Author: Autumn

I write 'n stuff.
About Writing

Carol, again

Autumn

A bit of random trivia is that Carol was actually the name of the main character from the first novel I ever finished … when I was 14.

I technically still have the file, but it’s encrypted so it can never come back to haunt me, lol.

As you’d expect from a novel written by a 14-year-old, the main character was a Mary-Sue. She had unlimited magical abilities, fell head over heels for a handsome prince, but was tragically the daughter of The Evil Antagonist. So. Epic.

But, because I’m a MAJOR weirdo, I didn’t name her anything AWESOME like Silver Raventhorn or whatever.

I named her Carol.

Yeah … I dunno.

I guess I had a pragmatic streak back then, too.

My current Carol, with The Scion Suit, is not in any way related to or inspired by the original. I recycled the name because it fit as normal and average.

And maybe also as a nod to my teenage self.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com
Video Games

Tamagotchi

Autumn

My 9-year-old made these stinkin’ cute Tamagotchi twins, then immediately had to marry them off.

I got a screenshot first.

About Me

A Rant About Adult Conversation

Autumn

I absolutely hate the stereotype that all stay-at-home moms are desperate for adult conversation.

Since I live in Utah, I mostly get this from Mormon men who seem to be desperate to prove to me that I chose an inferior lifestyle, compared to overwhelming joy and glory that comes with being underpaid and exploited by money-grubbing companies. Honestly, if I wasn’t so shy, I’d retort with, “Has your wife stopped beating you yet?” since they’re mostly a bunch of sissies married to hyper-controlling bullies. Why else would you go out of your way to be so condescending, if not because of insecurity?

Anyway

“Adult conversation” is usually excruciating, and for some bizarre reason it frequently revolves around Disney’s latest movie. Seriously. All the moms get together and immediately ask, “HaVe YoU sEeN dIsNeY’s LaTeSt MoViE?”

No.

I hate Disney.

I think that they’re one of those money-grubbing companies that exploits nostalgia for big profit. You know who said, “This movie would be so much better as a live action remake?” No one. So why did you all run out to watch a bright blue Will Smith desperately trying to imitate Robin Williams?

Answer: Nostalgia.

But that’s not the sort of thing that I’m allowed to conversate about with “adults”, because it tends to frighten and overwhelm them.

The only acceptable response is: “iT’s ReAlLy GoOd.”

And the script is so effing boring and brain dead that I don’t want to bother. I’m not the sort that makes mouth noise for its own sake.

With kids, on the other hand, I can say, “I like yellow flowers,” and we’ll play a game of listing off every yellow flower we can think of. It’s far more interesting and entertaining than “adult conversation.”

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
About Writing

Carol

Autumn

In this post, I’ll be discussing spoilers for The Scion Suit. If you haven’t read it, I recommend you click the link and enjoy a free story.

The big reveal at the end of The Scion Suit is that the main character, Carol, is a “seed” for a bio-mechanical alien race, and she has a chip implanted in her brain stem that allows her to connect and interface with her mechanical body — aka the Suit. The idea behind her characterization is that she starts off as literally half of herself, and is consequently a fairly boring and one-dimensional individual. The more time she interfaces with the Suit, the more she develops into a full person.

With writing different story branches, I’ve had some time to emphasize that Carol doesn’t have much going on. She has no obvious hobbies or preferences, and can’t figure out how to occupy herself when she’s left to her own devices. Heck, she gets abruptly plucked out of her life and doesn’t miss anything about it.

I’m going to go ahead and confess something here:

I feel like I’m writing a normal, average real life person.

I want to believe that real people are more rounded than that, but unfortunately one of the poignant lessons of 2020 was that, when stuck at home with no where to go, a huge number of people will spend all day watching Netflix and not much else.

How disappointing.

But I guess that since this is my little fictional world, I can pretend that everyone is far more interesting than they are in the real one.

Photo by Julia Volk on Pexels.com
About Me

…

Autumn

It looks like the story of “my blood circulation sucks” isn’t over yet.

So I’ve been spending more time in the physical world, focusing on physical things, and doing physical activities.

Physically.

And roasting coffee

Muse

Bumblebee

Autumn

A dying bumblebee.

The word on the street was that it was stung by a wasp, but I didn’t see it happen.