worldfurnitureandbits

[worldfurnitureandbits]

The King of the Unwanted

6D.Hi.Event.Ithel Wynn

Ithel Wynn sat on the steps of the dais where the great, black, vacant throne of The Ancient King loomed.  He sat just beyond the edge of its shadow, hunched and pensive, turning over the choices and options that lay before him.  His long, pale fingers traced patterns in the dirt and dust that had accumulated in this old, ruinous place.

This was not his castle.  The throne on the dais was not his.  The kingdom was not his.  And yet he was called ‘king’--yes, Ithel Wynn, King of the Wastes, Ruler of the exiled, the unwanted, and the dispossessed.  But he ruled little more than those beings that wandered this miserable, barren place.

The land, the kingdom, all the real power wasn’t his.  He was a joke and a sham, the least of all kings.  So low that none even bothered to attack or invade his kingdom... he had nothing to take, but the folk who’d already been cast out.  He was voiceless in the great courts and his word hand no weight or vale.  His subjects were only the desperate and scorned who swore allegiance to him for the sake of the comfort of having a king.

His title had been handed to him by the Lady of the Blackest Night and Brightest Day--the ruler of the Cthonic realms when he’d come of age and found himself unwanted by all the great nobles.  What else could be done with a courtless youth of noble blood?

But there was a way to take power...

A smile played at his lips as he traced patterns in the dust on the step beside him.

I know what you are planning, a voice that crackled like dead leaves in Falltide whispered.

He looked up, but he did not turn to seek the body to which the voice belonged.  There was no point.  She was nowhere and everywhere.  He had reason to believe that she had a form, but it was beyond his sight or understanding.

She was the Aos of this place.  More Goddess than queen.  And he was beholden to her.

“What of it?” he asked.

It is cruel.  I do not care for cruelty, she said.

“And I do not care for being a kingdom-less King,” he said, turning his gaze back to the finger-tracings. “One of us must be unhappy, and I know that you are always happy to open your gates to new subjects.  Why turn your eyes from one in desperate need?”

Those who come here have nowhere left to go.  They are driven here.  What you would do... You would take them from their world and drag them into this one.  And that is cruel.

He stood and stared out into the room, his eyes focused on the unseen and unknown.  His straight posture and the downward turn of his lips conveyed his defensiveness and resolve.  “But what life is there for this child?” he asked. “They were doomed before birth.  They were made to die.  Their fate is already decided.  This poor creature can do some good and it may have its life by serving my purpose.”  As he spoke, he found his determination increased.  “I see no wrong in that.”

There was no response.

If you do this, I promise you will suffer an agony that your kind seldom knows and it will be a pain greater than you can ever possibly imagine, the voice warned in the whispers of the wind.

Ithel Wynn lifted his chin defiantly.  “Do your worst.  And I will do mine.   But you will thank me when I’m through and, one day, you will call me king and even the Lady of Brightest Day and Darkest Night will bow to me!”  he declared.

Of that, the voice murmured, I have no doubt...

He thought he heard a smile there.  But it seemed impossible to know if a thing that had no face was capable of smiling.

[worldfurnitureandbits]

[worldfurnitureandbits]

This is an ‘ask me’ meme.

But I’m just going to use it for planning / thinking purposes.

Character Development Questions: Hard Mode

Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?

What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like?

What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?

Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?

On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams?

Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?

Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target?

Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up?

Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing?

In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?

Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?

Does your character remember names or faces easier?

Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?

Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?

What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others?

What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?

If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

What does your character like in other people?

What does your character dislike in other people?

How quick is your character to trust someone else?

How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person?

How does your character behave around children?

How does your character normally deal with confrontation?

How quick or slow is your character to resort to physical violence in a confrontation?

What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

What does your character find repulsive or disgusting?

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable.

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable.

In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method?

How does your character behave around people they like?

How does your character behave around people they dislike?

Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?

Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat?

Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)?

How does your character treat people in service jobs?

Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?

Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them?

Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them?

How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?

What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

[worldfurnitureandbits]

Character Development Questions: Hard Mode

2xCross. WritingMeme.

Link to meme.

Questions: 1-5. 

Date: 4/30.

Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?

What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like?

What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?

Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?

On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

Subjects: Lina & 114N

@ page 1.

1. Siblings

Lina-  Her older brother J.J. is roughly her age, but they’re at different points in their lives.  He’s married to a career woman, has a kid and a full-time job (works from home to save on child care money).  She’s in grad school and has found herself single again after a two year relationship with an older woman.

Lina gets along better with her much older brother Ricky, who provides a better sounding board for her problems with their mother.  They’re also at similar stages in life- freshly broken up with same-sex partners, feeling a little lost, worried about mom...

There are cousins on Lina’s father’s side, but she’s not particularly close to them.  She has little in common with them.

114N- They have one surviving sibling. The only other survivor from the N collection.  They go by Irene and live in a cottage in the middle of nowhere.  114N does not know that Irene is still alive and believes Irene to be dead.

114N and Irene do not speak.  They did not get along before Irene left/faked their death.   They hated each other due to the intense rivalry cultivated by Maker and their very different coping mechanisms.

2. Mothers

Lina- Christine is a good, but complicated woman with an alcohol problem.  Her children love her, but struggle to cope with her more destructive tendencies.   This is especially difficult for Lina who feels that she has a lot in common with her mother, but fears becoming her.  In fact, Lina has made it her life goal to not be her mother.

While Lina doesn’t appear to have many similarities to her mother mentally or physically, there are key commonalities that make Lina particularly concerned.  There’s also social expectations.  Simple being related to her mother causes people to make dangerous assumptions.  So, Lina hedges her bets by not mentioning her mother... Thankfully, Christine understands and gives her space and enables the ‘not like mom’ approach.

On the whole, they get along as long as it’s before 9pm, which is when Christine slips into darker moods.  Lina cannot handle the paranoia, anger, and depression that emerges at those late hours.  She does her best to keep her distance at night and only comes over in the event of an emergency.

114N- They have vague recollections of their mothers which they pieced together into Hollie. A robot.  Their relationship with Hollie is complex and fraught, because they created her, but she is a manifestation of what little they understand to be mother.  Eventually 114N decided that the only way to manage Hollie was to make her an autonomous AI.  This has made things less complex, but only slightly.   The power disbalance is awkward and difficult.

There is also the primordial alien goop that technically formed and nurtured the 114N using the traumatized and mutilated bodies of several children.  But it’s hard to think of alien slime as a mother, particularly when it can not provide comfort or council.

3. Fathers

Lina- Another complicated relationship. Lina used to be much closer to her father, but as she became more aware of his career choices she started to move away from him.  While Lina always despised her mother’s choice of occupation, her father’s decisions always seemed logical and right when she was young and impressionable.

It was only when she was older and started to understand exactly what her father did and how it impacted other people on a global scale that she became uncomfortable.  They became somewhat estranged in Lina’s early high school years.  When her father’s enemies started to treat her as a way to get to him, he sent her to live with her mother, which furthered their separation.

She still loves her father and the older she gets the more she understands and respects his choices, but she still disagrees with them.

114N- They had many fathers, but only two are relevant- Maker and Voltaire.

Maker was a horrible, despicable, abusive monster with a human face and a mind full of careful, logical justifications for his actions.  He was a scientist who experimented on human subjects to “further evolution.”

114N was a surviving failure of these experiments, which meant that Maker kept them for further studies and testing (unlike the successes who were handed over to the militant training branch of the organization). 114N survived the continued experiments, tests, and training to become one of Maker’s prized soldiers.  Once they figured out how to extract the explosive Maker implanted in their skull, they imprisoned Maker, wiped out the organization, and sought vengeance on everyone who had ties to the organization.

Maker eventually died from 114N’s slow, horrible revenge. 114N wishes that they’d kept him alive and in agony longer, in honor of all of 114N’s siblings...

Voltaire is like Hollie, an amalgamation of fractured memories of fathers from the time before Maker. Also a robot.  114N finds him equally difficult to deal with, since he is a creation based on several father figures and the obvious power imbalance between maker and ‘father.’  But things are easier, because Voltaire is always somewhat distant.  114N actually has to go out looking for him if they want fatherly advice or time.

4. Witnessed something that changed them?

Lina- When Lina was 8 she watched one of the greatest and most loved/respected parahuman in her city die. His powers of flight failed him and plummeted to his death. She never forgot that.

That was the moment she learned that even people with amazing abilities could be hurt and killed. That was when she learned that death could even happen to people who were supposed to be heroes.

114N- Hard to pin down. There was so much horror... but it wasn’t the horror that did it. It was watching a machine mend their arm and realizing that they had memorized the machine’s precise mechanical movements and were capable of copying those movements perfectly. That was when they realized that they could defeat anyone, they just needed to watch them long enough to memorize how their opponent moved. One or twice.

They stopped losing after that. That was when they started winning and planning the destruction of the organization.

5. Pockets

Lina- Wears stylish, affordable clothing for women, which is typically devoid of pockets (she hates this). If she does have convenient, functional pockets, she might have a few odd pieces of paper with notes scribbled on them, at least five paperclips (secret emergency lock-picking set), a stray pen, and a spare tuning fork.

114N- Has pockets, but rarely used them. All their clothes are very nice so they hates letting them get mucked up with things. The few items they do carry include a custom “Swiss Army knife”-like tool for fiddling, a shiny silver Spanish coin from the 1400s, a pencil, and a tiny notebook that they replace on a daily basis. There’s also the gloves and pocket watch, but they view those items as part of the ensemble.

[worldfurnitureandbits]

ABS- A Short, Steamy Scene

35K.Ch.KinkFactor.MAJOR PLAYERS

Georgiana paused and stared at the professor’s bare torso.  Her eyebrows rose ever so slightly.

“What?”

Georgiana glanced up and noticed that Sebastian was giving her a questioning look.

“You have nice abs,” she said.

And it was true.   He did have nice abs.  And nice pecs.  And nice other parts of him.  She knew for a fact that most of him was very nice, but she’d only just really noticed the abs.  It was probably the god-awful florescent lighting in this dank, mess of an old science-lab, deepening the shadows, starkly contrasting his bare skin and the shadows cast by his ripped flesh.

He preened, lightly tossing his head so that his silvery hair fell around his face in a messy, but visually pleasing way.

“Well,” he said smugly, “thank you, I work hard to keep it that way.”  He smirked and flexed.

Georgiana let her eyes rake over his figure and licked her lips, pointedly flicking her eyes to his face--making sure he saw her hungry look and knew that she liked what she saw.

The look in his eyes told her that he knew.

Georgiana grinned and leaned against the wall.  “So, you look good.  What am I supposed to do?” she asked.  “You want me to do something, don’t you?”

It was an ask.  How did he want to play?  Did he want it gentle or rough?

He ducked his head slightly and his face colored a little, but the bashful, somewhat embarrassed smile was genuine.  “You’re going to make me ask?” he murmured.

Her grin widened.  “I will do whatever you want me to, but you have to tell me what it is first.” She stood and made her way over to him lazily. “Whatever you want.  You can have it, but you have to say it,” she said with a teasing smile, “I want to hear you tell me you want it.  I want to hear you beg for it.”

He stepped back, glanced away as if embarrassed, but then slyly turned his green eyes back to her own.  She could see from the way his chest rose and fell that he was breathing hard--aroused already by her demands for his participation in whatever fantasy he was harboring.

“Hurt me,” he whispered softly.

She closed the distance between them, pressing her body against his own, even as she wrapped an arm around his neck and tangled her hand in his hair.  She drew his head down to her own so that her breath mingled with his as she asked, “You want me to hurt you?”

“Yes,” he breathed desperately, “hurt me.”

Her lips brushed his and she asked, “How?”

“Gently,” he murmured desperately, “hurt me gently, until I’m begging you for it.”

Georgiana pulled back and made sure that his eyes met her own as she said, “Baby, I’m going to make you scream.”

<>

I love these two.

[worldfurnitureandbits]

The Crush- The Beginning

6D.  The Girl.  Recollections.  The Crush: The Beginning.

[worldfurnitureandbits]

Sometimes it’s important to realize that maybe you shouldn’t be in love with that complicated person who has sharp edges.  Because some of those people, underneath it all, really aren’t that complicated.  And those sharp edges don’t hide anything soft or nice.

Oh no, they go all the way down.  And there’s nothing else there.

[worldfurnitureandbits]

It’s easy to love a complicated, human-shaped puzzle that has sharp edges, but it can be surprisingly difficult to love a complicated person who has sharp edges...

[worldfurnitureandbits]

I have 20 thread-pieces in progress...

I wonder if any will ever get done?

[worldfurnitureandbits]

These insults.

They’re beautiful.

When insults had class

These glorious insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words. A member of Parliament to Disraeli: “Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease”. “That depends, Sir,“ said Disraeli, “whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.” “He had delusions of adequacy.” - Walter Kerr “He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.”- Winston Churchill “I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.” -Clarence Darrow “He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway). “Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.” - Moses Hadas “I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.” - Mark Twain “He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends..” - Oscar Wilde “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend…. if you have one.” (George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill) “Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second  …. if there is one.“  (Winston Churchill, in response.) “I feel so miserable without you; it’s almost like having you here.” - Stephen Bishop “He is a self-made man and worships his creator.” - John Bright “I’ve just learned about his illness. Let’s hope it’s nothing trivial.” - Irvin S. Cobb “He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others.” - Samuel Johnson “He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up.” - Paul Keating “In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily.” - Charles, Count Talleyrand “He loves nature in spite of what it did to him.” - Forrest Tucker “Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?” -Mark Twain “His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.” - Mae West “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.” - Oscar Wilde “He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts… for support rather than illumination.” Andrew Lang (1844-1912) “He has Van Gogh’s ear for music.” - Billy Wilder “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.” Groucho Marx

[worldfurnitureandbits]

THE FOG

Kilian Schönberger photographer

[worldfurnitureandbits]

These pictures are gorgeous

|| Northern Vietnamese mountains on film || Ha Giang, Tam Son, Yen Minh, Dong Van and Meo Vac || Nikon F70 film photography 

[worldfurnitureandbits]

Night at the Bar~ Unknown: Total BAMF

35K.CH.Basic Show.Main Characters.Savage & Himmersel.

“Wow, Professor!  You’re a total BAMF.”

Sebastian stared at the student whose name had, in his current alcoholic haze, escaped him and considered the compliment.

“Well,” he said, “I don’t consider myself a BAMF, I’m more of a MF, the ‘b’-‘a’ doesn’t suit me.”

Joel stared at Sebastian in horror.  “Did you just make a joke about-?” they demanded.

“Yep.  As someone who made a lot of shitty choices as a kid, I am entitled to make jokes at my own expense.  If I can fucking laugh about it I can damn well sleep at night.  But I’m glad you didn’t laugh.”

Professor Savage threw an arm around Joel’s shoulder and grinned.  “I’m so glad I can trust you.”

Joel, unsure of how to respond to their close friend’s comment, sighed heavily and downed their drink.  This was going to be a long night.

<> <> <>

I am going to wonder, for the rest of the evening, what provoked that student to call Sebastian Savage “a total BAMF.”

The following must be true:

1. The student does not know Prf. Savage outside of the fact that he is a professor.

2. Sebastian must have done something brave, which means that he did something potentially stupid.

3. I am surprised that no one has stopped Sebastian from drinking considering how he eats his medication.

[worldfurnitureandbits]

Ngải

6D.Hi.Event.Ngải

Ngải lived between the ancient world and the modern world at a time when both were tearing themselves apart.  She was the daughter of a good man and a good woman, who lived in a small, village, high in the mountains; far from the great cities.  They were farmers who kept a small orchard, a cow, and three chickens.

From almost the day she was born, the course of Ngải’s life was known her. She would spend her days working hard to help her family succeed and when she reached a certain age, she would marry the neighbor’s son, Phúc.  She would have children and their consolidated land would yield a better life for her new family.

Ngải was satisfied with her lot in life.  She worked all day beside her parents to ensure that her family had enough to get by.  Sickness would ravage their tiny village on occasion, taking the old, the weak, the sickly, and sometimes the strong.  But that was normal.  Suffering came with the seasons and as long as she was still able to stand, she knew that she would survive.

Her village was far enough from the cities that when civil war broke out and the wealthy turned upon their neighbors and blood ran in the streets the refugees did not find her home.   And if the fleeing masses could not find the little village, tucked away between heaven and earth, the vying armies could not either.  So, when the warlords with their militias swept through the region, taking boys as young as twelve from their families, Ngải’s home was luckily missed, but only just.

Occasionally, friends from neighboring villages would come to seek asylum in their village, describing the terrible acts of the warlords.  Families were massacred, children were forced to participate in the murder of their parents and for what…?  Rumors of oil and wealth in the low lands near the cities. Everyone in the mountains agreed that it was such an evil thing, such a waste.

But there were other troubles in the world.  Desperate people came rushing into Ngải’s village from the high regions, swearing up and down to have seen something more terrible than the human mind could conceive.  And while those who came from the low lands swore against the evil of warlords, those who came down from above told terrible stories of demons.

Ngải’s home was just as far removed from the high mountains, where it was said that demons still occasionally wandered.   Now, no one could be sure if there really were demons up there, treading forgotten paths and hunting for the lost who’d strayed too far from righteousness or home, but no one wanted to risk it.  So the villagers kept away from the higher peaks and kept away from the low-lands and everything went well.

Until one day a man and a woman, husband and wife, came up from the city and stumbled upon their village.  They were both strangely dressed and very rude, but they begged for shelter and the villagers gave them aid.  In exchange, the two brought knowledge from the cities and told tales of wonders that the villagers had never conceived in their wildest dreams. But the man and the woman neglected to mention the illness they brought with them.

The strangers died before the month was out and by then the sickness was in almost every house in the village.  There was no cure known to the locals and they could only watch as the old, the very young, and the sickly quickly perished.

They were lucky.  It had been a good year and there’d been just enough food to keep the young and strong well enough, but the sickness was taking its toll.  Their small community could not eke out a meager living and continue to look after the sick and dying.

Ngải’s home was far enough from the center of their small village, that her family was mostly protected.  But while she remained strong and healthy her intended, Phúc found his house overwhelmed. It was not long before he began to show signs of the terrible illness.

<> <> <>

An Introduction.  I am going to have to do some serious reworking of this piece though... when I finish it...

This is set in an Alternate Timeline.  Any war mentioned is not meant to reflect on any historical or existing conflicts.  I will need to dig into things in order to sort out what would cause this particular event...

[worldfurnitureandbits]

No one has found me yet.

... Excellent...

[worldfurnitureandbits]

A Simpler Time

RECOLLECTIONS.6D.Story Bite

Life was simple back then.

Or rather, that’s how she remembered it.  It was, she reflected, always possible to misremember things.  She’d been a child back then, so things might have seemed much simpler to her, when in truth they were terrifyingly complex.  But when she considered how things had changed, she really felt that things had been simpler back then.

They’d all lived together in a narrow, four-story house located in the hills district, near the old fortress.  Grandmama, who’d been “a spirited old thing” with a light in her dark eyes and a quick temper, and Grandpapa, whose beard had been like an extension of his chin and jutted out sharply whenever he’d made a decision that he would not budge from.  And Papa, the theology professor of some regard; a man with the mildest and gentlest of manners. Mama, who’d made dresses and looked like a princess from a fairy story with her black curls, smooth, dusky skin, and a smile that could make anyone weak in the knees.

At some point she’d been born and become the fifth member of the household.  Much later the twins had come along and added two more to their number.

They’d all lived together and fought with each other and loved one another...

Yes, things had been simple back in those days.

It was all gone now.  Grandpapa had died many years ago.  Grandmama had lived to see the twins’ tenth birthday, but not their eleventh.  And the war had taken everyone else.

The narrow four-story house still stood in the hills district, but looters had gutted it of every memory and memento that marked their lives there.  It was as though they’d sought to strip even the memory of their existence from the city.

It seemed cruel to her.  The house had been in their family for generations.  It had been built on land that her family had occupied for centuries.  They’d weathered invasions, wars, and a thousand attempts to uproot them.  Like old mountain stones her family had remained.

But now, it was all gone.

She was all that was left.

<> <> <>

I need to think about when, where, and how I want to use this piece... IF I want to use this piece...

Probably Book 2?

[worldfurnitureandbits]

This is going to be my weird, lonely writing blog isn’t it?

Good.

So... I was just sitting around, minding my own dumb business, writing bullshit stories about horrible things happening to good and decent people... you know, writer stuff.

When it occurred to me that, for the first time, my main character in the story I was working wasn’t LGBTQIA.

It was weird as fuck.

And that’s when it occurred to me that while I’ve technically had straight characters before, none of them were quite so... PROPER straight.

Like.  She’s she-likes-boys-a-lot straight and she-LOOKS-at-their-butts-and-only-their-butts straight.  Her cute bi best friend’s subtle flirtation flies right on over her head.  She’s “I like how he looks when he bends over--oh, did you drop something sis, do you need a hand?  I wasn’t paying attention...” straight.

And it’s kind of hitting me how absolutely bizarre it actually is to be straight.  Half the world vanishes in a strange and mysterious way.  You never see the girls you’re hanging out with as beautiful, attractive people who you, if you really, really felt like it/were into them like, might date.  You only see the boys and the guys and the men...

And all I can think is it’s just too much sausage.