My writing so you don't have to wade through my TikTok comedy Main Blog: Bodhran Comedy, bow_asintakea_rawn on TikTok (The Deaf Vampire/Doctor Who/Greek Sailor Who Keeps Getting Shipwrecked Guy) Current WIPS Arcane Skies Trilogy (Tocktick, The Drowned Rook, Lanterns Fuelled By Falling Stars) Nostos & the Filigree Lantern Flies in Amber
Okay but predicting the weather has always been a huge fucking deal. Knowing it's gonna rain on Tuesday is important for agriculture, laundry if you hang it out to dry, what people wear when going out. Knowing when a storm is coming, when a frost is coming, how cold or hot it will get, can be matters if life of death now, let alone in a pre-industrial society. Accurate Meteorologist Oracle would be way more useful way more often than someone predicting major disasters only. The weather is the leading cause of major disasters!
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Iām having a lot of fun with writing Scarlett and her interactions with the bookās (Tocktick) antagonists because if Gorge (an energy CEO essentially if the energy is natural magic called arcana) had sent his henchman Norris to hire Scarlett, given her a picture of Talas and some money, sheād have killed him no problem.
This womanās a mercenary and - not only that - a theological mercenary for a religion called Heliokrata. They worship the Sun and it comes from a theocratic nation where they have rejected the world wide energy source that is arcana for steam, coal, and water.
Talas has invented an engine that runs on solar power. To a fundamentalist Heliokratian, he is wilfully and knowingly stealing from God.
Hell, Scarlett may have been tempted to get involved herself without being hired (but unlikely, why kill if youāre not being paid), but ultimately because Gorge wanted to ensure Talas couldnāt be martyred or his death/disappearance used against Gorge and his company, he wanted Talasā invention sabotaged.
And because Norris decided to blackmail Scarlett into going undercover among the crew (something she doesnāt do, btw, she is not a natural spy), Scarlett gets befriended and challenged by the first group of people sheās met who are willing to meet her where she is.
Because sheās among them she befriends Maia, realises that Kizzy (a child) admires her, Emmett offers a parental figure, and Sixsmith is willing to challenge her worldview and fear of her own sexuality.
Because of this, she eventually helps Talasā invention succeed to usher in a new era of energy, and helps kill some very pivotal people in Gorgeās company.
They could have just made it simple if they werenāt afraid of the social consequences and not - in Norrisā case - cut corners for profit.
If I had much money and actually finish Tocktick enough that someone wants to make a film/tv version then I am 100% petitioning for The Longest Johns to write some songs for it.
I mean, they have airships and I have an entire culture built around music and song and the skies and travelling.
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(Fantasy novel pitch, rough, rough literal first blurb draft)
The Last Stychos Expedition
Far away, under a different sun and where the stars sometimes speak through dreams, a pregnant queen is dying. Her husband, the king of many kingdoms, will not lose her or their unborn child. There is only one antidote for her disease in the known world: an elixir made from the rare and deadly Stychos flower.
It is for many an impossible task. For the plant will only reveal itself to those who need it ā and will kill or enthrall those who donāt. Great knights, explorers, and alchemists have tried and failed, and the Queen is getting weaker. Out of desperation, the King orders one final attempt with a party who cannot be touched by the plantās power: those dying themselves.
Faro Fellbane, a disgraced polar explorer and cartographer, stricken with an incurable wasting sickness from his last, failed expedition.
Laertes Wrightshod, a temple oracle, born to die from the burden of his gifts.
And, finally, Morla Swann, a convicted poisoner whose death sentence has already been injected into her veins.
They have thirty days to cross the cursed mountains fabled to hold their goal and not lose their lives ā or minds ā in the process.
When the message arrived for Faro, it came with a polite knock on the door and a warm handshake.
Heād still been holding his bowl of broth as the messenger had invited herself inside, the heat cradled against his chest and precariously balanced on swollen fingers.
When the message arrived for Laertes, it came with the chiming of the temple assembly bell and a poorly disguised look of horror.
Heād been conducting morning prayers for the younger members of the cloth: twelve small oracles in their pale-yellow robes and big serious eyes all turning to him in confusion.
When the message arrived for Morla, it came with a slam of a baton on her cell bars and a peacocked messenger standing as far back from her as he could.
Her criminal brand was still weeping a clear liquid down her throat and shoulders, but Morla had lifted her chin anyway and let them see.
(Fantasy novel pitch, rough, rough literal first blurb draft)
The Last Stychos Expedition
Far away, under a different sun and where the stars sometimes speak through dreams, a pregnant queen is dying. Her husband, the king of many kingdoms, will not lose her or their unborn child. There is only one antidote for her disease in the known world: an elixir made from the rare and deadly Stychos flower.
It is for many an impossible task. For the plant will only reveal itself to those who need it ā and will kill or enthrall those who donāt. Great knights, explorers, and alchemists have tried and failed, and the Queen is getting weaker. Out of desperation, the King orders one final attempt with a party who cannot be touched by the plantās power: those dying themselves.
Faro Fellbane, a disgraced polar explorer and cartographer, stricken with an incurable wasting sickness from his last, failed expedition.
Laertes Wrightshod, a temple oracle, born to die from the burden of his gifts.
And, finally, Morla Swann, a convicted poisoner whose death sentence has already been injected into her veins.
They have thirty days to cross the cursed mountains fabled to hold their goal and not lose their lives ā or minds ā in the process.
When the message arrived for Faro, it came with a polite knock on the door and a warm handshake.
Heād still been holding his bowl of broth as the messenger had invited herself inside, the heat cradled against his chest and precariously balanced on swollen fingers.
When the message arrived for Laertes, it came with the chiming of the temple assembly bell and a poorly disguised look of horror.
Heād been conducting morning prayers for the younger members of the cloth: twelve small oracles in their pale-yellow robes and big serious eyes all turning to him in confusion.
When the message arrived for Morla, it came with a slam of a baton on her cell bars and a peacocked messenger standing as far back from her as he could.
Her criminal brand was still weeping a clear liquid down her throat and shoulders, but Morla had lifted her chin anyway and let them see.
(Fantasy novel pitch, rough, rough literal first blurb draft)
The Last Stychos Expedition
Far away, under a different sun and where the stars sometimes speak through dreams, a pregnant queen is dying. Her husband, the king of many kingdoms, will not lose her or their unborn child. There is only one antidote for her disease in the known world: an elixir made from the rare and deadly Stychos flower.
It is for many an impossible task. For the plant will only reveal itself to those who need it ā and will kill or enthrall those who donāt. Great knights, explorers, and alchemists have tried and failed, and the Queen is getting weaker. Out of desperation, the King orders one final attempt with a party who cannot be touched by the plantās power: those dying themselves.
Faro Fellbane, a disgraced polar explorer and cartographer, stricken with an incurable wasting sickness from his last, failed expedition.
Laertes Wrightshod, a temple oracle, born to die from the burden of his gifts.
And, finally, Morla Swann, a convicted poisoner whose death sentence has already been injected into her veins.
They have thirty days to cross the cursed mountains fabled to hold their goal and not lose their lives ā or minds ā in the process.
an interesting thing about clothing in late medieval and early modern europe is that, while lower class people generally did wear brightly colored clothing instead of muddy brown clothes, there were very distinct differences in the color of clothing people of different classes wore. clothing was done with all natural dyes, of course, but they were either dyed locally with cheap and easily accessible ingredients, or they were dyed in holland, italy, the ottoman empire, or even further afield using a jealously guarded secret combination of difficult-to-access ingredients, including (crucially) better-quality fixatives. this means that not only did expensive imported fabrics maintain a dark, rich tone much longer than a locally dyed one, which would get a washed out look after a couple of years, but there were also certain colors that a working class farmer literally couldnāt afford to wear, and even though the difference between a cheap local lincoln green and an expensive imported popingay green might seem subtle to us people then seem to have been very sensitive to those differences. thatās also why the colors puritans tended to wear seem uncharacteristically bright to our modern eyeāblack was such a rich and expensive color that it would be inappropriate to wear to anything other than a portrait sitting, but the colors orange and kendall green were deeply humble in their origins
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Iāve been doing some character digging for Tocktick and its sequel The Drowned Rook so as a snippet, I have assigned elements and daemons and star signs to our main characters for fun.
Tocktick
EMMETT ASKREN (42)
Element: Earth
Star Sign: Virgo
Daemon: Stag
KEZIAH āKIZZYā NUNN (10-13~)
Element: Fire
Star Sign: Aries
Daemon: Ferret
GIDEON LAURENCE āSIXā SIXSMITH
Element: Air
Star Sign: Gemini
Daemon: Hare
TALAS KATSAROS
Element: Electricity
Star Sign: Capricorn
Daemon: Cat
MAIA KATSAROS
Element: Water
Star Sign: Pisces
Daemon: Snow leopard
ELIZABETH SCARLETT
Element: Ice
Star Sign: Taurus
Daemon: Snake
The Drowned Rook
OCTAVIA FAUSTA STARLING
Element: Aether
Star Sign: Sagittarius
Daemon: Magpie
ARBAN ALTANTSETSEG āACEā
Element: Wood
Star Sign: Libra
Daemon: Elephant
PLEASANT NETTLES
Element: Metal
Star Sign: Scorpio
Daemon: Fox
What do you think? Shall I do this for other protagonists?
Dafne, sweetheart shepherdess on a quest to be braver for her animals/family
Everest, cocky guard needing to understand talent still needs work
Fiore, quiet herbalist wanting to be able to set boundaries
Garnet, excitable inventor discovering she is a construct build by her father
Jaspa, a mischievous mage trying to rediscover his passion
Netuno "Nettie" searching for direction and a grander purpose
Ragnar, a stoic guard unable to forgive himself
Sylv, a curious mute nature spirit wanting to observe humans
Tanu, a mysterious merchant running from her dark past
Voting ended onJun 30
Bachelors/Bachelorettes for Rune Factory Style Game Below Cut
BACHELORS
Amalthea is the daughter of the local duchess of the town. Her initial personality is prim, polite, and overcompensating. She is fat, dark-skinned, and has perfectly styled long black hair, and dresses in beautiful pale pink gowns with pink bows is in her hair. Her heart events include helping her loosen up a little and feel free to pursue her love of horror writing. Her rival love interest is Fiore.
Briar is the local doctor of the clinic and older sister of Fiore. Her initial personality is boisterous, bossy, and hot-headed. She has spiky short brown hair, one blue and one green eye, tanned skin, and is always in her red medicās coat with a quill. Her heart events are convincing her to let people solve their own problems and take time to herself. Ā Her rival love interest is Jaspa.
Cassander is the heir to a confectionary empire sent to scout out new customers and flavours in the mountain frontier town. His initial personality is flirty, arrogant, and lazy. He is a tall, immaculately dressed pale man with loose long white hair, amber eyes, and always carries a little ornate box of sweets. During his heart events, the player learns about his insecurities and helps him become more responsible. His rival love interest is Tanu.
Dafne is a shepherdess who lives with her family on a rival farm. Her initial personality is sweet, kind, and easily frightened. She has glasses, blonde braids, freckles and sunspots, grey eyes, and wears simple blue dresses. Her heart events are about supporting her desire to become braver and more independent to protect her family and animals. Her rival love interest is Ragnar.
Everest is a local guard who stays at the barrack at the gatehouse. Her initial personality is jokey, egotistical, and competitive. She only wears half her armour, has pale skin, a black bob, brown eyes, and is very tall and muscular. Her heart events include her learning to take her job and skills more seriously and understand that work is more important than relying on talent. Her rival love interest is Sylv.
Fiore is the local herbalist who works alongside his older sister Briar at the clinic. His initial personality is shy, standoffish, and gentle. He dresses in scruffy ochre clothes, has tight curly brown hair, green eyes, tan skin, and always has a flower tucked behind an ear. During his heart events, he becomes more confident and willing to stand up to protect his peace. His rival love interest is Amalthea.
Garnet is the blacksmith and inventor. Her initial personality is enthusiastic, clumsy, and hopeful. She has a ginger flyaway twist, pink eyes, glitter on her cheeks, and wears a gold set of overalls and smudged rolled-sleeve shirt and bronze goggles. Her heart events revolve around her discovery that she is a construct made by her deceased father and balancing her identities. Her rival love interest is Nettie.
Jaspa is a travelling researcher sorcerer who has become bored with his academic path. His initial personality is mischievous, animated, and careless. He has dark blond swept-back hair, brown eyes, sunburnt skin, wears tight long-sleeves, and plays with a carved pebble during dialogue. His heart events involve helping him come to terms with his mentor dropping him and rediscover his love of magic research. His rival love interest is Briar.
Netuno āNettieā is a fisherman who lives on a hut by the lake. His initial personality is cheerful, friendly, and laidback. He is tall and muscular with black braids, dark skin and a neat black beard and moustache who wears loose purple robes and a bandana. His heart events revolve around him wanting to find an identity beyond just fishing and find a real direction in life. His rival love interest is Garnet.
Ragnar is a border guard staying at the inn. His initial personality is dry, sarcastic, and cold. He is short, pale, and fat with spiky red hair, freckles, and is never seen out of his armour. His heart events involve him opening up his softer side and forgiving himself for the loss of his younger sibling. His rival interest is Dafne.
Sylv is a mute dryad living in his willow tree outside of town. His initial personality is curious, expressive, and optimistic. He is draped in leaves and vines with green hair, silver eyes, and bark-like skin. His heart events are about the player learning his silent language and Sylv learning about human customs. His rival love interest is Everest.
Taru is a travelling merchant staying at the inn. Her initial personality is mysterious, distant, and greedy. She hides behind her dark blue hair, has pale skin, black eyes, and wears sensible black travelling clothes. Her love events are about her past as a smuggler and helping her find a way to seek forgiveness from the people she hurt. Her rival love interest is Cassander.
When a little girl runs away from home, she finds herself at Flotsam House: a mansion on a lonely fog bound coast with endless cluttered rooms and no doors. To escape she must help the other occupants find their lost items and vows under the eye of the mysterious Woman in the Top Window.
The most common name on the flyers was The Carnival at the Edge of the World. The most common name among the troupe was The Cobweb.Ā
But to Argo it is always and simply Here.
Seven years ago, a half-mer snuck out of the waves and ran away with the circus. It was less than a fortnight before he discovered the circus had ā in fact ā run away with him. Now Argo is one of Ringmaster Verdandiiās prized exhibitions, trapped within a lonely oasis in the largest desert in the world. Within the colourful tents Argo and his fellow menagerie of creatures and human freaks alike quarrel, bargain, ally, and betray in hopes of unlocking their ringmasterās mercurial and closely guarded combination for freedom.
But then the firebird arrived.
Beautiful, vicious, and only an animal. No chance to have walked, no debts to pay.
A home to return to.
A home on the other side of a desert, littered with the bones of those who tried before.
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Emmett straightened up, catching his knee painfully on a pile of wooden pallets he hadnāt noticed. He swore.
A small child, her skin a similar dark shade to his own and hair intricately braided, was trying to surreptitiously haul an overstuffed sack past him, eyes bulging with the strain of it. She was younger than his daughter by several years ā Emmett guessed about eight or nine ā and shared that ābundle-of-sticks-tied-togetherā look. A thin trail of black sand trickled from the base of the sack, but she seemed oblivious.
Her attention, instead, was on him as she frantically tried to roll down her sleeves without letting go of her burden. Emmett didnāt need to see the extra nubs of bone on her elbows, or the way her eyes gleamed momentarily, catlike, as they caught the lamplight to know what was happening.
Swallowing hard and hoping he wouldnāt stutter, Emmett stepped back and spread his hands in a gesture of peace. The young Taiyek shrank back, her (ser, se wasnāt old nearly old enough to have a settled gender yet) black eyes narrow and wary.
His Taiyeku was better than average, even for an aeronaut. āHello. My name is Emmett. Can I help you?ā
The child shook ser head fiercely, gathering the sand-filled sack to ser chest.
āAre you sure?ā
āI have a job.ā The emotions flitting across ser face was impossible for him to read, but he understood the context. āThis is for a job. Iām not a thief.ā
āNo, no, itās alright. OāGillian, right? Youāre working for OāGillian?ā A tiny nod. āI know her. My daughter works for her too. Kizzy? Do you know her?ā
Another nod.
That wasnāt surprising. More people knew Kizzy than Emmett had ever introduced her to. āIām going that way ā I need to pick her up. I can help you.ā He held out his hand. āItāll be easier āā
Ser eyes flitted and landed on something over his shoulder. Fear widened her pupils to black voids.
