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Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 15h

Mongke & Ubet have their first fight 😱
I did not expect or plan this, it just kind of happened. One of the joys of pantsing! 😆
(Sry again for wall of text- this story demands to be written on my phone)
#amwriting #Nomads #writesky #fantasy #romance #LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈⚔️💘

“Ask,” Ubet signed.
“Ask?” Mongke said, taken aback. “How’s that going to work? With us studded with arrows, probably.” That gave him an idea, though, and he dug for his bowstring. “I might be able to hit that person from here, or if I sneak a little closer. I don’t think they’ve noticed us yet.”
Ubet’s arm hit his so hard that Mongke jerked back. Ubet’s face was like thunder, mouth tight, eyes blazing—the most expression Mongke had ever seen on it, though Ubet’s features had barely budged.
“What?” Mongke said, feeling ashamed but not sure why. “Haven’t you ever stolen horses before? Sometimes you have to crack a few skulls.”
“NO STEALING,” Ubet signed with sharp, forceful gestures. “We. Ask.” Those signs made slowly, but not with deliberation; Ubet’s hand practically trembling with rage-clenched muscles.
“If you insist,” Mongke muttered. “But I’m going to have my bow at the ready.” He swung it from his shoulder.
Ubet snatched the bow from his hand and flung it aside.
“Hey!” Mongke lunged after it. “If you’ve broken it—”
Ubet raised a foot to kick the bow; Mongke interposed his body, and the kick connected with his side.
“Oh, that’s it!” he snarled. He pushed the bow—apparently unharmed, thank Tengur—out of reach and flew at Ubet.
He was no match. Ubet caught him and twisted his arm behind his back so far that he arched and went up on his toes. Blinking back tears of pain, he

Sometimes you have to crack a few skulls.”
“NO STEALING,” Ubet signed with sharp, forceful gestures. “We. Ask.” Those signs made slowly, but not with deliberation; Ubet’s hand practically trembling with rage-clenched muscles.
“If you insist,” Mongke muttered. “But I’m going to have my bow at the ready.” He swung it from his shoulder.
Ubet snatched the bow from his hand and flung it aside.
“Hey!” Mongke lunged after it. “If you’ve broken it—”
Ubet raised a foot to kick the bow; Mongke interposed his body, and the kick connected with his side.
“Oh, that’s it!” he snarled. He pushed the bow—apparently unharmed, thank Tengur—out of reach and flew at Ubet.
He was no match. Ubet caught him and twisted his arm behind his back so far that he arched and went up on his toes. Blinking back tears of pain, he snarled wordlessly and kicked and stomped at Ubet’s legs and feet. Ubet twisted his arm further, and Mongke whimpered.
“Fuck, Ubet, don’t break my arm—don’t break my bow—I need them!”
Ubet loosened the twist a little, though not enough that Mongke could escape or do anything.
Then he saw why. The red-draped herder was approaching up the slope, straight for them.
“Fuuuuck,” Mongke moaned.
Ubet released him, and he dropped to his knees, shaking out his arm and shoulder, mouth working wordlessly in pain and relief.
Ubet strode past him toward the herder.

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Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 3d

Added something a bit happier to the #Nomads soundtrack. M&U do start to feel...contented...with each other's company and...fulfilled...with their seemingly aimless journey, without their really noticing. Also, this song has the best #folkmetal bridge 😄🤘
#amwriting

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXLS...

Unearthed

YouTube video by Wildpath - Topic

www.youtube.com

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 4d

The lyrics are from "Place of Nothing" by Marianas Rest www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkdP...
and the whole soundtrack is here www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

#amwriting #Nomads

Marianas Rest - Place Of Nothing

YouTube video by UnknownMelodeath

www.youtube.com

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 4d

Jeez, so many of the songs I'm adding to the #Nomads soundtrack are so depressing ☹️

Though to be fair, 1) I'm listening to Finnish #melodeath; 2) Mongke & Ubet have had hard, depressing lives, so the beginning of the soundtrack is full of songs about that 🙁

#amwriting #writesky

Dream bliss movement through coma
Filtered feelings and senseless acts
Injected thoughts, predictable future
Destroyed bodies come with shattered egos
Storm bent trees stripped of leaves
Waiting for a spring that never comes
Dried up roots aching for water
Useless reach for an ever setting sun

There is no reason to act
For there is no tomorrow
In a kingdom of failures
Walk through fire just to get drowned

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Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 7d

So my homework pretty soon will be to finish Aliesne's storyline before I get to that part of #Nomads.

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 7d

I say "basically" because I only wrote Sareb & Kuya's storyline for book 3. 😅
I don't even know what Teshem is doing during book 3 (um, staying where he was at the end of book 2?)
I wrote a little of Aliesne's storyline, and today I thought about how #Nomads would intersect with it.

#amwriting #EOD

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 7d

The feels attached to this song are different now that #EOD is (basically) done. A soft nostalgic feeling, instead of the sharp angsty pang when this scene in EOD was yet upcoming.

#amwriting #writesky #fantasy #romance 💘❤️‍🔥🏳️‍🌈

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWjh...

The Night Before the End

YouTube video by Temperance - Topic

www.youtube.com

1

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 7d

This song hits different now too. (It's about Sareb, esp. at the end of book 2 & beginning of book 3.) Seeing it coming up in my playlist was actually what spurred these reflections.

#amwriting #ITN #TDL #EOD #writesky #writingcommunity

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jel...

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 7d

And, of course, writing #Nomads - whose main purpose is to give Mongke & Ubet some closure, buuut might also be my way of living in the world of my trilogy for a little longer.

#amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 7d

But I think I will miss it, when it sinks in, the epic trilogy is over, and that whole chapter of my life is closed. Now there's just editing, publishing, promoting.

#amwriting #amediting #ITN #TDL #EOD

1

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 7d

Now it's all out of me, and I'm glad.. I'm so happy for them, all of them (and I hope you will be too, when you see where they end up). And I'm pretty happy already with the written product, pleasantly surprised how well some things turned out, considering I pantsed it all with just a few mileposts.

1

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 7d

It's strange to think that the trilogy is DONE. (In terms of drafting anyway- still A LOT of editing to do.) I devoted so much of my life, not just to writing, but to envisioning Sareb & Kuya's story- all their interactions, all the angst, all the ways the story could go. 🧵
#amwriting #writesky #ITN

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 7d

The feels attached to this song are different now that #EOD is (basically) done. A soft nostalgic feeling, instead of the sharp angsty pang when this scene in EOD was yet upcoming.

#amwriting #writesky #fantasy #romance 💘❤️‍🔥🏳️‍🌈

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWjh...

The Night Before the End

YouTube video by Temperance - Topic

www.youtube.com

1

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 7d

The feels attached to this song are different now that #EOD is (basically) done. A soft nostalgic feeling, instead of the sharp angsty pang when this scene in EOD was yet upcoming.

#amwriting #writesky #fantasy #romance 💘❤️‍🔥🏳️‍🌈

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWjh...

The Night Before the End

YouTube video by Temperance - Topic

www.youtube.com

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 8d

Usually this song makes me think of Sareb, but Mongke and Ubet are little flowers that need rain, too. 🥹💞❤️‍🩹

(Add to soundtrack, lol)

#amwriting #Nomads #romance 🏳️‍🌈💘
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLfC...

Little Flower

YouTube video by Dawn Of Destiny - Topic

www.youtube.com

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 8d

Oh yeah, I did write the river-crossing scene.
M&U were not excited about being thrown in the river, so they didn’t do anything fun. But some fun stuff happened after 😈
Going to post all that on Patreon & my blog. Stay tuned! 😁
#amwriting #queerbooksky #Nomads #LGBTQ #romance 🏳️‍🌈💘

1

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 8d

This is the fun part of the story, where they’re starting to have thoughts and feelings, but don’t understand/don’t want to admit it 😈

Well, Mongke doesn’t- I think Ubet has known all along.

#amwriting #romance #Nomads 🏳️‍🌈

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 8d

They also joke about swapping coats in the morning 😁

#amwriting #Nomads #fantasy #romance #LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈💘

"Who's going to wear your coat?"
Every corner of Ubet's face was minutely lifted, as if on the brink of a smile.
Was this the first time Ubet joked with him? Mongke felt a swell of warmth in his chest, that shouldn't ache so much.
"If you wear my coat, should I wear yours?"
Ubet had already put their shirt on, but their long sleeveless coat was still draped on a rock. The silk would have been ruined by the dunking the day before, if it hadn't already been splotchy from long wear out in the weather.
The almost-smile on Ubet's face brightened still further. "You want to wear my coat?"
"Mine is warmer," Mongke said quickly, and snatched up his own, with the feeling this was headed somewhere very uncomfortable very soon. Then he reddened—how selfish that sounded.
"Well, mine is more—" A sign that Mongke didn't know, but from the elegant bend of Ubet's hand, he could guess.
Mongke laughed. "It's a beauty, all right." To the sun-faded shoulders and the previous spots and stains were now added large paler swathes where the dye had run.
"We'll be in the Desert soon. Your coat will be too warm."
"Well, maybe we'll swap then."

1

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 8d

I was planning on channeling Brokeback Mountain in some other ways, but I wasn't planning on this, it just kind of happened 😄

#amwriting #writesky #Nomads #fantasy #romance #LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈💘

"Take my blanket."
"But you—" Mongke realized they didn't mean the blanket around their shoulders—which was his blanket. Ubet was pointing at their pack, the blanket roll strapped on top.
He got up and detached it, wrapped it around himself. It wasn't that different from his own, a scratchy felted wool blanket in some shade of brown. Nameless ones could only use brown. Although it didn't matter anymore—but everything they had was from before, so everything they had was brown.
It didn't smell like Ubet either—it smelled like camping, like woodsmoke and moldering leaves, and now also like river water. He supposed his own blanket probably smelled the same way.
Yet, as he curled up by the fire, he couldn't help thinking—as perhaps Ubet had, wearing his coat earlier—that something of Ubet was wrapped around him.

1

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 9d

So the pattern is listen to melodic death metal while working, and listen to Dynazty and similar bands while writing #Nomads 😄

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 9d

I'm trying to write the river-crossing scene and Mongke and Ubet are not having it.

They're like, "please do not throw us into this cold river on a chilly cloudy day, we just want to get across" 😣🥶😖

#amwriting #Nomads #writesky #fantasy #romance ⚔️💘🏳️‍🌈

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 9d

Actually this is the ending theme for #Nomads 😁 It fits the ending (where the title comes from). And the story does end happily (spoiler!)

“Stay a little while” can go somewhere in the second half, when things are uncertain 😣

#amwriting #fantasy #romance #LGBTQ ⚔️💘🏳️‍🌈
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrzN...

So here we are
Once again
End of the line
There's no way back now

Let’s go, let's go
You wanna live forever?
The choice is now or never

It's now or never
The light is flashing inside me
It’s now or never tonight
Come with me

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 10d

Ok that's it, I'm making a soundtrack 😆

I usually don't for novellas and short stories, but well, I keep hearing songs that give me the feels..

#Nomads #amwriting #fantasy #romance ⚔️💘💔❤️‍🔥🏳️‍🌈

youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Nomads soundtrack - YouTube

youtube.com

2

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 10d

And an ending theme?
Spotify is on point today

#amwriting #Nomads #fantasy #romance ⚔️💘🏳️‍🌈

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLar...

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 10d

Omg I found the theme song for #Nomads

Mongke likes to act tough, but this applies to him as much as Ubet. The kind of lives they've had leave a mark.

#amwriting #writesky #fantasy #romance ⚔️💘🏳️‍🌈

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTTZ...

Bent and Broken

YouTube video by Battle Beast - Topic

www.youtube.com

1

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 10d

"Just huddling together for warmth..."
Sure, and it's absolutely not going to lead to anything else 😈❤️‍🔥

(And no, I still haven't written the river-crossing scene, cause I'm writing this instead 😆)
#amwriting #writesky #Nomads #romance #LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈

Ubet was slightly taller and slightly broader of shoulders, so it was strange that...
Strange? They were just huddling together for warmth, so it didn't much matter, did it?
He slid his arm back down Ubet's side, looped his arm around their body. His hand came to rest against their chest, between their folded arms.
Ubet sighed softly and relaxed against him, which pressed his face against the back of their neck, through their hair.
This was nice. Cozy and warm against the cold desert night, so close to someone after decades alone in a crowd.

1

Rauni Reivonen - swords and mages and gays, oh my! @takatalvi.bsky.social · 10d

. #Nomads broke 10K words!

This is going to be a real full-sized novella 😄

And I haven't even reached the halfway pt yet. Edging toward it.. (and edging really is the right word.. 😆😈)

#amwriting #writesky #fantasy #romance #LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈💘❤️‍🔥