#rsstory — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #rsstory, aggregated by home.social.
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#PennedPossibilities 1013 — MC POV: Have you ever lived in another country / place besides where you were born? Would you want to?
[Bolt:] Okay. figured ya didn't mean in the country, a different country area other than where I was born, so I had to look it up, then had to ask someone. A pretty-out there question, this one! Learnt there're a few autonomous regions that get to have different customs, different laws, and different money systems, but there's no other place completely, separately ruled by anyone other than Rainy Days. There's a reason why her title is Director of Home (our world) and the Nine Outer Worlds (because there are nine others, but none like home). Now that I've learnt that "Nine Outer Worlds" actually means nine other places beyond the stars that people live and ya can walk through an Interstellar gateway to go there, I'd like to walk through one of them daemon-worked miracle gateways, to see a sky different from ours, at least once. Since Boss Mead's syndicate doesn't extend beyond Home City, I probably won't be allowed, though.
[Bolt's a bit of a country bumpkin who ended up in the big city against her will. But she's right, there are no nation states, and though Rainy Days delegates much of her authority, that sometimes backfires to the extent that wars break out (like the one she started in Reluctant Moon), she technically rules ten worlds, mostly colonies on Mars-like worlds where people live under domes, and two hollowed out asteroids. The Dragon world is large enough that it has a breathable atmosphere, but it's hellish.—RS]
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1013 — MC POV: Have you ever lived in another country / place besides where you were born? Would you want to?
[Bolt:] Okay. figured ya didn't mean in the country, a different country area other than where I was born, so I had to look it up, then had to ask someone. A pretty-out there question, this one! Learnt there're a few autonomous regions that get to have different customs, different laws, and different money systems, but there's no other place completely, separately ruled by anyone other than Rainy Days. There's a reason why her title is Director of Home (our world) and the Nine Outer Worlds (because there are nine others, but none like home). Now that I've learnt that "Nine Outer Worlds" actually means nine other places beyond the stars that people live and ya can walk through an Interstellar gateway to go there, I'd like to walk through one of them daemon-worked miracle gateways, to see a sky different from ours, at least once. Since Boss Mead's syndicate doesn't extend beyond Home City, I probably won't be allowed, though.
[Bolt's a bit of a country bumpkin who ended up in the big city against her will. But she's right, there are no nation states, and though Rainy Days delegates much of her authority, that sometimes backfires to the extent that wars break out (like the one she started in Reluctant Moon), she technically rules ten worlds, mostly colonies on Mars-like worlds where people live under domes, and two hollowed out asteroids. The Dragon world is large enough that it has a breathable atmosphere, but it's hellish.—RS]
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1013 — MC POV: Have you ever lived in another country / place besides where you were born? Would you want to?
[Bolt:] Okay. figured ya didn't mean in the country, a different country area other than where I was born, so I had to look it up, then had to ask someone. A pretty-out there question, this one! Learnt there're a few autonomous regions that get to have different customs, different laws, and different money systems, but there's no other place completely, separately ruled by anyone other than Rainy Days. There's a reason why her title is Director of Home (our world) and the Nine Outer Worlds (because there are nine others, but none like home). Now that I've learnt that "Nine Outer Worlds" actually means nine other places beyond the stars that people live and ya can walk through an Interstellar gateway to go there, I'd like to walk through one of them daemon-worked miracle gateways, to see a sky different from ours, at least once. Since Boss Mead's syndicate doesn't extend beyond Home City, I probably won't be allowed, though.
[Bolt's a bit of a country bumpkin who ended up in the big city against her will. But she's right, there are no nation states, and though Rainy Days delegates much of her authority, that sometimes backfires to the extent that wars break out (like the one she started in Reluctant Moon), she technically rules ten worlds, mostly colonies on Mars-like worlds where people live under domes, and two hollowed out asteroids. The Dragon world is large enough that it has a breathable atmosphere, but it's hellish.—RS]
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1013 — MC POV: Have you ever lived in another country / place besides where you were born? Would you want to?
[Bolt:] Okay. figured ya didn't mean in the country, a different country area other than where I was born, so I had to look it up, then had to ask someone. A pretty-out there question, this one! Learnt there're a few autonomous regions that get to have different customs, different laws, and different money systems, but there's no other place completely, separately ruled by anyone other than Rainy Days. There's a reason why her title is Director of Home (our world) and the Nine Outer Worlds (because there are nine others, but none like home). Now that I've learnt that "Nine Outer Worlds" actually means nine other places beyond the stars that people live and ya can walk through an Interstellar gateway to go there, I'd like to walk through one of them daemon-worked miracle gateways, to see a sky different from ours, at least once. Since Boss Mead's syndicate doesn't extend beyond Home City, I probably won't be allowed, though.
[Bolt's a bit of a country bumpkin who ended up in the big city against her will. But she's right, there are no nation states, and though Rainy Days delegates much of her authority, that sometimes backfires to the extent that wars break out (like the one she started in Reluctant Moon), she technically rules ten worlds, mostly colonies on Mars-like worlds where people live under domes, and two hollowed out asteroids. The Dragon world is large enough that it has a breathable atmosphere, but it's hellish.—RS]
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1013 — MC POV: Have you ever lived in another country / place besides where you were born? Would you want to?
[Bolt:] Okay. figured ya didn't mean in the country, a different country area other than where I was born, so I had to look it up, then had to ask someone. A pretty-out there question, this one! Learnt there're a few autonomous regions that get to have different customs, different laws, and different money systems, but there's no other place completely, separately ruled by anyone other than Rainy Days. There's a reason why her title is Director of Home (our world) and the Nine Outer Worlds (because there are nine others, but none like home). Now that I've learnt that "Nine Outer Worlds" actually means nine other places beyond the stars that people live and ya can walk through an Interstellar gateway to go there, I'd like to walk through one of them daemon-worked miracle gateways, to see a sky different from ours, at least once. Since Boss Mead's syndicate doesn't extend beyond Home City, I probably won't be allowed, though.
[Bolt's a bit of a country bumpkin who ended up in the big city against her will. But she's right, there are no nation states, and though Rainy Days delegates much of her authority, that sometimes backfires to the extent that wars break out (like the one she started in Reluctant Moon), she technically rules ten worlds, mostly colonies on Mars-like worlds where people live under domes, and two hollowed out asteroids. The Dragon world is large enough that it has a breathable atmosphere, but it's hellish.—RS]
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.13 — What role does non-romantic love play in your story?
Like yesterday's response, today's is a high level meta answer; specifics would delve into plot. Whilst these responses sound all very planned out, plotted, Machiavellian even, I'm a simple pantser. Character discovery drives the story. Here I'm analyzing the total affect on my stories.
Non-romantic love? An interesting distinction: Basically a love were sex has nothing to do with it? My Reluctance Series stories go out of their way to remove sex as an important factor in love—unless the characters choose otherwise!— meaning all love in the story is essentially the non-romantic sort. Sex? Well humans need to eat and sleep, too? Right? Most characters are very fond of, or go out of the way to be with, others. Many feel connected. They enjoy levels of intimacy with many people, this in a way that our society works hard to make us (i.e., the reader) feel uncomfortably close, or to cause us to worry about upsetting our primary partner, or to worry that friends, family, or co-workers might call us out, embarrass us or ostracize. We live in an hierarchal society strictly structured to provide power to a select few, with set gender roles that control women's freedom and restrict men and force them to act cruel; reluctance series stories poke furiously (though subtly) at that to make the reader reluctantly think, to make them change their context such that they can view the world and themselves differently. The role that non-romantic love plays is to propose that friendship should always be primary in any relationship and, if friendship is neglected, such relationships are destined to fail or, at best, be transient.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.13 — What role does non-romantic love play in your story?
Like yesterday's response, today's is a high level meta answer; specifics would delve into plot. Whilst these responses sound all very planned out, plotted, Machiavellian even, I'm a simple pantser. Character discovery drives the story. Here I'm analyzing the total affect on my stories.
Non-romantic love? An interesting distinction: Basically a love were sex has nothing to do with it? My Reluctance Series stories go out of their way to remove sex as an important factor in love—unless the characters choose otherwise!— meaning all love in the story is essentially the non-romantic sort. Sex? Well humans need to eat and sleep, too? Right? Most characters are very fond of, or go out of the way to be with, others. Many feel connected. They enjoy levels of intimacy with many people, this in a way that our society works hard to make us (i.e., the reader) feel uncomfortably close, or to cause us to worry about upsetting our primary partner, or to worry that friends, family, or co-workers might call us out, embarrass us or ostracize. We live in an hierarchal society strictly structured to provide power to a select few, with set gender roles that control women's freedom and restrict men and force them to act cruel; reluctance series stories poke furiously (though subtly) at that to make the reader reluctantly think, to make them change their context such that they can view the world and themselves differently. The role that non-romantic love plays is to propose that friendship should always be primary in any relationship and, if friendship is neglected, such relationships are destined to fail or, at best, be transient.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.13 — What role does non-romantic love play in your story?
Like yesterday's response, today's is a high level meta answer; specifics would delve into plot. Whilst these responses sound all very planned out, plotted, Machiavellian even, I'm a simple pantser. Character discovery drives the story. Here I'm analyzing the total affect on my stories.
Non-romantic love? An interesting distinction: Basically a love were sex has nothing to do with it? My Reluctance Series stories go out of their way to remove sex as an important factor in love—unless the characters choose otherwise!— meaning all love in the story is essentially the non-romantic sort. Sex? Well humans need to eat and sleep, too? Right? Most characters are very fond of, or go out of the way to be with, others. Many feel connected. They enjoy levels of intimacy with many people, this in a way that our society works hard to make us (i.e., the reader) feel uncomfortably close, or to cause us to worry about upsetting our primary partner, or to worry that friends, family, or co-workers might call us out, embarrass us or ostracize. We live in an hierarchal society strictly structured to provide power to a select few, with set gender roles that control women's freedom and restrict men and force them to act cruel; reluctance series stories poke furiously (though subtly) at that to make the reader reluctantly think, to make them change their context such that they can view the world and themselves differently. The role that non-romantic love plays is to propose that friendship should always be primary in any relationship and, if friendship is neglected, such relationships are destined to fail or, at best, be transient.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.13 — What role does non-romantic love play in your story?
Like yesterday's response, today's is a high level meta answer; specifics would delve into plot. Whilst these responses sound all very planned out, plotted, Machiavellian even, I'm a simple pantser. Character discovery drives the story. Here I'm analyzing the total affect on my stories.
Non-romantic love? An interesting distinction: Basically a love were sex has nothing to do with it? My Reluctance Series stories go out of their way to remove sex as an important factor in love—unless the characters choose otherwise!— meaning all love in the story is essentially the non-romantic sort. Sex? Well humans need to eat and sleep, too? Right? Most characters are very fond of, or go out of the way to be with, others. Many feel connected. They enjoy levels of intimacy with many people, this in a way that our society works hard to make us (i.e., the reader) feel uncomfortably close, or to cause us to worry about upsetting our primary partner, or to worry that friends, family, or co-workers might call us out, embarrass us or ostracize. We live in an hierarchal society strictly structured to provide power to a select few, with set gender roles that control women's freedom and restrict men and force them to act cruel; reluctance series stories poke furiously (though subtly) at that to make the reader reluctantly think, to make them change their context such that they can view the world and themselves differently. The role that non-romantic love plays is to propose that friendship should always be primary in any relationship and, if friendship is neglected, such relationships are destined to fail or, at best, be transient.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.13 — What role does non-romantic love play in your story?
Like yesterday's response, today's is a high level meta answer; specifics would delve into plot. Whilst these responses sound all very planned out, plotted, Machiavellian even, I'm a simple pantser. Character discovery drives the story. Here I'm analyzing the total affect on my stories.
Non-romantic love? An interesting distinction: Basically a love were sex has nothing to do with it? My Reluctance Series stories go out of their way to remove sex as an important factor in love—unless the characters choose otherwise!— meaning all love in the story is essentially the non-romantic sort. Sex? Well humans need to eat and sleep, too? Right? Most characters are very fond of, or go out of the way to be with, others. Many feel connected. They enjoy levels of intimacy with many people, this in a way that our society works hard to make us (i.e., the reader) feel uncomfortably close, or to cause us to worry about upsetting our primary partner, or to worry that friends, family, or co-workers might call us out, embarrass us or ostracize. We live in an hierarchal society strictly structured to provide power to a select few, with set gender roles that control women's freedom and restrict men and force them to act cruel; reluctance series stories poke furiously (though subtly) at that to make the reader reluctantly think, to make them change their context such that they can view the world and themselves differently. The role that non-romantic love plays is to propose that friendship should always be primary in any relationship and, if friendship is neglected, such relationships are destined to fail or, at best, be transient.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#EroticMusings 2026.05.03 — Week 49 (May 3-9) Characters: Do you come up with your characters before their relationships, or do you design characters to fit desired relationships or interpersonal dynamics? Any interesting examples?
The daemon Thorn Rose and the day angel Streak Carryingaton were created with their relationship in mind. She's as dark as midnight and he's as white as snow. I'm using intentionally loaded words here. Also, she has an accent that alludes to an eastern European accent. She's a first generation daughter of an emigrant mother alluding to the Jewish ethnic experience in the early to mid-1900s in the US. He's simply from a bad neighborhood never expected to amount to much. In a world where a relationship like what we would call "marriage" does not exist—and is indeed frowned upon enough to merit special adjectives describing it, like ancestrous—these two lovers have a special youthful chemistry and randiness. It allows me to contrast a relationship that seems normal to us with a normalcy in their society we'd find promiscuous at best. It puts an interesting spin on concepts of fidelity and love. They spend parts of this moonshot novel proving they're better than what everyone assumes.
Other than this one example, I'm more likely to have characters form relationships of their own accord as the story develops and I discover connections.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#mystery #thriller #romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#EroticMusings 2026.05.03 — Week 49 (May 3-9) Characters: Do you come up with your characters before their relationships, or do you design characters to fit desired relationships or interpersonal dynamics? Any interesting examples?
The daemon Thorn Rose and the day angel Streak Carryingaton were created with their relationship in mind. She's as dark as midnight and he's as white as snow. I'm using intentionally loaded words here. Also, she has an accent that alludes to an eastern European accent. She's a first generation daughter of an emigrant mother alluding to the Jewish ethnic experience in the early to mid-1900s in the US. He's simply from a bad neighborhood never expected to amount to much. In a world where a relationship like what we would call "marriage" does not exist—and is indeed frowned upon enough to merit special adjectives describing it, like ancestrous—these two lovers have a special youthful chemistry and randiness. It allows me to contrast a relationship that seems normal to us with a normalcy in their society we'd find promiscuous at best. It puts an interesting spin on concepts of fidelity and love. They spend parts of this moonshot novel proving they're better than what everyone assumes.
Other than this one example, I'm more likely to have characters form relationships of their own accord as the story develops and I discover connections.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#mystery #thriller #romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#EroticMusings 2026.05.03 — Week 49 (May 3-9) Characters: Do you come up with your characters before their relationships, or do you design characters to fit desired relationships or interpersonal dynamics? Any interesting examples?
The daemon Thorn Rose and the day angel Streak Carryingaton were created with their relationship in mind. She's as dark as midnight and he's as white as snow. I'm using intentionally loaded words here. Also, she has an accent that alludes to an eastern European accent. She's a first generation daughter of an emigrant mother alluding to the Jewish ethnic experience in the early to mid-1900s in the US. He's simply from a bad neighborhood never expected to amount to much. In a world where a relationship like what we would call "marriage" does not exist—and is indeed frowned upon enough to merit special adjectives describing it, like ancestrous—these two lovers have a special youthful chemistry and randiness. It allows me to contrast a relationship that seems normal to us with a normalcy in their society we'd find promiscuous at best. It puts an interesting spin on concepts of fidelity and love. They spend parts of this moonshot novel proving they're better than what everyone assumes.
Other than this one example, I'm more likely to have characters form relationships of their own accord as the story develops and I discover connections.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#mystery #thriller #romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#EroticMusings 2026.05.03 — Week 49 (May 3-9) Characters: Do you come up with your characters before their relationships, or do you design characters to fit desired relationships or interpersonal dynamics? Any interesting examples?
The daemon Thorn Rose and the day angel Streak Carryingaton were created with their relationship in mind. She's as dark as midnight and he's as white as snow. I'm using intentionally loaded words here. Also, she has an accent that alludes to an eastern European accent. She's a first generation daughter of an emigrant mother alluding to the Jewish ethnic experience in the early to mid-1900s in the US. He's simply from a bad neighborhood never expected to amount to much. In a world where a relationship like what we would call "marriage" does not exist—and is indeed frowned upon enough to merit special adjectives describing it, like ancestrous—these two lovers have a special youthful chemistry and randiness. It allows me to contrast a relationship that seems normal to us with a normalcy in their society we'd find promiscuous at best. It puts an interesting spin on concepts of fidelity and love. They spend parts of this moonshot novel proving they're better than what everyone assumes.
Other than this one example, I'm more likely to have characters form relationships of their own accord as the story develops and I discover connections.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#mystery #thriller #romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#EroticMusings 2026.05.03 — Week 49 (May 3-9) Characters: Do you come up with your characters before their relationships, or do you design characters to fit desired relationships or interpersonal dynamics? Any interesting examples?
The daemon Thorn Rose and the day angel Streak Carryingaton were created with their relationship in mind. She's as dark as midnight and he's as white as snow. I'm using intentionally loaded words here. Also, she has an accent that alludes to an eastern European accent. She's a first generation daughter of an emigrant mother alluding to the Jewish ethnic experience in the early to mid-1900s in the US. He's simply from a bad neighborhood never expected to amount to much. In a world where a relationship like what we would call "marriage" does not exist—and is indeed frowned upon enough to merit special adjectives describing it, like ancestrous—these two lovers have a special youthful chemistry and randiness. It allows me to contrast a relationship that seems normal to us with a normalcy in their society we'd find promiscuous at best. It puts an interesting spin on concepts of fidelity and love. They spend parts of this moonshot novel proving they're better than what everyone assumes.
Other than this one example, I'm more likely to have characters form relationships of their own accord as the story develops and I discover connections.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#mystery #thriller #romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1012 — How do your characters feel about seeing doctors or anyone in the medical field?
The best doctors are daemons as Bolt, my day angel MC, understands it. As far as she knows (and she'll learn she's wrong) all doctors are part of Health Services, something everyone gets for free along with basic income, and is therefore available to her only if she shows her government ID. She's a criminal, so she's intentionally lost that ID; the last thing she needs is for the mob to use it to trace her to her family (or for the constabulary to link her to a teenage cough-cough "indiscretion"). Her first experience with the medical field in the novel is when she takes her boyfriend Molt, who is a very cute university student, to Health Services to mend a broken arm. Not only does a daemon nurse use a miracle to relieve the guy's pain, but a daemon doctor later "reaches" into Molt's body to "convince" his fracture to heal "miraculously" quickly. Bolt later learns from the devil-girl that the exceptionally talented doctor they had to wait half the night for is Rainy Day's personal physician.
It's interesting how the main series antagonist, Rainy Days, keeps up showing up peripherally in the story!
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1012 — How do your characters feel about seeing doctors or anyone in the medical field?
The best doctors are daemons as Bolt, my day angel MC, understands it. As far as she knows (and she'll learn she's wrong) all doctors are part of Health Services, something everyone gets for free along with basic income, and is therefore available to her only if she shows her government ID. She's a criminal, so she's intentionally lost that ID; the last thing she needs is for the mob to use it to trace her to her family (or for the constabulary to link her to a teenage cough-cough "indiscretion"). Her first experience with the medical field in the novel is when she takes her boyfriend Molt, who is a very cute university student, to Health Services to mend a broken arm. Not only does a daemon nurse use a miracle to relieve the guy's pain, but a daemon doctor later "reaches" into Molt's body to "convince" his fracture to heal "miraculously" quickly. Bolt later learns from the devil-girl that the exceptionally talented doctor they had to wait half the night for is Rainy Day's personal physician.
It's interesting how the main series antagonist, Rainy Days, keeps up showing up peripherally in the story!
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1012 — How do your characters feel about seeing doctors or anyone in the medical field?
The best doctors are daemons as Bolt, my day angel MC, understands it. As far as she knows (and she'll learn she's wrong) all doctors are part of Health Services, something everyone gets for free along with basic income, and is therefore available to her only if she shows her government ID. She's a criminal, so she's intentionally lost that ID; the last thing she needs is for the mob to use it to trace her to her family (or for the constabulary to link her to a teenage cough-cough "indiscretion"). Her first experience with the medical field in the novel is when she takes her boyfriend Molt, who is a very cute university student, to Health Services to mend a broken arm. Not only does a daemon nurse use a miracle to relieve the guy's pain, but a daemon doctor later "reaches" into Molt's body to "convince" his fracture to heal "miraculously" quickly. Bolt later learns from the devil-girl that the exceptionally talented doctor they had to wait half the night for is Rainy Day's personal physician.
It's interesting how the main series antagonist, Rainy Days, keeps up showing up peripherally in the story!
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1012 — How do your characters feel about seeing doctors or anyone in the medical field?
The best doctors are daemons as Bolt, my day angel MC, understands it. As far as she knows (and she'll learn she's wrong) all doctors are part of Health Services, something everyone gets for free along with basic income, and is therefore available to her only if she shows her government ID. She's a criminal, so she's intentionally lost that ID; the last thing she needs is for the mob to use it to trace her to her family (or for the constabulary to link her to a teenage cough-cough "indiscretion"). Her first experience with the medical field in the novel is when she takes her boyfriend Molt, who is a very cute university student, to Health Services to mend a broken arm. Not only does a daemon nurse use a miracle to relieve the guy's pain, but a daemon doctor later "reaches" into Molt's body to "convince" his fracture to heal "miraculously" quickly. Bolt later learns from the devil-girl that the exceptionally talented doctor they had to wait half the night for is Rainy Day's personal physician.
It's interesting how the main series antagonist, Rainy Days, keeps up showing up peripherally in the story!
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1012 — How do your characters feel about seeing doctors or anyone in the medical field?
The best doctors are daemons as Bolt, my day angel MC, understands it. As far as she knows (and she'll learn she's wrong) all doctors are part of Health Services, something everyone gets for free along with basic income, and is therefore available to her only if she shows her government ID. She's a criminal, so she's intentionally lost that ID; the last thing she needs is for the mob to use it to trace her to her family (or for the constabulary to link her to a teenage cough-cough "indiscretion"). Her first experience with the medical field in the novel is when she takes her boyfriend Molt, who is a very cute university student, to Health Services to mend a broken arm. Not only does a daemon nurse use a miracle to relieve the guy's pain, but a daemon doctor later "reaches" into Molt's body to "convince" his fracture to heal "miraculously" quickly. Bolt later learns from the devil-girl that the exceptionally talented doctor they had to wait half the night for is Rainy Day's personal physician.
It's interesting how the main series antagonist, Rainy Days, keeps up showing up peripherally in the story!
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.12 — What role does romantic love play in your story?
Part of my aim writing the Reluctance Series of stories is to address what-if human social structures totally different to ours, societies with no history of being male-centric. As a result, I approach the concept of romantic love from a totally foreign point of view, deconstructing what romance means when human biological imperatives are accepted as typically human and as normal as eating and sleeping, never regulated to control half of humanity or build a social hierarchy to oppresses both genders. Romance exists, but it's more applicable to friendship and long term relationships, regardless of gender, than to a woman stereotypically finding a man to whom she's not related to depend upon, possibly to raise a family. Even in a society stripped of the concept of blood inheritance, I think it's possible for humans to find soulmates, to experience love, and feel comfortable attachment. For this reason, none of my stories can really escape a romance angle; most include romance subplots.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.12 — What role does romantic love play in your story?
Part of my aim writing the Reluctance Series of stories is to address what-if human social structures totally different to ours, societies with no history of being male-centric. As a result, I approach the concept of romantic love from a totally foreign point of view, deconstructing what romance means when human biological imperatives are accepted as typically human and as normal as eating and sleeping, never regulated to control half of humanity or build a social hierarchy to oppresses both genders. Romance exists, but it's more applicable to friendship and long term relationships, regardless of gender, than to a woman stereotypically finding a man to whom she's not related to depend upon, possibly to raise a family. Even in a society stripped of the concept of blood inheritance, I think it's possible for humans to find soulmates, to experience love, and feel comfortable attachment. For this reason, none of my stories can really escape a romance angle; most include romance subplots.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.12 — What role does romantic love play in your story?
Part of my aim writing the Reluctance Series of stories is to address what-if human social structures totally different to ours, societies with no history of being male-centric. As a result, I approach the concept of romantic love from a totally foreign point of view, deconstructing what romance means when human biological imperatives are accepted as typically human and as normal as eating and sleeping, never regulated to control half of humanity or build a social hierarchy to oppresses both genders. Romance exists, but it's more applicable to friendship and long term relationships, regardless of gender, than to a woman stereotypically finding a man to whom she's not related to depend upon, possibly to raise a family. Even in a society stripped of the concept of blood inheritance, I think it's possible for humans to find soulmates, to experience love, and feel comfortable attachment. For this reason, none of my stories can really escape a romance angle; most include romance subplots.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.12 — What role does romantic love play in your story?
Part of my aim writing the Reluctance Series of stories is to address what-if human social structures totally different to ours, societies with no history of being male-centric. As a result, I approach the concept of romantic love from a totally foreign point of view, deconstructing what romance means when human biological imperatives are accepted as typically human and as normal as eating and sleeping, never regulated to control half of humanity or build a social hierarchy to oppresses both genders. Romance exists, but it's more applicable to friendship and long term relationships, regardless of gender, than to a woman stereotypically finding a man to whom she's not related to depend upon, possibly to raise a family. Even in a society stripped of the concept of blood inheritance, I think it's possible for humans to find soulmates, to experience love, and feel comfortable attachment. For this reason, none of my stories can really escape a romance angle; most include romance subplots.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.12 — What role does romantic love play in your story?
Part of my aim writing the Reluctance Series of stories is to address what-if human social structures totally different to ours, societies with no history of being male-centric. As a result, I approach the concept of romantic love from a totally foreign point of view, deconstructing what romance means when human biological imperatives are accepted as typically human and as normal as eating and sleeping, never regulated to control half of humanity or build a social hierarchy to oppresses both genders. Romance exists, but it's more applicable to friendship and long term relationships, regardless of gender, than to a woman stereotypically finding a man to whom she's not related to depend upon, possibly to raise a family. Even in a society stripped of the concept of blood inheritance, I think it's possible for humans to find soulmates, to experience love, and feel comfortable attachment. For this reason, none of my stories can really escape a romance angle; most include romance subplots.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.11 — Antagonist POV: Tell us about a fun time you recently had.
While flying, I found a new praetorian of mine and a day angel woman I'd been told about by an advisor having fun in the sky, flying tandem. She went by the name Lightning Bolt and was the one who taught Arrow Flies True precision flying that allowed him to become part of my guard—for selfish reasons I could see! Very athletic, those two.They were having so much fun. I soared in to join them.
Most people either fright, flee, or fawn when I show up, this time flying circles around her, them, but she took the challenge and flew flack, stunt for stunt I tried, countering me sparrow versus hawk driving her away from the man, despite my being faster and more agile, able to augment my acceleration [by magic]. We ended with us on either side of my handsome new praetorian wingtip to wingtip, having gotten me to sweat at least.
The fellow looked adorably confused and worried, but kept formation despite being fought over.
It wasn't anger Bolt showed me. It was more like annoyance, having her needed playtime interrupted perhaps after a previous bad day? I knew that feeling. It was a fragility masked with a hard shell. A good talent.
I liked her. I hadn't had such fun in awhile. I mentally noted to make her a student. Lots of potential to match my ability given the right training.
Author note: As an absolute ruler, you don't want to interest Rainy Days. She seems pleasant and normal, but her students quickly find she's an unrelenting and demanding teacher.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.11 — Antagonist POV: Tell us about a fun time you recently had.
While flying, I found a new praetorian of mine and a day angel woman I'd been told about by an advisor having fun in the sky, flying tandem. She went by the name Lightning Bolt and was the one who taught Arrow Flies True precision flying that allowed him to become part of my guard—for selfish reasons I could see! Very athletic, those two.They were having so much fun. I soared in to join them.
Most people either fright, flee, or fawn when I show up, this time flying circles around her, them, but she took the challenge and flew flack, stunt for stunt I tried, countering me sparrow versus hawk driving her away from the man, despite my being faster and more agile, able to augment my acceleration [by magic]. We ended with us on either side of my handsome new praetorian wingtip to wingtip, having gotten me to sweat at least.
The fellow looked adorably confused and worried, but kept formation despite being fought over.
It wasn't anger Bolt showed me. It was more like annoyance, having her needed playtime interrupted perhaps after a previous bad day? I knew that feeling. It was a fragility masked with a hard shell. A good talent.
I liked her. I hadn't had such fun in awhile. I mentally noted to make her a student. Lots of potential to match my ability given the right training.
Author note: As an absolute ruler, you don't want to interest Rainy Days. She seems pleasant and normal, but her students quickly find she's an unrelenting and demanding teacher.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.11 — Antagonist POV: Tell us about a fun time you recently had.
While flying, I found a new praetorian of mine and a day angel woman I'd been told about by an advisor having fun in the sky, flying tandem. She went by the name Lightning Bolt and was the one who taught Arrow Flies True precision flying that allowed him to become part of my guard—for selfish reasons I could see! Very athletic, those two.They were having so much fun. I soared in to join them.
Most people either fright, flee, or fawn when I show up, this time flying circles around her, them, but she took the challenge and flew flack, stunt for stunt I tried, countering me sparrow versus hawk driving her away from the man, despite my being faster and more agile, able to augment my acceleration [by magic]. We ended with us on either side of my handsome new praetorian wingtip to wingtip, having gotten me to sweat at least.
The fellow looked adorably confused and worried, but kept formation despite being fought over.
It wasn't anger Bolt showed me. It was more like annoyance, having her needed playtime interrupted perhaps after a previous bad day? I knew that feeling. It was a fragility masked with a hard shell. A good talent.
I liked her. I hadn't had such fun in awhile. I mentally noted to make her a student. Lots of potential to match my ability given the right training.
Author note: As an absolute ruler, you don't want to interest Rainy Days. She seems pleasant and normal, but her students quickly find she's an unrelenting and demanding teacher.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.11 — Antagonist POV: Tell us about a fun time you recently had.
While flying, I found a new praetorian of mine and a day angel woman I'd been told about by an advisor having fun in the sky, flying tandem. She went by the name Lightning Bolt and was the one who taught Arrow Flies True precision flying that allowed him to become part of my guard—for selfish reasons I could see! Very athletic, those two.They were having so much fun. I soared in to join them.
Most people either fright, flee, or fawn when I show up, this time flying circles around her, them, but she took the challenge and flew flack, stunt for stunt I tried, countering me sparrow versus hawk driving her away from the man, despite my being faster and more agile, able to augment my acceleration [by magic]. We ended with us on either side of my handsome new praetorian wingtip to wingtip, having gotten me to sweat at least.
The fellow looked adorably confused and worried, but kept formation despite being fought over.
It wasn't anger Bolt showed me. It was more like annoyance, having her needed playtime interrupted perhaps after a previous bad day? I knew that feeling. It was a fragility masked with a hard shell. A good talent.
I liked her. I hadn't had such fun in awhile. I mentally noted to make her a student. Lots of potential to match my ability given the right training.
Author note: As an absolute ruler, you don't want to interest Rainy Days. She seems pleasant and normal, but her students quickly find she's an unrelenting and demanding teacher.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#WordWeavers 2026.05.11 — Antagonist POV: Tell us about a fun time you recently had.
While flying, I found a new praetorian of mine and a day angel woman I'd been told about by an advisor having fun in the sky, flying tandem. She went by the name Lightning Bolt and was the one who taught Arrow Flies True precision flying that allowed him to become part of my guard—for selfish reasons I could see! Very athletic, those two.They were having so much fun. I soared in to join them.
Most people either fright, flee, or fawn when I show up, this time flying circles around her, them, but she took the challenge and flew flack, stunt for stunt I tried, countering me sparrow versus hawk driving her away from the man, despite my being faster and more agile, able to augment my acceleration [by magic]. We ended with us on either side of my handsome new praetorian wingtip to wingtip, having gotten me to sweat at least.
The fellow looked adorably confused and worried, but kept formation despite being fought over.
It wasn't anger Bolt showed me. It was more like annoyance, having her needed playtime interrupted perhaps after a previous bad day? I knew that feeling. It was a fragility masked with a hard shell. A good talent.
I liked her. I hadn't had such fun in awhile. I mentally noted to make her a student. Lots of potential to match my ability given the right training.
Author note: As an absolute ruler, you don't want to interest Rainy Days. She seems pleasant and normal, but her students quickly find she's an unrelenting and demanding teacher.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
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#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory -
#PennedPossibilities 1010 — What are any of your characters hiding? (A fantasy, fear, strength, talent, an unpopular or controversial opinion, prejudice, etc.) Why are they hiding it?
Why? In the period of a few weeks she's gone from invisible to meeting a newspaper reporter who's front pagestory needed her photographs, an editor who wants to agent her work, and a cute college student —who's, well, the type of cute she likes—as well as learning a favorite boyfriend is a praetorian who works for the nation's ruler, and then meeting said ruler... who has learned her name.
Bolt is hiding that she's a courier for the mob. For her friends' safety, since she can't convince her friends to leave her alone.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory -
#PennedPossibilities 1010 — What are any of your characters hiding? (A fantasy, fear, strength, talent, an unpopular or controversial opinion, prejudice, etc.) Why are they hiding it?
Why? In the period of a few weeks she's gone from invisible to meeting a newspaper reporter who's front pagestory needed her photographs, an editor who wants to agent her work, and a cute college student —who's, well, the type of cute she likes—as well as learning a favorite boyfriend is a praetorian who works for the nation's ruler, and then meeting said ruler... who has learned her name.
Bolt is hiding that she's a courier for the mob. For her friends' safety, since she can't convince her friends to leave her alone.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
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#PennedPossibilities 1009 — Do any of your characters wear glasses?
Bolt, the MC, should have as she points out...
I'd made myself up as prim and proper as I could, including putting my hair up, spreading a covering paste on my cheeks to hide the piercing holes, and wearing a gauzy white shift tailored for any kind of angel, with snap closure wing cutouts. The seller promised it would wick perspiration, not become transparent, and would keep me cool. I even bought blue-rimmed reflective glasses to further confuse recognition should I encounter someone I'd delivered a mob missive in a blue envelope to. I ought have bought glasses that would correct my sight back to 6/1, but such things required visiting Health Services and submitting my civil ID, which [could get her identified].
Day angels have hawk-like sight, but Bolt's is barely 10/20, which makes things on the ground from altitude very hard to see. As a teenager she lost enough glasses that her mother stopped buying them. As a jock she didn't want to be mistaken for a scholar! Turning 30, she realizes how stupid she had been.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#PennedPossibilities 1008¹⁵ #PennedPossibilitiesImposterToot One or more of your characters, of your choice, are about to sneak into 'something'. Why are they sneaking and what are they sneaking into, are they successful?
Bolt is a courier for the mob, but occasionally she's also sent to trade for supplies to make 'products' the mob sells. Owning those products isn't illicit, but transporting them is, which is one of the few criminal acts Bolt commits (delivering anonymous mail isn't a crime, per se). Blackmailed, Bolt transports the herbs unwilling because she's been ordered to do so. She needs to sneak in and out of a city that was built like a fortress on a mountainside before siege warfare became obsolete. It has few roads in and out. She and her helper, the devil-girl, must sneak out of the city with their wagon-load of trading cargo, then return without getting stopped. It helps that Bolt is a day angel. She can fly.
Since I won't comment about spoilers, I'll say only that it is part of a scheme to gather blackmail to control the devil-girl. The devil-girl is a very expensive extremely capable independent contractor. The events constitute major plot worsening. It's the beginning of the end of the novel.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#PennedPossibilities 1008 — Have you ever had someone translate a story of yours (into another language)?
The agent sold German rights but I never saw any royalties, so dunno.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#ScribesAndMakers 2026.05.06 — Ghoti (fish) is a word created to demonstrate the odd pronunciation variations in the English language. Create or share a word you've created.
Here are some synthetic words. I keep a lexicon for the Reluctance Series to add them to, along with regular words the definition of which I've either extended or warped. The definitions below were tuned to lessen any spoilers, not to mislead.
Arithmocosm: The vivid mindscape a daemon sees when they think mathematically.
Chromatype: 1. A trait passed to one's children without out the aid of the chromosomes, but instead is a flight of epigenetic switches reluctantly† turned on or off around the time of conception. 2. A type of human differentiated only by the epigenetic switches inherited from either their mother or their father.
Crystalscaphe: A word for spaceship where the destination traveled within is not exactly space—powered not by rockets but by miracles. Derived from bathyscaphe, if you wish to ponder what the word could mean further.
Idioglyph: An idiosyncratic marking associated with all chromatypes. Some people even think they say something about them. Also, informal, singular: idy; plural: iddies.
=-=-=-=-=-=
† The various forms of the word reluctance are important to the series of stories. It is both a MacGuffin and a glue that holds the stories together, and saying anymore would be spoilers.[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
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photographer chef cooking
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#PennedPossibilities 1007 — What is your SC’s earliest memory?
For Shugh? Always playing with the girls and only the boys giving him guff for that.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#PennedPossibilities 1006 — How would your characters describe their community or communities?
Working for the mob is also working in a community. In Bolt's eyes, anyone asking about the "community" she was blackmailed into must have a death wish.
Do you?
Well, if you do: The "syndicate" is actually a group (a mob, if you will) of confederated interests, some of them legit but many criminal, centered around a mob boss who suggests how everything could work well without ordering anyone around. He's talented at this. He's a golden goose worshipped by spiders content to comfort him in their web. Bolt, as a courier with no knowledge of the messages and threats she flies around in the addressed blue envelopes handed her, doesn't realize she's an important part of the glue making the decentralization work. She personally encounters, and deals with, the ugliness, the venality, and the violence necessary. She avoids getting caught up by appearing as vicious and untouchable as possible when "at work." She socializes with none she is not forced to socialize with, and keeps isolated and alone, her hopes pretty much crushed.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#PennedPossibilities 1005 — What type of clothing does your SC typically wear?
Without spoilers, I can't describe the "type" of clothing Shugh wears in the sense of pieces of clothes like shirts and socks, accessories, body adornment, or jewelry.
Generally, anyone looking at Shugh would immediately recognize him as a man dressing femininely. He's neither hiding his gender nor standing out, simply trying to make it clear how he thinks about himself and how it affects his worldview. Courteous self-assertion. One might be tempted to label him transfem, but that doesn't translate from our world to his because in his society gender-truth is more important than gender-biology. He knows his body doesn't match his gender. However, in his world, women hold more power than men, and men get tarred as more aggressive and far less mentally capable—thanks to role models. This is why he's careful not to deceive anyone by his type of wear. He doesn't want to be mistaken as a woman, just accepted as one. He wants to be recognized for his attitude and achievements, not suspected of pretending to be female to get ahead. He was well accepted in school as himself, even in college, and was accepted amongst female friends, but the workplace is proving far more difficult.
Bolt, my day angel woman MC, feels very comfortable around him—but also very attracted.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#PennedPossibilities 1004 — If they have any, tell us about your MC’s philosophical beliefs.
My stories are all about philosophy if you try to analyze them.
My MC, Bolt, believes nothing about the world.
That's not because she's some sort of nihilist—or, maybe she is, but that's not the point. The concept of "belief" doesn't exist in their language. Rather, people have different ways of interpreting what they know about reality† and how they would apply it in their life. As for my assertion about Bolt in respect to "nihilist:"
Nihilist: a person who 1) believes that life is meaningless and 2) rejects all religious and moral principles: it is impossible to argue against a nihilist.
Part 1 of the definition applies absolutely to Bolt. Part 2 is impossible to elucidate in Bolt's language for the same reason the word belief doesn't exist. As for the part 1, being blackmailed and forced to work with the mob against her will with no hope for a better future will turn a person into a nihilist quickly. On the other hand (or other wing as the day angel might say), she does know how to have fun when she gets the chance. Most readers would consider her a hedonist considering how fanatical she is about flying and enjoying the men in her life.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
† Without belief, people either know, are convinced or unconvinced, or assume they understand—understanding full well it is an assumption. Asserting things that cannot be substantiated or lacking evidence can quickly be viewed as a lie or an attempt to con somebody. Indoctrination is nearly impossible unless people are isolated against their will, or as minors, which is criminal. Mentally distorting one or more people's perception of reality by asserting a distortion is truth such that the victim cannot be convinced it is false, despite the distortion being unprovable, is a capital offense in Bolt's world. Simply encountering belief puts the lives of the two MCs in Reluctant Moon in jeopardy.[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#PennedPossibilities 1003 — MC POV: Were you born to shine in one special way? What makes you really stand out?
I feel that's a question for a kid, and I would have had a definite answer to this when I was 17. As a day angel, it seems redundant to say I was born to fly, but that how I felt in an athletic faster, farther, longer, precise fashion, with high lading†. I could fly stunts that had the coach sure I'd kill myself, and got me suspended once. I learned how to fly tandem and took full advantage of the fact. At 30, I'm still awesome—but it hasn't made my adult life as special or spectacular as I hoped. Understand, being a courier for the mob isn't exactly aspirational nor does it set a foundation for starting a family! I really should have knuckled under in upper school and learned something useful.
=~=~=~=~=
† There's other forces here that Bolt can manipulate with her feathers to fly other than aerodynamics. These forces tend to tangle up when other day angel wings are close and it requires lots of nuanced movement and finesse and almost Zen-like control for people to fly wing to wing, or over under without colliding or losing lift. By high lading, it means she can pull weight through the sky with the above mentioned forces, which is not very common. I haven't written the scene, but it's likely over 2 tons.[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
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#PennedPossibilities 1002 — Tell us a random fact (of any kind) about your WIP.
It's more of a Reluctance Series fact, and it's random in the WIP in the sense that you might realize something is weird about the world but it doesn't really matter to the story, however…
You can touch the sky.
Yes. It's SF. 😇
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
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#WordWeavers 2026.04.29 —Can you describe your current WIP in three words?
No, not really.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#WordWeavers 2026.04.30 —What unhealthy beliefs are held by your MC?
That would be difficult since neither the word nor the concept exists in their language. It's a cultural thing. The closest I can come is the mob has eroded her trust in herself in order to continue to control her, but that's something she could disprove, and does over the course of the novel.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#PennedPossibilities 1001 — Is your MC confident or not? Tell us why.
Bolt is super confident when it comes to flying: she's a day angel and exceptionally athletic. She is equally confident around men, especially around athletic men. She was a classic high school jock scholastically (not the brightest bulb), getting in trouble (definitely), and, as she puts it in the novel, she "had a string of ponies." She'll admit she's sexist, and for her world admitting it and compensating for it is progressive.
Most everything else in her life? She's an f-up, but she rarely gives herself credit for keeping her integrity while being employed by mob.
Her art? It's street photography. She's confounded and confused by the attention she receives, but while she'll act confident because people tell her she's good, she doesn't believe it.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#WordWeavers 2026.04.28 —Do you use flowers at all in your story?
The portcullis at an entrance to the Residency is described as a stucco archway adorned with wrought iron flowers, both painted absolute white.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author #sf #sff #sciencefiction
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#PennedPossibilities 999 — How often does your MC bathe or shower? Do others around them consider this to be of normal frequency? Why or why not?
Bathing is actually an important aspect of Bolt's story, and the answer is:
Far less than she'd prefer.
Her world is hot (dangerously so), and as she puts it, sweat happens. Her boardinghouse situation (called an aerie) has shared facilities which afford only a sink for sponge bathing—and is unisex, which provides an interesting dynamic. More expensive accommodations have a rain room. People are more in touch with their animal nature and smelling—um, distinctive?—is no big deal. Though not as fastidious as us, they do understand hygiene. As a day angel, Bolt has wings she has to preen (oil and arrange her wing and calf feathers), so bathing isn't exactly the same as us. She enjoys visiting the daemon-run bathhouse (like a Japanese uchiburo konyoko onsen bath with cooling, salt, and carbonated waters) down the block, but it costs coin.
Major interpersonal scenes happen at the bathhouse and the aerie's lavatory between Bolt and a boy friend. In the story, Bolt takes envious note of her boss' rain room, is another time pushed into a cool shower at her reporter friend's work after suffering a heat stroke, and at one point remarks that the devil-girl uses the public rain room daily at the park when the devil-girl is living homeless.
Despite all this, I'm not sure whether others in the story would consider Bolt's habits normal, but her male friends enjoy her sweaty presence regardless.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.04.27 —Share a possibly unpopular opinion. 👀 (Be kind!)
When I received my first galleys and had a conference with a big publishing house editor—okay, I won't be shy because they were generally excellent: Ballantine Del Rey—I was literally told that commas (and other punctuation) exist to tell the reader where to breathe. They pointed out actual comma faults, but also had me remove a great many others. I could see how a carefully constructed sentence that progressively builds and reveals information could do so without commas and yet not lose meaning nor trip the reader into forgetting a predicate.
Like that one.
In retrospect, since the publishing house made money by reducing the number of pages necessary to tell the story, and by extension every single character could be considered valuable, I think the "style" sacrificed clarity and simple prose. Grammar exists for a reason, and there are plenty of more arbitrary rules than those for commas. That said, I'm not going to make comma usage involved with creating lists seem more important by referring to it by the elite college from which it takes its name. It is not better than any other comma.
My unpopular opinion is that by not using proper comma syntax, whether it is preventing "comma fatigue" (yes, that was the term) or saving characters during typesetting, even if you can intuit the meaning of the sentence, you risk creating ambiguity when the reader craves clarity. Yes, most readers won't notice, but what if you don't notice a mistake when you think out whether to use a comma as you write it? Not to increase your anxiety, but you risk losing a reader or appearing amateurish when you get such simple skills wrong.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
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#WordWeavers 2026.04.27 —What one thing (no matter how expensive or impractical) would make it easier for you to write more books more easily?
I need a manager. Someone who could keep me on track and keep me organized. Not talking about efficiency or making it business-like, but supporting creativity while minimizing distractions.
Yes. Expensive, and as impracticable as getting a sudden million.
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#PennedPossibilities 998 — Tell us about any attributes your SC has.
Bolt likes Blue and that's quite possibly all that matters, but he's far from perfect for his time. While he's supportive of those around him, friendly, well mannered, is a talented riding partner (he can fly tandem!), and wants children, he is also a good leader and a talented defender. In his society, men raise the children or work in child care, but he's been made one of antagonist Rainy Day's students, though he doesn't understand this (see reply to 997). The Director of Home and the Nine Outer Worlds recruited him as a praetorian (one of her guard), has given him responsibilities (to her), made him important in a way that overshadows his family role in raising his sister's children. He's torn that he's going to have to choose. It's a gender-bending role in his world roughly in our world similar to a woman choosing career over childbearing. He's unconvinced he could have both, or that it would be allowed.
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