InterNutter

Indie writer seeks audience with an audience. Paying customers welcome. [pronouns: ze/hir] Daily free stories happen because it is an excellent counter to Writers' Block.

Burpengary East http://www.cmweller.com 12165 posts

Challenge #01256-C161: Blood in the Boards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV3xp5ZXSYA

Opera vampire

He tries very hard to be a baritone but he's a a countertenor (or possibly a contralto) -- Gallifreya

[AN: This is the guy referred to on the internet as "Gay Opera Dracula"]

Some appetites can not be ignored. Some can be... restrained. I learned that when a Master of Voices turned my best friend into a Castrati. That was a very, very long time ago.

I was turned into something else, myself. But that came later. A whisper in the night. A seduction dipped in fine perfume and coated pretty words. And two sharp teeth into my neck.

So very long ago, now.

I make some money as a roving Contralto. I never stay anywhere long enough for people to ask questions. And I make certain that I am never good enough to be truly famous.

But you see, I love Opera. I love the art, the discipline. It has kept me sane in decades when I feared I would go mad. And I despise those who treat it as a frivolity of a bygone era.

Those who slack, those who do not put in all their effort. Those who slip and do not care... they are my food.

And those who make an artist's life pain. The followers, the hangers-on, the people who have unfortunate cases of Erotomania, and the people who have unfortunate cases of not hearing the word 'no'. Those are also... dealt with.

Those who ignore my admittedly strong mental control become my meals also. I consider it a service to the Art.

And in the months when none of these examples present themselves... do not fret. It's quite possible to acquire deals with Kosher and Halal butchers. I do not starve, and I do not prey on the innocent. Well. Innocent enough, anyway. This is opera. One expects a certain amount of drama in the opera houses.

The years have lead me to see patterns. Which, in turn, has lead me to give remarkable advice to those treading the same, well-worn paths of people in my past. And I'm seen as something of an expert on the history of Opera. I tell no-one that I lived most of it. That sort of thing has... repercussions.

And once in a while, I meet someone with... star quality. Those who would do so much good for the Art, had they the time. I offer, discretely, a chance to remain at their peak. I don't turn them without their consent. There are downsides to vampirism, after all.

No-one has taken me up on the offer. Not yet. For all the drama and emotion, Opera people can be remarkably pragmatic.

Yet I live in hope. Someday, somehow, someone will take me up on the offer.

And I won't be alone any more.

(Muse food remaining: 15. Submit a Prompt! Ask a question! Buy my stories! Or comment below!)

Why do I hurt myself?

As you'd expect, Beloved and I played Factorio pretty much all damn day. It's deliciously distracting. As a direct result, it was already pretty late when we finally gave up on it to watch some TV.

Two episodes of Daredevil on Netflix.

And episodes of Daredevil are longer than one might expect.

So it was almost firkin midnight before we lurched off to bed. And well after midnight before I actually fell asleep.

I am paying the price today.

...ow.

In other

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Challenge #01255-C160: Leave Me Alone!

http://cosmic-raes.tumblr.com/post/143671834576/editorincreeps-thelessercarpenter

The Humble Villager that was just trying to stop random adventurers stealing all their stuff -- Gallifreya

It began with a lucky shot. Tur the Peasant had had enough of adventurers stealing her things, and hucked a rock at the armoured figure going through Tur's sacks of meagre belongings.

They must have been at 1HP, because they fell and discorporated, leaving their swag behind them.

Tur spent a moment, dumbstruck, looking at the loot. Then

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These things are meant to try me

Would you believe I'm still trying to upload the second episode of Shaturday Specials? Yup. It's recorded. I have fourteen episodes in the bag... and a shitty internet connection making sure that absolutely nothing gets out.

URGH.

I swear my second video has been stuck at three hours remaining for all the firkin night.

Meh.

Anyway, while those go out at a trickle, I continue onwards in my efforts.

I have a second recording all ready for editing. I am going to

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Challenge #01254-C159: Sworn to Love

Princess Marries Dragon to Knight -- Gallifreya

"Why, beast? Why must you plague my every waking day with your invasions to my fair land."

The dragon rumbled and stopped what it was doing with boulders. It seemed to... sag. "I'm... a plague?"

"Of course you're a plague! You burn the lands, you foul the water, and you steal the cattle of the hardworking peasants."

"Um," said the Princess Carillion. "That would be the warlords neighbours? I haven't observed this dragon doing very

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It's Shaturday!

After a final quality check, I will be putting up my first session of Shaturday games and timing how long it takes for some arsehat to red-flag me.

I'm not spending much time on quality in these videos. After all, no time was spent on the quality of the games.

I need to edit a little out of episode nine, but otherwise, all is well.

The only pity is that I haven't figured out how to fast forward with my current video

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Challenge #01253-C158: Happily Ever After

Princess marries Dragon and Knight -- Gallifreya

Another day, another quest. Trillwhistle and Amanda had both taken a liking to questing. They saw more of the world than they could have initially believed and the rewards were interesting. And educational.

Amanda stopped calling herself Princess Amanda and, thanks to an unkowing knighthood from a distant king, started going by Sir Dragonbourne. It helped that her armour covered her face and disguised her physique.

And it was safer to let everyone assume that

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Le Sigh

The best-laid plans of mice, men, and myself are gang aft agley. And my plans are pretty damn agley right now.

Something has gone wrong with my mic or my setup that means that the three hours of gameplay have to be re-recorded because the stupid software didn't bother recording from my stupid mic that I stupid know stupid firkin works.

Aaaaaaaarrrrrgh.

So I not only have to figure out what the flip has gone wrong with my setup, but I also

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Challenge #01252-C157: A Friend for the Princess

Princess is Dragon -- Gallifreya

The tallest tower of the castle is the largest. The widest. The roomiest. And it has the largest windows. The Princess is held there, they say. They say that there's a dragon. They say that the Princess is the most beautiful creature that ever lived.

Toe had heard all the rumours, of course. How suitors came to see her, and often ran away. How some came with blades to conquer the beast of the tower. They went

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I can do this... i hope

I have some potential agents lined up to get query letters. I have some novels that really, really need to get out there if I have a hope of earning money at this.

I know that I have to get several agents to handle all of my stuff, because I write across a wide and varied field of fiction. Which I hope is for everyone.

One day, I will find one agent who is willing to take me, and all my assorted

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Challenge #01251-C156: The Power of Knowledge

Princess Rescues Dragon -- Gallifreya

Sir Kevin the Persistent lived up to his name. He did not, alas, live up to some of the more important laws of chivalry. He had studied up on Dragons and knew the best time to attack Trillwhistle.

The fact that he waited for her next shedding season was telling indeed. He would strike when his opponent was weak. He would arm himself with everything he needed to use to destroy one in its strength, so he

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What a state of affairs

I'm getting close to having 300 followers on Tumblr. The last time I did a promotion, one of my winners only collected a third of their grand prize and has yet to decide on the other two parts. I need to chase them up about things.

I finally have a day in which I can seek out and begin sending enquiries to agents in New York. That's going to be fun.

Plus I have plans to finish at least one more pair

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Challenge #01250-C155: Dragon/Princess/Knight

Dragon rescues Princess from Knight -- Gallifreya

"EUGH! NO! Get. Off. Me!"

Trillwhistle gave off looking for the right kind of rocks to scrape off her old skin on and followed the sounds of feminine protest.

"Come on. It's only a kiss. It's my due."

In a clearing not far from the rough, rocky outcropping that Trillwhistle had been considering as a hide-scraper, there was... a Scene.

It looked like some of the pictures from the human books. A lovely glade, a

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Sigh

Some idiot shot up a place of safety for the LGBT community, yesterday. Some idiot will claim that it was on religious grounds and, for a change, the world will believe him and not claim that he is insane.

For once, this might just be titled an act of terrorism. Why?

Because the shooter was allegedly a Muslim.

If he was a white Christian, he would be declared insane or mentally disturbed before the shrapnel had stopped flying. If he was white,

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Challenge #01249-C154: Who's the Hero?

The super-villain who is an absolutely great parent -- Gallifreya

It began small, as it always does. A few disappearances. A few strangers with the wrong ID, turning up as suicides or deaths by cop.

But it wasn't until Senator Morganbaum took the public podium and changed before everyone's eyes into a latino woman of about the same height and weight that people realised something was up.

It was a very specific pattern. White cops who were on leave for shooting incidents

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