Defiantly Optimistic

Finding Joy

Wed, 27 May 2020 18:01:55 GMT

Written as a submission to the Elsewhere University collective fiction blog. Warnings: Kidnapping, temporary

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scientific process goes oops

Sun, 24 May 2020 15:20:40 GMT

She hadn't planned to actually do it, really. It'd started as a theoretical project, that's all it was meant to be- a test of her skills, just to see if she could code something that complicated for a standard phone.

Maybe she should have thought further ahead when she started. Just a little.

It had started, like many things, with an idle conversation at Bella's house. Sprawled on the mossy carpet next to Maggie as she worked on flash cards, the faint piano music playing from the other girl's phone had gotten her attention, a hand coming up to flash an inquiring sign.

"Huh? Oh- it's this little idle game, Mini-Terrarium. You plant a bunch of little plants in these fish bowl things, and feed the animals that come visit."

"It's not fantastic, but at least it has more than one subspecies for each animal."

From her spot at her desk, Bella looked up from her homework to glance over at the younger girl's screen. "How realistic is the gardening part? I've been trying to look for a good one to play at school for a while now."

A grimace answered her. "Not. You have to pull weeds, pick up trash, and water the plants, but that's it."

"Well that's crap. Just once, I'd like a game that handles it more like it really is- an actual pocket garden."

Lain pushed herself upright, head tilting just slightly as she signed. "What do you mean?"

"Stuff like planting dill and fennel near your roses, to lure ladybugs to keep the aphids away, or making sure the plants have enough sunlight and aren't crowding each other out, or that they're getting the right nutrients. You know, the complicated parts."

Next to Lain, Maggie nodded in agreement. "I want a game that lets me design a fully bioactive enclosure, not just gives me an animal to feed and water. That's like, the bare minimum. Where's the enrichment? I want to decorate the enclosures!" She huffed, wings flapping irritably, until Zan rolled over in the hammock, letting an arm dangle down to scritch at the dark green feathers.

"Is this your way of saying you're going to take up coding out of spite, little bird?"

"I fucking well might!"

The conversation had turned, then, to the new topic- spite as a motivating force, and ridiculous things they'd done because of it- but it hadn't left Lain's mind. A game like Maggie and Bella had described couldn't be that hard to code- could it?

A ride home and a few hours later had found her sprawled out on her bed, wikipedia page up on Spice's holodisplay, and a separate window full of notes.

"Best of both worlds... Ball pythons, maybe, to start with, they're easiest to find info on, and that'll give me a rainforest to pick plants from..."

A week had passed. Two. Figuring out the display settings for the enclosures had been easy- offering two cage orientations to match the phone dimensions, designing the 3D environment to look like it was looking through the glass into the tank. She'd played with a few shaders for a while, before settling for cell shading- it looked best with the low poly environment, and used the least processing power.

(That had been the real stumbling block, honestly, processing power- if she'd been building it just for her devices, or even ones her aunt had built, it wouldn't have been one at all. How could anyone stand having a phone with such a weak CPU? Madness, pure madness.)

(Maybe she should take over the handheld device industry when she grew up. The people currently in charge clearly weren't doing a good job of it.)

Modelling the humidity settings had been a little challenging- but working out the equation had been kind of fun, honestly, figuring out what variables to link to which aspects of the decor.

Then there was the model rigging, the animation- figuring out how to model the shedding and eating without it looking flat out bizarre had left her pulling her hair in frustration.

It still wasn't done. It wasn't able to simulate a fully bioactive enclosure yet, despite Lain's efforts- there was research she'd have to do on springtails, other aspects of bioactives to look into- but it was playable.

The bioactive functions could be added in later, anyway- it's not like apps didn't release updates all the time-

But there was the problem.

"How the hell do you publish an app, anyway?"

Pumpkin Spice, helpfully, projected a page on publishing laws- and Lain's eyes crossed trying to parse the legal jargon.

"...You know what, Spice, I think I'm just gonna ask Dad for help." The robot tarantula clicked understandingly, shutting the display down as he climbed up the girl's sleeve to settle in on her shoulder.

As she left the room, Lain couldn't help but muse that as far as consequences went, an accidentally functioning app was far from the worst possible result for when the scientific process goes oops.

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Private Parties

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 09:59:57 GMT

Prompt response for ysabetwordsmith, in response to the 4/18-4/19 Crowdfunding Creative Jam! The theme was 'Secrets', the prompt was 'Private Parties'.

Content warnings: Vague mentions of maladaptive behavior, playful shittalking. Other than that, none- basically entirely fluff, in a setting where no one has to worry about social distancing.

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"So, what are we doing, exactly? Because I don't think you've told me."

Zan trails behind the two girls, their hands in their pockets, as they look around the forest. There's no missing the very obvious path grown for them to walk on, lined by thornless vines on either side. It's picturesque, like a cute little fairytale. Ahead, Maggie and Lain walk with an air of familiarity, the bird girl trailing a hand over the vines.

Lain turns to walk backwards, hands coming up to sign. "We're going to set up energy sources for Bella, and a projector. I finished a blueprint for a set that have enough failsafes to prevent any catastrophic collateral damage from failures."

"Right. Okay. That makes sense. And you're sure I'm not going to have Eldritch Clifford giving me the wooly eye with the forest burning down around us?"

A hand wiggles a little. "I've been practicing my extinguishing, and I tested it. It'll be fine."

It's a little reassuring, at least. Still, as the responsible 'adult' of the group, Zan resolves quietly to be ready, just in case.

When they arrive at the greenwitch's home, Bella's already out and waiting for them- and the cat-like creature sprawled out in a sunbeam soon reveals that she isn't alone, as it stretches, straightening out into a girl around Maggie's height. One golden eye roams over the crowd, her lips pulling back to reveal canid teeth as she grins, waving to them, and Maggie waves back enthusiastically.

"Tria! You're gonna help us out today, then?" An eager nod meets the question, and Maggie grins back at her, fistpumping the air. "Awesome! This'll be great. Alright, Lain, show us what to do!"

As all eyes turn to Lain, she stiffens, for a moment. Her face remains impassive as her gaze scans over the grouping, and her fingers stroke subtly over the cuffs of her sleeve, feeling the soft catch-and-slide of the cloth beneath her fingers.

A chittering against her ears draw her eyes to her tarantula, his dark metals gleaming in the afternoon light, and she lets out the breath she hadn't been consciously holding, lifting her eyes and hands.

"Alright. So here's what we need to do first."

Day has given way to a chilly dusk by the time their efforts are finished. The teenagers drop into a bed of thick clover, sprawled out to let the cold seep into tired muscles. Around them, small bits of metal gleam in the fading light- a solar panel here, a tiny rain turbine there.

Getting the gear into place hadn't been easy. Getting it to stay there, even harder. Eventually, a solution had been worked out, with Maggie riding on Zan's shoulders, holding the equipment in place, as Bella's vines grew up to secure them there.

But the results- if this worked- will be worth it. And once they've caught their breaths a bit, their attention lifts back to the fruits of their labor. Lain's eyes slide to Bella, and she lifts her hands, signing.

"Ready to try it out?"

Bella grins, rolling over onto her stomach as she props herself up on her elbows. The others scramble into more comfortable viewing positions, as they twist around to watch-

And with a twist of her hand, the curtain drops, the vines looped around the white tarp whipping loose, letting it unroll to hang down. A few taps on her phone- and the projector hums to life, the red and black splash of Netflix's dashboard coming to life. A vine reaches out the window, trading off a bowl to another and retreating for a second, ferrying the snacks down the trunk of the treehouse in a floral conveyor belt.

Zan's eyes flick to Maggie as she lays claim to the bowl of apple chips, settling a wing around them like a shield, the protective gesture not going unnoticed. But before they can start to analyze it, Bella's voice breaks the silence.

"Taking votes now, what are we watching first?"

"Fury Road!" "Wicked!" "Naruto!"

(That last one is met with pelted food, and laughter, and one "That's not a fucking movie you piece of shit weaboo!")

Memery gives way to more laughter, playful shoving- but in the end, they settle down, wriggling in closer together to share warmth as the opening notes of the movie roll in the secrecy of the forest.

"This. Is Berk."

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the effort to repair it

Sat, 05 Oct 2019 14:42:13 GMT

Summary: Anthia receives a gift from a friend, with more meaning than the simple packaging implies.

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just don't let that flicker go out

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 07:57:14 GMT

Belongs to the Glassport universe.

Warnings: Neglectful parents, near death experience, implied alcoholicism, hurt/nocomfort.

Pay special attention: Maggie is very much not okay right now, and it shows. The inside of her head is not a happy place at the moment, and at this point in the story, she is not yet receiving the help she needs. Please take your mental state into consideration before reading.

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Fri, 20 Sep 2019 02:41:04 GMT

If Zan was still determined to be a villain, they'd wind up being like the Riddler, except that even if the heroes couldn't solve the riddles in time the death traps would 'mysteriously malfunction' in ways that definitely weren't pre-built failsafes, nosiree.

(They ABSOLUTELY were, and Lain built them.)
(At Zan's request, at that.)

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*despite everything

Sun, 01 Sep 2019 16:45:04 GMT

Warnings: Semi-graphic description of injuries, intrusive thoughts.

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friends to share it with

Mon, 26 Aug 2019 18:01:08 GMT

Summary: After Zan gets out of the hospital and set up in the guest room at Cassie's place, they discover a new chat program on their phone- and learn that they have a larger support network than they thought.

Warnings: Aftermath of torture, discussion of child abuse, casual invasion of privacy. Current environment is supportive.( Read more... )( Read more... )( Read more... )

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