Darya Bler

What kinda stuff do you like to do in your free time (besides chilling in a hammock playing your flute)?Any particular interests?

Art by @ryskabler

*opens two eyes, stretches*

Hey pal! You just caught me in the middle of one of my favourite pass-times, actually. Sunset naps on the porch are the best.

*tucks hands behind head*

Hmm, interests..? Let's see... I like to think up poetry and clever jokes while I'm waiting for a fish to bite. Usually it just stays in my head, but lately I've taken to writing them down. The jokes, that is. Not the fish...

*hums in thought* Hanging out down at the Grove Crater is pretty cool. I noticed that the fireflies fly in very distinct patterns whenever the quantum shard shifts between states. My theory is that their size allows them to enter a state of advanced quantum entanglement, which makes them both essentially immortal and causes them to traverse the lattice between realities. No, haha, lattice, not 'lettuce'. Sounds tasty, though...

Aha! Speaking of tasty, I love hunting for mushrooms! Always exciting to find them in the woods. Some very interesting vocabulary that goes with mycology too. I'll tell you what, Fungi are really cool little orgas- orga... organisms. Haha. They come in all kinds of fun shapes and sizes, and some have very, uh, unique chemical attributes. Gotta be a little careful with those.

*taps chin*

I've also tried my hand at brewing spruce beer. The results have been, hmm... Let's say, 'varied'. I'll let you know how the current batch goes (if I don't forget about it and it explodes... again). I've had better success with concocting my own herbal tea blends. Right now I'm experimenting with newtnip... *stares into the distance*

...Did you know herbal tea is technically called a 'tisane'? Well, now you do! You're welcome. *grins*

What else, what else... Oh! *sits up* Back-pedaling a little here, but I've compiled an illustrated guide to mushroom foraging and identification, if you're interested in seeing it? I named it 'Gabbro's Illustrated Guide to Mushroom Foraging and Identification for Beginners'. Drew all the pictures myself, hehe. I'm quite proud of it, if I do say so...

*digs small book out of net bag*

*opens it*

...

*closes it*

...You know what? *smiles sheepishly* I don't seem to have brought that particular book with me today. Sorry, pal. *tucks mysterious book away covertly* I'll definitely bring it next time. Whenever that is, haha...

*blinks*

What's in this book? *looks away* It's my... very personal journal... Yes, it does indeed have 'Grimoire' written on it. Well spotted... *snaps fingers* On the topic of spots, did you know you can tell which season a Hearthian hatched in by how many dark scales they have? And some Hearthians lose they dark scales as they age too. Just depends on the acquired genes. Hearthian Biology is one of my lesser-explored interest, but I'm quite keen on the subject of anatomy specifically...

An Outer Wilds fan video.

Music by Andrew Prahlow

Big up to you and Darya for all that work 💖 it's a very fun blog. Amazing concept on top of that.

Thank you Sal!!

Darya has been incredibly kind in doing the heavy lifting for the art!! I am so very grateful to her for all the beautiful drawings 🥰

I asked her for a few words in reply to your ask, and she said:

"I'm glad to take part in this, and I'm glad that people like it."

Please, everyone, if you haven't already, GO CHECK OUT DARYA'S BLOG AND ART <- ✨✨

She also drew a melancholic Feldspar (a la Satellite) that I begged her to share:

art by @ryskabler

*blinks, eyes recorder*

*plants hands on hips*

The one and only! *grins* But you're missing an important detail there, hatchling: I wasn't just the first Hearthian in space. I was the first Hearthian to be voluntarily launched into space, and live to tell about it! Both extremely daring feats, if you ask me!

Inspiration, huh? I've always been what you might call a 'restless soul'! *Gestures broadly* Always searching for new horizons, broader avenues, and higher ground, ever since I was a tadpole!

*rubs chin*

As for when those broader horizons came to include Space... *smirks, snaps fingers* Slate and I blew a bucket into orbit with a stick of dynamite once! It didn't come down for a while, heh. Sort of just floated about up there for a bit, and I thought 'Hey, that's pretty neat! Wonder what it must feel like to hang around in orbit' like that.

Later, when I was learnin' the ropes of being fire watch, I explored plenty of cool, hard-to-reach spots on Timber Hearth together with Tektite. I couldn't get enough of findin' new and exciting places to investigate!

*smiles fondly*

Once, we spent a few days spelunking in the old Nomai mines. I remember lyin' on my bedroll in the big cave after we'd put the fire out, looking up, and seein' tons of little glowing dots in the darkness (that was thanks to the ore in the rocks). I thought 'this must be what it feels like to float in space- quiet, calm, surrounded by nothing but darkness and stars'...

It gave me a funny feeling, you know? Made me restless and peaceful at the same time. But those two things don't usually go together, yeah? But I can't really describe it any other way. All I know is I couldn't shake it for months.

*chuckles* Then I got the brilliant idea to hop in an old sapwine barrel and ride a geyser into orbit. With Slate's help, of course. Haha! That was the first time I really experienced what it was like to be weightless. Guess you could call it 'love at first flight'. *winks* And that was just me dippin' my toes into new and uncharted waters! I couldn't very well stop at just reaching the stratosphere, now could I?

*clears throat* I won't go into the details of that landing. I'll just say, it definitely wasn't boring for everyone involved. My arm was sure bent at funny angles...

The rest is... History! Hehe. *shakes head* Aaah, it took a lot of work to get a fully functional ship up and running and to properly explore the Outer Wilds, but we did it!

*looks around covertly*

*leans in and whispers*

Say... you interested in joining the Space Program? There's always room in the Ventures for new cadets!

---

Did you know you’re loved? What’s the best (and worst) part of staying on the Attlerock?

*speechless*

Oh stars, that's *tears up, lip wobbles* very kind of you. I don't know what to say...

*lowers hat over eyes, clears throat*

Best part, eh? I'd say the Outpost's glory days have come and gone. Used to be great when the astronauts would swing by frequently to refuel and repair their ships. Nowadays... Well...

It is quiet up there. Gives you room to think, and all that. Plus, you can't beat the view. It's the perfect spot for keeping an eye on what's going on down in the village... from a distance... non-intrusively, and purely from a place of benevolent concern. No, it's not spying. *clears throat again*

The worst? Well...

*gazes blankly into the distance*

It gets pretty lonely at times. And having a lot of room to think isn't always a good thing. The shadows start or feel thick, the darkness becomes loud... Eventually, you're hearing things that aren't there... seeing things that aren't there. Worst of all, you start to question stuff that never bothered you before... And then you begin to wonder if people are happier without you around... and if you were ever really needed in the first place...

...

*looks up and smiles*

But I guess I was just lettin' the silence get to me.

*tips hat eloquently*

Thanks for stopping by, stranger.

how strong are you?

*adjusts log on shoulder and smiles*

As strong as I need to be to get the job done, I guess.

art by Darya / @ryskabler

---

Well, guess that's two questions.

*stops mid fishing rhyme and looks up*

The freakiest, huh? Don't get much of that in Timber Hearth's waters. Not that I'm complaining. I've caught some interesting critters in my net over the years, though!

Where was I...? Fishing song, fishing song... Darn, I think my- wait. I've used that one before...

For instance, there was that two-headed nipping turtle. Trying to get it out of the net while both maws were snapping at my fingers was a thing. Oh, and there was that one Crater Blue that had only two eyes instead of four. That ain't normal..

Ah! Speaking of two-eyed fish, that angler Hornfels keeps with them in the museum is hands down the creepiest thing I've ever seen! Not just because of the freakishly huge teeth, but because they live out of the water. Fish don't have any business doing that, in my professional opinion...

Fishing song, fishing song... Uh... Dang it! I had a good word lined up, but now it's gone!

*grumbles, glowers at you*

And what do you mean, 'do I know what that is'? Of course I've seen a 'betentacled' beast. You never laid eyes on a hydra before? I'm talking about those tiny things that mooch around in ponds and let their noodley strings fly about until some poor fish is dumb enough to swim into them. I can see how you would miss them.

But if you ever played around in the geyser pools over at the Grove Crater (which you shouldn't have done, because it's dangerous), you would have at least come across a harpoon slug? Ever seen one hunt?

*engages story-telling mode*

They lie in wait on the slimy algae-covered lakebed, unassumingly biding their time until an unsuspecting minnow comes swimming along and... *pauses dramatically*

WHAM! Spears its victim straight through with its tentacle!... *smirks* Hah! Jumpy, are you? Yep, Gabbro had no idea if those giant jellyfish would do something similar, see? Said it was an 'enlightening experience', and now they 'know what it must feel like to be a mosquito larva'. They didn't hang around long enough to find out exactly how those beasts catch their prey, though. Smart move, if you ask me...

*waves hand dismissively*

Now, I answered your questions, so you why don't you go bug someone else? I can't focus with you hovering around me like a sap fly.

*grumbles* Fishing song, fishing song... ugh, think it's time to borrow Gabbro's dictionary again...

How did you come up with the idea for the rocket ? Also, why aren't rockets launched on geyser to save fuel ?

*pauses; lowers coffee mug*

Now that's a story that goes back *squints at air* almost thirty years ago. Heh. And it didn't have anything to do with rockets at first...

I used to work in the mines with Tektite and Gossan when I was, what...? Eighteen? I mostly maintained the drilling rig. That was before I moved on to other machinery. *snorts* although it was more like, when Tekt banned me from mine work... Dunno what was going through their head. I guess they just knew what kind of dumb crap teenagers are capable of. Must have seen me eyeing the dynamite. *shakes head* That didn't stop me from pilfering a couple of sticks when they weren't looking...

So, I snuck out of the hatchling cabin after lights-out and bee-lined for Youngbark Crater. Took with my stash of dynamite, a bucket full of sand, and all the matches I'd been hoarding since I was a tadpole. Yeah yeah, spare me the look. I know I was being an idiot...

*goes quiet, smiles*

But not as much of an idiot as Feldspar. I got halfway to Youngbark before I caught them following me, that little...

...Anyways. I'd planned to try a couple of different experiments with the sticks I brought, but what does Feldspar go and do? They light one of the things before I've even finished setting up!

We both started panicking, and I did what seemed like the best thing at the time... *smirks* I tipped the sand bucket over it before the fuse burned out. Then we ran for cover and waited...

I still remember watching that bucket blow higher than a geyser jet just from that one little tube of cardboard and nitroglycerin. *laughs* We were laughing ourselves sick! And the explosion made such a racket, Rutile and Tektite heard it all the way back in the village. My ear got yanked on so hard, it hurt for a week...

*stares at mug*

Those were the days... I guess you could say that's when my, heh, 'enthusiasm' for explosives began. But it was Feldspar who got it into their head to utilize the principles behind the whole fiasco to reach orbit that had me trying to figure out how to actually build a rocket ship. It's not like I wanted to go to space. That was their thing...

...

Huh? Why not use the geysers? *snorts* Tried that once. It didn't end well. Yeah sure, it would save on fuel, but it's far from efficient. Rocket science is about more than just sending a tin can into orbit. There's the laws of motion and thermodynamics, the effects of gravity, and a never-ending list of ratios you have to take into account..

*sips coffee and smirks*

Besides... Where's the fun in letting a boring old geyser do all the work for you? Where's the thrill? I want to be the one who decides how and when the explosions go off- What the-?! Could you not spew coffee all over my porch?! Stars above...

*squints at you*

... Why is your face all purple..?