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Hello, nice to meet you!
1. Favorite thing you have written?
I have only been enjoying writing for the past 4 years (until part way through grade 11, I actually hated it and thought I could never write). I also tend to be very focused on whatever my WIP is, so I do not have much to choose from. My other problem is I am a perfectionist, so when I look through my stuff, I see many things I could do better on. I really can’t say, sorry.
2. Stranded on an island. If you like music, what are five songs or five albums that you would want to have if you were stranded on an island? Basically top five, whether through quality or sentiment.
Chrono Trigger OST
Seeds of Faith – Seeds Family Worship
Some albums with hymns like Take My Life, Amazing Grace, and Standing on the Promises
An album of Disney hits like I’ll Make a Man Out of You, We Don’t Talk About Bruno, and I Just Can’t Wit to be King
Vegitales Silly Songs Alblum.
3. Stranded on an island but five books.
Bible (of course), Pilgrim’s Progress, Some book on how to survive on an island (because I am very much not an outdoors person and would have no idea what to do), Some theology book (maybe one by Jerry Bridges), and lastly, Tress of the Emerald Sea for entertainment.
4. Favorite movies or tv shows?
As I told Shadow, It is hard for me to name a specific movie. Most of my family likes the Narnia movies. They can be very fun to quote. I also like the Lego and Spiderverse films (minus The Lego Ninjago Movie, it had no respect for Ninjago fans). As I told The Ducktator, I don’t get emotional often, but The Truman Show was one that almost had me crying.
As for TV shows, I have not watched a lot. Almost all of what I have seen are Lego and Star Wars shows. I am a big Ninjago fan (minus the occasional season where the villains do something really questionable, like in Sons of Garmadon). However, I think I am going to pull out of that now because even if they are improving the story and characters in Dragons Rising, I do not like the direction they are going with Cole. Star Wars Rebels is my favourite Star Wars show.
5. If you could make any activity an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance of winning a medal for?
I don’t play sports. I am not good at them and do they interest me much. I will leave the Olympics for people who enjoy sports instead of turning it into something only nerds like me enjoy.
What are your answers to these questions? (I see you have been giving the same questions to others, so if you have already answered it elsewhere, you can direct me to there.) Also, what sort of things do you like to draw? Cat’s evidently, but what else? What sort of films are you making?
See you around!
An album of Disney hits like I’ll Make a Man Out of You, We Don’t Talk About Bruno, and I Just Can’t Wit to be King
Vegitales Silly Songs Alblum.
Disney and Silly Songs with Larry?!? Oh, I know I’ll like you 😅 😁 Do you have a favorite Disney movie?
Some book on how to survive on an island (because I am very much not an outdoors person and would have no idea what to do)
That. That is very smart. Can’t enjoy your others books if you aren’t alive! 🤷♀️
As I told Shadow, It is hard for me to name a specific movie.
I know, it’s absolutely impossible. Hard to pick favorites for anything really. I love Narnia and I really want to watch the Truman Show, but I already know almost everything that happens so I doubt it will affect me nearly as much as it would if I didn’t. Imagine seeing that in theater without knowing anything about it! That would be so cool
Star Wars Rebels is my favourite Star Wars show.
I love rebels! I do prefer clone wars, though… Do you have a favorite character in rebels?
I don’t play sports. I am not good at them and do they interest me much. I will leave the Olympics for people who enjoy sports instead of turning it into something only nerds like me enjoy.
Yeah, I’m not a sporty person either 😂
Also, what sort of things do you like to draw? Cat’s evidently, but what else? What sort of films are you making?
I mostly like to draw people and I also like to draw hands, but I prefer not to put them together. Don’t like drawing feet, though. The cats were a hilarious phase when I was little, and the one in my profile pic is from when mineralizedwritings and I created a jazz band featuring my cats that wear berets 😂 😭 And, uh, the filmmaking is more just thinking about making films… but I did make a short film for a contest about the effect that fast fashion and overconsumption in general has on the environment.
For the questions…
Favorite thing you have written?
Yeah, that’s really hard… Probably my main WIP because it is what I’ve gotten the farthest on, having finished a first draft. I haven’t worked on it in a while though, so… we’ll see how it goes. Some of my old writing is really entertaining and hilarious too 😂
Stranded on an island. If you like music, what are five songs or five albums that you would want to have if you were stranded on an island? Basically top five, whether through quality or sentiment.
This is so hard 😭 I’ll do albums, cause I definitely can’t do songs
1. The Very Best of The Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer (obviously, The Beach Boys. Absolute summer soundtrack in my house)
2.The Tin Man Was a Dreamer (Nicky Hopkins. He was a session pianist for a bunch of bands in the 60s, 70s, maybe 80s, and his music is really cool. I just bought it on vinyl not that long ago)
3. Jesus Freak (DC Talk. DC Talk, Audio Adrenaline, and Jars of Clay are some of my favorite Christian bands)
4. Brothers (The Black Keys)
5. I and Love and You (The Avett Brothers) I keep thinking of more I want to add 😭
Stranded on an island but five books.
No, absolutely not. Why do I torture people with questions like these 😭 😂???
1. The Bible (obviously)
2. Lord of the Rings (whole trilogy counts as one, right? Right.)
3. Fablehaven (Pure nostalgia. I read that series so much growing up. And the rest of Brandon Mull’s books.
4. My Thirteenth Winter (I cried)
5. Peter and the Starcatchers series… and Nick of Time (that’s six 🤷♀️)
Favorite movies or tv shows?
Ok… Movies:
1. Lord of the Rings
2. To Catch a Thief
3. How to Train Your Dragon
4. Running on Empty
5. Dead Poets Society or Spirited Away
Shows
1. Clone Wars
2. All of Tales of Arcadia, except for the movie, the movie is terrible
3. Gravity Falls
4. The Artful Dodger (it’s about the artful dodger from Oliver Twist as a surgeon in Australia. And its adorable)
5. X-Files
6. Oh, and boy meets world and oh course, rebels
If you could make any activity an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance of winning a medal for?
Procrastination? Or having the highest stack of books that I’m ‘reading’ but haven’t actually opened in at least a month because I started another book.
That was really long 😅
Hi Linus, even though we’ve met now, I realized that I never properly greeted you to the Forum, so I thought I’d give a late one.
I’m the Arcane Axiom, I enjoy math, searching for divine fundamental truth, and exploring that in my writing. I read/write sci-fi/fantasy, and am currently working on a universe with my sister called the Sceptrum. I to am a fan of lego, and am into digital art. Recently I’ve been teaching myself Blender, which has been really fun.
That’s really special that God has spoken to and you through the written word. It’s really cool how that’s also inspired you to give yourself to God through writing, to inspire others to come unto Him as well. I’ll have to read that book you’ve mentioned.
Questions:
Do you prefer hard or soft worldbuilding? (Hard meaning concrete rules for the reader to follow, vs soft meaning open ended possibility where anything goes.)
What would you say is one of your favorite concepts you’ve seen in writing?
What’s a favorite concept you’ve come up with in your own writing?
Your story sounds really cool! What’s some of your world like? Magic systems, creatures, cultures, ect?
And last but not least:
There’s a stack of infinite 1 dollar bills, and a stake of 20 dollar bills. Is the stack of 20s worth more?
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
Do you have a favourite Disney movie?
Uhh…
“People call me indecisive, but I really am not sure if they are right.”
– Eric Humler
(Quote I made up for one that sums me up all too well)
Bolt is fun, I also like The Lion King and Up.
I love rebels! I do prefer clone wars, though… Do you have a favorite character in rebels?
Probably Zeb or Ezra. How about you?
Yeah, that’s really hard… Probably my main WIP because it is what I’ve gotten the farthest on, having finished a first draft. I haven’t worked on it in a while though, so… we’ll see how it goes. Some of my old writing is really entertaining and hilarious too 😂
What is your current WIP?
Hello, and thank you for the greeting!
I’ll have to read that book you’ve mentioned.
Your story sounds really cool! What’s some of your world like? Magic systems, creatures, cultures, ect?
Thank you, I can let you know when I have something to share.
For inspiration, I did not want to go to medieval England, so I am digging into the 19th century for inspiration. They do not have electricity yet (they will soon after this trilogy), but they have cameras, locomotives, and plumbing. Style of clothing is a combination of clothing from this era and what is more typical in fantasy. I also like sneaking references to Canadian things in here and there, eh? 🍁
My magic system is evil because I want it to represent sin. It is attractive and promises good things to those who use it, but ends up transforming them into crow-like monsters known as wizards (females are called witches). To use it, the wizard has to imagine an image that relates to the spell. The score of the magic is a bunch of crystalized crow feathers that’s natural purpose (which is the only use of magic that is not evil), is to connect this world to ours (there may be other animals involved in the crystal growth process, but I am still working on that). What exactly do these spells do, I am still trying to figure out, but I am thinking that they may play with the differences between man and beast. For example, a spell may give you the strength of a beast, but dampen your creativity while you are using it.
Creatures? As I mentioned to some of the others, any intelligent non-human creatures are human-animal hybrids. You can find some drawings and introductions to them earlier on in here. These races do have different cultures, though some, like kentors, blend into others. There are also some animals that are not in our world, like dragons and branten (basically large geese (or hissing cobra birds if you prefer to call them that), that have some attributes of bears (these may or may not be my version of toothy cows 🐄)).
Do you prefer hard or soft worldbuilding? (Hard meaning concrete rules for the reader to follow, vs soft meaning open-ended possibility where anything goes.)
Hard. I like it when things are well-defined. Worlds with soft worldbuilding often feel too open and wacky. However, I think it is also a good idea to keep some stuff secrets instead of explaining how everything works.
What would you say is one of your favorite concepts you’ve seen in writing?
Hmm, I feel like I am forgetting one, but I think the concept of writing changes when it is not written in metal in the Mistbord series was executed well. It was so subtle that I did not notice it, despite being given all the clues.
What’s a favorite concept you’ve come up with in your own writing?
While it is not finished yet, I would probably put the Wizards and my magic system here.
There’s a stack of infinite 1 dollar bills, and a stake of 20 dollar bills. Is the stack of 20s worth more?
I cannot answer because I am missing an important piece of information. How many twenty-dollar bills are in the stack? Infinite, like the 1 dollar bills? Then I would say they are of equal value, the 20’s just reach higher numbers faster. But then again, in Canada, we do not have one-dollar bills, we have loonies, so I would have to run them all through a currancey exchange machine, which would eventually break down or run out of loonies to give me, so the twenty dollar bills are worth more.
Your questions are coming back to you. What is your answer to these? Could you also please tell me a bit about Sceptrum? What sort of things do you like to make in Lego/Digital Art and Blender?
@linus-smallprint I just saw your creatures’ pages and they are amazing!! I kinda want to get on that website and make stuff for my creatures now lol.
The kentors sound exactly like something I’d come up with.
what guidelines do you have for coming up with species? I’ll put out a few of my creatures, and you can just get ideas from them I guess. I see you already have most of what I’ve done.
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
also the ideas of the magic representing sin and thus being almost all evil and cameras, trains and plumbing existing, but not electricity yet, are both great ideas
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
For inspiration, I did not want to go to medieval England, so I am digging into the 19th century for inspiration. They do not have electricity yet (they will soon after this trilogy), but they have cameras, locomotives, and plumbing. Style of clothing is a combination of clothing from this era and what is more typical in fantasy. I also like sneaking references to Canadian things in here and there, eh? 🍁
Cool! So almost steampunk vibes, but a little more conservative. Would that be about right?
My magic system is evil because I want it to represent sin. It is attractive and promises good things to those who use it, but ends up transforming them into crow-like monsters known as wizards (females are called witches). To use it, the wizard has to imagine an image that relates to the spell. The score of the magic is a bunch of crystalized crow feathers that’s natural purpose (which is the only use of magic that is not evil), is to connect this world to ours (there may be other animals involved in the crystal growth process, but I am still working on that). What exactly do these spells do, I am still trying to figure out, but I am thinking that they may play with the differences between man and beast. For example, a spell may give you the strength of a beast, but dampen your creativity while you are using it.
Interesting. It’d be cool if the long term use of magic leads you to become more animalistic and carnal. Another piece of that is maybe forgetting things, like their past and future goals, because they’re becoming more and more focused on the now.
Creatures? As I mentioned to some of the others, any intelligent non-human creatures are human-animal hybrids. You can find some drawings and introductions to them earlier on in here. These races do have different cultures, though some, like kentors, blend into others. There are also some animals that are not in our world, like dragons and branten (basically large geese (or hissing cobra birds if you prefer to call them that), that have some attributes of bears (these may or may not be my version of toothy cows 🐄)).
I found the drawings, and they look awesome! When you said the wizards turn into crow-like monsters, I was actually thinking you’d take more inspiration from plague doctors. The straight human bird hybridization is cool too though.
So what I’m curious about now is why are the crows evil, and the other creatures aren’t? Are the other creatures born like that naturally, but crows are the exception? Or are all hybrids derived from humans in some way?
I like the names you have. Are you developing any languages for them? The branten sounds like the owl bear from dnd, but more reptilian, and geese-like instead of an owl. Would that be about right?
Hard. I like it when things are well-defined. Worlds with soft worldbuilding often feel too open and wacky. However, I think it is also a good idea to keep some stuff secrets instead of explaining how everything works.
Agreed, hard worldbuilding all the way. I do appreciate good soft worldbuilding though. But I think it’s harder to do right, and I just enjoy the mechanisms of hard worldbuilding more.
Hmm, I feel like I am forgetting one, but I think the concept of writing changes when it is not written in metal in the Mistbord series was executed well. It was so subtle that I did not notice it, despite being given all the clues.
Oh yeah! That concept was fascinating. I’ve considered doing something similar in one of my stories, because it makes sense in the set up.
While it is not finished yet, I would probably put the Wizards and my magic system here.
Cool!
I cannot answer because I am missing an important piece of information. How many twenty-dollar bills are in the stack? Infinite, like the 1 dollar bills? Then I would say they are of equal value, the 20’s just reach higher numbers faster. But then again, in Canada, we do not have one-dollar bills, we have loonies, so I would have to run them all through a currancey exchange machine, which would eventually break down or run out of loonies to give me, so the twenty dollar bills are worth more.
Sorry I didn’t specify enough, I meant to imply that the stack of 20s were also infinite yes. Indeed, they would be the same, though you make a good point about the loonies😂
Your questions are coming back to you. What is your answer to these? Could you also please tell me a bit about Sceptrum? What sort of things do you like to make in Lego/Digital Art and Blender?
I prefer hard worldbuilding, specifically creative mechanics that come from it.
A least one favorite concept would be the fauna of Roshar. Sanderson asked what made sense for a world that essentially is upscaled low and high tide? Crabs of course. But what about dragons? Crab dragons of course! It’s not just reskined ideas though, it feels real, because it makes sense.
One of my favorite concepts from my writing would be a sword called Kirrtes. Kirrtes is the classic cursed sword that controls Liren’s, its wielder, body. What’s different about Kirrtes however is that when it pierces flesh, Liren is enveloped into the experience of the victim. So the wielder is self aware, but has no control. And instead of seeing the torture in the victims face, he is forced to feel that torture intimately, and through their eyes he sees a monster, and he knows that monster is him. He experiences death a thousand times through his victims, but is continually denied the release it gives.
Ok, so the Sceptrum is a universe comprised of elongated 4 dimensional superstructures called sceptres, which is the analogue of planets in our universe. As these structures slowly pass through the 3d cross-section, then the shape of the world changes drastically from a 3d prospective. Each sceptre is comprised of 7 eras where the world is some general shape. These shapes could be literally anything, from a plane sphere, to a donut, to many independent mini-planets that are in reality one object. So that’s a really zoomed out prospective (though not the most zoomed out), but there’s a whole lot to talk about on the smaller scale, such as the specific eras of my sceptre (I don’t have them all worked out), and the magic systems, races, cultures and langauges ect. So whatever would peek your interest more, I can talk about.
With legos, I like to make spaceships. With digital art, I’ve developed prowess in created cool mandala-esque shapes with google draw. With Blender, I still getting into it, but I’ve made interesting geometric designs, as well as visualizations for some of my worlds. I’ve also made this cool rose in a glass orb.
He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.
“People call me indecisive, but I really am not sure if they are right.”
😂 too relatable
Probably Zeb or Ezra. How about you?
Oooh, that’s hard. Ezra is definitely one of them, and I love Hera… and Kanan… also Kallie (😂 that said Kallus, but spell-check changed it to Kallie. I think I’m going to start calling him that)
What is your current WIP?
Umm… it’s kind of a sci-fi/romance sort thing? But the romance isn’t the focal point, they don’t ever even get together. It’s about two different people who are both addicted to a virtual reality world and they kind of help each other learn how to live outside of it. Here’s a blurb I wrote:
He took the maglev train.
Milo Trone has been living his life inside a simulation. Every part of his life feeds into it. It surrounded him in his childhood and stayed. He has a lowly job as a maintenance worker at Teclor, going home back to his Synthesis Pod. The pod is the centerpiece of his empty bedroom. His fear of relationships causes him to never reach out. His life is the simulation. Until he takes the train.
She took the maglev train.
Cammie Naihe hides in the Teclor Synthesis simulation and lives the grand romantic life that she won’t find outside. Her fear of failure causes her to not reach for success. She has worked at a desk at Teclor since the moment she graduated highschool. The pod is the centerpiece of her empty bedroom. Her life is the simulation. Until that day on the train.
He became a mentor.
Grant Jeane dreams of seeing his projects being used. He excelled in school, got a job at Teclor, and has been climbing up the ladder since. Every second he has to spare is spent thinking up new ideas and building gadgets. His life is his work. Until some maintenance worker becomes his intern.
She came back to the city.
Elissa Yang’s life is filled with music. She has reached her dreams and is touring the country with her band. But occasionally, she thinks back to her friend from home, and his obsession with his life game. Her life is her music. Even when she goes back home.
What is your answer to these questions? Also, if escargot is not the weirdest food you have tried, then what is?
I have not tried escargot, but I have made some pretty weird cakes. On a ketchup bottle was an advertisement for a ketchup cake recipe, and it looked pretty good, so I made it for my grandfather’s birthday. (Your grandpa most probably wouldn’t like a ketchup cake. My grandpa was thrilled.) When I told my grandmother on my other side about the ketchup cake, she suggested a chocolate mayonnaise cake, which I have also made. Both cakes were actually quite delicious.
As for whether or not I have succeeded in catching a runaway chicken, I mostly herd them back into the pen because I don’t want to pick them up. I have caught them, though.
My most impressive lego project was most probably a simple, multicoloured tower which reached eight year old me’s head. I am unfortunately not a lego person. Your projects sound pretty cool, though!
I am the eldest of three sisters. There’s a lot of drama XD
How many holes does a straw have? The definition of “hole” is “a hollow place in a solid body or surface,” so I would say that there are no holes in a straw. Some might say that it’s just one big hole, but in that case, there has to be a solid surface, and it’s just paper in a cylinder, like you said.
"Io non ho bisogno di denaro.
Ho bisogno di sentimenti."I just saw your creatures’ pages and they are amazing!! I kinda want to get on that website and make stuff for my creatures now lol.
Thank you! I am switching over to Reedsy now though, because I am finding it more convenient for my needs.
what guidelines do you have for coming up with species? I’ll put out a few of my creatures, and you can just get ideas from them I guess. I see you already have most of what I’ve done.
Well maybe my rules will help inspire something. I have been playing around with the idea of a horse-like race that does not mind being enslaved and maybe a dragon-like one as well. Here is the link to a word document containing my rules: (https://1drv.ms/w/s!AiULMmf16Ny8jPwLRkwFEsx7FeveVg?e=jjm0E0)
Cool! So almost steampunk vibes, but a little more conservative. Would that be about right?
Maybe, I do like nature as well though, so the country that this story takes place in has mountains to the west and praries to the east with forests in the middle. Trees are common in their cities. The capital, Pryde, has a river valley with paths that connect all the way through the city.
Interesting. It’d be cool if the long term use of magic leads you to become more animalistic and carnal. Another piece of that is maybe forgetting things, like their past and future goals, because they’re becoming more and more focused on the now.
Yeah, that’s sort of how it works. The more you use it, the more crow-like you become. My protagonist has used some magic, which has resulted in his hair darkening to black and while it is still hair, it has started to behave more like feathers. His eyes have a shade of purple to them and he has actual feathers growing on his right elbow, which he keeps hidden. However, the transformation that will turn the wizards completely into a monster could happen any time a wizard uses a spell, even if he still is mostly human, making any wizard unpredictable and dangerous.
I am also developing an extension of this magic as well, which finds a way around the complete wizard transformation. I am doing this because sometimes sin looks good and it looks like there are no consequences. There will still be a consequence to using this type of magic, and it still makes the user become more beast-like, it just doesn’t cause them to behave like mindless monsters. I am playing with the idea of memory alteration for this.
I found the drawings, and they look awesome! …
So what I’m curious about now is why are the crows evil, and the other creatures aren’t? Are the other creatures born like that naturally, but crows are the exception? Or are all hybrids derived from humans in some way?
All the races are descendants of humans and are cursed. However, the way wizards are cursed is different from the way other races are cursed. These other creatures were cursed for stopping the crystals from using their energy for what it was meant to be used for, closing down gates to our world. However, this happened so long ago that it is now only hinted at in myths and mythologies. Wizards, on the other hand, become cursed for bending their energies to do what they want. Wizards also do not have children. I will admit, when coming up with the origin stories for the other species, I was more trying to figure out how they came to be than thinking of how the magic there represents sin.
I like the names you have. Are you developing any languages for them? The branten sounds like the owl bear from dnd, but more reptilian, and geese-like instead of an owl. Would that be about right?
Thank you! I’m not really developing languages for them, but they do have different languages. The lyens and the lands they conquered speak Rorian. The characters in my story will speak this. The gorbs instead speak Inglish, which is like English and they would be able to communicate with us clearly, they just use phonetic spelling and have an overdone Australian accent. Kentors and kunulf’s native language is Silvasian. When I come up with the occasional word for that, I like to look at Latin and Cree words and combine them into words for this language.
Yeah, you got the right picture for branten, except remove reptilian features. Hissing Cobba Birds is just a nickname for Canadian Geese.
Your Kirrtes idea sounds interesting. I never want to touch that sword. I would like to hear about the creatures you have in your world.
Interesting idea, I hope your writing goes well in this!
I have tried this ketchup cake as well, and did not mind it, but there is a bit of a story behind this. A while before, I had discovered Mock Apple Pie, an apple pie without apples developed in the great depression when it was cheaper to buy Ritz crackers than apples. Curious to try this, I made it and brought it to my church’s study for young men alongside a real apple pie. It was weird, because even though I knew the ‘apples’ were Ritz crackers, it still tasted like an apple pie. In fact, it went faster than the real apple pie did! I think some guys even took a second helping.
Now I have one friend who knew I wanted to try mock apple pie and as soon as he saw me with the dish, he suspected and refused to try it. I tried to think of a way to get him to eat something weird, then found the recipe for ketchup cake. I made him and his twin brother ketchup cupcakes for their following birthday. He tried it, and could not identify the flavour, until I revealed that it was ketchup. Then he decided that he did not like it.
I would agree with you though that the cake is delicious. My siblings liked it as well, even though they do not like ketchup. Perhaps I will have to try chocolate mayonnaise some other time.
@theloonyone Kallus is still my favorite Rebels character. I’d had his redemption spoiled for me before I watched the show, so I never really hated him even when he was being terrible to our main characters. Then came that episode when he was stranded on the ice planet with Zeb, and I kinda felt sorry for him when he was back with the Empire and it became clear they really didn’t care about him. Over time that just turned into him becoming my favorite.
Also, his actor blew it out of the park with his voice. Not as good as the clone troopers’ actor, of course, but he has a nice voice.
he’s also pretty good-looking, ngl."When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
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