#Speakeasies and Spiritualists

[johannesviii]

Look what was in the mail!! Speakeasies and Spiritualists! The first book cover I ever made! I’m so happy!

[riverrunscold]

I saw your tags, please info dump to me about your ocs, I wanna hear all about them!! 😊

Sorry I'm late getting to this ask! But I'm so ready to info dump!

Sorry if some of this is worded weird, I took it directly from my character notes which at the moment are doubling as my story developing notes.

Brief story description (so far):

A murder mystery story with the main characters, Rosemary Josephine Wynn, a skeptical detective and Cromwell, a trans spiritualist who is also a dumbass and excitable.

It's the 1920s, these two are working out of a small building that they rented out together, they have been friends since Rose first met Cromwell during an investigation. She loved ribbing him about ghosts not being real and enjoyed how flustered the man got. Though she also disagrees with the business he runs and once thought he was scamming people until she realized he actually believes the shit he sells.

Now, onto the characters!:

Rosemary- Rosemary is a black woman who dresses pretty similar to what women would in the 20s but would include more masculine outfits from time to time when she's conducting detective business. She found people took her more seriously that way but during the story maybe she stops wearing the masculine garb altogether when she realizes that she wants to be able to be herself and still be taken seriously. She also starts styling her hair in more ways, instead of trying as best she can to straighten it every morning or hide it under a hat. She also tends to have a more masculine bravado which she developed over the course of her career, influenced by her three brothers also. She has muscular arms and could beat you up in her favorite pair of heels if she wanted to. Her celtic zodiac animal is the Snake (something Cromwell references often). She's strong, strong-willed and strong-headed. Not at all spiritual, focuses on objective facts more often than not. Makes it a bit hard for her and Cromwell to get along at first. Rosemary is very in her own head and anxious but very silent about it, having experienced a lot of mental and physical abuse from her mother growing up. Her mother raised her as a work machine since she was young, never really stopping to teach her lessons about emotions and sometimes actively punishing her when she displayed them. She was less strict on her brothers, Rosemary thinks it's because she was her least favorite but her mom knew how hard it was for black women to get ahead in life so she made sure she focused on her studies and being good at multiple things (though it does not at all excuse her behavior). Therefore Rosemary ends up emotionally stunted later in life, not opening up often out of subconscious or conscious fear of repercussions. Throughout the story, Cromwell, being the outgoing nonjudgmental guy he is tries to help her open up and ends up being able to do that throughout the course of the story. This could possibly all crescendo into a point in the story where Rosemary shows her affection towards Cromwell through actions, not being great with emotional words or sometimes words in general. Maybe she puts herself in-between Cromwell and someone wishing to do him harm, being the stronger of the two and not wanting him to get hurt. This could possibly be at the expense of her own well-being. This could be a big turning point, Rosemary outwardly showing affection towards someone for the first time in possibly her whole life aside from her brothers. Rosemary suffers with PTSD, a result from her household abuse. She also has a hard time actually getting into relationships, watching her parents own degrade when she was younger. She's also terrified of being left by someone she lets herself get attached to, which is what happened with her dad. Since she has PTSD it often shapes the way she thinks or reacts, which will be incorporated into the story during her perspective chapters.

Cromwell-

Cromwell is actually his last name but he uses it instead of his dead name, one of his teacher's having called him by his last name once making him realize how much he loved not being referred to as his first or as Ms Cromwell. He's not out to anybody, just keeps connected to underground trans channels who also happen to frequent speakeasys around town. He's also Scottish, Cromwell being a Scottish name. He has red hair and freckles all over but his eyes are two different colors, it's almost not noticable. One's blue and one's green. He's a dumbass but I love him. Most people have a hard time understanding what he says because of his accent, a lot of people roll their eyes at him when they hear him speak. He doesn't speak much though because of the uncomfortableness he feels about his voice being too feminine for his liking. The only person he talks to with regularity is Rose but that's only because she basically forces him into arguments about ghosts. Don't worry though, they're all good natured on Rose's part, Cromwell's just dramatic. He also wears very worn clothing, a trench coat and white button up that were both too big for him. He also wore slacks with holes that were caused by moths and, so he claims to Rose's upset, spirits (He's mostly joking when he says it. Mostly).

Him believing in ghosts so much may also have to do with him wanting to be able to contact his sister who had passed away years ago but not even Rose knows about that until later on. His sister was really the only support he had in his family. Cromwell also taught himself how to sew, helped by his mother teaching him when he was younger, so he could create his own binders and give them to other trans men he knows. His celtic zodiac is the Fox, having been born March 31st 1899, making him 21. He's very spiritual and emotional, but very extroverted and wants to know others. He's also a tad flirtatious. He helps Rosemary get more in touch with her feelings or at least tries to. He started with giving her complements but that quickly turned out to not be at all effective, she tended to react to them with sarcasm or annoyance. Cromwell has ADHD. His symptoms also show through when the book shifts to his perspective.

Some thing I didn't mention, they are probably one of my favorite ship dynamics, the skeptic and believer, introvert and extrovert, opposites attract. I love that shit. Also slight rivals to friends to lovers babyy!

This also might be slightly based on Mulder and Scully but shut up xD

[18thwallproductions-blog]

If Walls Could Talk: Is a Story Linear or a Ball of Wibbly Wobbly Timey Whimey Stuff?

M.H. Norris

One of the hardest things I’m finding with Rosella’s first full-length book is that, for the first time, I’m struggling to write things in order. Usually, I write a story straight from start to finish but this time, I’m finding it hard to do so.

Because transitions are hard. I know what’s at both point A and point B but I’m struggling to figure out how to connect them. Part of it is that I’m excited: I went back to the basics on this one. I’ve really sat down and worked out the mechanics of writing mysteries, wanting to get this one just right.

I plotted and planned and I’ve got scenes coming up in the story that I want to write now and I’m struggling to write the scenes in order.

And, to an extent, I’ve given up on that fight.

I have a handful of scenes written out that need to be worked in. I’ve already worked in a couple and have a few floating in the research portion of my Scrivner document.

A Popular Argument Amongst Writers

Everyone seems to have their own opinion. Before now, I was very much a fan of writing start to finish. But now, I see the appeal of the other approach.

Because there are a couple of scenes where I see them more clearly than I see what’s next in my story. There’s moments that my fingers are itching to write and I might give in and just do it.

One one hand, I see the value of the start to finish approach. Bouncing around a story can cause you to feel a bit disjointed. But on the other side, I wonder if bouncing around might help you with that dreaded writer’s block.

What are your thoughts on it?

Start to finish?

Or…

Bounce around and then tie them all together?

With Jazz Street I did the first 12K or so (about 50 pages) from start to finish. That’s where I hit the metaphorical wall and started to bounce a little. Then, I plugged a scene or two in, and wondered if this approach might be better…

One thing I tried to do to help was to take my usual approach. I’d write out a calendar with the events of the book. I have the start, the climax, and the resolution all marked out. Then I’d fill in-between with various events.

With Badge City: Notches this approach wouldn’t have worked, as the bulk of the book took place in the same 72-ish hour period. Hence, why I did things differently: I drew lines that represented each day trying to keep it straight. And someone said I got my math wrong.

Maybe I did, but with as much math as I did that day, I would be surprised.

Sometimes in the column, I give you advice and wisdom from my experience. Today, I’m using it more to sort out my own thoughts on what’s currently going on in my writing career.

Maybe, this will help me figure out where to go next.

But before I go, Let me leave you with this hint. The highly anticipated anthology Speakeasies and Spiritualists, curated by the lovely Nicole Petit, is due out this week. There’s a story written by yours truly in it. Check it out, there’s something in that story that you’ll see again sometime soon.

[cancelledhq]

Good Day!

All members of the Prometheus family are invited to Ms. Samson’s birthday party! Others may be invited if they meet the buy-in rate. Please, inquire as to pricing. As you may know, Ms. Samson is a spiritualist and believes in past lives. In doing so, this is a celebration of one of her most favorite ones and not her birthday for this life she is living now. From what she has mentioned to me, the theme of the party will revolve around her previous reincarnation, so Roaring Twenties was selected!

All those invited must dress accordingly based on the era. Also, it is not an option for contracts to decline the invite. Ms. Samson is expecting everyone to attend, as there will be rewards to those that do but also risks. Please, be careful.

For those that are employed by Prometheus in behind the scenes roles, you will each be given 200 points upon attending the party to use as you please during it. You will also be given a max of 200 points to subtract from contracts��� totals. These points are only valid during the party and will expire once it is over.

During the party, there will be plenty of activities to keep one busy, including fortune telling, magic tricks, gambling, exotic animals, dancing, and an open bar (speakeasy style). The night will end with a wonderful fireworks display!

OOC: Characters that are not officially associated with Prometheus (i.e. Russell Torrance and Jordan Ryder) are eligible to attend but IC must pay upwards of $10,000 for the privilege of manipulating points. How they pay is up to you. The event will start tomorrow at 5pm EST and end on August 6th. IC-wise, it is a one night event. Point distribution reports must be submitted by BTS characters at the end of the event via the points blog. Failure to do so will not count. Remember, you are maxed out at giving a total of 200 points and deducting a total of 200 points. For example, Julian may give Cheyenne 150 points and Teagan 50 points, totalling 200 points. If your character does not dispense the entire allowance of 200 points, the remaining balance evaporates and cannot be used later.

[unseenphil]

The Martin’s Passage Timeline, part 2.

1898: The Spanish-American war rallied with “Remember the Maine” did not actually impress the locals, since after years of exposure to the Passage Picayune they knew Yellow Journalism when they saw it.

1903: Vivian Nighy, a spiritualist of some repute set up shop in Martin’s Passage, holding seances and offering spirit advice from the other side. She left town two years later, after it was ruled that while she was indeed talking to at least one ghost, the ones she spoke with weren’t the ones she claimed, and thus she was defrauding her customers.

1905: The Priest of St. Adjutor’s drowned himself in the communion font. This was widely taken as a bad sign, since St. Adjutor is the patron of swimmers and the drowning. When the church was destroyed in a flood a few months later, it wasn’t rebuilt, and St. Anthony’s was built in its place. The former grounds of St. Adjutor’s are always damp, even in the driest part of summer, despite their distance from the bog and the lake.

1910: The arrival of Halley’s comet causes several cults to immigrate to the passage. They’re all chased out except for one, who all vanish the night the comet is at its most visible, leaving even their robes behind.

1913: No one is sure what happened in this year, as the newspaper archives, any books that might refer to events that took place at this time, and anyone old enough to have been alive is either dead or can’t recall.

1914-1919: With the start of WWI, several Passage men go north and join the RAF. Those who wait and join the American military expedition join them a few years later. By that time, only one of the RAF men is left. He returns home shortly before the armistice with only leg. 

1920: The Passage’s first and only speakeasy opens shortly after the Volstead act after some debate over whether it would even apply to the Passage.

1924: The Klan, having swelled in numbers In New England since the start of the decade, attempt to hang several French Catholics in the Passage town square, blaming immigration from Canada for their woes. One man died before the Klansmen were driven off thanks to the surprisingly timely intervention of the local police. No arrests were made, though several white-hooded figures were seen fleeing into the local cranberry bog and no one asked any questions about if they made it out again.

1925: The Recently widowered Mortimer Marshall and his twin children Stanley and  Eleanor, arrive in the passage, and buy one of the only houses along Devil’s Ravine Road. Mortimer finds work in construction, making many renovations and expansions to the house over the years. Morty hires one of the local witches to act as a nanny for the children while he works, which draws little comment.

1927: Witch Hunt Days is inaugurated by a member of the town council, a tradition that continues to the present. Everyone points out that the Passage never had a witch hunt scare. The town councilman points out that tourists expect certain things of a small New England town.  The Witch who works as the Marshall’s nanny wins the beauty contest and keeps the hat.

1928: Fanny Norton, a local girl disappears, along with several tourists after a party at the Forest Castle, an eccentric construction project not far from the No Man’s Woods boundary. Everyone assumes Fanny talked one of the tourists to take her off to Hollywood. The truth is much worse, but wouldn’t be discovered for some sixty years.

1931: Hunting lodges, shooting clubs, and the like are banned from the city limits.

1933: Volstead act repealed, more bars join the Bookstore on Lakeshore drive again, though the speakeasy keeps the name, the owner arguing that it’s easier to tell someone you’re going to the bookstore in the middle of the day instead of going for a drink.

1935: At the ripe old age of 16, Eleanor Marshall leaves town on an expedition to the Himalyas after a linguistics paper she penned stirs some excitement in the sort of academic community that plans expeditions to the Himalayas.

1936-37: A series of murders ends when the killer slits his own throat on the steps of the local police station. His suicide note reads “Come on, guys, really?” 

1938: Stanley Marshal marries his high school sweetheart Lily. Their son Jacob is born...roughly nine months later.

1939: Not one to be outdone in modest scandals, Eleanor returns and immediately accepts the proposal of Lucas Boyd, having a child that doesn’t resemble him in the slightest several months after the wedding.

1943-1945: Stan Marshall, along with several other Passage men dies fighting in WWII after the transport ship carrying them to Europe was torpedoed. In 1945, Eleanor Boyd has her second son, Johnny. 

[eyesaremosaics]

Hey, Megan :) The High Priestess, The Hierophant, Temperance, The Hanged Man and The Tower :)

Hi sweetheart! How are you? Happy new year! Let’s see…

The High Priestess: How did you first discover your path?

My path as a witch/spiritualist? It has always been in me. My mom says I was a very wide eyed and psychic child. That I used to unnerve people sometimes. She said when I was 3, I sat and described the entire process of how the Native American’s made pillows. In great detail, with no prior concept of their culture or anything.

I could see auras, spirits, (was always having conversations with people who weren’t there. Mom said I would pause, listen to the inaudible response, and then reply to whatever it was I heard. Prophetic dreams, with all my past lives…. Because of this, mom put me in a psychic pre-school. Many people avoid me because my energy and intensity, forces people to look at and evaluate themselves on a deeper level–which most people don’t like to do.

Mom used to crush herbs, make her own incense, and would cast spells with me at a very young age. Probably 6 or seven… But she taught me how to perform ritual magic when I was a bit older 11 or twelve (and could be trusted with dangerous tools such as fire). My best friend at the time, went to a catholic school, she was defying her parents in secret, though she was genuinely interested in learning about paganism .

We both did a lot of research, and began practicing together. She would come over every other weekend to perform a ritual. It was a fun time. After that I practiced almost every day on my own. My first relationship was with a girl, and her mother was also a witch. Together we would cast spells, dance around each other giggling in my room… Very soft memories. Sad how nothing stays.

Still practice, I meet friends every once in a while who enjoy it as well. My friend Diane and I used to get together to manifest desires with creative visualization using ritual magic. One of the spells we cast, was for me to find an apartment (during the tech boom when prices were sky high), within a few days–I signed a lease.

I cast a spell to bring love to my friend Teresa, within a week she reconnected with a former acquaintance, who has now been her live in boyfriend/life partner for the last 4 years. I find it easier to manifest for others, yet only manage it for myself in desperation. Strange.

So I guess I was sort of born into it. It’s in my blood, my ancestry.

——

The Hierophant: Best advice you’ve ever received from a witch?

“Be sure to say goodbye and close the board of you use the Ouija oracle.”

I don’t mess with Ouija anymore. The last time I participated in a seance, it was Halloween at the speakeasy. I had been in the parlor reading tarot for hours. Took a break to head into the boss’ office to see what my friend Holly was up to. The room is an emerald green, lit with art nouveau lamps, dark oak furniture and flickering candles. Holly excitedly beckoned me in.

“Join our seance.” She asked me cheerfully. I told her that I don’t mess with the board. Last time my friend Talia and I did it, something followed me into my dreams saying in a demonic voice “I am going to take you and everything you love”, it hid in my closet feeding off me while I slept. No joke. I woke up to the feeling of something watching me. I felt something sitting in my closet. The creepiest feeling.

She assured me that she takes it very seriously, and that she always closes the board or banishes the negative entities. I hesitantly agreed. Two patrons were seated on either side, Holly across from me. She asked if there were any spirits present. Instantly I felt a needle go through my solar plexus. Suddenly I could ’t breathe, and broke down into hysterical tears. Out of nowhere. When she asked if it was a good spirit. The planchette went to “NO”. The pain worsened. And I collapsed on the couch, hyperventilating. Whatever it was, it felt my sadness. It burrowed inside me and ate it like candy. Gives me the chills just thinking about it.

She told it to leave immediately, and forced the planchette to the word “goodbye” on the board, before turning it over. She had to burn sage for a few minutes to get me to stop shaking. Fuck that. I don’t mess with Ouija, but my message to you is this: it is so important to close the board.

If you don’t, you leave the portal open.

————

The Hanged Man: Which area of witchcraft are you least familiar with?

Hmm… Black magic I suppose. Hexes, jinxes, curses. I have studied them, grimoires, satanic rituals but never attempted to use any. My interest in the dark arts is all academic, morbid fascination. I would never invoke that sort of darkness into my life, I am far too sensitive.

——-

The Tower: Have you ever cursed someone?

No. Unless you count the voodoo doll I made of this boy who bullied me in the 4th grade. I had just seen “the craft”, and my friend and I thought we could torture him. It was made out of binder paper stapled together haha. Needless to say, we did not do it right. It was foolish child’s play.

When I got older and seriously studied the occult, I quickly realized that I wanted no part of black magic. I am a firm believer in karma, and the threefold law. The threefold law states: do harm to none. Any harm you cause will come back to you threefold. My pagan girlfriend that I mentioned earlier, cast a curse on an ex boyfriend who broke her heart. A few days later… He got hit by a car while skateboarding. He survived, but was hurt pretty bad. Within the years/months following this incident, her grandfather died of tuberculosis, her cousin commit suicide, and her brother died of an overdose.

You could say it was all coincidence, but I don’t like creating bad karma. My soul is too old and wise for that. I created enough bad karma in my past lives, my mission is to repair the damage, not create more. I feel very strongly about that.

[johannesviii]

The full illustration for the cover of Speakeasies and Spiritualists.

[Image: watercolor painting in black, purple and yellow tones. Several people are sitting around a candle lit on a round table, holding each other's hands, apparently in the middle of a seance. One of the characters is Rose Mackenberg, wearing a scarf, a simple black dress and a large hat. Her eyes are looking at something in the upper right corner of the picture - there's a barely noticeable thread just above the heads of the participants.]

[johannesviii]

Happy tdov guys, I feel more confident this year

30. Nonbinary.

[Image 1: OP, a white person with short brown hair, wearing a black t-shirt and holding four plushies of various prehistoric animals.

Image 2: same person, smiling widely, wearing a black t-shirt with a portrait of Oscar Wilde with a frame and “Born to be Wilde” printed under it .

Image 3: same person, smiling, wearing a black t-shirt with books on it, holding a book titled “Speakeasies and Spiritualists”.]

[eyesaremosaics]

There's an entity that has been following me around for some time now, I was first made aware of it by a psychic a year ago, but it keeps getting reinforced with every spiritualist/psychic etc I talk to. Each time I try to speak to my grandma on the phone about this entity, the phone cuts out. Every time I try to talk about it, a fog comes over me and I can't finish. Even now as I write this, I am fighting to get the words out. I intend to research and write a post about entities/daemons etc. in the near future, discussing their symbiotic relationship to humans. They have no physical form, so they only way they can manifest into this reality, is by way of a wounded human being. They offer strength and protection, or some kind of enhanced ability as a trade for physical inhabitance. This one I live with, keeps coming to me by way of the supernatural experiences I've had... With Talia years ago... At the Slackshack, with the Ouija on Halloween at the speakeasy... This thing is dead set on taking my life. I know that sounds crazy, but it feeds and thrives off of my manic depression. I swear it is encouraging me to end my life. Not clear on why, or what it will gain... Yet I very clearly feel this being. It's always on my shoulders. It always has been, since I was little. Tried getting rid of it multiple times, but it does not want to go--let me tell you.