#sunbirthed

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Sunbirth

By An Yu.

[str8aura-no-not-that-one]

It sucks so bad because my ultimate passion project for my nearly my entire life, going back to the fucking daydreams I had as a kid, is about a multiverse and I aborted my first real attempt to write it down because I was so sick of fictional multiverses

why does everything have to be about multiverses now. why does sonic have to be about multiverses now

[philtacular]

Sunbirth

Another ability card for my roguelite metroidvania DEATH MACHINE!

Wishlist it on steam!

Drop by my stream - i try to stream as much of the (not-boring) stuff as i can!

[your-tutor-abacus]

Fikwakyet

Translated to "Fairport" in the English versions of the Sunspot Chronicles, Fikwakyet is a city that is more unique than any other in the Garden of `etekeyerrinwuf.

I explain a bit about the why of that in my own book, Ni'a. But, to recap:

When the Sunspot was built, the Founding Crew designed the shapes of the corridors, the contours of the Garden, and the placement and foundations of the cities. Then they let the Children build upon and between all of that and make the ship their own.

But Fikwakyet was a special project. Fenmere (a.k.a. Fenemere) wanted to run an experiment, and managed to get the Crew Council to approve it.

Part of the whole point of the Sunspot was to make a strict and sudden cultural break from the millennia of fascism that had been plaguing their predecessor ship, the Terra Supreme (Feruukepikape). And for most of the Sunspot's architecture and culture, everything was derived from shapes and themes found in nature, and everything that reminded the Founding Crew of the Terra Supreme was done away with.

Fenmere contended that certain aesthetic choices were not inherently fascist, and wanted to demonstrate this by having one city where certain old elements could be reintroduced, starting with rectangular foundations for its buildings (instead of the scutoid structures found everywhere else on the Sunspot).

Fenmere had other reasons for doing this, besides trying to prove this point, and those reasons are likely to be visited in the last few chapters of the Sunspot Chronicles (I'll refrain from spoilers here).

The result is that, somewhat coincidentally, due to how right angles tend to work, when we finally made contact with Earth through the Tunnel Apparatus, it was remarked upon how similar Fikwakyet is to many Earth cities.

There are some critical differences, of course. The scales of things are not the same, because we build to accommodate both the largest and the smallest of our people, as well as for many disabilities.

Also, we have nothing like industry or commerce. At least, not driven by anything remotely like profit.

@ashwin-the-artless explains this in nems post titled Cities.

But, I'd like to use this opportunity to highlight another aesthetic difference. The alignment of our windows.

This is something that can be seen in almost all Sunspot cities, except perhaps Agaricales (which is a little more chaotic than most).

There are two axes of spectacular views on the Sunspot: foreward and aft; and spin and antispinward.

To the fore and aft, you can witness the sunbirths and sundeaths, and also the moonbirths and moondeaths. It some people really value that, and build their houses to give them as much view of that axis of the Garden as possible from anywhere in their house.

Perpendicular to that, spinward and antispinward, you can see the curvature of the Garden on a clear day, and the geography of it and neighboring cities, and honestly, even though I've lived with those views for the entirety of the Sunspot's existence, I still find them utterly breathtaking.

We try to show this off with the other photos of the Sunspot we share with you. This photo, here, however, demonstrates the effect on the architecture of the houses.

It's pretty rare that you'll find any building that is not aligned with one of these axes. And those that are tend to have wrap around windows that accommodate views of as much of the Garden as possible all around.

Another difference between the Sunspot and the Earth at the time of this writing is that our windows are more durable, more insulating, and more configurable. We can change their transparent and reflective properties on command. Which means that we have very few incentives to not make a wall a window, except perhaps to give us room to hang something or to place furniture against it in an aesthetic way.

But, solid walls and ceilings are still just a tad more insulating than our windows, so some people do opt for more opaque housing.

But if you don't want the views or the light, you'll usually choose to live belowdecks anyway.

[vraelgard]

hey asking with no ulterior motive but how do i romance the nobles council

no ulterior motives, huh? as if i’m inclined to believe that. but let me go ahead and tell you just how to romance the nobles council.

duke phoenix: the duke never leaves summerset, so good luck even getting an audience.

marquis dragonfly: i am uncertain why you would try, as the marquis is the eldest ruling noble at current, even older than my father, but if that is what you are into...i’m sure he wouldn’t say no to a bottle of a fine wine.

count ivory: oh the count’s sister is always trying to find him a date. it surely wouldn’t be very hard. of course, that would require getting lady ebony’s attention, and then you would have to see if count ivory even likes you. but he’s an easy enough man to get along with. almost everyone has a crush on him.

earl radcliffe: moonlight serenades and luck borrowed from the sages.

viscountess dawn: watch the movie surf’s up with her as many times as she likes, and then perhaps accompany her on a dangerous trip to find a long-lost friend. the usual.

baron rook: well the baron is a saucy little tart, and frankly depending on your looks you may find it quite easy. i personally wouldn’t bother with him, but it is your choice. 

lady ebony: don’t even bother. she’s a lesbian and my girlfriend.

myself: once again, i have a girlfriend. and i am a lesbian. 

♕ lilliana

[calamitress]

              ❛   But no princessias...   ❜    IT   was just as well. What would she have done with them anyway ?  The sign says these flowers are free to pluck, so long as they aren’t budding --- but what would she do with them ?  Where would she lay them ?  Perhaps there was no need for them here... After all, they bloomed in the face of any adversity --- and flowers of every type seemed to be defying their normal growth season just fine here. 

        But she isn’t alone --- a sensation she wishes she’d felt just a few moments sooner.   ❛   Some of these shouldn’t be blooming yet,   ❜   Velvet continues a bit louder, opening her eyes to glance the stranger’s way.   ❛   But if you wanted to send a message, just about every message you can think of is blooming here.   ❜

@sunbirthed​​ * : S.C.

[protovisual]

USER LOGIN:@sunbirthed​ | claude von riegan. RECEIVED MESSAGE FROM: dean venture.

          “ahahahah, you said it.” dean’s nervous laughter rode the air between them like a swarm of mosquitos, his airy tones adopting a quality of weight. they had to be close to the same age and yet everything about this guy read as just... 400 times more developed. his confidence especially---simply striking up a conversation with a stranger the very moment he’d entered the subway doors and took the standing loop around his wrist. his backpack squashed between his knees, arms buckled in to make himself as small as possible, dean did all he could to blend in with the scenery and give the people around him a little more space. but... it was a little too late for that, wasn’t it? clearing a throat he’d barely used the entire day in realization he had... a confession of sorts to make. “c---can i be honest for a sec? i have no idea what you just said. i... i kinda sorta didn’t think you were talking to me. and by the time i realized you were i... i kinda just agreed. like a... like a reflex. sorry.”

[beastboyarchived]

“ hey. you going to finish those? ” legosi points his fork at the eggs on claude’s plate. though the wolf may have scarfed down a few plates of his own food only moments ago, he still had enough room in his belly for more. he never truly realized how much he ate until recently-- for fasting had caused him nothing but pain. 

at least he did not have to worry about that... for now. this late night diner food may have just melted all his troubles away.

“ if you are, don’t worry about it. i’m just... really, really hungry. ”

@sunbirthed​

[heavensapex]

    “ If LOVE is a lie, then why do we need it? We swear we're alive, but we're falling to pieces.“

@sunbirthed​ -- lyric s.c. [ beautiful creatures ]

[devildrop]

sunbirthed replied to your photo:           COUGH COUGH so, what, you’re telling me...

the brilliance this has. the intelligence this has. the beauty. the rawness. the sheer fucking POWER????? uhm hello u can keep the outfit darling it rly does suit u so well :pleading face with hearts: and also ur art??? omg!! throws my heart at u

     His clothes. They are Ramuda’s now. I’m sorry Khalid, you need a new wardrobe. Good luck because he might steal your next style, too.

     lkdsfn bUT I’M SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT this is literally only the second time I’ve drawn Ramuda bc his hair likes to fight with me and now I’m crying bc he’s so cute. I rarely draw these days so thank you sm for the inspiration ♡♡♡

[monkflurry]

@sunbirthed 

Thank Bahamut that even in the hustle and bustle of this environment the gods were charitable enough to provide a place of solace. Where the verdant call of the trees converse with the azure winds above, reminding you that even now you could still find a piece of home. 

Kicking your slippers off, you plops yourself onto the soft grass, still slightly wet from this morning dew as you cross your legs and shut your eyes. 

“Oh gods. Running water is good and all but people are mighty rude, especially since I’m just trying to survey the area. Forgive me lord for i almost fought a defenseless person.”

[hclfbreed]

sunbirthed replied to your post: hi!! it might be a little forward of...

nothing but respect for furries in this house !

"Why do I get the feeling that’s not supposed to be a compliment?”

[brightlilies-a]

   “let’s go to a library then!” loud, animated enthusiasm coats his suggestion as he throws his hands up (for seemingly no reason other than to do so). his childish grin grows wider, as if giving himself a self-assured pat on the back, because, well, this was what the scions would do, right? still, from the amount of eyes now staring at him, the keeper recedes slightly into himself, elucidating with a slightly quieter tone, “alphy——er, my friend——always said ye can learn a lot ‘bout people by readin’ their books.”

   there was only one caveat with this plan, but that’s where claude came in! “... sadly, i can’t read, so i dunno how much help i might be, but maybe they have the ones wi’ pictures!” @sunbirthed​

[greatgiovanni]

RIDE OR CRASH (Closed- Claude)

(closed starter for @sunbirthed​ ) What’s this, what’s this? The colour in the air - there is a lot of noise everywhere. No, it’s not to do with that apparent ‘Bambi’ thing, in fact, it’s in the local fantasy ‘NOT COSTCO PLEASE DON’T SUE US’ store in the city. Upon awaking and finding himself here, the GREAT AND TERRIBLE BAD DUDE was VERY offended and grumpy that whoever had done this had yanked him just when he and one of his BOYS, Fred, were trying to make their way home! How was he gonna explain to Beartrap he just ended up in some tiny locked-down kingdom all of a sudden, huh?! He couldn’t just stay here, so the first order of buisness was to procure an awesome method of travel. Step one, collect transport, step two, collect BOYS of awesomeness! Step three! ...Uh. He’d get back to you on that one, right now his focus was on awesome transport. However, tying little red paper streamers on the awesome item while leaning over it ended up not being the brightest idea the soup man had, for he toppled over with an ungraceful shout before the trolley he’d been tying banners to in order to make it ‘look cool’ ended up rolling away, with him still inside. Careening with more shouting coming from the inside, Giovanni saw it was headed right for some guy he didn’t know. “WATCH IT!! RUNAWAY BOYS MACHINE HAS GONE WILD, I CAN’T STOP IT!!!” Oh dear. This was a mess.

[your-tutor-abacus]

A Strange kind of Flight

I'm lying on my back on Kwera beach, looking straight up at Katofar Mountain, having read up to the latest chapters of Blood in the Duff, by Candril, Student of Vine. It's very early morning, still dark, no sunbirth yet, but the moon hasn't died. It's nearby and casting light on Katofar's glaciers.

It's gorgeous. Ghostly. Haunting. And I'm thinking about the sparse clouds I'm already seeing emerge from the Aft Endcap. It's been a clear night, otherwise.

Ni'a walks up to me from out of my peripheral vision where they hadn't been before, looks down at my face, and says, "Let's go flying!"

"Why flying?" I ask, wondering briefly how they found me. It's obvious, though. They're Ni'a. They can sense where anyone is if they know who they're looking for. "You go flying every birthday, why now?"

"This is different," they say with a smirk on their face.

"New flight suit?"

"Better. And it's your fault."

What could Ni'a think is better than a new flight suit? I ask myself. I've been flying with them countless times by now. They're always trying, and succeeding, at flying higher and further than they've ever flown before. And they do have an unusual advantage, there, being the children of Phage. All three of them are fixated on enjoying flight for all that it's worth, sharing the experience in that singular body of theirs.

The answer to my question is simple, and presented to me demonstrably, after we've made our way to Agaricales in time for the first flight. Apparently, that's where we have to be.

The only thing that Ni'a likes as much as flying is people.

And now there is another way to take people with you when you go flying.

It used to be that you'd all go to the Playground, pick your favorite methods of flight (flight suit, your own wings if you have them, or a nanite exobody) and you all spend a few hours swooping and whirling around each other, and a lot of people find that to be quite a lot of fun. But it's not very relaxed.

Now you can get your friends and family together and do my favorite thing while you're flying.

Eat.

Because someone went an invented a flying building!

[photo of a flying machine above Agaricales forest on the Sunspot, with Katofar Mountain and Tenmouth Sound visible spinward on the upward curved wall of the Garden]

I'm not going to be giving you all that many photos in this blog for a while, if ever. I'm really bad at getting good images of anything. Fortunately, I have Ni'a with me, and they've got us covered today.

I've heard stories that the Founding Crew had to do battle with aircraft during the series of desperate coups on the Terra Supreme that lead up to the creation of the Sunspot. But, Eh says those were unmanned and used for horrific things.

The Sunspot hasn't had flying vehicles until now.

With personal flight as rewarding as it is, and transportation via tram as fast as anything, there really hasn't been much call for it. And the assumption has been that anything larger than a person flinging themself through the air might be too disruptive to the wildlife.

But, I guess, thanks to the tours I've made popular, there's call for multiperson craft to be sent aloft, and the Council approved measured use of them.

And now, if you look up in the sky, you might see this!

[Photo of a flying machine taken from the ground, with the Aft Endcap and a couple of the Sunspot's spokes visible behind it.]

This thing was obviously built to look like a Nufrruhaung, everyone's favorite migratory bottom feeder, and non-vocal cousin of the Cuttlecrabs. It doesn't have the feeding tentacles, though.

And in place of a big, flat, four jawed beak, there is an array of windows, two of which on the lower deck open as portals to let people in.

Of course, I could just constitute a body from the nanite bin aboard the aircraft, but I'm following Ni'a and it's polite to save those nanites for people who might be joining the party mid-flight.

And, yes, it's going to be a party.

Ni'a hasn't been telling me any of this while we've been traveling here. They've been coy and simply asking, "when are you going to start writing about this?" whenever I bring up the subject of our destination and activity.

I'm skipping a lot of stuff, however, because I think this is going to be a long one. And, also, Ni'a's staging pictures.

But, for those who can't see the images, the thing is painted in the ancient colors you can find in the lowermost deck of the Sunspot, purple, pink, and green, with accents of gold and bluish grey. It even has brass trim and fittings.

Ni'a has been ushering me ahead of them, and I briefly look back at them. They've named themselves Purple, Green, and Pink, and I'm wondering if there's some coincidence in that. I know they can't read minds, but they grins as if they can read mine.

If it's not a coincidence, it's hard to say who's choice it was, or whether it was even conscious.

I look back as I step through the portal of the craft, to see that it is already full of people.

There are three decks, each one five meters tall. This accommodates nearly anyone who wants to ride it. And a pair of four meter wide lifts near the center of the decks provide a means for people to go up and down as they please, so long as they're willing to wait a bit sometimes.

The mid deck is the flight deck. All the manual controls for the craft are there, but everyone is ignoring them. The vehicle is being flown by a Tutor who momentarily is the aircraft, inhabiting its structure like a nanite exobody. But, just in case it has a panic attack or some other kind of crisis, there is the means for someone to rush to its aid.

The top and bottom decks are observation decks, surrounded by windows, so that when we're aloft we can see as much of the interior of the Sunspot as possible.

It's not the same as riding the wind using your own wings, or magnetically locked nanites, and being able to look around completely unobstructed, feeling the full impact of the weather on your skin.

But, maybe that's part of the appeal of this. You trade the sensory impact of the open sky for the sensory impact of a crowd.

Well, I like crowds. But, though I know they like people, I'm surprised that Ni'a is excited about this many of them in one place.

And there are people of every type here: Children, Monsters, Crew (both young and Founding), and even Tutors who aren't attached to any Student at the moment. I even catch glimpses of cuttlecrab buggies carting their little sub-collectives here and there through the throng of guests.

Near the aft of this lower deck, there's beverage artisan who informs me of the sweet and savory pastries being crafted on the flight deck. And, apparently, on the top observation deck, someone is roasting goldenfruit and stuffed mushroom caps.

I may have found my new home.

When I get to the upper deck, I learn that even the ceiling is glass! So, if I wanted to take up extra room, I could lie on the floor and resume my contemplation of the sky from earlier today.

I shan't. I don't want to trip anyone.

As I grab one of the roasted goldenfruit, Ni'a nudges me, a level of familiarity that we've developed in the decades since I wrote my novel. They treat me almost like one of their parents, and almost like one of their siblings, and I've grown to like it.

I look at what they're indicating.

Just outside the window, the right forward wing of the craft is flat against the hull, blocking my view of the park it's landed in, Memorial Park, which just happens to be big enough to accommodate three of these craft landing at a time. I do think the clearing around the edges of the city might be better, though.

And I watch as the wing starts moving. It swings outward, and begins to twist flat in the same fluid movement. And I can see that it is held in place and manipulated not by some armature, but by the same magnetic lock my nanites have used when I want to hold my body above the ground or floor.

I can see that the wings have gigantic panels of fractal patterned grill, which I assume is part of the propulsion system, but I'm guessing that that nanite driven magnetic lock is also used to guide the craft when it's near the ground.

Oh! And to make clearance for the wings to extend, the craft has been smoothly lifting off the ground!

We're already flying.

I didn't feel it. My proprioception and sense of balance are fairly fine tuned. I have them adjusted so that I have precise control over my own body and where it is. But this acceleration was subtle and smooth enough that I didn't realize what was happening until I could now see we are already ten or so meters above the ground.

I have to say.

I don't normally combine my people watching with my sky watching. I usually only do one or the other, but food might be involved. And I know this fixation with food at parties is a relatively new thing, made popular by Tutors like me who've spent millennia not eating it, and by Crew who've forgotten what it tastes like and maybe have started listening to us.

And I think maybe this whole thing might actually be a bit too much for me? I'm genuinely surprised that Ni'a isn't near meltdown, but that grin is still plastered to their face. They are positively beaming.

And then, I find we're at a hundred meters and the craft starts to slip forward with the anti-spin-winds, and I can feel that acceleration.

At first the deck pulls me forward by my feet. It feels like it's tilting backward, but that's not what's happening. We're just jerking forward at notable speeds. And then it presses me upward, firmly keeping me where I'm standing, as if the pilot is trying to catch us all and keep us from falling over Aftward. Well, Aft of the craft, not the Sunspot.

And then, after a few minutes of that, it lets up and we're all lighter than we were before.

Our flight mimics the migratory patterns of the Nufrruhaung, And we're moving with the winds, but we haven't completely canceled the spin of the habitat cylinder. Centrifugal force still keeps the craft in actual flight, rather than freefall, and it likewise keeps its inhabitants, us, firmly on the floor of the decks. Just considerably less so than before.

Everyone laughs at the sensation and we all start jumping up and down in a very silly manner.

I don't know that anyone is paying attention to the world around us.

This is too novel.

[Photo of the aircraft from below and behind, with Frra Lake visible in the sky, and the recently birthed sun as it has exited the Forward Endcap is washed out. The spokes of the habitat cylinder of the Sunspot cast ghostly shadows through the light of the sun. Clouds are seen covering most of the Garden, mountain tops peeking through in some places.]

This was, apparently, Founding Crew member Setefere's idea and design. Keh is also, I'm told, working on shuttle designs for exploring the space around us when we finally make proximal contact with the Dancer. And keh is basing that design on what keh is learning here with this aircraft, which maybe has more to do with crew accommodations than aerodynamics. Since there's no atmosphere outside.

We finally might get to use our Shipyards for something besides personal meditation!

In any case, I may take more of these flights. I hope you'll join me.

[vraelgard]

greatgiovanni replied to your post: sunbirthed replied to your post: ...

“HEY, royalty locking up some guy just for saying stupid stuff should be directed at ME, not that guy! Don’t lock him up, please, Princess?” wow, Giovanni, way to admit you say stupid stuff. But his intentions were (surpisingly) noble to speak up for the guy and try to prevent him being locked up, anyway.

sunbirthed replied to your post: sunbirthed replied to your post: ...

oh hehe no no please don’t do that i’m too sexy for prison ! 

..............you have been spared a prison sentence. for now. but my warning still stands. do not make me act upon it. 

♕ lilliana