Arilin Thorferra @arilin@meow.social

One the one hand, a young goth wizard desperately shouting “Expello!” at a growing coyote he’s trying to banish seems too Harry Potter. On the other, he gets eaten. On balance, win-win?

It's going to be a challenge to get even this intended-to-be-short piece out on the schedule I want, but my impinged shoulder is making it difficult to write faster. (The joys of aging…)

@makyo that sounds a bit like the journey I made a few years ago. If you're okay with tech writing for pretty technical audiences, Fly.io is hiring – https://fly.io/blog/fly-io-is-hiring-technical-writers/ (I have considered applying there myself, as I worked with their staff artist (!) and their former community manager, but while my current job is full of ever-increasing ennui, it pays so irrationally well I keep sticking around.)

Daydreaming a bit of vignette moments and remembering buttons I’d half-forgotten I had. Maybe I can get a quick sketch from someone of a giant coyote’taur smashing out of a warehouse in a storm…

I found myself starting this in second person, e.g., "you" are the POV character who may have made some poor life choices. I'll see if this sticks; it seems to be working so far? (Although for now, off to actual work.)

I am spending too much time on description for a vignette, but I have a vivid image of the form of the destructor. 💙

It occurs to me that if this vignette is set in our world, someone looking at a coyote’taur might describe her top half as “anthropomorphic coyote, but strangely really hot, like those furries draw.”

I don’t want to use “fantastic beast” as a descriptor now. Dangit.

Vignette-starting idea: a dance party in a warehouse on a stormy Halloween, otherworldly creatures summoned to a center stage and dragged unwillingly into the party. Then one creature summoned, a beautiful and none-too-pleased coyote’taur, hears the storm, grins…and grows.

My "Big Bad Coyote" joke from earlier is weirdly stuck in my head. I'll see if tugging on that thread leads anywhere later…

That was a somewhat heavy scene to write for "Moira." Maybe I'll see if I can recharge later by writing coyotes wrecking stuff.

Me: Have you seen the link going around about building houses with straw?
Muse: don’t like it
Me: I thought you’d be up for a Big Bad Coyote joke.
Muse: those houses mean I barely get any exercise with a meal
Me: There it is.

Okay, pushed up past my daily word count, so I don’t feel too lumpish.

Me: If I did try a ’taur vignette, I’m just stuck on how big she should be. Bigger than a human? Bigger than me? Bigger than a city?
Muse: you’re overthinking this
Muse: the correct answer is just “big enough to eat Saida"
Me: Fair.
Saida: HEY

Maybe a giantess saying “I want to be bigger than the biggest storm” needs context…

Serrano had storm powers, for reasons that were left kind of fuzzy in character, and could both cause storms and grow during them. She’d say she daydreamed of being bigger than the biggest storm ever.

A sudden desire to write a quick giant ’taur vignette, but I don’t know how giant “giant” would be. Or who the ’taur is. (Possibly Serrano in her questionably canonical coyote’taur form…)

Muse: oh, noise-cancelling headphones
Me: Yes.
Muse: what are you listening to
Me: Less noise.

Chekhov’s Honey Badger

Also, got in my 500+ words. One of those fun scene starts where things proceed logically, yet don’t quite seem to be going where you expected! (It may also be making a certain honey badger scary in a different way than we’ve seen before…)