iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Virgil James

Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 21h

#WIPSnips Okay this is a very long one- but this entire snippet (while in desperate need of a makeover) is cute to me and has "well" all throughout so I figured I'd might as well get the entire thing. Especially since I've never shared this before lol

“I hope you like it here, Alice.” Madigan says as he walks away. The rest of the creatures disperse too, all except for Vladimir and Viktor, who ran up to her as she was studying the new blue glitter of her skin.

“Your eyes are blue! And your skin is glittery as well! That’s… weird…” Vladimir said, getting very close to her face to study it.

“I guess so?” Alice replied, stepping back.

“Why are you bleeding?” Viktor asked, observing her nightgown.

“Oh… it’s not my blood.” Alice answered him.

“It’s not?”

Vladimir and Viktor looked at each other, then back at her with wide, crazed eyes as Vladimir asked excitedly, “Who’d you kill, then?”

Alice sputtered, not used to anyone else being as homicidal as she was. “Uh — well — I kilt my sister’s best friend ‘cuz she wanted to send me to a institution… but most of this ain’t hers.”

“Whose blood is the rest of it?”

“Nanabozho kilt the man that was chasin’ me, so, most of this is his.”

“Cool!” Vladimir and Viktor exclaimed together, then looked each other incredulously.

“Hey, I said it first!”

“No, I did!”

They argued like that for a while, while Alice looked between them, trying not to laugh. Then, Viktor reluctantly let Vladimir win the argument, and turned back to Alice to ask, “Hey, how old are you?”

“I’m ten, why?”

“Oh, you’re younger than us, we’re twelve —”

“Did you have a husband?” Vladimir asked excitedly.

Alice’s face scrunched up. “A husband?”

“Yeah! A lot of girls around us got married around your age! It was usually the poor girls getting married that early though, were you poor?”

“Well, I was a slave, so I was worse than poor. But no, I never had a husband.”

“Why not?”

“Ion like men, they gross. I set my enslavers on fire, but if I ain’t and they tried to make me marry a man, I woulda kilt him, too. I wanted to have a wife, though.”

“Oh…”

Vladimir and Viktor looked at each other again, then Viktor said, “Well, we don’t like men either — we wanted to grow up and have wives, too! Maybe we can still can one day. You too, Alice.”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

#WIPSnips I haven't actually had the word since "stream" 💀 Anyway, I used "wait" (which I have a lot of) instead of "delay". Tried to pick an excerpt where I could replace "wait" with "delay" and have it still make sense even if I would have to change the sentence a bit lol

“I’ll be fine, really.” Alice says gently. “I can take care a’ myself, and I ain’t plannin’ to stay. You two can always come wit’ me!”
“No, it’ll be too obvious if we go with you again.” Rezina says. “Just come back to us safely. Don’t forget to transform into your human disguise, don’t get too emotional or your disguise will slip… and don’t wait too long to come back. Your power and your immortality comes from Wonderland… if you stay out too long…”
“I know, Rezina, don’t worry.” Alice said, “Now, I need rest before my trip, so I’m gon’ go upstairs to my room. Love you!”
Raiyana and Rezina let out a feeble “love you too” as Alice ran up to her room.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

#WIPSnips Content warning for violence. Didn't have "tumble" so I went with "stumble", which I had plenty of.

She swiftly walked up to where I was still struggling to defend myself, raising up the bottle as she went. This is when I noticed her, and I screamed, “ALICE! ALICE, GO GET HELP!”
I didn’t realize she didn’t look afraid until she grabbed the man and pulled him away from me. Before he could react to her, she swung the bottle over his head and cracked it over his skull. The man stumbled to the ground, still alive but badly wounded, alcohol and blood running down his face. He looked up at Alice and his eyes widened in fear, which only exhilarated her.
She looked at me for a moment, holding the broken bottle and processing what she just did, what I watched her do. She couldn’t tell what I was thinking, and she was scared that I feared her now. However, she decided that she would fix this later. For now, she needed to make this man suffer for attacking me.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

#WIPSnips Don't have the word "meltdown" but my characters have several meltdowns throughout the book, and this is just one of many lol.

My room door was closed and locked, but she could hear me crying, so Alice knocked on it.

“Please just leave me alone!” I wailed through my tears.

“[Narrator], it’s just me.” Alice said gently, resting her forehead on the door. “Can I come in?”

I sniffled and got up from my bed to let her in.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you.” I said, hiccuping, but Alice just closed and locked the door behind herself, then hugged me as I broke back down in her arms. We stayed there for a while, until Alice led me back over to my bed and laid me down. Then, she laid down with me, letting me get all of my tears out.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#WIPSnips I'm genuinely surprised I had this word -- I rarely ever use it because I forget about it for some reason.

Alice balled her fist up, and quickly walked out the front door, careful not to close the door behind her so neither of us would hear her leave. So, when I got out of my mother’s office, holding the papers and planning to continue the conversation Alice wanted to have (as well as tell her about what my mother wanted me to do), she was already gone. I saw the front door wide open and ran upstairs to see if Alice was still there. I got to my window just in time to see her running down the street, tears streaming down her face.
“Alice?” I called out quietly, mostly to myself because I knew she couldn’t hear me.
Meanwhile, Alice had no idea where she was going. She could hardly see because of how thick her tears were. All she wanted to do was get away from our house, my mother… and from me.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

#WIPSnips Didn't have "payment". Had a lot of "pay", but I figured I'd use one that was in the context of money lol.

I was getting ready to graduate now, but in the meantime, I took up more shifts at work. My mother expected me to work as well to help pay for any student loans I might have (I ended up getting a full-ride scholarship, but she wanted me to continue doing this anyway for any other expenses surrounding college), but between her pressure and my physical health, it was hard to perform as well as I’d like. The latter I didn’t even realize for quite some time. I know you’re probably wondering how the hell I didn’t realize, but I just didn’t think it was an issue.
I mean, my pelvic pains were no doubt getting worse, and I was also getting back pains, but I had already grown so used to them that I didn’t think it was something to worry about. I wasn’t eating a lot, but I figured I just didn’t have much of an appetite. I started to lose a little bit of weight, but I didn’t notice. I was tired all the time, sometimes I was too tired to talk to my mother or Alice, but I figured I was burnt out as most teenagers are. And I had to pee… a lot. Which I barely noticed. I figured I was just drinking too much Gatorade; it was my work drink, after all.
It was only until the end of May, the day before my graduation, when I realized something was very wrong.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

#WIPSnips Context: Cloak (The Cheshire Cat) created a hyperrealistic illusion for Alice that made her think she was 10 years old again and being chased by ghosts of her past... and this is her after figuring out that it was all fake. (Definitely rewriting this when I get to it lmao)

Alice sighed sadly and without turning around, she said, “I know you there, Cloak.”
Cloak gasped from behind Alice, and Alice turned around to face the cat.
“Rezina told me you could do illusions. I shoulda figured you was behind this from the beginnin’.”
“What are you doing? Get the illusion back up!” Alice heard Madigan’s voice yell, making her giggle.
“Oh, there will be no need for that, Madigan! I admire the effort, truly… but I’m bored of this place, now.” Alice blew out air, and conjured fire into her hands, grinning again. “How ‘bout we go have some real fun?” Her child voice and her adult voice melded together perfectly.
She shot fire at Cloak, setting the cat on fire.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

#WIPSnips I may have shared this snippet before, not sure. Either way I thought this was a good twist on the "Queen of Hearts" title -- something unexpected when you hear that name. Especially since they say earlier in the conversation that them beheading people is actually a lie lol.

“Queen Raiyana —”
“You can just use our names, Alice.” Rezina said. “No need to be formal.”
“Raiyana, then.” Alice continued. “Why do some a’ them call you ‘The Queen of Hearts’… oh.”
When they entered Raiyana and Rezina’s room, Alice saw that they had a collection of hearts, all in pretty glass cases and perfectly preserved, and the only colorful items in this room. These were all over the room, and it was the first thing she could possibly pay attention to. I collect oddities, such as old coffin nails and animal bones I found, and I’ve done so since I was a child. People always like to twist it into something evil. A collection of hearts is certainly odd, but there is nothing necessarily evil or murderous about it… unless you were actively killing animals or people for them.
“Oh, don’t worry!” Raiyana says, striding past Alice and Rezina, and picking up the one on the bedside table to the left of their bed. “Only this one is a human heart, we don’t even know how it got down here — but the rest are animals! Just some we found while exploring the above world that died before their time or when their time came, and I thought this would be a great way to honor them.”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

#WIPSnips Literally the only time I've used this word ever lol

A little bit before I got out of the bathroom, Alice heard my phone suddenly start blowing up with notifications and flinched. She walked over to it, staring at it in confusion, watching the messages my then-boyfriend was sending me come in. Had she not come back to our world in 1925, she wouldn’t even know what a phone was.
“Is this what phones look like now?” She muttered to herself. “I guess that’s more practical…”
Right after that, I came out of the bathroom, and Alice went to sit back down on her bed quickly to cover up her curiosity. When she looked at me, her eyes widened in awe, looking at my hair in its natural state and the Sisters of Mercy shirt I was wearing. Then, she subtly pinched herself, and went back to her cold exterior.
“You took a while.” She said shortly, looking away.
“Oh, yeah, sorry about that.” I laughed. I noticed my phone blowing up, so, I walked over to sit on my bed and checked my notifications.

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(not) amari / SOUL !! 🇵🇷 @marisoul.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

if u use "ts" as "this" I will literally KILL YOU........

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

#WIPSnips This is uncomfortably relatable rn which is a little insane since I wrote this last year lol.

So, the day before Halloween, October 30, 2015, was a Friday, which meant I had no classes… and that I had nothing better to do. I tried to write, but that didn’t work out. Blessing invited me to a Halloween party that was later that night, but I told her I didn’t want to go. [Narrator’s Brother] tried to come talk to me, but I locked him out of my room. So, I just laid there all day, wallowing in my despair of losing the girl I loved — the girl I still love.

I probably sound pathetic, don’t I? I knew this girl for all of four months, but I fell apart without her. Hell, I’m still falling apart without her, and it’s been almost ten years since the last time I saw her. Sure, I had dreams, hopes, and a future before we met… but by that point, she had become a huge part of those that they hinged on her. Being with her was (and is) the only way I could see a future for myself. If she’s gone, what is the point? I still haven’t found it, and I don’t think I ever will.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

#WIPSnips No, Alice is not okay lol

Alice made it back to the castle, and saw that Raiyana and Rezina weren’t sitting on their thrones waiting for her like they usually do when she leaves. So, she went to their bedroom and saw them sitting on their beds trying to distract themselves. Raiyana was admiring her cases of hearts, and Rezina was floating a red queen playing card in the air. However, they both abruptly stopped when Alice came in.

“You’re back!” Raiyana said, both of them walking over to hug her. “You were right, it wasn’t too long at all. Were you actually up there for a day?”

“No, it was barely five hours.” Alice said monotonously as she hugged them, and when she let go, her shoulders fell limp.

“Alice, are you okay?” Rezina asked.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

#WIPSnips Surprised I had two instances of using this word lol

Blessing was my best friend in high school, and to be honest, she’s still the best friend I’ve ever had. Most of my “friends” now are snotty white women who smile in my face then call me the n-word behind my back — or just people I can’t really rely on. It’s unfortunate that Alice drove a wedge through our relationship. Granted, she didn’t do it on purpose, Blessing and I just drifted apart after she was gone for good, so I can’t blame her without blaming myself as well.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

#WIPSnips Lord this one is a doozy... okay, content warning for self-mutilation/self-harm, and dissociation and derealization.

Initially, when she looked inside, she didn’t see anyone, just dying white roses at the base of the cage that looked like they had been carelessly painted red. She was standing there for a moment before someone stood and grabbed the bars of the cage, making her hop back in fright.
It took her a second to realize that that someone was Raiyana. She was now in black rags, her red nails were peeling and bleeding, and so was her skin, as if she had been peeling it off herself. Her makeup ran down her face as if she could never stop crying, and she reached out of the bars at Alice.
“Alice!” She choked out. “Alice, are you real? He hurt us, he separated us, he’s been torturing us, Alice! Open the cage! We have to find Rezina!”
“I’m over here, Raiyana.” Alice faintly heard Rezina call out. “We’ve been over this.”
Alice looked towards the other cage, still unable to see Rezina, but knowing she was there. She sounded exhausted.
“No, no, YOU’RE NOT REAL! YOU’RE HIS ILLUSION!” Raiyana grabbed her hair and pulled some of it out as she screamed. “YOU’RE NOT MY SISTER, MY SISTER IS GONE!”
“No, Raiyana, it’s really me —”
“NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” Raiyana fell to the bottom of her cage, and started twitching and giggling, and peeling off more of her skin to paint the roses with her blood. “Nothing’s real, everything is fake, everything is fake, everything is fake, everything is fake, everything is fake, everything is fake…”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

#WIPSnips Alice is a vaguely ableist piece of shit. Then again she was born in 1855.

“Yarrow, Yarrow…” Alice addresses him softly with a smile, putting her head in her hands. “Have you taken your meds today?”
“Yarrow doesn’t have medicine, Alice.” Madigan says through his teeth, obviously losing his patience. “You remember when he came here. It wasn’t a time where that was common… and he’s a hare.”
“All the more reason he’d benefit from some! He’s gone a bit crazy, hasn’t he? Or perhaps he always been crazy. Maybe he can tell us which one it is.” Alice said, still smiling at Yarrow and barely paying any attention to Madigan next to her.
After Alice said that, Yarrow’s eye glowed blue for half a second, and he looked afraid. Both Alice and Madigan noticed this, but Yarrow’s eye was back to red before either of them could think to address it. He spoke angrily again, and this time a bit fearfully as well.
“She been plottin’, she been plottin’. Get rid of her before that little bitch kill us all…” Yarrow mutters.
“Oh no, you called me a little bitch!” Alice wails sarcastically, throwing the back of her hand on her forehead dramatically. “I’ve only been called that… well, I’ve lost count now. Wanna add more to the number anyway?” She grinned cruelly, enjoying the sight of Yarrow swelling with anger.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

#WIPSnips This shit genuinely scared ME when I first wrote it, so fair warning for that 💀 (though it's worse with knowledge of the rest of the chapter so y'all might be fine lol)

Finally, she approached our house at the worst time. We were just putting our things in the trunk, and I was mentally preparing myself to disobey the speed limit, drive on the sidewalk, and possibly run over some people, wondering why none of these creatures were coming after us. Now, I know that she told them to avoid us, because we were hers to kill.

As [Narrator’s Brother] was throwing his things in the trunk, that’s when I noticed Alice watching us, and time seemed to slow down. We locked eyes, and I looked at her in fear, barely recognizing her in her true form. She stared back blankly, and then started walking closer. I was too afraid to move, too afraid to turn my back, because she already saw us and now anything was possible.

It was already too late for us to escape.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

#WIPSnips Content warning for immolation. Also I think "sigh" is one of my crutch words because I have a LOT of it lmao.

“I’m sorry, Alice.” Hattie sobs, looking down. “I really am sorry…”
Alice sighed, gripping Hattie’s shoulder tighter. “I’m sorry too, Hattie. Really, I am.”
Suddenly, Hattie lights on fire at Alice’s touch, and Alice gets up from the floor as Hattie writhes and screams horribly, flames engulfing her entire body. Alice and Raiyana watched her intently while Rezina’s eyes widened in shock and slight confusion for a bit, before Alice dispelled the fire, leaving Hattie’s skin burnt and bloody, but she was still alive… for now. She slowly looked up at Alice, sobbing and screaming in pain, and Alice lifted her chin again.
“There. Ya wrinkles is gone, I think.” Alice giggles.
“ALICE, I’M SORRY!” Hattie screams. “WHY CAN’T YOU FORGIVE ME? I LOVE YOU!”
“No, you don’t.” Alice scoffed. “You never have… and you never will.”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

#WIPSnips Had a few for "collapse" but the other three contained a character name I don't want to share 💀

Alice flinched as Cloak suddenly appeared behind her, and the wide grin on the cat’s face certainly didn’t help, even though she wasn’t usually afraid of it. She didn’t manage to figure out their plan before the cat soared through Alice’s body. She started to shake violently and her mind became clouded with fear, but she couldn’t scream or react at all. She tried to move, tried to break free from whatever Cloak just did to her, but it was no use.
Reluctantly, she dropped the machete, collapsed onto the floor into a few of the hats, and everything went dark.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

#WIPSnips Didn't have "effective" at all somehow so I used "successful". Also this is a computer screenshot for once because I wanted to include this entire part but it was too long to screenshot in one picture on my phone lol.

“You’re aware of The White Queen’s powers, correct?”
“Uh… I guess? She can read minds, and she got… what is it called again? Telepathy? I think she got telekinesis as well. I don’t know. Why?”
“Years ago, I managed to steal the power of The Red Queen’s power. She used to be able to give memories to a host, and I took that from her. Now, she’s powerless.” Madigan says. “However, I was never successful in stealing The White Queen’s powers.”
“Why not?” Alice asked. She already knew he wasn’t successful in stealing Rezina’s power, but she didn’t know why. Rezina may have figured it was obvious.
“She would’ve caught me in the act.” Madigan scoffed. “Back when we were allied, I don’t believe she ever trusted me. She can choose not to read someone’s mind, but she never made that decision with me. Even when she didn’t say anything, I could feel her reading my mind — my thoughts exposed to her whenever she wanted, which was always. I didn’t dare think of stealing her power, not while she was around, anyway. If she had been there when I plotted to steal The Red Queen’s power, she would’ve stopped me from doing that, too.”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

#WIPSnips This moment was so cute until I remembered what happens at the end 💀

“Oh, here, can I unbutton this a bit?” I gestured to her shirt. She nodded, and I went to unbutton her shirt by a few buttons. “You look kinda like a nun. Plus, it’s hot, so I don’t want it to be hugging your neck like this.”
Alice looked at me, her eyes trailing over my hair and my lips and admiring my beauty. I noticed her looking, and asked, “What is it?”
She smiled. “Nothin’. You’re just so beautiful.”
I giggled. “Really?”
“Yeah. I’ve never been in love before… especially not wit’ somebody as carin’ and lovely as you. I hope this never ends.”

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AmaraJLynn 🦹 drafting Fire & Feathers @amaralynn.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Well kinda emergency... I went to the bank to adjust my mortgage payment to come out Friday a couple weeks ago and they didn't process that apparently. Mortgage came out today and now I have zero money for anything and am at risk of overdraft... ko-fi.com/amarajlynn

ko-fi.com

Buy Amara Lynn a Coffee

Become a supporter of Amara Lynn today!

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

#WIPSnips Just realized that even though Ellipsus paywalled keeping your text colors (including highlights) in their snippet feature, I can still use it for this by screenshotting the doc itself! Which is good because I like changing how my snippets look and you can't do that in Reedsy lol

I suppose maybe I should’ve left them in the microwave and/or left syrup nearby with a fork, because Alice just ate them cold… and dry… with her hands. I never thought I would have to specify how to eat pancakes. This is even more ridiculous now that I think of it — she’d had pancakes before when she was living with Edward and Hattie. She wasn’t new to the concept of pancakes! I don’t think I’m ever going to understand this decision.
She did eat them though, and that got her thinking that maybe she should do something for me as well, especially because of the nightmare I had. Alice had no money, and the cooking skills of a cat, but she went on Google anyway and looked up, “easy snacks for after school,” and found a recipe for chocolate chip peanut butter balls. She spent an hour making them, and another hour to let them freeze.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

#WIPSnips -- I'm mad at myself because I had yesterday's word but forgot to post for it 💀

We sat in silence after that, as I go back to checking the messages I was receiving from my boyfriend. After a bit, I put my phone down as my mother came into the room through my open door with two bowls of soup.
“Hey, girls. Everything okay in here?” She asked.
“Yeah, everything is fine.” I say, taking one of the bowls from my mother.
“Awesome. Are you okay, Alice?” My mother asked, bending down to hand her the other bowl.
“…yep.” She said, staring deep into her eyes coldly as she took the bowl from her.
My mother nodded slowly, both of us sensing a sudden chill in the room and stupidly brushing it off.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Make your favorite film sound as boring as possible without giving away the title: Two countries fight or whatever

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

#WIPSnips -- didn't have "snuggle" so I used "cuddle". Also content warning for the slight raunchiness lol

“Ugh, fine.” She looked back at me. “What do you want?”
“To sleep with you.”
Alice froze, her face starting to feel hot. “What?”
“I mean, you’ve been sleepin’ on the floor since May. I think it’s about time we shared my bed.”
“I — uh —” Alice laughed nervously. “Are you… ready for that?”
Am I even ready for that? She thought.
“… ready for what?” I blinked. “Alice, I just meant I wanted to sleep in the same bed as you… and like… cuddle and stuff. I don’t have to get ready for that, I’ve slept in the same bed with Blessin’ before. Wait, what did you think I meant?”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

#WIPSnips I had symbol, but I hated that snippet ngl so I used "sign" as a synonym.

“So, you finally decided to come back to ya owners, huh~?” Alice taunted.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Cloak scoffed. “I don’t belong to anyone, not anymore. I’ve been looking because Madigan didn’t tell us where he put them after he took Rezina’s power. When I came back here and saw that beheaded lady near their thrones, I knew you must be back.”
Alice paused for a moment, then said, “So he did take her power then.”
“And he’s more powerful than ever. Nobody is safe around him anymore, not even in their own heads. Even we can feel him constantly searching our thoughts, looking for any sign of betrayal.”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

#WIPSnips There was more to this paragraph... but spoilers lol

I huffed, resisting the urge to scream after her because I really didn’t want to make things worse. So, instead, I turned to Alice, intending to share an annoyed look with her until I realized she was having a panic attack next to me as vivid memories of when she was enslaved went through her mind.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

#WIPSnips Content warning for ageism- Alice is horrible all around tbh.

Hattie looked towards her bedroom door as it opened slowly, and screamed in terror as Raiyana and Rezina came into view.
“Ugh, the drama.” Alice scoffed. Then, she sits up and leans in close to Hattie’s face, her hands on both sides of her headboard. “It’s me you need to worry ‘bout. Raiyana and Rezina ain’t gon’ hurt you.”
“Ooo, is that face powder?” Raiyana squeals, running over to Hattie’s vanity table.
“You might as well take it, Raiyana.” Alice says, smiling and still staring at Hattie. “She won’t be needing it anymore. Not that it was workin’ for her anyway, not even when she looked less like a raisin.”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

#WIPSnips Redacted character name for no spoilers lol

Alice was back to her true form in Wonderland; her ripped dress, makeup, and all (albeit the makeup was smudged and faded). She opened her clawed hand, and conjured fire into it, admiring the flickering flames until she realized [REDACTED] was looking at her in horror.
“You afraid of me, ain’tchu?” Alice grinned again, her blue eyes glinting as she dispelled the fire. “Good.”
“This isn’t real…” [REDACTED] says, backing away.
“It is real, [REDACTED]. It’s more real than that Botox, I’ll tell you that.”
Alice jabbed [REDACTED] in the chest with the handle of the machete, making her stumble. “Walk that way. Don’t lose the path.”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

#LGBTQWriteAThon June 16: Yay, I'm just not very good at them all the time 😭 so a lot of my stories still have unnamed chapter titles until I figure out how to name them

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

#LGBTQWriteAThon June 15: Sorry for the sadness but legitimately I don't have any writing goals rn. I just want to survive this week 😅

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

#LGBTQWriteAThon June 14: Definitely not one line 😭 but I figured the whole part was necessary to share- or at least a good chunk of it. TW for attempted suicide btw.

I don’t remember what woke me up anymore. I think, once she left my side, my nightmare got so intense that it scared me out of my sleep. I didn’t gasp dramatically, so she didn’t notice me wake up until I realized she wasn’t laying below me, and yelped when I saw through the crack of the door what she was trying to do.

“Alice!” I hissed, scrambling out of bed and to the bathroom. “Alice, wait! Stop! Please don’t!”

Alice flinched and dropped the knife, and I grabbed it. We stared at each other, both breathing hard for a few moments, before I fell to my knees at her feet. I laid my head on her lap, dropping the knife back on the floor as I said, “Am I still havin’ a nightmare, or were you actually tryna kill yourself?”

Alice sighed, resting her hands on the back of my head, both frustrated and relieved that I stopped her. “The latter.”

I looked up at her, tears in my eyes. “Why? Am I doin’ suttin’ wrong? I can fix it.”

That’s what Hattie said. Alice thought as she touched my cheek. “No, it’s not your fault.”

“Then… what’s wrong?”

“It’s… well… shit.” Alice scoffed. “I ain’t want to have to talk ‘bout this. I ain’t want you to know.”

“Know what?”

At that moment, Alice thought about telling me everything. It would be a huge weight off her chest, after all. However, she was afraid that I would be afraid of her. So, she decided to be vague.

“It’s Blessin’.”

I frowned. “What this gotta do with Blessin’?”

“She said… she think I’d be good for you.”

I felt my face heat up, but I was still confused about what she was getting at.

“And that’s a bad thing… why?”

“I’m not.” Alice said. “I’m not who you or she thinks I am.”

“Alice —”

Alice covered my mouth. “Let me finish, okay?”

I nodded and she uncovered my mouth.

“I’ve done horrible things. Things… Ion even wanna say out loud ‘cuz if I did, I would scare you away, and I’d be alone again. And even though I deserve that, Ion want that to happen. Ion wanna lose you. I can’t lose you. I’d rather end it like this than let you see who I really am.”

I looked at her, waiting for her cue that she was finished. She wasn’t yet.

“Look, I know we both deny it, but there’s… obviously suttin’ here.” Alice continued, gesturing between us. “Ion know what exactly that is yet, but it’s suttin’. And that’s scary as hell, ‘cuz everyone I’ve ever known is either gone or hates me. Ion wanna lose you the way I’ve lost everyone else. Plus, I’m scared I’m gon’ hurt you, and Ion wanna do that, either.

“Ion deserve you, or this life you’ve given me. Ion deserve for this friend of yours to essentially urge me to ask you out already… and Ion deserve to be alive at all.”

She fell silent, and I took that as my cue to speak.

“Alice, this is gonna sound strange, but I don’t need to know who you were before we met.” I said, going under the sink and grabbing isopropyl alcohol and a cotton pad to disinfect the small cut she made. “You’ve been nothin’ but lovely since we met, so even if you were horrible before, you’re better now.”

“How do you know?” Alice asked, wincing as I started to disinfect her cut.

“I know because bad people don’t usually worry about bein’ bad people. Even if you were a bad person then, you’re not one now.”

“What if I’m still bad anyway?”

I didn’t say anything at first. I just stood her up, ran her arm under the water, and cleaned it further with some soap. I leaned my head on her shoulder and looked at her through the mirror before speaking again.

“Well, I ain’t no angel, so I don’t need you to be.”

“You really don’t understand, I’ve hurt people. Like, badly. This ain’t no irrational perception of myself, [REDACTED].”

“Yeah, I gathered that when you implied that you would kill anyone who tried to hurt me… but you can change. It’s not too late. Plus, I didn’t mind what you said very much. I don’t think it’s wrong to hurt people who deserve it.”

I turned her around to face me, holding her against the sink.

“And you’re right, there is suttin’ here. But obviously, neither of us know what that means… so, maybe we’ll just take things slow for now. We can acknowledge we have these feelin’s for each other without immediately hoppin’ into a relationship. That’s nothin’ new.”

“I just don’t think it’s gon’ end well.”

“Well, there is only one way to find out, right?” I kissed her cheek.

Alice touched her cheek gently, and blinked before saying, “You just said you wanna take things slow.”

“Yeah.” I leaned back in. “But it’s just a kiss, Alice… and we have the rest of our lives to figure out what it means.”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

#LGBTQWriteAThon June 13: Ooo... it was rough. I don't feel like getting into it but naturally, all writing was ceased while I was going insane (more than usual ofc because most writers are constantly going insane). But I'm going to one of my city's Pride events today so yay!

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

#LGBTQWriteAThon June 12: Made two pride flag collages- the first one is for the book I'm trying to publish and the second one is for one of the many projects I'm working on in the background lol.

Left to right:

Alice, she/her, with a lesbian flag background
Keaton, they/them, with a nonbinary flag and lesbian flag background
Blessing, she/her, with a pansexual flag background
Alice's love interest, she/her, with a bisexual flag background

Left to right:

Rhys, he/it, with a trans flag and gay men's flag background
Argentina, she/her, with a lesbian flag background
Shireen, she/her, with a trans flag and aroace flag background
Aiysha, she/her, with a bisexual flag background
Charlie, she/her, with a lesbian flag background
Amari, he/him, with a gay men's flag background
Jaehwa, she/her, with a graysexual flag background

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

#LGBTQWriteAThon June 9: Sorry I accidentally skipped over this one somehow 💀 I think fans of my book will gush over the really shitty protagonist trying to become a better person for her partner. I also think people will gush over her BECAUSE she's so horrible.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

#LGBTQWriteAThon June 11: My co-workers, as well as my oldest friend and my sister. And we can count the really big writing Discord server I'm in as well :)

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

#LGBTQWriteAThon June 10: Catching up again lol Well, Alice has committed a lot of murder. She also has stolen and committed arson before, as well as done identity fraud. Ig a crime she would commit that she HASN'T committed would be blackmail. She hasn't TECHNICALLY done that.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

#WIPSnips Going back to using Reedsy for snippets instead of converting them to Ellipsus since Ellipsus decided to paywall the feature where you can show your text colors in their built-in snippet feature (that includes highlighted text). -_-

“Alice, did you take the machete?” She asks quietly and shakily.

Alice said nothing. They got to the end of the hall and Alice pushed the door next to her room open.

“That yo’ room.” Alice said shortly without looking at Priscilla, then walked into her room.

“Alice! It just us here! You still gon’ act like you don’t know me?” Priscilla asked indignantly, following her. “I swear, if you took it, I gon’ tell Hattie and Edward!”

Alice ignored her and slowly reached under the bed.

“In fact, I gon’ tell them that you burnt down the Liddell hou —”

“You ain’t gon’ say shit if you value ya damn life, Priscilla!” Alice hissed, pulling the machete out from under the bed and pointing the blade at Priscilla. “Yeah, I took it. ‘Cuz clearly just words won’t keep yo’ damn mouth shut!”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

#LGBTQWriteAThon June 8: Went back to a project I hadn't worked on in several months, so I guess my goal is the work on that more since I have plenty of goals for it, I just keep getting blocked because of various other reasons.

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

#LGBTQWriteAThon June 7: More than a line- wanted to share this whole part lol

Alice frowned. “So… you’re sayin’ I should… move on?”
“No, of course not. Tellin’ you to move on from your trauma is ridiculous, I know better than a lot of people that it’s not that simple.” I scoffed. “I’m sayin’ you can move forward, in spite of your pain. You can still have a happy life, even if the first eighteen years of it were horrible. It’s not impossible for you to be happy, Alice.”
I grabbed her hand, and she inhaled sharply. “And I hope that I can be a part of your happiness.”

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

#LGBTQWriteAThon June 6: Writing-wise it's going okay! I've been getting SOME writing done at the very least lol

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Catching up on a few days lol #LGBTQWriteAThon June 5: - "Enemies to lovers" except she's is a serial killer from 1865 and the lover has no clue she's an enemy - "I can fix her" until you make a mistake and now she's trying to kill you again - "Second chance" except she absolutely blows it

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

I would say my hyperfixation on Alice in Wonderland is a weird or non-traditional source lol #LGBTQWriteAThon

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

At first, the idea was just to make creepy Alice in Wonderland retelling and make her Black, so I used the 2010 movie and a random Spotify playlist for my initial inspiration. Then, I sprinkled in A Series of Unfortunate Events and every romance story I've ever read/watched lol #LGBTQWriteAThon

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

(reposting this because I spelled the hashtag wrong 💀) I'm not sure who I'd want to play my characters because I usually imagine it getting adapted into a 3d animation. However, even though my version of Alice is 18, I've always thought that SZA could pull her off if not me. #LGBTQWriteAThon

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Virgil James @virgiljames.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

I've shared this snippet before, but it's changed quite a bit since then anyway, and this is less of it compared to what I shared before. #WIPSnips

Alice stood up quickly, looming over my sleeping body. She reached her hands out as if to wring my neck, her arms shaking as she tried to get herself to end my life once and for all. She could strangle me, then escape out the window and come back later for my brother and my mother. She huffed, trying to work up the courage, and just when she was ready to kill me, I stirred in my sleep, and she hopped back, thinking she woke me up… but she didn’t.

I used to have constant nightmares because of stress, but I never realized how obvious they were. I was writhing and whimpering in my sleep, and tears were falling down my face. Alice watched me struggle in my sleep, battling who knows what in my nightmare (as good as I just said my memory is, I don’t even remember that specific one).

After a little while of watching me, Alice sighed heavily and sat down next to me on the bed. She wiped away my tears with her thumb, and then ran her hand down my cheek.

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