Can't remember the quote off the top of my head, but there's a lovely passage in The Sign of Four where Conan Doyle manages to make London's sprawling suburbs sound like an eldritch abomination.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Man, my hometown is strange.
It's the state capital, largest city in the state, and 15th largest in the nation, so it is obviously an important place.
But it seems like culturally it's known for little other than OSU--even Cleveland seems more prominent in the public consciousness than we do.
my impression as a foreigner is that Cleveland is best known for being uninteresting or dreary, similar to the jokes about Birmingham in England, and Swansea over here.
Kex: It gets even weirder here in Virginia. Since cities can be independent of any county, we have several jurisdictions not much larger than small towns that can legally call themselves "cities". (Granted, this also applies to legitimate big cities like Richmond or Virginia Beach, but still.)
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
More or less. It's kinda the butt monkey of big American cities.
Also there's a river there that was so polluted in the '60s that it caught on fire, but they don't like to talk about that.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Also, Lee, you might find this interesting: I was looking through the Ohio Revised Code earlier (to check something about red arrows for right turns) and I found out that speed limits posted on private property are enforceable--but only if they're 25 mph or higher, posted with the standard MUTCD sign, and with a sign posted at the property entrance informing you of the applicable laws. So basically, crap like this is is exactly as worthless as you'd think it is.
Some unofficial signs got posted back home and by all accounts they had some success, i guess because when you see a semi-official looking sign your instinct is to obey it.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
i guess because when you see a semi-official looking sign your instinct is to obey it.
I always wondered about that sort of obedience to authority.
Sometimes I have a desire to dress myself up really professionally, go somewhere and start giving orders as if I'm in charge, and see how many people obey because they assume I am.
I don't think I'd have the level of confidence enough to be able to pull that off, though.
i guess because when you see a semi-official looking sign your instinct is to obey it.
I always wondered about that sort of obedience to authority.
Sometimes I have a desire to dress myself up really professionally, go somewhere and start giving orders as if I'm in charge, and see how many people obey because they assume I am.
I don't think I'd have the level of confidence enough to be able to pull that off, though.
this works if you're confident and technobabble proficient enough.
I always wondered about that sort of obedience to authority.
Sometimes I have a desire to dress myself up really professionally, go somewhere and start giving orders as if I'm in charge, and see how many people obey because they assume I am.
I don't think I'd have the level of confidence enough to be able to pull that off, though.
There's a popular story over here about a fake Bristol zoo car park attendent managing something like this for his entire working life.
Okay, finally resuming work on my comic. I have a question though. I want to establish early on that this is an alien world, but not like extremely different. So, I have a few questions. (btw, here's my DA so you can see what I have so far) First, the page I'm working on right now shows a small squirrel-esque creature climbing up a tree and observing a path into a forest. About how tall should the trees be, and is it really necessary for me to add a lot of detail to them? Also, could a moon have a ring if the planet it's orbiting doesn't? And would having a huge moon be another way to show the readers it's a different world? Finally, what kind of effects would having a bigger/closer moon have on the planet other than causing tides to be more extreme?
Kex i am not an art person and cannot help you on artistic composition.
But with regards to rings, those are, as far as is known, exclusively found on large, gaseous planets. i looked it up and there is one possible exception, Saturn's moon Rhea, which may have rings, but it's considered unlikely.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Good night Lee.
I wonder where the line of legality is drawn with things like this. Obviously doing something like impersonating a government-employed parking attendant isn't kosher, but what about something much simpler?
If I go bursting in a place and start giving orders, obviously nobody's obligated to listen to me, but would I be running afoul of any laws if they choose to obey me because they think I'm an authority figure? You know, provided I never claim to be one.
I'm bad enough at drawing normal trees. What I'm going for is a sort of alien familiarity, I guess. The only way I can explain it is that it has the alien-ness of Morrowind and Oblivion averaged out.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
No, I mean, if this is writing idea time I want to share mine as well.
@ Kex: Ah, OK, so alien, but not alien? Like Earth, only not Earth?
@ CA: Go for it.
i've been kind of mulling over an idea for a 1001 nights type story, involving tropes, metafiction, gender flipping and some minor characters from another project who started to take on a life of their own. i have a feeling this might be a bad idea though
i quite liked your writing. It was better than my stuff.
I don't understand why you liked it, but I will accept the compliment regardless.
I think I'm better as a writer of what's been tentatively described to me as "creative nonfiction", but the problem there is that I'm only in the mood to write something like that once in a very long while.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Alright, spoilered for textwall:
Spoiler:
A blog told from the point of view of a teenage girl named Mary. Mary's mother decides the move out to the country to help her brother Jerry and his son Ben run the motel that used to belong to Mary's late grandfather, and of course she takes Mary with her. Mary's bored, so she decides to start this blog to keep her occupied.
Shortly after arriving, she encounters some kind of paranormal phenomena. She doesn't tell anybody about it, knowing they won't believe her, so she decides to go investigate it on her own, and ends up in over her head. Thankfully, someone comes to her rescue--Cousin Ben, who explains that this stuff is par for the course out in the mysterious Shipton Township and that she needs to tread carefully from now on.
The rest of the blog is dedicated to Mary and Ben's "adventures", so so speak, with the supernatural phenomena that seems attracted to the motel. As they look deeper, they gradually learn their grandfather knew more about this stuff than he let on, and left subtle "hints" in hopes that someone would carry on his search for truth after he was gone.
Also, Mary has a "security blanket" of sorts: a flashlight she inherited from her grandfather. She carries the flashlight everywhere, and calls it "Sassy", derived from her grandfather's nickname for her, "Sassy Pants". Maybe the flashlight has some kind of mystical properties, I don't know yet.
Only problem: I'm blanking on what any of the paranormal phenomena should be. And it doesn't help that I have Gravity Falls in my head, even though I wanted to do this in some form long before I knew that show existed.
IT'S FOUR IN THE MORNING YOU CAN'T REASONABLY EXPECT MY IDEAS TO BE COHERENT
but i do, however, have an idea now
i don't think that's incoherent and i wasn't taking the piss. i guess i was the incoherent one if it came across that way.
What i meant was, is it a planet that closely resembles Earth in most respects, but isn't Earth? Like Marinus in Doctor Who, and arguably Alternia in Homestuck?
I don't understand why you liked it, but I will accept the compliment regardless.
I think I'm better as a writer of what's been tentatively described to me as "creative nonfiction", but the problem there is that I'm only in the mood to write something like that once in a very long while.
i don't know, it had kind of a whimsical feel. A lot of online writing seems very self-conscious, whereas yours seemed more carefree. And your ideas were creative which made me think.
i don't know, it had kind of a whimsical feel. A lot of online writing seems very self-conscious, whereas yours seemed more carefree. And your ideas were creative which made me think.
eh.
I just have a hard time believing anyone really wanted to read weird short stories about a nudist superhero.
IT'S FOUR IN THE MORNING YOU CAN'T REASONABLY EXPECT MY IDEAS TO BE COHERENT
but i do, however, have an idea now
i don't think that's incoherent and i wasn't taking the piss. i guess i was the incoherent one if it came across that way.
What i meant was, is it a planet that closely resembles Earth in most respects, but isn't Earth? Like Marinus in Doctor Who, and arguably Alternia in Homestuck?
I haven't seen enough of Doctor Who to know, but I'd say it's quite a few steps down from Alternia in terms of how fantastical it is. If you've ever played any of the Elder Scrolls games, that's sort of what I'm aiming for.
Comments
you couldn't make that up, could you?
oh wow
you couldn't make that up, could you?
i've said it before, and i'll say it again: you can make up anything
my favourite was 'SLOW: IDIOT DRIVERS AHEAD'.
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
this works if you're confident and technobabble proficient enough.
I have read of it.
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
There's a popular story over here about a fake Bristol zoo car park attendent managing something like this for his entire working life.
Going by Snopes it didn't actually happen, though.
noooo
Anyway, time for me to go to bed. Good night!
Good night, Lee.
But with regards to rings, those are, as far as is known, exclusively found on large, gaseous planets. i looked it up and there is one possible exception, Saturn's moon Rhea, which may have rings, but it's considered unlikely.
Or an unusual shape, like Mars' moons.
Won't the plants and animals indicate alienness?
...which probably wouldn't work IRL, but in the episode it did thanks to Toshiko screaming in the room next door.
@ Kex: well, that's already a flag for 'not in Kansas' at least.
Can't you make the trees indicative of alienness?
Still great. Still almost makes me cry.
@ CA: Go for it.
i've been kind of mulling over an idea for a 1001 nights type story, involving tropes, metafiction, gender flipping and some minor characters from another project who started to take on a life of their own. i have a feeling this might be a bad idea though
I wrote stories once
but they sucked
so I stopped
the end.
I don't understand why you liked it, but I will accept the compliment regardless.
I think I'm better as a writer of what's been tentatively described to me as "creative nonfiction", but the problem there is that I'm only in the mood to write something like that once in a very long while.
Shortly after arriving, she encounters some kind of paranormal phenomena. She doesn't tell anybody about it, knowing they won't believe her, so she decides to go investigate it on her own, and ends up in over her head. Thankfully, someone comes to her rescue--Cousin Ben, who explains that this stuff is par for the course out in the mysterious Shipton Township and that she needs to tread carefully from now on.
The rest of the blog is dedicated to Mary and Ben's "adventures", so so speak, with the supernatural phenomena that seems attracted to the motel. As they look deeper, they gradually learn their grandfather knew more about this stuff than he let on, and left subtle "hints" in hopes that someone would carry on his search for truth after he was gone.
Also, Mary has a "security blanket" of sorts: a flashlight she inherited from her grandfather. She carries the flashlight everywhere, and calls it "Sassy", derived from her grandfather's nickname for her, "Sassy Pants". Maybe the flashlight has some kind of mystical properties, I don't know yet.
Only problem: I'm blanking on what any of the paranormal phenomena should be. And it doesn't help that I have Gravity Falls in my head, even though I wanted to do this in some form long before I knew that show existed.
i don't think that's incoherent and i wasn't taking the piss. i guess i was the incoherent one if it came across that way.
What i meant was, is it a planet that closely resembles Earth in most respects, but isn't Earth? Like Marinus in Doctor Who, and arguably Alternia in Homestuck?
i don't know, it had kind of a whimsical feel. A lot of online writing seems very self-conscious, whereas yours seemed more carefree. And your ideas were creative which made me think.
eh.
I just have a hard time believing anyone really wanted to read weird short stories about a nudist superhero.
Like i said, better than my efforts. At least you were able to keep it going for a sustained period of time, which is better than most manage.