Me going to tell my fandom (my Tumblr followers) lore about my oc that will shatter their hearts (I will get 2 notes)
Hey, whatever you find the most fun. I can sort of relate. For some of my stories it's more about the idea or world than the characters.
Happy storyteller saturday! What are you most looking forward to writing in your current WIP?
Honestly? No idea. I don't think like that. I don't (usually) have a scene, a specific character, or even a theme when I start a story. I have the seed of an idea and just write. Thanks for the ask.
Thought I would try to signal boost for this small village. The library in the village of Prescott, Michigan was lost in a fire last month. While the building was insured, they need donations to keep summer programs running and other temporary needs. They still need supplies, including storage and craft supplies for the kids!
Donate on their website â Amazon wishlist â Updates on FB â News article
Please reblog to boost! I know book lovers here understand how important libraries are.
Can we make this post do numbers? đĽ
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.
This is where I will catalog every chapter and chunk of my book that I post here on Tumblr in case you want to read everything in order. For more information about this project, such as its premise, content warnings and where else to find it, click here.
DISCLAIMER: This list will be modified as I go, so if you donât see any updates or links for a while, just know Iâm trying to format the new stuff in a way that looks somewhat appealing.
âď¸ Chapter one umbrella: âď¸
Chunk 1.
I love this new character already! I'm also impressed with the way you write their dialogue. I sometimes struggle with certain characters sounding too similar, but you do a great job with the dialogue of all three of these characters. I can really hear their voice through the text. Also love how you write action, it had me on the edge of my seat!
The next morning, Jesse woke with a groan, the dull ache in her shoulder a solemn reminder of the danger she put herself into last night.
She looked over at Lira, who was still sitting with her knees to her chest. A wave of emotions washed over her. Guilt? Sadness? Love? Right now it was all too hard to parse over the pain.
âHey, you wake yet?â Jesse asked, her voice hoarse from the ragged breaths she took.
âYeahâŚâ Lira yawned out, her gaze slowly lifting from the single tile on the floor she had been looking at all night, her eyelids drooping.
ââŚYou didnât sleep, huh?â Jesseâs voice was oozing for concern with her friend.
âIs it that obvious?â Lira whispered, a soft chuckle escaping her lips momentarily.
âWellâŚnormally you look like a flame roaring to life when you wake up, but now you look like a raccoon,â Jesse said, a small smirk playing across her lips as she gestured toward her own eyes.
Suddenly, something on the TV caught their attention.
âLast night in Serath, protests broke out regardingâŚâ
They both tuned out the broadcast, locking eyes.
Jesse spoke first, voice quiet with disbelief. âWe⌠We started something, didnât we? With our art?â
Lira nodded, her voice a hushed whisper. âYeah⌠we did. Wish Iâd finished mine, though.â She chuckled softly, her hands sliding from her knees to the floor as she pushed herself upright.
Jesse tried to stand too, wincing with every movement.
Lira laughed and smirked, stepping over to catch her before she could fall. âCareful, soldier. Donât go hurting yourself now.â
Jesse couldnât help but giggle, rolling her eyes.
The TV faded back into their awareness. âFor those of you looking to stay safe, we recommend avoiding Duskline AvenueâŚâ
âLet me guess⌠you wanna go there today, huh?â Jesse smiled, stretching out her stiff limbs. âSafetyâs never been your thing.â
Lira huffed, smirking. âGuess you can read me like a book.â
âNot hard to do when Iâm used to tagging along on all your little missions, Lira.â
âYeah, yeahâŚâ Lira chuckled, brushing off the tease. âCâmon, letâs get you ready.â
As Lira helped Jesse pull on her jacket from the night before, she couldnât help but notice something. Jesse was still wearing the gloves from their run-in with Vance.
âYou really like those gloves, huh?â Lira teased.
Jesse did her best to hide the blush rising in her cheeks. âSo what if I do? Theyâre comfy!â
Lira chuckled, shaking her head. âNothing wrong with liking the gloves you used to beat your first debt collector.â
The heat on Jesseâs face grew, and she quickly turned away, tugging the jacket on the rest of the way. For once, she was completely speechless â not from the hollow ache she knew too well, but from the sudden, fragile warmth blooming in her chest.
Satisfied, Lira smirked and tapped Jesseâs shoulder. âTime to go, soldier.â
Jesse took a deep breath, nodded, and smiled softly before leading the way out.
They wound their way through the maze of backstreets and alleyways, careful to avoid prying eyes. Eventually, they found themselves at the center of an enormous protestâvoices bounced off the monolithic buildings towering over Duskline Avenue.
One message cut through the chaos, sharp as a blade: âRELEASE THE FILES. SHOW THE TRUTH.â
The chant thundered across the avenue, a living, breathing thing.
Lira joined in first, shouting with her whole chest. Jesse quickly followed, her voice softer but no less determined. âRELEASE THE FILES. SHOW THE TRUTH.â
Lira climbed onto the roof of a battered car, raising her firsts and leading the chant, fully caught in the moment. Jesse stayed close, feet on the ground, her presence quieter but no less vital.
The sight of it allâthe passion, the sheer mass of peopleâmoved Jesse in ways she hadnât thought possible. Her simple little tag had helped spark this. It felt unreal, overwhelmingâŚbut she couldnât stop herself from chanting alongside the crowd.
Their voices grew hoarse, lost in the sound and the safety of the numbers around themâthe unwitting masses never realizing their two ghost leaders stood right there among them.
Eventually, the crowd began to die downâuntil a single gunshot cracked through the air, slicing past a wall of bodies and slamming into the hood of the car Lira was standing on with a sickening crunch.
Screams erupted in an instant. Panic spread like a wildfire. Lira leapt from the car just as another shot hit the metal frame behind her, sending the crowd into full-blown chaos. People pushed and stumbled, nearly trampling one another in their rush to escape.
âWhere the fuck did that come from?â Lira shouted, eyes darting across the windows of the far buildings as she searched for the source.
Thenâanother shot. This one shattered the side of the car near her landing point.
Before Jesse could react, Lira grabbed her hand and yanked her toward a nearby pillar. Sheâd seen it: the telltale flash of glass. A scope. They werenât aiming to kill yet. Just playing with them. But they knew where they were.
A third shot slammed into the pillar with a sharp thud.
Then silence.
Too quiet.
Where had the protestors gone? Were they hiding? Watching? Had they scattered completely?
Questions raced through Liraâs mind, but she pushed them down. No time. Canât look. That sniperâs still watching.
A soft crackâa new gunshot, muffled this time. Silenced. A warning. Either the sniper had changed tactics, or there were two.
Jesseâs fingers began to tap a quiet rhythm on her thigh, the one she always fell into when the fear crept too close. Her eyes scanned the nearby doors, the pillars, the shadows. Canât go down the street. Shots were too low. Theyâll have it covered. Need an alley. Something tight.
Lira stayed still, her breathing shallow, eyes flicking between possible exits.
Then her thoughts turned, as they always did, toward Jesse.
If I give myself up⌠would they let her go?
She clenched her jaw. No. No, donât think like that. We get out. Together.
Jesse tore one glove off and lobbed it around the corner of the pillar. Two shots rang outâsimultaneous. The glove shredded mid-air.
Shit. Two of them. Her thoughts raced, calculating.
Bolt action? Maybe. Could give us a second to run for an alley. But I canât keep tossing things and hoping they reload.
Her rhythm picked upâfingers tapping frantically nowâas her eyes met Liraâs.
Without hesitation, Lira pulled Jesse into her chest, shielding her. Every muscle in her body coiled. Then she movedâscooping Jesse up like she weighed nothing and sprinting toward the next concrete cover.
They almost made it.
Two more shots ripped through either side of Jesseâs jacket, far too close for comfortâtoo precise.
Liraâs instincts screamed. She pivoted sharply, the sunlight catching a puddle in the alley just ahead. She veered toward it, taking a hard turn just as two more bullets slammed into the corner where theyâd been just milliseconds before.
Donât stop. Not yet. Too close. Her legs burned, lungs heaving, but she pushed through it allâdarting between shadows, diving behind dumpsters, weaving through tight alleyways.
Only once they broke into a crowded market, loud and alive, did she slow. She set Jesse down in front of her, breath ragged.
âYou okay?â she asked, scanning her friend for blood.
Jesse winced, taking a deep breath to calm the adrenaline coursing through her veins. âNo more hurt than I was this morningâŚunless you count sentimental damage.â
Lira let out an exasperated sigh and wrapped her arms around Jesse, holding her tightly, as if sheer force could keep her safe. âThank god⌠I donât know what Iâd do if I let you get hurt again.â
Jesse smiled softly at her words, unspoken words and emotion curling at the corners of her lips.
The market buzzed around themâa wash of voices, bartering, footsteps, and laughter. After the gunfire and hollow silence, the sound of normal life was almost surreal. Comforting in its chaos.
âWas it a setup?â Jesse asked, her voice low.
Liraâs stomach tightened. It was the only thing that made sense. âWe canât be sure just yet.â She knew she was lying, but it was better than facing the truth.
Jesse nodded, drawing in a deep, shaky breath. âYeahâŚbut if it was a setup, they gave us a way out. Almost like they didnât want us dead. Like it was a test.â
They began moving, weaving through the crowd. Lira leaned in closer, her voice almost drowned in the noise. âAnd if they wanted us there, who knows how many of those protestors were agents?â
Jesse went quiet, her shoulders tensing slightly beneath the ripped jacket.
Just as they were relaxing slightly, a voice cut through the noise of the merchants behind them.
âYou two made quite the mess back there.â
They spun around. A woman stood half-shadowed beneath the canopy of a market stall, fingers tucked into her coat pockets. She looked calmâtoo calm for someone whoâd supposedly just walked out of a sniper ambush.
Jesse instinctively stepped back, her body still wired from adrenaline. Lira moved in front of her without thinking.
âWe donât know you,â Lira said flatly.
âYou donât need to.â The woman glanced up, letting them catch a brief glimpse of her face. She looked vaguely familiar. Maybe someone whoâd been part of the protest. Or the building. âBut I know you.â
Jesse tensed.
The woman continued, her voice just above the murmur of the crowd. âYou werenât the only ones painting last night. But you were the loudest. Most visible. And now? People are listening.â
She paused, looking at Lira. âTheyâll come again. Louder next time. You need to be somewhere safe.â
âAnd let me guess,â Lira said with a bitter smirk, âyou just so happen to know a place?â
âI know the place.â
The woman turned and started walking away without another word. Lira hesitated. Jesse touched her arm.
âI think we should hear her out.â Jesseâs voice was soft and meek, like a mouse.
Lira didnât move, eyes narrowed. âIt could be a trap.â
Jesse exhaled. âMaybe. But weâre running out of alleys and markets to hide in.â
Lira hesitantly nodded, knowing their safety was limited if they stayed on the run.
With that, the two women followed this new anomaly of a woman.
As someone who tries to present explicit showcases of abuse, this attitude also seriously frustrates me. There's this attitude that, if you don't tip toe around it, then you are immoral. Like, I know for certain some people are going to read Infernal Serenade and come away with the brain dead take away that I condone SA and incest, completely overlooking the fact this all happens within a literal cult. Like yes, it is supposed to be deeply uncomfortable and make you hate the cult. The cult is commentary on the sexual abuse within the fanatical side of Catholicism.
As someone who also loves The Great Gatsby, I also hate that people completely overlook the entire point of that book, which was to show just how corrupt rich people are. Like yes, Gatsby is supposed to suck, Tom is supposed to suck, Daisy is supposed to suck, etc. Hell, even Nick sucks because he just goes along with everything, and this is the point. Framing is everything, and I am tired of the framing of stories constantly being ignored.
Btw, player of dating games or not, if you have a type in fictional characters, you can absolutely take the survey.
Hey, I made a survey for the recent writing project I am working on. If you want, feel free to fill it out. The questions may feel a bit random at times, but I promise they are relevant. And may have something to do with kissable object head people.
Minors please do not interact
I made a song for giving you song recs for your OCs! For those who are into that, feel free to give it a follow.
Hi hi! This is a blog run by @moremysteries to help you find songs for your original blorbos and original works. Please review the information below, and happy requesting.
I am not comfortable with minors interacting, so begone minors!
Always assume I am not familiar with your OCs and give the relevant information for whatever you are requesting. If you plan to send me a character bio, awesome! But please point me in the right direction so I know which parts are most relevant for whatever you are requesting. (EX: Can you read the section on their teen years and give me song recs that fit?)
Yes, you can request songs for NSFW scenes. Just please do not request songs for assault scenes, as I find that too triggering. Outside of that, please let me know the vibes of the scene or the character dynamics so I know what kind of songs you're looking for.
I will rec songs for abusive relationships, but please don't send in requests asking me to do so through a romanticized lens. I am also not comfortable giving song requests for CSA or incest, sorry.
I am fine with people sending multiple requests, but please limit yourself to six requests max. I will take my time on requests, so don't pressure me.
I reserve the right to not complete any request that makes me feel uncomfortable for any reason.
What you can request
Recs for songs that fit your OCs or a certain aspect of your OC.
Recs for songs that fit a certain scene.
Recs for songs your OC might listen to based on their tastes.
Recs for songs that fit a relationship between your OCs.
Recs for songs that fit the vibes or a certain aspect of your WIP.
Recs for songs based on a playlist you already have, a song you strongly associate with the OC, wip, scene, and so on, a moodboard, etc.
Just always remember the more relevant details you give me, the more accurate the recommendations will be. For instance, "my OC is named Bill and loves dogs". That's sweet, but will their love of dogs help me find songs that suit them? I personally doubt it. A sentence like, "my OC is named Bill, and he's a sweetheart that works at the local dog shelter because he loves animals," is much more informative. This is just an example of a helpful sentence, but please give me more than just that sentence. đ
All of my work to date (1,300,000+ words) has been scraped and added to a dataset shared in multiple places online for the purpose of training Generative AI. If you write fanfic, yours probably has too.
It's years of workâcountless hoursâcountless body aches, missed meals and lost sleep. All of it, for free. For joy, for the love of it. For your love of itâand someone felt entitled to take that and use it for their own personal gain. For profit.
As a writer, it's hard not to be angry about that. I do however, think it's important to highlight this:
Generative AI will never replace us.
AI can't make you feel what I make you feelâwhat any other writer on earth can make you feelâbecause real emotion, real connection and real storytelling comes from the heart and it doesn't have one.
AI has never felt hopeless, it's never felt alone, or burdened, or in love, or so ecstatically happy it could cry. It doesn't know grief, it doesn't know joy, it knows simple binary codeâzeros and ones, and that's all.
The joy of literature is in connection and in our humanity, and call me sentimental, but that is something that cannot be taught.
18+ ⢠System ⢠Host: Essie ⢠Horror Mystery Writers ⢠I curate my space and so should you ⢠Anti AI ⢠Read pinned for more info
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