#maybe ill rework it and write a fun thing who knows

[m3gahet]

You ever write the end of a fic first and then have know idea how to start it? Just me? Ah well

Short Pibbin drabble. Robin tags along with Pickles as he visits his family after he shots down her offer to "take care of them".

“I shoveled every driveway in fucking tomahawk to earn the money for that kit.” He sighs, his head falling slightly. “Wouldn't even let me keep it in the garage.” 

“That's fucked.” Robin says, her tone a bit stilted. Emotions are weird. Especially others. Her body shifts towards Pickles and hesitates before placing a hand on his thigh. Green eyes move from the pavement as her bloodied knuckles catch his attention.

“You punch my brother?” He asks with a weak chuckle that turns into a full blown laugh as her eyes widen. “Robbi!”

“He made a pass at me!” She exclaims, gesturing wildly. 

“He did what?” Pickles attempts to stand, a burning anger replacing his self pity. Robin shoves him down by the shoulder bringing his ass back to the concrete. 

“I handled it.” She turns her hand to show off the bruises. “Why do you think he ran off to the bathroom after pitching me his business proposal?” His expression softened at her use of air quotations. She wiped her hand off on her jeans. He should have known the blood wasn't hers. “Piece of fucking work.”

“Ain't he?” The two of them sit there on the curb in silence both their eyes shifting to the sky. Pickles leans back onto his hands and steals a glance at the blonde. It's like one of those artistic shots from some chick flick. The street lights create a halo effect around her, a soft smile on her lips and she relaxes with a sigh. “Thanks for coming.” He finally says, returning his eyes to his sky. 

“Well you shot down my first idea.” She chuckled. “Least I could do.” He glanced back at the house, knowing it wouldn't be long til his mother came out to scold him for some bullshit reason. He's about to get up when he feels a sudden warmth cover his hand. His eyes bounce from his hand now covered by the manager's to her face. “Offer still stands by the way.” She jokes as she gives him a reassuring squeeze before leaning in towards him. “I can make it look like an accident and everything.” 

He's overcome with laughter that only grows as Robin's own joins. His face feels warm despite the cool air and all of his frustration and sadness he had felt when he first stormed out had faded. Their laughter softens as he opens his eyes. Robin's face is close to his own, her cheeks a soft pink and her amused smile genuine. He knows it's a bad idea and he could royally fuck up a good moment but he can't help it. 

Robin gives a soft noise of surprise as he presses his lips to her. He just barely breaks away before she caresses his jaw in her hand and pulls him back in. 

It's a brief kiss but it manages to still leave him feeling fucking amazing. 

“Wanna bail?” She asks against his lips before fully pulling away. He realizes she's still squeezing his hand. “I can have a car here in less than five minutes…but I get if you want to say goodbye-” he steals another quick kiss before getting to his feet, pulling her up with him. 

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

[marzipanandminutiae]

Given your disdain for the officially published novelization, I'm curious: If you got the chance to write a Crimson Peak novelization of your own, what choices would you make to expand on the story and characters?

I actually have plans to do this!

I'd like to rework my fic In A Glass, Darkly into a novelization instead of an AU (and maybe have it done up in a fancy binding someday, with illustrations by one of my artist friends- money permitting). Partially for fun; partially in case the movie is ever lost to the digital black hole

one thing I enjoyed doing in the fic was writing from Edith's perspective- I feel like giving more insight into her mind helps keep her from becoming the Sweet Innocent Ingenue it's all too easy to flatten her into. however, I also included some parts from Lucille's perspective for things Edith didn't see, and I imagine I'd keep that aspect. I don't know if I'd do perspective for both Sharpes or just Lucille- the actual novelization only does thomas' PoV, which makes sense since the author seems to loathe Lucille and make her a one-dimensional villain

that's the biggest change I'd make: actually acknowledging that Lucille is a complex character with motivations and not just ~Born Bad and Craaaaaazy~. the actual novelization literally changes scenes where she has a clear logic to her actions to make it all seem random and out of nowhere. the director and actress worked too hard to present a complex image of a mentally ill, traumatized woman who does terrible things that nonetheless come from a twisted internal logic, to have it all smoothed away in the interest of having an easy-to-hate villain

also I would get the characters' eye colors right. just saying

[dateamonster]

i believe ive shared this thing once before in one form or another. in case i havent, this is a sorta rework of a poem i wrote maybe five years ago while i was reading "Letters from an American Farmer" by (deep breath) J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur for a class on colonial american literature. the names an obvious giveaway but i still like it.

anyway, i thought itd be fun to the text an accompanying visual element this time around. like i said, the writing is old, so cut me some slack. 

also its horror so you know proceed with caution.

plain text under the cut

Letters from the Last American Farmer

Frontiersmen do their souls neglect,

Turned to trappings, metal bound.

Hid away from the Elect,

Noses pressed against the ground.

From hand to mouth- the path’s direct.

I’ll stand apart and hold my worth,

A farmer be, and earn respect;

I till the soil, turn the earth.

Who is he, the favored son,

Who raises up the fruit and grain?

And works until the day is done,

And come the harvest reaps the gain.

This is he- I’ll be the one

To give my life to righteous toil.

I wield the pitchfork, not the gun;

I turn the earth and till the soil.

Proclaim the men from off the docks,

“Ubi panis ibi patria”

And to her fortunes they will flock

In love of fair Columbia.

Perhaps it comes to you a shock

Or else a simple source of mirth

But this pride you mustn’t mock;

I till the soil, turn the earth.

The silver hand of Justice fair

Does lightly steer the citizen,

Brush’d his cheek, as soft as air

With good will towards his countrymen.

And although we know it rare

To her blind axiom we’re loyal.

For sanctum from the noble glares

I turn the earth and till the soil.

The story’s whispered, be it true,

Often is it I have heard

Although he’s swaddled in the glue,

Tar and feathers make no bird.

No wings, no eyes, yet high he flew,

The rope raised up a deathly girth,

And bid, as I, this soft adieu:

I till the soil, turn the earth.

The snake pursues me, long and white.

Its doubts do pull me from the fold

To embark into the night,

To embark into the cold.

Far to the West they say there’s light.

Though ill-bred souls may curse and roil

Like gold, my virtue still shines bright;

I turn the earth and till the soil.

The land’s the heart and heart’s my own.

With little cabin, hearth, and fire,

I make this wilderness my home

And faithfully snuff my desire

For meat that melts clean from the bone.

I’ll overcome the winter’s dearth

If God’s good graces He may loan.

I till the soil, turn the earth.

Desolation scrapes my spirit,

The rifle shakes within my grip,

An anthem’s sung- I cannot hear it,

Teeth set upon my trembling lip.

Do in my labours I promerit?

Or show some moral split or spoil?

The end is nigh and as I near it

I turn the earth and till the soil.

One final verse I will extend

As cold and hunger overtakes

In hopes that you, my final friend,

Perhaps may learn from my mistakes.

Here all is ruin, all shall rend

Revolutions come unbirthed,

Yet compelled am I to tend

And till the soil, turn the earth.

Till the soil, turn the earth.

Till the soil, turn the earth.

Till the soil, turn the earth.

[froggibus]

updates!

for veteran followers, newcomers & people just browsing, a quick reminder on how this works, the kind of content posted here + a bit of an explanation! (of course, if im rambling, feel free to skip to the TLDR at the bottom ♥)

essentially, i have a bit of a bad habit of scattering all of my updates and news across various fanfic posts. ill probably continue to do this, but i know not everyone reads every post, so you're probably missing out on some info you might want to know

"like what?" mainly, requests + request statuses. but instead of making you guys scour through the depths of my posts to find out if i even received your requests, i thought it would be easier to just post it all here.

content you can expect here:

requests ive received and going to work on

WIPs im planning on posting soon

breaks, hiatuses, changes in plans & planned content

random life updates (sometimes)

to make it easier to digest (+ more relevant to you guys), its going to be in order of newest to oldest. (example: oct 2023 would come before jan 2023)

thank you guys, keep being amazing ♥

TLDR: ive decided to put all of my updates on requests, request status, wips + breaks etc in one place. its gonna be in order of newest to oldest, and ill update here whenever there's news :)

FEB 21. 2025:

so today i finally updated my rules for requests. it was a hard decision but i no longer take requests for nsfw/smut

to make a long story short, i just don't enjoy writing it anymore. this might change in the distant future, though

now to yap a little & answer some anticipated questions;

why?

again, it's not something i enjoy writing at the moment, and with the little free time i get from school, i wanna write things that excite me

this blog was never set out to be a smut blog. i just wanted a place to store my work and maybe meet some friends. i never anticipated it growing the way it did.

i love what this blog has turned into, and i don't think i'll ever stop writing for it

does this mean you'll never post smut again? definitely not. i still write it occasionally, and i'll probably post it from time to time. plus, some of my favorite content i've ever posted was smut (Sex Rocks, CTRL + H)

so what does this mean for my requests? given i've updated the rules again, i'm gonna clear my inbox. some of the requests i've been planning on writing (all of my sfw wally requests, stu macher hurt/comfort) are gonna be screenshot and put into a folder

i'm still planning on writing the Ramattra NSFW i promised. that idea is really exciting to me, and i wanna stick to my word on that, but it may take a little while to put out

anyway, thank you for reading & thank you for understanding ^.^

if anyone has any questions about this, i'm completely open to taking them

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OCT 18. 2024:

brief mental health update here

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SEPT 26. 2024:

hi so sorry i know i've been inactive lately!

between breaking up w/ my long term bf, moving to a new city & starting school, things have been super chaotic & i haven't had much motivation to write :,)

requests are (tentatively) open to non-smut until kinktober starts on the 1st, and from there probably won't be doing any til the end of the month!

kinktober masterlist

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JULY 13. 2024:

summer suntacular was SO MUCH FUN!!! thank you to everyone who participated ^^ i really enjoyed doing this follower event & super looking forward to doing more w you guys in the future!

requests are finally open again! i am probably only gonna take about 6 - 10 depending on the complexity/types of reqs i get + only about 2-3 per character (to prevent another Venturepocalypse) ^^ super excited to see what everyone comes up with ♥

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JULY 1. 2024:

happy canada d’eh!

currently doing a bit of a rework on this blog! changing the way I interact w content on Tumblr to make it less spammy & more relevant for you guys!

requests are still closed as ive been really struggling with my writing as of lately :,) but once I sort them & catch up they’ll be open!

- - - -

JUNE 1. 2024:

happy pride ^.^

still working through requests right now & also working on something fun for summer! come vote in our summer solstice poll and feel free to come talk to me about all your summer faves & thirsts!

- - - -

MAY. 27 2024:

requests are currently closed! thanks to everyone who sent one in—im just catching up on them now ^~^

- - - -

MAY. 26 2024:

i’ve received quite a few requests this week that i am already working on :D im sick atm so it might take me a little bit longer to get through them all tho !!

changing up my rules slightly & retagging certain stories as well!

- - - -

APR. 3 2024:

thanks to everyone who booped me on April Fools :) I had a lot of fun interacting with everyone

requests are open!!! all of the ones submitted prior to March 24th have been deleted, but feel free to send them again if they follow the updated rules (found here)

I am also working on a small writing project that I may or may not post for my birthday in two weeks, so we’ll see how that goes

- - - -

MAR. 21 2024

requests are closed! rules for requests are being updated and all current requests are being cleared. feel free to resubmit afterwards!

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MAR. 17 2024:

- deleted Romeo & Ghouliet. I really wasn’t feeling like writing anymore, I struggled a lot with taking it in the direction I wanted it to go

- will be updating the graphics & theme of the blog this week so stay tuned!

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JAN. 22 2024:

we are officially heading into Valentine's season, and with that, I want your input on what you would like to see on the blog for that! you can vote here. have more input? have a request? send them to me here!

working on some fics, including OW Women HCs, poly! SatoSugu, Dick Grayson x civilian! reader, and possibly a series as well

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NOV. 14 2023:

currently not taking requests, sorry for the few people who submitted some this week! working on a cozy christmassy Dick Grayson fic rn, and possibly something exciting for the holiday season

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NOV. 1 2023:

life got way more hectic than i anticipated this month and because of that, i wasn't able to write for kinktober the way i originally planned. hopefully next year ill be better prepared and able to deliver quality content consistently. sorry to anyone who is disappointed! ♥

[seancamerons]

1, 10, 15, 16

Thanks for leaving me some fanfiction asks too!!

How long ago did you start reading or writing fanfiction? Damn, I had to been when I was around about twelve or maybe thirteen. I don't know if anyone remembers the-ndotcom message boards, various Degrassi message boards (mainly Degrassi boards aka DB, anyone around, I honestly doubt it?), and of course, fanfictiondotnet my online life in the mid-2000s.💗

When I was third grade, I remember writing things that resembled fanfiction. Typically based off of some shows I saw (such as Sabrina the teenage Witch, TGIF line up was awesome) or books I read like The Boxcar Children or Junie B, for these writing journal prompts for school the teacher would assign us. When I say it's all cringe and embarrassing as hell, Let's just say I'm glad no evidence of that writing existed. That wasn't even the tip of the iceberg there, I also wanted to *be* a friggin' author. I'd even include these cheesy bios for each 'book' I would make for myself bc I'd always see them in books I read in childhood.

Fast forward to 2003, my first fanfiction (when I knew I was writing fanfiction) was a doozy for Degrassi written about Sean, Craig, and Emma in some weird season 2 timeline with a love triangle, an ill-fated camping trip, Sean's newly sober mother made an appearance in the form of a camp organizer desperate to reconnect with her son and bring him home much to his chagrin, and other things I forgot about and wouldn't wanna think much on. I was basically winging it. I'm afraid it's gone. I had notebooks and notebooks filled with stories around this time.

10. Worst writing habits? Abandoning and giving up without a doubt. A horrid habit that becomes tempting when I get writer's block, and then I just start the hell over and make something totally new and forget about it drop it like a bad habit, and the cycle comes back around like a shitty boomerang. I then will read the old one months or even years later and be filled with regret or have five million new ideas for said abandoned story. Maybe then I rework it in the future someday or in a whole dif story which has been done before. I am already my own worst critic, but I hate super flaming, negative criticism that shit doesn't help anyone except be tempted to give up.

Some fic I abandoned needed to be, such as the Zoemund vehicle in a weird alternate season thirteen titled The Starlet and Dealer. Not that I need to explain myself, but I didn't feel right writing something portraying a couple with literally no chance on any planet, not even interested in men on the whole didn't make much sense. Also who would read that considering all that? It's available on fanfictiondotnet who cares? I moved on it's never gonna have an ending.

Backtrack has more of a chance of getting an ending, and yes, it's an *almost* ten-year-old fic, just saying.😄😄😄

Another habit is simply beating myself up, comparing myself and just simply hating on myself which I gotta stop doing. Honorable mention, stuff like not being in the mood to write, or getting too much on my plate and then not writing.

15. One-shots or multi-chapters? Multichapters Angst? Yes. Fluff? Yes. Smut? I'm not that brave ha, not for a lack of trying. I usually do the ol' Disney-style cut away. I'm so lame. Hurt/comfort? Yes. Fantasy? Nah. Romance? My bread and butter🥰. Which one is your favorite? Hmm I'd say romance with multiple chapters all the way! Which one is your least favorite? My least favorite is when the protag gets pregnant and the whole story is just fucked after that because it just doesn't interest me. It's just so unoriginal and a little predictable. Unpopular or popular opinion who cares, not every love story or romance ends with a baby or a pregnancy 🤷‍♀️. I'm down for a wedding that would be something fun to tackle in writing. No, really though, out of the listed, I'd say I don't care for fantasy.

16. What’s your favorite headcanon or trope? For semma related fic's stories, I like incorporating things such as emphasis on photographs, flashbacks to past events, and some other memories from their past relationships with one another or things we didn't get to see. For example, Emma had this little box with moments like movie ticket stubs, Sean's old denim jacket (before he started wearing hoodies), Emma's retired dolphin pants, obviously photographs, a few burned mix CDs, letters, and or notes passed from class, and more miscellaneous items.

As for Emma and Jay another Degrassi pairing I write often, for example, I like including a treehouse motif. It's a long story, but in my invented backstory for Jay, Connie (Fancy) is his mother, She left his father for Mr. Edwards (Darcy and Clare's father) she met at the strip club. They had an affair resulting in pregnancy so there's a drama with that. Obviously, Jay and Darcy clash (naturally) and act like they're not related at school is an arrangement beneficial to both for Darcy's popularity and Jay had a reputation to uphold and also there's Jay's young maybe five year old half-sister from Randall and Connie named Christina affectionately nicknamed Chrissy. Jay resents his mother for leaving their father and making this new family with these stuck-up people he seems to detest and what it did to his father who had fallen in a reclusive depression since their divorce.

Chrissy idolizes Jay and serves as an honorary shipper for Emma and Jay, and sometimes provides comic relief. At Jay's dad's house is where the treehouse comes in, and Jay's super attached to it and his father too who he is still close with. The treehouse is a special spot for Jay. He eventually brings Emma into his world and treehouse, and the setting symbolizes a lot in their relationship. All this lore was created long before Jay or Darcy had a canon backstory or last names purely based on speculation. There's also related Jay/Alex lore about their past relationship, invented things from their dysfunctional childhoods. I also have a host of headcanons for Emma, Manny, and JT's childhood memories growing up together.

For tropes, I dig the first love/true love, mutual pining, enemies to lovers, slow burns, and secret relationships/forbidden love is always fun to write. I recently attempted a fake dating story Faking It/(a03)

This all is a lot of fun to write. Thanks Emma! I hope you also like writing responses to these type of questions! I’m always available and down for more questions about fanfiction! 💌

[mcdbutgay]

i just remembered this blog existed… after like 3 months… haiii :3

[missmaywemeetagain]

PINK SCARF AND LIFE UPDATES

Hello my babies! I wanted to jump on and give you some updates since I know I’ve not been posting/responding much since PS ended…

The long and the short of it is that I’ve been rather overwhelmed. Life is being A LOT. One of my sisters is very, very ill with late stage cancer and we are currently gearing up for her to (hopefully) get a stem cell transplant within the next month. This process is very involved and complex and scary and it’s one of those things that could just as easily kill her as make her better. This coupled with the family dynamics involved as we all try to navigate the situation has been emotionally exhausting.

In addition to that, I started temping back at my old job a couple weeks ago which is not what I wanted to do, but I gotta pay the bills, but it means my time is more limited and I’m way tired cuz my stamina is for shit lol.

And whilst all that’s been happening, I did some research and discovered that there is no way I can publish Pink Scarf as is. *sobbing* Turns out after Elvis died, Tennessee had to create a law specifically for him to protect his rights and image posthumously. This includes using not just his image, but his name and likeness as well. All this meaning I could get sued if I publish, and I DEFINITELY do not want to invoke the wrath of EPE.

Needless to say, this made me very upset cuz I know how much y’all want Pink Scarf on your bookshelves.

HOWEVER, before we all slide into the pits of despair, I think I have come up with a bit of a solution/compromise. I’m planning to rework PS into something just slightly different, changing some things that make it too specific to Elvis. I’ll likely have to change the title, too. But the plot and much of the writing will stay the same. But at least this way, I can still get it out to y’all in paperback form! (And lord knows I certainly can’t help who y’all picture in your heads while you read, soooooo…😉)

I know this is disappointing, y’all, and I’m so sorry I can’t make PS happen in published form as is. I am hoping that this new version is good enough for y’all to still want, and I’m gonna make it the best I can for ya. Honestly, I am thinking having something really close is better than having nothing at all. And of course, PS will still be online in its original form, so it’s not going away!

So, in the midst of all this insanity, I’ve started working on this newer version which is a project in its own right, but it’s taking time and my energy has been zapped with everything that’s going on. 💗🧣💗

For those who have asked about if there are any new Elvis fics in the works, the short answer is yes! I have a post-army fic that I am verrrrryyy slowly working on. The vibe is different from Pink Scarf (more of a slow burn), but I hope y’all will still enjoy it!

Anyway, thank you as always for your support and I’m sorry I haven’t delved into answering all your wonderful asks and comments. I very much appreciate them, I’m just a bit depleted at the moment. I’m still lurking around, just maybe not as active for the time being. But maybe I could jump on Discord or something next weekend if that would be fun for people!

Love ya always 💗🧣💗

Madisyn 💜

[itsdappleagain]

1-10!

:D

1) Who is your favorite character to write for and is this the character you find easiest to write for?

I love writing for Carmen if it wasn't clear already. She comes easily to me and its easiest too put her in scenarios tm. I actually don't often write for others but I really want to experiment with it.

2) What is your favorite fic of yours?

Hmmm. Good question and one I'm not sure I know the answer to. I like Upon the Sword, and I also really like a few of the shorter ones like the cardinal and the kitten and and the world was framed with red. currently a few wips are occupying my headspace as well

3) What fic of yours do you think is underrated?

uhhh and the world was framed with red I guess. I'm happy with all of my fics though. i think i could have made that one more engaging and have better street appeal tho

4) What fic of yours were you surprised by how popular it was?

well, I started out writing on wattpad- I posted two chapters of a fic and came back months later (i forgot lol) to a bunch of requests for me to continue. that really surprised me, and the relative popularity of upon the sword and love, carmen surprised me there too.

5) Do you like one shots or multi-chapters?

I like both but I usually do multi-chapters :D

6) Do you outline your fics? If so, how?

very, very chaotic bullet point lists usually. I will generally jot down an idea I have and if its lucky ill come and write down some base plot points. from there i'll usually fill in points for an "arc" and then set off (or start the fic and then fill in the plot...more usually. oops). one time for i think hearts and stars i did a full 20+ page document full of character outlines, motivations, emotions, and relationships with others plus plot, character goals, brainstorming, notes, title ideas, tons of blurbs, scene ideas, and even a mini screenplay format scene which i eventually added back in.

7) How do you edit your fics? What do you look for in your edits?

I usually write chunks at a time and when I start a new writing section I read the entire thing over and edit what doesn't read correctly for me. If something doesn't work and its a really big mistake I either ignore it (wow such writer lol) or entirely rework the plot to fix it lmao

8) Do you take inspiration from real life? If so how do you incorporate it into your fics?

Uhh sometimes, yes. It sort of depends on what you mean- when I get injured, I take pictures of the blood or bruises for future reference. I write detailed synopses of pain and unique traumatic medical experiences, plus any depressive or anxious episodes I may go through. Uhmm lets see...I do a lot of research for some bits of the story and I'm often inspired by other things. they help me incorporate a sense of emotion and some realism. i also take inspiration from romantic body language I see portrayed in real life and media because I have 0 experience in that department

9) Do you visualize scenes in your head before you write them? (Can you picture the setting, character body language etc)

oh GOSH yes. currently for say you'll share with me one love one lifetime the scene I have planned for the (eventual) chapter 3 has been runnign through my mind for...maybe months. I plan out a basic action first, usually- in this case a specific consequence of carmne's injury and build a scene around it- who, where, the reaction, the aftermath, how to make it gayer, and how to make it tie in with everything else.

10) How do you feel about writing plot, setting/description, inner thoughts, dialogue?

hate plot honestly. could do without it, but you cant is the thing so i usually wing it (im trying to get better lol). i thrive on setting and description, LOVE that shit. inner thoughts are very fun to do and I like trying to weave a lot of emotion in there. dialogue is...ok. usually i feel a bit awkward with it unless I really get lucky (like a bit of dialogue I feel pretty proud of is the scene in hearts and stars where ivy asks carmen why she doesn't see herself as a person in chapter 11 and i think that confidence is reflected in my reader's reactions from what I've seen :3)

thank you for the ask jo!

[isa-ghost]

any tips on making ocs?

Just some kinda obvious ones and ones from my decade's worth of experience, yep.

Don't rip off canon media characters ("mary sues").

Don't rip off other peoples OCs.

Don't just take an irl person/their face and make them "a character" that's fucking creepy.

DO NOT. STEAL. ART. AND CALL IT YOUR OC. If you want a visual of your OC but can't make one yourself, use a picrew (don't claim its your art) or commission an artist, have a written description of your OC with as much detail as possible so the artist can create something for you that's super accurate. They will appreciate the detail, trust me.

Don't make a racist caricature or otherwise be offensive. (Stereotypes are okay, HARMFUL stereotypes are not. Do research or ask people from [insert group] about whether or not something might be harmful)

Don't make them overpowered or invincible, that's boring. Balance any magical abilities they have. Balancing and making drawbacks to some stronger abilities can be really fun. It adds spice to your character.

DO YOUR RESEARCH ON NECESSARY THINGS (ie: mental illness, types of trauma, races, LGBT+ identities, etc)

You're not required to have a huge array of diversity in your characters. That's fun, it's good, but it's not mandatory. Don't let anyone whine at you about it. You'll open up your range over time when you're ready. And regardless of how diverse your characters are, there's nothing fucking wrong with having a cishetallo white boy character too- the internet is just full of pissbabies.

KNOW THE LORE if the character is an insert into a canon media.

If you're gonna ship with canon characters, pay attention to ages (I personally Strongly Dislike x canon stuff but I'm not gonna invalidate people who like it. ALTHOUGH, if the canon character is a real person/actor, maybe refrain. If I was that person I'd be weirded out to see myself shipped with someone's OC)

You don't need everything about your OC figured out from the get-go, developing them happens over time and that's the fun part. My most developed OCs have grown gradually over the span of a literal decade. And you can always retcon/rewrite/rework lore you make up too. If you find it cringe as you get older or discover something that doesn't work, etc, go ahead and redo it. Fresh is fun!

You don't need to write or roleplay to develop them but that's (imo) the best way to do it, and the most fun way

When making villains, its okay to give them problematic characteristics, but don't excuse those things.

For now that's all I can think of. Other OC owners please don't add to this, a lot of tips can be a matter of opinion and I don't want d/iscourse happening on a fucking tip post. You CAN reblog the post though.

[borbersk]

reblogging because i’m not sure if i’m not supposed to reblog stuff just to add the type of comment i’m about to make

Ok, yes. This is a good insight, and I'm glad to see people coming up with new spins on something that's frequently just used as "human, but also feral and hungry". That said, I think more important than new interpretations of these types of things is more original monsters. For example, morality and self image are addressed in the picture of dorian grey, the part about society fearing you has been done with witches and monster/human hybrids, but not done well; finding your true self involves a whole thing that I'll talk about in a sec. My point (and I'm aware that I'm not making it very well) is that original monsters have so much more kick to them. It's not as fun if we already know the rules.

now. finding your true self: imagine you wake up one day a little stiff, but otherwise ok. you get up, stretch out, and go off to your designated job as a basket weaver in your small socialist community. you spend the day making baskets to carry and store grain, and handing them off to people who need them so they can do their jobs in the fields, since theirs are the baskets that break the most often. you’ve done this job for years, and you know everyone in your little hamlet. you smile at them and nod, ad you usually do, but for some reason everyone seems to be in a hurry to move on. you’re slightly offended, but you swallow it and go home to your husband and child. your husband asks if you’re ok, and your child seems scared of you. you argue with your husband, and it gets heated. you end up sleeping in your work station that night. the next day, people are whispering and pointing at you. you’re starting to get more and more worried. you’ve known these people your whole life. they keep the village running. you rely on them from safety. you don’t want to fall out with them

this continues over the course of a few weeks. you have no idea why they’re acting like this, and it keeps getting worse. you feel more and more estranged, and begin to lash out. eventually, one night, the villagers strap you to a post on a pyre, and light it. you thrash, and curse them. your mandibles champ, ang you reach out with your long, spindly arms... your... those aren’t your arms. what’s happening!? you’re just a normal basket maker... maybe... maybe this is why they all shunned you. maybe this is why you ate all those children. maybe this is why you’ve felt like such a stranger. because you are one. as your ill-fitting facial skin melts away, revealing your true face beneath, you scream at them. some mothers shield their children. the ones with no children left hurl stones and insults. it takes hours before you finally lose consciousness, but you don’t mind. you’ll slip away when they’ve all left and try again somewhere else.

someday you’ll find a home

(P.S. this was a first draft, and i’m tired. please don’t criticise the writing too harshly, the point is that hey! here’s a new monster!) and i’m an idiot, so of course the only thing i could think of was some sort of changeling type thing. think about what someone with a different perspective and a better brain could do with this idea! it could be worked and reworked more times than the werewolf if it had to be. so go out into the interweb, find some disturbing art or real life animal (i based this one on a parasite found in praying mantises), and make some lore, damnit! P.P.S. sorry for the long reply. i’ma just go to bed now. thanks for reading this far

werewolves are the best because they can be about womanhood or transness or morality or self-image or any type of Otherness. alienation. being afraid of yourself. society being afraid of you. finding your true self. becoming free.

[donnerpartyofone]

eh.

What a time this is. I hardly know how to feel about it. Ironically, I think this is happening to me because a few years ago, Tumblr flagged my blog as explicit. I didn’t do anything about it because, while it was annoying and inaccurate, it didn’t make any difference to me. I didn’t even really think about the consequences of it. Now I suspect that Tumblr is using that explicit flag (among other insanities) to easily identify blogs to be shadow banned. I might have gotten pinched some other way eventually--perhaps by the same mechanism that deleted every video I posted of my gecko, and then sent me scolding emails about distributing obscenity--but now I find myself thinking, “First they came for me, and I did not speak out, because I just, like, didn’t really give a shit!”

I’m happy to see so many of my pals on Instagram already, and a little annoyed by the feeling that I have to learn to like Twitter. I’m skeptical of the alternative platforms people are talking about, like Pillowfort, probably just because they sound cute and I wasn’t too attracted to the cuteness of Ello. But maybe it would be fun to load one of those places up with all of the content we’re all frantically exporting from Tumblr? It could be cool to see everybody’s old school content that’s been lost to the fog of memory.

While I’m waiting for my blog to finish backing up, and steeling myself for the possibility that whatever it finally spits out will be missing tons of posts anyway, I’m thinking about what this all means to me. If I had the ability to port my entire blog over to another platform (I haven’t decided whether I’m desperate enough to actually pay for Wordpress, which offers that option), then it would be pretty simple--I wouldn’t have to see any of what I’ve done these last eight-ish years, but I could still ~have~ it. I started using Tumblr in my late 20s, which was a pretty dark time for me. The new way of expressing myself that I found here, and all the amazing friends I made, were a big help to me when I was in an intensely abusive relationship, barely managing an untreated mental illness that I didn’t understand yet, and still struggling to “find myself” or something. The positive impact of my Tumblr experience on my survival, my taste, my sense of humor, all kinds of shit, is inestimable. But at the same time, do I really want to see the person I was again? I don’t love the idea of losing everything I’ve done all these years, but if I had to save it all individually, looking directly at each bad joke and pithy thought and embarrassingly overworked prose and familiarly stylized image, would I? Mightn’t it be better to just cover my eyes and plug my ears, and pretend I don’t notice that it’s all sliding off the edge of a cliff into the void?

Like, I don’t know if I would have done a fraction of the post-collegiate writing that I've done if it weren’t for Tumblr. I probably turned out a couple hundred pages of memoir and film analysis and ranting and (truly valuable) self-reflexion that are at least occasionally interesting, or at the *very* least, funny. I co-ran a blog devoted to getting people to draw even when they didn’t think they could, or didn’t feel motivated, but just wanted someone to give them a reason. I mean, maybe I would have been driven to this work without Tumblr, but the truth is that Tumblr has inspired me every day. My shrink asked me what I’m always trying to get out of this platform, and I didn’t really know how to answer that question, except to say that when I work up a sweat writing some long crazy thing here, I feel enormously satisfied and relieved in some way when I post it, even if I know for a fact that only a couple of my most devoted friends will even notice it.

I changed a lot while I was here. Not just because I was literally growing up, late bloomer that I am, but being able to see this record of what I was doing, and simultaneously being exposed to what others were up to, really helped me evolve. I went from learning to enjoy my own vanity, to being able to put away my fear of looking ugly, and from showing off the best art I'd ever made, to feeling free to make bad art as long as I was still making something. As an ASD person with high social anxiety, I don’t do well at parties, but Tumblr gave me this beautiful opportunity to talk to all kinds of different people, about all kinds of things, and those people often asked me questions about myself that I had never even considered before. Of course this place can be an insulting mess, but also, people have been really, really incredibly kind to me, for no apparent reason other than that they wanted to. A lot of them are people I probably never would have met for any other reason; people I really fucking treasure.

I’m trying to look at this as an opportunity, in some ways. Like, I don’t think I really like the way that I write, but I sure like to do it! I’d been thinking for a while, should I have made more of a push, when I was younger, to publish? To “put myself out there” and “make a career out of it”? I still think, not really, but it’s hard to say, because the instant gratification of posting to Tumblr made me pretty uncurious about the potential benefits of going out into the world and seeking my proverbial fortune, entering into the competition of daily life, clawing my way toward some more recognizable achievement. Lately, I began to imagine printing a zine of my film writing--which would give me a change to rework a lot of that early tortured bullshit--and maybe including some drawings. I could probably even meet new people through such a thing, professional contacts maybe. (By “professional” I hardly mean anything smarter than like, Fangoria or something of that order, but that would be a big deal for me probably) But now that Tumblr is making itself increasingly frustrating to use in even the most innocent way, and now that I might have to move as much as I can over to a new platform, that could be an interesting chance to review what I’ve done right and wrong over the years, to say “I don’t want to do it this way anymore/I want to do it this way from now on.” I never even cared that much about improving before. I tend to think of competition as being an outlet for the chronically insecure, people who need to compare themselves to others in order to feel like there’s any meaning to their lives. It’s a vestigial impulse, I really believe that commercial and athletic and sexual competition just compensates for the obsolescence of survival in the wilderness...but uh anyway, maybe after sequestering myself in the semi-private masturbatorium that is Tumblr all these years, I could stand to be thrown out into the street to find my fortune?

So I don’t really know what to say now. I’m not quitting just yet, but I’m also not fighting my shadow ban. It’s just so stupid, and there’s so obviously no saving this place. I’m sticking around for now, but I’m going to start crossposting with a dang old blogspot: https://donner-partyofone.blogspot.com and I’ll make it clear when I’m starting to seriously add content over there. Hopefully some folks will find it interesting, and I hope those folks will also tell me if they take their business somewhere outside Tumblr. See you in the funny papers.

[aroworlds]

Aro-Spec Artist Profile: Luthyx

Our next aro-spec creator is @luthyx​, who also goes by Petrichlorine and MUSE-42. They’re better known on this blog for sharing snippets from an in-progress work called Sanction the Skies, celebrating all things a-spec and dragon!

Luthyx is a transmasculine, agender aro-ace creative with mental illnesses, specialising in speculative fiction and digital art, the latter both original and fancontent (primarily for How to Train Your Dragon). You can find their gorgeous art on their DeviantArt account and their writing at @sanctiontheskies​, currently featuring artwork, maps and a wealth of worldbuilding and characterisation teasers. Lastly, if you enjoy Flight Rising, you can check out their dragons under the name Luthyx!

With us Luthyx talks their confidence in their aromanticism, the need to live an authentic life on their terms, the way their characters and worlds become part of them, and writing spec fic as an aro. Their determination to craft and make as they need sparkles in every word and dragon scale, so please let’s give them all our love, encouragement, gratitude, kudos and follows for taking the time to explore what it is to be aromantic and creative.

Can you share with us your story in being aro-spec?

My tale is a fairly straightforward one. By the time I was of the age that most people started experiencing their first crushes, I’d moved to a different state and begun taking an online school, free of the peer pressure that lies ever-present in most traditional classrooms.

Even then, as I began to develop my skills and passion for writing, I’d already begun to see the influence of the omnipresent Romantic Subplot. It was everywhere: books, film, music, poems. I couldn’t so much as flip on the radio without hearing a disillusioned, autotuned cry for help healing a broken heart. I hated it. I still do.

It quickly became apparent to me that I wasn’t like the others. Every once and a while, my mom would drag me to her church, where I’d be forced to endure the company of undisciplined tween boys and catty, Twilight-obsessed girls. It was the girls especially that caught my attention: the sheer passion and fervency with which they discussed who they found hot, what Hogwarts house they were in, and their critiques and praise of The Hunger Games. I found it absurd to objectify people, fantasy or real, like that.

I think this was probably about the time I began to realize that I was agender, too, but that’s a story for another day. Thankfully, I’d already become a headstrong, independent teenager, and I was proud to say that I was different, that my interests were in something that, in my head, was much more important and much more intense than those of others my age.

I can’t recall the first time I heard the term aromantic or the first day that I applied it to myself. I think, deep down, I always knew, and I’ve always been astoundingly proud of it. To me, romance isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of things, but just another life experience I haven’t had, like owning fourteen chihuahuas or going on a warm summer vacation to the Middle East. Not everybody wants to experience those things, and society is completely fine with it - I see no reason as to why they should feel differently about romantic relationships, but I suppose they do. Dealing with the fallout of that bias is their problem.

I am me, and the me I know will not be held down by stereotypes, will not conform to any sort of life script I am handed, will not feel sorrow or remorse for a single experience lost. I’m here for a good time, and my idea of a good time involves doing what I love. Romance is not on that list.

Can you share with us the story behind your creativity?

My creative streak started young. For as long as I’ve known it, I’ve been drawing characters and writing stories. Mind you, the first stories were about Littlest Pet Shop figures and were written with the help of my parents, but it was a start nonetheless. Art, in its many different forms, has always been my form of self-expression. I often wandered off into my imaginary world when I got bored, and when I went to sleep every night, I’d often spend hours just imagining characters doing as they do before drifting off to sleep. I still do that every night - like clockwork.

I think it was when I was in my early teens - thirteen or fourteen, maybe - that I decided I wanted to be a writer. I recall turning to my mother one night and saying, “I wish I could write a book,” still believing that I was too young to attempt such a thing yet. “Nobody says you can’t do it right now!” were the words she gave back to me, and then off I started.

The project I started then is one that’s still ongoing now - a series of books I call Sanction the Skies, featuring dragons, wars, and a good hunk of divine intervention. I’ve worked and reworked it ever since that fateful day, improving the lore, changing the characters, watching my perspective of them evolve and change alongside me. They are a part of me, through and through.

It hasn’t been the easiest journey, but I’m still chipping away at it, ever-determined. It’s been doubly hard to follow my dream because of all of the messages about how impossible it is to be a writer in this day and age, and that you can’t do it without a well-paying side job. My stubborn self says, “To hell with you!” and works on it anyway. I want to write, to draw, to forge, to craft, and the world be damned if it tries to stand in my way.

Are there any particular ways your aro-spec experience is expressed in your art?

The only way it’s expressed is in my writing, where almost all of my characters are explicitly aro. The Romantic Subplot is a tiresome, often badly-done trope, and I’d like to steer away from it altogether. I want to show that a friendship is not worth less than a romance, and that a good story can still be told without the boy getting the girl - or the girl getting the girl for the sake of progressiveness.

What challenges do you face as an aro-spec artist?

Honestly? Not much, at least not yet. I think I may face a bit of pushback in the future because my novel features no romance, but overall, I’ll probably be fine in that regard.

How do you connect to the aro-spec and a-spec communities as an aro-spec person?

I rarely connect with them at all, honestly. Most of the discussion I see is either people screaming about amatonormativity or people asking, “Am I asexual/aromantic if…?” Alternatively, there’s people discussing their experience being partially a-spec or aro-spec, none of which I can relate to. All I want is a place to revel in my identity, to be able to talk about anything BUT romance, to form strong friendships.

Sometimes it hurts me to think that the friends I have now will soon find romantic partners, and I’ll be left behind in the dust as a third wheel. I hope my friends won’t do that, that perhaps I can still make myself heard - but who knows? I’ve had no luck with finding any other aro-spec people in my region at all, unfortunately, so the internet is all I’ve got in that regard. I’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds!

How do you connect to your creative community as an aro-spec person?

I find I connect somewhat decently. I write fantasy and sci-fi, which generally seem to be more acceptable genres to have a lack of romance, especially when a pair of dragons are the main characters. It is alienating from many fandoms, though, because they often focus so much on the romantic partnerships and shipping. Almost every blocked tag in my dash concerns ships, kissing, hugging, romance, children, and anything related to those.

Can you share with us something about your current project?

Ohoho, this is a fun one! Well, right now, I’m working on re-writing Chapter One for the trillionth time after giving the town it takes place in a complete and utter overhaul. I’m also working on making a short comic that takes place in the universe of the book but is unrelated to the main plot, though it features characters and locations that may be explored in future books. I want to do the comic in the hopes of gaining some traction and interest in the books, since I’m rather horrible at advertising at the moment.

Have you any forthcoming works we should look forward to?

Again, the comic! It’s about a con artist who incurs the wrath of the demigodess of misfortune after a con resulted in the death of a sick hatchling. There’s also some stuff with an ancient, precursor species of dragons and one of their final remaining sanctuaries.

[thelibraryatgatsbys]

Here we have a story that I started recently.

I'm probably not going to finish it. It's called Sonic Boom, and I don't know why I started it, it never really made me happy to write.

(also, since it's unedited, it has "elephants" in it to mark where I wanted to change something/wanted to summarize something and come back to go into detail later)

Elephant: make it so the aliens wanted to kind of keep their visit on the down low, so they could just come, have fun, and not arouse a government after them.

Soleil checked her compass again, making sure she was still headed due east. The valley outside of town was overgrown, filled with tumbled over, half rotted logs from the old building projects long since abandoned. It held a charm in the daylight, but it was just spooky at night, in the mist.

She had been to this place often, but in foggy conditions a compass never hurt anyone. She clambered up onto one of the logs, plotting her path up the steep incline, before beginning. Sometimes she had to jump from log to log, sometimes scramble up wet dirt and leaves, and sometimes edge along creaking branches until the top of the hill came into view.

It could almost be counted as a cliff, but not quite.

Sitting in the pine needles at the edge, she looked into the valley below her, where the usual Saturday crowd gathered around the big tree.

Every kid, 10 through 20 knew about this place. It was miraculous this place was safe for ten year olds, most teen hangouts weren't, but there was something about this place that kept people kind. People looked out for each other in here.

She trotted down the hill towards the huge oak tree with a campfire a few feet from the base, repositioning her backpack. The clearing was fenced with thick blackberry and pieces of discarded wood and plastic from town. A few picnic tables and benches littered the clearing, with two fire pits. The oak tree held half a dozen treehouses, two of which had roofs and could act like houses in a pinch.

She waved to one of the kids at the fire, who saved back.

"Hey, Sully!" The kid said.

"What's up Vinny?"

"Not much is up with me, but Ed needs to see you. He told me to tell you when I saw you."

She frowned. When Ed wanted you, there was normally something wrong.

"Well, I'll see you round, then, Vinny. Take care."

Vinny saluted, grinning.

Into the many tree houses, she climbed towards the one at the top, the most elaborate one, the common haunt of her good friend Edward, the scientist.

He kept track of it all. If there was something you needed to know, from cryptozoology to history to aesthetics to Mario Kart strategies, he knew it. And he had a good bit of it recorded in his diaries. What a weirdo. She loved him.

Inside, she found him staring intently out his telescope.

"What's up, Eddie?"

He looked up, nervous.

"Well, come see for yourself."

She shrugged, stealing around piles of books.

Looking in the telescope, she didn't immediately see something wrong but then it caught her eye. A bright green spot in the center of Orion's belt.

"What does it mean?" She asked?

"Well, it doesn't mean iminent doom, don't worry, but... I can't say I know exactly what it is."

"So like...."

"It's not an asteroid or something that's going to strike the earth. It's getting closer to us, but it's slowing down at a rate that if it hit Earth at all, it wouldn't hurt us."

"Well that's good. Do you have any theories?"

"Well, yeah, but it's kinda dumb."

She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.

"No it isn't. You figured this out before any of the nasa people did, your idea about what it is isn't dumb."

Ed rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, it kinda seems like.. A ship."

"Like, aliens?"

"Yeah. I think that thing is aliens."

"That is so, so cool. You think they're coming here?"

"Well they're on a direct tragectory course for earth. Probably."

(ELEPHANT: this story is gonna be tough cuz it's the 'independant kids doing their own thing but with their parents' support 2000s era w/ whole computer labs and stuff outta bedrooms. Y'know, the stuff you never did cuz you were busy being feral in the woods. It'll take some effort to make this feel natural)

"Alright, so we might meet aliens in a while. How long till they get here?"

"This is the first night I've observed them, so I'll have to take some more calculations. But, given the rate of size increase based on tonight's observations alone, I'd say... Maybe a week."

Soleil smiled, pushing the hair out of her face.

"A week. Gonna maybe meet aliens in a week. That is so cool, Ed. You're so cool."

"Uhh, well, th-thank you! You're cool too!"

Two days later, Soleil got a call from Ed smack dab in the middle of telephone hour. She was on the phone with Darby, who was

discussing the dance from last week, the nerd con coming up, some new kittens, etc. She was expecting a call from Rin in a couple minutes, and was working on a mutual coding project over a chat

room on some server on her computer when the line in the dining room rang. Nobody ever called the dining room phone unless it was important, and nobody ever answered the dining room phone buy

her. Darby was wrapping up anyway, so she said a giggly goodbye and hung up, heading curiously to the dining room.

On the other end, Ed's voice was excited.

"We were right! We were right, it's allens!"

"Yo, that's amazing! How can you tell?"

"W-well, they talked to me."

She stared at the roof, dumbfounded.

"Well," He continued, "not to me specifically, but to the people of earth. And since I'm the only one listening, I heard jt! They said they came in peace."

"Pfft well I should hope so. Do they have a mission or something?"

"That's why I'm calling you. They wanna know stuff about earth.

They're landing to observe earth for a while. We're video calling tonight, and I wanted you to be there. Come to my house at 7:45, there'll be a few other kids there, but not many. Some trusted fellow

scientists. Will you come?"

"Oh yeahl I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll wear some nice clothes."

"Thanks Sully, I can't wait to see you there."

The call ended, and she did a little happy dance. Aliens. Real aliens.

And a nerd party. She didn't know which one was better.

That evening, she walked through the suburb towards the DeLorean house in a light blue skirt with puffy sleeves and jeans with flowers emproidered on them.

A few of the nerds were standing out in the yard, with capri suns, discussing nerd things.

Ed opened the door when she knocked, ushering her in with a smile.

"Thanks again for coming, Sully, this is going to be great."

"You know it."

They hung out for about half an hour until 7:40 rolled around, when they and the assembly of kid scientists moved to Ed's room.

He turned on the TV, messing with the large computer and keyboard beside it, until the screen buzzed to life.

They waited in an eager silence for the clock to strike 7:45.

Suddenly, the fuzz on the screen cleared, showing the insides of a ship.

The aliens were adorable. They looked mammalian, and their body looked like a cross between a meercat and a swan, with a smart head sitting atop am elegantly curved neck. Their bodies long but compact, with two pairs of both arms and legs, with tufts of dull orange fur over the elbows, knees, knuckle, chest, ears, and a tuft on the tail. They had no nose other than two slits, and their eyes were big, red, trusting and inquisitive. (ELEPHANT: LOOK OVER THE DESCRIPTION OF THE ALIEI wasNS BETTER, MAYBE REWORK IT)

"Greetings, human, we meet face to face at last." The one facing them directly said, his voice like helium. He sounded as though he were very excited, but was trying to hide it to be professional.

"Greetings, my friend. My name is Edward DeLorian, and these are my friends/colleagues."

"I am Hilarion, and these are my classmates. We have been sent from our home planet for our first unchaperoned school trip, and we request permission to visit Earth."

"Are you sure Earth is the safest place to visit?"

"Indeed. Extensive tests on our world's show that there is nothing there capable of harming us."

Soleil muttered, "wow," under her breath, before Edward continued."

"I don't know if I can give you permission, I'm not in charge."

"Well it's your planet, right? According to our laws, any lawful citizen of the planet that has not committed major criminal activity and harbors no ill will against the chancellor may give an alien permission to land. Is that the way it is there?"

The humans muttered to each other, trying to decide how to answer. Finally, Soleil spoke.

"Since it's rare we get alien visitors, we don't have a real rule about how they should land. But the way you have described things leads me to believe it would be perfectly fine for you to land here. Is there an adult that you can contact and vouch for you if something does go wrong?"

"Indeed, we can contact any of our parents at any time."

"Excellent. I'll allow mr. Edward to continue discussing from here."

Ed mouthed "thank you" to Sully before continuing.

"A-ah yes, you'll need a place to land, right?"

"Yes. We'd like to meet you, so we request permission to land near your current location."

"Granted. There is a large abandoned field that should be big enough."

"Hmm, ok, we're locked onto your location now and... Alright, yes, I see the field you mean. That will work splendidly. At our current rate of acceleration, we will arrive in five earth days roughly."

"Ok, that sounds just fine. Is there anything we can assist you with?"

"At this moment, no. I must thank you, Edward and company, for being so helpful with this. We look forward to meeting you soon."

The scientists smiled and nodded, remaining professional until the call ended, when they all screamed in excitement.

A similar thing happened aboard the spaceship. As soon as the call ended, the fluffy creatures lept from their seats, buzzing around the room, making excited, happy chittering noises.

Hilarion and his littermate, Gi, danced around each other.

They were going to meet real live humans in five days.

"How was your day, sweetie?" Soleil's mom asked as she set a plate of mashed potatoes on the table.

Sully scooped up an eye raising amount of mashed potatoes, with a bit of chicken and steamed vegetables to go with it.

"It was good. Like I said yesterday, we talked to Aliens, and they're coming earth to learn stuff. As long as it's ok, the scientists and I are going to camp out behind the baseball park for the next four to five days so we can make sure we welcome them to earth. Is it ok if I do that?"

"Of course, kiddo, you pack a mean punch, I bet you'll be fine."

Her mother whirled, giving her father "the look."

Dad looked up from his book.

"What I mean she does."

" What your father means is yes, you may. As long as you are with other people that we've met and there's a phone somewhere around, you can stay out in the field."

"Aww, thanks mama! Hey, would you two like to come with us?"

Her mother looked at her, considering.

"Out in... The brush. For several days. To see... Aliens."

"Well, maybe you could just tag along with me the night they show up. That way you don't have to spend so much time outdoors."

Her mother nodded, looking at her father, who smiled and nodded as well.

"We'll be there, kiddo." Her dad said.

The next day, Soleil stood, hands in pockets, in front of a brownstone house in the city. She was in need of the services of the occupant's son. This was the Rodger household, where the ever mysterious Rabbit lived. Rabbit, who's read name was probably Chad but never told anyone, was a 17 year old working from home, in the possession of a truck, which Soleil hoped to aquire the services of.

It was always hot in the city, so she took her hands out of her pockets. She wore a neon yellow tank top with an elephant on it, and some cargo shorts, and was still too hot. She put up with a flannel around her waist, since it would be cold that evening. The summer light filtered in from between the buildings and trees, in a beautiful way that only summer could manage.

Inside, she heard someone stomping down the stairs, and the door opened.

And again, there was about no way his real name wasn't Chad. Baggy pants, orange t-shirt over a white long sleeved shirt, perfect, bleached blond hair, and the most amazing sunglasses ever. Something straight out of star trek.

"W'sah little dude?"

"Quite a bit, actually, but it's somewhat confidential. Are you still offering taxi services?"

"'course."

"How much would it be to privately taxi say, a dozen ner- erh, scientists to and from the suburb for four days?"

"'bout a hundred bucks, I guess. Them lil scientists planning a mad scientist con someplace?"

"That'd be fun. We should do that someday, but for now, until you're on board with the project, I can't spill a word."

Rabbit considered.

"Done. For a big project, I take 25% up front."

"Naturally."

She fished the money out of her flannel pocket, handing it over.

"Meet me in an hour at the DeLorean household. That's 1503 Duck Street."

"Sure thing, lil dude. The truck's got seating for 8, if we're trynna keep the law."

"Oh, certainly. "

On schedule, Rabbit turned up on the front steps an hour later, as the gaggle of 10-14 year olds with camping gear prepared to pile into the truck bed, which was converted into a miniature seating area that could hold 6 people with plenty of footspace. They decided to go six at a time, saving cab space for more camping gear.

Two trips, a long winded explanation of the project, and dozens of bad jokes later, Ed and one other scientist, a black haired girl named Daisy, were trying to make a fire at the chosen campground. The mobile lab was set up nicely behind them, and Soleil pulled a cooler out of the back of the truck, putting it beside the fire pit.

They were tucked in between a big oak tree and the tall net that kept stray baseballs in the ballpark next door, with town just barely visible. The grass in most of the field was tall and unkempt, but under the trees it was almost nonexistent.

Soleil watched them struggle with the fire for a couple of minutes, before offering assistance.

Rabbit walked over to the now burning fire, hands in pockets.

"So, dudes, you need any like... Adult supervision up in here? Cuz... I'm not busy, and this sounds super fun, so like. I. Could stay here if you want."

Soleil looked up, sly.

"How much?"

"Well I guess this time it can be free, I mean... Major scientist bivouacs can be exempt."

She glanced at Ed, who was smiling.

"Of course you can stay."

And so the group settled in for the night. Rabbit produced an electric guitar, realizing too late to save face that he couldn't use it without, well... *Electricity*.

(ELEPHANT: they agree on location and time, and then the humans recruit an older kid with a truck to drive them around and get stuff set up. Sully invites her parents, and they agree to come. Edward invites his parents, and they say they wish they could come, but there is s shallow spot in the fabric of reality and they need to be on guard against it. A scene where him and his dad have a small heart to heart about how his parents love him and respect his work, but need to work on other stuff. Good messages, y'know.

The night before the aliens arrive, the scientists, Sully, a few other kids, Sully's parents, and the truck boys, are in the field, and have a sleepover. The aliens *should* appear tomorrow night, but there's no perfect guarantee, so someone is guarding their little camp 24/7 for the next couple days.

But the aliens arrive right on schedule, at night on Saturday.

Last line is "what should we do first?")

[bekindandsmile]

EP Production Plan Draft

*still working out Birth (00:00) Growth (02:33) Love (06:38) Hate (09:15) Passenger (12:30) Lost (17:00) Death (20:41)

Here is a sketch of the EP

EQUANIMITY EP

Equanimity is a fast-paced, infinite looping, experimental, concept EP.  

Birth is about our character being born into this world

Growth follows our character as he grows and learns all the fears and delights of life*

Love is about our character falling in love* 

Hate is about our character being abused by his mentally ill father and being conflicted about the relationship

Passenger is about our character being dissociative and living in a constant auto-pilot mode*

Lost follows our character as he deals with the existential questions of Who? What? Where? When? Why? And How?

Death is about our character pondering the concept of death*

Story Notes: (((WRITE A CLEAR STORY FIRST INSTEAD OF WRITING LYRICS THAT FIT THE VIBE))) Elaborate more on Growth Make Love more interesting Elaborate more/maybe think of a new idea for Passenger (maybe even scrap this one and use the riffs and ideas elsewhere) Get a clearer idea of what you want Death to be about. Do you want it to involve our character dying our just talking about the concept of death or even both?

Music Notes: Lost is the strongest track and is the main sound every song needs to be transformed into. On a scale of strongest to weakest songs: *has the potential Lost, Birth, Death* Hate, Growth, Love, Passenger Birth: needs to be more triumphant, more in-your-face “ARE YOU READY FOR THIS EP!?!?” This is a good example. Do not fade in the song. Growth: needs to be cut short. Definitely take out about a minute and a half of the middle section. Too repetitive, needs new ideas added. Love: completely scrap the hip-hop/nu-metal sections and replace it with more upbeat, surfy, “clapclap clap” vibes and fun-loving, cheesy Beach Boys harmonies. Hate: bones are complete. Maybe trying experimenting with a swing on the first half of the breakdown before going into a slower tempo straight chug. Passenger: see what happens when remaking it. If it’s crap then scrap. Could potentially turn into a chill, fast-paced, interlude that could be a nice breather. before getting back into it. If so, you’d might have to swap track position with Hate because 3 songs, 1 interlude, 3 songs aesthetic. Lost: bones are complete. Make better transitions. Add/elaborate on more riffs. Death: Get more of a clear idea of what you want musically with this one. Has potential to be crazy. Do not have the song fade out, have it successfully and fluently loop back around to Birth. Most of the songs need more percussion and synthesisers, all songs need to be reworked to fluently flow with each other.

Other Notes: Aim for a 20 minutes or under EP. Don’t use too many breakbeats although it is mostly a DnB vibe. It is a bit of a risk putting all your high-intensity songs in one release so incorporate non-intense elements/sections so when Release 2 comes around it doesn’t seem like a completely different band. Name and compile certain riffs eg; the main riff in Growth is called ‘Learn’ and will be used in future songs whenever someone learns something (((REALLY THINK ABOUT IF PUTTING ALL YOUR HIGH-INTENSITY SONGS ON YOUR DEBUT RELEASE IS A SMART BUSINESS MOVE))) Pros & Cons: It’s your first official release - barely anybody is gonna hear it (P&C) Having your first release just follow one vibe could pigeon hole the perception of the bands aesthetic instead of putting out a release that showcases all the musical capabilities (C) but also not showing all your musical abilities straight away when potentially not a lot of people will hear it (P) ((think of more)) Production Plan: 1. Transcribe all guitar and bass parts in Guitar Pro/Sibelius export MIDI to Ableton 2. Program drums in Superior Drummer and export audio to Ableton 3. Use Shreddage III on the Guitar Pro MIDI and adjust the MIDI accordingly to the drum audio 4. Experiment with blending Shreddage II & Bass with Shreddage III to hopefully achieve a very huge and thick guitar sound 5. Record a live 12 string guitar and blend it with the midi guitar. The precision of the MIDI and sloppiness of my playing mixed with the cheaply made 12 string should create quite a unique and versatile timbre that fits in with both electronic and metal. 6. Use EZBass on the bass MIDI. Experiment with whether it needs to blend with a real bass or not. 7. Split the high and low bass signals. Boost the sub and sprinkle some crunch on the lows, put some high gain and maybe even an auto-filter or auto-wah on the highs. 8. Now that the bones are in place, delete the drum audio, open superior drummer in Ableton and write percussion and electronic drum parts in accordance to the acoustic drums. Avoid repetition and too many layers. If it doesn’t add anything, don’t use it. 9. Decide what synths will be used and write parts. Avoid too much WOB bass as it will get old. 10. Take session over to Logic to experiment with soundscapes, sound effects and binaural panning. 11. Record mock gibberish vocals. The rhythm and sound can help gage more of an idea on what to do vocally and lyrically. 12. Make a mic booth by parking the car in the garage, covering the windows with blankets/sound proofing so the sound doesn’t bounce weirdly and you can make as much noise without feeling embarrassed. 13. Write lyrics, record vocals and experiment with all sorts of effects, sounds and vocal styles 14. Listen on repeat for a few days to analyse it. Get feedback from people around you and compile a list 15. Fix the things on the list and start mixing and master. Learn more on how to do so. 16. Repeat 14. 17. Fix things on the list and test mix on monitors, studio headphones, AirPods, car speakers, Bluetooth speakers, TV. 18. Compile a list and fix said things. Get feedback from those who know more and have more experience. Compile final list. 19. Apply final touches and obtain reassurance that it’s fine and it doesn’t need anymore tweaking.   20. Remember to thank teachers when accepting Grammy and Platinum Record.

[extraneousdominomask]

Snap Revamps Sly 4′s Villains

Because you’re not allowed to critique things on the Internet without being able to suggest full, professional-standard alternatives to everything you dislike!

Nah, I’m kidding. I just thought this might make for an interesting post. Keeping the plot and the basic concepts the same, here’s how I would do things differently:

El Jefe

As I’ve stated, I really don’t have a problem with the bossman, so my modifications are light. The only major overhaul: he’s a leopard. Maybe he’s melanistic, making him a “black panther”, but normal leopards look great too. That decision would ultimately be down to the artists squeezing him into that snazzy military outfit. My... brain says his fire and lightning superpowers should really be explained, but my heart thinks it’s cooler that he just pulls a Col. Volgin and has them for No Reason. Let’s stick with that. Hard rule: no more slapping Murray hungrily on the ass. That’s... that’s a cut I, personally, would choose to make.

Toothpick

Again, I like Toothpick the way he is, and the fandom seems to agree. Much like his counterpart Tenny (mentally ill raccoon cowboy of my heart <3), Toothpick seems to be far and away the most popular of Sly 4′s villainous characters. I really want to stick to keeping species and nationality consistent. But here again, it’s head versus heart. I think both elements work well - an armadillo is an interesting design for a villain, especially in the Old West, while him being Eastern European adds a great layer of absurdity to his desire to be a cowboy, and keeps him from being too similar to Muggshot’s backstory. So I don’t know which bit I’d amend.  Toothpick’s beautiful just the way he is. Moving on.

The Grizz

Now I can sink my teeth in. Let’s fix this nonsense.  As I outlined in my rant about him, I’m disappointed in retrospect that they didn’t actually utilize “evil graffiti artist” to its full potential. That’s what I’d focus on. Make him a pretentious artíst(tm) who is so certain of the Importance of his Challenging Artistic Work that he has no idea how bland and uninteresting it really is. That’d be hilarious.  That rapper stuff?? ALL that rapper stuff?? Out the goddamn window as fast as it can go. Burn every page of the script he has lines on and start over. He can still be black, absolutely! Let’s just, y’know, have him talk in AAVE. Like an actual person, not a bizarre stereotype written by an out-of-touch comedy writer in 1988. And maybe he can be voiced by a black voice actor. I hear there’s at least one, somewhere. Finally, his boss fight should be totally overhauled as well. It’s still versus Murray, because Murray does deserve both an arc and a boss fight. But the stuff about ice skating is also out the window. Even if it ends up being “simple”, just Murray whaling on him like against Rajan, I think that’d be an improvement. Better to be simple and satisfying than gimmicky and irritating. It’s a hippo punching a bear. How can that be boring?! This stuff writes itself.

Penelope????

uh Well I think it’s... kinda cool that she created a new “The Black [Title]” persona? (Even if it was painfully transparent.) Girl has a favourite colour. But mostly the Penelope Twist(tm) and its implications are a whole other bucket of bolts. Maybe it deserves its own post. I feel like I can’t get into it here. Sticking to the plot as given, though, I guess I would lengthen her screentime to give more room to explain her motivations whatever the heck they even are. That, and make her more proactive. Really emphasize how she’s a threat. I mean, Toothpick does more to impede the Cooper Gang than she does, and she’s a ruthless genius that knows exactly how they operate. I keep coming back to this: if you’re gonna make her evil, go all in!

Ms Decibel

Oh boy. How to fix this hot mess? Well, honestly, I kinda like how she gets betrayed by Le Paradox, in a very bare bones sense. It’s a climactic way to deal with the penultimate boss, and it characterizes Le Paradox as a ruthless, devious threat. But as we’ve discussed, the romance angle - with Decibel being firmly established to be unattractive - is dicey. That needs to either be reworked, or outright cut. My other major issue is her mind control. Honestly? Scrap it. Entirely. I’ve thought about it, and unlike the Contessa, who was narratively built around psychology, there is no reason for her to have the powers she does. How does she apply them in the story? By forcing Salim’s friends to make forgeries for her. Uh, you don’t need magic powers for that. Like, at all. Coerce them through other means. She’s kidnapped their families and is threatening to harm them if the thieves don’t comply! Sly and co. disentangle the hostages in an awesome rescue mission! There, I made that up on the spot, and the vague thought of it is way more satisfying to me than “she has magic powers because there is a musical instrument lodged in her nose”. C’mon, guys. Get it together.

Le Paradox

oh god i’m blanking I swear I’m not doing this for comedic effect, like “haha there’s no fixing him”. I’m genuinely unsure of where to begin. Uh... okay. First off, if he’s messing with the entire timestream, he needs to feel scary. A lot scarier than he does. Maybe not a god, but like... this is a man who is messing with something he really shouldn’t. His decisions are dangerous, for everyone. And just, generally speaking, let’s tweak his personality. Big shoes to fill, and varied ones, too. Each of the other main villains had interesting personalities. Clockwerk was cold and impersonal, like a natural disaster. You got the sense he was past mortal interaction. Neyla’s a schemer, so clever in what she does you kinda have to admire her. And as control slips away from her, her calm demeanor gives way to increasingly unstable anger. Dr M., as I’ve said before, is just hilariously... sensible. He’s sarcastic, and murderous, but mostly he carries himself like a grandpa who’s just irritated you’re in his backyard. Le Paradox is ugly. He’s haughty and arrogant and cruel to his employees. And he steeples his fingers! Mmmmh. It’s very difficult to make a character like that fun. He’s designed to annoy you. The obvious solution is to humiliate him. Really break him, the way Neyla gets a few choice kicks in the teeth as Sly 2 winds down. That makes it cathartic for the audience, it releases the tension that’s built up as we hate him. But in Sly 4’s ending, what? There’s a quick-time-event boss and then he’s arrested offscreen? Boo. Make him suffer. Twist the knife and let us watch! That, or try to make him more entertaining in his own right. Give him creepy presence like Clockwerk, or a funny attitude like Dr M, or clever schemes like Neyla. (Note: the schemes have to actually be clever. You can’t just tell us they’re clever.) Like, the groundwork is there! He successfully hides his criminal enterprise from Interpol for a while, sticking to the persona of a wealthy, respectable citizen. Lean into that! Use what you have! Maybe write him so that he’s always untouchable, just barely above board, and he delights in taunting both Sly and Carmelita with that. There’s definitely a place for irritating characters, when handled properly. But they need substance to justify themselves. And making that your final boss? Risky play. Oh yeah. One more thing. SKUNKS DON’T COME FROM FRANCE.

[char27martin]

Meet Nic Stone, Debut Author of Bestselling Novel ‘Dear Martin’

Nic Stone’s poignant and timely Dear Martin hit the ground running on Amazon this past week, trending #1 in the YA literature category. A student of Jodi Picoult, Stone crafted what reviewers are calling a “gripping” tale that is loosely based on recent events surrounding the shooting deaths of unarmed black teens. The book, which tells the story of a young man who begins a journal of letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. after he is racially profiled, is touching hearts and stirring conversation in light of current events and America’s contentious political landscape. Here, we talk with Stone about the book, her process and her advice for writers.

  interview by J.D. Myall

What was your life like, pre-book? 

I’ve done a lot of different things. I went to college in Georgia Tech and hated it. My major was international affairs … I dropped out. I, like, decided I was going to try to become a model. I did a pageant. I eventually transferred to Spellman. After Spellman, I traveled and worked. I worked in West Palm Beach. I managed a formal gown store—that was fun, because it was during prom season. I went to Israel for the summer. I went to find God, and I met this guy. I eventually married him. I was a tour operator in Israel. I designed Holy Land tours. Then, I had a baby, and I was mothering and writing.

What is something about you that people would be shocked to find out?

I was a cheerleader, and I was also my school’s mascot. The mascot was a big, burly dude-type character, so that was fun.

Favorite writers as a child?

I loved Judy Bloom, and the Encyclopedia Brown books by Donald J. Sobol.

Is there a book that inspired you to be a writer or that has a particular influence on the characters you create today?

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. This was the first book that I picked up in my life where I felt like I understood the characters and the characters understood me. It was the strangest thing, because this was a book about five white girls that live in this very white world. They were sisters that committed suicide during the course of one year. It’s super morbid, and it’s really dark. When you’re sixteen and full of angst and you want the protection of your parents but you’d never admit it … you’ll understand this book. I was a teenager and I was like, “I get this book and it gets me.” It was kind of a coming of age story. It opened my eyes to the possibility of fiction involving teenagers. My debut novel is about a teen.

Tell us about this novel. What is the genre? What’s the release information?

Y.A. Literary. The publisher is Crown Books for Young Readers. It’s a Random House Imprint. The book [was] released on October 17th.

Describe this novel, Dear Martin.

It’s about a 17-year-old African-American boy grappling with his place in the world. He’s a good kid that gets racially profiled one night while trying to help his drunk ex-girlfriend get home without driving. As a result of the profiling experience, he starts a journal of letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Basically, he’s trying to see if Dr. King’s teachings can work in modern America.

Where do you write from, home or a coffee shop?

Honestly, whenever I can. Most of Dear Martin was written in my bedroom at home. Like, actually on my bed. Most of my second book was written at Starbucks.

Tell me the story behind the story. How did Dear Martin come to be?

I was in Israel when Trayvon Martin was killed. And so I heard about it, but there was a distance there, because of the ocean. My new life and geographical distances made a bit of an emotional distance. I came back shortly after the death of Jordan Davis, who was killed in the parking lot of a convenience store, basically after an argument over loud music. That story hit me really hard, because by that point I had a five-month old little boy. All of it together just got under my skin. My father was a police officer. I saw them as heroes, as somebody there to protect me. So for a police officer to kill a child who was unarmed was really jarring. Then, the Black Lives Matter protests kicked off. I kept seeing all these misused or misappropriated quotes of Dr. King used to put him in opposition to Black Lives Matter. That didn’t set well with me. I started to wonder, What would Dr. King have to say now? I wanted to address the notion that Dr. King would be opposed to non-violent protest. I started to explore these questions. After all of Dr. King’s hard work and the work of Joe Lewis, Rosa Parks and some of the lesser-known heroes of the civil rights movement … I wondered, What would they have to say now? I have a son, so I tried to imagine what he may face in his future. So I made this character that asked the question, “What would Dr. King do if he was alive in the 21st century?”

How long did it take to write?

This is a fun story. It sold on proposal. Then, I had the first draft done in seven weeks. I spent nearly two months almost sobbing in tears or raging as I researched and wrote. Then, we worked it and reworked it. Overall, from the time it sold to the time we got it completely finished, it was about two years.

How did you get your agent?

My first agent I got through my mentor, Jodi Picoult. Jodi came to Spellman. I met her there when she came to interview the president of the college. She was researching Small Great Things. She is a master of research. She taught me how to research. I helped with her book. She introduced me to her agent. However, her agent had never worked with YA before, so we eventually parted ways. My second, and current, agent, Rena Rossner, I found through the querying process.

[Related: What Color Are Your Ideas?]

  How did you cope with rejection during the querying process?

I kept writing.

What were your biggest learning experiences or surprises throughout the publishing journey?

The surprise was how long it took. It takes a long time. Learning the process—the marketing, the other books the big publishers are working on, the turnover. It’s exciting and surprising. It’s super slow on the back end … but when you’re launching things go super fast.

Looking back, what do you think you did right that helped you break in?

I kept working. This was my third book. We submitted a different book to the editor that bought Dear Martin on proposal. She liked my style, but she wasn’t completely sold on the story we presented her. So we submitted a proposal for Dear Martin—and she bought that.

Is there anything you wish you could do differently?

No. Looking back, I can see how the past has lead me to where I am now. I am thrilled. I learned a lot from the books I have written. I have a few novels that may or may not be published, and I have two books being published. Through it all, I learned a lot about writing. I’m getting a lot of support and a good marketing push. I am happy.

Hardest sentence to write: first or last?

Neither. It’s all the stuff in the middle. I know the first line before I start, and I know how I want it to end, too, so the middle is the most work. You want to foreshadow without having spoilers.

What is the most important part of a novel: plot, characters, or setting?

Characters. I hope my books read that way.

How do you know when a novel is finished?

When I write the end.

Best advice you have heard on writing?

In high school, a teacher told me to write like a reader and read like a writer. I also love a Toni Morrison quote: “The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar, is the test of their power. “

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Keep writing. Hone your skill. Figure out how you work best. Most people I know didn’t get their first books published. Some didn’t get their first four books published. You have to keep writing if your goal is to be novelist. Even while you’re on submission, or even while you’re getting rejections, keep writing. Maybe your first book won’t get published, maybe your second will, or your fourth. Just keep writing.

What’s up next for you?

Dear Martin [came] out October 17th. I am writing a middle grade novel about a little black boy on a road trip with his white grandmother, but the road trip isn’t what he thinks it is. It’s gonna be a great read. I also have a trilogy of novellas coming out a year from now. It’s about three friends trying to grapple with sexuality, romance, friendship, and things like that. It’s about two girls and a boy, but it’s not your typical love triangle. The girls are trying to figure out how they feel about each other, too. That book will be out next year, but we haven’t released the title. It’s super messy, and I love it.

How can people connect with you?

On my website, nicstone.info, or on Twitter @getnicced.

J.D. Myall is a self-proclaimed literary lunatic, crazy about reading and writing is like breathing to her. Myall earned her BA in criminal justice from West Chester University, and has worked as a counselor for crime victims, addicts and the mentally ill. She is currently co-writing Crimson Reign, an exploration of race and class tucked neatly inside a feminist fairy-tale for the modern age. For more info. go to http://www.jdmyallbooks.com

Live Webinar: How to Write a Young Adult Novel That Can Sell

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