anathemafiction

Serve Me — Alain & Ysabella (Mature)

Alain sprawls on the long, plush sofa. A tall glass of wine in hand, legs propped up on the table, satin robe hanging from his shoulders.

He twirls the wine in a perfect circle as he listens to the fire crackling in the hearth. Slow and sluggish, just like his mind. His lips slip into a lazy smile, and he stretches his legs languidly, akin to a slothful cat. Alain is pleasantly content. Happy, one could almost say. If one was feeling exceptionally sentimental.

Per...

The Pirate King

Two versions of The Pirate King!

The first is by the amazing Hearthship Studios. I love all the details! From his axes to his various jewelry, I think the artist really captured the essence of the character.

The second is a sketch by Arrapso that, unfortunately, they were unable to finish. But I love it so much that I wanted to show it! Especially because it's so close to how I im...

Writing an obscure scene be like

Feeling AMAZING about what you just wrote

Realizing it's a scene locked under conditions that only about 5% of people will ever see

Just smile through the pain, Ana. Smile through the pain.

Worry Trambles Denial — Lance & Rafael

And you show me that life

Isn't all about extending your time

No, it's the perfect time

For a bottle of wine

His fingers dance across the cords in a pattern long memorized. Lance doesn't need to think about time and beats, his fingers move with a life of their own, separated from his person.

His voice too rings at a distance. He hears the soft melody and judges it as any craftsman would, but a part of him can b...

Sneak Peek

I love a sarcastic Romanus. 😄

Your hand twitches in hers. "Alessa, I would be very grateful if you could explain yourself, my dearest. Because from where I stand, I'm looking like a court jester but without the fancy outfit."

- - -

"In all honesty," you lie.

- - -

"Why, I'm only enjoying a short walk in the rain," you say while spreading your arms wide. Raindrops fall on your hair and roll down your cheeks, stopping a...

Progress Report

Almost 3k words!!

Almost, but not quite, and as much as I want to keep going, I have to recognize that this is the perfect place to take a rest — especially since my brain is begging me to. Pesky mortality, always shoving its limitations.

This progress report is late! Truth is, I wasn't satisfied with where I was on Friday, so I decided to wait until I reached a spot th...

Character Q&A — December!

Hello!

Since we're nearing the end of yet another trip around our lovely Sun, I think it's time to host a second character Q&A! The other one was so fun, I feel like delving into the character's heads once again. 

It can be directed at any character that appears in Book 1 or, if you so prefer, at myself. 

Hope you participate! ♡

- - - 

Edit

You can read the first Q&A here: 2022-11-10 17:31:18 +0000 UTC View Post

Rise — Alessa

You don't know exactly what is wrong. You just know that it hurts.

It hurts. It hurts as you've barely felt before. Pain lacerates you; it crashes against you; it swallows you whole like a tide that just keeps rising and rising until it sweeps over your mouth, and you have no more air to breathe. You cannot breathe, you can barely think. Pain, red and hot and all-encompassing, spreads from the very top of your head to the lowest point of your toes.

Pain.

And you exi...

Progress Report

4k Words!

Just barely, but look, the count does not lie. What a wonderful end of the week this is! Especially since I couldn't write a single word yesterday (´༎ຶ ͜ʖ ༎ຶ ). My Thursday was full of meetings and house chores and it left me no energy to type away at the computer.

But, even so, the November challenge is well underway. Since the 1st of the month, I've written 2022-11-04 17:27:50 +0000 UTC View Post

Pulled From the Depths — The Pirate King & Neia

He has memorized the pattern of your breathing.

Your chest moves up and down, just barely, while soft air drifts in and out of your parted lips. The Pirate watches as moonlight comes to kiss the ends of your eyelashes and paints white stripes down the side of your body, laying over the red duvet of his bed.

Your ribs expand again...

And The Pirate knows instinctively when your next exhale will be.

In and out. His own eyelids feel heavy, but sleep doesn...

So, November's a challenge?

I've heard about NaNoWriMo again and again in my short-lived online writing career but, honestly, I never quite understood what it consisted of. The goal is to write 50k words, but there's also a website? Do they hold a competition? Are we supposed to share the work? Is it regulated? 

This year, I decided: what does it matter? 

I'm doing the challenge for myself and sharing it here because hey, maybe some of you care to hear about it. So, to kick off the first of Novembe...

Lingering Glance

You take a step closer, studying all the knives spread around Alessa. They're arranged in a semi-circle with the tips pointed at her while the hilts face outwards. It reminds you of a steel crown, its spikes so sharp, they cut the heavy head who dares to wear it. 

Whoosh.

You count eight knives. "How many of those do you have, Alessa?" you ask. They're all identical. Thin and not particularly long, but with slightly curved edges and a tip that catches the light. ...

Progress Report

Two days later!

But, there was a part I really wanted to finish before writing this progress report, so instead of Friday, we meet on a lovely Sunday. The good news is that I just reached that part, and I still have a few hours planned to dedicate to writing before the end of the day. So, this Sunday morning got off to a good start. 😊

This week's progress has been nice and steady. I didn't have as much time to write as I wanted, but then again, there never seems to be enough ti...

Found Adrift — The Pirate King (Mature)

Nine fingertips roam the skin of your stomach.

You close your eyes as warm fumes kiss your eyelashes and warmer lips kiss the side of your neck. Each touch sends a wave of slow sparks down your spine, like molten rock rolling down a grass hill, which makes your limbs tense and your fingers clench on the edge of the deep bathtub.

You tilt your head to the side, giving those lips further access, and The Pirate doesn't waste it. You feel his breath on your pulse point, and then teeth...

Not a romance writer but...

Today Neia has me like: 😍

Saturday's my rest day, but I was itching to write something, so I finished her part of next month's scenarios, and... she's so dreamy. I think I'm finally getting a hang of her character!!!! I can't wait to feature her properly in Book Two. 

Her scene in the first game is much too short for my liking. 

Actually, I get like this every time I write anything with the ROs. Last week was the Pirate, Alain and Ysabella the week before that.....

Progress Report

When it rains, it pours.

It seems almost unbelievable, but fate has decided not to give me any rest. Or, worst yet, not to give those I care about any rest. This is very hard for me to say, but my father had a seizure on Wednesday night.

I woke up to the worst call of my life, my mother sobbing on the other end. Thankfully, he's recovered completely. The doctors did a plethora of exams on him, but everything came back fine. The neurologist I talked to said that it...

Nightmare — Alain & Ysabella

Alain gazes at the ceiling above.

It is nicely painted, with gold streaks on the corners and charming little reliefs along the edge. He gazes at it, lips plucked, eyes half-lidded, and limbs stretched lazily on the plush mattress. His whole body tingles with a heaviness that uplifts instead of weighing down. His nerves are alight, but not to induce a frenzy, they... they are satisfied.

Content.

Alain grins, lips pulling to one side. Content is the correct wo...

Sneak Peek

You give her a cheeky grin. "Cheap? Now, you've done it. You've cut deep, my fair Alessa. You did," you say, a dramatic hand on your chest, a desperate air to your eyes. "I don't know if I can ever recover. Cheap? Truly?"

Alessa's fingers on your chin clench, and you grimace when she pulls you in, your grin growing twofold. "You are a fool," she accuses you, trying and utterly failing to keep her voice cold. 

You lean closer still, brushing your lips with hers. "But I recall ...

Progress Report

1k words!

Such a modest count for the day, but I'm so terribly happy because I finished the scene!!!!!! 😭😭😭 It had so many variations, I had a whole notebook page of choices and text that I needed to go back and fill in. But I can throw that page into the bin too. So long, dearest, and thanks for all the fish.

That means I only have two more scenes to write befor...

Of Carrots and Turnips — Hadrian

Sweat covers your brow in a feverish glow. You're hot, your skin crawls, but as much as you dig your nails in, you can't get deep enough to satisfy the itch. Your limbs are heavy but restless, and you can't think straight, but sleep evades you too. From the depths of your closed eyes, colors twirl against a black that should be soothing.

You can't sleep, and you can't stay still, but you have no strength to leave the bed, so you toss and turn and scratch and moan. You're hot, you're so ...

A small nod

Character: reveals something harsh they've dealt with in the past.

Romanus:

I didn't write the line word for word, but the nod to Avatar is there. 😄 The opportunity was just too tempting to pass. Zuko's line is iconic. 

Sometimes all you can say in support is... that's rough, my friend. 

Neia, the Dawnseeker

Here's Neia by the incredibly talented Lydiaalin (Tumblr | Twitter). Just look at the details on her face!!!! I am in love. She looks better than I imagined her in my head ♡

Progress Report

3k words!

It's not the most impressive wordcount, but it's a small victory I'll willingly take nonetheless. Today I had a really good writing session, especially since this last branch of choices wasn't in the first sketch at all — it was completely new material which, naturally, takes me more time and effort to write.

But I finished the first big variation of scene...

Different sides of the same prism

Me after writing all the Relationship Variations:

Tiring, but it feels so good when I have them all filled up! I really want to take the time to make the Rose as interactive with your past choices and relationships as possible. I want to try and make the characters feel like real people — with working memories and feelings and their own ways to express them. <...

Haunted — Hadrian & Alessa

Moonlight filters through the window, the pale beams of light falling across the ceiling. Hadrian stares at them.

His head pulses, his back aches, and he has long lost any feeling in his right arm. His body begs him to change position, but he can't. You're sleeping nestled against his side with your arms around his neck, and Hadrian refuses to move.

You, however, have no such qualms. It starts as a soft moan, a barely there gasp of weakened air, and one of your ha...

Progress Report

A week has gone by.

And what a week it has been. Once again, we find ourselves meeting on a Saturday instead of a Friday — I think, at this point, I might as well change the Progress Report posts to Saturday. 

But while last week's reason for the delay was a positive one, this week's less than a happy one. I had to rush to the hospital emergency room with my mom at 4 am, and we only got back home at 8 pm. She's better now, stable, but as you can imagine, I didn't have it in...

Regarding the Art Vote...

Hello! 

So, the Pirate King won the poll for my next commissioned art, however, an AMAZING artist recently opened commission slots, and, to my amazement, I was fortunate enough to be able to secure one of them!

I've been dying to see Neia in her style — I think Neia was born to be drawn by this artist. 

Her slots go extremely fast, so I couldn't wait for the month when Neia wins the vote. I hope this doesn't disappoint you! The Pirate King will be commis...

Throw it in the bin!

4k more words!

And I finished a pretty intense variation! AHHH I'm so happy! It feels so good to cross tasks off a to-do list, I may be addicted to creating lists just so I can eventually cross them all. 😄

The end result is a mess of a page, but alas, it's going to the recycling bin anyway.

I hope your Thursday is going well! I'll take a break from writing for no...

Sleep Talking — Hadrian (Mature)

It started slow.

Almost unintentionally so. Sunlight filters through the window of your bed chambers, resting like a warm blanket on top of your skin. The afternoon is painted in orange, the kind that softens your muscles and makes your eyelids grow heavy. You tilt your chin towards the ceiling, soaking the warmth like a cat on a windowsill, and your lips curl with the quiet satisfaction of life's simple pleasures.

You have no obligations to meet, and no duties to attend to. You'r...

Billing Change

Hello, everyone!

So, Patron pushed a very welcomed update, and I wanted to share the good news. Starting now, Patrons will be charged on the day they join my membership, and then monthly on that same date. This means that, for example, if a patron joins on the 10th, they’ll be charged on that day, and then monthly on the 10th.

This is great because it will stop the problem of someone pledging near the end of the month only to be charged again a few days later.&n...