Bout time we gave this a name. THRIVE: Self Selection is a fan favorite at the moment.
It also has a working Campfire page. THRIVE: Self Selection (campfirewriting.com)
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Maybe not cause, but witness these things?
(Replying to the post talking about them causing historical disasters)
Maybe along the way they could pick up and befriend people who ‘died’ in these incidents. (Could become side characters that help the cause when they are back in the future, as they wouldn’t be able to go back to their own times)
That’s a thought. It’ll have to wait.
The focus of this story isn’t Earth, 'cause then it wouldnt be a space opera. The planet is still a vital part of the story, as it directly affects their character growth (explaining after you answer). Upon returning to the 26th century, Mark and Jake are arrested, because backwards time travel is illegal in this universe except for the elitest of the elite. The further back you go, the longer your sentence. For our duo, it’s approximately 800 years, minimum. For comparison, most humans can barely live for a quarter of that same time. As for Tlep, he was dutely thrown in with the rest of his kind in the relocation into the Alliance. Of course, the prisoners are entitled to one message per year. It doesnt matter who it’s from, just that one is all you have. And guess who wrote the message Mark chooses? Yep, Sadie. In her now centuries-old letter, she confesses that Mark was the first man she’s ever had real feelings for (In the sudden absence of husbands, fathers, brothers and beaus during the War, white Southern women discovered a newfound freedom, one that simultaneously granted them more power in relationships and increased their likelihood of heartbreak. “One looks at a man so differently when you think he may be killed tomorrow,” one South Carolina woman mused. Of course, Sadie’s family cannot stand this change or of Black freedom, leaving Sadie stifled. And even without high status, Mark’s instant connection to her was forbidden locally, since he has a New Yorkian accent, and thus is taken for a Union spy, resulting in the spilled beans and promise), and she’d give anything to rejoin him in the future, no matter the consequences. In something of a twist, Mark’s heart is set aflutter. Jake realizes that he had the wrong idea about this white-y. To make up for the mistreatment, he formulates an escape plan out of this “impenetrable” fortress, which Mark actually follows this time, but in a way that shows that he still has a lot to learn. Coming to help midway is Lorena, a Latin direct descendant of a freedman that Sadie released from her slave farm. Just goes to show how much of an impact he’s made in her life. As a trio, they come back for Tlep and free his species from the Alliance’s tight grasp. To return the favor, the Kalmanders combine Mark and Jake’s ships, giving them the best of both dimensions - Space and Time - so they can keep Sadie’s promise. Upon returning to 1862 Tennessee, Mark and Sadie have a heartfelt reunion and share their first kiss. Don’t worry, it’s not that passionate.
The way time travel works in this multiverse is intriguing. Whenever an object is relocated from its home time to another, its very presence automatically creates an alternate timeline, which is perceived by the rest of that universe. That’s how Lorena can still exist if Sadie left her period.
Also, Mike calls Jake “Jack” on purpose, then Sadie “Sarah”. Nicknames are one of his things, and they later become affectionate.
Say, what is Tlep’s language?
since they live chara u, a colony of the alliance, tlep speaks Latin. this is because it is controlled by a mechanized julias caeser.
also tlep is non binary.
also kalmanders is what tlep farms, not what species they are. kalmanders are large amphibians bread for meat that are descended from earth hellbenders
I know who mark is:
yoooooooooooooooo i never thought about it like that
tlep, who had been alone there entire life. began to grow as a human. they had never experienced the love of a parent, as tlep was grown in a test tube, nor the love of a sibling. mark taught tlep how to love. they had pancakes together. fished in the nearby lake. they grew a fondness of one another and eventually asked an old man who was a pastor to have them married. they had grown acquainted with there life in America. they had a son (tlep reproduces asexualy) , jack. named after marks best friend.
a little bit about tleps species.
tlep is a kind of asexuel super human created by the alliance to do labor. they grow in test tubes. tlep was engineered for the planet chara u, a swampy jungle planet colonized by humans century’s ago.
I don’t think this fits what Underfish had planned around Mark and Sadie…
Also isn’t Tlep a lizard dude how would he have gotten aquainted with an old American Pastor?
Cool backstory tho (for the race/character)
tlep isn’t a lizard. they are a genetically modified human that farm large salamanders. here still in the 1800s America right? there’s plenty of those lying around. also aren’t mark and Sadie just really good friends?.
^Nope
I mean they are friends first (hence this quote:
), but they are in love with one another in Underfish’s plot
sorry the whole Kalamander mix up had me confused that they were lizard person
Can’t tell if you are joking or not. AFAIK there were no genetically modified humans or giant salamanders in the americas in the 1800s
the time travel. they time travelled
see. that what i was talking about
ye I know…? I already knew that, the thing I quoted you said “They are still in the 1800’s Americas? There’s plenty of those (seemingly referring to either genetically modified humans or giant salamanders) lying around.”
What were you referring to then, if not that when you said “Plenty of those lying around”?
Anyway the idea doesn’t work because of Underfish’s aforementioned writing, but good backstory for Tlep
american pastors. thats what i meant
Thanks for clearing the stuff up about Tlep. A genetically modified human was not what I was expecting nor was a robot Ceaser. The latter would not make sense though. It can have his personality, but it would need an alien form. To the Alliance, we’re all the same - spineless despite our backbones, stealing and cheating with no remorse, spinning webs of lies. So Chara U wouldn’t have been an Alliance colony. It must have been a third-party property, established by humans for loan by other species, until the antianthro Alliance cut the deals and started the plot.
With that being said, would the remaining Kalmanders be the Team Pets?
a baby one. a itty bitty kalamander the size of a puppy. maybe a special breed. and the mechanized caeser is just a zombified husk of a man who thought he was a direct descendent of caeser and a reincartion of him. the ceaser also has a hive mind of robots.
this is awesome! i love how much is going on right now