Adregem ཐིཋྀ
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adregem.bsky.social
Adregem ཐིཋྀ
@adregem.bsky.social
670 followers 670 following 950 posts
Professional science writer. Unprofessional novelist. Mom with half an empty nest. Insomniac. She/her. That is not me in the picture.
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adregem.bsky.social
Adregem ཐིཋྀ @adregem.bsky.social · Oct 29
In a dark kingdom where light is toxic and steel is untouchable, a mortal woman with a flashlight and a cosplay sword becomes a monster king’s obsession and the realm’s best weapon against a vengeful demigod. ཐིཋྀ THE MOTH KING (109K) #AgentGuide #AgentGuides #Romantasy #Fantasy #AmQuerying #Writers
Image Credits: From Wikimedia Commons Cleora Alienaria Moth (BilliBhai) • Cracked Earth (Patrick Hendry) • Full Moon in Fog (Dinkun Chen) • Sword (Rama) • Samal Fruit Bats (Ranieljosecastaneda) • Lighthouse (Martin Belam) • The Redwood Sunbeams (National Park Service) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
adregem.bsky.social
I was really surprised by how hard it was to find this word. Here's "selection" from the Moth King: Sunday discovers that the child-stealing forest hag is actually kind of a good mom. #WIPSnips #WIP #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy #FantasySky #FairyTale
Noah is sprawled on the floor in front of the fireplace next to a dark-skinned girl. They’re playing a board game, some homespun version of Chutes and Ladders, by the look of it. There’s a half-eaten bowl of popcorn sitting between them. The only thing missing is a TV and a complete selection of Disney films. “What the fuck,” I say. “Watch your mouth, girl,” Jahnari chides. “Children.”
February 9, 2026 at 1:36 PM
adregem.bsky.social
No airports in my recent novels but here's an old snip from Little Pieces of God where Maddie has just been turned down for a job cleaning kennels at a vet clinic because of her brother's reputation. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky
I tried to be dignified. I kept the tears back and walked out as if I’d just dropped off my dog for an overnight board and was calmly getting in my car to drive to the airport. But as soon as the door closed behind me, they came. A bazillion tears. I started the car and drove off into traffic even though I could barely see anything and I was still sobbing when I finally got home. It felt like the end.
February 8, 2026 at 3:15 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Macsen is a necromancer, and he can weild rot, but he has to use Tova's body to do it. (Their relationship is many different kinds of toxic and codependent.) In this snip he's pissed off and rotting a gigantic oak tree. #Febchantment #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #DarkFantasy
Tova’s head tipped towards me. Her hair was black with debris. Leaves fell around her, drifting lazily in the air, isolated fragments of poetry against a backdrop of ruin. “Give me a reason to stop!” Macsen hissed. An enormous branch plunged to the ground in a hail of rattling leaves and wet, black fibers, barely missing Win’s head. Macsen laughed, showing Tova’s teeth, outlined in the mist that was rolling over her skin in caustic, black waves.
February 7, 2026 at 4:06 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Vibes: Joric thinks himself irredeemable; this little girl is the manifestation of a goddess and has basically just told him he's wrong, but he's too self-pitying to see it. #WIPSnips #WIP #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy #FantasySky #GasLamp #TimeTravel
He was about to rise when a small presence appeared at his side. A little girl—maybe five or six, though Joric could barely remember his sisters at that age—who blinked at him from under a mass of black curls and held out a dirty fist. “Here,” she said, opening her hand. A lump of half-crushed copal lay in her palm. “For the censer,” she whispered. Joric didn’t trust himself to make words, so he took the small piece of resin from her hand without speaking and dropped it onto the coals. When he didn’t step away, she took hold of his hand and looked up at him with impossibly large, brown eyes. “It will be all right.” It wouldn’t, but Joric said “Thank you,” anyway.
February 7, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Adregem ཐིཋྀ
acturek.bsky.social
#FaveLineFriday #fantasy #writingprompt
“The runes clutched his eyes, forced his mouth to utter them. A wailing rose up from the dusty floor, like that of the dead and departed occupants of the tower, and echoed between the walls.”

What MC experiences as he reads the scroll explaining his curse.
jaxwolffwrites.bsky.social Jax Wolff Writes @jaxwolffwrites.bsky.social · 4d
Happy #FaveLineFriday everyone! As always, post your favorite line you've worked on this week, and don't forget to tag your stuff/support your fellow authors!

To spice things up, also talk about *why* that's your favorite line. ;)

#writingcommunity #writingprompts #writesky #writingsky
A green, red, and cream graphic featuring a typewriter in the center. Graphic reads: #FaveLineFriday Share your fave line that you wrote or edited this week! Don't forget to: Tag your posts with #FaveLineFriday. Use ALT text for graphics. Support your fellow authors! hosted by jaxwolffwrites.bsky.social
February 7, 2026 at 4:33 AM
adregem.bsky.social
Magic in classic fantasy is too easy. Point wand/finger, magic shoots out ... I wanted the magic in my world to be something that requires focus, so when the bad guy is closing in and my MC has to achieve a trance state in order to summon magic, she gets thwarted by her own anxiety. #Febchantment
professoremily.bsky.social Prof Emily @professoremily.bsky.social · 4d
#Febchantment Day 6

Tell us about why you developed this magic system! What drew you to the concepts? Why did you choose to make it the way you did? Were you inspired or influenced by any other works?

#writingcommunity #writesky
February 6, 2026 at 6:15 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Because I have Gen-Z children I am obligated to post this snip from "Little Pieces of God," which contains not one but *two* six-sevens 🙄 #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky
The last message I got from him was a virtual dictionary of obscenities. I guess I should have wondered if I’d put myself and maybe my mom in danger. The guy was a lunatic, and it’s not like it would have been that hard for him to figure out where we lived. Instead I just felt smug. The haters didn’t control me. I wouldn’t hide from them. But after a while, after the sixth or seventh email from the sixth or seventh lunatic, I changed my email address.
February 6, 2026 at 1:37 PM
adregem.bsky.social
People are born either magicked or unmagicked, but learning to use magic requires training. Every magicked person can do basic "trance" magic, but they also have a specialty that's intrinsic. So If you're born dreamer-intrinsic, you can't learn venemuling, and no one is dual-intrinsic. #Febchantment
professoremily.bsky.social Prof Emily @professoremily.bsky.social · 5d
#Febchantment Day 5

Tell us about who can wield magic in your world!

Is it available to everyone, or only a special few? Is it a gift you're born with, or a skill you can learn? Is the knowledge gatekept in some way?

Don't forget to read & interact with others! 😁
#writingcommunity #writesky
February 5, 2026 at 2:08 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Win kissed Soryl and it ... didn't go well. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy #FantasySky #DarkFantasy #Necromancy
“Win,” I choked out. “It’s …” It’s what? Fine? Good? Exactly what I wanted? None of those words were right. He was manifestly horrified. “It won’t happen again, I promise,” he said, turning his back. Every part of me was screaming except my mouth. It sat wordless and stupid above my chin, still damp from the kiss, the skin still burning from the scrape of Win’s beard stubble. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, and a second clicked by wherein I thought I might just let Macsen kill me.
February 5, 2026 at 1:26 PM
adregem.bsky.social
This seems kinda bad omenish
Profile picture with 666 followers and 666 following
February 4, 2026 at 2:19 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Somnambulants (dreamers): Dream magic
Venemulers: Drug magic
Ravveners: Deprivation or paroxysm magic (seizure induction)
Berserkers: Forbidden magic requiring a permanent, self-induced state of psychosis
Necromancers: Death magic (shouldn't exist, but Macsen never got the memo)
#Febchantment
professoremily.bsky.social Prof Emily @professoremily.bsky.social · 6d
#Febchantment Day 4

Vocab time! Tell us about some important terms we need to know to understand your magic system. Obviously, make sure you include the definitions! 😁

As usual, interpret the prompt however makes sense to you! Don't feel limited only to conlang words.

#writingcommunity #writesky
#Febchantment prompt for Feb 4: "What are some important terms used in your magic system? How are they defined?" Text is white letters on a blue background featuring a magic book with lots of sparkles, and a yellow octopus dressed as Glinda the Good Witch sitting in the bottom right corner. Hosted by @professoremily.bsky.social
February 4, 2026 at 2:13 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Hmm something weird might be happening with Tova and her new boyfriend. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy #FantasySky #DarkFantasy #Necromancy
“You need help,” I told him, my hands out, palms down, as if I could manually force the tension in the air into a thin layer at our feet. “Your wound needs tending. Tova needs a healer. Put the knife down. This is going nowhere profitable.” Errol ran his fingers over the gash in his neck and smiled. Next to me, Tova got her feet under her body and staggered into a vaguely upright position. Her face was a ghoulish mask of blood spatter, red-brown mud, and forest litter. She mopped at her eyes with one sleeve, marring the gore with a clean streak of blue-white skin.
February 4, 2026 at 2:00 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Altered states of consciousness. Basic magic can be done with meditation but the real magic requires a true altered state: Dreams, drugs, some require inducing seizures or psychosis. And there's also death magic, which is theoretical since the dead can't do magic. Except ... uh oh ... #Febchantment
professoremily.bsky.social Prof Emily @professoremily.bsky.social · 7d
#Febchantment Day 3

What is the central concept of your magic system? E.g. Elemental magic? Music magic? Name-based magic? Something else? (Note: this isn't the "source" of magic - that's Day 8!)

If you already answered this previously, feel free to go into more detail!
#writingcommunity #writesky
#Febchantment prompt for Feb 3: "What central concept is your magic system based on? Examples: elements, music, true names" Text is white letters on a blue background featuring a magic book with lots of sparkles, and a yellow octopus dressed as Glinda the Good Witch sitting in the bottom right corner. Hosted by @professoremily.bsky.social
February 3, 2026 at 1:49 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Here's Soryl sizing up Ocer Jion, the man she's about to mind-infiltrate and kidnap. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy #FantasySky #DarkFantasy #Necromancy
His clothes were understated compared to the other people at the table: a dusky white tunic with a belt, unadorned, rich enough for a royal banquet but less ridiculous than what everyone else was wearing. People dress that way when they don’t feel the need to impress anyone, which is its own brand of impressive. His blue eyes were intelligent and shrewd. He was pretty, the kind of pretty that makes men overconfident and reckless.
February 3, 2026 at 1:03 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Definitely hard. Different types of sorcerers can do different types of magic, with little crossover. Certain magics are considered "abominable," and just being capable of abominable magics is considered a crime. #writingcommunity #writesky #Febchantment
professoremily.bsky.social Prof Emily @professoremily.bsky.social · 8d
#Febchantment Day 2

Do you have a "hard" or "soft" magic system?

In other words, does your magic system have strictly defined rules (think: Brandon Sanderson's books)? Or is it more undefined, mostly vibes/rule of cool (think: Gandalf from LOTR)? Somewhere in between?

#writingcommunity #writesky
#Febchantment prompt for Feb #2: Is your magic system "hard" (i.e. with clearly defined rules) or "soft" (mostly vibes)? Text is white letters on a blue background featuring a magic book with lots of sparkles, and a yellow octopus dressed as Glinda the Good Witch sitting in the bottom right corner. Hosted by @professoremily.bsky.social
February 2, 2026 at 2:30 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Another word I rarely use. Here's Maddie ruminating about campfires (from "Little Pieces of God," the WIP I probably won't ever finish) #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky
Sometimes, a dry branch will perish in a campfire in a perfect facsimile of its former self, retaining its shape, and sometimes even the texture of its bark. The woodsy browns become deep gray with white highlights, like frost on a January morning. Looking at those still shapes in the dead fire is a little like looking at the plaster people of Pompeii, frozen forever in the moment the volcano claimed them.
February 2, 2026 at 1:51 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Ooh, this is going to be fun. In Death & the Dreamer, you have to be in an altered state of consciousness to do magic. So you don't just get to snap your fingers and a ball of light appears; you have to concentrate, induce a trance state, and *then* you can make the ball of light. #Febchantment
professoremily.bsky.social Prof Emily @professoremily.bsky.social · 9d
Welcome to #Febchantment!

This month we're talking magic systems! Whether you're building a new one or yapping about an old one, welcome!

Introduce yourself & your world, including the magic. Keep it brief so you still have plenty to talk about the rest of the month!
#writingcommunity #writesky
#Febchantment prompt for Feb #1: Introduce yourself and your world! Give us a *brief* idea of how magic fits into your world. Text is white letters on a blue background featuring a magic book with lots of sparkles, and a yellow octopus dressed as Glinda the Good Witch sitting in the bottom right corner. Hosted by @professoremily.bsky.social
February 1, 2026 at 3:26 PM
adregem.bsky.social
I don't use zeal ever apparently, but here's "fervor" from a really, really old WIP (circa 2002). #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #HistoricalFiction
Amer told me secrets he told no one else. He told me he’d once missed his lessons just so he could follow the shadow of a hawk, tracking it to the edge of the wood and watching as it dropped to its prey. He told me he dreamed of becoming a wolf so he could hunt deer with his own legs, and kill them with his jaws. He told me he’d once became so enraged at the sight of three older boys tormenting a younger schoolmate that he’d beaten one of them until his teeth broke and challenged the rest to come and defend his honor. I listened to Amer with the compulsion of a sinner, I worshipped him with the fervor of a pagan.
February 1, 2026 at 2:02 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Vibes: In this world, the Guild is basically the academy. Here's Soryl contemplating whether she ought to open up her little jar of death. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy #FantasySky #DarkFantasy #Necromancy
Unknown magic. Abominable magic. And I was about to release it in this person’s head. A voice in a distant part of my mind, where I kept memories of my unjaded past—my early days of Guild training, old imaginings of an impossible future, the remnant scraps of the life I had before I became an abomination—whispered. Don’t open it. I opened it.
January 31, 2026 at 2:32 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Here's Fion telling off Joric for treating her like a damsel in distress. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy #FantasySky #GasLamp #TimeTravel
Joric smirked, which was somehow even more irksome. “Leave the lady alone, Willem. Find someone who wants to listen to you talk about barrister things.” Fion’s hackles went up. “You are not my champion,” she said, turning on him. “I am my own champion. And I suggest you find someone who wants to listen to you—” She gave him a thorough look-down. “—Talk about whatever it is you talk about.” He gave her a wide-eyed look of astonishment. Now it was Willem’s turn to smirk.
January 30, 2026 at 2:16 PM
adregem.bsky.social
My only recent use of "formation" that isn't from a science article. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #SciFi #SpecFic #SFF
Riven peered through the window. A cloud of black dust hung over the road. In front of it, two tactical support vehicles painted gold and red sped towards them. Royal vehicles. For a moment she believed they might pass, but they braked, skidding into a V-shaped formation, throwing more black dust into the air.
January 29, 2026 at 1:58 PM
adregem.bsky.social
This is as close as I could get to "procrastinate," wherein Macsen is pissed off about all the faffing. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy #FantasySky #DarkFantasy #Necromancy
January 28, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Adregem ཐིཋྀ
mollyjongfast.bsky.social
This is what letting RFK jr go wild on health looks like
eileen4ever.bsky.social Eileen Ridge @eileen4ever.bsky.social · 13d
Holy moly this chart: Cumulative US measles cases
January 28, 2026 at 1:14 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Death magic in a jar. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy #FantasySky #DarkFantasy #Necromancy
His hand was curled around a small jar. The points of his knuckles were pale, the tremble barely evident in his fingertips. Inside the jar, a tumultuous, angry storm raged, battling its glass confines. My gaze moved from the jar to Lucian’s face, and the stoic way he was caging his obvious horror.
January 27, 2026 at 1:53 PM
adregem.bsky.social
Joric has a couple of broken ribs and Fion is trying to help him get his boots on. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy #FantasySky #GasLamp #TimeTravel
“Where will you go?” she asked. He was perched on the edge of the bed, but it had taken quite a lot of groaning and complaining for him to achieve that orientation. He was still incapable of bending at the waist, and now Fion was crouched in front of him, wrangling his boots onto his feet. “Ordinarily,” he replied, watching her tug at the laces, “I would answer you with a noncommittal shrug. But I fear that would be too painful.”
January 26, 2026 at 1:06 PM