there was another break in at Facility B, but other than that I slept fairly well. Tell me you at least let yourself get some sleep?”

She had the bad habit of using all the tricks for the wrong reasons, and while Nihil was familiar with the desire to improve his understanding of this messed up world no matter the cost to his health, there was just no true replacement for sleep long term.

The knight shrugged and accepted the hotcakes adding on some berries and syrup for good measure. She skipped the butter again, but he didn’t blame her, after the recent shortages he barely used any on his own breakfast.

Deactivating the stove, he prepared his own hot cakes and quickly followed her lead to the table where they both ate in happy silence.

Looking at his companion from time to time with a mimicked grin, Nihil didn’t feel as bad about the years of research that had been burnt to ash during the night. With all the knowledge and power he’d gained over the years, Nihil couldn’t have wished for such a simple thing as eating breakfast with someone he was comfortable around until he’d met the Knight. It brought him some comfort that at least not everything that that blasted author mucked up was completely rotten.

Margaret enjoys listening to people's problems; it helps to keep her grounded and reminded that she isn't the only person suffering in the world. She takes comfort in the fact that she isn't special and that her problems aren't anything new. That means that there are others like her and that even when things are hard for her, Margaret can always lend an ear. Sometimes, it's hard to bear, but in the end, Margaret still listens to people because she wishes someone had listened to her.

She has her vices, but she doesn't usually hate herself for them since she is human and trying the best that she can. When she was younger, Margaret hated her weakness, but as she grew, Margaret was able to learn to be kind to herself.

Working on the color palate for them. But I'm not quite happy with it yet, so more work.