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Erika Arivett

@erikaarivett.bsky.social

120 followers 130 following 150 posts

Writer. Reader. Illustrator. Classical educator. Appalachian. Wife and mother of two. Goldendoodle mom. Anglican. 📖 Tolkien 🎌 Nihon 🥤Coke Zero Current project: Japan-based portal fantasy WIP

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · Jul 18

Working on a literary leaning, Japan-based YA portal fantasy. This is from the prologue...the rest is first person modern POV with a healthy dose of Japanese folklore. #WIPsnips #amwriting #YA

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 43m

Even Ryo knows that Hiroshi is someone to be feared.

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

“Ryo-kun,” Hiroshi drawls, his voice smooth and quiet, like water sliding over glass. “Taro-kun. Welcome.” I clench my jaw. It’s not like when Rin said it. Coming from my superior, the honorific is diminutive and patronizing. I hold my posture and keep my eyes on the tatami floor. “I am glad to see Kin-san has safely retrieved you. Please, lift your heads.”
Reluctantly, I straighten, back rigid. It’s not an informality. The request keeps us from hiding our expressions. I fight to keep my chin up, suppressing the strong desire to hide my eyes.

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 6h

I call everything sportsball because I could not be less interested in the specifics.

Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 1d

I think this was a #WIPSnips word kinda recently? I didn’t use prize at all. I had one use of “treasure,” which I used last time, so today it’s “win.” #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

“Are you getting skittish in your old age, Nii-san?” Kuro turned at the rare teasing and saw the slightest grin under the brim of Shima’s straw hat. It took him back to days that were nearly forgotten, when his little brother had laughed and played in their father’s garden—before this hardened fighter, this yokai-man had taken his place. They were both different people then.
“Skittish or not,” he replied, indulging a slow smile, “we both know who will win in a fight.”

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 2d

Uses of “battery”: 0. Uses of “energy”: 143. 🫠 It’s the nature of the tale lol

Until Rin learns to control her ki, anything that throws her emotionally or physically is a risk for an energy spike…and yokai.

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

Without warning, Ryo-kun seizes my hand and breaks into a run, flying low and fast around the next corner. My heart leaps in my throat, a pulse of adrenaline flooding my veins.
“Ryo-kun, what—?” I don’t manage to pant out any more between ragged breaths. He’s so fast.
“The most dangerous yokai feed off human energy,” he explains, not even breaking a sweat. “Something sensed your energy spike. Multiple somethings.”

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 3d

One of the “Before” chapters set closer to the Meiji era (though this is still the Reikai).

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity

“If you die here,” Mother purred, “you would have been useless to me anyway.” She turned as if to go, to leave them to whatever dark fate awaited them in this hollow tomb. Then, she stopped, her hand hovering over the low-burning torch on the wall. “It’s not I you should blame for your suffering, you know. I only prepared for what was to come.”
What was that supposed to mean? She killed Lady Chiyo and wounded Father. She imprisoned them and tortured them, hoping for compliance that would never come. There was no one to blame but her.
Was there?

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 4d

Ryo has just been assigned to act as Rin’s guardian against his will. Telling himself she has nothing to do with their world helps him maintain distance.

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

With my last dregs of strength, I crawl into my bed and sprawl out on my stomach. Kawa-jo is the safest place I could possibly be, and one of the only places I could sleep so unguardedly. I drift off replaying the day’s events in my head, haunted by the face of a girl who has nothing to do with me.

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 4d

Rin’s primary actionable goal is “Find out who killed my brother and why.” Ryo’s primary (and connected) actionable goals are “Protect Rin and stop the cracks forming between the human world and the spirit world.” #PlotTober #writesky #writingcommunity #amwriting #YA #fantasy

Ange @gunsmile.bsky.social · 5d

#PlotTober Day 6: Main character goals

Answer the prompt on the card by quoting this post. Remember, answering a prompt is always optional. Even if you don't share it publicly, I hope the prompt encourages you to think about it privately.

#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt #WriteSky

#PlotTober - a WIP plotting game by @gunsmile.bsky.social

6. Main characters are driven by actionable goals, but not every goal is created equal. For your MC, they should be specific, tangible, personal, achievable, and urgent. Can you think of some goals for your MC that meet this criteria?

Remember: Use the #PlotTober hashtag, engage with others, and have fun!

Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 5d

Purposely went with the non-verb version of “miss” that I had available 😂

Unbeknownst to Ryo, Rin chased him into the Reikai thinking he was her brother’s murderer. On closer inspection, he’s not.

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

She doesn’t respond. Her eyes skim under her lids, trying to regain focus. She stares hard at me, eyes squeezed from concentration or confusion—I’m not sure. Then a look flashes across her face that I recognize, but don’t quite understand: Disappointment.
“You’re…you’re not him,” she mutters, still scanning my face. For a moment, she seems vaguely aware of Taro standing behind me, but her disinterested expression doesn’t change. “You’re not…”
“Miss!” Taro lunges forward with a grimace as the girl’s eyes roll back in her head and she falls, unconscious, onto the grass.

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 5d

Almost forgot #WIPSnips again. The sleep is scarce, and everything is covered in milk and pee. 🫠 #momlife #newborn

The boys usually communicate via shikigami—paper messengers, which are magical and distance limited. That’s not very helpful to Rin. #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

After finally making it to the department store, I manage to snag the last black uniform skirt in my size. I pull out my cell phone to Line Aiko, letting her know I’ll leave her borrowed one at the restaurant tonight. She’s already sent me a few messages I missed in the bustle. There’s nothing from Jiro-nii.
“I should probably get a cell phone,” Ryo comments as my fingers fly across the screen.
“Oh!” I blink, looking up at him. “I hadn’t thought about it, but of course you don’t have one, do you, Ryo-kun?” He shakes his head, swiping chestnut hair out of his eyes. A group of high school girls walks by, blushing and giggling, but he doesn’t seem to notice.
“There’s no way for you to reach me if you need me, so I’d better get Kin on it. For the others too.”

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 6d

My WIP is a portal #fantasy, with the majority taking place in contemporary Japan and the secondary setting being the Reikai (spirit world), which is most like the Edo era. There are also a few structurally placed chapters set in the past, and those take place in the Meiji era. #PlotTober #writesky

Ange @gunsmile.bsky.social · 7d

#PlotTober Day 4: Setting for WIP

Answer the prompt on the card by quoting this post. Remember, answering a prompt is always optional. Even if you don't share it publicly, I hope the prompt encourages you to think about it privately.

#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt #WriteSky

#PlotTober - a WIP plotting game by @gunsmile.bsky.social

4. Is there a specific setting you'd like to use for your WIP? Would it work better in a contemporary world, secondary world, or a blend of the two? What characteristics of the setting are important for your ideas?

Remember: Use the #PlotTober hashtag, engage with others, and have fun!

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 6d

Almost forgot to post #WIPSnips today. I just had a baby, and that is only the TIP of all the doctor/hospital trips for us in the last ten days 🫠 (everyone is fine now). Really hoping to get in the writing groove now things have settled down.

#amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

Kin’s house, a three-story affair situated near the Ningenkai River Gate, was no doubt built with the extensive financial resources of the Kawa Clan. Cement retaining walls separate it from the river banks, but the wards around it would never allow flooding anyway. It’s been a while since I’ve stayed here. I have a room on the second floor—so do Koji and Taro—but I’ve been keeping to the Reikai as much as possible lately. Yokai hunting takes a lot of energy, and staying too long in the Ningenkai will only weaken me.
The windows are dark when I alight on the front porch. But when I slip inside the door, a light flicks on.
“You’re up late,” I observe, looking across the room where Kin sits comfortably in his chair.

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 7d

Inspiration for these characters TWENTY YEARS AGO was Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket (which is laughable now considering how different they are). For the current version, I’d cite comps (rather than inspirations) as Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa and My Happy Marriage by Akumi Agitogi. #PlotTober

Ange @gunsmile.bsky.social · 8d

#PlotTober Day 3: Inspirations from other media

Answer the prompt on the card by quoting this post. Remember, answering a prompt is always optional. Even if you don't share it publicly, I hope the prompt encourages you to think about it privately.

#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt #WriteSky

#PlotTober - a WIP plotting game by @gunsmile.bsky.social

3. Did other existing media inspire your ideas for your WIP? For example, any recent shows/movies you watched, books you read, games you played, or music you listened to?

Remember: Use the #PlotTober hashtag, engage with others, and have fun!

Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 8d

Rin’s guilt is different from Ryo’s. He primarily fears failing to protect others, while she primarily fears burdening or endangering others.

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

I glance over to the futon nearby, where Ryo-kun sleeps soundly under the blanket. My chest loosens a little to see him resting peacefully. At first, when Tetsuya made him try to lie down, his sleep was fitful, his body racked by the throws of the fading venom. Now his breathing is deep and his muscles relaxed. And yet, when he wakes up, I know…he’ll still have to deal with the problem of me. I pull my knees up and bury my face.
“I’m too dangerous here.”

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 8d

Rin is learning to improvise.

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

“You!”
Someone seizes my arm, so hard that my teeth jar in my mouth. My heart leaps into my throat, and I barely manage to contain the accompanying surge of ki.
A middle-aged woman with a drawn, severe face stares at me. Gasping, I nearly drop my laundry basket before my mouth snaps shut.
“You must be the new girl.” The woman’s hands are bony, but the grip is vice-like. “Hurry, to the kitchens.”
My mouth is too dry to speak. I end up opening and closing it like a landed fish, eyes moving helplessly between the matron and the laundry basket I’m clutching for dear life.

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 10d

The first time Rin entered the Reikai, she fell through a “crack” between the worlds. When she finally goes back, it’s through the main River Gate that Ryo’s clan protects.

She can’t swim, so this is a real trust exercise 😅 #WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

The portal enfolds us with the same unnerving pull as the first time I crossed over. I instinctively hold my breath as the river slides past, and when I finally gasp I expect water to pour into my lungs—but the air is as dry as in the Ningenkai. The darkness is thick and tactile, pressing on my ribs, lifting me in a free fall. My vision fazes in and out, but I hold tight to Ryo-kun’s hand—the only concrete thing in the churning void.

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 10d

I feel like my #WIPSnips make it seem like kitsune and nekomata #yokai are really important or something, but there’s actually only one scene with each at the moment…the daily words have just encouraged use of those scenes 😂

#amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

“Who are you, human?” the kitsune asks. It lifts a paw and casually, methodically licks the fur. “Your ki is familiar...but I don’t remember your face.” Its teeth glint mischievously in the broken light. “Forgive me. When you’ve lived as long as I have, all of you humans blend together.”
“Kitsune-sama.” I bow, not daring to offend a spirit this powerful. “My name is Kawa Ryosuke.”
“Ah!” The fox exclaims, a memory piecing together. It flashes a knowing grin. “Now that is a name I know. These are not Kawa lands. Tell me then, Ryosuke of the Kawa Clan, what do you seek so far from home?”

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 12d

As Jiro becomes increasingly aware of Rin’s involvement in the spirit world, his desperation increases as well.

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky

Without warning, his hands dart out, gripping my shoulders hard. My heart spikes, ki unbearably close to the tipping point.
“You need to get away from them!” His energy escalates dangerously, eyes feverish. “You and Aiko. Ever since they came around I can’t make heads or tails of you, and you won’t let me in! Please.” His voice breaks, the anger dissipating as quickly as it came. His fingers press into my shoulders with a sting that makes me flinch, and his head drops. “Please don’t keep shutting me out.”

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 13d

Ryo is certain this must be the man who killed Rin’s brother.

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

Maybe half a block from me, on an adjacent rooftop, a shape crouches. Its inky darkness against the night is like a black hole, sucking in the light and energy around it. The thing stands—a man in black, silhouetted against the city skyline—and a barb of real energy flares out. As the spike of ki rushes over me, I understand immediately what Tetsuya meant. Contained, even completely hidden, but not weak. It’s the same strange presence I felt before. Something like Tetsuya. Something like Rin. Something like neither of them.

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 13d

Ryo carries a lot of complex guilt.

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #YA #fantasy #writingcommunity

“It doesn’t have to mean anything.” Tetsuya is beside me in an instant, swift and silent as a shadow. “It’s just unlike you.”
“…I owe her a debt,” I say quietly, kneeling and spreading my fingers across the shingles. Rin’s ki hums faintly through the house, along with traces of others less familiar. Her brother’s lingering energy perhaps. It’s a lot of house for one person. I wonder if she feels the emptiness. “You wouldn’t understand.”

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 15d

I needed to schedule this, which didn't allow me to quote today's #WIPSnips. :( The word today is "mire."

The pressure has built to boiling and Rin can't hide her double life from her friends much longer. The usually aloof Jiro finally blows up. #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

“Rin, what the hell was that?” His energy seethes below the surface, eyes burning like black fire. “Who was that guy?”
“Jiro-kun, I…” My heart seizes up in my chest. How much did he see? What does he know?
“Who are these people?” He gestures around to the others, his voice rising with every word. “What the hell are you tangled up in?!”
“I…I…” The panic rising inside me boils, surging up with terrible force.
“Jiro, enough.” Ryo-kun’s voice slices through the air. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Just get out of here.”

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 15d

I can’t hear the word “absorb” without thinking of that episode of #DoctorWho about the Abzorbaloff alien that absorbs people.

Ryo’s problems are piling up, and his possible solutions are getting slimmer.

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

For the rest of the day, I don’t absorb most of the lectures. My fraying energy is spread thin across campus as far as I can reach, trying to identify possible hazards. The place is too big, but the burgeoning presence of Reikai energy is undeniable. The whole city is saturated with it.
But the most concerning energy source is Rin herself.

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 16d

This #WIPSnips is a bit indulgent, but I think this scene is hilarious haha. Ryo never had a cell phone until he was assigned as Rin’s guardian, and its purpose is just to communicate with Rin and his team.

Of course his password is 1-2-3-4 🤣

#amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

“I’m sorry!” she squeaks, curling in on herself. “You collapsed on the porch, and I couldn’t just leave you there, so I dragged you inside…” My ears burn with embarrassment. Though I’m also a little impressed she worked up the strength. “Ashe-san was already gone. I didn’t know what to do, so I called Tetsuya-san. He’ll be here soon.”
“Huh?” My voice is weak, ragged. “How did you get his number?”
“Um…” She shrinks even further. “Well, I used your phone. You really need a stronger password, Ryo-kun! I know you don’t use technology much, but you’re worse than Honda-san— anyone can guess ichi-ni-san-yon!”

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 18d

After meeting Rin, Ryo is assigned to act as her yojimbo (body guard), an indirect punishment for failing to report this otherwise ordinary girl with untapped abilities. The clan daimyo is up to something, and Ryo is livid.

#WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

“It doesn’t have to be that bad, Ryo,” Koji says. “It’s easy work, and you’ll probably be Ningenkai-side most of the time.” I want to shake him. How does he live in that carefree head of his? Maybe life is easier his way.
“Easy work?” I scoff. “It’s work that will take up all of my time and require none of my skill. He’s getting me out of the way, Koji.”
“Hiroshi is up to something, no doubt,” Kin concedes quietly, his grip on my shoulder tightening. “But you led an Outsider here and compromised the safety of the Kawa Clan. Daimyos have killed for less. You are my charge, and I cannot allow you to throw away your life, Ryo.”

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 19d

Ryo and Ashe do not get along (an understatement). When Ashe is assigned to Ryo’s team and starts working the same place as Rin to keep an eye on her, Ryo needs to know if that’s on the up-and-up. #WIPSnips #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

Below me, the restaurant hums with life, with a few sparks of ki I recognize floating through the haze. Rin, calmer than she was last night, flits back and forth, and her friend Jiro is here too. His ki isn’t exactly calm, but it’s far less agitated than when I met him. Ashe is harder to spot. He’ll be suppressing his energy as well.
At last I pick him out. He’s a flurry of movement, his ki uniquely frenetic—it always feels like that to me—but he seems to stay close to Rin. Carefully, I creep toward the edge of a nearby skylight. My kage runes won’t hide me from Rin or Ashe, so I wait for them to move out of the immediate vicinity before peering over.

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Erika Arivett @erikaarivett.bsky.social · 19d

Lots of firsts and first encounters in this week’s #WIPSnips. When Rin wakes up dazed in the Reikai (spirit world), she has no idea where she is or what to make of these two boys hovering around her.

#amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #YA #fantasy

“Safe.” I turn—the speaker isn’t the boy in front of me. Another young man walks across the small space, similarly dressed, but blonde-haired and smiling. “That’s all that matters.”
Another one? That’s right…there were two.
“For now,” the first boy says. His tone is grim, but I inwardly sigh in relief—he seems irritated with his friend, not me. The brown-haired boy stands and turns to the blonde one, his mouth pressed into a firm, straight line. They’re both so tall! I watch helplessly, vaguely aware of a silent disagreement.
“I’m sorry, miss…?”

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