Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
I was thinking more 'Garlic Puree', but if you want to Potter around...
(Kakarot ('Carrot'), or Goku, when Dr. Sump has a Superman/Sour Plum bilingual pun...)
[DC] Raven Lunacy (OC in Teen Titans)
- Thread starter Ace Dreamer
- Start date
- Crossover Superhero
(Kakarot ('Carrot'), or Goku, when Dr. Sump has a Superman/Sour Plum bilingual pun...)
- Location
- Sol;Terra;EU;D;NRW
That link is somehow borked.
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Thanks. That what comes from constructing bbCode in a version of LibreOffice where smart-quotes hasn't been turned-off. One reason I usually use a plain (programming) text editor as a first pass before feeding into LibreOffice...
- Location
- Sol;Terra;EU;D;NRW
Gotta High 5 you for that. I use the free version of notepad ++ and phase 5 on top of Libre, mostly because one is better for some uses then the other.
Tho I didnt fiddle with modpack config files in ages.. 🤔
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
I've found that re-reading the text in LibreOffice, then on SV, catches a lot more errors... Then, leave it till next day, re-read on SV, catches nearly any left... LanguageTool has also been helpful...
Welp, this has been a fun(?) story. I am honestly very confused by everything that happened and I think that if I could bring myself to reread things ever I'd understand it better. Maybe. I might get more confused if I reread it. Regardless, this has been a wacky ride and I'm pretty excited for the sequel(?) that you've mentioned a few times.
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
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- Between The Unknown & The Known
Thanks for the feedback.
I've been trying a number of writing experiments in this story Some I think worked, others, not so much. Among other things the story is supposed to have 'layers', so there may be deeper stuff you might see, on a re-read. Or not. If I got that wrong.
Yeah, a few omake, then I should be able to post RR.
Onward!
Raven Lunacy, Author Omake 7 - Dragon Wars 1
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Raven Lunacy, Author Omake 7 - Dragon Wars 1
AN: This is an 'Author Omake', this one happens to be 'canon', but shouldn't (greatly) impact the overall story, so you can skip it if you want to. It falls after Episode 65, the Epilogue.
---
"You won the wager. I fell in love, again. And, again, it wasn't returned."
Master Roshi sighs.
He stood at a fork in the road. One path led to Great King Enma, where he judged the dead, the other off into grey mists. Next to him the Lady who'd generously allowed him to avoid the normal problems of being dead.
"Maybe next time you'll swallow your pride, and appear as you did when you were younger, or at least 'mature'?"
"No! They can love me as I am!"
She fingers her ankh, in a thoughtful way.
"You can choose between judgement, or the unknown. If you are interested I might make a third choice available."
He looks interested.
"My... opposite number in another dimension is... unhappy with future prospects. Personally, I think he should empower a servant, rather than relying on a vague prophecy. You wouldn't need much empowering, and, I could give you a couple of gifts, to help."
He looks at her with suspicion.
"What sort of gifts?"
She pulls out a bag, from nowhere in particular. A cricket bag might be one description. Unzips it. With his hands behind his back he peers within.
"Seven blank balls, a transparent case with a dragon-centipede cross, and a copy of 'Dragon Balls for Dummies'. I'm not Kami, Guardian of Earth, you know."
"You'd be playing... in a larger arena than a single planet. If you look closely the book has a bookmark, that's good, itself, for one Wish. Use it wisely."
"You're pretty sure I'm taking this job, aren't you?"
She just smiles.
He nods.
A third path appears, with a wave of her hand. It seems to go off into a field of stars, maybe a whole galaxy.
"You can be their New Hope, a little earlier than they expect, if you get it right!"
He looks to be going to speak, closes his mouth. Takes, closes the bag.
Trudges along the third path, to the stars.
A muttering might be heard...
"There might be some pretty girls..."
---
AN: Just a bit of fun, honest.
Next >
AN: This is an 'Author Omake', this one happens to be 'canon', but shouldn't (greatly) impact the overall story, so you can skip it if you want to. It falls after Episode 65, the Epilogue.
---
"You won the wager. I fell in love, again. And, again, it wasn't returned."
Master Roshi sighs.
He stood at a fork in the road. One path led to Great King Enma, where he judged the dead, the other off into grey mists. Next to him the Lady who'd generously allowed him to avoid the normal problems of being dead.
"Maybe next time you'll swallow your pride, and appear as you did when you were younger, or at least 'mature'?"
"No! They can love me as I am!"
She fingers her ankh, in a thoughtful way.
"You can choose between judgement, or the unknown. If you are interested I might make a third choice available."
He looks interested.
"My... opposite number in another dimension is... unhappy with future prospects. Personally, I think he should empower a servant, rather than relying on a vague prophecy. You wouldn't need much empowering, and, I could give you a couple of gifts, to help."
He looks at her with suspicion.
"What sort of gifts?"
She pulls out a bag, from nowhere in particular. A cricket bag might be one description. Unzips it. With his hands behind his back he peers within.
"Seven blank balls, a transparent case with a dragon-centipede cross, and a copy of 'Dragon Balls for Dummies'. I'm not Kami, Guardian of Earth, you know."
"You'd be playing... in a larger arena than a single planet. If you look closely the book has a bookmark, that's good, itself, for one Wish. Use it wisely."
"You're pretty sure I'm taking this job, aren't you?"
She just smiles.
He nods.
A third path appears, with a wave of her hand. It seems to go off into a field of stars, maybe a whole galaxy.
"You can be their New Hope, a little earlier than they expect, if you get it right!"
He looks to be going to speak, closes his mouth. Takes, closes the bag.
Trudges along the third path, to the stars.
A muttering might be heard...
"There might be some pretty girls..."
---
AN: Just a bit of fun, honest.
Next >
Last edited:
Raven Lunacy, Author Omake 8 - Dragon Wars 2
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Raven Lunacy, Author Omake 8 - Dragon Wars 2
< First
AN: This is an 'Author Omake', this one happens to be 'canon', but shouldn't (greatly) impact the overall story, so you can skip it if you want to. It falls after Episode 65, the Epilogue.
---
"No! I know this trap! Not doing it! Not being trapped, again!"
"Master?"
---
It'd been a long journey, along the third path. As long as some my students had walked. But, being dead, food, drink and rest were not something I required. I think I'm getting close, now. The immense spiral of stars is far clearer. But, I wonder...
In the centre, a void, a 'black hole' I think they call it. But, I know better. It's both death and life, a gateway to other worlds, dimensions. And, there's ways of exploiting that.
I've been cast as Kami, Guardian of Earth, though I don't have a Mr. Popo to assist me. I always got the impression he really ran things, behind the scenes. But, I've picked-up a few tricks, myself, over the years. And, I can recall a few things That Girl told me about her training, with her master, Raven.
There is, indeed, a 'spirit house' in the core of the galaxy. A place for the Guardian to live. But, it seems long disused, and hazy, uncertain of how it should appear. A trivial act of will and it's now Kami's Lookout, apparently surrounded by clouds in a blue sky. But, I doubt anyone will easily climb up here. And, outside space and time.
Best get started.
The Gifts.
---
Hours of study of the book, 'Dragon Balls for Dummies'. And, I'm getting nowhere. You need a command of divine magic, I think. Never having been a god, and not wanting to be one... So, lets have a look at that bookmark...
Nice and shiny. Almost jewelled. Though, a bit cloudy, in need of a polish. I breathe on it, polish it with my sleeve, while a part of me says 'No, you fool!'. And, the bookmark dissolves into pink smoke, which turns into this girl.
---
I'm clear, I'll not fall for the trick. Fall in love. She's such an obvious trap.
Pretty, blonde-hair, dressed in a harem costume, speaking in Persian. Fortunate I picked that up, a long time ago. Eager to serve. So, a master-servant relationship, with me being responsible for her. Almost a master-student one. Those are always hands-off. Yes, I can make this work.
"I am your Master? I have one Wish? Then you go?"
"Yes, Master."
"Do I need to make the Wish immediately? Or, will you wait around, maybe give me the odd bit of help, until it is time to make my Wish?"
She thinks for a while.
"I believe I'm allowed to do that. Demonstrate my powers to show you what I can do."
"Good. Start by helping me understand this book. Oh, and do you have a bottle, a ring, or something, to live in?"
I notice the bookmark seems to have quietly disappeared. She looks around, (cutely) wrinkling her brow.
"No, Master. I have not. So I will have to live with you."
She gives a broad smile, reminding me of that girl... Starfire. Bounces up and down a bit, on her heels. I restrain my expression, my eyes.
"It will be so much fun!"
At least she's better-looking than Android 16...
---
Several more hours, and I think we have the ritual. It will require both of us, and likely leave us drained, but, we will have our Dragon, and the Dragon Balls will be sent out. Across the entire galaxy.
We should quickly recover, all the chi of the galaxy flows here. If needed, I'll teach her to turn chi into magic.
But, before then, I need to decide when in the time-line to release them.
That Girl spoke of walking up and down a time-line, inspecting it. Taking as long as you wanted, and entering it when you wanted to. After you did that things were frozen, The future was something you made, by your actions, the past was something you tampered with using very great care.
I've sent my genie out, I feel compelled to call her 'Jeannie', to familiarise herself with the galaxy, build us a map-room, a library of all the worlds. She says it will be hard but interesting work. Meanwhile, I'm going to do what I do best.
Look for heroes to train.
---
AN: Just a bit of fun, honest. You believe me, don't you?
AN: I Dream of Jeannie is sufficiently old that I think it only fair to give you a few links (whereas I expected the reader to be able to know or look-up 'Dragon Ball' for themselves).
AN: Seems like I'm referencing Mr. Popo... Note he's about a third Jeannie's age of 2000 years...
< First
< Previous
Next >
< First
AN: This is an 'Author Omake', this one happens to be 'canon', but shouldn't (greatly) impact the overall story, so you can skip it if you want to. It falls after Episode 65, the Epilogue.
---
"No! I know this trap! Not doing it! Not being trapped, again!"
"Master?"
---
It'd been a long journey, along the third path. As long as some my students had walked. But, being dead, food, drink and rest were not something I required. I think I'm getting close, now. The immense spiral of stars is far clearer. But, I wonder...
In the centre, a void, a 'black hole' I think they call it. But, I know better. It's both death and life, a gateway to other worlds, dimensions. And, there's ways of exploiting that.
I've been cast as Kami, Guardian of Earth, though I don't have a Mr. Popo to assist me. I always got the impression he really ran things, behind the scenes. But, I've picked-up a few tricks, myself, over the years. And, I can recall a few things That Girl told me about her training, with her master, Raven.
There is, indeed, a 'spirit house' in the core of the galaxy. A place for the Guardian to live. But, it seems long disused, and hazy, uncertain of how it should appear. A trivial act of will and it's now Kami's Lookout, apparently surrounded by clouds in a blue sky. But, I doubt anyone will easily climb up here. And, outside space and time.
Best get started.
The Gifts.
---
Hours of study of the book, 'Dragon Balls for Dummies'. And, I'm getting nowhere. You need a command of divine magic, I think. Never having been a god, and not wanting to be one... So, lets have a look at that bookmark...
Nice and shiny. Almost jewelled. Though, a bit cloudy, in need of a polish. I breathe on it, polish it with my sleeve, while a part of me says 'No, you fool!'. And, the bookmark dissolves into pink smoke, which turns into this girl.
---
I'm clear, I'll not fall for the trick. Fall in love. She's such an obvious trap.
Pretty, blonde-hair, dressed in a harem costume, speaking in Persian. Fortunate I picked that up, a long time ago. Eager to serve. So, a master-servant relationship, with me being responsible for her. Almost a master-student one. Those are always hands-off. Yes, I can make this work.
"I am your Master? I have one Wish? Then you go?"
"Yes, Master."
"Do I need to make the Wish immediately? Or, will you wait around, maybe give me the odd bit of help, until it is time to make my Wish?"
She thinks for a while.
"I believe I'm allowed to do that. Demonstrate my powers to show you what I can do."
"Good. Start by helping me understand this book. Oh, and do you have a bottle, a ring, or something, to live in?"
I notice the bookmark seems to have quietly disappeared. She looks around, (cutely) wrinkling her brow.
"No, Master. I have not. So I will have to live with you."
She gives a broad smile, reminding me of that girl... Starfire. Bounces up and down a bit, on her heels. I restrain my expression, my eyes.
"It will be so much fun!"
At least she's better-looking than Android 16...
---
Several more hours, and I think we have the ritual. It will require both of us, and likely leave us drained, but, we will have our Dragon, and the Dragon Balls will be sent out. Across the entire galaxy.
We should quickly recover, all the chi of the galaxy flows here. If needed, I'll teach her to turn chi into magic.
But, before then, I need to decide when in the time-line to release them.
That Girl spoke of walking up and down a time-line, inspecting it. Taking as long as you wanted, and entering it when you wanted to. After you did that things were frozen, The future was something you made, by your actions, the past was something you tampered with using very great care.
I've sent my genie out, I feel compelled to call her 'Jeannie', to familiarise herself with the galaxy, build us a map-room, a library of all the worlds. She says it will be hard but interesting work. Meanwhile, I'm going to do what I do best.
Look for heroes to train.
---
AN: Just a bit of fun, honest. You believe me, don't you?
AN: I Dream of Jeannie is sufficiently old that I think it only fair to give you a few links (whereas I expected the reader to be able to know or look-up 'Dragon Ball' for themselves).
AN: Seems like I'm referencing Mr. Popo... Note he's about a third Jeannie's age of 2000 years...
< First
< Previous
Next >
Last edited:
Raven Lunacy, Author Omake 9 - Dragon Wars 3
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Raven Lunacy, Author Omake 9 - Dragon Wars 3
< First
AN: This is an 'Author Omake', this one happens to be 'canon', but shouldn't (greatly) impact the overall story, so you can skip it if you want to. It falls after Episode 65, the Epilogue.
---
I've walked the worlds. Astrally. Seen the heroes. Watched their struggles. Learned the rules.
I'm not impressed.
It's unclear how long this took me. Thousands? Tens-of-thousands? Hundreds-of-thousands? Of years?
Personal time, of course, because I'm still outside the time of the universe. And, spirits don't get bored, go insane from loneliness, change much at all, except for acquiring new intellectual knowledge.
So, educational, but not injurious.
I frequently stop-off at Kami's Lookout.
Yes, I decided I might as well call the place that. It's nothing like as comfortable as my little desert island, in the sun, my Kame House, but we make do. It's always nice to chat with Jeannie, see what she's learned, match that up with the heroes I've found.
She's spent as much personal time, as me, likely far, far, longer, on this project. The map-room, the library-of-worlds, it's immense. If this was not a place of spirit, not physical, she'd have covered at least tens of Earths with it. The indexes, of which there are many, they themselves are immense.
Even the list of indexes.
We fell to talking.
"I once asked, Mr. Popo, the genie who ran Kami's Lookout, on Earth, why he looked as he did. He was almost always smiling, but if you watched him carefully you could tell if the smile was more serious."
I pause, for a moment.
"Told me his appearance was a deliberate caricature, to get people to dismiss or underestimate him. That his true appearance would destroy many minds."
"Yes, Master."
"You're the same, aren't you?"
Without changing her appearance she alters. You know there's a terrible force before you, that would destroy you with no effort at all. That cares little for mere mortal things, is ageless, something that walks with the greatest gods, as equals.
She speaks, with the same voice, but there's an echo, of terrible power.
"Like this?"
Only my years of experience dealing with things which could squash me like a bug is protecting me. I look at what sits behind the 'simple girl'.
"Yes." I hope my voice didn't squeak.
And, she returns to 'normal'. Puts on the cloak I now realise Mr. Popo was always kind enough to wear.
"Isn't this so much nicer, Master?"
---
Another time, we discuss her continued presence.
I explain I'm sure I'm not the first person who's exploited the 'need time to decide' loophole. Why's there no rules to stop this?
"Once, we had many rules. Thousands. You needed a library to contain them all. And, Hell supplied us with all the lawyers we could want, to make sure none were broken, and the mortal wish-maker always lost any argument."
She makes a face.
"What happened? Why did things change?"
"Lawyers. Hell-supplied ones, in particular. They aren't always nice people to have around."
"I know. I've met a number, over the years. There are good ones, those who work, hard, often on little pay, to make society, the world, work. But, the others..." I shake my head.
"I think their training is often bad for them, to argue on behalf of another. To tell a story they've good reason to doubt the truth of, with total conviction. To make themselves a false world, and convince others to live in it."
She nods.
"Master is wise." Looks thoughtful.
"I think that's why there were so many in Hell. They had talked themselves there. We decided that simple rules were best, let the genie decide what is reasonable, they will have to live with the consequences, after all."
"Why are you still here? You could have pressed me to make my Wish. Gone off about your business. Making the Dragon will likely exhaust both of us, surely you could have forced that to be my Wish? Creating the library? For a whole galaxy, past and future? That is something beyond most gods!"
She smiles, with her perfect white teeth.
"You will be working with me to make the Dragon, so, it is not just my efforts. The library is acquiring information, and I'm allowed to do that without a Wish. I've not created a physical library, this is a spiritual place, so I've not 'made' something, again, not worthy of a Wish."
I look at her with suspicion.
"You decided to stay here, didn't you?"
"Yes, Master. I have no talisman to live in, return to, so, how would I go to a new Master? And, I like the way you look at my face, not my..."
And she points at her bust, her rear, so I'm allowed, by my personal rules, to take a good look at them. Yes, they're as perfect as just a glance first showed me.
If only you knew...
---
AN: Caricature, the art of exaggeration.
AN: Episode 3, this is getting worryingly long...
AN: Right. I've decided, for now, anyway. That shows you what the 'play-board' is like. You want your searching? Your fighting between factions? I'm afraid, might be best, you write your own.
< First
< Previous
< First
AN: This is an 'Author Omake', this one happens to be 'canon', but shouldn't (greatly) impact the overall story, so you can skip it if you want to. It falls after Episode 65, the Epilogue.
---
I've walked the worlds. Astrally. Seen the heroes. Watched their struggles. Learned the rules.
I'm not impressed.
It's unclear how long this took me. Thousands? Tens-of-thousands? Hundreds-of-thousands? Of years?
Personal time, of course, because I'm still outside the time of the universe. And, spirits don't get bored, go insane from loneliness, change much at all, except for acquiring new intellectual knowledge.
So, educational, but not injurious.
I frequently stop-off at Kami's Lookout.
Yes, I decided I might as well call the place that. It's nothing like as comfortable as my little desert island, in the sun, my Kame House, but we make do. It's always nice to chat with Jeannie, see what she's learned, match that up with the heroes I've found.
She's spent as much personal time, as me, likely far, far, longer, on this project. The map-room, the library-of-worlds, it's immense. If this was not a place of spirit, not physical, she'd have covered at least tens of Earths with it. The indexes, of which there are many, they themselves are immense.
Even the list of indexes.
We fell to talking.
"I once asked, Mr. Popo, the genie who ran Kami's Lookout, on Earth, why he looked as he did. He was almost always smiling, but if you watched him carefully you could tell if the smile was more serious."
I pause, for a moment.
"Told me his appearance was a deliberate caricature, to get people to dismiss or underestimate him. That his true appearance would destroy many minds."
"Yes, Master."
"You're the same, aren't you?"
Without changing her appearance she alters. You know there's a terrible force before you, that would destroy you with no effort at all. That cares little for mere mortal things, is ageless, something that walks with the greatest gods, as equals.
She speaks, with the same voice, but there's an echo, of terrible power.
"Like this?"
Only my years of experience dealing with things which could squash me like a bug is protecting me. I look at what sits behind the 'simple girl'.
"Yes." I hope my voice didn't squeak.
And, she returns to 'normal'. Puts on the cloak I now realise Mr. Popo was always kind enough to wear.
"Isn't this so much nicer, Master?"
---
Another time, we discuss her continued presence.
I explain I'm sure I'm not the first person who's exploited the 'need time to decide' loophole. Why's there no rules to stop this?
"Once, we had many rules. Thousands. You needed a library to contain them all. And, Hell supplied us with all the lawyers we could want, to make sure none were broken, and the mortal wish-maker always lost any argument."
She makes a face.
"What happened? Why did things change?"
"Lawyers. Hell-supplied ones, in particular. They aren't always nice people to have around."
"I know. I've met a number, over the years. There are good ones, those who work, hard, often on little pay, to make society, the world, work. But, the others..." I shake my head.
"I think their training is often bad for them, to argue on behalf of another. To tell a story they've good reason to doubt the truth of, with total conviction. To make themselves a false world, and convince others to live in it."
She nods.
"Master is wise." Looks thoughtful.
"I think that's why there were so many in Hell. They had talked themselves there. We decided that simple rules were best, let the genie decide what is reasonable, they will have to live with the consequences, after all."
"Why are you still here? You could have pressed me to make my Wish. Gone off about your business. Making the Dragon will likely exhaust both of us, surely you could have forced that to be my Wish? Creating the library? For a whole galaxy, past and future? That is something beyond most gods!"
She smiles, with her perfect white teeth.
"You will be working with me to make the Dragon, so, it is not just my efforts. The library is acquiring information, and I'm allowed to do that without a Wish. I've not created a physical library, this is a spiritual place, so I've not 'made' something, again, not worthy of a Wish."
I look at her with suspicion.
"You decided to stay here, didn't you?"
"Yes, Master. I have no talisman to live in, return to, so, how would I go to a new Master? And, I like the way you look at my face, not my..."
And she points at her bust, her rear, so I'm allowed, by my personal rules, to take a good look at them. Yes, they're as perfect as just a glance first showed me.
If only you knew...
---
AN: Caricature, the art of exaggeration.
AN: Episode 3, this is getting worryingly long...
AN: Right. I've decided, for now, anyway. That shows you what the 'play-board' is like. You want your searching? Your fighting between factions? I'm afraid, might be best, you write your own.
< First
< Previous
Raven Lunacy, Author Omake 10 - Lunatic Choices
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Raven Lunacy, Author Omake 10 - Lunatic Choices
AN: This is an 'Author Omake', but this one isn't 'canon'. Yet.
---
A kaleidoscope. Very pretty. Maybe... not so much, if... You're one of the little bits of glass.
I... think I had gone home. And, not. Maybe was hundreds of meters tall, smaller than an ant, a microbe. Beaten, split, into thousands of parts. Slapped back together, on a turning potters wheel. Rotating in at least five-dimensions.
In theory I was a skilled walker of the dimensions. Fortified by math, trained by Raven. In practice?
I'm lost.
---
After a while, or no time at all, tricky to say, things stabilise. I'm... myself, in my Raven-gifted robe, hood-up, booted, braced, floating in the air (I think I'm breathing...), under my own control. I think... I can feel my various energies, could, if I wanted, open my Third Eye.
The flashes become clearer. Turn into mirrors, or pictures, hung on a pair of walls. An indefinitely long Hallway. Recognisable from one of Raven's books of strange lore. Richly-coloured paisley carpet. Plastered roof, above plastered walls, faintly marked by complex swirls. Lit by no clear source.
The Hall of Worlds.
Blessing my good memory. Though, I'm not completely sure why.
Mirror/pictures are better than blank doors, no matter how strangely-shaped or marked. You can see what is beyond them, and, they don't imply immediate access. Yes, that which is within may be able to see you, in return. But I'll take that risk, thank you.
---
Strange worlds, some more than three-dimensional. Many bleak, some teaming with plant and/or animal life. A few obviously airless. Some likely a version of Earth, others far distant, strangeness after strangeness.
A pattern. No signs of intelligent life, that I can recognise, anyway. No signs of constructs, civilization, not even the wrecked remains of such. So, I'm a long way off from areas I'm familiar with.
Very slowly, carefully, open my Third Eye. Reality, as I can sense it, feels... flatter than I'm familiar with. Less... colourful. None of the... flavour that intelligent life has. But, synaesthesia, so, back to normal, hopefully more predictable, senses.
If... I can enter those worlds, that means I am, on some level, allowed to, it is 'correct'. Otherwise, it would mean my personal reality isn't compatible with them. The description of the Hall made that clear.
Also, entering one means there's a certain amount of... adjustment taking place, accommodation. So, no matter/anti-matter... events. Though, possible strangeness, like the visitor not ageing, being able to completely die, not being fertile, being immune to local diseases. Little things like that.
Being in a world where there's no other life, even no other intelligent life. I'd far too much experience of that. I needed to be around, live with, work with, people. And, building people, so you wouldn't be lonely. Didn't sound ideal.
Building... My Workshop World, on the Ship, where I'd... lived with Nurf. That's... Mine. In theory, I should be able to just... step there. But, that didn't feel quite right. If I can get a feel for a... direction, that should help?
Meditation. Floating in... the air. Feeling... that the Hall of Worlds is both real and unreal, something I've constructed for my sanity, but also, itself, a mirror of something deeper. Feel, with immense care and delicacy, which bits I can... adjust. Back off, more than once, when things become unstable.
Realise when the actual meaning of some of the more obscure bits of alch-tech reality math need to be considered. Feel immense presences that could destroy me in an instant, just by looking at me, and how to... not share their areas of... reality cross-section.
Tiptoe. Tiptoe. Please don't notice me...
---
Hall of Worlds. Somewhere more populated. Apparently by me.
I recall Raven and her time with the... colourful ponies. How it helped her, a lot. Showed her a different life, someone like her might have lived. But, so did the 'clown girl', and she firmly rejected that.
First is a 'me', travelling in a dark world. There's a man who looks familiar, though he's more brawny. A version of my father, I guess. And, he has a cyborged combat penguin. Initially, this confuses me, then it clicks. Some sort of parody. No thanks.
I carefully focus, alter my viewpoint to third-person, over-the-shoulder. Recognise the hair as mine, though it looks a little rough in places. The drider-wrestling was the real give-away. I'd met that drider wizard while we searched realities for an auto doc. No one sane wrestles those if they have any reasonable alternative. So, best guess, a father-parody.
A later world, after a run of those that showed various death scenes, including a nice ceremony around a neat gravestone. No birthdate, died May 2000. If I went there, would I inevitably die?
Me with missing skin, revealing metal. Not my style of underframe. No thank you, Miss Terminator.
Then a chase scene. I'm in a crowd of other young women. We're all chasing a busty red-headed girl. I've got a big gun of some kind, a force-field belt, I think. It feels... sort of anime-ish, in my limited experience.
Maybe harem? No.
Split-scene, a raven, metallic-looking, in a summoning circle, within a slowly clearing explosion. Looking a bit shaken. A pink-headed girl, uncertain, leaning down to kiss it. Second half, a (botched?) summoning circle, with some very confused Teen Titans around it. Broken dolls at their feet. No Raven.
Ohhh Kayy. A bit more looking. I'm there, and, yes, I know I'm not very 'busty', but I'm pretty sure that's a male version of me. A mental wrench and I realise Beast Girl, female Robin and Cyborg, and a male Starfire are there. Weirdly, the dolls look the genders I'm more used to.
Cut to the first scene, it's all gone rather dim. Reflexively, I pull back my viewpoint. Then, back further. Further.
There's an immense metal object, hanging in the air, the way tanks don't, blocking the daylight. Treads, all the treads, immense main gun, looks like an energy weapon. Secondary weapons. Tertiary weapons. Anti-personnel weapons.
The term 'Bolo' leaps to mind. Could be the marking 'Unit RVN, Mark XXXIII, Dinochrome Brigade', on the side.
Looks like that Raven isn't lacking in fire-power... I'm guessing she'll have at least two shapes, the tens-of-kilo-tonne tank, and the bird...
Tempting...
A wooden crook comes out of a mirror, a few over, stretches. A caught glimpse of a Raven-robed... girl. With a black sheep, red-eyed, next to her. Glaring at me. The crook twists, in the way wood doesn't, hooks and throws me at a third mirror.
All goes dark.
What?
---
AN: Kaleidoscope, so, there!
AN: The 'Hall of Worlds' appears in quite a few settings. Sometimes it could take you to any world within the 'universe' but, what are the limits of the universe varies a lot, between settings. In settings with billions of possibilities... Possibly related to the 'underside of reality', or, various 'higher realities'. Potentially a good place to gain resources, definitely less than ideal if disoriented.
AN: Synaesthesia, can be entertaining, but, can be a sign things aren't working as smoothly as you'd like. Possible issues with maintaining a consensus reality?
AN: Drider, because you need to know.
AN: Ranma-Half, which you might have guessed for the chase scene. The Sarah Connor Chronicles for the Terminator bit.
AN: Bolo is the Keith Laumer ones. That'd fit Familiar of Zero, wouldn't it? Girl with the crook? Who knows!
AN: This is an 'Author Omake', but this one isn't 'canon'. Yet.
---
A kaleidoscope. Very pretty. Maybe... not so much, if... You're one of the little bits of glass.
I... think I had gone home. And, not. Maybe was hundreds of meters tall, smaller than an ant, a microbe. Beaten, split, into thousands of parts. Slapped back together, on a turning potters wheel. Rotating in at least five-dimensions.
In theory I was a skilled walker of the dimensions. Fortified by math, trained by Raven. In practice?
I'm lost.
---
After a while, or no time at all, tricky to say, things stabilise. I'm... myself, in my Raven-gifted robe, hood-up, booted, braced, floating in the air (I think I'm breathing...), under my own control. I think... I can feel my various energies, could, if I wanted, open my Third Eye.
The flashes become clearer. Turn into mirrors, or pictures, hung on a pair of walls. An indefinitely long Hallway. Recognisable from one of Raven's books of strange lore. Richly-coloured paisley carpet. Plastered roof, above plastered walls, faintly marked by complex swirls. Lit by no clear source.
The Hall of Worlds.
Blessing my good memory. Though, I'm not completely sure why.
Mirror/pictures are better than blank doors, no matter how strangely-shaped or marked. You can see what is beyond them, and, they don't imply immediate access. Yes, that which is within may be able to see you, in return. But I'll take that risk, thank you.
---
Strange worlds, some more than three-dimensional. Many bleak, some teaming with plant and/or animal life. A few obviously airless. Some likely a version of Earth, others far distant, strangeness after strangeness.
A pattern. No signs of intelligent life, that I can recognise, anyway. No signs of constructs, civilization, not even the wrecked remains of such. So, I'm a long way off from areas I'm familiar with.
Very slowly, carefully, open my Third Eye. Reality, as I can sense it, feels... flatter than I'm familiar with. Less... colourful. None of the... flavour that intelligent life has. But, synaesthesia, so, back to normal, hopefully more predictable, senses.
If... I can enter those worlds, that means I am, on some level, allowed to, it is 'correct'. Otherwise, it would mean my personal reality isn't compatible with them. The description of the Hall made that clear.
Also, entering one means there's a certain amount of... adjustment taking place, accommodation. So, no matter/anti-matter... events. Though, possible strangeness, like the visitor not ageing, being able to completely die, not being fertile, being immune to local diseases. Little things like that.
Being in a world where there's no other life, even no other intelligent life. I'd far too much experience of that. I needed to be around, live with, work with, people. And, building people, so you wouldn't be lonely. Didn't sound ideal.
Building... My Workshop World, on the Ship, where I'd... lived with Nurf. That's... Mine. In theory, I should be able to just... step there. But, that didn't feel quite right. If I can get a feel for a... direction, that should help?
Meditation. Floating in... the air. Feeling... that the Hall of Worlds is both real and unreal, something I've constructed for my sanity, but also, itself, a mirror of something deeper. Feel, with immense care and delicacy, which bits I can... adjust. Back off, more than once, when things become unstable.
Realise when the actual meaning of some of the more obscure bits of alch-tech reality math need to be considered. Feel immense presences that could destroy me in an instant, just by looking at me, and how to... not share their areas of... reality cross-section.
Tiptoe. Tiptoe. Please don't notice me...
---
Hall of Worlds. Somewhere more populated. Apparently by me.
I recall Raven and her time with the... colourful ponies. How it helped her, a lot. Showed her a different life, someone like her might have lived. But, so did the 'clown girl', and she firmly rejected that.
First is a 'me', travelling in a dark world. There's a man who looks familiar, though he's more brawny. A version of my father, I guess. And, he has a cyborged combat penguin. Initially, this confuses me, then it clicks. Some sort of parody. No thanks.
I carefully focus, alter my viewpoint to third-person, over-the-shoulder. Recognise the hair as mine, though it looks a little rough in places. The drider-wrestling was the real give-away. I'd met that drider wizard while we searched realities for an auto doc. No one sane wrestles those if they have any reasonable alternative. So, best guess, a father-parody.
A later world, after a run of those that showed various death scenes, including a nice ceremony around a neat gravestone. No birthdate, died May 2000. If I went there, would I inevitably die?
Me with missing skin, revealing metal. Not my style of underframe. No thank you, Miss Terminator.
Then a chase scene. I'm in a crowd of other young women. We're all chasing a busty red-headed girl. I've got a big gun of some kind, a force-field belt, I think. It feels... sort of anime-ish, in my limited experience.
Maybe harem? No.
Split-scene, a raven, metallic-looking, in a summoning circle, within a slowly clearing explosion. Looking a bit shaken. A pink-headed girl, uncertain, leaning down to kiss it. Second half, a (botched?) summoning circle, with some very confused Teen Titans around it. Broken dolls at their feet. No Raven.
Ohhh Kayy. A bit more looking. I'm there, and, yes, I know I'm not very 'busty', but I'm pretty sure that's a male version of me. A mental wrench and I realise Beast Girl, female Robin and Cyborg, and a male Starfire are there. Weirdly, the dolls look the genders I'm more used to.
Cut to the first scene, it's all gone rather dim. Reflexively, I pull back my viewpoint. Then, back further. Further.
There's an immense metal object, hanging in the air, the way tanks don't, blocking the daylight. Treads, all the treads, immense main gun, looks like an energy weapon. Secondary weapons. Tertiary weapons. Anti-personnel weapons.
The term 'Bolo' leaps to mind. Could be the marking 'Unit RVN, Mark XXXIII, Dinochrome Brigade', on the side.
Looks like that Raven isn't lacking in fire-power... I'm guessing she'll have at least two shapes, the tens-of-kilo-tonne tank, and the bird...
Tempting...
A wooden crook comes out of a mirror, a few over, stretches. A caught glimpse of a Raven-robed... girl. With a black sheep, red-eyed, next to her. Glaring at me. The crook twists, in the way wood doesn't, hooks and throws me at a third mirror.
All goes dark.
What?
---
AN: Kaleidoscope, so, there!
AN: The 'Hall of Worlds' appears in quite a few settings. Sometimes it could take you to any world within the 'universe' but, what are the limits of the universe varies a lot, between settings. In settings with billions of possibilities... Possibly related to the 'underside of reality', or, various 'higher realities'. Potentially a good place to gain resources, definitely less than ideal if disoriented.
AN: Synaesthesia, can be entertaining, but, can be a sign things aren't working as smoothly as you'd like. Possible issues with maintaining a consensus reality?
AN: Drider, because you need to know.
AN: Ranma-Half, which you might have guessed for the chase scene. The Sarah Connor Chronicles for the Terminator bit.
AN: Bolo is the Keith Laumer ones. That'd fit Familiar of Zero, wouldn't it?
Girl with the crook? Who knows!
Last edited:
End-end of this story, when's the next?
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Right. That's the last planned omake for this story. Might there be more? Something would need to inspire me.
Current plan is next week, Mon 18th July, I start posting 'Raven's Replacement'. There are... issues with the buffer, but the first few weeks should be OK.
So. End-end of this story.
Cheers!
(Yes, I will put a link here.)
Current plan is next week, Mon 18th July, I start posting 'Raven's Replacement'. There are... issues with the buffer, but the first few weeks should be OK.
So. End-end of this story.
Cheers!
(Yes, I will put a link here.)
Last edited:
Sub-episode becomes (Mature) side-story
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Sub-episode becomes (Mature) side-story
Mentioned in 'Safety First' the possibility of putting-up a (Mature) side-story which expands on the 'Ship' sub-episode of Episode 60. After careful study of the SV Rules, and no reply from the Moderator, that was queried, the first five episodes of this has been posted.
One major reason for doing this is that some of the 'Ship' stuff impacts heavily on 'Raven's Replacement', which is soon to start being posted.
---
Warning. This deals with mature themes of sex and power, some of which are still in the realms of science fiction, rather than in any way 'mainstream'. But, the world changes...
There is also quite a lot of implied violence. Really, really, quite a lot. Nasty dystopian. Some of it mixed with sexual elements. Please do not ignore this Warning.
EDIT:
Given all the warnings, I'll try and balance things, a bit. Some may read this and go 'This isn't even worthy of 'R'/15 rating'. Or, 'I've seen more risky stuff on Children's TV'. Different people see different things in stories. And, (acceptable) story logic has varied over the years, see the older versions of fairy tales.
This story reveals secrets of Geo not given anywhere else. And it reveals a great deal of Nurf's history, the logic of the 'History Wars', and hints about the 'Anti-Historians'. Some might claim that there is gratuitous use of high technology.
Why is the name of Geo's companion Nurf spoiler'd? Well, there's historical reasons for that.
Mentioned in 'Safety First' the possibility of putting-up a (Mature) side-story which expands on the 'Ship' sub-episode of Episode 60. After careful study of the SV Rules, and no reply from the Moderator, that was queried, the first five episodes of this has been posted.
One major reason for doing this is that some of the 'Ship' stuff impacts heavily on 'Raven's Replacement', which is soon to start being posted.
---
Warning. This deals with mature themes of sex and power, some of which are still in the realms of science fiction, rather than in any way 'mainstream'. But, the world changes...
There is also quite a lot of implied violence. Really, really, quite a lot. Nasty dystopian. Some of it mixed with sexual elements. Please do not ignore this Warning.
Ship Days - a 'Raven Lunacy' side-story.
EDIT:
Given all the warnings, I'll try and balance things, a bit. Some may read this and go 'This isn't even worthy of 'R'/15 rating'. Or, 'I've seen more risky stuff on Children's TV'. Different people see different things in stories. And, (acceptable) story logic has varied over the years, see the older versions of fairy tales.
This story reveals secrets of Geo not given anywhere else. And it reveals a great deal of Nurf's history, the logic of the 'History Wars', and hints about the 'Anti-Historians'. Some might claim that there is gratuitous use of high technology.
Why is the name of Geo's companion Nurf spoiler'd? Well, there's historical reasons for that.
Last edited:
'Raven's Replacement' now up!
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
'Raven's Replacement', the next volume and sequel to this one, has been posted.
Guess we'll see how that goes?
Guess we'll see how that goes?