#...seriously

So, how's your day been?

Hi! Nope! 😂

Tumblr also actually sends me emails for asks (which it doesn't for DMs) so I can actually respond in a timely manner, hahaha

It's been pretty good! Been rotating things in the mental rotisserie a lot today. A lot. I've been working on finishing renames for Zelda characters for Lothen so I can get rid of the []. Right now, I've renamed all the champion-slot characters and I *think* all the leaders/monarchs, save for Rhoam. I've got Sonia penciled in as Esther at the moment because I just needed something to stick in there (I kept writing the kingdom name as "Hyrule" because I saw "Sonia" before the [] and went "ah yes, we know what to do here!"), but honestly I don't know if I like it or not. 😂 Esther's like, one of my favorite books of the Bible, so giving the founding queen in my dark fantasy story the same name is... giving me a bit of dissonance. Thematically, there's a link there, so it's not the most out of left field name to pull. It's just the weird feeling of "should I use Biblical names in a non-Biblical context?" I guess.

I've also just been circling through thinking about Saithum & Rinku II, Karu & Xiyja, and Solitha & the Reclaimed Herd + Rinku III pretty much all day today. I want to work on a series outline for Lothen to slot all the narrative ideas I have for the whole shebang into a neat(ish) line, but I haven't really found a good template for that yet. And I pretty much have to have a template to start any type of high-level organization, or I get really tangled up in my own rope 😅Another reason for the wanting of a series outline is I believe I might be wandering into the territory of "world-building as procrastination," and so the outlines would help me determine where I have story points that actually need further world-building (i.e. it would actually be brought up in the story in a significant way) and where I'm just, again, tying myself with my own rope. Especially since I have three eras of time I'm tinkering with over the storyline.

One of the things I know I need to figure out is where Solitha's recovered lab, and the main Reclaimed Herd "settlement," are in relation to Audmina. The lab is, in concept, a mix of the Royal Ancient Tech Lab and that lab/temple-y Rauru & Co. found in, I think it was "level" two of Age of Imprisonment. It's Royal Lab-y in the sense that Solitha & Taerne (Purah and Robbie) work there, Elvira Esmerelda & Rinku III frequent and all Lothen's ancient tech work/research is done there; however it's entirely the AoI lab in appearance and everything else, and it's locked up tight for obvious reasons. I don't want the lab in Audmina proper because that doesn't make sense, but it needs to be close enough to Audmina to make sense. I have several other ideas on where to put it that I can't decide on. Perhaps that will come with writing.

ALSO, my wiki software just had a new "Import from Pinterest and Unsplash) image update I've been itching to try out, so see if you can click this link and see the inspo images for what the lab might look like! (the rest of the wiki is a hot mess)

Another thing I need to figure out is the Master Sword conundrum. Which in itself lies the question "How am I gonna get Rinku/Akramu back to Audmina after his accident?" He was replaced by Pryze after his accident and taken to the Reclaimed Herd settlement (Her Scariness/Midna Marie doesn't like anyone other than Ornathian healers, save for Solitha and the higher scientists in the Herd, monkeying with the Wolfbred's last male.) and with the Master Sword lore, Link was just brute force returned to Hyrule to become a Champion about a yearish after the accident, thereby solving that problem. I don't know if I'm keeping that whole bit or not, which makes two different problems out of one, potentially. I had an idea to make the "Master Sword" some kind of control device for ancient tech of some sort, but my confidence in using that is about equal to the Master Sword 😅😂

*looks up* Man, I like to yap. 😅

Hmm... technically Inferno Cop might not be human anymore, but he definitely was one before his supposed death... so sure!

Me @ Wonderstorm: a PIANO? seriously? piano? okay, I guess… (Piano. What the actual hell.)

—

The royal soirée was warm, stuffy, and, considering the company involved, interminably boring.

It should have been a golden opportunity—artists, writers, musicians, and even a scholar or two had been invited to mingle with the Katolian royal court. At an event like this, catching the eye of the right person could mean gaining a patron who’d set you up for life. Crown Prince Harrow was already swarmed by hopefuls looking to present him with samples of obsequious drivel.

Lissa wandered through the collection of adjoining rooms, wineglass in hand. The setting had been artfully arranged to be ideal for the gathering—comfortable chairs and low couches encouraged intimate conversation, scattered tables were packed with spreads of bite-sized pastries and cut fruit, and servants circled discreetly with selections of wine at the ready. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been in Katolis long enough to have discerned which of its wealthy elite might take an interest in her work, so engaging with any of them was a gamble. Scholarship was generally more difficult to find interested patrons for than the arts, as well—there might be little here for her if she didn’t want to spend the next ten years writing insipid genealogies.

The crowd of guests mercifully thinned out as she got further from the prince. The rooms became less unbearably warm, the scent of so much mingled perfumes less cloying. She paused in one that was nearly empty to sip her wine and take a few breaths. The lone bored servant stationed there ignored her.

In the corner of the small lounge was a piano. Lacking anything else to hold her interest, Lissa stepped over to examine it. She wasn’t truly a musician, but she knew quality when she saw it—the piano was a fine piece, plain in its ornamentation but with solid construction and elegant shape. She didn’t recognize the dark wood of the body, but the keys were Neolandian ivory. An almost unspeakable level of luxury—she’d only ever seen wooden ones, before. She ghosted her fingertips over them, barely touching the surface.

“Do you play?”

She whirled guiltily, feeling like a child caught where she shouldn’t be. Gray-eyed Viren stood behind her, sleek in his high-collared coat rich with embroidery—she hadn’t expected to see him, especially not this far from the prince’s side.

Had he followed her?

“Only a little,” she said, shaking that thought away. “I’m better with more portable instruments.”

”Portable?” he echoed curiously, moving closer to stand beside the piano and idly running a hand over the polished wood.

“Most of the old stories in Del Bar are meant to be told with music,” she explained. “It’s an essential piece—the story isn’t properly understood without it. You wouldn’t have seen many wandering bards hauling around something this size, so the music has to be adapted for it. I do lute, mostly, instead—keeps things as close to the original form as possible.”

”You don’t think we should use every tool at our disposal to build the past into an improved future?” he teased, gray eyes dancing with mischief.

She laughed, familiar with this kind of irreverent scholastic banter, and matched his playfulness in her response. “More that I think we need to remember the past accurately, if we’re to truly build on it at all.”

“Maybe you’re right.” His face faded to seriousness and his eyes grew distant for a moment—then his focus and smile returned. “Nonetheless, will you play something? For me?”

“I suppose,” she said, taking a seat on the bench and smoothing her skirts. She kept her face tilted down, ostensibly focused on the keys but hopefully also hiding her sudden flush.

The ivory was cool and smooth under her fingers. “Some people call this one ‘In the Hall of the Mage-King.’ It’s from a story about a wicked mage who lures a young woman to his castle, intending to ensnare her as his bride.” She glanced up at him. “No offense intended.”

His mouth quirked against a laugh. “None taken.”

She closed her eyes—she’d always found it easier to play from memory when she didn’t look at the keys—and began slowly. The music was a simple, repeated melody, meant to gradually increase in speed and flourishes according to the musician’s skills and taste. That was part of why she had chosen it, to give muscle memory a few measures to return before she tried anything fancy.

Or has that story just been on your mind, lately?

Her brow furrowed slightly as she concentrated harder on the music, sweeping away all other thoughts. She hit fewer false notes as she continued, her hands moving faster and with more confidence. When she felt she’d shown off enough, she shifted smoothly into a coda, winding the music back down to slow simplicity, and finally silence.

The last notes still hung in the air as she looked up. At some point, he had shifted to lean his elbows on the piano’s frame. His head was cocked to one side, watching her.

“Beautiful,” he said quietly.

They suddenly seemed very close. She met his eyes and held them, refusing to be the first to back down even as her heart hammered and she felt heat creeping up her neck.

He straightened abruptly, faint color rising in his cheeks. “I mean—that was lovely. Thank you for indulging me.” He glanced toward the door and sighed. “I should get back to Prince Harrow and make sure he hasn’t gotten into trouble.”

“Absolutely,” she replied, with deadpan earnestness. “I can’t believe you left him alone with a pack of poets. That’s practically treason.”

He laughed, bowing slightly. “Good evening, then, Lissa.”

She inclined her head in return. “Good evening, Viren.”

He stepped toward the door, then realized he’d forgotten his wineglass and returned to retrieve it, nodding at her sheepishly. He paused, his fingers twisting on the glass’s stem. “And what happens to the young woman, in the story?”

“Oh,” she said, keeping her voice light, “There are a few versions, and no one knows which is the original. In most of them, she escapes with the mage’s sundered heart, ending his cruel reign. But in a very few, very old texts—she falls in love, and becomes his queen.”

“You should tell me the whole thing, sometime. The nice version.”

She tilted her head to look at him for a moment—storm-gray and tarnished gold, iron-hot pride and wolf-winter hunger. Beautiful, indeed.

“Maybe I will,” she said, and smiled.

—

The piano is one of the first furnishings he buys for their home—it’s a more modern upright construction, for the smaller space, but still finely made and tuned to perfection.

He coaxes her to cover her eyes as he leads her into the room, and laughs at her delighted gasp when she opens them. Whirls her around the sunlit room in his arms.

To those of you who might not remember or don’t know me, the Jelephant Gambit refers to Sword Art Online, which was a show that I enjoyed until its second season turned into utter garbage, and then I just sort of half-watched to fill time throughout Season 3 (the one with guns), but I was all sorts of done with...

And then, suddenly, the Jelephant came.

Or...Jellyphant? Look, it’s glorious however it’s spelled BECAUSE

See, I’d been stressed about a whale stapler--or a “whapler”--which was really frustrating because both of them have a long “A” and an “le” but they’re messed up in their order, so that frustrated me for months and became a running joke, but then, suddenly, they talk about a jellyfish-elephant hybrid called a jellyphant and can you be any more perfect than that?!?!?!?!

Thus I was wholly invested in the show again, because something spoke to me.

Now, is there merchandise? No. Is there art? No. Is there a hand-knitted jellyphant that someone’s grandma made on commission as a Christmas gift for someone’s very excitable boyfriend? Yes, because I have it here right now. AKA, I have Sword Art Online merch in my life, and I will happily share the word of Tonky, even thought it comes from freaking Sword Art Online. 

Guys. Guys. Romney chose his own sock puppet account name. And the name he chose...

Pierre Delecto

just the idea that Reylo could’ve been his brainchild and that JJ wrote TFA open-ended enough that the next director could make it anything