"Take me with you."

Lids / she/her / Writeblr / 17 / Queer / who needs love? I have my ocs. 

[endlesshourglass]

It upsets me so much that a lot of stories that are solved peacefully, or with the power of love/friendship, are considered to be childish, as if “mature” stories (especially in SFF) can only have conflicts solved by violence or anger if they want to be taken seriously.

I find this unusual, especially when considering the stories that popularized the genre, but also by looking at my own experiences. Some of the most challenging aspects of my adult life so far have involved learning how to be vulnerable with other people.

I want more media to depict these skills in a positive light. Kindness isn’t immaturity! If anything, it’s a lot more difficult to be kind and open than it is to be angry.

Love isn’t a weakness. This isn’t something we need to teach children – it’s something we need to re-teach adults.

[dontdowhatisayandnobodygetshurt]

How To Write A Trans Character

for y’all good cis people who genuinely care and want to give good representation!! thank!! love ya!! [please note that this is just the opinion of one trans *man* and that circumstances vary. This isn’t a catch-all, just some general tips.]

-  If you’re an LGB+ person/nurodivergent/etc, try to picture your own identity in the place of your trans character’s. If you wouldn’t like to read about something done to a character with your identity, maybe don’t do that to your trans character.

- Try to avoid adding transphobia without a solid reason for it. Does this person being a transphobic dick advance the plot? Does it create a poignant character moment? Is it truly more than just the Obligatory Transphobic Comment? Remember, people read fiction to escape the real world, being reminded that transphobia exists in my fantasy escapism kind of sucks.

- Don’t make a big deal out of it or draw a lot of attention to it. Personally, the best thing to me is when it is briefly mentioned once that a character is trans, and that is it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine to mention it more than once, but it’s so refreshing to see it not be a big deal.

- Make the character a character first, and trans second. Being trans is not a personality trait, or a hobby, or a lifestyle. We’re just people. Write us like it.

- There’s many different types of dysphoria. (see: this post) Social, mental, physical. Sometimes it’s general, and others it’s very specific. Sometimes it’s weird (I’m dysphoric about my wrists, how weird is that?) And some trans people experience little to no dysphoria, that’s cool too.

- Dysphoria fluctuates and changes a lot, some days it’s not bad, others it is, some days it’s about something, other days it’s about something else.

- Dysphoria feels like your worst insecurity times 100. A lot of the time mine makes me feel physically sick, like I’m gonna chuck. It can also feel almost claustrophobic, like you’re trapped somewhere and can’t get out (… because you are.)

- Gender euphoria is also a thing and it’s like being high.

- Feel free to give your trans baby a supportive family, they do exist and it would be nice to see a well loved trans person (the family doesn’t have to be biological, though, if that’s the way the story goes.)

- Do a bit of research on certain terms/names for things, it won’t take super long and it will make a WORLD of difference.

- Please try not to focus on the character suffering for being trans. I know you mean well, but trust me it won’t come out right. Feel free to throw a bunch of angst at your trans character, just please don’t make that angst around being trans. Make it about their best friend being eaten by a lava sloth squid monster. or whatever.

- Different trans people want/have different transitions. Your character might want to have one surgery, but not another, or maybe they’re on hormones but they’re not interested in any surgeries or vice-versa. Maybe they don’t want to physically transition at all, and that is perfectly normal and okay!

- Non-binary people exist and are cool! (But if your character is a robot or an alien… maybe don’t make them non-binary.)

- Please don’t make your villain the only trans person. Please.

- Please avoid the ‘soft flower boi’ stereotype if you’re writing trans guys please. We are men. Write your trans man character like you would if he was a cis guy. I’m not saying don’t make feminine trans men, but… please be careful of that stereotype.

- Trans women can be tomboys. They can also be super mega ultra girly. Again, character first, trans second.

- Avoid fetishizing trans people. It’s totally fine if your trans person does The Sexytime (it is encouraged, in fact,) but don’t overly focus on the fact that they’re trans. That’s creepy. Some trans people have different boundaries with nakedness/their body, consider that, too.

- Please give your trans character a happy ending and for the love of god don’t kill them off. Let them have a partner, and pets, and friends, the whole unlovable edgy trans stereotype is getting really old really fast.

- Honestly. If you’re really unsure how to write a trans character, just write a character. And then slip in a one sentence about them wearing a trans pride pin. Boom, you just wrote a great trans character, good job!!! 

- Talk to a trans person. And if you’re worried about saying something wrong, talk to me. I promise I won’t get mad at you, no matter what you want to ask. Trust me, we want more trans characters out there, don’t be scared to write one. Representation is good!!

- All trans people are badass, funny, smart, amazing, wonderful and perfect. If you don’t make your character all of these things, it’s transphobia. (Okay this one is a joke… We’re also awesome. *fingerguns*)

[transphantomweek]

This is a good general overview on writing a trans character. I want to re-emphasize that trans stories DON’T have to be about trans suffering. They also don’t have to involve coming out or transitioning (although they can). It’s also a great reminder that not every trans person is going to physically transition, and not everyone’s transition is going to look the same.

Also I want to echo what OP said: if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me and ask either here or on my personal blog. I won’t be offended, I won’t judge you, and I will always do my best to either give you my personal experience/research, or point you in the direction of a source with more thorough informafiom.

[concerningwolves]

Even More notes on writing deaf characters

Talking

People talk to themselves and that includes Deaf people

I sometimes sign to myself, but whether I mutter or sign depends on why I’m talking to myself

Cooking? Verbal speech to keep myself on task. Trying to work out an emotional scene? Signed speech.

And using my whole body to talk to myself is allows more creative freedom

Also even if a Deaf person identifies as non-verbal, they might still talk

maybe a hearing person wouldn’t recognise it as speech, but sound is a part of signed language

so muttering and breath-noises are common.

It’s also worth mentioning that “sounding deaf” isn’t what you think it is.

We don’t yell or make incoherent noises (usually)

and even if we do, that’s fine

but generally, people who are Deaf over-enunciate and speak very clearly.

This is either intuitive and perfected over time, or taught in speech therapy.

“How much can you hear”

People love to ask this question, and I can’t give them an answer.

Unless I’m feeling snippy. Then I usually ask “Well how much do you hear?”

They can’t answer either.

Ergo, if you’re hearing and writing a d/Deaf character, don’t compare the way they hear the world to the way that a fully hearing person would.

Be particularly wary of percentages

I’m 75% deaf

and I have no idea what that means

because hearing loss is very nuanced.

I’ve met someone who is 80% deaf, but she could hear in pitch ranges that I couldn’t.

Hearing aids don’t emulate sound either

so how a d/Deaf character hears with them in won’t be at the level a hearing person would

it’s also very obvious that the sound is electronically enhanced.

Putting in earplugs and walking around like that will not provide “Deaf experience”

you’re better to listen to Deaf people telling you how they experience the world.

The craft itself

Don’t fret about your word choices initially

you have the privilege of hearing and that’s okay

you take sound for granted, don’t worry about it.

(Yet)

Once you’ve got the story how you want it, set aside a whole revision just for using the right language if your POV character is Deaf

printing out your manuscript in a different font is very helpful

it’ll make it easier to pick out “red flag” words and phrases.

Whenever you find a chunk of writing focused on sound/hearing, highlight it

and then tear it apart.

Can your character actually hear that owl hooting, or would the background noise be too blurry?

Would your character hear the sound as it is, or would they have an association that overrules the sense?

I.e. do they see a raven open it’s beak and think about black bubbles of ink in their throat? I know I do.

Cross out any hyper-focus on sounds or re-write them in a different way.

The golden rule

Don’t write deaf characters

Write people who happen to be deaf

Please, include us.

Thank.

[portalhome]

THE PRICE OF MAGIC CHARACTERS | PAGE

[id: a moodboard consisting of three square images. They show a hand holding flame, a black and white portrait of someone with their hand to their face and their other hand extended upward, and a door cast in shadow. /end id]

Name | Page Villamor

Orientation | Bisexual cis man (he/him) 

Sacrifice | [redacted] 

Traits | Controlling, vain, ambitious, patient, callous, possessive   

Casting Partner | [redacted] 

Other Info |

Biology student 

He wears so many rings on his hands because of Fashion™ that it’s impossible to tell if he has a casting partner or a spouse 

He’s Filipino American, scrawny, average height, and usually wears very bold clothing (up to and including a feather boa) 

Links |

character tag 

playlist (two words: evil music) 

Excerpt |

They’d been dilly dallying around for weeks now and they choose to show up in the middle of his biology final? His father would actually murder him if he failed that class. He certainly wouldn’t feel any remorse about it.

Ah, well. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t bribed the TA before. It would be easy enough to do it again.

wip page | masterpost | wip tag

// taglist under the cut //

Keep reading

[encynefin]

and the great rains came the salt and the sea part ii: the oddessy excerpt;

or: clove has gotten taller and far more weary, and silas hasn’t changed much at all.

(transcript under the cut)

Keep reading

[encynefin]

taglist: @write-for-your-life2 @shiishki @pimclementine @cassiusnightingale

[encynefin]

the salt and the sea; main cast 

(made with this fantastic dollmaker)

left to right: 

silas arondel - 21-27 - he/him - northern - gentle, weary, immensely selfless

zeke gauss - 20-26 - he/him - southern - standoffish, practical, endlessly pessimistic

mira starling - 13-19 - she/her - southern - self-preserving, tired, fiercely withdrawn

clove vogelsong starling arondel gauss ??? - 12-18 - he/him and they/them - southern - youthful, uncertain, unabashedly scrappy

petram arondel - 19-25 - they/them - northern - nihilistic, conflicted, absolutely besotted

lazarus arondel - 24-30 - he/him - northern - daring, sure, startlingly cruel

(or - two tired almosts, their dying teenage adoptee, said adoptee’s lingering ghost, a runaway with nothing left to lose and a revolutionary with everything left to gain.)

(wip intro) (excerpt)

[encynefin]

AND THE GREAT RAINS CAME; wip intro

silas is dying. silas is alone. silas has been in this cell for long enough that he doesn’t know what season it is anymore. it’s been so long since he last saw rain that he’s not sure it ever existed. when a child he’s never met before helps him escape, he thinks he’ll never see them again - but nothing is ever so simple.

clove is used to fending for himself. the south isn’t kind to the strongest or smartest. it doesn’t discriminate, and he’s been alive for long enough to know that all too well. when he sets off north to equity, to find peace in what feels like a mythical promised land, he finds his fate irrevocably twisted with that of a soldier he met once as a child. 

the plague is spreading. something immense and terrible is on its way from far north, where miles-wide storm clouds have been gathering for decades. when an endless night falls and the beginnings of a mass extinction event are pushed into motion, silas is forced to decide what he cares about more - keeping clove safe, or protecting his innocence. 

as the rivers break their banks, so too does the war. and enough have drowned by now that clove knows one thing for certain: the flood is hungry, and it will consume them all.

genre: soft dystopia, speculative, literary, lgbt+ rating: r-13 length: 150-200k status: draft six, querying in 2021 tropes/themes: protector/protectee dynamic, adoptive family, language barriers, cultural differences, transcendental feelings and experiences, siblings and blood relations, legacy, history, war and rebellion, the inability to leave a person’s life for good no matter how hard both of you try, natural disasters, disease, religion, growing up, grief, learning how to let go, compassion, loyalty 

i’m hoping to set up a mailing list in the next few months, but for now, feel free to ask to be added to my taglist! <3 

thank you for reading!

EDIT: I’m changing the name of this WIP to The Salt And The Sea! Just so people know!

[portalhome]

Some fake tweets from the characters of The Core Chronicles– happy birthday Lids ❤️️❤️️❤️️❤️️

[lids-writes]

These are so accurate to their characters I can’t stop laughing, I love you so much Lexi!!

[angelolytle]

Aesthetic - These Grim Nights by @lids-writes Happy birthday Lids!! ♥️♥️♥️

[lids-writes]

I LOVE THESE SO MUCH THANK YOU SO MUCH ANGELO!!!

[authoreli-deactivated20210419]

T H E S E G R I M N I G H T S 

happy birthday @lids-writes! i love you!

[lids-writes]

These are so beautiful Eli :’) thank you so much oh my god

[portalhome]

The Tale of Kit’s Lost Sandal

Here’s a silly little scene that came to me in a vision today. Not really related to anything, but would fit somewhere in the middle of the story as it stands. 

wip: The Price of Magic pov: Addison  words: 650 tws: brief mention of drowning, blood 

Keep reading

[authoreli-deactivated20210419]

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS BOOK ONE: PASSAGE 

“I mean it.” Rubbing at her wet shoulder, Victory grabs her notebook and thumbs through it, staring at the pages. Jamie doesn’t try looking. “We’re gonna fix all of this. And you- you’re gonna be just fine.”

“Yeah.”

“I mean it.”

“I know you do,” Jamie tells her. “I know.”

“Gonna-” Victory says the words like she’s trying to convince herself more than him. “Gonna keep you safe.”

-

genre: contemporary fantasy, dystopia, mystery, survival, lgbt+ length: ~95K themes and tropes: trauma, recovery, friendship and mentorship, protection and youthfulness, cycles of fate, imperialism and international politics, caring for those those who cannot protect themselves, what it means to be a monster some things you might like: almost everybody is gay, this book tackles a lot of pertinent social issues and there are a wide range of cool alternate fantasy/horror creatures - this is a novel about learning how to keep moving forward even when everybody you love has left you and how to survive in a world that wants you dead, and learning how to make sense of the people you meet outside of the places you’ve always known.

summary: 

A youthful layabout from an annexed country in a world ravaged by war, gods and men, Jamie Bowen is a teenager with a sizeable measure of issues that he’s not eager to tackle just yet. Life is simple in quiet, poor Goroesi, and nothing is ever simple under the rule of the primordials, so he’ll take what he can get.

On the night of the passing, when Jamie makes a terrible mistake, he runs. 

Out on the road, nobody is friendly. Nobody cares to keep you alive, and people turn on you as quickly as the wind changes. Borealis is an open, desolate wasteland, and Jamie is alone and terrified. He’s never lived like this before. Meeting Victory is a blessing. She’s smart, cruel and quick. She’s been doing this for years. She takes Jamie in, and it’s the only chance he’s got. When he changes his name, it’s the start of something new. 

But things are never so simple. The world is changing, and Victory is at the centre of a huge cosmic fallout waiting to happen. Jamie will do everything he can to stay with her; but everything he can do may not ever be enough.

When Victory vanishes, Jamie is left to pick up the pieces. 

-

If this sounds like a novel you might want to read, you’re in luck! This novel is releasing in paperback and Ebook at the end of July 2020! Join my mailing list to keep up with this release!

[usva-and-starlight-deactivated2]

Hello! It’s time I did my writeblr introduction post!  I’m Nova, or Usva, and I’m 26 years old nonbinary lesbian writer from the cold and mushy Finland! My pronouns are they/them!  I write fantasy and horror, and currently I’m working on quite a few WIPs. I will make a proper introduction to them later! I try to work on my writing everyday and I’m super excited to be here and promote my friends and others, and to interact with other writeblrs!  I’m studying to become a baker! I enjoy horror movies, rats and many tv-shows(Including She-ra).  If you’re a writeblr, like or reblog please, so that I can find other people to follow!

[portalhome]

THE CITIES TRILOGY: HOLLYWOOD AS A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES

Hollywood was born in Los Angeles. His mother died there. His new family thrived there. As the oldest, and the leader, of a rag-tag group of orphans dubbed The Razzi, it’s Hollywood’s job to protect his kids. Together, they scour the hollowed ruins of old Los Angeles to find items worthy of trading. 

wip by @fae-hollow | templates 1, 2 

[lids-writes]

i love hollywood SO much can this be real plz

[portalhome]

THE CORE CHRONICLES AS A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES:

Leonora doesn’t believe in Fate until she meets Cassim. The boy with the strange scar stumbles through her front door one windy autumn day, and at first, he is nothing but an excuse to escape.

wip by @lids-writes | wip intro | templates 1, 2 

[lids-writes]

LOOK AT THIS!!!!! THIS IS SO COOL LEXI I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!! LOOK AT THE TALENT!!!! IM SCREAMING!!!

[portalhome]

[id: a title graphic for a post titled “The Price of Magic Masterpost.” Background image is of an old, castle-like academic building. /end id] 

THE PRICE OF MAGIC // MASTERPOST 

Thought it was time to put all of the tpom links, tags, and worldbuilding tidbits in one place! This wip is my main project and contains just about every ounce of creative energy I can muster. 

GENRE - ya urban fantasy, lgbt+, humor STATUS - second draft in progress (goal is to finish in May!)  SETTING - magic university, present day FEATURING - a sacrifice based magic system / magic doorways and secret passageways / an emphasis upon platonic love / an overuse of the word fuck / a complete lack of cishet characters because I’m gay and I said so 

SYNOPSIS - 

Inna relies on Alice for magic. They’re casting partners: a symbol of absolute trust, a bond that cannot be broken. When Alice wakes up with no memory of Inna or the world around her, Inna will stop at nothing to find out what happened to the person she cares about most– even if that absolute trust is suddenly one-sided.

Addison knows that no one actually believes in “universal givers,” those that can give magic to anyone and aren’t restricted to their casting partner, and that’s the only reason he’s still alive. But when people like him start mysteriously disappearing, Addison knows he’s in danger yet doesn’t have a clue who he can go to for help. 

// Worldbuilding details, character bios, and links under the cut. // 

Keep reading

[sicsemper-tyrannis]

“You met me at a very strange time in my life,” Siro starts.

Teigr’s hands are still trembling. He hates it, Siro knows - hates seeming vulnerable, hates the fear. Hates that somebody might see it on his face and know that he’s not unflappable. He chokes out a laugh. “Yeah, no shit, Siro.”

“I’m doing my best to explain it-”

“Well try harder-”

“I can’t die,” Siro says. The silence falls like sudden rain, hits them both, leaves his voice echoing from the walls like there’s an empty in here.

“Well,” Teigr says, voice harsh, “I could have gathered that on my own.”

“I don’t know why,” Siro continues, trying to sit up - it hurts, sends pain shooting down his spine, and Teigr’s hands find their way under his shoulders like they belong there. “I don’t know how. But I- I’m not able to die. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Teigr’s eyes are scrunched tight closed. Together, they guide their bodies together in the darkness, Siro propped against Teigr’s side, both of them shaking. “Since when?”

“Since the massacre.”

“You were the only survivor.”

“Almost,” Siro says. “The only one that didn’t run and still lived, anyway. And- and I keep getting these dreams. About people I don’t know. Things I’ve never done, happening to me. I feel pain that isn’t mine. I don’t know what’s happening to me, but if they find out, they won’t ever let me live - they’ll hunt me until my last breath. You know that.”

Teigr lets out a ragged breath. “Don’t talk about the future. Don’t. I just watched you die.”

Siro closes his mouth and soaks in the silence. He thinks he can still taste the metal of the bullet.

✦

Years ago, in the times of the Old Earth, the world was siege to a storm of heavenly fire, wrought to its demise by angry gods cheated out of humanity’s depts to them. Now, nihilism is in full swing among the youth, shattered deities still roam the embittered, torn land that was once earth, and a kid in a pile of bodies on the eastern fringe of the Fjall Mountains has just discovered that he lacks the ability to die. In stolen hours between harsh solar flares, roaring parties in the sewers of broken cities and the quiet moments at the end of the night that exist purely between oneself and the dark, spindly thing outside of their window, a new destiny is forming, and destinies come in threes.

A woman, roaring through the military cities of Rubrum and hunting from a list of names to kill, has just rescued an injured religious apostle with whom she shares a staunch and terrifying connection. An oldest sibling chasing his own tailwind hears word that his family may be in danger; but this is a family he has never known, never spoken to, a family he isn’t even sure exists. A rebel on the border of Goroesi travels west in search of absolution in the mountains, hunting it with a baseball bat in hand, and finds instead something far more sinister. 

Soon, these people’s lives will be far more closely connected than anybody could have predicted; they will find themselves brethren at war, and it will elicit a chain reaction unpredictable to modern man or god alike.

✦

genre; lgbt+, dystopia, unconventional epic fantasy, political fiction

themes/tropes; found family with a twist, religion/pantheons, soulmates and bonds, geopolitical conflict, generational divides, extended cast

what to expect; a serially published (online) epic fantasy work split into three ‘cycles’ - the god cycle, the war cycle and the human cycle; a post-apocalyptic religious commentary with a heavy emphasis on familial connection and the wiles of a societally-determined fate; a story about a handful of select individuals with immense and incredible abilities trying to survive even as the world comes to an end, opposed in every way they can be and yet fiercely, desperately in love.

status; first draft in progress, publishing on wattpad and ao3 to begin in august 2020. goal: 5,000,000 words.

NAVIGATION - GOALS - CONTENT INDEX - AUTHOR

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