The Origins of The Unicorned Squirrels

July 19, 2019 — Leave a comment

Ever since I released The Overlord Unicorned Squirrels From Mars in 2018 there have been a lot of questions.

The most frequently asked is ‘why did you write the Unicorned Squirrels?’

Clearly such a question is looking for me to tell of the literary influences which led me to tell the intergalactic rodent tale.

Until recently I’ve resisted the desire to answer such a question. However, lately I don’t think I’ve been getting enough attention and in any event there are rumours circulating that I wrote Unicorned Squirrels as a joke!

So, please, let me take you on the creative journey that gave birth to everyone’s favourite unicorned rodents.

The genesis of the story begun when I was at university studying English Literature.

It was late at night and I was alone in the library. Well, not really alone but to be honest the return I was getting for the effort that a member of the rugby team was putting in I may well have been.

It was during Jack’s laboured thrusts that I begun to pay particular notice to the old dusty books on the shelf. This was in part due to boredom but mainly because of the trajectory that Jack’s enthusiasm had put me on.

There was one book that caught me eye (literally) and so fearing this late night library liaison may end in me losing my sight I removed the book.

My fingers slid over the dark cloth board, the cracks and bumps crying out with years of neglect. The marker ribbon frayed and fragile, barely serving its purpose.

The title, which once proudly stood out in gold embossed lettering now meekly sunk into the dark cloth board.

With a little help from Jack I got closer so I could make out the title

‘Recipes & Poetry Almanac’

The idea behind this publication was to combine cookery and poetry. A detailed recipe would be followed by a number of poems throughout the ages. The length of time it would take you to read the poems is how long you needed to wait for whatever it was you were making to finish cooking.

The idea never really caught on and the series was cancelled after just one volume and never reprinted. It didn’t help that it was printed on highly flammable paper and was cited to be to blame for a number of kitchen fires.

Had I chosen to have my illicit affair with Jack in the canteen then I may have been tempted to rustle up a Lemon Drizzle Cake but instead I decided to read some of the poems.

I gave a cursory glance back at Jack and studying his reddening expression in the gloom of the library I returned to the book to find a poem that would take about a minute or so to read.

I thumbed through the brittle pages and worried that the book would disintegrate I stopped on one particular poem

‘Oh, Look It’s a Squirrel’ by Von Klausenhausen

I never heard of this particular writer before and there is very little information about him on the internet.

What I have subsequently been able to find out is that he was born in 1265 and was very much the contemporary to Dante; indeed they were childhood friends. Hardly any contemporaneous documentation remains but what does gives us a fascinating insight into the relationship between the two.

Klausenhausen’s cheery nature was in complete juxtaposition to Dante’s moodiness. Old school reports refer to Dante as needing ‘to lighten up a bit’ whereas Klausenhausen was described as a ‘optimistic dreamer’.

Their friendship was rather tempestuous and in a postcard Klausenhausen sent to his mother on a school trip he described the tension between them

‘Dante hat mein Käsesandwich gestohlen’ (Dante stole my cheese sandwich).

Sadly, Klausenhausen was to experience tragedy when his father died.

Klausenhausen was raised in a relatively poor household, the only income came from whatever his Father won from wrestling naked at the local tavern.

Strauss Klausenhausen was quite the fighter and well respected. His skills earned him the opportunity to wrestle in Canada in a prestigious tournament .

However, unfortunately for Strauss, an error in translation meant rather than wrestling bare he was in fact going to be wrestle a bear.

A young Klausenhausen had to watch in horror as his father was mauled to death. The family returned home distraught and penniless.

His Mother, in her grief, locked herself in her room and only emerged a few years later to announce she had married the wardrobe.

Klausenhausen’s friendship with Dante had become more strained. The final straw was when Dante asked Klausenhausen to read the first draft of The Divine Comedy. He told Dante that ‘It was too long, made little sense and those studying literature in years to come will despise Dante for even writing such a monotonous prose. Plus it wasn’t even funny.’

Dante did not take the criticism well and declared he no longer wished to be friends and challenged Klausenhausen to write something better.

And so this once great friendship was now reduced to petty rivalry as Klausenhausen set about writing a challenge to Dante.

Oh, Look It’s A Squirrel was to be the first part of an epic narrative poem that Klausenhausen hoped would make Dante ‘shut his moody face’.

The original German title was ‘Oh, Scheiße, es ist ein Eichhörnchen’ which directly translated to English read ‘Oh shit, it’s a Squirrel’.

The poem begins with a man about to start out on a lonely camping trip. Before he steps into the woods he meets a squirrel who is initially friendly. However, as they travel further into the forest, the mood of the squirrel darkens.

The opening line to each verse would begin with ‘Oh, squirrel why..’ The variations that followed represented the changing malevolent mood of the squirrel.

There are clear similarities with Dante’s journey into hell but Klausenhausen brought to his prose his life experiences;

From his cheery childhood optimism

Oh, Squirrel why do you love me so

To his initial friendship with Dante

Oh, Squirrel why do you friend me so

To his falling out with Dante

Oh, Squirrel why do you steal my cheese sandwich so

And finally to the resentment he held to all woodland creatures due to the bear tearing of his Father’s arms

Oh, Squirrel why do you murder me so….you bastard

Sadly Klausenhausen never got to finish the full poem. Following completion of ‘Oh, Look It’s A Squirrel’ he died in a tragic accident whilst helping his Stepfather wardrobe down the stairs.

In her grief of seeing her only son’s crushed body underneath her second husband she burnt her wooden betrothed and spent the remaining years of her life living in sin with a ukulele.

After reading Klausenhausen’s poem I felt numb (although it could have been more to do with how long I had been bent over….or a mild concussion).

I closed the delicate book and turned around just in time to let Jack know that wiping his cock on Tolstoy was not good form.

I had a restless sleep that night, the thoughts of the dark journey into the depths of the forest with just a squirrel for company played heavily on my mind.

The following morning I returned to the library hoping to read Klausenhausen’s work again, this time without the distractions of Jack’s groans.

However, when I arrived, the book was gone. I would have searched for it but there was a fire in the canteen and so we were told to leave.

For years I have searched for this poem that touched me deeper than Jack managed to. Sadly, my search has been unsuccessful.

It seems a shame that Klausenhausen is not spoken of in literary circles as Dante is.

Yet when I was thinking of the perfect antagonist for my story deep in my subconscious he spoke to me.

The Overlord Unicorned Squirrels From Mars : The Complete Movie Pitch

October 8, 2018 — Leave a comment

I present for the first time the Movie Pitch to The Overlord Unicorned Squirrels From Mars in one handy to read blog post.

No need to thank me . You’re welcome. Enjoy.

So the movie opens with a wide shot of a forest or a wood (not sure if there is a difference between a forest and a wood. I mean I have been propositioned many times to get naughty in the local woods but never a forest.)

So the camera takes the viewer inside the woods and in the clearing are a male and female having sex.

I think it’s always good to start a movie with a sex scene. After all there will be a lot of guys out on romantic dates and they maybe feeling a little horny at the prospect of what may lay ahead for them.

Research shows that they are unlikely to pay attention to what is happening on the screen and instead will be preoccupied with thinking up ways they can get their date to touch their junk in the dark cinema.

Therefore a sex scene right off the bat ought to provide adequate encouragement to quickly leave and go knock one out. This would mean that they can concentrate on the rest of the movie and their partner can enjoy the popcorn without the guy’s penis emerging from the kernels.

Now how full on we go with the sex scene will largely be based on the rating we are likely to get. If the squirrel based violence will see us R rated then I reckon go full on HBO with the sex.

We could get all arty with the sex scene. You know close up of writhing skin, fogged breath emerging from mouths all intercut with nature based metaphors like a close up of a worm going into a hole. Maybe keep going back to a confused looking sparrow.

Or we could simply settle for the sight of a pair of buttocks thrusting up and down as the sound of pleasure echoes through the forest (or woods).

As the sex scene reaches its climax we have a close up of the female, her eyes closed, the pleasure on her face clear. As she opens her eyes we follow her sight to a tree and there sits a squirrel with its back to her.

Her male companion speeds up with his thrusting, the moment of release is imminent. Throughout his fervent banging the female’s gaze is firmly on this squirrel.

The camera leaves the copulating couple and zooms in on the squirrel; the sounds of pleasure get louder and as we reach the squirrel it suddenly turns. The viewer is presented with its demonic red eyes, gnarling teeth and oversized unicorn horn on its head.

This monstrous squirrel leaps from the branches ( that shit would rock in 3D) and we hear the cries of pleasure turn into screams of terror.

It fades to black and we move to the titles. There needs to be a kick arse score with this. I read John Williams doesn’t want to do Star Wars anymore so he’ll be all over this shit. If he’s unavailable then my friend Jez likes to piss around on Garage Band on the iPad so probably could create a tune or two.

Make sure the titles are not tacky. This is, after all, a love story.

The opening score really needs to convey the emotion of killer unicorned squirrels whilst at the same time be a little jovial. You know let the viewer it might not be all bad that rodents with bushy tails and oversized horns want to kill us all.

The opening credits end. They need to run for sufficient time to allow the horny guys who had to go and release following the sex scene time to ..ahem…complete. So say at least 30 seconds.

Actually make it a minute so they can pick up something from the confectionary stand.

So the first scene after the opening credits is set in an apartment.

It is the apartment of Detective Dan Duprez. He’s a brilliant policeman but he’s damaged. Three ex-wives and a teenage daughter who doesn’t like him.

Dan solves crimes in an unorthodox way. He’s difficult to work with but no one seems to mind. Nope HR are cool with his inappropriate comments to his colleagues making the working environment rather toxic. His bosses don’t seem to mind that he has on more than one occasion rammed the face of a suspect against the wall of an interview room, only for it to turn out that guy didn’t do it, because Dan gets results.

I understand a brilliant but flawed Detective is nothing new so if you need him to have ‘a thing’. You know, something he can be associated with that separates him from the countless other brilliantly but flawed Detectives….then …I’m thinking he could presently be shacked up with a sex doll.

Hear me out. Firstly we are not just talking about one of those cheap sex dolls but the more modern ones. You know the ones with real feel skin and actual hair.

Next you got to be thinking about the merchandise. We need as many Pop Vinyl characters as possible and ‘Doll’ would look awesome on the shelf next to the Overlord Unicorned Squirrel.

Thirdly, I am quite confident I can fill the 1 hour 30 minutes of runtime with action and killer dialogue. I don’t need to use up screen time by having Nordicesque staring over a lake for five minutes.

However we need to explain crucial plot points to those who haven’t been paying attention.

So I’m thinking Detective Duprez goes home and tells ‘Doll’ about his day, telegraphing all the important plot points that the viewer needs to know….then he has sex with ‘Doll’.

Good eh? Okay but just don’t rule it out.

So in this scene we establish that he is a detective (his badge and gun are hanging on the bedpost), he is a drinker (he kicks over some whisky bottles), he is getting divorced (court papers are on the fridge) and he also has a daughter (photo also on the fridge). He also has opted for a simpler relationship with a sex doll….See, it really does fit in with the character development.

You may disagree but this has the same vibe as a Castaway Man loves Ball thing. Doll will be the new Wilson and she has tits.

So Detective Duprez goes to the fridge and starts drinking milk when the phone rings. He’s summonsed to attend the site of the grizzly slaughter by the unicorned squirrel we saw before the opening credits.

How much more time do I have to fill with this movie? Really? That long?

Okay maybe he can take the scenic route to the murder scene. Lots of atmospheric driving through narrow lanes in the forest with eerie music.

We follow Detective Duprez on his journey to the forest. To show how brilliant but flawed he is we need to have him driving a crap car so I suggest a Yugo 45 (my brother says he can get us one if we need it).

The Yugo 45 would also be a good choice because if we need to stretch this journey (or indeed any journey) out for runtime reasons it’s highly unlikely the Yugo can comfortably go higher than 60mph.

Anyway he eventually arrives at the crime scene and is met by his partner – Detective Bland.

To be honest, there really will be minimal character development with Detective Bland. His sole purpose is to explain police procedures to the audience and to emphasise how brilliant yet flawed Duprez is.

There really is little point to the character and Detective Duprez will spend the entire time just being a dick to him.

Inevitably Detective Bland will be killed off. I suppose just to make him vaguely interesting he can die saving Duprez.

Duprez of course will be all upset about it despite the fact he has been nothing but a dick to the guy. That should be good enough to sell the premise that flawed but brilliant Duprez always saw Bland as the son he never had. He was just being a complete dick because deep down he really loved him.

So killing Bland off following a brutal attack by a Unicorned Squirrel adds deeper emotional context to the complex characteristics of Duprez. Plus we get this awesome line of dialogue;

Duprez: No Bland that horn was meant for me.

Emotional stuff, right?

Anyway I’m getting ahead of myself. So Duprez and Bland walk towards the bodies that have been savagely attacked by a Unicorned Squirrel. There they meet a Forensic Pathologist.

Again no need to waste time with the character of the Forensic Pathologist because literally all we need he or she to do is engage in this line of dialogue;

Duprez: Cause of death?

Pathologist: I won’t be sure until I’ve studied the bodies back at the lab but if I were to guess I would say the multiple horn shaped penetrating wounds all over the body…. It’s either that or natural causes.

Duprez: What sort of weapon could have make such wounds?

Pathologist: I will know more when I’m back at the lab but I would guess it’s nothing man made.

Duprez: Animal?

Pathologist: Animals don’t make weapons but given the ferocity of the attack I would say we are looking at some sort of creature but I’ll know more when I’m back in the lab.

Duprez: What sort of creature could do this?

Pathologist: I have no idea I’m not a zoologist.

This would lead us nicely into Duprez getting back in his Yugo 45 and taking a long drive to go speak with the zoologist.

Yes I know this is all unnecessary because the audience knows it was a Unicorned Squirrel that did it. But do they know the squirrel is from Mars?…Yes it is in the title of the movie but do they know why the squirrels have come to earth . Okay so the Overlord bit in the title probably does suggest they want to enslave us and take over the world.

But do….Oh never mind.

So Duprez drives to the local zoo and there he meets Melissa the zoologist. She’s dressed in incredibly skimpy khaki shorts and her shirt is unbuttoned revealing ample cleavage.

Look, I know it’s 2018 and really we should be showcasing how this woman is clearly intelligent, has studied hard to achieve her choice of career and we should admire her for ability rather than looks, but we ain’t looking to break any glass ceilings with this movie…

Well there is that scene where the Unicorned Squirrels do crash through a glass ceiling to carry out a slaughter but that’s not the point.

So we first see her tending to an animal (whatever one we can get cheap and won’t shit all over the set).

Duprez wastes no time in walking up to Melissa and showing her the crime scene photos. Just like that! Duprez don’t give a shit. He’s cool with just waving pictures of mutilated bodies around but it’s okay because Duprez gets results.

Duprez : Could these have been caused by an animal?

Melissa: Not from any animal I know

Duprez: A rhino?

Melissa: I know rhinos. Besides it’s too small to have been caused by a rhino

Duprez: Are you sure? Are all your rhinos accounted for?

Now people may expect Melissa to respond along the lines of ‘Fuck you. I’ve spent my entire life studying animals and know how big a rhino horn is. Plus I’ve been here since five in the morning doing an entire round of the zoo. I’m educated, I’m competent and I’d know if a fucking rhino was missing , you dick’.

But instead we will have her happily agreeing to show Duprez to the rhino enclosure.

Now the short walk to the enclosure will all be from the point of view of one of those Unicorned Squirrel bastards, who is high up in a tree. Really ramp up the tension.

Melissa shows Duprez both rhinos are indeed still there. Whilst he should have just taken her word for it in the first place, the fact he would want to double check just shows what a brilliant yet flawed detective he is. Detectives who simply accept what a trained, educated, competent female zoologist may say don’t get results..Not like Duprez does.

As Duprez and Melissa are discussing the fact that the rhinos are still present (even though it’s clear to see they are both there) the Unicorned Squirrel gets closer ready to pounce and then….

Birds fly off from the tree startling Duprez. He asks ‘What’s that’ but Melissa does not respond ‘Birds flying away from a tree’. Instead she remarks that ‘Something must have startled them’.

From the point of view of the Unicorned Squirrel we see Duprez looking up. That brilliant, clever man, he knows something is up.

Duprez exits the zoo. Melissa watches him leave and then turns to walk away when suddenly down falls a….dead mutilated bird. (Yep we are going to troll the audience in thinking it’s a Unicorned Squirrel but it’s not. Those fake scares always work, trust me).

She kneels down to examine the dead bird before slowly looking up at the tree. We know danger lurks there, will Melissa be okay?

The scene cuts to Duprez driving his Yugo back to the Police Station. When he arrives back at the station there is a homeless man outside.

We could, of course, look to explore the social and economic reasons that has led this poor chap to endure a life of deprivation. We could seek to pass comment on a system that allows such hardships to occur. But we’re not.

Nope. The guy’s homeless so he’s going to be shouting about all manner of crazy bollocks. With his long beard and shabby clothes he’ll be screaming ‘They’re here!’ and ‘We’re doomed!’

Despite the fact that Duprez is paid to serve the residents of this town, which includes the homeless guy, he just pushes past him. Because Duprez don’t give a shit.

If you are indeed still reading this pitch with fervent enthusiasm then you may be asking ‘But wait the title suggests interplanetary warfare yet this so far has been a procedural Police drama’

Well, in the next scene we really move into the sci-fi by switching the action to a Secret Astrological Research Centre. Yes, it maybe a small town but when you think about it it’s an obvious place to put such an important and secret facility.

We meet Sophie who is dressed in a white lab coat and unnecessarily short skirt. The lab coat will immediately indicate to the viewer that she is a scientist.

When we first meet her she is looking through a telescope. This will clearly establish she is a space scientist.

Now we do have an important back story to tell with Sophie but I’m acutely aware we need to get back to the gratuitous slaughter of people no-one gives a shit about by the Unicorned Squirrels.

How we achieve this is by introducing another character who can best be described as a ‘dodgy bastard’. We will make it immediate apparent that this guy is odd as he will be bald, have an eye patch and will walk with a limp. He too will be wearing a lab coat. His name is Professor Schrinkle.

From his point of view we see him creep up on Sophie who is attentively looking up at the stars.

“Still trying to find him” He asks in a creepy voice which startles Sophie.

What follows is important dialogue between Sophie and Schrinkle.

Sophie: I will never give up looking for my Father who disappeared during that mission to Mars when I was just a little girl.

Schrinkle: I admire you Sophie. Ever since I was lead scientist on that mission to Mars I have often wondered what happened to your Father.

Sophie: I know you and my Father were good friends and people blamed you for what went wrong. But I know you would have never done anything to endanger him. You’ve been good to me and I remember you ensuring me and mum were okay. You spent a lot of time coming round our house to check on my mum and you also paid for me to make it through Astrological Scientist School. I’m grateful for everything you’ve done.

Schrinkle: How is your Mother by the way? Is she still single? Does she still yoga by that open window on a Tuesday?

He puts his robotic hand on her shoulder (I’ve decided he should have a robotic hand) and whispers “We will find out what happened to him”.

She stands up and moves to take a shower. The owners of this Top Secret Astrological Research Centre decided, following a team meeting, to install a shower after concerns about Sweaty Steve’s personal hygiene were raised.

Having had no real nudity in the movie since the opening scene we need to unnecessarily flash a bit of flesh.

Plus this does allow us to emphasise the creepiness of Schrinkle who watches Sophie through the frosted glass. The sound of creaking metal joints will imply that Schrinkle is pleasuring himself with his robotic hand.

There we have it, all the main players in this emotional melodrama are now in place. It’s time to take it up a notch.

Exciting times!

We enter the second act with important scenes exploring the emotional complexity of the characters interspersed with many Unicorned Squirrel based deaths.

Duprez goes to visit his teenage daughter and is immediately faced with hostility from his ex-wife. She clearly did not appreciate that he is brilliant but flawed.

She has found stability with Derek but it’s important that the viewer has absolutely no respect for Derek.

Sure, he’s reliable, loyal and has provided a safe and peaceful haven for Duprez’s ex wife and daughter. He’s been able to remove them from a chaotic life that ultimately would have seen them spiral into a pit of depression.

He’s stepped up and provided a stable home; giving them all the love he can.

But, fuck you Derek, you’re so boring. When Duprez acts like a dick towards Derek, we won’t care. There’s never been a super hero called Mr Dependable. Batman never became a vigilante because he was tortured by which rubbish bin was being collected that week.

And no-one is going to give a shit when Derek gets brutally murdered by a Unicorned Squirrel.

Duprez wouldn’t have got killed – you loser.

We cut to a scene of a sweet old lady walking her dogs in a park. She lets them off the leash and they run towards the trees. There is rustling of leaves and a high pitched yelp.

The old lady calls out for her dogs. They don’t come. Concerned she walks amongst the trees and there she sees the mutilated corpses of her beloved pets.

With tears in her eyes she looks up at the tree and we see a Unicorned Squirrel pounce down on top of her.

Poor old lady. A retired nurse who, when her husband of forty years died , dedicated her life to a variety of charitable causes. Her five children, ten grandchildren and two great grandchildren are going to be devastated when they learn of her gruesome death. But you’re more upset the dogs died, right?

Duprez arrives at the scene, abandoning his theory that an animal is responsible, he now believes this is the work of a sadistic serial killer.

He examines the bloody consequence of the attack and speaks for the viewer when he exclaims “What sick bastard would do this to a dog?”

Some pointless dialogue and unnecessary explanations will follow from Bland and the Pathologist.

We move back to the Secret Astrological Research Centre where Sophie is getting nearer to solving the puzzle as to what happened to her Father.

We will know this by her exclamations of ‘Strange’ and ‘That’s not possible’. We won’t no exactly what is strange or indeed what isn’t possible. I’d like to say it’s to add a bit of mystery but to be honest I haven’t sorted out all the science stuff just yet.

But this scene is all about Sophie being curious, especially about that strange mechanical sound she hears whenever she turns her back on Professor Schrinkle.

Back to the action now as we cut to an amorous couple; a cheerleader and a football player about to indulge in some carnal pleasure in the woods.

She kneels down ready to perform some expert oral action. The guy throws his head back with pleasure and when he opens his eyes staring back at him is a Unicorned Squirrel, whom piledrives him in the skull.

Blood spurts everywhere which rains down upon the screaming cheerleader who tries to run away before she is also brutally murdered.

Duprez attends concerned about the escalation in murders. He wants to catch who has done this because Duprez gets results.

We quickly move back to the zoo and Melissa is doing zoo like stuff (just in case anyone has forgotten she is a zoologist….although the khaki shorts and the giraffe in the background should be enough).

An evil lurks in the zoo and from the point of view of a bastard squirrel we see it creeping up on Melissa ready to pounce.

Is this the end for poor Melissa? Could this movie be about to get its first meaningful death?

Despite the Unicorned Squirrels being pretty deadly and accurate thus far, for reasons no-one can explain or indeed care about, this particular squirrel misses Melissa as it lunges for her.

What follows is a dramatic and tense chase round the grounds of the zoo. The squirrel bastard relentless in its pursuit. Melissa hides in a room, out of breath..scared. Just when she thinks it is safe…..BAM… A horn pierces the wall.

She screams and tries to runs away but she’s trapped. All she can do is helplessly watch as the squirrel burrows through the concrete. It’s demonic red eyes and gnarling teeth are clearly visible.

She backs into the corner of the wall but the squirrel has its prey just where it wants it. It bares it’s teeth and launches itself towards her.

Then…..BANG….Melissa hits the squirrel with a conveniently placed metal tray. The squirrel is knocked unconscious and then, for good measure, she repeatedly stamps on the fucker.

Back at the Police Station, Duprez is staring thoughtfully at the Evidence Wall. He mumbles that he is ‘missing something’ , but what?

Outside there is a screech of tyres and in walks Melissa holding a bag, her top has conveniently , yet somewhat inexplicably , been ripped in the squirrel attack to show off more flesh.

She tips up the bag and the now dead (and somewhat stamped on) Unicorned Squirrel falls onto the table.

“Here’s your killer!” she pronounces.

Duprez, brilliant as always, enquires what type of animal this.

Breathlessly Melissa responds “This is not any species I know. This is alien.”

And with that revelation we move towards the Final Act.

Melissa points to the dead Unicorned Squirrel to Duprez, declaring that it is an alien species. Now, Duprez in his flawed but brilliant way, is having none of it.

Forgetting he has zero qualifications to even attempt a conversation about alien species, he’s straight up in there suggesting Melissa is crazy for saying it.

Then she shows him the green blood that is oozing from the temple of the Unicorned Squirrel (which occurred when Melissa repeatedly bashed its head in with a metal tray).

Even Duprez knows that green blood can mean only one thing….Alien; well that or you really need to be seeing a Doctor.

Duprez is now all happy to accept its an alien species (not that he really had any justification for disputing that in the first place) and he wants to know more.

Despite the very intelligent Melissa pointing out it was alien, Duprez decides someone else needs to provide more information, so it’s off to the Secret Astrological Research Centre.

Yes, I know it’s meant to be secret but it’s a small town and half the residents work there. Plus there is a whopping great telescope sticking out the roof.

Duprez and Melissa leave the Police station , pushing past the crazy homeless guy still banging on about someone coming, and drive to the Secret Astrological Research Centre.

Despite it being a top secret facility owned by the Government which clearly Duprez does not have clearance for he just storms straight in because Duprez don’t give a shit. Strangely, the people paid to actually stop anyone walking in to a top secret facility don’t really put much effort into stopping him.

Inside he meets Sophie and slams the dead Unicorned Squirrel on a table. WHAM! Just like he couldn’t care less about showing a member of the public photos of decapitated bodies, he’s just waving around dead alien corpses for all to see.

“We think it’s an alien” says Duprez, conveniently ignoring the fact that about ten minutes ago he was ready to have Melissa certified for suggesting such a thing.

Sophie begins to examine the squirrel corpse saying things like ‘interesting’, ‘curious’ and ‘I wonder’ (Like with the science stuff I haven’t got the alien bits all sorted yet but these vague sentiments will be enough to make the viewer think that some mysterious shit is going on).

They are interrupted by Professor Schrinkle. He’s being all creepy and when advised by Duprez of the alien species he offers to help in anyway he can. Schrinkle doesn’t mean it because he is a creepy lying bastard.

It is agreed that Sophie would perform an autopsy on the alien squirrel because that is apparently what Astrological physicists do. Melissa agrees to stay and help and promises to let Duprez know as soon as they find anything out.

Working into the night Sophie and Melissa start talking, it will be a great way to fill in some back story without taking up much time.

Having only just met these girls are not shy of over sharing. Sophie tells Melissa about her dad who was an astronaut that went missing on a one man mission to Mars. She explains how it destroyed the family and left her with a numb feeling of emptiness all her life.

Melissa tells Sophie she is a lesbian.

They then have sex.

Hot, naked lesbian sex.

Putting aside the appropriateness of having sex in a place of work , especially one where you are about to cut open an alien squirrel, there should be nothing wrong with two women expressing their desire for each other.

Love is love and this should be seen as the most natural thing ever.

However, from the point of view of getting people to watch the movie, a hot lesbian sex scene should see it ripped and posted on a website like Pornhub.

A number of guys eager to knock one our before their wife comes home or mum calls them for dinner will watch it. They will then assume that Overlord Unicorned Squirrels is full of hot sex.

They will of course find out that it just has a pair of male writhing buttocks at the start, a solo shower scene and a bit of lesbian sex. But we won’t care because they would have paid their money.

It’s not as if someone is going to post a review on Rotten Tomatoes saying ‘Can only jerk off one and a half times to this ‘.

Anyway, Melissa and Sophie have sex featuring saxophone music, heavy breathing and the sound of a mechanical arm going back and forth.

Melissa awakes from the post-coitus slumber and wraps a sheet round her. Despite not giving a shit about the alien squirrel when she was all horny now that she has had a few orgasms she decides to take a look….. But it’s gone!

She alerts Sophie to the absence of the previously dead alien Unicorned Squirrel. Where could it be?

Back in town, Duprez is just driving around in his Yugo when he gets a call on the radio. There are multiple reports of a disturbance at the bowling alley. Reports of rodents…with horns.

“Shit!” Duprez says performing a handbrake turn in his Yugo “It’s Thursday night. That’s the Mother and Daughter Bowling Tournament Night. I got to get there”.

To really ramp up the tension what we need to do is add a few scenes before Duprez gets the call of a squirrel disturbance.

In these scenes we will see a bunch of random people enjoying themselves at the Mother/Daughter bowling tournament. The mere fact we are paying attention to anybody here is a clear signpost that they are all going to die.

So we have the elderly mother and daughter couple. The daughter is 80 and the mother is 105 and they were at the very first Mother/Daughter bowling tournament; indeed they won it in 1972. Anyhow, they are going to be killed by squirrels.

Next you have a touching scene where a daughter tells her mother that she loves her very much. The mother holding a bowling ball turns and smiles, it’s a loving smile. Then a squirrel emerges from the bowling ball machine and pierces the mother’s head with its horn. Heartbreaking stuff.

We do of course need a loveable fat guy. I’m acutely aware there has been no loveable fat guy in this movie. Let’s change that by introducing Al. He works at the bowling place. Everybody loves Al.

Al tries to save everyone by grabbing the shot gun he keeps under his desk (no one has ever questioned why he has a gun at a bowling alley). Anyway he shoots a few squirrel bastards before ushering a number of patrons to safety into a store cupboard.

Locking the door he turns to utter the words ‘We’ll be safe in here’, right before numerous squirrel horns shoot through the wooden door and spear him to death.

Poor Al. He only had a few days left to retire before he can devote more time to that orphanage he was building.

As we know Duprez’s ex wife and daughter are at the bowling alley. Also there is Derek. You remember Derek, right? Loyal , loving Derek who has provided a stable home to Duprez’s ex wife and daughter.

Now he could be at home watching sports or be out with the boys drinking. Yet he has chosen to pop along to the bowling alley to support the love of his life. What a nice guy. Yet you’re still not going to give a shit when he dies.

But how are Duprez’s ex wife and daughter fairing in this squirrel onslaught? Surprisingly well.

Whilst others run for their lives they have the wherewithal to knock out a few squirrel bastards with hefty swings of a bowling ball.

Yep. Poor Al couldn’t see those squirrels off with a shotgun but a forty year old mother and her teenage daughter can get the job done with a bowling ball (a 12 pound one if you’re interested).

Strangely, the squirrels had been launching at people with pinpoint accuracy yet when it comes to Duprez’s ex wife and daughter they keep on missing.

Finally, Duprez enters the bowling alley. Despite agreeing to protect the entire town he’s more concerned with the welfare of his ex wife and daughter. No one seems to care much about that and are happy another guy has turned up with a gun (the other gun owner, Al, is presently hanging from the door like a macabre pin the tail on the donkey).

Duprez’s ex wife and daughter are both very happy to see Duprez. This proves that even if you are an absolute dick if you try to save someone during a squirrel apocalypse that’ll make you an okay guy.

However , these squirrels are cunning bastards. They circle around Duprez, his ex wife and daughter. This is strange because they could just all launch at them, giving them zero chance of survival. But now they are doing this stalking thing…..it’s for dramatic effect.

Duprez and co are in danger. Can anyone save them? Well Bland (remember him? No didn’t think so) tries to help. He got the call to assist and left his pregnant girlfriend at home. She told him to come back in one piece. He promised. The squirrels rip him in two. Therefore, not only did Bland not do very well at saving anyone, he lied to his pregnant girlfriend.

The squirrels approach the trapped Duprez family. He’s out of bullets. The ex wife has thrown the bowling ball (her motive remains unclear).

Unarmed. No where to go. Who will save them?

Derek. That’s who . Derek will save them.

He jumps in between them and waves a pole at the squirrels. Turning back he tells the previously trapped Duprez clan to run.

Now Duprez ought to be saying ‘No Derek I am employed to look after all residents including you. You go’

But he doesn’t. He grabs his ex wife and daughter and runs out of the bowling alley while Derek bravely fends off the squirrels.

The ex wife looks back to see the squirrels pounce on Derek. She screams and Duprez pulls her to the car saying there is nothing that can be done for him (you didn’t really try Duprez).

Poor Derek. Died saving the woman he loves….. You still don’t give a shit he’s dead.

They reach Duprez’s Yugo and get inside but they are not alone. Squirrels surround the car. A few take a shot at the vehicle piercing the metal. There is no escape. A violent and bloody death is inevitable.

Then suddenly they stop. The squirrels stand on their hind legs… something is calling them, but what?

They all begin to run away. Where are they going? Duprez wants to find out and decides that his ex wife and daughter are safer with him following every single one of the killer Unicorned Squirrels than maybe back at the police station or somewhere.

Soon Duprez realises where the squirrels are heading…. The Secret Astrological Research Centre. But why?

The action moves back to the Secret Astrological Research Centre.

You will recall that shortly after having inappropriately timed hot lesbian sex, Melissa and Sophie realise that the most certainly dead Unicorned Squirrel is in fact not dead and has gone missing.

Whilst it could be possible for them to play out the entirety of the scene naked, it is likely to be considered unnecessarily gratuitous. So have them slip on an ultra skin tight space suit that just happens to be laying around.

Despite the fact that the suit can zip all the way up both Melissa and Sophie, realising that time is of the essence to hunt for this squirrel, only zip the front up halfway thus displaying cleavage.

Some may argue that in itself is gratuitous but those same people would be moaning if Melissa or Sophie met a bloody end because they were too busy concentrating on a zip than worrying about a killer squirrel.

They notice drops of green blood and choose to follow it. For reasons that will be unclear they follow the trail by torchlight rather than turning the main lights on.

This, of course, will give us the opportunity for a tense scene as they follow the trail along a spooky dark corridor. Lots of unnecessary fake jump scares can be had.

Eventually, they reach a door. The trail of blood stops. The squirrel is inside!

Sophie remarks she’s never seen this door before. Melissa chooses not to raise questions as to how observant Sophie is. Nor how a squirrel managed to open a door. There’s no time for that. Besides, they are more curious about the purple glow that emanates from under the door.

They enter the room and see Professor Schrinkle, now in full mad scientist mode. He’s unnecessarily pressing buttons and pulling levers. To his right is the cause of the purple glow….a large portal that hovers in mid air.

There are squirrels in the room but their attention is not on Sophie or Melissa. The squirrels sit poised in a semi-circle staring at the portal. What are they looking at? What are they waiting for?

Before we can answer that we must first deal with Professor Schrinkle who, as he is now full mad scientist, must embark on a really pointless monologue.

To be honest what he will say will make no sense but I’m guessing that by this point of the movie no one will really care. If need be just keep cutting back to Sophie and Melissa with their cleavage showing to sustain interest.

Anyway here is the monologue:-

Schrinkle: They didn’t believe me Sophie. They blamed me. For everything. But I knew there was something out there.

I didn’t want your father to die Sophie. It wasn’t my fault. But they blamed me.

I loved your Mother, Sophie. If they hadn’t blamed me maybe she could have loved me too.

I watched you grow up without a father into the beautiful , attractive woman you are. So intelligent and with all the curves in the right places. At the same time your Mother got old and wrinkly and I realised I love you.

But how could you love me? After what they said I had done!

Well I’m going to show them. Show them all. It’s coming. It cannot be stopped.

Sophie and Melissa look into the portal and there moving closer is a giant Unicorned Squirrel. Demonic eyes, teeth large. It must be the size of a skyscraper. It is the Overlord.

Sophie: You’re mad. That thing will kill us all

Schrinkle: I can keep you safe . Come with me….and you can bring your friend next to you if you want.

Sophie: You’re insane. I could never be with a monster like you

Schrinkle pulls out a gun and says “If you won’t be with me then you must die”.

Just as Schrinkle goes to pull the trigger someone hits him from behind, knocking him out. But who is their saviour?

Hey…It’s the crazy homeless guy (they really need to up their security in this facility).

He looks at Sophie. She looks at him

“Dad?” She says with tears in their eyes and they embrace. Emotional stuff.

Now of course we are going to have to deal with a few obvious plot holes here which thankfully can be done by way of another monologue.

Former crazy homeless guy : Oh Sophie I remember it now. That portal must have kickstarted my memory.

I remember going to Mars….seeing those things and knowing I had to warn everyone.

Something must have happened. I don’t know what but I returned to Earth with only fragments of my mind. I thought I was going crazy.

But I’ve found you now. I’m here. I will keep you safe.

It’s at this point a squirrel, who are well known not to care for emotional reunions , launches itself at Sophie’s Dad.

It burrows it’s horn up through his anus and out of his stomach.

Sophie is understandably rather upset by this. Having just been reunited with her long lost father she is a little pissed she has just had to watch him die from a Unicorned Squirrel climbing up his rectum.

She takes out all her frustration on this turn of events by stamping the fuck out of the squirrel. She then crumbles to the floor in a sobbing mess.

Melissa is equally confused with what is happening. Totally unprepared on how you comfort someone who has just witnessed their father die by squirrel, she also is unsure if now would be a good time to enquire if they will be having sex again later.

Instead, Melissa turns to the more pressing problem of the extremely large squirrel about to come through the portal.

“Sophie. Help. We’ve got to shut this portal off” She cries.

Will they do it? Or will the world crumble under the ferocious might of the Overlord Unicorned Squirrel?

Where is Duprez? And what of the hordes of squirrels making their way towards the centre?

How will it end? Does anyone actually still care?

The enormous Overlord Unicorned Squirrel is making its way to earth. If he or she – let’s not go assuming a murderous horned squirrel’s gender now – arrives it will be armageddon.

Can Melissa and Sophie turn off the portal to prevent this monster from entering the earth’s atmosphere?

Well they try.

Recovering surprisingly quickly from witnessing the brutal death of her father she had literally just been reunited with after many long years, Sophie springs into action to turn off the portal.

Now I’m guessing that no actual scientists will watch this movie so we can have Sophie say all manner of crazy shit that actually makes no sense.

Here’s the dialogue:-

Melissa: What are we going to do?

Sophie: If I can reverse the polarity and reduce the quantum flux then perhaps the gravitational constant will cause the portal to fall in on itself. But I’ll need you to control the heliocentric ionosphere.

Melissa: Great let’s do that

See putting together science type words randomly in a sentence works. Unless someone sits down and actually studies the dialogue we ought to get away with it.

Melissa and Sophie begin to shut down the portal, but wait, Schrinkle is awake! What maniacal thing is he about to do?

He crawls slowly to the machine and reaching out his mechanical hand he….. switches the machine off. Oh, the devilish Professor Schrinkle.

Melissa and Sophie look perplexed and then suddenly Schrinkle’s skeletal hand grabs at Sophie’s leg.

We cut away from this tense scene to see what Duprez is up to. He’s merrily chasing the horde of squirrels in his Yugo.

They reach a cornfield and the trail goes cold. Where have the squirrels gone? Duprez stops the car and turns off the engine. The headlights dimly illuminating the cornfield.

Then the squirrels emerge from the corn, circling the Yugo, ready to rip the occupants to shreds. Despite the car working perfectly all week and only recently having a full service the car will not start. They are trapped! They are at the mercy of the squirrels.

Duprez checks his gun, just one clip of ammo left and hundreds of squirrels. He’s still going to give it a go because Duprez don’t give a shit.

The squirrels get ready to pounce but then….. the army arrive!

Thankfully there is a fully operational army base just the other side of the cornfield and they come with tanks and machine guns and blast the squirrel bastards.

Yep, this town also has its own army. It really is a wonderful place to live.

We keep cutting back and forth between scenes of the army slaughtering the squirrels and Schrinkle and Sophie fighting.

She’s kicking at him and he’s just taking the opportunity to grope at her ass and tits. Meanwhile, Melissa works out that Schrinkle turned the machine off and sets about switching it back on.

However, there are squirrels blocking the switch. Back and forth the action goes of soldiers v squirrels, Sophie v Schrinkle and Melissa booting some squirrels out the way so she can get to the switch.

How long these scenes go on for is largely dependent on how much more runtime we have left to fill.

It concludes with the army vanquishing the squirrels, Sophie smashing Schrinkle’s face in with her stilettos (the ultra skin tight space suit has stilettos) and Melissa turning the switch back on.

But as the machine powers back up Schrinkle, a bloody mess, laughs and says “You’re too late. It’s entered the earth’s atmosphere. You’ve lost”.

Now we’ve covered a lot of deep and meaningful themes in this movie. Possibly, we could bring some political intrigue into this movie.

We move to the White House where the President of the United States of America has just been informed of the pending invasion of the Overlord Unicorned Squirrel.

President: We must nuke the bastard

Random staff member: Sir, we don’t have any nuclear weapons.

President: What?

RSM: Well they are quite dangerous and expensive to have around so we actually haven’t had any for years and we just say that we have. No one has ever really questioned us actually owning any.

President: So we don’t have nukes?

RSM: No, Sir

President (on telephone): Get me Britain…… Hey Prime Minister you heard about this gigantic monster

Prime Minister: Oh yes. Such a brute. We have had an emergency meeting where it was agreed that Beatrix Potter had lied to us.

President: You going to nuke it?

Prime Minister: Oh heavens no. Such frightful things those nuclear weapons. No, we have never had any.

President: What the hell do you keep in those subs then?

Prime Minister: Oh just old souvenirs from previous Royal Weddings. But we have a plan.

President: Which is?

Prime Minister: We shall wait for it to arrive and tell it to jolly well bugger off. If that does not work we intend to throw rocks at it.

President (to random staff member): What about anyone else? The EU?

RSM: They need all member states to agree on a motion that they will have a look around the place to see if they could find nuclear weapons. A meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday… although France said they might not be able to make it.

President: North Korea?

RSM: They said ‘nah we’ve just been shitting with you, mate’

President: Russia?

RSM: They pretended to be an answerphone message but we could hear them giggling.

President: So there’s no one?

RSM: I’m afraid not sir

President: Then God help us all

Dramatic stuff.

We watch as the monstrous, evil Overlord Unicorned Squirrel hurtles towards earth.

Close ups of helpless faces of our main characters, scenes of people watching this terrible event unfold on televisions all across the world.

This is it. The end. The earth will perish at the hands of a rather large squirrel.

All hope is lost. No one can save us.

But then…….

WHAMMMM!!! Out of nowhere a red Tesla Roadster slams into the Overlord Squirrel moving him away from the earth.

Good job someone decided to stick one of them up in space.

The movie concludes with joyous scenes as the world celebrates it will not become a large squirrel’s bitch.

Duprez hugs his ex wife and daughter. Yes, near armageddon is enough to make her forget he is a total dick.

Finally, Melissa and Sophie kiss passionately and in that moment Sophie forgets that the skewered corpse of her father lay only inches away from her. Epic music and the sound of a mechanical arm going up and down plays over their passionate kissing.

Roll end credits.

Of course we need an end credits scene so picture this….

Deep space. Silent. We hear the echoing sounds of Space Oddity and slowly into view comes the Roadster with the Overlord Squirrel wrapped round the bumper. It looks dead. Then, suddenly it opens its eyes.

And then back to a list of people who unashamedly made this movie

At the end the obligatory ‘No squirrels were harmed in the making of this movie (even though they are bastards)’.

Followed up with Unicorned Squirrels will return in ‘Hiberannihilation’

Right?

No?

Okay then.

Sad that it’s over? Well there are a few more Squirrel posts for you to enjoy!

Cool Character Concepts drawn by the talented Robert Ahmad.

Or perhaps you are wondering what happened to Doll? All is revealed in this Deleted Scene

Maybe you want to see the Trailer

The Randomness Of Selina : Year 2 Day 22 : What Was MetaWrite6000 All About?!

September 18, 2018 — Leave a comment

Regular readers and people who may have gone scrolling through might be wondering ‘You know that MetaWrite6000 thing you did? What the hell was that all about?!’

This of course is a fair question and one I will gladly answer.

Prior to the MetaWrite6000 posts my website was in disarray, littered with incomplete stories that had no real semblance of order. I was behind on writing Fell8 and indeed my creativity was at a bit of a lull. I was pretty much on the verge of just saying fuck it and giving up the website.

Then one evening (I probably had drunk alcohol) I thought wouldn’t life be easier if I just could connect something to my brain that would automatically write down all my thoughts.

A quick look on Amazon made it clear this did not exist (or certainly not on Prime one day delivery) but still I imagined how easier it would be for writers if we simply could think a story.

And in that moment of wishful thinking the idea for MetaWrite6000 arrived. A few Jack Daniel’s later and I had a whole project. It was perhaps my intoxicated enthusiasm for the project that led to me ignoring one pretty obvious flaw in my otherwise great plan.

The idea started simple I would create a fictitious neurological aid for writers – The MetaWrite6000.

That was the easy part and I put together the mock adverts and transcripts of early MetaWrite6000 logs.

I also proudly announced on Twitter that I was now powered by the MetaWrite6000. Clearly those who follow me know me too well because no-one really questioned that (or check to see if I was okay)

With the first part of the plan successfully completed (and still unwise to the major flaw that clearly existed) I moved onto Part Two.

This was slightly more complex but the main premise is that the MetaWrite6000 would break my website. I changed my website design and incorporated smashed versions of all my graphics.

I as the author will then end up in some digital coma and effectively be stuck in my website. It was all going to be beautifully meta.

What would then follow is a number of stories where I am the main character. Each story would be broken up with conversations with MetaWrite6000. The conclusion would be my website being put back to normal.

The first story was myself as a stripper forced to give a lap dance to a guy, who if he gets aroused would open the gates of Hell.

There was also to be a story where I would me a Miss Marple type character solving a murder at a country house. There would even be a fantasy adventure where I was not the princess but a warrior goblin.

I would also be paying a visit to Fell8 and Unicorned Squirrels. The idea being that by linking it to my earlier work my entire website would become the story. I could reference the incomplete stories and the out of place posts.

It would become a jumping on point for new visitors to my website and at the end of it should have left it in a better state. Everything would now have a wider purpose of telling a much grander story.

So with alcohol fuelled enthusiasm I set about writing the first part ‘I Meta Girl At The Gates Of Hell’.

I quite like the first part but as it stands it remains the only published part to the wider project.

This is because shortly after publishing the first part that major flaw, you know the one that was pretty obvious from the start dawned on me.

My website had got into the mess it had because I was chaotic which was exacerbated wildly by my work commitments.

Whilst the MetaWrite6000 was an exciting project the chaos and other commitments were still there. I simply could not devote the time it needed to make it work.

I therefore abandoned the entire project before it really got going.

But the early parts still remain on my website as a reminder of the project that could have been.

The Randomness Of Selina Year 2 Day 21 : The Glory Of Writing Twitter

September 17, 2018 — Leave a comment

I’ve mentioned it on many occasions but Writing Twitter is a glorious place.

I’d go so far as to say it’s the best place on Twitter with the nicest people you could hope to meet (unless you try to copyright a normal word).

Whilst the occasional troll sneaks in to see what all the noise is about it’s a safe, welcoming community. Strangely for Twitter it has normal people in it.

I spent some time over on the Writing Sub-Reddits. That is a very different place. The responses although potentially helpful are stuffy, often passive aggressive.

I didn’t get the feeling of a community and it sometimes has the feel of a pissing contest.

Writing Reddit is like asking a Professor for help whereas Writing Twitter is like asking your best mate for advice.

Both can give equally good advice but when that advice is given Professor Reddit will engage no further whereas Twitter mate will happily carry on and talk about all manner of insane shit.

Writing Twitter is not only helpful but fun to engage with. But that is the golden rule – You Must Engage!

I see too many writers just use Twitter to promote their books. I question the usefulness of Twitter as a marketing tool anyway.

There is nothing wrong with saying here’s my latest work but there needs to be an even balance with non-promotion Tweets.

Get yourself out there. Respond to questions, engage with threads. It’s not all about the retweets. The level of engagement is entirely up to you and what you feel comfortable with but I would always recommend on some.

When I first got my Twitter account it was not with a view of being a writer. Fortunately I quickly fell in with some beautiful writers of erotica. I participated in their tweets and very soon I was giving writing a go.

So engaging with Writing Twitter can be motivational, fun and helpful. Yes, it can also be entertainingly time consuming and you can spend more time on Twitter than actually writing but we’ll gloss over that bit.

It can also be inspirational and fully engaging with Writing Twitter can unlock that writer’s block.

I’ve mentioned in a previous post that the idea for Fell8 (the story I’m presently working on) came about from a thread of how you would survive the zombie apocalypse.

Even yesterday Twitter threw me another potential story. I responded to a Tweet about what your Detective name would be. It was the name of your first pet plus the name of the last place you went on vacation.

Mine was Squidge Devon (I once was the proud owner of a gerbil).

Within minutes the wonderful Stefanie Simpson (and you really should check out her writing on Amazon and Wattpad) tweeted that it sounds like a 1920s Independent Woman.

Moments later Squidge Devon – Private Eye was born. A 1920s Society woman that solves crimes that seemingly always occur at dinner parties while off her tits on gin.

Therefore if any soon-to-be writers happen to be lurking in the dark corner of the internet and falls upon this post then my one piece of advice is simple:-

To be the best writer you can then you can’t really go wrong by fully engaging with Writing Twitter.

The Randomness Of Selina : Year 2 Day 20 – Erotica Writers Don’t Want To Fuck You

September 16, 2018 — 2 Comments

I’ve mentioned it before but it appears some aren’t getting the message.

So, for the benefit of the people at the back let me repeat myself

Erotica writers don’t want to fuck you.

I should just have to stop there and say no more. After all, erotica is a legitimate literary genre then basically you are asking an author for sex.

That really isn’t good form. I mean you might have the opportunity to meet your favourite author at a bookshop. You will probably say to them what the story meant to you, get the book signed and that’s it.

You wouldn’t pause and say ‘Aaand so you fancy nipping out the back for a quickie.’

Yet that it exactly what erotica authors have to deal with on a daily basis, and it can be exhausting.

Many will receive messages that go something like this

– Just read your story. You’re a great writer.

– Thank you very much.

– The sex scenes were so hot.

– Thank you

– I got very aroused

– Okay

– I’m still hard now so…..

Look I know there is a growing sense of entitlement with consumers of entertainment but this really takes it to the extreme.

These horny guys are basically saying ‘How dare you arrange words in a carefully constructed sentence which has led to me having an erection. You are now responsible for it!’

It doesn’t happen in other genres. I stand to be corrected but I doubt that Stephen King gets loads of messages that says ‘That story was really scary. Now you must come round my house, check under my bed and sing my a lullaby until I’m asleep.’

There is a horrifically incorrect assumption that because a female erotica writer writes about sex she must be very much up for it.

If you honestly believe that then get your hand off your dick and listen up – erotica is mainly the work of glorious fiction. They are stories not invitations.

Writers like to engage with readers. It allows them to grow and improve. They just don’t want to see your dick with a request to fuck it.

Respect the writer’s boundaries. Unless a writer has in her bio ‘will fuck for reviews’ then understand the obvious etiquette.

Do not get sleazy in her DMs. Do not assume because they write about sex they are happy to talk about it in detail while you have a cheeky wank.

Just be normal. Just read their work, say if you liked it and leave it there.

We clear?

The Randomness Of Selina : Year 2 Day 19 – Fell8 – A Brand New Cover

September 15, 2018 — Leave a comment

Hot on the heels of the latest part of Fell8 I introduce a new cover.

I believe this is fourth cover Fell8 has had since its inception last year.

The first was in the form of an old video cassette. I didn’t keep that as the cover for long. So much so I can’t even find a picture of that cover.

The second cover is perhaps my favourite and I did contemplate returning to it.

The style I was aiming for was of an old school pulp fiction style novel. Indeed, it heralded my short lived mock publishing house Grindotica.

This was the cover for a long time until I revised the covers to all my stories.

I wanted to have the same aesthetic to give it more of a brand feel, and so I created this.

Whilst I liked the clean and basic feel to it, the cover doesn’t really emphasise that in essence Fell8 is a horror story (with a bit of smut and comedy thrown in for good measure).

So I’ve reverted back to a more grubby cover.

However, before I’ve finished Fell8 I would probably have changed the cover a few more times.

The Randomness Of Selina : Year 2 Day 18: Fell8 – The Part With Third Party Penis Cover

September 14, 2018 — Leave a comment

There were a number of noises that troubled Lorna.

The ringing in her ears provided an irritating background melody to the other sounds that filled the car.

There was a troubling hissing sound that accompanied thick smoke that rose from the crushed bonnet of the vehicle.

This harmonised with the persistent drip drip drip that came from underneath. Lorna was not the most knowledgeable about cars but even she knew enough to understand that probably was not a good thing.

Her laboured breathing provided a dark lyrical accompaniment as she turned her attention to her fellow occupants.

Veronica was slumped motionless in the front passenger seat. A trail of crimson outlined her perfectly defined face.

Hesitantly, Lorna reached out her hand to try and find a pulse. After, a few moments clumsily pawing away at Veronica’s neck she realised, having never attended a First Aid course, that she had no clue as to what she was supposed to be doing.

Instead Lorna opted to assess whether Veronica was alive by seeing if she looked dead. In the few short hours since she’d been merrily performing fellatio on some guy Lorna had seen her fair share of dead bodies. Admittedly it had been easier then on account of their heads being detached from their bodies.

As Lorna turned to examine Veronica a new noise entered the endless cacophony; a gurgling sound in her stomach. Hunger? Fear? Disgust? Whatever it’s origin she tried to dampen the noise by swallowing hard, although this only seemed to provoke the grumbling fire in her belly.

She stared at Veronica who despite having blood running down her face looked healthy. Rather than a grey complexion, which Lorna assumed would indicate death, Veronica’s skin had a healthy, glowing complexion. She concluded Veronica was not dead, either that or her wedding make-up really was top quality.

Lorna’s attention moved to Elena who sat in the middle rear passenger seat. She equally did not look dead but Lorna’s examination was brief because of what she saw through the cracked window.

It was Them!

The sound of the collision must have alerted the horde who lumbered over to investigate.

A dark shadow descended over the car as these things began to swarm around it.

Now the final, terrible sounds joined the symphony of certain doom. The low moans, clunking of feet on asphalt and flesh hitting metal as they surrounded the vehicle.

Lorna sat perfectly still. Perhaps this was some instinctive survival technique, or it could have been that she had watched Jurassic Park and was hoping if it worked for a T-Rex it might work for these things with protruding cocks.

Her options were limited. Although she had the knowledge and means to kill them there were too many of them. She would hardly have the time to open her mouth before being ripped to shreds.

It was impossible to run away. Even if there were an opening Lorna would be unable to carry both Veronica and Elena.

Should she try and escape alone? This would mean certain death for the unconscious Veronica and Elena.

Lorna wrestled with this predicament. She hardly knew both of them and could hardly be classed as friends; Veronica had never once offered to hold Lorna’s hair back whilst she threw up.

Yet the life that Lorna had known was gone. Nothing made any sense and she took comfort in the normality of having people around. …People who didn’t have large penises and wanted to kill you.

Even if she could escape on her own, Lorna could not bear to face whatever other horrors lay in store alone.

No. She would survive in this strange new world with them or she would die with them.

‘But what if Veronica and Elena are already dead?’

However noble her declaration of a Last Stand with her new found companions, Lorna’s brain clearly thought this was something she should consider before submitting to certain death.

After all the ‘They don’t look dead’ Test was, at best, unreliable. It would be a terrible irony if she allowed herself to die trying to save someone who was already dead.

There had been no time during the collision to have a chat but if Veronica and Elena could talk would they not have said ‘Lorna you go. Save yourself. Be free. Survive the apocalypse without us’.

With her hand on the door handle and plotting her solo escape suddenly a new sound appeared, one that had not been present before. It was low murmurs emanating from Veronica and Elena. They were alive!

Bollocks!

Lorna slumped into her seat and with her arms folded across her chest contemplated which of the three dangers present would be the one to kill her. Would it be the carbon monoxide that begun to fill the car? Or the petrol catching a light and burning them alive? Or would she be torn apart by one of those things that circled the vehicle?

Such was her preoccupation with the manner in which she would perish that she did not immediately notice that the things were moving away from the vehicle.

When she finally did Lorna saw through the fogged up windscreen what had caught their attention; it was the occupant of the other car.

Lorna wiped the glass with her sleeve and watched through the gloom as they descended upon the other stricken vehicle.

This was her opportunity. All she had to do was wake Veronica and Elena and they could make their escape. Although incredibly strong these things were not fast and by the time they finished with the other vehicle there would be a healthy gap between them.

Lorna had contemplated helping the stranded driver but she was hideously outnumbered. She hoped the driver would be able to outrun them, but as she allowed herself to glance back towards the other vehicle she could see the driver was making no such attempt to run.

As Lorna attempted to rouse Veronica she tried to dismiss any further thought of the driver.

You can’t save them all. There will be casualties.

The driver was too far away to communicate but if they could chat maybe they would say ‘Look, it was my fault. I caused the crash with some ropey driving and put you all in danger. My gruesome death to ensure your survival is the least I can do to apologise’

Lorna continued shaking Veronica when suddenly she heard a sound. A sound that cut through all the other noises that had made up this macabre masterpiece.

It was the sound of a woman screaming. Very loudly.

*******

Angie Raines just wanted to start this day over again.

She has heard people in coffee shops complaining about their day but she was certain that she now had the monopoly on really bad days.

Oh your Boss shouted at you? Well mine tried to have me killed.

That project you were working on didn’t go to plan? Well my project was used to destroy humanity.

Angry about that dick who pranged your car and then shouted at you? Well I crashed mine and I’m about to be massacred by abominations of genetics!

Angie could have run, she was junior sprint champion and these things were not fast. But she found herself transfixed by what was walking towards her.

Part of her brain screamed for her to run but the other part, the scientific part, marvelled at these creations.

It’s not possible!

She tried to recall her work, all the tests, studies and theories to realise how these things came to be.

Just prior to the crash Angie believed she could help stop this. She was running into the danger not away from it. But as these abominations neared she realised it was all now a lost cause.

By the time the scientific part of her brain had worked out how this all came to be they were upon her. The other part of her brain took over and screamed loudly.

Angie closed her eyes and awaited death. She probably deserved it. Killed by the things she helped create. There would be a poetry to her demise.

Suddenly they stopped. Their attention drawn towards the other car whose horn blared persistently.

Angie could see a blonde woman leaning out of the drivers window shouting. It was difficult to hear what she was saying over the blaring of the horn, but it sounded like ‘Over here you fucking weird looking wankers.’

The abominations turned and stalked back towards the other vehicle.

******

Stupid idea. Stupid idea. Stupid idea.

Lorna blocked out her brain’s protest as she planted her hand firmly on the horn and shouted all manner of obscenities at these things.

She watched as they lost interest in the other driver and made their way towards her.

Part one of her plan had worked but there was a problem, she didn’t have a second part.

Quicker than she expected they had surrounded her vehicle and begun shaking and punching it, desperate to get to what was inside.

Lorna could see through a gap that the other driver was just standing there.

For fuck’s sake. RUN!

Lorna repeatedly slammed her hand down on the horn, hoping she could get it to say ‘Fucking Run!’

The car violently shook as these things pawed away at it. Then to Lorna’s shock a penis shot through the metal door frame.

After a moment of screaming she knew what she had to do. This was their only chance of survival.

Lorna ran her tongue over her lips and then took the invading penis into her mouth. Within a few moments a shower of blood coated the car, the expected outcome was confirmed.

There was to be no respite. No sooner had one marauding penis been handled then another would appear…and then another, all around the vehicle.

Lorna coped with as many as she could but there were too many for her to deal with it at once. She felt like she was playing some horrifically perverted game of whack-a-mole. A game she had already proven to be quite good at, albeit she had to occasionally pause to prevent herself from throwing up.

One penis penetrated the passenger door narrowly missing Veronica’s head that rested against it. This was enough to fully rouse Veronica from her impromptu slumber.

She looked around, slightly confused. Still in that moment of blissful thinking that everything she’d experienced, from her family being massacred at the wedding to her husband’s head exploding on the dance floor, had all been an horrific nightmare.

However the sight of an angry penis protruding through door was a harsh reminder of what her life was like now.

“Oh hey sweetie, you’re awake” Lorna said, pausing to take another penis into her mouth “Look I know you just woke up but I’m really going to need you to suck on that cock for me”.

Rubbing her eyes and letting out a sigh she dutifully obliged. Together her and Lorna dealt with wave after wave. With each laboured suck blood and brains cascaded down upon the car. The outside no longer visible through the crimson and pink hue that flowed down the windscreen

Elena woke and as if it were the most normal thing in the world helpfully assisted without question.

The sound of blood splashing onto glass and brain hitting metal. These sounds increased in speed and in pitch. Each splash and crash a symphony of success for the three ladies inside.

Then it stopped. All that could be heard was the original hissing and drip drip drip that had opened this morbid melody.

Lorna, Veronica and Elena all looked at each other. Reluctant to open the car door in case any of those things still remained but acutely aware that if they stayed in the car they would probably blow up.

It was Lorna who nervously opened the driver’s door but jumped back as a large glob of brain slid down. She kicked the door open and jumped out, running to the front of the car. She put her hands on her knees and begun to wretch.

Veronica followed next, skipping around the blood and brains in an hysterical fashion. Elena left the vehicle last and seemed rather nonplussed by the carnage.

Lorna examined the car. She saw the amount of holes that had been made and wondered how such a thing could be explained to the insurance company.

– Hi, I need to report an accident

– What happened?

– Well, I was driving away from a load of ridiculously strong guys that have their penis protruding through their trousers when someone crashed into us

– I see

– Then the ridiculously strong guys started making holes in the car

– What with?

– Oh with their penis.

– I see. Well unfortunately you didn’t take out the optional third party penis cover so we cannot help I’m afraid.

Lorna’s attention turned to the other driver who stood motionless, her mouth open.

“Wha…Wha…What just happened?” asked Angie

“Long story” Lorna replied, taking a moment to survey where they were.

“But how did you kill them?”

Lorna smiled. It was probably the first time she had smiled since all this crazy mess begun, but there it was…

Royal King Chicken – The finest chicken place in London.

Lorna turned to Angie “I’ll tell you over dinner”

The Randomness Of Selina : Year 2 Day 17 – Fell8: The Part With The Burnt Pork Scratchings

September 13, 2018 — Leave a comment

Elena had a lot to be concerned about. She had almost been killed by the man who employed her as a Housekeeper. But having narrowly escaped, she presumed she had found sanctuary in a passing car. However the occupants of the vehicle appeared somewhat reluctant to come to her aid.

Instead the blonde seemed more intent on arguing with the brunette in the wedding dress than coming to her aid.

Elena banged on the bonnet  in frustration. She grew increasingly impatient for the two women to finish their conversation. The tinny clash of her hand hitting metal attracted the attention of these things that wandered around.

She had not even begun to process why there were throngs of men walking around, their penises protruding, carrying out such acts of barbarity.

It weren’t just any men; she knew them. The sight of the kindly old gentleman who trims the hedges crushing in the skull of Mildred from the Woman’s Institute with his engorged member is not something anyone really should see.

Yet the streets of this well kept neighbourhood were littered with the bloody debris of this inexplicable rampage.

Why and how this was all happening would be a question to ponder when she was in a safer place. She’d be in that safer place if the two occupants of the vehicle would stop chatting and open the fucking door!

She smacked her hands down on the bonnet once more and that is when she saw him. More accurately she smelt him first, her employer, lurching towards her, his cock proud and he was on fire.

Elena sighed, taking one final look at the bickering couple in the car. She was going to have do this alone with no help from anyone.

She was used to having to do things for herself. Elena was raised in a rural part of Romania by just her Mother. They were poor but her Mother did all she could to provide for her daughter.

In later years Elena would reciprocate that love by caring for her Mother when her health rapidly declined. When she eventually passed away after a long and debilitating illness Elena wanted nothing more than to get away. Caring for her ailing Mother had taken its toll on Elena and she needed a fresh start.

Moving to London provided her with that possibility; this vast metropolitan city full of opportunity. With her Mother’s passing there was nothing left for her in Romania. It would be London where she would finally live that life she deserved.

That was the plan, at least. Her new life did not begin as she would have hoped; contrary to the story she found the streets of London were certainly not paved with gold.

She got by doing the odd underpaid job here and there but the all to familiar reality of poverty soon struck her. The need to eat pushed her closer to the lure of the criminal gangs who’d want to pimp her out to whatever horny guy cared to pay for her.

Elena resisted the temptation for as long as she could but the hunger in her belly was enough to defeat her wavering sense of pride.  But before she submitted herself to this life fate fortunately intervened.

A friend of Elena’s, indeed her only friend in London, told her of a job opportunity for some well to do family in Chelsea.  It was nothing more than glorified slave labour but, nevertheless,it was a roof over her head and meant she didn’t have to spread her legs to make a living…..Or so she thought.

The family she worked for seemed quite pleasant enough. The husband had his own Consultancy firm so would spend a lot of the time in his office at home. He barely paid much attention to her when she would bring him lunch or clean up.

The wife worked in television and once Elena got used to being spoken to like an idiot they got along just fine. The wife had a patronising tone when speaking to anyone. This was more pronounced when talking to Elena; the wife clearly assumed coming from a foreign country meant there would not be an automatic understanding of the basics of housework.

Nevertheless, the wife knew without Elena she would have to do more round the house which certainly did not suit her schedule; especially on a Thursday when she had Yoga with Paulo.

All was going tremendously well for Elena and then the son came home from university. His intentions towards Elena were immediate and obvious. He wanted to fuck her.

This young lothario intended not to woo her by compliments and avoided actually getting to know her. He was simply going to have her and any resistance would be quashed with threats of dismissal from her job.

Elena therefore submitted herself to his grubby whim. As she lay underneath him she would remind herself of the beautiful home she now resides in and how things could be so much worse.

Occasionally she did allow herself to daydream , that perhaps he would one day lean in and kiss her, tell her he loves her and they would marry so that she would be their equal rather than their servant.

His contorted , sweaty red face was not one of love but of lust. She was merely a preferable option to masturbation. Just an object he could take and use whenever he wanted. Someone he could brag about to his mates at the rowing club.

Elena would get a respite from his horny advances when he returned from

university of if he went travelling. That was enough to keep her sane.

When he was gone she could reflect only on how fortunate she was to have such a good job. Only occasionally,when cleaning his room, would her eyes drift to the bed and she’d be struck by the shame of what he has her do there.

Nevertheless she remained happy and content and then the husband begun showing her some attention. Previously he’d hardly noticed her with only the occasional grunt of appreciation when she brought him a sandwich.

Then very much like father like son he had her. In his study one afternoon his hands began drifting over her legs and without warning they were soon between them. He grabbed her hand and placed it on his groin. Before long she was on her knees pleasuring him.

There was a distinct difference between the father and the son. The latter would be rough, uncaring, cruel. He didn’t care about her.  All he wanted was a living doll to perform whatever perversion he was currently into.

The father on the other hand seemed kinder, more gentler.  He was reluctant at first to give in to temptation, not that Elena ever purposely tempted him.  But sexual relations between him and his wife had become strained, verging on the non-existent.

Their busy lives (and possibly the fact she was being fucked regularly by Paulo) meant intimacy was a thing of the past.  His sexual pleasure now confined to memories and his own hand.  Occasionally, his wife would indulge him but that only sought to prolong his frustration.

He liked it when she sucked him.  Yet any pleasure he derived from having that act performed had eroded. From the moment he entered his wife’s mouth he could only think how it may be months before he would experience that feeling again.

That’s what was on his mind when he noticed Elena in the study.  In a moment of frustrated arousal, he saw her differently.  No longer was she was a faceless employee but a way to relieve his frustration.  She was paid to serve and he needed servicing.

Elena dutifully obliged.  What choice did she have? Not that she had much opportunity to consider her choices, no sooner had he been in her mouth he was out again with the horny deed done.  He rested back in his chair uttering a thousand apologetic words.

The husband’s feeling of guilt was not enough to stop him wanting it again. The daily routine soon become bringing him is sandwich followed by Elena getting on her knees and sucking him off to completion.

Occasionally he’d want it more than once a day.   Any moment alone could see him insist on being in her mouth.  That is what Elena assumed he was after on this night.  Yet something was different.  He was a lot rougher, so much so she thought for a moment the son had made a surprise visit home.

He was pushing against her, she could feel his arousal.  His hands moved up to her throat.

He’s trying to fuck me!

This surprised Elena because not once had he wanted to have sex with her.  In his weird twisted way he had assumed having just oral sex was not really cheating on his wife.

His hands gripped round her throat tighter as he pressed his remarkably hard penis against her.  She would have agreed to have sex with him if he had asked.  But this was not asking.  It felt so wrong.  Elena struggled to free herself from his grip but his hands tightened around her throat.

She was struggling to breathe as his fingers dug into her skin.

No! Not like this.

Through gasps of air she pleaded with him to stop but he persisted. She could hear his low grumbling moans, the staleness of his breath on her cheek as his arousal pressed harder against her, it felt like it could break through the material of her trousers.

Panic begun to set in and Elena flayed her arms and legs, desperate to break free, but he was too strong.

Elena didn’t believe in God, she had seen too many horrific things, her faith eroded away by one tragedy after the next. But in the moments that followed she was prepared to re-assess the existence of a higher power.

When the husband commenced his attack Elena was in the process of washing up. The water from the tap had been running throughout and soon escaped the confines of the metallic sink and flowed onto the floor.

Whilst the husband had strength, he lacked balance and his feet begun to slip on the pool of soapy water that had formed beneath him.

He fell back taking Elena with him and they both crashed into the cooker. The husband attempted to regain his balance, grabbing at whatever he could.  His surprising strength caused him to rip at the cooker, exposing wires and the hissing sound of gas filled the room.

Free of her attacker Elena attempted to escape but found her journey slowed by the slipperiness of the tiled floor.  On hands and knees she crawled to what she hoped would be the safety of outdoors.

The bubbling water flowed defiantly towards the exposed electrical wiring as the husband managed to free himself from the temporary shackles of the cooker and in a similarly haphazard way begun his pursuit of Elena.

She managed to reach the expansive hallway and took a nervous look back. Elena saw the husband crawling towards her, his protruding penis scraping along the floor.  She turned, the knowledge of pursuit offering her a burst of speed.  She could see the front door…her safety and then…….

BOOM!!!!

A fireball swept through the house and sent the fleeing Elena through the front door.

She awoke face first on the neatly manicured front lawn.  Her ears rung and as she lifted her body from the ground she became immediately aware that every part of her hurt.

Gritting her teeth Elena lifted herself up and disoriented she looked on at the street where she lived, the street that once provided such security and comfort was now a war zone.

She rubbed her temples as she witnessed the bloody end of many of her neighbours as these things mercilessly ripped them apart.  She could not move at the sight of the sheer horror of this destruction.

Elena heard a noise from back inside the house and there she saw him.  The husband stalked through the charred hallway on his way towards her.  The flames emanating from his body did little to slow his journey.

Panicking she looked around and there she saw it – the car.  Despite every step causing significant pain she made her way towards it.  She did not look back but she could hear him….smell him. But the occupants of the car would help. They would be her salvation… wouldn’t they?

****

“Why do I have to go out there?” Lorna asked

“Because you know how to kill those things” Veronica offered.

Lorna looked out as this young stranger desperately tried to evade the lumbering clutches of what used to be a man….who was also on fire.

“So do you.  In fact you killed the last one” replied Lorna.

“Well there you go” Veronica said with a smile “It’s your turn.”

Still confused as to how a man can be on fire but still happily able to chase someone Lorna suggested “Maybe we should both go.”

“In case you’ve forgotten I’ve just witnessed my entire family and friends be slaughtered” Veronica replied “I’m still quite upset by that.”

Lorna sighed and gripped the door handle.  She wondered how many times Veronica was going to use that as an excuse.

“Fine…I’ll go” Lorna muttered as she opened the car door.

She immediately ran round to where Elena was and introduced herself “Hi I’m Lorna”

Elena responded very abruptly “What took you so long.”

Lorna was about to respond but the nearing presence of Elena’s flaming former employer alerted her to more pressing matters.  Instead she gave a reassuring “It’s okay.  I know what to do” which was probably more for her own benefit.

Poised on her knees she waited for the right moment.  Ignoring the shrieks of “What the fuck are you doing” from Elena she readied herself for what had to be done.  That’s when Lorna noted the problem.

“Hey…Veronica…Sweetie … There’s a problem” Lorna shouted.

Veronica cranked the car window down slightly and replied “What problem?”

“His cock is on fire”

“Blow it”

“I intend to but I need to put the flames out first…. Do you have any water?”

Veronica searched through the car and announced “No….I think you drunk the last of it.”

Lorna, acutely aware of the presence of the flaming man, turned to Elena and asked “I don’t suppose you have any water do you?”

“Why do you need water for?” queried Elena.

“I just need to put the fire out on his cock so I can put it in my mouth.”

Elena just stared at Lorna and was about to respond when Lorna shot her a look to indicate the urgency of her request.

Elena limped back to the house all the while confused by the request.  The blast had damaged a lot of the interior and water flowed from the kitchen.  Slipping and sliding she desperately searched for a receptacle for the liquid. She could hear Lorna shouting out

“Hurry!”

The erect inferno neared closer to Lorna as Elena searched through the scorched shell that was once the kitchen.

“Anytime now would be great”

In her haste Elena would lose her footing and a sharp reminder of her injuries would soar through her body.

“Quickly!”

He was closer and Lorna could feel the heat emanating from him.  Elena found a pan and begun to scoop water inside it.

“Fucking hurry up!”

Lorna would apologise later for her crude impatience but having got this far already she did not fancy being killed by a guy with a burning cock.

With as much speed as her injuries would allow Elena made her way back out the front.  She saw the husband so close to Lorna.  In desperation she flung the pan and water landed all over the flaming attacker.

Steam rose from his protruding penis and Lorna gave a few quick blows before taking it in her mouth.  Within moments Elena’s former employer lay dead on the floor, his head nothing more than a bloody pulp.

Elena had so many questions but as Lorna retched and puked on the floor she thought it best not to ask them straight away.

“Fuck..that tasted like burnt pork scratchings” Lorna exclaimed “Does anyone have a mint?”

“I think you had the last one” replied Veronica through the crack in the window.

With nothing further said about what had happened Lorna and Elena got into the car.

“Look” said Veronica “These things are all going in the same direction”

All three occupants watched as these lumbering powerhouses with their protruding penises all moved along the same path.

“Where do you think they are going?” asked Elena,

“Who cares” said Lorna as she started the car “If they are all going that way, then we are going the opposite way.”

When you learn to drive you are taught many things.  However, appropriate road etiquette during an apocalypse is not one of them.  Any rules of the road no longer exist and who has the right of way is something that does not need consideration.

It is the ignorance of driving in an apocalypse and the absence of any rules which caused the two cars to collide with each other.

The Randomness Of Selina: Year 2 Day 16 – Fell8 : The Part With The First Dance

September 12, 2018 — Leave a comment

Lorna ran through the vast interior of the upmarket hotel, her only guide were the loud screams in the distance.

Such was her intense focus on  the location of the desperate cries, Lorna paid little attention to the scenes of devastation that adorned the elaborate corridor.

Body parts no longer attached to their appropriate hosts were strewn along the floor. The expensive carpet was soaked with blood, the crimson consequence of whatever evil had occurred splashed up with every stride Lorna took.

The screams became louder as she neared the source of the petrified pleas. Lorna had no idea what had prompted such cries. If she had stopped to think about it, paused to take in her surroundings and the scenes of utter carnage around her then she would be forgiven for just turning around and running in the opposite direction.  Yet she had resolved to follow Veronica and would not stop this pursuit until she found her.

But why? Lorna had only met her a few hours beforehand and most of that time had been spent arguing with each other. They were from very different backgrounds; Veronica came from the more affluent part of the city, her accent and manner all indicating a life of privilege  and wealth. Lorna, on the other hand, was from the other side where you had to fight for the slightest morsel of comfort.

In normal times these two could never be true friends, centuries of a class system designed to keep everyone in their rightful place would see to that. But these were certainly not normal times. Something had happened. Something bad. At that moment they were the only two who weren’t dead. Lorna felt a desire to keep it that way.

She followed the screams towards two large closed doors. A mutilated body leant against the dark oak panels. The prettiness of the purple dress worn by the newly deceased was marred by the brutality of her demise. The jaw ripped from what was once an attractive face.

Angry crimson  flowed from the jagged gaping hole that was now to forever be her mouth. Lorna wanted to throw up as she stared at the disfigured corpse.

She stopped her macabre study of the body when she realised the screams from behind the door had stopped. There had been something oddly comforting about the persistent cries from Veronica, it had meant she was still alive. The sudden cessation of that sound filled Lorna with dread that poor Veronica had met a similar end to the jawless purple dress lady.

Nervously, Lorna put her hand on the handle and her ear against the door, straining to hear any signs of life. The only sound was a low hum as if music was playing. Taking a deep breath she pulled down the handle and opened the door.

The vast ballroom was dark save for the sporadic multi coloured lights flashing from the DJ booth. The sparkles from the glitterball above rained down onto the shiny dance floor where Veronica stood gazing at something in the distance.

Lorna made her way towards her, almost slipping over on a pool of blood that seeped from another female guest, this one missing both her arms.

She reached the edge and put her hand on Veronica’s shoulder.

“Hun, we got to get out of here” Lorna said.

Veronica turned to face Lorna, her eyes were red from crying. Having witnessed the mutilation of her closest family and friends it was a surprise she could still stand.

“It’s Richard” she replied in a hoarse voice which Lorna could barely hear over the music.

“Who’s Richard?” Lorna asked.

Veronica did not respond but turned back and gazed towards a dark corner of the room where a smartly dressed man emerged.

Lorna watched as this tall figure, she presumed was Richard, lumbered slowly over to the dance floor until he was only a few feet away. She could see his clothes glistened with blood. He could have been a victim of the horror that had occurred but Lorna spied a thick angry cock clearly on display.

Lorna leant in and spoke to Veronica “Sweetie, I don’t think that is the Richard you know.”

But Veronica ignored her and moved to the centre of the dance floor, face to face with the man she loved. Two lovers illuminated by the sparkles from above as the melody of Power Of Love by Jennifer Rush blared out from the oversized speakers.

Lorna tried to shout out a warning to Veronica but her words became lost amongst the rising notes of the seminal 1980s love ballad.

All she could do was watch helplessly as Richard grabbed Veronica pulling her across the shiny floor.

The bride adorned in what was once a splendid wedding dress, now ripped and soiled in blood, slid along the floor . The Groom dressed in his finest morning suit, stalked after her, his cock, proudly exposed, leading the way.

Lorna wanted desperately to help but found herself frozen, unable to intervene she could do nothing but watch the tragic choreography unfold.

The glitterball above perfectly spotlighted Richard taking his beautiful wife’s face in his hands. His fingers dug deep into her skull, Veronica’s mouth opened in an expression of pain. Strangely with Jennifer reaching the big notes it did for a moment appear that Veronica was singing along.

Lorna tried to push herself forward but she doubted she could reach them in time. Through the dull illumination of the lights, Veronica glanced towards Lorna and gave a look that told her not to worry before  appearing to recommence this bizarre karaoke.

Lorna looked away, she had no desire to watch the finale of this macabre reunion. The song that was to be their first dance ended, punctuated by the sound of Veronica and Richard’s union coming to a bloody and violent conclusion.

For a moment the room was bathed in a calm silence. Breathing heavily, Lorna looked towards where she had last seen Veronica. The bride’s body was slumped over, the glittering lights illuminated the blood that ran down the previously brilliant outfit. It was fresh.

Lorna could hear her own blood pump through her ears as she made her way slowly across the dance floor to the scene of horror just a few feet in front.

The silence of her brief journey interrupted by music which started playing; with no DJ present in the booth the CD  had switched automatically to the next track.  The Lion Sleeps Tonight echoed across the hall.  Whatever feelings Lorna had about that particular song it didn’t really reflect the sombre mood of what had just occurred.

She reached Veronica and nervously extended her hand out to touch the bride’s blood stained shoulder.

“I’m so sorry hun” Lorna said mournfully.

Veronica turned around revealing the headless body of her husband behind her. His hand rested listlessly on his chest, the ring that had symbolised their union sparkled with every revolution of the glitterball.

Till death do us part. Or perhaps more Till I suck you off and your head explodes.

Did Veronica know this would have caused Richard’s demise? Or did she fancy one final intimate moment before she joined her friends in being brutally slaughtered?

Whatever her reasons that is what she had done. With Richard’s fingers pushing hard against her skull she had taken him into her mouth and…. Splat!

Lorna knelt down next to Veronica and hugged her. She had no idea what else to do. Veronica spoke, her voice was hoarse from the grief she had emitted and it may have been all the ‘weema-wehs’ that boomed from the speakers but Lorna thought she said “He was just so big.”

There was no good reason to remain at the hotel, everyone was either dead or missing. The occasional crash alerted Lorna to the realisation that they may not be totally alone. She had no desire to investigate, no real willingness to bump into whatever it was that those men had become.

Lorna took a swig from a bottle of wine that was nearby. She knew that keeping a clear head was probably the more sensible thing to do but such were the scenes of annihilation around her she needed to dull her senses.

Nothing made sense and in those circumstances what was the point of trying to think about it.

She looked over at Veronica who had not moved since her husband’s head exploded. Eighties music still blared out, the jaunty pop jingles a juxtaposition to the sorrowful and broken figure of the bride.

She had lost everything in the most awfully violent way. Was this happening elsewhere? Was it happening to her friends and family….Lorna shut down that thought process with a huge gulp of wine.

Such was the fragility of keeping it together Lorna just focused on one thing. She dismissed any thought of searching for anyone else who may need help. She ignored the growing fear that this horror may not be isolated to the hotel. No. The only thing she concentrated on was leaving this place as soon as possible.

Lorna got to her feet and wandered around the hall. Not to examine the gruesome remains of the victims nor to ensure none of the erect maniacs lurked in the shadows; with her stomach rumbling she was on the hunt for food.

Lorna walked towards a long table that was the home to a bountiful array of finger food. The recent carnage had meant there were now actual fingers within the food.

Then she spied them, an entire tray of chicken nuggets. Her stomach roared at the thought of being replinished but the glitterball shone a warning light over them, dark red covered the delicious bites.

Even if Lorna had been tempted to play the ‘Blood or Ketchup?’ game the presence of a human head put an end to any thoughts of a banquet.

She swigged from the bottle and addressed Veronica;

“Come on  hun we need to go.”

“Go without me. I just want to stay here… I don’t care if I die.. Not now. ” Veronica replied.

What could Lorna say? She did not want to leave Veronica alone, the thought of her submitting to being ripped apart would weigh  heavy on her conscience.

But Lorna was not a counsellor, she possessed no skills that could assist in a situation like this. Even when her own friends would suffer a bereavement the best she could muster was a sad face emoji before waiting a couple of weeks to ask if they were okay.

Through the blissful haze of alcohol Lorna tried to think how she could motivate Veronica to move;

Sorry  your mum died being cock slapped by some maniac but…..

I know everyone you ever loved is either dead or now a monster however…..

You clearly have nothing to live for and it’s unlikely there is any hope for anyone of us although…

“Some of your friends and family may have escaped” said Lorna.

It was a complete lie of course but it did cause Veronica to momentarily break her melancholy and respond “Really? Do you think?”

Lorna took another swig of wine “Yeh. Sure. When this all started I’m sure some would have got away.”

She instinctively gestured to the dismembered bodies on the ground and quickly withdrew her hand and continued.

“They’ve probably gone towards town. It’ll be safe there. Governments have plans for these sort of things.”

Lorna didn’t know if this lie was just for Veronica’s benefit or for her own. She persisted with her optimistic yarn.

“There’s no guarantee this is happening in town and even if it is the army would be out, protecting everyone and getting them to some safe zone.”

By the time she had finished describing this utopia of sanctuary Lorna wanted to rush straight there herself.

This promise of safety made their current surroundings all the more evident. Although the stench of death had been with them from the moment they walked in, it now filled her nostrils. She tried dampening the putrid stench with the more floral smell of the wine…. and if she’s not mistaken a hint of oak.

For Veronica the idea that some of her loved ones may have escaped was enough to get her to stand up. She grabbed the wine bottle from Lorna and took a long hearty gulp.

Wiping her mouth she said “Come on let’s go.”

The return trip to the car was unpleasant but thankfully uneventful. It did take longer than Lorna would have liked but Veronica would fall into her everytime she witnessed the gruesome destruction of one of her guests. Lorna herself was not very steady on her feet, which was probably more to do with the wine than the corpses.

They reached the car and Veronica took one final look back at the dream venue of her fairytale wedding. It seemed implausible to believe that only hours before it had been the scene of such joviality.

Those assembled to witness such a loving union would have laughed, drank and smiled. The tortured faces of the corpses that littered the courtyard displayed none of those emotions.

“Are you sure you are okay to drive?” Veronica asked Lorna as she closed the car door.

“Yeh all good hun” Lorna replied “Besides, I think tonight the Police might be a little occupied with other things.”

Lorna started the car and headed back down the long dirt path. They were going into the heart of the city. That’s where Lorna believed they would be safe.

There would be a plan. There would be sanctuary. That is what she kept telling herself as she accelerated through the murky woodland. Veronica was on edge, staring out the window like a curious puppy. Reacting to every shape as a potential friend who needed their help before shouting at Lorna that she was driving too fast for her to see properly.

Lorna just wanted to get somewhere safe as quickly as possible. One on hand on the steering wheel, the other fumbling on the dial of the radio desperately scanning for some sign that everything was going to be okay.

They eventually reached the familiar urban streets with rows of houses all brightly lit by the comforting orange glow of lights.

It should have been then that they relaxed. The horror of the hotel miles behind them.

There should have been either  army trucks ferrying survivors to the sanctuary or alternatively simply nothing; just the monotonous dullness of a normal street, blissful confirmation that this horror had been confined to the hotel.

What they did not want to see is that brutal devastation of the hotel replicated on a much larger scale. Yet that is exactly what they drove straight into.

The streets were littered with dismembered bodies , the culprits of the devastation skulking in search of their next victim.

Thoughts of any sanctuary faded rapidly. If there had been any question as to how the guests at the wedding may have met their grisly demise then Veronica and Lorna were treated to a live repeat.

They choked back tears and vomit as they watched whilst arms, legs or heads were ripped from their screaming owner.

Veronica and Lorna looked at each other. Through the fear and disgust in their eyes they engaged in a silent conversation as the brutality continued outside.

Should they help? Could they help? Didn’t they know how to bring down these monsters? These ruthless killing machines now occupied the streets, anyone else seemed to have perished.

Lorna put the car in reverse just as someone banged on the windscreen. It was a girl, frantically slapping her hands against the glass. She needed to be saved from the monster who pursued her.

Lorna’s foot hovered over the accelerator.

The monster was on fire.

The Randomness Of Selina : Year 2 Day 15 : The Hypocrisy Of Comicsgate

September 11, 2018 — Leave a comment

For today’s entry I want to look at Comicsgate.

Now for those who do not know what Comicsgate is I am not going to go through the whole sordid history. There are plenty of articles out there that do so and you should read them.

Another reason is that having spent 72 hours reviewing and engaging with this hashtag it seems to mean different things.

Although it appears predominantly their mission statement is that the current output of comics particularly from the Big 2 (Marvel & DC) is only looking to appeal to a certain demographic to the exclusion of others. Further, they wish for more professionalism and accountability of the creators when dealing with consumers.

Their answer is seemingly to be the exact opposite. The problem is they’re not.

In summary – it’s all a bit hypocritical.

The Comicsgate movement have repeatedly stated what they stand for and in doing so it becomes a standard to judge them by. Not my standard that I have imposed on them, their own standard.

So let’s take a look at some of those standards and see how they are doing.

Demographics

Firstly, dealing with the output of comics. Let’s assume for a minute that they are right about the Big 2 alienating demographics for the sake of just one.

If they want to fill this apparent void then from what I have seen their answer is to make comics solely for their own demographic.

This appears simply to be having titles involving women with big tits, liberally use the word ‘slut’ and throw in the odd gang rape for good measure.

Whilst arguably there is nothing wrong with a group of people making comics they want to read, the arguments put forward by Comicsgate supporters go further – They are going to do right what Marvel and DC do wrong.

But if the charge against the Big 2 is they are excluding particular demographics then how does doing exactly the same make you any better?

Now I’m sure in response some Comicgators will say that I haven’t seen all the comics. I am happy to accept that and indeed would go further and say I actually saw some that looked pretty good and would be something I would buy.

But if the subpar regressive comics of some Comicsgators cannot be held to be representative of the movement as a whole then neither can the more mainstream ones.

In speaking with a few people that align themselves with Comicsgate they still read and enjoy the odd comic from the Big 2.

In short, if Comicsgate were a brand then their output to a wider demographic would be at best a few decent comics amongst a load of undesirable ones. How is that any different from the charge they throw at Marvel and DC?

Creators v Consumers

Turning to creators having better respect for the consumers.

Comicsgate has been fought out in the bubble of social media. The problem with social media is that you can get validation for any viewpoint.

Originally the unpleasantness of Comicsgate begin with some creators pushing back against criticism from people who identified with Comicsgate.

But it has since grown and non creators have got involved. People who love comic books but don’t like what is going on. Whatever their view they are consumers.

Outside the bubble of self validation there are a number of consumers criticising Comicsgate. The response by Comicsgators is to clap back and sometimes in offensive ways.

They have become so determined to push back at any criticism they have forgotten who they are talking to. They are no longer just throwing back insults to a creator who they do not respect, they are attacking the very people required to sustain a comic book market.

Yesterday I tweeted someone who is creating a comic and supports comicsgate. Despite our difference in views I felt his idea was interesting and it’s been on my radar to support it.

I expressed the view that I did not think it was very adult to knife a female comic character in the breasts (he incidentally was not doing that but was gleefully goading someone who was). Within a few tweets he suggested I had a mental illness.

Blacklisting

Finally, I want to address another allegation that gets thrown about by Comicsgators. Blacklisting of creators because the Big 2 do not share that person’s views.

The reason I’ve spent 72 hours delving into Comicsgate is because a non-pro creator that I follow tweeted criticism of Comicsgate over the weekend.

Inevitably many who support Comicsgate came to give their view. Now I don’t have a problem with that. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and to express it (providing they do it respectfully).

My problem with it was as a result he was quote tweeted with ‘Don’t buy this assholes work’, which was then subsequently retweeted.

For what reason? Simply because he held a different view to them.

This was not a decision by reading a sample of his work and saying ‘No not for me’. A number of Comicsgators flatly refused to buy solely based on his views yet in the next breath would complain that the Big 2 are doing exactly the same.

Conclusion

I do not know how all this will end. I certainly do not have all the answers.

I’ve expressed this opinion as a consumer of comics for many years. I love comic books that have been a huge part of my life.

And look I get there are issues with Marvel and DC. Believe me they are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

Often I have been left disappointed or bewildered by some of their output.

But it’s important not to conflate that frustration and believe that Comicsgate is the solution.

They arrive on their apparent mission with baggage and as I have shown above they are no different to what they perceive the Big 2 to be.

As the saying goes Beware of False Idols.

Thank you this has been my TED Talk.