#microstory

Rules: Remember these can be completed at any time. Just tag me and I will share them! And as always these are just exercises to help improve your writing. But if you are happy with how you write then keep on writing!

Writing Challenge Weekend Masterpost

Ooooh one of my favorites.

Microstories are an extremely brief narrative, often 100 words or fewer, that tell a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end, frequently relying on implication and strong imagery. This isn't about the size of the word count in the story, but the size of the story in the word count. They also often involve plot twists and leave a lasting impression.

So for the purpose of this exercise, tell me a complete story in 300 or less words.

Easy enough yeah?

These are important even for longer fic writers because learning how to pack a lot into a little makes you choose words with intention. It teaches you how to evoke feeling and emotion where you really want to. It's all about sensory and contextual details and knowing what actually sticks with your reader.

I will post my example below.

The sun set behind her in a beautiful hue of orange and gold as she dragged me around by my hand. Her nose wrinkled as she giggled, that adorable sound I had come to associate with pure bliss as she begged me to ride the ferris wheel one more time. I kissed her when we reached the top, cherry ice cream on her lips as I whispered my love in a breathy plea.

The best man’s tuxedo had been tailored to be loose. Boxy. No tapering to give any suggestion of slenderness, sexuality. It was a bit of a joke, you see, giving a man’s outfit to this best friend of the groom. “Best man.” Clever fun to make those invited chuckle, and what of it that the bridesmaid was also fitted in a similar outfit. A matching pair. No sign of the underlying reason, the paranoia of a woman who feared any other upstage her. Ah, there’s the glare directed at me now. My first greeting from the jealous witch.

realizing now this is…not that angsty BUT THE VISION IS THERE.

The morning wind brushed over Nesta’s face, kissing her a final goodbye as she prepared to leave Velaris.

She basked in its familiarity one last time. Let its soft breeze frigid her bones and swish her skirt over her boots like ruffling feathers. Her fur lined coat did little in warming her and, for once, she wasn’t complaining. On this aberrant morning, the coldness numbed her heart of any and all doubts.

Velaris had been kind to her over the years. It welcomed her when she had no home, when she’d lost everything down to her very identity. She came here with nothing to her name but the thin, wet nightgown clinging to her back, and Velaris, with its starlit sky and ridged mountain peaks, had embraced her. Broken bits and all. But it was never really home, not quiet, and Nesta knew it never really would be. Because home was somewhere very far from here. Away from the Fae and their magic and all the chaos they seemed to naturally call forward.

Home was a broken-down cottage in the Human lands.

Home was the scrawny bedroom she shared with her two sisters and the floor they slept on all huddled up together, if only to cling to each other’s warmth.

Nesta never appreciated it then, the simplicity and grace of her human life. She never realized how much she’d miss it util it was ripped away from her in the cruelest way possible. She’d mourned her human life plenty, and although she’d made peace with that loss, there were times where she found herself still dreaming of going back.

And so she was.

Things would be different now. They had to be. Her old life was forever a thing of the past, there was no reconciling that. But it didn’t mean she could never back go home. Nobody, not even Rhysand and his wish to control her life, could take that away from her. If she yearned for the touch of home, she’ll chase after the feeling even if it was the last damned thing she did. No more will she fold herself in half to please Cassian’s family. No more will she shrink herself to fit into a place that was never molded for her. For once, just this once, she chose to be shamelessly selfish.

Between being thrust into a war, harnessing her Cauldron-given powers, and navigating her mating bond with Cassian—she’d never had a single spare moment to figure out what it meant it to be Nesta, Lady Death as she was now.

She wanted to. Stopped fearing it lately.

“Are you sure about this?” Cassian—who had spent all morning pacing and asking that same question in fifty different ways—asked again. He was looking down at her with the utmost gentleness, his hazel eyes colored with pain and disappointment. Disappointment because she would not stop answering with yes. He knew it would be no different now, though Nesta could tell he still had some hope it’d change.

He fluffed the fur around her neck, and she shivered when his rough hands grazed her skin. He was so warm. Always ran so much hotter than her. She couldn’t say she won’t miss that. “Yes, I’m sure,” she answered sternly, chin held high. Cassian’s face dulled, and his hands went slack at his sides, his warmth snuffed with it. Nesta sighed. How many times have they had this conversation?

“We’ve talked about this, Cas. I need—”

“Space.” Cassian cut her off, spitting the word like it was venom. “Yeah, I got it, Nes. You need space.” From me went unsaid, but Nesta knew Cassian well enough to know he was thinking it despite her saying the opposite countless times. This had nothing to do with him. She was doing this for herself first and foremost. That, apparently, was a peculiar idea to Cassian.

Feeling slightly defeated, Nesta picked up her bags and watched as Cassian fought an internal battle with himself. The sun was beating down on him, prickling his forehead with sweat and further bunching his thick brows together. Her leaving was tearing him apart, and Nesta hated herself for it.

“Can you just give me one chance, Nes? I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t—” Cassian searched her eyes furiously, waiting for her to drop the bags and jump into his arms. When she only stared at him, steel eyes impenetrable, his shoulders dropped. “You don’t have to go.”

She’d never heard Cassian sound so desperate.

“This isn’t goodbye,” she said softly. Not exactly a promise but not a lie either. She loved Cassian. One way or another, she wanted to believe they’d find their way back to each other. Isn’t that what it meant to be mates?

Cassian didn’t appear any less heartbroken when she braced herself to turn around, but, frankly, she had no more comforts to offer. If he truly loved her, he’d support her. Perhaps wait for her.

With eager steps, she walked towards the Vanserra who had volunteered not just to help winnow her to the Human Lands but to…take her in. Same way his friends did to him. Her travel partner one might say. He was waiting for her near the River House, leaning against a wall as the sun washed him in gold. Ever the gentleman, he immediately carried her bags for her and smiled, courteous and genuine. He was clad in distinct human attire, and it buzzed something in Nesta, made her feel that much closer to home already.

“Are you ready?” He asked and Nesta had to steel herself to nod. He hadn’t asked if she was sure.

When Lucien offered her his hand, she took it without looking back. The wind blew around them, and Nesta’s doubts swept right into its cold spin.

A new beginning. An uncharted journey.

Hi Hi thank you for the ask, I fixed up your ask because I know deep deep down in your soul covered in a blanket of denial you crave Tamcien from me 🤭 You are very welcome, hope you like it! 🫶

This is for the Tamsand vs. Tamcien weekend @highlordofkrypton!

*slightly suggestive but nothing explicit*

Crave

Summer had been weird this year, weeks with mixed weather of rain, sunshine, then rain again and then sunshine. It hadn't been the summer that Tamlin invisioned for this year. He and Lucien made so many plans of what they would do, but they all fell apart, because of the damned weather.

And in a blink of an eye, September started and the hot weather that was meant for summer returned. Lucien had called him up and suggested they go to the beach, since they couldn't really enjoy it during summer and of course Tamlin agreed. With such enthusiasm that when he hung up the phone, the anxiety inside him came alive. Did Lucien notice? Does he know that his love for him was not purely friendly.

The blonde couln't dwell on it too long though, Lucien was going to pick him up in 10 minutes, just enough time for him to change into his swimsuits and take his towel with him.

The two swam, splashed water at each other and during all of it, Tamlin's emerald eyes were busy admiring everything about Lucien. The way his amber eyes crinkled when he laughed, the way the water dripped down the length of his ginger hair, to his shoulders, his chest, down his entire body. Tamlin could have sworn his mouth watered at the sight of it all.

Everything that was Lucien, he craved it all. Yet, he never quite gathered the courage to confess to him. They were friends, best of friends for the longest of times, the fear that his feelings would destroy it all held him back from doing it.

"I'm craving some ice cream, how about you?" Lucien stood up, stretching and the blonde saw the way his muscles moved.

when the medical results show nothing,

I'm perfectly fine,

and there's no proof of where

the pain came.

What I am is enraged,

I can't even start to parse

how could I be happy

Some filthy Roo Baby coming right up 🩵

(Non-sexual age play with Little!Buck)

Eddie isn't fussy about dirt. He's a firefighter. He was a soldier. He grew up in Texas, spending as much time as possible outdoors for entire summers. Dirt is fine.

Buck, however, is filthy. It's different.

Eddie doesn't understand how it happened. Buck had been digging in what will be the vegetable garden when spring really sets in, and letting him dig around in it now doesn't hurt anything. If anything, he's tilling the dirt.

Eddie had to run inside for two minutes. TWO minutes. And somehow in that time, Buck had gotten mud on his face, arms, and legs. There was mud in his hair. When had water even come into the equation? It hadn't rained in over a week!

And yet filthy Buck stood on the porch with his bucket in his hands like he was gonna go in the house. The house they'd spent all morning cleaning.

"Roo," Eddie said, positioning his body in the doorway. "Did you turn the hose on?"

Buck shifted his weight between his feet. "Eddie Worm and Evan Worm needed some water."

Eddie frowned. "Eddie... Evan Worm?"

Buck lifted the bucket. Eddie glanced in, and sure enough, there was a small pile of mud with two earthworms."

"The worms have to stay out here," Eddie said. He crossed his arms. "You know worms don't come in the house."

Buck's lower lip immediately appeared, quivering slightly. "Daddy! Eddie Worm and Evan Worm are in love. You can't separate them! What if they never find each other again?"

"If it's really meant to be, they'll find a way. Go return them both to the garden," Eddie replied.

Buck stomped his foot. "Daddy! Eddie Worm wants to be an inside worm. He told me so. He hates it outside."

Leaning against the doorframe, Eddie raised an eyebrow. "It is not kind to stomp at people, sweetheart. Please go put the worms back in the garden where they belong. If I ask again, you will be sitting a time out."

Buck's nose wrinkled. "You've ruined Eddie Worm's life," he huffed before turning and stomping down off the porch. "You're so mean."

"I know. Meanest Daddy in the whole wide world," Eddie replied. He watched as Buck went back to the garden and carefully put the worms back into the dirt. He then turned the bucket over on top of them. Eddie doesn't have the heart to remind him that worms dig.

Buck shuffled back to the porch and stopped right in front of Eddie, his pout still fully set across his lips.

"Thank you for taking them back to the garden, Roo Baby," Eddie said. He reached out and took his hand. "I know it made you sad, but I appreciate you listening to me. How about we get you all cleaned up and put on some jammies?"

Buck shuffled a little closer. "And maybe dinner?"

"We can order pizza and eat it snuggled up on the couch with a movie," Eddie promised, and immediately he saw that little flash of smile. A little bit of sunshine returning. "But first, we gotta get you to the bathroom without getting the floor you cleaned earlier dirty."

"Oh-Daddy!" Buck squealed as Eddie bent down to throw him over his shoulder. "Daddy! I can walk!"

Eddie patted his leg. "Nah, gotta be careful of all the hard work you put in, sweetheart."

Buck giggled, squirming as little but not protesting as Eddie carried him toward the bathroom.

As they entered the bathroom and Buck was setback on his feet, he curled his fingers into the front of Eddie's shirt. "You're not the meanest Daddy," he whispered. "I love you."

Eddie wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close and kissing his temple. "I love you too, Roo Baby."

Thank you!

Microstory ask

AHHHHH NYXLIN YESSSSS I honestly adore this prompt for them, because in my own fics the way Nyx disentangles himself from Rhysand is the result of a silent uprising he helps to start, so this fits my version of him perfectly!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REQUEST I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS!!!!!