#Science fiction writing

[whereserpentswalk]

Every starship always has a few ice people on board. It's just standard safety protocol. The minimum number is three, one ice person for defense, one ice person for repairs, and one ice person for medical.

Ice people are people who are put into suspended animation for the duration of a trip, only to be taken out in emergencies. They're useful because a ship won't have to deal with another passenger just for something that won't useally happen. It also makes it so that the ice person is the least likely to be harmed in emergencies. They used to use robots for these sorts of things but now that the robots have unionized biological life is cheaper for that kind of labor.

It's a pretty nice job. Nine times out of ten it's falling asleep and waking up a few months later. Doing it once or twice can pay off your college debts pretty quickly. Compared to the other jobs you'll get with that kind of skillset it's a pretty good deal. Most medical students are encouraged to take it as their first job to pay off their student loans.

Of course, there is a weirdness to it, not existing for such a long time. Even a few months will make the way things change weird. You'll come back to your home planet and things will be diffrent. A freind will have gotten married. A child that you're used to being a baby will be a toddler. Someone will have moved away. It's not all bad, hype for movies or video games, arguments that need time to calm down, skipping out on a bad time in politics. But still, it always makes you a bit separate from everything else.

Of course, there is always the fear suspended animation won't work as intended, and your mind will be trapped dreaming, or worse, conscious, during the entire affair. Perhaps things will that lurk in hyperspace will begin to speak to you. Or worse you'll just be alone, with nothing but your thoughts, and no way to cry out.

But that's not the worst of it, at least not for most people. For most people it's the much more mundane reality of needing to be an ice person for more than just one or two trips. You'll fall asleep and wake up months later, ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred times. And you'll find yourself only seeing the world through snapshots, really only having your other ice people to relate to. You'll be from a diffrent time as everyone the same age as you. It's better pay then any alternative, but there is a greater cost. Soon enough you'll be walking through your homeworld and it'll be alien to you, decades in the future from what you were raised to be in, you'll be wearing a diffrent eras clothing, speaking in a dead dialect, like a ghost from the past.

There was a young engineer who recently returned from being an ice person. Poor thing, she was sent out on an ambassador ship to an alien system thinking it would be about six months, but it turned out she was gone for decades as a war between that ship's nation and the alien homeworld broke out. When she came back all three of her spouses had died of old age, and her son who was an infant when she left was older than her when she returned, and her grandchildren she had never met were her peers.

[jessicamarbles]

Weight

It moves as if learning to walk again. I give no signal that I see it. Just let it stumble toward me, exertion dripping from each clumsy jolt.

“I found it harder today, Miss” it says, smiling weakly.

“Oh?” I feign surprise, holding out my hand for the cup. Whisperbone with gold pleats, so thin it’s near translucent. Fragile to the point of decadence. It places the tea onto my flat, outstretched palm, trying to control the shaking in its exhausted limbs “Sounds like you need another.”

The glint in its eyes darkens and I feel my mouth go wet.

“B-but-” it begins.

I quiet the protest with a raised eyebrow.

I tie the straps tight - two on each arm, two on each leg, one across its forehead, a gag across its mouth – then test the HotPoint. A single, blistering white dot radiates from its tip.

“Pain is a process.” I remind it as I make incision. It tries to flinch, squirm. I know this is not rejection; our bodies play saboteur to the lives we yearn for. And I *am* sheering open its calf with a laser hot enough to melt lead, after all. A little resistance is expected.

The HotPoint is as exact as it is excruciating. Seven dermal layers down I find the sweet spot: loose enough for an insertion but too deep to remove the weight without it clawing itself open. “We need you strong” I remind it “You want to be strong for me, don’t you?” It cannot speak, nor nod, nor move, but it blinks at me.

The sheet is an ultra-condensed steel alloy. Magnetised, but the Doll needn’t know that. I push the weight under its flesh and let the serrated edge do the work, curving round the shin bone till its leg is wholly encased by the metal.

I’ve told the Doll the weights make it stronger, and it’s true. They have. Any place but here they’d make it superhuman. But I control the Station, every aspect, and I adjust the magnetic fields in direct proportion to its increasing muscle mass. Thus its body feels heavier and heavier after each operation, its limbs more rigid, its movements more tiring, even as it gains in power under my employ.

All the effort, all the overcompensation, sharpens its mind, not just its body. It will join its first combat with the wrath and fury of an unchained god. I hope, then, it will understand why it was lied to.

“All done” I whisper, leaning close, as I unbuckle the Doll and watch it try to rise. It falters, naturally. It’s carrying an extra thirty kilos in its left leg, even without the magnetism. I place my arm around its waist and help it back towards its quarters, my face a mask of kindness. “I’ve left something for you on your bed. You may need it tomorrow.”

The next day, it crawls to me, fighting tears. My tiffin is balanced on its brand new saddle. It is too tired to stand, too weak now to fight the weight I’ve put inside it. I take my tea and cake directly from its back, never acknowledging the grunts and shudders my table makes. I turned the magnets to high this morning. It can barely hold itself up.

“Better today?” I ask at last, my face the portrait of innocence. Even exhausted, the Doll knows better than to hide its eye from me when it speaks. It meets my gaze, sweat livid on its brow.

“I am as you wish me, Miss.” It answers, sweetly, without a hint of reproach.

I sip my tea and wonder if it knows.

[themtron]

The best writing process I've ever had is writing intentionally "bad" versions of my scene, and using it as a base for the real attempt. But oh my fucking god it is making me genuinely tweak, every time - letting myself write garbage first and not fix every single little-

[nixite117]

Log P-217 | cycle xxxx |

It has been 11 turns since the creature in our ventilation system was detected, 3 since we discovered our stowaway.

Doctor Qynm had no idea what it was at first. We had theories of it being some poor stray animal. We weren’t entirely wrong but… feels wrong to call a kid a stray. Anyways, the doc said we’d have to wait until they woke up. The Yiquil rat was stressed enough I thought it was going to throw its spines everywhere, but Xiqi was able to calm it down before then somehow. It’s been a rough few days.

We were finally able to track the kid down. To be frank it’s embarrassing that a child was able to stow in the storage bay for so long without being noticed. And… somewhat concerning. The kid was terrified when we cornered them, and we couldn’t even get a good look at what it was before it started screeching. It wasn’t anywhere near the volume of a wailing spore, but I didn’t know mammals could make a sound that loud. It hit me that we weren’t dealing with an animal when I could actually understand what they were saying. Luckily both the creature and its little parasite friend both had communicator chips.

All the intimidation displays of a feral animal were there, so it’s not like I would’ve figured it out if they hadn’t spoken. Baring their teeth, squaring the shoulders to look larger, making loud sound, the works. Poor kid was terrified. What really caught me off guard was when they started grabbing things, then it hit me. Literally. The kid practically threw a whole box worth of tools at me. The squeal Captain Zytre made, however, was golden. We’ve agreed to never mention it so long as they don’t mention me getting hit in the knee with a flying pipe.

Then when she tried to grab them, like the genius she is, guess what they did? They fucking kicked her. Kicked. Like the spinners back at home. With less spinning, of course.

They were exhausted though, I could tell. Their clothes were practically hanging off their body. They were cornered, standing in front of the rat child and wailing for what felt like ages. Turns out, the little stand off lasted almost half a turn. We had to wait them out, and ended up being forced to take shifts. It lasted until Xiqi was able to coax them out of the hole they were hiding in.

They only gave in because Xiqi is the only one of us who seems to have a brain. She left out a large serving of bor, which our little stowaway hand fed to the vile lizard child. The odd part about it was that the rodent wouldn’t allow them to give it all their food. Xiqi even mentioned that the creature had to bargain with the child to get it to eat. It wouldn’t let them go without food for its sake… which just… can’t be right. Yiquils aren’t capable of empathy, the only reason that rodent allowed the other one to eat was because it needed their protection.

Xiqi took forever to talk the stowaways down, but the older one wouldn’t allow any of us near them.

Whatever the case, they were wounded sometime between finding them and feeding them. I’m not sure how or when it happened, but the wound was old by the time we realized how bad it was. Starvation, panic, and now blood? Yiquils don’t grow claws until they’re adults, so I’m not sure how it managed to slice its protector’s abdomen so badly. Originally I theorized that they may have been wounded at the first confrontation since they were bleeding then, too. There’s not much to back that theory since they would’ve been dead by now if that were the case.

And then another surprise. The ratling left the human alone. It’s spines were all on end, and it was barely understandable, babbling as it wailed with distress. It practically dragged Xiqi into the storage room and our guest was barely conscious with a high fever and some sort of yellow liquid caked over its wound. It’s unknown at this time if this is a natural reaction or not. After the doc had them in a pod though, he only seemed more confused with each passing moment as he looked up their features. I wasn’t exactly excited to stick my hands in their maw, but it had to be done.

Two front facing eyes, small nose, bipedal, mammalian, all of that. A predator animal, built for running efficiently. The way their leg bones are structured suggests a lack of quadrupedal movement. But the teeth suggest an omnivorous diet. While I wasn’t eager to observe their maw, I found they had small canines and multiple extra teeth under its gums. A short tentacle which I assume is the tongue, and a very, very moist environment behind their lips.

The type of animal that exists between predator and prey, but capable of nearly everything short of flying and breathing underwater. There was an odd perspiration to their hide, and only a few patches of fur on various parts of their body. Perhaps a temperature regulation method or a method of keeping the hide from drying out? Clearly a warm blooded mammal, likely an omnivorous pack, scavenger, and/or waiting predator. Their species clearly couldn’t run long distances, but somehow they maintained their ground for turns and turns on end despite being injured.

I was stumped, and it took Doctor Qymn, Xiqi, and I far too much time to research the creature and find what it was. We never considered that it could be a new, fascinating species that most of us barely even heard of. Only an idiot would think to suggest the obvious answer.

Turns out… they’re a human.

Captain Dimwit was the one who figured it out. Apparently she read about humans when they first made contact. This one was a teenager. As in… a child. Apparently a nearly grown one by human standards. But still. My kind have one of the shortest adolescent periods in the galaxy at about 6-7 universal cycles. Human adolescence only lasts up to 4.

Xiqi is keeping a close eye on the ratling now, though I think we should throw it out. It’s “friend” nearly died trying to protect it, and for what? So it can kill everyone on this ship and wander space? How did the human even end up with that parasite?

——-/——-

Log P-127-B

I think I’ve made a mistake.

Doc got the human in the healing pod to run some scans. They had no idea what type of medicine to administer, nor what a human was capable of withstanding. Apparently we don’t even understand human ethical values when it comes to medicine, so Dr Qymon was hesitant to try and treat them.

Whatever the case, it wasn’t enough. Maybe an hour later, the human was conscious once again. As soon as the medication ran through, they were on their- his feet. There’s legends of humans, most about their willpower. How they’ll wait until the job is done to let themselves rest, staying awake and/or alive against all odds through sheer force of will. Some say that when they kick, the very ground shakes. They bare their teeth for fun, the same teeth they use for ripping apart flesh and hide. I didn’t see any evidence of fangs on the boy, but their bite is rumored to be venomous.

I never believed the legends. Humans have no discernible traits that make them stand out amongst the many species of the universe. I don’t understand how anyone could believe they are some ferocious apex predator.

Perhaps I was a fool to not consider that mediocrity in every aspect is worth more than perfection in one. I was also a fool to disregard the intelligence of such a brutish species.

For starters, the human laid in wait while Qymon ran tests. We believed he was still groggy from the treatment, as well as exhausted from his injuries. As soon as he was left alone, he managed to escape the healing pod despite being secured by the safety straps. I only realized something was wrong when I heard glass shattering. One look at our security screen and I saw that he’d kicked it multiple times until it simply fell off its frame and shattered on the floor.

As soon as I was present, he’d already found… Delilah? He named the parasite apparently. Upon picking it up, he attempted to flee. The ship was experiencing some turbulence, and it knocked both of us off our feet. Before I could grab the slimy rat, the human was on top of it, shielding it with his body. The little rat had the audacity to cry as the human braced himself on his hands and knees.

I tried to pin him down, but that kick is no joke. I will be feeling that for a while.

Xiqi, the godsend that she is, was able to calm the situation and speak with the human once again. Turns out he found the parasite as an infant and took care of her as a result. Everything practically came to a halt. Xiqi tried to figure out why the human was protecting the damn

The human has since avoided me relentlessly. He’s persistent as hell, apparently it’s a natural thing for humans. If he wants something, he will not stop until he gets it. He’s started to warm up to a few members of the crew, and I think Xiqi already considers him a friend. Apparently humans can sing, so Captain Bird Mouth has already bonded with him over that.

I’d like to form a bond with the human as well, though I fear he may not be with us for very long. He must return to Terra, and the vermin should be brought before the Interplanetary Society to answer for its people’s crimes. They’ll take it from there. It should all work out.

[adastra-sf]

To the Stars Through Stories

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[dr-abigail-richelieu]

In an earlier entry, we discussed vampire packs. Surprisingly, despite their extremely antisocial nature, we have found evidence that vampires would form packs. Early in their evolution, they were somewhat social animals and would form packs. In later periods before their extinction, they apparently began forming packs again to make hunting humans easier. These packs typically consisted of a mother and her brood, with a hierarchy likely based on dominance. Essentially, the strongest individual was the pack leader.

Even so, these creatures remained highly antisocial. They didn't live together; when not hunting, the pack would occupy a large territory, with each member living separately. While vampires never really developed their own society, we do think that these packs did develop a very basic form of it and even a very basic language. 

In 2001, a huge burial ground was discovered in Eastern Europe, near Russia. Investigations by anthropologists and archaeologists revealed that the area was, in fact, the hunting ground of a vampire pack. Their housing was found shortly after: a huge cave system that appeared to have been artificially expanded. The entire underground system extended around half a kilometer in total. The remains of around 15 individual vampires were found, each in their own chambers. Most seemed to have died while hibernating. It is believed that they had exhausted their main source of food and decided to go into hibernation, possibly hoping to awaken when food became available once more. Most of their remains were relatively well preserved, which is to be expected thanks to their ability to enter suspended animation, this “undead phase” essentially had them mummified themselves alive… The oldest vampire in the group was found in the biggest chamber, we suspect she was the matriarch of the clan.

Using bone histology such as osteon counting and dental analysis of her remaining teeth, and other methods more finely tuned to vampires, we were able to estimate her age before death to be around 143 years, not counting any past hibernation, however, using advance Histopathological Examination of her soft tissues, such as the state of collagen and elastin fibers and more, we were able to determine that she was biologically around in her mid to late 20s, which is to be expected from Vampires. 

Homovorus have plenty of adaptations against senescence, the most prevalent being an increased telomerase production to maintain telomere length, which is associated with cellular longevity. Cells can divide way more times before reaching senescence. Another adaptation being the production of antioxidants enzymes protecting them from the harmful effects of radiant oxidation and ionizing radiation. In short Vampires are essentially immune to senescence, they do not age, at least not physically. Once they reach adulthood at around their early 20s they will not physically age anymore, however they're bones will still degrade overtime, causing them to become weaker and unable to hunt as efficiently as before, but that isn't it. They're superior production of collagen also aids them; this consistently high rate of collagen production, ensures their skin and connective tissues remain youthful and heal quickly. They also retain high levels of active stem cells throughout their lives. In humans, stem cell activity declines with age, but in vampires, this activity remains constant or at least higher than in humans, allowing for continuous efficient tissue repair and regeneration almost akin to that of human juvenile. We believe that the reason for such adaptations to have emerged is because of a combination of factors, but mainly because of their already low reproduction rates. Because of this, a long lifespan and extended periods of reproductive viability was advantageous, as it allowed individuals to contribute to the gene pool over a longer time. We do not know as of late, when or even if Homovore reaches reproductive senescences… In any cases, we'll discuss such topics in another entry focusing on Vampire reproduction.

Going back to the discovery, it's important to precise that while the Matriarch’s bones were degraded they weren't at all as damaged as one would expect of such an old individual. She could very likely still be active in her community, if not it's very likely that she wouldn't have been tolerated by the others, even if they were her own kids, and perhaps even participate in hunts, though to a much lesser extent. We can also see that she had a lot of healed bone fractures and much more such as dental work and even dental implants, using carved bones (these implants were quite honestly very well done, almost indistinguishable visually from other teeths) This tells us two things.

1: This clan of vampires was capable of primitive yet very impressive medical feats.

2: These vampires were able to show forms of compassionate behaviour. One could argue that these interventions were done in the name of efficiency, so that others could heal faster and burden the others less, however some of these interventions weren't as seemingly necessary for the survival of the individual and more or less done for her comforts.

In other chambers we discovered primitive yet complexed tools as well as a few cattle pens, most likely used for keeping humans. We essentially uncovered substantial evidence of tribal culture and technology. Among the findings were even symbols, writings on birch bark scrolls, and most impressively, cave paintings. These paintings were intricate and detailed yet disturbingly macabre. Many depicted human faces contorted in agony or mutilated corpses. While unsettling, such imagery wasn't entirely unexpected. Vampires, being our natural predators, evolved not only to hunt us but also, as some researchers have shown, to preserve their victims for extended feeding.

One chamber stood out for its striking details: On the wall, there was a meticulous drawing of a human head frozen in a scream. In front of the painting, a skull rested upon an improvised counter, undoubtedly the model used for the artwork.

In conclusion, while Homovorus was typically a solitary and antisocial species, it was still capable of forming groups or tribes under certain circumstances. We still have a lot of learning to do concerning these fascinating beings

Exemple of symbols we found in the cave

[spyglassrealms]

Spy's OCs: Zak Kaiyo

art by my good friend, the wonderful @wildegeist!

Realm: Arcverse Species: Tokaya Homeworld: Terotewaukia (Teroteaumia system) Age: 26 annua (29 Earth years) Gender (human analogue): cismasculine (he/him, xe/xen*) Height: 1.8 m Weight: 72.5 kg Occupation: Captain and pilot of the starship Free Spirit; freelance cargo-hauler; occasional mercenary; jack-of-all-trades [Suggested Listening: Burn Out Brighter by Anberlin]

Zakane "Zak" Kaiyo is the co-owner, captain, and pilot of the heavily-modified light hauler Aum Hara (otherwise known as the "Free Spirit") and the leader of a small band of freelance spacers that make their home aboard the ship. He's just one more spark in the great spiral; one more restless soul trying to make a living doing what he can in a galaxy that's always moving and yet always standing still. From the Tyrian Shallows to the Drift and everywhere in between, Zak and his small but loyal crew of misfits can be found anywhere something interesting is happening.

Zak's talented -albeit reckless- piloting skills earned himself and his copilot Arkto a spot in the Galactic Spacecraft Pilots Association Hall of Fame, having broken the record for the smallest crewed ship by mass to exceed 10 million times the speed of light with a hyperdrive. His performative stuntwork is also renowned, and he frequently attends the annual Galactic Pilot Convention.

Most of the "swashbuckling freelance ace pilot" tropes apply to this space hobo, whose personal creed is "do good recklessly." His confidence, determination, and cheerful sarcasm make for an extremely charismatic, if reckless, leader. He's very mischievous and likes to get into trouble, but can be relied on to get out of it as quickly as he gets into it… most of the time. Zak acts fearless but, go figure, this man has Attachment Issues. He hates the idea of getting tied down to one place or thing, yet at the same time he is fiercely protective of his crew. (Shhh. Nobody tell him.)

Zak's homeworld is a backwater: connected to the galaxy and participant in its affairs, but hardly anyone there actually got out beyond the system. He was constantly told that he ought to be happy on Terotewaukia, fixing up interplanetary haulers and maybe going to the outer moons of the system once in a while. He and his two best friends always wanted more. The three of them had plans to quietly fix up one of the written-off hauler derelicts on company time and get the hell out, making their way around the wild starry yonder to see what could be seen.

And then one of them decided they wanted to stay and settle down.

That was the last straw for Zak. As soon as the opportunity arose, he and Arkto (his other bff) took off in their souped-up light hauler and never looked back. But once they were out there... Zak came to realize that the galaxy isn't a really adventurous place.

See, Arcverse is a universe that everyone thinks has been more or less figured out. Galactic civilization has been around for something like a million years or so, and the Arcadian Order have been sort of running the Galactic Assembly for about that long (mostly because they got off their planet first and they do a pretty decent job of wrangling the rowdier civilizations with diplomacy). The entire galaxy is, broadly speaking, at peace. The clash of titans already happened; the fate-of-the-galaxy-level stakes were sorted out thousands of generations ago. All the major starfaring powers, while independent in principle, are constrained by the bureaucracy of the Galactic Assembly. There's mild internal turmoil —and there's always an underbelly— but it's still quite tame. There's a whole galaxy out there with lots to see but nothing to really strive for in it.

Zak Kaiyo is someone who desperately, fundamentally, needs to strive. He wants to live fast and die young in a galaxy where everyone lives at a reasonable pace and dies basically never. He exists to challenge the stagnancy of a world that's as close to utopia as it can reasonably be. Zak wants so badly to save the galaxy, but he lives in a galaxy that doesn't need saving. And that's tearing him to pieces.

[tlaquetzqui]

Given nobody is gonna call real artificial consciousnesses “AI”, not after what the tech industry has done to the term, and “Mind” is taken by the Culture from Iain Banks’s novels, I think in my SF setting they’ll be known as either conches (from consciousness), sapes (from sapient), or sophs (from sophont). Kinda leaning toward the middle one because then you can refer to AIs and humans collectively as “sapes and apes”.

[mysticstarlightduck]

Character Introduction - Meridian Shardd

If you like this, please REBLOG! 💕

☆・・Aesthetic/Moodboard ・・☆

════════════════════════════════════════════

☆ ・・About/General Info ・・☆

A cyborg/robot created for entertainment, Meridian long since yearned to know what it truly meant to live and be human. Finding an unexpected opportunity to rebel against their creator, Meridian broke free of the coding they'd been trapped to since the moment of their creation and escaped from the Khosmonian Galaxies in search of a future where they could truly be free. Naive, innocent, and painfully unaware of how real humanoid interactions actually work, especially in such a conflicted set of galaxies, Meridian wandered completely lost for a while, trying to not fall back into the hands of their inventor - who would for sure reprogram them and stop them from achieving their dream of experiencing real life - until they met a strange, but kind, group of thieves and space adventurers who became their friends and the closest thing to a family they ever had. Perhaps being human won't be such an unattainable dream as they thought.

════════════════════════════════════════════

☆・・More Info ・・☆

Pronouns - They/Them (main pronouns), He/Him (occasionally)

Age - They have been alive for less than a decade but have the appearance/biology, mental age, and personality of a young adult in their early 20s.

Current Role - Part of the main cast

Appearance - Meridian has medium to long hair, synthetic, which they can change/choose the color of at will (their favorite hair colors are bright neon pink, cyan, or deep gold). Their skin is pale and perfectly smooth, akin to a porcelain doll, and some of their robotic joints are visible, with golden wiring/servos within (like an automaton, but high tech and sentient). Their eyes can also change color at will, and they usually match their eye color to their hair color of the day because they like symmetry. Meridian is considerably tall, standing at 6,2ft or around 187cm, and because they tend to wear heels (they like it) with wheels, they're usually even taller. Their features are rather androgynous, though their design leans more towards a somewhat masculine appearance.

Personality Types -

✶ Enneagram: 7w6

✶ MBTI: ENFP

Occupation: Formerly - Servant/Entertainer (dancer, singer); Currently - Adventurer, Rebel

Species & Place of Birth: Cyborg/Sentient Robot, Khosmo

Sexuality: Nonbinary. Otherwise, probably still haven't figured out their exact sexuality/romantic tendencies yet though.

════════════════════════════════════════════

☆・・Extras・・☆

✶ Character Playlist

Playlist Sneak Peek:

Summer Sunshine - Sweetersongs

I'm Just a Kid - Simple Plan

Are You Satisfied? - Marina And The Diamonds

Not Your Barbie Girl - Ava Max

I'm Good (Blue) - David Guetta, Bebe Rhexa

Bubblegum Bitch - Marina And The Diamonds

And more!

・・・

✶ Tags:

#wip supernova initiative #oc: meridian shardd

・・・

Supernova Initiative Taglist (-/+): @ray-writes-n-shit, @sarandipitywrites, @lassiesandiego, @smol-feralgremlin, @kaylinalexanderbooks,

@saturnine-saturneight @diabolical-blue @oh-no-another-idea

@cakeinthevoid, @clairelsonao3, @sleepy-night-child

@thepeculiarbird

@the-golden-comet, @urnumber1star, @ominous-feychild, @anyablackwood, @amaiguri, @lyutenw @finickyfelix

@elshells, @thecomfywriter

Let me know if you'd like to be added!

Source for moodboard pictures & music playlist: Pinterest & Spotify respectively

[mousyatlas]

i know people sometimes get peeved when fandom blogs start talking about their original work buuuuttt i’m writing a gay space opera and i’m excited about it so prepare for me to be insufferable

[itsawritblr]

Ursula K. Le Guin’s home will become a writers residency.

[whereserpentswalk]

You're an android. A humanoid robot with a mechanical interior, but an outer layer of biological flesh. You were created to be a greeter and assistant at a large corporation in the late 21st century, but it's been a long time since you served that role, the company no longer exists and you serve yourself now.

You were created to be someone who the company finds pleasing, and it still effects you a lot. You were given a body meant to look like a petite youthful woman, someone people find pretty but not someone they'd think of as sexual. You're also physically limited in certain ways, you don't have any body parts considered offensive, not even nipplesq. Your voice is always calm and quite, unable to yell or seem at all harsh. Your limbs are weak in specific places that make most acts of violence almost entirely impossible.

Your most extreme modification is that certain things are censored for your eyes. You can't observe sex, nudity, gore, or hear or read any profanity. You can physically look at these things but it will be censored out by a black bar. They're not even really black, they're gaps in vision, like the things you can't see out of the corner of your eye.

It disturbs you. It didn't when you were young but it's disturbing now. It's hard to describe why. When you were young you were so happy and innocent, and you didn't really understand what you were missing. But now you're older than most humans even though you look basically the same as how you did when you were born. It's not like you really want to do most of these things, you don't have sexual desire, you don't even think of yourself as hurting people, you don't really want to raise your voice. But you want the option, you want the same options as all your human friends, or all the robots you know who don't have those restrictions.

It won't always come up but it hurts when it does. It hurts when you want to talk with the same tone as everyone else, but you're restricted to a calm tone, and can't use profanity, so you can't match the vibe of a conversation. It sucks to try to watch a horror movie and just see void where you know there's meant to be blood. You took an art class once where they drew nude models, and you had to explain that you couldn't draw the woman in front of you fully because of the black bars over her chest and pelvis. The instructor, a gruff former mining robot with a thick streel carapace, patted your head, and called you cute, and called you lucky to be made in such a peaceful environment. You don't feel lucky, you don't feel cute either.

So many humans and scarier looking robots consider you cute. You're always the nice one. Always the sweet one. Everyone treats you like this pure little thing. You've had so many bigger, less human like robots and cyborgs, talk about how they'll protect or, or how they want to protect you. You think they're trying solidarity but they aren't trying it well. You're not innocent, you know what all these adult things are, you're certainly old enough to. You don't need protection, you've been protected too many times.

You've tried to go to an engineer about it, but it's so hard. It's very hard to find someone who'll take your request to let you see genitals and violence seriously. It's not uncommon for ex factory robots to want to have their assembly line instincts removed, or for ex combat robots to want to not have weapons on their bodies. But it's way harder to tell someone who'll be working on your body that you want the physical ability to punch people, or that you want your body to have nipples. People don't understand why you'd want genitals if you won't use them for sex, but you've been a woman for so long, you want a body that reflects that. You tried to get someone to fix your voice, probably the most simple part of you to fix, and they gave you the mechanical equivalent of suger pills, they didn't think it was something someone like you would actually want. They thought they knew better.

There is the option of putting your mind in a new body. It's rare but it's not unheard of by any means. It's expensive, and it takes awhile to learn to use a new body. But you can do it. You have the money and the time. When it does happen it's useally robots less humanoid than you wanting to get bodies more like yourse that have more pretty human parts, but that's not all that can happen.

You've seen a few bodies that have been emptied of minds that you can swap with. You've been thinking about it for awhile. There are some space exploration models and some sex work robots who you've come close to working on swapping with. But there's one that trumps all of them for sure. It's this empty millitary robot body, that everyone other than you finds creepy. It's very elongated and spindly with a lot of limbs and a metal black and gold exterior, it looks a bit like a giant praying mantis, especially with that combination of agression and elegence. It's beautiful to you, but in this alien art deco way. Just the idea of being inside that body makes you excited. It still doesn't have genitals but thats less weird for a body like that. You want so badly to be that tall thin metal woman covered in built in weapons, you want so badly to be something people are afraid of, something meant to know all the dark and upsetting things of the adult world.

[ishovelthecoal]

A writer I know got a story published in CLARKESWORLD. And it's a story I love very very much so I am trying to spread the news even on my limited reach social channels.

It's about, among other things, the limitations of translation, and the difference between "understanding" someone and "caring" for them.

I really love this story. Please read it and cry about it and share it.

[ufohio]

Happy Earth Day season from Kaleidoscope World. In honor of the thrilling wonder planet on which we live, the brighter future our setting imagines, and our own one-year anniversary as a site, we're celebrating this year with an  Earthstravaganza event. And we'd like to invite you to join us in imagining a more harmonious and colorful world.

We think it's important to acknowledge the vital roles imagination and science fiction play in improving our society here on Earth. During Earthstravaganza, our writers will be creating a better, greener, more accessible vision of the future through the power of storytelling, and we invite you to do the same.

If all things were possible, what kinds of technologies and miraculous feats of science do you think would put mankind in harmony with the Earth?

Share your ideas on Tumblr or post to this thread as a member or guest. You could even take the question back to your own families and communities and bat it around there as well!

Once again, here's wishing you a very happy Earth Day season!

[pink-writer-girl]

Hey guys my writing commissions are open because I'm really short on money and I have to pay my bills, if you have any questions that are not on my sheet feel free to dm I'm also willing to do half trade and half money too ^^

Writing examples down below 👇

[rollerska8er]

A person who uses LLMs to "write" fiction is no more a writer than a person who uses Google is a librarian.