Nuile the Paracosmic Tulpa

One day you're talking about the new Avatar, and the next you're talking about your new avatar. You're going to confuse people, Tekulo. People like me who'll do a double take because they think this entry is more about Avatar.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

You have a blog. If you want to try and be genuinely inspirational there, you are welcome to do so. XD I'm just trying to spread a little cheer.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Read Drawn to Disaster. ;P

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

. . . Well, if we can't all laugh at my joke, we can at least all laugh at the poor execution born of my obsession over grammatical propriety.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

My little pony, MY little pony

Ah-ah-ah-AAAAAHHHHHHH

MYYYY little poNYYY

I used to wonder what friendship could BE

MYYYY little poNYYY

Until this show revealed it to ME

Big adventure

Tons of fun

A beautiful heart

Faithful and strong

Sharing kindness

It's an easy feat

And only magic makes it a bit cheesy

You have MYYYY little poNYYY

Do you know you're all my very best FRRRIIIEEEEENNNDDDDSSSS?

Anyway, I support that motion, get us a recording.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

As far as I'm concerned, the Pokemon universe begins and ends with the games in which you can choose one to follow you around and listen to nostalgic GBC tunes. Since then anything else has become inane.

Therefore, your ramblings are the only thing that make this entry worthwhile, so don't deny them the merit they deserve.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

The only song that rings a bell is "Brandy." It's sweet and in that folksong vein I prefer; but I only ever heard it once. It got stuck in my head for a few days after that. However, that was years ago, and I can only remember the words of the title. XD

Lately I've just been listening to Celtic Thunder, various seashore soundtracks, and ever fondly Simple and Clean. Beautiful song.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

And we should wait for AZBlue anyway, so until he shows up there's no hurry.

The puzzles really aren't much. As for the novel, don't worry; you'll be hearing about that soon. ;D

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Crummy pictures, man.

I can't read all of the titles on the spines.

Honestly now, do you ever bother leaving a room like that? XD That's awesome. I want that reading chair. And all the bookshelves. Yes, especially the bookshelves.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Velox voices my thoughts exactly. It was the first Agatha Christie I read, and I can think of no better introduction to her brilliance. It's still my favorite.

And I know what you mean about Don Quixote himself. His goals are great, but in his madness he's not very good at accomplishing them, and when he tries he goes about it the wrong way. But I'm hoping he'll learn as the story progresses.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

I lost count of how many times you insulted me, and how many times you complimented me. Maybe I'll tally them just to be sure. But there was a thanks buried in their somewhere--in bold, I think--so you may consider yourself welcome.

Looking over your list . . . I definitely think you made the right choice. ;P

And I didn't realize you were a brony. *hoof-five* *or high-hoof* *or congenial collision of hooves* *or something like that*

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Alex Humva, I'm assuming you're joking . . . ? XP

Correct, Mentos; move noted, retaliation effected. King's pawn to E5.

And Tekulo, I know that's true . . . but it's my blog, and I can play chess the way I want. ;P I mean, really, how else could it work on a blog?

But I feel really dumb as concerns the colors . . . I'll fix that now. XP

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Somehow, I thought you'd be on board with it. XP And I doubt Blue will object.

I don't know; can biomechanical beings even die of old age? Maybe, after enough time passed . . . but that time would have to be more than 100,000 years. And haven't there been Agori and Glatorian--even more organic than Matoran--who survived for longer than that?

Somehow, I think that if the Atero Eight knew where the mask was, they would want to use it. You would think their leader would wear it as a badge of office; which is why I don't think they should know. I think it should be a secret deeper even than them; though certainly they were considered in the hiding, even if as unwitting guardians. As for the Mask's hiding place itself, yeah, we would probably be looking at a great opportunity for a little Indiana Jones action. XP Flying arrows, giant boulders, spinning saws . . . the decrepit guardian who can hardly lift a sword. We can easily have some (more original!) fun there. I'm not sure how the Toa losing their powers would fit. It just feels out of place. How would that have a place in the story?

Yeah, I like it. I want to say that he should be part of an underworld plot to steal the mask, but maybe I'm getting a little obsessed with all this corruption and evil. XP Okay, so say he's an archaeologist of sorts; the Atero Eight have him; the underworld kidnaps him to use his knowledge to locate the mask. Karattru and Larche follow. But when the criminals reach the mask's hiding place, it won't present itself to them; only to the pure of that. Excalibur-type thing, you know?

I'm much liking the idea of Atero being a combination of Metru- and Mata-Nui. A high-tech city mixed into all these natural surroundings . . . sounds like one of the most awesome things I've ever heard of.

I agree to the criminal underworld; haven't I already mentioned it more than once? Not only do we have the corrupt government, but also the corrupt criminal depths, not to mention the corrupt evil coming to try and make Great Beings of themselves. This is going to be fun.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

At least the reasoning behind my name is better than yours. XD

Aybabtu: All Your Bases Are Belong To Us.

. . . We can think of something better than that if we want, but we can have our fun here and there in ways that work so well, can't we? XD

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

EMERGENCY COMMENT: Can we call the sport Aybabtu?

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Personally, I look at Tezara and see one letter difference from Tesara. XD And personally, I always hated Tridax's name. Really, Greg! But anyway, just a thought.

Okay, I like it. As for Toa, from the first my idea was that the Toa had died out but for the Atero Eight, now maybe Tahu, maybe one leader of an underground rebellion in the city. Anyway, those that weren't killed by Angonce's monster were probably murdered by the Atero Eight.

I like the simultaneous play. It makes it so much more chaotic and exciting. And that way it would be over faster; probably generally a week thing, but historically maybe there were instances of games lasting mere hours or a month or two. I like the volatility that suggests.

Karattru and Larche, I love it. On a Toa's team? I love it all the more, though I agree it doesn't quite fit. They're fighting these guys, not with them. XD It could be an interesting point for the story, though, having Karattru playing. But maybe just better if he was watching.

You're welcome to the Tales of Matero; I love the idea, and it will be a good sideline to develop the setting. I just don't want to complicate the main story by developing the world too much. It needs to be there, of course, and it needs to be explained; but it can be integrated simply enough with little complication or overabundant elaboration.

I wouldn't mind keeping Zaktan as a narrator. It would be a lot of fun, I think, to do that.

No, the prison was in the outside world somewhere, hidden away in secluded mountains. And anyway, one thing's missing from that introduction: the Mask of Life. That's our big connection between our heroes and villains, and I think that's where we should start. Say, as you proposed, they're on a search for a missing person; that ties into the Atero Eight. Maybe they find him, maybe they discover that the Toa are plotting to steal the Mask of Life, hidden somewhere beneath the city. That would help to thread them in; but maybe a bit too much. I like that the Atero Eight will tie into Zaktan and that Zaktan ties into the Mask, but I still think things should be a little less definitively connected; Karattru should be separately investigating the Atero Eight and the mask. So how do we get from missing person to underworld plot to steal the mask? Well, maybe that missing person had a little more business in this city than he was letting on.There, I like that.

No, I don't have anything in mind, and that's still our main problem. We don't quite have our teeth into a plot yet. We know what they're doing, but not what they're doing. XD If we're lucky Blue will pop in and give us something brilliant. If we're misfortunate, maybe we should find a time when we can all three put our heads together at the same time for the specific purpose of ironing out the wrinkles in the central plot core.

(Yeah, I know. At least we dropped the tags for him. Anyway, though, I was planning on writing up a recap anyway--I thought it would be helpful for all of us, and it will help to bring Blue up to date and get his opinions on all the stuff we've been debating.)

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Well--um--cool. I'm famous. Although you didn't credit me. I guess one signature won't exactly get me into the uppermost echelons of BZP society, though.

Naturally that's the most important part of the writing process. A plot's nothing more than the interactions of the characters; the words themselves are nothing more than descriptions of the characters. Ultimately, it's all about the characters.

Okay, well, I'll admit my knowledge of your work is limited to short stories, and the one epic I read in which you partook happened to be a horror about a certain flesh-consuming cloud; a story that, naturally, centered around death and woe and the tone that seemed so vivid in you I came to associate it with you. XD And when, some months later, you mention something about a murderous artist who paints with the blood of his victims, I'm not much swayed in the tone I connect to your work.

Bottom line, I'll have to withhold from making opinions until I see you write something that doesn't involve death, violence, cruor, pain, terror, grief and sorrow. Have you any such works to recommend?

And personally, I disagree that woe and similar themes are more complicated. Happiness, for instance, is something very much taken for granted; that's what, in part, makes it so fascinating. I think grief is easier to deepen than most, but not intrinsically deeper or more fascinating.

Oh, the write-off. I ought to get into one of those sometime.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Sounds like a fun time. I have a sea of LEGO pieces on my floor I've been planning to sort--but maybe, instead, I should let a little imagination run wild. . . .

(Thing is, I let my imagination run in words, where you're not limited by your materials. XD)

You speak the truth about your writing building, Tekulo. Stay wise, wise old man with a persistent, obsessive fastidiousness in tending his lawn.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Gossip!

It is great fun, isn't it? It's entirely different from writing alone. Alone, there's no explanation between your thoughts and the writing, and the words get to speak for themselves. In collaboration, you have to speak for the words before they're even formed and coalesce your ideas with those of others. It compels your thought processes to follow channels more organized than those most writers tread. XD

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

(I'm forgetful. She can be Frivolous Four, then, I'm not picky. XP Although I wouldn't mind dropping the alliteration. I thought they were all supposed to be that way, but I think it would sound a lot better if only a few were. XD)

I like Arix or Ariz. It has that smooth start and harsh finish you wanted. I'll suggest Arinax, too, or Arinagg.

The tournament should be once in a decade, if not in a century. Biomechanical beings live a looooong time. It can be a little inconvenient, sometimes. As for being appointed by officials, it doesn't feel quite right amidst the corruption of Matero. I would think the Eight handpick their players.

That sounds good to me. (Foolish map-maker, skipping this town is not so easy. . . . Only, I'm not sure how we could work that in first person.)

I love the idea of a disqualified team running amok on the field. It's chaos . . . it's Calvinball!

It might need some editing by the time all details are decided, and I certainly want to punch it up a bit before

Personally I'm not for the omniscient style that you seem to want; it may have more of a BIONICLE vibe and it would no doubt be useful in establishing our world, but we want to tell a story here, not to tell a world. "All" person would overcomplicate things. I think first person, besides its characteristics that endear me, will keep the tale on track better. I know it's a bit awkward here in the prologue, but I'll do what I can to improve it. I'm sure it will work better in the meat of the story. Of course, the problem with first person is that the character needs a reason to be telling the story; but we can explain that when it comes to the mental battle. Maybe Zaktan's dying and his life is flashing before his eyes, which gives Karattru entrance into his mind, to see scenes such as this.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Words are everything, Tekulo! Don't underestimate the thrill, the excitement, the drama of dialogue! But I don't see why we can't do both. Now--I think you're going a little far, there, but I like the idea.

I agree; Karattru should face them, and at least one should die over the course of the story.

(Personally I don't blame Greg. He's had many successes and failures, and considering all the influence LEGO had over the minutest little thing he did, I can't say how good he could be as a writer.)

Okay, my Toa Atero:

Nilam, Toa of Magnetism, current leader of the Atero Eight. Nickname "Tactical Two." A tall mass of thews and sinews, his eyes in a perpetual squint. Cold and calculating. A very bland and bitter Toa, with little personality or expression. He's gruff but never harsh unless he needs to be, with a strong sense of practicality. He doesn't punish or rebuke unfairly, but when you get on his bad side you had better watch out. Wears a Great Arthron *.

Armed with boomerangs. In battle or on the field he has the name "tactical" for a reason. His moves are always calculated swiftly and with little room for error, never without effective purpose.

Sofita, Toa of Psionics, a ditsy, light-headed sort. "Frivolous Five." Your stereotypical "blonde." But beneath her stupid exterior lies a shrewd, piercing mind. She has far more wits about her than even her teammates realize. Wears, fittingly, a Great Akaku.

Wields dual flails. Whether fighting or sporting her actions may appear sporadic and haphazard, but there is a method to her every madness. Some credit her past victories to "dumb luck." But there's nothing dumb or lucky about her deceptively contrived stratagems.

* Although, if I gave him a Great Mask of Mutation, and Zaktan found a way to control Nilam, this would be a much safer way for him to merge himself with the mask than the EP. Alternatively, it would be great fun to bring Vezon back with an alternate universe Spear of Fusion . . . if we could do it in a way that wasn't ridiculously random. However, none of this would be nearly as fun as Zaktan and Karattru plunging into the planet's core, having a mental battle, and Karattru emerging victorious.

By the way, in a rush of excitement I went ahead and wrote a prologue. It's locked away in a secret location that you'll never find . . . in other words, the spoiler tags in the entry.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

My vision was of the three of them standing in blackness and talking. It gives me a sort of Kingdom Hearts vibe. How exactly that would end, I'm not sure; but that kind of good versus evil profound banter scene is the kind of writing I live for. XD

Yeah, Karattru would only mutate at or near the end, around the time they defeat Zaktan. The Atero Eight could even be dead then to make it easier for him to take charge; or he could challenge them to a sport game on a suggestive cliffhanger; or we could otherwise figure out a way for him to come out on top in Matero.

If anything that would, I think, only be a passing mention, unless we did bring Tahu back into the story. (And, wow, really, he has all the Rahkshi powers? So he's a Makuta now? I didn't think it was possible for the lamest Toa ever to get that much more lame. . . .)

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Well, we could have him mutate another way. Maybe he merges with the Energized Protodermis itself?

I'm all for him trying to make a Great Being out of himself, only I'm not sure how he could go about that. What could we do to give him such power? Hey, maybe something that involves the mask. Then we have reason for Zaktan to be against Karattru, and not just a one-sided rivalry.

Here's a suggestion, although I'm not personally very fond of it. I could see Zaktan, Karattru and the Mask falling into the EP together; then we have that "in the mind" battle I'm really eager for; Zaktan wins and merges with the Mask while Karattru becomes a Toa; they battle physically, but then Mata Nui--because he's actually one with Zaktan, far more so than he had been with Karattru--kills Zaktan from the inside.

As for Silent Six, I've heard the term "cold as steel" or "heart of steel," and so Iron would suit him as well as Ice, I think; but I don't care, it's your choice.

I have a name and basic character for the leader and my other Toa, but I still have a little more thought to give them.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

(I know you got the PM too, Tekulo, but now that there's three of us I have to refer to you both in the third person rather than the second. XD)

I agree that we need more plot and world development before we decide on a title and a villain, so let's talk about that a bit. Before I get back to that:

Matero's fine with me.

Characters: It sounds like our two protagonists are pretty much detailed as far as necessary, bar the lack of two certain vital points: element. Jungle was actually a suggestion made for Larche, I think, and that's fine with me. Personally I don't think that would at all fit Karattru, nor would Ice, but I like Earth and also, my personal favorite, Iron for him. Iron just fits the PI bit best in my opinion.

The Atero Eight, I think, sort of rule from the shadows, posing as the city's heroes, although everyone pretty much knows they're in control, and they're really not very heroic. I see them as pretty ruthless; probably not cruel, though. I can't see them going around the city harrowing poor Matoran just to amuse themselves, but appropriating belongings, puppeteering the economy, toying with the --basically they see the city as a big chess game for them to play. But they play for love, mere amateurs, while Zaktan is the masterful type who plays to win. Maybe some of the Toa are in league with him, I definitely like the idea; but though they may think they can betray him, they're not even players, just more of his pieces

(And Tekulo, I think a PI would be in a better place to fight corruption than an official under the Atero Eight's control. He couldn't fight officially, that's true, but how well can one Matoran officially combat dictators?)

Tearnu: Okay, that all makes sense. And if we separate the city into four sectors with two districts each, then there we have one sector for each Turaga and one district for each Toa, so that would be perfect. And I'm liking that vision, if only as a device to help show what's going on. Easy enough to slip it in insignificantly amidst one of the protagonists' movements, I think, maybe even in some way that leads him (or Larche) somewhere.

Which reminds me, the Mask of Life: As Tekulo says, it has to be hidden, in a place befitting its importance yet not so difficult to penetrate that it distracts from the story. I'm feeling some deeply secretive sort of criminal underworld attempt to steal it; Karattru gets intangled in the case; the endeavor fails, but somehow he ends up with the Mask. Very sketchy, only an adumbration, but it's a comely seed, I think.

So here I think we have a good idea of what Atero's like; there are still some edges to sand around the characters and various details, but what we're lacking is any idea at all as to the surrounding world.

But I'm running out of time at this particular moment, so I'll move on to plot.

I'm liking Zaktan and the EP Entity. I can see the latter wanting to play god; and I can see very easily how he could tie into some scheme to control the planet's core and make the world into, in essence, a Death Star.

So what are Zaktan's motives? As Tekulo says, he wants to rule, right? That's what he's always wanted, and what he nearly achieved in the MU (and what I was very disappointed he didn't). Now, he failed; but when every atom of your body is separated across the universe, it takes a lot of time to reunite them, a lot of time for each and every one of them to think. Chances are, 99% of those ideas are idiotic; but if 1% all have concordant notions, they coalesce into a plot worthy of Zaktan. He wants power, but now he wants revenge, redemption; but moreover, he learned from his failure. If you run headlong into an obstacle, do you run into it again, or go around it? All this digression is so much as to say I still can't quite put a finger on what he's up to, but now that we're in his mind it should be easier. I'll sleep on it and compare notes with you two tomorrow.

EDIT: A night of sleep or ten minutes of thought. Now, it's not entirely fleshed out, but I have a new idea. Zaktan hires the EP Entity with a scheme to rule the world, yes, yes, that's nothing novel. The EP Entity plans to betray him, of course. He does, naturally. But what he doesn't expect is that when he throws Zaktan into the planet's core to dissolve him in the EP--in his own essence--Zaktan mutates. Not just mutates, merges. With the planet itself. Zaktan in sentient control of Spherus Magna itself, core and all; Darth Vader not just commanding the Death Star, but being one with it. What do you think?

And then our friend Karattru and Mata Nui (still in his head) leap into the pit too. Falling, falling, ploosh. Then here comes the best part. The final battle--taking place in the great equilizer: the mind. Their mental conflict ends in Zaktan's defeat. Mata Nui merges with the planet, and Karattru mutates in the EP into a Toa.

And back to the EP Entity for a moment. He should have a name, I think, if only just a nickname. Something by which to refer to him. A sobriquet would be all the better, because then we could use it in the title. Call him Bruiser, call it Bruised Destiny. More plausibly, Dissolution and Destiny Dissolved; Decay and Decayed Destiny; Corrosion and Destiny Corroded.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith

Blue says the GB's identity was revealed, anyway, which apparently happened on the 26th in due time to prevent us from using him. So very well, scratch the idea; although I still like the scene I envisioned. Maybe it's to Vezon, alone in some cell somewhere, Zaktan goes? Blue suggested the EP Entity, and that could work too, or even the Shadowed One. Really, I think the villain we choose depends on just what it is we want them to do. Of course, if Zaktan's the brains, it doesn't really matter who he has working with him, unless they decide to betray him in the end.

And I'm not against the idea of some sort of outside catastrophe. We will need to address the outside world--after all, it has to exist--but we'll just have to be careful, if we want to keep the story centered in New Atero.

(Although I still don't like the name. Neo-Atero, Atero Reborn, Atero-Nui, Mata-Atero? None of those are much better, although I like that last.)

I have a little experience in writing for a PI, and I'm something of a mystery fanatic, so I'm familiar with the type. I've heard that they are some of the easiest and most enjoyable characters to write for, though that does mean we'll have to be careful to avoid making him into a stereotype Sam Spade. I wouldn't mind if he were a part of the Resistance I proposed a while back, but any official police force is as corrupt as its superiors, which means the Atero Eight. But if he were an official detective, we could either have Karattru (as I guess his name is now? I'm for that) be fighting them from the inside or say he's an ex-cop.

I like the concept of Tearnu as sort of a diamond in the rough, a comparatively pure heart among his corrupt brothers. Only, if he's like this, wouldn't he object to the Atero Eight's doings? And moreover, when you say he's leader; if you mean of his sports team, it makes sense, but if you mean of the Toa Team, they can't have a noble character at their head if they're supposed to be oppressive tyrants over the city.

As for Larche on the question of species--at first I wanted her to be a Glatorian, but it's like trying to imagine a romance between a Toa and a Matoran. That pretty much leaves us with the option of Agori or Matoran, and personally I lean toward the former.

Oh, and it looks like we're all agreed on first person. We can always switch between Larche and Karattru as necessary.

And Tekulo, Blue agreed to Destiny Corrupted; what do you think? I'm a bit on the fence. Though it's still the best idea I've come up with, I think it's a little generic.

Sincerely, Nuile: Lunatic Wordsmith