Some geeky writing thingamajigs
One thing I really like to do in stories is to have some geeky nods to stuff, but not by blatantly saying what that geeky thing is, but describing it. This way, if readers get it they (hopefully) get a good laugh, and if readers don’t it doesn’t pull away from the story too much. Also, I don’t like directly naming things, because I feel like it dates the story? Like if I say, “he sat down and played Super Mario Brothers for the first time” you think, “It must be the 80s,” depending on which Mario it is of course. Instead, I like to say, “he took control of a brave little plumber who could, with the touch of a flower, feel the fire between his fingertips,” or something like that.
I’m working on some things for an anthology that I hope gets chosen that has a lot of this. I like to call it, “How many fandoms can I name without directly naming them.”
***
Story 1. Troy thinks that, maybe — once upon a time — he thought that Aimee would grow out of this play at costuming.
Cosplay she always corrects him with an exasperated sigh.
It started too many years ago with Aimee making a thrown together costume of a girl who carried around a basket of flowers, only to be stabbed by some silver-haired jackass. He’s misunderstood, Troy she had said and you would look great as the blond who fights him in the end.
And being the good friend that he is, he had agreed. At least the sword had been cool even if the hair made absolutely no sense.
Back then she had cared deeply about the negative comments about her skill and size, so much so that Troy perfected glaring at the mean-spirited folks they would run across. And, like a good friend, he encouraged her to keep doing what she loved.
Had he known that he’d be dragged along for the ride… no, he thinks he would still encourage her… maybe.
Now she dresses up as so many characters that sometimes he forgets what she actually looks like. Of course, she’s come a long way since grabbing whatever she could at the local thrift store. From the video game princesses who get kidnapped too many times to the colorful fairies who collect children’s teeth — ugh, why is Aimee so girly? — she’s put so much work into the costumes she makes that she has made a bit of a name for herself, a big name actually, one that allows her to do this for a living.
It’s not her skills he protests to. It’s the crowd that comes along with it.
Troy doesn’t like to brag — and actually, he never does — but he is pleasant to look at. He likes to lift weights and likes his piercings, always keeping one in his nose and a couple of hoops in his ears. He also likes his tattoos, both arms decorated in wisps of black ink that look like physical representations of the wind. For some reason, his appearance never catches the eye of the right person. It’s never the cute guy who approaches him at these… conventions… but the swarm of girls — some underaged — who want to, quote, “Oh Em Gee” hug him. He’s also not a huge fan of the geeky world Aimee immerses herself in. Sure, he’ll watch a movie with a hot guy who carries around a hammer from time to time, but hell if he knows the name of the team he’s a part of.Story 2. There’s a look on Wally’s face, a mix of shock peppered with anger, as he looks over at Mitchel. Mitchel deflects the look, not seeming to realize — or care — about his damning words of not worrying about the wi-fi situation. Jayson sighs and lays back on the bed, cap falling off of his head and resting against the pillow. He had borrowed it from Wally, not having been awake enough this morning to attempt to apply the necessary amount of hair-gel to get his hair slicked back in the way he likes it. There’s a circular logo on it along with a company name. He knows that Wally has explained it before — something about science and combustible lemons — but the details escape him at the moment. He should probably try to remember, Wally likes it when he remembers gaming details and it’s much better than listening to the inevitable argument that’s about to start between the guy he use to play in the sandbox with twenty some years ago and the guy he likes to see naked.
“Wi-fi is important. I told ya, when ya booked the trip, to make sure the place has wi-fi.”
“And that’s not important right now. We’re on vacation.”
“Not import-… n-not important?!”
Something about portal guns, Jayson thinks, and a bitchy robot lady and cake.
I’m writing some things. Random nonsensical geeky things. That hopefully turn into things. Also check out my writing blog thing. Things!
Upcoming Projects and things
Uh… h-hi, hi! Hi new followers, wow, just… yeah.
reminds self to reblog headcanon tonight for the night time readersSo here’s a list of the original things I’m working on that I will, most likely, post snippets of. Also, I’ll keep posting fandom writings here, since it keeps things more organized that way :)
- Treat Me Kindly: This is my first completely novel, yay, written all by myself! It’s urban supernatural, and is about a detective trying to solve a murder case where the only clue is a butterfly. It turns out that the butterfly and other animals found at an exclusive, wealthy auction can actually turn human. The animals are very loyal… unless if you mistreat them, then…
Status of this project: Completed, with a publisher interested, OMG! Reading over the contract, man, this is really a process ^^;; I’ll probably post parts of it soon. It… will have a bunch of warnings, it’s a rather dark story.
- Hunters: Seeking the Storyteller: The joint story with my partner. This too is urban supernatural. In the world of demons there exists a being known as the Storyteller. It’s said that he lives in a massive library where he has the power to change people’s lives as easily as writing a book and putting it on a shelf. Such an ability is useful to Alix Andre DeBenit, a man who usually hunts demons down. However, someone like the Storyteller can certainly help bring back the things Alix has lost. Except… the Storyteller is being controlled by a terrible creature, and Alix and his partner, Randall Fagan, might have to work with the very creatures they hunt in order to stop a war.
Status of this project: Complete with an agent showing interest, and with a publisher showing interest. It has its own blog here: Hunter’s Blog. This has 7 books planned out between me and my partner :) The second story is written and in the rough draft phase right now. Takes place here in Minneapolis.
- Double H: A gay romance with a supernatural murder mystery twist. Gable Peterson is told one day that his boyfriend, Avery Blair, is dead. Afterwards, Gable closes his eyes and dreams of a time when Avery was still alive. Much to his surprise, when he wakes up, Avery is, indeed, alive. Somehow, Gable has gone back to the last day he saw Avery before he went missing, giving him a chance to protect his boyfriend. But is he really capable of protecting his lover from a killer who targets gay men? There’s already been three victims, is Avery destined to be victim number four?
Status of this project: Just finished this last weekend! Rereading it, writing up a query letter/summary, and sending it to publishers *keeps fingers crossed*
- That certain… genesis quad? A story to try and get into an upcoming Dreamspinner Anthology dealing with regaining that spark in your love life.
- Steampunk idea (untitled for now): Another story idea to try for an upcoming Dreamspinner Anthology that deals with Steampunk.
So yes, expect bits from these things along with crazy headcanons I do to take a break from original writings and such :) Thanks for following! And I’m glad everyone seemed to enjoy that Persona 4 pony headcanon thing ^^
So… this is what I do when I’m not at work, or not crafting, I’m writing like a crazy person. Go check out my writing blog for up to date writings from me, be it crazy fan hijinks or original works :)
No I can’t stop pimping out my writing, I need to, it’s my life now ^^;;;
A (not) poem about your favorite show
That moment.
When you’re watching a series.
That you love to pieces.
But you’re watching it with a friend who hasn’t seen it before.
And you’re literally watching them watch it.
Thinking to yourself.
“I hope you love this as much as I do.”
“I hope you love the characters as much as I do.”
“I hope you don’t hate it.”
And you’re happy to see them getting into it.
So you continue the series.
And then.
AND THEN.
The series gets to your favorite character.
You’re trying not to spaz too much.
Because then your friend will want an explanation.
For your spazzing.
But to explain is to spoil.
And you don’t want to spoil.
But you wonder if they already know since you spaz about said character online so much.
But you aren’t too sure.
So you keep your squeeing to yourself.
However.
There are people in the room who understand.
People who are watching with you who know said spoiler.
And they give you that nod.
That, “I understand,” nod.
That, “I’m trying not to spaz too,” nod.
So you sit.
And you watch.
And you wait for that episode.
THAT EPISODE!
That will finally let you release all of your spazzing.
“Stay tuned,” you whisper to yourself.
Stay tuned.
Fake Geek Girls (x)
1. Alb is the definition of awesomeness.
2. She’s absolutely right. It doesn’t matter if a woman or guy has read every single issue of X-Men or started at AvX, as long as they’re reading comics, that’s all that matters.
3. Building off the above, who cares if they only started reading Avengers, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Hulk, Batman, Captain America, etc. because of they saw the movies? Again, as long as they’re reading comics, that’s all that matters. The comic industry needs new customers badly. They’re the only thing that will keep that industry alive and if the movies act as a gateway and makes a woman head on down to her Friendly Local Comic Book Store and pick up an issue of a comic, read it, and decide “wow, I’ve been missing out” and become a comic geek, then great! Fantastic! Awesome! If you love comics, then encourage that shit! Because every goddamn time some jack wagon with an inferiority complex attacks a woman for not being a “real geek”, they are killing the very thing you love piece by piece.
thank
you
Same goes for anime, manga, video games, and just all geekery in general. I absolutely HATED when the anime community flipped a tit when Toonami came to be, like, “Ugh you only watch the anime on Toonami,” or, “Pfft you only watch the dub,” or, “I’ve been watching Naruto since the beginning now all of these new fans are coming in because it’s on T.V.”
… what?!
Same happened with the Persona 4 anime, like, “Did you play the game? Ugh then don’t take to me.” Like… DON’T YOU WANT NEW FANS?! DON’T YOU WANT YOUR SERIES TO DO WELL?! I love the fact that people even know what Persona is, o.k.? The fucking game came out in 2008, do you know how awesome it is that people are still in love with it? Do you know how great it is that my old coworker picked up Golden and was like, “Now I see what you were talking about, this is great!” I’m not about to respond with, “Ugh you don’t know anything you didn’t pick it up back in 2008.” No, just… no!
The hardest part about being an anime fan in the 90s was that it was SO HARD to find, or if you found like a VHS tape it was hella expensive. Now that it’s out there and available you want to complain? I would’ve KILLED to have something like Netflix or Hulu back then. Series are actually syndicated now as they air in Japan. The Persona 4 anime would show up on Hulu the NEXT DAY! Back then, I had to depend on the sci-fi channel, or Fox, and series would just show up and disappear, unfinished, or completely out of order (Card Captor Sakura started on like episode 8) and just… there was no internet to go to, and… do you realize how great things are now? And you want to complain because of how people discover a series? Really? Netflix is what, $7 a month for streaming? I use to beg my parents for $30 VHS tapes that only had 3 episodes.
As for video games, this goes towards the long running series. I don’t care how you discovered Final Fantasy, or Kingdom Hearts, or whatever. I don’t care if your first Final Fantasy was 7, I don’t care if you only started Kingdom Hearts because Final Fantasy characters show up, I don’t care! I just want more people to like what I like, to talk to about what I like. I don’t care if you play BlazBlue but don’t know what Guilty Gear is, I don’t care, do you know how HAPPY I am that you even know what that franchise is? I don’t care if your first Persona was 3, or 4, or even Arena. Who cares! I’m not going to try and outfan you, as long as you don’t try and outfan me.
I actually HAD someone try and outfan me with Persona 4. First of all, you should be happy to meet someone who knows what the series is, be it because of the game or the anime. Second of all, if you really want to question my Persona 4 knowledge you’re going to lose – though it’s not a contest, and I wish people would stop treating it like that.
And the thing that kills me is when people complain about there not being enough fans of a series, or, “I wish I could find a girl who was into this stuff.” THEY’RE OUT THERE! You’re just too busy being picky about how people discover a series or franchise. "I wish people would understand my love for anime and games,“ THEY DO! THEY DO!! But you want to throw a fit because someone only knows about SMT because of Persona, or you want to throw a fit because someone’s anime knowledge reflects what’s on T.V. or Hulu or Netflix, you want to be upset because someone watched the Black Butler anime and hasn’t read the manga, just… STOP! If you really want someone to pick up the manga, just recommend it, that’s all. They’re not a lesser fan because they didn’t start by reading the manga monthly online, or watching the series before it came to the U.S.
The definition of a fan is someone who likes something, it doesn’t matter if they watched the anime but didn’t read the manga, or that they watched the anime but didn’t play the game. Them watching the anime means that, hey, here’s someone else you have something in common with. And you know what? Maybe if you treat them like a fan and not some lowly nobody, MAYBE you can TALK TO THEM about the manga and then maybe they will WANT TO READ IT! You know why I’ve never finished Evangelion? Because some douchebag in college said I wasn’t a real anime fan because I hadn’t watched it. You know what? Now I don’t even want to watch it. The wallscrolls in my room, the figures, the manga, none of that mattered to him because I hadn’t watched this ONE series. So now I don’t even want to watch it, you just killed a potential fan.
So just stop with this fake fan nonsense. Am I saying that there aren’t people who pretend to like a series for attention, or whatever? No, I’m not saying that. But I am saying that don’t call someone fake because you feel like you possess some superior knowledge. You don’t see Stan Lee going, "Sigh, I can’t BELIEVE this person only knows about Ironman because of the movie, I made the comics for a reason.” You don’t see the Persona creators going, “Damn that anime for giving us more fans, they’re supposed to play the game!” You know why? Because anime, manga, comics, video games, all of that is meant to be enjoyed by all, in any way, shape, or form.
And now I’m done ranting, I just… this argument gets to me.
you get an invite to a gay wedding
you open the card
“WARNING: SHONEN-AI, YAOI, BOYXBOY, THAT MEANS BOY KISSES!!! LIME/LEMON LATER. DON’T LIKE DON’T ATTEND, RVSP PLZ”
*giggles madly*
Then they go to the wedding then they flame it, like, “I like the part with the two grooms, but why did they have to be gay? I think Groom #1 would’ve been much better with the Maid of Honor, she was so pretty! Next time, don’t make them gay o.k.?”
Headcanon: a poem about fandom
You know that fandom?
Not that fandom, that fandom.
You know the one.
The one that you see on your dash.
And you like it, and you give a tiny smile.
Not because you’re still in that fandom.
But because you remember when you were still in that fandom.
And you smile, maybe giggle softly, because you remember all of the feels this fandom gave you.
You remember the laughs, the smiles, the tears.
You remember the characters and the story arcs.
You remember it all.
Then, as you look at the image longer, you get a sudden caress of depression.
Because you remember all of these things and you wonder, “Why am I not in this fandom anymore?”
Then you start to remember the dark times.
The things that made you leave the fandom.
Was the plot too long? Too drawn out? Was there no end in sight when it should’ve ended one hundred and twenty seven episodes ago?
Were the characters suddenly boring? Or were they simply forgotten, left behind in the memories of what was once a great series.
Was there a cop out in the end that made you suddenly hate everything you had spent hours and hours of watching? Was the conclusion out of nowhere? Was it too simple? Was there no conclusion at all?
Did it get too confusing? For the sake of being confusing? Deeper meanings lost in a jarring mess of a plot?
You remember these things, and you frown at the picture on your dash, frown at that little heart in the corner.
You debate un-liking it.
But you can’t.
Because this picture reminds you of the days when you loved this fandom. When you fanarted this fandom. When you fanficed this fandom. When you posted something everyday, or bought everything you could online or at a convention. Perhaps, you even cosplayed from this fandom? Created OTP memories with other cosplayers?
You did this fandom, and you did it well.
And you smile, sadly, and whisper, “Farewell,” into the wind as you continue to scroll away.
Notes: Because everyone has a fandom like this, and this came to mind when I saw a Naruto picture on my dash. Oh how I fandomed that fandom, I think my – what are they called? – SasuNaru fics are still online somewhere. Now, when I see pictures, that sad smile spreads across my lips because… I no longer fandom that fandom, and there’s a sad pang in my heart when I realize that. I wonder, “Will I ever go back?” Then, as my friend tells me about current manga chapters I realize… there is no going back for me (except I am curious about how it will end, if it ends… at some point)
This was just a silly thing before work, carry on everyone ^^
Me when my family fights about something silly: Sigh, that’s my family for you *shakes head with a wry smile* It’ll be o.k., though, no need to worry.
Me when my fandom fights: omgomgomg no no no no no no stop it please just stop please please my feelings are all over the floor please stop it guys! *cries a million tears as if the fandom is going to break apart forever*
- that moment when one of your friends starts reading/watching something you’re obsessed with
- and you turn into a total freak
- WHERE ARE YOU AT
- WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE
- DO YOU SHIP MY OTP
- DO YOU HATE CHARACTER X HE/SHE/IT IS A BITCH
- WHAT PART ARE YOU AT NOW
- DO YOU LOVE MY BABY
- TELL ME ALL YOUR THOUGHTS
This also applies when one of my favorite fanfic writers or artists or cosplayers starts watching or reading the same thing I’m into. Then it’s, “OMG! ARE YOU GONNA WRITE A FIC OF MY OTP?! ARE YOU GOING TO DRAW THE CHARACTERS I <3 SO MUCH?! ARE YOU GOING TO COSPLAY THEM?!?!? SHARE MY FEELINGS! You’re a fandom god (or goddess) please DISCUSS THINGS WITH ME!!! I am not worthy but I LOVE YOU PLEASE MY PRECIOUS BEING!”
