iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Nel @wasphole.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

🧛‍♂️ A Gentleman's Tour of the Empire 🦇 #wipsnips #writesky #writingcommunity #vam

“I have been giving your predicament some thought,” Edwards began, speaking rapidly and smoothing down his hair self-consciously as Kenneth sipped his tea, “An idea struck me while I was having a late supper last night and I have been seeking you since dawn: sausages.”

“Sausages?”

“Quite!” the doctor enthused. He pushed his glasses up his steep nose as they made yet another bid for freedom. “It came to me as I was eating one, because sausage meat is stuffed into animal intestines, you see? We need to produce a blood sausage! Your fangs would be able to penetrate it easily, and the casing would delay clotting by minimising exposure to air!”

Kenneth was glad that Jo was out of hearing range. She’d had enough to say about sucking on sausages for one day, and he didn’t want the doctor frightened off. Loaded with unintended innuendo though his suggestion may be, it did sound plausible. Of course, if it worked, there was the small matter of finding a reliable pool of donors for the rest of his life, but one problem at a time.

cassieoakman.bsky.social @cassieoakman.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

#AshurstWood Abbey from #ForestRow When they were young, my children would play in the field below this building, and make up scary stories about the monster they imagined lived there. It'll always be the Ogre's Castle in our family!

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Greg 🤍 MidwestUSA @midwestusa.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Summers last hold on beauty in the sun in Minnesota #LandscapePhotography #Nature #ECK #Minnesota

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Nel @wasphole.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

🧛‍♂️ A Gentleman's Tour of the Empire 🦇 Jo lies a lot. It's like her superpower. #wipsnips #writesky #writingcommunity #vampire

“Yes,” admitted Jo, adding in an undertone: “Please help us. My brother has done nothing wrong. At least, not by the laws of your country.”

She looked at the captain imploringly; eyes wide and innocent as a kitten, though she’d lied twice in the same sentence. Kenneth thought calling him her brother might be pushing it since apart from their bone-white skin they bore no resemblance to one another, but the sailor seemed to buy it.

“I see, Found you out, did they?” Captain Pollock said grimly, shaking his head. “Don’t fret lad, it happens all the time. Stash yourselves out of sight below deck and let me handle it.”

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hopeful66 @hopeful66.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

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Nel @wasphole.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

🧛‍♂️ A Gentleman's Tour of the Empire 🦇 Kenneth, that's rude! We don't mention the Eilbreen nobility's very small gene pool! #wipsnips #writesky #writingcommunity #vampire

“Why is Duke Craeg your heir?” Jo frowned. “You can’t be that closely related, if he married your cousin.”

“I don’t know about that! Have you seen our emperor’s family tree?” grinned Kenneth, feeling slightly abashed when both Jo and Mack frowned at him.

“It’s a bit complicated, it might be easier if I show you,” sighed Mack. “Our own family tree hangs in the portrait gallery. It’s this way.”

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Adregem ཐིཋྀ @adregem.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This is from the first scene of Losing You Backward. Joric has just been dumped onto a first class train car rather spectacularly. #WIPSnips #WIP #AmWriting #WritingPrompts #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Fantasy #FantasySky #Gaslamp #TimeTravel

Joric wrestled his bruised body into a sitting position and blinked until his surroundings came into focus. Red velvet seats. Mahogany ceiling panels. Gas lamps in pendant fixtures. First class. How delightfully contrary.
On the opposite aisle, a few seats forward, the severe eyes of a blond woman in frilly blue glared at him from behind a book. Not one of his most subtle entrances, but she wasn’t screaming, so she must have missed the first couple of seconds.

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cassieoakman.bsky.social @cassieoakman.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Didier shares some photos from his childhood with Tilda and Jem. #WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky

“This is lovely.” Tilda was pointing at another photo. This time, the young boy was snuggled up on his mother’s lap, an open picture book spread over his knees. She was sitting on a bench in a garden. Although the photo was in black and white, the range of flowers suggested a colourful and well-tended border in the background. “You can see how she cherishes her son. I don’t think either of them know they’re being photographed; it looks to me as if your father wanted to capture this moment between the two people he loves.”

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Nel @wasphole.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

🧛‍♂️ A Gentleman's Tour of the Empire 🦇 Kenneth was losing his grip and bailed from the bedroom before he bit Edwards. Logically Edwards knows this makes sense, but he also has some self-esteem issues. #wipsnips #writingprompts

The mirror over his desk was calling to him, inviting him to stand in front of it and scan himself for physical flaws that might have put the other man off.

He placed both hands on it, leaning forward as though he were preparing to lecture a tiresome hypochondriac of a patient.

“Of course he wants to bite you, it’s been weeks,” he told his reflection sternly. “You should have thought of it yourself! Idiot.”

Of course he doesn’t want you, it’s you!

The relentless string of self-criticism in his head wasn’t going to shut up any time soon. Not without help. He knew one reliable way to make it stop.

Before he knew it, he was putting his soaking, reluctant clothes back on though they were even colder since he took them off. He dried his glasses on the fresh sheets and headed for the bar, his shoes squelching with every step.

The bottles over the bar sang to him, jewel bright where they caught the firelight. Emerald and ruby hues; liquid panacea to a mind that refused to quiet.

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cassieoakman.bsky.social @cassieoakman.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Some people think the Lion Fountain at #ForestRow has special powers, and they leave offerings to it: coins, flowers, pretty stones, and so on. And yesterday, someone left there the glasses I'd lost somewhere on the other side of the village!

Picture of a stone wall with a lion's head fountain set in it. Water pours from the lion's mouth to form a circular pool in front of the wall. Two stone benches have been built to the sides of the pool.

Close up of one of the stone benches to the side of the lion fountain, with a pair of glasses resting upon it.

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cassieoakman.bsky.social @cassieoakman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

The whitebeam I pass on my way to work is looking mighty fine, after the first shower of rain in over a month. #AshdownForest #ForestRow #Sussex

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Nel @wasphole.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

🧛‍♂️ A Gentleman's Tour of the Empire 🦇 #wipsnips #writingprompts

She lit the pipe, sucked it and coughed a few times.

“Doesn’t sound so bad on the surface does it? But the thing is, there’s a difference between lying once, lying all day long and lying every day for the rest of your life. That’s what you have to do to make it work though; directly and by omission. Hiding who you are from everyone, forever. Keep up the act. Stay in character every second of the day. And that is how I got so good at what I do. Constant practice!”

“Do you lie to me?” asked Kenneth.

“That’s not the easiest question for me to answer,” said Jo slowly. “I’d never harm you on purpose, but the thing is I don’t always know when I’m lying anymore. I know when it comes to concrete actions; like I know I killed Constable Woods. I never lie to you about things like that. But when it comes to what I think and feel; lying is a habit. To everyone, myself included. It’s ingrained so deep that I’m not always aware that I’m doing it.”

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Nel @wasphole.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

🧛‍♂️ A Gentleman's Tour of the Empire 🦇 Jo fancies a nibble of seafood.

“I’m sorry,” they said at the same time.

“I’m getting hangry,” Jo confessed, raking her fingers through her hair. “That supper was beautiful, but all I could think about were the officers’ necks and the veins on that young lieutenant’s wrist when he raised it for the toast. He went straight up on deck to take his watch. All by himself in the dark.”

“You didn’t, did you?” Kenneth breathed.

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Nel @wasphole.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

🧛‍♂️ A Gentleman's Tour of the Empire 🦇 #wipsnips #writingprompts

Peeling off his remaining clothes was slow work. Even his stockings felt unnaturally heavy from all the extra water-weight. It took two towels to get himself properly dry. Edwards retrieved his sodden coat from the floor and hung it over the back of the chair before placing his undershirt and breeches in a basket for the maid. Drifting listlessly from one task to the next in a state of numbness.

Kenneth’s reason made perfect sense, but was it a reason or an excuse? Maybe he had changed his mind or just not liked what he’d seen. Edwards tried not to imagine the worst, but doubts about his own adequacy had been seeded in his earliest youth, then watered and nourished by his ‘treatment’ at the infirmary. Like bindweed in a garden, it was always lurking, waiting for its chance; needing little encouragement to grow through him. Wrapping choking tendrils about him as it climbed.

The mirror over his desk was calling to him, inviting him to stand in front of it and scan himself for physical flaws that might have put the other man off.

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Nel @wasphole.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

🧛‍♂️ A Gentleman's Tour of the Empire 🦇 Kenneth meets Duke Mackerel Mar for the first time. #wipsnips #writesky

By dawn, Kenneth managed to drag himself into a deckchair to watch Newpier’s shores swim into view, just as the sun was rising. His polished ivory skin reflected the golden glow of the sky, a salty sea-breeze fanned his face, and it would all have been very pleasant had he not felt so awful and the lieutenant from the night before hadn’t tripped over his shins when he tried to stretch his legs.

Something caught his attention, jutting from the cliffs on the horizon; a stone lighthouse built into the rocks themselves and projecting high above them. He could tell at once it was a large structure, but only when the boat drew close enough for him to make out trees and houses to compare it to did he have a full sense of its scale.

“Everlasting above!” Kenneth cried, trying to rise from his chair, before a bout of dizziness forced him back down again. His fingers grabbed the pink muslin sleeve of Jo’s dress in excitement. “Am I so sick I’m hallucinating, or is that a thousand feet tall?”

“O-only five hundred,” came a nervous voice from behind him. “Or three if you count the clifftop as its base.”

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cassieoakman.bsky.social @cassieoakman.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

If you're in the UK, and you'd like your voice to be heard concerning your feelings about and priorities for your local community and the wider country, a team from Oxford University have initiated a "National Conversation" survey. www.national-conversation.ox.ac.uk

national-conversation.ox.ac.uk

The National Conversation

I just took part in The National Conversation to share my views on what it's really like living in our area right now. It's a major UK-wide project by researchers at Oxford University, and it only tak...

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Nel @wasphole.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Hama and Robin's families began negotiating their betrothal before they were even born. The older generation struggle to understand what romantic love has to do with anything, when there are serious lands and titles at stake. Wasphole mybook.to/Wasphole

Aubrei didn’t like this plan. Robin had called off his engagement by letter when Lady Dreya became Lord Hama. They had no idea how Hamadreya felt about this. He could be heartbroken or he might be relieved that Robin had spared him the trouble of doing it himself, but they knew exactly what Crotalus thought of it.

The letters from Serpentis came thick and fast, dripping with acid and venom. Jackdaw and Heron were displeased with their son’s decision but Crotalus disputed that it should even have been Robin and Hama’s to make. His letters made it clear that if he had his way the pair of them would be dragged to the henge by their hair and smushed together like dolls in a sandbox wedding. As far as he was concerned Robin’s rejection was an insult to his house, one that was depriving his descendants of the crown.

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David K. Barnes @davidkbarnes.com · 04/08/2026

Here’s the latest stop motion animation from my Tiny Angry Witch team. (I’m the writer, I can’t take credit for the animating!) It’s one of our longest, and it nearly drove us all mad, but we’re really proud of getting it made! 1 x Tiny Angry Witch 1 x broom No AI

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cassieoakman.bsky.social @cassieoakman.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #WriteSky Jem explains to Tilda what he found hidden behind the old staircase in the house he's renovating.

“A wooden box, with a keyhole but no key – and it’s locked. Old, I should think – perhaps very old. With carved lid and sides. It could have been a jewellery box, maybe. Too heavy to be empty, but it doesn’t rattle when you gently shake it, though you can hear something sliding up and down.”
“Sounds like an interesting find! I bet it is jewellery, though; perhaps in velvet cases or pouches, so it doesn’t rattle. But I don’t suppose it will be anything to doing with Monsieur Beltoise – didn’t he say he’d only moved to the house a couple of years ago?”
Tilda’s assumptions were reasonable; they weren’t to know that neither of them would prove to be correct.

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A.B. Koga @abkoga.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

The MC interviews a man about his brother-in-law’s death. From There’s Something on the Tracks— NA historical horromance.

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Septimus Brown @septimusbrown.com · 24/07/2026

Sleep well, Earthlings 🌔 ⭐ Make we all wake into a world of respect and unity 🧡

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Pádraig Barry (PJ) @pjbarry.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Agnes turned toward the window, where dawn pressed faintly against the glass. The ward behind her had the scent of antiseptic and tea lingering in the air. For a moment she felt the night’s traumas slip away. She let the light touch her face, and her exhaustion softened into grace. #vss365

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Natasha Devon @natashadevon.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Andrew Tate’s been arrested. Teachers who lost their jobs for not having the ‘correct’ opinion about Charlie Kirk’s death are successfully suing. Trump’s cacking himself about the midterms. About 3 ppl turned up to that CPAC conference. Farage is arguing with a bin. Things might be okay, you know.

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Nel @wasphole.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

🧛‍♂️ A Gentleman's Tour of the Empire 🦇 Our vampire hunter consults with an expert, but the conversation takes a turn. #WIPSnips #writesky

“I cannot thank you enough, young man,” said Nigel. “Vampires are exceedingly rare in Midra. I tried to have one sent from Eilbree but he cost a fortune and died en route. Dissections can only prove so much. I’ve been sitting on my research until I could acquire a living test subject, and now two come along at once!”

He gathered his half-finished manuscript lovingly, tied it loosely and placed it back on its shelf. His rasping voice was rising in pitch, nearly effervescent with glee.

“What do you mean, test subjects?”
choked Edwards. “What are you going to do to them?”

Nigel blinked.

“Observe them, mainly. Take detailed notes on the latter stages of the infection. See how they respond to extremes of temperature, light intensity and irritant chemicals. Categorically disprove some of the more ridiculous myths. Test how their reaction to pain stimuli alters as their blood-thirst rises. That sort of thing.”

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Petra Michaela @petramichaela.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Fill a birdbath during a heatwave. Plant flowers for bees and butterflies. Leave a small corner undisturbed for wildlife. Notice the small lives moving through your garden. These things don’t make headlines, but they matter.💚

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Nel @wasphole.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

🧛‍♂️ A Gentleman's Tour of the Empire 🦇 #wipsnips #writingprompts

“I wanted to die after the mouse,” said Dolpuc. “It felt like there were ants burrowing tunnels through my skin. I don’t understand why it was so awful? Blood is blood!”

“No, it isn’t,” said Dr Edwards, pressing up his glasses which had started to slip down his nose. “We have to perform blood transfusions at the infirmary sometimes, and even between one human and another, it can kill a patient if their types don’t match. I take it by now you’ve noticed that some necks are more appealing than others?”

“Yes,” admitted the vampire. Edwards noticed with a jolt the predatory way the other man looked at his throat. It was only for a moment, but it was decidedly ravenous. He’d need to be careful. “A couple of the crew of the Collie, a woman I passed in the bar on the way up.”

“Me,” added the doctor dryly. Kenneth averted his eyes and nodded. “You see then why substituting animal blood is out of the question. It has been tried but the result was fatal every time. Even blood from an incompatible person will end your life.”

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💀🫜 Charlie (Chelizabeth) Delta 🦊👻 @charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

July 4th – round Visiting with Nik today, as she is bonding with her new friends in the rebellion. And beating them at cards. #DawnsBlood #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

“A time or two. Especially after that incident.” She laughed. “Now, first round’s on me.”
S’immi nodded and disappeared.
“So, is that how you always kick our asses?” S’evor asked. “The cards telling you our secrets?”
“As if I’d need the help with you, S’ev. You communicate your intentions so clearly you might as well just say them out loud.”
“Is that so?” The soldier flipped a card and tossed it towards her.
Nik countered it from her own stack without even looking up. “It’s not your fault. You’re young. Still think all your ideas are unique and brilliant.”
Rinne stifled a laugh and threw in a card of her own. S’evor elbowed her in the arm.
“And me?” D’aaven asked.
“Same, you just don’t have youth as an excuse.” Nik smirked.
D’aaven pressed a hand to his heart. “Seriously though,” he played a card, “we need to stop letting you go first. Who is going to top that story? I mean, does anything normal ever happen to you?”
“You found my one weakness.” Nik winked. “Don’t have a single ordinary story.”

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cassieoakman.bsky.social @cassieoakman.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Today's #WIPSnips word is "knock" #WriteSky #WritingCommunity Monique has just picked her son Didi up from pre-school.

They set out for home slowly, and Didi explained, “There were some bits of wood by the gate, waiting for someone to take them out. Like the bits that Papa moved out to the barn.”
“Planks? From the broken staircase?”
“Yes, Maman – like that. But only very little ones. And Gérard asked Mademoiselle if we could play with them, and she said only if we were very careful, and she wouldn’t let us ‘til she’d checked them all carefully. In case of nails, she said. And Gérard took some over to the hedge – he said they wouldn’t get knocked down over there, because no-one plays there – and I took some, and Paul too, and we piled them up, and put leaves on top, and made a camp! Only it’s a very small camp – just for one person. So we took it in turns – we were very good.”
“Well done, Didi. That sounds like fun.”

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cassieoakman.bsky.social @cassieoakman.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Today's #WIPSnips word is platform #WriteSky #WritingCommunity From a short story, set in Roman times, intended for a collection about people who have to make a life for themselves far from their native lands.

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