Writing Notes: Dystopian World

So you know when you're writing a scene where the hero is carrying an injured person and you realize you've never been in this situation and have no idea how accurate the method of transportation actually is?

Oh boy, do I have a valuable resource for you!

Here is a PDF of the best ways to carry people depending on the situation and how conscious the injured person needs to be for the carrying position.

Literally a life saver.

(No pun intended.)

kinda basic but a dragon shifter woman w scales and a tail and dragon eyes x vampire woman who fall in love, and nsfw if thats okay? the vampire is also queen of the vampire clan and the dragon is a cult escapee

also!! i forgot to add but the dragoness’s name is celant and the vampire queen’s name isviolet! thank you!! 

Hope you actually remember sending this ask in!! Sorry it’s taken me so long to do. This was for the 10 free thank you stories in honour of the blog hitting 1000 followers. I’ve got two more left now, and you can find others here. Those requests are now closed.

Vampire Queen x Female Dragon Shifter (nsfw)

Violet laystretched out under an endless canopy of stars above. Her eyes, the irises sosubtly different from humans’, picked out colours of the spectrum no one elsehad access to, and she savoured – craved– these rare nights alone on the plain.

As far as even hereyes could see, the grasses blew, wafting and shifting, hissing, whispering thesecrets of the land and bringing with them the scents of the night. A haremoved quietly with barely a rustle; a fox stalked it. An owl glided on silentwings, seeking mice, and far enough away to maintain his respectful distance,her most faithful servant and bodyguard stood watch over her.

She had learned tobe alone with Endon in a way that she could with no one else.

Everyone assumedthat she would one day wed Endon, but she had no interest in men. Theirrelationship was closer to brother and sister, though he was ever deferentialto his queen.

As she lay on herback, Endon’s horse stamped a hoof and snorted, and the warder patted themare’s black neck. “Easy, Orchid,” he murmured, his voice deep and quiet as thenight itself.

Violet knew shewould have to return to the castle, to her duties, to her empire of the night,but just a few moments longer was all she could hope for.

Endon’s headsnapped around, his attention fixed on something to the east, and his sword wasout of its scabbard in a heartbeat, and Violet sat up, fingers pressing intothe grass.

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Seraph, fresco from the Ferapontov Monastery, 1495-1496.

With JoAnne Fabrics going out of business I feel it is my duty as a cosplayer, historical costumer, and general sewing gremlin to help teach y'all how not to be reliant on evil overpriced mediocre big box stores for fabric and cosplay supply, cause if I catch y'all going into Homophobia Lobby to get cosplay fabrics imma have to start throwing hands. And frankly you guys all deserve better.

- Find a neighborhood full of brown people. Probably a slightly poorer neighborhod. I know, I know, but they will have small independent fabric stores. Selection in each may vary. Hispanic and Caribbean areas will give you prints that EAT. Muslim areas will give you fabrics with amazing drapery. Indian and Southeast Asian areas will give you beading that would make the House of Worth wet with envy. (Try to avoid oldwhitelady quilting stores unless you are a knitter or are specifically trying to cosplay Kirsten Larson.) (Also ask while you're there for lunch/dinner spot recommendations. Your fabric store guy usually has a buddy with a joint nextdoor with the best *insert relevant ethnic food here* you'll ever put in your mouth.)

- DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OWNER OF SAID STORE. This I cannot stress enough. Abdul, my fabric guy, can and will get me whatever I want cause he knows me, knows I bring in other young people, and knows I will be back every month for more. Indie fabric stores tend to have older clients. They are anxious to see faces under 60. Just chat with whoever is in there about the kind of stuff you want and need and they will help you. This also frequently leads to discounts. I have not paid listed price for fabric in years and just walked out of Abdul's with 7~ yards of gorgeous teal satin for 10 bucks. Not a yard. Total.

- Do not be afraid of mess. The best shit comes from stores that look like a hurricane went through them. Don't try to understand the organization. (One day, 4 years into your relationship with the store, suddenly the fabric gods will reveal the knowledge to you.) Again, talk to whoever is in there about your project. They'll help.

- Give up on one stop shopping. Get your crafting supplies elsewhere. Like a small independent hardware store. There's usually an old guy in there that reminds you of an uncle who will also help you.

-Worbla and whatever other Cosplay Specific Material you're using is a fatphobic material straight from Satan's hot taint, you do not need it, and any old hardware/tractor supply dad will help you find better, more durable armor/weapon/detailing material. Don't snub your nose at paper mache and plaster of paris. Venetian Mask makers have been using it for years. Balsa wood is also your friend. Hardware store Uncles will teach you to work with both.

- Elderly people are your bffs. If you see an old person TALK TO THEM. They know how to do all kinds of shit. I know there's a hesitation around old people because of the political climate and a fear that they may be homo/trans/whatever-phobic, but hey....minds are changed by making friends. My elderly Muslim fabric supplier is an Our Flag Means Death fan because of me gushing about the teal I needed for Stede Bonnet. He wishes me happy pride now. He put bolt of rainbow in the window in June and kept it up all summer. And he'd never had a thought about queers before me.

- Don't feel limited to Craft and Fabric stores. Hardware stores are cool. They stock outdoor fabrics and umbrella and furniture covers that are very durable....my first cosplay was made out of patio furniture covers. Also upholstery stores and upholsterers have velvets and damasks and faux leather and real leather and all sorts of rich textures. Most of them will part with a few yards pretty cheap. Second hand sheets and bedspreads and curtains also make some really cool garments. A significant amount of my ren fair garb started as household goods.

- If you are forced to order fabric online, please for the love of all that is holy DO NOT BUY FROM MOOD or any other famous store. You're paying for their branding and their place on certain reality shows I will not mention. Indie is always cheaper for the quality and usually not abusing their workers.

- If the fabric/hobby/hardware/upholstery/etc store you develop a relationship with is inconveniently far from you, see if said owner is willing to take your order via phone and send it to you. You'd be surprised how accommodating people in the crafting and sewing world can be.

It all really comes down to having to form a community. I know finding multiple small stores is a lot less convenient than Joannes. But forming a relationship with a local supplier will, in the long run, yield you much better results AND put money and good back into a community near you.

(And if you're in the NYC area DM me and I'll put you in contact with Abdul. He's the absolute best and I'd do anything to help him and his business grow!!!)

TOOL: OC QUESTIONS GENERATOR

a neat little generator that gives you a random question for your ocs! find it here // support me on ko-fi

>> FEATURES

over 600 different questions, covering every aspect of character building

easy to use, no unnecessary distractions, just a very straightforward generator

content warnings on the page itself, as well as in the first screenshot

>> NOTES

please send me a dm if there’s a content warning missing, i’ll add it to the page immediately!

if you have any ideas for questions, feel free to let me know and if they’re not on the list already, i’ll add them!

feel free to use this tool for personal projects or tell your friends about it, as long as you don’t try to steal the code of the page or claim the generator as your own :)

i do not take credit for all the questions in this generator, i’ve gathered them at some point from both my own brain as well as stuff online

likes are always welcome, reblogs much appreciated!

File this under “super obvious yet I always seem to forget it.”

some people think writers are so eloquent and good with words, but the reality is that we can sit there with our fingers on the keyboard going, “what’s the word for non-sunlight lighting? Like, fake lighting?” and for ten minutes, all our brain will supply is “unofficial”, and we know that’s not the right word, but it’s the only word we can come up with…until finally it’s like our face got smashed into a brick wall and we remember the word we want is “artificial”.

That ol’ chart of mine makes the rounds online periodically and it drives me crazy because it’s frankly not very good. So, I finally got around to remaking it.

I doubt this will get anywhere near as popular, but I wanted to make it.

Good reference for animation, comics, and for visualizing phonetics!

Hey. I have a message for aspiring authors (or already published ones) out there. It’s a little story I wanted to share~

When I was a kid, I spent at least half of my free time in the local library. I was that one kid who basically refused to go anywhere near the “popular” book racks, unless I was given a good recommendation for something. So you know what I did instead?

I went to the furthest back shelves, the depths of the young adult section, chose whatever I thought had a cool cover or an interesting synopsis, and sat down and read it. Many of those books were by lesser known authors, maybe they’d been out for a few years, but most hadn’t ever had time to shine.

If the story was terrible, I stopped after the first few pages and put it back to pick out another. And I was picky. But I found so many gems. I found so many books that I fell in love with, that I still remember. I was inspired by so much of that wonderful writing.

So. If you’re planning on publishing your work, either by traditional or other means, but you’re feeling discouraged because you don’t think it will ever get that much attention?

Put it out there, anyways. Put it out there for kids like me. Put it out there for adults like me. Put it out there because there will always be someone who reads your book and loves it, who adds it to their favourites list, and who goes on a search for all of your other writing.

If you love your story, put it out there for those who are bound to love it, too.

Are any of your characters angelic in nature? Are they by the Christian definition of ‘angel’, a different religion’s definition, or are they angelic by their universe’s rules only? Would someone not privy to their world’s laws still classify them as an ‘angel’, perhaps by way of beautiful wings and/or fiery chaos?