#i scrapped the in progress chapter i was working on before July

[thefandomwritersblog]

*boop*

[nextinline-if]

May DevBlog - Chapter 2 Progress (Important Updates)

Okay, below is an update on my progress for chapter 2 and what's been written, coded, and what's in the process.

First, I don't have an exact date for the release yet. BUT chapter 2 will be released in July! Beta testing starts in the later part of June :) Those currently still subscribed to Patreon will get first access even though it's paused. Additionally, giveaway winners will get early access, too. I will reach out when it's ready.

Note: You will need to start the game fresh when chapter 2 releases as I used a new file so your previous saves will not work. I apologize for this and I'm going to try to be more mindful after this update so it doesn't happen (hopefully) again. Therefore, if it's been a while since you played, I recommend waiting for this upcoming release before playing again.

UPDATE TO ATTRIBUTES

After much consideration, moving forward the attributes (ex: patience, deception, etc) are going to primarily be used for flavor text.

Your MC may not react the same in all situations. Maybe they are stoic and suspicious with strangers, but patient and open with those close to them. Basically, this will allow you to shape MC more to how you want to envision them.

All of that said, during relevant scenes, the attributes will offer some special choices. However, I really think it's best to not gate keep personality stats for this game. Instead, I'll use them to make playthroughs a little more unique.

Hopefully this feels like a positive change for most of you.

Moving on...I do have another update regarding pets in chapter 2:

Originally, the pet's were going to be included in Capital visit for chapter 2. I've decided to scrap that. Chapter 2 already has a LOT of branching (dozens) and it's just really been stressing me out trying to fit the pets into those particular scenes. Don't worry, you will have other opportunities in the game to include the pets...and you still get to meet them near the beginning of chapter 2!

Okay, if you aren't too disappointed with me at this point, here's the rest of the update...

Word Count (includes code):

Current demo word count: 59,479

Current word count for just ch 2: 57,162

Total game word count (including ch2): 116,641 and counting...

Next, here's the scene order and what's written/coded/in progress:

Scene 1 - completely written and coded

Scene 2 - completely written and coded

Scene 3 - completely written and coded

Scene 4 - completely written and coded

Scene 5 - completely written and coded

Scene 6 - completely written and coded

Scene 7 - complete written, not coded (scene was not planned originally)

Scene 8 - completely written and coded

Scene 9 - 60% written, not coded

Scene 10 - in progress (4 main branches)

Scene 11 - in progress (4 main branches)

Scene 12 - in progress

Scene 13 - completely written, not coded

SPECIAL THANKS

With the help of @manonamora-if, I was able to update some GUI things for a better color contrast and a more responsive game file. Thank you for you help, I truly appreciate it and will be sure to add you to the Credits page when releasing chapter 2.

Thanks to the other beta testers who recently provided feedback so I could fix minor errors in the current demo. I appreciate you as well and will be updating the credit page for you, if you desire to be added.

Okay, I'm off to get chapter 2 completed and coded for beta testing.

-Vi

[ravenonice]

Hearts of Glass - Chapter 6

Letting go and Holding on

Yuuri returns to Detroit and tries to let go of his grudge and childish fantasies and instead focus on how to handle the expectations put onto him from everyone around him but also himself. Viktor attempts to somehow turn his anger into progress as his heart still aches for something it can't seem to get.

Hello everyone! It's been almost a whole year since I updated this fic...damn. I had this chapter ready a million times and then before posting decided I actually hated it and scrapped it...But now I'm doing it!

We have reached July and that means: The new season has begun and GRAND PRIX ASSIGNMENTS ARE OUT!

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter and let me know what you think (if you want) <3

Spoilers (in from of GP assignments) under the cut!

And because I have absolutely no chill I faked an ISU document for the GP assignments in this fic xD

Irl skaters under the blurrs are completely random and just there to fill the blanks. No real life skaters will appear in this work. (Except for maybe Stephane and Nobu but those two are canon after all)

[zyrafowe-sny]

WIP Wednesday Game: July 31, 2024

So @/kedreeva's WIP Wednesday Game has mostly moved to this Tumblr community. You're welcome to join even as a mostly-lurker. If you don't want to play the game but want to encourage me (and/or others!) to write (no obligation to be in the fandom), please send an ask with one of the listed file names and you'll get at least 3 new sentences. I personally benefit greatly from this kind of cheerleading, even if I'm pretty sure the asker won't ever read the fic.

~~~

Status: 54/54 Big Bang sentences written, 0/54 shareable lines shared

I've reached the minimum length for my Big Bang fic (woohoo!) but want to wrap it up early (I'm a lead mod and want one fewer thing to worry about), so I will continue having everything be a 2 for 1.

My file is:

Nimona Big Bang Ideas

And please feel free to specify:

Assorted Veek: @vee-week starts August 14th! At the moment I'm mostly working on the Nocedas prompt (will likely wrap under 1k).

Piercing: this is also for @vee-week but gets its own file (expect this wrapping between 500 and 2k)

Movie Night: this is also for @vee-week but gets its own file (expect this wrapping under 1k)

Prince Ballister AU: got a nice comment on the first chapter of of crown and shield today, so I'd like to make more progress on Ch. 2

everything is fine: I haven't worked on this much since posting Ch. 1 for @goldenheart-week

My snippet from the second chapter of who gives a shit about tomorrow? (when it comes, we can worry then):

Perched on one elbow, Ambrosius turned towards Ballister, but hid his face behind a waterfall of damp hair. “Don’t make me leave, not yet.”

Idly, Ballister toyed with some strands but allowed him his attempt at privacy. “You don't want to go back to your oven of a house?”

“I don't want to leave you, you impossible man” was what Ambrosius thought; “not particularly” was what he said.

“I’ll try to give you some more space. To keep you cooler.” Ballister started to move over, but was stopped by Ambrosius' hand on his chest.

“Don't.”

“You came here to escape the heat, didn't you?” Now it was Ballister’s turn to avert his gaze. “Proximity will make things worse. It's simple thermodynamics.”

Possessed by the urge to either slap him or kiss him, Ambrosius did neither. “You know why I came here, and I don't care if ‘proximity will make things worse.’”

“You never do.” Still, Ballister indulged him, as he did when they were boys, as he did when they were young lovers, as he did when Ambrosius begged for a scrap of attention during their fights.

Ambrosius rested his head on Ballister's left side, and after a beat, an arm snaked around him. Before he drifted off, he thought he felt the gentle press of lips on his hair, but he wrote it off as a dream.

[hylialeia]

hey Leia! Do you think A Dream of Spring will take as long as Winds is taking? idk if I have another decade in me lol

I doubt it.

Maybe this is the optimist in me, but personally, I think it makes sense that TWOW has taken so long, and I’ve never felt that GRRM will never finish the series or has in any way given up on it.

Consider that, when ADWD came out on July 12th, 2011, a lot had happened. The TV adaption that will not be named started airing in April, 2011. GRRM was involved in a lot of writing, legal work, planning, public events, advertising, etc. Even if he stepped back, that’s a ton of work; just thinking about it exhausts me. Cranking out a chapter a week while all that’s going on? That’s a lot to ask, especially right after the last book was published.

I think, given the circumstances, his writing on TWOW was considerably (and understandably) slowed. Probably limited to some scattered scenes (not everyone writes in chronological order), outlining, and work-shopping. If you’ve read speculation or theory posts, you’ll know that there’s a lot slated to go down in this book--and that there’s a lot left dangling by ADWD. Mostly, I’m talking about battle scenes, which might be fun and exciting, but they’re also a pain in the ass to write. Besides, it’s even confirmed that GRRM moved some Dance chapters to Winds. The organization alone could have changed or been reworked, and while that’s normal, it takes extra time.

Further, GRRM was a writer on the TV adaption as well. It’s not a stretch to say that he probably really, really wanted the show to be good, so he invested extra time and energy into it--even more than he might have if it was a different series.

Add into this his additional projects, cons, public appearances, and the fact that no one should be dedicated to labor 24/7, and that’s a lot of time added up. I think GRRM worked on Winds when he could and when that bolt of inspiration suddenly hit. The writing process is weird; it could include rewriting chapters, reorganizing them, switching planned POVs, sludging through exposition, cranking out 5000 words in a day, going back to edit, saying “fuck it” and plowing ahead, coming up with new ideas, having to scrap old ideas, etc. Writing is fucking weird, guys.

And no matter how professional or experienced, writers are still people. They have social lives to varying degrees. They get sick. Tired. Distracted. They procrastinate. They takes breaks and watch a movie. Work on other things. Go through burnout. So on and so forth.

Hell, GRRM might even have taken a well-deserved break after ADWD was published. That was a monster of a book, and he had the show to consider as well. Everything around TWOW’s waiting period was basically engineered to make it take longer.

It’s a little different for ADOS. GRRM is no longer working on the show--and, personally, I think the show was probably a massive drain on energy, even after Martin stopped helping write it. GRRM is involved in some of the planned prequels, and I don’t think his real life will suddenly go on hold. But I doubt he’s going into his other projects with the same mindset as before, and probably very different (lowered) expectations. According to his blog posts, his progress on Winds is already picking up. Like I said: the writing process is weird.

Finally, Dream is the last book, and probably includes some (if not most) of the scenes GRRM wants to write in this series. That’s exciting! Being almost done with a project, especially one like this, is exhilarating. And we can never discount spite as a motivator.

Even with everything else in place, I think the absence of the show, and the fact that this is the Big Finish of ASOIAF, will be huge inspirations. I don’t think ADOS will be written in the span of three years, exactly, but I don’t think it will take a decade either. A thousand-page book takes time, but I’m not worried; GRRM’s done this a few times before, and I think he’ll be just fine doing it again.

[eeemarvel]

It’s Billy, boys.

I originally wrote this quite some time ago as a part of chapter 30 but I decided I didn’t need it so it’s bonus content now, I guess. This happens right at the beginning of 30 before Victor gets a call from Phichit. Since this didn’t make it to the final draft, the editing is really lazy. I’m honestly only posting this to get out of working on the next few chapters lol. Also, Billy is definitely a trip, I know. Anyways, without further ado...

Victor had no clue if Yuuri was Red Specter or not. He was exactly where he started. It didn’t change the fact that Red Specter was still very real, no matter who he was beneath the mask which meant that if he couldn’t come up with a satisfactory offer by midnight, it was likely that History Maker would get hit. This was his last (and only) bet, he realized as he got off the elevator a floor below Yakov’s office. This floor, the Artillery and Design floor, always smelled like singed fabric because it was where the super suits were made… but it still didn’t account for the burning smell. Billy, a man with round pink cheeks, a long green mohawk, and coke bottle glasses looked up when the glass doors slid open for Victor. Billy beamed and cheered like a redneck on the fourth of July when he saw Victor. 

“Victor Torch! Just the tight assed hero I was looking for!”

“Billy,” Victor greeted him and the other cheering technicians with a nod. “Is it ready?”

“You bet your wintry butthole, it is,” Billy said and beckoned him closer with a finger. They walked to the back of the lab, passing metal tables and clunky equipment, all of it glinting with a futuristic sheen as he passed. Some of the technicians were bent over sheets of fabric that seemed to be radiating electricity—it made Victor tingle in the strangest way as he passed, while a few of them made alterations to suits that were actually familiar to him. He guessed Spotlight tore their suit recently, when he saw a squat little technician pushing a button on a giant sewing machine for the all too familiar pink ensemble. 

“It’s back here,” Billy said, “for safekeeping.” 

“I appreciate that,” Victor said.

“It’s in good condition,” he commented as he stopped at a long, dark, glass wall at the very back of the lab. He punched in a few codes on a keypad. A rectangle of light appeared a little ways away from them and Billy led him to it. “You were careful, even back then,” he complimented Victor as he took a little remote out of his lab coat pocket. The rectangle of light was actually a door behind the glass, a door to a small closet with a revolving rack. In front was a prototype of Victor’s current suit: black, sleek, and shimmery. Billy clicked his remote and the rack spun around to show the suit Victor had worn two years ago. It was similar, but royal blue instead of black. He kept clicking, letting the suits spin by, each of them taking an era with them as they went. He cringed at a fuschia one with lapels—he was feeling a bit melodramatic then.

“It’s always been a pleasure designing for you, Winter Nikiforov, because you’re not just a man of justice, you’re a man of art. A renaissance man,” he kissed his fingers, “you get me.” 

“I always have,” Victor smiled, lying. 

“Heeeere we goooo,” he sang as they found the suit Victor wanted. He thought it would fit Red since he was much younger when he first wore this. Red was smaller than him. It was black which fit his MO… he tilted his head, unsure as he took in the swaths of revealing mesh across the chest, the sparkling crystals on the shoulders and hips. It was sturdy, he knew that for a fact, and very well made because Billy made it himself. But it wasn’t exactly low-key. Heroes never dressed to blend in. 

And it was a bit…risque. He had to be honest. Even Chris’ suit wasn’t this suggestive and it was Chris. Victor was only nineteen when it was made, when he told Billy exactly what he wanted: something that would make his opponents uncomfortable. He was feeling cocky because he was starting hero training years before what was normal, and he was young… he felt free and invincible for the first time in seven years. It gave Yakov a heart attack at the time and even Lilia disapproved. In the end, Celestino convinced them to let Victor explore… He thought there were still some old newspapers somewhere with him wearing this on the front cover under scandalized headlines...

The fire was back, that sensation that he now recognized as a red light—a sign that something was off. He bit his lip. He shouldn’t think about Red in this suit, even if he was planning on offering it up. It didn’t matter what he looked like in it or what Red thought of it or anything that just crossed his mind, because the only thing that mattered was protecting History Maker. 

There was no mask. That was what was missing. That’s why he felt weird picturing Red in it. Of course he’d feel this way trying to imagine Red Specter’s face… it was confusing, disconcerting, uncomfortable, nerve-wracking, all those things...

“Billy…”

“M’lady?”

“Have you ever considered… making a mask for this?”

“Are we talking Robin style with just the eyes, or are you thinking more of a Batman-exposed-chin thing, or like a full faced Red Specter deal, because the answer is yes, Snowflake. Yes, I have considered making a mask for all of your suits. Why don’t you step into my office?”

“Uh.”

“Just…” he said awkwardly as if he had just realized the entire lab was his office, “look at this.” He pulled out his phone and opened a few files. He scrolled through digital scans of sketches he’d made, all very impressive, and then actual prototypes that Victor was interested in for himself. Of course, his ability gave him the power to disguise his face easily so he didn’t need a mask but… he still kind of wanted one now that he was looking. 

Focus. He wasn’t clothes shopping (unfortunately). He was completing a potentially life saving transaction. He pointed at a full mask with crystals elegantly crowning the area where the wearer’s hairline would be. “You already made this one?”

“You betcha.”

“I like it.”

“Roger dodger,” he whistled a tune and pushed a blue button on his remote. The revolving rack disappeared into the closet ceiling, pushed out by another rack. This one carried pieces that Victor either changed his mind about or ones that Billy started but lost interest in, scraps of abandoned ideas. He clicked the remote so that the rack whirled around until they got to the mannequin heads, some bare and others wearing masks that Victor had never seen until now. Billy pointed a remote at one. 

“Look good to you?”

“Yes,” Victor said, because it did, although he wasn’t sure Red would appreciate something so flashy. Especially not since the thief seemed to gather fashion inspiration from the shadows under his bed. Well, if he didn’t like the design, he could have it altered. What mattered was that it was nano-tech and made with pure Pandora’s Iron. “I’ll take it,” he said. 

“Okey doke, will that be debit or credit, sir?” Billy chuckled at his own joke as he pressed a button to make the glass doors protecting the closet open. He reached up and gingerly removed the mask from the mannequin. “Isabellaaaaaa!” He shouted over his shoulder and a young mousy looking girl came scuttling around a corner. 

“Sir?” She squeaked.

“Can you please get a box for me? Big enough for a suit?” 

“Yes, sir,” she nodded frantically and squeezed her eyes shut. Victor heard a soft whoosh sound and when he looked up, he saw a large white box soaring above him. It glided gracefully down next to Billy who thanked her before she scampered away. Billy neatly packed the suit under the mask before sealing it and handing it over to Victor. 

“Merry Christmas, baby boy,” he crooned.

“Thank you,” Victor said with an impressively straight face. He’d been practicing since he was sixteen, though Billy had gotten progressively more… Billy as Victor grew older. 

“I’m curious. Is this for Yuri?”

“I—what?!” 

“I mean, I don’t really mind if you give it to the little furball because he’s kind of family and we all put up with him but I’m concerned about the whole… accountability thing with Yakov and the red tape and the chain of command is a whole thing—”

“Ah—oh, you mean Yuri Plisetsky…” Victor groaned, dragging his hand down his face.

“Uh… how many Yuri’s are there? Oh!” He snapped his fingers, “that hot doctor from your Instagram! My girlfriend loves him! He’s got this kind of secret-sexy-vixen-by-night-and-sad-puppy-by-day vibe going and it drives her wild. She stalks him like he’s an insta famous kitten or something,” he said with a tone of pride Victor found strange. 

“He’s not a doctor, and...no,” he shook his head, “It’s not for Yuri P. I just want it for... nostalgia’s sake.” 

Billy nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. Then he slapped both his hands on Victor’s shoulders, startling him, “That’s so weird. Have fun!” He called for Isabella again as he left Victor, getting straight back to work. 

He thanked all the technicians on his way out and took the elevator down to the first floor so he could wait in the lobby. He plopped down in a chair and set the box on the floor beside him.

[ladylynse]

shu-lucario replied to your post “Whirlwind Timeline Post”

Sorry to bother you LadyLynse but how is the progress on the next chapter?

It’s no bother at all, @shu-lucario! Feel free to ask me stuff like that whenever. (or...anything, really; questions don’t annoy me.) I...haven’t actually started the next chapter of Whirlwind yet, though. In the last couple of months--well, mostly June, because I haven’t managed to get much writing done in July with being super busy at work before I went on vacation and then vacation--I’ve worked on The Trouble with Ghosts (I still owe @queenofhearts7378 a chapter of that), Revision (because it’s been forever since I updated that), Down the Rabbit Hole (I needed to write the beginning of the next chapter before I forgot how I wanted it to go), Forewarning (though I might end up scrapping everything I’ve written on that second chapter), Unbound (though I don’t know how many people are reading the updated bits), and a superphantom fic I’m trying to get done for someone’s birthday in early August. I’ve been ignoring Passageway and Protocol again. I will probably try to update The Trouble with Ghosts and Revision and post that birthday ficlet before I work too much on Whirlwind, unless I get an idea for it I want to write down before I completely forget it. I’m sorry; if I had a snippet to post for the next chapter, I would!

[themagiciansreccenter]

The Great Blank Spot: @under-the-shady-tree

So much goes into creating fanfiction even before the first words hit the paper. And in-depth spotlight on our writers and the process behind their work.

Tell us about your current project.  

It's about timeline 23 and everything I think could have happened during it.

The fics are finally posted from The Trials. Did you participate?

I didn't, I would like to at some point in the future, but I was so wrapped up on this and past projects that I completely missed signing up.

What is your current word count?

46,405

Do you try to write daily? Do you have a word count or other goals you try to hit for each writing session?

I write most days, I wouldn't say daily but really close to daily. I used to try for a word count goal but I started to get really discouraged and stressed by doing it that way. I set goals like, get this conversation finished, rewrite that bit of narrative, start this scene. On days I'm not feeling that creative I handle something smaller and on the days I'm bursting then I tackle something big. 

What was the inspiration for this fic?

The episode "Twenty Three" mostly. I loved that there were all these little changes about the timeline and I wondered what else could have been different. I also wrote something in a different fic with Penny23 and it had a few of his observations about the differences between the timelines that I thought were really fun. I found myself not able to let go of the little pieces and I needed to write a full fic on it.

How do you stay motivated between chapters/stories?

It's hard sometimes, but I've found that when I start to think about quitting I remember a scene or a moment later on that really excites me and remind myself I have to keep writing to get there. Also talking with others in the fandom and getting that support has been really the biggest thing, knowing that someone else is excited about what I'm doing.

Did this fic require any research? How much research do you typically do for your fics?

I watched the episode Twenty Three a lot. Each time I would watch it I would try to plot out one of the characters stories and make sure I get them to end up how they ended up in the episode. I also have reread the first Magician's book multiple times in the past few months, paying extra close attention to the Brakebills chapters so I could bring in as much book stuff as I could. For other fics, I can't think if much research I've done. The stuff I wrote about didn't really require it over knowing show and book canon. This has been the most research I've done because of everything it involves.

Do you typically write ahead or post as you go?

I usually post as I go and it's what I have been doing with this fic but I've recently decided to hold off posting until I have more written. I want to give myself some time to really work hard on this because it's a bigger fic than I'm used to writing. With more characters and storylines and just a lot more going on. I'm going to see how it goes with this fic and I might keep that going for future projects. 

How much planning and outlining did you do before you started putting words on paper?

Oh man...a lot. This fic has been slowly brewing since the episode aired and I posted the first chapter in September. The time between all that I was working on this in some way. It was mid July that I finally felt like I had the story in place that I wanted to tell and began officially writing the first chapter.

Has it been pretty smooth sailing or rough waters? When things get rocky, how do you handle needing to rewrite sections or scrap scenes entirely?

It hasn't been all that smooth, honestly. Trying to figure out what to add and how things could be the same or different has been a challenge. There are at least three big events that happen in the show that I have completely deleted and one of those was really hard to let go of because of how attached I was to it. Ultimately though, the story works better with those things gone and I try to remember that. There are other things I've cut for lesser reasons, mostly because I think it will make the story drag a little. I have a few I've put a pin in and hope to someday write them as a shorter fic that could accompany this one. So some things that are cut aren't going to be gone forever. Still the biggest thing that gets me through when it gets hard is the wonderful support I feel from this amazing fandom.

Excerpt

“Eliot?” Closing his eyes, Eliot felt like he might actually cry and he took a deep breath before finally looking at Quentin who stood awkwardly in front of him like he appeared out thin air. “Are you okay?” Eliot smiled, Quentin’s eyes were wide with concern and Eliot almost felt sorry for him. What had this poor kid done to end up anywhere near him? 

 “I’m fantastic.” his voice didn’t sound familiar but he pushed on. “What are doing here?” Quentin pulled his arms around himself; he wasn’t even wearing a coat. 

 “When Amanda gave you that note, you got this look on your face,” Quentin looked embarrassed but Eliot’s heart sped up at the thought of Quentin studying his expressions enough to know when something was wrong. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” his teeth were chattering now and Eliot shook his head as he shrugged his coat off. 

 “So you ran after me without a coat.” Eliot stepped forward and draped the coat on Quentin’s shoulders. “How romantic,” They stood close enough for a moment that their breath visible in the cold air, swirled and mixed together until it was all just a cloud of mist in front of them.

Anything else you want to add/think we should cover?

I just want to say that for the first time I feel I'm starting to come out of my own shell and really feel more comfortable asking for help and I want to thank everyone who has been there. It means the world to me!

The Great Blank Spot is an in-depth spotlight focusing on the writing process and previewing in-progress fics for our fandom. It is meant to be an organic, ever-evolving feature. Previously interviewed fic writers can reach out to us here, to have a specific work featured. If you’d like to have a work featured but haven’t done the author spotlight, reach out to us to get started. If you have suggestions for questions you’d like to see answered, shoot us an ask!

[agilenano]

Agilenano - News: Automobili Pininfarina Is Speeding Into a New Era of Hypercars

As legendary Italian design house Pininfarina S.p.A. enters the third stage of its nearly century-long lifespan, a new brand, Automobili Pininfarina, has joined the family, aiming to produce the most elevated sustainable luxury cars the world has ever seen.  Their first creation, the zero-emission Battista, flaunts celestial performance, with mind-boggling numbers like 1,900 horsepower, a 217-mph top speed, and a 0-62 mph time under two seconds. Yet Automobili Pininfarina aspires to even bigger goals than simply boasting one of the quickest vehicles on the planet: by 2025 they plan to debut an entirely new vehicle category dubbed the S-LUV (Sustainable Luxury Utility Vehicle), and aim to become the most sustainable luxury manufacturer in the world.  “This is the story of a company, and it is the story of a family,” Paolo Pininfarina, Chairman of Pininfarina S.p.A., beams proudly as he holds court in a sun-drenched gallery of his firm’s museum. “My grandfather had a vision to continue the company after his life: ‘My life is too short!’ he said, ‘I want the company to survive!’ And so he trained my father Sergio to become the second chairman of Pininfarina. And when I and my brother were born my grandfather was very happy, and he said ‘Now that we have these two new Pininfarinas I dream our company can be projected into the next century!’ And now here we are, in 2020.”  We’re standing in a gleaming glass atrium in Pininfarina headquarters in Cambiano, Italy, surrounded by some of the most coveted automobiles in human history: the Cisitalia 202, Ferrari P6 and Berlinetta Boxer, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider and 2uettottanta concept. Walking among these curvaceous steel masterpieces, it is blindingly clear that this is indeed the story of a family as much as a company. In the exalted pantheon of automotive design there are few names that carry more weight than that of Pininfarina. Sure other giants loom with surnames like Bertone, Giugiaro, Zagato, et al, but none quite hold the gravity and longevity of Turin’s most storied design house.  Created in 1930 by Battista Farina, a man born in the foothills of the Italian Alps in 1893, Carrozzeria Pininfarina quickly gained fame penning cars of exquisite balance and elegance. Tiny in stature, and born the tenth of 11 children, Battista’s nickname “Pinin” (littlest one in the the family) soon became inseparable from his myth.  The story of Pininfarina is really a trilogy, broken down into three distinct books: Book I, the genesis and foundational era under Battista; Book II, its evolution and more than half-century of collaboration  with Ferrari under the leadership of Battista’s son Sergio; and finally today we gather in Turin to read the first chapters of Book III—probably best titled A Work In Progress.  This third stage really began in 2012, unquestionably a transformational timestamp for Pininfarina. The death of Sergio in July of that year ended what many consider the halcyon era for the house. A half-decade of rising debt also saw 2012 as the year of a painful corporate restructuring. Lastly—and perhaps most ominously—Ferrrari created Centro Stile, it’s in-house design center. The F12berlinetta, which debuted in 2012, marked the last production Ferrari to ever use Pininfarina styling, ending a streak started in the ’70s, where nearly every Ferrari production vehicle was designed by Pininfarina (with the lone exception of Bertone’s 308 GT4).  Enter Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group, which purchased Pininfarina S.p.A. in 2015, saving it from seeming insolvency. It’s important to note the association with Ferrari immortalized Pininfarina, there’s no question. But the design house made its name years before the Prancing Horse even existed, so there’s reason to believe it will continue flourishing. For this reason Mahindra formed Automobili Pininfarina to envision, engineer, design and manufacture vehicles under the Pininfarina badges.  And it all starts with the Battista, an electric rocketship imagined to elevate Pininfarina into the minds (and garages) of the world’s most discriminating and deeply pocketed collectors. But the story doesn’t end there. After the tour of the museum they usher us downstairs to see the next vehicle in the Automobili Pininfarina stable: the PURA Vision, a design concept that looks to forecast an entirely new lineup of vehicles under the signature ‘PF’ badge. And while the Battista takes its powertrain from Croatian hypercar builder Rimac, these newer vehicles will be manufactured in Northern Italy, with newly-developed platforms and powertrains.  There’s not much we can divulge about this sneak preview, but we can say that the PURA Vision is a thing of spectacular beauty, pulling elements from some of Pininfarina’s most iconic vehicles. A chimera of sorts—half shooting brake, half SUV, all crossover—the S-LUV features a unique silhouette with the high fenders and low hood of the Dino.  Very low in height with a narrow greenhouse, its linear simplicity echoes that of the Alfa 2uettottanta with the short overhangs and proportions of the Cisitalia. Pininfarina’s Chief Design Officer Luca Borgogno claims the PURA Vision’s all glass cabin hails from the very rare 1953 Alfa Romeo 6C Superflow IV. Its sides are deeply scalloped but polished smooth, almost like the high cheekbones of a supermodel. “We want to give a kind of sensuality to the car,” explains Borgogno. “It’s like the hips of a woman that are, in my opinion, one of the sexiest parts.” Beyond the zero emission all electric powertrain that will run across the fleet, serious sustainability efforts include a “circular economy” wherein scraps of aluminum and leather are upcycled into unique materials. Components like carpeting are made of discarded fishing nets, and some leather is tanned with an organic agent sourced from pruned leaves.  Given the PURA Vision’s narrow windows and low height, I ask if the glass roof was designed to mitigate the claustrophobia from such a small greenhouse. The amicable designer smiles and shakes his head. “The inspiration was to actually have the perception of the surrounding environment as much as possible,” Borgogno clarifies. “It’s linked with our sustainability aspect. So the glass greenhouse has to do with enjoying the environment as much as possible, being related to looking outside: the feeling, the colors and the beauty of nature.”  If the PURA Vision augurs what the Automobili team can bring into showrooms, then Pininfarina’s third book could very well become a bestseller. Who knows, it could even spark a second trilogy.  A conversation with Automobili Pininfarina CEO Michael Perschke What is it like to inherit this legendary name, responsible for some of the most iconic cars in the world, and shepherd it into a new era?  I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime unique opportunity that you take a brand which is so strong, which has 90 years of legendary design. You go to The Museum of Modern Art, you go to the Petersen Museum, you go here to the National Automobile Museum and you have so many masterpieces of Pininfarina, and yet Pininfarina has never done that step to develop brand new cars. So I think that was a big strategic move. Thanks to Anand Mahindra and his foresight acquiring the company back in 2015, but already having in mind to create a car company.  I think that already is a very important, very vital step. But I think the opportunity we now have is to start with new technologies. We’re not another “me too” combustion engine brand—we’re actually the first ultimate luxury car brand with zero tailpipe emissions. I think that’s a very, very unique positioning that we’re very proud of. Also our 90th anniversary is kind of that hook year where we can launch our first product, makes it even more unique. And when it’s time to celebrate 100 years of Pininfarina after 10 years of having our own car brand, I think that will make it extremely striking. But the Battista is the right starting point.  When Pininfarina stopped creating current production cars for Ferrari many analysts thought it signaled the company’s end. Can you talk about phasing Pininfarina into this third chapter of its life?  Fair question. Now I have to say I’m not part of Pininfarina so I cannot really speak to how it felt for the Pininfarina people. I personally think retrospectively, maybe this is one of the best things which happened to the company, because I would always say that Pininfarina delivered to Ferrari the shovels to allow Ferrari to dig for gold, because it was the design that made the Enzos, the F40s, the F50s really legendary.… But if you look in the history books it’s all about the design, and that was Pininfarina.  So Ferrari breaking up that marriage actually gave Pininfarina the opportunity to step out of that shadow and define its own destiny. Now that led to a second company because Pininfarina [S.p.A.] is a design and engineering company that continues to serve other manufacturers and we [Automobili Pininfarina] are only looking to create that beautiful new car brand.  We’ve seen the success of Tesla, and the unveiling of a slew of other EV hypercars like the Lotus Evija snd Rimac C_Two; just being an EV hypercar is no longer revolutionary. What is unique about your positioning?  I think there are three or four elements for this unique positioning. First and foremost I think Pininfarina owns aesthetics, beauty and design. Everybody else can own other attributes but I think nobody will really challenge Pininfarina on organic design, proportions, dimensions, surfaces. Pininfarina defines the category. We are not a follower, we are best in class for 90 years. For luxury this is very important because luxury is also a lot about design.  Secondly, we have that unique heritage of having designed 64 Ferraris, 700 cars, 120 show cars, and we are very well respected. The Cisitalia was the first car which went into the permanent exhibit of The Museum of Modern Art. So I think that’s a very strong asset we have. The third asset we want to own is driving characteristics and performance. At the end we might not be the strongest by four or five horsepower, but that’s not relevant. It’s how you can apply the power to a day-to-day use.  And then lastly we want to also be among the best in the connectivity space. So when you come to your car it has intuitive-to-use, easy-to-integrate technologies—because that’s one of the critical elements for the next generation. So that combination of ingredients heritage, design, aesthetics, with performance and connectivity—if you put them together are quite unique. I always say it’s like a Michelin star chef: he goes to the same vegetable market as the normal restaurant. But the application of the ingredients by the magician, like my [Design Director] Luca Bergogno, they create a very unique three-star dish.  Pininfarina can hang its hat on aesthetics and design. But what you’ve never done is manufacturing. What do you tell investors to make them confident your team can bring a fleet of cars into production?  So I think there’re different levels. The Battista is going to be produced here, in a combined team of Automobili Pininfarina and Pininfarina. We have in the group already the capabilities of small scale, very unique series. And we’re here in Italy around terrain where you have a lot of these small shops, coach builders, leather companies, who can provide all the ingredients.  Small numbers but high-quality suppliers, and that’s where I think we also have the strengths at our disposal. And then for the next car [PURA Vision] it’s scaling up. And I think the scaling up is something we are just embarking on and you’re going to see more on the scaling up, the factory, the green production technologies, photovoltaic and all that, which we will embed to become a zero impact company by 2025.  Battista Anniversario  Much has already been written about the Battista, but in Turin we were the first to witness the limited edition Anniversario. Created to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Pininfarina design house, the Anniversario features the same ridiculous zero-emission powertrain that courses through the Battista: a 120 kWh high-power-density battery supplying four independent electric motors, one at each wheel. This generates 1,900-hp and 1,696-lb-ft of torque, enough force to timewarp the Battista from 0-62 mph in under two seconds, and from 0-124-mph in under six—acceleration engineers compare to that of a fighter jet.  Aesthetically the Anniversario edition offers a second set of 21-inch “Impulso” forged aluminum wheels, a slew of additional aero enhancements (including front carbon fiber winglets, rocker panel, reworked rear diffuser, rear aero fins and a bespoke rear wing), headlight engraving, “90” badging throughout, and a signature two-tone livery. Designed to make the Battista “just a little more special,” according to Luca Borgogno, only five of the Anniversario will be made starting at $2.9 million.   #Design #Ferrari #PininfarinaBattista #ElectricCars #Supercars

Agilenano - News from Agilenano from shopsnetwork (4 sites) http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Agilenano-News/~3/L9jG0Y3yJRw/automobili-pininfarina-is-speeding-into-a-new-era-of-hypercars

[kellylouise-blog]

Why You Should Do NaNoWriMo

Do you consider yourself a writer? Or are you someone who consistently talks about writing but just can’t find the time? Don’t worry, I’ve been there. And heck, I still am! I’ve been interested in writing since I was a child but I struggled with procrastination and motivation and my works often went unfinished and forgotten.

This is where NaNoWriMo came into my life.

In case you don’t know, NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month is a challenge to write a novel of at least 50,000 words within the month of November. I’ve accomplished the challenge many times over the past number of years (only failing once, I think) and I truly learnt so much from the experience.

Perhaps it’s all down to who I am as a person but I struggle to set deadlines for myself and to stick to them when it comes to writing because after all, what’s the consequence? I can just push it to tomorrow... or next week ... or next year. See the problem? But NaNoWriMo didn’t give me that option. Once I had committed, I was in it to win it, as they say. Somehow, the prospect of logging into the website each and every day to update my word count progress boosted my motivation and finally, I was writing!

Of course, more seasoned authors may call the challenge impossible or ridiculous. But NaNoWriMo is not about finishing a novel in a month. It is but the beginning. And sometimes, starting a project as daunting as a novel can be the most difficult part. At the end of the month, what you’ve created may be complete rubbish, you could end up scrapping it all but at least you started! NaNoWriMo is your opportunity to finally explore the story that’s been in your head for years and years. It is an opportunity to talk to your characters and see what they’re about. It’s a chance to see where your story takes you (it can often surprise you) and to just embrace your creativity. You are not being asked to create something perfect. This is just the first step on the road to a masterpiece.

Of course, to complete NaNoWriMo at an average of 1600 words per day (give or take), you have to be passionate and you have to honestly enjoy it. The most important piece of advice to succeed in the challenge is one I heard so long ago: silence your inner editor. I have heard that some other writers detest this idea, preferring to perfect their work page by page or chapter by chapter before proceeding but then, you may never reach the end. NaNoWriMo has taught me the beauty of writing a messy first draft - a completed, however terrible novel - and going back over with alterations later. Silencing your inner editor means just letting go and writing whatever comes to you, focusing on the scene in your head and letting it live through your fingers. Once you get there, once you find that zone where the words are just appearing before you, it’s a beautiful feeling. 

I’ve done NaNoWriMo at least six times by now, I think, inclusive of “Camp NaNoWriMo” which is a much more flexible version in April and July where you can make your own goals. Through it, I truly believe that I have become a much better writer, and novelist. I won’t be able to take part in the challenge this year but I would encourage anyone with a story to tell to seize this opportunity and embrace your creativity.

There are plenty of other blogs and articles out there with further tips and advice on tackling the challenge but really, your attitude is most important! Check out the NaNoWriMo website (and Tumblr) for more info! https://nanowrimo.org/

Happy writing!!

[andonewillbringhisfall]

Deepest Darkest Secret

HELLO FRIENDS GET PUMPED I’VE BEEN WORKING ON SOMETHING

This is an eighth year AU, and it’s going to have around 20 chapters. It’s based on this little thing I wrote for FEDA and promised to continue. Also posted on AO3 here

Soulmate AU where you’re born knowing your soulmate’s biggest secret.

Chapter 1. Baz.

My soulmate is the Insidious Humdrum.

I’ve known this since before I was old enough to know what the Insidious Humdrum was. At first I thought I was actually going to fall in love with the Insidious Humdrum, which confused the hell out of me. Is it even human? (Then again, I’m not human, either.) How could I fall in love with a supervillain?

I don’t think anyone in the World of Mages actually understands what the Humdrum is. In the break before eighth year, I sat in on a series of Old Family meetings, each more useless than the last. Some of them are about strategy and the Mage. Fiona keeps insisting that I have to know things about Snow that we can use to our advantage.

‘We avoid each other as much as we can,’ I keep telling her. ‘He fell asleep on his Latin homework at least six times last year. That’s all I’ve got.’

It’s a lie. Fiona’s right; I do know things about Snow. Everyone knows their soulmate’s deepest secret, even if their soulmate doesn’t know it themselves. His future biggest secret is the darkest, most important one, and the one that the least number of people will ever know.

It makes sense that it’s him. I’ve been hopelessly in love with him since fifth year and it already feels like a lifetime. He’s got his fingerprints all over my soul. It has to be him.

Not that I’ll ever admit it to my family. My love, my downfall, my biggest secret. (Bigger than the fact that I’m a vampire, because there are at least three adults who know about that, and I’m never telling anyone about Simon.)

The last Old Family meeting before school started wasn’t about the Mage or the war, but about the Insidious Humdrum. They like to threaten the Mage about his lack of progress with the Humdrum, but honestly, they don’t know any more than Snow and his Magelings do. Every time we have a meeting like this, everyone puts forth the same pointless theories and arguments and we all go around in circles.

When I was ten years old I finally figured out what these adults are still yet to realise; that the Humdrum isn’t the monster we’ve all been imagining it to be. It might just be a boy. Then when I met Simon Snow the following year, it was obvious that he was different to the rest of us. He shone brighter, he had more magic than anyone else could even fathom, and it didn’t work the same way as magic does for us. He was the Chosen One, meant to save us all. They had to be connected.

I hated him immediately. I knew even before I met him that someday I would take him down.

I used to fantasise that he might secretly be the Insidious Humdrum, planning to destroy us all while pretending to be a hero, and I’d get to be the one to expose him to the world, because I had the advantage of knowing his secret.

Then it occurred to me that he’d have to be my soulmate for that to be the case, and I quickly scrapped the idea.

Snow was a clumsy, useless idiot who could barely tie his shoelaces let alone cast a spell, and who knew nothing about magic. Besides, he clearly wasn’t the Insidious Humdrum, seeing as he was the one meant to kill the thing.

In third year I started noticing other things, like the moles on Snow’s cheek and that particular look he’d get in his eyes when I’d pissed him off and he was absolutely determined to get me back, and how it did strange things to my stomach.

And one will come to end us. And one will bring his fall. (They were connected, how could it possibly not be him?) (No. Just a stupid crush. Not my soulmate.)

Fourth year was when Snow started trailing Wellbelove like a lovesick puppy. The first thing I felt was relief. Surely this was just more proof that he wasn’t my soulmate? (But, of course, it was really just proof that I wasn’t his. Love so often isn’t mutual; why should soulmates be any different?) The relief didn’t last long, especially in fifth year when they started dating, and I found it a constant struggle not to push him down another flight of stairs.

If only he was my soulmate, I thought, and I could expose him as the Insidious Humdrum and settle our little rivalry once and for all. I win.

After fifth year, I couldn’t keep lying to myself.

Since then I’ve sat through more of these meetings than I can count. Fiona always asks me for information on Snow, and I always keep quiet. Even though I believe that the Mage, and by extension his Heir, is a tyrant. Even though I want to do right by my mother. Even though I’m going to fight Snow one day, and he’ll probably kill me. I never tell them.

‘The holes are appearing at an alarming rate,’ one of the Grimms says. ‘It’s been getting a lot worse over the last few months, though we haven’t seen anything new since July.’

July. The end of the school term, when Snow went back to the home. How is it that no-one has made the connection?

‘There have been rumours that the Humdrum is corporeal,’ my father says.

I’m the one who told him that. Snow told me he met the Humdrum at the end of last year. He said it was wearing his eleven-year-old face. I didn’t tell my father that part.

Fiona drives me to school the day after the meeting.

‘Do what you can, Basilton,’ she says. ‘The Chosen One will be trying to figure out the Humdrum too. Eavesdrop whenever you can.’

I roll my eyes. ‘I have to study, not spend my time trailing after Snow and his Magelings.’

She ignores me. ‘Hex them for information if you have to.’

I give her a side-eyed glare and get out of the car.

‘I’ll see you later,’ I say, slamming the door.

If the Old Families knew about Snow – hell, even if the Mage knew, though he’s supposed to be on Snow’s side -  I couldn’t watch what they’d do to him. I couldn’t bear to have him taken away from me.

His secret is safe with me.

[youchoosemacie]

A new era in romantic fiction

As Julie Hill and Kit Underwood sat around the kitchen table, exploring a new concept in romantic fiction and pushing around scraps of paper, they had no real idea of the size of the project they were about to take on. The novel they created, Macie’s Choice, is an innovation, putting the reader in control of the story as never before.

In Macie’s Choice, at the end of each chapter there are two choices, and the reader selects how they would like the story to progress. In the first chapter, the heroine, Macie, is working in the London office of publisher George Cunningham. Macie is very attracted to George, and to her delight he asks her to accompany him to a book launch that evening. However, Macie is confronted with a moral dilemma, as she’s already arranged to go out with her friends. Macie is torn as to what to do, and it’s up to the reader to make the decision for her; should she accept George’s invitation and let her friends down, or should she turn George down, and risk him never asking her again?

Here’s where the novel’s unique structure comes into play, because the choices at the end of chapter one mean there are two chapter twos. The choices at the end of chapter two require four chapter threes, then eight chapter fours and so on, so that by the end of the book there are one hundred and twenty eight chapter eights. With two hundred and fifty six chapters, Macie’s Choice offers the reader one hundred and twenty eight different stories.

So how did the book come about?

Julie says, “My husband casually said, ‘Remember those multiple choice adventure books? You should write a romance like that.’ And the thought stayed with me. When I saw my friend Kit a few days later, I mentioned it to her, and the next thing I knew we had come up with a heroine, three heroes for her to choose from, and we were trying to get the hang of organising the plot.” That proved to be no simple task, “We couldn’t make it work with the scraps of paper, but luckily we soon found some software that arranged it all like a flow chart, and also let us make notes on what would happen in each chapter.”

Suave, confident George is not the only hero, as two other heroes are soon on the scene. Having endured something of a man drought, Macie finds herself torn between her boss, George, spirited, fun-loving writer Oliver Bellamy, and brooding and enigmatic literary agent Julian. It soon became clear that meticulous planning would be crucial for the novel to succeed. Having two writers rather than one was a complication, and meant that Julie and Kit had develop the characters and plan together regularly. The authors even had to draw up floorplans for the locations involved to ensure continuity.

“The further into the novel we got, the more complicated it became,” Julie admits. “In fact, if I’d been writing it on my own I would probably have got disheartened and given up. In our naivety when we first started planning it, in August 2013, we envisaged publishing it by Christmas of that year. We knew nothing,” she laughs.

In fact the book took over fourteen months to write, ending up at over a million and a half words in length – that’s over 5,000 pages. The novel is only available as an e-book since it would be over ten inches thick if it was printed out.

“It certainly was a challenge,” says Julie, “but it allowed us to get to know our characters in a way writers don’t usually. Normally you devise your plot, and your characters make decisions and you write it, but with Macie’s Choice, we got to write what happened with our characters in one situation, and then – in the parallel chapter – we got to write the opposite situation.”

A unique book brought unique challenges, and Julie’s husband Anthony had the unenviable job of building a system to support the creation of the book. The technology he put in place allows readers to not only make their choice at the end of each chapter and be presented with the correct chapter to read, but lets them go back and read the alternatives on offer. With enough text for at least ten standard romance books, there’s plenty of scope for re-reading.

“Macie’s Choice just couldn’t have happened without Anthony’s input,” Julie says proudly. “He’s put a code at the end of each final chapter of the book which the reader can enter into the website. They’ll then see a pie chart showing how many readers have chosen which hero for Macie, and they’ll also have access to a bonus chapter for the man of their choice, revealing what life is like for Macie twelve months down the line. There’s also the first chapter of the next book to whet the appetite. ”  

Having written over one and a half million words, Julie and Kit had to proofread and edit it all. With Julie in Shropshire and Kit in mid-Wales this entailed hours spent on the phone taking turns to read the book out loud, and make any alterations necessary.

The novel is proving popular and selling well both in the UK and the USA. Nothing like this has ever been done on this scale, and reader are relishing the chance to make meaningful decisions for feisty Macie.

“Download Macie’s Choice and it’ll keep you going all summer,” grins Julie. “But be prepared to be just as torn as Macie is between our three gorgeous heroes. At least you can cheat and go back and choose again – you can read happy ever after again and again!”

[davemcbadass]

A Lineage of Sea and Sin (First Chapter Writing Prompt)

So I totally missed my writing prompt group today due to a flooded basement, but I still kinda wanted to share the ‘first chapter’ prompt I had written! It’s certainly a work in progress, and probably doesn’t really give enough idea to the direction I want the story to go, but this is what I had come up with nonetheless! Critiques, as always, are welcome, as I’m not much of a storyteller by nature. 

                                        A Lineage of Sea and Salt

It's an unfortunate occurrence that the contemplation of an eternity is often left to those unwilling or unable to grasp the concept. There are those of us who are wise to the cruel ebb and flow of the relentless, undulating waves of forever, who merely wish to walk apprehensively beside it unimpeded. More still, however, hope to find solace, justification, and meaning beneath the harsh, ripping tides because they have yet to find it elsewhere. It matters not how deep one intends to submerge themselves or how far out they ignore the resistance of the viscous marriage of water and sand underneath their feet; eternity is indiscriminate, and a fool is a fool.

July was a dying animal, whose skin blistered and cracked under the midday sun, waiting for the vultures of August to take refuge in its burning rot. Three hours had disappeared on I-95 between southern Connecticut and the northeastern coast of Massachusetts, never to be seen again. The thick, New England air made its presence known to the '97 Volvo limping its way across the highway's breakdown lane and the passengers inside.

Marina Olmstead wiped the sweat off her hands down the side of her t-shirt. 'I swear, Thomas, if this barely mobile death trap of yours doesn't end us, I'm willing to bet the heat will. Remind me how you managed to convince me that we should take your air conditioner-less car three fucking hours up the east coast?'

'Geez, Mar, go easy on the old gal. It's the only car I have, and she's good for getting me to work and school, at the very least. Plus, yours is in the shop, so in reality, which car is more reliable?' Thomas said defensively.

Marina slowly drove the car over the indents shaved into the side of the highway in an act of defiance. A low, wide hum filled the cabin of the car at once and entirely; Thomas rolled his eyes as Marina continued to struggle with the wheel, now further inconvenienced by the vibrations caused by the divots in the ground. She slowly shambled the car back onto smooth pavement as the exit sign for Boxford came into view.

'So if I'm remembering correctly, there's no way to get to Ipswich from the interstate,' Marina said, a little louder than she probably should have. 'Getting off at Boxford and travelling from there is going to be our best bet. I'm sure this pile of impending scrap will fare slightly better on residential roads, anyways.'

'For someone so interested in things of antiquated nature you sure like to give my car a hard time, but I think you're at least right about getting off the highway.' Tom twisted his pinky into his ear in an attempt to alleviate the lingering vibrating sensation.

*** Boxford was a town best appreciated in passing or as reminder that there are in fact still people who choose to lead simpler lives, one of many towns in Essex county set firmly in the art of the preservation of a bygone time. The Volvo puttered its way down the thin, meandering roads, while Marina and Thomas kept watch for the slightest semblance of a gas station. About two miles down the seemingly never ending clusters of colonial houses lining the streets stood a lone dilapidated station accompanied by a very meager-looking general store.

The two friends pulled into the lot next to a pump as Thomas patted around his pockets in an attempt to locate his wallet. 'Gonna go pay for gas and see about some smokes, I'll be back in a few, Mar.' He made his way into the store where he was greeted by a single refrigerator, a couple shelves worth of various snacks and sweets, and an entirely unattended register with a small, silver bell placed atop it. Clearly they were in the kind of town where people just kind of leave their front doors open when they go to sleep on particularly warm evenings, so he didn't think too much of it before grabbing two waters from the cooler and ringing the countertop bell.

A door behind the counter swung open and revealed a tall, but frail-looking older man with time all but leaking out his pores. Thomas flashed a brief, but sufficient smile while placing the waters on the table and gesturing at a pack of Marlboro Special Blends on the wall.

'Come up this way to trace your lineage, have you?' The older fellow creaked. 'I can tell you've got New England flowing through your veins, but you and your friend definitely aren't from around these parts. We Northeasterners all share a common blood though, and our little Essex county holds more of it than you may think.'

Thomas chuckled. 'My friend and I are actually from Connecticut, born and raised. She's a bit of a historian when it comes to New England, and I'm just a concerned friend who didn't want her coming up all this way alone. She says there's something special about us coastal folks, too. Something about how the salt from the air mixes with the iron in our blood in such a way, you just don't get people like us from anywhere else in the country. I feel like most people have similar thoughts about their place of origin, though; some microcosmic patriotism that seemingly distinguishes us all from each other.’

'I'd argue your friend is right on the money, son.' The old man confidently replied. 'But it's not just the blood and brine that yields the recipe for us folk. It's the sin that our collective lineages carry that separate us from the others. The original, unrepentant sin of our forefathers bears heavy burden on our backs. I can't smell the blood of your ancestors in you, but I can see their limp, staggering spectres, heavy with the burden of guilt shambling behind you. Tell me son, may I have your names? What with me being a relic of an antique land, I just might be able to kick up some dust on those family names of yours.' The man began to ring Thomas up and extended his hand for cash.

Thomas reciprocated the gesture and released the crumpled $20 bill into the man's hand. 'Well, sir, my name is Thomas Riley and my friend out there is Marina Olmstead. I can't say for certain about me, but Mar-'

The old man's gentle extension of the hand curled into a passionate fist, and gentle face into a deep scowl of remembrance. 'No, please, no more. Though some of us carry such heavy sins through us, there is no room here in this town for the atrocities whose deep claws are sunken firmly into that name.' He released the money back onto the counter and pushed the cigarettes and water towards Thomas. 'There is nothing left for you here, I must ask you to leave.'

'But sir, we really need gas, and I can't in good conscience take these without paying.'

'Those tanks have been dry for years, I'm sorry. I have confidence you will find what you are looking for as you head towards Ipswich. Again, I must ask you to leave. I am sorry for leading you through this conversation that I am now deeply regretting. I must begin to close my store, I'm sure you noticed the clouds forming as you walked in; I can't afford to be stuck here in the impending storm.' The man hastily turned away, went back in through the door he appeared through, and briskly slammed it behind him.

Thomas exited the store, confused and concerned, as he turned skyward to witness the previously docile clouds churning angrily and without direction. He pocketed his smokes and hopped back into the car, unsure of what to say to his friend.

'What, are you gonna make me pump?' Marina said to Thomas sarcastically.

'No Mar, the attendant said these pumps haven't worked in a long while, we can't get gas here.'

'But the pump is lit up and everything! Let me go back in and talk to him, maybe you rubbed him the wrong way. You know how these small-town folk can be to outsiders.' The stringed pennants connecting the ground to the corners of the store began to snap violently as a harsh wind wrapped its weathered hands around the town. 'We barely have any gas left, I doubt we'll even make it to another gas station!'

'The man said we'd find what we were looking for in Ipswich, though I don't recall telling him that's where we were heading. Though I suppose there are very few other destinations in the immediate area, so maybe he just assumed, and I wouldn't have had time to correct him. He pushed me out, and didn't even take my money.' Thomas patted the pack of smokes he held in his shirt pocket.

"Hey uh, Mar, do you have any actual family up here that you're aware of? The attendant asked our names and he reacted pretty harshly to yours, which was right before he all but kicked me out of the store.'

'None that i'm immediately aware of, no. I mean, I figured we both would have some ancestry up this way, but I don't know that any direct blood of mine hails from these parts. I guess it's a good thing you stopped me from heading inside myself, but this just opens up so many more questions that I'd love to have answered, hopefully in Ipswich, if we can even make it there.'

Seemingly on cue, torrential rain began to let itself down from the sky, blanketing Boxford in a veil of heavy drops and the thick smell of lukewarm water assaulting hot pavement. The Volvo pulled out of the gas station and began to haul itself towards Ipswich and the increasingly savage and unrelenting storm. Weather and lack of gas considered, the car hauled itself off the road where it was decided the two would spend the evening roughly halfway through the ten mile trip. The onset of the storm cooled the air enough that sleeping in the car would be manageable, if not slightly uncomfortable.

Marina and Thomas cranked the windows down in the car, just enough to get some air. The two fell asleep in the storm, with only inches of glass and metal between them and the rain which begged to suffocate them. *****

[mary-patterson-art]

A quick look back at 2019

Last Year, what worked, what didn’t, as I roll on in to 2020.

What didn’t work:

I’ll start with the what didn’t work to end with the things that did work and launch off my new year from there.

One thing that didn’t work was and has been for more than a year,

Not having space in the morning to quietly meditate, pray and reflect before leaving the house. Although I got a bit a space wedged in, what with using a couple of meditation apps, it wasn’t the hoped for half hour of 15 minutes of sitting mediation after a good pre-selected prayer or inspirational reading. I did notice that my morning walk to work, with coffee in hand, was a good space to add in a spiritual or inspirational meditation podcast, or, on days when I walked in silence, I would occasionally be inspired, and have really great creative insights, which then got gobbled up by my “day job workday” and lost to me for not having the time to write or meditate on them and begin an action plan.

Which brings me to number two: What didn’t work, not having a regular writing practice time for journalling, action plan working, nor creative writing. Although I carved more space out from the dayjob day for it, It did not become a regular part of my week, and is still a missing longing of mine.

Another thing that didn’t work, Tracking my budget faithfully or having my own personal accounting system. Again, tax time will be problematic, as there is no  business bookkeeping for my art side jobs, but, there was progress made with the spreadsheets and some apps, and better attempts at figuring out if shows were profitable, so better than nothing.

Procrastination - still a temptation and an obstacle rears it’s head at times, but I’ve been way more aware of it and push past it so that’s been a big win, and not much of a regret this last year.

For a last “what didn’t work” in both my creative and social life, I have a great desire to work in groups/take classes/join meetups to inspire and inform my creative alone studio time. The problem being that I find a few interesting opportunities to join, even sign up sometimes, but I don’t make it to the meet-up gathering, I miss and stay in. Then there’s the absence of any scheduled studio time with myself, which is never scheduled, and if I slot it in, gets supplanted by other obligations EVERY TIME. I’ve completely abandoned my studio time. In my new year, I’ve pledged a change and have a hope to incorporate meaningful group inspirational classes/meetings/dates, with dedication to weekly studio time to re-dedicate to being an artist/writer this new year.

What DID work in 2019?

Early in the year I had laid out, scheduled and planned to do four “art-fair” flea market shows, I took out the Credit card, and plopped down payment for two of them, committing me to showing up. That was good, and necessary as I wouldn’t have made it happen if I’d not committed early and financially. I bought the supplies, the tent and started trying to gather the merchandise to sell. I created a small amount of new work in service of these commitments to showing my work to the public and not embarassing myself. I showed up and asked others to help me show up. It was like dragging a kicking child to school at times, but I made it out there and did it. I had helpers for all three that I showed up for. The number four slot was scrapped as I looked over the numbers and reflected on what worked and what didn’t with the fairs. I learned a lot, and have still some work to do with working out how to incorporate the wins into my next selling adventures.

Inserting Exercise into my life via my YMCA membership. It still feels like an absolute gift to myself to move, to do a yoga class, a body pump, cycle class or pilates or boot camp. To do rowing, eliptiical or a swim. Even showing up, sitting in the jacuzzi and doing a sauna days are a super treat in a busy work day or week to make my life and body feel alive. More of this please.

Going to events with friends, and sometimes alone. I accepted invites to concerts and comedy with Laura,  I went to a great ballgame on my own, and had a blast for 19 innings! I went to my favorite movie screenings, inviting some friends, and to two guinea pig Pignics! Doing fun things and planning to do them broke up my day-job life and gave spring and summer a really fun summertime feeling, even into the fall.

Along these lines, I invited and brought my boyfriend along with me to the Pignics, and we did some things together I always wanted to, like going fishing for a day during the middle of the week, Went to drive the antique car in the 4th of July parade, and caught a tour and day out in the LA Arbouretum, as well as driving up to the top of Mt Wilson for a look at the observatory! We took our first plane ride together, which made the trip less exhausting, and really fun.

Celebrations, I had a great celebration dinner with friends to celebrate a significant milestone, and felt very loved keeping the dinner manageable made it easier to enjoy the moment.

I hosted two foster Guinea pigs as an act of love and charity, and yet I felt like the gift was all mine as I fell totally in love with them, then my heart broke to let them go from my life. A sweet chapter, and then, an unexpected sadness, wow attachments are a thing for me.

I got to go on a real Vacation, for an entire week, and it was glorious. This kind of vacation, with a plan, with a partner, with excursions and relaxation, and adventure and a real get away... this must be an annual thing, from now on!

I planned, researched, prepared, asked for a raise, and I got it! It was overdue and it felt great, it was needed and it is appreciated, and it’s made my life more comfortable, more secure, and yes, happier!

I got to give gifts to my family and loved ones, of my time, my energy, my presence, and also, some material gifts, wrapped in bows, just because I can now afford to do so! Feels so nice.

I finished the trust work that was trusted to me and I re-titled the family home to keep it in the family, refinanced it to repair it,  and I feel good and more secure because that is handled and mostly resolved. It was really difficult work, and I asked for help, paid for help, and paid myself back for the loans I made to the project, and that was a major big deal. There’s less anxiety in my life and it’s made a huge difference!

For 2020, I have high high hopes. I look forward to a year where the opening of time and energy will give my heart more freedom, joy, and creative time to birth some real gifts to myself, my family, my loved ones, my friends and to the world.

~Mary

[itsjayyyy]

July 24, 2019 2:19 pm

Have I studied like I said I would? No. Am I in dire need of an update? Yes. Looks like there’s only one option.

okay so I have to go all the way back to june 26th, huh? Well rose REALLY didn’t take the talk about her finances well. She acted as if I was still just mad at her over memorial day, as if she wasn’t a massive burden on our parents. See that’s the difference between rose and I; when I see that I’m a burden on someone else I remove myself from their life so that I don’t hurt them, but rose just doesn’t give a fuck. She’ll be a leech for her entire life and not even bat an eye. Anyways that’s not the point. She wouldn’t say it to my face, but clearly she heard what I had to say. Apparently iris told me that rose was shocked; nobody had ever told her that before. Which is surprising to me, why would mom and dad and iris all tell me about how tired they were of rose being a mess but not say it to her face???? I swear I’m the only person with a spine in this family.

Anyways rose plans to move out in september now, and shortly after she announced that, mom and dad made plans to move back to michigan in november. I haven’t been talking to rose, but I really hope that she sees the direct relationship between the time that she’s moving out to the time that they’re moving out. Since she’s making progress towards fixing her finances, I’d say that issue is a closed case now.

But really, I never looked down on her for her life being a mess. To me, you can do whatever; get a college degree, not get a college degree, work minimum wage, make six figures, none of it really matters to me. I only care that you treat me with respect, treat me like a friend. My issue with her, and not just on memorial day, has been that she doesn’t listen. I told her that on my birthday this year, three months ago, and no change. Memorial day just served to reinforce the idea that I’m just a side character in life to her. She tried to twist it and say “you’re making me choose between you and my boyfriend” which is a load of shit, I’m asking that you DON”T choose between us and rather treat us equally. Or at least, I dunno, say one word to me when the three of us are together so that I know that you still acknowledge me. Or I dunno, maybe not invite your boyfriend to family events when the rest of the family hasn’t explicitly invited him?

Iris has been in town since the whole issue with rose. I hung out with her a few times, but I never saw rose. Iris has told me a few things. I knew that, a while ago, peter proposed to rose and rose broke up with him, for four hours, before she asked him to take her back. He said no, so she bought him an xbox and (according to iris) some weed, because rose said “he can’t say no to me when he’s high.” I really want to say that she meant saying no to her asking for him to take her back. I really want to say that she didn’t rape him. But I can’t. I can’t even say that those four hours were just so that she could think, knowing that she’s cheated on every boyfriend she’s ever had. Honestly I don’t think I can ever look at her the same. Iris wants to give her the benefit of the doubt, saying “we don’t know if she raped him” but I’m not gonna give her that just because she’s a girl, or my sister. Those words came out of her own mouth, after all.

On Saturday, when I got off work, iris and I met up because we planned to see rose at the mall. Iris was leaving on sunday, and she wanted to get a group pic of us. Frankly I can’t stand that iris, despite nonstop talking about how rose is becoming more and more toxic and manipulative, still wants to be on good terms with her. But then iris explained, how when she first moved up to chicago, she thought she’d visit later and see everyone as usual. But before she could come back to visit, her sister in law died. (The main reason for the visit is so that they can help the family fight for custody against the bio dad). She said she was worried that, like her sister in law, she would go to chicago mad at rose and then who knows, what if rose dies while iris is in chicago and they never got closure too? It’s a reasonable fear, but I guess I’m just too hardheaded to feel it too. 

Anyways, we’re at the mall, nick and peter go to gamestop so the three of us could talk in private. This was my plan for how I wanted the conversation would go: I explain that I personally didn’t agree with the texts I sent her about her finances, but that the rest of the family was growing annoyed with her and I was the one tasked with telling her. She would have the chance to tell me what she felt, and what she’s done, etc. We close the finances chapter, and move on to her personality, which I considered to be the ACTUAL issue. I would let her know that I didn’t like that she clearly didn’t care about me. She never listens to how my day was (as in, she’ll be physically present when I speak but she’ll literally be texting peter as I’m talking). She doesn’t take ANY criticism at all. As in, she’ll blow up at you if you even imply she’s not perfect. The whole peter break up situation. I wanted her to know that it’s not okay for her to treat people as machines where she just needs to do xyz to get them to do what she wants. That people have feelings, that people are *human* just like her, and we all deserve to be heard. She never listens to listen, she listens to come up with an argument in response. She lacks empathy.

As you can guess, that’s not how the conversation went. Before I could get two sentences into telling her about how the finances thing, she cuts me off and starts talking about how I “don’t even care about her achievements” and starts talking about how she’s an expert at car pricing (she works for a scrap dealer, they price vehicles by amount of steel) and she knows better than nick, who is an auto insurance adjuster with years of experience. I jump straight to “you don’t listen to listen, you listen to argue” and from there it’s nothing but cutting each other off. Iris tried to keep the peace by making us take turns, but rose cut me off on my turn so I was like ya know what? This bitch clearly will not listen, despite the fact that I’ve tried to listen when she was cutting me off. I give up. So I figured since there was little chance at salvaging the discussion, I said “yeah, you’re right, the whole family is dissapointed in you because you’re twenty two years old and don’t have a degree, a car, a place of your own” and then she stood up and left. It was a really low blow for me to attack her like that, but it’s not fair that she can treat me like literal shit for years but I can’t even dish out a few insults one day. 

Iris, nick and I leave to go to my apartment, where we all calm down, pet mango, look at motorcycles. Then we went to get tacos, then I went home. 

Sunday night, iris says that she’s about to leave town, and wanted to see me one last time. We met up at the starbucks near my apartment. Frankly all of sunday I was just marinating in my emotions, and meeting at starbucks finally let it all out. 

One thing that I’m surprised took me 20 years to realize: rose is actually the root of all of my insecurities. And no, I’m not just saying that to make her look like the bad guy because I’m mad that she cut me off. Think about it. Where did I get the idea of “speak only when spoken to” imprinted into my head? When my parents forced me to be with rose after school and rose and her friends all treated me as an annoyance. How they ignored me, tried to act like I wasn’t there, while they all had fun together. The way they would literally pay me to leave them alone, sometimes. What about my incredibly bad body dysmorphia? Maybe the way her and her friends used to say “oh, you’ll have a glo up some day jasmine” as if I was ugly at the time. How I was just rose’s ugly little sister to them. Or, most glaringly, the time that rose did my makeup when I was 15 or so, and she took a step back to look at it halfway through, started laughing, and said “you just look so ugly.” I cried in the bathroom for 45 minutes after that. And the worst part is that that memory feels so faded, like I almost forgot about it. What else did I forget?

Anyways I tell this all to iris, and she said that I needed therapy. I scoffed at that, of course, because I’m fine. (Narrator voice: She was not fine). I tell myself that I’m okay now, that the emotional trauma caused by rose is nothing but the past, that I’m a well adjusted individual now. Iris bet me $40 that I couldn’t get a date in a month to see how well adjusted I was. 

Easy as fuck, all I need to do is go on straight tinder. Men swipe right on literally anything, so it’d be easy as hell to get a date. I even wrote the most batshit insane bio ever (I literally talked about my issues with rose and the $40 bet), and within 24 minutes I saw that 99+ men had swiped right. I swiped left on at least a few hundred guys, before I finally swiped right on one. Apparently he super liked me, so I said “was the super like by accident or do you just have that poor of taste in women” and yet! we actually made plans. Like kinda plans, like “I’m free tomorrow if that’s not too soon, we could get sushi” so it wasn’t set in stone, but there was decidedly something. And he was cute, too.

Monday morning I woke up and immediately unmatched him, followed by me deleting my account. Followed by me crying violently in bed for two hours, thinking about how he would have thought I was ugly irl, that I really am hideous, and don’t deserve love. That I deserved to die alone, because I have no personality and I’m the ugliest person alive. It sounds overly dramatic to see it typed out, but man, that morning I really wanted to die. That’s when I realized that maybe iris was right, maybe I do need therapy. 

But this is my issue, I don’t like letting people know about my feelings. I feel like I look weak. And it’s so easy for me to just, not tell a therapist things, because it makes me uncomfortable. I tried therapy a year ago, literally all I did was say “yeah I’m fine :)”. I’m starting the online therapy sessions that my college offers, because I don’t have to talk to anyone for it. And on top of that I have all of those things that I’m planning to do that I wrote in the last 2 updates. I want to improve my life, and I’m gonna start on it now. 

Tuesday I texted peter, letting him know my side. He said “I have my own opinions on the matter” and by that I assume he means his opinion is that he’s on rose’s side, of course, otherwise he would have stood up against her. After seeing that I left class an hour early and cried in the bathroom. I thought I was being quiet but this girl in the stall next to me knocked and asked if I was okay (I said yes). 

And yeah, like I said in the last update, it hurts that rose (and peter) are pretty much cut out of my life. They were kind of the only friends I had. But I have to remind myself that this is the exact same situation I dealt with in sophomore year of high school, with jackie. She stopped being my friend, and because of it I lost all of my friends. But this time around I’m gonna be able to meet new people, and a lot easier, since I’m in college. As a matter of fact, I got an email from this sorority I plan on joining today. I need time to heal, but I will heal.

And as soon as I get my braces off, I’m going to maybe try tinder again (no!!!!! I just said I don’t like tinder!!!!!! but maybe I’ll try again when my braces are off......)

Anyways, let me tell you about today, wednesday (we finally reached the end!). I woke up, scrolled through my socials like usual, then watched a few really old music videos. Like, pop punk old. Went to publix, got my waffles, then came home and watched the next episode of ore monogatari, basically as I had planned. But then I just started slacking because I didn’t feel like studying (I still haven’t studied). Went through my main blog’s archive. I really noticed that my blog has been dead exactly since I moved out. I guess I’ve just been too busy. My dashboard isn’t really my style, it’s very multifandom when these days I really only care about bts. I think I’m gonna get back into tumblr, at least it’s more stimulating then scrolling down the same reddit posts 20 times an hour. Anyways I saw my posts from when mono came out and MAN that’s some strong nostalgia. It was only about 10 months ago, but it feels so distant. That’s when I lived with my parents, and they were on vacation so I had the house to myself. While rose went to a halloween party, I stayed home and watched the forever rain music video on repeat while downing 4 beers and doing my econ homework (I got a 100 somehow, despite being sloshed). Anyways I’ve been listening to it on repeat the entire time I’ve been writing this.

Okay it’s 3:44 now. Man, this was a really long update. I think now I’m gonna make my cesar salad that I bought from publix, then study. I mean, the lowest test grade is dropped and I already passed the first two exams, so no big deal. Ugh I wish rose could buy me another pack of cider right now.

[dovahdoes]

What I’m working on, as of July 2018  (L/ucifer)

Alriiigght, so I made a (bad) decision and rewatched/marathoned seasons 1 & 2 of the show.  hahaha.  As a result, I now have, like, 4 or 5 fics in that fandom alone that are in active progress or fully planned out.

Fic 1 -  (Incomplete)  -  Next chapter of What I Like About You.  Not sure if this will ever see the light of day, as I’m really not feeling it at all.  Likely to get scrapped and rewritten completely.

Fic 2 - (Just a bunny)  -  Mazikinda/Lindakeen getting together fic.

Fic 3 - (Incomplete)  -  A ‘5 times + 1′  Mazikinda/Lindakeen fic with a crack-y/humorous basis.

Fic 4 - (Incomplete)  -  How Chloe finds out about Amenadan’s relationship.  (Same ‘verse as Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go).)

Fic 5 - (Incomplete)  -  The fic where someone finally gets answers about what’s up with Dan, and goes to Amenadan to talk to them about it.  (Also the same ‘verse as Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go).)

Fic 6 - (Incomplete)  -  A version of the S2 finale shenanigans occurring for different reasons, because my AU obviously shook around/fucked with canon events and timing a lot.  (You guessed it-- in that very same Amenadan AU series.)