Chapter 7: Hold My Hand "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the TerraFirma 7." Straati's voice echoed across the deck of the windwaker, grabbing the attention of all passengers currently aboard TerraFirma’s maiden journey beyond the Barrens. She stood by the bow, hands behind her back, smile on her face, the blue TerraFirma cap affixed nicely over her intricately braided blonde hair. The brilliant pinks of the skies and the calm sands of the Dawn stood behind her, separated by His serene white veil. “You may have heard many tales about Eonov and its great starchild,” Straati continued, “but none come close to what the Maker will show you today. For the next eight hours of our trip, my fellow crewmates and I will be your guides in these lands, helping you cross the desert the same way He helped our ancestors reach the Sunrise Strip.” She gave a slight wave with both of her ears. Mallik nodded back. She climbed up the masts to unfurl the sails. The blue drapes of the TerraFirma 7 opened up, folding open like a book. The first wind blew. It filled the sails. It filled her lungs. It filled the windwaker’s engines. They finally roared to life. The oohs and ahs of the passengers were palpable even from above the top sail. Straati kept smiling as the windwaker started moving. She simply raised her right hand, holding it at the same height as His white veil. “Dear adventurers,” she spoke with conviction as the sun rose behind her, piercing through His veil for the first time in all those endless nights these tourists had spent in the Sunrise Strip. “I welcome you to His Sun.”

act I is now complete 🙏🙂‍↕️

Think I will be taking a short break now from Defiler so as to focus on some short stories and submitting to litmags in April. In the meantime, have a sneak peek of ch.7 below

#Defiler #WriteSky #WriterCommunity #QueerWriters #SFF #WIP

Chapter 5: Boundless Sunrise Amateracci sat by the windowsill, uniform undone and lying by her waist, her dark skin exposed as the smoke from her cig billowing in her fingers. She stared at the rising sun bathing herself and the entirety of this city in brilliant reds, fiery oranges and golden yellow hues. She had seen many miracles in her long life of servitude; from the twin moons of Tessereich and their annual alignment, to the deep oceans of Y’Trage where the underwater cities rose to the skies, and the golden crop fields of Datrakan that sparkled under the sunlight and glowed under the moonlight. This rising sun was one more of those miracles. It was unmoving, hanging perpetually in the distance, laying down a white veil across the horizon that separated earth and sky, obscuring the superstructure towards she and her comrade would be headed. She had seen Him from space, an encompassing white sphere on the planet’s surface that beckoned her as they rode the Cosmodrome’s elevator down to the surface. And now He waited somewhere out there, hiding behind His veil. “Thought you’d still be up, my friend.” Lionelli closed the door to their shared dormitory and walked to the window. She placed her hand on Amateracci’s shoulder. “The sun has not gone down since we got here. Nor has it gone up. It’s been two hours now.” Amateracci finally capitulated to the Maker, pulling away from His sun and turning to look at her friend with a smile. “I just cannot stop staring.”

Chapter 6: A Cup Of Blue To Go Mallik threw her backpack in the back of the car. She got in the passenger seat and put her seatbelt on. “Thanks, Pho.” “Don’t mention it.” Her sister shifted into first gear and pulled away from the train station. She then turned the radio on, playing the latest releases that both could swear sounded like the same songs that had been popular over the last fifteen years and some more. She grimaced when the dragons song came on. She shut the radio off, much to the relief of their ears. “So how was the shift?” Pho asked as she turned the left blinker on. “Terrible. You?” “Same.” Pho tapped her fingers at the wheel. She turned left, stopping at the next red light. “Excited for some of mama’s blue at least?” “Yup. It’s all I live for.” “Damn, don’t be so overjoyed, your heart will explode or something.”

double billing today because both ch.5 and ch.6 are done!

ch.5 was a fun exploration of the maidens before their mission begins in earnest, whereas ch.6 is ch.4-resuscitated-from-the-scrapping-of-last-week 👀

sneak peek as algays below:

#Defiler #WriteSky #WriterCommunity #QueerWriters #SFF #WIP

#queerWriters Monday Goals Day

wo been a while! Anygay, the goal is to finish #Defiler act I of draft 2 by the end of Sunday, so i can officially move onto act ii thereafter! Bit ambitious, but tbh only one chapter truly remains to be written (and another needs revisions) 💪📝

#WritingCommunity #WIP

Chapter 4: Like A Wind Awoken “So when you said that you knew a cool spot, I have to admit I did not have fast food in mind.” “Do I look like I have money?” Mallik asked as she handed the money to the cashier. Zysso, the valleakan boy he had encountered in that back alley close to her home and with whom she ended sharing a jail cell thereafter, looked expectantly at the paper bag being stuffed with their order. They had agreed to hang out again, under – hopefully – better circumstances this time. “Besides, “Mallik picked a spare fry that had fallen out of the box as she turned back to Zysso and his impressive aquamarine tunic that he dared call ‘a low-profile fit’, “you’re gonna need the calories after we’re done climbing.” “Climbing?” Zysso asked intrigued. “Mhm.” Mallik picked up the paper bag with the four sticks of kebadjik, the box of fries, the sliced pitas and the soft fizzy drinks and put them on the counter. “By the way, how good are you at jumping?” Zysso stared at Mallik, already lamenting his fashion choices. “Well,” he said near apologetically, clicking his heels against the pavement. The clack of his feet reverberated against the tiled floors. “I got hooves.” “Right. Then I guess we’ll be taking the scenic route.”

can the real ch.4 please stand up? 🗣️

funny how i was able to complete it in so little time compared to the prior version bwhehehe

sneak peek as algays below:

#Defiler #WriteSky #WriterCommunity #QueerWriters #SFF #WIP

Chapter 3: Assignment The alarm kept blaring across the hallways. The last shot had just rung out. His comrade was lying down in a pool of her own blood. He had dropped his gun, knowing mercy would not come for him. He knew Her Wrath spared none. He just did not know it would come so swiftly nor so silently. He could only glimpse the silhouette of Her Warrior. Imposingly tall, emerald armour glistening under the red alarm lights. Her golden visor glowed. This yellow slit of death in the darkness was the last thing he saw before he dropped dead next to his comrade with two well placed shots – one in his head and one in his heart. “Area clear! Move, Ladies!” The operation was standard procedure. Jardinista cruisers such as this one had been running interference within Royal space for as long as this nasty war had been waged, disrupting communication and trade, conducting petty sabotage and piracy. No, they were worse than pirates; these traitors had taken arms against the King. They aimed to disrupt the Peace. They longed to see the cosmos once more chained to the shackles of war. Thankfully, the King had Her Maidens at His side.

ch.3 in the bag! quite the night-and-day experience from 2021 when I was making all that stuff about the Maidens of Wrethella on the fly at 3am

Enjoy a bonus sneak peek below

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hm. I fear the #Defiler draft 2 chapters get longer with each one

nearly 25 years later and TimeSplitters 2's opening level still goes hard!

Listening to the level's music currently on repeat as I hammer away at the third chapter of #Defiler

“Are we in this business now then?” The boss chuckled. She tapped her jade holder in irritation. The ashes narrowly missed the tray. “You’ve been working here three years. What do you think?” Mallik stood up. She squeezed her fingers into a fist, then unclenched again. She reached for her own TerraFirma pin, yanked it out and placed it on the desk next to Lyssee’s. Before she could let go of the pin, the boss spoke again. “The Sunrise Strip runs the entire circumference of Tabora, Mallik Zenitena Apstrip.” Her boss’s tongue lingered on Mallik’s toponymic. She hesitated to pull her hand back, fingers frozen on the pin designating her employment. Her boss put that holder back in her mouth, the bright fire from the cig piercing against the pale, cold blue of the computer screen illuminating the rest of her face. It was not like her to take her time when it came to inhaling her cig’s intoxicating fumes. She finally let go, engulfing Mallik’s face with the smoke. Mallik did not avert her gaze, even as she grimaced. A sly smirk dawned on the boss’s face for the first time in decades. “Such non-specificity can raise concerns,” the boss continued, tapping her holder again. The ashes did not miss their mark this time. “Do not raise mine as well, Miss Strip.” Mallik understood. She grasped the pin and put it back on her chest without another word.

ch.2 took longer than expected to write (and will probs need some fixes), but we continue 🏃‍➡️

Bonus sneak peek below

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Good morning! ☕️🎶🎸

#EarWorm #Zahna #BrianHeadWelch #Defiler

Filing this under "Perfect Saturday Anthems." Actually, scratch that—I’m Defiler-ing it. 🗄️💀⛓️ 🎸🔇 🥀🤘

Zahna - Defiler, ft Brian “Head” Welch

youtu.be/yQuxqedil4w?...

incidentally, this short and this particular blue alien lady is what inspired me to make the raltung in #Defiler unblinking. I remember obsessing over the last half, captivated by her unblinking gaze, so i wanted to emulate that feeling

(she does blink btw, it's just easy to miss 🤫)

My Wallet weeps. I will need to aquire this for my Emperors Children Army. I am loving this new Defiler. #40k #warhammer #defiler #daemonengine

Oooh new defiler incoming!!!

#paintingminiatures
#warhammer40000
#hobby #chaos
#news #defiler
#minipainting
#paintingwarhammer
#warhammercommunity
#40k #nerdlings
www.patreon.com/Minipaints_uk

Jesus tap dancing Christ, America. You voted for a child RAPIST as president. #EpsteinFiles #TrumpRapedChildren #Defiler #Abuser and #SteveBannon was behind #GamerGate and #ComicsGate being a failed comic book writer. Just why do these assholes hate women so much?!

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 28 1/5

In #Defiler, the currently ongoing galactic war is the Jardinista Insurrection. The conflict began 39 years ago when General J'Ardin walked away from the stewardship of King Arcuturus, taking with him the troops loyal to him. The conflict, referred as The Petty Spat ->

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 27 1/3

Oh that is a genuine blindspot for me. Most I got comes from the ending of #Defiler, so I don't know if I can share all that much at the moment. Suffice to say it involves big spaceships, especially the King's own personal battleship, as well as J'Ardin's flagship.

Describe your plot in five words or less—if you dare.
Meet and dethrone god

#Defiler (artwork by @crysdrawsthings.bsky.social )

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 24 1/10

#Defiler is not a war story. As such, there are not really that many military people of note to be found. That said, as it's been alluded previously, the two most notable commanders and generals in the galaxy are General J'Ardin and the King of Kings Arcuturus.

#SFFChat Q4: Have an excerpt from #Defiler and its first draft (this specific scene written back in 2021; the draft is available to read for free on my tumblr writing blog: electrospherevaults.tumblr.com/post/6666581... )

oh damn i caught one of these live!

#SFFChat Intro: 'ello, my name's Gus, I'm a greek bi scifi author currently working on my debut novel #Defiler and my fave dessert is bougatsa!

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 23 1/8

I shall focus on the Maidens of Wrethella in particular both because those are the ones I have worldbuilt the most but also because they got relevancy to #Defiler in particular.

As a specialized force, the Maidens are usually attached to an army during a campaign. ->

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 1/8

The greatest conflict the Tomorrow Galaxy ever saw was the Final War of Mytheria which ended in the planet breaking. Since that horrific event, the King of Kings Arcuturus sought to bring peace amidst the cosmos. #Defiler is set during the 390th year of the King's Peace.

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 1/7

Weapon ownership varies from planet to planet and from nation to nation, but in #Defiler, which takes place exclusively on Tabora, these laws can be quite strict within the Sunrise Strip. For starters, any weapon is usually confiscated or locked away upon arrival to ->

it's complicated! She tended Lady Lionelli until her Lady died prior to the events of Maiden (the second book in the #Defiler trilogy). She ascended in her place and has been grieving her for the past decade

Make sure to follow @neomirnos.bsky.social, he's responsible for this excellent artwork!

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 20 9/9

The protagonist of the third book in the #Defiler trilogy, Miran, perhaps puts it best when she displays her old broken sword framed in her wall:
"Who does the greater good? The one who slaughters a thousand enemies, or the one who destroys a thousand weapons?"

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 20 1/9

Melee fighting is important to surviving the deserts of Tabora in #Defiler. Raltung have claws instead of nails which gives them an edge in hand-to-hand combat. Even when unarmed, the raltung can pierce through her enemy's layers during a fight and maximize the ->

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 19 2/4

As mentioned some days ago, the main battle rifle of the Maidens is the FA-SB9k. This versatile rifle will see some action in #Defiler, utilized by Lady Amateracci, who is a proficient sniper. Her prowess will cause troubles for Mallik and her crew during their travels.

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 19 1/4

Most warfare in #Defiler is conducted with long range weapons; rifles, machine guns, armoured tanks, battleships and planes comprise the battlefields. Space combat is similar to real-life naval combat, with aircraft carriers being the main asset of a space fleet.

Why didn't one dad beat the $h!t out of him?

Buried under the depravity of #Defiler and Epstein is why so many parents exposed their daughters to them this way.

C'mon, folks. Complete accountability and full justice demand answers to uncomfortable questions about the entire world they're in.

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 18 1/4

Armour in #Defiler is based on armaments found in the first half of the 20th century. Furthermore, some stylistic and aesthetic influences emerged from medieval warfare. As an example, here is an armoured Maiden of the Sveltist Chamber (details included in alt text):

#JanuaryWorldbuilders 17 1/4

Bit of a tough one; there aren't really any particular strong/important weapons to be found in #Defiler, whereas most armaments across the Tomorrow galaxy can be equate to real life armaments. Is an atom bomb an important weapon or just incredibly powerful and deadly?