#techno sorcery

[crazyskirtlady]

[Digital Altar]

Guru Padmasambhava

༺༒༻

{The Glorious Lotus-Born}

༂HŪM! In the heart of a Lotus Flower

Endowed with the most marvelous attainments

Renowned as the Lotus-Born

Surrounded by hosts of Dakinis

Following in your footsteps I pray:

Through the positivity & merit of this

May I swiftly accomplish the realization of the Master Lotus-Born

May I bring each & every single living being to that perfect state as well! HŪM!༂

╔╦══• •✠•❀•✠ • •══╦╗

¡Gather the accomplishments of the Lotus Master!

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

[bobertflaming]

I've been having some thoughts on level 0 Immortal powers for Glitch-like variants of CMWGE traits. More precisely, I've been thinking about Immortal, Frantic and Sickly powers, and correspondingly level 0 powers in general for corresponding attributes.

TL;DR what if generally Immortal trait level 0 power were powers of Foreshadowing?

So, like, in CMWGE Sickly and Frantic are, precisely, special actions authorizations like "encounter trouble" or "suffer corruption/trauma".

And to me thus it makes sense for level 0 powers for Frantic or Sickly attributes to dabble in that, in these kinds of effects. For level 0 powers of Sickly attribute to be powers to declare unto your character some form of trauma or corruption thematically tied to the arc; and for level 0 powers of Frantic attribute, to be powers to declare some form of trouble your character's into. Or, at least, these are good candidate for level 0 powers in tentative 0-12 power ladders.

For Wounded for instance this could be about their Blasphemy, level zero could be the power to invoke some trauma resulting from the blasphemy, and level 4, triggered by the HG, could be the blasphemy/trauma reaching a tipping point as bad as the one which leads Strategists to leave creation for instance in Wyrd’s Wailing Rites. And for the Sealed, whose experience of the world distort, it could be "(Suffer) Corruption" instead of "(Suffer) Trauma", like "I invoke this power to enforce that I suffer corruption from having warped view of the world".  Wanderer could be "I suffer corruption from the influence unto me of my shadow" ... And it'd be like possible or so for traits like Deepness and Theft to act in similar ways as well for level 0 powers.

And, to me, similarly, it makes sense for level 0 powers of Frantic arcs to be tied to characters' ability to invoke trouble unto themselves or generally defend their ability to be in trouble - and I think that the Agony rites does that very well for instance: in a sense it's a way for Strategists to say, even when in a situation where à priori their infection would not bring trouble to them, to say "no, no actually, I am in trouble even here". And Estate-driven divination and Connection have a similar feel to me, in that they are powers that invoke themselves when something the character is tied to is in trouble, they are basically incentives to get the character in trouble and prompts for ways to do it. They are ways to make it easier that ‘a threat approches’ happens narratively and thus, in spirit, make it easier to “(Be in) Trouble”. And if [Punching Out the Moon: or, the Glitch Trait “Aspect” (I)]'s inital version of level 0 power for Aspect of Level 0 Rite: “Flawed” seem not to be where the attribute will end up, it still feels indicative to me of the idea that good candidates for level 0 powers of frantic attributes are the powers to retain the ability to get in trouble, declare trouble unto yourself, or prompts or warnings that you are in trouble in some way. But Immortality ? Immortality is not the same, because it is not a "special action authorization" but rather a "Super-duper healing factor". It's, basically, Immortality, you know? However the quality of Immortality of an Angel or a Lightlord or even a True God feels, to me, more of an aspect of the splats themselves: Angels are conceptually invincible and True Gods have too many layers to kill effectively. Indicatively Strategists have somewhat a kind of immortality, but their immortal attribute, Lore, is not what grants it to them. Also, a splat with four Immortal attributes like the Angels would have little diversity in its power set if all its level 0 powers were about reducing damages done to them. This means to me there is less of a clear cut guideline to follow in regards to Immortal attribute's level 0 power candidates in general, except maybe that one would want them to not feel too Sickly or Frantic ? So i’ve, maybe not very reasonably, tried to think about what would its XP action be if Immortal was about an XP action like Sickly and Frantic, in order to have a sort of guideline for level 0 powers, although admittedly this is probably a little bit too far fetched... Sickly characters are typically unhealthy (Suffer Trauma) and deviate from the normal functionning of the world (Suffer Corruption). Frantic characters are just trying to find a place in the world. They ... they cling to their mortality despite their power. They get themselves into troubles by clinging to their mortality and by trying to fit into the world rather than be already fit or rather than impose upon the world ? So they are not at peace with the world, but not traumatize by it or estranged from it either ? And Immortal characters ... they are slow in their intrigues, their acts are not forcefull, or immediate... they are in accord with the world, in tune with it... What kind of XP-action would it look like ? Jenna noted in the Prophet write-up that “Conceptually slightly easier access to red actions will also make an NPC a little safer and more grounded in an Adventure Fantasy or Fairy Tale or on the Road of Trials; a little more insightful in an  Epic Fantasy; and unusually empathetic in a Pastoral or Gothic game. “ And I believe that this kinds of fit well with the idea of an Immortal character? Being safer, more grounded while facing trauma and adversity. Being more insightful - dare I say, more in tune with the world?- in Epic Fantasies. The ability to be more empathetic sure is all right as well. I believe access to Setting Actions could provide a similar feel but with probably less of the ‘woohoo’ expected from true Immortality (Also, ‘Foreshadowing’ feels more “slow in their actions” than ‘Discovery’). So let's say for a moment that good candidates for level 0 miracles of Immortal traits could be declarations of Foreshadowing or Sympathy. Monstrous, Holy, and Lore's level 0 abilities could be seen as kinds of Foreshadowing actions based on a Curse/Experience/Sphere. Allegorical's level 0 ability could be not so dissimilar to a kind of Foreshadowing and/or Sympathetic action based on one’s legend, one’s history. Then, to limit how much Foreshadowing powers Angels have, Adept and Gardener could have variations that’d be more on the Sympathetic Side.

[shiyorin]

What do you think it would be like if primarchs used social media?

Lion El'Jonson:

Private account, doesn't accept follower requests

Rarely posts, usually just sunset or forest photos

Uses emojis sarcastically in replies

Has 20 followers but thinks it's way too many

Fulgrim:

Aesthetic pictures pose artfully depict exotic hobbies and runway couture 

Filters all photos to perfection  

Constantly debates high art vs pop culture 

Thirst traps cause monthly massacres

"Like for a follow back 🔥" 

Perturabo:

Photos are exclusively poorly-lit fortress blueprints 

Bio is 25000 character treatise on siege tactics

Follows exactly 12 history scholars 

Hates everyone and everything on the site 

Actually ran some incisive political commentary bots before being banned

Jaghatai Khan: 

Only posts the sickest motocross and extreme sports clips

Videos have insane views but no captions 

Fans think he's a cryptid until rare livestreams 

Hijacks Fulgrim's comments to hype rad stunts

Leman Russ:

Changed his name to 'Wolf Daddy 🐺'

Shirtless hunting/drinking photos get 10K likes

Roasts everyone in comments but they love it  

Followers think he's a viking hipster meme page

Follows biker gangs, sled dog accts, scholars of old Terra 

Rogal Dorn:

Only posts are architectural blueprints and records of fortifications

Gets into epic debates about structural principles in comments  

No one knows if he actually loads new content or just archives old

Somehow gains tons of followers thirsting for DILF

Konrad Curze:

Pure darkness and screams in hazy JPEGs 

3 followers and they're all bots

Posts disturbing ‘prophecies’ and murder puzzles

Under investigation for doxxing

Sanguinius: 

Angelic selfies bring all the followers to his page    

Flowing locks and golden abs get 20K likes instantly   

Quotes poetry in every reply but no one understands 

Only follows animal shelter and children's hospital accounts

Ferrus Manus:

Only follows engineering/robotics pages

Posts heavily filtered machine shop mini-documentaries 

Photos of custom machines that make engineers weep

Comments are unintelligible techno-babble  

Somehow gains huge gym bro following thirsting for muscle

Angron:

Gets banned monthly for graphic content and abuse

Posts angry rants about society in broken caps

Got suspended after sending death threats to Guilliman

Only follower is Khârn who comments 'THIS' on everything  

Roboute Guilliman:

Shares updates on the latest Codexes 

Only follows serious history/philosophy lecture pages

Posts long analyses of governance strategies 

Constantly lectures others in comments

Has blocked half his followers for trolling

Mortarion:

Aesthetic is grimy gas mask selfies in back alleys

ONLY reposts plague doctor memes from 2003

Bio is endless copypasta about essential oils

Gains cult following of goths, metal heads and preppers

Magnus:

Endless livestreams talking about theoretical magic at 3AM with 2 viewers. 

Tries making TikToks explaining sorcery but the videos are an hour long each.

Overexplains memes and emojis in long-winded threads

Memes and facts threads blow up as the most esoteric

Horus Lupercal:

Selfies showing off abs get him 50K followers in a week

Posts stunning photos from across the Imperium with #blessed captions

Fan club is half the mankind 

DMs from people asking for selfies blow up his notifications  

Lorgar Aurelian:

Aesthetic is dark robes and candlelit monasteries

Constantly reposting zealot sermons out of context

Accidentally starts wars of faith whenever he livestreams

Got suspended for uploading hardcore Slaneeshi hymns

Still has 10 alt accounts all named Brother [REDACTED]

Vulkan:

Only follows puppy accounts and craft bloggers

Posts Happy Holiday baking tutorials and dad jokes

Likes and comments positivity on everyone's posts

Followers think he's the nicest DILF ever online

Secretly the biggest wholesome meme page

Corvus Corax:

Only darkness, shadow puppets and cryptic poems

No one knows if he's real or a myth on the deep web

Internet detectives can’t trace his true identity  

Only sends encrypted coordinates in mysterious DMs  

No one has any idea what he's trying to say  

1 follower is Alpharius who only replies 'No, I'm Alpharius'

Alpharius/Omegon:

Constantly pretending to be other online  

No one knows their true forms or agenda 

Takeovers of government sites spark conspiracies

Leaves clues implicating everyone else’s schemes

[fox-teeth]

Have you seen me posting previews of The Second Extinction of the Pyrenean Ibex, my upcoming non-fiction comic about humanity’s quest to clone extinct animals and the time we almost-but-not-quite succeeded? 

Have you thought: “Hey tumblr user fox-teeth, that looks REALLY cool and I REALLY want to know more about this comic and the anthology it’s in?”

Good news! Iron Circus Comics’ Failure to Launch crowdfunding campaign will go live on February 6th, and right now you can sign up on Backerkit to get notified when it launches--and be first in line for those sweet early bird perks like free/reduced shipping. 

Want even more information about Failure to Launch? There’s an article on Gizmodo about the anthology including a preview of a comic by Ryan North (Dinosaur Comics) and Kel McDonald (Sorcery 101) about a failed utopian techno-commune! There’s gonna be so many cool stories in this book--domestic hippos! robot dogs! centrifuge birth!--I really hope you will check it out!

(cover art by Roderick Constance)

[kanohivolitakk]

Wild realization I had today after reading the 50th take of how Bionicle should’ve stayed a high fantasy story filled with mysticism and wonder: Like many other things, my fondness towards low fantasy was kickstarted by Bionicle.

Like Bionicle isn’t exactly low fantasy, but I don’t really care about the high fantasy elemental mysticsm chosen one against ancient evil storyline compared to the faction war power struggle stuff or faux the science fiction stuff. And while I always knew that the faux science fiction elements in Bionicle was what kickstarted my love for techno fantasy, I realize now that the power struggle stuff probably kickstarted my love for low fantasy or at the very least, fantasy that’s more grounded and focuses on faction wars and the like as opposed to high fantasy swords and sorcery like mysticsm. Because I found the gritty power struggle stuff to be much more interesting and compelling than the main plots.

[pastelpaperplanes]

Not sure if you thought of this but are the animals organic or cybaranimal or alien? I really don't know lol, not sure if there will be beastformers or Predacons in that world. Since there are fur and all that Megatron wears.

They’re a mix of cybernetic and organic! Thorns and Thrones is a soft body au, so nothing exactly ‘transforms’ mechanically (mecha, techanimals, beastformers)

This AU does have mythical elements added to it as well! Transformations are totally on the table if you’re dealing w Sorcery, Curses, Demonic possession, or Changelings

The furs are absolutely from a variety of techanimals that exists in this world from cyberwolves down to cybercattle, mythical techbeasts exists too, but they’re rarer to come by nowadays. However, since the Allspark’s disappearance, it seems more and more that strange, dangerous creatures are showing up out of thin air.

The ancient Predacons were rumored to be nothing short of half-beast, as not many outside of their people shared the knowledge on how they could seamlessly communicate with and command anything from titanical serpents to dragons. The Predacons aren’t in the current timeline of the AU, but many speculate that the Dinobots tucked away in the unclaimed Isles are descendants of them!

Dinobot armor is highly sought after since it’s believed that the scales of fallen dragons have been passed down through those family lines. Trading for this impenetrable, fire proof, material rarely ever happens. It’s more common to negotiate a hefty hand-crafted weapon or brilliantly colored fabrics, the latter kudos to skills brought in by the Seekers who merged with the Dinobots, than it is the ever get your hands on scaled armor. Because of it’s rarity, Dinobots who venture out of the Isles frequently conceal their coveted armor in furs.

so crash course, furs, scales, hides, and teeth, some materials used more commonly than others, are techno organic materials used to create clothes and armor in this world outside of the usual metal ore!

[zedecksiew]

THE UNIVERSAL COMMUNE

Ylang, a yellow sun on a distant shoal of the immersea. When the Star Imperium collapsed Ylang was spared the worst depredations, due to distance. It did not escape unscathed.

Oort-wards in order, the Ylang system is:

+ Verre, an agni-class world, molten seas. + Tesh, a bhumi-class world, on the warmer end. ++ Belt of Tesh, ice, rock, satellite debris. +++ Tesh Exchange, a moon-sized astropolis. + Ylang's End, a belt of wrecked starships. ++ Ylang's Gate, an immersea teleportal, dead. + Rake, a bhumi-class world, on the colder end. + Irrusine, a vata-class gas giant, blue-faced. ++ Irrusine Siphon, a moon-sized astrofactory. + Pravine, a vata-class gas giant, red-faced. ++ Pravine's Eye, an immersea tearpoint, buoys. + Gak-Gak, an asthi-class world, atmosphere-less.

+

VERRE an agni-class world, molten seas.

Genemod-adaptation to Verre's fury give its children a silver pallor. They are the a martial people, the Ve; for generations they were gripped by blood-feuds, by warlordism.

Then the god-heroine Ayesha crushed the great houses, crashed their orbiting cruisers. It was Ayesha who forged a new Ve upon the Stone of Ecumen, and raised their choired voice; it was Ayesha who called on Rake and Tesh for union.

Following Ayesha's example, every Ve child puts a hand over their heart and swears to defend universal communism.

The Stones are fortress-cities with walls of mile-high obsidian; these shelter creches and gardens and markets from the planet's heat---most of the planet's heat. Who are the Ve, if not a people born in fire?

+

TESH a bhumi-class world, on the warmer end.

Wears its overgrown craters like a veteran wears scars. Its air is fresh again, after centuries of care. Its forests green again. Its nightward face darker than you'd expect.

You fly over the gleaming jag of Imperium-era urban centres---now quiet monuments to history's follies. The landing port is a fuel line bordering a dusty field.

You did not expect the Commune's founding world to feel this provincial. The local town is coastal; its ranches fade into foliage.

The Teshi are obliged to spend so much time in cold orbit; when planetside they prefer the company of warm, breathing things. In deep forest glades there are shrines to small deities and animal spirits.

+

TESH EXCHANGE a moon-sized astropolis.

Rises from the Belt of Tesh like a mountain breaching cloud. The bustle of traffic: exo-system trade flotillas; patrol squadrons; passenger fleets.

The warden assigned to your arrival is on comms. She greets you with the customary Teshi formula: "Be welcome home, returner."

Built pre-collapse, the Exchange serves as Ylang's primary bazaar once more. The outer sections are occupied. The inner sections were seeded with forests, and left to grow wild and weird; now they harbour heterodox sects, contraband caches, ghost AIs.

A glaring security risk. A commissar (usually Rakish) will bring this issue up every cycle. A station warden (usually Teshi) will shrug, and say: "the Green Mothers keep their own."

+

RAKE a bhumi-class world, on the colder end.

Rakish ingenuity melted its glaciers and formed it into a flowing paradise. All without Imperium techno-sorcery!

They are perhaps too smug about this. It is said of Rakish communards that they see themselves as first among equals---that they have a saviour complex. When the Assembly discusses expansion (spatial or ideological), it is often the voice of Rake that rings loudest.

Farm and factory co-ops the size of cities. Space elevators pulse like metronomes. On the way down you are assigned a drone liaison.

"I am LED," the android intones. "God-AI of planet-wide logistics. Let me know your purpose, and I shall assist."

+

IRRUSINE SIPHON a moon-sized astrofactory.

Irrusine Antimatter was a minor corpostate of the Star Imperium; its human citizens wiped themselves out in interdepartmental warfare sometime post-collapse.

Its artificial administrators remained.

Free from the logics of profit, Irrusine's AI choir mainly desires continued function. They are gardeners of the gas giant that fuel them. They make staunch but dispassionate communards. Mutual aid just makes mathematical sense? No more, no less.

Immigrants now equal AI drones in number. Friction flares now and again, but never too badly---you need only look at the mummy-pods that girdle the station to remember that flesh is more perishable than AI quantum-circuitry.

+

PRAVINE'S EYE an immersea tearpoint, buoys.

With Ylang's Gate shut the Eye is the system's main passageway.

Reality is threadbare, here. Beacons broadcast warnings, a strict transit schedule. If you jump queue you risk collision and para-real phenomena.

There are merchant trains bringing ur-mercury and exoplutonics, whales and refugees. There are tankers leaving with antimatter fuel and Verre-milk and revolutionary psi-dramas.

There are mass drivers, watchstations. The polities of the core systems---the Ansible League; Viridia-Twelvecent-Rogex; the Hundred Houses---many of these are predators. The Commune builds more kill-cruisers, these days.

+

GAK-GAK an asthi-class world, atmosphere-less.

A dead planet, never colonised before the Universal Commune. Its settlement was a test---a way to prove that the ideals of communards will spark life in the most sterile of worlds.

The older habs are matrices of interconnected diamonds, in echo of the UC sigil. Eight-star and open-palm motifs everywhere. Your market guide points this out before you can. He apologises for the gauche fervour of his forbears.

"We are way more chill nowadays," he says.

Now hab-complexes twinkle across Gak-Gak's surface; and Gakki shipwrights launch the sleekest, most luxuriant colony vessels.

++++++

I have been playing Starsector, recently. I am really bad at it? But it has given me a space-opera itch to scratch. So here it is.

Not sure why I went with space communism. Personal inclination, I suppose? And you don't really see it much, in sci-fi fiction or games, relative to all the gear porn and mega-industry and corpo-democracies. (The United Federation of Planets is not communist, folks ...)

The bits about Irrusine Siphon are a tentative prod at an idea I've had for a while: the notion that an artificial intelligence without limits / gone rampant / outgrowing its human makers might go in the opposite direction sci-fi bros fear? What if an AI crunches the numbers, with as complete a dataset as is possible, and concludes that conciliation and cooperation is truly the mathematically best way to function?

What if reality is ultimately and objectively more Kropotkin than bloody social-Darwinist?

Tesh is a discount Valley of the Na, and this whole thing owes all to Le Guin's Ekumen.

Anyway:

I don't write a lot of sci-fi stuff. But it's fun!

+

( Image sources: https://www.starwars.com/databank/vader-s-castle http://www.simonstalenhag.se/tftl.html https://nerdist.com/article/cowboy-bebop-episode-guide-14-bohemian-rhapsody/ https://www.artstation.com/artwork/kZWa6 https://www.goodfon.com/wallpaper/distant-outpost-kosmos-poyas.html https://www.graphicdesignforum.com/t/how-the-soviet-space-age-was-imagined-by-artists-of-the-era/6803 )

[chevvy-yates]

looking up new techno shit.

Brudi.

If I do not land on German artists that do some good shit

i land on Dutch artists instead.

WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?????

[stories-from-the-warp]

Misadventures of a 40K Ork in Faerûn

Alternatively titled: "Da Legend of Da Panzysmasha"

PROLOGUE

Among Greenskin-kind, the Death Skulls clan are an anomaly: preferring looting over fighting and favor short engagements against weaker enemies, giving peers the impression that they are "un-orky". Combined with their poor habit of borrowing without ever attempting a return, Orks of this clan are almost as distrusted as a Blood Axe. If one such Ork believes an item could be useful later, he will take it---regardless of whether it is bolted down.

Naturally, when an ancient spacehulk emerges from the Warp, any self-respecting Death Skull would make haste to pillage it---doubly so if they are a Mekboy in search of parts and upgrades. This is the tale of one such kleptomaniac engineer: Gib-Gob "Da Panzysmasha".

Gib-Gob---often called "Gibby" by his fellow Mekboyz and "Mr. Gibbs" by everyone else in his warband---shoved aside countless Boyz and Grotz to ensure he was be the first Greenskin to set foot on the hulk. He zealously carved through every door and tore open every cargo container, seeking first dibs on the best components and equipment.

Deep inside the hulk, Gib-Gob found what appeared to be a large teleportation device. Instantly convinced that the best loot was on the other side, he slammed his fist into the control console, rushed onto the platform and threw himself at the opened portal.

Just as he crossed over the threshold, however, Gib-Gob realized he had made a terrible mistake: it wasn't a teleporter he had activated, but an artificial Warpgate made with techno-sorcery. When he skidded to a halt and turned around, the portal had closed. Worse yet, lesser daemons had discovered his presence.

Frantically searching for an exit, Gib-Gob fought wave after wave of feral Warp-creatures---using all his ammunition, breaking his empty weapons beyond repair by bashing daemons with them. Piece by piece, his armor was either destroyed or torn from his body, leaving him half-naked and defenseless. Punching and kicking even after the bones broke, the self-proclaimed "Panzysmasha" would eventually get krumped.

But just when a much larger wave of stronger daemons came barreling towards Gib-Gob, a rift had opened nearby. Not particularly concerned about where this would lead him, Gib-Gob once again threw himself across time and space---praying to both Gork and Mork to guide him to a land of plentiful loot.

The Green Gods would hear his prayer, though Gib-Gob would not find himself anywhere in the Milky Way galaxy...

[crazyskirtlady]

( ( ( ( ( ( ( ((HŪM)) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

*these golden sound waves align you with your goals...

[soul-dwelling]

That whole school setting plus "non conformity" plus monsters/demons that represent psychological stuff just sounds like persona - so totally derivative, idk maybe there will be a twist that will make me eat my words but it seems a certain part of the manga/anime industry is stuck in a small bubble of posibilities...

Just about every entertainment industry ends up in these dead-ends.

For me personally, it doesn't change how much I enjoy the work.

Mashle is yet another comedic fighting anime. Yet, it is hilarious. (It just out-Gintama'ed Gintama at making fun of Fullmetal Alchemist.)

Blue Exorcist has been spinning its wheels in massive fight of students against supernatural forces. And yet, I want to see how this ends, because the fight has gotten that massive.

Laid-Back Camp is comfort food--it doesn't have to be the next brand new thing, it just has to be competently done and entertaining and fun and maybe even informative.

Heck, go outside of anime and manga: I personally think The Owl House and Amphibia can be derivative in parts--but they are still good, because they mixed and matched their influences (Soul Eater, witch stories, funny animals, sword and sorcery), were sincere in what message they wanted to communicate, had visual flair and an easily recognizable (if still derivative) visual style, and remain iconic, if just for breaking ground or at least putting a chip into it, especially in TV geared largely for children (wlw couples, nonbinary characters, gore).

And even when you try to move beyond what is derivative, or cliche, or commonplace, and try for something subversive or a deconstruction, that also can become old hat: Fire Force wanted a big twist, but after Madoka Magica, Yuki Yuna Is a Hero, Undead Unluck, and obviously Evangelion, it's hard to stand out.

It depends on style, message, and tone. If it's not a memorable style, who is going to remember it or enjoy it? If the message is empty, that is worse than if it was cliche or without sincerity. If the tone isn't clear, how will it impact the reader?

About the only recent work that strikes me as not being derivative is Spy x Family--and even that story is starting to repeat itself and its gags a bit too much.

(Meanwhile, Studio BONES is coming out with an anime whose plot is "two women are bounty hunters who may or may not be in the Cowboy Bebop universe, with Blade Runner techno-noir, with a Bebop-esque melancholic soundtrack, and mech designs by the person who did Patlabor"--and that is such a mish-mash of elements I could call "derivative" but which, from just a trailer, looks more interesting than other content.)

[ilexdiapason]

Repostober Day 14 - flashes as we pass

Five times Wilbur didn't know what to make of his ghost, and one time he did.

Ghostbur's back! This time it's an SCP AU, though, which places Wilbur as the researcher that happens to have an uncanny resemblance to the anomaly, and who isn't getting any of the answers he wants about it until it's already changed his (and the people he knows') life for good. Featuring D-class Tommy, junior researcher Tubbo who absolutely should not have been given as much power as he has, helpful overseas Techno who officially knows nothing about Wilbur's job (although he's got a pretty good guess), and the traditional dehumanising cruelty of the SCP Foundation. The first chapter of this is, I think, some of my best work at quickly and efficiently establishing tone and tension; it gets into the action very quickly, and I love that about it. This was written for the Summer of Sorcery, but it's not very Sorcery-y, to be honest; apricity, written for the same exchange, fit the bill a lot better than this does. (We'll talk about apricity in a few days, I'm sure!) Make sure to have "show creator's skin" toggled, because some of the chapters need the workskin to be displayed correctly!

[chaospcrsona]

are they registered to any social media?

Klarion isn't supposed to have social media at all. His affiliation to The Light, his reputation as a villain and evil sorcerer, his status as a Chaos Lord, and the fact he has enemies, all make it too risky and could make him trackable or an easy target. It's also not ideal if the majority of Earth knows who he is and recognize him.

He does however know a bit of techno sorcery and he's not unfamiliar with social media, just uninterested.

Most of his accounts are photo-and-comment based sites like twitter and instagram, or anonymous forums and blogs.

He has one account where 99% of his posts are just pictures or videos of Teekl doing cat stuff and the occasional cat meme or stray cat. There are no pictures or personal information beyond a really awful username that out him immediately.

His second one is more of a gimmick account where he leans heavily into his role as a chaos lord to the point of parody, despite being 100% serious. There is no information there that links it back to him, mainly because he has no interest in socializing with people or telling anyony who he is. He'll look for posts with something going wrong in it, like someone blowing up a burrito in the microwave or a picture of their car after a car crash, and add a rating from 1 - 10. He also posts pictures of chaos he's done himself, but because everyone thinks he's a human, noone suspects he actually did set off the volcano from 1436 he posted a picture of. Don't ask me how he got that picture. As far as the public and the League knows he's just some unhinged funnyguy on the internet.

He also has a like 70 alternative accounts for bitching and he keeps making more. He made them specifically because he likes to talk shit about Dr Fate or Zatanna or other magic-based heroes who show up in the news, and occasionally makes fun of other heroes, and has even harrassed the official Justice League representative accounts. They keep blocking him so he just makes new ones.

He also has a few personal accounts on some forums he uses to discuss witchcraft and sorcery and such, caring for cats and familiars, auctions and locations of magic artifacts and other valuables, and Teekl does have a few cat and familiar friends so keeping in touch with the fellow sorcerers to arrange playdates isn't uncommon. The information on those is pretty personal but unless he told you it's his account you wouldn't be able to trace it back very easily.

He also uses fake accounts to spread malware, viruses, dangerous trends and challenges, conspiracy theories, and to help The Light keep the public distracted and keep information under control. He doesn't have to do this, they have other people who usually take care of that, but it keeps Klarion busy when he's particularly bored.

[innsyn]

Powerclash is a steampunk world-building and writing project that's open to anyone. There are no stupid questions, so today we're looking at:

What is steampunk?

Why pick steampunk for this project.

So... I've heard the word before, but what exactly is steampunk?

That’s a good question, because not everybody means the same thing.

Some people consider steampunk to be a ‘literary genre’ - often described as “Victorian Science Fiction” - and while the Victorian era and early sci-fi are certainly big influences, that doesn’t really cover it.

Film played just as large a role in the development of steampunk as literature, and it's now a label covering games, fashion and music. It's definitely not just a literary genre.

There are plenty of steampunk works set before and after the Victorian era - or in parts of the Earth (or entirely fictional worlds) where Victoria’s reign was irrelevant.

Loads of iconic steampunk works have more in common with fantasy than sci-fi

Other people get hung-up on the specific words - it’s not real steampunk unless it’s got steam-technology on it, or it’s not proper steampunk unless it’s got a punk ethos behind it. But the name has always been catchy branding - riffing off cyberpunk - rather than a particularly appropriate descriptor. Neither steam nor punk are actually essential. 

Attempts to try and define it further by narrow time periods and type of technology - dieselpunk, atompunk, gaslamp fantasy, etc - miss the point that steampunk is about remixing history AND science AND fantasy into something new. You don’t need a different label for each new combination - they’re all flavours of steampunk.

I like the definition outlined by the Steampunk Scholar (Mike Perschon). He argues convincingly that steampunk is more akin to a style than a genre, which is why it has translated to films, games and fashion so successfully.

Perschon highlights the three hallmarks of the steampunk style:

Hyper-vintage (evocative of the pre-digital but post-Renaissance past in broad and fanciful ways)

Techno-Fantasy (looks like science but works like magic)

Retrofuturism (how we imagine the past imagining the future)

If a story ticks two of those three boxes, it can probably be called steampunk. That doesn’t mean it can’t be called other things too, of course. Steampunk is an adjective you can tag onto anything. Steampunk adventure. Steampunk romance. Steampunk RPG. Steampunk hat.

Powerclash is a steampunk project.

Why pick steampunk for this project?

I didn’t sit down at the start of this project and specifically decide to create a steampunk world.

The idea of the overarching plot - a global battle royale with superpowers - came first.

The part about the secret alien symbiotes who were behind it all - that landed second.

Third was the concept that this was an alt-history version of Earth, with multiple branching points - from Pangea breaking up differently, through to the outbreak of the choke epidemic.

At this stage, it didn’t feel very steampunk - I’d have said it was a sci-fi concept.

I was tempted to set it in the far future, but because advanced technology would offer solutions similar to some of our character’s superpowers, it felt like there’d be less influence associated with the powers and it would be too easy for civilians to take control of the Powerclash.

I didn’t want to set it in a modern world, because the project is already focused on characters with unique individual superpowers - a modern setting would make it far too derivative of the contemporary Marvel/DC estates. 

Similarly, I didn’t want to set it too far in the past, such as the mediaeval or renaissance period, because I wasn’t aiming for a classic sword and sorcery fantasy.

That landed me in the appropriate time period bracket for steampunk; post-renaissance, but pre-digital. And because it’s an alternative timeline Earth, where we’re free to mess-around with any sense of historical accuracy - it fits neatly into this concept of ‘hyper-vintage’.

At this point we get to technology. I wanted this to be a global story, with characters drawn from all corners of the planet, but they needed to get close and interact for drama to happen. So I needed to give them easy access to means of travelling around the world relatively quickly. I needed boats, trains and flying machines - staples of the steampunk aesthetic. 

Thinking of alt-history vehicles and machines really sparked my imagination. What if an outside force (such as our secret aliens) stopped these humans from taming electricity, or refining oil? How might other technologies have been refined if they weren’t replaced? It quickly became an essential part of the project. I was seeing beautifully mad clockwork and steam contraptions, many of which would need a helping hand to defy physics. I didn’t want to lean too far into outright techno-fantasy: no creating magical new energy sources or implausible materials - this is still supposed to be a realistic-adjacent alternative Earth. But we can certainly lean into that gap of what makes it ‘alternative’ and imagine geological, biological and cultural variations which could result in different resources for these people to work with. It may be a bit subtler than aether powered flapters, or adamantium claws, but it’s still an excuse for why X which wouldn’t work on our Earth, work here. It’s still techno-fantasy.

Having hit two of the three hallmarks, I had to admit that Powerclash was now a steampunk project.

But was it retrofuturist? Had I completed the steampunk clean sweep?

So far - no. Neither the overall concept, nor the worldbuilding as developed to date, are concerned with how the people of a specific time imagined the future. But that’s not to say that individual stories written within the Powerclash universe couldn’t tick that final box one day!

I didn't pick steampunk for the project - I just set about developing the concept, and then one day it stood up and told me that it was steampunk now - and I couldn't be prouder.

[vykodlak]

March 2023

What's up with these western shores this year

Thee guys behind Obsequiae and Inexorum make some pretty melodic dm.

Untoother's b-sides SUCK don't hit nearly as hard as the offerings in 2021's Strength but I think Over Western Shores should've been on that album proper instead of one of the much weaker tracks like little bird or why. They just nail it here. This band makes me feel like a mopey teenager in a nostalgic, almost romanticised way. When they're bad they're so bad but when they're good.. well. you know.

The new moonlight sorcery EP is kind of a mess mix-wise. compels me though. They're good at writing hooky riffs. UGLY album cover.

I dragged my heels when it came to listening to that hellripper but man it's great.

The surprise techno bent at the end of On The Way Home in Elvenfris is always so fun.

Don't really care as much about the Fluids parts of that Fluids/Pharmacist split🧍‍♂️but Pharmacist grooves as always