Richard Pearman
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graptopetalum.bsky.social
Richard Pearman
@graptopetalum.bsky.social
450 followers 260 following 380 posts
Science fiction writer working on a "Messianic space Narnia" series.
Collects cacti and succulents.
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graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 26 impede
Young Eleprin is going out with her parents and their new friends; Lishrashic and his wife, Iandris.
From "Tales of Midbar: Religious Intolerance" - www.inkitt.com/stories/618270
Background: A man of South Asian appearance kneeling by a car in a street at night. Lishrashic and Dad proceeded to discuss business. I tried to follow this but it was difficult for me. There seemed to be some weird logic to it that didn't make sense to me. "I suppose there are limits on what you can do in ..." Lishrashic started saying but just then he lurched forward, stopped by his seatbelt and the car jolted to a stop. "Progress impeded!" said the car's computer. "Car reverse six meters!" barked Lishrashic, desperately. The car reversed and stopped. Lishrashic fell back in his seat, gasping for air. I giggled. "What the fornication was that!" asked Iandris. "Do you have a spell on you?" "I thought this restaurant was in Minris!" said Lishrashic. "The town boundary is on the watershed between ..." I started to say. Criadria had been teaching me things visitors wanted to know. Sometimes people were interested in buying property or doing things that required knowing the town boundaries. I was also encouraged to try to direct them to things within the town boundaries so I needed to know where they were. Lishrasic got out the car and shouted, "Astrigis! I'm not leaving town! The restaurant's in the town boundaries!"
November 26, 2025 at 6:32 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 25 system
New students are on a tour of the university.
From "Tales of Midbar: Poisoned Well" - www.inkitt.com/stories/635659
Background: An astronomical observatory on a barren mountain top. "We knew a great deal about space before the Landing," said the astronomer with messy hair who was showing us round. "And after being here for fifteen millennia, you'd think we'd know everything. Well, we don't. There are things that change in ways we hadn't predicted. Every so often, some small, dark object will come close enough to us for us to see. There's a rogue planet approaching with five large, possibly habitable moons. There are rather a lot of things we've launched, which are still floating around this solar system and we've lost track of some of them but might find them again. We're looking out for signs of intelligent life nearby, particularly after the Mysterious Monsters arrived and it became apparent the Phantoms are still in our solar system. Even before that we'd noticed a number of stars dimming because megastructures were being built around them. As this has military implications, there are things I'm not allowed to tell you. We also have a tachyon communicator but it rarely picks up a signal and what we have got hasn't been very useful." Then he looked right at Water-Current and myself as if we were responsible and said, "It would help if teleporters would be more forthcoming about certain things."
November 25, 2025 at 4:50 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
The woman grabbed the cover to keep it on her and strange purple flames erupted from the bed and filled the room.
New chapter of "Medusa's Head' - read it all! Vote, review, give feedback, discuss!
www.inkitt.com/stories/1582...
#writingcommunity #fantasy
AI picture from Bing Image Create and is supposed to be Aphrodite's vimana. This is the only picture that had it floating in the sky and didn't have an inappropriate background, which is what happened with Ideogram.
November 25, 2025 at 4:14 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 24 debut
I don't use this word so I'm going with the first time Breeze goes out in the street after being officially recognized as the new Vineyard Magis.
From "Tales of Midbar: Heretical Gods" - www.inkitt.com/stories/497649
Background: a red-haired girl with her hair in a bun. "I'm a mage," said Narim. "No, you're not," said Breeze. "You're a mess, what did you do, use artifacts to bind associates to yourself?" "That's very dangerous," I said. "It's cleverer than just getting a magis to bind associates to you," said Narim. "No, because it never works well," said Breeze. "Magis propaganda!" said Narim. "Anyway, Yoldasia's back there and I've heard a few people mention avatars and Printorac, who wrote the book on avatars but it isn't very good." "Well, I can't help it that there's a serious lack of real avatars," said Printorac, "and they wouldn't let me talk to Mildras and Aublelma." "The point is," said Narim, briefly giving Printorac an odd look, "that I don't think this is a conference for artifact collectors. I think it's that big mage conference about the avatars and stuff." "Had any erections in the last few hours?" I asked. "They're going to announce who the new magis is," said Narim, looking worried. "They already did," said Breeze, "so I don't have to keep it a secret now." Then she shouted, "I, Breeze, clamet of Beit Meldren, am the new Vineyard magis!" I realized that I was going to have to think of a way to explain to my parents why both me and the magis had been allowed in the conference and they hadn't, without telling them I was a mage. "I know a lot more about magic than you!" said Narim. "No, you don't!" said Breeze. "I've been taking lessons from Ice and other Haprihagfen magi for years. How do you think I knew about your associates without using a magic detector?"
November 24, 2025 at 9:57 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips global November 23
I couldn't find this word so I went with out first look at the planet Dh-urgmore.
From "Tales of Midbar: Children's Crusade" - www.inkitt.com/stories/628012
Background: A spaceship near an earthlike planet. "Right," said Garry, "launch in four, three, two, one!" I was pulled downward into my couch with a force not even close to Tempest gravity, not to mention what I'd experienced leaving that planet. There was just one screen in front of Gary's seat, which at first just seemed to be black. Then a small, craggy moon or asteroid came into view. Then the half illuminated disc of Dh-urghmor itself, swirls of cloud with some glimpses of blue sea beneith. I'd have been happier it had been a desert planet like Midbar, I really didn't want another water world!
November 23, 2025 at 9:55 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 21 direction
Clindar's got himself into a legal mess and his estranged sister is doing weird things.
From "Tales of Midbar: Secret Priest" - www.inkitt.com/stories/200642
Backgriound: a teenage girl of South Asian appearance with her hair in a bun and wearing a sari. Dad had taken me to the court house to try to get an injunction that would allow me to stay in school until the legal matters were settled. This was an old, stone building from before the Cataclysm with the interior walls painted in a scheme which I'm sure was deliberately chosen to be depressing. I was sitting in the corridor as I might be required to testify and shouldn't know what was happening with the case. I was feeling worthless and nervous and angry so I was looking at the floor with my firsts clenched. I felt a burst of power from the direction of the women's toilet. This faded to the same feeling of power I'd had when Egrindreth had come to our house. Egrindreth and another girl came out and walked over to me. The companion seemed to be the same one as before but in the white electric light I could see she had the light skin of a bennis but her ears weren't pointed.
November 22, 2025 at 12:00 AM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
Urtigo says, "Yes, well if they not your robots, you can not be expected to explain actions and not mind if we destroy them."
New chapter of "Tales of Midbar: Ghost Mage"
www.inkitt.com/stories/6320...
#writingcommunity #sciencefiction
Strange looking vehical with people sitting on it on a road in arid mountains in red light. AI picture is Bing Image Create but I darkened it a bit in Gimp. It's supposed to be one of the vehicles from the spaceship but isn't really what I wanted. All the other AI's I tried produced vehicles that looked too small and normal-looking.
November 21, 2025 at 5:31 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 20 special
Young Eleprin's parents have decided to move to a creepy village and assume false identities as members of the unpopular Winemaker religion. They've just met a Winemaker woman.
From "Tales of Midbar: Religious Intolerance" - www.inkitt.com/stories/618270
Background: a woman with long, grey hair in creepy room. "Well we," Dad said, "my wife and daughter and myself, are Winemakers and were driven out of Grishnarl by Nuhara persecution, although the Trulists didn't exactly stand up for us." "Typical," said the woman. "They make all these noises about equal rights for everybody and then don't do anything useful when there's a real problem." "Anyway," said Dad, "we came here because we'd heard that there was a Winemaker community here. Unfortunately, we spent most our money moving so I was wondering if you could help us." "The only Winemakers in Minris, well, the only ones who are active in anything that can be called a 'Winemaker community', are the inhabitants of the Vinyard," said the woman. "We're an order called 'Haprihagfen', although everybody here just calls us 'Winemakers'. Although, of course, anybody can become a Winemaker, or should be able to if the Trulists hadn't outlawed religious conversion, joining our order requires rather more specific qualifications ..." "Being minions," I said. The woman looked me in the eyes and I knew I'd annoyed her, and she said, "Your daughter's rather special, isn't she?" "I'm important!" I said. "Is that the same as being special?" There was silence for a second and then Mum said, "Of course she's special." "To us," said Dad, "but she's really a very normal girl but there's nothing wrong with that." I crossed my arms and pouted at him.
November 20, 2025 at 6:39 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 19 third
Delegates at an interdimensional diplomatic meeting are introducing themselves.
From "Tales of Midbar: Ghost Mage" - www.inkitt.com/stories/632029
Background: what looks like a glass sphere in a cage with a city behind it. "Reflesc, chairperson of the Mage Council." The octopus in the tank thrashed its, well I suppose her, tentacles about. "Vellinna," said the bennis, "legal advisor for the Mage Council." "Clindar, Grand Priest of Benai Nibeyim." "Dwendra, Grand Farmer of Benai Nibeyim." "Mascrin, secretary of the Human Community Council." "Jargarmantrican," said the black hairy, "emissary of Kledris Valley." "Tobrac lol o'Deadwood on Midbar," said the man from Midbar-Swentil, "Negotiator for Two Sun Colony." "Grindin lol o'Touchdown City on Midbar," said his female companion, "Tobrac's assistant." "Bruard Vrastmin the third," said the man from Midbar-Hud. "Negotiator for Golden Sands Colony." "I'm his assistant," said the woman, who had yellow skin and sparkling blue hair. Her dress was simple, tight, low cut and sparkling white. "My name's Kemdrapni Sardin."
November 19, 2025 at 10:13 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
I've started a new story to enter for the Old Gods, New Feelings contest.
www.inkitt.com/stories/1582... - read it all! Vote, review, give feedback, discuss!
#writingcommunity #fantasy
Silhouette of a woman with her arms raised and purple snakes radiating from her head. Text: MEDUSER'S HEAD A LEGEND FROM THE TALES OF MIDBAR MULTIVERSE RICHARD PEARMAN I don't use AI for book covers. I decided to do the sort of simple cover that seems to be popular now. The type I criticize for looking as if they took 30 mins in a vector graphics program. This took me 20 mins in Inkscape (a free vector graphics program)!
November 18, 2025 at 8:39 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 18 retrograde
It took me a while to find a use of this word.
Eleprin and Printorac are discussing plans with the mysterious leader of a vigilante group.
From "Tales of Midbar: Heretical Gods" - www.inkitt.com/stories/497649
"We need to assassinate Nuhar Vaclan, his brothers, his sons and Book Bearers. Aramator will collapse and cease to be a threat. It needs to be done soon and they need to be assassinated in a short space of time so the Aramatoran leadership can't figure out what's happening." "That would require a number of assassins who can blend in in Aramator," said Eagle, "almost certainly quippas who speak fluent Quippa and are familiar not just with Nuhara teachings but the finer points of Aramatoran culture, are familiar with Navinuharbilag including their targets and those around them. I have nobody like that." "We don't either," I said. "I guess we'll just have to go with your evacuation plan." "She's not being honest," said the receptionist. The obvious way to carry out the assassinations was to send anavim. We'd put this to the members of Beit Cohen and been told in no uncertain terms that all anavim (including Clindar and Dwendra) were strictly prohibited from doing that sort of thing. In spite of the fact that Printorac told them that he'd foreseen that the alternative was colossal loss of human life they'd still refused. They'd pointed out that refraining from such things was very important now that it was widely known that teleporters existed and some were partly responsible for the two worst acts of terrorism since the Cataclysm. "There is another option. Only a few people are capable of carrying it out and it's rather a retrograde edge on ring dive so you should prepare your evacuation plan. However, I've foreseen things will be better if we fight the Monsters." "There's also the problem," said Eagle, "are the Monsters going to act on a rumour? How are we going to provoke an attack at a particular time?" "Hopefully we'll get their attention with the rumours," I said, "in a few days, we'll have Aublelma dismember a Nuhara rape gang member in a very public situation and then run into the Nuhara quarter. That will hopefully provoke a Monster attack."
November 18, 2025 at 8:33 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 17 spend
I went with "cost" and "expensive" instead.
Eleprin is asking her parents how her friends can disappear and obtain false identities the way her family did.
From "Tales of Midbar: Heretical Gods" - www.inkitt.com/stories/497649
Background: A teenage girl of South Asian appearance with short hair and wearing a sari with a light floating near her. "Why have you got a mage ..?" asked Dad. "Why the feces are you associating with people who get into this sort of trouble?" "What, hotel guests who don't want to be Temple Prostitutes?" "I don't think the priesthood would send magi to assassinate people for that," said Dad. "It's a bit more complicated but it's probably best if you don't know the details." "What's the time?" asked Mum, "it isn't sapphire light yet?" "These people are expensive," said Dad. "It cost us nearly everything we had!" "Yeah, well this is the backup plan." "What's the main plan?" asked Dad. "Best if you don't know."
November 17, 2025 at 9:12 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 16 run
Rhadimund is in a jettisoned cargo pod which is sinking on the super-earth water world planet Tempest.
From "Tales of Midbar: Children's Crusade" - www.inkitt.com/stories/628012
Background: A dark spaceship corridor with water coming in and people running around. Infra-red picture of Rhadimund in a slanting corridor with lots of beams and hatches. Water is dripping in and some is flowing over the floor. A few humans are staggering around and some shouts and screams can be heard. Some injured and dead (identifiable by their lower body temperatures) are lying on the floor. Rhadimund is running in a crowd along a corridor. Rhadimund: I hope we've found the way out! This seems to be upward and where a lot of people are going. Harry: Why don't you teleport out? Rhadimund: I don't want to leave you! Harry: I'm sure I can escape! I know you can't teleport into water and only have a small altitude range.
November 16, 2025 at 9:20 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 14 week
I don't really use this word because on Midbar people tend to go by three day light cycles because of the interaction between the natural 18 hour days and the artificial 24 hour ones.
From "Tales of Midbar: Religious Intolerance" - www.inkitt.com/stories/618270
Background: A frightened girl of South Asian appearance in a creepy wood. "It's worship today," said Mum. "It's the second day of the light cycle," I said. "Winemakers worship every seven days," said Dad, "not on the first day of every second light cycle, like Trulists do." "Fortunately, the hotel has pamphlets about Winemaker worship," said Mum, waving a brightly colored bit of glossy paper. "It says that Winemakers don't put on special clothing or makeup for worship, which I suppose simplifies things. Apparently, those pre-Cataclism outfits the Haprihagfen wear are mostly for the benefit of tourists; most Winemakers, even Haprihagfen, dress normally most the time." "Yes, I know," I said.
November 14, 2025 at 10:15 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
New chapter of "Tales of Midbar: Ghost Mage" - read it all! Vote, review, give feedback, discuss!
www.inkitt.com/stories/6320...
#writingcommunity #sciencefiction
A burning spaceship in a red sky with some mountains below. Clearly, the confusion spell worked because I instantly felt rather confused. I was still with a male anav and two anavot but it was brighter with a red dwarf shining in the sky and street lights. I was facing a group of people, some of whom were wearing gray robes, had light colored beards or both. They were waving signs in Faharni saying things like, KILL ALL TELEPORTERS, REVENGE FOR NAVINUHARBILAG and FREE NUHAR ZORG. I was wearing different clothes and my body felt wrong. A burning spaceship in a red sky with some mountains below. AI picture is from Night Cafe and is supposed to be the KR 47 coming in to crash. Bing refused to do this, claiming it was "unsafe"! I didn't ask for any humans to be in the picture. There are loads of similar images in "Star Trek", "Star Wars", "Doctor Who" and a load of other U or PG-rated movies and TV shows! Did Bing think it would inspire people to shoot down alien spaceships on desert planets?
November 14, 2025 at 5:21 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 13 build
I went with "construction" and "building".
Tom and the mysterious Umangela are trying to find a way to leave Midbar.
From "Tales of Midbar: Exiled Angel" - www.inkitt.com/stories/624474
Background, the inside of a hanger with the doors open looking out at a red dwarf setting over a desert. Picture this: the edge of a small, desert town just outside the Great Basin (a huge impact crater where most the humans in Midbar-Binah lived), a row of three rectangular, truncated pyramids and a fourth under construction. Ravdas! Yes. Reminded me a bit of pictures I'd seen of hangers where airships had been kept when my ancestors had been developing flight. Looking at them with Umangela from the top of a nearby building. Of course, we were dressed like locals so Umangela had some straps holding her dress in to emphasize her breasts and hips. Oh, that Umangela! Of course. "It's in the one on the right end," she said. Used visioning to examine the interior. A large object inside, which Umangela claimed was a wrecked starship. Something else you perhaps should have mentioned earlier! I didn't know what starship it was. Of course, this was before the first Monster attack so we didn't know its relevance at all! "They found it in the desert a few years ago," she explained. "It seems it was shot down but we don't know who shot it down or why. It was taken by a company owned by a rich, powerful and somewhat mad aristocrat named Narsommug. You should avoid contact with him as he's thought to be interested in regenerative nanites. Anyway, they're obviously reverse-engineering the ship and building replicas."
November 13, 2025 at 9:58 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 12 shirt
Young Gairlia is setting off to University in spite of mental illness. She'll be looked after by a Celibate (basically a nun) so what can go wrong?
From "Tales of Midbar: Poisoned Well" - www.inkitt.com/stories/635659
Background: A blond woman with dark glasses riding on an open topped bus. One was a quippa woman with lots of curly, blond hair and the other a faharni man, perhaps more of a boy, with the normal short, dark hair. They'd just got out of one of those minibuses, the priesthood tends to use. They were dressed in the simple, black shirts and trousers you'd expect of Celibates but both had glasses with mirror-like lenses, which wrapped all around the fronts of their heads so their eyes couldn't be seen from any angle. That wasn't expected of anybody. They were also carrying bags. The minibus drove off. I was standing with my parents at Vend bus station. Basically this was just a bay beside the road with a sign. I knew they were the people I'd be going with but told myself I was a hipsickah and these feelings were part of my illness. Sure enough, they came up to me, the woman wobbling on high heeled shoes, making her breasts wobble as celibates don't wear bras, as I stood with my parents and sister, waiting for the bus. They were carrying bags, as I was. Celebates are expected to have few possessions and travel light.
November 12, 2025 at 5:58 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 11 burger
I don't think I use this word. I'll go with curry and noodles in a park. Holy Woman, Dwendra has just had an argument with the Mage, Yoldasia.
From "Tales of Midbar: Secret Priest" - www.inkitt.com/stories/200642
Background: A food stand in a park with succulents. I'd only briefly visited Hecrin when I'd toured the sephirot. There's a small garden Holy Site in Ascrin, which is officially Trulist so it isn't really used except as a park (because Hecrin is very aggressively Winemaker - this isn't really the same situation as with Rendamar Temple because I don't think anybody attacks Trulists who try to use the temple and there are very few Trulists in Hecrin). It has a nice little cafe beside it. This is where I'd arranged to meet Dwendra during the school lunch break. She was already there, sitting at a table outside the cafe. I bought a plate of curry and noodles and a drink and went and sat with her. "Everybody freaked out after you left," I said. "I didst not expecteth her to be so hostile." "She says I should solve my own problems rather than going to them for help and should talk to them rather than complaining to Haprihagfen but when I acted like I wanted to talk to you she freaked out more and dragged Mum off somewhere and told me not to go with you or have sex with you but refused to tell me why."
November 11, 2025 at 11:38 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
Did they really hate Winemakers and teleporters enough to spend the day protesting against them? Well, apparently some did!
Special Memorial Day update to "Tales of Midbar: Ghost Mage"
www.inkitt.com/stories/6320...
#writingcommunity #sciencefiction
A dirty but modern train running on a track between banks with old, twisted trees on it. The AI picture is from Leonardo and is supposed to be the train to Grishnarl. It got a dirty, rather post-apocalyptic look but I'd have liked a more unusual-looking train (I asked for a futuristic one). I asked for strange trees and all the AI's I tried did something similar.
November 11, 2025 at 4:21 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 10 local
Against advice, Eleprin has returned to her home town of Ermish and contacted her aunt. Things are complicated.
From "Tales of Midbar: Heretical Gods" - www.inkitt.com/stories/497649
Background: Two teenagers of South Asian appearance hiding in a barn. We sent Mildras and Printorac to collect Mel and Werdil. Olaria drove me into Ermish medical clinic. She was driving a bit manically but wouldn't listen when I asked her if I could drive or suggested that she use autopilot. It didn't help that Aleph was dropping to the horizon, fast, turning the brief white day into blue day and creating some very strange lighting. She'd insisted on putting a blond wig on me and dressing me in farm overalls and smearing some dirt on my face as a disguise. We went past a small group of people wearing Trulist mourning robes and there was a disturbing amount of smoke rising from the town. Then we came to the local clinic. "What are we doing here?" I asked. "What do you think?" "Doctor Denad is the leader?" "No!" We screeched into a parking space, I realized that this left only one space, and jumped out.
November 10, 2025 at 11:54 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 9, picture
I have a couple of Old Magic magi who use a spell that produced pictures to answer questions.
From "Tales of Midbar: Secret Priest" - www.inkitt.com/stories/200642
Background: a girl in a torn, bloody dress, kneeling down and holding a dagger. Several strange pictures appeared in the air around me. One showed Rendamar temple. Another showed Dwendra with two teenage faharni boys, a faharni girl with short hair and a bennis girl. There was a very old looking book, open with strange writing in it. There was me dressed in a red robe, sitting on an ornate, gold throne. There was one of Dwendra and an idlan girl I didn't recognize in simple, tight-fitting, white dresses flanked by Egrindreth and Vrenloa in more normal clothing. Another picture showed me in work overalls standing in a pile of rubbish with a wall with Quippa graffiti on it behind me. Another showed me with a creature that resembled a giant octopus but it was probably some sort of XT. There was also one of my father with four or five faharni children, all dressed in similar, strange costumes. Yoldasia was clearly shocked but it wasn't clear which of the pictures was disturbing to her. She pointed to the book and said, "The law that forbids you from working." She pointed to the two pictures that included Dwendra, "People whose lives you'll ruin." She pointed to Rendamar temple, "The Winemaker temple, the inaccessible you will fail to obtain." She pointed to me on the throne, "Your arrogance, which will bring misery to many. You have many predestination lines even for a young man so you must cause serious harm to many people." To me, standing in rubbish, "Rubbish, what will become of your life." To me with the XT, "You with Streculic because he's who you really serve. You're life will be a series of failures and disasters, it's predestination! Now do you understand?" Streculic is the Trulist god of knowledge and lies, Yoho's greatest enemy. He's normally depicted as a handsome, faharni man with long, yellow hair.
November 9, 2025 at 9:44 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
New chapter of "Tales of Midbar: Ghost Mage" - read it all! Vote, review, give feedback, discuss!
www.inkitt.com/stories/6320...
#writingcommunity #sciencefiction
An anime style picture of a sexually mixed group of dangerous looking people with fire behind them and babies or aliens in the sky. Backgound: dark anime style picture of sexually mixed warriors with fire behind them and babies or aliens in the sky. "We can't just keep moving around," said Frintas. "It took us only a few hours to have two dead bodies and an unconscious man on the floor and the cosmic web knows how many people knew they were coming here!" "Considering the sort of vibes they were giving off and what they were saying," said Ruka, "we could probably argue that this was self-defense, which is basically true." "Do you really want to get involved with the local legal system?" asked Frintas. "Of course not! You realize we've probably got to kill the decent guy?" asked Ruka. I gave AI's Ruka's "fireflower" liturgy as a prompt but replaced "fireflower" with "willowherb" (a flower that likes to grow on burned ground) and replaced "XT's" with "aliens". Bing refused to do it. None gave terribly good results (perhaps I should have included something about "albino Asians") or showed any sign of knowing what willowherb was. This is the best I got, from Night Cafe.
November 7, 2025 at 5:07 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 6 penultimate
I don't think I use this word so I went with the penultimate day most the Paxian government would be alive.
From "Tales of Midbar: Ghost Mage" - www.inkitt.com/stories/632029
Background: a cop riding a powered unicycle in front of some busses with a cactus hedge behind them. From Hildru's personal notes Day before the state opening of parliament, Light cycle day 1, 10:00, white day - Minris Reported to Minris police station. "Ah, so you're the fool they got to replace me," said man behind desk. Looked around room. Expected Minris station to be smaller than used to but this looked absurdly small. "Apparently, I'm fool enough to take on this difficult job," I said.
November 6, 2025 at 10:29 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 5 trail
Went with "path"
Eleprin's family have suddenly assumed false identities and moved a strange village, which has a weird Holy vineyard. The children who live there are showing Eleprin around.
From "Tales of Midbar: Religious Intolerance" - www.inkitt.com/stories/618270
Background: A small frightened girl of South Asian appearance in a creepy wood. We were standing in the Echinocereus field; me, Breeze, Cloud and Irvis. They were showing me round the Vineyard but I was getting upset with Breeze acting like she knew everything. The trouble was that she probably did know everything about the Vineyard. I knew different types of fruit. I didn't know that the dragon fruit they grew here was different from the ones on the planes because it was too cold for the planes type (Hylocereus) here. I didn't know different sorts of grapes or that normal grapes and fat grapes were related. They'd shown me secret paths, catwalks through the tree tops, trees you could climb to tree houses and ropes you could swing on. Now we were at the highest part of the Vineyard where it was cold and dry and Echinocereus, cactus strawberries, were the only fruit that would grow. Most had low mounds of sausage-shaped stems. They weren't flowering now but Breeze said the flowers were mostly magenta with green stigmas so now they'd look blue with green stigmas as it was blue day. The field also had an ancient-circle in it, with a long-stemmed Echinocereus sprawling over it. I was learning a lot but I still didn't think I'd discovered the secret. Perhaps it was that the Haprihagfen and their children were all minions. The trouble was, I was supposed to know what to do about the secret and I had no idea what to do about this. Weren't holy sites supposed to have minions?
November 5, 2025 at 5:50 PM
graptopetalum.bsky.social
#WIPSnips November 4 steel
I can't find this word so I went with "metal".
Tom, unable to return to his own universe, is getting help from other anavim (powerful psychics).
From "Tales of Midbar: Exiled Angel" - www.inkitt.com/stories/624474
Background: a teenage, male angel flying with a bird. "What does he need?" asked the woman, looking me up and down. I wasn't sure how I felt about this because, being an anavah, she was hot but I didn't want to get into complicated relationships that might mess up my chances of saving my colony. You wouldn't do that, would you? It's not funny! "A starship, a lot of weapons and an army," I said. "Some clothing," said Atno, "and some metal. He can be fed and accommodated in dog houses for the time being, like any sleg." "What?" I asked. Neither translation system seemed to be able to process that.
November 4, 2025 at 6:27 PM