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Upon Mars.

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    What have you been writing recently?

    in General

    Posted

    I wouldn't compare writing to a sport's performance, it's a profession where the players have different styles and where performance (in terms of quality) is never an indicator of skill. For all I know, a good athlete is good at sport because he or she practiced everyday through specific exercises and is good at thinking these exercises in terms of quality. But what I postulate from what I know is that a writer has no measurement to compare his skills to another: there is no thermometer can measure creativity. Yet we say that some stories are better than others.

    Short story

    in General

    Posted

    New fragments:

     

    http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/36675464-frair-rat

    http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/36900842-boats

    http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/36009310-where-arte-thou-

     

    "Where are the heroes of old? The slayers of monsters, the keepers of the peace, the discoverers of treasures and of people unknown?

    Where have they fled? They have left the countryside, the prairies, the forests and the cities. Their hounds have grow old and weary and die before their masters' return. They had once been pups big enough to scrute their parents hunting wild deer and pigs, when their masters went to battle in war, to adventures and encor. They have taken their hawks, their horses and echanted helms with them, their gold, their bow, arrow, wheat, the trees and the light of the sun. Their heavy armour has rusted away. The knight' shield, the javelin and kopis blade aside have now been laid. Where the hoofs once sparked with fury and might there is only the ring of a thunder without light. It a place blown away by the winds, a feasting halls emptied and forgotten on a whim. Even the spirits have left the temples to counsel and aid elsewhere, the ancient practices of election are held in check in a world smaller turned. The tower of the king skywards grows, the wizards practice their arts in open sight and dragons have bred, growing fat, slow and strong whislt digging themselves deeper underground, oh where arte thou? You once so bold, have now slipped into night as if you have never been."

     

    -Damian Deane, writer in Konundrum.

     

    In the memory of death kight.

    What have you been writing recently?

    in General

    Posted

    You can entertain or provoke thought in all kinds of ways, but I'm inclined to say that the existence of a definite "what really happened" is one of the main things fiction is for. Real life is so ambiguous. You never really know what other people are thinking, in real life, but in fiction you do, because the narrator tells you. It's clear what happens, it's clear why it happens, and in the end all the loose ends are tied up. That's what everyone wants, and achieving it is a big part of why we pay attention to low-bandwidth worlds with bad graphics. A few successful books play against this, but they can only do this because the baseline of fictional canon is there. Ambiguous fiction is parasitic on the canonical norm.

     

    I don't think it's fair to claim every possible kind of literary borrowing as fanfiction. Paradise Lost and The Divine Comedy are remarkable in turning pre-existing cultural figures into characters, but those figures weren't previously fleshed out as characters with extensive dialog. No doubt there's a continuum but I think of fanfiction as a phenomenon clustered near one end of it. The puzzle I have is not why anyone borrows at all, but why people would borrow so much.

     

     

     

    Actually in my theatrical profession we tend to say that literature is also very much ambiguous.

    What have you been writing recently?

    in General

    Posted

     

     

    I'd say it's because the idea of a piece of fiction with a single author in the first place is relatively new, on the scale of human history. For a long time it was simply the default state for multiple people to contribute to a myth or story as it was passed down, with the best additions retained by others and the rest discarded. As far as fanfiction as it's currently understood goes, people have been writing unofficial sequels to novels for as long as there have been novels.

     

    For example the first "novel" ever to be written was Perceval le Gallois by Chrétiens de Troyes, which ended on a huge cliff hanger. This had the effect of authors trying to end his Arthurian legend.

    Short story

    in General

    Posted

    New stories:

     

    The rarest gem in all of Konundrum: http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/35443707-books

    Time enough at last: http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/35471452-evernoon

    The Yuwi spirits: http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/35502121-quinkins

    Roads: http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/35835404-roads

    Komunism in Konundrum: http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/35861399-majnun

    A green house in Konundrum: http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/35998626-crystal-house

    Plot holes: http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/35849422-plot-holes

     

    Extract:

     

    "Captain Thomas Salamander of the royal guard and lord Benedict of Fort Flame are to be seized, stripped of all titles, and trailed for high treason. Trent of Arcadia is to be trailed for heresy. Duke Derna is to replace Benedict of fort Flame in his absence. Cordelia of Fort Saphic is to be stripped of all titles and trailed for treason and conspiracy. Adam Smith of Fort Descent and Clement of fort Sanctum Sanctorum is summoned to court. Chen, Mayor of Metron is to be trailed for conspiracy. Sage Lewin of Castle Konundrum, Yohsua preacher of Cain and Bennet are to be trailed for heresy and seduction of the innocent. Nox More duke of Phlegethon is summoned to court. Mayor Yusuf of lake Crystal is to replace duke Phlegethon in his functions, should he refuse he will be issued a royal warrant. Moroght of Teife is to be trailed for high treason, heresy and conspiracy, and captain Sammuel is to replace him in his stead. Jeff Keith is to be kept indoors and constrained to his chambers at all times. Caius Brutus is to be trailed for conspiracy and arson. Minister Jaffrey is to be trailed for high treason. For now general Hamet is to take office as captain of the royal guard and Captain Edward Pebble to take maters of state in hand. Konundrum is in a state of martial law."

     

    -Chewyn, crown of Konundrum at Castle Konundrum, royal decree. Bright twenty of the year six hundred and forty five.

    What have you been writing recently?

    in General

    Posted

    I finish my undergraduate degree in... sixty days. :/ Which means that right now I'm juggling work on a couple of shorter (3000-5000 word) papers covering topics such as 'the production of desire' and the 'importance of counter-cultural voices in post-War America', in addition to my dissertation. My dissertation is 10,000 to 12,000 words focusing on deconstructive readings of the Doppelganger in contemporary literature, and the notion of splitting/doubling as the result of writing. There's a bit of psychoanalysis in there too, because I seem unable to write an essay these days without quoting Jacques Lacan.

     

    How does Lacan fit in the notion of Doopleganger? I'm very interested.

    How'd you come across Spiderweb?

    in General

    Posted

    I first played Avernum 3 when I was a kid in year 3 or 4 something like in 2000 in "games and applications" mac CDrom. Then I played A2 and then A1. then we bought A3, A2, geneforge1, 2 and three and then we bought Nethergate resurrection. But we played the demos of the other games though. I loved every moment of it.

     

    Loved spiderweb games ever since that day I played Avernum 1.

    Nikki

    in General

    Posted

    Upon further investigation it seems that I also need to acquire Scottish crumpets in order to fully understand the delicacy.

     

    —Alorael, who was a bit surprised by English muffins being muffins there. Perhaps cookies should be renamed English biscuits for clarity. Savory English biscuits can be called American biscuits for parity.

     

    How about Scottish pies and French and Ozzie Wine to boot? :)

    Big Argument!!1

    in General

    Posted

    Among Spiderweb forums collectible cards, the Alorael card currently goes for $24.63 on Ebay, while the Lilith card is yet to break the critical $11.13 ceiling. She's climbing, but not there yet. I think the market has spoken on this one.

     

    Lilith is, however, correct about snakes. A sea serpent just went for over $10K (plus shipping), while "Big bag of all kinds of Snakes! (sorry no sea)" keeps failing to make the reserve bid, perhaps because the offer stipulates delivery by surface mail only.

     

    I'm not so sure about where krakens come in, though. The only market for them is in bitcoins on a mysterious dark net site that can only be reached by a terrifying ritual. Rumor has it that someone going by Druid Prophet Sylak is offering an astonishing number of coins for a kraken in good condition, but the exchange rate swings so much, it's still hard to tell what that means.

     

    I have to contact a friend of Ray Harryhausen or Karel Zeman, they must have a kraken in stock somewhere... though I won't guarantee the price.

    Short story

    in General

    Posted

    Two more shorts are available and one is coming up:

     

    http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/34328143-guns

    http://shortsstories.webs.com/apps/blog/show/34330122-treasure

     

     

    Treasure:

     

    "Dear Leila, I'm very excited!

    Twelve bags of spices, of forty five pounds each, twenty chickens, five cows, thirteen pigs, at least 1000 pounds of both wheat and hay, about 800 hundered pounds of flower, seven cakes, a hunderd pounds of sugar, two man sized bag of sea-salt, ten filled with fresh greens, four with fruit; golden apples, pears, apples, quince and a hat full of bright orange carrots! Medicine was even sent in three bags!

     

    I am relieved that the guards did very well their work; none were shot from above and all of it was recuperated and distributed evenly amongst the new arrivals. The sugar and cakes were however kept and sent to the capital, in exchange for twice it's weight in gold. Wheat and hay will feed the cows, and soon pig roasts and bread shall be served to all, but I have made assurances that the guards will dine in silver dishes. It is a surprise for them.

     

    Thank the spirits they did not send a horse, as it is hard enough already to kill the pigs when they come down here; the reason why cows and bulls survive down here is because of their stomachs, they can digest finer material than horses and donkeys, and don't destroy everything like goats and sheep and pigs.

     

    I hope you are not too sick to travel. If you are I promise that when the sun goes down in three days, I will give you again the most tender love your lips deserve,

    your husband and lover, Adam.

     

     

    -Adam Smith, quartermaster and economist of fort Descent."

     

    -Short stories, copyright webs.

    Geneforge: The Story of Heroes

    in Geneforge Series - Originals

    Posted

     

     

    The Drayk screeched in alarm, warning Ysthane of the danger. It was a strange ship, of a style he had never seen before.

     

    It is in poor condition and the sails are torn and windbattered.

     

    It looks like it has just completed a long and difficult journey. Its shape is strange, and Ysthane was unfamiliar with the design. So he had not recognized the weapon that sit on its prow.

     

    You mean it was windbattered right?

    -

     

    Angry thahd-rogues eating parents? Wards of the state? This is fun!

     

     

    Remake

    in Geneforge Series - Originals

    Posted

     

    I would like it if the intelligent creatures had a deeper level of interaction at least. I would definitely like to see some form of ramification for being a pro-shaper individual with Drayks and Drakons in tow. Something to distinguish them from the disposable summons we see in every other rpg.

     

    Save perhaps for G1. I mean the pro-shaper character is actually quite condescending choices of dialogue. Oh and happy Eid al-Adha to evrey one.

     

    Short story

    in General

    Posted

    You might like this story:

     

     

    - -

     

    A scorpion in a Russian doll :

    the hazards of an over-production of consumables.

     

    It was Christmas, music was in the air, when the house belonging to the Johns was strucked by tragedy! Whilst they were cleaning the table, the John's four year old girl left the kitchen. When the parents finished clearing the table and entered the living room, they found the small girl lying on the flour; she had opened her present, a russian doll, and was stung by the tiniest of yellow scorpions which had survived the flight from Indonesia, where the doll had been made.

     

    @Copyright webs.

     

    -

    French translation:

     

    Un scorpion dans une poupée russe:

    les aléas de la production excessive de biens de consommation.

     

    C'était Noël, la musique était dans l'air, lorsque la maison appartenants aux Tartempions fut frappé par la tragédie! Alors qu'on débarassait la table, la fille de quatre ans Tartempion se leva de table sans que nul ne regarda. Lorsque les parents eurent finit, ils se dirigèrent vers la pièce du salon, là où la fille fut trouvé étendue sur le sol; elle avait dépaqueté son cadeau, une poupée russe, et avait été piqué par un tout petit scorpion jaune, qui avait survécu au vol depuis l'Indonésie, là où la poupée avait été fabriqué.

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