Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now

@professoremily.bsky.social

5.3K followers 2.6K following 8.5K posts

English teacher, writer, lover of cats & dogs. Recovering conservative, now Agnostic Christian Democratic Socialist. Unfortunately stuck in Texas. 🥲 A feed of my writing samples: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:br2rslmo7elrd3hp5dfsx3ye/feed/aaaksewrcngo4

bsky.app

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · Aug 22

Showing off this excellent piece I commissioned from @sarkastiklover.bsky.social! Tysm you rock! ❤️

Noah & his mom Cassie from #Tenement, my dystopian mystery about people living in an infinite building.

"Things don't have to be like this. There could be other ways. There could be other worlds."

Digital illustration by @sarkastiklover.bsky.social of Noah Walker, a young man with medium-dark skin, very short brown hair, and a loose-fitting beige shirt standing in a long narrow corridor with yellow/brown wallpaper with a rose pattern near the base, wooden floors, & a naked lightbulb hanging from a slightly cracked ceiling. He is standing back-to-back with his mom Cassie, a woman with large curly brown hair, who is looking back over her shoulder fearfully toward him. Diagonal cross-sections separate the two, with Noah in the present & colored, while Cassie is in the past & black and white. In Noah's left hand he holds the Nwissy (a compass).

11 16 58

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 3h

2/2 always amazing, but they're always given with heart so they are appreciated.

Kena rarely got gifts for most of his life so he's a little awkward about accepting them. But he loves getting them. He also loves giving them, like Mireia. He particularly loves giving away things from his garden.

Ignoring his statement, she surprised him by abruptly shoving something into his hands. He looked down and saw it was some kind of lumpy clay blob-monster, with two massive horns and a long snakelike nose.
“What…?”
“Do you like it?” she grinned. “I stumbled across the Arts Guild while I was wandering around town, and decided to try my hand at some sculpting. The guildmaster said I have a natural talent.”
“What is it?”
Her face fell. “You can’t tell?”
Seeing her dismay, he hastily tried to backtrack. “Oh—ah, well—um?” He turned the sculpture over a few times. “Is it a… a mammoth’s head?”
“No! It’s Aiaxi.”
“Oh!” Holding it up, he looked at it again. He realized the two “horns” were meant to be wings, and the long “nose” was meant to be the bird’s neck and head. He laughed. “Of course, now I see it.”
“It’s awful, isn’t it?” She scowled. “I knew that guildmaster was just trying to flatter me.”
“No, no. I think it’s—it’s nice.”
“Shut up.” She sighed. “You don’t have to lie, Kena. You’re terrible at it, anyway.”
“I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “No, don’t be sorry. It isn’t your fault I’m apparently not suited for sculpting. Next time I’ll just buy you a real gift instead.”
“Buy me a gift?” He stared at her, baffled. “But—what for?”
“There needs to be a reason?” She shrugged, becoming cheerful again. “Anyway, come—I’ve got our paaset game all set up, and I’m sure I’m going to beat you this time!”

4 8

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 3h

#AwesomeCharacters

I'm sure there are gift giving occasions related to some of the gods of Atalantis, but I haven't invented them 😅

Mireia would rather spend time with someone than get a gift from them, but she loves giving gifts herself! It's one of the ways she shows affection. Her gifts aren't

Charlie Delta (has been a ghost this whole time! 👻) @charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 5h

Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters

Let's talk about gifts!🎁

Are there gift giving occasions in your world? If so, is your character easy to buy for?

What do they like to get? (Items, experiences, other?)

Do they give good gifts to others?

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

1 3 9

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 3h

😂🤣😂❤️

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 4h

Aww 🥹🥹🥹 Thanks Walker, you're too kind!

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 4h

GOSH, both of y'all 🫣😂❤️

a cartoon character from snow white and the seven dwarfs with the words aww shucks

Alt: Bashful the dwarf from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves says AWW SHUCKS and twists his beard while his face turns red

media.tenor.com

1 1

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 6h

You have to wonder......... 🤔🤔🤔

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 8h

Your prompts are great Charlie, I always look forward to them 😊

2 5

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 8h

Y'all wanna see my new badass facial wound? 😎

I got it in a battle with a pirate!

[Pictured: a kitten named Pirate]

Close up picture of a deep scratch on my cheek

A gray/black/white stripey kitten named Pirate stretched across a tile floor

Pirate the kitten in battle mode with my arm captured in his claws and his mouth slightly open showing little teefies

1 14

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 10h

Nothing but the good life from now on! Just living with his happy girlfriend and happy bird friend on their happy island that definitely will stay above the ocean 😇😇😇

1 4

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 10h

KAYBEEPY 😍

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 10h

OH GOSH 😂🤣🫣

Thanks Sam, right back atcha! ❤️

1 2

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 10h

🥹🥹🥹 Thanks Eliwood, that really means a lot!

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 10h

a woman in a blue scrub top is standing in front of a door with #schittscreek written on it

Alt: A woman in a blue scrub top from Schitt's Creek slides up to a counter with a curious look on her face

media.tenor.com

1 3

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 10h

2/2 I think the thing they reflect the most is my view of other people, how beautiful humans are capable of being even while corrupt & hateful people exist. My hopes for love, my struggles to understand myself and my anger at the world's injustice are all in there, & hopefully that means something.

1 7

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 10h

#PretendPanel 10

I love this question ❤️

My hope is, first of all, that I actually finish all the stories I want to tell before I die & manage to get them out in the world. If I do, I hope they can bring the same joy to people that my favorite books have brought me, especially when I was younger🧵

Hiria Dunning @hiriadunning.bsky.social · 20h

#pretendpanel, I'm at a retreat over the next few days so I am incorrigibly absent! However, tell me...

October 10th: Writing and reading are kinds of necromancy. How do you hope your writing will hold/reflect your ghost after you're gone?

#WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors #WritingPrompts

#pretendpanel
a daily prompt tag hosted by @hiriadunning.bsky.social
October 10th: Writing and reading are kinds of necromancy. How do you hope your writing will hold/reflect your ghost after you're gone?
Please support your fellow #pretentpanel posters with replies, likes and reposts
New #pretendpanel questions every Friday and Saturday. Hop in any time!

1 3 14

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 10h

HAHAHA why you got a call me out like this 🤣 Mine was also a doggie movie

Poster for the comedy film SEE SPOT RUN with a brown dog sitting on top of a pet carrier holding a police badge in his mouth, and inside the pet carrier is David Arquette with a facial expression like "*record scratch* Yep, that's me, you're probably wondering how I got here..."

1 2

Reposted by Prof Emily but Spoopier Now

MuZe @muzetrigger.bsky.social · 20h

#PlotTober 10!

I love this question >:)

In the case of Ashe, her parents were killed by a Curse when she was a toddler and she’s been living as a Ward of the Library ever since.

Rosalinde is her official caretaker, so she’s had plenty of time to listen to Rosalinde’s view on life, plus…

1/?

Ange @gunsmile.bsky.social · 23h

#PlotTober Day 10: MC backstory & traumas

Answer the prompt on the card by quoting this post. Remember, answering a prompt is always optional. Even if you don't share it publicly, I hope the prompt encourages you to think about it privately.

#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt #WriteSky

#PlotTober - a WIP plotting game by @gunsmile.bsky.social

10. What are some potential backstory or contextual reasons for your main character(s) having this kind of personality or behaving this way? In other words, what could have caused them to be the person they are at the start of your WIP?

Remember: Use the #PlotTober hashtag, engage with others, and have fun!

1 3 19

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 12h

Which of course just made it worse but again, not thinking clearly 🥲

So Mem goes back & forth on "Maybe it was just a weird joke? No, she wouldn't say that unless she meant it. But did she tell me because I'm the one with the fake? Or did she tell me because Clara's is the fake?" 😵‍💫😫

1 4

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 12h

She always knew. When she told Mem, it was a spur of the moment, not thinking clearly, in the depths of despair kinda thing. But when Mem asked the obvious follow up question of who it is, she realized she'd fucked up & said basically "I don't know. In fact, just kidding, forget I said anything."

1 4

Reposted by Prof Emily but Spoopier Now

Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 12h

#PlotTober
I've rambled about Alexander's a lot, so let me instead tell you some things about his family that come up in 1661:

They couldn't have any children for 15 years, so they coddle this last miracle child. He's both spoiled and overprotected… or at least, they try… +

Ange @gunsmile.bsky.social · 23h

1 3 14

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 14h

8/8 earn forgiveness because she thinks it's her fault specifically that Constance died. Poor Mem has additional trauma from being the only one to know the secret, without knowing if it's Clara or herself who's doomed to go to hell. The question drives pretty much everything she does.
/fin

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 14h

7/? a slacker, lacking interest in anything ambitious, but this detachment is just a defense mechanism: it's safer not to care too much about anything, & nothing really matters. Mem went the opposite direction and became an anxious overachiever; she wouldn't admit this, but it's her way of trying to

1 16

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 14h

6/? subconsciously they both felt like he did, so in a way it was like they lost both of their parents. This also of course drove the girls even closer to each other & made them extremely protective of each other.

The event also exacerbated their natural personalities. Clara grew up to be a bit of

1 15

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 14h

5/? his work as a Shepherd. Mem & Clara were old enough to understand what had happened but still too young to fully grasp it. The loss of their mother + their father's sudden distance made them both desperate to please him to somehow earn back his love. Of course he never stopped loving them, but

1 15

Prof Emily but Spoopier Now @professoremily.bsky.social · 14h

4/? together, very publicly. Her husband Elisgood was there among those who tried to talk them down, so he saw it happen & blamed himself for not stopping her/not seeing the signs earlier. His own trauma caused him to emotionally withdraw from the twins & everyone else, and throw himself harder into

1 15