#but I've seen it in present tense in a different book

[trans-cuchulainn]

favourite Irish phrase I've learned from reading books is "beidh ár bport seinnte" (or tá, depending on how hypothetical the situation is). our tune is played, lads. it's over.

[crescentmp3]

my god. help my soul

[genericpuff]

Since you have mentioned your own original webcomic has time travel, do you have any advice for people who want to make comics or simply write stories that deal with time travel?

Could be any kind of time travel, like time loops, characters traveling to the past/future, dealing with paradoxes, etc.

Short answer: don't LOL

Long answer: Obviously if you wanna tackle time travel, go for it, but the first and most important rule of any time travel is to establish your rules. How does the time travel work? And how will you commit to consistency?

Some basic time travel rule structures include:

Clone travelling - This is the most common form of time travel that's used the most. When you go back in time, your past self is present alongside your present self. Examples include Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Doctor Who, and Austin Powers.

Singular consciousness travelling - This is one I've only seen used a couple of times, and the only one I can think of off the top of my head is Life is Strange, but what I like to call 'singular consciousness travelling' is the form of time travel where instead of travelling to a point in the past, you return to a version of your past self, fully aware of the future that awaits you but 'stuck' within that past to live out the timeline in real time again. Though it's not as commonly used, it's one that will typically present less paradoxes as there are less moving parts to worry about. Prophecy storylines also use a similar philosophy to this, albeit without the literal time travel and more so 'time travel' via premonition (could we call Raven from That's So Raven a time traveller?)

Loops - This is a form of time travelling seen in media such as Groundhog Day, where a person continuously travels back to the same point in time over and over again to relive the same events until they can somehow break the loop.

There are loads more of time travel structures I could go over, but those are three of the most basic. Regardless of which structure you use, you have to be willing to commit to it. It's like choosing a writing perspective and tense, if you choose third person past tense ("he said, she said, they said"), then suddenly switching to first person present tense ("I say", "I do", "I feel") without any context to establish that switch will be jarring. Make your rules, and if you have to break them, make sure they're broken for the sake of the story (ex. if you present some sort of plot twist to reveal the 'true nature' of the time travelling plotline).

Here's a great video that goes over some different time travel plotlines from movies/books/etc.:

As for my original comic, we go for the time travel = multiverse theory approach, where any changes made to a timeline in a past state will not change that timeline's future, but rather, create a new timeline where those past changes are true and written into the script, essentially relegating every single new timeline to a parallel universe. This is essentially how it's done in Avengers: Endgame , but instead of characters abusing the laws of quantum physics to travel back in time, it's characters abusing a magical book of diary entries that are primarily used by the main character to help him control and guide his time travelling abilities. Every diary entry essentially serves as a roadmap for him to find his way back to his home timeline from which he disappears every time he jumps. Much of the story is written entirely atop a paradox, specifically the bootstrap paradox:

(because if there are gonna be paradoxes no matter what you do, may as well have fun with them!)

There's a lot more I could go into regarding that, but for the sake of sparing the handful of Time Gate readers here of spoilers, Time Gate's laws of time travel dictate that you can't really change your past, just the future for other versions of you that you create when you try to change things.

All that said, I will say that in most cases, thinking too hard about any time travel story will cause it to fall apart, because time travel is a fictional trope that relies a lot on logical sequencing of events to work. So you kind of do just have to 'let it go' and have fun with it - but having rules to stick to will make things less of a headache for everyone, especially when it comes to telling a coherent story. Even my own criticisms of LO's time travel really don't matter in the end, because LO's problems go far deeper than some cheaply-made time travel and any of the time travel problems in the story will undoubtedly be explained away as "timey wimey shit". I'll still be pissed about it, but time travel isn't real (at least not for you) so it's not worth getting too bogged down by. Just do your best to tell an entertaining and coherent story.

[dedalvs]

can you make a translator for firish i want to use it in my rps i have with friends

I've actually gotten this question a couple times, which is great! But this type of thing just isn't possible with a conlang. It has nothing to do with the quality of the conlang or the level of completion (i.e. the amount of vocabulary, how much of the grammar has been recorded, etc.), and I'll tell you specifically why.

First, you may have seen "translators" for various languages online like LingoJam. LingoJam not only has translators for a bunch of different languages, but allows you to make your own translators. The way these work, though, is you write down a word in one language and write its translation into another—something like:

English > Spanish

I > yo

am > soy

to > a

the > el

store > tienda

going > yendo

That is, you put in one to one correspondences, and that's what it has to work with. Once you're done, if you ask for a translation, it looks up the words and sees what's available and it spits back what it has, in order. If we had this very minimal English to Spanish dictionary (which is 100% accurate, by the way! That is, all of these English words can be translated as all of these Spanish words), you could ask LingoJam to translate the following into Spanish...

I am going to the store.

...and you would get...

Yo soy yendo a el tienda.

Now, if you speak Spanish, you'll see all the places this went wrong. (Short version: You don't always need subjects pronouns in Spanish; you use a different helping verb for "to be x'ing" in Spanish; you rarely actually use this "to be x'ing" construction in Spanish; the present tense is sufficient; though el means "the", it's the wrong gender for tienda—analogous to saying "an store" as opposed to "a store" in English.) And you can actually avoid this in LingoJam by adding phrases on top of single words:

English > Spanish

the store > la tienda

I am going > voy

But you can imagine how much work that would be...

The reason why things like LingoJam are so popular, though, is because imagine if you knew nothing about Spanish. Typing in "I am going to the store" and having it instantly spit out "Yo soy yendo a el tienda" is pretty darn satisfying! If you don't know it's wrong but you're happy with it, what's the problem?

Now, a language like Spanish is huge, so it's easier to get accurate Spanish translations online than it is to get accurate Korean translations online—and it's easier to get accurate Korean translations online than accurate Tigrinya translations online, etc. The reason for that takes us to Google Translate.

I think most people know that with LingoJam, you get what you pay for. Google Translate, on the other hand, is much more sophisticated, and much more accurate. It's not 100%, but it's pretty darn good—for widely spoken languages. This is why.

Way back when, Syfy facilitated a chat between me and the folks at Google Translate because they wanted to see if Google and I could work together to create a translator for a couple of my Defiance languages at TED in 2013. After all, we had a full two weeks. We could bang something like that out in two weeks, right? (lol no)

I learned then how Google Translate works. Google Translate doesn't actually know anything about the specific grammar of a language—maybe a couple language specific tweaks, but it's not as if you can go under the hood and find a full grammar of Spanish that tells you when to use the subjunctive, what all the conjugations are, etc. Instead, what Google Translate has is a database (i.e. Google, along with Google Books, Google Scholar, etc.) with tons of, presumably, fluent documents written in the various target languages offered on Google Translate. They also have faithful translations of those documents—not all, but a percentage. Google Translate uses that information to predict what a given sentence in one language will turn into in another.

In order to do this successfully, Google Translate needs BILLIONS of documents to troll. And it has that. It has BILLIONS of articles written in Spanish and translated to English. That's why the English to Spanish translation is as good as it is.

Now, having said that, anyone who's bilingual in English and Spanish knows that Google Translate isn't perfect. Sometimes it's pretty good, but sometimes it produces a lot of clunky, unnatural, or even incorrect translations. This is because there isn't a human back there calling the shots.

But that's its best translator. Now imagine translating between English and Samoan (one of the other languages it offers). There are EXPONENTIALLY more online articles in Spanish than Samoan. Consequently, the translations you get between English and Samoan on Google Translate are absolutely no guarantee.

And bear in mind, there's a kind of minimum threshold they work with before adding a language to Google Translate. If Samoan is on there and not Fijian, it's because there's that much more Samoan online than Fijian.

Now let's go back to conlangs. What Google Translate wants is BILLIONS of articles written online in the target language. Forget how complete the grammar of a conlang is, whether you can find that description online, or how many thousands of words the conlang has. How many fluent articles are there written in that conlang that are online? How many can one person to? How about a team of people? And how many conlangs have that?

This is why Google Translate has Esperanto and nothing else. Esperanto has been around for 136 years, and in that time there have been a good number of people who have learned to speak it fluently, and have written things (poems, articles, books) that are now online. It is as much as Spanish? Certainly not, but it is enough to hit Google Translate's minimum threshold, and so it's available.

Assuming you have a conlang with a full grammar and a good amount of vocab, if it were popular, it might have enough available material for Google Translate to work with 125 years from now. But at the moment, it's not possible. That says nothing about the language: It's about how Google Translate works.

And bear in mind, Google Translate is, at the moment, our best non-human translator.

If predictive-AI gets good enough that it can learn the grammar of a language, then it may be possible to produce a translator for a new conlang. That, though, is not the goal of Google Translate. Maybe ChatGPT and things like it will get there one day, but even that isn't a dedicated language learning AI. We need an AI that doesn't work with billions of fluent articles, but works with two books: a complete grammar and a dictionary. If an AI can one day work with those two tiny (by comparison) resources and actually produce translations that are as good as or better than Google Translate, then we'll be at a "translation-on-demand" place that will be good enough to feed a new conlang to. At that point, it will simply be a matter of producing a grammar and lexicon of sufficient size for the AI to do its thing.

So, no, right now we can't do a Ts'íts'àsh translator. :( We can go over things like the sound system and basic grammar and you can create your own words to work with it... A lot more work, but hey, we don't have to churn our own butter or milk our own cows anymore! We've got time!

[jays-nook]

Watched the First 4 Episodes of the PJO Series, Here are My Thoughts:

Cast:

I absolutely love the cast!! They are just so perfect for their roles!! I've seen my fair share of clips and behind the scenes footage to know the chemistry between the actors and how perfectly the main trio embodies their characters, but actually seeing their acting and how well they fit together just makes sense in my brain!! They're all so small as well and adorable that it really puts it into perspective how young they truly are to be going through all of this and the things the characters go through as the books progress. It hurts but it's also endears you more to the actors and the characters.

Walker is just absolutely perfect as Percy. He's such a little shit and the way he delivers his lines, whether they're angry/emotional/sad or just comedic, is simply amazing!

"I am impertinent" THAT PART HAD ME WHEEZING FR

Although I don't have an issue with Lin Manuel Miranda as a person (I absolutely love his works and stuff) it does not make sense to cast him as Hermes, and that's just going off the elevator scene when he delivers the package! Like I honestly can't imagine this man as Luke's father :// It could've been better.

But the others are just great! Their energy is amazing and omg Mr. D was a blast! It's a much different portrayal than I was expecting since Mr. D is so chill and like aloof in the books, but seeing him yell and stuff at Percy to take on the quest just made me look at him in a new light!!

Filming/Aesthetics:

Every scene is shot so beautifully! And the choices they made with the places they add the music too!! Like the entire fight with the Minotaur being void of music was such a good choice. It just makes the entire scene so much more emotionally charged and tense while keeping the audience on the edge of their seat!! It was filmed so well and god it transported me to how it felt like when I read the books for the first time and went through that scene~

And omg the scene with Sally just sitting in the rain on the windowsill :(( That one was so soft and sad istg- any scene with Sally was just perfect, love her and the actress who did such a good job with her!!

Changes from the Books:

It's been around 5 or so?? years since I last read the books, so my recollection of what actually happened and what didn't was a bit fuzzy while watching the series but I was able to see how things changed. And so far, I don't mind the changes that much, like yes some had me staring at the screen like "hm" because they wetn a different way than I was expecting, but overall not too bad!

I did enjoy the scenes with Medusa, I liked having Percy wanting to hear her out and trusting to follow her inside because of what Sally had told him when he was a kid. I liked the conversations between Percy and her in the kitchen and even when she was explaining her side of the story to the trio. It was such a good way to present the scene, to show her resentment of both Athena and Posiedon, and also to show how she interacts with Percy to lure him in and play on his trusting and albeit naive nature at that point in the quest.

I did see people talking about episode 8 and the big reveal tho and I'm both excited to see it but also wary of the change they added cause I've seen a lot of mixed reactions. Some prefer the book version, some the version in the series.

General Thoughts:

I'm honestly enjoying the series, it's exciting seeing it all come to life and the dynamics and just sitting there in anticipation of what's to come.

I'm currently watching it with my big sis and let me tell y'all it's so much fun!! She hasn't read the books so all she knows is purely from when we watched the movies together a long time ago so she doesnt remember much (but unfortunately the big reveal at the end isn't going to be a surprise for her). I'm having the time of my life being a little shit and laughing at her confusion or whenever she'd start yelling "WHAT" at the screen like when Sally dissapeared HAHAHA she keeps turning to me and trying to come to conclusions and theories for things while I just smile or shake my head at outrageous ones. I am excited to see her reactions to certain scenes in the other books, especially when it comes to a certain someones end in the last book (she does not like him rn so I'm like 👀 rn to see if that might change along the way).

Uncle Rick did such a good job with the series so far and I'm excited to watch the rest of it, especially now that news of it being renewed for season 2 came out HEHEHE

And thats it for today! I'll be watching the rest of the series at some point this week and will be sharing the rest of my thoughts then. Thank u for reaching the end haha. Till then, have a good day folks and stay tuned! <3

*Last 4 episodes here*

[antihibikase2]

Pokemon Blur - Prologue : The Fool

In the lively city of Aspertia, there was a boy that dreamt of being a hero.

Divine dragons of Truth and Ideals, heed the prayers of a foolish heart.

Before we embark on this dangerous quest, shower us with your grace so that we may have a safe journey.

...

The coming of spring is where many dreams would blossom alongside the flowers- following a harsh winter, the people of Flocessy wasted no time in tending to their lands and ranches, eager to see what the rest of the year will bring.

"February was colder than other years," Muses the town mayor. "I hear it was as cold as Sinnoh on a hot day."

From behind her teacup, a blonde laughs.

"Yes! That's what I've been telling Professor Juniper! We're experiencing temperatures never before seen in Unova- I wonder why that is?"

"It's easy to chalk it up to the times, little lass-"

He leans over to refill her teacup.

"-but the youth of today isn't gonna take that for an answer."

"And why would we? If something's up, we ought to be the ones to figure out why; not when you old folks are sitting about."

The blonde's companion, a girl with a massive ponytail, speaks from the window- she does not join the other two in their warm conversation, content with merely listening and occasionally quipping in every now and then.

"You have a point there,"

The mayor laughs.

"Ah, it's good to see you haven't lost your spark, Hilda. Still as abrasive as ever- it's a shame you've taken a break from the subway, Emmet thinks you're a wildcard."

Hilda rolls her eyes- but her companion smiles even brighter.

"Oh, she's been a delight to have around! I make sure she gets plenty of training done even while she's acting as my bodyguard in the field,"

"Bianca,"

"Sorry, sorry- that's for another time!"

Bianca giggles, setting down her teacup and tapping her fingers against the book on her lap.

"It's really nice to catch up with you, Mr. Alder. It's been, um, two years?"

"Two years."

Though the hue of the leaves remain the same, the winds have changed- his guests remain as they have, but the light in their eyes are different.

And speaking of guests.

"Where's your other friend? He was here a few minutes ago, wasn't he?"

"He went out for some fresh air," Hilda replies. "He's taking his Pokemon for a walk."

"The ranch outside of town is lovely- he told me he spent a good quarter of last year's spring season over there."

Alder's mouth makes an "o" shape as he recalls.

"He did, he did- how has he been, by the way?"

For all that she's chatted about today, Bianca finds herself unsure of what to say.

Finally, she picks a word.

"Different-"

And as predicted, Hilda immediately adds "-but better than before."

That's all Alder could ask for- and it was far better news than what he was expecting.

"Okay, that's good. I admit, I wasn't sure what they were thinking when they told me they wanted him in this position, but-"

He glances at the framed picture on the wall- one of him with a group of four youths, wide-eyed and brimming with potential.

"Perhaps you kids can dream of things us grown-ups can't."

He himself hadn't lost the will to dream- but with the reality before him, he had to set aside certain expectations.

That's what it meant to be the Pokemon Champion after all.

An air of melancholy hovers over them as the conversation takes a more somber route- Bianca looks down at her teacup, smile still present, but stiffer than what it usually was.

And Hilda, looking outside the window, speaks up again.

"Guess we're gonna lose that ability soon in a couple of years, huh, Beebs?"

"Oh, hopefully not, Hilly- not with the research I've been doing."

Alder spots an opportunity to talk about something else- this quiet, tense atmosphere was something he didn't want in his house after all.

"Oh? Working hard with Fennel too?"

"You bet! Say, do you wanna know about the effects of Dream Mist- beyond what we know now?"

As the conversation picks up again, Hilda sighs, back leaned against the wall as she gazes out into the blue sky.

They had a few more hours to kill before they were expected to head to Aspertia- and it wasn't like she hated hearing Bianca's voice anyway.

...

"I'm all set, mom!"

She hears the excited footsteps clamoring downstairs, the clicking of plastic and jingling of bells- a collection of keychains.

She exits from her chores in the bathroom, removing her rubber gloves- and is horrified to see the atrocity standing before her.

"Bye bye! I'll make sure to give you a call!"

"Now, wait just a minute!"

She grabs him by the scruff of his jacket, just as he's about to pass by her- and stares incredulously.

In the home of Marianne Blake, things were in an uproar- the day had finally arrived, when her only son would receive a Pokemon of his own from an esteemed professor.

Or at least, the professor's assistant- she was quite a busy woman, she could not be blamed.

Such should be a cause for celebration- but here she was, arguing with her child before he even stepped foot outside.

"Anak, you can't be serious," Marianne takes a good look at him, head to toe.

"Why? What's wrong with it?"

"What- anak,"

She rubs her temples, sighing deeply.

"What even are you wearing? There's a spare backpack for you to use, a much more protective cap- and is that a rash guard you're wearing under your clothes?!"

"I might want to take a dip! You never know!"

"Nathaniel, you better not be leaving the house like that!"

Through the argument, the small boy grinned mischievously at his mother's exasperation, his little cat-smile never leaving his face.

"Crazy, because that's exactly what I'm going to do!"

"Nathaniel!"

"Mamaaaa, who cares what I wear out there? This classifies as acceptable travel gear, you know!"

"Just because it's acceptable- go change into something else before you're late!"

Now came his whine- and his Lillipup eyes.

"You're making me run late here! What will Ms. Alabaster say? That I kept my future partner waiting because I was busy coordinating my outfit?"

She opens her mouth to argue- but groans.

"Ugh, fine, fine. Do whatever you like. I suppose if you think that's fit for travel-"

She looks down at the worn pair of crocs.

"-but at the very least, take these."

Her son tilts his head like a confused dog, wondering what else she has to give besides an additional scolding- but to his surprise, she digs out a box from underneath the staircase.

"I was saving this for your birthday, but since your journey is starting today, you might as well make use of it now."

Opening the box, she reveals a pair of red running shoes, ankle-length- the same ones she knew her son had been eyeing.

"Happy early birthday, Nathaniel- now put these on and go look for Ms. Alabaster."

"Mamaaaaa, thank you!"

He wasted no time settling into his shoes, tapping them against the floor as he felt himself almost standing in the air.

They were a perfect fit.

"Now, remember what I taught you-"

"Yeah, yeah! I get it!"

He opens the screen door with a bang- and promptly terrifies his family's pet Delcatty and her Skitty, awakening them from their slumber.

"Be wise with money, avoid shady characters- and have fun!"

"And come home when you're lost," She reminds him. "If you can't find your way forward-"

"Then I'll retrace my steps back from square one!"

Looking up at the big blue sky, he felt the first page of his journey being written for historians to see.

"Just my style!"

Sprinting out of his house with a loud cheer, Marianne leans against the doorframe with a look of worry- one that quickly melts once she realizes who exactly she is being fussy over.

Still.

From the distance, she hears him yelling.

"Look out, world! Nate's gonna take you by surprise!"

"Dragons,"

She shakes her head.

"Please make sure he doesn't get himself in trouble."

...

The bell of Floccesy Town tolls, it's chimes echoing throughout the area.

The Mareep bleat at the sound, and nearby Riolu peer front underneath the tall grass.

From within a hidden grotto, a figure wrapped in a gray cardigan prays in the shade of the trees-

And a gust of wind overtakes them, as the nests of Pidove and Tranquil resting on the branches soar to the skies.

They cover their face, steadying their ground,

And the ribbon wrapped around their collar unravels, carried by the wind.

[thatonebirdwrites]

2 & 11 :)

2. a headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like! Rojarias, mostly because it never occurred to me since they never interacted on screen. But then I thought about it, read fics that show it, and wrote it myself. And now I really like it. 11. if you're a writer or artist, what fic or piece of art are you proud of making? For writing? Depends on fandom and I can't decide between the two as for which I'm more proud of... For Korrasami, I'm proud of my Shared Moments AU, where I did a lot of research and plotting to rewrite TLOK starting in Book 2 with a focus on Asami Sato and Korra's relationship. This morphed into a longer series to show the ripple effects, but it's my longest work to date, and I'm proud of it. It's been great practice for writing novels in a series, considering how many words this behemoth is. lol For Supergirl, I feel like my Unraveling Realities fic because of all the research that has gone into that fic. I researched the heck out of Krypton, Kryptonian language, Ireland, Irish mythology, Druidism and their magic, Argentinian slang (for Andrea), and the Irish language itself. I wanted to explore what it meant for Lena to have magic in depth and how that impacts her identity and self worth and relationships. (I use Sam as a mirror of sorts for this tale.) Confessions is the fic that leads into this one, where Lena first discovers her magic while saving Kara. The series is all about identity, healing, and redemption. I also pushed myself in this fic to try a new writing technique that I've seen done in published speculative novels: where one POV chapter is in present tense but the next (different POV) chapter is in past tense. It's such a unique way to tell a story, so I decided to employ it for this fic. I feel like it's worked far better than I expected!

For art? I'm damn proud of this recent piece, where I was practicing drawing Lena. I used color only on her eyes, they are green, but not sure if that shows up well.

Thank you for asking these questions! It was fun to think about this. :)

[quietbluejay]

Lion Son of the Forest

Iiii've been putting off talking about this one because I didn't like it. I think there's a lot that's good about it, but, the reason I brought up some of my issues with Master of the Maelstrom when they didn't bug me that much then, was that they were a lot more present here and did bother me in Son of the Forest.

I think Brooks is a superb short story writer, but that he's got issues with adapting the short story approach in terms of plot structure to novels, so the novels really read as long short stories.

Anyways. As always, it's just my take.

apparently sometimes you can Just Say No To Chaos For Ten Thousand Years and not be especially strong willed gw have consistency or draw 20 this guy doesn't seem to be getting tempted at all meanwhile his boyfriend is a chaos sorcerer

like the other guy, zabriel, it makes sense, he hasn't been doing anything w.r.t. the warp he's just been running around as a fugitive for 400 years so it makes sense also on a side note REALLY not a fan of how it switches tense and person between POV scenes

me: there should be more renegades who don't turn to chaos this book: has that me: no not like this i…i don't know why i'm not liking it am i just salty because it's not one of my favourite factions? maybe i'm just in a bad mood ….i think i've put my finger on what bothers me about Brooks' writing when he's not a bad writer! i think he's more technically proficient than mcneill or abnett tbh, in a lot of ways but it's…he's writing tie in books for the game that's what these are primarily that's the perspective they're written from which is why they don't have thematic consistency with the other writers maybe not quite the right term but it's like, and i kind of hate using this as an example, but it's like trying to mesh together Sins of the Wreckers and Barber's writing (Transformers, I will elaborate on this for anyone who is curious)

…okay enough meta, I am now understanding why people say Lion is autistic-coded i will also say this, Lion is definitely more of, hm, how to put it more morally upright than Guilliman

like this should be everything i want, it's got forgiveness, renegades, protecting the little people as a first priority…why is it leaving me cold?

i think also because it's standing in stark contrast to the themes of the Ahriman trilogy, or Black Legion it just feels unfair? the whole thing is predicated on there being no good choices but then here it's like "yeah actually these guys went and somehow became unambiguous good guys offscreen problem with chaos what problem with chaos their main issue is being hunted by their loyalist brothers" despite them also starting out from the base state as the "final solution" legion

i will say i do very much vibe with this in theory

okay so like, i will be fair part of the reason most of these guys managed to avoid chaos was because they time travelled to the future and skipped most of the intervening years

im finally getting some resonance here

okay that's a hook

like the whole situation with the Fallen is "stuck as traitors due to tragic misunderstanding" which i mean, that's astraeos but these guy get lucky enough to land in places offscreen where they can become people's protectors? also again, i don't think it really follows from what i saw of the dark angels in 30k but im not a dark angels expert lol and I've only seen a bit of them it just doesn't feel earned

also lion's character arc happened offscreen

i think i'm probably going to have to reread this book in a different mood and see how i feel then

lion has gifted kid syndrome as i suspect all the primarchs do note from future bluejay, as I read this like a month before AE: lol, though I meant it a different way for Perturabo none of them ever had to practice anything so finding something he can't do immediately is very troublesome to deal with lol -_- ahriman: my existence feels pointless and the only thing that keeps me going is the hope that i will be able to make things right zabriel: have you tried meditating it worked for me

this is who Lion is! and now he's changed to this offscreen:

one heck of a nap

also we have our second forehead kiss the subtextual relationship here is probably the most blatant space marine romance i've seen so far like even more so than loken/mersadie oh hey actual acknowledgement that how the imperium treats mutants make them super easily turn to chaos apparently lion can also no-sell magic attacks somehow lol

like the whole tragedy of Guilliman in Dark Imperium is that he is unable to recognize that he's repeating the past and hasn't learned but this kind of seems to be going in the direction of "it's fine as long as he's pointed in the right direction"?

lion is having a two paragraph struggle about "is the emperor actually a god" guilliman divinity wrestling speedrun

like that sounds contrary to what chaos energies actually do but okay mmm, still not a fan of mercy kills especially in this context which is redemption equals death

wait wait lion is being worshipped as a god even if he's not a fan lion: better me than the alternative maybe that's what turned him into a good guy okay this is kind of cool lion is fighting all his brothers i think structurally this should have been at the beginning, though but the book isn't quite over so maybe im wrong expansion: fighting all his brothers and they're poking into his weak spots

>kurze appears out of the shadows >says something cutting >refuses to elaborate >leaves

okay this is fun

like okay i do get that it's not exactly super realistic to expect lion to go "the emperor's entire methodology was completely flawed" but also given the tone of this whole thing i kind of expected it if we were to have any kind of good resolution here

lion: have any of you tried not being doomed by the narrative?

Not a bad way to end it though!

I'll come back to this after I've read Unremembered Empire, maybe, and re-evaluate.

[korgbelmont]

Male MC (Nick Taylor) x Stacy Green

An Easter Special

Nick is still in a weird place, unsure of how he wants to move forward in his life as a Night Hunter, but when something turns up on his doorstep, things start to become clearer.

Written in the present tense

Tagging: @choicesficwriterscreations, @jerzwriter

Warnings: None

Words Count: 1303

Notes:  I don’t own these characters, they are the property of Pixelberry Studios.

The Egg created on cooltext.com

With a day with no work for either Nick or Stacy, they follow a recipe for making their own Easter Eggs with Stacy going for a minty chocolate flavour while Nick works on a white and milk mix. However things don't go as Nick planned as the chocolate doesn't spread as it should.

Nick - Spread please! Very pretty please!

Stacy - Pass it here.

He hands her the tray and she spreads it without any issue.

Stacy - There we go.

She hands it back to him and he tries it as she did, but still doesn't have any luck. Not wanting to get angry, Nick sets it down, taking a deep breath. Stacy lays a hand on top of his, turning his head to face her.

Stacy - What's wrong? And don't say it's the chocolate.

She sits Nick down, keeping one hand in her ambrace.

Nick - I feel... lost.

Stacy - You don't know you if you want the life of a Night Hunter. Am I close?

He manages a smile and nods.

Nick - It's who I've been for so long now, I don't know who I'd be without it.

Stacy - You'd still be the man who proposed to me a month ago. And I told you, no matter what, I'd back you. We're a team, remember?

Nick - Yeah.

Stacy - Come here.

She brings him in closer, wrapping her arms around him. He brings his arms up around her. They remain like that for a moment before Stacy stands.

Stacy - Now come on. Let's get these finished.

Nick - Okay.

In the early hours of the morning, the couple are woken by the doorbell ringing.

Stacy - What?

Nick - It's 3AM!

Stacy unwraps herself from Nick and they get out of bed, heading over to the door. Opening the door, Nick kneels down to find an egg on the floor. He picks the egg up, caught off guard by the weight.

Nick - Whoa!

He kicks the door closed, showing the egg to Stacy.

Stacy - What is it?

Nick sniffs it, unsure of what the scent is, for a moment, he considers a different way to try and figure it out, which Stacy instantly picks up on.

Stacy - Do not lick it.

He sets the egg down and they both look it over.

Nick - Never seen anything like it.

Stacy places a hand on it.

Stacy - It's warm.

Now feeling wide awake from curiosity, Nick and Stacy begin going through Nick's lore books, looking for anything resembling the egg, but as the time passes and the sun begins to rise, they find nothing.

Nick - Damn.

Looking at the time, Stacy takes a photo and sends it to one person she has a feeling can give an answer.

Stacy (T) - Any idea on this? It was left on our doorstep earlier. We checked all the books and found nothing.

Ava (T) - Give me a bit of time.

As morning turns into afternoon, Nick sketches the egg in his book when a portal opens and Ava steps through, book in hand.

Nick - Hey, Ava.

Ava - Got something for you. How the hell did you get it?

Stacy - We heard the doorbell at about 3 and just found it there. Nobody around.

Ava looks the egg over, glancing down at her book.

Ava - Oh yeah. Definitely.

Nick - What exactly have we been left?

Ava shoves the book into Nick's hands and he reads the pages, his eyes widening.

Nick - You're kidding.

Ava - 'Fraid not. You two have got yourselves a Dragon egg.

Stacy - Okay, why have we been left a Dragon egg?

Ava - No idea. But...

She places her hand on it, feeling the warmth.

Ava - Yeah, this baby's ready to hatch very soon

Stacy - Uh, very soon?

Ava - They get warmer when they're nearing hatching.

Nick - Okay, as much as I would like to see a Dragon. I'd rather it not be in my home.

Ava - Best thing I can suggest is we get it to the woods.

Nick goes to pick it up, however has to let it go as the egg has only become warmer.

Nick - Okay.

Stacy - I'll grab a couple of towels.

Nick - I am gonna call Lucas to try and get things closed off so this can happen without an audience. That being said, I may call Dan, Andy, and Lily. They might want to see this.

Stacy - You know Connor will want to see this as well.

Ava - I'll tell my dad, get him to help Lucas

A few hours later, Nick, Stacy, Ava, Andy, Lucas, Lily, and Dan all gather in a clearing in the woods. Flashing lights in the distance from the Westchester police keeping the woods closed off. Lucas kneels down examining the egg.

Lucas - This is so weird.

He falls back as the egg cracks, and goes to join the others at the edge of the clearing. Nick lays his hand over the hilt of his sword as the egg begins to hatch.

Nick - This is it.

Pieces of the egg fall and soon a baby white Dragon looks around at them. Nick releases his blade and carefully approaches the creature.

Andy - You're seriously going to try and pet it?

Nick - I want it to know we're not a danger.

As he nears the Dragon, he gets onto his knees, holding his hand out. The Dragon sniffs, cautiously approaching Nick.

Nick - It's okay. I won't hurt you.

The Dragon spreads it's wings, screeching and Nick backs up a bit.

Nick - Okay!

The Dragon does a series of screeches.

Dan - What do you think it's doing?

Lucas - Calling out to another maybe?

Winds pick up as their answer is soon given. A much larger white Dragon lands in the clearing, glaring at Nick.

Nick - Everyone keep back.

Lily - That must be the mother.

Dragon - Why did you take my child?!

Nick - I didn't! The egg was left with my Fiancée and I this morning! I promise.

The Dragon lowers her head to look into Nick's eyes. Nick looks back into the ice blue eyes.

Dragon - You speak the truth.

Nick - Yeah.

Dragon - There are many who wish to use Dragon's for their own gain by stealing our eggs. I do not sense that with you. Instead I sense you are at war with yourself.

Nick swallows. Still feeling a bit of fear.

Dragon - Let things happen, and you will find your answer.

The Dragon looks to it's baby before looking back at Nick.

Dragon - I thank you for your care. We will return to Lamrian.

The baby Dragon tries to take off, but with no success. The mother lowers her wing, letting the baby climb onto her back. They soon take off and Jason can only smile at the sight. Once they are gone, Stacy joins him, holding him.

Dan - Wow...

Andy - That was amazing...

Lucas - At least we don't have to explain it to the media since the Vampires revealed themselves.

That night, Nick stares up at the ceiling. Stacy kisses his shoulder to get his attention.

Stacy - What's going on in that head of yours?

Nick - I think I know where I'm going. I've been seeing things in the darkness for so long, that I forgot about the light.

Stacy - You want to keep going?

Nick - Maybe.

Smiling, Stacy captures his lips in a soft kiss.

Stacy - Glad you're figuring things out.

They settle to get more comfortable and let sleep take them.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi there! I'm really struggling to know what tense to write my story in. I've looked up the difference between past and present, and generally understand when you should use either one, but then any contemporary book I read is always present tense.

Could you shed some light on this? Is past tense not really a thing anymore?

Choosing Between Past and Present Tense

If you mean you see it a lot in contemporary fiction (not my favorite genre, so I only read it occasionally), I have to tell you, I was all prepared to say present tense is more popular in contemporary YA than in regular contemporary fiction. But I had a look at 5 random titles from the past five years, and I was surprised to find that 4 out of 5 of them are indeed written in present tense. This is absolutely boggles my mind because book snobs and writing snobs love to rail against present tense, yet all five books I chose were best sellers and award winners. And that's not to say you're a book snob or a writing snob if you don't like present tense--some people just don't prefer it and that's fine--but I mean I've seen a lot of snobs suggest that present tense is inferior to past tense, which I never thought it was, but its rising popularity is proof that it isn't.

What I was going to say is still true--present tense is very popular in contemporary YA, and really in all genres of YA including fantasy, sci-fi, and romance.

As for whether present tense is as popular in all genre fiction these days, that I'm not as sure about. I still see a lot of past tense in speculative fiction, historical fiction, mystery/crime/thriller, and action/adventure, but it's possible its' on the rise in those genres, too.

Either way, I think the thing to remember is it doesn't really matter what's popular or what you're seeing more or less of--you should write your story in the tense that works best for it, and to a lesser but still important degree, in the tense that works best for you. Present tense is great for stories where immediacy is important... where you want the reader to be in the moment, and where hindsight isn't important to the story. Past tense is going to work better in stories where you want the narrator to have the benefit of hindsight and knowing what's going to happen as they tell the story.

I talk a bit more about it in my post Choosing Past Tense vs Present Tense and Sticking to It.

I hope that helps!

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[isnt-it-pretty]

any advice for someone who never wrote a fanfic before?

Writing is a skill like any other. You wouldn't expect to pick up a flute and know how to play, would you? So no matter what, just keep writing.

Beyond that, here's a few pieces of general writing advice:

- Make sure your dialogue formatting is correct. A new paragraph every time a new person speaks, proper quotation marks, etc.

- Remember your tense. If you're writing in past tense, make sure everything is in past tense. The same applies if you're writing in present tense. It's an easy mistake to make, but people will notice.

- Don't use physical descriptors in place of nouns. Like this:

"Dialogue dialogue," the raven haired man said.

It's one of the quickest ways to turn people off your work. Use pronouns or the character's name unless the reader doesn't know the character's name. Sometimes you can get away with character relationships, ("blah blah," his father said), but use them sparingly.

- In a similar vein, just use 'said.' Words like whispered, shouted, etc., should be used for emphasis, not for regular dialogue.

- Don't learn to write from reading fics. You can tell when somebody does because they use all the tropes common to fanfiction, but honestly, those aren't very good (we've had passionate debates in my discord server about whether "golden orbs" or "the bluette said" is a greater sin. There is still no agreement.)

- Run your work through Grammarly. Copy and paste it into Grammarly's word processor since that works better than their google docs extension. Even the free Grammarly will help you a lot with little grammar things you don't notice. I know it picks up typos and such for me all the time.

- Personally, I suggest checking out some nonfiction writing books too. I'm fond of Stein on Writing by Sol Stein, and The Story Graph by Shawn Coney, but most people never do that, and they write fic just fine.

- Depending on the topic you plan on writing, research. I'm serious; the number of stories I've read that just toss in a deaf character because the author likes the headcanon is insane. If you want to deal with topics like disability or social issues, you need to research.

- If you post on ao3, learn the tagging system and use it properly. For example, "/" is romantic, and "&" is platonic. In general, don't use both for the same two characters.

- This is an excellent master list of writing advice by tumblr user she-who-fights-and-writes. Not all of it will apply to fic writing, but the basics are the same.

None writing but still important things:

- You'll never be happy if you compare your work to others. You can look at your pieces all day and wonder why they don't sound right or feel right or why it isn't like your favourite fic author, and it won't to make a difference.

- Coming off that, jealousy is a natural part of being involved in a skill-based community, but don't let it sour your friendships or make you bitter. I've seen it happen, and it makes everybody involved feel shitty. Meet people with kindness and move on, even if you think they don't deserve their popularity.

- Make friends! Fandom is a community. Authors should make friends with each other and with their readers. They should participate in the community by leaving comments on fics, reblogging art on social media, etc. This is supposed to be fun, so let it be.

- It is illegal to earn money off fan works. Don't mention anything to do with money on ao3. Don't link a kofi, paypal, say a work was a commission, etc. It breaks the terms of service.

- Just be kind and have fun.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 8/16/22

currently unemployed so i am real goddamn fuckin chatty in this one

listening CTRL^^^ by MONOWHALES bc jack read me for filth with this rec several weeks ago and it's been in heavy rotation since then, so into the tuesday playlist it goes.

-

reading Falling Sky by Rajan Khanna (published 2014, author says the concept began in 2008).

premise: this is an interesting little bridge between the steampunk and zombie trends. the comps on the back of the book (thriller/noir/hemingway/miyazaki) are not very accurate. it's set in california, a generation after fast and smart zombies that reproduce have made the ground is too dangerous, so most people roam about in airships and zeppelins (good on the author for distinguishing them, knowing his terminology, also giving some of them vertical takeoff and landing capability). posits a world where the airship was ubiquitous before the apocalypse, which is fascinating, bc the airship our hero owns is one stolen by his grandfather as shit went down. our hero is a jaded bodyguard is trying to keep a pack of scientists researching an infection detection method safe in a secret ground-based lab. wait up go back hold up a minute where do they get the hydrogen and helium? don't worry about the hydrogen, mr khanna says, let's talk about helium, which is marketed through a floating city with a secret ground-based mining facility (???). airships meet at covert docking points on tall buildings, there's a chicago outpost of sky vikings that's taken over the local floating sky city, you know, the usual. i can only imagine the airships look something like the aeroscraft??

worldbuilding stuff: props for the mention of salted pigeon meat, an established gunpowder manufacturing chain, general thoughtfulness about what salvage components are most valuable, what kinds of food keep and how to safely preserve them, boiled water (i don't think i've ever seen boiled water as a matter of everyday course in a postapoc novel), several different types of biofuels. i never found myself asking "well how DO they get [BASIC RESOURCE]"? this is mostly well-handled without a lot of infodumping, with little throwaways like "hey i tested your new biofuel blend, it was good in x ways and bad in y ways, do you have any more of z blend?"

character stuff: congrats to the protag for being sad about a dead dad instead of being sad about a dead wife. there is a sex scene that's pretty tasteful, mostly vague concepts, and did not make me cringe. the protagonist has a terrible crush on the female lead but is pretty respectful about it, is on good terms with his ex, and the other female merc they team up with is an extremely capable person even if she is mostly used as a battering ram. this was a welcome surprise! the most interesting character work that happens to our hero is a synagogue in the floating city, where our hero ends up after a particularly bad day and sort of makes a stab at reconnecting with his faith. i don't know that i've ever seen an atheist jewish protagonist in a postapoc novel before, or much discussion of religion aside from cults?

stylistic stuff: there is a very fine line between hemingway-style terseness and choppiness, and this tends to veer choppy (as i often do with my own writing). i didn't quite jive with the style, nor do i particularly care about our hero. he's fine. he's just kind of bland? the book is mostly about the protagonist telling you what he's doing, bc it's first person present tense. this doesn't bother me a ton, bc that seems to be the current trend in english fic in the handful of fandoms i pay attention to.

the backstory and infrastructure of the world is there but not necessarily the people that live there. good bones, not enough meat, the style and focus on and-this-is-what-happened-next was somewhat irritating. h owever this was a perfectly adequate first novel, and my hope is that the second and third novels improve. they are remarkably hard to track down, i found this one on a whim in a little free library. from reading a preview of the second book it already seems more noir-ish so i am cautiously optimistic.

-

watching i was adding stuff to letterboxd (really fucking hate that letterboxd has got me watching more movies. what the fuck are they doing with all my data. what are they using my movie watching habits to sell) anyway i was adding stuff to letterboxd and was reminded of the film Pitch Black (2000, dir. Twohy), which is an extremely competent little scifi/horror thing i enjoy a lot.

this zoom in to escaped convict riddick watching people frantically look for him after a spaceship crash is, as one letterboxd reviewer put it "like some sort of deranged bugs bunny", is the funniest zoom in the trilogy. this film works very well with its budgetary limitations and is mostly filmed in the desert under the blazing sunlight or in near-pitch darkness, freeing up a lot of money for creatures that have aged in an endearingly (imo) early 2000s way. like the mad max movies, it asks the question "what if an extremely unpleasant man is unchained and treated like a person? what happens to his personality and decisions after that?" this one's quite solid and i don't have much to say to it other than give it a little "pretty good movie!" trophy. it also sticks its ending, a thing i cannot say for the other two riddick movies. which i also rewatched.

beautiful fuckin aurorae look at that shit. The Chronicles of Riddick (2004, dir. Twohy) is not very good but we must give it points for sheer visual style. they truly do not make em like this any more, and they made the plot too big and galaxy-encompassing. this movie was at its was most successful when riddick is trying to find a specific person. it was also at its most successful when it's a movie about how riddick and also a planet are trying to kill you. i do not like the attempted sexual assault in this one. the ending made me go "ohhhhh" in sudden understanding but it did not pay off the "guy loses everything he cares about but gets enormous power/riches/etc he's been striving for" bc the movie establishes that what he wants is to be left alone with the two people he sort of cares about safe. the ending would have hurt more if the movie had spent like three more beats really hammering in that he just wants to be left alone.

i like the first half of Riddick (2013, dir. Twohy), when it's just a guy and his weird dog figuring out how to survive the planet. the last half is an early stab at what the john wick movies would become, combined with the last half of pitch black. there are some very fun, very tense shots in the last half, even if it completely forgets some stuff it set up in the first half of the movie.

i don't care about this one as much bc riddick experiences no interesting character changes. the most overarching thematic element, if we can very loosely call it that, is at the beginning, when he says "time to get back in touch with my animal side" and then...doesn't do that. he talks to his dog. he teaches it tricks. he shows himself to have a better understanding of the human psyche and how to really freak people the fuck out better than any of the posturing mercs after him.

i mostly dislike this one a great deal bc i do not like how the out lesbian in this one, with big guns and a sniper rifle longer than she is tall, is there for the men to constantly make passes at. there is an attempted sexual assault in this one too, and she..sleeps with riddick at the end??? i don't fully understand what was happening there. this riddick does not feel like the same riddick as the one from the previous movies. like the daniel craig bond movies, he is at his best when he reluctantly cares about someone and is reluctantly going "uggggHHHHHH FINE I GUESS I'LL BE A GOOD GUY BUT I'M GOING TO BE MAD THE WHOLE TIME AND EXTRA SCARY >:( " like yes yes big muscle man do flip and be very smart and punch hard and look nice. what does the big muscle man FEEL. that's when these movies get interesting, when they remind you riddick is a real actual guy and these aren't just stunt movies, and this last movie had too much bleh for me to enjoy the back half. so we progress in this trilogy from "really fucking fun and interesting, extremely tight and self-contained thesis" to "bizarre but going for something, thesis unknown" to "this is two different movies and not very much fun. cool dog tho". we must hand it to these movies as a whole for going "man vs nature on other planets lets us get REAL insane with it".

-

playing honestly probably a hiatus from Gaming (TM) for a while

-

making roundup of several small things.

a list of the westerns i would let other people watch, made for my siblings who will be visiting for christmas. they get to pick which ones but i do get to inflict three westerns upon them.

a rashomon-trope fallout fic for yeehawgust, where everyone has a different story about What Actually Happened: "There was a rumored pre-War banquet hall full of uranium glass place settings, ripe for selling to the Courier for her wedding. Now there’s a giant crater and four different stories about whose fault it is."

finally rigged up plant lights two and a half months after moving in. had to heavily prune and discard some plants, which makes me feel bad, and discovered i am still battling scale, which also makes me feel bad. however, now i know it's there and i can start dealing with it again. still need to rig up something better for my poor pencil plant, which also needs to be pruned and repotted bc it got Very leggy. do not worry about the snake plants they live in my office they didn't actually go anywhere

stopped at a yard sale, met a baby, pet a very friendly and well behaved chihuahua, got a 2-foot 10 through 60 parts to the inch architect’s scale and a pair of Wiss shears for a dollar. the shears are very dull, need a new nut, significant enamel wear on the handles which is annoying, but cannot beat the price for new kitchen shears. u kids know the drill into the vinegar bath it goes. will have to have a think about how to stop the handles from rusting again. maybe a dip in the can of white enamel paint i used for the kitchen table, maybe a funky new kind of spray paint is in my future.

[fancy-a-dance-brigadier]

I'd love to hear more about 'Hearts in Orbit' or 'Time and Tide'!

And I shall tell you about both <3

'Hearts in Orbit' is my Jezri fix-it-fic. Basically, I'll write one chapter for every episode of season 7 - sometimes it'll be rewritten scenes from the show, sometimes it'll be something completely new. I hope to make their relationship seem a bit more believable and less like it came completely out of nowhere. I also want to explore aspects of Jezri that really fascinate me, particularly the idea that they both are who they are because of something that was done to them against their will, and the fact that they both have the potential to be Very Dangerous people but they desperately don't want to be. I'm also going to take it as an opportunity to be self-indulgent and rewrite certain aspects of season 7 that I didn't like, particularly the episode 'Extreme Measures'.

'Time and Tide' is a Siskoshir oneshot that stems from a concept called tidal memory, which I learned about in one of my uni classes this year. Tidal memory comes from Kamau Braithewaite's contribution to the book 'Tidalectics', and basically he theorises that memory is like the tide - it comes in and goes out, bringing something different with it every time. I felt like that idea would really fit the themes of non-linearity that's so present in the Siskoshir relationship, and so 'Time and Tide' is my attempt at implementing that. I'm going to rewrite a scene from 'Past Tense' four different times, and they'll all be different because Ben is remembering it during different stages of his life. It's not finished yet, but I've made a start - so here's a snippet!

His reassurance falls on deaf ears - Bashir remains sullen, silent, his compassionate core revolting against the images of pure inhumanity he has seen today. Innocent people starving on the streets, the mentally ill deprived of the help they need, white-collar workers who do not give a damn about the people they tread under their shiny black shoes. He is a doctor fresh from utopia - such abject disregard for the sanctity of life alarms him, and Benjamin can read his repugnance as though it was carved into the skin of his face. His face which, if Benjamin is totally honest with himself, he has always found rather charming. Perhaps even beautiful. Yes, most definitely beautiful. 

He knows it is not the right time to think of such things - not the right time to think of anything at all, for he now lives in a time he was never meant to exist in. And yet there he is, in the twenty-first century, marvelling at the unadulterated beauty of Doctor Bashir. He does not know why he thinks of him as such now, when he has been so easily able to compartmentalise his latent attraction in the past. Even this morning, as they waited for the office workers to assign their fate in the Sanctuary District, he saw Bashir as merely his subordinate officer - a companion, certainly, and one he was glad to have, but an officer in his command nevertheless.

But now Bashir is beautiful. Perhaps it is the way his anger lights up all the flecks of gold in his hazel eyes, perhaps it is the light touch of stubble that now grazes his jaw, perhaps it is the slender cut of his figure in that familiar, far away uniform. Or perhaps it goes beyond the physical - for Bashir cares so very very much about the people that surround him, his beating heartbreaking for complete strangers, itching to break all the temporal rules and utilise all his medical miracles to alleviate the suffering of this generation. Benjamin has always been attracted to action, to people who do the right thing in the face of stifling rules, to people who guide themselves via a compassionate compass. And in this moment - this very inappropriate moment - all those traits have intermingled in Bashir to create a man that makes Benjamin’s heart thud far quicker than it ought to. 

[bitegore]

I feel like I've asked this before but 👀 "We become such strangers now" for the director's commentary

"we became such strangers now, falling out" can be read here on ao3, if you haven't seen it yet

"We became such strangers now" is actually one of the few fics I feel like I actually captured the idea i had in my head in. I had this idea about them tensely not making up... together... and i did successfully get them to hang out together and not quite make up, Together. to this day it still kicks my ass whenever i read it in the best way, which is really the mark of a well-written fic in my opinion. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it until I write something better; I think it's the best thing I've ever written.

I think you've heard this before, but when I was writing it I got a terrible case of writer's block not because I couldn't figure out what to write but because I got the tension to work for me so well that I awkwardly avoided the fic just like how Springer went around awkwardly avoiding Impactor. Truly writing is so difficult.

On a reread, I think the only thing I could've afforded to do was maybe force Springer to explain what he was having a guilt complex about; I decided to make him have Opinions TM about having shot through Impactor like Impactor did though him, even though the circumstances and context were both completely different. It's not as clear as it could be, but also it's not... not clear, it's just also kind of a stupid thing for him to be worked up about except for how he's got a whole lot of baggage around Pova already, and in this AU he just got one step from trying to go back in time and Fix The Wreckers. This is just that, in the present instead of the past. But he can't erase the past like this, so instead it gets to weigh on him.

I guess I could've played that entire bit up, actually. Springer's choice at the end of the last Wreckers' book was essentially him forgoing the future over a new past, a choice just as uncertain and dangerous (we never get any proof it works!) as choosing to live and grow, but in my opinion more cowardly. He would rather erase the mistakes he and his comrades made than grapple with their consequences like literally everyone else is doing, and he would rather go back to the war than an uncertain and unclear peace. As much as we're presented Springer as this decisive action hero, he's not. He's got no idea what to make of peace, and he doesn't really know what to do with it or want to deal with it by the time "we became such strangers now" rolls around. And for all Impactor's sins, every time we see him and everything we see him do is a reaction to something he did in the past. He may be doing a terrible job of atoning for his sins, but he's making an effort, where Springer is not. (Which raises another question- is it better to try really badly to fix your mistakes by doing a lot more harm, or is it better to just give up?)

If I knew where I was going with this, I'd have written a fic about it, so I think I'm just gonna end this ramble there. But it gives you his mindset. He's paralyzed by indecision around Impactor during the fic, but it's a broader symptom of him being lost and uncertain for the first time in a new world he doesn't know how to belong to. Impactor is also lost and uncertain in a new world he doesn't know how to belong to, but his solution is to make it into a world he does know how to belong to (derogatory), while aware it's not working and also sucks, because he hasn't got any better ideas. But at least that's something. And that comes through in the fic, too. Springer does things on autopilot. Impactor offers options that aren't solutions but are better than nothing. And together they might actually go somewhere.

[chimney-cake]

For the one person, who'd always made, makes and will keep on making an appearance in my books. For simplicity, let's call him Jack.

So.

For Jack.

So. Jack was quite something.

And I loved him. Honestly? I still do and I won't ever be over him. Never. I tried...

There's a thing that I love in English grammar: the difference between the past simple and the present perfect tenses. Even their names are telling you something. When you use past simple, you describe a moment that was. One moment, maybe repetitive, but it has no effect on the present. It's a simple event. On the other hand, the present perfect is used for 4 things: an event that hasn't occurred yet (I haven't seen the see yet), a recent event (I've just mopped the floor); and the other two are those I'd like to emphasize: a thing that started in the past and continues in the present (I've been living here since 1884), and a thing that happened in the past and has a consequence regarding the present(I've broken the neighbors' window). That's why I can say this:

He loved me, I've loved him.

And it's not that I want to. I've been trying for ages to forget Jack. But when we parted, he and I both disappointed me. I want to forget forever that the happiness we shared ended. But, and I hate the human brain for this, every time I experience a minor disappointment with anything, a barely passed exam, help I expected and didn't receive, I recall the heartbreak we caused me. Over and over again, more and more often, more than I'd like to admit.

I ran out of his time and of opportunities. And what really hurts, physically, that I had those, opportunities. Millions of them. (We've never been together together.) But nooo. I thought it's better I cut things off. So I did. Later on came another guy (let's not call him anything), and I realized I wasted energy, time and love on him after two years. During this two years I convinced myself that I loved him and he was the one for me. During this two years, I felt something missing, but it didn't even occur to me that it was Jack. During the second of the 2 years I wrote multiple poems about a bat that would comfort me in the darkness. When Jack and I chatted it was usually between 11pm and 3am. We just talked via the internet, several miles apart, yet so close to each other. Frankly, I filled in the empty space he's absence made in heart with poems I didn't even know were about him. I thought it was the other guy not being with me.

And after two years I realized. It was Jack. It was the dark prince of the Night and the Moon, and I was his princess he'd dance with at a wild, masquerade-macabre. I remember breaking down to tears when I saw the connection. I cried because of how stupid I had been. I could've use the years to step into the relationship but I spent them on a (now) priest.

Yes, a priest. The moment he told me planned on becoming one and he already enrolled. I felt stupid. I saw it coming yet I ignored it completely with all my conscience. When he told me, we were on the phone, so he couldn't see my reaction: I slumped into the couch like a sack of potato, with all my weigh and without any power. Of course, I congratulated him and was glad I was the third person he told. Excluding his parents.

That summer, I started texting Jack again. I exploded with euphoria as he texted back (immediately) for the first time in 2 years. And every night we chatted it was like drug. He was like drug. And, every morning, I woke up after a chat, I was so happy for the whole day.

But every night felt different than two years ago. It wasn't the same but wasn't less lovey. I decided to confess. We managed to find a place and time to meet at, and we talked and walked. We were walkie-talkies. For 4 hours we chatted about nothing and everything. But then we had to speak. I did, he did. He said he had time but not for me. Not for a romantic relationship. He said that he was selfish, he thought he was a bad influence on me and he wants to focus on his future.

In my mind I said "Boy that's what I want, I want to care for you, take care of you, to back you up, to help, love, admire, encourage, worship you. That's what lovers are for! To rely on each other! And I don't care about finance, I don't care if you're selfish, seriously, that's your only error! I want to rely on you emotionally, I know you can give my mind and soul support!... And I know you love me too." I know.

That was one disappointment.

But at that brilliant moment of extraordinary stupidity, I whispered:

"It's getting late, I should head home." That was the other disappointment.

He accompanied me to the bus stop and on the way there he asked what I expected regarding this meet-up. I told him I wanted honesty and I got it. I said I was sorry for not being able to talk about my feelings. It's very hard for me.

(I can write about it.)

He agreed.

The bus left and we haven't talked since.

And I'd like you to remember the paragraph about English grammar...

...I think this is why we say right person at a wrong time.

[hazeldragonblossoms]

general magic/ravenwood/wc stuff + mems specific to the schools yahoo (it's long sorry)

for each of the schools of magic, i'm starting out by quoting the tomes found in each classroom, analyzing/elaborating on them as i go, and then delving into more miscellaneous memories that aren't touched on in-game (as far as i can see, anyway...)

also! i’m gonna use first person singular and plural (with the plurals referring to society in the spiral as a whole), and i’ll try to stick with present tense, but i might slip up. apologies! 💖

wizard city

ravenwood was founded surrounding bartleby, and wizard city was slowly built up around it as it became a trade hub for various magical exports.

growing up in wc, it was pretty much expected that you’d enroll at ravenwood, even if you didn’t have much magical talent. a lot of students got their magical ged and went off to do other stuff, like crafting or gardening or pet training (the practical parts, like socialization and housebreaking) full-time, or even just work at a restaurant, or as an artist, or in practical maintenance.

magic was in each and every thing we did, from friendly duels, to waking up in our dorm rooms, to enchanting jewel-encrusted athames, to eating breakfast, to summoning beasts of legend, to flushing the toilet. all of our technology had some magical component, and understanding the inner workings of magic was crucial to one’s survival in wizard city.

personally, i grew up on unicorn way, a few houses down and across the street from ceren nightchant, in the area where the dark fairies now roam the streets. he lived closer to rattlebones' tower, which wasn't always rattlebones' tower, but hell if i know what else to call it.

honestly, (this is definitely a tangent, but-) ceren absolutely either lied his way past the guards to get into unicorn way, or he just snuck in. he had his ways, man.

life sprites (which actually looked more similar to in-game myth sprites) would sometimes tease me outside the hedge maze as they went about their business for lady oriel, and they'd even play sometimes by letting me chase them around :]

...i realize now that they were absolutely never gonna let me catch them. but i had fun, so there. >:p

the day school was fun! it was technically part of ravenwood, but kids went there even if they never ended up enrolling at the school Proper. it was... honestly, kind of just a daycare, but with a little more structure? we had basic magic classes where we learned cantrips. stuff like levitation, telepathy, and summoning, and then the rest of the time was spent doing like. typical kindergarten through third grade stuff.

third grade was the earliest point it was considered "normal" for kids to trickle into ravenwood, either due to magical potential, domestic circumstances, or just plain gumption. the day school went up to about fifth grade, but i left around third, along with malorn, and ceren, who was a year older than us, but also a year-one novice.

ravenwood

ravenwood's student population had a pretty wide age range, from special cases as young as five or six, to the day school program in the commons and golem court, to the eight-to-ten year olds absolutely vibrating with excitement as they approached the book of secrets for their placement test,

we honestly had a pretty robust literary/philosophy curriculum? like, i've mentioned before that we actually took philosophy classes as we got older, but each professor's individual teaching style and unique subject matter meant that each class was a completely different experience.

i remember when i took my first pyromancy class, i was floored by how different it was from theurgy and necromancy, and also how professor falmea's class was so completely unlike anything i'd seen before from professors sylvia and malistaire, or even professor wu, malorn, or professor dworgyn!

magical basics

in the spiral, magic is almost like the force; “it is an energy field. it surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together.” minus the penetration; it mostly just flows through us. (i never liked that part of the line in the original context, either.)

regardless, each world is connected to the spiral by pathways of magical energy that provide a sort of gravitational pull, allowing worlds to wander, but never stray too far. we call them leylines

“leylines” are, in actuality, the roots of bartleby that entangle all the different worlds.

despite this, you’ll sometimes hear people referring to powerful wizards as having a leyline through them. a lot of people talked about how professor malistaire had been born on a necromantic leyline -- but that usually resulting in an argument about how that couldn't be true, with professor cyrus as his twin. cyrus was an incredibly powerful conjurer after all. (he never really used necromancy, now that i think about it. maybe it brought back bad memories? ...or maybe he was just bad at it.)

the school gemstones (jade, peridot, onyx, ruby, amethyst, sapphire, and citrine) were a great example of this, actually. rather than being adopted symbolically like a school's colors, their gemstone was predetermined based on what stones resonated with that type of magic. all jade was more willing to conduct and amplify theurgistic magic, but could be used for all-purpose magic in a pinch.

(i think that might be how sorcery got started. i dunno. i was never a fan of sorcery anyway.)

theurgy (life magic)

“life is spirit, the force of awareness and existence. It is studied by those who embrace the power of all that is living and strive to perpetuate its life force. “life removes chaos from the world and creates order, to make that which is self-sustaining. inner peace and discipline are traits of all theurges.”

no, theurgy cannot cure diabetes. it sure makes things easier to manage, though — like a magical artificial pancreas (because that's exactly what it is).

but, legend says that a theurgistic leyline would grant a person everlasting life and youth. not immortality, as they'd still be able to be killed, but the ability to live indefinitely, with all the vigor and strength of a 20-30 year old. maybe older, if they lived a really long time.

“on the triangle of magic, life sits between fire and storm, for the spark of life comes from those two forces.”

life magic was... god, i don't know how to describe it. this is gonna get a little conceptual.

theurgy was fresh cut grass and sunlight. honeysuckle and birdsong. the laughter of your best friend. watermelon on a summer day. watching sunsets. catching fireflies. the soft, cool dampness of a nice springy moss. dark green leaves and pale new growth. sitting on the couch in the dark and watching whatever movie you wanted as a kid. a salad of crisp lettuce and sweet cherry tomatoes.

it was home.

...sorry, that was really sappy. but it's true. it was my primary school, our classroom was one of the most peaceful places i can think of, my classmates were my family, and professor sylvia drake was like an anchor.

losing her was a pit in my chest, that i filled with seeds she'd given me and allowed to bloom into a garden. and i shared that garden with everyone i could, because that was what she'd always done. it seemed a fitting remembrance.

“under the [mentorship] of professor wu, the school colors of green and brown have been adopted, representing the hues of nature.”

people hated this. under professor sylvia, the school colors were green and a yellowy-green sort of silver, or any other lighter earth tone, really. she wasn't all that picky. the switch to dark brown was an outrage, and most students disregarded it entirely. a couple of students even showed up in yellow as a protest.

wu didn't fight us on it when she was told why, though. and it turned out to be a cultural difference. on mooshu, it was commonly understood that theurges wore green and brown.

so then we felt bad for getting so mad at her for an innocent mistake. she promised not to bother us about our uniforms, and offered to change the colors back, but we decided to let it stay, sort of to mark a new era. the school of life magic is all about growth, y'know?

as we warmed up to professor wu, we started to incorporate brown into our wardrobes, too.

kinda weird that professor sylvia wasn't mentioned, but these are supposed to be introductory texts, so i guess it makes sense.

conjury (myth magic)

“myth is imagination. the power of the mind, and everything it can create, drives the [conjurative] arts. it is illusion, dreams made real. if you can conceive it, you can bring it forth; bring it to life. “wizards of the myth school, known as conjurers, use naming to summon beasts of legend, by memorizing and calling out their true name.”

ohhh, boy, my least favorite spiritual class.

"naming" wasn't, like, "i know a cyclops named clive, so i can summon him."

...okay, sometimes it was that. if clive was really cool.

but usually, the creatures summoned by spellcards were just... simulacra. images that could punch.

"naming" was about knowing the true, etymological origins of various creatures' stories. knowing that greek myths (eg. apollo, demeter, artemis) have roots in egyptian mythology (eg. horus, isis, bubastis) due to cultural exchange, to use a terran example.

sorry about the use of terran (/silly). the system i'm in has wicked star trek brain.

“myth dwells between fire and ice, for that is where the shadows lie, and myths are shadowy forms of thought made real.”

literally. you heard of tulpas? not the newfangled brain roommates, but the stories about intention and belief creating actual beings. yeah, that's what conjury is. that's why it surrounds myths.

professor cyrus would have my head on a pike for that. (i kid, i kid.)

buuuuuuut yeah. and i'd argue that my belief in universe creation theory is conjury-core.

"conjurative leylines" were rumored to send people into fits of creative inspiration, as though they could see, hear, or otherwise perceive the alternate mythos and histories of other universes. (...kinda like this. i wonder if conjurers are more prone to dissociative tendencies...)

...no mention of professor cyrus in the discussion of the school colors and representative gemstone. weird.

necromancy (death magic)

“death is finality. the study of the corporeal. practitioners of the death art, known as necromancers, understand this limitation, and strive to face it unafraid. “death's power comes from removing the power of the universe at large. withdrawing the power of order and allowing chaos to return instills necromancers to bend magic to their will.”

ALRIIIIIGHT, SECONDARY TIME!

sorry. i know i'm loud for a necromancer. technically it's my secondary, so!

honestly, a lot of necromancy students are really nice!!! i mean, just look at malorn and penny! and yeah, marla's kinda demanding, but she's a damn sweetheart.

anyway, yeah, necromancy is... i mean, it looks grim on the surface. it's for morticians and death doulas, and those who love and understand them. not for the faint of heart. people say it's hard to get into, but that's not because it's particularly difficult in practice; the material is just... heavy, and can be upsetting for some people.

but death is part of our experience, and so too is necromancy.

miscarriage cw: when professor sylvia lost her and malistaire's last baby, she was in a lot of pain, and professor malistaire was able to use some form of necromancy to drain his own health and give it to her. it didn't do anything for the little one, but it seemed like it worked for her, so i looked into using the developing the method into something that could be used for pain management. it was a really tricky technique, though.

“necromancers draw on the power of courage to channel their own fear out of themselves and at their adversaries.”

this is... hm. i mean, it's not wrong, per se. necromancers have to be very brave to be able to stare death in the face, and part of a necromantic attack's effect — especially if there's a drain effect — is that it leaves you with a sense of immense dread. and the healing is... different from theurgistic healing. more... a steady calm, like obi-wan when he went to fight darth vader at the end of new hope. (again, sorry (/lie), i live in a big dork brain.) a surety in the inevitability of your own death, but also the knowledge that the same is true of those who stand against you.

but at the same time... i mean, most necromancers — the true grandmasters and beyond, with all the years of knowledge to back it up — legitimately did not fear death. there was no courage needed, because courage is a tool used to overcome uncertainty and fear. i dunno. i guess that's what i get for overanalyzing an introductory text for novices.

“death sits between ice and storm, for the cold energy of undeath draws from those two forces.”

yup! buuuuuut it sat next to fire in the campus map! that always bothered me.

tangent; once it was discovered that dworgyn was alive, he became the official necromancy professor, but he only really taught the older students.

malorn kept doing his classes for the younger kids, as he actually found that he really liked working with them. and he was good at it. they liked him 'cause he was a cool older kid, and they were wrong, because malorn is a dork. i'm the cool one.

...that said, i'm really proud of him.

i know a lot about spirits, ghosts, and shades, but i'll probably make that its own post. (i'm writing this out of order, and i'm getting close to done! but it's already a total monster.)

necromancy also actually doesn't have a reference to its professor. huh. i guess that works in dworgyn and malorn's favor, as well as ambrose's.

pyromancy (fire magic)

“in the days of yore, there dwelled the giants, the tritons, and the most powerful of all, the dragons. for many eons, there was peace. that is, until the giants and the tritons began to bicker on trivial matters. “finally, war broke out between the two sides, and the dragons became involved as the universe was threatened. “in order for there to be peace, the dragons used their great power to stop the war, and the world became dormant and silent. “though the dragons now sleep, fire magic — the most powerful of all magics — comes from the essence that the dragons released into fire and magma.”

ahh, my tertiary school. bombastic, flashy, always with a flair for the dramatic, and usually gay. alternately, the most aggressive asshole dudes you could ever meet. but pyromancers always make an impression.

honestly... i don't have much to say? sorry. i was much more into spiritual magic — elemental stuff with representative spirits and faction wars... mmh.

honestly, i don't remember anything from my pyromantic philosophy classes. i don't think i attended most of them... i was busy with, y'know. the spiral.

“as for today, the school has become more formal and organized under professor falmea.”

see, this line just makes me wonder what the fire school was like under professor memphis. i never met him, though... ah well.

that said, it's amazing that professor falmea was able to graduate from both ravenwood, teaching school, and the university of cuntology at such a young age!

(/JOKING)

it was always so. fucking. warm. in the fire classroom.

sometimes it was pleasant, like if you'd fallen in the pond in the commons, or a river, or torrence had doused you, or you'd been around a lot of ice magic, or- y'know. shit like that.

but other times the room would swim with heat haze and you'd feel like you were gonna pass out. very important to wear light, breathable robes in that classroom, and keep up the fluid intake.

...i wonder if professor falmea ever did hot yoga.

hell, someone was probably using the fire classroom for an underground hot yoga club... it'd be a bit of a waste not to, y'know?

as long as they stayed hydrated, i guess.

divination (storm magic)

“before time as we know it, there existed the tritons. they shared the universe with the dragons and giants. the tritons ruled the seas and kept peace in the world; that is, until the dragons and giants began to scheme. “when the attack happened, the tritons were ready. they refused to fully destroy their enemy, and so fell into slumber as their price for mercy “today, the storm elements still exist. even today, the more potent storm magic holds fire and ice at bay.”

i mean, divination is definitely a powerful magic, but so is fire, sooo. (nooooo, i'm not biased at all. /s /j)

anyway. y'know how in most stuff, divination is magic relating to the future? that's true of storm magic, too. contrary to conjury studying the past in a practical manner, divination's philosophy views each action as being like electricity coursing through the spiral, shifting fate. part of this is about finding creative ways to circumvent bad outcomes.

(it's similar to conjury, in that way, since conjury's philosophy involves learning the past so as not to repeat it.)

this unlimited potential of the future is part of why divination spells fizzle so much. sometimes stuff doesn't work, and you just gotta try again. see if you can't recreate the results of the experiment.

because the divination of the spiral is also about the practical applications of creative, unconventional ways of thinking. inventors, engineers, and mechanics tend to be diviners a lot of the time, in my experience.

but that's a pretty limiting example, because anyone with an analytical mind and a knack for problem-solving can work with divination magic.

neurodiversity is very common among those with strong divinitive abilities, actually...

...maybe i should've taken divination as my tertiary school instead of pyromancy. ah well. live and learn.

in rare cases, a "divinitive leyline" would result in seers, who had visions of the future and foretold prophecies.

“under the guidance of professor halston balestrom, great reforms have been made, formalizing many spells.”

yeahhhhh, halston's old. i think he's in his hundreds or so?

...i think i already said all the important stuff, though.

thaumaturgy (ice magic)

“in the beginning, there were giants, who were great in power and ruled the air. after a great war with the dragons and the titans, the giants went into a state of stasis. but their powers still inhabit our world, and it is from this that ice magic derives its basis. and because it is derived from giants, ice magic will always be more powerful than fire or storm.”

tell that to every type-based battle system with fire and ice. ice is Weak To Fire. play pokemon idiot

i mean, sure, granted, pyromancy is weak to thaumaturgy as thaumaturgy's effect is that it physically slows atoms and thus doesn't obey the typical laws of thermodynamics, but still.

LEAST FAVORITE ELEMENTAL CLASSSSSSS whatever. whatever okay enough being mean

as for today's school, much progress has been made in the teaching of [thaumaturgy] under the tutelage of professor greyrose. under her watch, many new and powerful spells have been added to the school's compendium.

yeah, she's like. older than halston.

not NEARLY as old as ambrose, though. she's in her hundreds or two hundreds, i think. ambrose is like a billion (/hyp)

sorcery (balance magic)

“the art of balance in magic is harmony; finding equality in all things. it draws on elements from each of the other schools, incorporating bits and pieces of those other energies to achieve greater power. imagine building a fire, then fanning the flames to make it hotter, then using the fire to create steam to drive an engine. this is how a sorcerer uses their skills to harness the other schools of magic. learning [sorcery] takes longer, but the power it holds is immeasurable. ”

oh goody i saved the worst for last.

ughhhhhhhhhhhhh.

balance magic is for jacks of all trades and fucking nerds who are always good at everything.

and people who are just like, super zen i guess?

man, i don't know. i never understood sorcery, so i didn't take any classes focused on it.

assistant professor wethersfield was a cool guy though! always had a wild story, and was very level-headed.

i liked doing this ! even though it was very silly and took a good few hours (holy shit it's almost 3 pm i opened this at like. 10 am? ish? or earlier??).

i might analyze more stuff like this, like the old blurbs from the website/the book of secrets... or i could try to find stuff on astral and shadow magics, but those are complicatedddddddddddddd :/// just like mf sorcery