#misc writing

[noxhawthorne]

Abaia

Imagine, if you will, that you’ve gone on a quiet vacation to the islands of Fiji. Feel the sand under your toes, the sun on your skin, the smell of saltwater. You take an excursion, and find a beautiful, deep lake, surrounded by lush greenery. It’s a sweltering day, and the lake looks so inviting.

You walk into the lake, the cool water stinging pleasantly as you go deeper. Eventually you’re floating, unable to feel the ground beneath you. It’s calm, soothing. The local birds sing, the breeze rustles the leaves… you’re relaxed enough to let your eyes close and just drift…

Your feet touch a slippery rock, slick with grime from centuries of being submerged. You pay it no mind… until you notice the layer of grime is thick enough to give, making the rock feel almost squishy. You open your eyes. The birds have stopped singing.

You realize that you aren’t touching the rocking. It’s touching you.

The Abaia. A massive eel of Melanesian mythology, said to live at the bottom of freshwater lakes. The legend comes from the Fiji, Vanuatu, and Solomon Islands, though the exact location varies. There’s not really a specific size given, but, for an idea of what we’re talking about, the average American Eel is 16-33 inches long and about 2.5 pounds. So… bigger than that. Much bigger.

The legend of the Abaia poses it as the guardian of the lake it dwells in, protecting the inhabitants from humans looking to harm them. If a fisherman were to try and get his daily catch from the lake, or if an ignorant tourist were to throw their trash in it, the Abaia will unleash its wrath. Thrashing and twisting, it causes impressive waves that will claim the life of the perpetrator, dragging them down to the depths to remain with the great eel.

There is another version of this legend that claims the Abaia holds control over the weather via magic. The story goes that a fisherman discovered a bountiful lake, full of critters and creatures to sate his village’s hunger. He led the village to this lake, and has them help plunder it of life. The Abaia, upon seeing this, causes a torrential rainstorm, wiping out the village and drowning everyone who had harmed the creatures. The Abaia is often depicted as a motherly being to the inhabitants that share its home.

As someone who knows the basics about various eels, I have to wonder if there is some electrical aspect to this creature. Perhaps its ability to cause storms is caused by a powerful electrical charge. According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, the Electric Eel has three organs — the main organ, the Sach’s organ, and the Hunter’s organ — that produce electric impulses used for defense, communication, navigation, and hunting. At 6-8 feet long, this eel can generate up to 800 volts of electricity. Is the Abaia electric? Being so massive in size, could its electrical shock cause a storm? It’s unlikely, yes, but an interesting thought to consider.

[wits-writing]

So I just put up a post about how I regret not writing more this year and mainly had one thing in mind while putting that together.

I had intended to post something for Welcome to Night Vale's Tenth Anniversary in June (and when that date passed me by I was thinking by Halloween and then... yeah.)

The one in question is Episode 42: Numbers

An episode with central themes that are very personal for me and have been since I first listened to it. Which was why I had trouble writing about it.

I wanted to have some visuals to include in relationship to the episode to go with the analysis, so I commissioned art of the character Fey (who debuted and had her only major appearance in this episode.) Posted up top.

Art by my friend @bobbytriesatlife

[shyartistscorner]

I think

My heart knew my mother tongue

Before my lips did

And it beats in time

With the rhythm of unspoken words

I think

It is carved in my bones

Behind my eyes

Under my tongue

Branded beneath my skin

I think

English is an ill-fitted suit

It feels too small

But I put it on

For I don’t have anything else to wear

[mono-chrono]

You’re lost in the woods in the middle of the night, not knowing which way it is to get out of it. The silence is deafening, shouldn’t there be noises? The wind is still, you don’t even hear crickets.

Out of the corner of your eye you see it. Light from a fireplace, smoke drifting lazily into the night air. A cottage? You’re so lost in thought that you almost don’t notice the figure behind you.

Her smile is wide, understanding even as you jump in shock. She can tell you’re tired. That you need food and water, and a warm place to rest. She holds a cup out to you.

You take a sip.

…

………

……………..

The water is warm.

[bmarrowwrites]

The Date

Charlie glanced down at his phone with a soft smile. The photo that his date chose on her profile was stunning. It was also possibly edited, but Charlie didn’t mind. So long as she looked similar to the photo.

Otherwise this date was going to be a bust.

“Um, Charlie?” a quiet voice spoke in front of the man.

Charlie’s smile widened as he looked up from his phone.

“Ah, are you...” his words caught in his throat.

Before him stood a seven foot tall demon. Her eyes an icy blue, sitting in gentle pools of black. Sharp horns curved out from her forehead. She was dressed in a simple black dress, though it almost looked like it would break against the sheer strength the muscles in her arms and legs gave off.

Charlie glanced back at the photo on his phone. Pale skin, brown eyes, and short blonde hair. He looked back at the demon.

‘Well,’ Charlie thought to himself, ‘at least her hair is the same color and length’.

The demon fiddled with her small blue purse. “Um, if you’re not Charlie, then I think I can just leave.”

“No!” Charlie yelled.

He hadn’t meant to be so loud. Charlie took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

“I mean...You don’t need to leave, I am Charlie.”

The demon let out a sigh and carefully slid into her chair across from him.

“Good, I was getting worried.”

“Amber, right?” Charlie questioned.

Amber nodded and flashed a soft sharp toothed smile.

“I’m sorry about the photo. My sister thought that form would look more...well, normal.”

Charlie shook his head. “Don’t worry about you, you look lovelier in person.” he charmed.

Amber’s cheeks burned a gentle blue. She giggled and twirled at her hair.

“You’re just saying that to be nice.”

“No, seriously, you look wonderful!” Charlie continued.

Amber’s heart raced at those words. Her expression grew soft.

“Do you mean that?” she asked, her voice quiet once more. Mostly in awe rather than shyness.

Charlie swiftly reached across the table and rested his hand onto Ambers.

“Of course.”

 Amber looked away, a goofy little smile on her face. “Goodness, you’re making me burn up here.”

Charlie moved his hand back a tad. “I’m sorry if I’m being a bit forward.”

Amber frowned and shook her head. “Oh no, of course not! I...Well, this is our first time meeting each other so...I guess it’s to be expected?”

Charlie rested back into his chair and let out a nervous laugh. “Totally...You do look very lovely tonight, Amber. I think I prefer you like this than your profile picture any day.”

Amber's sweet smile returned. “That’s very sweet of you.”

Charlie felt his heart swell up in joy. He took a quick glance at the menu in front of him.

“Should we order soon?”

“Oh yes! I’m getting pretty hungry.” Amber giggled.

The pair reached for their menus, and yet they couldn’t keep the other from their thoughts.

This date would certainly be interesting.

[so-many-ocs]

[on the verge of having a complete breakdown] i need to make some kind of list or perhaps sort things into categories

[esmeswritingblog]

What fanfic writers say vs what they mean. Btw.

[Image Description: A meme, showing a simplistic person saying, "Thank you for reading :) Im glad you enjoyed! thank youuuu ily <3". But in their head, they think: "thank you for commenting on my fic and saying nice things I love you and reminding me why I love writing and making it feel all worth it you are incredible btw pls keep reading fics and commenting you made my day so much brighter I love it when people comment on my fics it makes me feel validated and i will never be annoyed by it thanks for commenting". End ID]

[anarchoarchie]

[murdrdocs]

INTERVIEW 014

with. mike schmidt

includes. visual filming + auditory recording, GN!reader (mentions of lingerie but no explicit anatomy), begging, facials, oral (f and m receiving)

→ kinktober masterlist

mike schmidt has a thing for filming.

he’s obsessed with you, sometimes spending time in silence admiring you because he can’t really believe that you’re his. he’s a bit of a loser (affectionate) and an outcast (self afflicted), so he thinks you’re out of his lead. which is why he likes to document your time together as much as he can.

he has a couple of old cameras, just a little under a decade older. they work perfectly fine though, and he always has to take a picture of you with his polaroid or film you for just a few seconds whenever you’re together.

most of the documented content is innocent. you dancing around the kitchen while you help prepare dinner for the three of you (abby is singing in the back of that one). you standing in front of the mirror fixing the final touches on your dallas cowboy cheerleader costume with an infectious grin on your face. you mumbling in your sleep while your head rests on mikes chest.

but a solid amount of the content is mature, hidden away on discs and polaroids and cassettes in a closed box tucked away in a messy corner of his closet.

this content is audio recordings of you begging for mike, your voice high and breathy. he remembers that night, your hands in his hair that was slightly too long at that point. he was between your legs, his mouth just inches away from where you were trying to get him. it felt good for him to have the upper hand in that moment, a cocky smile on his face as he started to bask in the newfound power. it was one of the first times he realized how much he affected you, and he instantly wanted to record it. what the two of you ended up producing was fifteen minutes of you pleading and moaning and borderline sobbing as mike got you off with his tongue.

there’s a few discs, labeled with the date in either of your handwriting (mikes borderline scrawl and your neater script), housing content of mike fucking you slow, thrusts long and deep. he’s usually the one holding the camera, lenses at you as you’re on your knees with pretty doe eyes or above him bouncing and grinding with your eyes pinched closed. there’s some times, though, when you take the camera from him, met with nearly no resistance because these are the hours where he’s limp to your delicious torture. when he’s so wound up that just the first few licks from you has his grip loosening around the object, allowing you turn the lens on him, capturing his rosy cheeks and curly hair sticking to his forehead and his brown eyes watching your every move.

then there’s the polaroids, the only evidence that frequently makes voyages outside of the old shoe box whenever you’re apart. he has pictures of you with your hands over your face, but a smile clear beneath your palms. these were the ones taken first, before you’d gotten into the videos and cassettes. you were shy then, only giving the camera glimpses of your new lingerie set, which was usually the incentive for mike pulling the camera out in the first place. there’s pictures from when you’d gotten more confident, there’s photos of you post-sex, a loopy lopsided smile on your face, arms thrown over the parts that mattered but you were bare otherwise.

then there’s the ones that are completely debauched. the ones he hesitates to take out in fear that he’ll leave them lying around somewhere. his favorite of the small bunch is of you sitting on his bed, legs spread and bent at the knee, palms pressed into the mattress behind you. your pose itself is almost innocent, a grin on your face as you stare at the camera. you’re clothed too, for the most part, wearing underwear that covers what needs to be covered. but it’s the white spurts that paint your skin that makes this particular picture so raunchy. along your chest, in the center of your underwear, and — his favorite spot — all over your pretty little face, breaching into the baby hairs around your face.

[misc-obeyme]

MC is at the Demon Lord's Castle helping Barbatos make tea.

MC: And what exactly is in this blend?

Barbatos: *lists every ingredient*

MC: Mhm. And what are the benefits of those?

Barbatos: *details the benefits of each ingredient separately and together*

MC: Right and where exactly did you obtain this?

Barbatos: I made the blend myself. While I was able to find some of these ingredients at my usual market, I had to grow some of them myself in the gard-

MC: ?

Barbatos: MC. Why are you asking me so many questions about this tea?

MC: Oh, I just like to watch the way your eyes sparkle when you're talking about something you love.

Barbatos: I see. Then you must allow me to list everything I know about you.

MC was too flustered to speak. Barbatos only chuckled and kissed away their astonishment.

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[noxhawthorne]

Akh’lut

Also known as the kăk-whăn’-û-ghăt kǐg-û-lu’-nǐk, the Akh’lut is an orca or orca-like spirit/creature in Inuit folklore that takes the form of a wolf when on land. It’s a shapeshifter, said to change from an orca to a wolf when hungry. One can recognize their tracks easily, as they’re wolf tracks that come from the sea.

The Akh’lut is considered a dangerous creature, being known to attack Inuit fishermen when they’re on the water. It’s also been known to attack and kill people who asleep near the edge of the water. Some even say that it will go all the way to an Inuit camp just to snatch up their next victim. It has a voracious appetite, and will eat anything nearby.

There many different versions of how the Akh’lut came to be, however the most popular myth goes like this: the was a man who was obsessed with the sea. He wanted to be with it always. One day he comes back to shore and goes to his village, but he has become so obsessed with the sea that they no longer recognize him. He is banned from the village. Hungry for revenge, the man stumbles upon a pack of wolves who share his hunger (though, in more literal terms). The man becomes one with the wolves. However, he still has a deep affection for the sea, and eventually jumps in to be with it forever. In doing so, he transforms into an orca. He has found peace at last… however, whenever his hunger for revenge rears its ugly head, he comes back on land as a wolf, and feeds.

There are some possible explanations for the Akh’lut. The main one is this: Arctic wolves can swim in the water, meaning they could be the cause for the paw prints leading away from the sea. There’s also a possible explanation, but an unlikely one. It is said that when Arctic wolves are rejected from the pack, they commit suicide by jumping in the freezing water. This is highly unlikely due to survival instincts in animals, but it is worth mentioning.

Fun fact: another name for an orca is a seawolf.

[wits-writing]

Five Miscellaneous Favs of 2022

Felt like doing quick looks at five pieces of media that caught my eye during 2022. 

Not a ranking nor limited to any specific medium, just five things I loved last year that I wanted to talk about with a focus on things I felts were lesser discussed overall in the year.

Because while I could talk about how great Everything Everywhere All at Once, Cyberpunk Edgerunners, or RRR were, I also wouldn’t be bringing that much new to the table by discussing them.

Let’s start with something that hit towards the end of the year:

Matilda the Musical:

What a delight this turned out to be!

The engrossing stylized visuals of this film adaptation of the musical stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s original children’s book grabbed me from the word “go.” A stage director moving on to direct the film adaptation of their own theatrical work, as is the case with Matthew Warchus here, can and has led to mixed results in the past but here those theatrical instincts shine. Each musical number manages an appropriate scope to get across the emotional impact of the scene and make sure the viewer can appreciate the stellar moments of choreography from the ensemble of child performers. A visual language that lives up to the nature of Tim Minchin’s music and lyrics for the story.

Major highlight of the cast is Emma Thompson as the despicable Miss Trunchbull, performed and presented in a way that makes her the perfect villain for a movie that’s essentially “Baby’s First Antifa Uprising: The Musical.” An authoritarian running her school as a surveillance state who will change her own supposedly sacred rules on a dime in order to never appear as if her power is starting to slip.

Representing the kinder adults of the world in this movie is Lashanna Lynch’s Miss Honey. Any take on Matilda as a story will live and die on how much you buy into the found family aspect of the relationship between the title character and Miss Honey. This film playing into that handily as Alisha Weir’s Matilda finds the first adult to see what’s remarkable about her love of learning in her teacher and Miss Honey finds a reminder of what it means to stand up for yourself and others in an unfair world in her new student. A mutual sense of inspiration beautifully summed up in the new-for-the-movie finale song “Still Holding My Hand.”

Mad God:

Okay, time for a bit of a mood shift…

According to my Tumblr Rewind for 2022, my personal blog’s most popular post of the year was a screencap from a Slash Film interview with Mad God director Phil “You had one job!” Tippett.

This one:

And in that post I described it as a “beautifully blunt” summation of why Mad God paints such a bleak picture of its world and those inhabiting it. Later in that same interview he specified by relating it to how when there’s a tragedy, American news media shoves it in people’s faces on repeat. A process that normalizes the pain and horror of these events and limits people’s ability to imagine a world without any of that. A depressing downward spiral where terrors can never be escaped, only recreated ad nauseum until the end of time (and even beyond that.)

Anyway, I found Mad God to be a ton of fun and it was easily my favorite animated movie of the year!

Probably feels bizarre to go from the previous description of the movie’s world to calling it “fun.” But that’s the balance Tippett managed to strike after the multi-decade process of getting it made. A sickening, compelling contradiction to entice a niche stripe of viewer, because this was certainly anything but a movie made with broad appeal as a concern.

A playfulness comes through in moments like the mindless homunculi that keep this dystopian society running trudging along until a piece of the machinery they work around splats them against a wall, Wile-E-Coyote style. Monster designs that genuinely disturbed me exist alongside ones that are oddly charming in their unconventional designs and mannerisms. The most purely playful elements of the movie take the form of easter eggs to VFX filmmaking history that are featured among the apocalyptic landscapes of some shots, like a statue of Robbie the Robot that features in one shot.

Some stories get by more on a vibe than a carefully constructed narrative and Mad God’s vibes are unlike anything else you’re likely to see.

Bee and Puppycat: Lazy in Space:

Speaking of vibes-based entertainment but on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Bee and Puppycat finally returned this year with a new season on Netflix with an abundance of lo-fi chill at its disposal!

The season, subtitled “Lazy in Space”, has three episodes retelling the story of the original Cartoon Hangover season in the new animation style followed by 13 episodes of original material.

In a universe filled with gorgeous pastel space-fantasy scapes, what keeps the series compelling is everyone in the main cast trying to live the best life they can. One bizarre circumstance after another happening in the periphery of their personal journeys. Exemplified by the show’s approach to doling out information with regards to worldbuilding, everything delivered in pieces tangential to what the focus of a given episode is actually about. This goes doubly for the backstories of the titular characters. Even when we’re given an episode to explicitly flesh out Puppycat’s mysterious past, it turns out to be a nonlinear narrative more concerned with the roots of his attitude than in being a lore-dump. Meanwhile, everytime we get new information about Bee there’s always another layer or three yet to be dug into beneath her unassuming appearance and general ADHD tendencies.

Delivering all that in a balance between high concept scenarios and low-key, chill presentation will keep me coming back to this show for any and all future seasons.

Goodbye, Eri:

2022 could reasonably be argued to be The Year of Tatsuki Fujimoto

Aside from Chainsaw Man Part 2’s manga beginning and season 1 of the anime hitting it big, the mangaka released two one-shots through Shonen Jump in the past year; one was Just Listen to the Song which was written by Fujimoto with art by Oto Toda and the other was Goodbye, Eri, wholly done by Fujimoto.

And it was the best comic I read the entire year.

The story of high schooler Yuta taking the gift of his smartphone as the first step on his path to becoming a filmmaker. His first project being a documentary about the last days of his mother’s life, followed by a narrative covering his artistic evolution as he’s called on to do the same for his classmate Eri.

But a plot summary doesn’t get across why this was the best piece of sequential art I read all year. Fujimoto’s talent at using manga as a form to deliver stories elevates Goodbye, Eri as the narrative framing at hand reflects the premise itself. Every single panel is in the aspect ratio and point of view from Yuta’s camera with Fujimoto’s art emulating novice camera work along the way. One of my favorite recurring details is certain panels clearly meant to represent Yuta having shaky hands as he’s filming.

Like any comic, art and writing feedback into each other to maintain this narrative conceit, as characters will stop on occasion to ask if they should redo a lineread or we’ll see bits that were filmed but not included in previous sequences. It’s playing around with the diegesis of the story to craft Goodbye, Eri’s main theme about how we choose to remember our lives. What bits do we hang onto and what sort of impression do we want to leave other people with after we’re gone.

A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society:

You know the feeling when you find the right band/album at the right time in your life?

That was my experience with Tobias Sammett’s Avantasia two years ago as songs from their album Moonglow were in my youtube recommendation. Even after listening to a decent chunk of the band’s discography, Moonglow remained my favorite. Tackling themes of alienation and creating one’s self while running a full gauntlet of the many forms of Metal. I find a lot to love in the rest of the Avantasia catalog, but none of the albums as complete works topped what this one had to offer for me.

Set all that up for the sake of saying…

A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society exceeded Moonglow and became my favorite album of the year (and possibly my favorite piece of media from 2022, period.)

This even being a possibility was something that gradually built up in my mind as the singles began to roll out. The first release, “The Wicked Rule the Night (feat. Ralf Scheepers)”, was a good hard metal track but it wasn’t until the second single, “Moonflower Society (feat. Bob Cately)”, hit with its amazing animated music video, directed by Jess Cope, that I knew I was in for something special.

The narrative set out by the music video, along with the lyrical content of the song itself, put into focus what Paranormal Evening was about. Especially in how it interacted with its predecessor in Moonglow. If that album was about alienation then this one was going to be about choosing where you want to belong. Whether it’s a conventional path or one that seems off-putting from the outside but could ultimately offer wonders in a future once thought unimagineable. A theme set even more into focus with the third single from the moment I saw its title, “Misplaced Among the Angels.”

A central conceit that reflects Avantasia’s virtue as a group, Sammett assembling performers from across all walks of rock/metal to create something beautiful with each album. New and returning guest performers for the group enhancing what Paranormal Evening has to offer. 

I have lost count of how many times I’ve listened to A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society. Enjoying it more with each playback. Each track lifts up the others and puts me in a state where the album closer “Arabesque” hits as hard as any song I’ve ever listened to has!

If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”

[shyartistscorner]

!!CW/TW: insects, romantic love, body horror, skin, decomposition, generally dark subject matter!!

My skin feels like a prison

For a thousand cicadas,

Each mandible opening

To sing for you.

I let my eyes burst from my head

From millions of legs

Clawing at my skin,

I feel their spines on my tongue.

They flit around my empty stomach,

Their wings a deafening din.

They’re tiny bodies flush

Against my skull,

Millions of them,

Hungry and devouring and a rancid sweet.

Their corpses clog my nose,

I want to throw them up.

I want to open my lips

And release them,

This cage can no longer fit them.

If I let them out, I would be left a husk.

I want to bury my chasm of my body in your arms,

I want to smell you

as the last one scurries past my chin.

I hope I am rotting in your arms.

I hope my breath

Caresses your fingertips

I hope my flesh stays hot long enough

To warm your bones

And let our mouths collide

I hope I can kiss your forehead,

Let them feast on you too.

I hope we fester

I hope we swarm.

[walkingcontradictionwithanxiety]

The Anniversary

I know that my excitement for these 20 years of being MRS travelling husband might sound a bit over the top, especially considering there are couples…The Anniversary

[bmarrowwrites]

Up in the sky.

Folks say that the sky is doing just fine. That it’s the same as it’s always been, for millions of years. From the first breathe of life, to the few strained breathes as one passes on, the sky has always been the same.

Blue, sometimes gray with clouds that cry tears of life into the soil everyone walks on.

But you know that for the past week or so that something has been wrong with the sky.

A thin slice into the refreshing blue that that sky holds. And something is oozing from it. Something rancid that when it hits the earth the surface that’s splashed with the abnormal substance rots away. No life grows back in that spot. Ever.

And you notice one day, with fear in your eyes, that the slice is much bigger. And there are patches of decayed earth and rubble all around your neighborhood.

[iwritetragedies-notsins]

Welcome to WIP central

Hello friends!

This is @booksbwaybadflower 's sideblog, which I'm going to use to track my writing processes for various works. The tags on this post (after the first five for Visibility ofc) are the plays I've been working on!

Here you will find victories, frustrations, inspo for my pieces, the occasional excerpt. Writing memes/resources/etc are all under #do-you-hear-the-writers-scream on my main blog - this one's just for WIPs!

You're welcome to reblog anything, ask to read things, ask questions, message me, etc!

Enjoy the musings of my mind :)