#when i get my creative juices back maybe i’ll write something better or more fleshed out

[cynicalmusings]

thinking about tattoo artist!dan heng who has a huge, intricate tattoo of a chinese dragon snaking up his back, shoulders, and down his right arm. he’s known for his art style which resembles traditional ink paintings, covering both landscapes and figures in his work, as well as his aloof but patient personality and undeniably good looks.

you’re mutually connected through march, who’s both you and dan heng’s close friend, though you and dan heng have never really met or interacted before. when you express interest in getting a tattoo, she wastes no time recommending him (and before you can even say yes for certain, she’s already texted him with your design ideas and told him to expect you soon.) not long after, he gets in touch with you and you both go through some of his designs before settling on a final choice.

a few days later, march drags you to the tattoo parlour and introduces you to dan heng in person. (she mentioned he was attractive, but not how attractive. a red streak of eyeliner brings out the cool tones of his eyes, you can’t help but notice as he glances over at you, not unkindly.)

you have a brief discussion after march finishes the introductions, before he leads you to a chair. as you make yourself comfortable and he cleans the area of skin you’ll get the tattoo on, he asks if you’re nervous; a little sheepishly, you admit you are. he hums, and tells you not to be.

‘focus on your breathing,’ he instructs calmly when you wince at the first bite of the needle on your skin. to your credit, you do try, but find yourself focusing rather more on his instead, because you can feel his breath on your skin as he leans over the chosen area and gets to work. (you hope to god your face doesn’t look as hot as it feels.) he works silently, and the silence is only broken by the buzz of the needle.

once it’s done, he patches you up, telling you you did well for a first-timer. it’s really pathetic, you curse yourself, that you’re getting flushed over that one sentence, but you can’t stop. march grins you a ‘congratulations!’ and asks how the experience (and her good friend) was; her face takes on a knowing look when you glance for a moment too long back at dan heng, and before you know it, she’s pulling you both out for ice cream despite your protests under the claim that ‘this is a big occasion and should be celebrated’. once there, she conveniently reports that she forgot about a piece of work she needed to get done, and leaves the two of you alone. (unbeknownst to you, she’s actually hiding in a nearby bush and watching you closely.)

it’s very awkward at first, but you slowly get into a discussion which starts about march (poor her) until it branches into shared interests. who knew the icy ‘cold dragon young’, as his web page dubs him, was such a nerd—and a nerd who shares some of your own nerdy passions, too?

after you go your separate ways, march texts you and asks how it went, and you begrudgingly tell her you enjoyed yourself, warn her to absolutely not do it again, and… i don’t know, my brain is fizzling out here. you probably find yourself stopping by the tattoo parlour in your free time.

[rpgmgames]

August’s Featured Game: Shroom Soup

DEVELOPER(S): Shroomy ENGINE: RPGMaker 2000 GENRE: Adventure, RPG, Psychological Horror WARNINGS: listed here (may contain spoilers) SUMMARY: You play as Arnika, a gloomy teenage girl. Perpetually tired, you live off excessive sleep, lime juice, and instant soup. You look into the vortex forming in your cup of said soup, this time mushroom flavour. Next thing you know, you are in an entirely different world where everything, from buildings to people, is being devoured by fungi. It seems like you have no choice but to walk on... Your journey involves exploration, puzzle-solving and battles.

Download the demo here!

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! Hello! I am Shroomy, and I still haven't figured out which one of my nicknames I should go by, but I use "uboaappears" for art and "toxic shroom swamp" for games. I have a bachelor's degree in biology since two weeks ago and like everything surreal, gory and gay. Nice to meet you. I have been in the community since about 2012, and that might be also when I first wanted to make a game - a Yume Nikki fangame, because YN brought me here. I messed around with the engine for a long time, and certain characters and ideas gradually mutated to whatever this is now.

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially? *Shroomy: It's about making a cup of instant soup and accidentally going on a very weird adventure. ...Okay, actually, it's a coming-of-age story with an emphasis on mental health, relationships, and toxic flesh-eating mushrooms. The idea came to me when I made myself an instant soup once. For some reason, I thought it would be cool if there was a portal into another world in the cup. That's how it started. (I was also into drawing mushrooms growing on people at the time, so that naturally made its way into my Awesome Game Idea.)

How long have you been working on your project? *Shroomy: ...A while. It's enough to say that I graduated from both high school and university with it. But to be honest, I didn't really do much with it until about two years ago. Right now I tend to think of the time before that as trial and error, playing around with ideas and learning to use the engine. I feel a little self-conscious about how long it took me to come up with a coherent story, but that might be a good thing. Since this is quite a personal game, it helped to grow as a person. I think it made for a more interesting and mature work than it would be otherwise.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Shroomy: I feel like I take little bits of inspirations from everything. But I'd say Yume Nikki and Re:Kinder were the biggest game influences. Maybe Hello Charlotte, too - the minimalistic world gave me some food for thought :> Design-wise, I think my current (character) style is a lovechild of Danganronpa, Killing Stalking and something else I am not sure about. Maybe just me.

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *Shroomy: I think the biggest challenges for me have always been centered around the lack of free time, the lack of energy or the lack of motivation. Some people manage to juggle life and gamedev, but I get exhausted really easily, so it's hard. This is an ongoing issue. I tend to try and free up a day just for relaxing and creative stuff. I've also started using the Forest app for focusing on things, and sometimes use it for gamedev as well. At the beginning I found it frustrating that my skills (in pixel art, for example) didn't match what I wanted to create. That one was improved by - you guessed it - making a lot of pixel art. Making and scrapping a bunch of tilesets for the game. It's as simple as practice and learning how to get the most out of your art program. (It also helps me to make a detailed sketch of a map before I start working, or at least brainstorm the main elements of it.) Another challenge was the incoherence of the story. Originally I wanted to make something really vague and open to interpretation, but... that actually didn't give me enough material to work with. In the end, I played around with the characters, tried to write them some backstories that no one was going to see, and somehow ended up with an actual plot..? Shocking, I know! And the final thing is putting gameplay into the game. To be honest, the puzzles in the demo were pretty random on my side, I just thought them up on the spot. In subsequent locations I tried to make them relevant to the game's themes and/or hint towards the story.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Shroomy: For one thing, the current project has a story and a plan, even if the story is presented in quite an obfuscated way. The original concept was not much more than an idea of a shroomy world. The characters also have a lot more depth and pain to them than they used to. The locations have changed a lot as well, to the point where most of the original ones don't exist anymore.

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don’t have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Shroomy: My team is mostly just me. At the beginning it was a young and naive me, and now we have a slightly older and better-at-art me. After I started my dev blog, I was contacted by Tommuel, who now helps me with sound design and music. And my old friend Robin has made a few NPC sprites for me, and might give a hand with more pixel art in the future. They're not really involved with other aspects of development, but I really appreciate their help anyway! I prefer to keep most of this game to myself - it feels too personal to share, plus I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

What is the best part of developing the game? *Shroomy: I would say it's putting my work out there and sharing it with the world. I'm also really proud of how much I've grown as an artist and writer through developing this. I got attached to this story and this world, with all of its fun, weird and sad details. It's also been really fun, amazing even, to get to know other devs and make friends through being part of this interesting and creative community. I owe some wonderful friendships to it.

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *Shroomy: I definitely play other games for inspiration, it helps me a lot. Though I try not to make things "just like" other games, but make it a transformative learning experience instead.

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Shroomy: I feel like I have been through stages. At first I was Arnika, then Lina, now I feel like I'm turning into Arthur. I guess I put my traits into all of them. (Does that mean that Bernard is the next stage? I'm /so/ ready to transcend humanity, finally learn how to do maths and become everyone's favourite character.)

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Shroomy: I think the biggest mistake I made was jumping straight into making a game without thinking it through or considering the scope. In the end, the lack of planning set me back a lot. Admittedly, I was young and excitable, so I guess it was a learning experience? I didn't really know how to write stories or plan long-term projects, but over time, I somehow built up those skills. I think it's good to have a clear-ish idea of what you want to make before you start, and maybe start with something small. (So basically, do the opposite of what I did.)

Once you finish your project, do you plan to explore the game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Shroomy: Aha. Actually, yes. I have accidentally started writing two sequels already. They will be small games focusing on other characters' perspectives (as opposed to Arnika). I'm not actually touching them yet though, only making some notes and writing scripts. Perhaps by the time the first game is released I'll have enough material to comfortably work on them.

What do you look most forward to upon/after release? *Shroomy: Fan reaction, I think? To be honest, I'm not really sure. I think I'll just be enjoying the incredible dopamine rush after finally setting this child of mine free to explore the world and infect people's brains with all the shroomy memes it contains. (Also will probably get off the internet for about a week from the anxiety.) Then maybe being free to work on other things, indeed. And posting spoilery concept art >:D

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *Shroomy: I am a little worried about the reception of the game's subject matter. If you looked at the list of warnings, you might have an idea what I mean. Sometimes it feels dangerous to explore certain themes in your stories, because people misinterpret depicting something bad as promoting it, for example. But that's why that list exists. I'm just going to let people know straight away that I explore dark themes in this project and I'm not going to hold back on how I do it. Creativity should flow freely, I think. (I am also a little worried about the ratio of my free time vs. gamedev time and /when/ I will finally be able to release it, but... Thankfully, I'm the one in charge of that.)

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Shroomy: Take some time to make a plan for your project, start small, fail faster, and aim for something finished before you aim for perfect. Make a system for organising your files. Back up often, and on a different drive/cloud than your game is on, preferably several. Most of all, make something you would love to play! And don't be too hard on yourself.

Question from last month's featured dev @blackcrystalsrpg: What are your game dev pet peeves?? *Shroomy: I dislike the fact that sometimes I want to have made a game more than I want to make a game, but to have made a game you need to go and make the game. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But there's no escape from fate, so... go, go and make that game happen!

We mods would like to thank Shroomy for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!

Remember to check out Shroom Soup if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum

[theonlyjelly-iwillput-inmybelly]

Help I need write advice

I’ll drink to that, anon.

In all seriousness, you’re going to have to be a bit more specific in order for me to help you find the ‘write’ solution for your troubles (haha get it??). You can PM me if you’re in serious writing straits! However, many of the people who come to me with writing problems say they’re struggling with writer’s block, so I’ll give some tips below. If that doesn’t help you, just PM me! 

COLE’S HOT TIPS FOR BREAKING WRITER’S BLOCK (end results may vary from person to person, batteries not included) 

Look away from your computer/ notebook: I notice that sometimes that if I’m stuck on a particular passage of a piece, I tend to glare at my computer and perhaps immerse myself too much in the screen. My head starts to get foggy. If your eyes feel heavy and you’re not necessarily tired, consider looking away. You may get that feeling you get after you come out of a movie theatre, so you may have to take certain measures to ground yourself to reality again. Blink rapidly, squeeze your eyes shut, and open them wide again. Roll them a few times. Sometimes, you just gotta remove yourself from the situation for a while. 

Stand up and stretch: If rolling your eyes like a dumbass bitch just entered the room and started voicing their dumbass opinions doesn’t do much for you, then get the fuck up my dude. The point of these first few exercises is to clear your mind. Chances are, you’ve been sitting in the same spot for possibly a few hours, and you may be hoarding some tension in you back, shoulders, and neck without you even realizing it. I don’t blame you; writer’s block is stressful! So stand up, and do whatever stretches you deem necessary. I like to pop my back. All my creative juices are in spine, I suppose, because anytime I pop it, a  sense of goodwill and inspiration washes over me. Walk around for a little while, or do jumping jacks if you’re some fitness freak. If you can’t stand up, stretch your arms over your head and roll out your neck. Get that blood flowing, bitch!! Pump pump motherfucker!!

Splash your face with cold water: I know this sounds stupid; I’ve gotten various responses to this advice. But sometimes, you need the shock of cold to the face to wake your brain up. Writer’s block is a bit like trying to wake up in the morning, and I tend to treat it as such. What gets me up in the morning? That’s right, cold water to the face. Now would be a good time to wash your face too. Feeling fresh and clean puts me in a better mood, as writer’s block in likelihood makes you grumpy. 

If feasible, take a shower or a bath: Using the same argument as above, take a shower or bath. I like to think that not only am I ridding myself of physical filth, but I’m also washing away all my tensions and frustrations as well. Use soap, you dumbass. Make it smell nice too, if possible. Being so fresh and so clean clean clears the mind. You’d be amazed at how much easier writing is if you’re comfortable, and fewer things are more comfortable in life than stepping out of a shower and into nice clean clothes. 

Satiate your hunger/thirst: If you’re anything like me, you have a tendency to forget to eat/drink when you’re in the writing zone. Take the time to pour yourself your favorite beverage (try not to over caffeinate yourself; I find that too much caffeine makes me less emotionally invested in the piece. I’m not sure why. If you’re writing that sad, angsty shit, consider not drinking coffee. Unless you;re addicted to coffee, in which case, not even the gods can stop you, I guess). Make sure you’re hydrated. Give your cells some lovin’; they’re going through writer’s block too! And feed them a little something too. Try not to eat anything too salty, because then you’ll get thirsty again, and you might transfer some of that saltiness into your work. Unless that is your goal, just don’t. Now would be a good time to eat your servings of fruits and veggies. Keep forgetting to eat/drink? Set an alarm, or put a sticky note with something along the lines of ‘remember to eat/drink you dumbfuck’ written on it somewhere in your immediate line of vision. If that doesn’t help, then *shrugs vaguely* good luck.

Skip the part you’re getting blocked about, and go on ahead: Writing doesn’t have to be linear. Do you have something juicy planned, but you’re not sure how to get there? Do you have to write some boring dialogue before getting to the good part? Whatever is dragging you down, skip it. You’re a writer; if anyone can write a bunch of seemingly unconnected events of a story but somehow go back and make it all work, it’s you. Get that good stuff done first. We’ll find a way to make it work, because we’re writers. That’s what we do. 

Listen to some sweet. sweet tunes: If you’re like me, you get easily inspired by music. So if you feel like you don’t have the emotional energy to write something, try listening to some music. Want to write some sad shit? Listen to sad music. Want to write something majestic? Listen to some majestic music. I recommend literally any Disney soundtrack or French horns. I’m a slut for french horns. If you can, compile a few playlists specifically for whatever mood you need to be in. Not into that music shit? I’ve recently been told that some people get inspiration from moodboards. Find a moodboard that’s good for you. Maybe go to Google Images and type in whatever emotion you need and see where that gets you. Put on safe search, though. Save yourself the pain. I don’t know moodboards well, sorry :/

Write something other than your piece: As paradoxical as it may seem, sometimes the way to break writer’s block is to, you guessed it, write more! Hear me out: maybe you don’t want to write out X piece, but the idea of writing Y piece sounds very appealing. So work on piece Y! Take a break from your blocked work. No one will be mad, though in the event  that they are, just deck them into the next dimension. Tell them to write their own shit, and see how far that gets them. Raise your middle finger to them. Write that crack fic, write that overused trope, write something your heart really really desires! See if you can put a twist on those tropes. You may find the juices starting to flow.

Fuck perfection: Don’t get too caught up on making sure your grammar is perfect. Don’t get too caught up on characterization, don’t get caught up on anything! Just word vomit onto your document. You can clean up the mess later. What you’re doing now is building the skeleton of your piece. It’s not supposed to have flesh at first. It’s going to be disgusting at first. It’s not going to be perfect, so don’t bother with the minutiae right now. That’s why we edit. Right now, get the raw materials down. Let future editing you deal with the logistics of commas and semicolons and all that other bullshit. No one needs to know that your piece wasn’t borne fresh from the pencil in a state of perfection. No one needs to know that it sucked at first, so don’t worry about perfection. No one sees the initial stages, so stop treating it as such. No one but the NSA is watching you write, but they’re cheering you on, I promise. 

Take a break: You’ve probably been working on this piece for far longer than you anticipated. You’re probably tired, and you probably never want to see a pencil again. So switch off the laptop, close the notebook. Sometimes, you just have to stop writing. But don’t worry; your work will be there in the morning. Consider going to sleep; sleep deprivation can be incredibly taxing on anybody, especially writers. We need our brains to be at top functionality, and wouldn’t you know it, functionality is destroyed if you’re tired. Go to bed you dumbass, or take a nap. It may feel like you’ll never be able to write again. And maybe you won’t have that same spark for days, weeks, years even. There will be a day that that spark will return, friend. I can’t make promises, but the universe can. You’d be surprised what she has up her sleeve.  

I may have gone on a bit of a tangent here, but you know, it’s for the sake of writing. I hope this helps you, anon, and anyone else who feels like they need it. Again, these are tips that work for me, so don’t come at me with pitchforks if they don’t work for you. 

Happy writing, friends!

[thedeaditeslayer]

Bruce Campbell and What's Coming on Ash vs Evil Dead Season 3.

This interview features some moderate spoilers. Read at your own discretion. 

The legend himself speaks on what's next for Ash vs Evil Dead and how his career is about more than just blood and guts.

Ash vs Evil Dead is back, baby - and according to the people who made it, we're in for a party. First, you find out Ash has a surprise teenage daughter. What's up with that? Then there's that new biker guy who says he's a knight of Sumeria. Oh yeah? Where's your chain mail, Sir Loin of Pork?

Anyway, you still got the old regulars like Pablo and Kelly and Ruby, who looks smoking hot as a blonde. And there's Ash too, of course. Can't forget him. It's still his show...and he's still the king.

We sat down with Bruce Campbell, the legend behind Ashy Slashy, to find what else we can expect from Ash vs Evil Dead's twisted third year on television and how he keeps the role fresh after all these years.

Evil Dead is a couple years shy of its 40th anniversary mark. How do you think it’s transformed since then, and did you and Sam ever dream that the franchise would ever have the media presence that it has now?

Well you can’t really ever imagine it. We had so many problems with the first movie, we weren’t even sure we would even finish that. And then there was a great deal of time between each movie, so there wasn’t what you would call a lot of momentum exactly. The momentum kind of happened after Army of Darkness, the third Evil Dead, played.

Honestly, what people forget is the movie bombed and almost killed the franchise. So it took a lot of DVD reissues through the ‘90s, all the "Making Ofs", the behind the scenes stuff that really brought the DVDs back which created a lot more fervor at conventions, y’know, and people never stopped bugging us about it. So it really has been very organic and slow growing. It’s a slow-growing cancer.

It’s kind of a nice, profitable cancer though. So why is it that each installment of the Evil Dead franchise has its own tone and flavor? It’s like each one is from its own separate universe that has a different spin on what was already established.

I would say probably because of the distance between them. The first Evil Dead was 1979, so we did one in the ‘70s. The second one was in 1986, so we did one in the ‘80s. Army of Darkness was ‘91 when we shot it, so that was the ‘90s and then really it was not for 25 more years that we started the TV series so you can see how your sensibilities would change based on experience and just life and preferences. So I would attribute it mostly to that.

Will Ash vs. Evil Dead still be on the air when the 40th anniversary happens?

You tell me, seer of the future.

Eh...my crystal ball is out of juice right now.

There ya go.

How do you think season three stands in comparison to the first two seasons?

It’s better by a mile. We’re up to speed, we’re sort of getting our sea legs, our story is coming together. We’re gonna pay off a bunch of stuff this year with new characters, new stuff for Ash to do, new dynamics...he’s got a daughter...his father comes back to haunt him as a ghost. A lot of cool stuff. Some of the cast winds up in limbo at a certain point. There’s time travel...it’s bitchin’ season. Ash has a family so I think it’s really cool. It was exciting.

What do you contribute to any of the trademark gore gags or action sequences in the show? Do you hang out in the writers' room and toss around ideas? How does that work?

I don’t hang out. I’m too busy. So...basically I’m in on the jokes. They pitch me the ideas and stuff. I’ll let them know if it’s something I am not interested in doing or don’t want to do. Or, if it doesn’t make sense for how I actually do something, I encourage the writers to act it out in their crappy little writer’s room so that the fight makes sense. Fight scenes need to have a story. When you fight a monster, you’re not the only smart one. Ash would be just as tricky as them, and being inventive in how they defend themselves or attack.

The Deadites are very tricky but so is Ash. Never forget that Ash is just as tricky as the Deadites. I always try to keep the writers smart. Write smart; don’t write stupid, or easy, or repetitive.

What’s the secret to writing a good one-liner?

Don’t make it too many syllables.

Technically, that in itself is a one-liner.

It is.

There’s something about Ash Vs. Evil Dead that captures a certain atmosphere in the United States in this day and age so well. Is this intentional satire or does it just come with the territory of the character of Ash Williams in general?

Well, you can interpret what it means in modern sociology, but to us, we’re just telling Ash’s story which is mostly universal.

It is, I think that’s why it’s so successful as a TV series. I also think Ash vs. Evil Dead is successful because of Pablo and Kelly (and now Brandy), who have helped the franchise develop an emotional center that the feature films didn’t have.

I agree. There’s way more character resonance. There’s much more for people to get behind and involved. They can worry about Ash’s daughter, you see different side of Ash, you see a caring and protective side, you see Ash step up from his selfish nature and be more selfless. He’s a shitty father, no question about it. But what’s fun is to show him try to grapple with it. Try and know that he’s doing some bad shit as a father but he’s doing the best that he can under the circumstances.

That seems to be the big theme of season three, is it not?

More like “family is everything." Family is all you really got.

Does this mean we can expect more Brock Williams this season?

Yep. Brock is back, played by the great Lee Majors, and I think he has more screen time this season because he comes back to give me advice.

Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss) too, maybe?

No, I think she’s going to stay dead.

How do you continue to play Ash and not get annoyed with people who only want to see his character when they look at you?

I realize that people only like what they like, and they will only know you based on what they like. If you only like horror movies, then I’m your horror guy. You like westerns, people know me from something else. If you like spy shows, then people might know me from those. I’ve had to learn to not be offended by that because I’m actually more pigeonholed by fans than by my own industry. I’ve done a bunch of different stuff but fans like what they like and they only watch what they want to watch. They won’t follow an actor and I’ve found that my fans won’t follow me to everything that I do, they’ll do about two-thirds of it.

And there’s some people that like Burn Notice but can’t stand Evil Dead movies. It’s not their bag. So, for me, I just do my business.

Right. Jumping back to Evil Dead...just kidding. How do you play Ash after all these decades and still make it fun and interesting for yourself as an actor?

I can finally have the freedom to be the final arbiter of what comes out of Ash’s mouth. I’ve rewritten a lot of my own material, I hand my material over to the script supervisor. Normally there’s a big process you have to go through if you want to change your lines. Sometimes I’ll just hand out an Ash draft. I won’t change anything but my own dialogue.

So, I wanted to experience on time where I had that kind of freedom and that kind of creative say - and we have that now, and it’s gonna be really hard to give up.

Do you think that new showrunner Mark Verheiden captures the Ash voice better, since he wrote My Name is Bruce in 2007 and the comic adaptation of the first Evil Dead film in for Dark Horse in 2007?

Well, it certainly puts him more in the ballpark, but I warned all the writers that if you guys don’t step up, don’t be surprised by what you see in the dailies.

That’s important, and almost a Tom Baker kind of thing, whereas an actor you have to be trusted to contribute your talents and your contributions based on your instincts...especially if you’ve been playing a character for so long.

I’m the only guy who only knows how Ash would react in a certain situation. A new director who didn’t have any experience with it, they wouldn’t really know. It’s been fun. It’s been really good to delve back in and flesh this guy out.

Are you going to have more screen time with Lucy Lawless this year? Is there going to be more action between you two? Er, well, not that kind of action, but...

Interaction, I think is what you’re getting at. Yes, there will be a little bit more play with Ash and Ruby because she’s a little more officially “bad” this season, and I think from Ash’s perspective she needs to be dealt with once and for all.

If you could describe this season in one word, what would it be?

Game-changer.

[lisathewife101]

The Boardroom

Characters: Henry Cavill the Actor, Unnamed OFC

Summary: Henry is suing a fan fiction writer for slander. He changes his mind shortly after seeing her. Even though she is angry with him, she can’t deny what she wants for long.

Rating: Explicit; NSFW 18 +

Warnings: Intimidation, Fingering, Dirty Talk, Angry Sex, Office Sex, Teasing, Denial, Groping, Power Struggle

Word Count: 1,803

***

“Good morning.”

His voice has somewhat startled me. It was very commanding. When I looked up, it was almost as if the man of my dreams was before me.

“Good morning,” I said in return, trying to convey a sense of gratitude and business.

“Please have a seat,” he extended his hand out to the glass table in front of him, and I pulled on the chair directly in front of me. My lawyers and representatives sat around me, and his walked to this other side of the table to join him.

Surprisingly, he dragged a chair right in front of me, took his seat and laced his fingers on the top of the table. Doing my best to have confidence, I looked him over, but when I looked to his face he was looking right at me. Intimidation was his game.

“Does anyone have anything to say before we start our order of business?”

My lawyer advised me not to say anything just in case, but it was courteous to give him or his lawyers the option.

“Yes actually, thank you.”

Great. This should be great. A mouthful from the one and only Muse. Fuck.

“My advisers strongly suggested I remain silent, but I need to tell you how much talent you have. I’ve obviously read some of your creations and I’m very impressed. You paint a very vivid picture and I’m actually flattered you have me as the basis of these fantasies.”

Jesus fucking Christ. What?!

He took a deep breath while the two men around him looked away in shame. “Considering the circumstances, I’d like to place this meeting on hold to find out a little bit more about you,” He’s pointed at me. “And maybe we can come to some sort of an agreement together, informally. Of course, if that’s alright.”

I look to my lawyers in confusion. And one of them sees my expression. “I think I can speak for all of us when I say we’re a bit surprised. Can you please tell us why you’ve made this decision?”

I look back and have lowered my head, peering at him gently. He on the other hand, has a smirk to his face. “I’m not sure I have all of the information I need to make my decision. I need more time. And the ability to speak freely with your client, again only if she agrees to that.”

I am in trouble. Oh dear God. Have the nerve and say yes. Everyone is waiting for your answer. The worst case scenario is you listen and shut your mouth. I look around the room and huff. My lawyer waves his hand as to give me the floor.

Make this count.

“If we discuss anything it’ll be on my terms. You’ve already given me enough headaches, I don’t need any more. We speak here and now, alone. You’ll have ten minutes max.”

“I’ll only need five.” He’s barely moved.

I look over at my lawyers and tip my head. They and his stand and walk out of the boardroom and close the door. He’s leaning forward, so I do too. We’re looking at each other, trying to intimidate but I doubt mine is working. Just don’t fucking smile.

He finally breaks the silence. “You’re not exactly what I expected.”

“Really. Why.”

“You are smart, creative and attractive? I didn’t think it was possible.”

Don’t fucking smile. Be offended. This is business.

“What does being attractive have to do with any of this?”

“Because if you are attractive, write what you write about me, and are into those things yourself, we should look at all of our options.”

Hold it together.

“Why don’t you spell those out for me then. Five minutes ago you were going to sue me. There were no other options.”

“You don’t think there is?”

I want to say walk out of this room. I want to say I’ll stop writing about him. I want to say I’ll never trample on his territory again, but I’m not going to, because I like what I do, and I know others do too. Sure I could change his name, but that would be giving in. You’re not only standing up for yourself, you’re standing up for everyone else out there who writes fan fiction. I remain silent.

“What I’m saying is… we could turn this scenario into a better one.”

He’s not. He’s asking to fuck me? Really…

As the realization comes over my expression, he can see it.

“So what do you say?”

I ponder, this could be very good. But is he trying to trick me?

“I’m not totally convinced you only want sex.”

“Good. We’re on the same page.”

“Well, I just don’t think you could be as good in bed as I’ve written you. No offense, but the character of you I write, wouldn’t sue someone for promoting them and writing mature realistic sexual fantasies.”

“At the moment, I’m not suing you. And try to be a little more optimistic please.”

I huff again, looking away. Let’s give him an example. “You’ve read my stories. Do you remember what I gave you as a staple? Your trademark kink in my fics?”

He smiles, and although it’s beautiful, it feels as though he’s still toying with me. “Yes, you have me biting. In almost every story I’ve read.”

“Tell me something,” I lean forward. “Do you like that? Giving your women a little sting? Because I’m sure with those sharp teeth, you squeeze a tiny bit of a moan out of them when they react. And when they only gasp, you know they’re stubborn and need more. Am I right?”

He’s looking my face over, and his smile has faded. “You’ve only cracked the surface sweetheart. If you want to see more, we need some time together.”

“Then I’m right. You bite.” As I wait for his answer, I know I’m right. And getting him to confess something this sexual about himself, something I created that he actually does, and admitting that confession to me, has him at a temporary weakness regardless of how small it is.

“Let’s just say I’m willing to leave my mark on you.”

—–

I’m pressed up against the wall in his darkened lawyers office, my hands are to either side of my head and he’s holding me there, pushing into me from behind while we’re both fully clothed. His breath is traveling down my neck and I’m anticipating a bite.

His teeth slowly grasp the flesh on my neck, and its painful already. He pulls away from me and his teeth are squeezing. My mouth is open, but I don’t dare make a sound, I won’t give him what he wants. His fingers slide between mine and he laces mine while they’re against the wall. I let out a gust of a breath and his crotch pushes me up, forcing me into the wall again.

He finally releases my skin. “Oh, you are a stubborn one aren’t you. Where are your manners?”

Highly aroused yet completed enraged I back-talk. “Manners, right. Like I am the one that needs manners-”

“Shhh…” His mouth is at my ear and although my words were louder, I couldn’t help but show how upset I was.

He grips one of my hands and guides me to turn around, giving me hardly any room in the process. His hands pin me there again, holding me in place. I look him in his beautiful blue eyes and see lust at its highest. But I don’t lose my train of thought. “You need to learn consideration and…”

His parted lips come to mine, and he waits as mine stay parted for his. He’s breathing into my mouth and hovering. He’s moving away to my side slowly, but I want his kiss so bad I follow his lips, trying to catch him. Suddenly they’re on my neck again sucking and then biting. “You bastard…” I whisper then gasp from the sting.

As he bites harder, his hands leave mine, feeling my body inch by inch, down my front, dragging and groping as he goes. I can’t deny they feel good, and I need more. I spread my legs and he feels my open invitation, moving for my prized piece, rubbing over it and lifting my skirt in the process. “Now, that’s not really what you think of me, is it.”

He’s right, but I’m not about to admit it. Instead, I try to push his buttons again. “I won’t come.”

His teeth pull away again on my neck, most likely leaving marks. “Why,” he asks calmly. “That voice of yours will sound so sweet in moans because of me.”

“I won’t give you the satisfaction,” I growl back.

He chuckles and he is groping me again. His mouth is open but I don’t believe he wants to kiss me this time. Not yet, maybe never.

“Maybe that wasn’t in the plan sweetheart. Maybe I want to make you suffer and beg me.”

His choice of words in a breath filled whisper have me. I need this man inside of me now. “You can’t. I won’t let you. I won’t beg.”

He’s closer than ever, his hands are moving between my legs and he lifts one, exposing my panties. He pushes his crotch between my legs and I can feel his hard on. “You sound like you’re challenging me. Is that suppose to make me try harder?”

“I’m,” out of breath. “I’m not coming. Not for you.” I turn my head away, but it’s just another opportunity for another bite on my neck, this time the other side. At the same time he grips my mound and pulls, rubbing his fingers over my lips and moving them, finding my clit and teases me. I squeak this time, and gasp yet again.

“I don’t believe you. I think you want to come.” He squats, placing my heeled foot over his shoulder, pulling back my panties with a strong tug and I see him lick his lips as he looks my cunt over. I feel the air in the room hit it. With my juice at full flow, I feel a cool chill as he watches me want him. He tugs at my panties again, securing them to the side. “All you need to say, is that you want me.”

I’m trembling, knowing he’s ready to eat me alive, give me what I want and it’s within reach. But I have to surrender. He licks between my lips once. His tongue dives deep and is long, wet and firm. He hits my clit and backs away, then blows softly to cool my wet pink.

My hands grip his hair loosely and my breathing haults temporarily.

“Oh God,” I whisper. “I want you.”

[randomdestielfangirl]

Writing advice - A compilation

To my post, I got so many lovely replies that I want to compile them all for other people -

@floralmotif

I generally keep writing to get through writing woes. I just saw @thevioletcaptain‘s reblog on this and I’d say it’s spot on. I’ve only seen theirs so far, but I’m sure others will have great responses too.

To add from my experience:

If you have ideas but don’t know what order to write them or are just experiencing a block: Get a bunch of index cards, write down everything you can think of. It could be dialogue, a cool fight scene, a character description, some prose you want included, anything. Then look at everything you have and start seeing if you can find an order to your ideas. If you find an order, look through again and see what works with what you’ve found. Take out the cards that don’t work and bundle them for later use. You may find you have more than one set of cards that’s got ideas attached, decide which one to focus on and file away the others for now. When you find some sort of order, fill in the blanks.

Arrange the cards however you think fits an interesting narrative that invokes emotion. If you want to experiment, move them around, fill in further blanks. You’ll probably start to see patterns and relationships emerge between the cards, use those to flesh out what’s missing, maybe rewrite some cards to fit that pattern, or maybe the patterns need changing or you find some things don’t fit. That’s fine, that’s what this process is for.

I use this for writing scripts all the time. I’ve done it for game dialogue, shorts, comics and currently a tv pilot. It works well in my experience and it lets you flesh out ideas visually without completely destroying them. I’ve found many a story this way and I usually keep several bundles of stories in my purse at once.

@mystic-majestic

I get stuck a lot with my writing, too. The best I can do is write. Write what you want and get a friend to beta it for you, so that there’s a fresh pair of eyes looking at your work. You’ll only ever be critical of what you do, and the more you stare at it the worse it seems to get. In reality, it’s probably not even that bad.

So even if you only write 100 words a day or maybe even in a week, just keep going. The motivation to write will hit you again only if you persist.

@spoopernaptime

knowing what bad writing is how you know you’re good :3

but nah i’m just gonna hop in and say part of being a creative is hating your own work. you’re always putting pressure on yourself to be better. it’s part of being an artist - and honestly, anyone who makes any sort of art can call themselves an artist. there’s no god of writing out there bestowing eternal damnation on your work; neither are there blessings of paradise upon the writers you read and consider good.  

what i like to do is just throw any sense of my own mind out the window and just write something. i might be the first person in the history of the internet to write an SPN/Pingu crossover - for a prompt about vegetables. if you’re worried about your pacing and storytelling, try small odd exercises like that. focus on a specific something - a certain feeling, a joke, a single line, maybe something bizarre that’s only funny to you - and break it down. why is it funny? what is this line responding to? why is this specific emotion important? nail down the essence of that scene - and then, don’t even think about writing. imagine someone else is telling you this story at a party. what would they say? try reading things out loud to yourself. try summarizing what you want to write to yourself. honestly, my recommendation for a rut and hating everything is to just - throw a bouncy ball at a wall and see what happens, if you know what i mean. your creativity - the part that makes you write - will always be there. if you let it rot, it’ll just bubble up into some weird sick stew. so you do need to keep writing. flex a bit, stretch out your muscles, and try to find some kind of flow you can follow.

also? read. read, read, read. read something you loved when you were a kid and find the flaws. read a writer you don’t even like just to see what you don’t like about it. read a writer you love and break their work down to the nitty gritty.

i ain’t even one to talk; i’m currently terrified of my two big wips :) but hey, it’s a journey.

@frompersiawithlove

When I used to write fics for another fandom (where I was one of the only people writing - so, extra pressure!) I used to get like this and taking a break helped. When you get back you could also experiment to get the juices flowing, e.g., 2nd person

@osirisjones

Neil Gaiman on tumblr has had some pretty good advice lately that I'll point your way: 

http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/157621265711/hello-mr-gaiman-how-old- 

and the follow-up post

neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/157630575556/you-say-to-finish-thingsbut-i-cant-even-start

I also want to thank @malicezero and @osirisjones for their advice and support! 

[tossinghydras]

Workbench Monthly

Now that I’m getting back into the swing of things I wanted a more consistent way to keep people updated on just what I am working on. Workbench Wednesday is already a great thing in many circles (Especially the people who found me through my miniature work), so I came up with a concept I am calling Workbench Monthly.  This will release on the first Wednesday of the month and will contain a comprehensive overview of what I have been working on during that period and any concepts I’m kicking around for future projects.

This doesn’t mean I won’t be doing other periodic updates if I want feedback or to tease certain work, but hopefully, this will help people get a better idea of the progress of my various projects.

Miniatures

Honestly, most of these are on hold now due to lack of funds, but the creative juices are still flowing. Many people have been following me for the Wraith Fleet work I’ve done (especially on twitter) and I have really enjoyed doing those nautically themed water spirits.  So much so that I’d like to do something similar for each Grand Alliance at some point. To do this I’ve made some changes to the project.

First, I’m changing the name to Muireann’s Chosen and will make an overall campaign/army book for it under this name (Wanted one for my projects ever since seeing some great custom ones online for tournaments). Besides lore and such this will be divided between the Wraithfleet (Death), Marijke’s Children (Destruction), The Stormcalled Reavers (Chaos) and Niyda Radahad’s Privateers (Order).

The goal is to convert up a 1000 pts of each faction, though I plan to bring the Wraithfleet up to at least 2000 as it is the force I want to play with. To that end I’ve been kicking around some army list ideas so they won’t be completely useless on the tabletop, but fluff and design are my main concerns. So, let's take a look at each faction.

Wraithfleet: This is what I’m most known for, though haven’t made any new progress lately. The big addition to this is the land-based section I’ve designed around a reborn Isabella von Carstein. I’ve also drawn up a rough idea of a display board that I might try to get done for Armies on Parade 2019.

Marijke’s Children: So full disclaimer… I have been watching a lot of Pirate Coast videos for Total War: Warhammer.  And I LOVE the designs made in that game. The idea for this one right now is an Arachnarok Junk Ship named Marijke and the spider cult that worships her and her hermit spider children. So far this includes Marijke herself, Spider Riders converted to have hermit crab shells and Ogors converted up to fill the ranks as a sudo-animated hulk/spider baby incubator.

The Stormcalled Reavers: I couldn’t come up with a concept for Chaos for a long time. I didn’t really want to do deamons partially because I couldn’t pick a patron god and partially because I’ll probably revive an old Slaannesh project when their new stuff drops. Then enter the Godsworn Hunt. I’ve always liked the design of the Darkoath Queen and with this new warband for Underworlds it inspired me to do something around them.  So far, the concept is a maori-ish tribe who seek to slay great beasts. Beyond getting the warband and adding the Chieftain and Queen I’m thinking of throwing in a warshrine done up as a salvaged airship/whaling barge.

Niyda Radahad’s Privateers: I’m still undecided with this, though I am leaning towards some kind of Elvish themed Overlords or maybe a mixed list with KO and Elves riding giant seabirds. Unfortunately, this faction has the least design input so far.

Keep an eye out for updates on these as I develop their lore.

Next up a friend of mine picked up the Kill Team 2 player set this weekend so I’m currently kicking around plans for that. I will probably go with the Inquisition/Guard Kill Team I used when my local group was playing the Heralds of Ruin ruleset. I never got to finish it as the group stopped playing before I got it where I liked.  Basic conversions using Empire Greatswords and Cadians. Will probably have to come up with a few new units considering how different GW’s KT is compared to HoR.

Other than that, I have plans to build a scenery board for our family Christmas village we set up every year, which I will probably post on here as well.

 Tabletop

Alright onto the meat of this month’s article. As many who follow the blog know I had some setbacks early in the year.  First, my computer died and then I lost a notebook full of notes, so it has taken quite a while to recreate those ideas and afford a new computer.  But I am now back up and working.

First let’s look at the project I’ve made the least progress on: Savage Stuffing.

I’ve cleaned up the initial document and believe I have a working resolution system for the game. I need to organise a destruction playtest to see if this works before expanding on the other mechanics. I’ve also outlined the various sections in the book, initial magic and equipment as well as the playtest adventure. Probably won’t see any real work done on this project in 2018.

Now let’s take a look at my main project: Goblins & Kobolds.

So, I’ve added an upgrade to my office in the form of a project board and have taken another look at the overall project to get a feel of the financial and creative obligations to make the project what I wanted and to keep myself focus on the design points.  While working on this I have once again changed the scope of the project.

Between the Goblin’s book and Kobold’s book I realized I had a new subclass for 6 classes, 3 in each book. I eventually decided to increase that to 4 in each book and add a few new subclasses and racial subtypes to the final book, which I hadn’t planned on doing originally.

This means that Book 1 for each arch will have the race, 3 racial subtypes, 1 subclass for 4 different classes (themed either racially or to the setting) as well as items and equipment themed for those environments. The mega dungeon book will also include 1 subclass for 4 different classes and an additional racial subtype themed to a more nautical location.

 Now let’s look at the progress for book 1 in the Winter Trilogy: Fistful of Silver.

Managed to get quite a bit done. The Goblin PC race is complete, including its subtypes. I have also completed work on the Destruction Domain (Cleric) and Goblin Outrider (Fighter).  Sapper (Rogue) and Witchling (Sorcerer) have been outlined, but I’m still adjusting them for fit and balance, so they aren’t quite ready but are about 90% complete.

The Equipment and Item section has been outlined with everything I plan to include, just working on some stats and pricing. Probably about 60% done here.

I’ve outlined the crafting system and environmental hazards but that’s all for these sections.

For the Adventure, I have all the locales designed and prototype maps drawn up (which you may have seen on my Instagram or Twitter). I have also written out the progression for the adventure and noted what monsters appear where, so all the preliminary work is complete.  All that remains now is to flesh out the writing and stat up the unique monsters that appear in the adventure, so I’d say 50% complete here.

I’m happy with the progress so far. Not quite as far along as I planned to be this year, but it is almost ready for playtesting. The plan right now is to finish the writing by the end of 2018 and then begin playtesting after the holidays, so mid-late January.

 I have also written out a rough design draft for the Sand Trilogy Book 1: Run, Kobold, Run.

Everything is in the early design phase, but I do have design concepts written up for the following;

Kobold race (Common, Winged, Sand)

Scorpion Hunter (Monk), Dragonshield (Paladin), Dustblight (Ranger), Wyrm Priest (Warlock)

Adventure Setting

Basic Adventure plot and progression.

 Overall things are progressing at an acceptable pace. If you have any ideas, questions or feedback feel free to drop me a message on any of my social media and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

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