#Ilthall

[blue-kyber]

#out there the 1k #ott1k #inspiration #Dain Nirenthe Kala the monarch and direct descendent of the Kala line. #Mother of Siffon Kala #Dain is like a queen. #Dyne Edrin - the king - married into her family from an affluent family in the southern city of Cos Arda #Together they rule the planet #Ilthall #a ringed planet of rain and small seas and valleys and prairies and low mountains

[444names]

greek forenames + noldorin names

Acelefand Acerladh Adind Afsia Agalam Aglanfall Aglimrist Agoroth Aidoly Alaki Alaos Alath Aldir Alindonna Amradys Anauglos Ancele Anchen Andanberen Andematin Andin Andonimoe Andor Andredil Anglikeli Angoren Anianomenn Anikenios Aniromna Annos Anosfir Anthadles Anuinos Anway Anwead Apina Aping Araglown Argioanist Arilodûhil Arliance Aroul Arthel Athbur Athir August Balamethri Balino Bantios Barado Barang Barist Baron Bedwaia Beidh Belefthud Belekta Biandain Bitredh Bolerer Borgon Bragorn Brance Brandam Brisern Brissicol Broclodûn Bronen Brudols Cailkise Calarody Calaulleng Cales Cambrant Carfardam Caria Caris Cavred Cedaitis Celebith Celian Celven Chadres Chrillen Cilled Clastin Clemer Clemon Clerchly Clewols Cobarakis Constand Coriond Corishda Corthlis Couraglad Crintas Curunt Daeast Dagligos Danimbar Dargue Daria Defthargon Deldûhil Delebras Delintus Demmana Demoni Dergyrohn Dillien Dindi Dolenos Donnas Dooth Dorer Dorin Dorlach Doros Dowelvana Druine Duateet Duhib Duhile Duiand Duineris Dwarbel Eaglovir Echilamite Edres Efery Efpron Efthir Egaping Eianna Eiarwor Eldondol Elebradorn Eledú Elegile Elegir Elfien Eligorgon Elithadhos Elitthil Elotok Emeth Enimda Ennornome Epamas Eregote Erenves Eretol Erhon Eriondra Erist Erives Etrent Evedidel Eveletang Evenridh Evessaved Evrodosy Faidy Falia Fanbea Fanth Farad Fatead Feior Fennosta Finge Fingrisos Florgen Foelo Fordhwes Fordos Fornen Foron Fothear Fothor Fotoss Frodonin Fronwe Frophannyn Galangil Galendony Gauglekon Gelimios Gelluglo Gelown Gelveren Gicondruin Gildos Gladaur Glast Glearn Glight Glomia Glowy Godras Godrinc Golduros Golinn Gondos Goren Gorimbron Gorios Gorlivrib Gornasond Goros Greng Grethi Gretre Gring Gruindoria Guagol Guant Guind Guirs Gundrogol Gwail Gwanges Gwanth Gwelin Gyroomia Gyros Hadown Haidheakim Halis Hallios Haman Hanth Hantim Hantin Haragala Harch Hariach Harth Hedin Hedwara Henias Henny Heolave Herthir Hevenna Himithbur Hinichrina Hinúvitir Hipbuind Hipir Hofaurysos Homethil Horgalad Huntindor Ianarth Iasirimil Ichardaes Idran Ieris Ilind Ilios Ilorgel Ilthal Imrod Imrotinic Inardh Indór Ingoroden Inros Iverit Johan Jungeld Kashdu Kassirons Kimoeren Kiost Kisfe Kossavounc Lalan Lalia Lamanathry Lamotir Lasil Lhadren Lhaleodris Lhanarios Lhelrowear Lhemelodle Lhondondra Lhúriang Lonthad Lovaggell Lyviris Maglad Mantaxios Marilver Marin Maris Marsiond Masilven Maxion Mbornbounn Meliannos Melos Mendren Methig Monenvi Mongios Morch Moterennûn Mouro Munordhith Naelrone Naithele Narad Narryiand Nashoria Nastanas Nelurui Niome Niossadri Nirst Nisevgeles Odagnor Odrath Ogonemils Ondol Orceles Ornbor Orthlound Ostarth Pannos Paugum Penaran Penna Peorosion Phaiaklios Phand Philk Phimras Phirethios Phytos Piann Plamanog Prethril Prilvessa Prion Ramaris Ratestre Rathud Rathuineki Rebre Reduing Rhail Rhamb Rhanaratas Rhaurast Rhosaele Rodena Ronne Rufla Saakill Saeleitir Sevgelebe Shimpris Sianc Siatth Silgrinn Singlath Sisosgick Skypros Smand Snossa Sophal Sopherios Souladion Sounthiru Spoomwe Spyrnim Spyrohiant Spyror Steris Stindow Stled Stong Stoss Sudwan Suphouluil Suthcas Swandros Taraing Taria Tascassios Taxin Tearkas Thain Thaul Thele Thleon Thlos Thren Throndin Tinfalas Tistardu Tollue Tondotpril Tonds Tosils Towessianc Trostos Twelios Uddysecht Uiling Uirille Uladel Ulfanielum Ungersty Vagalexan Valilthen Vanamdirin Vanas Vandotis Vannos Vantoki Varebarch Varoustros Vassot Voine Walang Wargathos Wathal Werandil Werth Whimlia Wideme Worow Xanion Xrian Yanant Yantindow Yitin Zanikat Ælfwin

#444 names #444names

[blue-kyber]

Worldbuilding Wednesday:

A brief fact about my world - specifically the planet Ilthall, where half of the story takes place.

People born on a planet contain a shard of that planet's Light (their source energy) within their own.

This only becomes an issue on the small ringed planet of Ilthall.

Ilthall is alive in the same way that an ena crystal is alive.

Those born on Ilthall need to ask her for permission to leave beyond the ring due to the fact that they're exposed to Belaketh (some more lore) if they leave the safety of the ring shielding its inhabitants from being detected.

If they don't, they feel like they're always forgetting something and get homesick.

The same is true if they do and don't get permission.

If they do get permission, they're fine.

If they don't get the planet's permission, AND if the planet "thinks" the risk is too great, when the person leaves, they feel ill, then fall into a coma as soon as they leave the ring.

This is extremely rare, but it has happened, and is documented.

They don't know if someone will wake up after leaving, but no one's been brave enough to test it out.

This rule only applies to native Ilthallans.

--------------------

author's note:

I imagine the avatar of Ilthall looking like Storm from the X-men - long white hair, dark skin like the night sky, and sharp blue eyes that can turn white.

Storm has always been my top favorite. I love the fact that she can control the weather and that her people thought of her as a goddess.

It's fitting since the planet of Ilthall gets a lot of storms.

If she REALLY DOESN'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE...

You're not leaving. At least not conscious.

[image of the 90's version of Storm from the X-men]

#worldbuilding wednesday #writing #lore #original work #out there #writeblr #The planet - like Yune's ship the Horizon - is a character #Ilthall is a 'fuck with my kids and you fuck with me' kind of agrarian world. #I imagine the avatar of Ilthall looking like Storm from the X-men #Storm has always been one of my top favorite X-men #I love the fact that she can control the weather and that her people thought of her as a goddess. #It's fitting since the planet of Ilthall gets a lot of storms

[blue-kyber]

Back on my bullshit.

Part of the current chapter in edits for "Out There: The 1K - part 2."

“I’m afraid I can’t take the credit for that one, Your Majesty,” Jeina slid a glance to the two with her, “The honor of Siffon’s rescue belongs to them.”

Dain Nirenthe’s sea-blue eyes settled next on her old friend’s companions, “And to whom do I have the pleasure?”

“Just a salvager of no importance, Your Majesty,” Yune gave a light genuflect.

“You do yourself a disservice. You are of great importance. Remove your mask, Salvager. I wish to look upon the face of the one who saved my daughter.”

Yune knew his next action would condemn him, but refusing the Dain of Ilthall could mean dire consequences - imprisonment, public humiliation,...ring sweeping. Unfortunately, he had all the skills required for orbital trash collection; Except he’d have to use a rockhopper, and those were death traps with engines.

Left with no choice, he tentatively removed the mask. 

A soft gasp escaped her, “Yune Darrak?” 

He heard the click and whine of multiple pulse pistols suddenly pointed at him, itching to fill him full of holes. “Yeah, this is more what I expected.”

------

Tag list: @muddshadow @cedar-west @athenixrose @penspiration-writing @runningoutofbooks @tobiornottobithatisthequestion @roll-top-writing @subject-2-change @dreaming-in-seams @mismatchingart @midnights-melodiverse @thewriteflame

#writing #writeblr #out there the 1k #ott1k #some dry humor #This guy's greatest punishment fear isn't a fine or imprisonment or even public humilliation. #Nope. It's being regulated to a single-seat rockhopper to collect garbage #that accumulated in Ilthall's planetary asteroid ring for an indeterminate amount of time. #The ring was the third moon that was somehow destroyed and now surrounds the planet

[blue-kyber]

#out there the 1k #ott1k #inspiration #Cos Besta on the planet Ilthall

[blue-kyber]

The Utray homestead valley cove.

The two story domed homestead is out of frame to the left (east). The island they tethered to the ground has a thumper beacon on it that keeps the other islands away from the area. In case of collisions, debris will fall into the ocean, or harmlessly away from the homestead.

Ilthall has a transient floating island problem.

And yes, there's one or two brave souls who live on them.

The planetary ring is obscured by the storm.

#Out There #writing #worldbuilding #The planet of Ilthall #A small ringed planet with a transient floating island problem #fantasy locations #floating islands #ocean cove #Main location in the second half of the book #This is the best I can do right now of what the Utray family homestead looks like. #The island's anchors are stock pics of the top of a spool #cut off XLR audio connectors distorted to fix the angle #and a wire rope cable #I can't believe the number of hours I spent cobbling this thing together #No artwork created by a living human is EVER featured in anything I scrapbook/collage/piece together/make. #All images used to create this transformative media are stock pics or creative commons or AI generated images. #I was wrongly accused of theft once by someone without the wrinkled brain to talk to me 1st and it pissed me off so much that I blocked the #then started stating the obvious with every picture regarding my work that I didn't think needed to be stated. *eye roll* #The obvious being that NO HUMAN'S ACTUAL ART MADE BY THEIR HAND IS PRESENT. PERIOD. END OF DISCUSSION. #That person who blamed me for theft can go fuck off on a very long walk. #Off a short pier.

[blue-kyber]

First escape from the palace. :) From part 1 of "Out There: The 1K"

Yune hung back away from the others and called Will, "Sparky, I need you and Squeaker here now. This is not a suggestion."

“W-we’re on our way.” Will responded in a slightly shaking voice.

Yune noticed. “What’s taking you so long?”

“We, uh… We took a break.”

“A break?”

“Me and Terra, we got really cold and really scared all of a sudden. We don’t know why. We had to stop.”

“I mean, we are in an air vent,” Terra shrugged.

“Well, move it.” 

“Pushy,” Terra mumbled as the three of them continued to crawl. The fear remained, though thankfully the urge to run diminished, though they were still cold.

“I heard that,” Yune snipped.

"I thought we had time," Will said. "You said this was easy. What happened?"

"Regents never make it easy. Don't use the door. It's guarded."

"We know. Siffon said this ventilation system goes to the docking bay."

"Siffon?" A hot ball of 'we're in trouble' dropped into his gut, "That's your friend?"

"Yeah."

He only knew of one person with that name, and she was linked to everything in this palace he aimed to avoid. He worried the V between his eyebrows, "At least he didn't invite her to come along," he mumbled.

"She's coming with us."

"And there it is." This plan mimicked a hoverbike that lost power up a steep slope and was now barrelling uncontrolled back down into a crowded street. "Do you have any idea what would happen to us if we're caught with her? To me? Specifically?!"

"Uh,...no?" Will looked up at Siffon, "Wait. How do you know who she is?"

"Her father and I aren't exactly sympatico at the moment."

"Maybe she's a different Siffon?"

Yune's tone went dry, "I highly doubt that."

"You sure?"

"Blond hair?"

"Yeah."

"Blue eyes?"

"Uh huh."

"Unusually even green stripe pattern on her teppin?"

"Is that what those things by her ears are called?"

He sighed.

"I don't know what 'sympata-matata' means, but she needs our help, and we promised."

"No. Absolutely not. We do not want this kind of complication," Yune hissed in a whisper, "You put her right back where you found her, or so help me--"

"Hey, you!" the Dark Legion trooper left behind to guard the bay aimed his pulse pistol at Yune's back, though he had to aim down since he was pushing seven feet tall, "Hands where I can see them."

Yune slowly raised both hands to shoulder level, turned around, and gave a lopsided 'this is all a big misunderstanding' smile.

Tag list: @muddshadow @cedar-west @athenixrose @penspiration-writing @runningoutofbooks @tobiornottobithatisthequestion @roll-top-writing @subject-2-change @dreaming-in-seams @mismatchingart @midnight-and-his-melodiverse @thewriteflame @writingventriloquist @ren-c-leyn @asher-orion-writes @aninkwellofnectar @winterandwords @raevenlywrites @nanashi23 @athenaannarose

#writing #writeblr #out there the 1k #part 1 #Yune and the Dyne of Ilthall (the king) aren't sympatico at the moment because the Dyne #because the Dyne put out an 80K credit bounty on his head for failing to deliver some goods.

[blue-kyber]

Tumblr inspired me to incorporate a little of the 'humans are space orcs' vibe into my story. :)

---------------------------

Ilthall orbited the system's single sun as the third planet in a family of five within the Ilthall system. It was one of two habitable worlds.

The second one being the bloated desert world of Jinuuba that most species would find inhospitable for long periods of time.

Except for the humans - both mik and masakan.

When told sustaining a presence there couldn’t be done, and that the native reptilian krit tribes would thwart any attempts with aggression, the two accepted the challenge, proclaimed, “Oh yeah? Watch this,” and built a colony.

A hundred years, and a boundary line later negotiated by the humans and the krit - who found the humans to be just as crazy as they were - the thriving settlement was still going strong.

Binali City was the only Alliance colony allowed in yondi territory, because it was started and maintained by competitive humans who couldn't resist a dare.

The yondi were honestly impressed at the humans’ stubbornness capacity. They left it alone out of sheer curiosity to see what would happen. Plus the humans had invented new creations to let them survive in that harsh environment, and discovered resources that could be used off-world. So the Ilthallan monarchy partnered with the colony.

They and most other species believed that if the terran-humans had progressed technologically enough to join galactic society, there would be three human species running the city instead of two.

#writing #writeblr #humans are space orcs #sci-fi writing #original work #out there the 1k

[blue-kyber]

I saw your post with the solarpunk tag, I am FASCIANTED by your worldbuilding!

ohmygosh *covers her mouth at the awesome compliment* Wow, thank you!

I vaguely remember hearing something about solarpunk, but didn't know what it was. I guessed it had something to do with plants. After watching that video, I realized I'd inadvertently made Ilthallan society close to solarpunk.

There's so much more that I've developed with each planet. Ilthall has the most detailed development, because 3/4 of the book takes place there.

My favorite detail about Ilthall is the yondi belief that anyone from any race born on the planet, its two moons, or in/around Yuneath (the ring that was its third moon) is born with the Light of Ilthall within them. It's why anyone native to Ilthall has a connection to the planet. It's why when they leave, they develop the subtle nagging sense that they forgot something.

It's yondi tradition to 'ask' Ilthall to let them go when they travel off world so they can live without that feeling. Many think it's a superstition. Those born there who don't follow the yondi species religion still feel something, so they think there might be truth to it.

That Light is the Source Field - the life of the galaxy, and each planet has their own life. Ilthall's Light is one of the strongest due to it having pockets of an extremely rare material. It manifests as a blue light to those who can perceive it.

The thing is, that belief, that superstition...

Is real.

#AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! #What an awesome compliment to come home to! Thank you. :D

[blue-kyber]

So, I saw a video about Solarpunk vs. Cyberpunk, and it slapped me with a realization I hadn't seen before in my worldbuilding.

In "Out There," I introduce three types of major city settings:

Quora Ness - a major port city on the human homeworld of Mikra. Half of the city sustained massive devastation from a keth orbital bombardment (the antagonistic force the Alliance is fighting against). Some of it saw restoration before the planet's government sealed off the destroyed half from the rest of the city with a wall. They refer to the half of the city untouched by the attack as the Lightside and those who live there are Lightsiders. Of course, the other side is looked upon with disdain. It's referred to as the Darkside and those unfortunate to live there are Darksiders. Relief efforts to rebuild the Darkside of the wall are still underway, but for the most part, it's been abandoned to the fates by the government in the cleaner cyberpunk metropolis of Seni. The Darkside of the wall is still the same with a festering criminal underground. The MEC (Mikran Engineering Corp) has a huge presence there, and the Alliance presence over the past twenty years dwindled. The MEC swooped in to take advantage of the area and its populace. Mik-humans still use money. It's a dog eat dog, or "prak eat prak" place.

New Cerillia - the capital of the human homeworld, Masaka, and the seat of the Planetary Alliance senate, which is the main governing body in the galaxy (there's layers to this).

New Cerillia is a semi-utopia focusing on personal growth, science, the arts, medicine, and technological advancement. They understand the importance of green spaces, and vast areas of the planet remaining untouched, but still have their industrial complexes, and their cyberpunk lower levels.

Masakan-humans don't use money anymore. They will use credits with other species that still have a monetary system, but within itself, from masakan to masakan, they don't use it.

It's an advanced civilization with a dark and bloody colonizing past.

Cos Besta - the capital city of the small ringed agrarian planet, Ilthall. It's the main setting for 3/4 of the book. The local humanoid species, the yondi, developed their civilization to work with the strengths of their planet and its resources. They've achieved a balance of technology and nature. They've created a sustainable society with the bare minimum of invasive actions taken toward the planet -such as mining and clearing spaces for the city and outlying settlements. They mostly mine the debris ring around the planet. They have numerous exports with the major exports being water and their native lantern fruit. The world is governed by a monarchy that works in tandem with 'ministers' - senators representing different regions of the planet, and with the magistrate of the second largest metropolis in the southern hemisphere, Cos Arda. The royal family is a powerful figurehead that has final say in the workings of Ilthall, though they take the peoples' concerns very seriously in order to maintain homogeneity. Ilthall is rich with pockets of one specific and extremely rare mineral that the royal family and ministers keep secret from the rest of the galaxy. Cos Besta and Cos Arda trend close, but not perfectly in sync, with solarpunk.

#writing #writeblr #out there #worldbuilding #solarpunk #cyberpunk #science fiction #fantasy

[blue-kyber]

I love my scoundrel who hates that he has a heart of gold. :)

He did have a choice. 

And this time he would make the right one.

“Dammit.”

Going back would likely mean getting himself killed - or he would be running for his life for the rest of it - but he knew he would do it anyway, because it was the right thing to do. And he hated that. He’d always hated that he couldn’t not do the right thing despite his efforts - Strafsend was a prime example of how he’d fought that battle and lost. Again. 

“Dammit.”

He loved them more than any selfish act he could ever commit. 

“Dammit.” 

The lock on that cage broke. 

For the first time in his life, Yune Darrak became truly, completely free.

He closed his hand around the reverse card without bending it, and made a promise to them, to Selka, to the universe, to himself; No more running. He bolted down the stairs, cursing, “Dammit, dammit, dammit,” the whole way as he flew into the pilot’s seat and dropped the ship out of hyperspace.  The release of that block allowed his previous sense that something wasn’t right to take center stage. If his instinct was right, he couldn’t leave them to face an existence worse than death.

His hands flew over the controls, knowing each one by memory and instinct to turn the ship around. He’d only been in hyperspace for a handful of minutes. 

That dissonant, wordless voice eased up now that he listened to it. He exhaled in relief at the release of tension, even as he tightened his resolve, “‘Bout time,” he mumbled to it, ending it off with a curse at himself. “Dammit.” He shot the Horizon into the rift left behind by the freighter’s exit back to Ilthall, leaving a spectacular starburst display of Source Field energy in its wake.

#out there the 1k #spoilers #writing #writeblr #sci-fi

[blue-kyber]

A description of the annex cistern beneath the city of Cos Besta. From the recent chapter I'm editing of "Out There: The 1K."

Daj led them through a small room with a ladder leading up to a hatch, a few seats, a control panel, and storage. 

Yune got his bearings in the rusted old space. “Cozy,” he remarked, “Don’t tell me this is it. It’s pathetic.”

“Nope,” she pushed a large button beside the single-wide twin door at the other end, then cranked a massive wheel in its center to the right. The ancient gears creaked. A loud ‘click’ and the red light above the button turned green. 

She pushed open the thick door and gestured for them to go inside, anticipating their reactions, and eager to see it, “This is.”

Will stepped through first and his jaw dropped, “Whoooooaa!”

Siffon gasped, “By the Light…”

Yune stared in slack-jawed awe.

The door let them out into a dimly lit, massive, cavernous room larger than the palace’s main hall. Great support pillars spaced evenly through the room reached up from the water like the arms of gods to hold up a lofty, arching ceiling three stories above their heads. 

Geometric carvings decorated the cupping tops of the columns and the arches connecting them. Whether the designs were mimicked at their bases, the group couldn’t tell, since they dipped into the dark water out of sight.

The broad balcony they stood on connected to a series of double-wide, stone-railed bridges that formed a plus sign with circular central hub. Multiple bridges formed a grid connected to those. Stone stairs lead up from the largest western bridge to a door near the top - an emergency escape route in case any infrastructure crew became trapped down here. 

All of the railings were ‘recent’ additions installed for safety a couple hundred years ago.

A round water intake hatch cut into the wall directly across the huge square room. Two more just like it lay to the east and west. All were sealed tight. Manual valve controls lay at the ends of each bridge. 

The walls themselves consisted of oscillating concave and convex waves flowing around them, making it seem like part of the ocean; form and function.

Fresh water churned by an unseen perpetual motion turbine filled up only eight feet above the floor, which was six feet below the bridges. 

Calling it a ‘room’ would be an insult; it might as well be another dimension. 

Or at least that's what it looked like to Yune, Will, and Siffon. 

The ancient cistern made the small group of about thirty people already inside it milling about look even smaller. They were mostly yondi and humans, but there were a couple of angular-featured, orange-skinned enkai with spots along their cheekbones, tagron, o’alli, and a few laemurians. Some leaned on the railings, some were in conversation, and some noticed the newcomers. 

They had sent a bot with hover capability to attach ephypsan battery powered lights to the closest columns. Survival gear and crates filled the center circle with heaters placed in the middle, and personal sleeping/living areas creating rays like a sun around it. The smells of cooking food came from electric camping galley equipment.

Yune finally spoke, “Ok. Didn't see that one coming.”

"Where are we" Will asked.

“An annex cistern beneath the city. They use in emergencies during major floods if the main network fills,” Jeina led the group forward across the bridge to the hub.

“It’s enormous,” Will turned in a slow circle as he walked, “A giant could live in here and have room to sprint. Does Ilthall have giants? Do anuleans count?”

"No and yes," Yune replied quickly.

“It’s beautiful. Who built it?” Siffon tried to take everything in at once. 

“Your people did; long before the war began - before they traveled the stars.”

This was the work of yondi artisans and stone masons hundreds of years ago, perhaps thousands, maintained for generations. Siffon soaked up the new knowledge, wondering what else her ancestors had done. 

“This is where we hid from the keth. I’m glad to see someone remembered it was here.”

Yune’s and Will’s ena crystals were still glowing clearly beneath their shirts - still excited. Both were grateful no one else could see their light but Jeina.

Tag list: @muddshadow @cedar-west @athenixrose @penspiration-writing @runningoutofbooks

#writing #writeblr #excerpt #out there the 1k #ott1k #sci fi #fantasy #underground cistern #a story of found family

[blue-kyber]

The post before this got me thinking about what plushies my characters would have had as kids.

Will:

On Earth, Will had a white star with a smile on it. It was given to him when he was born, because his dad worked for NASA. He picked it up at the visitor's center gift shop at Cape Canaveral and flew home to Ohio with it strapped in the seat next to him (he bought the extra seat) to be there once he'd heard Molly went into labor. He wanted Will to never shoot for less than the stars. When Will could speak, he named him "Starry."

Despite how gruff Charlie comes off at the start of the book, he's a good father.

In space - their first day on Ilthall - Selka bought him a stuffed nathakit plushie shaped like a bean. He said he was too old for stuffed animals, but she knew better. He was still a kid in a strange new environment with strange new people, and strange new powers. Both he and Terra would need something to hold onto. Will dropped it onto the bed when he got back to the ship. Yet that night, he slept with it. He sleeps with it every night now. He named him Checkers due to the pattern on his fur. Sometimes Checkers makes him remember his star.

Terra:

On Earth, Terra had a caramel colored teddy bear with blue paws. Her mother gave it to her when she was born. She'd already had it picked out. When Terra could speak, she named her Berry. She carried her around everywhere. She helped her deal with her parents' divorce when she was five. Terra loves plushies, but of all that she'd collected, Berry never left. Both of her parents told her Berry would always keep her secrets.

In space, when Selka bought Will the stuffed nathakit plushie, she caught Terra holding a green leaf plushie with a smile, so she bought it for her. Terra didn't have reservations like Will did. She named the leaf Leafy. She knew the name wasn't original, and Will teased her for it, but she didn't care. Saying "Leafy" felt good. When she got back to the ship, she hugged Leafy whenever she was scared, and slept with her.

Selka:

Despite growing up in the Ai Hiri temple on Feloria, when she was little, she had a stuffed luabear she'd name Lulu. He was white with four gray paws, fluffy, floppy, and had a black button nose. Luabears are like grizzlies native to Feloria. This was her sister's hand-me-down, but she loved him. She pretty much stole him from her older sister. Selka was leagues ahead of the other kids who had proven to be strong enough in their mental abilities to train to become Ai Hiri. Training them was required so the more powerful ones wouldn't hurt anyone. During her early years, she took Lulu to all of her classes. Lulu would stay behind with her sister so her daughter could play with her. But everytime Selka went home, Lulu stayed with her.

Yune:

Yune can't remember anything from before the orphanage. His memories stop at 5 years old.

He arrived with three things; his crystal, his father's jacket, and a stuffed plushie of a kunabee that his parents had given to him when he was born. Since no one but people like him can see kunabee, they thought it was an artist's creation of the fictional creature. He doesn't know where he got it. He believed it belonged to a kid before him.

He named the stuffed plushie Keebee, since he couldn't pronounce the word kunabee when he learned to talk. His parents found it adorable, so the name stuck. Keebee was blue toned almost like a shark with ray wings that zipped up around him and a tail that tucked up into the wings. Yune didn't speak for the first few months after the attack - an attack he doesn't remember, but feels scarred by. Keebee helped him when he felt frustrated about being too small in a world made for human giants when everyone else grew up and he didn't. To him, Keebee always felt like he carried warmth from another world.

When he ran away, he had no choice but to leave Keebee behind.

He returned to the Arborly years later to confront his first guardian, Lotrilla (Miss Lotty), about selling him to the MEC and find answers. That's when he found Keebee again - dirty, missing an eye, and tossed in a box of random toys shoved in a corner of his old room for the kids to play with. He took him home to the Horizon.

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#will #yune #terra #selka #Their childhood stuffed animals my beloveds. #writing #characters #writeblr #lore #out there #Small parts that give a character life #Character development #background lore

[blue-kyber]

You know how we writers say we could be minding our own business and suddenly be slapped in the face by Inspiration?

Well, that happened during my massage.

I thought, what if the most popular masseurs in my world were quadralorns? They're 7 foot tall thicc, gray-skinned aliens that look like boulders and have 4 arms.

So guess what? The massage therapist at the hot springs on Ilthall is a very amiable quadralorn. :)

#writing #inspiration #The body was relaxed #but the ADHD mind never quits. #Seriously. My brain wouldn't stop the whole time. I really tried to make it just shut up #but...

[blue-kyber]

From "Out There: The 1K - part 1." In chapter 16 - "Ilthall" (on wattpad)

The two walked between the two adults down the street in their impromptu outfits.

Though calling them ‘outfits’ was a stretch. 

Yune had made a makeshift tunic for Terra out of his faded indigo blue shirt, and one for Will out of one of his dark red ones. Tying them like this was how he used to deal with this problem as a kid, since all of his clothes at the time were hand-me-downs that were always too big. 

These were part of a handful of his old wardrobe that he’d kept after he suddenly grew from five-two to five-six in four weeks. The rapid growth spurt had only ended a week ago, so there hadn’t been much time yet to fully adjust. Sometimes the new sudden height threw off his spatial reasoning.

“This is your genius idea?” Will pulled at the oversized shirt rolled up at the sleeves and tied in a knot at his back. It draped over him like a tent, “I thought we were trying to stay under the radar, not blow it up.”  

The snark wasn’t lost on him, “Keep it up, Sparky.”

The small girl kept rubbing her hands up and down the fabric covering her arms and smiling at its pleasant feel. Yune’s shirt was far softer than the boring, sterile white outfits she’d been forced to wear at the facility for the past two years. To her, it felt like a hug.  

Yune glanced down at her. After everything she had gone through, all she had suffered and lost, this simple thing made her happy. 

Why would he notice that or care? They were going to be out of his life soon anyway. He told himself her happiness didn’t matter in the least; just her safety until this was over.

He moved slightly closer to her to let a lanky, pale-skinned idrian walk by, but didn’t return to his former place. He subconsciously remained a guardian to Terra. The shift was barely noticeable to anyone, even Selka. Even himself.

But Terra noticed. She craned her neck to look up at the pilot wearing a perpetual irritated frown on his face, and smiled. Maybe he was kind after all.

Both hadn’t ignored the judgmental glances tossed their way by the city’s various denizens. At least they looked like two people who neglected the basic needs of their offspring, and not a bounty hunter and a salvager hiding members of the One Thousand. 

Yune and Selka were people who had more in common with social outcasts than the middle class that they pretended to emulate.

“Let’s get you two something to wear before people start asking questions,” Selka steered them toward a small shopping area.

Tag list: @muddshadow @cedar-west @athenixrose @penspiration-writing @runningoutofbooks @tobiornottobithatisthequestion @roll-top-writing @subject-2-change @dreaming-in-seams @mismatchingart @midnights-melodiverse @thewriteflame @writingventriloquist @ren-c-leyn

#writing #writeblr #sci-fi fantasy #found family #the beginnings of this found family

[blue-kyber]

From chapter 16 - "Ilthall" from "Out There: The 1K - part 1"

Yune landed the Horizon within a cluster of stones out among the mountains that ringed the valley. This was a remote area, so the odds of anyone coming across their hiding place were slim. 

If this operation went tits up, he didn’t want his ship - his home, his pride and joy - to fall into the hands of the Dyne as payment for his debt. It would be safer in the wilds. He had another means to get back to town anyway.

He set the ship on standby and left the cockpit. “Stay in the ship,” he ordered his small passengers. 

“Why?” Will followed him down the hall to a circular hatch at the other end. It wasn’t the docking port ring, because that was located down a short walk connecting to the middle of the hallway next to a skinny storage closet and cargo lift directly across from the stairs, “You brought us to a new planet and expect us to stay here? I want to explore!”

“You’ll get in the way.”

“No we won’t.” “Yes, you will.”

“No we won’t.”

“Yes, you will.”

“No, we won’t.”

“Yes you–” he caught himself stuck in an ‘I know you are but what am I?’ fight with a ten year old, pursed his lips, and slapped his palm on the console to open the docking hatch. It split open to either side, revealing an identical door at the back of the Horizon’s only shuttle, the Zephyr, which he opened at the press of a button.

Will followed him in, “No, we won’t. You won’t even know we’re there.”

“Everyone in town will know you’re there. You have the stealth ability of a drunken yarf.”

“Hey. I have the stealth ability of a rock,” Will argued.

“More like the memory of a rock,” Yune mumbled, flicking a few switches to power up the shuttle.

Will pretended not to hear him…though he wasn’t far off. His short term memory wasn’t the best. The shuttle’s interior instantly snared his adhd attention, “Whoa, cool. Did this come with the ship?”

“No. These ships don’t have a port for an away shuttle. This one had its engines split to install one. Now go away.”

 “This can seat five people. There’s four of us. You might need an extra pair of eyes.”

“That’s why I’m bringing Selka.”

Will’s plan began to backfire. He forced himself back to the present, “Oh...kay… an extra-extra pair, then. Can never have too many eyes, right? I mean, except flies, and spiders. They have way too many eyes. And legs.”

Terra shivered, “I hate spiders.”

Yune ignored him and sat in the single pilot seat, “I liked him better when he wasn’t talking. Go back to that.”

“Come on, you can’t just leave us here. We don’t want to stay cooped up in the ship,” Will folded his arms and leaned against the control panel, accidentally pushing up a small lever that opened the garbage hatch. 

Yune instantly pulled it back down, “Deal with it.”

Will’s next tactic involved invoking a well-known truth that kids were troublemakers. “You’re leaving us here unsupervised? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Yune swiveled around, “Are you telling me you’re gonna be a problem?” 

Will stared back, “I might.”

“I lock problems in the holding cell.”

“You won’t do that. We’re part of the One Thousand.”

The kid’s hubris grated on his nerves. His eyes narrowed, clearly showing that their status meant nothing to him. In fact, Will’s attitude and ego did the opposite. “Try me.”

“Go ahead. I dare you.”

“Oh, don’t tempt me, Sparky,” he warned.

“I’ve been locked up before. You can’t do anything worse to us than what they did to us back there.”

That stopped Yune short. Any retort held on his tongue. What exactly had those scientists done to these kids to warrant the strength of emotion blasting from Will.

“We won’t tempt you!” Terra intervened to stop Will from talking them into imprisonment again. Her twin’s anger held over from the escape. She could feel it. He was always more volatile than her. His mouth often got them locked in separate rooms. “We won’t be a problem at all, but...but we wanna go with you. We don’t want to be locked up anymore, and this is our first time on a different planet, so...” She found her bravery at the end, “so, we’re coming, too. ...Please?”

A large part of him felt for these kids. He placed a high value on freedom, and the Regents had that taken from them for two years. The last thing he wanted to do was trap them anywhere, but they needed to understand that he was the captain, and his word on this ship was final. 

He eyed the two short terrans in a thick moment of silence before laying down his decision. “No.” Yune swiveled the chair back, “Stay here and don’t touch anything,” he added. “I’ll know.”

“He won’t know,” Will whispered to Terra.

Yune tore a steely glare into the rebellious boy - seeing a bit of himself in the kid, which made his stern reply hold even more weight, “I’ll know.”

“What if someone shows up?” Terra worried. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. No one’s gonna show up.”

“But what if they do?”

“Then don’t open the door,” Yune rolled his eyes in irritation.

“And call us immediately,” Selka added.

Will folded his arms, “That means using the com. I thought we weren’t supposed to touch anything.”

Yune’s irritation level rose, “Are you always this annoying?”

“I’m a kid. It’s my job to be annoying.”

Selka chuckled. 

He regarded her with suspicion. “What’s so funny?”

“You,” she leaned against the door frame, “Watching you try to reason with children is new. I’m enjoying this,” and she soaked up every second of this amusing scenario, “Go on. Don’t let me stop you.”

“I’m glad you’re entertained. Help me out with these moamrats,” he pleaded. 

“All right,” she unholstered her pulse pistol to check the energy cell, “I agree with the moamrats,” and holstered it again. 

“Thank you. ...Wait, what?” That wasn’t the direction he’d thought she would take.

“Huh?” Will didn’t expect that, either. One of the aliens deciding his and Terra’s fate had taken their side? She had listened to him and didn’t brush him off like his desire was inconsequential. Of course all of this was a new feeling he didn't know how to process, so he froze, then faked like nothing was wrong. He folded his arms, "She said she agrees with the moamrats," he grinned.

Selka sensed that front go up. A pale echo of his emotions reached her. 

 It hinted at how severely they were deprived of any kind of support system. Earning their trust would be a long road. If only she could convey that same sense of duty to the stubborn pilot. “Considering who they are, and where we rescued them from, we shouldn’t leave them alone. Even in lock-down.”

Yune sighed and acquiesced. She had a point. If he was going to get these kids off his ship and out of his life as quickly as possible, he needed to work with the situation instead of against it. That meant adapting to obtain his end goal. “Fine. But they’d better not slow us down.” Every aspect of his life became rapidly affected by their presence, and he didn’t like it at all. 

“All right!” Both kids cheered.

Selka tapped her lip in thought as she examined their short passengers, “I think we should find them something to wear that’s a little less...conspicuous.” Their fashion screamed ‘terrans,’ and by association, the One Thousand - especially Will’s ‘NASA’ shirt in English lettering. Jeans weren’t common clothing on Ilthall, or much of the habited worlds. It was a terran fabric. 

Yune pondered this problem for a moment, then snapped his fingers, “I got an idea. You can thank me for the genius later.”

Will and Terra looked at each other, then back, wondering what he’d come up with, and if they were going to regret being involved.

----

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If you want to be added to the tag list, throw something at me. Those squishy jelly filled balls that flatten into pancakes, then rebound up into a wobbly ball are preferable.

#writing #writeblr #ott1k #sci fi fantasy #found family #This is early in their relationship. Yune still can't stand them. #out there the 1k