these mountains are older than bones

Chapter 2: Two Offers

He comes around the parked car very quickly, for a man with a cane. And if she was startled to see him here, it’s nothing compared to the shock that hits when she sees what he’s holding in his other hand.

❓No dumb questions amnesty - can you explain this [line/dialogue/moment from the story]?

🏴‍☠️ Were there any points in which your characters tried (or succeeded) to commit mutiny against your planned plot? Where did they most want to rebel?

🥇 What scene were you most excited to write? Did it end up being the one you enjoyed writing the most?

🙏 Was there anything your character(s) really really really wanted to do? Did you let them?

🍆 What scene do you think was the hottest? What scene do you think your readers thought was the hottest? Are they the same?

🔮Have you imagined what happens to [character(s)] in the future? Or does the story only exist to you as a moment in time?

🔎 What detail(s) in the story are you particularly captivated with? Is there any behind the scenes info or backstory?

🧭 What was the key choice or decision you had to make for this story? If you had chosen differently, what would the story have turned into?

📖 Could the story have been a different length? What would you have included/removed?

🫂How would the story have changed if you wrote it for [this pairing] instead?

💭 If you could wish into creation a transformative piece for your story, made by a real human who isn’t you, what would it be? Art, video, sequel, podfic, etc.

📋What was your main goal for the story and/or writing experience? Do you think that you achieved it?

🎤 Do you think the story was written in your typical voice? Why or why not?

👉👈What two stories have you written that are most similar? Why?

👈👉What two stories have you written that are most different? Why?

Strawberries - Andre Beaulieu

Canadian , b. 1970s

One of my favorite podcast characters (not just favorite Black characters favorite in general) is Marigold "Granny" Underwood from Old Gods of Appalachia and I wanted to yap about her because the podcast is really underrated and therefore so is she.

Granny Underwood appears (so far) in seasons two, three, and four, along with various side stories and extras. In short, she's a powerful witch with strong ties to the Green (which is a powerful generally benevolent force representing nature and life and growth and stands in contrast to the Dark which is a malevolent force served by literal monsters and also both the mining and railroad industry).

Her background is that she was her parent's youngest daughter, and her father doted on her because she was their first child born after emancipation who therefore couldn't be taken from them. Both of her parents were of Green Touched bloodlines and she herself is incredibly powerful.

She and her husband own Oak Mountain in West Virginia and while there are explicitly threats on her life from white people, between her cleverness and her magical abilities she's about to deal with the threats. After her husband dies, she lives there with her daughter Nina (who can call the dead) and nephew Tobias (who can heal).

At least by 1928, Marigold is pretty explicitly the most powerful fully human character we are aware of and I could argue for her being in the top 10 overall.

She is powerful and respected enough that her nephew survived an encounter with a being that steals people's skin soley because the he happened to see his nametag said "Underwood" realized he was THAT Tobias and stopped immediately because he knew if he killed her nephew there would be nowhere he could hide from Granny Underwood's wrath.

This is not the only time a very powerful creature falls back or is made to fall back because it's well known in the magical side of things that fucking with Marigold Underwood is a bad idea.

After all, she's an well known Black Woman living West Virginia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. If she can deal with those challenges then what goes bump in the night is barely anything.

Her Blackness is tied to her character in a way that'd be impossible to remove. Her household is the only to survive an encounter with the eldritch horror summoning baby representatives from a local mining company leave on her doorstep hoping to kill everyone in the household because her nephew was trying to start a Union because she looks at the basket and goes "There is no way someone leaving a white baby on my doorstep could mean anything good."

The thing that makes me like her so much is two-fold.

When she was introduced and talked for a bit my mom paused and excitedly talked about how much she sounded and acted like people she knew growing up. I like her authenticity.

Another thing is that she is a Character. She's not a plot device who exists solely to give exposition and advice to white protagonists. You couldn't replace her with a talking book.

She is a powerful and competent Black woman AND BUT without falling into the traps of being a plot device or a "magical negro" or a generic "Strong Powerful Girlboss" who doesn't have characterization other than "having the braincell"

She has a very Auntie Sense of humor (saying things she knows people will think she's serious about just to see the looks on their face or scolding someone for swearing, and then repeating what they said right afterwards swears and all).

She can hold one hell of a grudge even if deep down she knows the person she's mad at isn't entirely at fault and will be petty and cutting and passive aggressive towards them, but she was willing to eventually move past that when she realized her anger at him was being exploited for other agendas.

She wants her family safe and is worried about things going well (there is a story in which the runtime is based around her being anxious that not everyone she invited to her Christmas Party will come. And she needs everyone to come because she needs each slice of her apple stack cake to be eaten by a different person so it'll bring good luck to her family that year bc she's worried about bad omens)

The podcast isn't all about her and her family unfortunately. It's an anthology series that does different story arcs focusing on different characters in different times and places. But she does appear at roughly the same frequency as other characters.

fic is a gift. comments are a gift. gifts are exchanged between friends, out of love, not out of obligation.

1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.

2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.

3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.

4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.

5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.

Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.