《GCSE Descriptive Writing》The Cessation
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When I open a book, time stops.
I fish my reading glasses out of my bag, smiling at their familiar weight in my palm and the small crack across the left lens that I've never bothered to fix. I grab whichever book I've determined to finish today, and I pick a spot to settle down to read.
My current favourite place is the steps underneath the monument of King George V in the town centre. It's a curious statue: the century old stone is carved with clear expertise, and yet the King's features are lopsided, his moustache thick and askew, one eye squinted, as if the sculptor had captured him just as something caught uncomfortably in his eyelashes.
There's no epigraph for this statue either. The monument seems to exist for no other purpose than that the town council saw an empty space and felt like the square needed some central conversation piece, no matter how strange or aimless. George V never even visited this town.
Still, I like to sit beneath it, perched on the shallow steps like a child waiting for their parents to finish the shopping. My chosen book falls open on my lap almost automatically, as if now accustomed to the routine, and time, as predicted, stops.
I like to be in public when time stops. That's why I choose the statue, or the park bench, or my front porch. I like to watch the surging hoards of people, the crowds flowing sparsely in one moment, and densely the next, continously changing and swelling like a murmuration of birds.
I like to appreciate just how much they move around before I decide to stop it all. They aren't content with just moving their feet as they scarper from place to place: all the while they are adjusting their hair, or rummaging in their bags, or pushing their voices towards each other, their tongues sinfully twisting round a fresh slice of idle gossip.
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All this excites me. There are no exceptions to my power, save the page of my book turning periodically, which is why it's such a thrill to see the magnitude of what I can do in action.
I used to go into public whenever I enacted my power — the novelty of it all took quite a while to wear off. But although I mostly liked to stop time when I was settling in to read, to erase all distractions and allow myself as many hours as I'd like, I couldn't avoid the fact that my skill had many other uses. I can leave work assignments until one minute before the deadline; I can pause a conversation and go and browse the shops if I get bored; I can take whatever I want, do whatever I want.
That kind of freedom changes a person. It makes me lazy, inexplicably so, to the point that on some days I prolong the night time by hours and hours so that I don't have to get out of bed.
So, nowadays, it's a rare occasion that I find the energy to leave my room to read, to still feel that amazement in the supernatural that has become natural to me. But today, I was determined I would.
It's not as busy as I would have liked but that's okay. The effect is still the same as every person halts in their tracks, some mid-blink, some mid-drink, and suddenly George V is no longer a lone statue.
I have grown so accustomed to being the only conscious person on the planet, that I know immediately when I am not.
In the otherwise painfully silent town square, even the quietest whisper of a person breathing is enough to make me straighten up and shake my head furiously. But I can definitely hear it. For the first time since I discovered my ability, I can hear another person moving when no one should be.
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At first it's just their lungs that move. I can hear the faint but still very real sound of someone fighting to keep their breathing quiet. When I used to play hide and seek with my brother, and burrow myself in the closet, I can remember how difficult it was to keep my breaths hushed, even as I heaved with adrenaline.
This person is having the same problem it seems, stealing quick sharp breaths inward, and trying to release them without a trace.
I spin around aimlessly, trying to find who could be moving air when nothing was supposed to move. Then there's a scuffle, and I whip round just in time to see a young boy, about twelve years old, righting himself after losing his balance. He tries to be frozen, but now that I can pick him out from the crowd, even the smallest tremor of his hand is like a blaring signal.
We are now both still, as I stare at him dumbfounded, and he stares ahead, trying to ignore where his eye begins to twitch nervously.
"Why isn't he still?" I ask myself breathlessly. Then I remember that there is another awareness in this space and I have to address him.
"Why aren't you still?" The words feel wrong and alien. I wonder if I'm just imagining it, if I'm still just talking to a statue — but then I stumble backwards as the boys eyes flicker to me.
His limbs melt back into motion as he relaxes defeatedly, and the phenomenon is complete.
My eyes follow his shoulders up and down when he shrugs in answer, trying to fathom how they can possible be moving.
"I don't know," He replies sheepishly, "Why aren't you?"
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Nowadays I'm trying to work on my plot skills, as I've never bothered with much of a plot before. So I start with a prompt and try to build a coherent character and setting around it :) This is a great exercise for you guys to try if you're preparing for exams, especially since they give you a word or image as a prompt. Try googling some writing prompts and just have a go! Practise is the only thing that can move you forward.
Anyway, what kind of things do you guys prefer reading from me? I'd love your feedback on these last two pieces that are a bit of a different style for me. Let me know, don't forget to vote, and thanks for reading <3
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Arcane Engines: Alchemist’s Scheme
A seemingly chance encounter with an ancient machine and an assassination attempt threaten to disrupt Veil’s education at the premier mage academy of Ithalaan. The bombings and terrorist actions that follow throw the entire region into chaos and draw him inexorably deeper into a mystery involving cults, gods, and ancient mysterious races. These events threaten Veil’s carefully crafted plans, but there are few limits on his ambition. He is willing to do whatever it takes to advance his schemes to become a Magus, including pursuing the illegal discipline of soul magic. While Veil isn’t a powerful mage yet, his spell wrought guns and illicit abilities will help even the playing field. The need to face down his enemies and fulfill his ambitions will send him desperately searching from Forerunner ruins in the Great Northern Forest to ancient abyssal cities within the depths of the planet. _________________________________________________________________ The book is primarily fantasy with a steampunk background. Science fiction elements won't be introduced for quite some time. I currently update my work at a rate of one chapter per week. I'm also in the process of editing chapters 1 - 7, changing the format to make it more readable, and introducing more show and less tell. The reworked chapters will have (edited) after the title. All chapters after 8 have already been written in the new style. I have a Patreon page if you wish to donate. Also, there will be intense situations, some explicit violence, and although it is not an erotic work, one or two sex scenes.
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Magician's Pact
A young boy with a special key finds himself caught up with an old wizard, an ancient prohpecy, and a possibly conspercy. This sounds like the sort of thing most childern would love to be a part of, but there are just three small problems. The first is that he is not the hero. Someone already got that role. The second is that he isn't a wizard. He is a Magician which complicates things. The third is that there might be a chance that the whole 'problem' might be comming from his end. Personally he never understood (or interacted with) the 'secret' magical world, but that becomes a problem when the magical world apparently has what his role is supposed to be according to their ancient book... and they are not to happy about him not matching their book. Still it shouldn't be to hard right? All he has to do is go to a school, learn some wizard magic, make sure nobody takes his key... also avoid dying. Thankfully he has had a lot of expereince with that last part and a bunch of Twig Twirling childern can't be too dangerious? Right?
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The Imagineer's Bloodline
The Big Picture The nature of evolution is to move slowly. Until it doesn’t. If humanity approached an evolutionary crisis… Would we know it? Bendik is a once-in-a-millennia genius. He does. He recognizes quantum computing will be the catalyst. More, he knows there are only three potential outcomes for homo-sapiens: evolution, enslavement, or destruction. Bendik's plan: trigger rapid human evolution, make rogue Quantum Intellect catastrophes impossible, and change the nature of human civilization forever. What's happened so far in Book 1 - link to first book Bendik perfected the world's first Quantum-core processor, decades before anyone else. However, his plan to trigger human evolution is complicated and it only now nears completion. At the same time, Ronanld Linkletter, a brutally self-serving competitor closes in on his own Quantum breakthrough. Bendik's catalyst, a globe spanning marvel of engineering nears completion. For his plan to work, he needs to train millions of people without tipping off the powers that be. His son Austin has the solution: an immersive game world indistinguishable from the real world, where playing can heal trauma, activate advanced, dormant DNA, and unwittingly train Bendik's millions. Planet Kuora is born and under the care of Elle, Austin's homo-empathic QI, it flourishes. After creating wholly unique avatars, endowed with Equilibrium powers, Austin's team and a second team led by Oliver Ward, a retired special forces operative, have entered Kuora. They are enthralled by Kuora, discover its history of power and betrayal, are set on quests to discover why the Pergothian Empire fell, and discover a hidden attribute system that grants extraordinary powers but can only be revealed through self-discovery. Book one leaves Austin's team poised on the brink of entering an ancient Breal Bloudran ruin. On Earth, Bendik hits a roadblock and needs help, but he can't risk exposing his project. His solution? Disguise advanced polymeric molecular math as the backdrop for his node tower construction ads. At the site in Medellín, Colombia he hits pay dirt. We meet Gideon Suarez. Gideon welcomes Bendik to the Imagineers. He has lived many lives, and he has been waiting for Bendik. Chapters posted here are the 2nd & 3rd Books in the Ascendant Earth Chronicles. They predominantly feature Erramir/Austin's adventures in Kuora, althougth there are real world chapters. The first book, which includes many more hard sci-fi elements, can be found here.
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NPC MAKER
Jan 1, 2022 Edit: Happy near years! Sorry for the long delays once again, I hope to write more frequently. The NPC-MAKER only has one goal… and that is to rule the world with his NPCs! He has the power to create any NPC he desires as long as he has the resources for it. He was obviously going to create slave NPCs to gather resources so he can focus on making more NPCs. There are way too many enemies in the world trying to kill him so he must create many NPCs stronger than himself to defend him and his empire! Unfortunately, he finds himself stranded in the desert with nothing around. He must survive the harsh conditions and hopefully create NPCs to help him. ~ What to Expect ~ - Lots of NPC interactions. Arc 1 Desert Survival Chapter 1 to... ( work in progress)
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A new body|Dvr3
Monokuma has done something to two students... why? Just because he wanted to now Shuichi and Kokichi have to survive in each other's bodies until monokuma switches them back.Art by Kuuriya on aminoI do not own Danganronpa
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Hoops •LaMelo Ball•
A LaMelo Ball Book ?
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