Thylonicus
"Science fiction is the act of understanding the universe and the human condition through the framework of story."
- John Zaharick, Cobalt blog post.
First, the quick-and-dirty details: I'm well over eighteen, my real-life sex is irrelevant, and I try to post at least once a day, maybe more, maybe less; real-life being what it is, I may not always have the inspiration and/or time and/or energy. I typically post around a paragraph or two as an average, though depending on what I have to say, to respond to, and deal with in real-life, that will naturally vary. I don't go by counting words, sentences, or lines, vastly preferring to let the story flow naturally, to keep posts organic and not try to write more--or less--than what fits simply to adhere to some external counting scheme.
That said, I don't think of myself as a "writer", per se. However, I do enjoy crafting interesting, deep, even compelling (yes an overused term, that, but that doesn't make it any less true) story.
I admit my ideas may be a little--odd, off-the-wall, or in whatever other similar fashion potentially causing a head-tilt and a reaction of, "You seriously thought that was a good idea?" However, I like exploring interesting ideas, looking at the mundane through the lens of the fantastical--ultimately trying to look at the basic humanity of characters.
If I may be immodest, I think I'm rather creative, capable and willing of working with another person to come up with a rather interesting story, and helping to build a world as it's shown in that story. That's because story is in fact the goal, and why I use that word so much. Some people just like to kick back, throw a little bit of role-play around, and go no further with it. That's certainly fun, but I offer, and look for, something more--as I said before, a story.
I also adhere to believability, because I think even a twenty-foot-tall robot based (if loosely) on a cartoon that was itself nothing more than a way to sell toys, or a felinoid mutant from a world that throws physics the fig, or whatever else can be interesting ways to look at humanity.
One thing I do adore, with a couple of caveats, is conflict! Challenges to overcome, quirks to resolve, mettle to test. The first caveat is that the conflict should be overcome. To that end, it needn't be some world-ending shenanigans unless those shenanigans are a backdrop that only pop in sporadically. The other caveat is that I far prefer external conflict, characters coming together to face strife.
Somewhat philosophical, rather introspective, always too happy to work with a prospective partner, I like to think I'm worth the time and effort it takes to help craft that story.
I do my role-playing right here on the Repository in private groups, even with just one partner for a story. I don't do role-play via private message, for the primary factor that you can't edit messages after you send them, save for that fifteen-minute window just after, and while I do try to catch my mistakes before I hit Post, sometimes I just don't. Those times make having an Edit button quite handy. Also, I like out-of-character communication, and I especially like making sure my partner knows what's going on, so they never have to wonder.
Speaking of role-play, I suppose I should give a few notes about my style and preferences. I go for variable-length, free-form, plot-driven stories, generally preferring only one partner, as I find that helps let things flow all the smoother. It's easier to create the setting and world on the fly that way, I find. I'm not adverse to "mature content", as the saying goes, but that's not what I'm really looking for. Plot and characterization, those are what get me to drooling.
If things do get to that point, it's worth pointing out that I don't try to include a list of "kinks" or worry about what character is "dominant" and what character is "submissive". While I've absolutely nothing against bedroom shenanigans if, again, it gets to that point, dealing with these, specific, points seems to generally get away from actually helping write an interesting and engaging story.
I don't worry about counting words or lines, as mentioned earlier, but I do find there's an upper limit to post lengths. Much more than two to four paragraphs and it just becomes too much. If someone posts starting a car, leaving the driveway, going down the road, flying through the streets, getting on the freeway, going through traffic, then getting off the freeway again, I can't react to about the first half of it. The "focus" of the moment already moved on, and either nothing I could write would change anything, or if it did it would become a spaghetti-like mess trying to keep that consistent with whatever was written "after".
Since it seems worth mentioning, I do like to use images as references. I find it quicker to say "<link=this person> does a thing" rather than spend time trying to adequately capture their description, so I can focus on describing the thing they're doing, the thoughts behind it, and so on. It also helps, I find, to have a visual from which to jump off, something to fuel the imagination farther and farther.
I'm also developing my skill with GIMP, a freeware alternative to Photoshop, so it's also not just taking some other work and throwing it out there, but altering it--sometimes minutely, sometimes heavily--to be something truly new and, hopefully, interesting. I do that to help flesh out the story, to help fill out the narrative. I've also found that, at least occasionally, interesting twists and turns and roadblocks and open doors come from being inspired by images I find or create, which helps take the story in interesting and dramatic directions.
At the end of the day, I just really enjoy crafting a story with someone.
Lastly, here's something I try to keep in mind when I co-write my role-play: Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot. This excerpt reminds me of the vastness of the galaxy, of the staggering, nearly literally mind-boggling size of it, and of the potential of it.
- John Zaharick, Cobalt blog post.
First, the quick-and-dirty details: I'm well over eighteen, my real-life sex is irrelevant, and I try to post at least once a day, maybe more, maybe less; real-life being what it is, I may not always have the inspiration and/or time and/or energy. I typically post around a paragraph or two as an average, though depending on what I have to say, to respond to, and deal with in real-life, that will naturally vary. I don't go by counting words, sentences, or lines, vastly preferring to let the story flow naturally, to keep posts organic and not try to write more--or less--than what fits simply to adhere to some external counting scheme.
That said, I don't think of myself as a "writer", per se. However, I do enjoy crafting interesting, deep, even compelling (yes an overused term, that, but that doesn't make it any less true) story.
I admit my ideas may be a little--odd, off-the-wall, or in whatever other similar fashion potentially causing a head-tilt and a reaction of, "You seriously thought that was a good idea?" However, I like exploring interesting ideas, looking at the mundane through the lens of the fantastical--ultimately trying to look at the basic humanity of characters.
If I may be immodest, I think I'm rather creative, capable and willing of working with another person to come up with a rather interesting story, and helping to build a world as it's shown in that story. That's because story is in fact the goal, and why I use that word so much. Some people just like to kick back, throw a little bit of role-play around, and go no further with it. That's certainly fun, but I offer, and look for, something more--as I said before, a story.
I also adhere to believability, because I think even a twenty-foot-tall robot based (if loosely) on a cartoon that was itself nothing more than a way to sell toys, or a felinoid mutant from a world that throws physics the fig, or whatever else can be interesting ways to look at humanity.
One thing I do adore, with a couple of caveats, is conflict! Challenges to overcome, quirks to resolve, mettle to test. The first caveat is that the conflict should be overcome. To that end, it needn't be some world-ending shenanigans unless those shenanigans are a backdrop that only pop in sporadically. The other caveat is that I far prefer external conflict, characters coming together to face strife.
Somewhat philosophical, rather introspective, always too happy to work with a prospective partner, I like to think I'm worth the time and effort it takes to help craft that story.
I do my role-playing right here on the Repository in private groups, even with just one partner for a story. I don't do role-play via private message, for the primary factor that you can't edit messages after you send them, save for that fifteen-minute window just after, and while I do try to catch my mistakes before I hit Post, sometimes I just don't. Those times make having an Edit button quite handy. Also, I like out-of-character communication, and I especially like making sure my partner knows what's going on, so they never have to wonder.
Speaking of role-play, I suppose I should give a few notes about my style and preferences. I go for variable-length, free-form, plot-driven stories, generally preferring only one partner, as I find that helps let things flow all the smoother. It's easier to create the setting and world on the fly that way, I find. I'm not adverse to "mature content", as the saying goes, but that's not what I'm really looking for. Plot and characterization, those are what get me to drooling.
If things do get to that point, it's worth pointing out that I don't try to include a list of "kinks" or worry about what character is "dominant" and what character is "submissive". While I've absolutely nothing against bedroom shenanigans if, again, it gets to that point, dealing with these, specific, points seems to generally get away from actually helping write an interesting and engaging story.
I don't worry about counting words or lines, as mentioned earlier, but I do find there's an upper limit to post lengths. Much more than two to four paragraphs and it just becomes too much. If someone posts starting a car, leaving the driveway, going down the road, flying through the streets, getting on the freeway, going through traffic, then getting off the freeway again, I can't react to about the first half of it. The "focus" of the moment already moved on, and either nothing I could write would change anything, or if it did it would become a spaghetti-like mess trying to keep that consistent with whatever was written "after".
Since it seems worth mentioning, I do like to use images as references. I find it quicker to say "<link=this person> does a thing" rather than spend time trying to adequately capture their description, so I can focus on describing the thing they're doing, the thoughts behind it, and so on. It also helps, I find, to have a visual from which to jump off, something to fuel the imagination farther and farther.
I'm also developing my skill with GIMP, a freeware alternative to Photoshop, so it's also not just taking some other work and throwing it out there, but altering it--sometimes minutely, sometimes heavily--to be something truly new and, hopefully, interesting. I do that to help flesh out the story, to help fill out the narrative. I've also found that, at least occasionally, interesting twists and turns and roadblocks and open doors come from being inspired by images I find or create, which helps take the story in interesting and dramatic directions.
At the end of the day, I just really enjoy crafting a story with someone.
Lastly, here's something I try to keep in mind when I co-write my role-play: Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot. This excerpt reminds me of the vastness of the galaxy, of the staggering, nearly literally mind-boggling size of it, and of the potential of it.
The Pale Blue Dot
From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different.
Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor, and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
--Carl Sagan
From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different.
Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor, and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
--Carl Sagan
Thylonicus's Characters
Rave Reviews
Rhygar is an incredible roleplayer, able to adapt to shifts in the RP with ease, and very good about staying in touch as the RP plays out. I recommend RPing with Rhygar if you're looking for a fun, action-packed RP with great characterization. His characters are entertaining in wit, and their unpredictable/epic actions keep the RP fresh and exciting.
- PenGryphon2007
Thylonicus is incredible, both as an RP partner and as a friend. I love our RP's together, I cherish our OC conversations, I love listening to your many ideas, I admire your creativity and I am grateful for your dependability. In short: Thylonicus is a wonderful person to whom I really owe a lot and who has accompanied me through a difficult time. Thank you very much for that.
Kind and understanding
Wonderful writer
- Midnightmuse
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