Subject: World-building is never rambling.
Author:
Posted on: 2013-04-23 03:32:00 UTC
You said elves, but which variety? The Standard Fantasy Elves, the original Icelandic-style elves, the Harry Potter-style small and deformed elves, or a fourth category?
What are some other native species? Again, world-building is cool, so I'd like to hear about them.
I'm new here. Simple as that. I posted a thingie on the thread about shippings, but I figured I should start my own and introduce myself properly.
So hi! *waves, then pauses, looks around, and bows instead* I'm Ailavyn Siniyash, but you can -I'd prefer if you did, really- call me Aila instead. I've been wandering around the Wiki and the mission reports and the OFUs for the past few weeks, but I only now got the courage to post on the Board. Ummm... that's all, I guess... *scurries off to hide in a corner*
Pretty name! Anyway, welcome the Board!
Please have this one (1) Fluffy Wambler to add to your collection of cute things. It's native to the Dwarf Fortress continuum, but cute and cuddly anywhere!
See you around the Board!
Ooh, thankee!
I don't know Dwarf Fortress, but I'm sure it's adorable (the Wambler, of course). *hugs Fluffy Wambler*
*tries to pronounce long name* Ay-la-vin Sin-ee-yash.
Yeah, I'll stick with Aila; it's shorter.
I see that you're mostly a fantasy-book girl, eh? We both share the Narnia fandom; that's nice. As for your gift...
*rummages through bag of holding*
Have an Aslan plushie that roars when you squeeze it!
So, how did you first run across the PPC? Myself, it was via TVTropes.
It is long and bulky indeed, but it means something in my invented language, sooooo....
Ooh, Aslan plushie! I wonder how he'd feel about that. *hides it under her pillow*
I found the OFUM in someone's favorite stories list on FF.net, which led to me reading more of the OFUs, which led to me discovering the PPC. Am I ever happy I did, too!
What, pray tell, is this invented language, and what does your name happen to mean in it?
It feels rather pretentious, but it means Light's Daughter. Aila is light, vyn is the possessive, and siniyash is daughter, though that might change at some point.
The language itself is Rhellen, and I'm making it for my invented world, Rhel (which also means home in the language; I'm quite proud of that particular development). But really, the version I'm working on might just turn out to be one particular dialect, perhaps that of the elves of that long strip of forest near the mountains... I'm rambling, aren't I?
You said elves, but which variety? The Standard Fantasy Elves, the original Icelandic-style elves, the Harry Potter-style small and deformed elves, or a fourth category?
What are some other native species? Again, world-building is cool, so I'd like to hear about them.
I'd say a fourth category, but most closely resembling Generic Fantasy Elves. They're about five feet tall, tend to have cinnamon or darker skin, purple, indigo, green or brown hair, and live in fiercely territorial tribes. They're only hostile to other elves, though, and if you can earn their trust...
I don't really think there's anything else too extraordinary, save some indigenous types of flora and fauna, but there's a whole creation myth that I've had a lot of fun with, as well as a whole thing about the everli (the elements, of which there are five: fire, earth, water, air, and time) and the avlari (what I call, for lack of a better word, the counter-elements, and of which there are also five: light, darkness, life, death, and shadow), which together make Inershal (the Balance). There are also a bunch of minor deities and spirits and things that no one really likes to think about. And magic, of course. Magic that has hopefully original origins. Also, Rhel was created by accident. Yup, you heard me right!
You worldbuild? And language-build? Got any tips? :3
As for tips... not in particular. I just sort of play around with the world, make maps in Spanish class, work out words in the language when I have spare time to play with it. Nothing special; I just follow my instincts.
How much of the language do you have figured out so far?
I have some verb conjugations figured out, as well as a bunch of random words, but I keep on changing everything.
I have some verb conjugations figured out, as well as a bunch of random words. But I keep on changing everything.
If you ever want someone to draw that sort of stuff, hit me up.
That's so kind of you! I shall probably ask you to draw someone sometime else, perhaps many someones. Thank you so much for the offer!
Which OFUs did you read?
And have some lemming repellent, too, while you're at it!
Mmm, let's see... OFUM, OFUM2, OFUR, HFA, HFA2, what little there was of OFUN, and some others.
Have some Swiss chocolate and some Bleeptea. You'll need both of them soon.
Something about your name makes me want to give you the nickname Sheila. That would be my inner Spyro the Dragon nerd speaking, I guess. Kangaroos are awesome don't question it.
Anyway, enough of the rambling. Welcome to the Board! I see you like fantasy books... Ever read the Black Magician Trilogy, by Trudi Cannavan? If not, I recommend it (if you can find a copy anywhere that is). It's basically sort of like Harry Potter, but slightly more adult. More violence, social class stuff, the like. But eh, I should shut up now. I'm turning back into the rambling beast.
Have fun on the Board, Sheila!
Ooh, I have a nickname now! *produces a pen and tries to jot it down on her hand, but the pen vanishes* If you say so.
I shall check that out; it sounds interesting. Yay book recommendations!
Hey there.
Don't worry, we're probably not going to eat you. Anyway, have my eternal friendship.
*passes friendship bracelet*
You may have cookies. And this coupon for one free hug.
*dances around, waving cookies and hug-coupon wildly*
Welcome to the PPC! We love newbies here, so make yourself at home!
As a welcome gift, have some music by Sean Shepherd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeqXM98lxgE
...pretty music, I like it much, very much! I'm listening to it right now!
*snuggles up in blanket* I'm home! Thankee very much!
Greetings, new friend! Help yourself to the bag of venomous invertebrates. Don't worry; they don't bite!
Ooh, hello little ones! D'awww, who's a cute venemous little invertebrate? Yooooou are, my itsy cutie-bug...
...Now now, Aila dear, do stop imitating Jay Thorntree, for the sake of everyone's sanity-- well, that might not be the best reason, but do stop anyways.
Hey, I'm Pauline! Hehe, don't be shy! We're all nuts, but the good kind of nuts!
Anyway, here's your gift: homemade bleepolate ice cream. With extra chocolate.
Because goodness knows, on here you're going to need it. :)
*looks sheepish* I should probably save it, shouldn't I?
*translocates the ice cream into the freezer, accidentally bringing herself along as well* Oops, I really need to practice using Outhra's translocator properly, don't I?
Wow, that was a lot of rhetorical questions. And I like nuts! Especially peanuts. And Marcona almonds. Mmmm, Marcona almonds.....
I already greeted you on the 'shipping thread (my brain is still trying to make sense of that 'ship, btw :D), but have another welcome and some more Bleep'n'ms! We share the Tolkienverse, Discworld (good you're reading that) and Harry Potter fandoms. I like the Narnia books as well, but was badly traumatised on my first foray into that category of fanfiction... 'nuff said. What other fantasy books do you read?
I really don't blame you-- it's certainly quite a crack pairing, but I love it anyways.
Harry Potter... is not my favorite series. I personally think it's overrated. *hides from enthusiasts* And really, poor Narnia. All those Susan redemption fics, and extra Sons of Adam or Daughters of Eve stories, and movieverse Suspian... for that matter, movieverse everything. I don't like movies. Still, there are some gems in there, like Rthstewart's universe. You have to go check that out, especially her Stone Gryphon cycle.
Well, the Enchanted Forest Chronicles are always hilarious, some of Maggie Stiefvater's things, though not all of them are good, The Books of Pellinor were quite delicious, if a little bit too obviously influenced by Tolkien, some Tamora Pierce, Robin McKinley's work is always marvelous, etc, etc...
I knew there was a reason I liked you!
I'm very fond of you, too!
Actually, I read some of the Robin McKinley ones in high school, but the Enchanted Forest Chronicles are remembered very fondly for long chapter titles and the introduction of common sense to magic.
Also, I've always pictured the PPC's Canon Library as functioning somewhat like the unlimited library in Beauty.
...were actually what got me into fantasy in the first place, along with Redwall, so they have quite a bit of sentimental value.
Robin McKinley, though... I just adore her worldbuilding and description to absolute pieces.
I need to read Beauty, then. My personal favorite is Pegasus.
...seeing as I wouldn't mind, say, Rincewind/Gandalf if the plot was awesome enough. Except that wouldn't work.
I like Harry Potter, but it isn't my favorite series either. What is my favorite series, you may ask? The Saga of Recluce. Not a lot of people seem to know it, so I won't be surprised if you don't. The only name I recognise from your list is Tamora Pierce (and I really mean the name only), so we'd be even.
Poor Narnia, indeed. I decided to stay well away from Narniafic before Prince Caspian was even announced, so I hadn't even considered the impact of that bizarre movieverse pairing on it. Silly of me, I know.
...an interesting pairing, if it could be pulled off convincingly. I honestly think I would literally read anything if it were well-written.
Ooh, I haven't heard of that. I shall look it up! It sounds very interesting indeed!
Hee! I somehow read the fic before I actually read the books, so my whole experience of Narnia has been rather tainted and is quite inextricably linked with the fandom.
Well hello! *newbie brofist*
What are your fandoms
I really should have specified my fandoms in the original thing, shouldn't I? Everyone's asking. Oh well, too bad. I put a bunch in my answer to SeaTurtle, but basically I'm a book-fantasy girl who is especially fond of Tolkien, Susan Cooper and Brian Jacques, and who is reading Discworld right now (and loving it).
Um... a mostly still blue doormat, half a package of chai tea, some glitter-glue, one dumbbell, and a pez dispenser, no pez included!
Welcome to the board! Got any particular fandoms or are you just here to join the madness?
Glitter-glue and tea! *wraps it all in the doormat like a burrito and shoves it under the pillow with SeaTurtle's hydrophobic water*
As for fandoms, I put a bunch in my reply to SeaTurtle; to summarize, I'm mostly a fantasy-book person who is especially fond of Tolkien, Susan Cooper and Brian Jacques and who is in the process of reading Discworld.
I'm assuming the Dark Is Rising Sequence is what you've read. (I'm not actually aware if she has other books, as my library didn't have any when I was reading those, and it's been a while.)
If you end up liking Discworld, I recommend "The Dark Mage of Derkholm," and "The Year of the Griffin," by Diana Wynne Jones.
... Yeah, dunno how I managed that one.
Well, mostly, but I also have a bunch of her other books scattered on the floor next to my bed. King of Shadows was good.
Ah, thanks for the recommendations. I've read her Chrestomanci books, but no others. And funny typo! ....For that matter, are there minis for any of Diana Wynne Jones's fandoms? I wonder what they'd be.
... Most likely. There's only three books I know of in this universe, and there's probably not (Don't want to know if there is!) much fanfiction. So, until further notice or somebody proves me wrong, Mini-Griffins it is.
Cute likkle mini-Griffin...
I'd bet that there's actually quite a bit, but I'm not going looking for it!
Though, I'm sure there's at least one funny one about everybody at the wizards' college which might be worth it... Nah. I'd have to expose myself to the other ones first.
Welcome to the Board! Have some of my world-famous hydrophobic water to commemorate the event. Orthogonal to reality!
Have you read the Original Series yet? If not, be sure to check it out! Don't forget to brush up on our Constitution too.
With all of that important stuff out of the way, may I ask what are your fandoms?
*hides hydrophobic water under pillow for later use*
I have indeed! Jay and Acacia are marvelous without question. And I shall have to reread that, I suppose. T'would be a good idea.
Well, I'm mostly a book person, but I know a couple of video game fandoms (Zelda and Okami). My book fandoms are: Tolkienverse, The Dark is Rising Sequence, Redwall, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, all of T.A. Barron's Merlin books, I'm finally reading Discworld right now, Earthsea I guess, Harry Potter, Abhorsen/Old Kingdom, Narnia, and a bunch of others. I read almost solely fantasy.
Then let me add a Hylian shield to your growing gift pile.
I see you also read Discworld! You'll fit right in. What's your favourite Disc novel? Personally, I'm torn between Thud and Night Watch.
Can I use it to whack Mary Sues with? Or siblings?
*looks sheepish* I'm only on my second book- I've read The Color of Magic and now I'm reading The Light Fantastic. But I have more! And I want to read more! I'm especially looking forward to reading the Death-centric books.
That's a challange that honestly is not necessary. The Color of Magic and the Light Fantastic do have to be read in that order, but other then that, they stand completely on their own. I would read in order until you read Mort, then go and read Soul Music, then whatever you want to do afterword.
DEATH IS THE BEST ANTHROPOMORPHIC PERSONIFICATION IN ALL OF FANTASY. AT LEAST, THAT'S MY OPINION.
I found (well, was directed to) a reading order on the internet (http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-reading-order-guide-20.jpg) that gave me a good approximation of a couple of orders I could read stuff in, but then there's also the issue of which ones I actually have... but I shan't bore you. Thanks for the recommendations!
I VERY MUCH AGREE, FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN OF HIM SO FAR, AT LEAST.
It does a good job of letting you know which books are part of which series, and what order they are within their series, but I could never figure out exactly how it puts the series as a whole in chronological order.
And those dotted lines... are they claiming that two books are taking place at the same time? I know that isn't true, because Lu-Tze appears in both Thief of Time and Small Gods, and even though he's a time traveler, there were enough cues to know that Small Gods took place several years before Thief of Time.
Oh, and by the way, if you want talk like Death, here's the command for small caps.
YOUR TEXT HERE, where font size is 2 and the asterisks are removed.
LIKE SO.
Not all of the books have small caps, but to me it feels less like shouting and more like the dramatic tones it's supposed to be with the smaller letters. Use it if you want. I'm pretty sure that the "change font size" command will come in handy later, at least.
It doesn't. I think.
I think the dotted lines are saying the books have a minor or less-apparent connection than the ones with not dotted lines.
OOH, THANKEE! I'VE WONDERED HOW TO DO THAT.
And I agree about all of that down there.
Thief of Time and Reaper Man were particular gems there, especially Thief of Time. But I've always liked temporal shenanigans, so I'm a bit biased there. The Watch Series was also great, and I agree with SeaTurtle about Thud being one of Discworld's highest points.
We already talked in the last thread, as you probably remember. Are you having fun with your new translocator?
Oops, sorry, just translocated into a wall. It's so very much fun to use, though I think I may have gotten a bit overenthusiastic. :)
Have you read The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper? Really well-written temporal shenanigans abound!
Words of advice: never use a short-range transporter of any sort next to a moving body of water until you're good at aiming it. If you misjudge the distance and fall into the water, the current's going to hit you during that period of fuzzy-headedness right after you reconstitute. After that, you're probably going to need somebody to pull you out, which isn't going to be easy if you end up going under. I lost a good shoe that way.
Translocating around still water should be safer, though, at least if you're a good swimmer.
I've not read anything by Susan Cooper yet. I've seen it well-recommended, though, so I wouldn't turn the Dark is Rising books down if I was given an opportunity to read them.
Thank you knidly kindly for the information. I do believe that if I ever get Permission, at least one of my agents shall be very bad with portals.
...But that's in the far future, so no need to bother with it now. As for TDiR, I would even recommend you deliberately go looking for them. Perhaps using your teleportation device, as I'm sure you're far more proficient with them than I am.
I feel like this is one of those jokes that I don't have the frame of reference to get. Is there a canon character named Knidly who likes water? Is Knidly the surname of one of your agents?
It sounds like something a pioneer would exclaim. "By Knidly! We've encountered the natives!" No, that's just silly.
Although... I could do something with that, couldn't I? Hmmm... *wanders off*
Most of us don't bite, so you're okay to ask questions and so on.
