Cassandra Blenkin

@ScoutFinch180

Very good story, Dawn!

It had me engaged with it throughout.
I think I liked Fabian the best.  He had admirable qualities and a consistent action following his beliefs, and that is always refreshing.
Yes, it does count as Sci-Fi.

1. does this even count as sci-fi and how realistic do i need to be to write a sci-fi?  There is no h…[Read more]

@joy-caroline (I just saw you’d joined SE! I am @ScoutFinch180 on KP)

@arindown

Some of the tags didn’t go through 🤔:

@jbstanhope

@rose-colored-fancy

@devestate-lasting

@obrian-of-the-surface-world

@this-is-not-an-alien

Thank you for reading!

The next thing Jake knew was his breath coming in gasps. The blizzard had passed, and the stars in the darkening sky gaped at him.  He sat up, dusting a thin layer of ice off his suit. How long had he been unconscious? The unfamiliar peaks turned vivid red in the fading light, and he brought his knees up to his chest, shivering.

Jake’s vi…[Read more]

A metallic clank crashed Jake into consciousness. He stared at the dark ceiling, where was he? Then he recalled the fight with the thrid, and a shudder went down his spine… had the HSI found him after he failed? What would they do to him now? As he tried to turn his head he froze and cringed, waiting for the pain in his neck to subside. The s…[Read more]

13: what is this short story missing, if anything?

14: can you all think of any other name for a creature than thrid or is thrid fine?

15: Am I showing instead of telling?

16:Do any scenes drag?

Thank you for reading this! (Every time there’s a seperate post there’s a ***  scene break in the original text) this story has also been polished…[Read more]

@this-is-not-an-alien

Hi Cathy,

Absolutely. Here is the essence of what is happening, as the Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian Christians:

So then, dear friends, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. … For even if I grieved you…

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Oooh that’s a good analogy!! Like how Christ takes our sinfulness and turns it into something fruitful and something that results in a great good, like how He allowed the Original Sin and turned it into the story of His Love to the point of dying for us. And that they continue to ritualistically cleanse the city especially because it’s a con…[Read more]

@rose-colored-fancy

Rose,

I love that yellow dress analogy!  Subtle interplay of hope. Very well done!  Nice finishing touch having Faye completing it. Bravo!

@this-is-not-an-alien

Cathy,

It goes even deeper than that, because when the remnant survive the plague, they purge the city by burning the outer rings, and courtyards, and they f…[Read more]

@obrian-of-the-surface-world
It’s so interesting how the city is literally rotting from the inside out with corruption! That’s really cool symbolism!

Rose your symbology of the Blood representing the duality of “guilt” and “sacrifice” is a powerful analogy, and the fact that these images and experiences come from Liorah’s dreams are also portentou…

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@obrian-of-the-surface-world
Ooh I love your symbolism with dead city of Azragoth, it’s got so many layers and demonstrates how passive we are about the sins right in front of our noses while we judge distant crimes we may not be a part of physically but are in our complacency. Especially how unconfessed sin grows and wounds and eventually d…[Read more]

@rose-colored-fancy
@this-is-not-an-alien

Hi Rose and Cathy,

Thank you Rose and Cathy for sharing your amazing examples. I have many examples of buried symbology in my WIP that are expounded upon and revealed later in the story.  The very place of “The Mid-World” and the Hidden Kingdom referred to as “Excavatia” all have this buried and later…[Read more]

@obrian-of-the-surface-world

Very cool topic! I love your use of subtext to imply the danger in the piece! It’s really interesting!

@this-is-not-an-alien

In my current WIP I keep using the image of a doll both to forward the witchcraft underlying plot and to symbolize manipulation or someone being dehumanized and I also use the word “doll” to…

[Read more]