#WMHD and #WEP Horrorfest 2024

October 10 is World Mental Health Day.






Sometimes, having someone else shop for you can improve your mental health for the day. Here's a discount on Instacart.

Https://inst.cr/t/d832be624  JDORNER1E119 code to save!

~~~🎃👻👿💀😈💫~~~🎃👻👿💀😈💫~~~

https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2024/10/wep-halloween-flash-fiction-special.html

Disclaimer 1:

For this fiction, Hell exists. It is sort of a pocket dimension. Human souls are often sent there after death for "cleansing punishment" in varying degrees of time and type. (Eternity for some, momentarily for the more innocent, etc.) Those condemned souls are usually unaware of the death the body they inhabited has undergone, thus they can experience pain, suffering, and trauma— all as the living would. 

Accounts of Hell describe it as a place of incredible fire, as if inside a star or forming planet, with strong stenches of sulfur. Demons are known to be the primary creatures to deliver punishment and are thought to be organized in a hierarchy (like corporations, militaries, etc.). 

Disclaimer 2: 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22003362/

Special Forces: World's Toughest Test

("Special Forces: World's Toughest Test is an American reality quasi-military training television series that premiered on Fox on January 4, 2023.")

This FICTION is inspired by this "reality tv" show. 

This fiction should, in no way, be considered a true or accurate desire or wish. There was an episode where one of the Staff insulted a candidate by saying he was like a "scared little girl." That is the inspiration for this, because there was no need to insult an entire gender or age group. 

In every episode, they all go somewhere to do a challenge. Then, the Staff picks a candidate to blindfold with a hood and pull into the meeting room to discuss why they're there and dig into their mental and emotional states. After that, usually, there are endurance exercises or something to "pay" for failing the challenges. (The Format changes by episode.) 

Pronunciation Guide: Jauroran - Make the J sound, "Juh," then the word aurora, then "an." Imagine him as a handsome young actor who would be cast to play a prince. 

Cruelabra - Combine the word cruel with "abra" (like candelabra).

Tagline: Never underestimate "scared little girls."

Guardian Demon

Jamie Dorner - 800 words - FCA

Bucky and the other Staff decide to pull candidate Jauroran in for a discussion. As his hood is removed, Jauroran shakes and sweats as he is sat on the metal chair. 

"Still a mess? You're back here on solid ground. Worried you'll fall off the chair?" Bucky asks, his smirk widening at the terrified young celebrity. 

"Yes, Staff. Err, no, Staff." Jauroran puts his head in his hands and tugs his famous haircut.

Bucky yells at him, "LOOK AT ME!" 

Jauroran moves his hands. His eyes close as he slowly cracks his neck. His fingers extend, each knuckle cracking. The stink of sulfur fills the room as the camera equipment fails. Jauroran's handsome twenty-four-year-old face appears to wrinkle and melt, replaced by a ghastly visage. 

"What thef**k?" Bucky smacks the table as he tries to get up. 

"Aww, can't move? Pity." An eerie voice emanates from Jauroran, like an evil ventriloquist woman is puppeting him. "That wide-eyed look, your racing pulse, the urine running down your pants… if I didn't know better, I'd say you, Bucky, have become a scared little girl." 

The last three words echo off the walls. Next to the table, a cloudy vision of Bucky using that same phrase earlier appears. Jauroran, clinging to a rope, begging for help and direction, fades in the cloudy hallucination. Only the ghost-like view of Bucky shouting about worthlessness remains. The shape changes as clouds swirl around the form. A young Bucky hovers there, yelling at someone else. 

"A scared little girl," the eerie voice from Jauroran says. "I do hope you remember your first." 

Bucky swats at the cloudy image. "What is this?" 

"We normally wait for your death to review your failures to humanity." The eerie voice cackles. "I am Cruelabra, a demon in service directly to our leader. It is impossible to imagine that she was once a human child, isn't it?"

"What? Who? How?" Sweat pours down Bucky's face. 

"She died that day. You impressed the bullies for a few hours. And she fell to her death. Scared, betrayed, begging for your help. Such an isolated child. Upon arrival to Hell, she was found almost entirely innocent. Except forgiveness was not in her soul. We don't mind. In fact, such a trait made her a demon and fast-tracked her promotions. She leads the demons now." Cruelabra's cackling laugh shakes the room. 

Jauroran's feet kick up onto the table as his body reclines in the chair. "Here's what's especially funny," Cruelabra's voice says from his melted-looking lips. "The scared little girl you failed to help, who you harassed to save your own skin, not only is she now the demon ruler of Hell, but Jauroran is her nephew."

Bucky whimpers that it wasn't his fault, crying about his innocence and just being a boy back then.

Cruelabra laughs. "That girl's family assumed she went to some other dimension. Peace, love, fluffy clouds, whatever humans hope to go to after life. So, when her sister gave birth twenty-four years ago, and the infant struggled to survive, the family prayed for the dead girl to look after the baby. They didn't know what they asked. She assigned me."

Bucky retched. "You're a guardian angel?"

Jauroran's feet swung off the table. Cruelabra scoffed at the bile. "Disgusting human. I am a guardian demon, more or less. I possess this body whenever he feels stressed or pained, or so many of the feelings he felt today. Usually, he's a happy actor, playing the prince you all know and love. You know the feelings he mentioned that his career has been so much easier than everyone else's, that he's here to test himself because he feels like something unknown has always helped him? That's accurate. He doesn't know I can enter at any time or that I've ensured his success at every turn. I have. And he will win your little show. You will see to it."

"I can't. There's nothing I can do," Bucky's words sputter as he begs.

"You will. Jauroran shall not feel such fear and failure again on your watch." Cruelabra leans closer. "We have no obligation to wait for your death to start the torture. I have taken down many humans. Do you like your identity?" 

Bucky whimpers, "Please, don't do this."

"Jauroran wins. You will protect and help him. Prevent him from feeling isolated and abandoned. Cheat, lie, do all that you must. Oh, and never call someone a scared little girl again. You have one waiting for you, though she's no longer scared. And certainly not little. Your soul belongs to a demon leader, and you will feel what she felt, amplified, for all eternity."

As his face returned to normal, Jauroran shook his head. "Staff? Did I pass out?"

 

Funniest ... well, at least the humorous image goes with my story. 

😅🤷‍♀️ I tried. 😘

IWSG Ghost Stories

https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

I love the horror genre. But ghost stories, pretty much any horror, doesn't send chills up my spine. I lived through some 💩 in childhood. 

But I love the Child's Play movies. Chucky marathon was on USA Network one day in the early 90s. I was watching the movies. My younger brother came in the living room and plopped down beside me.

"Don't watch this. You'll have nightmares."

He just shrugged.

I tried again to make him go away. He didn't.

The commercial ended.

"Fine. But don't cry to mom later and blame me. I tried to warn you."

We watched the marathon together, laughing our butts off. And the next week? Yup, we watched the Nightmare on Elm Street marathon. And Friday the 13th. 

He didn't get nightmares from it.

I didn't get in trouble.

And, years later, as adults, we still go to horror movies together! Lifelong bond. 

We are those really terrible people in the movie theater who double over laughing every time someone jumps or screams or whatever. 

We saw Seed of Chucky like 3 times in a row. We laughed so hard at that movie, omg. 

So what does scare me?

This guy:

Sept  5, 2024 — Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance says school shootings are a “fact of life" 

👻 Ghosts havs nothing in comparison. 

After I had a stroke, when I couldn't remember how to stand up. Literally could not recall how I did such a simple act, one I'd been doing successfully for over 40 years. When was the last time you THOUGHT about standing before just getting up? Unless you've dealt with a related health crisis, probably no thoughts about it since toddlerhood. (I don't mean just noticing time and that you should get going. I mean focusing on physically how the mechanics work.) 

Yeah, the first weeks were scary. 

Glancing at the bank account now that we're a "1/2 of one income" family. Applying for charity care and being told we're 300% above the federal poverty level. (Which we aren't. Even without percents. They're basing it on how we were doing two years ago, before everything went to 💩.) That's scary. I can't even deal with how scary our new budget is. There's absolutely no hope for the future and it is about to get so much worse. I can't even think about it at all. 

Civ VI gameplay plan

I'm not a gaming expert, but I prefer this gameplay plan for the video game Sid Meier's Civilization VI.

I have all the expansions, so this plan is based on that. It aims mainly at peaceful victories, such as in science, diplomatic, or culture. 

Research should be chosen based on nearby resources for the first few turns. Workers getting tiles to earn for your civilization is essential to sustain and grow a city. Beyond that, I've laid out my favorite Wonders, tech, and cultures. 

Hanging Gardens - Ancient - Irrigation - Increases Growth by 15% in all cities. (Must be built next to a River.)
[tech] - Ancient - Animal Husbandry - Reveals Horses.
Oracle - Ancient - Mysticism - Buying Great People costs 25% less Faith (Must be built on Hills.)
[tech] - Ancient - Bronze Working - Reveals Iron

~Code of Laws policy~  Ancient - Military - +5 Combat Strength when fighting Barbarians.

~Craftmanship policy~  Ancient - Economic - +30% Production towards Builders.

~State Workforce policy~  Ancient - Economic - +15% Production towards Ancient and Classical era wonders.

~Political Philosophy policy~  Ancient - Diplomatic The first  Envoy you send to each city-state counts as 2

~Foreign Trade policy~  Ancient - Trader

~Military Tradition policy~  Ancient - Grants Flanking and Support

~State Workforce policy~  Ancient - Government Plaza

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus - Classical - Defensive Tactics- All Great Engineer Great Engineers have an additional charge. (Must be built on a coastal tile adjacent to a Harbor district.)

~Games and Recreation policy~  Classical - Entertainment District 

~Drama and Poetry policy~  Classical - Theater Square

~Theology policy~  Classical - Temple

Alhambra - Medieval - Castles - +1 Military Policy slot (Must be built on Hills adjacent to an Encampment district.)
[tech] - Medieval - Buttress - Dam (It must be built on a Floodplains tile and the River must traverse at least 2 adjacent sides of the future Dam tile.)
[tech] - Medieval - Military Engineering - Reveals Niter

~Feudalism policy~  Medieval - Economic - Newly trained Builders gain 2 extra build actions.

~Mercenaries policy~  Medieval - Military - 50% discount on all unit upgrades.

~Divine Right policy~  Medieval - Economic - +15% Production toward Ancient, Classical, Medieval and Renaissance era wonders.


Forbidden City - Renaissance - Printing - +1 Wildcard Slot Wildcard policy slot (Must be built on flat land adjacent to City Center.)
Potala Palace - Renaissance - Astronomy - +1 Diplomatic Policy slot (Must be built on a Hill adjacent to a Mountain.)
[tech] - Renaissance - Cartography - Allows ocean movement. 

Taj Mahal - Renaissance - Humanism - +1 Era Score from Historic Moment earned after the wonder is complete if that Moment is usually worth 2 or more Era Score. (Must be built next to a River.)
Venetian Arsenal - Renaissance - Mass Production - Receive a second naval unit each time you train a naval unit. (Must be built on the Coast and adjacent to an Industrial Zone district.)

~Diplomatic Service policy~  Renaissance - Diplomatic - +50% Production towards Spies. Spy operations take 25% less time.

~Humanism policy~  Renaissance - Archaeological Museum

~Diplomatic Service policy~  Renaissance - Spy

[tech] - Industrial - Industrialization - Reveals coal
Big Ben - Industrial - Economics - +1 Economic Policy slot (Must be built next to a River adjacent to a Commercial Hub district with a Bank.)

~Civil Engineering policy~  Industrial - Economic - +30% Production towards Builders. Newly trained Builders gain 2 additional Build actions.

~Civil Engineering policy~  Industrial - Economic - +15% Production Production towards all Wonders.

~Natural History policy~  Industrial - Archaeologist, Reveals Antiquity Site Antiquity Sites. 

~Urbanization policy~  Industrial - Neighborhood district 

Eiffel Tower - Modern - Steel - All tiles in your civilization gain +2 Appeal (Must be built on flat land adjacent to City Center.)
[tech] - Modern - Steel - Reveals oil
[tech] - Modern - Radio - Reveals Aluminum
[tech] - Modern - Combustion - Oil Well
[tech] - Modern - Radio - Hydroelectric Dam

~Ideology policy~  Modern - Diplomatic - Enemy Spy levels reduced by 2 in your lands.

~Nuclear Program policy~  Modern - Diplomatic - Spies who steal a tech boost without being detected gain an extra boost.

~Totalitarianism policy~  Modern - Diplomatic - Open Borders with all City-States, and +4 influence points per turn towards earning Envoys.

Biosphère - Atomic - Synthetic Materials - +200% Power Power for renewable energy. (Must be built next to a River adjacent to a Neighborhood.) 

{I LOVE using renewable energy for my cities.}
[tech] - Atomic - Synthetic Materials - Geothermal Plants 

[tech] - Atomic - Combined Arms - Reveals Uranium

[tech] - Atomic - Rocketry - Spaceport
[tech] - Atomic - Rocketry - Launch Earth Satellite (first step toward Science Victory)

~Cold War policy~  Atomic - Diplomatic - Enemy Spy level reduced by 2 in your lands. Your Spy level is increased by 1 for offensive operations.

~Space Race policy~  Atomic - Diplomatic - Rock Bands from other players may not enter your territory.

~Space Race policy~  Atomic - Military - +15% Production towards Space Race projects if a city has either a Military Academy or a Seaport.

~Cultural Heritage policy~  Atomic - Shipwrecks

~Cold War policy~  Atomic - Rock Band

[tech] - Information - Satellites - Solar Farm

[tech] - Information - Satellites - Launch Moon Landing (second step towards Science Victory)
[tech] - Information - Composites - Wind farm

[tech] - Information - Robotics - Giant Death Robot

[tech] - Future - Predictive Systems - Offshore Wind
[tech] - Future - Seasteads - Seastead
[tech] - Future - Smart Materials - Exoplanet Expedition, the fourth step toward winning a Science Victory.
[tech] - Future - Offworld Mission - Lagrange Laser Station, Terrestrial Laser Station

~Information Warfare policy~  Future - Wildcard - 50% production toward Giant Death Robots

~Global Warming Mitigation policy~  Future - Carbon Recapture

IWSG Writing RULES

https://pin.it/6t9WfGvJE

One day, the English teacher started using the word predicate. But never said what that meant. That messed me up.
"What is a Predicate? The predicate of a sentence describes either what the subject is doing or the state of the subject. The predicate must always contain a verb, but it can also include objects, either direct or indirect, and different types of modifiers, such as adverbs, prepositional phrases, or objects." -Google



https://www.facebook.com/share/goEFqNo19UWnonxe/

A gift of a book blanket and a candle on my cake. Part of my 45th birthday.

IWSG AI Take-over

InsecureWritersSupportGroup.com

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/Gscknx9omhYhbbGy





I don't depend on AI to write. It seems unlikely that AI mastering creative endeavors will continue. The desire for AI comes from the want of humans to have our creations take over the tasks we endure out of necessity so we might have more time for activities that give us joy. We long for more culture and entertainment. (Okay... in fairness, that might be my Democratic viewpoint. I'm not a Florida Republican emptying out libraries to prevent persons under the age of 18 from reading. I believe in science, as should be obvious, because I started my answer by sharing a video from a real scientist.) 

---

I haven't done much writing in the last few months. My stroke made typing or holding a pen nearly impossible for a long time. I finally started thinking about writing again. Wait, no, I never stopped, I just didn't try enough to DO. I don't know. Anyway. This opening came to me:

#FirstLines

I'm awakened in the middle of the night by my husband's special ringtone. One eye open, I glance at my phone. Sure enough, it shows my husband's name and number calling me. Curious, as he's asleep beside me, and his phone is on the charger.

(Going for a scifi horror feel. Feedback welcome.)

IWSG writing software and Health wishes and vibes

InsecureWritersSupportGroup.com

July 3 question - What are your favorite writing processing (e.g. Word, Scrivener, yWriter, Dabble), writing apps, software, and tools? Why do you recommend them? And which one is your all time favorite that you cannot live without and use daily or at least whenever you write?

I was DIE HARD into MS Word for, basically, ever. I'm Gen X. Word is what I learned since middle school. That's what I knew.
Then, one day when I was house hunting/ dreaming, I thought, "You know what'd be seriously awesome? If I could write on my main desktop commputer, but later use a laptop and sit on the porch or something for a few hours and write there, but still have access to what I was writing. Without saving on a thumb drive or whatever." And BEHOLD, the CLOUD ☁ came into existence. My love of Dropbox is deep. Then I completed NaNoWriMo for the first time, and bought Scrivener. Then I had to LEARN how to use that. And I like it for several reasons. But I can't use it on my phone. (Don't bother telling me the ways I could. The Android app just doesn't "pet my fur." 😼🐈) 

So, honestly, what I use to write most often is Google Drive. I can easily share with my writer friends. I can access it on my phone or laptop (the Desktop is as dead as the Windows Vista it used). And I can save in multiple formats. Plus, it works with Grammarly. So that's my answer.

---

I was hospitalized on Jan 13, 2024, and diagnosed with a stroke. I was discharged after having a serious asthma attack, and the medical team realized they were killing me.
I can't change what happened.

But I am going to write some positive vibe stuff, how I WISH things had been handled.

• "I see you're squirming pretty hard, and your 9-1-1 call said you needed to urinate. So I'm going to let you use a bedpan quick, while putting in the IV line here in the ER room where you have a fan and can breathe. Breathing is important. We need to make sure you keep breathing while we assess your possible stroke. 

(Instead of forcing me to continue to hold it. Taking me to the CT room, where it was too difficult to breathe, and increased suffering for 15 minutes while trying to get an IV.  Noting I was struggling to breathe, doing nothing about it. And injecting a dye so it felt like I had urinated, making the urge so much more painful, then yelling at me for not being still enough. Did they WANT me to piss in the CT machine? Because it was crazy close to happening.)

• "Your hand is turning purple, and you are screaming in agony. It seems the automatic bp cuff doesn't work on you, and it, in fact, triggers your "fight/ flight response," which increases your blood pressure. We need to lower your pain to reduce your blood pressure, so we're going to try doing it by hand with a cuff that actually fits your arm."
• "You've been admitted. Here is a mini bottle of hand sanitizer so you can keep your hands clean, especially before you eat. We won't let you wash your hands because you can't get up."
• "Hi, I'm one of the nurses. I need to <medical reason>, so I'm going to grab your gown and stare down in it at your chest. 

(Because in literally any other situation, a stranger grabbing your clothing and staring at your chest... that's assault. Seriously, this is unethical behavior in any other situation, no matter how you cut it. I'm not sure I wasn't assaulted, to be honest. But for my mental health, I tell myself there was a reason. I didn't have any leads on, so it couldn't be one was loose. Umm... maybe he was checking that my ribs were still inside my skin. Uhh... I don't know. I reported it, but I don't believe anyone cares.

My mind, in that moment, went to defending myself. I would have slapped him. But my right arm wasn't properly functioning yet. And, he was a BIG guy, his body was on my left arm, rendering it useless. I didn't think of screaming because it takes a lot of air to scream, and I was having enough trouble breathing.)

• "We see you are taking Advair 250/50. That's a pretty serious respiratory prescription. Is there anything we can do to help keep you breathing?

(As opposed to, "oh, we didn't think your asthma was serious." Said after my attack. 

• "Let me get a tape measure. It seems you won't fit into this MRI machine in the position we need. And it'd be too hot. So we'll leave you in your room.

(Instead of trying to cram me in, injuring my elbow, ignoring that injury, and then exclaiming, "oh damn, she stuck." And then sending me back to my room.)

• "I've brought you back to your room. Let me settle you on the bed and make sure you have your call bell and such."

(As opposed to dropping me and rushing out. Why assign a nurse to escort me if she didn't have the time to keep me alive? The asthma attack was 💯 totally avoidable. Half a second to push a table over. I almost died because someone didn't shove a table my way as she rushed out. Take a second to secure the patient you are with. That's a very basic care procedure. Don't put your "fall-risk" patients in dangerous situations. "ABC" - airway, breathing, cardiac -- make sure your patient can breathe and has a heartbeat before leaving the room.)

• "We're discharging you early because you stopped breathing, and we don't have a way to keep you alive. But, since you just took your first five steps today, we recognize you will need some help getting back into your home. So we've called <paramedics, firefighters, physical therapists, wrestlers doing community service, the local bodybuilders association, who the fuck ever> to help get you home safely since you can't walk on stairs yet."
• "We've contacted tech support and they did some minor programming. Now we can put a copy of your MSDS sheet on your chart, along with a note. So no medical person will ever neglect your respiratory needs again."

(Seriously, since we don't use paper, and thus can't paperclip a thing, create an alternative! We have the technology. Even just a note on the chart, people can Google CT-511 themselves. Or just note that I need air 60℉/ 15.5℃ to properly breathe. An anesthesiologist might need to know details, but at least other doctors could avoid needing to use, "😰 CODE BLUE response team!" Just stop trying to make me unalive.)

Primary reasons I (uselessly) reached out to half a dozen lawyers:

1. I should not have had to experience another asthma attack while hospitalized.
2. My elbow should not have been injured, and that ignored, while hospitalized.
3. My right big toe should not have been injured and ignored while hospitalized.
4. I should not have been prescribed an overdose of aspirin.
5. I was discharged so fast that another patient's information was attached to my discharge summary. HIPPA violation?
6. Arrangements should have been made to get me home safely, as I could not yet walk well enough on my own (especially on steps).
7. I wonder if manual blood pressure readings could have been taken in the ER, instead of letting my left arm turn purple. Especially as my right arm wasn't working at the time. Could one hand/ limb have been protected? 
8. Is it possible, in the future, for my respiratory condition to be taken seriously at the onset?

I'm sharing this on my blog because this is my space. I wanted to write about what happened and how I wish I was cared for instead. Mostly, I wish I would have been safe at the hospital, that my breathing would have mattered. I feel scared and helpless. I know no one can do anything about it. But I wish there was a way to prevent anyone else from facing this situation. And I wish I could protect my future self. Not that this blog post accomplishes either of those, but I genuinely don't know what to do other than leave this record here. 

Thanks for reading.

Asthma/ Respiratory Condition
Requires air 60℉ or below

⚕ Diabetic, Stroke. Jamie Dorner
Latex Allergy

Totally useless medical ID bracelet on my wrist. I had on my old one in Dec, but pretty much the same except for the stroke update.

IWSG a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds

InsecureWritersSupportGroup.com

This month, the IWSG asked what kind of offering/service do I think the IWSG should consider offering to members?

I'm happy just having fellow blogger-writers to "hop" to monthly. 

But I wouldn't turn down an evaluation of my query letter. (Scroll to my Q post if you can help.) Or ideas on traditional publication stuff in the latest news. (This Spotify horror, for example: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/kJjmGnD5zYhfD4Zc/)

Maybe book blasts on social media? "Check out this new book by a pal of mine!" 

I don't really know. But stuff to help us feel more secure? 

Ways to make my hand and wrist hurt less after my stroke so I will write more?? ✍️  Oh wait, that's why I see a therapist who gives me exercises to try.