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Isaac X Isaac

@isaacxisaac.bsky.social

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Strange trans man writing a very goofy book.

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · Feb 26

Gay crimes!
Trans wrongs!
Enemies to enemies!

Here's my #Own #LGBT #Hu #YA(?) again for #WSPit! A romp through a colorful, heightened #Hi storical playground.

Can one defeat the patriarchs with the very weapons of masculinity? Well, one angry trans boy can sure try stabbing them a lot. #WSPitW

"L'entrée du prince de Ligne à Londres 1660", painted by François Duchatel in 1660, depicting the arrival of a great procession of ambassadors walking in fine clothes and riding in coaches, watched by a huge crowd of Londoners.
Text over it reads:
THE DUEL IN 1660: a queer swashbuckling farce.

"The arrival of King Charles II of England in Rotterdam, may 24 1660" by Lieve Verschuier, showing many ships with the Flag of Holland/States Flag. The grand ship bearing Charles II has his royal arms carven on the stern.
Text over it reads:
England, 1660: the restoration of the monarchy. In Charles II's triumphant wake, a Royalist family quietly returns, but not with their single daughter—instead, with their single son.
15-year-old Alexander—vain, hot-tempered, and warm of heart—expects to strut in as an aristocratic peacock. But when his ambitions are frustrated, he's sucked instead into intrigues of questionable honour and forced to reckon with what it really means to be a man.

"Man Writing a Letter" by Gabriël Metsu, painted around 1665. A Dutch young man, beautiful and androgynous with long blond hair, wears black doublet, breeches, and stockings and a luxurious white shirt and falling band. His expression is tranquil and far-off as he writes a letter on a table draped with an imported carpet.
Text over it reads:
Pray enjoy this tempest in a teapot, crafted of the purest tropes and set in the Age of the Rakehells, featuring:
glamour and grime of 17th century Westminster.
goofy action punctuated by primal screams of rage.
problematic characters for miles.
petticoat breeches parkour.
queer mentorship.
romantic friendship (or maybe 'tis just gay, oops).
boys who cry. a lot.
and somehow, everything turning out all right in the end.

Detail of "View from the Mussel Pier in Amsterdam", painted by Ludolf Bakhuizen in 1673, showing a peaceful sky over a ship with two gulls.
Text over it reads:
Alexander stood at the edge of the deck, one hand clutching the railing, the other fastened tight on the brim of his hat as he leaned out over the waves. He was not much afraid of falling in, though he had never swum anything choppier than a pond. Rather, he was afraid that his Acadian fur hat, the most expensive for sale in the shop on the Kalverstraat, might fly off his small crown and flap with its feathers all the way to water—which, like the sky, could not quite decide between blue and grey.
There was no one to see him aside from the sailors and now Klein, climbing up from below. Still, he had meticulously dressed that morning, down to every last ribbon. He’d had a very specific vision of himself when the suit was being ordered: the azure he’d picked was not just brighter than everything around him on the fluyt but even the true sky itself, and he sparkled with silver, when the wind tugged his doublet and loose breeches, and gold, when the little light managed to catch on his sword’s hilt.
It was imperative, one must understand, that he look extremely stylish doing battle, should pirates suddenly appear to satisfy his fantasies. And indeed, at fifteen, he thought himself quite the dashing young man—not the boy he was.

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

AND TEN SUPER SECRET FENCING MOVES THAT YOUR OPPONENTS WILL NEVER SEE COMING

How could I forget!?

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

Alexander is in approximately one hundred simultaneous feuds, half of which are with Blackthorne's sockpuppets.

When he's not getting banned for threats and violent imagery, he's posting parkour vids and selfies showing off his latest fits.

Charlie Delta (has been a ghost this whole time! 👻) @charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 14h

Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters

For the sake of this hypothetical, your characters have social media in their world.

Do they use it? What kind of things are they posting about? Pictures, video, or text? What do they have as a profile pic?

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

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

Said my next task tonight was to reread 1660's manuscript, but first I guess I instead create this file to celebrate PlotTober the 13th.

Screenshot of the first line of a manuscript in Ellipsus. It reads:

1. Uxbridge Road

Amidst and beneath the cloaks, the hats, the boots, the shoes, the bands, the hose, the gloves, the gloves, the gloves, and, at last, the little square box that rested heavy on his lap, sat Alexander Aldridge.

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 18h

#LGBTQWriteAThon
I'm going to finish the last planned big change to the MS. (I'm so close I'm pretty sure it's gonna be today!)

Then I think I should do a read-through, reverse outline/info tracker, and make a todo list for what else has to happen before it's time to send out 2nd draft to betas.

AmaraJLynn💎🌌🌺GEMS & STAR FLOWERS coming soon! @amaralynn.bsky.social · 1d

#LGBTQWriteAThon October 13:

Goals day! What are your goals this week?

#writesky #queerwriters #writers #lgbtqwriters

Image: a burnt orange background with two jack o' lanterns. Text: #LGBTQWriteAThon Use the tag and follow the feed on BlueSky! Tag @LGBTQWriteAThon in photos on Instagram! October 13: Goals day. BlueSky: @amaralynn @rebeccafrostwrites.com Instagram: @LGBTQWriteAThon @amarajlynn @krakengoddess

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 18h

#PlotTober
It starts from Alexander's exit from London, almost immediately following 1660's plot.

I'm still going with my philosophy of "slow start", letting you soak in the characters and setup first, but I do plan to have the first action scene (which I've finally figured out. ish) in chapter 1!

Ange @gunsmile.bsky.social · 1d

#PlotTober Day 13: Story beginnings

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

#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt #WriteSky

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

13. Let's begin brainstorming the main plot points of our WIPs. Knowing what you know of your main character(s), what are a few potential ways you could begin their story?

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

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 19h

What I think is the most interesting without being spoilery "push", for today's #WIPSnips!

It was the family parlour, tucked into the back of the house. No revelry was here, and so were lit none of the expensive tapers that crowded the dining and dancing rooms above. Even so, he could see fairly well by the swollen white moon that dripped silver through the large, Parisian windows overlooking the narrow parterre garden and the long gravel path to the mews lined with box and yew. Lady Elizabeth was there, unhidden in the corner, and so was a man, though not the same man he had seen dance with her. He was tall, his back to Alexander as he leaned far over the small young woman, vast lazy coils of dark hair tumbling down his shoulders as he brought his face very close to hers. But it was not what Alexander first thought, with a clench of his stomach. For he could just see, at that angle, that as the man drew closer, Elizabeth kept raising her closed fan to interpose between their faces—and he kept pushing it back down with a single long finger on the rim.

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Reposted by Isaac X Isaac

M. Kirin 📶⚡ @mkirin.itch.io · 1d

name one problem you can’t solve by making a spreadsheet. I’ll wait

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Reposted by Isaac X Isaac

Dave D’Alessio @dalessio-dave.bsky.social · 1d

Looking for a cover artist for self-published book trilogy. Mecha story with a boy and girl main characters. Something mildly cartoony that will punch in thumbnail.

Yes, paid! Four covers total, for each volume and an omnibus edition.

If you have a site you want me to look at, let me know.

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

I’m so obsessed with the randomly(?) cow-shaped dispenser.

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

Partner who gloats about SO's successes is so good😩

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Reposted by Isaac X Isaac

✨Eliza Mares✨ @elizamaresauthor.bsky.social · Aug 29

My commissions are still open! Use this link to get 50% off any editing or beta reading service!

ko-fi.com/elizamares/l...

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

Alexander is a fierce and deadly armiger who can protect himSELF, thank u, in fact you better watch out or he'll protect YOU!!!!

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

The ending is happy! In each book and also at the end of his maturation in 1670. ☺️

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

#LGBTQWriteAThon
This bad boy *slaps book* can fit so much pathetic fallacy in it. But actually, one of my favorite weather moments is a contrasting mood. I'm very proud of this whole scene, and I hope in-context readers can unlock the significance of the sky.

Bit of a CN for ableism though.

Alexander wondered how unfilial it made him to despair at being told, at the age of fifteen, to aspire to the life of an aging cripple. Not aloud, though. Instead he sat down in the emerald grass and looked up at the sky, letting the beads of sweat cool his face as the clouds of crumpled drab ambled by.

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

Alexander's a bit smug, but mostly he just expects triumph and moves onto the next.

But in truth it'll never be enough. He chases deeds as proxies for what he really wants—but can't have. He'll never be secure in manhood and must keep going till he burns out like a comet and dies.

It's a comedy!

Charlie Delta (has been a ghost this whole time! 👻) @charliedeltawrites.bsky.social · 1d

Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters

We talked before about how your character handles failure, let's do the opposite: how do they handle success?

Are they a good winner? Do they gloat? Feel like they still need to do more? Downplay their role?

#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

I shared the running 1st draft with my alphas! 2 reasons…

I dunno if I'd've maintained the morale to finish without getting constant feedback. 🫠

And also because my swashbuckler has the DNA of its serialized ancestors, so it kinda has that structure where each chapter is this month's installment.

Susan Savage Lee @susansavagelee.bsky.social · 1d

Do you show your WIP to anyone before you finish it? I never do until my stories shape shift into their final form #writingq #WritingCommunity

Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

My answer from last time bsky.app/profile/isaa... hold, but it will get all the MORE chaotic with 1661's characters

Charlotte: seduces all the NPCs
Sibley: gets pissy OOC and sabotages the party
Juliette: carries party with her actually functional build
Monsieur: keeps on about how AD&D was better

Ian Haramaki 🏳️‍⚧️✨ @cometkins.bsky.social · 1d

Your characters are playing in a DnD campaign! Who’s DMing, who’s one second from murder hoboing, who’s having to be party mom, and who’s making sure there’s enough snacks? #WritingPrompt

Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

I'm curious to see if you love or hate this person! Honestly can't predict which it will be. 🤣

Reposted by Isaac X Isaac

Mx. D. D. Ward (they/them) @ddwardiswriting.bsky.social · 1d

Do like sword fights? How about battles with giants? Prison breaks?

It's all there in The Husband Poisoning Society. Part lesbian love story. Part fantasy Bond adventure!

It's free on my patreon with no sign up required (but all sign ups deeply appreciated).

www.patreon.com/ddwardiswrit...

Various salacious fiction

www.patreon.com

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Reposted by Isaac X Isaac

MechaniChris @chrisakins.bsky.social · 1d

Sorry folks no spoilers. You’ll have to read the real thing to have the names revealed.

Which you can do here:
www.christianakins.com/grimportents

#writingcommunity #WIPsnips #Writesky #booksky #writing

"So instead, you would condemn every soul in
existence?"
"No-I would fight for every soul. I would
fight so that everyone, even SPOILER
could have a
chance for redemption."
"Have you heard nothing I said?" Ansiel shouted. He reached down and grabbed me by my collar, lifting me to his level. "We could lose!"
"We could win!" I argued, dangling in his grasp. "You've spent all your days in paradise and somehow, you lost hope for the future. So, how about you go to Hell, where hope is the only thing that gets you by."
My friends stared at me, bewildered. I felt
good. Terrified, but good.

Grim Portents banner featuring a skeleton hand holding a feather and emerging from an open book. The title is on a burning banner that envelops the feather and a large beast looms over it all. At the top, the tagline reads: Welcome to the first day of the end of your life…

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Reposted by Isaac X Isaac

elka 🌾 commissions open! @saintsbeware.bsky.social · 12d

❤️‍🔥Book Cover Request Form❤️‍🔥

for my indie authors out there, my new listing for book covers is officially live!!

If you need a cover for your ebook, itch listing, or a print-ready full cover spread, consider working with me! I'd love to help you! 🖤
#indieauthor #sff #artsky

vgen.co/saintsbeware

picture of a vgen listing for a Book Cover Request Form, 5 slots open starting at $200

photo of a book covers mockup featuring an illustration of a ranger sitting on a tree in the woods with the title A CONSORT FOR THE WOODEN GOD, Elka Marsden

an illustration of a book covers mockup featuring mock up featuring a man holding a knife to another man's throat with a decorated illuminated manuscript adjacent border with the title DO KNIGHT NOT YEARN, M.R. Santua

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

I can fix her

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

Oh, and I add:

I also plan to bring back Sir Giles from 1660 and turn him from a comic buffoon into an actually scary antagonist.

Something something, all the book's different faces of rakish highborn masculinity getting their spot in the rotation as objects of mockery, fear, and disgust.

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

Meanwhile, someone starts hating Alexander for stupid reasons→a rivalry thread that mirrors Alexander's own nemesis fixation.

All the while Alexander has to sneak around to avoid getting ULTRA mega super grounded, always restrained by social norms and what it takes to remain stealth.

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Isaac X Isaac @isaacxisaac.bsky.social · 1d

#PlotTober
So Blackthorne, whom Alexander has oriented his whole life towards hating, is in 1661! But as usual he's not chief foe—more chaos monkey making everything worse.

A conspiracy involving 1650s politics and religion→action shenanigans, but also testing ideas of forgiveness/reconciliation. +

Ange @gunsmile.bsky.social · 2d

#PlotTober Day 12: Antagonists

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

#WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt #WriteSky

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

12. What could you use to represent obstacles that try to stop the main character(s) from achieving their goals and from growing into the person they could potentially be? Consider other characters, forces of nature, difficult circumstances, etc.

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

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