Jadey Writes

Happy Pride!! Have my attempt to make up that I cannot go out to a pride event with a big ol’ ace flag this year and thus must live vicariously through these folks.

[ID: three sketches of Ambrose, Eli, and Dawn in three different outfits: casual wear, store wear, and formalwear. Ambrose is in a loose blue shirt and high-waisted pants for casual wear, dark blue robes for store wear, and a cream-colored, asymmetrical suit with a royal blue half-cape for formalwear. Eli is in a loose shirt and brown pants for casual wear, a maroon waistcoat for store wear, and a white barong tagalog for formalwear. Dawn is in a purple crop top and skirt for casual wear, a pink crop top and purple pants for store wear, and a white crop top, skirt, and sheer half-cape for formalwear. end ID]

Rival Potion Shops: Clothing!!

I did it! The main three in casual, store, and formalwear. Notes below:

Ambrose

Because the Scar is so warm and dusty, a lot of Scarrish clothing is loose and patterned. You can see that in both Ambrose’s and Dawn’s clothing.

Ambrose’s potion master robes are very traditional & specific to his profession. They’re an indicator of an accredited potion master who’s gone through an apprenticeship.

Ambrose’s formalwear is close to what you’d see at a wedding. Flower crown I just added for funsies, but it also makes him look like a little prince, so I got emotional about it. don’t touch me

Eli

Unlike the Scar, East Kolkea isn’t known for its colorful clothing, so Eli’s a little more muted than the others. 

His formalwear is indicative of wedding attire in Kolkea, and is based off a barong tagalog.

Dawn

Dawn’s got a color theme and she’s stickin’ to it! She grew up in the Scar, so she absolutely represents Scarrish style: loose, patterned, colorful, comfortable.

For her formalwear, I was looking at traditional Indian wedding attire and freaked out because her sheer fabric aligns with Ambrose’s half cape. I got a little emotional again.

Taglist under the cut (ask to be +/-):

how it started:

how it’s going:

that’s right–the wip that started off as a silly AU based on a dream over 6 months ago is now a full draft with nearly 74k words and two sequels planned. who woulda thunk? certainly not me.

i still can’t quite believe it. i haven’t finished a single writing project since 2016 and this is the longest thing i’ve ever written. i couldn’t have done it without the writeblr community following me along and encouraging me to keep going. i’ve learned a lot about myself and my writing along the way too. mostly i’ve learned to be patient and trust myself. to let myself take breaks and not get discouraged when the words aren’t flowing. i’ve learned that i CAN take on challenges and succeed, even after years of drought and doubt. and once i take a MUCH needed (and deserved) break from serious drafting, i’m excited to see where i’ll take Petra and the gang next.

sorry for getting mushy!!! i’m just feeling a Lot of emotions right now.

as a treat, here’s a teensy bit of spoilery FinnPetra with minimal context from the before last chapter below the cut. love u all. mwah 😚💕

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June bit her lip. Meris only breathed out a laugh.

“I understand completely,” he agreed, “and I promise to one day reveal myself to you.” 

“I can wait until you die and see then,” Aries spat back. “Not trusting the humans, I understand. But to hide your face from the gods means you must be scared of something worse than me.” 

Meris paused mid-step, reaching up to hold his hood as a draft wafted through the tunnel. His cloak was swept to the side, revealing for a moment a frailer body than June expected. As it fell back to his ankles, his head lifted a bit straighter and he continued to walk.

“I’m afraid to say that’s precisely what it is.”

Adding the taglist because I spent way too long on this, like a stupid amount of time on this:

[ID: a portrait of a white man from the legs up. He has blue eyes, blue hair, slightly pointed ears, and a serious expression. He’s wearing dark blue robes with gold trim, and is adjusting his right sleeve. The background is light blue with the outline of a white rectangle. end ID]

Ambrose Beake & His Shop

Without fail, Ambrose is up at dawn. By the time the weak blue light has turned golden in the shop, he’s dusted every bottle, checked every expiration date, and refreshed his security spells over the front window. He could do this in his sleep if he needed to- his old master had made sure of it during his apprenticeship- but he’s wide awake, every time. He enjoys this. The simple routine, the safety in knowing everything is in its place. 

When his customers arrive, he’ll be standing at his usual station. Behind the counter, spine straight, long hands neatly folded on the polished wood. Ice-blue eyes not welcoming, yet not repelling, either. He’ll answer every question of theirs in a soft voice, his words just as precisely measured as his potions. No one ever doubts his answers.

DREAMWALKER // WEEKLY UPDATE 6/6/21

It’s been a while! Well, for these updates, at least…

So, it’s plenty obvious now, but I finally published Stormbringer last week on the 1st! It’s by no means a huge launch, but that’s A-okay with me, because it gives me time to figure things out and learn the process. I ultimately decided to suspend the paperback for now, so for the foreseeable future, Stormbringer will be available as an ebook on Amazon and other retailers, as well as serialized on Patreon.

Speaking of Patreon, the first 4 chapters have been posted, and the first 3 are available to the public for a lil sneak peek! I know most self-pubs generally just focus on producing ebooks and paperbacks, but Dreamwalker is an oddball anyway, so I wanted to change things up a bit. I plan to release bonus content on Patreon, as well, so it’s a good “all-in-one” place to support me & the story!

ASIDE from Stormbringer stuff, I’ve been busy, busy, busy! I just got my first round of edits on #2, Halfsleeper, back from my editor last week, so I’ve been tackling those. It was nice to know I don’t suck too poorly at sequels (it was such a challenge, my gods), but man, I have a lot to learn…

And, on top of that, I’ve been drafting #3, Shatterstorm! My goal is to get a 60k draft done by the end of the month. I think I can do it, but damn, this book might take some work. There’s a hell of a lot going on…

Needless to say, there are a lot of words happening in my head. I think what I need most right now is to assure myself that it’s okay to write an imperfect first series. It’s so difficult not to spend all my writing time worrying about the reception or whether I’ve done something wrong. I just need to stay true to myself and my characters and trust myself (and my editor).

I hope y’all are doing well, and thanks again for all your lovely support this past week! I read all the comments and tags that come in and I’m so damn grateful to all of you. 💜

Okay, I wasn’t intending on posting a snippet today, but here we are, Eli Catching Feelings with a dash of Ambrose Catching Feelings:

Synopsis: Ambrose is wearing something other than his potion master robes, and Eli’s shook. (I should clarify: this is safe for work)

Word Count: 374

TW/CW: none

Ambrose slouched when he heard the little bell over the shop door tinkle. 

  “Ames?” a voice rattled up the stairs and into his little apartment. “You ready?”

He sighed. 

  “Yes.” Where had Eli learned to be so effortlessly loud? He didn’t think he could make his voice sound like that if he tried. “Be right there.”

He was still fussing with his shirt when he descended the steps. Dawn had encouraged, or rather, commanded him not to wear his robes on this particular outing- too formal, too stiff. They were going to a game, not a business meeting. It was supposed to be fun.

If it was supposed to be fun, why did she have to invite Eli?

  “I must admit,” he muttered as he hit the last step, “I don’t usually attend these events. Someone’s going to have to explain the rules to me.”

Eli was leaning over to inspect a new potion in the window display. He shrugged and waved a hand in Ambrose’s general direction before turning around to face him.

  “No worries, I can explain the rules along the…way…” Eli trailed off, his eyes locked on Ambrose.

  “What?” Ambrose swallowed and backed up one step. “Is this not right?”

  “No- I mean, it’s fine! It’s…” Eli unfroze himself and gestured to him. “I’ve just never seen you in anything so…relaxed, is all.”

Ambrose looked down at himself. It wasn’t much, or so he thought- boots, slim pants, and a loose, billowy shirt for the summer chasm heat. He realized he had left the slit at the neck unlaced, and his hand flew up to his throat.

  “Too relaxed?” he said quickly. “I can change, I’m sorry-“

  “No no!” Eli stepped forward before he could retreat up the steps. “Really, you’re fine. I- I like seeing you so relaxed.”

Eli’s usually clear, piercing voice had gone a little rough. Ambrose frowned.

  “Are you…feeling all right?”

Eli just stared at him for a moment, and Ambrose felt stupid. Why had he asked that? He didn’t care.

  “Fine, fine, just fine.” Eli yanked open the shop door. Ambrose recomposed himself and strode past him.

  “Good, because if you give me a cold, I’ll consider it a form of corporate sabotage.”

Taglist under the cut:

Another exploratory snippet!

Synopsis: The kids go on a picnic and talk about jewelry.

Word Count: 310

TW/CW: none

The summer sun beating down on their plains-side picnic was slowly but surely putting everyone to sleep. Dawn laid across the blanket, eyes closed, hands folded across her stomach. Eli picked at the lavender edging the blanket, while Ambrose tried hard to focus on the book in his hand.

  “Dawn,” he murmured, swatting at the glints of light coming from her wrists, “could you…do something about those bangles, please…”

  “What, these?” She grinned and wiggled her arms. Her bracelets, all brilliant gold, caught the sunlight and flung it in Ambrose’s face. He squinted against it and bit back a smile.

  “Yes, those!”

  “Fine.” She slid her arms to her sides, where the caustics scattered against the blanket instead. “You just don’t appreciate them. I think you should wear a few yourself. Try ‘em out.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Eli looked up from the lavender stalks he was twisting together and nodded to the trim on Ambrose’s robes. “You already know you look good in gold. Why not wear some more?”

Ambrose hid his face a little more with the book.

  “Wouldn’t look good on me…” he mumbled. 

A moment later, he felt a source of warmth at the side of his face, and looked up. Eli had taken off one of his earrings- a dangly one, with two golden suns gently clinking together- and held it up to Ambrose’s cheek.

  “I disagree.” Eli smiled. “I think you’d look great in these.”

Ambrose met his gaze, and for a moment, had the wild, stupid urge to lean into the palm that hovered by his cheek.

The hand pulled away before he could give in.

“Would have to get your ears pierced, though,” Eli said, slipping the earring back into his ear. “Can’t imagine you doing that.”

Ambrose gave a tiny sigh and returned to his book.

  “No,” he said quietly. “No, never.”

Taglist under the cut:

if you have soft yearning snippets….please send

Time for another exploratory snippet! This is the first one with Ambrose, Eli, and Dawn all together!

Synopsis: Sometimes you just gotta complain about customers at the tavern after work.

Word Count: 487

TW/CW: alcohol

  “All right.” Dawn plopped down at the bar next to Ambrose. “It’s time to play Drag the Customer.”

As Ambrose passed her a glass, Eli grinned and pounded the table with his palm.

  “Drag the customer, drag the customer!” 

  “Who is it this time?” Ambrose gave a small smile over the rim of his mug. Dawn sighed and took a long swig of her drink before explaining.

  “You know those stupid teenagers?”

  “Oh, gods, yes.” Eli rolled his eyes. “Did you get them today, too?”

  “Yes!” Dawn pointed at him, eyes lit up. “I swear, paladin training must have let out early or something. It’s those pricks, the ones who come in, and giggle at everything, and make rude puns-“

  “And you can’t get them to leave!” Eli gestured widely with his glass. Ambrose leaned back on instinct, but it was thankfully empty. “They’re the worst! So stupid!”

Dawn shook her head.

  “Not nearly as clever as they think they are-“

  “Not clever at all-“

  “And they never buy anything!”

  “Pfft. ‘Course not.” Eli made a face and nudged Ambrose. “How about you, did you see them today?”

[ID: a collage in a brown and orange palette. The upper row shows images of two elaborate structures carved directly into a stone wall, flanking a photo of a striped slot canyon. The upper row shows a swath of colorful fabric with uneven stripes, a bright purple sky with dark clouds, and the phrase “The Scar.” End ID.]

WIP: Rival Potion Shops

The Scar

A natural, if mysterious, chasm that rips through the heart of the Laskell plains.

It’s hard to know what to admire first- the overwhelming array of stars, the hyper-chromatic sky, or the endless brushstrokes of color patterning the chasm all the way up to the surface. When Ambrose first descended into the Scar, he had to keep his gaze on the elevator floor, so the beautiful stripes wouldn’t make him dizzy. Years later, his eyes navigated them easily, following their waves up to the purple clouds, the dawn-veiled stars, then back down to the other side of the chasm. Whoever had looked upon such a sight and dubbed it something as ugly as the Scar…well, he’d certainly have words for them.

Hi and hello! Given all the stuff I’ve been up to lately with The Stronger, I figured I would start doing some update posts every once in a while! Here’s what I’ve been working on/changes since my hiatus:

So I’ve set up BIG docs for worldbuilding and characters! I’ve changed a lot with everyone and also my magic system really needed some fleshing out.

Speaking of which!! There’s a lot of cool Interworld stuff I’ve gotten done, including spooky clouds of unreality (which is like the fabric of the universe but shifted to the left? if that makes sense), entities that could potentially restart the universe, and a lot of rituals! I also got a lot of things done with the magic system fleshed out and good to go!

W.H.I.S.P.E.R is an acronym now! And it has a turbulent history!

Cassie has undergone a LOT of change as a character—her powers are now umbrakinesis and precognition which is cool, also she now has Pain

PLOT GLOW UP! There’s more twists and turns and I’m very very excited holy moly !!!

I have a prologue and a really neat manuscript format it’s awesome!!

Taglist (lmk if you’d like to be added or removed!):

Thanks @flashfictionfridayofficial​ for the prompt! Finally getting back into doing these, the last few Fridays have been busy.

Infestation

Synopsis: Ambrose helps Eli deal with a common pest. (Yes, it’s the Rival Potion Shops characters!!)

Word Count: 602

TW/CW: bugs, fire mention

It had been a busy day in the potions shop for Ambrose. Between the constant re-stocking, difficult currency exchanges, and haggling customers, he desperately needed a pick-me-up.

So when Eli burst into his shop, wild-eyed with panic, Ambrose had to hide a very wide smile.

  “Yes?” Ambrose asked. Posture straight, eyes not judging. 

All right. Mildly judging.

  “Burn it!” Were the first coherent words out of Eli’s mouth. “I gotta burn the shop down, I can’t go back in there-“

Oh, if only he was being serious.

  “What are you talking about, Elias?” 

  “There’s a thing in there!” Eli spread his arms wide. “It’s like- this big- and it wiggles- and I hate it-“

It took everything in Ambrose not to laugh. No, no- staying perfectly serious would only make this more delicious.

  “Ah.” He kept his voice level. “So you’ve discovered a burrowing larvae.”

Eli dropped his hands.

  “A what?”