#fictional fiction

[pargery]

The Air Killings:

A supposedly true dramatization of a series of murders in an early asteroid colony. It was pretty good, if you weren't worried about becoming confused as to the actual existence or not of psychic monsters. I was not worried about that.

-- Platform Decay by Martha Wells

[jimothy-g-brooks]

Lori & The Quest

This story is told in the world of Aporia across the five empires. It has many variations but all share these commonalities: Lori sets out on a quest to save her people from some variable calamity. On the way, she realizes she is being led by the hand of the gods and destiny. Being a rebellious girl, she defies the path set before her and seeks her own way. 

According to the Golden Protectorate, she finds nothing seeking her own path and her people are destroyed by the calamity. She perishes from despair among the bones of her people. The moral of the story is that you are indispensable but you must follow the path ordained for you. If you do not, you and all that you love are doomed.

According to the Oceanic Federation, Lori became rich and powerful seeking her own destiny. She returned to her people, lessened by the calamity, and conquered them. Under her ambitious hand, much of her people were restored to their former glory. Those that she favored were risen higher still and those that ever doubted her were cast down. The moral of the story was to cast away all responsibilities and seek only the glorification of the self. By seeking your own betterment, you will eventually raise everyone else up with you, or at least everyone you like.

According to the Jade Kingdoms, Lori met only doom upon her self-appointed path. Her people found another hero and that one followed the path that had been set before him, saving the day. The moral of the story is that if you step out of line and don't do as you're told, you will be cast aside and replaced by someone who will.

According to the lands formerly of the Black Empire, Lori found a solution superior to the one laid out to her by the gods. She was able to return to her people as a hero, making them better than they were before. The moral of story is to follow your own path, because you know best how you might better help the world.

The people under the aegis of the Pax Ferrous look upon Lori’s story with scorn. A tale has been twisted to and fro and back, until it has a dozen variations and endings remade to suit the teller’s agenda, is worst than useless, it’s misleading. Only the academics of this land collect and compare all versions of the Quest to see if some higher truth might be gleamed from it all.

[swirling-orbs-of-disorder]

Feats of Daring from the Magnificent Medieval Knievel

[azdoine]

Chesscourt By Proxy

So after shilling at my friends for The Northern Caves by @nostalgebraist​, we chatted some (”lugnut is instantly my favorite bit of writing in this so far”) and ended up talking a bit about real-life books even vaguely reminiscent of the fictitious Chesscourt setting.

(The list is open to suggestions and To Be Completed; but let’s be real, I suppose me and my friends are only leaping on an excuse to get nostalgic about children’s literature)

Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland

Children of the Red King?

A Wrinkle In Time

Star Shards Chronicles?

Anything by John Bellairs

[coverstoriesgonewild]

[coverstoriesgonewild]

[magszinestand]