#MSPW: ownvoices PoC rep

[em-dashes]

I’m joining in on @moon-and-seraph​‘s pitch week! (More info here if yall are interested too.)

Day 1 is Stories about Characters of Colour. Since all of my stories include characters of colour, I’m gonna go with my main (though currently on hiatus) wip APHELION!

APHELION (Planet Killer #1)

COMP TITLES: Firefly + Stranger Things

BLURB: The interplanetary war is on the brink of restarting. The planet of Es has been on the losing side for the past fifteen years, but this time they have a secret–a superweapon that can tip the balance of the war in their favour. Only problem: the weapon is Rian Scott, a thirteen-year-old boy who refuses to cooperate.

But he’s not the only one who wants nothing to do with the war. There is Cay, a scavenger who died five years ago according to official records, and Shelby, a smuggler living on Es illegally and trying her hardest to leave Es before it’s too late. When the boy escapes from the facility he was kept in, the three find themselves with only each other to rely on as they are forced on the run, pursued by the Essan government in the fight to capture the world’s most powerful weapon before anyone else does.

THEMES: War, guilt, found family

CURRENT STAGE: Polishing pass (not beta-read or critiqued yet)

You can follow updates on @project-aphelion​!

[basalamander-corner]

Moon and Seraph Pitch Week

Brought to you by @sabels-small-sphere

The Tiger at Midnight x We Hunt the Flame x Beasts of Prey

The Shifting Tides

The blood of the innocent is always spilled by tyrants. Those who wish to fight have no choice but to continue the cycle of violence and death to survive. But there stands those who want to put an end to it all, regardless of how much of their soul they must sacrifice. And if losing their souls means they gain peace for their loved ones, so be it. Sometimes, we must fight for a future we ourselves cannot see.

Project Themes

Found family

Fighting against oppression

Friends to enemies to lovers

Self discovery

Rebellions and war

Trauma recovery

Current status

Draft number three in progress

Rough draft, first draft, and second draft finished.

Content warnings

Childhood abuse & trauma

Physical & mental abuse

Violence, torture, blood, gore, and death

Queerphobia

Sexism (against women)

Xenophobia

Racism

Project links

Side blog is @the-shifting-tides-wip

Pinterest

Spotify

Want to be added to the taglist? Like, or reply to this post!

[yors-truly]

Around the World in 80 Days x Amphibia x Life of Pi

Beyond Time and Space

IT'S A JOURNEY - A RACE - BEYOND TIME AND SPACE.

When an often-flighty young girl is conflicted by her desire to express her capabilities and her fear of doing more than what she can handle, the moment arises when a team of brave individuals are needed to carry out a quest to explore and gather information on alternate universes. However, the drive of another blocks their path in reigning successful; so much so, the team is left to go on a journey that’s much longer than they wished. 

Themes

courage and bravery (as a catch-all term for several possible themes, as well as being the main theme)

coming of age

hope

friends and family

love (and letting it go)

power (and the lack thereof)

loyalty and commitment

Current Stage in Writing Process: LOTS of world-building, episodes 1 and 2 outlined (and still drafting ep.2), first season plotted

Art related to wip

^ A relevant poster for Beyond Time and Space season 1, created March 16, 2023

^ An outdated but still relevant poster for Beyond Time and Space season 1A, created October 10th, 2022.

Wip-relevant links

A PDF preview script of the first episode of BTaS; the first draft of a complete rewrite

A wikidot blog I (ideally) update every two-to-three weeks covering my progress on BTaS; currently considering on moving it either to tumblr or dreamwidth for the sake of faster and easier access, so it hasn't been touched in a while

A toyhou.se profile for all BTaS-related art, simply for the purpose of (1) storing it somewhere without having to worry about storage and (2) having shareable links

The Beyond Time and Space side blog, where you can learn more about the series and join the taglist

Content warnings

fantasy violence

metaphorical and literal displays of mental health topics (ex: depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc.)

mentions of war

character death/harm

discrimination

fictitious religions/practices that highly resemble real life religions

[alesseia]

Moon + Seraph Pitch Week (Mar 28)

Percy Jackson meets Undertale meets Avatar: The Last Airbender

ALESSEIA

Axel, a young child with no one but their father for company, leaves their childhood home to discover that the rest of the world is magic, and that fate isn't a kind storyteller.

Themes:

love of all kinds (familial, friendship, romance, and self-love)

finding a place to belong when you're an outsider

identity and what it means to be you despite everything

Current Update: Book 1 is being drafted

WIP-relevant Links: WIP intro | WIP tag

Content Warnings:

classism

strong language

fantasy violence

death of minor and major supporting characters

queerphobia (both external and internalized)

[incorrectgoddessgang]

Moon+Seraph Pitch Week March 2023

The dark magical girl flair of Madoka Magica meets the messiest group of queer fantasy Costco adults in...

Goddess Gang

A newly formed magical girl group, the Goddess Gang, fights for the safety of their home and families after an unknown source suddenly grants them and their enemies power that hasn’t been seen in ages. They prove their worth as they haphazardly figure out their own version of teamwork, but the girls are full of mystery and despair and they must figure out their mysteries before it's too late. The one with the deepest mystery, the weakest link, is Bambi - Evelyn Wirth's recently reunited brother. The leader of the team, Lila Wirth, feels like this is deja vu but no one knows why, not even Bambi. Even with her decades of training and study in the dark arts, Lila can't solve this mystery, and if she doesn't... it may spell doom for all of them.

Themes

power in femininity

love and friendship

despair and hope

learning to love yourself again

the harm that mothers do

trauma recovery

Quick note!! This story is a memoir, from my life in 2015-2019. All of it is based on and connected to real events and people - highly fictionalized, but based on a true story nonetheless.

Current Stage in Writing Process

I wrote the Internal Struggles plotline years ago and it was good but I got stuck. BUT I recently got unstuck by developing the External Struggles plot as well. So now I’m heavily editing the plot and preparing to start on the first draft. Also it was originally a comicbook project, which is why I haven't started on a prose manuscript.

Content warnings

violence

murder

self-harm mentions

suicide

emotional abuse

relationship abuse

past parental abuse

past religious trauma

transphobia

drug use

past SA/CSA

stalking

disordered eating

Thank you @moon-and-seraph for organizing this pitch week!

[sunset-a-story]

Moon + Seraph Pitch Week

Witch Hunter Robin X Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. X Blood+

A serial in three arcs (Sunrise, High Noon, & Sunset)

SolCorp was founded to hide the existence of knacked people and their myriad of superhuman powers from the world, keeping humans safe from out-of-control knacks and keeping knacked people safe from human intolerance. So when they discover that one rogue Sol scientist had generated 25 babies with a defective Probability Manipulation knack and abandoned them out in the world fourteen years ago, it's up to SolCorp to find them and bring them back. But maybe their knacks weren't so defective after all because as three of the Venus 25 grow into adulthood, improbable things start happening. Things that will change SolCorp and the world forever. Sunset is a slow-burn of mounting tension and stakes that only get higher with expansive worldbuilding and a majority LGBTQIA+ ensemble cast that has something for everyone from espionage to adventure to romance and even a dash of monster hunting.

Themes

found family

revolution vs mega-corp

coming of age (older teen)

growth and healing

love

loss

power corrupts

Current Stage of Writing Process:

Sunrise (115k words/245 pages): in beta; plan to release in 2023

High Noon (307k words/683 pages): ready for beta

Sunset: in progress

Artwork by my co-writer and partner.

Check the Sunset hashtag for more character profiles.

Content warnings (entire series)

mind control (telepathy)

violence

explicit sexual content

weapons (guns, knives, munitions)

drinking/drug use (prescription, recreational, on-screen)

abduction/captivity

death

gore/bodies

age gap (slight)

prejudice

profanity

torture

reference to child abuse (not on screen)

threat of sexual assault

mental illness

suicide (not on screen)/suicidal thoughts

religion (many but heavily Catholic)

intense monster violence

car accident

tag list @words-after-midnight @thathaunteddoll 

[words-after-midnight]

[FRANKENSTEIN x BREAKING BAD]

SUPERNOVA

What if you held the key to the Earth's salvation... and its potential destruction?

An eccentric Montreal chemistry professor is rumored to have isolated a dangerous theoretical compound with powerful implications for the energy sector. Despite her many warnings, her new PhD students, seeing strong potential for a solution to the advanced climate crisis threatening life on Earth within a few decades at most, decide to investigate the claims. By doing so, they ignite the spark to an unstoppable chain reaction of passion and pride, power and corruption, and unintended consequences they never could have anticipated.

Themes:

Climate crisis

Governance and corruption

Ethical dilemma

Scientific responsibility

Socioeconomic inequalities

Obsession

Power

Current stage in production: Outlining/zero-drafting

WIP links:

Supernova tag

Inspiration/reblogs

Inspo playlist

Content warnings: I do not have a full list of CWs yet because the story is not drafted, but depictions of various effects of the climate crisis (eg. natural disasters, exacerbated inequalities, displacement) are included, death/grief are addressed at points, and there's some violence, including institutional violence.

[andromedaexists]

Moon & Seraph Pitch Week!

It's time! I'm gonna talk about Call Me Icarus today

Lore (Alexandra Braken) x American Gods x Metamorphoses (Ovid)

Call Me Icarus

These monsters are in every corner of our society. They are heralded as Gods among men, but not for long. I am doing everything in my power to show who they really are behind their masks. Soon, everyone will see these nasty creatures for what they are…

A Tragedy following Icarus as he takes a look behind the curtain of the Elysian Program and sees the disgusting framework that he was disillusioned to. Now the only thing on his mind is bringing down the program and the entire ATLAS corporation. Will he be able to when the world and his body seems set against him?

Themes

Greek Mythology

Overthrowing A Corrupt Government

Social Outcasts/Found Family

Queer!

Mental Health (not recovery, but learning to live with it)

Physical Disability (and learning to live with it)

Current Stage In Writing Process

Writing! I am over halfway done with this draft, then just one final look over/edit before starting the query process

Art Related To WIP

A Moodboard for Icarus, the main character:

WIP Relevant Links

WIP Masterlist Icarus Docs CMI Info Page Taglist Signup Picrews!

Content Warnings

Listen, CMI is a dark tale. It is heavy and I want to make sure I get everything here, so please be mindful of the content warnings. I do not put them here for shits and giggles

Depression/Anxiety/Hallucinations

Blood/Gore

Child Abuse/Physical Abuse

Death

Fire/Immolation

Police Brutality/Violence

Sexually explicit scenes/Slut Shaming

[tate-lin]

Moon & Seraph Pitch Week

Hihi jumping into pitch week with day 1 - stories about characters of colour!

Joker of Ashes

You set me on fire. You can’t abandon me.

Burnt alive and left for dead by her own mother, Minh wants one thing and one thing only—to get down on her knees and beg for forgiveness. Now on the hunt for a woman long presumed dead, she has to lay low and away from her powerful and influential foster family if she wants to stay ahead of the search. She has the wit, she has the power… But none of the right skills needed. Alone and resourceless, she‘ll have to get creative. A phoenix wasn’t reborn from the ashes that night. A monster was.

Themes: Family, love, what it means to be alive & a person

Current Stage: Prepping! Gonna start my first draft during Camp NaNo this year

Content Warnings: Graphic violence, child abuse, mental illness

You can find out more here! 💖

[laurabwrites]

Pitch Week - And Other Botanical Artifacts

Comp titles: Eclipse Phase, The Road

Title of book: And Other Botanical Artifacts

Blurb:

Six years ago, nanomachines ate what they could, nukes fell, and Izzy got left behind. Today, her crops are failing but there’s finally someone with a ride off this gods-forsaken planet. Now she just needs to keep this gang who think they’re Ocean’s Eleven from turning into the Keystone Cops before they’re willing to give her a lift. The dead octopus is embarrassed at his gang’s incompetence, Izzy would really like someone to tell her what they’re looking for, and the dog is just happy to be going for walkies. All 1,800 kilometers of walkies.

Current Stage in Writing Process: 3rd Draft/Editing(!!)

Content warnings:

violence, environmental disaster, speciesism, food insecurity, mentions of past childhood abuse, harm to animals, past trauma, temporary death, permanent death, drug use, mildly suicidal thoughts, corpses and mutilation of corpses

[cee-grice]

Moon + Seraph Pitch Week

Comp titles: D&D x Minecraft

When White Crows Cry

Waking up from death in the city one had been exiled from would be a concerning situation in and of itself. Quilin, a gifted yet disgraced mage, soon discovers those are the least of his issues, as Endra, his lover, who, two years ago, had seeked him out in desperation to find a cure for his magical affliction, was now missing and had Quil’s former magician community after him. As Quil tries to find common ground with the people from his past and piece together what had happened in the year he’d been dead, he is forced to face everything that had culminated in said death.

Themes

morality of science

the darker aspects of academia

bodily autonomy

mental deterioration

love, obsession, and the line between them

death and grief

“what goes around comes around”

Current stage in writing process

Deep into the first draft

Art related to WIP

WIP-related links:

WIP intro

Content warnings:

suicide ideation

PTSD, depression

anxiety, panic attacks

death

(light) body horror

[new-royston-cursebreakers]

Moon + Seraph Pitch Week:

Comp titles: Gulliver’s Travels and Hadestown

The Curse of New Royston

The small town of New Royston is cursed: wealth correlates with physical size. 20-foot-tall Gio Violett, a sophomore recovering from a near-death experience, encounters 1-foot-tall Cricket Collins, a freshman who’s been left to fend for himself as his parents try to save up enough money to bring him out of town. Fed up with the town’s unofficial segregation, the two of them agree to try to break the curse.

But the closer they get to their goal, the more they uncover the town’s gruesome history. Danger stems from the least likely places, from political conspiracies to supernatural forces, from the shady figure that seems to always be on Gio’s heels to the reason why Cricket’s parents left in the first place; soon, it becomes clear that their, and their friends’, lives and livelihoods depend on breaking the curse.

Themes

Trust

Family, both blood and found

Identity/self-perception

History, discovery, and retellings

Community

Current Stage in Writing Process

Currently on third draft, ironing out scenes and fixing grammar, spelling, and tone.

WIP-Relevant Links

Sideblog is @new-royston-cursebreakers

Content Warnings

Violence (asphyxiation, blood, gore, amputation, burn wounds, assault, child abuse, police violence)

Discrimination (classism, ableism, queerphobia, ageism)

Religion

Strong Language

Mentally-disturbing content (dissociation, unreality, paranoia, claustrophobia, anxiety, trauma, brain injury)

Bugs

[moondust-bard]

Truthwitch X Sailor Moon

Lost Souls’ Night Saga — a 5-book series

Magic reemerges in a realm brought to its knees by an empire forged in blood and greed. The magically "plighted”, thought eradicated ages ago by the very dynasty now in power, emerge seemingly from nothing, ensnaring six unalike girls in a charismatic warlord’s scheme to bring about a magical renaissance.

Themes

• nature vs. nurture

• imperialism

• fate vs free will

• coming of age

• life & death

• environmental destruction

• society & gender roles

Current Stage in Writing Process

draft 1 of book 1

Content warnings

• childhood

psychological and physical abuse

• neglect

• death of a parent

• family separation

Want to know more? Find the wip intro here!

[surroundedbypearls]

Blue Neighbourhood X Celtic/Irish mythology X Greek mythology

To Catch the Sea

Serving the Dragon King as one of his own is the highest honour, and what Adam always knew he would become before he ever had the choice. He always knew dragons' magic was of fire, and of sun. Chimeras' magic was of storms, and of poison. Unfortunately, the chimera who plays the piano at every banquet and walks the beach at twilight is the only one who’s ever made him feel.

And when a new recruit drowns under Adam's watch, suddenly, he has more important things to worry about than wooing a boy who doesn't know his name.

Themes

Forbidden love

Coming-of-age

Power

Change vs tradition

Current Stage in Writing Process: Proofreading, Beta prep (see Wip-relevant links if interested!)

Art related to wip

(I've made so much art for this WIP that limiting it to one was not easy)

Wip-relevant links

WIP intro post

Character posts: Adam / Shay / Caleb / Sara / Ivy / Olena

WIP playlist

Some of my favourite edits (with excerpts): Blue & Golden / Storms / Manticore

WIP tag (see more art and excerpt here!)

Fill in this form if you're interested in becoming a Beta reader! (May-Jun)

Content warnings

Child abuse

Burning/fire

Drowning

Death

Mentions of child death/miscarriage

Like or reply to be added to the taglist!

[moonyswritinq]

Atlas' Story — Moon+Seraph Pitch Week

Pitch by me, @moonyswritinq, event week brought to you by @moondust-bard and @saintedseraph

SIX OF CROWS X THE LORD OF THE RINGS

Seven to Die

Tension between non-magical and magical people, magicks, have been rising for decades, now a greater divide between the two than ever. The New Rebellion have been rising in strength and numbers, fighting back against the oppression of magical people, and is rumoured to have an intricate device to enhance a magick's abilities. Kaede Kutsuki, under the orders of the Small Council of Albion, is sent to hinder the Rebellion's advances by stealing the device. With the help of a group of as immoral criminals as herself, she has to manage the journey to pull off the job and to not lose the fight within herself — especially as old wounds open and her past has come back to claim the final victim that escaped.

Themes

found family

revenge

morally grey conflicts

power and corruption

survival

Current Stage in Writing Process:

rough draft in process

Art related to wip: N/A

Wip-relevant links: N/A

Content warnings

violence

death

gore

murder

insomnia

PTSD

mental / psychological abuse

physical abuse

childhood trauma

[incorrectgoddessgang]

Moon+Seraph Pitch Week March 2023

The Godfather meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in...

The Incubucks

The Santorini mafia is a crime syndicate made up of seven head families. Each have a son who is expected to take over once their fathers are gone, but these young men are pushed into the fray before their time as their consigliere is abruptly replaced. The new one  - who simply goes by Comet - is enigmatic and strangely young for the job but Rudolph, heir of the Santorini family, finds out that he is actually a demon who buys and trades information with otherworldly entities, and uses that intel to advise Mr. Santorini - which has resulted in them nearly tripling their earnings overnight. And at the request of Mr. Santorini, Comet grants Rudolph and the other heirs the arcane and enticing magic of an incubuck - an incubus buck - and tasks them with protecting their own from other forms of supernatural harm prowling the streets. Being thrust into gang violence at a young age doesn't do well for anyone, but there's no harm if it's for the sake of your family, right? ... Right?

Themes

coming of age

overcoming societally enforced internalized bigotry

solidarity

toxic masculinity and comphet

the burden of dealing with the mess your parents' made

(in a sense) child soldiers

grudges and vengeance

Current Stage in Writing Process

This idea came to me 4 months ago and in that time I was focusing on my main project, Goddess Gang (when I wasn't scrambling to finish up my degree), so this is a very much a zygote of a story.

Content Warnings

violence

murder

internalized homophobia

more TBD

Thank you @moon-and-seraph for organizing this pitch week!