The Missing Link
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themissinglink97.bsky.social
The Missing Link
@themissinglink97.bsky.social
290 followers 320 following 1.1K posts
Hi, I’m an ND sci fi/fantasy writer working on my debut novel

I like to talk about books, games, history, and whatever’s interesting at the moment.

Also I’m learning Japanese, so これを読めばこんにちはを言ってくれませんか
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themissinglink97.bsky.social
Wrote a bit for the freelance assassin in my cyberpunk story

#writingcommunity #writingsnips
Natalia had always hated the phrase 'the arc of history trends towards justice.' All she ever saw history trend to was more history. Justice was an afterthought if anything at all. No, justice was something you had to grip the knife and carve yourself. By the time history deigned to get around to it, the bastards would be long gone, just for new ones to take their place. Justice wasn't waiting for all the cash to drain away while they grew fat on it, sitting in an alley eating synthetic noodles while they drank the night away at palaces in the sky. Justice was the cold iron she stared down the sights of, no matter what history might say.
November 10, 2025 at 7:03 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
So it’s been a bit since I finished The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, but this bit won’t leave my head

#booksky
“There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. There is a failure here that topples all our success. The fertile earth,the straight tree rows, the sturdy trunks, and the ripe fruit. And children dying of pellagra must die because a profit cannot be taken from an orange. And coroners must fill in the certificate- died of malnutrition- because the food must rot. The people come with nets to fish for potatoes in the river, and the guards hold them back; they come in rattling cars to get the dumped oranges, but the kerosene is sprayed. And they stand still and watch the potatoes float by, listen to the screaming pigs being killed in a ditch and covered with quick-like, watch the mountains of oranges slop down to a putrefying ooze; and in the eyes of the people there is failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is wrath. In the soul of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage” - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
October 27, 2025 at 3:46 AM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Quote with 2 female video game characters you like

Well damn, guess I can’t choose Zelda… so
Beatrix from Final Fantasy 9
October 13, 2025 at 5:06 AM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
I think this is the closest I have to a celebrity picture, so uhh… not great
The you’re trying to kidnap what I’ve rightfully stolen meme from the princess bride
August 3, 2025 at 8:18 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Time to thud into some more Discworld

#booksky
Thud! by Terry Pratchett
July 24, 2025 at 5:10 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Oh wow, Discworld again being real and relevant

#booksky
The guard, three feet away, lit a cigarette with no consideration for other people. - Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
July 21, 2025 at 4:55 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Night Watch is feeling like a very timely read. It’s really good so far.

#booksky
Coppers liked to say that people shouldn't take the law into their own hands, and they thought they knew what they meant. But they were thinking about peaceful times, and men who went around to sort out a neighbor with a club because his dog had crapped once too often on their doorstep. But at times like these, who did the law belong to? If it shouldn't be in the hands of the people, where the hell should it be? People who knew better? Then you got Winder and his pals, and how good was that? - Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
July 18, 2025 at 5:33 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Finally following the trend. This title screen song is great

#gaming #gamesky
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 title screen
July 16, 2025 at 1:05 AM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
So this was a bit uncanny to read in Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

#booksky
These were not good times. Everyone knew Lord Winded was insane. And then some kid who was equally mad had tried to knock him off and would have done too, if the man hadn’t moved at the wrong moment.
July 14, 2025 at 7:57 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Definitely the best ones. An interesting thing I ran into on vacation made me like North Carolina too. Seeing it all around the water had me thinking how naval it was, and that was cool and a great change from their old confederate one
North Carolina flag
July 11, 2025 at 9:28 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
With very good timing, the library has now delivered The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence. The previous book is still fresh in my mind, and those multi month wait lists coming down so close together is really something

I’m excited

#booksky
The Book That Broke The World By Mark Lawrence
July 9, 2025 at 3:22 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Library says it’s time for more Discworld. Hopefully this hits the same highs as Fifth Elephant, though it will be a bit sad to say goodbye to the Watch in 3 books

#booksky
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett Ready to borrow
July 3, 2025 at 4:09 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Really fun when you run into silly nonsense in video games. According to Final Fantasy 4 The After Years, this is a crossbow

#gaming
Low poly female ninja character drawing a standard bow
June 27, 2025 at 1:47 AM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
I don’t think I need to explain why this is incredibly damaging to public knowledge and the field of history or how closely it parallels authoritarian regimes throughout history. Public access to information is the core of a functional democracy. Fucking fascists…

www.archives.gov/college-park
From the National Archives website: Restricted-Access Federal Facility, Effective July 7, 2025 Effective July 7, 2025, the National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted-access federal facility with access only for visitors with a legitimate business need. It will no longer be open to the general public. Security officers will enforce these restrictions, and your cooperation is appreciated.
June 24, 2025 at 10:29 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
The library says I’m gonna be reading some Le Guin when I finish The Fifth Elephant

#booksky
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
June 6, 2025 at 3:22 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Natalia doesn’t have the best relationship with her mother. Still an early draft on this bit
“I think…" she hesitated "We need to start seriously considering which of father's assets we can afford to keep.” "I will hear no more talk of that. And sit up straight." Natalia stiffened. "You could move back in, settle down. When was the last time you brought home a boyfriend?" "Girlfriend…” "Yes... when was the last time you brought home a girlfriend? Family helps family. If you got married, her family could help with the debt." Natalia stood up quickly, careful not to spill the tea. "I really should get going... it was good to see you mother." On the way out, she brought up her account page on her grey. The half payment for the last contract hadn't gone through yet. She wouldn't quite overdraft, but she initiated a transfer to her mother labeled Monthly Payment. What were a few more skipped meals?”
June 4, 2025 at 3:46 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Library says it’s #Discworld time again. I’ve heard really good things about this one

#booksky
The Fifth Elephant By Terry Pratchett
May 20, 2025 at 3:32 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
It took a while, but I’ve finished #Xenoblade Chronicles X

#gaming #xcx
100% completion screen from Xenoblade Chronicles X with all the major characters standing in a row and “Congratulations!” written over it
May 17, 2025 at 5:41 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
So I was reading a manga today and saw something I’d never seen before, furigana on a purely hiragana phrase

I guess the author decided the dialect was too hard to parse for the average person because it’s just those bits in standard Japanese. Was definitely interesting to see, and… appreciated
おりょうも気鬱んならなんねやあ 　　　　　　　　ならなかったも Rough translation: Oryou’s still depressed
May 15, 2025 at 10:16 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Share a bad guy from the 80s

Well no beating that, so… in that same vein
Content warning: Margaret Thatcher
April 28, 2025 at 6:54 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Gundam the Origin is honestly a masterpiece. It brings out even more out of all the strengths of the original story. Just look at this… it’s so good

#Gundam #manga
8 panels showing a flaming plane bathe the panel in red as a spaceship takes off in receding blue, escaping as the first plane consumes the remaining panels in fire
April 23, 2025 at 4:53 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
When I replaced mine, it was ballooned out, and the back panel is still bent out of shape
April 23, 2025 at 3:09 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
Hey Sir Pratchett, this isn’t fair. You’re giving Vimes all the really cutting lines. Save some for everyone else

From Jingo

#Discworld #booksky
“Well that’s society for you, I’m afraid,” said Carrot. “Everything is dumped on the people below until you find someone who’s prepared to eat it. That’s what Mr. Vimes says.” - Jingo, Terry Pratchett
April 22, 2025 at 10:03 PM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
No cheating. The last saved celebrity pic on your phone is your therapist.

At this point, unemployed in Greenland sounds like a step up
Vizzini from the Princess Bride saying, “You’re trying to kidnap what I’ve rightfully stolen”
April 6, 2025 at 4:01 AM
themissinglink97.bsky.social
“God is dead. The words flashed across the TV screen hanging above the bar. Some ad for a new game, Aylan thought absently, too engrossed in his beer to really care. He’d hear all about it from the kids next door through the paper-thin walls of his apartment.”

#1stLinePit #WIP #SF
God is dead. The words flashed across the TV screen hanging above the bar. Some ad for a new game, Aylan thought absently, too engrossed in his beer to really care. He’d hear all about it from the kids next door, through the paper-thin walls of his apartment. The reality of the statement wasn’t something he really questioned. It just was. God is dead. Water is wet. Rent is due. It was background noise, those facts of life you don’t think about when you’re not three beers deep at some cheap bar that doesn’t even sell real food.
April 5, 2025 at 12:40 PM