#voidyelling.txt

[sodaliteskull]

Writeblr Reintro

Now that I am free from tumblr purgatory, and actually have some free time, I figured I may as well reintroduce myself!

I'm Steph, legal adult and she/they queer living in the mildest climate in Canada. I write pretty much exclusively sci-fi and fantasy, and I fill my casts of characters out with mostly ladies because I am really tired of hearing about dudes! I have five main WIPs I'm rotating around in my mind at any given moment:

The Silent Island of Crow intro post A forum RP currently being reworked into book formatting, it's about a bunch of weirdos getting up to shenanigans and dealing with threats from their pasts and elsewhere. Started really juvenile and grew to be more serious in tone, jarringly so, but there's still some interesting kernels in there...

The Island of Crows intro post ...So my best friend and I are taking those kernels and making something that's a little more consistent and in line with where our writing skills are now! Currently in the planning stages, but the core of it will remain the same: A bunch of weirdos getting up to shenanigans on an island they've all been pulled to for one reason or another.

The Starcrossed Cycle intro post The solo adventures of some of the characters I am going to be bringing to the Island of Crows, before they actually get there. Iradurel is a criminal frozen in time, and Ryla is the monster hunter that finds and frees her. The two of them will come to realize that this is not the first time they've been pulled into each other's orbits.

Abyssal Scrutiny intro post Look, I saw Power Rangers at a formative age, so super sentai shit is always at the back of my mind! So this is my take on the genre, where a group of people are granted powers from a mysterious source, in order to fight against eldritch abominations in some sort of parallel realm. Only, as Morgan uncovers, there is more going on than just fighting monsters of the day.

The Moons of Boryarlta intro post This started life with the intent of being a lesbian rewrite of a mecha anime, but has spiralled into an unholy hodgepodge of sci-fi genre nonsense. Stuck in a dead end job just trying to make rent, Cass didn't think she'd ever have the chance to leave her hometown, let alone her planet. But then she's captured and thrown into a gladiator arena on another world, and her life just gets weirder from there.

Beyond those, I have a couple random ideas that are percolating, so I may have more to add in the future. But for on here, I am always down for tag games (lol just late to respond to them!), love to hear about all the weird shit that people are writing about outside of the traditional publishing scene, and reblog a lot of images and words that remind me of my WIPs (I try to keep my tagging system organized). Gimme a follow if any of that sounds like your cup of tea!

[sodaliteskull]

The Gods Of Marenkes

The pantheon of Marenkes, going clockwise from the upper rightmost (red), we've got:

Coraxborax, the god of the arts, craftsmen, and revelry

Tarnagaar, the god of prophecy, destiny, and dreams

Zhadhul, the god of justice, law, and truth

Xanghul, the god of the day, harvest, and animals

Vulrani, the god of trade, travel, and seasons

Ransaran, the god of the afterlife, karma, and perseverance

Grelthor, the god of knowledge, innovation, and gratitude

Lyrrath, the god of the sky, storms, and forests

Quasvina, the god of duty, celestial bodies, and history

Pelexal, the god of night, the sea, and mystery

Jendrosia, the god of war, victory, and faith

Ahazhada, the god of love, passion, and courage

The gods have made sure that they are omnipresent in the lives of mortals on Marenkes by making their domains as all-encompassing as possible. Under their rule, they demand that every action a person takes is a prayer to their glory.

(I go into more depth about what each god's domains cover below the cut)

These gods are parasites (lol that fact is established in chapter 3 of this thing!), usurping the place of the actual Gods of Marenkes for their own ends. While their domains cover a wide array of concepts, there is no one god of Life or Magic, or even of the world as a whole, as all of the gods claim joint custody of these things.

There aren't any gods to "evil" concepts (things like Asmodeus, Bhaal, or Shar of D&D fame), as they are purposefully painting themselves as being benevolent, parent-type deities. That doesn't mean that they don't accept prayers from people offering them up for nefarious purposes. On the contrary, someone would have to jump through some serious hoops to justify why their prayers should be answered for evil, and these gods are in it for the energy put into a prayer, not its intent!

"Art" is subjective, and so Coraxborax has a lot of wiggle room when it comes to what it can consider prayers to itself. Anything from a composer's magnum opus, to a toddler's unsupervised crayon wallpaper scribbling are "art" enough for Coraxborax. Those who create owe their prayers to this god. And what is a celebration but another creation? This is the logic as for why parties are under this god's domain.

The hazy hopes and dreams of a people are what Tarnagaar dines upon. Anyone who hopes, or wishes, or dreams, must offer themselves up into prayer for this god's use. Any kind of divinatory practices (tarot, runes, entrails, cootie catchers, etc.) are just another form of worship as far as this god is concerned.

The rule of law, the meting out of justice, and what truth actually means are what Zhadhul feeds upon. All of these concepts are governed by this god, and so it has final say over what is (or isn't) considered a crime. Judges and criminals alike both pray to this god.

The glory of the sun, and all that grows under its divine light, Xanghul claims credit for all of these things. Food, resources, pets, a perfect day at the beach, prayers should be offered up in thanks.

Getting people and goods from one place to another in the world is highly dependant on what time of year it is, and so Vulrani takes advantage of this interconnected system when harvesting prayers. Farmers looking to ship their produce are as likely to pray to this god as vacationers looking for favourable weather are.

Death is a scary concept, but knowing that there is someone standing at the precipice between that and life is a comfort, which Ransaran takes full advantage of. Rebirth is a known fact on Marenkes, and so the people offer up their prayers that the departed will get what they deserve in their next life, for good or ill. Continuing on in the face of adversity, knowing that your next life will be better, is something that keeps people praying.

Technological advancement is something that the gods keep a tight leash on, and so the people better be grateful for what they allow to come to fruition! Grelthor is the arbiter of what can or can't be developed, and so this god, more than any other, has a heavier hand in controlling what information mortals have access to. The knowledge that it is doing this is certainly not one of those pieces of information!

The natural world can be a scary place, the forest a beast at your back while the weather above is a fickle monster, Lyrrath demands prayers in exchange for safety when dealing with these forces. Fear of uncertainty, and fear of the unknown, this god will have its tithe.

The iron clad oath and the one who upholds it, the past made immutable thanks to the passage of time, and the perceived eternity of the heavens above, Quasvina is the overseer of all these things, an immovable force that will have its due. Those who pray for change and those who pray for things to stay the same will both bend in supplication to this god.

Things that are vast, deep, and conjure an existential dread in the soul are the things Pelexal holds domain over. Sailors hoping for an easy journey, the child afraid of the monster under the bed, those who revel in the wonder of the unknown, all of them pray to this god.

For Jendrosia, war and faith go hand in hand, as both lead to the other. Under this god's control, that is. The stability of peace times and the chaos of conflict are fertile grounds for prayers, and with all sides praying for their own successes to the same god, it means there's never a shortage of prayers coming in.

Matters of the heart are Ahazhada's source of prayer. Familial love, romantic love, the love of a little treat after work, all these things fall under this god's domain. Passion could mean lust of the flesh as much as it could mean a drive in one's soul for some cause or desire. As for courage, well, you need that to pursue both what you love and what you are passionate about.

[sodaliteskull]

The Foretelling

A cool new tag game from @thesorcerersapprentice's own @philosophika! Check out the ones for her protagonist Altaluna and antagonist Valeriano!

Going to tag @ryns-ramblings, @new-royston-cursebreakers, and @meerawrites for this (no pressure, however!), and also leaving it as an OPEN TAG so get in on it if you're seeing this!

INSTRUCTIONS: Assign Tarot Cards representing your character(s) in act 1, act 2, and act 3, the tag some friends!

RYLA

One of the protagonists of the Starcrossed Cycle, she is the daughter of nobility turned monster hunter.

Act 1: The Hanged Man

Bound to a path by one's own will. The willingness to sacrifice may be noble, but this can lead to stagnation while waiting for a blade worthy enough to fall upon.

Act 2: The Hermit

A lone wanderer, in search of something. The introspection that can come from isolation may be illuminating, but that can turn to loneliness and disassociation just as easily.

Act 3: Judgment

To reevaluate oneself when faced with choices set to alter the rest of one's life. To let go of doubt and self-loathing, to instead take action and embrace the future that has been earned.

IRADUREL

The other protagonist, she is a former gang member who survived the ending of her world, both literally and metaphorically.

Act 1: The Devil

Trapped by one's lifestyle, enslaved to vice. The shackles of excess and addiction, which have been a shallow comfort in a harsh reality, must be broken in order to restore the self long left languishing.

Act 2: The Chariot

Forward momentum, the driving force of one's own will. At its best, it's about ambition and willpower, while at its worst it's about a lack of focus and control.

Act 3: Death

The ending of things, for good and for ill. To let go, to transition and change, rather than to lose oneself in an endless cycle. The fear of the unknown hand in hand with the hope for a kinder future.

RANSARAN

The antagonist, it is the last god left alive after the rest of its pantheon was killed, and it is going to make that everyone's problem.

Act 1: The Emperor

A stoic figure - a leader - head and shoulders above all others. Authority and stability, thought that could just as easily become tyranny and inflexibility.

Act 2: Justice

The iron authority of the law, and retribution against those who would go against it. Integrity and accountability can be corrupted into vengeance and denial, however.

Act 3: The Tower

What has been wrought is now torn asunder, a necessary change to bring about new growth. The foundations have been destroyed, the folly of the structure visible for all to see. And so, something new will be built.

[sodaliteskull]

Badly Summarized WIP Tag!

Got hit up by @byjillianmaria for this, check hers out over yonder!

Rules: Pick a bunch of your WIPs and summarize them as badly as possible, then ask your followers to vote on which one they’d be most likely to read. Multiple/all/none options are completely optional.

I'm going to leave this as an open tag, so if you haven't done this yet, get in on it!

[sodaliteskull]

Top 5 Things I Enjoy Writing About

I appreciate the tag @byjillianmaria! You can find hers over here!

This one's an open tag, but I'm also hitting up @noblebs, @noveldivergence, and @wintherlywords (no pressure though!)

*Hatsune Miku voice* ~Women~: I know this is the piss on the poor website, so upfront disclaimer about how this is not in reference to actual living, breathing, IRL people (HAVE WE ALL UNDERSTOOD THAT?!?), but I am fucking sick of men! "Male" has been the default gender, the default POV in stories for eons now, and I'm tired of it! Men bore me!!! I want to write about men the way misogynist men write about women - in that there is only one of them (if any at all!!!), and they're only there to advance the female character's story (by being fridged, most likely!!!)! I want to write about WOMEN!!!! I want to write about them being cunning and clever, as badasses and bastards, as both the princess and the knight!!! You know, like how women actually are in real life!!! Decentralize men? Honey, they're not even in my orbit!!! NO BOYS ALLOWED!!!! I'M EXHAUSTED!!!!!

Monsters as metaphors: Tale as old as time here, but I love it when a creature is actually a stand in for something a little more abstract. Vampires as a the fear of foreigners come to despoil our delicate Victorian sensibilities, Godzilla as the spectre of nuclear annihilation, werewolves as the visceral and horrifying changes girls go through when they enter puberty, that's some good shit!!! Any time I have some kind of monster in any of my stories, please know that it actually represents something else!

When a plan comes together: I love when people are in cahoots, when they get up to shenanigans, when games are afoot and capers are carried out! Heists? Delicious. When it looks like the antagonists have thwarted the protagonist's plans, but that was actually accounted for in the plans all along and they've actually fallen even deeper into the protagonist's web?! SUBLIME.

Hashtag Squad Goals: Having people grouped up for whatever arbitrary reason the plot demands is such a neat little way to get to play with a bunch of different dynamics all at once! These two are ride or die, but these two don't see eye to eye, and yet they're all the best of buds! How does that work?! I love getting to show the ins and outs of that!

Ancient Aliens: I don't mean the concept that all historical feats of engineering carried out by non-White™️ cultures were actually done by aliens (THAT concept makes me fucking furious!!!), but instead the theory of panspermia, of life originating elsewhere in the universe and being seeded across the stars. My favourite flavour of THAT is life originating on Earth, but then being brought elsewhere, with humans as basically food stock for some more advanced race! I was digging through my WIP pile the other day, and I realized that concept crops up A LOT for me!

[sodaliteskull]

Got hit up by @new-royston-cursebreakers for a Five Lines tag game, so head on over here and give him some love!

No-pressure tagging @writingwithsnails, @surroundedbypearls, and @ryns-ramblings, and an open tag who think this looks like fun!

Rules: Find five lines based on the prompts, then change one prompt at the end for whomever does it next.

Prompts for you will be:

A line said to an enemy

A line said with fondness

A line that is whispered

A line that drops some lore

A line that is shouted

Prompts I got were as follows:

A line said to an enemy:

"Of course I knew!" Kinch sneered as they circled each other, "I recognized you the moment I saw you. Do you think family matters to me? You've changed, little sister. These humans have weakened you!"

A line said with fondness:

"I’m surrounded by aliens!" Syrenna said playfully. She then hugged Kesper before showing the others the map. "Here's where we are, and here's where Kinch's quarters are. Should we pay him a little visit?"

A line that is whispered:

Yanna picked up her sword. She stared at it for a moment, her expression unreadable, before thrusting it roughly back into its sheath. "Let's go home," she said quietly.

A line that hurts:

"You did it." Kinch sneered, coughing blood, "Here’s your sword," he said with mock politeness. He wrenched the weapon from his stomach and tossed it at Yanna’s feet. He scoffed one last time, before collapsing motionless on the ground. Dead.

A line that is shouted:

Yanna bristled, "They are not humans. And I am not weak!"

[sodaliteskull]

alt text under the cut:

SLIDE ONE

TEXT: Abyssal Scrutiny: an urban fantasy hot mess by tumblr user sodaliteskull

(IMAGES: the background shows a washed out image of a person standing before Cthulhu. They are minuscule in comparison. A speech bubble coming out of Cthulhu's mouth reads, "gimme yo FAKKIN MONEY!!!!"to which the person is responding, "NO!")

SLIDE TWO

TEXT: The city of Port Crowden... IS UNDER ATTACK!

people are being gruesomely murdered

property is inexplicably damaged

monster sightings!?

ANGEL SIGHTINGS!?!?

There's only one thing that can save it... MUTHA FUKKIN SUPER SENTAI!!!!!

(IMAGES: in the upper left hand corner is a picture of Vancouver, standing in for the fictional city of Port Crowden. Along the bottom is an image from the 35th anniversary of the Super Sentai media franchise, showing nearly 200 precursors to the Power Rangers)

SLIDE THREE

TEXT: wait wait wait! I'm gonna need a little more context than that!

hokay so, ON THIS ALTERNATE REALITY EARTH! for the last handful of decades, this comet would swing by every twenty-ish years and hang out for roughly twelve months of so.

one of the weird things about it is that is always becomes visible to the naked eye during the week of the Cancerid meteor shower, almost as if the meteors were coming from the comet - BUT THAT'S NOT HOW COMETS WORK!!!

every time this bitch shows up, a lot of weird crime happens. weird in a "literally what is the motive for any of this" kind of way. weird in a "reliable witnesses claim the culprit was some kind of eldritch horror" kind of way. weird in a "conspiracy theorist's wet dream" kind of way

authorities have claimed it's a bunch of shit: mass hallucinations caused by some kind of chemical leak, influencer publicity stunts gone horribly wrong, viral marketing gone horrible worse, run of the mill gang activity, miscellaneous cult tomfuckery. and while suspects have been arrested on suspicion, no one has ever been proven guilty

(IMAGE: a picture of comet Hale-Bopp, standing in for the Star Dealer comet)

the Ishinomori-Haim comet, also know as "the Star Dealer"

(IMAGE: along the bottom is a faded out photo of "POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS" tape)

SLIDE FOUR

TEXT: okay, cool. so what's REALLY going on?

siblings Morgan and Al Kurosawa, along with their cousin Grant Jardine are each struck by a fallen fragment of the Star Dealer comet, which gives them superhuman abilities and equipment. not long after, they encounter Dirk Silberg, a local entrepreneur, who explains that the arrival of the Star Dealer causes - or potentially coincides with - a thinning of the veil between this world and a realm he calls the Otherworld. from there, a malevolent force known as the Spread launches its invasions to try and snatch up any fallen stars that hadn't found their way into human hosts.

forty years ago, Dirk, along with his twin Drake and their friends Tony and Barb were starstruck, and battled the Spread. sadly, Tony, Barb, and Drake lost their lives fighting

(IMAGES: Picrews of the characters mentioned. Morgan has short brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, glasses, and is associated with the colour blue. Al has short sandy brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and is associated with the colour green. Grant has short dark brown hair and beard, dark brown eyes, olive skin, glasses, and is associated with the colour red. Dirk has short ruddy brown hair, hazel eyes, olive skin, and is associated with the colour green. Drake has short ruddy brown hair, hazel eyes, olive skin, and is associated with the colour red. Tony has short black hair and stubble, light brown eyes, olive skin, and is associated with the colour blue. Barb has long ginger hair, blue eyes, fair skin covered in freckles, and is associated with the colour yellow.)

SLIDE FIVE

TEXT: this is just a Power Rangers reskin, isn't it?

sure the fuck is! more so these guys tho -> (IMAGE: a team photo of the Gokaigers. Gokai Red is seated with his arms crossed, while Gokai Yellow is to his left, and Gokai Pink is to his right, holding the mechanical bird Navi in her arms. Gokai Silver is standing behind Gokai Red, while Gokai Blue is to the left of Gokai Yellow, and Gokai Green is to the right of Gokai Pink)

the absolute gorilla GRIP Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger has on my psyche…

Sentinels, empowered by fragments of the Star Dealer, are the only thing that can halt the Spread

they have special suits they can morph into, which protects them from the corrosive effects of the Otherworld, with weapons and special attacks to help them take on the nasties that dwell there

they are also granted superhuman abilities outside of the suits, like how these guys in the 2017 Power Rangers movie were able to jump crazy distances and crush cell phones with their bare hands (IMAGE: a screenshot from the aforementioned movie, showing Billy, Jason, Trini, Zack, and Kimberly standing in the Command Centre)

I call them "Sentinels" as a nod to both "sentai" and "senshi", since Sailor Moon is as much an inspo for this as Power Rangers is (IMAGE: a promotional image from the 90's Sailor Moon anime, showing Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Jupiter striking their signature poses against the background of a Tokyo night skyline)

look, I just like teams of pals who fight monsters together, okay!?!

SLIDE SIX

TEXT: design inspo because I am a visual thinker but shit at drawing!

the Mecha Will Rise/Bulletpunk figures from Devil Toys are the closest to what I have in mind for the look of Sentinels

skin-tight armour suits that manifest underneath street clothes

funky helmets that reflect the personality of the Sentinel

glove and boot armour

clothing changes colour to match the Sentinel's signature colour(s)

some kind of batshit anime weapon for fighting

definitely going more for style than practicality with these things, because who doesn't wanna look cute when fighting Cthulhu?

(IMAGES: thirteen figures from Devil Toys, all of which are wearing cyberpunk/techwear fashion in an assortment of colours, all of them wearing mecha style helmets, while some of them are wielding some kind of over-the-top weapon)

SLIDE SEVEN

TEXT: so I take it you aren't talking about butter?

nope! this ceaseless wave of nightmare fuel wants one thing and one thing only: to monch and cronch on fallen stars. they are single minded in their pursuit, closer to a fire consuming whatever is flammable in its path rather than an intelligence that is working towards a goal

At least, that was the case, until these tarot themed weirdos showed up and started bossing the Spread around! (IMAGES: arrows pointing to four figures - the Empress, a woman with long black hair and pale purple skin and dark purple eyes, associated with the colour silver. the High Priestess, with long pale green hair, darker green skin, and even darker green eyes, associates with the colour purple. the Magician, with a short ocean blue afro, sky blue skin, and pale blue eyes, wearing glasses and associated with the colour red. and the Fool, with long orange hair tied in a pony tail, khaki skin, and golden eyes, associated with the colour yellow)

the Spread are hard to categorize, as they're all chaotically shifting messes of tentacles and teeth. the only exceptions are the very rare, very powerful, and distinctly humanoid looking Abominations

(IMAGES: five pictures of eldritch horrors looming in nightmarish landscapes, representing the Spread. there's a lot of tentacles and pustules and assorted other body horror going on in each image. representing an Abomination is a humanoid figure somehow both skeletal and fleshy, with a mass of tentacles coming out of its back)

SLIDE EIGHT

TEXT: hold up, you mentioned something about angles at the start of this!?!?

thankfully, not everything in the Otherworld is out to kill you! looking like something of a cross between the angles from Bayonetta and Greco-Roman marble statues, are the Courts. in contrast to the chaotic Spread, the Courts have an orderly hierarchy. ruled by a King and Queen, every Court is defended by Rooks, advised by Bishops, while the Knights lead Pawns in their battle against the Spread. they are quick to ally themselves with the Sentinels

the assorted Courts are all named after metals (the Court of Gold, the Court of Iron, etc), and the rarer the metal, the more influential the Court

the exception to this rigid societal structure is the Court of Gems, which is composed entirely of Knights, and are even more single minded in their desire to wipe the Spread out than the rest of the Courts are

(IMAGES: several different enemy angels from the Bayonetta games, all of them looking like mythological monsters made of white marble and wearing crimson and gold armour, with statuesque faces in places where they should not be. behind them are several white marble statues with veins of gold running through them, almost giving them the effect of the Japanese style of Kintsugi, wherein one uses gold to mend cracks in pottery)

SLIDE NINE

TEXT: overview of the Otherworld

the Otherworld is a reflection of our world - the landscape and structures of here have mirror copies there. organic things, such as plants and animal life, do not have Otherworld counterparts, however. beyond the Courts and the Spread, the Otherworld is lifeless.

it's divided into two distinct locations - the Heights and the Depths. the Depths are especially deadly, as it's blanketed by a corrosive cloud roughly 100m tall. without protection, organic life does not last long in the Depths. the Heights, in contrast, are corrosion free.

(IMAGE: a rough outline of five buildings on a flat plateau, to the left of which slopes down off screen)

the Heights

the Courts make their homes in the upper floors of skyscrapers

(IMAGE: the three tallest buildings are poking up into the Heights, while everything else in the city resides in the Depths)

separating layer looks like waves from below, and clouds from above

the Depths

the Spread live in the dips and valleys of the landscape, surging up onto higher ground whenever they sense a fallen star nearby. when inactive, they just look like an inky black, viscous ocean

SLIDE TEN

(IMAGE: the background is the person standing before Cthulhu image from the first slide, only washed out to the point where it's barely visible)

TEXT: so sum this shit up for me…

a comet swings by every twenty years and (potentially!?!?) shits debris all over the place

if a comet dropping hits a person, they become a Sentinel

if it lands on the ground, the fragment shifts the area around it into the Otherworld

drawn by the power of the fallen star, the Spread destroy everything in their path to get to it, people and buildings alike

in order to protect those around them, Sentinels need to hunt down these comet fragments and find a way to safely dispose of them

but how are Morgan, Al, and Grant going to deal with all this?

does Dirk have ulterior motives for helping them?

if Sentinels happen every time, why no mention of the team from twenty years ago?

what is going on with that tarot team?

if they've been fighting the Spread this long, why haven't the Courts succeeded yet?

all these questions (and more!) will be answered… once I actually fucking write this thing!

[sodaliteskull]

Made a pronunciation guide for the bestie, cuz we've got a bad habit of making up names that the other has no idea how to pronounce!

[sodaliteskull]

Finally getting to this WIP Excerpt tag from @wintherlywords - check theirs out here!

This is an open tag, so feel free to to post an excerpt of your own if you're seeing this and the spirit moves you!

Excerpt From SIoC: Mystery At Mushroom Bay

Syrenna was standing on the shores of Mushroom Bay once again, but she couldn’t remember getting there. She had to be dreaming, she reasoned, as she took in her surroundings.

The sky was the cool grey of just before dawn, casting a slate hue over all she could see. Strangely, everything seemed slightly out of focus, like it was when she’d been using the invisibility stone during the day.

She caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eyes, on either side of her, and turning, she saw that Yanna and Ivanova were standing beside her. Both of them wore dazed, half-awake expressions, as confused about seeing her as she was them. Syrenna opened her mouth to speak, to ask what they were all doing there, but then she felt a strange sensation.

It was almost as if someone had slipped a hook into her sternum, and was tugging her forward. It wasn’t a painful sensation, but it was one she couldn’t ignore. Without any other thought, she followed the pull. Beside her, Ivanova and Yanna did the same.

Whatever strange compulsion had overcome them drew them into the water. They walked forward, unmindful of the icy ocean depths as it crawled up their legs, their torsos, and finally their heads as they walked forward. As this was a dream, breathing below the waves wasn’t an issue. They were pulled forward, deeper into the bay, towards a strange depression on the sea floor. They moved from walking side by side into single file then, with Syrenna leading them forward.

She reached out a hand into the empty space before her, coming in contact with something hard and invisible. Moving her hand down, she encountered something that felt like a keypad, and in this dream she knew exactly what to type in. A moment later, and a door opened up in the seemingly empty space in front of them, and the three of them filed inside.

[sodaliteskull]

Mockingbird: What authors do you think influence your writing the most? Nightingale: Has your real life ever influenced or changed how you approached your book/WIP? How? - @thesorcerersapprentice ♡

Mockingbird: Not to be cliche, but probably Tolkien. I like that his writing wasn't streamlined, that he took detours into songs and poems and legends, that you could feel the weight of the history of Middle Earth pressing up against the present we got to see in the Lord of the Rings. Those are the kinds of things I want to include in my writing, in direct defiance of the "appeal to the algorithm" mindset that authors are forced into if they want to "make it big" in the industry at the moment!

Nightingale: LOL YEAH originally Ryla was a dude (named Ryle - and he was named after a character from some RPGMaker game I played back in the day, not the shitfuck guy from that "It Ends With Us" movie or whatever!!!) because I came up with the character while deep in the throes of comphet, since I needed a love interest character for Iradurel (who was my main character in a forum RP I was in with my pals back in the day), but he basically had no personality because I wasn't interested in writing about dudes. So when I figured out that I just straight up wasn't interested in dudes at all, I made Ryla a woman, and suddenly I couldn't stop coming up with cool concepts for the character!

[sodaliteskull]

∞

I... have more instrumental stuff than songs with lyrics! so the songs that came up on the shuffle before one with words were:

Sunken Frigate Main Theme from Metroid Prime

The Roost from AC: Wild World (SSBBrawl version)

Two Teams from The Legend of Vox Machina

Crystal Palace from Sailor Moon R

Eidolons on Parade from Final Fantasy XIII

I.D.G.A.F.O.S. by Dillon Francis

Rose Rhythm by Doudou N'Daiye Rose

Cremia's Carriage from Majora's Mask

until we finally got...

Maneater by Hall and Oates

I wouldn't if I were you I know what she can do She's deadly, man And she could really rip your world apart Mind over matter Ooh, the beauty is there But a beast is in the heart

[sodaliteskull]

July Wrap-Up

I forgor 🙃

[sodaliteskull]

The Starcrossed Cycle: Media Influences

Got inspired by the meta dump @byjillianmaria did (which you can find over here), and wanted to do one for the Starcrossed Cycle!

(I go into more depth about how they influenced me below the cut, because I love getting in the weeds with this shit!)

Borderlands & Sunset Overdrive - A neon, hyperpop veneer over top a dystopia caused by corporate greed, these were the main inspirations for the world that Iradurel grew up in

Saints Row & Borderlands - Violent settings with little to no regard for the sanctity of life, these were inspirations for the life that Iradurel led before being put on ice

The Addams Family - A family that stands in direct opposition to the norms of their society, they were a big inspiration for Iradurel's parentage, the Kortellako family

Panty and Stocking with Garter Belt & Saints Row - Panty from PaSwGB and the Boss from SR were big inspirations for Iradurel's character

God Eater & RWBY & Horizon - Settings where monsters with no end plague the world were something that really tickled my pickle, so I made up my own with the Opiri

Dragon Age & God Eater - If there's going to be monsters, then there are going to need to be monster hunters to fight them. May as well give them powers to do so, but watch out! Those powers have a price! These two are the biggest influences on the Opiri Slayers

RWBY - And if you have monster hunters, then you need a place to show them the ropes, and this was the series that inspired me to make a dedicated school for the Opiri Slayers

Critical Role & Dimension 20 (specifically Fantasy High) - I really enjoy the differing takes on what Gods are in these two: either outside forces that have come to the world of their choice and shape it according to their whims (CR) or endemic to the world but shaped by their followers (FH)

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem & Babylon 5 & Mass Effect & Critical Role - Eldritch horrors causing problems for mortals that they view as little more than ants, another inspo for how deities work in this setting

Babylon 5 & the Legend of Zelda - A repeating cycle of conflict perpetuated by a single malevolent force is something that really gets my motor revving, so I yoinked that for Marenkes' history

Sailor Moon & the Legend of Zelda - The reincarnation aspect from these to tie into the cyclical aspect of the above bullet point was just a natural fit. I gotta have that miracle romance!

Dragon Riders of Pern - The concept of dragon riders is sick as hell, and ones that are psychically bonded to their mounts? Fuckin' awesome, my dudes! Everything else that McCaffrey thought was necessary to add to that equation? Big Yikes! But my desire to have the draconic Eidolons does stem from this series

Assassin's Creed & Final Fantasy XIII & Tales of Symphonia - Settings where the world is older than anyone realizes, and problems from the past (caused by a group of individuals with godlike abilities) are coming to bite the present in the ass were concepts that really excited me! Bonus points to ToS for inspiring a pretty big piece of the physical world of Marenkes!

Mass Effect & Horizon - Ryla is very much in the vein of a Commander Shepard (doing a full Paragon run, naturally) and Aloy type person

Dragon Age & Mass Effect - People being able to use magic because of a natural element in the world is definitely inspired by DA's lyrium and how biotics can use their abilities thanks to eezo from ME

Horizon & Assassin's Creed - The modern world is built on the bones of a far more technologically advanced society that was completely wiped out due to hubris preventing a solution being thought up to a preventable situation, that's the kind of juiciness I wanted for my setting!

Mass Effect & Eternal Darkness & Babylon 5 - The path to victory has been paved with so many sacrificed lives, but it is only thanks to those sacrifices that success will be possible. I fucking LOVE plots like this!

[sodaliteskull]

I don't know if it's because Mercury is in the gatorade, or because Uranus is squaring up with some other celestial bodies, but I have had

A WEEK

that has left be quite drained, so I'm going to be playing catch-up with my feed today!

[sodaliteskull]

Writerly Questionnaire

Thank you for the tag on this, @harmonic-melodii! Check out how she responded to this over here!

Gonna have this one be an open tag for EVERYONE, so if you're looking for the questions, head on over here!

About You

When did you start writing?

Kindergarten, so when I was either 5 or 6? lol I wanted to write sooner, but I didn't quite grasp the mechanics of how to actually do that, but the second I learned how to read and write, I could not be stopped! I know the first story I wrote was about dinosaurs, because I was OBSESSED with dinosaurs at that age.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

I like reading hard sci-fi, but I hate writing it! Trying to make sure everything is as scientifically accurate (or at least plausible) as possible is not where I find my joy in writing. I'm much more of a "technobabble something that sounds reasonable but don't elaborate further" girlie when it comes to my own stuff.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

None that I really want to emulate, or any I get compared to that I can recall. lol not to be trite, but I'm trying to develop my own writing voice, rather than mimic someone else's!

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

I Mostly write at my desktop computer, and my desk is currently swamped in assorted stationary bits and bobs I haven't had the time or energy to sort through recently! Otherwise it's with my laptop in bed (being absolutely blasted by my fan, because I hate being hot), or hopping around town with my bestie to find cafes where we can get in joint writing sessions.

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Thinking about elements (settings, tropes, themes, stuff like that) from pieces of media that I like and breaking them down to get to the core of what sets me off like a boiling tea kettle about them.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

I've always lived somewhere with quick access to the forest and the sea, so the both of those tend to crop up in my writing, even when I don't intend them to. lol basically all my stories are like the sci-fi and fantasy shows of the aughts, in that they were "filmed" in the Vancouver/Lower Mainland area!

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Alienation tends to crop up in my writing, as well as people struggling against exploitation. I also tend to write about some kind of rebellion against some form of authority. None of them surprise me in the least!

Your Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

Iradurel, one of the protagonists from the Starcrossed Cycle, because she is such a shit disturber! She has no respect for authority and doesn't bother sugarcoating her words, so I use her to vent every nasty little thought I have about behaviours in people I have to bite my tongue about in my day to day. It's always cathartic when I write dialog for her!

Which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life?

Probably Ryla, the other protagonist of the Starcrossed Cycle. She'd be happiest avoiding drama and just spending her days indulging her curiosities, and that is something I would also like to do. We'd be study buddies!

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Rounding this out with the antagonist of the Starcrossed Cycle, Ransaran, who is a conglomeration of traits that I hate! I literally designed this asshole to encompass everything that I loathe in a person, so we would not get along!

Tell me about the process of coming up with of one, all, or any of your characters.

I'm usually a plot first kind of writer, with either a beginning or an ending clearly in mind. I then start with really broad stroke archetypes (something like The Witch, or The Ace Pilot) that I think would either get me to the ending I want, or shoot off from my starting point in interesting directions, and use that as a metaphorical armature that I can slap on the equally metaphorical clay that is tropes and traits until I like the shape of the character.

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

I've been making them queer since before I realized that I, myself, was queer!

How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc.)

I rarely imagine real people when coming up with characters (which kinda blows, because using actors to make gifsets of my characters is something I want to do!), and instead tend to visualize them in whatever style of animation (traditional or cgi) I last happened to watch. Been usingvideo game character creators, dollmakers, and picrews for years to help with the visualization process, because my own drawing skills are rather lacking!

Your Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

There's so much noise inside me, and writing is the most efficient way to quiet that!

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

I like being able to lay out enough breadcrumbs that readers get an idea of what I'm leading to, so having people correctly guess the broad strokes of what I'm planning is always cool! Incoherent screaming is also a good one.

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

I want people to wonder what is wrong with me. lol but for real, being known for mashing up wildly different concepts would be kind of cool.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I'm pretty good at finding connection points to link disparate plot elements together.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

The most common one I hear is that I come up with some interesting turns of phrases.

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

I'm catering to my own likes when it comes to writing, so I enjoy it quite a lot!

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

Well yeah! I write everything for myself as is, so having no readers beyond myself would not hinder me at all!

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

Since I write for myself, I selfishly fill my writing with things I know I'm going to like. Otherwise, if I know a certain person is going to be reading what I wrote, I'll throw in something that (I hope!) would delight them specifically.

[sodaliteskull]

Thanks for the WIP Anagram Tag, @wintherlywords! You can find theirs over here!

Rules: Find a sentence in your WIP that starts with each letter of the given word.

No-pressure tag for @interroblog, @thoughtofhouses, and @night9uake, as well as an open tag with the following word: PENTACLE

My given word was: COSMIC

Excerpts from SIoC: A Dream Never Dies

C

"Come and fight! No more running!" A garbled voice called out to her.

O

One of the figures (a familiar figure) brandished its sword at her, its guttural voice rasping, "The Island's a dream and a dream never dies!"

S

"So all we have to do is lure Yanna close enough to this thing, distract her, and then this stone can work its magic?" Syrenna asked.

M

Master? She had no master. She was her own master! Who was this voice who would dare to command her so?

I

"I always forget how much of a punch Yanna's telekinesis has," Ivanova laughed ruefully.

C

Clutching her head, Yanna sat up uneasily. She finally felt like herself, felt like she had awoken from some awful nightmare. She smiled up at her fellow Queens, saying, "The Island's a dream, and a dream never dies!"