One last visit to the Speaker of the Forest before its cycle drew to a close. Its eyes milky with #cataracts, it could only vaguely follow my movements. Meandering words ventured into nonsense, but I listened patiently, nodding slowly. Held its paw until the final breath. #vss365

I never realised, until I’d tried to trace the pathways of our shared history, what you saw. Or rather, what you didn’t. Only your #pain is real. Felt. Mine is words, illusion, imagination, artifice, manipulation. A blinding madness you see clearly. Reflected in a mirror. #vss365

The machine before me extended its hand. I forced a smile, wiped my palm on my top – why? – and gripped it. Despite myself, I could feel the #thrum of components beneath the polyskin, sense the too-smooth movement of expensive servos. A head tilt. It saw my despisal. #vss365

I try to besiege her walls, one final time in a lonely cafe. A grey Sunday morning. ‘What more could I have done? If I could have only fixed our problems…’ The truth stings her on the way up. ‘You were the problem.’ At last. Hearing this death knell, I can #unmoor. #vss365

Every year the count would #loom, and hope sunk further. Our kids were losing faith. Their sadness showed in the world. Storms. Droughts. Eventually, we uprooted the town. We showed them life, took them to distant shores, let them play in the sea. Made them whole again. #vss365

A count confirmed 15 captives in total. We’d hoped to sort this peacefully, but Her Majesty’s law was clear. Execution. The masters were not from where they claimed – the accent and #wonky pronunciation betrayed them. I turned away as the evening was calmly painted red. #vss365

Tunbar was a bulldog of an examiner. Nothing got by him. Failing 10 of our mechs and calling them #slapdash riled me enough, but picking on Ganymede was the last straw. ‘Had a loose bolt,’ he yawned. Thank god for the engineer who stopped my hands closing in on his neck. #vss365

#WritingCommunity #vss365 #firewords280 #BraveWrite @darkxfer.bsky.social - In this demonstrably driven world, I've adorned myself with so many roles. The most comfortable one was the snafu. Identifying with the mistake presents you with the illusion of having the power to... 1/3

One rule when camping in the outer reaches: leave nothing man-made behind. The Collector scoured its land for any trinket, any item to #adorn its form. A veritable mound of clothes, utensils, and personal effects, groaning under the weight. And it would follow your scent. #vss365

A brief introduction, and all were seated. Beneath the gentle hum of conversation and the tinkle of teaspoons on porcelain, a secret motive was taking invisible shape. Double-meanings said with smiles carried #power, testing or exerting it. Pleasantly, rebellion brewed. #vss365

At long last 🙏🏻

We called them #Boxers. Regular rigs couldn't get into the tunnels; too big. These ones were smaller, more barebones. Cheaper to build and run, but largely due to fewer life support systems. If you went dead in The Under, so did your crew. Especially if a hive was active. #vss365

When the Oracle came to—hours after the thrashing had ceased—she couldn't tell us a word of what she'd seen. But her paintings spoke with the #clarity mind and tongue couldn't. Some days, joy; others, fear. Empty or eventful future: we weren't sure what we hoped for. #vss365

What began as protection corrupted into tyranny. It was slow, a metamorphosis through which we sleepwalked. We awoke to a hydra, cutting with impunity. Acting with #immunity. But not even Atlas could have bore our collective weight. In the end, they broke first. #vss365

The pub was packed with people. Windows were opened to ease the choking humidity. The priest arrived, flustered but wearing his best smile. His honeyed words did little to #dissolve the fear. Too many taken in one night. Bakers became warriors as the militia rallied. #vss365

The field was calm, as always before a battle. They watched the gathering dark with dread in their hearts. Battle under an #eclipse— a terrible omen. Stories from their elderly said that those who died today would become bound. Souls trapped between worlds, never to rest. #vss365

The healer had been hiding all day, but she would soon need to face it. The body in the other room lay still and cold. She had known that man when he was just a boy—warned him to be more careful. What a charming smile. But there was no mistaking that #scar on his leg. #vss365

Maintainer found the seam, neatly running between one world's boundary and another. 'This is what you felt,' she told Creator. He #traced the ethereal join, the work of Ascended hands. 'I did not bless this. These plains should be separate.' A renegade god in their midst. #vss365

They always said it wasn’t free. What were they talking about? No cracks in my teeth, no grey hairs. I felt amazing. But they were right. The #conversion always had a cost. Every renewal, my spark dimmed. My soul frayed. Until I was nothing but a flawless husk. #vss365

Life in a loop was exhausting. Ico and Arn were in the fourth cycle. Each iteration thus far had been moving towards the goal. Still, it was numbing. Each day, the same #beginning. Every night, the gnawing guilt. Drawing ever closer to transposing bystander and victim. #vss365

Today's writing set up: - No kids - Hours to myself in a quiet café - Soft jazz in my earphones What I'm trying to say is, I've hit the jackpot. 😌☕️💻

“But how,” said the man, “can one ‘deal’ in #death? What deals are to be made?” “Many,” drawled the Dealer. “Oh, many.” “But it’s death; the end.” “Here maybe. I know places where it’s only an end.” He crushed his cigarette and stood, smiling. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.” #vss365

Exchanging pleasant words was soothing, but with the setting sun and swelling dark came the biting reality. Nothing could truly shrink the #distance. We were quite literally worlds apart. I crumpled the paper, took a fresh sheet. It was time to pen how I truly felt. #vss365

There was a striking disparity between what the pilots commanded and what they had. Responsible for the destinies of impossibly valuable ships, yet most owned scarcely anything. Their #luggage amounted to a jacket, cigarettes. Maybe a photograph—if they were really lucky. #vss365

One of the most important things you can bear in mind when writing is this: You can simplify without watering down. If you're fraying your nerves trying to figure out how to 'make' an idea happen, it's not right. Simplify.

A place to cement business, rally after a loss, or just #canoodle in the corner. There was always room at The Inn. Endless wood for the fire, endless beer for the patrons. You couldn't do better for a halfway house. Just as well; your first visit would be your last. #vss365

The old galaxies always made me feel melancholic. Our earliest triumphs, most were now marked with the gigantic, #sempiternal symbol of warning. Zeta—do not land. Death. Then, we saw it. An unmarked planet, its far side distantly aglow with industry. Somebody yet lived. #vss365

One could—if they desired—follow the tracks in the sand for miles. Villages grew quiet as they approached, let out sighs of relief once they'd disappeared beyond the horizon. The #guilty warden, once law-sworn, now wandered the land in penance. Shackled and eyeless. #vss365

After a protracted struggle, it was time to abandon our stratum. We would have to risk the surface. Demolition teams worked overtime. They put our demons to sleep, wrought a #lullaby of screeching metal and grinding stone. And that was the end. Until the tremors started. #vss365

We passed the threshold. We were too late. Years were wasted on the #myopic arguments over where to put survivors, who should take what portion of the blame. When the second event horizon came, nobody was ready. Now even time itself is bleeding. We have only moments left. #vss365

Enough. Enough of expert strangers who #chimed in at every turn. ‘When mine were little..’ ‘If I can give you some advice…’ I took you home. Door: locked. We built a nest where you could cry. So could I. We kept it warm together. And I could just watch you sleep forever. #vss365

If you ever need a geofence fixed in The Glade, you go to the fox. Can't tell you what they look like; they never speak nor take the mask off. A genius with spiritech though. Donning a #flocculent pullover, they're off in a trice. You'll be back online before nightfall. #vss365

Setting up a protection circle around town was as convoluted as possible. The #rigamarole of requisitioning books and demonstrating arcane competence was all very much deliberate. Simple sigils could easily go very awry. The world did not need another 50-year Inferno. #vss365

Dealing with Brakus meant dealing on the undermarket. Untracked transactions and money from who-knows-where. Best not to ask. Just buying #incognito could get you in the pit for life, but this was the only place for us normals to get medicine. It would always be worth it. #vss365

We tried everything to #contour to one another, but it was futile. We were the last pieces of the puzzle, and we fit together no longer. So many ways to die in this world, and somehow you were the most terrifying. We awoke to a brilliant sunrise on a cold, quiet morning. #vss365

Since escaping his captors, the man had run through days and through nights. He was now #unbridled, but he couldn't stop until he held a weapon again. Finally, he found an axe left unattended. Worn, but enough. Its blade broke his chains against a stone. Freedom at last. #vss365

Welcome to the #Nexus. Your nominators will be here shortly. Do not look them in the eyes. Be polite. Do not laugh loudly. Avoid talking about war. If you notice a rasping sound, offer them a compliment and change topics immediately. Do not look them in the eyes. #vss365

The camp had become a colony of sorts, clinging to the side of the mountain. At the base lay the 'powder keg', a vast field of unexploded ordnance. They fired #rockets every day, trying to carve a path back out. Hard to pity them; they were boxed in by their own paranoia. #vss365

These press-infested events always made her cringe. Hangers-on in their hundreds would come to rubberneck and #fawn over anybody in expensive clothing. They probably couldn’t even afford to ride a subspace tram, but such was the excitable wont of commoners. #vss365

Back into the endless torture of The Clearwalls. A punishment uniquely fit for immortals. The endless #labyrinth was made of glass, pristine, reaching into the horizon. A rather cruel architect’s magnum opus. It would take years to escape, its victors thoroughly humbled. #vss365

Whomever had created could destroy; so went the rule. Even that simple edict led to an argument without end. 'You made me who I am', he argued. 'But loving you is my reason', she said. Finally, they compromised—a lovers pact. It began with #dust; it would end with dust. #vss365

A place where knowledge went, for all the world, to die. Secretly, the hoard of forbidden writings and drawings awaited a future that we hoped would never come. #Esoteric knowledge practically spilled onto the floor. Thank the gods the rats couldn't read. #vss365

Trying hard here to wax #esoteric While wildfires rage fierce and barbaric An impossible feat Whose goal I can't meet I'll be lucky to manage generic! 🙏 Prayers for LA and all in the path of the wildfires #vss365 #limerick

The windows of the kitchen were peeks into heaven, their misted panes obscuring the gorgeous creations inside. Sometimes you could just tell by the colours what was spicy and punchy, what was #sweet and soothing. Maybe today would be the day they would give him the job. #vss365

We followed the sound of the bells, chasing dandelion seeds as our feet sent them scattering into the wind. The same dilemma: our mothers would bury us up to our necks if we missed our #vespers. But the priests had banned us. So we listened from outside, hand-in-hand. #vss365

The machine knew its end neared. In its death throes, it showed us anything that might make us hesitate. Perfect recreations of loved ones lost, images of pleasure we could never dream, #delight upon delight. Alas, we'd prepared for such games. Another artifice ended. #vss365

Patient 12 could answer any question. Name, birth date, capital of any given country. An excellent mind. Until the interview pivoted onto the event that pulled his wife into another dimension. Then the #schism in his psyche showed itself. It would take hours to calm him. #vss365

Who, me? Yeah, I write. …in my spare time. …and if I’m in the right mood. …for about an hour. …fighting myself every step of the way. …to then edit it all next time. 😎

How quickly opinion of the tribunal soured. Judges walked only after dark, flanked by guards. Their sentences were inflexible, harsh, tone-deaf. #Monochrome justice that lacked nuance. But a human lifetime was a flicker to them, and we were numerous. Why should they care? #vss365

Waiting for the signal, day and night, was the final test of constitution. Even through the cooling system, we could feel the oppressive heat outside. Dunes shattered into quivering fractals in the haze. Even as a #taipan slid over my boot, I was still. Awaiting the sign. #vss365