#a story im playing with

[cairfrey]

8.

Question's credited to wisteria-lodge and this post:

The answers are created by me for the main character of the sci-fi story I've stopped writing (🙄) I'm hoping it'll give me inspiration to keep going.

What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/resturant)

They don't drink alcohol anymore. When they were younger, they would drink pretty much anything put in front of them, and on special occasions they will have (maybe) one or two drinks, but otherwise they don't drink. If they go to a bar/restaurant with someone, they will always let them order first so that the person they're with can order what they want (alcoholic or otherwise) before they put in their soft drink order. Their go to soft drink order is "Kon-ban-wah" which is an artificially produced pineapple soda.

What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private)

Their grooming routine is so lax as to be almost non-existent. Haircare is their priority as they figure you can get away with a lot so long as the most noticeable part of you (I.e. your hair) as clean and tidy. But even that is more making sure it's neat than actual "grooming".

What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time)

Their cybernetics were fairly pricy. They own them outright, except the skillplug jack ("A discreet head-mounted plug port allows use of an intellectual skillplug for a skill requiring minimal physical ability, up to level-1. Once slotted, a skillplug takes fifteen minutes to boot up and integrate properly." - Cities Without Number, p. 73) they are 25 months into a 36-month contract that forces a 2-minute unskippable ad played directly onto their eyes (also cybernetic) every time they use it. Consequently, they try to avoid using it.

Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory)

There's a long scar down the back of their head, the consequence of an errant wire snapping. It cut the skin right up but left no lasting damage. Their hair is long to cover it.

What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.)

This is a tricky one. They don't cry often. Not because they're bottling feelings up etc. They just...don't. But at the same time, they do cry at emotional films and other well-written media. So the last time would have been when watching something particularly stirring as opposed to being under emotional distress.

Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.)

Oldest child by over a decade. Sibling is the favourite. Not antagonistic towards them, but they don't really talk. They live on opposite sides of the station, not out of animosity, that's just where they happen to be right now.

Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.)

Their shoes are stylish, but more importantly comfortable. Their mother always said to spend money on their shoes and beds because if you're not using one you're using the other. They're brown boots that provide proper arch support. They're pretty hard on their shoes so this pair is pretty worn thin.

Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.)

Quinn's bunk is very untidy (in contrast to Calliope's) the bed is almost never made and there's usually pyjamas bundled up within the covers. There are a few pictures plastered along the walls, mainly pictures of nice views or fanart that they've printed themselves and hastily stuck to the walls of her bunk.

What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.)

They're a big fan of the 'people's' holidays. Things like Labour Day, that were won in protests for workers' rights. These protests were a long time ago (because of the way the guilds operate, most of the workers have decent rights) but they're still more appreciative of them than "Founder's Day".

What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.)

Along with their cybernetics (that they can't help but take with them) they always have their watch (which stores a tiny PC and uses their eyes as an output display) and their notebook. The notebook is an input for the watch. It looks like an actual notebook (with paper pages etc) but it stores everything written in it digitally, and blank pages in it can be used to display things from the watch.

Their name's Quinn Taylor FYI. But that's a name I regularly use in works in progress so absolutely subject to change.

[ruporas]

trigunned the hades or hadesed the trigun (id in alt)

[doodledrawsthings]

got bugs on my brain recently

[stil-lindigo]

the fox god.

a comic about a trickster.

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creative notes:

–

all my other comics

store

[eggsploded]

heiress eternal

[may12324]

Dunmeshi Sona of me and my gf. Yeah, the names are food versions of our own names, its on theme okay 🍝

[lovely-v]

Me before completing the forest temple: okay I get that ocarina of time is fun and nostalgic for people but it’s a bit of a stretch to call it one of the greatest video games of all time

Me after completing the forest temple: By revealing that Link is not a Kokiri, but a Hylian, the game effectively strips him of his humble origins amongst a group of people that already fail to recognize him in his adult form. Thus, kokiri village instantly becomes a location that is no longer Link’s home in any sense, exacerbated by the fact that the game now loads up in the temple of time instead of Link’s bedroom— he is a stranger in the only place that has ever been familiar to him and he is depressingly reduced to his destiny alone. However, the subsequent introduction of the time travel mechanic, which allows the player to travel from the horrific apocalyptic future back to the idyllic past of Link’s childhood, gives new meaning to the idea of this “destiny”. In effect, Link is not a stock “chosen one”, but a protagonist who consciously decides to fight onwards. Link’s dual existence as a child who knows the grim future and as an adult who was powerless to stop disaster gives a sort of desperation to his character, because while it brings the player relief to revisit the Castle Town that is populated by cheerful villagers instead of lurking zombies, the story can only be progressed through the acknowledgement of reality — the decision to make those seven years pass again. Therefore, both the player and Link as a character must be proactive in their heroism and make the conscious choice to struggle onwards despite the darkness that permeates—

[curlytsunamiart]

murder

(lineart only ver.)

[krazieka2]

I've played the Fire Emblem Husbando Dating Simulator Games

[moeblob]

So does he, Gallagher.

[cairfrey]

So, I've got a few posts that are tagged "the story I'm meant to be working on". As a writer with ADHD, I constantly have at least 10 of these at any one go (slight exagguration, but you get the point) and they all get left half done.

I completed Nanowrimo back in 2012, and that was the last time I actually finished a story without getting distracted by something else or bored with it.

I don't want to do that with this one.

So I'm just going to start braindumping everything about this story into my Tumblr...for reasons that make sense to me.

So...I guess to start with, it's a sci-fi story in that it's set in a far distant future where humans (at least the humans in this story...probably not all humans everywhere) live on a spherical space station at the edge of "known space". It might be the edge of a solar system, or of a galaxy, but whatever it is, they're on the edge and it's just blackness on the outside.

That's the setting, but the main character is a person in their 30s who has no idea what they're doing with their life (they say write what you know) and is really just trying to keep their head above water as they join "The Educators' Guild" in order to have that as a safety net to their life.

But as for the story, some guy who has been touched by an eldritch being has arrived on the station and starts committing murders in order to take the station over the edge and into the black where (they are convinced) their master awaits them. The validity of this eldritch God is left in the air.

One of the underlying themes is that there is no (or very little) difference between science and magic. We see people use cybernetics and tech for various means throughout the story, and the bad guy uses magic to achieve the same means. For example, there are cybernetics that can scramble your face (not widely available, but they do exist) our bad guy has a "library of faces" that shift and move as needed and are comprised of people they have sacrificed on their way here. Same same, but different.

I'm taking a fair bit of inspiration from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, especially with how the station exists/is run. The reason behind this is two fold.

One: The man was a genius. I don't feel there's much more to add to this point, except to say that I will fight anyone who disagrees.

Two: The idea of the guilds basically controlling the city of Ankh-Morpork (and consequently my space station) makes the idea of the society fairly fluid. I.e. If a rule is established earlier on but someone breaks it and suffers no/different repercussions, then it can be put down to the difference in the jurisdiction to the guild/community laws as opposed to a failure on the part of the writer who might not be paying that close attention.

I'll definitely have more ideas to add to this story as things go on, but as things go, this is where I'm at. I have the vague outline of a story (or rather the world the story is set in and a few characters) but nothing more.

Stick with me as I (hopefully) continue with this story and make it something worth reading.

[stealingpotatoes]

hands you all this cal to announce i’ve FINALLY finished fallen order (by which i mean i finally picked it up again after those couple hours i played a few months ago and then finished the whole game in 2 days lol)

[bacchuschucklefuck]

okay unironically I love so much that porter is like this world SUCKS its BAD here and it HURTS you why do you care abt it!!! and literally every single bad kid is like ngl we just hate ur ass it does not matter what ur philosophy is

[inkskinned]

it is all chaos and entropy. the thing is that the chaos and entropy make it beautiful and lovely.

yes, it's true that nature and the universe are uncaring and unspecific, and that is terrifying. i have lived through some of the unfairness - i got born like this, with my body caving into itself, with this ironic love of dance when i sometimes can't stand up for longer than 15 minutes. i am a poet with hands that are slowly shutting down - i can't hold a pen some days. recently i found a dead bird on our front porch. she had no visible injuries. she had just died, the way things die sometimes.

it is also true that nature and the universe are uncaring and unspecific, and that is wonderful. the sheer happenstance that makes rain turn into a rainbow. the impossible coincidence of finding your best friend. i have made so many mistakes and i have let myself down and i have harmed other people by accident. nature moves anyway. on the worst day of my life she delivers me an orange juice sunset, as if she is saying try again tomorrow.

how vast and unknowing the universe! how small we are! isn't that lovely. the universe has given us flowers and harp strings and the shape of clouds. how massive our lives are in comparison to a grasshopper. the world so bright, still undiscovered. even after 30 years of being on this earth, i learned about a new type of animal today: the dhole.

chance echoing in my life like a harmony between two people talking. do you think you and i, living in different worlds but connected through the internet - do you think we've ever seen the same butterfly? they migrate thousands of miles. it's possible, right?

how beautiful the ways we fill the vastness of space. i love that when large amounts of people are applauding in a room, they all start clapping at the same time. i love that the ocean reminds us of our mother's heartbeat. i love that out of all the colors, chlorophyll chose green. i love the coincidences. i love the places where science says i don't know, but it just happens.

"the universe doesn't care about you!" oh, i know. that's okay. i care about the universe. i will put my big stupid heart out into it and watch the universe feast on it. it is not painful. it is strange - the more love you pour into the unfeeling world, the more it feels the world loves you in return. i know it's confirmation bias. i think i'm okay if my proof of kindness is just my own body and my own spirit.

i buried the bird from our porch deep in the woods. that same day, an old friend reaches out to me and says i miss you. wherever you go, no matter how bad it gets - you try to do good.

[rjshepherd]

I think y'all are sleeping on this.

"you seek gortash? His soul is already suffering at my hands. This is the fate of all those who fail me"

If you use speak with the dead in gortash after you kill him, he's not there, he's already been taken by Bane to be tortured forever. I won't spoil what Bane says after this but can we all agree how fucked up it is that Tav is ringing gortash' spirit phone and Bane picks up like "yeah he's busy being in agony, can I take a message?" And then presumably goes back to torturing him for all eternity and NO ONE says anything???

I'm gonna try it on orin too, presumably she's suffering something similar. They both needed to die but I don't think forever torture is an appropriate punishment for both of them. Orin is definitely worse than gortash, both in terms of danger level and sheer body count.

[joshuamj]

In Stars And Time? More like In Ace And Gender

+ some alts