Explore

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 12:24 PM

#LitHodgepodge 7 (one day late because I could not decide lol)

One Snip for #JudahOC and one for #AdrianOC

From my WIP #SteepedInShadow

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Judah absently reached for the bottle of shampoo and worked it into the long, tangled strands of his hair. It smelled faintly of coconut and vanilla, not bad, but nothing to rave about either. He scrubbed the suds into his scalp until his fingers hit the shaved patch on the right side of his head.

He hadn't seen himself in a mirror in all this time, and had avoided it upon entering the bathroom too. But now, he wondered what he might look like. He knew he'd lost a significant amount of weight, was likely looking more like a scarecrow than a human being, and he felt itchy stubble on his face and neck, so he hadn't been able to shave for some time either, patchy though as his beard always grew.

So most likely he looked like a malnourished homeless person.

Well, at least now he no longer smelled like one too.

But it brought about the need to change the only thing he could control right now. Turning the water off with a decisive twist, he stepped out into the bathroom, dragging a towel from the nearby shelf and wrapping it around his hips.

Then he reached for the disposable razor.

Once his thigh hit Judah's bed, he reached forward, trying to feel his way about. His hand hit Judah's neck, feeling cold, clammy skin drenched in sweat, but before he could continue checking on him, Judah's eyes suddenly popped open with an eerie green glow. It was like the jade green of his eyes was amplified, something Adrian knew his own eye would do whenever he went more wolf than man.

Then the shadows—that thing that had hovered before—drew closer around Judah, forming a new body; his limbs grew longer, shoulders broader, and his teeth sharpened into razor-sharp tips. It had begun gradually, but then, just as Adrian was about to pull back, Judah surged up, his hand closing around Adrian's throat and claws digging into his skin—not yet breaking it.

"Who are you?" Judah asked, but the voice that came out of his mouth wasn't his; it was a deeper, darker tone, thick with an accent Adrian couldn't place.

"Adrian," he answered. "Judah, it's me. Come on, pull back those claws."

The grip around his throat remained unrelenting, claws digging deeper just slightly, just enough to prick Adrian's skin. Then the third presence in the room seemed to feel him out. It slid over him like an unwanted touch, and his wolf side bristled in defiance.

But at the same time, something inside him answered.

Then, as fast as the presence had manifested, it was gone again, and the shadows receded, leaving Judah collapsing against Adrian's chest with heaving breaths.

He wrapped his arms around the other man and snarled, cursing the scientists who continued to treat people as lab rats.

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 5:00 PM

#LitHodgepodge 6
I actively try *not* to have archetypal characters in my WIP, so the MCs are out.

Someone who might qualify is #DuvacOC, the brooding, grumpy, dark vampire dude.

Have two snippets from my WIP novel #SteepedInShadow
The first is from Chapter 1; the second from Chapter 4.

Sometimes, Duvac regretted ever proving himself competent. Efficiency always came at a price, and for him, that price was responsibility—leadership. Not that he didn't like leading and teaching others how to defend themselves, but the downside continued to eat at him, slowly hollowing him out like acid dripping on a rock.

He remembered every soldier he'd lost, the names burning themselves into his very soul. It had always been like that, even when he was still mortal, still fighting for a crazed emperor with visions of grandeur, watching his companions fall like flies from either starvation or festering wounds they gained in battle.

Duvac had also died on the battlefield, except that he had risen, and for a while, his afterlife had been that of a civilian. At least, until he'd gotten roped into one of those territorial spats that came up whenever there were too many Immortals walking the earth.

"How did he not escape your grasp earlier?" Duvac asked the woman. His mind moved back toward the remote control he'd found on the scientist Judah had killed, but he wanted verbal confirmation. "How did you get him back whenever he vanished?"

"W-we zapped him out," the woman answered.

"With the computer chip in his brainstem, right?" Duvac asked, a feral growl rumbling in his chest. "Des monstres, autant que vous êtes," he cursed. "What else does it do besides tracking him like a rabid dog?"

This time, the woman fell silent, staring up at him, wide-eyed and afraid.

Duvac took a deliberate step forward, his boot landing in the pool of blood that had gathered underneath the man he'd drained dry with a wet splash.

"Now, now, don't be coy; you must know what else it does," Duvac growled.

"I-If I tell you, you will kill me!" she gasped in terror.

"I will kill you either way," Duvac nonchalantly answered. "The how, however, depends entirely on your cooperation."

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 9:05 PM

#LitHodgepodge 5

#JudahOC: "For once, not having to worry about money and be forced to decide whether to fix my car or pay my rent."

#AdrianOC: "Find the same kind of love my parents had. Yeah, I'd really like that."

#SteepedInShadow

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Oct 1, 2026, 8:46 AM

Hello!

I'm Iris, and I write #UrbanFantasy. The working title of my novel is #SteepedInShadow, and it has a queer romance at its center.

#LitHodgepodge #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

This or that:
Paperback
Series
Tears & Laughs
Coffee
Hero
Character driven
Computer
Sweet
Silence
Bookmark
Plotter
Minimalist
Vomit draft
Morning

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 12, 2026, 7:21 AM

#SongsOfSeptember Day 11

A Song for the Vibes is definitely Survivor in the Emil Bulls rendition.

There's no lover's quarrel, but #JudahOC is definitely a survivor.

#SteepedInShadow

youtu.be/fGfGfJvirrc?...

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 12, 2026, 7:19 AM

#SongsOfSeptember

Antagonist Song!

#SteepedInShadow #MakerOfShadows

youtu.be/Lhv_yFMuwxs?...

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 12, 2026, 7:12 AM

#SongsOfSeptember Day 7
A few people could sing this one, if I'm honest.
But it best fits the villain.

#SteepedInShadow

youtu.be/Cms_JNHCXB8?...

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 12, 2026, 6:53 AM

#SongsOfSeptember Day 4
Abyss by Yungblud.
The text hit very close to home for #JudahOC

#SteepedInShadow

youtu.be/LYabT4zZnJQ?...

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 12, 2026, 6:46 AM

#SongsOfSeptember Day 3
Good Things Go fits both MCs for different lines of the lyrics...

#JudahOC #AdrianOC #SteepedInShadow

youtu.be/Ip0jJACsE_g?...

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 12, 2026, 6:42 AM

#SongsOfSeptember Day 2
A song I heavily associate with the story is Silver Night by The Rasmus.
It fits the dynamic between my MC couple to a T.

#SteepedInShadow

youtu.be/Ovsvk0eSpx8?...

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 12, 2026, 6:41 AM

#SongsOfSeptember: Day 1
Hello! I'm Iris, I'm currently working on a Queer #UrbanFantasy Novel called #SteepedInShadow.
My MCs are #JudahOC and #AdrianOC.

It's very hard to pick a favorite song, but I guess I really like this one?
youtu.be/TjMPGd20Ryk?...

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 11, 2026, 7:09 AM

#AwesomeCharacters #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

#JudahOC

"It's just a nightmare."

#SteepedInShadow

Judah cloaked in shadow, his hands framing his face. He looks uncertain.

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 11, 2026, 7:06 AM

#AwesomeCharacters #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

#AdrianOC

"I don't remember."

#SteepedInShadow

Adrian in front of the full moon, his hand is covering half his face, the claw perfectly aligned with one of the scars over his eye.

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 9, 2026, 6:01 AM

#AwesomeCharacters
#JudahOC didn't finish High School. He dropped out at around 17 years old to start working full time when he emancipated himself from his mother.

#AdrianOC has a degree in technical engineering. He also dabbles in coding, but likes to work with his hands.

#SteepedInShadow

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 9, 2026, 5:56 AM

#WriteSky #WritersCommunity

Since I'm currently writing an urban fantasy romance novel and have written smut for fanfic before, I can tell you right now that there will be intimacy in my book, #SteepedInShadow.

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

@iris-j-verblenk.bsky.social Sep 5, 2026, 1:27 PM

#QueerWritersChat
Self Editing:

I'll look for word repetitions, tense inconsistencies and phrases that sound clunky or don't flow right.

#SteepedInShadow