#abtb

A Bitter-Tasting Blade, a novella and Camp Not-NaNo intro by @authoralexharvey

The Basics

GENRE - dark fantasy, high fantasy, travelogue

INSPIRATIONS - Bloodborne, Claymore, Dungeons & Dragons, The Witcher

POV - third-person limited

TAGS, THEMES, AND TROPES - alatrism vs. blinding faith, battle couple, duty vs. freedom, enemies to lovers (the murderous kind), forced proximity, journeying through a ravaged land, lgbtq, magic, monster vs. monster hunter (and eventually monster x monster hunter), monsters and the humanity within them, runic/sigil magic

CONTENT WARNINGS - body horror, fantasy racism, sex, violence

STATUS - outlined, currently drafting

NOT-NANO GOAL - 20,000 words

THE CHARACTERS

Toshiko Egawa, the designated Sword (monster hunter) of a minor Akalese clan. Her staunch faith in her goddess The Lady guides her hand in her fight against monsters.

Fel, a (somewhat reformed) monster of a woman and once-prominent researcher. One of few of a new burgeoning race of [TERM], people who became monsters and have since clawed their way back into humanity.

SUMMARY

Monsters have emerged in the world of Mesiphrae. Former humans, now twisted into unrecognizable forms, cleave claw and fang through those they used to love. Though some countries fare better against the crisis than others, it shows no signs of stopping until the world is overrun.

Toshiko Egawa is no stranger to these monsters. As her clan's Sword, she is regularly tasked with slaying former friend and foe alike. When her newest mission is to escort Fel, a monster of a woman, through the ravaged wastes of Hadorae, she thinks it all to be a cruel joke. But as she grapples with her burning hatred, she is forced to learn the world is not as she once understood it to be and must reconcile her differences to complete her task... and perhaps come to love along the way.

(Set after the events of ASMLP)

TAGLIST (ASK TO BE ADDED)

No worries! Welcome aboard! I have a lot of works and thus a lot of acronyms, so I'm not going to list them all rn. However, the most common ones you will see are:

ASMLP - A Sharper, More Lasting Pain, my sapphic fantasy dark academia novel about two Casters at a magic college and the tragedy that befalls them. This one is currently up for pre-orders ;)

ATHD - Across This Hollow Distance, my gothic fantasy novella inspired by the myth of Eros and Psyche! This one I plan to have out by April of next year.

ABTB - A Bitter-Tasting Blade, my dark fantasy novella about a monster hunter and a monster woman who are forced to work together on an escort mission.

WTSWB - When the Stars Were Brighter, my short story collection that I published! I may also refer to shorts from this collection individually, such as YANTPA (You Are Not This Person Anymore), FANS (Following A Northern Star), TTOCH (The Temple on Cicaro Hill) and WTTV (Within These Twisted Vines)

TWEfA - Those Who Emerge from Ashes, my dark fantasy novel about a Goddess, a runaway, and a Scholar from a cult whose paths all cross thanks to an 800-year old living corpse.

I had a family event on the 5th and skipped a day to mentally recover. Everything is fine, I'm fine, but it was a pretty draining day ngl. Anyway today I did ASMLP rewrites to help catch up cause I'm still in the early chapters where the changes are very minor lol

Anyway. We care about the stats, so let's talk about them.

Words Wrote Today: 7,850

Total Word Count: 21,244

Excerpt:

She squints into the darkness, unable to make out her father's shape but aware of his voice all the same. Soft footfalls, almost too quiet to catch, cross the woven floormat and towards her. A well-worn hand grips her shoulder. Cloak Egawa's grey eyes flash as he regards her.

The strip of cloth she retrieved from the monster flutters when she pulls it from her armor and holds it out. Grime and foul blood streak the fabric. “Lady Ono has been put to rest,” she says as she releases the scrap and it spirals to the floor. Her voice wavers, threatens to break, but holds firm.

Cloak Egawa's grip tightens. Likely, she realizes too late, due to her derisive tone. “She was once human,” her father says, a stern reminder. “No need to speak with such derision.”

How strange to refer to these beasts as their former incarnations. Many people she had once known and loved have undergone monstrous transformations, each of them put to rest by her sword. While she mourns the death in her own way, in truth, those people die the moment they transform, their selves shredded with the rest of their warping skin.

She lowers her gaze. “Human once, now gone in all senses of the word.”

He lets out a quiet, disappointed sigh. Toshiko expects him to lecture her again, to unfurl on her like an unblocked river, but he doesn't. Instead, he gives her shoulder another soft squeeze before pulling away.

“Get any wounds of yours seen to. Come to my office when you are ready.”

I've been tagged a couple of times for this. Thanks to @broodparasitism, @k--havok, @anoelleart, and @andromedaexists. Thank you!

Rules—bold themes that appear in your WIP and italicize themes that are loosely covered.

Gonna work on all my major projects for this one. So...

ABTB

addiction | beauty | betrayal | change vs. tradition | chaos vs. order | circle of life | coming of age | communication | convention vs. rebellion | corruption | courage | crime and law | dangers of ignorance | darkness and light | death | desire to escape | dreams | displacement | empowerment | facing darkness | facing reality | faith vs. doubt | fall from grace | fame and fortune | family | fate | fear | fear of failure | free will | friendship | fulfillment | good vs. bad | government | greed | guilt and forgiveness | hard work | heroism | hierarchy | honesty | hope | identity crisis | immortality | independence | individual vs. society | inner vs. outer strength | innocence | injustice | isolation | knowledge vs. ignorance | life | loneliness | lost love | love | man vs. nature | manipulation | materialism | motherhood | nature | nature vs. nurture | oppression | optimism | peer pressure | poverty | power | power of words | prejudice | pride | progress | quest | racism | rebirth | relationships | religion | responsibility | revenge | sacrifice | secrets | self-awareness | self-preservation | self-reliance | sexuality | social class structure | survival | technology | temptation and destruction | time | totalitarianism | weakness | vanity | war | wealth | wisdom of experience | youth

ASMLP

addiction | beauty | betrayal | change vs. tradition | chaos vs. order | circle of life | coming of age | communication | convention vs. rebellion | corruption | courage | crime and law | dangers of ignorance | darkness and light | death | desire to escape | dreams | displacement | empowerment | facing darkness | facing reality | faith vs. doubt | fall from grace | fame and fortune | family | fate | fear | fear of failure | free will | friendship | fulfillment | good vs. bad | government | greed | guilt and forgiveness | hard work | heroism | hierarchy | honesty | hope | identity crisis | immortality | independence | individual vs. society | inner vs. outer strength | innocence | injustice | isolation | knowledge vs. ignorance | life | loneliness | lost love | love | man vs. nature | manipulation | materialism | motherhood | nature | nature vs. nurture | oppression | optimism | peer pressure | poverty | power | power of words | prejudice | pride | progress | quest | racism | rebirth | relationships | religion | responsibility | revenge | sacrifice | secrets | self-awareness | self-preservation | self-reliance | sexuality | social class structure | survival | technology | temptation and destruction | time | totalitarianism | weakness | vanity | war | wealth | wisdom of experience | youth

ATHD

addiction | beauty | betrayal | change vs. tradition | chaos vs. order | circle of life | coming of age | communication | convention vs. rebellion | corruption | courage | crime and law | dangers of ignorance | darkness and light | death | desire to escape | dreams | displacement | empowerment | facing darkness | facing reality | faith vs. doubt | fall from grace | fame and fortune | family | fate | fear | fear of failure | free will | friendship | fulfillment | good vs. bad | government | greed | guilt and forgiveness | hard work | heroism | hierarchy | honesty | hope | identity crisis | immortality | independence | individual vs. society | inner vs. outer strength | innocence | injustice | isolation | knowledge vs. ignorance | life | loneliness | lost love | love | man vs. nature | manipulation | materialism | motherhood | nature | nature vs. nurture | oppression | optimism | peer pressure | poverty | power | power of words | prejudice | pride | progress | quest | racism | rebirth | relationships | religion | responsibility | revenge | sacrifice | secrets | self-awareness | self-preservation | self-reliance | sexuality | social class structure | survival | technology | temptation and destruction | time | totalitarianism | weakness | vanity | war | wealth | wisdom of experience | youth

TWEfA

addiction | beauty | betrayal | change vs. tradition | chaos vs. order | circle of life | coming of age | communication | convention vs. rebellion | corruption | courage | crime and law | dangers of ignorance | darkness and light | death | desire to escape | dreams | displacement | empowerment | facing darkness | facing reality | faith vs. doubt | fall from grace | fame and fortune | family | fate | fear | fear of failure | free will | friendship | fulfillment | good vs. bad | government | greed | guilt and forgiveness | hard work | heroism | hierarchy | honesty | hope | identity crisis | immortality | independence | individual vs. society | inner vs. outer strength | innocence | injustice | isolation | knowledge vs. ignorance | life | loneliness | lost love | love | man vs. nature | manipulation | materialism | motherhood | nature | nature vs. nurture | oppression | optimism | peer pressure | poverty | power | power of words | prejudice | pride | progress | quest | racism | rebirth | relationships | religion | responsibility | revenge | sacrifice | secrets | self-awareness | self-preservation | self-reliance | sexuality | social class structure | survival | technology | temptation and destruction | time | totalitarianism | weakness | vanity | war | wealth | wisdom of experience | youth

ASMLP in October, obviously. I have almost everything together now and could honestly push it up one more month if I really wanted to, but I've spent so much time lately telling people it's out in October it'd probs be confusing to do it any earlier.

Anyway I do want to have two releases next year. I'd love to have ATHD ready to release next year in the spring, and I think I can if I force myself to get my shit together.

And then in the fall next year I'd love to release BTMS. Cause I think that, too, I can get into shape by then.

My brain is a soup comprised mostly of future funk rn. Also I was pretty busy today, so I didn't do much.

Anyways. Let's talk stats.

Words Wrote Today: 240

Total Word Count: 23,844

Excerpt:

When [NAME] turns back around, she gives Toshiko an appraising once-over. “Injuries?”

“Bruised ribs. Possibly broken. If I'm hurt otherwise, I haven't the faintest idea.”

[NAME] huffs at this before returning to the drawer. From it, she produces a length of linen and scissors as well as an ink brush. Pulling a sigiled glove over one hand, she turns back around. “Show me.”

After a beat, Toshiko grabs the hem of her shirt in shaking fingers and eases it up. Even this small movement is enough to make her wince. At least the pain is better than the awkwardness between the two of them, she thinks as she drops her shirt again.

[NAME] draws closer, her retrieved supplies forming a sort of halo around her. She drops to her knees. “I'm going to check for fractures,” she says, gaze all tempered steel. Once, there was a warmth in that gaze capable of moving mountains, but no longer. She doesn't want to do this anymore than Toshiko wants to allow her.

And yet she must. Toshiko gives a stuttering nod.