Opal

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"I hear them. Amused laughter. Voices, discussing mundane subjects. The clink of glasses and silverware."

"I had wandered into the Fae realm, and was invited to a dinner party. I thought I was a guest. No... I was their centerpiece, my torture their dining entertainment."

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Horror dreamscapes don't factor into any of my stories YET. If I were to write one, I think I would focus on how everything feels real, but just slightly... off. The horror would come from believing you're living a normal day in a world somehow even more cruel than our own.

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Hey, I'm Opal! I write horror, gothic romance, and fantasy.

The only nightmares I ever get involve zombies. Specifically a type I call 'revenants', which are zombies that are still intelligent. They can talk, open doors... so basically just undead cannibals.

I remember when Obamacare first came out. The right screamed for years about government "death panels" who would decide who gets care and who doesn't.

We now have the government doing exactly that, dictating who does and does not get care regardless of the law, and the right is cheering them on.

💖👁️💖👁️💖 FREE?! GET IT FREE?! ALL NEARLY 500 PAGES OF SPHERE-HOPPING, STARRY EYED SAPPHIC GOODNESS?! FREE?! THERE HAS TO BE A CATCH! 💖👁️💖👁️💖

Oh. The catch is eldritch horrors, blight, misery, and illness? 🤔

💖👁️💖👁️💖 STILL WORTH LET'S GOOOOO!!~~ 💖👁️💖👁️💖

aubreyennis.itch.io/name-her-holy

Agreed. Hope isn't blind, she gets back to her feet, spitting blood and teeth, ready for another round because she thinks she can eventually win. Hope sees the overwhelming darkness and lights a candle anyway, so that those in the dark know they're not alone.

I refuse to abandon hope.

Ooooh, I love that.

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She convinced herself everything was fine, if she didn't look at the pictures on the wall or the ring on her finger. Her wife was just away.

But she couldn't ignore the scratching and the crying coming from the front door at night. Eventually, she'd have to welcome her home.

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In one of my WIPs, a man tortures a woman to death. I've written the scenes before and a few after, but I haven't gotten around to writing that scene. I have been putting it off because I know such things happen in real life, and describing it in detail is going to be hard.

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Two things come to mind. Grief, and abuse. I've experienced a lot of both throughout my life, so writing about them is hard, but cathartic. I want someone to read my works and realize that they aren't alone in what they're feeling.

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I'm Opal! I write horror because I've spent my life feeling like an outsider. The person that people avoid, because they don't understand.

Also, my grandmother is a medium, so ghosts have always been a part of my life, and my dad introduced me to horror movies at a young age.

All of the prior recommendations are really good (particularly Sinners). Here are a few of mine:

Night Teeth - seems campy, but actually very good
Vampires vs. The Bronx - if you liked Attack the Block, you will love this
Fright Night (2011) - one of Colin Farrell's best roles, imo

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It lay in his bed, which will forever be empty.
It wore his hat, that he'd never wear again.
It pet his dogs, who hadn't yet figured out he was gone.
It watched his TV, and cheered for a team he'd never see play again.

It murdered him, and reminds me of the best of him.

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Tessa is a tall young woman with a muscular build. She's stronger than she appears, but always tries to make herself smaller than she is.

However, her father had her helping him with his construction business since she was very young, which saves her life several times.

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In one WIP, my MC lives in an extremely haunted house. It is full of the anguish and rage of those the previous owner killed, but even bigger than that is the MC's grief. It fills every inch of every space she inhabits.

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Sooo late to the party this week! I'm Opal, I write horror mostly surrounding grief and being 'othered' by society.

My favorite horror story set inside a home... that's a tough question. Strictly for novels, "The Girls Are Never Gone" by Sarah Glenn Marsh.

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We are not a fucking "acceptable sacrifice" to push a center-right agenda that's only nominally better than fascism.

I will not be voting for anyone who thinks Trans people are not worth protecting because it will cost them independent voters. We're people, we don't deserve to be exterminated.

Yes, many other options.

Don't ask them when they will pay. Tell them they have until X date to pay. Send the invoice, with a notation that it must be paid by that date. If they fail to pay by that date, tell them you will now be pursuing legal action. They will continue to delay until you give up, if you don't fight.

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Evelyn would not be caught dead (well, undead) in sweatpants. Twelfth century French Baronesses do NOT wear sweatpants, she will not have her dignity stolen.

...she'd love to see Josie in a pair though. There's often nothing cuter than a girl who is totally relaxed.

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"Touch me again, and you'll regret it," Josie growled.

"Participation is mandatory," he said. He reached for her again, and she fired her Colt.

She stared in horror as the bloody hole in his chest began to rapidly heal.

"Participation is mandatory," he said, smiling too wide.

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It was International Playdate Day, and my daughter was upstairs with my sister's kids.

My phone rang. "Sorry we're running late, we'll be there soon!" my sister's voice said over the line.

"What? You dropped them off twenty minutes ago."

Then I heard my daughter scream.

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Opal here. I write a lot of horror that centers around grief, loneliness, and LGBT+ themes.

My favorite international day is Shark Awareness Day. I have a lot of fond memories of my late father and me watching Shark Week and bonding over a mutual love of the sea.

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In my vampire story, the antagonists are human. They're bounty hunters.

In my ghost story, the antagonist is a human serial killer.

In my teen horror, the antagonists are more supernatural. Still very human, but imbued with supernatural power by a cosmic horror.

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I try to ensure I'm invoking all five senses when I get into my darker scenes, to help bring my readers there. What's a worse smell, old and moldy or TOO sterile? What does the protagonist see? Hear? Is their throat too dry? Is the rotting stench so thick they can taste it?

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My current WIPs have a lot of perceived realities that get violated.

"People who are nice on the outside are probably nice on the inside."

"Giving someone power simply makes them more of the person they already are."

"Someone who truly loves you would never hurt you."

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I'm Opal! I mostly write horror, with some other genres tossed in. I'm not sure how to define the horror I write, as I tend to write a bit of every subgenre.

My current WIP is influenced at least somewhat by "Attack the Block", Stephen King's "IT", and "The Craft".