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I'm in the process of writing a story/a few short stories.
The working title is "Between Here and There", and I hate it. And need suggestions for that.

Anyway, it's about a girl named Dianne who is dropped into this bizarre world called There.
And short stories about the creatures who inhabit the place, too.

I want it to be chalk-full of interesting/grotesque characters/subplots, even if they're not important to the actual storyline. So if you'd want to suggest
some, that'd be awesome.

I'll give you a few examples of characters I'm already including:

Lujan- Dianne's companion in There. He acts as a tour guide; he is a man wearing a yellow tuxedo, with the head/neck of a bird (possibly a pigeon head, I haven't decided).

The Mermaids- Four sisters with whom Dianne and Lujan stay with temporarily. Each tries to seduce and ultimately murder Dianne while she is there. They are constantly slipping water-related imagery into their dialogue.

The Girl with the Hot Air Balloon- A lonely girl with gnarled branches for arms who rents out hot air balloons if you can make her laugh. Dianne manages to make her crack a smile after a cynical and humourless joke, four days after Lujan and Dianna meet her; at which point they are literally dying of starvation at her feet.

The Grandmother- Basically a huge, wrinkled, soft-looking grayish blob with some sort of breathing tube-apparatus attached to its mouth. Dianne and Lujan manage to pull out the tube and the thing suffocates and dies.

Cobb and Jackie- Two giant rats who are trying without success to raise a functional, healthy family. Their first son committed suicide, and their second son Griswold was "hideously disfigured" and so they've hidden him in a maze in the thick of the woods.

The Twins- Rudolph and Levi, Siamese twins who were once separated brothers. They are made of wax. Ignoring their parents warnings as children, they went outside, into the sunlight and as the rays burned them, they screamed and held each other until their father pulled them inside. But it was too late; they had been melted together in a frozen embrace.

The Skinless- Horrible creatures that guard Griswold. They look like humans who have been completely flayed, and left to decompose for a while. None of them have faces; their heads are riddled with holes and dents, oozing with gore. They are not fast, but they seem to have expert hearing, despite not having ears.


I also need ideas for little freaky situations. Like when the Prince of There is holding a feast for Dianne, I have this planned to happen:

The Prince leads them through The Hall of History, where more on the nature of There is revealed. Everything is going well enough until the feast. Dianne watches in horror as their food is slaughtered before them by armored knights, although this does not strike anyone else as disturbing. "They're just animals, Dianne." Lujan reassures her. (Ironic, because Lujan has the head of a bird, and they are on a journey for the sake of two giant rats.) The animals are pig-like, but when cut open, berries pour out. The berries taste like meat and Dianne can hardly stomach it.

So, any ideas? Even posting bizarre dreams you've had or any vague, frightening concepts that pop into your head would be appreciated.

And, of course, opinions on my ideas slash story in general are very much welcomed.

are there any patterns to the creatures in this world? Or is it just random and surreal?

Uncomfortable, you say? Freaky sh*t, you say?
May I direct you towards The Spaghetti Man?
I did a series of drawings a month or so back about the most memorable nightmares I've ever had. You can use any if you like. I've always found nightmares to be a great source of inspiration for that sort of thing.

I persume to do a pan's labrith sort of deal with your dinner party, Make it indulgeing(sp) sort of with the food over power the table. Maybe include a switch up with the price, make him the bad guy. I duno.