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thewritingcaddy · 5 years

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11 Questions Tag

I was tagged by @hyba

1. What is the creepiest story you’ve ever read?

I don’t think I’ve read anything really, really creepy. It’s not my thing to read the really scary stuff. I’ve read (and love) Dracula and Frankenstein but the actual books aren’t that scary. They have a definite vibe though! I have probably read a short story that really bothered me, but none of them spring to mind at the moment. The Accident Season has a really good creepy vibe. So does Darkmere.

2. What was the first story you finished?

Something for school in my primary school days!

3. Are you the kind of person that makes a schedule and sticks to it, or do you prefer having a vague list of what you need to do and figuring out as you go along?

I am naturally a massive planner, and before I got fibromyalgia I would quite rigidly stick to it. Now I’m trying to balance between planning, so I can keep up with stuff, and being super flexible, so I can work around the fibro.

4. Other than writing, what are some of your talents / skills?

I’m good at cross-stitch. And I know a little BSL. I’m also probably a fairly good lipreader because of my hearing issues. And I have professional skills as a copy editor and as a proofreader.

5. What’s your biggest pet peeve in any one genre (romance, horror, thriller, fantasy, etc.)?

I love really good writing. So poor writing is something that winds me up in books. But in a specific genre? Well in medieval-esque fantasy I hate when authors religiously stick to the medieval “tone” and treat their female characters the same way actual medieval people would, and then say it was for “historical accuracy”. There are enough books from earlier periods where women are treated as less than men, or as belongings, or aren’t even there at all. Write me a female-friendly “historical” fantasy. What would the medieval ages have been like if women weren’t “owned” and assaulted by men?

6. If you had to stick to one genre, which would you choose?

It would have to be fantasy. It’s got a lot of subgenres too! But it would be fantasy anyway.

7. What’s the best writing-related gift you’ve ever received? Best in general?

My cousin gave me a soft-backed notebook one year, for Christmas, and that made my day! It was just like, she knows how much writing means to me. In general, I’ve no idea. It doesn’t feel fair to pick.

8. If you could draw your OCs, would you consider illustrating your book?

No.

9. What’s the funniest story you’ve ever read?

I don’t read a lot of humour. It isn’t fiction, but Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure is really funny.

10. Recently, someone described Apartment as having Secret Window and The Shining vibes. Use at least two books to describe the vibe your WIP gives out!

The Worst Witch meets Brightly Burning.

11. What’s the most terrible movie you have ever watched, and how would you make it better?

Sharknado 5, or maybe 6? Whichever one came last. I wouldn’t have continued the series this long. Or I would have kept it along the same tone, along the same lines, as the first two. The sci-fi elements and the general silliness they added further on just ruined it for me.

#originalblogging

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royalprinceroman · 6 years

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Totally Illogical

So… I saw (and read!) so many simple one-shots with the prompt from @logically-asexual (this post here) in which Virgil has to be comforted after watching Roman ‘die’ on stage at a production. While I can see (and absolutely adore) this relationship here, my mind kept telling me something.

What about Mr. Literal? The one who takes everything super seriously? What about…Logan?

Basically this is me saying “I see your Prinxiety and raise you Logince.”

Please enjoy~

Word Count: 2,295 Fandom/Pairing: Sanders Sides // Logince Tag List: @availe, @anxious-patton, @introverts-assemble, @pattonspuns (This is my general tag list, not for my other fic The Corruption of Creativity - let me know if you like to be added or removed to this list!)

Logan had so many things he’d rather be doing at the moment.

Thomas’s schedule for the following month still needed to be ironed out completely as well as sorting some of the newly found knowledge that was flowing in at a decent rate, thanks to the new astronomy class Thomas had been taking.

But no, Logan was currently being dragged by the arm into a theatre. Patton wore a big smile on his face as he looked around the building – even Logan had to admit how amazing it looked. When Roman went all out in his room, he left no stone unturned. The theatre was something out of a movie that took place in the 1950s: large lights flashing everywhere, gold and red trimmings around all of the entrances and so… many… people.

Roman didn’t hesitate to add so many humans into this part of his world. So many discussions, pushing and shoving. As the romantic and fanciful side, the prince did nothing half way. Logan felt like he was actually in the real world with Thomas, not in the mindscape. It was pretty intimidating and part of him felt actually happy that Virgil had been called to assist Thomas with something. This would’ve been pretty overwhelming for him.

“I’m so happy Roman decided to invite us to see this!” Patton squealed as the pair found their reserved seats towards the front of the theatre. “I can’t wait to watch him perform.”

Logan shrugged, taking his seat. “I’m not sure. There’s only so much of this professional make-believe I can stomach at once.”

Patton frowned, and lowered his gaze to the logical trait. “Oh come on Logan… lighten up a bit! I know it’s not your “thing” but just enjoy it for Roman. He’s been working on this for so long, you know?”

That was fair to say. Roman had been planning this performance for weeks. He had rattled off a lot of information just a few nights before at dinner, but Logan had kind of blocked him out. It wasn’t on purpose of course; his mind was just preoccupied with more… concerning issues.

Abruptly, the lights dimmed and a single person walked up onto the stage in front of the closed curtains and began to speak. They told of a prince, who abandoned his kingdom, to save his subjects from his own father. To do so, he had to traverse mountains, valleys, and many more obstacles to gain a mystical staff to overpower and take down his family. A typical story of a hero, Logan noted.

The introduction ended and the curtain parted, showing the stage as well as Roman in a prince garb more suited to a Disney prince than what he normally wore, which was surprising.

As the story passed, Logan found himself oddly immersed. Normally he would critique the obnoxious acting and over usage of dramatic effects, but Roman was… pretty amazing. Logan hadn’t ever really considered how talented and how 'at home’ Roman was on stage. The words flowed from him with such conviction, as if he really was a prince trying to save his homeland. His emotions were very genuine. The prince had also chosen the seats for Patton and Logan well; the logical trait had a full unobstructed view of the stage which only helped cement how real it seemed.

About halfway through the play, the King appeared on top of a tall mountain, giving him a very authoritative vibe. His sneer down at the audience was dark and Logan couldn’t lie that he felt a shiver go down his spine.Why did this feel so unnecessarily real? It was a play. Just a play.

“That son of mine… how dare he do this?!” the King snarled, throwing his cape around his shoulder. “I will not tolerate any kind of disobedience! Servant, come!”

A very meek young boy came running up to him looking even smaller than he actually was just because of how large of a person the King was. “Yes-Yes sir?” He asked.

“It’s time for my son to learn his place in the world. It is time for the poison.” the King said darkly. “Ricin is more than suitable for him – a miserable death for a miserable boy.”

Ricin?

It’s now time for the impossible to occur. Logan thought, crossing his arms and legs.

Up until that point Logan had been able to look past the stage and actually into the story but now his logical reasoning was taking hold in his mind. Ricin was a very dangerous poison for sure, however there was no way everything after this could be anywhere near realistic, especially with the amount of time it took for Ricin poison to take affect. Logan couldn’t say he wasn’t disappointed – even though he preferred realism, sometimes just a bit of fantasy was okay. He’d never let Roman know that fact.

The play continued to its climax, the meek boy from earlier meeting up with Roman’s character and befriending him. As the play continued, Logan paid a bit more attention to Roman.

It was strange.

Roman’s acting was impeccable for sure, but there was something else. His skin had started to take on a bluish tint, but he hadn’t even left the stage once in nearly 45 minutes. Beads of sweat had begun to appear on his forehead, and his breathing was extremely labored, his voice taking on a breathy tone. None of the other characters seemed to notice.

Logan felt his heart skip a beat and he gripped his own arms tightly.

What if, because Roman is such a 'extra’ person, he actually created the poison? What if he was putting himself in harm’s way for accuracy?

The play continued on as the Prince arrived back to his kingdom with the staff needed to slay his father and save his people. His skin was even bluer at this point, Logan noted, and Roman still hadn’t left the stage. It couldn’t have been makeup – when could it have possibly been applied? Logan abruptly realized that he was sitting on the edge of his seat, his left leg bouncing wildly.

“My son! How are you planning on getting rid of me…” the King taunted. “…in your current state…?”

The prince looked at his hands and arms, and scoffed, a smile appearing on his face as a bead of sweat fell down his cheek. “…you think I don’t know you’ve poisoned me?” The king’s face fell; his eyes narrowed. “Father, I know you’ve been trying to get rid of me ever since I’ve started this journey and I don’t have much time left….”

Logan’s eyes widened. He could actually see Roman’s skin getting bluer with his own eyes. You stupid illogical fool… you actually did this, didn’t you? His mind began to race.

“This staff will speed up time! It will cause you to age and you will die!” The prince shouted, pointing the staff at his father. “…in doing so, the poison will spread through my body faster and I will die as well! But this world will finally be free from your tyranny!”

Suddenly an abrupt wind took hold of the stage and a blinding light came from the staff head, enveloping the king in a red glow. Logan raised his fingers to his mouth – the king’s skin was aging right in front of his eyes. Wrinkles appeared and the skin began to sag horribly as age took hold. The king screamed, his agony echoing throughout the theatre.

How is this real? What is going on? Logan thought as the king character disappeared behind a very tall mountain towards the back of the stage.

The prince dropped the staff and it clattered loudly, bringing everyone’s attention to him. His skin was nearly completely blue at this point. Roman walked towards the mountain, his legs wobbly. He coughed into his hands, the force shaking his entire body. Blood and mucus covered him but the prince seemed none too worried. His face was pained but he wore a smile across his face. Roman turned to the audience.

“My kingdom… will be safe. They will prosper…” he trailed off. His right hand gripped his chest as his left hand covered his mouth as he coughed more blood. “…I am…happy.”

Suddenly his legs gave out and he fell to his knees, collapsing completely onto his chest. His hand was outstretched towards…Logan.

Logan met gazes with Roman as the prince’s eyes glossed over. The music that had been playing in the background swelled as the curtain began to close. The audience began to applaud loudly as the music came to an end. Logan felt everyone around him stand to continue clapping at the amazing performance they all just saw, Patton included.

The logical trait looked at his hands and all he could see was Roman’s last expression before the curtain closed. He tried to reason with himself – it was a play… it was just professional make-believe. The blue skin was makeup (but it had appeared without anyone applying it) the sweat was just water (but where had it come from) the blood and mucus was just more makeup (but it had been coughed up on the spot… the iron smell could not be ignored).

“Logan!”

He jerked his head at the sound of his name, turning towards the source: Patton.

“Hey… are you okay?” Patton questioned, his eyes full of concern. “…Logan… are you…” The moral side sat back down in his seat, reaching his hand out towards Logan. “… are you crying?”

Logan immediately shook his head in denial but instantly felt a small drop roll down his face.

Why am I crying?

What is this burning in my chest?

What is happening?

Why…?

This is… totally illogical.

“Oh my…” Patton put his hand onto Logan’s which was on his still bouncing knee. “…was that a bit much for you? I have to admit Roman did a fantastic job with this performance. I was really impressed by our creative kiddo!” Patton said with a smile.

Logan just stared at the floor, Patton’s words helping to ground him.

“Patton! Logan!”

Both men turned towards the left side of the stage to see Roman jogging towards them. Logan realized at that moment that the entire theatre was empty save for the three of them. The creative side jumped down from the stage to the floor to their seats in the second row.

Roman wore a huge smile across his face, the beads of sweat still on his forehead and the bluish tint to his skin still there. The closer he got.. the faker it looked. Logan stood along with Patton as Roman stopped in front of them. He pushed his hand through his bangs to get them out of his eyes.

“So… did you like it?” Roman asked eagerly, his voice still breathy. “I went with a more dramatic story this time and tried to lock in as much realism as possible. I wasn’t sure if it would really come across that way so-” Roman abruptly stopped talking as he felt Logan’s hand touch his own. “…what’s up, Specs?” The prince asked. He noticed how Logan’s eyes had a slight redness to them. “…are you alright?”

Logan didn’t answer as he inspected Roman’s skin. He rubbed his fingers across the bluish tint on Roman’s arm, inspecting his fingertips to see that the blue was in fact a type of paint. Logan then turned his attention to Roman’s forehead, inspecting the sweat. In Roman’s hair was a small strip that looked a bit like a balloon with pin pricked holes in it, clipped in place by a couple of bobby-pins. Then Logan looked closer at the sides of Roman’s face where some of the blood had dried. Upon looking closer, it definitely looked more like chocolate with a bit of red dye mixed in.

He couldn’t hold it back anymore.

Logan laughed. It started light and airy before just a boastful laughter that shook him to his core. Of course it had all been fake – it was a play for goodness sake! He felt tears rolling down his face but Logan couldn’t care less. How totally illogical he had been while watching. Of course Roman hadn’t died. Of course he was here with them.

Patton and Roman looked at each other and both smiled sheepishly before looking back to Logan.

“I am… a very ridiculous fool.” Logan replied after taking a shaky breath, ignoring the tears still rolling slowly down his face.

Roman shook his head. “I don’t think that’s true, Logan. I know you don’t like these “professional make-believe” shows… but your reaction is definitely what I, as a performer, strive for.” The prince grabbed Logan’s shoulder and pulled him into an embrace.

Logan’s eyes widened in shock of the sudden physical contact but the warmth felt… nice. Roman was here. He didn’t die on stage. Logan was enveloped in a familiar smell. It was the scent of rain and forest, the familiarity of his fellow trait who was still here. Logan felt Patton join in on the hug, the scent of sugar cookies and lavender filling his nose. The two pulled away from Logan, and Roman put his hand on the logical trait’s face, rubbing away a stray tear.

The three of them just stood there with each other, taking time to chat to calm the atmosphere.

Logan returned to his room in the mindscape later that night, realizing something very important. He had found a new appreciation for performance and a new appreciation for the romantic trait in a way he never thought he would.

Sometimes things were illogical, like professional make-believe, but that didn’t make it wrong to enjoy them.

#sanders sides #ts fanfiction #ts fanfic #logan sanders #roman sanders #logince #my writing #my fic #this could've been better #but yeah this is what you get #i just had to write it #very ooc but i don't care at this point #vigilantvirgil writes

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scottadamsblog · 7 years

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Some Fake News About Me from Bloomberg

Last autumn, before the election, a writer for Bloomberg asked to spend a day with me to interview me for a feature piece about my blogging on Trump, and my life in general. I could tell from the initial conversation that it was going to be a hostile article. The reporter was open about being deeply frightened of Trump, believing him to be a racist, sexist, homophobic monster. So you can imagine how she felt about me for writing flattering blog posts about his persuasion talents.

I quickly determined that agreeing to the interview would be foolhardy. Obviously it was going to be a hit piece. The writer weakly tried to conceal that fact, but failed miserably.

If I agreed to the interview, I knew I would be making myself the target of ridicule and shame, baring my flaws to the world -- both the real ones and the fake news ones. No rational person would agree to such an interview. It was a suicide mission.

So I agreed to the interview.

Regular readers know I don’t experience embarrassment like normal people. I just thought it would be funny to have them write about how wrong I was. . . just as the election was about to prove how right I was.

The day I agreed to the interview, I told my girlfriend Kristina that I was going to be the subject of a “hit piece” in Bloomberg. When the writer asked to speak to my brother, for background, I told him it was a hit piece, but I invited him to do it anyway, just for fun. Obviously, no sane person would agree to be interviewed for hit piece on his own family.

So my brother agreed to the interview.

We’ll have a good laugh about it later today. He got framed as a gullible idiot for “believing” something my mom told us when we were kids.

Check the article here and see if you can spot the fake news and the places where context has been tweaked to make things look both true and misleading at the same time. I’ll tell you what you missed, if anything, after you read it. Compare your impressions to my Fake News Report Card below.

Here’s the Bloomberg article by Caroline Winter

Fake News Report Card

1. The article and headline used my old phrasing “master wizard” instead of the updated “Master Persuader” that I used in 95% of my work. That was an intentional choice by the editor to create the KKK association in your mind, or at least to make it all seem silly.

2. The anecdote about me showing her a Victoria’s Secret Whencast that I made didn’t happen. One of the hundreds of public Whencasts on the site included that content, created by a woman. I might have opened that one along with others as different examples of what the software can do. By highlighting that one bit of fake news (saying I created it), and putting it in the context of my girlfriend being too young for me, it created a powerful and intentional creepy vibe.

3. Kristina doesn’t live with me. She was staying at my house temporarily while her place was having some repairs and upgrades.

4. When an article is intended to be favorable, you see photos that make me look relatively good, like this one, from Peter Duke:

When an article wants you to look bad to the reader, you see photos like this, from the Bloomberg article:

This is standard practice on both sides of the political spectrum. Publications pick the photos that tell their bias, not the story.

5. The headline suggests I am somehow, maybe, in favor of genocide. Obviously I’m not in favor of genocide, and the article later weakly explains that. But by then, the damage is done. Your brain is most influenced by what you read first, especially if it is in a headline.

6. The headline says Trump hypnotized me. I would accept that as a hypothesis, but the article doesn’t address the point at all. The implication is that I’m a gullible nut-job, as opposed to one of the few people who predicted Trump’s win and provided lots of cognitive-science-backed reasons for the prediction.

7. The article was initiated before the election, and was originally intended for publication about then. But a funny thing happened that ruined everything for Bloomberg. Trump won, and in so doing, he made me look like less of a nut. My accurate predictions, against all odds, would have been the headline in any article that wasn’t designed to be hostile.

8. To explain my Linguistic Kill Shot idea, the writer focused on the Carly Fiorina “look at that face” incident. She could have mentioned Lyin’ Ted, or Low Energy Bush, or Crooked Hillary. All stronger examples, but they don’t make me look like a sexist when the context is omitted. The Fiorina examples does.

9. The writer refers to my wide field of interests as “unusual fixations,” thus turning ordinary discussions of fitness and diet habits into something that sounds like a fetish.

10. Last year, the author of a book about seduction called The Game mailed me a copy of his book. This is common practice among authors. Sometimes it happens because an author thinks another author would be interested in the book. Sometimes an author hopes to get a public mention to boost sales. I have lots of unread books all over the house for this same reason. The Bloomberg writer focused on this one. The Pre-suasion book she mentions was also signed and sent to me by the author, for the same reason. But I read that one. (It’s great.)

You might recognize this book-related persuasion trick as the Mein Kampf play. If someone gives you a book that you didn’t ask for, somehow the book still explains your soul.

11. The writer asked me what would happen for me personally if Trump won. I talked about the good and the bad of it. She picked only the following words to make me look like a douche bag: “If Trump gets elected, my profile will go through the roof, because I’m in a very small group of people who publicly said he would win in a landslide. ... I’ll be very popular,” he said, with satisfaction.”

Notice the three dots before “I’ll be very popular.” That is your signal for a manufactured quote. They assembled it from bits of what I said and left out the context that would have rendered it un-douche-baggy.

12. This quote is out of context: “In the kitchen, Adams installed three microwaves so he “can make a lot of popcorn at once.” The missing context is that I designed the house knowing that whoever makes the popcorn for the rest of the family misses the first part of the movie. Plus, the extra microwaves come in handy all the time. I use them at the same time quite often. How did that come out sounding nutty?

13. My girlfriend, Kristina, has an advanced degree from UC Berkeley, plays multiple instruments, has succeeded in several fields, and now has 3.3 million Instagram followers. The writer mentioned her bra size.

14. This quote was cobbled together to make me look like a racist and a sexist because I write about Trump. “Adams has said, his professional advancement was thwarted by diversity hires. ‘There was no hope for another generic white male to get promoted any time soon,’ he wrote in Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert. (Later in the book, he noted that his Dilbert TV show was canceled after ‘the network made a strategic decision to focus on shows with African-American actors.’)

Both events are true, but in the first case she left out the fact that my bosses told me in direct language that they couldn’t promote a white male. I didn’t imagine it. Likewise, the UPN network literally made the decision to focus on African-American viewers at that time. it wasn’t just my interpretation of events.

Here’s the problem with that sort of reporting out of context: I’m also the guy who thinks men should stay out of the abortion question and leave it to women to decide what should be legal. I also blogged about my ideas for slavery reparations. I also described myself to her as “ultra-liberal” on social issues, because I am. If you leave out that context, the anecdotes sound like an explanation for why I grew up to be so terrible.

15. The article quotes my friend and cartooning colleague Stephan Pastis as being appalled at my Trump support, and speculating that the reason might simply be that cartoonist crave attention.

Of course I crave attention. Plus, it’s my job. That part is not in dispute.

But I think Stephan’s quotes were from before Election Day, when people still thought I was nuts to predict a Trump win. Today, I think Stephan would add a second hypothesis: I did it because I thought I was right, and it seemed important to me to share with the world what I could see coming from a mile away.

Plus I crave attention. It was a twofer.

16. The writer badgered me on several occasions to make a comparison between Dogbert and Trump. I said Dogbert’s personality is based on my own dark inner thoughts and had nothing to do with Trump except they are both ambitious in the extreme. So she wrote this: “I’d thought the point of those strips was to laugh at Dogbert’s cruelty—not celebrate it. But Adams seemed elated by the triumph of a Dogbertesque president.” WTF?

That’s sixteen intentionally-biased or incorrect components in one story.

By the way, Bloomberg did have a third-party do fact-checking on the article by running a bunch of questions by me for verification. That is standard practice for the big publications. None of the things I mentioned here were in the fact checking. The fact-checkers don’t check the writer’s own eye-witness accounts for accuracy, and they don’t check for missing context.

When normal citizens read the news, they think it is mostly accurate. But when you are the subject of reporting, you can see the fake news all over it. I thought I would share this view with you so you can increase your skepticism when you see this sort of thing presented as truth.

Plus, I crave attention. I couldn’t solve healthcare funding without it, among other things. Attention is fun, but also a tool.

You might still wonder why I volunteered to be interviewed for a hit piece, aside from the attention thing. My brother just sent me a very short video clip of his first reaction when he opened the article to read it. I think this answers all of your questions.

youtube

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Update: An alert Twitter user sent me one of Caroline Winter’s 2015 articles. You might be wondering if all of her subjects get similar treatment.

You��re going to laugh when you connect the dots.

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You might enjoy my book because I crave attention.

I’m also on...

Twitter (includes Periscope): @scottadamssays

YouTube: At this link.

Instagram: ScottAdams925

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