Who would be interested in this?

[Edgedancer he/him]

Ah, thanks! I thought maybe it was some sort of random plot/idea generator type... thing. Thanks for clearing that up!

...besides which I have nothing really to add. Still thinkin'. The only difference is that I kind of find myself wanting to do something with the Snow Queen, since she's my one of my favourite fairy tales. Not sure what though; I've had a big idea in mind for her for a while, but... Not really "holiday" style story.

When in doubt have the snow Queen´s birthday be on christmas or something.

 

Melted? Eh, it has a ring to it, but I think we should go with something more wintery. Like Chilled. 

Please, next you´re coming up with some cliche name like Frozen. Ahhh, I got it how about shock frosted.

[Quiver he/him]

Well, this topic got derailed pretty quickly. And I didn't have to mention ponies to do it! My power grows.

 

Anyway...

I figure I'll leave this topic, since people are already plotting and snarking and stuff here, but I wanted an opinion; at the end of the month, should we post whatever we do here, or should we create a new thread for it?

 

On the one hand, I don't want to spam up the board with a new thread every month... but having a specific end-of-month thread for each prompt might make things easier, when it comes to collecting everything together. Thoughts?

 

 

 

 

Also, I'm thinking that Chilled should have a really anti-human sentiment. I mean, the Snow Queen loses control because people are jerks, and then you have that hot guy trying to marry for political power and stuff. People suck, when you think about it. Reindeer are probably better than us.

 

EDIT:...Hmm. On a more serious note, I suddenly thought of (and like) the idea of doing some kind of Wintery Spy story. The Christmas Conspiracy?

Edited December 5, 2014 by Quiver

[Seonid he/him]

We should do something like the various Oregon threads: Have a main thread (this one) for discussion, plotting, snark and hilarity, and a new thread each month where we post the prompt and all of our responses to it.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Or we could make one thread for prompt responses and keep this one for discussions and snark.

[Kobold King he/him]

EDIT:...Hmm. On a more serious note, I suddenly thought of (and like) the idea of doing some kind of Wintery Spy story. The Christmas Conspiracy?

 

Ooh, me likey. What kind of spy story are we talking about--a dark, gritty espionage story, or something lighter and more Christmassy?

 

 

Or we could make one thread for prompt responses and keep this one for discussions and snark.

 

I approve.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Well, this topic got derailed pretty quickly. And I didn't have to mention ponies to do it! My power grows.

EDIT:...Hmm. On a more serious note, I suddenly thought of (and like) the idea of doing some kind of Wintery Spy story. The Christmas Conspiracy?

You might have noticed that a good number of Oregoners are here.

 

Sounds good to me.

Or we could make one thread for prompt responses and keep this one for discussions and snark.

I also approve.

[Quiver he/him]

Ooh, me likey. What kind of spy story are we talking about--a dark, gritty espionage story, or something lighter and more Christmassy?

I approve.

It can't be both? : )

I've had an idea for a spy story for a little while.

(Okay, actually, my first idea was about all of James Bonds illigitamate children meeting up, but that's a different prompt).

I've been thinking of the idea that during the Cold War, Britain had Bond-type spies (as in over the top, global domination, harebrained scheme type things) while America had... closer to real life, I suppose, dirty and bureaucratic. My idea was that Russian Spies would be playing into that whole 50's, psychic powers stuff...

I haven't gotten much, but I do like the. Are. So I'm thinking maybe something about a maybe-psychic KGB officer (probably female, because that's how I write, apparently), and a plot at Christmas/in the Winter Palace.

[Edgedancer he/him]

It can't be both? : )

I've had an idea for a spy story for a little while.

(Okay, actually, my first idea was about all of James Bonds illigitamate children meeting up, but that's a different prompt).

I've been thinking of the idea that during the Cold War, Britain had Bond-type spies (as in over the top, global domination, harebrained scheme type things) while America had... closer to real life, I suppose, dirty and bureaucratic. My idea was that Russian Spies would be playing into that whole 50's, psychic powers stuff...

I haven't gotten much, but I do like the. Are. So I'm thinking maybe something about a maybe-psychic KGB officer (probably female, because that's how I write, apparently), and a plot at Christmas/in the Winter Palace.

Yes, go and save christmas from being corrupted by the capitalism of those stroming Americans.

[Kasimir he/him]

Current problem is that I'm listening to The Last Night of the Kings and suddenly, all I want to write about is a December Revolution set near a feastday, rather than anything particularly celebratory

 

Guess I should just re-read de Castell's Traitor's Blade to help me there...

[Steel he/him]

This sounds great. How long is everyone going to make theirs?

[Kobold King he/him]

It can't be both? : )

I've had an idea for a spy story for a little while.

(Okay, actually, my first idea was about all of James Bonds illigitamate children meeting up, but that's a different prompt).

I've been thinking of the idea that during the Cold War, Britain had Bond-type spies (as in over the top, global domination, harebrained scheme type things) while America had... closer to real life, I suppose, dirty and bureaucratic. My idea was that Russian Spies would be playing into that whole 50's, psychic powers stuff...

I haven't gotten much, but I do like the. Are. So I'm thinking maybe something about a maybe-psychic KGB officer (probably female, because that's how I write, apparently), and a plot at Christmas/in the Winter Palace.

I like the idea of this immensely. It sounds like a nifty way of playing with the genre staples of suave British heroes, mysterious Russian agents, and corrupt American agencies. (Add an Australian superspy who carries a machete and rides a crocodile and you'll be all set. )

Myself... I likely won't be writing anything big or flashy for this. Whatever I end up writing will probably be a short piece of flash fiction, not much longer than the average RP post I write on the Reckoners RPG board. (<<Shameless piece of new board promotion.)

Lately my only original work in the field of fiction is nebulous worldbuilding for a science fiction setting. Mainly working on fleshing out a few alien ecosystems. So worst case scenario, this Christmas you'll all get a vaguely holiday-themed zoological description of the Nyssan Greater Winter Hawk.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

I like the idea of this immensely. It sounds like a nifty way of playing with the genre staples of suave British heroes, mysterious Russian agents, and corrupt American agencies. (Add an Australian superspy who carries a machete and rides a crocodile and you'll be all set. )

Myself... I likely won't be writing anything big or flashy for this. Whatever I end up writing will probably be a short piece of flash fiction, not much longer than the average RP post I write on the Reckoners RPG board. (<<Shameless piece of new board promotion.)

Lately my only original work in the field of fiction is nebulous worldbuilding for a science fiction setting. Mainly working on fleshing out a few alien ecosystems. So worst case scenario, this Christmas you'll all get a vaguely holiday-themed zoological description of the Nyssan Greater Winter Hawk.

No...no Nyssan Gazelle-People?

Still working on a name for my Dragon. I was toying with the surnames Vassiliou and Stombaugh, but I have no idea what I'd give him for a first name.

[Kobold King he/him]

No...no Nyssan Gazelle-People?

Still working on a name for my Dragon. I was toying with the surnames Vassiliou and Stombaugh, but I have no idea what I'd give him for a first name.

 

If there's an interest in sapient alien gazelles that I haven't fully fleshed out yet, then maybe I'll see about incorporating them somehow.

 

Ooh, I like the name Stombaugh. I originally read it as "Stormbaugh," which is pretty badchull too. Any details about this Dragon you can share with us?

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

If there's an interest in sapient alien gazelles that I haven't fully fleshed out yet, then maybe I'll see about incorporating them somehow.

Ooh, I like the name Stombaugh. I originally read it as "Stormbaugh," which is pretty badchull too. Any details about this Dragon you can share with us?

You really expect to just toss out a phrase like "Nyssan Gazelle-People" and expect people to not be interested?

Like Susan, he is a powerful precog, though instead of being blind to his own futures, he's blind to all futures that don't involve him directly. He enjoys the finer things in life but isn't frivolous, devotes his talents to assisting Whitelaw with political strategy, and is currently the only one in the Davenport, perhaps Spokane, who knows Whitelaw is a Super, let alone his power.

Other details will come out as I write the scene. That's just what I have set in stone.

[Kobold King he/him]

You really expect to just toss out a phrase like "Nyssan Gazelle-People" and expect people to not be interested?

Like Susan, he is a powerful precog, though instead of being blind to his own futures, he's blind to all futures that don't involve him directly. He enjoys the finer things in life but isn't frivolous, devotes his talents to assisting Whitelaw with political strategy, and is currently the only one in the Davenport, perhaps Spokane, who knows Whitelaw is a Super, let alone his power.

Other details will come out as I write the scene. That's just what I have set in stone.

 

This setting is also home to the Sky-State of the Grinners, the Hive Mountains of the Skordyr, and the Hailang Ghouls of Shanshen.

 

How does that work, exactly? What constitutes a future that doesn't involve him? The butterfly effect would suggest that all futures are tied to him in some way or another. What degree of personal involvement is necessary for him to view a potential future?

 

He definitely sounds like an interesting character. I very much look forward to seeing him in action. Does he have a physical description as of yet? 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

This setting is also home to the Sky-State of the Grinners, the Hive Mountains of the Skordyr, and the Hailang Ghouls of Shanshen.

 

How does that work, exactly? What constitutes a future that doesn't involve him? The butterfly effect would suggest that all futures are tied to him in some way or another. What degree of personal involvement is necessary for him to view a potential future?

 

He definitely sounds like an interesting character. I very much look forward to seeing him in action. Does he have a physical description as of yet? 

 

Are you trying to make it sound boring so you don't have to write about it? Because it's not working.

 

Things that he can directly see, hear, touch, etc., that are caused by his choices. The butterfly effect would suggest all futures would involve him; however, this sort of clairvoyance lends itself more to extrapolation, which allows him to see precisely how he can involve himself in events he would like to be involved in. Here's an example: 

 

He looks one minute into the future. Sees himself sitting at his desk, poring over his notes. 

From there, the future branches. He can either continue sitting at his desk, or go downstairs to have the kitchen staff make him some tea. 

He checks out the futures in the kitchen. More branches form—he takes the tea without incident, he looks a moment too long at one of the female employees and causes her to quickly duck out of the room, or he claims the tea is substandard. 

Each of those three futures branches further; the first would have the fewest and least interesting branches, whereas the second and third would have more interesting branches. 

 

However, there is also timing to consider. In the above example, the employee who he embarrasses would leave within the next few minutes, so Stombaugh would need to get down to the kitchen quickly before that happened. If he chose to stay in his room and chart out his futures, all of the most interesting futures would vanish from lack of utilization. His choices cause those futures, and if he isn't there to make the choice, the future doesn't happen. If the "deadline," so to speak, passes before he can make the choice, that particular future ceases to exist. It does involve a gamble, when timing is an issue; the wrong choice, made when he felt there wasn't enough time to chart out all the consequences, could create an undesirable situation for him and others. 

 

(And, in the above example, I didn't add that he could see an employee and stop them on their rounds to ask them a few questions. That conversation would be a bit more difficult to predict; I have it in my head that conversations take a bit more time to hash out, since there are so many directions for them to go. He would be able to see what questions he could ask and the immediate reactions that caused.) 

 

His clairvoyance is a bit less flexible than Susan's, although both powers require their users to be active participants: In Stombaugh's case, he must make the choice to create a future; while in Susan's case, she must make the choice to inform someone else of the path they should take, which requires trust and all sorts of other things. 

 

It…seems a bit confusing, and hopefully I can hammer out all the kinks as I start writing.  (I did, for instance, notice that the whole "creating the future" thing has a touch of circular logic to it. How I think this is solved is that Stombaugh would only chart out the choices he was likely to make. He would not, for example, chart out a future where he goes down to the kitchens and dances a little jig while pouring molasses down his throat, because he wouldn't think to do that. It's so out of character for him that he wouldn't consider that as one of his choices, and thus wouldn't see it in his potential futures.) 

Edited December 8, 2014 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Kobold King he/him]

Maybe I'm kind of hoping that if the setting is awesome enough, people won't care that I have no story ideas worth a darn?

 

Definitely a reply longer than I expected--but certainly appreciated! I think I have a better grasp on what his divination looks like now. Thanks!

 

One more question: how quickly can he chart out these futures? If someone shot at him at point-blank range, could he map out the future quickly enough to know precisely where or how he should dodge?

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Maybe I'm kind of hoping that if the setting is awesome enough, people won't care that I have no story ideas worth a darn?

 

Definitely a reply longer than I expected--but certainly appreciated! I think I have a better grasp on what his divination looks like now. Thanks!

 

One more question: how quickly can he chart out these futures? If someone shot at him at point-blank range, could he map out the future quickly enough to know precisely where or how he should dodge?

 

You could always do what the writers of the Wild Cards universe did and write a series of short stories set in the same universe. And, of course, Ursula K. LeGuin proved that worldbuilding can itself make an unforgettable (and haunting) short story in "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas." 

 

I'm going to say yes, because he is continually scanning his own futures for random threats. He would see the bullet coming a moment before it was fired and know which way to dodge; the ensuing fight wouldn't require him to map out the futures quickly so much as it would require him to know the best direction to shoot. Susan does something similar, though when she is in a dangerous situation, she uses people like mirrors, scanning their futures to see whether or not they mean her any harm. Stombaugh definitely has the edge on avoiding immediate danger, since he doesn't have to do the legwork in figuring out precisely when and where a threat will come from, and it's far easier to scan the futures of one person than it is to scan the futures of three or four. However, Susan is able to predict the future far more quickly than Stombaugh; as she has learned how to use the mirror strategy, she has consequently learned to flash through the futures far more rapidly, interpret them based on a few quick details, and trust her instincts (sharpened by choosing what can sometimes be a dangerous profession and by marrying a cop). 

 

I do intend to have them fight at some point. Just because I've always wondered what a precog-vs.-precog fight would look like.  

[Kasimir he/him]

I do intend to have them fight at some point. Just because I've always wondered what a precog-vs.-precog fight would look like.

Probably like what Nick Gillard describes most lightsaber duels in Star Wars to be like: that they are essentially chess played at 100 miles per hour and every move is check mate.

 

[Ashiok]

Wait, this exists? I wanted to do this!!! Grrr... Oh well, I can totally start now.

 

@Precog fights: Everybody gets MASSIVE headaches, and it's probably like atium. 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Probably like what Nick Gillard describes most lightsaber duels in Star Wars to be like: that they are essentially chess played at 100 miles per hour and every move is check mate.

True, but what differentiates a precog fight from a lightsaber duel is the escalation. They both start off with guns, say, but in trying to outwit each other they go for more and more bizarre weapons, until one has a chainsaw and the other is waiting in the rafters with a pot of boiling oil.

[Delightful]

(Mainly posting here to be accountable so I'll actually write)

I want to try a Hanukkah story, not too sure where to go with it. Also it's strange for me in Australia because it's approaching summer, and it never snows, so the whole 'winter holiday time' thing is kinda lost on me.

Now can I turn that into a story......?

[Kobold King he/him]

You could always do what the writers of the Wild Cards universe did and write a series of short stories set in the same universe. And, of course, Ursula K. LeGuin proved that worldbuilding can itself make an unforgettable (and haunting) short story in "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas." 

 

That is a very good point. And that is an idea I've played with before--seemingly disconnected short stories that are all connected by common themes, races, and locations. H. P. Lovecraft did this to great effect, in my opinion; many of his stories give cryptic references to the Great Old Ones and shoggoths, making the universe seem vast and inscrutable. But as you read more and more of his stories--At the Mountains of Madness in particular--the history of the Old Ones and the shoggoths becomes clear, explaining the references from the other stories.

 

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"? I'll have to take a look at that one.

 

 

True, but what differentiates a precog fight from a lightsaber duel is the escalation. They both start off with guns, say, but in trying to outwit each other they go for more and more bizarre weapons, until one has a chainsaw and the other is waiting in the rafters with a pot of boiling oil.

 

0.0

 

I really want to see this now.

 

 

(Mainly posting here to be accountable so I'll actually write)

I want to try a Hanukkah story, not too sure where to go with it. Also it's strange for me in Australia because it's approaching summer, and it never snows, so the whole 'winter holiday time' thing is kinda lost on me.

Now can I turn that into a story......?

 

That could be interesting. What kind of weather do you have in Australia around Christmas time? I for one would be immensely fascinating by reading a story about what people on the other side of the world associate with the holiday season.

 

A thought occurred to me the other day--if humans colonized an alien planet, there would be no easy way to keep track of Christmas and the other holidays.   Days on the planet would proportioned differently, as would be the years. When do you celebrate "Christmas" if you land on a perpetually sunny planet with 16-hour days and a 478-day year?

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

(Mainly posting here to be accountable so I'll actually write)

I want to try a Hanukkah story, not too sure where to go with it. Also it's strange for me in Australia because it's approaching summer, and it never snows, so the whole 'winter holiday time' thing is kinda lost on me.

Now can I turn that into a story......?

 

I would really love to read something like this. 

 

That is a very good point. And that is an idea I've played with before--seemingly disconnected short stories that are all connected by common themes, races, and locations. H. P. Lovecraft did this to great effect, in my opinion; many of his stories give cryptic references to the Great Old Ones and shoggoths, making the universe seem vast and inscrutable. But as you read more and more of his stories--At the Mountains of Madness in particular--the history of the Old Ones and the shoggoths becomes clear, explaining the references from the other stories.

 

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"? I'll have to take a look at that one.

 

 

 

0.0

 

I really want to see this now.

 

 

 

That could be interesting. What kind of weather do you have in Australia around Christmas time? I for one would be immensely fascinating by reading a story about what people on the other side of the world associate with the holiday season.

 

A thought occurred to me the other day--if humans colonized an alien planet, there would be no easy way to keep track of Christmas and the other holidays.   Days on the planet would proportioned differently, as would be the years. When do you celebrate "Christmas" if you land on a perpetually sunny planet with 16-hour days and a 478-day year?

 

So do I. I'm not entirely sure exactly how it'll pan out (not being a precog myself) but I'd love to see how crazy a fight between two precogs could get. 

 

Ooh. That's….a really good question. Maybe they divide the year into months, determine the month closest to December, and celebrate it that way? 

[Quiver he/him]

I wonder if that kind of situation would lead to the holidays being "reclaimed" as religious celebrations, rather than commercial ones. After all, it might get a bit difficult to keep track of when things are supposed to happen (think: Lent being at a different time each year, depending on when Passiver happens), leading to Christmas (or Hannukah, or any other religious ceremony who's spiritual meaning is overshadowed by it's commercial one) only being celebrated by serious believers.