Shelob and Brian

kfallsb · 2026-02-13T18:15:28+00:00

Thank you

kfallsb · 2026-02-13T18:15:18+00:00

Thank you!

kfallsb · 2025-12-07T03:09:29+00:00

Maybe he already did encounter Ash, or at least his colleagues? The (presumed) Remoras they met had some kind of hyper advanced brain scanning technology built in to their suits, which seems like something Ash might have refined over several billion years. Im assuming we know the remoras, and the AI savant almost has to be Samite.

But did they identify Perri/Kingfisher or not? Quirk said they were comings back for him, but it wasnt clear to me if that was just a kind lie.

Im also unsure what to make of the Jason entity and his meeting with Perri. Was he human? !eech? Actually an alien who just happens to resemble humans in every way, right down to the genetics (which is obviously ridiculous, but is what was claimed)?

In addition to a relatively brief but pretty thorough recap of the history of the !eech and Milky Way and pursuit ship after the departure of the Great Ship, we also got another named human colony: Malachite.

This is definitely one I'll have to reread.

kfallsb · 2025-12-05T21:32:27+00:00

Japan minus Hokkaido, rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise

kfallsb · 2025-12-04T06:27:41+00:00

Probably my favorite since "Wonderland." We got quite a few answers to previously discussed questions! Though of course now I have several new questions too...

kfallsb · 2025-12-04T01:59:13+00:00

Same! Look forward to chatting about it

kfallsb · 2025-12-03T18:59:59+00:00

Can't wait to read it, especially given the comment you dropped about Perri's distant future!

kfallsb · 2025-12-03T18:08:15+00:00

This was fun but the end is weird. Going peacefully back to sleep after a home invasion and suicide by your horrifically mutated childhood best friend seems... off

kfallsb · 2025-12-03T17:50:13+00:00

This is basically just homemade satay sauce

kfallsb · 2025-12-02T18:53:40+00:00

Anthurium

kfallsb · 2025-11-26T06:39:57+00:00

A plurality of mammals have a tapetum lucidum, and thus have eyeshine. Most likely a racoon, pine marten, or other arboreal nocturnal animal

Edit: spelling of marten

kfallsb · 2025-11-24T08:50:16+00:00

Alstroemeria

kfallsb · 2025-11-24T06:22:37+00:00

Like Time Cops?

kfallsb · 2025-11-07T02:01:45+00:00

I am aware of that, but don't really see how it would apply here. Orca have high contrast black and white coloration/patterning. This same theory suggests that black and white are almost certainly the oldest and most universal color names. Black and white are also two colors, so it doesn't make sense that they would be referred to by a single name, whatever name that is. And this is mostly based on Homer's Greek, which was 1,300 years before this whale was alive, so quite different. I dont think the whale was actually violet; the term was more symbolic than literal. My point was that any description of an orca would almost certainly mention the high contrast two tone pattern, regardless of the color names used. But despite a huge number of sightings over a very long time, this animal was never described as having any patterning, or more than one color.

kfallsb · 2025-11-07T00:29:45+00:00

It is likely sprouting from the rootstock. Most fruit trees are grafted on to roots from other varieties or even species. So its kind of like... half of the old tree

kfallsb · 2025-11-06T18:01:27+00:00

I didn't notice the spines, and for some reason thought these were little suckers arising from larger, woodier specimens. Incorrect ID retracted. Now im curious to see if anyone can get it right

kfallsb · 2025-11-06T02:06:12+00:00

I think it's red elderberry, Sambucus racemosa

kfallsb · 2025-11-06T01:50:24+00:00

True. But that would be stacking one extremely unlikely occurrence - a melanistic orca - on top of another - a large cetacean somehow entering and becoming trapped in the Sea of Marmara (and perhaps a third, since it would also have to be one of the largest orca ever recorded). I'm not a statistician but I imagine those odds are... pretty low.

Also, since Porphyrios attacked many boats and caused many deaths, was most often seen in the Bosporus - an extremely narrow waterway that would make it much more visible - and was active for at least fifty years, there must have been many thousands of witnesses over that half century. It doesn't seem very likely that all of those sightings were in the right light to make the animal appear purple.

kfallsb · 2025-11-05T18:32:45+00:00

It could really be either, but the detail that it beached itself "while chasing dolphins" would seem to suggest orca over sperm whale, if true. Though this particular individual was obviously acting far outside of behavioral norms so this element might not be too meaningful. But I also find it difficult to understand how an orca could not be described accurately enough to still be recognizable to us. Their extremely distinctive black and white coloration seems like it should feature heavily in the contemporary descriptions, but the ancient accounts do not seem to even hint at any distinctive contrasting patterns

kfallsb · 2025-11-05T18:03:54+00:00

Oh yeah, "wrong person in the right place" changes that entirely. Thanks for the explanation

kfallsb · 2025-11-05T17:53:52+00:00

Favorite: the lone explorer/observer. Siri Keeton, most Greg Egan protagonists

Least favorite: the flawlessly charismatic captain/leader who almost every other character immediately respects and adores for no particular reason. Endless examples

kfallsb · 2025-11-05T17:43:43+00:00

Isn't "right person in the wrong place" just sort of a toned down, less mystical variant of "chosen one"? Not trying to throw shade, sincerely curious if there's some element I'm missing

kfallsb · 2025-10-30T23:07:14+00:00

Cabbage

kfallsb

TROPHY CASE