#PennedPossibilities 1029 — Name something your MC has always wanted to learn.

This could be in Bolt's words at the beginning of her story:

I've been forgetting big swaths of my life these days. Sometimes I'm surprised I've gotten this old. There's plenty I'm forced to do that I don't wanna. Plenty I should not remember, messages I've carried, people doing things ought not, ugly faces that would be dangerous to know. Problem is, I can't seem to forget so that I don't realize parts of my life are missing. I'd like to learn that bit.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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#PennedPossibilities 1046 — Tell us about a time when one of your characters put their foot in their mouth.

Bolt was raised in a backwater town and now lives in the big city. In the context of her times, which are veering progressive, she often comes off as sexist. In a female-centric society, this is interesting to depict, but her comments about men, how she directly and sometimes condescendingly deals with them, and her strong awareness of having been excluded from something important to her because of her gender makes her very aware that she comes off that way. Sadly, her M.O. is not thinking first before doing, which accounts for the mass of bad things that have happened to her. There are various examples scattered through her stories of her sticking her foot in her mouth, but she's often around men, by choice and desire, so… it happens, and she works to make it better after the fact.

Usually.

One time it happens at an afterparty following a theatre premiere on what would be their Broadway and she's inebriated. The story gets told to her by a male reporter friend because she blacked-out. She puts a male actor in his place apparently for presuming to understand how women feel about sex being depicted on the stage. He wrote the play. He was the male lead. Apparently she showed him how to do what he patently got wrong the right way. In front of everyone, including reporters and critics. Lots of photographs got taken—some which she took of him and herself. Selfies. She had her camera. She's an up and coming street photographer.

Now she's famous.

Forgiven since she's a woman. A man going agro? Doing that? Not so much, despite "progressivism." Bolt? She's embarrassed.

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[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

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“The Guardian of Couture” Sneak Preview

“I actually can’t believe that we have the grandson of Joseph and Elodie Mae Lancaster and Henry and Rachael Monroe as the newest Guardian, taking up the same role that his parents denied,” Francis said as he, his fellow Couture senior members, and the other editors-in-chief and their assistants were taking in what’s been said. “Part of me still thinks that we’re waiting for him to change his mind- grab that NDA and walk away with only the memories of his first two weeks at Couture.”

“Well, Francis, he didn’t sign that NDA and I don’t think he plans to,” Emilia remarked, shaking her head and smirking to himself. “Alcide’s meaning what he says and saying what he means. He has nowhere else to return to in Texas as his state-trooper older brother and his cronies will shoot him dead if he returns. And if not for that, he basically burned all his bridges regarding his hometown and his family.”

“And speaking of family, what’s your take on his younger sister Paige?” Jim Nelson from GQ asked. “Anyone else thinks that she’s a bit lofty in what she said?”

“I would’ve known via Dark Mauve if the young woman’s words weren’t being as truthful,” Anna Wintour replied. “Same for Ellen. Some of those heroes at that ballroom have the ability to tell the difference between liars and honest people. And they’ve been listening in on this meeting. There’s no form of deception from that young woman.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean that she wasn’t training herself to hide her emotions,” Francis rebutted. “Then again, Alcide did say that he never had a proper chance to get to know her better since their parents kept them apart.”

“Back to the matter at hand, we do need to prepare ourselves for the rest of the weekend as well as prepare Alcide,” Ellen stated. “He and the other interns- River, Gio, and Kumiko- will be still on the clock with performing errands for everyone while being prepped for the first real event: New York Fashion Week. And let’s not forget that they’ll be at tomorrow evening’s gala that features the villains and rogues as well as the Mafia families.”

Blanca nodded. “Ra’Keem, Ja’Nisha, and Snow had themselves a ball getting the theme Walking on the Dark Side: The Sartiorial Finesse of the Fashion Underworld in line with the decor and commissioning the other designers to create the dark-themed gowns and tuxedoes,” she stated. “We know most of these celebrities from tonight will be there tomorrow as will Trump and his brood, the Obamas, the Bushes, and even the Clintons. But we’ll also see some of the foreign dignitaries from the UK- Scotland in particular, Italy, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, China, Germany, Japan, and even Brazil and Mexico. Megan Thee Stallion has RSVP’d as have Cardi B and Offset, Gene Simmons from KISS, T.I., and several other celebrities.”

“Hot damn,” Derrick whistled. “I bet these new Guardians will be on their radar more if they haven’t yet. Especially Alcide since this moment has been waited for everyone’s whole lives. He was so…well, chill isn’t the proper way to say it when the reveal happened. But it’s kind of accurate. Did I even mention that the Usos and the McMahons have won bets on how these kids would reacted? They won the pot and then some.”

Ellen fought the urge to smile. “Alcide’s definitely like me when I was his age,” she mused. “But it doesn’t mean that his journey’s going to be any easier. He and the others are stepping into a whole new world where fashion and comic books collide in more ways than one. And I promised my late friends that Alcide would be as prepared for the challenges ahead. But it’ll be up to him to make his own choices and cut his own losses…”

You’ll never forget the first time!  Catch up with the first 15 chapters of ” The Guardian of Couture” today, available EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad! Don’t miss it! 

TODAY'S VIDEO: https://youtube.com/shorts/DuhtzzPzaNM

Creative, let’s talk about one of the hardest things you’ll face: negative feedback.

There's good news. Even though it feels terrible, bad reviews are NOT, in fact, personal.

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OUT NOW: About Nate Scott (dark queer fantasy) https://ruthannereid.com/about-nate-scott