#so. i think that may be quote unquote irrational. to some

[writeouswriter]

Hi! I love the vibes of your WIP and I saw your post requesting questions so here's my two cents

So the questions I get when looking at your WIP are, are you gonna make us readers doubt whether your MC is right or insane? Is it a close POV where we're gonna be Seeing Through The Eyes Of Madness? Is he gonna save his town or is it a tragedy/'lots of people die' kind of horror? Is he a final boy?

That's what I can think of, hope it helps in any way whether you answer or not! My questions get spoilery so I get it if you keep it to yourself 😁

Thank you so much for all the questions! I'm going to try to gather my thoughts so I can answer them the best I can because as opposed to no thoughts head empty, I have many thoughts head overcrowded and you bring up some good talking points.

So, here we go, question 1: Are you going to make the readers doubt whether your MC is right or "insane"?

Answer: My thoughts might come out muddled here so bear with me. I'd say no, actually, at least not like you may be thinking because I want to establish fairly early on that quite frankly, he's a bit of both, though I'd use different words; I mean, being the two are not mutually exclusive. Because one trope I want to avoid is "paranoid or quote unquote "crazy" character was actually just right about everything all along", but on the other end of the spectrum, the other trope I want to avoid is "it was actually just all in their head." Both can be majorly problematic for a variety of reasons if done poorly and tend to be steeped in a long history of bad execution and representation, so we meet somewhere in a balancing act in the middle by making it clear that most of the time, yes, Jack *is* genuinely paranoid, make no bones about it, but hey, when the lights are off, the shadows flicker in the corner of your eye and you make the mad dash to your bedroom in the middle of the night, so are you. That doesn't mean he's necessarily wrong or right or out of his mind or not. A lot of the smaller horror I want to convey comes from the fact that many of these are fears we (or at least many people) have ourselves when the sun goes down, and so the real question is not if Jack is being rational or irrational, but are we? Either way, the fear is there. With this story, I also really want to explore the theme of how people who experience paranoia/people's fears in general are treated or dismissed by others who don't share the same paranoia or fears. Are there monsters hiding in the dark? Are we being rational? Irrational? Can we prove it? Maybe not. Can we disprove it? Maybe not. But have we tried? I mean, yes, Jack has been wrong many times, and to the outside observer, his fears seem irrational or unfounded, so even when he's right, others don't believe him, but to him, his concerns have always been rational in their own way; they may sound ridiculous, and on some level he knows this, but they're very real to him, and when we're young or scared or alone, a lot of things can feel real to us, too, you know? And wouldn't you want someone to give you the benefit of the doubt? But when you're no longer a kid, no one's going to check under your bed for monsters anymore. So almost no one gives Jack's concerns enough respect to offer him any evidence to the contrary, which is what leads to one of his main obstacles in the story, trying to get people to listen to him about the messages before it's too late... and ideally, you're going to root for him because in an offhanded way you're rooting for yourself, for all those times your own fears were stepped on or ignored. You're the one who has to check for monsters now and if you see some, you have to be the one to try to convince the others of that now, too. So... I kind of lied, maybe you will question whether the danger is real or whether he is right or not and that's fine, but you can't really say all of it's a sham without the facts, without checking along with him, learning with him, and realizing either way, it's real to him, it is real to us, it is real in the moment. But also... I would never cop out and make the rest of the main bigger horror elements of the plot not be actually happening. So, the messages and etc. are definitely real, but are they really what they seem?

If you're still here, wow, you're a trooper, thanks for listening to me ramble and go on a little detour. Concise is a word I left at the door of my high-school English classroom years ago. Anyway, my wording is a little off, but the gist is there I think.

Question 2: Is it a close POV where we're gonna be Seeing Through The Eyes Of Madness?

Answer: The plan is to go with third person limited POV, but that may change in future attempts. The thing about seeing it through the eyes of madness is yes, we are technically in Jack's perspective and he is a little jumpy/overkill in his paranoia at times, which sets up a lot of the atmosphere, but a lot of the time he is aware of this and the real sense of unease comes from the times Jack's perspective comes a little too close to ours, if you know what I mean. Maybe Jack sees a shadow at the end of the corridor, maybe Jack feels like he is being watched, and maybe the ominous scuttling is coming from inside his house, but... hey, what's that thing standing right outside your door, and what was that sound coming from your house? We are only seeing through the eyes of madness if they are our own because the idea is, we've all been Jack at some point in our lives, at least in the small details.

Question 3: Is he gonna save his town or is it a tragedy/'lots of people die' kind of horror? Is he a final boy?

Answer: I can't say too much, but I will concede I am not one to kill off my characters very often, I get too attached and tragedy and blood isn't my style (though recently having watched Scream, the idea is becoming tempting). I'm not above bitter-sweetness, though. Also now I kind of want to write some kind of slasher novel with a final boy... but that's for another time.

Should I add the taglist to this, IDK, might consider.

#my writing. #ask #asks #static house #unreality cw #cw unreality #just in case #cw ableist language #well not intentional but just in case #writing #writeblr #does any of this make sense who knows but i spent so long on it #been wanting to ramble about one of the story's themes for a while now and i may not have got the words exactly how i wanted #but like the general gist is there #and i thank you for the opportunity to ramble #i cut off a ramble in my last ask #which you're welcome for #taking detours into the ocean #apologies for any off things i say word soup

[primummobile]

⚡️ Why are they mad at me? ⚡️

Check sun🌞, moon🌙 & MARS⚔️

✨⭐️ quick note: this is not about who’s at ‘fault’, i have simply provided some (practical) guidelines intended to explain and deal with anger in the signs ⭐️✨

⚡️ Aries (fire, cardinal): You ‘won’ (at some mundane activity). You insulted their ‘virility’, their ‘potency’ (yup, women too). A somewhat ‘basic’ emotional reaction that is usually not that difficult to understand (watch out for physical reactions!).

‘[Angry, non-verbal noises].’

What you can do: Try to distract them, do some other activity—or else they’ll try to ‘beat’ you until you both pass out from exhaustion. Exaggerate your ‘humorous tone’ when poking fun at them.

⚡️ Taurus (earth, fixed): There is most likely a practical, ‘common sense’ reason for their anger. Not prone to getting angry unexpectedly or for ‘irrational’ reasons.

‘If you’d just start [behaviour that actually makes sense].’

What you can do: Don’t argue with them. They’ll repeat the same thing ad nauseum & will never (ever!) change their mind (only internally/over long stretches of time). Consider changing certain behaviours: Taureans don’t demand much, won’t demand the impossible.

⚡️ Gemini (air, mutable): You interpreted their words literally/you don’t know the value of an (quote unquote) ‘interesting’ conversation/are limiting their self-expression. Be prepared for a verbal tirade; there is little chance of you being able to explain your point of view.

‘Sometimes I just say stuff...’

What you can do: Go talk to some water-dominant people. Alternatively: If you get to know the Gemini in question better, you’ll learn to tell when they’re being serious & when they’re just ‘experimenting’ with thoughts & concepts (hint: it’s usually the latter). Also: When they’re angry, just let them talk until they’re done.

⚡️ Cancer (water, cardinal): You offended someone they care about/someone they think needs protecting. Watch out: they will know how to hurt you because they are so easily hurt themselves/are emotionally intuitive, sensitive.

‘You can’t say that to x!!’

What you can do: Apologise to the person you (may have) offended. Simple. Tried & true.

⚡️ Leo (fire, fixed): You humiliated them (in public) or messed with their public image and/or self-image. They don’t feel valued for their gifts, they don’t feel a ‘heart to heart’ connection to you & feel you’re inauthentic.

‘You made me look stupid!’

What you can do: Verbally express your (sincere!) admiration for them. Describe how you’ll act differently next time. Make them feel less self-concious.

⚡️ Virgo (earth, mutable): You broke some very strange, very specific rule of theirs you weren’t aware of. How is it possible for them to be angry about such minor transgressions? Are they angry for ‘deeper’, more psychological reasons? You might never know.

‘You know that goes there!’

What you can do: Make a mental note of what set them off. Ask them if they’re really angry about something else. Remind them there’s a limit to what can (realistically) be expected of other people.

⚡️ Libra (air, cardinal): You only picked up on their anger because they started being passive agressive. It takes a lot of time/effort to get to the actual confrontation/the ‘why?’ part. Oftentimes it’s a case of them perceiving something you did as ‘tactless’, ‘inappropriate’, ‘rude’. Maybe you destroyed the harmony/peace in a certain social setting.

‘Sometimes I just feel like people don’t really appreciate me enough, y’know?’

What you can do: Patiently try to find out the issue at hand. If you’re genuinely interested in solving the conflict/hearing their side of the story, don’t intimidate them by raising your voice or confronting them head-on. Also: maybe buy a book on social etiquette??

⚡️ Scorpio (water, fixed): Angry due to deep psychological reasons that have their roots in childhood & are known only to their therapist. Will use their almost ‘psychic’ intuition to hit you where it hurts & to—ultimately—make you retreat & leave them alone.

‘...’

‘So going back to what you said last time about your first day of kindergarten...’

What you can do: Never assume they’re angry cause of petty reasons, even though it might manifest that way. They’ve probably been ‘brooding’ over the issue for (literal) ages. Don’t assume you’ll be able to understand said issue without having a lot of insight into their psyche/personal history. Their words will cause permant psychic damage so make sure you have either a. good psychic defenses or b. a good support system (you may need to see your therapist afterwards).

⚡️ Sagittarius (fire, mutable): You attacked their belief system. If you’re ‘lucky’ (& depending on how close you are), they might try to ‘enlighten’ you. If not, they’ll find someone else: ‘positive vibes only.’

‘[Walks away].’

What you can do: Try to approach conversations with them differently—‘Oh, that’s fascinating, yesterday I learnt [something that expands on their notion]’ instead of ‘But if you believe x is true, it logically follows you must also believe y is true.’ Or just go talk to a Virgo or an Aquarius.

⚡️ Capricorn (earth, cardinal): Some all-to-legitimate reason (Although keep in mind: they do have very high standards). Harsh & severe; a reality-check.

‘You have no right to speak to me like that. You should try focusing more on your personal growth instead of trying to pull other people down all the time. I’ll talk to you again once you’ve become a better person.’

What you can do: They probably weren’t trying to make you cry; they just believe in the whole ‘tough love’ approach to things. They usually respond well to open communiction so just tell them if they hurt you. Show them you’re trying to become a better person—but not because you’re intimidated by them.

⚡️ Aquarius (air, fixed): They may not actually be angry, just trying to demonstrate their intellectual ‘superiority’. They can easily get preachy (‘annoying’), disregarding subtle social/emotional cues on their quest for the ‘truth’. If they are angry, you might not be able to tell the difference: they will do everything in their power to remain ‘unaffected’ & ‘rational’: they will deeply insult you like it’s nothing.

‘I thought we went over this: [something you haven’t thought through as well as they have].’

What you can do: If you want to have your emotions/the conflict analyzed by them in great detail, tell them openly (without getting emotional) how you feel—they’re fascinated by interpersonal conflicts, others emotions. If not, drop it. Don’t expect them to spontaneously start talking about their own feelings (If they do attempt this, they probably care about you very much (!)). It’ll usually take them a while to ‘figure out’ their emotions, by which time you’ll probably get a ‘loosely-scripted’ explanation.

⚡️ Pisces (water, mutable): They’re more upset than they are angry. It could literally be about anything. The world is a harsh place. Victim complex (!!).

‘It’s just... [bursts into tears].’

What you can do: Make them the focus, not you. Comfort them. Listen to them. Don’t ridicule them. That said: they’re not always the victim. You might have to hurt their feelings at some point in time.

#astrology #mars signs #aries #aquarius #libra