Moremysteries - There Are More Mysteries Than Tragedies

Hi peeps! As I work on Every Hero Needs a Villain, do y'all want me to make the community for it so you can see some funny behind the scenes stuff and potentially certain bios as I make them? You can also make suggestions for stuff there if you want. Trying to encourage myself to complete them.

Tag list: @aweirdshipp, @floofyboi57, @aralithmenathere

I love how on Tumblr, "media literacy" has become "Um, just because someone writes about this doesn't mean they're endorsing this. I hate all these media puritans ruining everything."

I'm sad to inform you that knowing when and whether an author is endorsing something, implying something, saying something, is also part of media literacy. Knowing when they are doing this and when they're not is part of media literacy. Assuming that no author has ever endorsed a bad thing is how you fall for proper gander. It's not media literacy to always assume that nobody ever has agreed with the morally reprehensible ideas in their work.

Sometimes, authors are endorsing something, and you need to be aware when that happens, and you also need to be aware when you're doing it as an author. All media isn't horny dubcon fanfic where you and the author know it's problematic IRL but you get off to it in the privacy of your brain. Sometimes very smart people can convince you of something that'll hurt others in the real world. Sometimes very dumb people will romanticize something without realizing they're doing it and you'll be caught up in it without realizing that you are.

Being aware of this is also media literacy. Being aware of the narrative tools used to affect your thinking is media literacy. Deciding on your own whether you agree with an author or not is media literacy. Enjoying characters doing bad things and allowing authors to create flawed or cruel characters for the sake of a story is perfectly fine, but it is not the same as being media literate. Being smug about how you never think an author has bad intentions tells me you're edgy, not that you're media literate. You can't use one rule to apply to all media. That's not how media literacy works. Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Aheem heem. Anyway.

Me going to tell my fandom (my Tumblr followers) lore about my oc that will shatter their hearts (I will get 2 notes)

Yes, yes, I love this dynamic so much! I love both when it's incredibly sweet, and also when it causes a character's downfall.

My favorite relationship dynamic in fiction is a worshipper and their God. Not a literal God, but their God. The only thing in the whole world that matters to them. I will live for you, I would die for you, I would kill for you. My only moral compass is You. You can do no wrong in my eyes and I will never stray from your side. I was born to meet you and to love you. You are the only being I pray to. Your life isn’t just my passion, it’s my religion. You don’t think you’re anything special but you don’t see what I see. You don’t see that you’re the only person who’s ever made me feel this way. You don’t understand how beautiful you are to me and I will devote my entire life to making you understand and accept it.

People really need to realise that “media can affect real life” doesn’t mean “this character does bad things so people will read that and start doing bad things” and actually means “ideas in fiction especially stereotypes about minority groups can affect how the reader views those groups, an authors implicit prejudices can be passed on to readers”

Reblog to make him lose another 200 billion, like to make him lose 1 billion

For real. And the amount you should show versus tell will also heavily rely on the type of story you're telling and the style in which you approach it.

Someone once told me if you learn to properly show AND tell, my writing would improve dramatically and I could do it without thought. At the time, I thought they were full of shit. That it would be a struggle for the rest of my days. Lo and behold, they were correct. It does become easier.

Also, remember showing EVERYTHING is not needed. There are millions of reasons to tell something in a story. Don't let the internet convince you that you need to show everything. Even the greatest writers in history didn't show all the time.

"In a way, there are more mysteries than tragedies"

Kofi | Wattpad | AO3 | Writing Master List | Pillowfort | Bluesky

(Profile art by @floofyboi57)

Hi hi! I'm an aroace trans man in a system that loves to write horror mysteries. Though I dabble in other genres depending on what a story needs. My works typically include morally gray characters, strangely cute monsters, and dark content, so make sure you read the content warnings before engaging with them. Some themes you can expect are light in the deepest darkness, heroes being worse than the villain, weirdcore settings, humans as the true evil, religious trauma, finding queer acceptance, and so on. I also litter my works with trans, plural, and aroace themes.

Important notes:

Why did I make a new blog, outside of wanting a fresh start? To be honest, my notifications were so broken that it made the decision easy. I do recognize that, one day, I'll have to accept having an account for a long time just means things will break, but this is not that day!

Taglist and Tags

@aweirdshipp

If you like our work, please consider asking to be added to the taglist! This shows us people are interested in our writing, and can help ensure you're notified about writing updates. Feel free to clarify if you want to be tagged for things like a specific WIP, writing ramblings, snippets, or if you want to be notified when I need beta readers.

#ourwriting, #writingrambles, #writingsnippet, #wipupdates, #essiehobbies

Disclaimer

I will not follow you if you do not properly warn about or tag triggering content. I'd love to be moots with others, but I can not comfortably follow you if you are not properly tagging your posts. I am a strong pusher for properly tagging content so people can curate their own space.

An Optional BYF For Those Who Want It

This is a Litmus Test

Yep, let's talk about the whole "fiction effects reality" thing. When I use this phrase, what I am not saying is that violent media will make you violent, or that all stories should be squeaky clean with the purpose of teaching a moral. It's a recognition of how harmful feeding into stereotypes can be, and how certain framing contributes to the spread of harmful ideas. For example, a work that glorifies violence done by the military via painting the other side of a conflict as "pure evil". And let me be clear, a character glorifying their own actions is not the same as the creator glorifying their actions, nor are stories where everyone is evil or sucks encouraging bad behavior.

The takes, "writing about horrific things does not make you a bad person", and, "a creator framing a character's horrific behavior as justifiable, and others negative reactions towards it as unjustifiable, could be a red flag", in my opinion, can and should coexist. (Ex: B being painted as in the wrong for not seeing a trans individual as crazy, while A is painted as justified for doing so). I am against censorship and harassment, but I am not against thoughtful critiques or discussions about how we present certain ideas within our writing. Discouraging this makes it more difficult to discuss when harm is intended or accidentally done, and can be used to silence minorities when they ask for better representation. It also makes it harder to blow the whistle on bigots. Both the extremes that everyone who writes dark things condones them, and that no one who writes dark things ever condones them are not helpful. Which brings me to my main point.

TDLR: Framing is everything, and just because fiction isn't going to turn us into murder hobos, that doesn't mean it can't contribute to the spread of harmful ideas. Being against censorship does not have to mean being against thoughtful discussion or critique.

Your reaction to these paragraphs will let you know whether or not my writing is for you. I'm a neurodivergent who's addicted to nuance, and this shows in not only my stories, but also how I approach them. As I write them, I twist the struggles, perspectives, and experiences of the characters to end up with a complex web of considerations. There's nothing wrong with a story full of horrible people being horrible just for the sake of it, or a story full of violence just because, but those aren't the type of things I tend to write. I also often cover the perspectives of trauma victims and plural individuals to put out the representation I as one want to see.

If you dislike horror that takes an interest in examining and criticizing human behavior, this is definitely not the blog for you. But, if you think tackling questions such as how far the heroes can go before they become just as bad, or even worse, than the villain, themes of characters overcoming evil, characters like oddly soft demons, and settings like weirdcore societies meant to comment on American society, are interesting, then I think you'll enjoy my works.

TDLR: I write horror with a gushy center and with representation that is important to me.

Writing Master List

Posted Online

The Crimson Bride

Psychological horror | Wattpad | AO3 - Complete - 11 chapters

Florence, a transman who has recently escaped his abusive ex-husband, is haunted by dreams, or more accurately, nightmares exploring his traumatized psyche. Through a twisted version of his new partner, he is forced to confront his fears concerning womanhood, men, and sex, recognizing his internalized guilt from "the incident" along the way. His partner Max may have some similar struggles.

Main Characters

Florence - Skittish transman who keeps having nightmares about his ex husband.

Max - Florence's husband, who is battling with nightmares of his own about his mother.

The Man - Florence's dream version of Max, embodying all of his fears about men.

Sam - Max's old childhood friend and crush.

Every Hero Needs a Villain

Psychological horror, queerplatonic romance | To Be Posted

In a world of heroes versus villains, what happens when a hero and villain become best friends? What about when they fall for each other? Very tentative description that will be updated later.

Main Characters

TBD

The Diary of Spinel Bamford (Looking for Beta Readers!)

Horror mystery | To be posted - Complete

The Bamford manor is known for hosting a variety of colorful figures. Most notably, there's the ever sweet Mrs. Bamford, her brother, Charles, who is overcoming a recent tragedy, and her son, Spinel, who is silent as the grave. Only, Mrs. Bamford was barren until she met a certain, Hellish suitor, and the in house priests are well aware of that fact. Yet, when the manor staff start dropping like flies, the Antichrist may be the only one who can catch the culprit. A story full of commentary about religious fear mongering and the horrors of childhood.

Main Characters

Spinel Bamford - The literal Antichrist, a smart and silent child who's on the case!

Rosey - Spinel's mother, a sweet, enthusiastic, and caring woman.

Charles - Spinel's uncle, a clumsy yet sweet man who finds himself a prime suspect.

Detective - The dutiful and hardened detective, who is constantly stumped by the weird going ons within the manor.

The Breeding Grounds (Looking for Beta Readers!)

Sci-fi comedy | To be posted - Complete

In a very superficial anthro dog society, dogs compete in a game show to see which contestants can make the most beautiful pup using the patent pending Love Maker machine. Whoever wins is allowed into The City of Divine Visage, where they believe they will live a better life with more opportunities. Being invited onto the show is an honor, and dogs come from far and wide to shoot their shot. Yet, this year's game show has several twists and turns not even the announcer and producers could have predicted! An absurdist experience full of laughs and, most importantly, silly anthro dogs.

Main characters

Barker Woofington - Host of the breeding grounds, a strange and energetic fellow who does everything he can for the contestants.

Monly - Dog from a small town looking for better opportunities, but who greatly misses home.

Snifster - Dropped out of his dream school to be on the show, and was studying The Visage Scale until that point, giving him an advantage.

Lappy - Country dog with a history of show dogs in her family, she's confident she can win using both her charm and planning skills.

Padsly - A jock who may be far smarter than anyone ever expected, and even more conniving.

Sleep Laughing

Sci-fi Horror | To be posted - In Progress High Priority

In a sci-fi world, a "villain" is trapped in his own underground bunker with a set of "heroes". This rag tag group are desperately trying to get out while also tending to him. The problem? The "villain" has sustained a large gash of light, the particles threatening to consume him if it's allowed to spread any further. A story of robbed anatomy and role reversals.

Main characters

The villain - I wonder what someone like him dreams about. Do we even want to know?

Hope - The villain's caretaker who can't seem to help but baby talk him in the process.

Onyx - A tough older man who takes a more rational approach to the entire situation.

Hunter - Spunky young nurse who seems to hate his job.

Dick - The leader of the group, and his nickname says it all.

Lenore - A quiet woman who is far more capable than the others give her credit for. Comes off as cold yet has a heart of gold.

The Body Washer

Body horror, sci-fi horror | To be posted - In Progress Medium Priority

In a world where citizens are too busy to shower, machines take over the cleaning for them. Machines which may be able to operate on their own one day, but they need your help to train them! Well, that and their clients' data. You as a shower operator will face several strange horrors as you begin your new job in this dystopian society. Just what is the manager not telling you?

Main Characters

You - That's right, did I stutter?

Your manager - A strange man, the job seems to have taken a toll on him.

The Ghost & The Sludge (In Progress)

Queerplatonic Romance - To Be Posted - In Progress Low Priority

In a world full of monsters, the strongest monsters protect the others from humanity and are seen as worthy of respect. This attitude seeps into the school system, where monsters are taught this hierarchy in order to survive. Within one of these schools, a ghost named Preston finds himself getting closer to the ever popular sludge monster named Laurent when on their senior trip. Despite Preston being the stereotypical "loser", he finds he has more in common with Laurent than he would have ever expected. Will Preston manage to figure out Laurent's intent before the trip ends, or will he always be left wondering about that strange Summer?

Main characters

Preston - A shy ghost who keeps to himself, terrified of being bullied.

Laurent - The ruling sludge monster of his class, known for being a party animal yet also extremely studious.

The Glass Mosaic

Wattpad | AO3 - Completed - Oneshot

An art enthusiast finds himself face to face with the individual who broke his beloved stained glass window. He struggles between two desires; the desire to punish them, and the desire to find out why they'd do such a horrific thing. He practically worshiped that stain glass window, taking the time to understand why it was made, even though he himself lacks the passion the artist had. In his eyes, anyone who would destroy it must be some kind of monster. Yet, discovering the destructive individual, he realizes that description is far from the truth.

Main Characters

The art lover - A protector of the arts because he himself struggles to make them.

The art destroyer - Someone who may not know any better.

The Metz Family Breakfast

Wattpad | AO3 - Complete - Oneshot

One shot pertaining to my original characters the Metz family, including their teasing mother Mrs. Metz, the grumpy oldest Rainer, and his hyper younger sister Frida. When they're making breakfast together, Rainer is horrified when his sister Frida gets involved.

Cats of Imperium

Wattpad | AO3

Stories set in an open fantasy world where different types of fantasy cats try to survive under the goddess' rule.

I Could Never Sleep In Your House

AO3 - Complete - Oneshot

An unnamed narrator reflects on why they could never sleep in an old friend's house.

To Be Published

Infernal Serenade Series

Horror mystery | Three books - In Progress High Priority

The lone jogger, Quentin, ends up befriending the devil of Chiffon street, Bradi, and his girlfriend, Nicky. Though their neighbors tend to misunderstand them, Quentin finds himself connecting to them outcast to outcast. Yet, the more Quentin gets to know them, the more he suspects they may be involved in something occult. Ironically, while diving into this mystery, Quentin struggles to hide quite few secrets of his own. A tale set in the suburbs of a cult ridden California where every shadow and creek in the night hints at something greater, something more terrifying.

Main characters

Quentin - The mysterious jogger whose personal life is a complete mystery. Kind, though a bit awkward and stone faced.

Bradi - The devil of Chiffon Street, a bratty college student who has been known to terrorize his neighbors using his hose.

Nicky - The girlfriend of Bradi, extremely sweet and playful with an interest in all things occult.

Desiderius - The literal demon of lust, and an extremely mischievous and playful one at that.

Ashes of The Vale

Horror mystery | One Book - In Progress Medium Priority

Sawyer moves away from his sister, Alice, and into the small town of Ashvale to carve out his journey of independence. Yet, as the days pass, strange occurrences keep happening. His neighbors act as if they're hiding something, there's rumors about the previous owners of his house going mad, and he swears he hears things going bump in the night. Sawyer begins to worry the town's superstitions may be based on fact. Worst of all, he finds he can not escape his night terrors, and if anything, they begin to worsen.

Main Characters

Sawyer - The POV character, who recently moved into his new home, which was suspiciously cheap. His neighbors, however, are even more suspicious, though that might just be because Sawyer is plagued with nightmares, making him paranoid.

Remi - The person who greets Sawyer, and whom Sawyer feels the closest to. He's the glue that keeps the group together, being kind, playful, and energetic.

Nick - They're a flirtatious artist who the town folk seem to have a particular disdain for.

Jonathan - An extremely stern young man who is always keeping an eye on his friends for reasons he keeps close to his chest.

Cynthia - A shy and sweet young woman with a love for animals.

FAI

Horror Mystery | One Book - Revamping Medium Priority

When young Matthew's mom dies, he feels like his world has come to an end. Yet, his hopes sky rocket when the FAI, a discontinued toy, start appearing in his house and playing games with him. He believes his mom sent them to lead him back to her. Unfortunately, they're not alone. As Matthew grows older, investigating the FAI makes him realize his mom's line of work may have been more shady than he ever realized.

Main Characters

Matthew - A young boy who just lost his mother, and is desperate for her return.

Shapey - a FAI toy that looks mysteriously different from the rest.

The FAI - A discontinued toy set that appear in Matthew's house. They feel frighteningly lifelike.

imagine a goat with a hat

STOP-

what hat did you give the goat what is the instinctual hat you gave to this goat