Apollonian Gasket Forge
@apollonianforge.bsky.social
Writing and worldbuilding.
Plotting chauvinist. Strong opinions about sentence form. Sci-fi/fantasy. Crank worldbuilding opinions. Craft practice.
Regrettably, we cannot forge Apollonian Gaskets at this time.
Plotting chauvinist. Strong opinions about sentence form. Sci-fi/fantasy. Crank worldbuilding opinions. Craft practice.
Regrettably, we cannot forge Apollonian Gaskets at this time.
Pinned
Thread of threads for #Prosetober so it's all in one place. This should be my pinned post into November, for those looking to reference it during that time
This was a month of not just conlanging, but really getting into some linguistics stuff I'd never really thought about before. It wasn't what I imagined for January at the end of December, but it is where I ended up!
#JanuaryWorldbuilders, what research are you currently doing for your worldbuilding? Or what have you looked up recently? if nothing else, do you have any fun facts you want to share with the rest of us? 👀
January 30, 2026 at 8:27 PM
This was a month of not just conlanging, but really getting into some linguistics stuff I'd never really thought about before. It wasn't what I imagined for January at the end of December, but it is where I ended up!
Me: I should write more
Also me: *writes a 5000 word piece with no future home called "All The Socialists You Will Meet" venting somewhat uncharitable frustrations I have about progressive organizing*
Also me: *writes a 5000 word piece with no future home called "All The Socialists You Will Meet" venting somewhat uncharitable frustrations I have about progressive organizing*
January 30, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Me: I should write more
Also me: *writes a 5000 word piece with no future home called "All The Socialists You Will Meet" venting somewhat uncharitable frustrations I have about progressive organizing*
Also me: *writes a 5000 word piece with no future home called "All The Socialists You Will Meet" venting somewhat uncharitable frustrations I have about progressive organizing*
As I enter middle age, I feel some of this too. (No, really, want to hear what I think of the tropification of publishing for the 100th time?) But the whole, "Modern cinema is terrible, why isn't everything Jackson's LOTR" schtick is the old person stuff we all swore off 20 years ago
There is something very funny about the "we're never getting old" generation going 110% in on "actually, the best media was produced when I was 11" angle
January 30, 2026 at 4:36 PM
As I enter middle age, I feel some of this too. (No, really, want to hear what I think of the tropification of publishing for the 100th time?) But the whole, "Modern cinema is terrible, why isn't everything Jackson's LOTR" schtick is the old person stuff we all swore off 20 years ago
There is something very funny about the "we're never getting old" generation going 110% in on "actually, the best media was produced when I was 11" angle
January 30, 2026 at 4:35 PM
There is something very funny about the "we're never getting old" generation going 110% in on "actually, the best media was produced when I was 11" angle
"Direct plot" is when you get a summary of what happened
Like just straight-up telling us what a character is like, there's a time and a place. Tolkien used this every time he introduced a new polity to give a sense of scope and flesh out the wider world
Like just straight-up telling us what a character is like, there's a time and a place. Tolkien used this every time he introduced a new polity to give a sense of scope and flesh out the wider world
The exceptions, direct characterizations and direct plot*, are some of the weaker things to read except sparingly and ought to be avoided
*is this a thing? if not, is it obvious what I mean?
*is this a thing? if not, is it obvious what I mean?
January 30, 2026 at 1:03 PM
"Direct plot" is when you get a summary of what happened
Like just straight-up telling us what a character is like, there's a time and a place. Tolkien used this every time he introduced a new polity to give a sense of scope and flesh out the wider world
Like just straight-up telling us what a character is like, there's a time and a place. Tolkien used this every time he introduced a new polity to give a sense of scope and flesh out the wider world
A different take on "show don't tell" is that character and plot mostly don't exist in your draft (where are they?), so you should focus on the things that do to give a sense a character and plot
January 30, 2026 at 12:41 PM
A different take on "show don't tell" is that character and plot mostly don't exist in your draft (where are they?), so you should focus on the things that do to give a sense a character and plot
G.R.R. Martin alt found.
when in doubt, kill your protagonist. if still in doubt, kill your antagonist. continue killing characters until all doubt is removed and your story is just a description of some land or a building
January 28, 2026 at 9:46 PM
G.R.R. Martin alt found.
A hill I will die on is that Lucas did a good* job telling Anakin's story and people wildly misread it. The Art of Storytelling, who is very good at this stuff, missed the scene on Tattooine in Episode I where Anakin straight up says he would kill a bunch of people to save the people he loved
The Moral Problem Of Anakin Skywalker
YouTube video by The Art Of Storytelling
www.youtube.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:56 PM
A hill I will die on is that Lucas did a good* job telling Anakin's story and people wildly misread it. The Art of Storytelling, who is very good at this stuff, missed the scene on Tattooine in Episode I where Anakin straight up says he would kill a bunch of people to save the people he loved
Even before Perseus appreciates the entire self-fulfilling prophecy of his life, he knows there is slim chance of him completing his work and finding a safe era to build a life for himself. Yet that such a future even exists hinges on his actions
What's something your MC wants that you know they're never going to get? Why? Are they not doing enough to earn it? Is it something they don't actually need? etc. #WritingPrompt
January 27, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Even before Perseus appreciates the entire self-fulfilling prophecy of his life, he knows there is slim chance of him completing his work and finding a safe era to build a life for himself. Yet that such a future even exists hinges on his actions
Fun fact about the Empire!
The ministers were involved in designing the relevant curricula at the academy they attended together. Unsurprisingly, they all very much like the subjects they had a hand in designing
The ministers were involved in designing the relevant curricula at the academy they attended together. Unsurprisingly, they all very much like the subjects they had a hand in designing
Tell me more about your #AwesomeCharacters
Hypothetical! In an alternate reality where your characters are all going to a modern-day high school, what is their favorite subject (if any)?
Would they join any extracurriculars? Why?
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
Hypothetical! In an alternate reality where your characters are all going to a modern-day high school, what is their favorite subject (if any)?
Would they join any extracurriculars? Why?
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts
January 26, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Fun fact about the Empire!
The ministers were involved in designing the relevant curricula at the academy they attended together. Unsurprisingly, they all very much like the subjects they had a hand in designing
The ministers were involved in designing the relevant curricula at the academy they attended together. Unsurprisingly, they all very much like the subjects they had a hand in designing
Thinking about going back to the blog thing so I can write spicy takes like, "Your Character Isn't Anything---Your Character Does Things"
This will end with me conceding that thinking about your character in "is" terms is fine, but I much prefer scenarios to traits
This will end with me conceding that thinking about your character in "is" terms is fine, but I much prefer scenarios to traits
January 26, 2026 at 11:16 AM
Thinking about going back to the blog thing so I can write spicy takes like, "Your Character Isn't Anything---Your Character Does Things"
This will end with me conceding that thinking about your character in "is" terms is fine, but I much prefer scenarios to traits
This will end with me conceding that thinking about your character in "is" terms is fine, but I much prefer scenarios to traits
It's funny that Tolkien fathered generations of copycats and they are all like, "The elves---so wise" and then you read about literally every decision Fëanor ever made
January 26, 2026 at 1:25 AM
It's funny that Tolkien fathered generations of copycats and they are all like, "The elves---so wise" and then you read about literally every decision Fëanor ever made
*My* hot take is that getting really good at executing conventions---be they plot expectations, genre tropes, form, grammar, sentence clarity---is almost always better than "breaking" a rule
Though, oh my, do the exceptions *sing*!
Though, oh my, do the exceptions *sing*!
January 25, 2026 at 10:43 PM
*My* hot take is that getting really good at executing conventions---be they plot expectations, genre tropes, form, grammar, sentence clarity---is almost always better than "breaking" a rule
Though, oh my, do the exceptions *sing*!
Though, oh my, do the exceptions *sing*!
A friend called asking for advice on how to get out of a writing rut, and I figured I would post it here:
1) Find your people---a writing, not critique, group
2) Practice; do writing for its own sake that you're not deeply invested in
3) Make peace with the fact ALL first drafts are bad
1) Find your people---a writing, not critique, group
2) Practice; do writing for its own sake that you're not deeply invested in
3) Make peace with the fact ALL first drafts are bad
January 22, 2026 at 11:38 AM
A friend called asking for advice on how to get out of a writing rut, and I figured I would post it here:
1) Find your people---a writing, not critique, group
2) Practice; do writing for its own sake that you're not deeply invested in
3) Make peace with the fact ALL first drafts are bad
1) Find your people---a writing, not critique, group
2) Practice; do writing for its own sake that you're not deeply invested in
3) Make peace with the fact ALL first drafts are bad
A lot of this assumes people get *well-informed*, but I think people ought to take a look at that too. A lot of people hung off minutiae about Gaza and had a lot of feelings about it, but struggled to articulate basic points of international law the political actors involved. Were they "informed"?
It has been enormously helpful for me, as a person, to ask *am I going to constructively react to the news right now*
"Constructively" is important! Getting upset and doing nothing is at best neutral, and realistically it is usually destructive to my ability to affect even small change
"Constructively" is important! Getting upset and doing nothing is at best neutral, and realistically it is usually destructive to my ability to affect even small change
January 21, 2026 at 4:18 PM
A lot of this assumes people get *well-informed*, but I think people ought to take a look at that too. A lot of people hung off minutiae about Gaza and had a lot of feelings about it, but struggled to articulate basic points of international law the political actors involved. Were they "informed"?
It has been enormously helpful for me, as a person, to ask *am I going to constructively react to the news right now*
"Constructively" is important! Getting upset and doing nothing is at best neutral, and realistically it is usually destructive to my ability to affect even small change
"Constructively" is important! Getting upset and doing nothing is at best neutral, and realistically it is usually destructive to my ability to affect even small change
January 21, 2026 at 4:10 PM
It has been enormously helpful for me, as a person, to ask *am I going to constructively react to the news right now*
"Constructively" is important! Getting upset and doing nothing is at best neutral, and realistically it is usually destructive to my ability to affect even small change
"Constructively" is important! Getting upset and doing nothing is at best neutral, and realistically it is usually destructive to my ability to affect even small change
Conlang idea: Expressperanto, Esperanto but with the information compressed so that it can be spoken faster
January 17, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Conlang idea: Expressperanto, Esperanto but with the information compressed so that it can be spoken faster
Dune x Paw Patrol
Concocting increasingly curséd cross stories:
-LOTR x Master and Commander
-Harry Potter x The Expanse
-Winnie the Pooh x Carrie
-LOTR x Master and Commander
-Harry Potter x The Expanse
-Winnie the Pooh x Carrie
January 14, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Dune x Paw Patrol
Quark, answering questions: I want a very conventional Ferengi relationship, my father would approve
Quark, about to be murdered by a woman a meter taller than him: 🥵🥵🥵
Quark, about to be murdered by a woman a meter taller than him: 🥵🥵🥵
My favorite detail in the characterization on DS9 is that the informed characterization is that Quark wants a submissive Ferengi woman, but the demonstrated characterization is he wants a Domme of any species to squash him like a bug
January 14, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Quark, answering questions: I want a very conventional Ferengi relationship, my father would approve
Quark, about to be murdered by a woman a meter taller than him: 🥵🥵🥵
Quark, about to be murdered by a woman a meter taller than him: 🥵🥵🥵
My favorite detail in the characterization on DS9 is that the informed characterization is that Quark wants a submissive Ferengi woman, but the demonstrated characterization is he wants a Domme of any species to squash him like a bug
January 14, 2026 at 4:19 PM
My favorite detail in the characterization on DS9 is that the informed characterization is that Quark wants a submissive Ferengi woman, but the demonstrated characterization is he wants a Domme of any species to squash him like a bug
Worse, chat isn't even a second person pronoun:
-You go to the store.
-He goes to the store
-*Chat go to the store
I don't see much evidence it is a pronoun, for that matter
-You go to the store.
-He goes to the store
-*Chat go to the store
I don't see much evidence it is a pronoun, for that matter
I know everyone wants "chat" to be a fourth person pronoun, but it's just a vocative utterance with the same status as a person's name:
"Maurice, is that right?"
"Chat, is that right?"
It's got some neat pragmatics, but I don't see any syntactic reason to think it's doing not delimiting the audience
"Maurice, is that right?"
"Chat, is that right?"
It's got some neat pragmatics, but I don't see any syntactic reason to think it's doing not delimiting the audience
January 14, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Worse, chat isn't even a second person pronoun:
-You go to the store.
-He goes to the store
-*Chat go to the store
I don't see much evidence it is a pronoun, for that matter
-You go to the store.
-He goes to the store
-*Chat go to the store
I don't see much evidence it is a pronoun, for that matter
I know everyone wants "chat" to be a fourth person pronoun, but it's just a vocative utterance with the same status as a person's name:
"Maurice, is that right?"
"Chat, is that right?"
It's got some neat pragmatics, but I don't see any syntactic reason to think it's doing not delimiting the audience
"Maurice, is that right?"
"Chat, is that right?"
It's got some neat pragmatics, but I don't see any syntactic reason to think it's doing not delimiting the audience
January 14, 2026 at 2:05 PM
I know everyone wants "chat" to be a fourth person pronoun, but it's just a vocative utterance with the same status as a person's name:
"Maurice, is that right?"
"Chat, is that right?"
It's got some neat pragmatics, but I don't see any syntactic reason to think it's doing not delimiting the audience
"Maurice, is that right?"
"Chat, is that right?"
It's got some neat pragmatics, but I don't see any syntactic reason to think it's doing not delimiting the audience
In b4 one of you heathens says you'd read all 3
Concocting increasingly curséd cross stories:
-LOTR x Master and Commander
-Harry Potter x The Expanse
-Winnie the Pooh x Carrie
-LOTR x Master and Commander
-Harry Potter x The Expanse
-Winnie the Pooh x Carrie
January 13, 2026 at 1:07 PM
In b4 one of you heathens says you'd read all 3
Concocting increasingly curséd cross stories:
-LOTR x Master and Commander
-Harry Potter x The Expanse
-Winnie the Pooh x Carrie
-LOTR x Master and Commander
-Harry Potter x The Expanse
-Winnie the Pooh x Carrie
January 13, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Concocting increasingly curséd cross stories:
-LOTR x Master and Commander
-Harry Potter x The Expanse
-Winnie the Pooh x Carrie
-LOTR x Master and Commander
-Harry Potter x The Expanse
-Winnie the Pooh x Carrie
My brain: There are two options here tonight. You can either fixate on extremely niche points of Esperanto grammar and what they might say about human cognition OR you can melt into a puddle of anxiety.
Me: Is there a secret third thing?
My brain: Absolutely not
Me: Is there a secret third thing?
My brain: Absolutely not
January 11, 2026 at 11:42 PM
My brain: There are two options here tonight. You can either fixate on extremely niche points of Esperanto grammar and what they might say about human cognition OR you can melt into a puddle of anxiety.
Me: Is there a secret third thing?
My brain: Absolutely not
Me: Is there a secret third thing?
My brain: Absolutely not