Mastodawn

Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 6

#PennedPossibilities 950 — Can your MC swim? If not, why not? If so, how did they learn?

(New thread for my friends~!)

Alistair can swim. He learned the hard way during a particular war. And no, I won't say which one. I can't. No spoilers here. If I remember correctly, I think it comes up later in a random conversation. (For context, he's an immortal, a vampire. He's seen so many things come to pass during his lifetime.)

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 7

#PennedPossibilities 951 — MC POV: Write about something presently in your life that is “worth it.”

Fenella: *He’s* worth it. Alistair is worth all of it and more. Why do you think I’ve ensured it all? And why do you think I eventually came home to Dorcha Castle to seek his protection? Because he will always protect me, I *trust* implicitly, and I will always care deeply for this man. I’ve been in love with him for so long. What an idiot I was to end things between us and leave the safety of our castle for a ridiculous trip to Paris. It’s been nine long years and my feelings have never changed. I thought he grew bored of me back then. As it turns out, I might not have been the only one who thought so. I’m also beginning to think I might not be alone in my affections, either.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 9

#PennedPossibilities 952 — How do you use social media as an author?

For me, it's easy. I promote my stories, no matter how big or how small, right here on Mastodon. I talk about my writing process, characters, ideas, and plots here. I've made friends here as well, and I'm grateful for all of you. As writers, we support the work and check stuff out, boosting, reading for free, or buying from each other. I don't need any other social media sites these days. I've been on here for years now. This is it for me. Mastodon is my forever home.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 10

#PennedPossibilities 953 — What author(s) did you dislike at first but grew to enjoy reading?

I feel so badly about this, but there's only one I can think of off the top of my head. It's Sarah J. Maas. It took some time for her work to grow on me. She has an amazing style, but there are occasional things that she'll say in books (sentences or phrases) that just strike me as rather odd. That being said, of course, she's a bestselling author for a very good reason. Her stories are terrific, compelling, and fantastically woven, her characters are refreshing, and her worlds are creative, dangerous yet beautiful, and heartbreakingly tragic. I really do enjoy everything of hers these days.

With that in mind, us authors sometimes tend to read books and an oddly worded sentence will strike us. We might think to ourselves, "Gee, I could have written that sentence better," or, "I would've worded that like this, instead." Needless to say, I've had a few moments like that. But don't get me wrong, I *do* love her books.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈

#PennedPossibilities 954 — What is your SC’s skill level when it comes to cooking and baking?

Hati is fabulous at both, and Sam appreciates it. She actually *enjoys* cooking and baking.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 13

#PennedPossibilities 955 — Is your MC keeping any secrets? Can you reveal them to us?

Two of them, actually, but I can’t elaborate on those secrets just yet, so I’ll just list them.

• Alistair’s age... (Shhh.)
• His love for Fenella.

He has very good reasons for keeping both hidden. The very first one is even hidden from the readers for a while.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 14

#PennedPossibilities 956 — With whom is your SC’s most important relationship?

It’s Hati’s husband, of course. His name is Samuel. She and Sam have been together for years now, and they would be lost without each other. They’re both werewolves.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 15

#PennedPossibilities 957 — Does your MC have or wear a signature color?

Alistair does, but it’s never done on purpose. He tends to wear deep blues, darker shades, and occasional purples and plums. (Typical vampire lol. At least he doesn’t wear a lot of red, though!)

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 16

#PennedPossibilities 958 — What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?

It's a little something from 2000. This book taught me so much about *my* life, friendship, life in general, stereotypes and racism, Spanish Harlem, and what it means to be a morally gray character who does bad things for very good reasons.

Please, buy this book and read it, I beg of you. It will be on your list of favorites afterward. You will, cry, enjoy it, hate parts of it, and it will leave you with emotions and thoughts long after it's finished. I read this one as an older teenager and it changed me. Ernesto Quiñonez is such an amazing author. Libraries aren't even allowed to carry this book in schools anymore. (For the obvious reasons. I'm sick to my stomach.)

Quick blurb: The word is out in Spanish Harlem: Willy Bodega is king. Need college tuition for your daughter? Start-up funds for your fruit stand? Bodega can help. He gives everyone a leg up, in exchange only for loyalty--and a steady income from the drugs he pushes. Bodega turns to Chino, a smart, promising young man, for a favor. Chino is drawn to Bodega's street-smart idealism, but soon finds himself over his head, navigating an underworld of switchblade tempers, turncoat morality, and murder.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 17

#PennedPossibilities 959 — MC POV: Complete this thought: “I wish I had paid more attention when…”

Alistair: I wish I had paid more attention when Caden told me about the coven (more like a cult) that he was in a decade ago. I wish I listened closer. Now I’m having to pore through my old journals for any important pieces of information I might have jotted down about them. Not only is it tiresome but most of it is entirely unhelpful for us.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 18

#PennedPossibilities 960 — Describe the longest romantic relationship your MC has ever had. (If they’ve had one.)

Alistair’s one and only love was Miss Fenella Ralston (AKA Lady Fenella McKay). They were quite a pair. Random fact, unlike other vampires, they actually enjoyed making love. While she’s had other partners in her long life, he hasn’t. He wasn’t ever interested in a mate until her. He was in love with her for decades before he finally worked up the nerve to tell her, and although they eventually ended things between them, he still loves her. (And guess what? She still loves him as well.)

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 19

#PennedPossibilities 961 — SC POV: Have you ever spoken up when you saw that something going on was wrong? Were you scared? What was the end result?

Hati: I did. Alistair was in trouble. So was Fenella. I yelled out, and then I shifted into my wolf form and ran to their aid. And yes, I was utterly terrified. The end result was certainly… Well, no, that would require far too much explaining. But I will say this: everything was okay.

(I can't explain too much... Spoilers!)

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 20

#PennedPossibilities 962 — If there was ever going to be a film or a series based upon your WIP, what do you imagine the soundtrack would be like? What genre?

Give me a spooky OST, something ornate, complex, and rich with emotional depth. It would be soft and mournful during the sadder moments, then uplifting, inspiring, moving, and emotional at times, and serious, scary, and terrifyingly brash and loud at others. It needs to be rich and dynamic, allowing for expressive contrasts and emotional depth. All classical, of course. In my mind, it would be reminiscent of Hammer Horror as well, which was what started this entire novel (which turned into a series) for me.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 21

#PennedPossibilities 963 — If you use a pen name or certain username on a writing site, what is its significance and how did you arrive at using it?

Credit: @NaraMoore

My username, pen name, or the nom-de-plume I use online is agoodtuckering. “A good Tuckering” has to do with Malcolm Tucker and is in reference to his furious rants. He’s a character that I love writing and have actually written stories for for a long time now. I’m a big Peter Capaldi fan. The username stuck, and I use it for my Tumblr and Archive of Our Own accounts. That’s what everyone knows me by these days, that and floofpaldi as well over on Discord, Fluxer, and here on Mastodon. Again, like I said, Capaldi fan here. It just fit for the communities I was and am in. It means floofy-haired (or fluffy-haired) Capaldi. I thought it was cute, to be fair.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈6d ago

#PennedPossibilities 964 — MC POV: What area of your life do you tend to enjoy in excess instead of moderation?

Fenella: Murdering useless, evil men.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈6d ago

#PennedPossibilities 965 — What is your MC’s reaction when someone close to them is sick or injured? How do they behave?

Alistair’s usually a mess, to be fair. He’ll do his best to take care of whoever is injured, to do whatever needs to be done to either save them from a certain rough situation or to keep them safe. There’s a scene that relates to this very prompt and it happens to come rather soon. It’s in an upcoming chapter.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈5d ago

#PennedPossibilities 966 — SC POV: When was the last time you got lost?

Samuel: About a month ago, on the way home from the pub with the lads. I had far too much to drink… Hati was laughing at me as I stepped into the flat. She immediately knew what happened, and then she put me to bed. I’m such a knobhead.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈4d ago

#PennedPossibilities 967 — What level of education do your characters have?

Although it’s the tail end of the Victorian era, most of my characters are very, *very* old (and are supernatural beings). Their education is self-taught, if they even have one to begin with. One of my characters, the MMC, is well-read, clever, intelligent, and a published author. It’s all self-taught for Alistair, of course, like I said. With that being said, because they’re all so old, they also have the time to learn anything and everything. At this point, they have nothing *but* time on their hands.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈2d ago

#PennedPossibilities 967.1 — Bonus Question (Courtesy of @sfwrtr): Pick a character. How do they, or how would they, react to sleep deprivation?

Let’s take Alistair, for instance. He would go out of his mind with frustration and rage. If it was forced sleep deprivation, there might be a murder on the hands of the mortals or immortals once he’s “escaped,” depending on who’s done this to him. If it’s simply insomnia causing it, well… He would be a mess, rather neurotic and emotional, and Fenella would probably step in to *try* and help. Eleanor would as well, to be fair. She’s like a mother to everyone in Dorcha Castle, and that includes our dear Alistair. She’s very sweet.

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈2d ago

#PennedPossibilities 968 — What’s the current word count for your WIP?

At the moment, I’m only at 42, 354 for “Wings of Quiet Longing,” and that’s alright with me so far. I’m taking my time with it, and I won’t rush the writing process.

(Random but interesting fact about me, just because I saw this not too long ago, and this has been added up since 2017, my AO3 account's word count in general is 631,112. That kinda blew my mind.)

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈1d ago

#PennedPossibilities 969 — Do your stories have happy endings?

I always strive for a happy ending. Whether I achieve that or not is up to the readers and what they wanted said “happy ending” to be. Those two things might not jive.

You could describe my stories as having “angst with a happy ending.”

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Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈50m ago

#PennedPossibilities 970 — MC POV: Have you ever experienced something that couldn’t be logically explained?

Alistair: I myself cannot be logically explained, so the answer to that one is definitely a resounding yes. The supernatural exists, and I’m immortal.

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RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist 1d ago

@floofpaldi The digits in the prompt number rearranged themselves. This happens to me all the time because I'm dyslexic—my imposterToot ought have been 967.1 not 976.1). Shouldn't 672 read 968? Didn't PM so you don't get a flood of people telling you the same thing.

Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈1d ago

@sfwrtr No, no, that was one was on me, not you. Don't worry. You didn't mess up any of the numbers for yours. 968 was supposed to be the number, so I just fixed it. Thank you for letting me know. People will be confused, it's only natural, but I'll post about it later in the morning. Accidents happen. Thanks for letting me know because I probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

MisWiredKE 6d ago

@floofpaldi Fenella reminds me so much of Scarlet from May I Ask for One Final Thing

Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈6d ago

@MisWiredKE Random fact about me, I love anime and manga. I'm a big fan. I had to look that one up and see who Scarlet was. I can definitely understand why you'd say that. That's too funny.

MisWiredKE 5d ago

@floofpaldi ooh, same here.

And yeah, the anime is new. Only found the manga because I was looking for longer manga to read

Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈5d ago

@MisWiredKE Can I suggest a great manga (my fave) if you're looking for something else to read somewhere down the road? Zombie Loan. Such a good story, right next to Ao No Exorcist/Blue Exorcist (my other favorite).

I'm definitely going to have to read the manga for this one. It sounds really interesting from what I saw online. Thank you. 💜

MisWiredKE 5d ago

@floofpaldi thanks! I've been meaning to give it a read, so I'll definitely give it a read.

And definitely give it a read. It's super interesting with its handling of the villainess trope

Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈3d ago

@MisWiredKE Which one did you mean, Zombie Loan or Blue Exorcist? They're both amazing. And thank you! I can't wait to check out May I Ask for One Final Thing. I bet it's great. It's always nice to have friends who also enjoy manga and anime as well.

MisWiredKE 3d ago

@floofpaldi Blue Exorcist. I don't remember where I stumbled on it, but I've always been curious about it.

It is nice. I don't generally talk about my hobbies as I can go on and on about it (especially Pokemon). Also I can be a lot when I get going

Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈3d ago

@MisWiredKE Oh, okay. When you do get around to it, I'll just let you know one thing... My favorite character, in anything, honestly, is Father Shiro Fujimoto. I just absolutely love that man.

Never worry about being nerdy with me. I love Pokemon too. So much. We love a lot of the same stuff, I feel like.

MisWiredKE 3d ago

@floofpaldi I will!

And it really does seem like we do like a lot of the same stuff

Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈3d ago

@MisWiredKE It totally does. Never worry about rambling to me!

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist Mar 15

Typical vampire … doesn’t wear a lot of red, though!

Doesn't want to be mistaken for a messy eater?

Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 15

@sfwrtr The way I just belly-laughed at that... Oh, that was a good one!

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist Mar 15

@floofpaldi Feel free to use it as a retort if someone is picking out clothing for him!

Spooky Panda 🏳️‍🌈Mar 15

@sfwrtr I might have to do that now! Just for you. 😉