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With "Into a Sister, Onto a Problem"  , I pause the little exploration into the Wilson family. When I wrote this, the idea was to have David and Jimmy fool around with the pens, but also to explore Jimmy a bit closer. Most of the chapters have him as a naughty prankster, though some of them actually lean into making him a psychopath that starts wearing people and even extending his will to his friend's family at times. However, other than his status as an enabler, he hasn't been truly explored. We only know about his mother and sister, and little else. So, what did I do with him? I made him a bit more human. I thought of a reason why David would keep Jimmy as a friend with the former being so average, and that made me figure he probably knows the latter's hidden depths. Seeing how his mother raised him by herself, without the aid of a man, created a deep connection between the two, to the point that he only wishes the best for her. It's the reason why I went with such a strange twist of having Jimmy convince David to use the pens to turn his aunt into a skin for his mother to wear. Obviously, Julia would refuse at first, given that she's dealt with life without needing this, but I wanted to see what would happen if she accepted, and what would take to accept it. (And it turns out, Vanessa really made it easy for her!) The little twist at the end, though, worked as the perfect complication - if the idea is that Julia made the decision to see if she could reunite with Bradley, what would happen if he decided to make the move himself? Ironically, I also had David do something that Jimmy proposed him to do at first - turn into Heather. That gave me a chance to explore her character a bit more - especially in contrast to Tina, who has been a bit better established. And there was a lot of skinsuiting in these chapters, with David having to step in and act as Vanessa to deceive Heather, and then wearing Heather to punish her. Will he be forced into wearing more people? Will he wear Jimmy and essentially wear everyone in the Wilson family? Only time will tell. Tomorrow, I'll continue the branch leading to "The Chessboard of Love and Ambition" . This was the one branch I had to take a day off, so I'm a bit wary if the same thing will happen. Last time, David was planning to look for his old girlfriend Jessica. Will he succeed, or will something else happen? Remember to comment here if you like, and become a Fan if you like my content and want to receive all updates! |
| With "A Couple of Couples Coupling Up" , this branch of "Skins" is put to chill for the time being. I'll make a confession - when I made the poll for the options spawning from "The Big Scoop" the first time, I secretly hoped this option won. And, I hope, you can see why. Ashton and Allison are the weirdest couple you could meet. Ashton should be the loud jock, the one who knows he can get any girl, but instead he's the nice, sensitive guy. And Allison's attire should make her a rebel (not that she isn't!), but she's the opposite of acerbic. Now - I think it's fair to mention that there is a lot of references to marijuana. For the record, I don't use it, but I have no issues with people who do. Having weed become a way to unlock memories of people worn as skins was an idea I got from spiritual "quests" done by Mesoamerican and South American indigenous civilizations. Thus, I had David have a sort of "mystical" experience while still leaving a logical explanation as to why, making this scene more than just "two kids playing with weed". However, this comes from a non-user's perspective, so keep that in mind. The scene where David (and Jessica) are worn and somehow experience what Ashton and Allison are doing with them pushes that perspective further. I wanted to have that represent how this variant method would work, playing with the rules mess  established on the Interactive. How will this relate to the better-known method (the brown pen)? Will this little revelation change the rules and unlock something else? Now that it's out, it's a whole new ballgame for the other branches! That said - I sought to handle both the first time with a psychotropic substance and the theme of alternative relationships with some respect. I know some people might not agree with either, but I think it's fair that people learn these aren't lawless engagements. Ashton guiding David on his first "trip" and blaming himself for not following due diligence is, I feel, a mature (if not realistic) depiction of the average consumer. And the offer of alternative relationship is also discussed as a request, respecting the others' wishes. How will this develop? You'll have to wait and see. Tomorrow, I'm continuing from "An Aunt's Skin-Deep Confession" . Jimmy knows his family's dark secret, and seems to have a plan? What plan crosses through his crazy mind? Will David agree? As always, you're free to leave a like or comment. Also, if you want more updates, click the heart and become a Fan! |
| With "In Bed with a Little Stranger" , this commission comes to a conclusion. The request was rather simple: to have a homeless man turn Tina and Claire into skins and, well... Today's chapter gives you an idea of what he wanted to do. It's the reason why the chapter is a bit more explicit than usual, though that didn't stop me from making a story out of it. So, we have a complete stranger who's taken a liking to the Anderson women, and wants David to help him. Will he, or will he feign doing so? Being my first officially completed commission, I can finally open up about the process. When you write your own chapters, you have more control over them - their content, what you intend with them, etc. In commissions, you're limited to what the person doing the commission wants, which can be a challenge. Of course, a commission can go too far, leading to things you're not comfortable with. That's when you need to negotiate - and I'm thankful for the member who commissioned (I'll keep them anonymous unless they decide to reveal themselves) for being such a good sport and trusting in the process. This is key to commissions - the person doing the commission trusts in you and your talent, so you have a duty to satisfy their request, but ultimately the artist (or writer) is a person, not a machine. At some point, they'll push back. Commissions are, ultimately, a collaborative process. The artist should consider the commissioning person and viceversa. Politeness goes a looong way. Skill manifests better when the artist is given some leeway - even the most talented person breaks under pressure. However, ultimately, the commissioning person is the one who pays, and being too demanding will only make them leave - and with that, not just earnings but reputation. There are always other artists/writers/etc., and there's always finding your own artistic talents, so as a writer, you're not irreplaceable. (YMMV about AI - that can be a touchy discussion.) Tomorrow starts the alternate branch that won this week's poll. It starts at "Sniffing the Couples' Trail" , where David seeks the couple he and Jessica used to escape. What will result from this? All I can say is, it'll be interesting. Also, commissions are still open. I already completed the second, so it'll appear sometime in the future. This branch will continue soon - the commissioning person agreed to continue it - so if you like it, you can use this note to let them know. I hope it's to their satisfaction, and yours. |
| A reminder that there will be no chapter today in "Skins" , and that next week I'll continue from a different branch in "The Big Scoop" - specifically, the branch starting at "Sniffing the Couples' Trail" . Will David find any of the two? What will happen when they are involved? Wait and see. |
| Reminder that today is the release of the third chapter in the commission: "Inside Comes a Stranger" . Also, fair warning that the next chapter (stated for Sunday) will be spicier than usual. |
| Well, the result of the poll is here. (Uh, yeah. Result, in singular.) Turns out, the only voter decided to advance the story with Ashton and Allison, the couple David and Jessica posed as. There are a couple of chapters already done, meaning next week we're going hard with this branch. And I won't lie, I'm pretty excited with this branch because of the turns I have planned for it. As a reminder - today won't have a chapter update. That will be tomorrow, and then the commission ends on Sunday. If you want more updates, you can become a fan of "Skins" (or treat it as your favorite), and click to get updates on your e-mail(s). (And of course, if you want to see more of what I'm doing, you can always treat me as a Favorite or become a Fan!) |
| Reminder that a poll is running until Thursday ("Invalid Item" ) and that the second chapter of the commission ("Pissy Li'l Sis, Spicy Big Sis" ) releases today. Apologies for the delay, but I'm still dazzled by that Nintendo Switch 2 Direct. Also: since I've been using the Notebook/Newsfeed for updates, I feel I have to make this streamer pitch. *Ahem!* "If you like this content and would like to support it and see more, like this comment, click the "Heart" icon and maybe tip the chapters? When you click the Heart icon, you make me one of your Favorites, which means you can easily access my Portfolio with all notes in my notebook. But if you click it again, you become a Fan!! And as a fan, these Notebook entries are shown in your Personal Newsfeed, which means you never miss all the updates, polls and daily(?) chapters, as well as other updates." |
| As promised, the poll for "The Big Scoop" is online now: "Invalid Item" The poll will last until Thursday, April 3rd. New chapter from the commission will be tomorrow. Make sure to keep an eye on both! |
| Posting early since I have something to do, but I think it's time to let the secret out. "The (Non-)Experience of a Lifetime" is the first of four chapters that were done as part of a commission. Yes. You heard right. I'm accepting commissions to write up stuff for "Skins" . The prompt was rather short, so it ended up becoming 4 chapters, but they try to adhere pretty close to what the commissioner asked. (Won't reveal what exactly until the end.) As I mentioned previously, these chapters will run every other day, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Hopefully it'll be as interesting for you as the ones I write by myself. It can be quite challenging to maneuver around someone else's prompt, but at least this one wasn't too complicated. Having said that - if you're interested for commissions *specifically* for the interactive story "Skins" , drop me an e-mail and we can discuss the terms and conditions. Consider these chapters as proof of concept in case you have doubts about it. Also, I'll link the poll for the choices related to "The Big Scoop" most likely tomorrow. Keep an eye on it. |
| With "The Secrets Under the Crook's Pretty Face" AND "An Unlikely Association" , I'm putting this branch on a pause. Yes, it's a double shot of chapters. Why? Because the story was getting too linear. And while the first of the two chapters for today had a good cliffhanger, I felt leaving things with an option as to where to go was ideal, not to mention setting up things leading up to it. As you can see, things took a rather unexpected turn. While I could've just dealt with Meredith and Leslie once and for all, I realized what Merry was doing is very similar to what David's doing to Claudia, so that worked against him. And of course, Merry has her own things to say, so that meant dragging Leslie along, and turning what could've been an idyllic life into something darker. That said, I'm pretty surprised with Luke. He ended up being a much more level-headed version of Jimmy - a troublemaker embracing responsibilities While I nudged the idea of him being a gamer (TTRPG and console-wise), I didn't expect him to accept "Claudia" being a guy so willingly, let alone being so chill and approachable both to an impostor and a pair of criminals. And his ownership of a pawn shop opened a lot of venues. The moment I realized what that throwaway bit meant, I immediately realized I could connect them to Leslie and Merry, and that's how the association came through. You may be asking "how is that possible? Aren't you making them up as you go?", and I counter with "that's what I mean when I say I hear the characters". Though I steered Luke to be an ally for David, I didn't have a defined plan as to his personality or his quirks; it was as I see him react to everything that I truly began to envision him. Also, you may realize this branch is another "becoming" chapter, much like "Luck(ed) on the Irish" . The similarities are intentional - David is pushed by a criminal to adopt someone else's life, and he happens to choose a red-haired woman of Irish descent. In both cases, David readily embraces their new life, only to end up finding themselves dealing with their old family. Despite the similarities, it's interesting to see how they diverge, with David-as-Claudia still feeling kinship, while David-as-Rachel focuses on his plans. I'm eager to see how this branch will develop, but that'll have to wait. As promised, tomorrow will be different. I won't spoil the details, but it involves something I wasn't expecting. Hopefully it'll be to your liking. |
| For those who didn't get it yesterday: The Sudden Death poll ended up with "When the Occult is No Longer Occult" as the winning choice. Tomorrow, I'll continue that branch, which will (hopefully!) run for seven days. After that, there's a little surprise I still don't want to mention. It'll start on Monday next week, and it'll be posted every other day until Sunday. While that happens, there'll be a poll to determine which branch to advance starting from "The Big Scoop" . This correlates to the three remaining choices for the Sudden Death poll, with the surprise being effectively a "Reader's Choice". (As you can see, your votes at work!) After that, I'll do continuations for "An Aunt's Skin-Deep Confession" and "The Chessboard of Love and Ambition" , though it's possible there may be yet another surprise interjected within or by the end of both. Then, I'll focus on "A(nother) Betrayal in Multiple Layers" and "Barbie Roleplays as Mom" before probably asking again. That should cover up to seven weeks - or possibly even two months! - before I ask you again to advance things. Now, this schedule isn't set in stone other than what's coming tomorrow and next week. Rest assured that "Skins" content is returning in full force, one way or another. Again, thanks for waiting until I dealt with some things (though not as I'd have liked) and for voting. |
| The decision has been made! At 1:35 AM, the tie-breaking vote was made - "When the Occult is No Longer Occult" was chosen as the winner! All the ties left me a bit unprepared, but you'll have the next chapter in this branch hopefully on Monday. Thanks to everyone who participated! Also: as I mentioned previously, after working on the winning branch, I'll have a little surprise for you guys. During that time, I'll run another poll, this time to determine which branch to advance in "The Big Scoop" . Will we see more of Claire's antics, or will we see a different part of that story develop? |
| After five days open, the "Invalid Item" poll ends up... ...in a three-way tie! 1) An Aunt's Skin-Deep Confession: 0 (0%) 2) When the Occult is No Longer the Occult: 1 (33.33%) 3) The Chessboard of Love and Ambition: 0 (0%) 4) The Big Scoop: 1 (33.33%) 5) Reader's Choice: 1 (33.33%) Because of this, the three remaining choices will enter a Sudden Death vote. And that's very simple - the first vote gotten will determine the winner. I'll set up the poll shortly, but the faster you vote, the faster it'll be determined. Stay tuned! |
| Special reminder that the "Invalid Item" poll ends tomorrow. And, by the looks of it, we might have a Sudden Death bout unless a last-minute upset comes in. So you can still decide (and make things a bit easier for me)! |
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