Month / November 2022

by BiSKITs & Gravy

Terra Spirit – World Building Worksheet

by K. Osorio-Teamer

I’m grateful for this blog because it makes me write and research and create. It forces me to do the thing that I say I like to do. Thank you, Biskits n Gravy! Now, follow me along as I try a world building questionnaire for Terra Spirit, the fictional world my protagonist is obsessed with and soon learns is real as hell. In my draft, Olivia is a fan of the book and film and has even started a small business creating cosplay masks and accessories. Through her fandom and the loss of her mentor, Olivia discovers Terra Spirit is based on truth and that she is directly linked to the story. Once I wrote this fun plot point, I had the realization: I will need to write a story so that I can write my story. Double homework. There are far more questions to do, but this is what I have so far. 

Questions from this link: 

https://s3.nybookeditors.com/blog/PDF/World-Building-Worksheet.pdf?mtime=20190820025839&focal=none

Terra Spirit – World Building Worksheet

Time

  1. If you could compare the era of your story to one on earth, when would it be? In the present? In the past? In the future? Past. The Terrans lived in Mesoamerica in pre-Columbian times. 

Location

  1. What is the setting of your world? Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. 
  2. Does it take place in a parallel universe? No, it’s our universe.  
  3. Is it on another earth-like planet? Yeah, Earth. 
  4. Does it occur in another dimension? No, but maybe I should take this into consideration!

Population

  1. Who lives in your world? Are they humans, aliens, animals, insects, hybrids, monsters? Yes, all humans and animals exist. Humans are very in tune with nature. 
  2. What is the population? Good question that I don’t have an answer to. 
  3. Are there multiple races? No, the Terrans were all indigenous, but as time passes and more people come to the area, the Terrans will meet other races. 
  4. Is there tension between the races? The white Spaniards will challenge their faith and practices. 
  5. What distinguishes the races? 
  6. Where do they live? Do they live in small villages or large cities? I envision smaller villages. 
  7. What type of living arrangements do they have? Do they live in houses? Tents? Communes? The Mayans lived in houses made of mud and stone walls with thatched roofs, a roof with dry vegetation. 
by BiSKITs & Gravy

Train for Gates D …. Arriving

by S. L. Jordan


I glanced up long enough to step off the escalator safely before I continued to mindlessly follow the crowd through the tunnel. Ironically enough, for someone with a disdain for Vegas this was my 5th layover in McCarran International Airport this year.

Haphazardly scrolling through my social media, I broke off from the larger group and continued to migrate with a small group towards the train for Terminal D. I was catching an early flight back to Houston, and the airport was slightly deserted. A change of pace from the hustle I usually experience in McCarran.

Beside me, there was a woman struggling with two children under the age of – what had to be 3 whilst her husband waltz along side her pushing an empty stroller. I said a silent prayer for her traveling grace and directed my attention back to my timeline.

As we collectively neared the train the pace of the group slowed considerably. Okay HERE is the crowd that been missing, I thought.

I looked up to see two small groups to the left and right of me. To the left there were doors for a train with a sign that said, “Gates D ….”

Hmmm, that’s odd. There was no estimated time of arrival for the train.

To my right above the doors to the train the sign read, “Gates D – A …. Arriving in 3 minutes … V”. The confusion could be seen across the faces in the crowd. The phrasing was odd. D – A? V? I was flying domestically. What did that V mean? 5? I racked my brain trying to recall if I had seen that phrasing in any other airport. I could not.

There was a subtle collective swaying in the crowd as passengers tried deciding which direction to go. Typical of me, my flight was leaving soon, and I did not have the luxury of waiting to see when the other train was arriving. With purpose in my steps, I made my way to the right side and waited for the train to arrive.

I stepped onto the empty train as it arrived along with the father I walked past earlier. His wife was still trailing behind him with their two toddlers. As the doors were closing, he casually yelled out “I’ll see you guys at the gate”.

What a fucking jerk, I thought.

My sentiment was echoed across his wife’s face as the doors closed.

Leaning against the rail, I turned my attention back to my timeline to continue mindlessly scrolling. There was sharp turn and loud noise as we went through a tunnel – “oh shit, please don’t let this train stop in this tunnel” I silently prayed.

As the train slowed to a stop, I stepped out on autopilot almost as soon as the doors opened. My departure was halted by the passenger in front of me.

“My bad”, I said as I practically ran up the back of their shoes.

I looked up to make sure my apology was received when I noticed the purple sky.

Why am I seeing the sky? Why is it purple? I thought. I had taken an edible before leaving this morning, but it was only 25mg. See, this is why I usually stick to flower. Edibles will have you tripping in public.

It was one of those moments where your brain knows it’s seeing something it shouldn’t, but your processing time is lagged by the oddity itself.

I was inside of an airport and should not be seeing an open sky. Let alone one that was purple. That much I knew. I glanced around at the few passengers that had board the train with me, and the looks on their faces let me know I was not alone on this trip. Literally and figuratively.

I turned around to look at the train that delivered us here, and I caught a glimpse of it as it disappeared back into the tunnel.

The sign on the back of the train read, “Gates D – A : …. Veriterian”

“Veriterian? Where TF is that?” I yelled out loud.

At my announcement, my fellow passengers turned to see that last of the train as it rode off into the dark tunnel.

Author’s Note:

In my usual fashion, I “pants” this post versus “plotting” it. Meaning, its extremely RAW.

Last month, I was in McCarran airport and as I was walking to the train for Gates D there were two trains. One of the signs was misleading, and almost instantly this story started to form in my mind. It’s giving a bit of Harry Potter Platform 9 ¾ with a mix of La Brea. The possibilities are endless with this story, but I CAN NOT start another writing project until I complete the illustrations for #NightwatcherOfKweensPort

Enjoy.

by BiSKITs & Gravy

Musings on Thanksgiving

By: Tony W.

With Halloween only a week past and Thanksgiving fast approaching I thought I’d take a moment of your time to talk about real horror and thankfulness. Like many people I celebrate Halloween the entire month of October by reading and watching all forms of the horror genre. However, a few books, movies and critiques got me thinking beyond the genre. How is horror reflected in our daily lives? The environment, the disparities – food, housing, medicine, etc., along with the justices – racial, social, gender. I’m leaving a great deal off, but you get the gist of what I’m saying. Tomorrow is election day and more than likely because of gerrymandering and other factors the party that cares the least about democracy and the people of this country will win.  I have no quick fix answers or suggestions, it took years to dig this hole and it will take even longer to crawl out of it. The world has been a depressing cesspool – possibly always.

BUT

The horrors we face are not new, more of us are just paying attention. 

As for the thankful part. 

The past has shown us that no matter how dire the state of the world there is and will always be joy to be had. Why? How? Because joy comes from a place within us. It is the delight we feel when . . . fill in the blank. For me I could say, when I watch a giant panda video, or I see a happy human baby, a baby animal, a sunrise or sunset, spending time with family or friends, even laughing with coworkers. During the darkest periods of history humans found a reason to be joyful, to give thanks. I choose to give thanks and find joy where I can while in the mist of this nightmarish horror story that is the state of this country. That’s my choice. I’m confident that during a zombie apocalypse I would find something to laugh at and make fun of. 

It’s all shit but we keep going, truthfully, we have no choice, as the sun rises and sets no matter what’s happening.

by BiSKITs & Gravy

Spooky Prompt

By: IO

Prompt: You run out for candy on Halloween afternoon to find the streets empty and the store abandoned. A single car cruises into the lot and pulls into the spot next to yours.

Story:

Halloween had snuck up on June again. She didn’t know how that kept happening to her. Living in a small town along the north Atlantic coast, Autumn rolled into the valley with a deep chill as soon as the sun set on Labor Day. The first Tuesday of September brought pumpkin flavored everything to the supermarket and the first spattering of yellow leaves stuck on the road like poorly pasted decoupage.  

It goes on like that, days of fall colors and scents and flavors wrapping around each other in every tangible part of her daily life until it feels ordinary. Like that is how the town has always looked and smelled and tasted. The calendar flips from September to October. The leaves fall faster from the spindly branches, turning orange then red then brown. Some piles turn to gray, disguising themselves as pavement. 

Then one day, she goes to open the fridge door and sees the small paper calendar held at eye level by a plastic magnet. Every day in October has been crossed out except the last one. June feels her torso become a void, pulling her insides towards the earth like they would be able to recover from reality there. How did this day come up so quickly? She swore it was still September just last week. 

A peak at the clock revealed that it was later in the day than she realized. Four thirty in the afternoon meant the sun was almost below the horizon. Parents would start bringing their children around before five. And there was no candy in the house. 

June grabbed her keys and phone, barely remembering to lock the front door before getting in her car. The nearest shop was just a few blocks away down the main road. As she turned onto the local highway that cut through town, June noticed she was still wearing her house shoes. With a sigh, she continued driving. It was too late to turn around. 

She almost did, though, dazed at the familiar strangeness of her hometown. There was something off, like an unidentifiable aftertaste. There were no people out and the homes and stores were bare of any decorations. There weren’t even any cars parked in driveways. Just June, rolling along toward a shop she remembered being much closer than it was turning out to be. 

After fifteen minutes into what should have been a five minute drive, June saw the shop she was searching for. Its parking lot was also empty, not even an employee’s car. Was the shop closed during trick-or-treating? Before she could open her door, another car pulled into the spot just to her left. She and the stranger made eye contact for a moment as they both turned off their engines. The man getting out of the next car had a long gray-brown beard that looked like someone twisted their fingers in it before roughly dislodging them. He wore faded jeans with small tears at the knees and a sleeveless concert tee of a 70’s rock band. His outfit didn’t seem like a costume so June assumed he must be getting candy to give out like she was. 

June opened her door as well and stood with one leg outside and one still in the car. Her right hand clutched around the car key, keeping it separate from the others on the keychain. It took a moment for her to get her face to smile and she could feel that it didn’t quite reach her eyes as she looked directly at the man. 

“You here to get candy too? It’s weird, I haven’t seen any kids out yet. You’d think the streets would be flooded with little monsters,” June said. 

The man frowned at her. “What are you talking about?” 

“Candy, for the trick-or-treaters? For Halloween?” June had fully expected to break the ice with the intense man over their last minute candy grab and now floundered for steady ground. None was to be had as the man’s frown got deeper and he asked, “What is Halloween?”