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Last words from the workshop
General | Posted 5 months agoLong story short: this account closes in November. If you’d like to continue following my work, you can sign up for email updates here: https://atuckercrowder.ac-page.com/.....d-landing-page
My creative process has changed. It’s now AI-first—not because it’s trendy, but because it finally lets me work the way I’ve always wanted to.
For a writer with low vision, this technology isn’t a shortcut; it’s a doorway. It lets me visualize worlds, characters, and scenes that used to exist only in my head. It’s an accessibility revolution.
Unfortunately, that revolution isn’t welcome here. As of 2022, AI-assisted art is not allowed here. I have already broken that rule without knowing it existed.
I’ve spent years sharing stories and art on this site, but the landscape has shifted. When the tools that make new modes of creation possible for people like me are treated as taboo, it’s time to move on.
I’ll leave this account up until the end of November so anyone who enjoys my work can stay connected. After that, it’ll close.
If you want to keep reading my fiction, world-building notes, or serialized stories, join my mailing list here: https://atuckercrowder.ac-page.com/.....d-landing-page
On a personal note, I’ve never been so disappointed in the fandom as I am right now. We’ve created a purity test that seems gleeful in castigating folks who experiment. That wasn’t what I joined this fandom for 24 years ago, and I won’t sit quietly on the sidelines waiting for the fandom to catch up.
Even if I have no audience here, I still have art to make.
Thank you to everyone who read, commented, or reached out. You’ve been part of my growth as both an artist and a storyteller.
— The Arcades
My creative process has changed. It’s now AI-first—not because it’s trendy, but because it finally lets me work the way I’ve always wanted to.
For a writer with low vision, this technology isn’t a shortcut; it’s a doorway. It lets me visualize worlds, characters, and scenes that used to exist only in my head. It’s an accessibility revolution.
Unfortunately, that revolution isn’t welcome here. As of 2022, AI-assisted art is not allowed here. I have already broken that rule without knowing it existed.
I’ve spent years sharing stories and art on this site, but the landscape has shifted. When the tools that make new modes of creation possible for people like me are treated as taboo, it’s time to move on.
I’ll leave this account up until the end of November so anyone who enjoys my work can stay connected. After that, it’ll close.
If you want to keep reading my fiction, world-building notes, or serialized stories, join my mailing list here: https://atuckercrowder.ac-page.com/.....d-landing-page
On a personal note, I’ve never been so disappointed in the fandom as I am right now. We’ve created a purity test that seems gleeful in castigating folks who experiment. That wasn’t what I joined this fandom for 24 years ago, and I won’t sit quietly on the sidelines waiting for the fandom to catch up.
Even if I have no audience here, I still have art to make.
Thank you to everyone who read, commented, or reached out. You’ve been part of my growth as both an artist and a storyteller.
— The Arcades
Eight things i learned in eight years of transition
General | Posted 9 years agoEight years ago I found myself in a doctor’s office with a nurse, terrified, watching as she gave me the first shot of estradiol I had ever had. It was a hidden doctor’s office - the kind of place that kept a low profile for the protection of its clientele and its staff - and it only heightened the feeling that what I was doing was wrong. Stupid, possibly. I was signing up for life’s hard mode. But wrong in the way that could cost me relationships with the people I held dear.
Looking back, I know this is bullshit. (Transition isn’t wrong, after all!) So here are eight things I learned from eight years of transition.
1. “Born in a wrong body” is a clever metaphor, but not the whole story.
I hear this one a lot, and to its credit the phrase is an easy way to get the sensation of dysphoria across. “I was a girl born in a boy’s body” is a strong image, and easy to grasp. But it is troublesome as heck; it enforces the dangerous parts of the gender binary and erases the real, lived experiences of non binary people. Allow me to suggest an alternative:
“The person I saw in the mirror every day wasn’t me. This experience is called dysphoria, and the best way science knows to cure it is to change the body. Transition made my body make _sense_ to me.”
Who cares if you’re a boy or a girl? Certainly not I. It’s possible to take HRT just to change the way you look without ever even having to publicly transition. Your body is your body, and you have every right to control how it looks. Which brings me to…
2. HRT is not as dangerous as people say it is.
(I’m only going to talk about feminizing HRT therapy here, as I’m not equipped/experience in going the other way.)
HRT is not a magic bullet. It does not turn you into a girl overnight. In fact, the process takes _years_ to finish. Fat doesn’t just jump from one place to another. Boobs don’t just… _explode onto a body_ like some two-bit anime. And as long as you stop taking them within three months, the effects are wholly reversible.
Let me repeat that: _the effects of HRT are completely reversible if discontinued within 3 months._
I can’t tell you how many months I spent agonizing over the “should I/shouldn’t I” of HRT under the misguided idea that they could cause permanent changes immediately. Three months is more than enough time to know if they will help you feel better. (Hell, the effects started kicking in fifteen minutes for me!) And more importantly, the real effects of HRT happen in the mind, not the body. It’s like glasses for your emotions.
Granted, talk to your doctor, but there’s a reason many clinics are moving to an informed consent model.
3. Level-set for the journey
Let’s get this out of the way: “Have you had ‘the surgery’” is shorthand for “I am a huge douche who is way too interested in this person’s genitals and doesn’t understand human decency and tact.” Repeat that to yourself. Internalize it. Now never ask it again.
Why? The question reduces transition to a simple “pole or hole” image that misses out on the bulk of changes transition entails. Long before you end up on a table - in fact, even if you decide to _never_ get on that table! - a whole sea change has occurred in that trans person’s life. It’s the little things: learning about male privilege by losing it; buying clothes you like instead of clothes that let you hide; the first winter where you realize that the women in your life weren’t just whining, but actually _do_ run cooler. It’s a long journey of tiny steps that feel insignificant on their own but end up moving mountains.
If anything, ask if they’re standing up taller because they have pride in themselves. Shit you not, this was the biggest change for me.
4. Level up
In a perfect world this bullet point would not be necessary. There would be no systemic barriers to the success of trans folk, healthcare would be affordable, and your continued existence would be unaffected by the decision to transition. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world.
Transition is expensive, exhaustive, and will probably have a temporary negative effect on your ability to make a living. There will be resistance to your transition. Probably discrimination. Job offers won’t come through - for example, I had to leave Indiana because many tech companies there wouldn’t hire a trans person! - and you’ll end up being held back in your career by people worried about what their customers might think about working with a trans person.
This is legal in most states. If you are in a state where this is legal, _move_. Network with other LGBTQ professionals in your field. Level up. Learn to code. Pick up some classes in project management, or analysis, or data science, or sales, or law - anything that gets you in a better position to improve your income. Live like a college kid to save money for any surgical intervention you feel is necessary.
This world is unfair to trans people. Brutally unfair, even. You will have to fight for every inch of progress. When people look at me and think “successful,” they’re seeing the net result of eight years of busting ass, getting extremely lucky breaks, and an unhealthy dose of imposter syndrome / perfectionism that I gained after my life fell apart in 2008, right alongside my birth gender.
Even then, considering all the pain and work and systemic unfairness of the systems that govern opportunity for trans folk, transition is still the best thing I ever did.
5. You are _not_ required to explain yourself or your experience.
Something about transition makes people feel like they’re entitled to armchair-quarterback your life and your choices. “Are you sure this is right for you?” “I don’t think this is what’s wrong with you.” “Have you tried antidepressants?” “I think you should get a second opinion from a doc that won’t recommend transition, just in case your doctor is biased.”
You owe these people NOTHING.
There is no magic remote control wielded by cis or trans people that can drop you into an abyss. Your transition, your body, your choices. Transition is hard enough without people badgering you to quit along the way. Those who don’t come along may come around eventually, but you don’t need to shoulder their anxieties as your burdens. When in doubt, use this magical response to tilt the tables:
“I am undergoing treatment for gender dysphoria from a qualified medical professional. You’re not entitled to an opinion on this matter. I understand if you are not comfortable with this but I am not currently in a position to take that burden on as my problem.”
6. You look a lot better than you think
Transition is a bunch of small changes that take place over a course of years. It can be far, far too easy to miss the sum total of those changes when you look into the mirror. You end up focusing on the flaws in your body image: the too-wide jaw, the broad shoulders, the muscles, the stubble still on your chin. “I’ll never be a decent woman,” you might say. “I can’t do this.”
One, _welcome to the toxic standards governing female beauty in our society!_ Two: seriously, you look _fine_.
Eight years on I can look back at my pictures from early in transition in an entirely new light. For one, I was damn pretty! Young, pretty, and far more passable than my anxieties led me to believe. Granted, I had the advantage of starting at a relatively young age, and as such caught a few years of natural changes in the right gender, but still. I spent the first two years of my transition feeling like a disgusting freak instead of celebrating my body.
You have to fight this impulse early and often. Take pictures. Keep a diary of how you feel, your small victories, your big wins. I did a video diary that helped a ton - every time I felt like my transition was a failure I’d look at an old video and feel like I was watching my brother talking.
7. Folks for reason, folks for a season, folks for a lifetime
I’m modifying this to include everyone - family AND friends - because too many of our stories involve family rejection. Transition is a huge, life-altering event. Your interests may change; your needs may change. People who were once close may drift away, replaced by new friends. You’ll spend a surprising amount of time mourning those who are now lost to you.
During transition I made a lot of friends for one reason: we were all experiencing this strange, undocumented _thing_ and needed to feel like we were not crazy. We’d celebrate each others’ successes and grieve for our failures. Hell, when I went to Thailand I got to meet a bunch of _amazing_ women in an impromptu support network for this a difficult, painful surgical procedure.
Beyond being trans, though, many of us had nothing in common. We drifted apart, and _that’s okay_. You may lose family members, and no matter how bad you feel about it or how responsible you feel about ruining these relationships _it’s going to be okay_. Some relationships aren’t meant to last forever, but that doesn’t mean that they are without merit.
One of the greatest things about transition - and about being in the queer community in general - is that “chosen family” isn’t just an empty promise. With the number of families that reject their queer children and relatives being part of a chosen family is an important responsibility and a source of great joy. My family is no longer bound by blood or by location. They’re the people I call when I need help, whose burdens I help shoulder, and whose presence make me happy.
And seriously, not everyone you meet / are related to / are close with is supposed to stay close for the rest of your life and _that’s entirely okay_ no matter what societal expectations may tell you.
8. You are not a victim of fate. you are living magic.
Seriously, the sum total of transition is one of the last remaining vestiges of magic left in this society. It is not an albatross around the neck; it’s not a thing to be ashamed of; it's an amazing act of social wizardry. You are crossing over a border that is usually closed to immigrants.
Go search "tg" online and you'll find hundreds of genderplay stories that reference magic, or science fiction, or some otherworldly force that must exist for that gender change to happen. But you? You’re doing it without the crutch. You’re a _wizard_ in any other context.
Maybe this is part of why folks get so uncomfortable around trans people. There are _rules_ to follow in this world. Boundaries that exist without explanation. When trans people exist, these barriers become arbitrary and open to critique.
Looking back, I know this is bullshit. (Transition isn’t wrong, after all!) So here are eight things I learned from eight years of transition.
1. “Born in a wrong body” is a clever metaphor, but not the whole story.
I hear this one a lot, and to its credit the phrase is an easy way to get the sensation of dysphoria across. “I was a girl born in a boy’s body” is a strong image, and easy to grasp. But it is troublesome as heck; it enforces the dangerous parts of the gender binary and erases the real, lived experiences of non binary people. Allow me to suggest an alternative:
“The person I saw in the mirror every day wasn’t me. This experience is called dysphoria, and the best way science knows to cure it is to change the body. Transition made my body make _sense_ to me.”
Who cares if you’re a boy or a girl? Certainly not I. It’s possible to take HRT just to change the way you look without ever even having to publicly transition. Your body is your body, and you have every right to control how it looks. Which brings me to…
2. HRT is not as dangerous as people say it is.
(I’m only going to talk about feminizing HRT therapy here, as I’m not equipped/experience in going the other way.)
HRT is not a magic bullet. It does not turn you into a girl overnight. In fact, the process takes _years_ to finish. Fat doesn’t just jump from one place to another. Boobs don’t just… _explode onto a body_ like some two-bit anime. And as long as you stop taking them within three months, the effects are wholly reversible.
Let me repeat that: _the effects of HRT are completely reversible if discontinued within 3 months._
I can’t tell you how many months I spent agonizing over the “should I/shouldn’t I” of HRT under the misguided idea that they could cause permanent changes immediately. Three months is more than enough time to know if they will help you feel better. (Hell, the effects started kicking in fifteen minutes for me!) And more importantly, the real effects of HRT happen in the mind, not the body. It’s like glasses for your emotions.
Granted, talk to your doctor, but there’s a reason many clinics are moving to an informed consent model.
3. Level-set for the journey
Let’s get this out of the way: “Have you had ‘the surgery’” is shorthand for “I am a huge douche who is way too interested in this person’s genitals and doesn’t understand human decency and tact.” Repeat that to yourself. Internalize it. Now never ask it again.
Why? The question reduces transition to a simple “pole or hole” image that misses out on the bulk of changes transition entails. Long before you end up on a table - in fact, even if you decide to _never_ get on that table! - a whole sea change has occurred in that trans person’s life. It’s the little things: learning about male privilege by losing it; buying clothes you like instead of clothes that let you hide; the first winter where you realize that the women in your life weren’t just whining, but actually _do_ run cooler. It’s a long journey of tiny steps that feel insignificant on their own but end up moving mountains.
If anything, ask if they’re standing up taller because they have pride in themselves. Shit you not, this was the biggest change for me.
4. Level up
In a perfect world this bullet point would not be necessary. There would be no systemic barriers to the success of trans folk, healthcare would be affordable, and your continued existence would be unaffected by the decision to transition. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world.
Transition is expensive, exhaustive, and will probably have a temporary negative effect on your ability to make a living. There will be resistance to your transition. Probably discrimination. Job offers won’t come through - for example, I had to leave Indiana because many tech companies there wouldn’t hire a trans person! - and you’ll end up being held back in your career by people worried about what their customers might think about working with a trans person.
This is legal in most states. If you are in a state where this is legal, _move_. Network with other LGBTQ professionals in your field. Level up. Learn to code. Pick up some classes in project management, or analysis, or data science, or sales, or law - anything that gets you in a better position to improve your income. Live like a college kid to save money for any surgical intervention you feel is necessary.
This world is unfair to trans people. Brutally unfair, even. You will have to fight for every inch of progress. When people look at me and think “successful,” they’re seeing the net result of eight years of busting ass, getting extremely lucky breaks, and an unhealthy dose of imposter syndrome / perfectionism that I gained after my life fell apart in 2008, right alongside my birth gender.
Even then, considering all the pain and work and systemic unfairness of the systems that govern opportunity for trans folk, transition is still the best thing I ever did.
5. You are _not_ required to explain yourself or your experience.
Something about transition makes people feel like they’re entitled to armchair-quarterback your life and your choices. “Are you sure this is right for you?” “I don’t think this is what’s wrong with you.” “Have you tried antidepressants?” “I think you should get a second opinion from a doc that won’t recommend transition, just in case your doctor is biased.”
You owe these people NOTHING.
There is no magic remote control wielded by cis or trans people that can drop you into an abyss. Your transition, your body, your choices. Transition is hard enough without people badgering you to quit along the way. Those who don’t come along may come around eventually, but you don’t need to shoulder their anxieties as your burdens. When in doubt, use this magical response to tilt the tables:
“I am undergoing treatment for gender dysphoria from a qualified medical professional. You’re not entitled to an opinion on this matter. I understand if you are not comfortable with this but I am not currently in a position to take that burden on as my problem.”
6. You look a lot better than you think
Transition is a bunch of small changes that take place over a course of years. It can be far, far too easy to miss the sum total of those changes when you look into the mirror. You end up focusing on the flaws in your body image: the too-wide jaw, the broad shoulders, the muscles, the stubble still on your chin. “I’ll never be a decent woman,” you might say. “I can’t do this.”
One, _welcome to the toxic standards governing female beauty in our society!_ Two: seriously, you look _fine_.
Eight years on I can look back at my pictures from early in transition in an entirely new light. For one, I was damn pretty! Young, pretty, and far more passable than my anxieties led me to believe. Granted, I had the advantage of starting at a relatively young age, and as such caught a few years of natural changes in the right gender, but still. I spent the first two years of my transition feeling like a disgusting freak instead of celebrating my body.
You have to fight this impulse early and often. Take pictures. Keep a diary of how you feel, your small victories, your big wins. I did a video diary that helped a ton - every time I felt like my transition was a failure I’d look at an old video and feel like I was watching my brother talking.
7. Folks for reason, folks for a season, folks for a lifetime
I’m modifying this to include everyone - family AND friends - because too many of our stories involve family rejection. Transition is a huge, life-altering event. Your interests may change; your needs may change. People who were once close may drift away, replaced by new friends. You’ll spend a surprising amount of time mourning those who are now lost to you.
During transition I made a lot of friends for one reason: we were all experiencing this strange, undocumented _thing_ and needed to feel like we were not crazy. We’d celebrate each others’ successes and grieve for our failures. Hell, when I went to Thailand I got to meet a bunch of _amazing_ women in an impromptu support network for this a difficult, painful surgical procedure.
Beyond being trans, though, many of us had nothing in common. We drifted apart, and _that’s okay_. You may lose family members, and no matter how bad you feel about it or how responsible you feel about ruining these relationships _it’s going to be okay_. Some relationships aren’t meant to last forever, but that doesn’t mean that they are without merit.
One of the greatest things about transition - and about being in the queer community in general - is that “chosen family” isn’t just an empty promise. With the number of families that reject their queer children and relatives being part of a chosen family is an important responsibility and a source of great joy. My family is no longer bound by blood or by location. They’re the people I call when I need help, whose burdens I help shoulder, and whose presence make me happy.
And seriously, not everyone you meet / are related to / are close with is supposed to stay close for the rest of your life and _that’s entirely okay_ no matter what societal expectations may tell you.
8. You are not a victim of fate. you are living magic.
Seriously, the sum total of transition is one of the last remaining vestiges of magic left in this society. It is not an albatross around the neck; it’s not a thing to be ashamed of; it's an amazing act of social wizardry. You are crossing over a border that is usually closed to immigrants.
Go search "tg" online and you'll find hundreds of genderplay stories that reference magic, or science fiction, or some otherworldly force that must exist for that gender change to happen. But you? You’re doing it without the crutch. You’re a _wizard_ in any other context.
Maybe this is part of why folks get so uncomfortable around trans people. There are _rules_ to follow in this world. Boundaries that exist without explanation. When trans people exist, these barriers become arbitrary and open to critique.
Oh hey, forgot to post the rest of that novel...
General | Posted 10 years agoHi everyone! Long time no speak.
So I finished that novel I started posting here. Anyone interested in reading the rest? :)
So I finished that novel I started posting here. Anyone interested in reading the rest? :)
Painted Cat preorders up now!
General | Posted 11 years agonew novel - looking for beta readers
General | Posted 12 years agoSo I've been writing over my lunch breaks and have something resembling the first two thirds of a novel on my hands. Unfortunately, since its a sequel to bait and switch I have reason to believe its going to be saleable and as such won't be posted here. Anyone interested in a beta read?
Please pm details for email if interested.
Please pm details for email if interested.
New Novel Coming
General | Posted 12 years agoWell, old. I kinda round filed it before. I'll post chunks starting tonight, probably. I posted a novella of it here before.
Update: almost-finished novel drafts, Twine, and Chicago
General | Posted 13 years agoHello there!
I know, I know. Long time no post. But I have reasons, I swear!
1) I moved to a new city. This requires the whole "find new friends/drinking buddies, get comfortable with job, recover finances" thing, which has admittedly eaten into writing time.
2) I have a girlfriend now. :D
3) Outside of Twine games I've been focused on knocking out some larger writing projects. I have that cyberpunk novella on the back burner, an urban fantasy novel nearing completion, and a short story collection that will go up on Kindle whenever I get off my ass and actually finish proofing it.
Anywho. Got a few things I'm going to release here soon - mostly twine games. Keep an eye out!
I know, I know. Long time no post. But I have reasons, I swear!
1) I moved to a new city. This requires the whole "find new friends/drinking buddies, get comfortable with job, recover finances" thing, which has admittedly eaten into writing time.
2) I have a girlfriend now. :D
3) Outside of Twine games I've been focused on knocking out some larger writing projects. I have that cyberpunk novella on the back burner, an urban fantasy novel nearing completion, and a short story collection that will go up on Kindle whenever I get off my ass and actually finish proofing it.
Anywho. Got a few things I'm going to release here soon - mostly twine games. Keep an eye out!
"You haven't posted in FOREVER, Austen! Y NO WRITING?"
General | Posted 14 years agoSo hello everyone! Some of you may be wondering why there's no posts lately. Long story short, I've been working on novellas. Two in particular are well on their way and will be going under the revision knife real soon. More news then.
Also, a question: Say, hypothetically, I were to release these novellas as ebooks for relatively cheap. Who would buy?
Also, a question: Say, hypothetically, I were to release these novellas as ebooks for relatively cheap. Who would buy?
On drafting live and in public
General | Posted 14 years agoI've been inspired by my artist friends to start drafting on a live document. It's not quite the same as an intimate livestream session but drafting on a public-facing document has been a fascinating experience. Some discoveries:
-I feel motivated to keep writing. Now the document isn't just a file on my computer that only I can see, and it wouldn't be easy to just back out due to feeling overwhelmed. This also is keeping me loose - instead of focusing on the particulars and trying to make everything mesh on the first go I'm relaxing and just getting words to paper. Not the prettiest way to go but it brings some surprising ideas to the table.
-Writing live combines what I love about performance with the control of writing. In some ways the drafting itself is part of the act. THe more I draw on that the more at ease I feel.
I'll post more of this as it comes up; I just wanted to get some of this down on paper and let y'all know I'm still writing. :)
Follow along at https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....49Frg4qL8/edit
-I feel motivated to keep writing. Now the document isn't just a file on my computer that only I can see, and it wouldn't be easy to just back out due to feeling overwhelmed. This also is keeping me loose - instead of focusing on the particulars and trying to make everything mesh on the first go I'm relaxing and just getting words to paper. Not the prettiest way to go but it brings some surprising ideas to the table.
-Writing live combines what I love about performance with the control of writing. In some ways the drafting itself is part of the act. THe more I draw on that the more at ease I feel.
I'll post more of this as it comes up; I just wanted to get some of this down on paper and let y'all know I'm still writing. :)
Follow along at https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....49Frg4qL8/edit
STREAMING NOW - bonus chapter to Bait and Switch
General | Posted 14 years agohttps://docs.google.com/document/d/...../edit?hl=en_US
Did you like bait and switch? Bonus chapter "Diaspora" in progress on Google Docs.
Did you like bait and switch? Bonus chapter "Diaspora" in progress on Google Docs.
STREAMING NOW - bonus chapter to Bait and Switch
General | Posted 14 years agohttps://docs.google.com/document/d/...../edit?hl=en_US
Did you like bait and switch? Bonus chapter "Diaspora" in progress on Google Docs.
Did you like bait and switch? Bonus chapter "Diaspora" in progress on Google Docs.
Google Docs, Livestreaming, and Twitter
General | Posted 14 years agoSo apparently I hit on a pretty damn good idea last night with opening my google docs draft for review and posting the link on twitter. For some reason this was hailed by a couple of medium-size writer feeds as an "A+ use of social media" - I just saw it as a way to keep myself honest and working. I did have a lot of fun explaining my method and process as I worked - it made me aware of the myriad decisions and reference materials I use while crafting a story from whole cloth. It was also awesome to have a chat room of audience members ready to offer suggestions when I got stuck.
That being said, would y'all like to be informed when I do this again? I was thinking of creating a super-keen little image I could post in my subs to let everybody know I'm hard at work. Considering that I plowed through 2000 words in about an hour under the scrutiny of a crowd this is definitely something I'd like t continue. I'll for sure be drafting my next novel this way.
Also, does anybody know of a good way to set up a live audio stream on the side? I thought about livestream but really want to drive everybody to the doc as it keeps all chat data with the document.
BTW: you can read (and leave comments!) on the new draft here even when I'm not around: https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....WNzbXlKTg/edit
That being said, would y'all like to be informed when I do this again? I was thinking of creating a super-keen little image I could post in my subs to let everybody know I'm hard at work. Considering that I plowed through 2000 words in about an hour under the scrutiny of a crowd this is definitely something I'd like t continue. I'll for sure be drafting my next novel this way.
Also, does anybody know of a good way to set up a live audio stream on the side? I thought about livestream but really want to drive everybody to the doc as it keeps all chat data with the document.
BTW: you can read (and leave comments!) on the new draft here even when I'm not around: https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....WNzbXlKTg/edit
Bait and Switch: a call for questions and prompts
General | Posted 14 years agoOkay, so I'm trying to get back into the writing habit. So far I'm about 50/50 on staying focused and after 10 months of relative silence it's hard to get back into a consistent practice. I've seen Iron Author posts on Furaffinity and wanted to do something similar.
Did you read Bait and Switch and have some outstanding questions about the world? Perhaps there was a section of the universe that seemed neat but was mentioned only in passing. If something sticks out to you, speak now! I figure the Bait and Switch universe is pretty well "set" in my brain and thus I could work with it easily.
In other words, if there's any sort of story/scenario you wanted to see in my writing speak now. I'm open to prompts and suggestions and I think having a line of requests would help keep me honest as I ramp back into writing again.
Hell, I'm to the point that I'd even consider, shall we say, "passionate romance." :D
Did you read Bait and Switch and have some outstanding questions about the world? Perhaps there was a section of the universe that seemed neat but was mentioned only in passing. If something sticks out to you, speak now! I figure the Bait and Switch universe is pretty well "set" in my brain and thus I could work with it easily.
In other words, if there's any sort of story/scenario you wanted to see in my writing speak now. I'm open to prompts and suggestions and I think having a line of requests would help keep me honest as I ramp back into writing again.
Hell, I'm to the point that I'd even consider, shall we say, "passionate romance." :D
Feeling the question-answerin' spirit
General | Posted 15 years agoOkay, folks. I'm opening the floor for questions. Ask, and I'l answer. in a youtube video. Yeah. I'm cool like that. :D
In other news, still recovering. Trying to get back into writing but it's been difficult.
In other news, still recovering. Trying to get back into writing but it's been difficult.
Surgery and such
General | Posted 15 years agoI know I've been really quiet here save for mentioning my upcoming surgery. For anybody curious, the surgery was a resounding success. I'm presently recovering and taking some time to recuperate before going headlong back into fiction.
Friends who watch me on FA (And you know who you is) -- PM me if you don't know where the surgery blog is kept.
Friends who watch me on FA (And you know who you is) -- PM me if you don't know where the surgery blog is kept.
Writer's block.
General | Posted 15 years agoIt's surprisingly hard to focus on writing a new novel when major surgery is less than 50 days away. Sort of a "Well, I can start now but then I'll spend a month in recovery doing a lot of nothing," thing.
In other news... I'm super-excited about this. :D
In other news... I'm super-excited about this. :D
No Subject
General | Posted 15 years agohttp://hw.libsyn.com/p/c/f/b/cfb3e0e0d5db2831/AD_Extra_005_-_Bait_and_Switch_novel_excerpt.mp3?sid=8ffb6992d7c19cf436839d02f4279fe8&l_sid=22641&l_eid=&l_mid=2361951
Forgot about this - my first-ever novel reading. I was nervous.
Forgot about this - my first-ever novel reading. I was nervous.
Scrivener.
General | Posted 15 years agoAnybody play with it? Have reviews? I'm picking up a Macbook Pro this week and need to know if it's worth looking into.
Please don't objectify the trannies. (Share Please)
General | Posted 15 years agoTrannies are a fetish. Trannies are people. The two types of tranny are not mutually exclusive, but the difference between the fetish and the people is vast.
This has been bothering me for some time now. I'm not sure how to approach this subject without stepping on toes, so I'll just come right out and say that the whole gender-swap, dickgirl/c-boy, heshe, trap, whatever-other-sort-of-name-for-tranny-you-dream-up porn on this site kind of irks me. Not to the point of being offended, but to the point of being bothered. It's all fun and games until you're the one being objectified, I guess.
I get it: trans people have unique bodies and that's sexy to some. But the things I see on this site aren't usually trans people - they're something entirely new, bodies that don't exist in the real world. There are some glorious exceptions here and there but for the most part the trans art on Furaffinity is Chicks with Dicks, Herms, and Guys Getting Vaginas. I have to ask myself, "How many of the people viewing these gender-swap pics have actually met a transgender person?"
I mean, the things I see on here that are transgender-related aren't really transgender-related. They're trans-idealized, but not related. They are objects, created as exclusively sexual fantasies. Wishes. Which shouldn't much bother me, seeing as this is a site where people draw perfectly normal people growing perfectly oversized wolf cocks and such, but it does. The difference is that these wishes and dreams are built upon my gender identity. (I mean, I'm sure if lycanthropes were real I'm sure they'd be a little miffed at all the furry transformation porn on the site.)
I know tranny porn is interesting, and I know it turns people on. I remember that much from the Old Life. But it's really awkward to read through the comments on trans artwork and see "ZOMG a Trap, herp derp" comments all along the page. Remember, folks: the crazy chick-with-dick, cunnyboy, gender-swapper images you see on FA aren't just a fantasy. We are real, and we walk among you.
If you've ever looked at gender-swap pics, or searched for tranny porn, or anything of the sort, I have a challenge for you. Take ten minutes today to flip through some of the sites below and learn about what the real deal is like. Trans people are beautiful, and we even manage to have interesting lives outside of our gender identities. I assure you that what you find will surprise you.
I know it may not do too much, but I at least have to try. Feel free to steal, repost, link, add, subtract, multiply, divide, whatever you wish. I'd love to see this travel across FA.
http://fuckyeahcutetranschicks.tumblr.com
Look, ladies and gents. If you want to see gorgeous real trans women can be, start here. It's a blog by trans women showing trans women being their cute, sexy selves - not as objects, but as human beings. You'll see traditionally beautiful ladies, genderqueer folks, dykes, butches, the whole nine.
http://fuckyeahftms.tumblr.com/
Think FYCTC, but for the guys.
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/TS.html
Lynn Conway wrote the book for microprocessor design. (No, seriously. Her work in the field paved the way for modern processors.) Her Transgender 101 is long, but worth a look. Alternatively, you can also visit her sites featuring successful trans women http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/con.....Sgallery1.html and men http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/con...../TransMen.html .
http://www.logotv.com/video/beautif.....playlist.jhtml
If you can spare an hour, take a look at this documentary. It's about an all-transgender production of "The Vagina Monologues," and the stories they tell are simply amazing.
This has been bothering me for some time now. I'm not sure how to approach this subject without stepping on toes, so I'll just come right out and say that the whole gender-swap, dickgirl/c-boy, heshe, trap, whatever-other-sort-of-name-for-tranny-you-dream-up porn on this site kind of irks me. Not to the point of being offended, but to the point of being bothered. It's all fun and games until you're the one being objectified, I guess.
I get it: trans people have unique bodies and that's sexy to some. But the things I see on this site aren't usually trans people - they're something entirely new, bodies that don't exist in the real world. There are some glorious exceptions here and there but for the most part the trans art on Furaffinity is Chicks with Dicks, Herms, and Guys Getting Vaginas. I have to ask myself, "How many of the people viewing these gender-swap pics have actually met a transgender person?"
I mean, the things I see on here that are transgender-related aren't really transgender-related. They're trans-idealized, but not related. They are objects, created as exclusively sexual fantasies. Wishes. Which shouldn't much bother me, seeing as this is a site where people draw perfectly normal people growing perfectly oversized wolf cocks and such, but it does. The difference is that these wishes and dreams are built upon my gender identity. (I mean, I'm sure if lycanthropes were real I'm sure they'd be a little miffed at all the furry transformation porn on the site.)
I know tranny porn is interesting, and I know it turns people on. I remember that much from the Old Life. But it's really awkward to read through the comments on trans artwork and see "ZOMG a Trap, herp derp" comments all along the page. Remember, folks: the crazy chick-with-dick, cunnyboy, gender-swapper images you see on FA aren't just a fantasy. We are real, and we walk among you.
If you've ever looked at gender-swap pics, or searched for tranny porn, or anything of the sort, I have a challenge for you. Take ten minutes today to flip through some of the sites below and learn about what the real deal is like. Trans people are beautiful, and we even manage to have interesting lives outside of our gender identities. I assure you that what you find will surprise you.
I know it may not do too much, but I at least have to try. Feel free to steal, repost, link, add, subtract, multiply, divide, whatever you wish. I'd love to see this travel across FA.
http://fuckyeahcutetranschicks.tumblr.com
Look, ladies and gents. If you want to see gorgeous real trans women can be, start here. It's a blog by trans women showing trans women being their cute, sexy selves - not as objects, but as human beings. You'll see traditionally beautiful ladies, genderqueer folks, dykes, butches, the whole nine.
http://fuckyeahftms.tumblr.com/
Think FYCTC, but for the guys.
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/TS.html
Lynn Conway wrote the book for microprocessor design. (No, seriously. Her work in the field paved the way for modern processors.) Her Transgender 101 is long, but worth a look. Alternatively, you can also visit her sites featuring successful trans women http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/con.....Sgallery1.html and men http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/con...../TransMen.html .
http://www.logotv.com/video/beautif.....playlist.jhtml
If you can spare an hour, take a look at this documentary. It's about an all-transgender production of "The Vagina Monologues," and the stories they tell are simply amazing.
So... what did I miss?
General | Posted 15 years agoApparently shit hit the fan over the past few weeks or something? People are leaving in droves.
BTW: Bait and Switch is on sale now!
General | Posted 15 years agoI know I made the submission on my page, but wanted to put mention in the journal as well. Bait and Switch is available now!
http://www.anthrodreams.com/wordpre.....it-and-switch/
http://www.anthrodreams.com/wordpre.....it-and-switch/
MFF writeup
General | Posted 15 years agoMFF – a brief review
So Midwest Furfest was an amazing time, as always. Here's a few things that happened there. (There are adult things that sort of happened around me, fair warning, so viewer discretion is advised.)
Novel: my publisher brought 22 copies because that's about what he usually sells per book. He obviously didn't see me coming. I sold out in four hours and could easily have sold 60 more, no question. (What can I say? I get around. :) )
Ended up running into a guy that tried to move too fast. I wanted friendship. He wanted sex that night. It was... well, awkward, to say the least. Many thanks to Lauren Faul for pulling me out of the jam.
We formed the MFF crew. Our exploits are things of legend.
Went to an amazing party with our MFF crew. Originally they were playing classical music, but we stepped in and started Djing ourselves. Dancing and singing were had. However this party apparently acts like Cinderella – after 11PM things change. I went to get a drink when Corey tapped my shoulder and said “Don't look now, but there's dicks on the table.” I looked.
Sure enough, at 11PM the party apparently turned into a Gear party. Not to get into too many details but imagine a guy bound up in black... _materials_, laid out on a table, exposed for the party to see. Against the black spandex and leather it was pretty obvious to see what was and was not “tabled” for that night's agenda.
Me, being a hardened, 7-year veteran of furry cons, just nodded and put a wall between me and the action.
(I just made a parliamentary BDSM joke. I'm kind of proud of myself. :) )
Next morning I spent some time in the Video Game room on hearing somebody call for Smash Bros. Players. I spent an hour handing a couple of Smash Bros. Brawl players their asses. Then Rockband happened – notably, there was Bee Gees and “Whip It” for that ironic touch. I need to get that game, honestly.
Then there was an hour of playing with Photobooth – Corey will hopefully provide video sooner than later – before the Saturday night party began. I went light on the drinking, seeing as my Friday didn't end too hot, but we were really having too much fun to care. First, a singalong. We found a piano and proceeded to sing “Fuck you” by C-Lo at the top of our lungs. Many other songs came after that. Then, a fursuit dance, where we partyboyed any lonely fursuiter on the floor. From there we had a massage party, where Kaze gave everybody massages and said whatever came to his mind. Oh, and there was dancing.
On Sunday I got roped into helping a friend – who at the time was a pop-and-locking panda bear – rope in attendants for a fursuit dance panel. Being a lover of the cold sell and old-school barking I made myself a good fag-hag and dragged fursuits into the panel. My payment? Salsa lessons from him and JD Puppy. (I'm told I was grinning like an idiot.) Then, since Steve really wanted singing lessons as well, I led the room through a barbershop tag. (Watching their faces when the final major chord rang was pretty awesome.)
Oh, I did a novel reading on Sunday as well. I didn't realize just how nerve-wrecking that process was; my face was buried in a book so I couldn't see how the audience was responding, and because people are respectfully quiet at a reading there is simply no external feedback as to whether the reading s going well or going terribly. That, and I was reading for friends and couldn't exactly avoid the feeling that I was dragging them into something boring. Thankfully the reading was well-received and people seemed to enjoy themselves.
That night was full of drinking, dancing, and after-con parties. Dead Dog was a wall-to-wall affair and full of pretentious hipsters. We ended up at Dead Horse, which was frankly a ton more fun.
That, and I got to meet Kamber, so that was fun. :)
With the exception of Friday night this was probably one of the best cons I've ever attended. Good people, good times, and just the right amount of activity to keep us busy.
So Midwest Furfest was an amazing time, as always. Here's a few things that happened there. (There are adult things that sort of happened around me, fair warning, so viewer discretion is advised.)
Novel: my publisher brought 22 copies because that's about what he usually sells per book. He obviously didn't see me coming. I sold out in four hours and could easily have sold 60 more, no question. (What can I say? I get around. :) )
Ended up running into a guy that tried to move too fast. I wanted friendship. He wanted sex that night. It was... well, awkward, to say the least. Many thanks to Lauren Faul for pulling me out of the jam.
We formed the MFF crew. Our exploits are things of legend.
Went to an amazing party with our MFF crew. Originally they were playing classical music, but we stepped in and started Djing ourselves. Dancing and singing were had. However this party apparently acts like Cinderella – after 11PM things change. I went to get a drink when Corey tapped my shoulder and said “Don't look now, but there's dicks on the table.” I looked.
Sure enough, at 11PM the party apparently turned into a Gear party. Not to get into too many details but imagine a guy bound up in black... _materials_, laid out on a table, exposed for the party to see. Against the black spandex and leather it was pretty obvious to see what was and was not “tabled” for that night's agenda.
Me, being a hardened, 7-year veteran of furry cons, just nodded and put a wall between me and the action.
(I just made a parliamentary BDSM joke. I'm kind of proud of myself. :) )
Next morning I spent some time in the Video Game room on hearing somebody call for Smash Bros. Players. I spent an hour handing a couple of Smash Bros. Brawl players their asses. Then Rockband happened – notably, there was Bee Gees and “Whip It” for that ironic touch. I need to get that game, honestly.
Then there was an hour of playing with Photobooth – Corey will hopefully provide video sooner than later – before the Saturday night party began. I went light on the drinking, seeing as my Friday didn't end too hot, but we were really having too much fun to care. First, a singalong. We found a piano and proceeded to sing “Fuck you” by C-Lo at the top of our lungs. Many other songs came after that. Then, a fursuit dance, where we partyboyed any lonely fursuiter on the floor. From there we had a massage party, where Kaze gave everybody massages and said whatever came to his mind. Oh, and there was dancing.
On Sunday I got roped into helping a friend – who at the time was a pop-and-locking panda bear – rope in attendants for a fursuit dance panel. Being a lover of the cold sell and old-school barking I made myself a good fag-hag and dragged fursuits into the panel. My payment? Salsa lessons from him and JD Puppy. (I'm told I was grinning like an idiot.) Then, since Steve really wanted singing lessons as well, I led the room through a barbershop tag. (Watching their faces when the final major chord rang was pretty awesome.)
Oh, I did a novel reading on Sunday as well. I didn't realize just how nerve-wrecking that process was; my face was buried in a book so I couldn't see how the audience was responding, and because people are respectfully quiet at a reading there is simply no external feedback as to whether the reading s going well or going terribly. That, and I was reading for friends and couldn't exactly avoid the feeling that I was dragging them into something boring. Thankfully the reading was well-received and people seemed to enjoy themselves.
That night was full of drinking, dancing, and after-con parties. Dead Dog was a wall-to-wall affair and full of pretentious hipsters. We ended up at Dead Horse, which was frankly a ton more fun.
That, and I got to meet Kamber, so that was fun. :)
With the exception of Friday night this was probably one of the best cons I've ever attended. Good people, good times, and just the right amount of activity to keep us busy.
MFF
General | Posted 15 years agoSo, um, I'll be at MFF and stuff. I'll spend my days in the Dealer's Den and my nights out and about.
Your best bet is to send me a message via twitter if you want to meet up:
http://twitter.com/eccentrictomboy/
Your best bet is to send me a message via twitter if you want to meet up:
http://twitter.com/eccentrictomboy/
Bait and Switch promo-ing
General | Posted 15 years agoI'm starting a professional blog for my writing. Goal #1? Promote Bait and Switch. After that it'll serve as a platform to discuss what I'm working on at the time.
In other words: read, subscribe to RSS feed, make me happy. :D
http://austencrowder.blogspot.com
In other words: read, subscribe to RSS feed, make me happy. :D
http://austencrowder.blogspot.com
Bait and Switch: Firm Dates
General | Posted 15 years agoI have some dates now:
-I'm getting my first proof next week. (Not that that affects anybody else, but yeah. :) )
-The book will be on sale at Midwest Furfest. I will be doing a reading from the novel at the con. Either go to the reading or find me wandering the halls if you want a signature - I'll carry a pen.
-Shortly after MFF ends the book will go on sale at Lulu.com and Amazon. When that happens I'll be sure to post links here.
-I'm getting my first proof next week. (Not that that affects anybody else, but yeah. :) )
-The book will be on sale at Midwest Furfest. I will be doing a reading from the novel at the con. Either go to the reading or find me wandering the halls if you want a signature - I'll carry a pen.
-Shortly after MFF ends the book will go on sale at Lulu.com and Amazon. When that happens I'll be sure to post links here.
