#otherwise uncolonized

[shadowxamyweek]

You mentioned you wanted to find more arts by otherwise-uncolonized (old shadamy artist) so I wanted to let you know that they recently created new account and even posted some old artwork. Here is the link: https://www.tumblr.com/jazmine-here/749563568576446464/jazmine

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[loominggaia]

Now I want to know what sovereign's offspring look like...

Okay, the meme is hyperbolizing a bit, so let me explain what's really going on...

Sovereign is kind of like the Genghis Khan of the sea, or at least he's trying to be. The dude has so many kids by so many different mothers, they're actually quite diverse both in appearance and personality.

The thing is, a lot of his "wives" didn't breed with him willingly. They were noblewomen he kidnapped after destroying/assimilating their tribes. Mr. Roach's wife, Lobster Red, was one of them for example.

A female cecaelia's body does not respond well to stress. If they get upset enough, their reproduction cycle can get screwy or just shut down completely until they feel better. This is one of the reasons they're often kept in quiet, safe nurseries their whole lives, where they remain ignorant to the troubles outside.

Well, as you can imagine, being kidnapped by a warlord is pretty damn stressful. Some of Sovereign's wives flocked to him willingly, infatuated with his power, but many of them wanted nothing to do with his crazy ass. The rebel wives laid a lot of defective eggs due to stress, and some of them even sabotaged their eggs in protest.

Either way, this resulted in a boom of deformed, mentally impaired, or otherwise "imperfect" offspring. Sovereign made a promise to his parents long ago that he would never kill another Tekeetian, so he instead banishes these offspring to the wilderness. He's ashamed of their conditions because he thinks it makes him look "defective" in some way. (He vocally blames their conditions on "Zareenite pollution". Which isn't likely, considering his royal nurseries are nowhere near Zareenite waters, but whatever dude...)

Long story short, there are entire colonies of quirky cecaelia lurking in the wild seas who all share Sovereign as an ancestor. They tend to stick together and take care of eachother, for they are shunned everywhere else. Sovereign will not allow them back in his territory, and considering he basically dominates the whole ocean at this point, there aren't many places for his rejected kin to go. Some of them have ventured up to Terria to live on land, others have gone deeper to the abyssal depths of the sea, and a few just survive in uncolonized waters where Sovereign's influence hasn't reached yet.

As for Sovereign's "perfect" offspring--the physically and mentally fit--he likes to appoint them to high positions in his government. They become military generals, politicians, advisors, ambassadors, and so on. It's nepotism to an extreme. This is how he's managed to gain so much power in such a relatively short amount of time: essentially breeding his own civilization and using it to steamroll the smaller civs around him.

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

[starspatter]

WIP Challenge

Tagged by: @summertime-children

Tagging: @astrologista, @atsushishelteredinmoonlitjasmine, @benditlikegumby, @cryptoriawebb, @ibmiller, @iceperialprincess, and @otherwise-uncolonized

Challenge: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.

I'll also do what deta did and post comments + short fragments.  (Be warned it'll be very long though, and most of these are actually Pokémon fics since I was a much more prolific writer when I was younger, and that was the fandom I wrote mainly for.)  I also won't be including "Heroes and Thieves" on here (or any DC/superhero stuff really since I’ve essentially “done” everything I had planned for now), as *technically* it is all already completed in draft form, and I'd like to keep things a surprise for whenever I do end up posting~

Hero and Seek

“Well, we’re all together now, so let’s have some fun, all right?  Don’t worry, it’s really simple.  One person is the ‘demon’, and the others have to hide from him.” “Eh?  A ‘demon’?  But that’s scary!” Three pairs of eyes turned up to her in fear.  Those eyes, which screamed and streamed the stark color of blood the first time she saw them – not just from tears, but from the ‘monster’ they believed dwelled deep within.  She thought for a moment, then removed her scarf. “How about this then?  Whoever’s the ‘hero’ has to find and rescue the others.  It’s a very important Blindfold Brigade mission!”

I’ll start with the one Kagepro fic I did attempt at least, which I described previously here, but is basically about Ayano + the Meka Trio playing “Hide and Seek” for the first time.  (I actually had it originally titled as that but just came up with this new version on the spot lol I’m so clever~)  For some reason I’ve always been hesitant about reading/writing Kagefic, but I actually got a fair bit farther in this than I thought, so perhaps I should try to finish it someday... Princes and Frogs

“K-Koizumi-senpai… Um… Please go out with me!” Itsuki stared down at the tiny underclassman, watching a rose mantle spread slowly over her cheeks as she gazed back with shy, but determined hope in her bespectacled eyes.  The older boy could make out his own handsome face reflected off the lens, a virtual image embellished by sparkling hearts and stars.  With dim satisfaction and relief, Itsuki ensured that his bright, patient smile betrayed no hint of the weary sigh that whispered behind it.

This is an intro excerpt of the first chapter I planned to write for an ItsuHaru fic from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which I only ever posted the prologue for.  ItsuHaru was my first obsessive OTP, and I still think about returning to this story someday (especially since I have now proven to myself I *can* finish a full chapter fic if I put my mind to it), but it’s been so long I feel like I’d need to refresh my memory of the whole series/am still holding out hope for a Season 3 to motivate me again. *shot*

Fall to Pieces

As Itsuki stared at Yuki’s vacant visage, his resentment kept building.  His hands clenched, rigidly gripping the edge of the table.  Somehow, it just didn’t seem fair.  That she could so easily ignore the madness fate had dealt them, never reveal any signs of suffering or bitterness towards her situation, and yet always, always wear the same damn expression on her face. How could she possibly stand it? He can’t stand it. (any more)

An ItsuYuki one-shot, where Itsuki basically blows up at her from pent-up frustration over having to wear a mask all the time and his hidden feelings for Haruhi.  The two start to form a connection over their respective “unrequited loves”/understanding of each other’s pain, and one thing leads to another...  Like “Heroes and Thieves”, this is in fact technically “complete”, since I actually used the leftover steam from the former towards finishing at least one thing I started a long time ago - although I’m still not sure I’m totally satisfied with it/kinda want to wait to figure out what I’m doing with my other ItsuHaru fics before I publish it by itself.  (Incidentally the working title comes from an Avril Lavigne song lol.)

Little White Lies

“Perhaps the best thing for the princess would have been to fall in love.  But how a princess who had no gravity could fall into anything is a difficulty--perhaps the difficulty.” -George MacDonald, The Light Princess - Haruhi Suzumiya was walking on air. Itsuki could tell by the way she glided into the clubroom, sailing like a paper airplane – or a balloon with an inflated ego to match.

...Yeah that’s as far as I got with this.  This was meant to be a “White Day” story, which is Japan’s “answer holiday” to Valentine’s Day, where guys reciprocate by giving gifts to the girls who gave them chocolates.  I always wondered how the boys actually responded in-universe, and I imagine Itsuki secretly stressing out a lot about taking care to not upstage Kyon, but at the same time wanting to sincerely express his genuine appreciation and feelings towards Haruhi - whatever they may be.  In the end, he settles on a copy of “The Light Princess” by George MacDonald, which I highly recommend reading since it reminds me so much of this pair, and in general is such a fun and snappy “tongue-in-cheek” take on the fairytale genre. Sora in Wonderland

But wait- this one was a bit different from all its brothers and sisters.  For one thing, it was wearing a fancy waistcoat with pockets- and sleeves that were far too long for it.  As soon as it passed by her head, it stopped and slowly turned its head around to stare directly at her with its huge circular yellow eyes.  Sora stared vacantly back for a full five seconds before the information registered in her brain and she suddenly yelled, “Hey!”, and sat bolt upright.  The Heartless panicked upon hearing her voice and fled at top speed across the white sands, headed towards an opening in the rocks; Sora jumped down off her perch and immediately chased after it, no longer caring about the heat.  The Heartless hastily disappeared inside the cave, and Sora soon followed after, determined to catch the freaky little thing and ask it some questions, like what it was doing on the island at this time, and where on earth did it get a waistcoat.

OKAY SO I TOTALLY FORGOT THIS WAS A THING but apparently I tried to write a Kingdom Hearts parody of “Alice in Wonderland” lmao.  I’ve never actually played the games (aside from half of CoM), but it was probably inspired by a crossover art my friend drew? ^^; Also Sora is a girl in this bc that’s my headcanon and I’m sticking to it. XP *shot* Note: The following fics are all Pokémon-related so I’ll just be listing them in roughly chronological order (from most recent to ancient, although they’re all pretty old at this point). Stranger

The elder slowly rose to his feet, gazing at the boy, the champion, the stranger.  “In all this time, why didn’t you come back?  You could have seen for yourself how she was.” Lance wanted to yell something defiant, like a child.  But he wasn’t a child.  Children were forgiven for their mistakes.  And he didn’t want to be forgiven. The professor’s ancient hand came to rest on the boy’s shoulder.  “It’s the way this town works.  We don’t talk about things that happen outside our own world.  Maybe it was too long ago – too late for you to understand.” Lance didn’t say anything. “At least talk to Delia.  She’s been wanting to see you.” “Sorry.  It’s too late.” “You’re a bastard.” “I know.”

So this looks to be among the last things I’d written before taking a long break from fanfiction circa... 2007, jeeze.  Over 10 years, huh.  But, I think it speaks a certain amount of maturity that it’s the piece I liked most upon rediscovering.  It’s based on an idea I once had that Lance was (unknowingly) Gary Oak’s father, and he was friends/rivals with Ash’s father, who originally won the title of Champion but relinquished it so he could be with his “wife” and kid (or rather, then-pregnant teenage girlfriend).  *Something* happened though (I forget what I had in mind) and he ended up dying, leaving Lance bitter and depressed so he refused to return to Pallet Town because of too many painful memories.  (Though he *cough* “comforted” their other female childhood friend for one night of drunken grief before he left. ;()  What I like most about it honestly is the parallels bw Lance’s relationship with Ash’s dad and their sons’, and that amidst all the angst I enjoyed portraying the earnest energy and optimism of Ketchum(?) senior (”like father like son” after all).  I was definitely inspired by Mitsuki’s father in Full Moon wo Sagashite/Maes Hughes from Fullmetal Alchemist by making him a total “dork dad” who’d brag about his (illegitimate) family on national TV during the championship tournament lol.

Ihavenoidea

Either way, I get the feeling this really wasn’t what I had in mind when I made my decision to quit training.  I mean that in an intuitive sort of way.  Like, sometimes I feel as if I’m not meant to be here, like my life should have ended up differently someplace else.  Perhaps this is just one of those weird inconsistencies I told you about.  Perhaps not.  Even after all that’s happened to me recently, I still can’t really be sure about it.

...No seriously, I have no idea where I was going with this.  As far as I can tell it’s written from the POV of Gary Oak, whom I’ve always had a lot of... “complicated” feelings towards.  It probably has something to do with another concept I’ll discuss next, although for some reason it sounds like I was going for some sort of AU? *shrug* By contrast to the above, it reads like a whiny teenager complaining about his life - which makes me cringe but is probably an accurate portrayal of who I was at the time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ This one was actually dated a little after the previous, so my best guess is it was some kind of vent rant where I would “give up” writing/creating and “childish” ideals for a while, as I was wont to do - but I still always come back to it somehow... RainbowMolly

Molly stepped out from the car and onto the dusty road, her heart beating wildly.  She could hardly believe she was actually here, of all places. The ride had been long and mind-numbing with anticipation, and now that they’d finally arrived at the destination, it all felt somewhat surreal to her. A small bear clambered out from the vehicle, joining her as she stopped to take in the rustic view that met her bright blue eyes.  She smiled and picked up her Teddiursa, cuddling its warm, fuzzy body close to her own. Her gaze traveled down the road which stretched in both directions, houses lining up against its margins. She followed it with her eyes towards a hill in the distance, on top of which sat what looked like a quaint little farmhouse with a windmill, turning in the summer breeze.  She breathed in the country air, catching whiff of a faint salt smell from an ocean in the distance. So this was Pallet Town.

...Why I didn’t actually name the file “Chasing Rainbows” - which was the title I had planned for this - I don’t know.  This dates back to an old idea I had where I believed Molly Hale from the third Pokémon movie was secretly the true “God” of the Pokémon world - in the sense that the entire universe was an unknowing fantasy of her own creation, similar to Haruhi Suzumiya (ok fine this was totally a crossover/rip-off of the same concept so sue me OTL).  In a place where children never seem to grow up and can go on grand fantastical adventures forever, Gary always struck me as an anomaly who willingly *chose* to forego such a life to pursue more “adult” interests by becoming a researcher.  So I saw him as filling the role of “Kyon” - the cynical narrator who was destined to ground “God” and bring her back down to earth, but at the same time be won over by her innocence and charm and learn to appreciate “kids’ stuff” again.  However, the Legendaries were actually aware of the power Molly holds, and so saw Gary as a threat to their very being - as by “waking” the dreamer and having her face reality meant erasing their kinds’ entire existence.  As the “apocalypse” nearly occurred in the third film, Mew and Celebi took on human disguises (in the form of May and Max respectively) to investigate Ash, who was able to calm Molly and “save” the world by “perpetuating” the delusion (and whom Molly totally has a crush on btw *shot*).  So it’s a bit of a love triangle lol, with Mew and Celebi (*cough* an alien and a time traveler, get it? *shot*) acting as mediators/interference.  (Although Mew might’ve secretly shipped Gary and Molly herself. ;O)

Betrayal

And these blades, these damned scythes that attached themselves to my arms when I was born, a curse upon me since birth, though it had not been apparent up until now.  They were covered with blood, the vital crimson liquid that flows through our bodies, now dripping down the steel surface in a webbed pattern, drops beginning to splatter the pure, emerald grass below.  The arm felt heavy and weak as I tried to lift it, as if it did not belong to me, but that was only a wishful thought.  I gazed calmly at it, inspecting the intricate designs the flow of the substance had created, as if it were an abstract piece of artwork. Tentatively, a pink tongue rolled out and caught a small droplet of it just before it fell from the sharp edge, just to convince myself that it was real.  The semi-sweet, metallic taste confirmed this.  I had indeed taken these men’s lives, just as I had taken hers.

So I remember this was written from the POV of a Scyther who seemingly went on a murderous rampage.  I only know that I wanted to give him an “Edward Scissorhands”-like story, since the idea of having such sharp objects attached to one’s limbs so that one could never directly “touch” another without being a danger is pretty tragic.  I suspect “her” was someone (a human?) he cared about but killed by accident, and after that he was only seen as a symbol of power/treated as a tool to incite fear before eventually rebelling against his “master”... Roses

“If you love someone, you should give them something that’s yours. That shows how much you care for them.” In the darkness, I pictured his smiling face, explaining to me as he wrapped a present for his girlfriend. His blue eyes were shining with a sort of spirit unfamiliar to me; I guessed, a feeling of love.

Another “dark” take on a Pokémon’s biology (I really liked writing explorations of those back then lol), this time of Roselia.  The idea was that a Roselia was so in love with her trainer that she would do anything for him - including allow him to cut off her arms so he could give them to his girlfriend.  I actually ended up turning it into a poem at one point:

Love is like a rose they say, And affection leads to grief they warned. For in the end love betrays, Its Beauty maimed by a poisoned thorn. You gave me pure water with a smile. Your cheerful face became my sun. I offered up my blood to you, And in return demanded none. Chop off my wrists, and tie them together. I’ll gladly bleed myself to death. In order to give you that which I hold most dear. My dear, my dear, Won’t you accept this bouquet? You take it, smiling warily. A blush creeps onto your face. And in those eyes I can see A garden of roses stretched out, Composing a wondrous place. Then you bound my hands in lace, And brought them to the girl next door. You presented them to her with grace. … My blood continued to pour.

Fanfic

She smiled at me, although something about her expression indicated something wasn't quite right.  I watched as she glanced over towards the west, her gaze lingering momentarily on the setting sun.  The glowing, orange sphere was slowly sinking behind the distant mountains, peaks cloaked in a pale, lavender haze illuminated by flickering beams of gold and scarlet cast across the horizon.

More accurately, I found this buried in a “catch-all” file where I had several (mostly finished) fics saved.  This was meant to be from the POV of an Eevee who had just evolved - supposedly into an Espeon due to happiness and bond with her trainer, which is what both wanted.  However, since it took place at sunset, she didn’t realize she had become an Umbreon instead, and her trainer ended up abandoning her for it. ;( It was a warm

Children’s shrieks and laughter echoed across the park as they flocked towards each other, and soon were chasing one another round the playground, weaving in and out between the swings as they partook in an innocent game of Tag.  One child was It; she was trying desperately to catch one of her friends so that they would take over the job instead.  Then it would be her turn to run away, for none of them wished to play the loathsome role of It.  Or was it because they feared being tainted by the person’s touch?  It must have been one of the two, for while she would struggle to reach them, catch hold of them, they would only flee, thoroughly enjoying the fact that they were vexing her.  Twice she nearly caught one.  Her fingertips were almost within reach of one of the other girls’ dresses, whose russet tresses were flowing wildly from the rush of movement and shining with golden highlights as the rays of the sun struck individual strands.  The target shrieked and shook her head, whisking her skirt free in time to escape capture, laughing with glee at the sight of the girl left behind, miserable and alone. 

Yeah I totally just went with the default beginning of the first sentence lol.  I guess this comes full circle with the first Kagepro fic I mentioned (although I’m not even sure I was aware back then that the Japanese version of the game literally called “It” a “demon”, which is even more fitting).  I believe this was part of a Pokémon series I was writing involving a creepy little girl and Mewtwo who would bring about the end of the world or something like that, but generally I guess I was just going for a “Catcher in the Rye” feel. *shrug* Golden Lights

The pale, rosy fingers of dawn were filtering in through the Granite Cave entrance, basking a small area near the opening in pinkish illumination.  Just out of reach of its expanse sat little Mika, huddled in the gloom of the shadows, watching the light creep steadily towards her as the glowing ball of fire rose slowly towards the East.  She knew about the Light that came from Outside.  There were plenty other small apertures broken into the cavern walls and ceiling that allowed some thin streams of gold brilliance to trickle through.  She had always done well to avoid them.  The brightness was like poison to her skin.  But they weren’t the Lights she’d had described to her by the old Crobat that always resided now deeper within the underground chambers, dozing now, most likely.  He wouldn’t awaken until night came round, and she did not wish to rouse him and perhaps disturb him from a pleasant dream.  She was very wise about things like that, being the young child that she was.  Still, she would have liked to hear a story to comfort her just then.

Last one I could find, about a Sableye who, like Icarus, literally “flew too close to the sun”.  In this interpretation I imagined that Sableye were creatures who could not stand sunlight at all, as it would cause their skin to burn.  But Mika (pronounced like “Mica”) always dreamed of going outside to see the “Light” anyway.  She was eventually tempted by Mew to leave the cavern under her angelic PROTECTion and step into the Light, who was acting as Ho-Oh’s messenger to “recruit” souls to “live eternal as an element of Ho-Oh’s Guarding Flame“, as the PROTECT faded and a “holy fire” began to spread.  I guess I was going for a Biblical/”Rapture”-esque reference.  (...Man I sure was obsessed with the endtimes as a kid. *shot*)

[dalishious]

Am i the only one who's very uncomfortable killing the sentinels before reaching mythals temple? I just headcanon that my lavellan ordered her tropes to spare any elf that wasn't with corypheus (if there was any with him) because she wouldn't find it unlikely dalish elves were guarding a elven ruin

You're not the only one. It's like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in here.

"Also in the search for the crystal skull, Indie and Mutt go to a cemetery. It's filled with Native people protecting this place, and here comes our heroes to literally rob it. They attack, and Jones fights back. ... It's also interesting how Native people are photographed in this film particularly. They show up like deadly animals or supernatural beings, not humans. They're shooed off by the skull because they fear it. And then they're ultimately slaughtered by the main villains. The message here is pretty clear: Natives and uncolonized people are not as deserving of dialogue, perspective, personality, agency, or humanization - they're just roadblocks, because Indie's the hero and he'll only really get help from educated white people." —INDIANA JONES - A Primer On Racist Film Tropes

Literally exactly the same thing could be said about the way the sentinels are used in DA:I. One could argue that at least Abelas gets a hint of agency, but it's agency still dependant on the player's choice, because otherwise he is killed by Morrigan too like any other.

[queenofthursday6599-blog]

Bioshock/Subnautica crossover idea

Rapture isn’t founded in the Northern Atlantic shortly after WWII, it is instead founded on a never colonized by Architects 4546-B in the 22nd century.

Andrew Ryan and all the people he convinces to follow him, really don’t like the Trans-gov (the company acting as an interplanetary government) they’re stuck with. So they decide to strike out on their own, on a random uncolonized planet (that no one seems to be interested in for some reason), and live their lives however they want to.

Want to build your buildings with highly impractical art deco architecture for an undersea city? Go for it. Want to dress like you’re from anywhere between 1910 and 1970s? Sure, doesn’t effect anyone else. Want to use a weird fake accent that was only ever used for the radio as your default speaking voice in everyday life? No gods or kings here bud, have at it.

The idea of Rapture being founded as a city of absolute freedom, by people who were literally cogs in a machine to a Trans-gov that basically owned them before they just dipped. The thought that a lot of them have no real idea what a basic human right is due to previously being literal objects to the people who had controlled them before?

Why shouldn’t artists do whatever they want even if some people are uncomfortable or dislike it? Why should scientists restrict what they research? Why shouldn’t we use literal children as hosts to slugs just to get more of the secretion the slug makes? Can’t we do whatever we want here in Rapture? Aren’t we finally free?

There are those who are content to just live their new lives without their higher ups looming over them. And there are those who rapidly become addicted to what ADAM rapidly came to represent. The absolute power of absolute freedom.

Factions develop, and fracture, and fuse together. People no longer cogs in the great machine argue and disagree, openly for the first time in their entire lives. When before they would hold their tongue to preserve efficiency, to keep the peace just for now until they could blow up or melt down in privet. Now people air their grievances out in the open.

As the more powerful and aggressive make their moves. Desperate for more power to see to it that they’re never used by someone more powerful than themselves again. The weak are quickly preyed upon. Dragged, and bargained, and cajoled into picking sides, and sucked into the orbit of someone far more powerful than them once more.

Those who don’t heed the lessons of history are often doomed to repeat them, after all.

And there are no Gods or Kings here. Only Man.

[AU Notes: ADAM slugs are native to 4546-B. There’s no Kharaa bacterium on 4546-B because the Architects never came to 4546-B.

Rapture is built in an area with very, very few leviathans. The only ones they really see are the Reefbacks. The people of Rapture also don’t know anything about the Sea Emperor, and know very, very little about the fauna of 4546-B in general, because they don’t leave Rapture.

Yes the Trans-govs in that area of space already scanned 4546-B and declared it non-colonizable due to the existence of leviathan class creatures on the planet. Which is why it’d never been claimed in spite of otherwise ideal conditions for humans.

I’m calling this crossover the BioNautica AU. Just because it’s makes it very clear what exactly this is a crossover of. If I ever actually got around to writing a story on this premise I would likely title it something else. Like Folly of Man or something.]

[negrek]

2. What’s the Geography of your world?

An unholy mix of pokémon regions and analogues of real-world locations. This really doesn't come up in the main story at all, since it takes place in Kanto and Orre and the broader world isn't mentioned much, but it's out there. Pokémon regions lie more or less where the real-world locations they're based on do on the map, and in some cases more or less replace them (Alola is Hawaii in this world, whereas Unova is in what we would call the northeastern part of the United States, but there is a "United States" analogue nearby). Sometimes place-analogues are called the same thing as they are in our world, like Guyana, perhaps by some kind of odd historical coevolution; others are recognizable by geographical location and cultural traits but generally not much related.

In general countries are smaller and more "region"-sized. The human population of the pokémon world is substantially lower than ours, and humans have colonized a much smaller portion of the world. There are large portions of unincorporated territory that no human nation lays claim to. Typically these uncolonized areas are home to various pokémon political territories, but although serious world maps will attempt to represent the boundaries of these as definitively as they do the boundaries of human nations, in practice humans rarely have a clear idea of what pokémon nations look like beyond those that border the human regions or otherwise directly interact with them. Relations between humans and pokémon have been improving, in a global sense, in the past couple hundred years, but it remains dangerous for humans to travel much outside their territories, and what goes on in the more far-flung pokémon nations, well outside human borders, is known through little more than rumor and hearsay. While satellites have allowed the world's surface to be mapped out in considerable detail at this point, there remain many places where no human explorer has yet set foot--or at least not done so and lived to tell about it.

18. What are the fashion norms in your world?

Fashion norms are pretty similar to the ones we're familiar with in our world. A traveling trainer's clothes indicate quite a lot about them--they might be a "casual" trainer, probably day-tripping from the nearest town in shorts and a T-shirt wanting to fight you with their rattata; they might be a serious traveller with legit camping equipment, sturdy boots, and probably not much patience for frivolous challenges; or they might be a prestige trainer with designer athletic gear, most likely looking to break into the professional circuit or simply with enough money to pretend as much.

[sciencespies]

The cost of visiting Earth may be too astronomical for aliens

https://sciencespies.com/space/the-cost-of-visiting-earth-may-be-too-astronomical-for-aliens/

The cost of visiting Earth may be too astronomical for aliens

In 1950, Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi sat down to lunch with some of his colleagues at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he had worked five years prior as part of the Manhattan Project.

According to various accounts, the conversation turned to aliens and the recent spate of UFOs. Into this, Fermi issued a statement that would go down in the annals of history: “Where is everybody?”

This became the basis of the Fermi Paradox, which refers to the disparity between high probability estimates for the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) and the apparent lack of evidence.

Since Fermi’s time, there have been several proposed resolutions to his question, which includes the very real possibility that interstellar colonization follows the basic rule of Percolation Theory.

One of the key assumptions behind the Fermi Paradox is that given the abundance of planets and the age of the Universe, an advanced exo-civilization should have colonized a significant portion of our galaxy by now.

This is certainly not without merit, considering that within the Milky Way galaxy alone (which is over 13.5 billion years old), there are an estimated 100 to 400 billion stars.

Another key assumption is that intelligent species will be motivated to colonize other star systems as part of some natural drive to explore and extend the reach of their civilization.

Last, but certainly not least, it assumes that interstellar space travel would be feasible and even practical for an advanced exo-civilization.

But this, in turn, comes down to the assumption that technological advances will provide solutions to the single-greatest challenge of interstellar travel.

In short, the amount of energy it would take for a spacecraft to travel from one star to another is prohibitively large, especially where large, crewed spacecraft would be concerned.

Relativity is a harsh mistress

In 1905, Einstein published his seminal paper in which he advanced his Special Theory of Relativity. This was Einstein’s attempt to reconcile Newton’s Laws of Motion with Maxwell’s Equations of electromagnetism in order to explain the behavior of light.

This theory essentially states that the speed of light (in addition to being constant) is an absolute limit beyond which objects cannot travel.

This is summarized by the famous equation, E=mc2, which is otherwise known as the “mass-energy equivalence.” Put simply, this formula describes the energy (E) of a particle in its rest frame as the product of mass (m) with the speed of light squared (c2) – approx. 300,000 km/s; 186,000 mi/s. A consequence of this is that as an object approaches the speed of light, its mass invariably increases.

Therefore, for an object to reach the speed of light, an infinite amount of energy would have to be expended accelerating it. Once c was achieved, the mass of the object would also become infinite.

In short, achieving the speed of light is impossible, never mind exceeding it. So barring some tremendous revolution in our understanding of physics, a Faster-Than-Light (FTL) propulsion system can never exist.

Such is the consequence of living in a relativistic Universe, where traveling at even a fraction of the speed of light requires tremendous amounts of energy.

And while some very interesting and innovative ideas have been produced over the years by physicists and engineers who want to see interstellar travel become a reality, none of the crewed concepts are what you might call “cost-effective.”

A Matter of Principle

This raises a very important philosophical question that is related to the Fermi Paradox and the existence of ETIs. This is none other than the Copernican Principle, named in honor of famed astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

To break it down, this principle is an extension of Copernicus’ argument about the Earth, how it was not in a unique and privileged position to view the Universe.

Extended to the cosmological realm, the principle basically asserts that when considering the possibility of intelligent life, one should not assume that Earth (or humanity) is unique.

Similarly, this principle holds that the Universe as we see it today is representative of the norm – aka, that it is in a state of equilibrium.

The opposing view that humanity is in a unique and privileged position to observe the Universe is what is known as the Anthropic Principle.

In a nutshell, this principle states that the very act of observing the Universe for signs of life and intelligence requires that the laws that govern it be conducive to life and intelligence.

If we accept the Copernican Principle as a guiding principle, we are forced to concede that any intelligent species would face the same challenges with interstellar flight as we do.

And since we do not foresee a way around these, barring major a breakthrough in our understanding of physics, perhaps no other species has found one either.

Could this be the reason for the “Great Silence”?

Origin

The notion that distance and time may be a factor (in relation to the Fermi Paradox) has received quite a bit of consideration over time.

Carl Sagan and William I. Newman suggested in their 1981 study, “Galactic civilizations: Population dynamics and interstellar diffusion,” that signals and probes by ETIs may simply not have reached Earth yet. This was met with criticism by other scientists who argued that it contradicted the Copernican Principle.

By Sagan and Newman’s own estimates, the time it would take for an ETI to have explored the entire galaxy is equal to or less than the age of our galaxy itself (13.5 billion years). If an exo-civilization’s probes or signals have not reached us yet, this would imply that sentient life started to emerge in the more recent past.

In other words, the galaxy is in a state of disequilibrium, moving from a state of being uninhabited to inhabited.

However, it was Geoffrey A. Landis who made what is perhaps the most compelling argument about the limits imposed by the laws of physics.

In his 1993 paper, “The Fermi paradox: an approach based on percolation theory,” he argued that as a consequence of Relativity, an exo-civilization would only be able to expand so far throughout the galaxy.

Central to Landis’ argument was the mathematical and physics statistics concept known as “percolation theory,” which describes how a network behaves when nodes or links are removed.

In accordance with this theory, when enough of the network’s links are removed, it will break down into smaller connected clusters.

According to Landis, this same process is useful in describing what happens to people engaged in migration.

In short, Landis proposed that in a galaxy where intelligent life is statistically likely, there will not be a “uniformity of motive” among extraterrestrial civilizations. Instead, his model assumes a wide variety of motives, with some choosing to venture out and colonize while others choose to “stay at home.”

As he explained it:

“Since it is possible, given a large enough number of extraterrestrial civilizations, one or more would have certainly undertaken to do so, possibly for motives unknowable to us. Colonization will take an extremely long time, and will be very expensive.

“It is quite reasonable to suppose that not all civilizations will be interested in making such a large expenditure for a pay off far in the future. Human society consists of a mixture of cultures which explore and colonize, some times over extremely large distances, and cultures which have no interest in doing so.”

To summarize, an advanced species would not colonize the galaxy rapidly or consistently. Instead, it would “percolate” outwards to a finite distance, where increasing costs and the lag time between communications imposed limits and colonies evolved their own cultures.

Thus, colonization wouldn’t be uniform but would happen in clusters with large areas remaining uncolonized at any given time.

A similar argument was made in 2019 by Adam Frank and a team of exoplanet researchers from NASA’s Nexus for Exoplanetary Systems Science (NExSS).

In a study titled “The Fermi Paradox and the Aurora Effect: Exo-civilization Settlement, Expansion, and Steady States,” they argued that settlement of the galaxy would also occur in clusters because not all potentially-habitable planets would be hospitable for a colonizing species.

Of course, Landis’ model contains some inherent assumptions of its own, which he laid out beforehand.

First, there was the assumption that interstellar travel is difficult due to the laws of physics and that there is a maximum distance over which colonies can be directly established. Hence, a civilization will only colonize within a reasonable distance from its home, beyond which secondary colonization will occur later.

Second, Landis also makes the assumption that the parent civilization will have a weak grasp over any colonies it creates, and the time needed for these to develop their own colonization capability will be very long. Hence, any colony established will develop its own culture over time, and its people will have a sense of self and identity distinct from that of the parent civilization.

As we explored in a previous article, it would take between 1,000 and 81,000 years to reach Proxima Centauri (4.24 light-years away) using current technology.

While there are concepts that would allow for relativistic travel (a fraction of the speed of light), the travel time would still be anywhere from a few decades to over a century. What’s more, the cost would be extremely prohibitive (more on that below).

But getting colonists to another star system is just the beginning.

Once they have settled a nearby habitable planet (and not all died off) and have the infrastructure for interstellar communications, it would still take eight-and-a-half years to send a message to Earth and receive an answer. That’s simply not practical for any civilization hoping to maintain centralized control or cultural hegemony over its colonies.

Space is expensive!

To put things in perspective, consider the costs associated with humanity’s own history of space exploration. Sending astronauts to the Moon as part of the Apollo Program between 1961 and 1973 cost a hefty US$25.4 billion, which works out to about US$150 billion today (when adjusted for inflation).

But Apollo did not occur in a vacuum, and first required Project Mercury and Project Gemini as stepping stones.

These two programs, which put the first American astronauts in orbit and developed the necessary expertise for getting to the Moon, respectively ran about US$2.3 billion and US$10 billion (when adjusted). 

Add them all up, and you get a grand total of around US$163 billion spent from 1958 to 1972.

By comparison, Project Artemis, which will return astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1972, will cost US$35 billion over just the next four years!

That doesn’t include the costs of getting all the various components to this stage in the game, like the development of the SLS thus far, the Orion space capsule, and research into the Lunar Gateway, human landing systems (HLS), and robotic missions.

That’s a lot of money just to get to Earth’s only satellite. But that’s nothing compared to the costs of interstellar missions!

Going interstellar?

Since the dawn of the Space Age, many theoretical proposals have been made for sending spacecraft to the nearest stars.

At the heart of each and every one of these proposals was the same concern: can we reach the nearest stars in our lifetimes?

In order to meet this challenge, scientists contemplated a number of advanced propulsion strategies that would be capable of pushing spacecraft to relativistic speeds.

Of these, the most straightforward was definitely Project Orion (1958 to 1963), which would rely on a method known as Nuclear Pulse Propulsion (NPP).

Led by Ted Taylor of General Atomics and physicist Freeman Dyson from the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, this project envisioned a massive starship that would use the explosive force generated by nuclear warheads to generate thrust.

These warheads would be released behind the spacecraft and detonated, creating nuclear pulses. These would be absorbed by a rear-mounted pressure plate (aka, “pusher”) that translate the explosive force into forward momentum.

Though inelegant, the system was brutally simple and effective, and could theoretically achieve speeds of up to 5 percent the speed of light (5.4×107km/hr, or 0.05c).

Alas, the cost. According to estimates produced by Dyson in 1968, an Orion spacecraft would weight between 400,000 and 4,000,000 metric tons.

Dyson’s most conservative estimates also placed the cost of building such a craft at US$367 billion (US$2.75 trillion when adjusted for inflation). That’s about 78 percent of the US government’s annual revenue for 2019, and 10 percent of the country’s GDP.

Another idea was to build rockets that rely on thermonuclear reactions to generate thrust.

Specifically, the concept of Fusion Propulsion was investigated by the British Interplanetary Society between 1973 and 1978 as part of a feasibility study known as Project Daedalus.

The resulting design called for a two-stage spacecraft that would generate thrust by fusing pellets of a deuterium/helium-3 in a reaction chamber using electron lasers.

This would create a high-energy plasma that would then be converted to thrust by a magnetic nozzle.

The first stage of the spacecraft would operate for just over 2 years and accelerate the spacecraft to 7.1 percent the speed of light (0.071c). This stage would then be jettisoned and the second stage would take over and accelerate the spacecraft up to about 12 percent of light speed (0.12c) over the course of 1.8 years.

The second-stage engine would then be shut down, and the ship would enter into a 46-year cruise period.

According to the Project’s estimates, the mission would take 50 years to reach Barnard’s Star (less than 6 light-years away). Adjusted for Proxima Centauri, the same craft could make the trip in 36 years.

But in addition to technological barriers identified by the Project, there was also the sheer costs involved.

Even by the modest standard of an uncrewed concept, a fully-fueled Daedalus would weigh as much as 60,000 metric tons […]. Adjust to 2020, the price tag for a fully-assembled Daedalus would cost close to US$6 trillion. Icarus Interstellar, an international organization of volunteer citizen scientists (founded in 2009), has since attempted to revitalize the concept with Project Icarus.

Another bold and daring idea is Antimatter Propulsion, which would rely on the annihilation of matter and antimatter (hydrogen and antihydrogen particles).

This reaction unleashed as much energy as a thermonuclear detonation, as well as a shower of subatomic particles (pions and muons).

These particles, which would then travel at one-third the speed of light, are channeled by a magnetic nozzle to generate thrust.

Unfortunately, the cost of producing even a single gram of antimatter fuel is estimated to be around US$1 trillion.

According to a report by Robert Frisbee of NASA’s Advanced Propulsion Technology Group (NASA Eagleworks), a two-stage antimatter rocket would need over 815,000 metric tons (900,000 US tons) of fuel to make the journey to Proxima Centauri in approximately 40 years.

A more optimistic report by Dr. Darrel Smith & Jonathan Webby of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University states that a spacecraft weighing 400 metric tons (441 US tons) and 170 metric tons (187 US tons) of antimatter fuel could reach 0.5 the speed of light.

At this rate, the craft could reach Proxima Centauri in a little over 8 years, but there’s no cost-effective way to do this and no guarantees there ever will be.

In all cases, propellant makes up a large fraction of these concept’s overall mass. To address this, variations have been proposed that could generate their own propellant.

In the case of fusion rockets, there’s the Bussard Ramjet, which uses an enormous electromagnetic funnel to “scoop” hydrogen from the interstellar medium and magnetic fields to compress it to the point that fusion occurs.

Similarly, there’s the Vacuum to Antimatter Rocket Interstellar Explorer System (VARIES), which also creates its own fuel out of the interstellar medium. Proposed by Richard Obousy of Icarus Interstellar, a VARIES ship would rely on large lasers (powered by enormous solar arrays) that would create particles of antimatter when fired at empty space.

Alas, neither of these ideas are possible using current technology, nor are they within the realm of cost-effectiveness (not by a long shot).

Under the circumstances, and barring several major technological developments that would reduce the associated costs, it would be fair to say that any idea for interstellar crewed missions is simply impractical.

Sending probes to other stars within our lifetimes is still within the realm of possibility, especially those that rely on Directed-Energy Propulsion (DEP).

As proposals like Breakthrough Starshot or Project Dragonfly show, these sails could be accelerated to relativistic speeds and have all the necessary hardware to gather pictures and basic data on any orbiting exoplanets.

However, such probes are a potentially-reliable and cost-effective means of interstellar exploration, not colonization.

What’s more, the time-lag involved in interstellar communications would still place constraints on how far these probes could explore while still reporting back to Earth.

Therefore, an exo-civilization is not likely to send probes very far beyond the boundaries of its territory.

Criticisms

A possible criticism of percolation theory is that it allows for many scenarios and interpretations that would permit contact to have happened at this point.

If we assume that an intelligent species would similarly take 4.5 billion years to emerge (the time between Earth’s formation and modern humans), and consider that our galaxy has been around for 13.5 billion years, that still leaves a 9 billion years window.

For 9 billion years, multiple civilizations could have come and gone, and while no one species could have colonized the entire galaxy, it’s hard to imagine that this activity would have gone unnoticed.

Under the circumstances, one may be forced to conclude that in addition to their being limits to how a civilization can reach that there are other limiting factors at work here (Great Filter, anyone?)

However, it is important to remind ourselves that no proposed resolution to the Fermi Paradox is without its share of holes.

Also, expecting a theory or theorist to have all the answers to a subject as complex (yet data-poor) as the existence of extraterrestrials is about as unrealistic as expecting consistency in the behavior of ETIs themselves!

Overall, this hypothesis is highly useful because of the way it breaks down many of the assumptions inherent to “Fact A.”

It also presents an entirely logical starting point for answering the fundamental question. Why haven’t we heard from any ETIs? Because it’s unrealistic to conclude that they should have colonized the better part of the galaxy by now, especially when the laws of physics (as we know them) preclude such a thing.

This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.

#Space

[elsaofarendelle-archive]

@otherwise-uncolonized mentioned you in a post

…love interests ( source from @ elsaofarendelle ) and Jennifer Lee also…

I just want to make it clear that those of us who don’t want a female love interest for Elsa aren’t saying that...we don’t want any love interest. Elsa is representative of women regardless of being cis, trans, gay, straight, whatever you are not needing romance to define you. The whole take away the lesson of Frozen is that love is strong and powerful and doesn’t stem from romantic relationships. The love of your friends and family and most importantly yourself is what makes you strong.

Write Elsa gay in your fics and roleplays, make your fanart of her with a woman, Lord knows I ship the fuck out of helsa over here so do what you want with her in your own spaces but I don’t want to see her with anyone in canon.

My hope is for there to be better representation in characters written as gay, trans, etc from the very beginning of their stories instead of this ambiguous fill in the blanks stuff we have now, but, not all of us seek that representation. Some of us find it in a woman who is fulfilled by other people and passions in her life without romance being the focus.

I’m still getting flack for being ‘problomatic’ because I’m not pro-gay Elsa and that’s not the full picture. I have my reasons and they’re not any less justified than yours (not op but fandom in general).

[outindaylight]

B O L D

1ST RULE: tag 9 people you want to get to know more!

2ND RULE: BOLD the statements that are true.

Tagged by: @elfsplaining Thank ou! I used to actually follow you on my old account and I was glad to follow you again.

I’m tagging: @otherwise-uncolonized @rhunae @rosenrotxiii @kivihattu @nolofin @marmaladepsychosis @pluttskutt @cactuarkitty @withlovingregards But only if you’re comfortable with it. No pressure at all!

APPEARANCE - I am 5'7 or taller - I wear glasses - I have at least one tattoo - I have at least one piercing - I have blonde hair - I have brown eyes - I have short hair - My abs are at least somewhat defined - I have or had braces

PERSONALITY - I love meeting new people - People tell me I am funny - Helping others with their problems is a big priority of mine - I enjoy physical challenges - I enjoy mental challenges - I am playfully rude to people I know - I started saying something ironically and now I can’t stop saying it - There is something I would change about my personality

ABILITY - I can sing well - I can play an instrument - I can do over 30 pushups without stopping  - I am a fast runner - I can draw well - I have a good memory - I am good at doing math in my head - I can hold my breath underwater for over a minute - I have beaten at least 2 people arm wrestling - I can make at least 3 recipes from scratch - I know how to throw a proper punch

HOBBIES - I enjoy sports - I’m on a sports team at my school or somewhere else - I’m in an orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else - I have learned a new song in the past week - I exercise at least once a week - I have gone for runs at least once a week in warmer months - I have drawn something in the past month - I enjoy writing - Fandoms are my #1 priority - I do some form of martial arts

EXPERIENCES - I have had my first kiss - I have had alcohol - I have scored a winning point in a sport - I have watched an entire TV series in one sitting - I have been at an overnight event - I have been in a taxi - I have been in the hospital or ER in the past year - I have beaten a video game in one day - I have visited another country - I have been to one of my favorite band’s concerts

MY LIFE - I have one person that I consider to be my Best Friend - I live close to my school/work - My parents are still together - I have at least one sibling - I live in the United States - There is snow where I live right now - I have hung out with a friend in the past month - I have a smart phone - I own at least 15 CDs - I share my room with someone

RELATIONSHIPS - I am in a Relationship - I have a crush on a celebrity - I have a crush on someone I know - I’ve been in at least 3 relationships - I have never been in a Relationship - I have admitted my feelings to a crush - I get crushes easily - I have had a crush for over a year - I have been in a relationship for over a year - I have had feelings for a friend

RANDOM - I have break-danced - I know a person named Jamie - I have had a teacher that has a name that is hard to pronounce - I have dyed my hair - I’m listening to a song on repeat right now - I have punched someone in the past week - I know someone who has gone to jail - I have broken a bone - I have eaten a waffle today - I speak at least two languages - I have made a new friend in the past year

[butterflydreaming-writes-fic]

Writing Ask Meme

tagged by @otherwise-uncolonized​ 

1) How many works in progress do you have?

A lot. A lot a lot. Actively, I have four fanfic in progress (Intended, Parfait, Timeslips & Tides, The Maiden Rescues) and semi-actively have two originals in progress (Stadium, The 13th Chime). Overall I have over a dozen that are in some state of progress and get worked on or looked at at least once a year.

2) Do you/would you write fanfiction?

Yes, I most certainly do. I don’t write for just anything, though, and I don’t write because I love a thing. It has to be broken in some way for me to fanfic it. For example, after seeing Tangled in the theater, I was impressed and happy with it. I didn’t start fic for it until I crossed over with Frozen, which is beautiful and has a lot to work with but it not a well-built story.

3) Do you prefer paperback or ebooks?

The magic of ebooks is that one small reader, weighing less than a mass market paperback copy of A Wrinkle in Time, can hold a larger library than a room of books. I am continually disappointed in people for not embracing ebooks harder. Ereaders are already outdated, niche tech. Reading is not as nice on a phone’s small screen!

4) When did you start writing?

Writers pretty much always say that they have been writing stories since they could write. Not me. I didn’t write the stories I made up, save two or three originals based on dreams. There was a little, really terrible Star Trek fanfic at 15, and a co-written Phantom of the Opera long fic in high school. 

I started writing with poetry, in my mid teens. I still consider myself a poet first. Writing Cardcaptor Sakura fanfic (starting almost 14 years ago to the day, btw) inspired me to write, complete, and share stories. “The Universe is Resting in My Arms” was the first fanfic I posted online, ever.

5) Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with?

I have had a (now inactive) writing group for my original work. I have a few friends I can share with, though I haven’t taken advantage of that much. I post 97% of my fanfic on AO3 to share with whoever wants to read it. 

6) Where is your favorite place to write?

In my head ;) 

At home. I have a hard time getting comfortable in public places (coffeeshops, a park) to “get in the zone.” I know I make faces when I write dialog!

7) Favorite book as a child?

D’Aulaire’s Greek Myths.

8) Writing for fun or for publication?

Both! It’s important that it be fun. Maybe if the money were more important, I would have more published. When my originals are done, they will be published even if my best choice is to publish them independently. I favor Indie, actually, over traditional.

9) Have you taken any writing classes?

Nope! My version of Self Taught Artist is that I read a wide range on fiction, read non-fiction, and take everything (books, movies, shows) apart to see how they were built.

10) What inspired you to write?

Writing Cardcaptor Sakura fanfic. But more than that, the Livejournal fan community for it, Tsukimine Shrine, and the weekly challenges we would try to meet. That got me used to finishing a one shot in a few days and sharing it. It made me aware of the importance and value of commenting on story and engaging with other writers. I was so lucky to be in that group, to be part of the 2004/2005 Livejournal summer, when a lot of writers were blogging and online writing was a thing to do socially. I was lucky to start in an anime fandom, I think. 

[tea-tower]

otherwise-uncolonized mentioned you in a post

@pinksunsets555 @ tea-tower ��

omg thats cute. that cat’s massive af tho xD

[tatooinereads]

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini Book Review

Author: Christopher Paolini

Publisher: Tor

Publication: September 2020

Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis: *** PART I OF TO SLEEP IN A SEA OF STARS ***To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a masterful epic science fiction novel from the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of Eragon and the Inheritance Cycle, Christopher Paolini.During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, xenobiologist Kira Navárez finds an alien relic that thrusts her into the wonders and nightmares of first contact. Epic space battles for the fate of humanity take her to the farthest reaches of the galaxy and, in the process, transform not only her – but the entire course of history.Praise for Christopher Paolini and his work: 'Christopher Paolini is a true rarity' – Washington Post'An authentic work of great talent' – New York Times Book Review'A breathtaking and unheard of success' – USA Today'Christopher Paolini make[s] literary magic' – People

Thoughts: I have to admit that this one had me at Christopher Paolini and that GORGEOUS book cover. Unfortunately, I learned a little about the dangers of judging a book by its cover last night. BUT, this eGalley is simply part one of the novel, (at least I certainly hope so because otherwise this 3 star is very generous) and with that in mind I am guessing that if I’d have read it in full I would have enjoyed it a lot more than I have done so far. The problem I had with this one is the fact it plays along like far future love story for a good half of the book (or at least good half of PART ONE of the book) and by the time anything exciting started to happen, the end. (Of PART ONE at least). So whilst this has potential to be a really great read, what is offered here in this eGalley falls much short of the mark by leading up to the good parts and then ending abruptly leaving you to have to wait until September to find out whats next. So, could have potential to be a 4 or 5 star read, but as I won’t know until September whether it is or not, for now it’s merely 3 stars from me.

[starspatter]

The entire, "fanfic end of the year asks" questionnaire! :D

favorite fic you wrote this year

In terms of completely new content, I only really wrote “Saving Today” for the DCEU this year based off the Wonder Woman and Justice League films, so I guess it’d be that by default.

least favorite fic you wrote this year

See above?

favorite line/scene you wrote this year

From “Saving Today”:

“As soon as she bites into the savory snow-white sweetness, rich and airy as a cloud of cream, the dizzying memories melt in her mouth. Of swaying under a flurry of flakes as people laughed and sang around them, safe and sound after their town had been liberated by a band of heroes. Of hands grazing tender across her cheek, his lips on hers like the heat of a match spark, kindling tinder in their hearts. Of a pinned paper princess, watching her steadfast tin soldier go up in flames, wishing to dance with him just once more…”

I’m still not really comfortable writing romance, but I like it mostly for the imagery and metaphor/allusion to the Hans Christian Anderson tale “The Steadfast Tin Soldier”.

total number of words you wrote this year

2,519 (+ minor edits to my chapter fic)

most popular fic this year

Again, “Saving Today” (probably bc the movies just came out recently)

least popular fic this year

“Out of His League” - a Batman TAS/Static Shock crossover

longest completed fic you wrote this year

“Ozymandias” for BTAS @ 5,010 words (even though I wrote it last year I published it this year so it counts?)

shortest completed fic you wrote this year

“Saving Today” @ 2,519 words

longest wip of the year

I don’t really have any “active” WIPs; my BTAS TimSteph chapter story “Heroes and Thieves” was technically already done last year, just in draft form.  (I guess you could say my ItsuHaru story? *shot*)

shortest wip of the year

See above

fandom you enjoyed writing for the most this year

DCEU

favorite character to write about this year

Wonder Woman/Diana Prince

favorite writing song/artist/album of this year

Hm I didn’t really have anything I specifically associated with Diana when writing “Saving Today” (there’s “Ice Cream” by Sarah Mclaughlin but I got that from a different fic), so I’ll step back and say my soundtrack for “Heroes & Thieves” thematically consists of a lot of Vanessa Carlton, Regina Spektor, Family of the Year, Goo Goo Dolls, The Script, and Gregory Alan Isakov (among others).

a fic you didn’t expect to write

Honestly I wasn’t expecting to love Wonder Woman as much as I did, let alone write a fic for the DCEU when I’ve been focusing soley on the DCAU/BTAS so far.  (Although in general I’m still surprised I’m even writing for the superhero genre in general. OTL)

something you learned this year

Some of my favorite series are so long-running/still beloved years later despite the length bw updates (*cough* Haruhi *cough*), so I really shouldn’t stress about my own work losing followers/interest over time (even though it still makes me anxious).

fic(s) you completed this year

“Saving Today”

fics you’ll continue next year

“Heroes and Thieves”, hopefully

current number of wips

Haha… *looks at ItsuHaru fic ideas*

any new fics to start next year

I would like to write one more BTAS story about the relationship bw Veronica Vreeland and Bruce Wayne.  As for my Haruhi stuff…  No promises. *shot*

number of comments you haven’t read

None?  I like reading all my comments.

most memorable comment/reviewOn “Saving Today”:

“That was beautiful. Beautifully written and beautifully sad, I cried a bit and I thank you for all the feels you made me feel. Thank you

If one of my stories made someone cry, then I consider it mission accomplished. XP *shot* 

Also from one anon:

“ahh! i love love LOVE your heroes and thieves fanfic. almost screeched in glee when i saw you finally updated!!

just bc it was kinda random and I rarely receive anon messages on tumblr, but it makes me happy there are others out there still reading and enjoying despite the wait. ^^;Also shout-out to Jalon Jones and The-Shepherd’s-Daughter on ff.net, whose comments are always a joy to read.  Hope you guys are doing well!

events you participated in this year

None

fics you wanted to write but didn’t

The Veronica Vreeland fic for one (not to mention all my old Haruhi ideas)

favorite fic you read this year

“Acceptable Losses” by @astrologista​

a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read

Everyone?  That’s kind of a broad spectrum since most of the fics I read require familiarity with the series.  Of the ones I’ve read this year…  Perhaps “Safe Harbor” by psychobabblers on AO3?  It’s set in the DCEU but so long as you know the general relationship bw Bruce Wayne/Batman and Clark Kent/Superman and their respective histories it’s a sweet little story about dealing with grief and finding solace/family in another’s company.

number of favorites/bookmarks you made this year

I rarely bookmark things publicly unless it’s something I feel very strongly about, but there are some I’ve saved to my personal collection for reference (about 10 or so it looks like).

favorite fanfic author of the year@astrologista​ & @otherwise-uncolonized​

longest fic you read this year

“i have been left here in the reeds” by ohallows (dean_n_pie) on AO3 (as a stand-alone piece)

shortest fic you read this year

“Hallways” by Sandri and just now “Photograph” by redbirb on AO3 bc I’m a shameless TimSteph shipper now even though I prefer DCAU over their comics versions but there’s no content for the former.  (Actually I’ve probably read a couple other shorter ones on tumblr but I’m too nervous to tag other users I don’t know.  Besides these two feel appropriate to mention together, and I like how despite their length these ones accurately portray each of their personalities in a short span.)

favorite fandom to read fic from this year

DCEU

[starspatter]

20 questions-tag ??? # of people! Tagged by @fy-soukoku Name: Jessica

Nickname: Yuki, Yukirin, Yukicchi, Lilblue, LBC, Star(s)

Height: 5'2"

Orientation: Aromantic Pansexual

Nationality: Asian American

Fruit: Grapes & Clementines

Favorite season: Summer

Favorite Scent: This might sound weird, but the smell of air conditioners? *shot*

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite animal: Penguin

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: Hot chocolate, but tea is nice too.  I don't drink coffee.

Average hours of sleep: 4-6

Dog or cat: Dog

Favorite fictional character: Link, Ayano Tateyama, Timmy Todd, Yuki Nagato, Itsuki Koizumi, Haruhi Suzumiya, Haruhi Fujioka

Number of blankets you sleep with: Like 5 right now?

Dream trip: Japan

Date of blog creation: October 2014

Number of followers: 520

Random fact: I don't like frosting. Tagging @astrologista, @atsushishelteredinmoonlitjasmine, @benditlikegumby, @chrololol, @detalesz, @epicrosalina, @jinzouenemy, @otherwise-uncolonized, @ticktockwizard

[elsaofarendelle-archive]

@otherwise-uncolonized replied to your post “Gay Elsa thoughts?”

My sentiments exactly. I like her best single in canon (healthier for her right now, IMO), without fussing over the "will she or won't she?"  Though I assume that in the "if there was?" scenario that she would be heterosexual as well, not because of the timeline, but because of the fact that Jennifer Lee ships her with Wreck It Ralph, and due to the original draft of Elsa having a male love interest, allegedly. It tells me that the creators visualized her as heterosexual (or pan at best).

People conveniently forget the previous drafts of Frozen whenever Elsa’s sexuality comes up as if the way Jennifer saw her then doesn’t factor into her characterization at all. Elsa’s story arc was changed with Idina sang Let It Go for the first time and Jennifer said she (and the audience) wouldn’t be able to see her as a villain anymore but originally Elsa was left at the altar (I believe by Admiral Hans Westergaard but correct me if I’m wrong) by her fiance and left so heartbroken she freezes her own heart and proceeds to cast her eternal winter on Arendelle (source).

Elsa was never written to be gay. Jennifer never stating her sexuality isn’t an example of defaulting her to heterosexual. 

She was conceived that way from the beginning but the story’s focus shifted with Let It Go and I’m so glad it did because she doesn’t need romantic love and that is the whole point of even that first draft.

I have nothing against people writing her as gay in roleplays or fanfictions, I’ve done it myself a time or two, but this campaign to make her canonically gay negates everything we know about her and I’m not feeling it. For anyone just seeing this, you can read the previous posts here and here so you know the context of the conversation.

[starspatter]

Creator 2017 Tag

Tagged by @otherwise-uncolonized​ Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you’ve created this year (fics, art, edits, etc!) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2017. Tag as many writers/artists/etc as you want (fan or original!) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works. 1) Heroes and Thieves

“Chalk another one up to the slew of screw-ups and setbacks that plagued throughout her past, piling up to the point she may as well be called the Leaning Tower of ‘Please Kick Me’.”

Since I joined the BTAS fandom a few years ago, I fell completely in love with the DCAU TimSteph pairing and it now rivals the obsession I had with ItsuHaru by becoming my new OTP.  Of all things, Batman has helped reawaken my writing muse at perhaps the worst possible time, and for that matter this is probably my greatest accomplishment for the sheer fact I managed to power through in order to finish an entire chapter fic at the cost of lots of sleep and my sanity, but who’s counting.  (I actually pretty much wrote the full story draft in 2016, although only got around to starting to post it last year for various reasons.)  Much like Itsuki, post-RotJ Tim Drake/Timmy Todd is a character I relate to on a deeply personal level, and his tale came to me at a point when I was going through a severe crisis in my own life.  In that sense, writing this series has deliberately been an extreme cathartic experience in addition to passion project.  I’m still struggling to find my own place and learn to love and accept myself, but I hope as Tim’s story continues I will also discover my path in the same way (I promise) he will eventually find peace and happiness (with the help of his future wife ofc). <3

2) Saving Today

“Who would she even be if she stayed the same always, and never tried something new?”

This was again another new challenge for me since it was my first time writing for the DCEU; specifically its version of Wonder Woman/Diana Prince.  While I had dabbled with writing one DCAU WonderBats fic before, the 2017 Wonder Woman film was inspiring in such a way I was even more afraid I wouldn’t do her character justice.  Although I’m still rather unfamiliar with the superhero genre in general, it’s protagonists like the one presented in Wonder Woman 2017 who have drawn me to it and make me want to believe heroes can and do exist in this world, where I always used to dismiss them before. Also for shameless self-plugging sake, I’m gonna cheat and also link the WW AMV I made shortly after seeing the film.  Again it was my first time working with live-action footage (a feat I never thought I’d attempt nor care to), but I was so full of feels I decided to give it a shot and am pretty pleased with the result.  (I realize this is kinda unfair to put two in one, but I want to save the next slot for...)

3) “Use Me”

“I envy you.”

Bc I’m still secretly ItsuHaru trash lol.  I just happened to hear this song as I was exploring Goo Goo Dolls’ more recent music (a lot of which also made it into my playlist for Heroes & Thieves), and was suddenly hit by all the feels/nostalgia.  ItsuHaru is still my unrequited OTP damnit.  ...Even if I might never make it back to writing fics for them. ^^; I’m just waiting for S3 to motivate me again. *shot* (Seriously S3 when though. OTL)

4) “Kill Your Heroes”

“We love you more than you know.”

It’s been a long time since I last made a Kagepro AMV, but I still love this series with all my heart.  Kagepro has become a big part of my life and helped me through some hard times, and will probably always be my number one.  It’s been a wild ride and certainly had its... ups and downs, but I refuse to let this fandom die damnit.  It really warmed my heart to see so many people still rising up for August 15th (and again recently for Kido’s new PV), so I’m glad I was able to participate as well with this, even if it’s just a quick vid.  (Here’s hoping Reload at least gives me better animation to work with in the future... *shot*)

And finally...

5)

Because I can.

Tagging @amayzeedaisy, @astrologista, @cookiesandcream90, @immavampirekiwi and whoever else wants to do this.