Good Lord (wo)man(??? i don’t want to misgender you omg)!! I wasn’t expecting an update for at least a week.
I’m so glad the writing bug has bitten you. Best feeling in the world 
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Okay, I adore the pet name of Nibling. How did I not notice that before?
ANYWAY. I talked to Icarus on the train, and he mentioned that his parents are wingless as well Which brings me to
Wouldn’t my MC immediately call him out for lying?
I can see how this could work without Icarus actually lying… eg, he means in the City, his parents are dead, etc., but from the point of view of my MC, this makes no sense.
ALSO, I suddenly have a question, @Renab! Will the events in Icarus and in the City affect each other, a la “Creatures Such as We”?
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Ah, yes, the inevitable plot hole, I knew I was going to run into one of those eventually. Thank you so much for pointing that out! (I wrote that part before I added the extra early Icarus dialogue so I think thats what happened, whoops.)
Fun fact: That’s an actual word! I had to look up “gender neutral form of niece/nephew” and turns out nibling is both adorable and correct! I love it so much, it’s so cute.
I’m female, use she/her. Thank you for checking!
I know?? I wasn’t thinking that I would be updating so quickly, I thought “Oh dear, this is going to take me forever” and I actually did get stuck for a tiny bit, but then I guess I got bit by ye ole writing bug and all of a sudden- “Whoops guess it’s time for an update woah”.
It’s awesome though, I love the feeling of just being able to sit and write.
Well… I can’t say anything specific because of spoilers but lets just say that they already have? I know it doesn’t make much sense but it’s like I’ve said before in that the stories aren’t entirely separate.
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The WIP as a whole makes me think of it as a vaguely surreal steampunk adventure, while the story reminds me of Meet the Robinsons, for some reason. (I’m weird like that, I know.)
I say vaguely surreal because the City is an as-of-yet unexplained being who seems to be more or less a virtually omnipresent deity/mayor of a town who saves children at birth as a hobby. It’s all kind of odd when you think about it. Like Alice in Wonderland odd.
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Huh, I’m curious to see the connection. (Your comment actually scared me because it just appeared on my screen and I, stupidly, thought something was jumping out at me. Well, I’m awake now at least!)
Thats… pretty much how most people within The City see The City, so yep! I’m curious, are you more afraid/distrustful of The City? Or do you think of it as a good leader/you like it?
I’m actually glad you think so! I kind of wanted to create that surreal feeling around the story. (And I love Alice in Wonderland).
I’ve wondered a little about that, too. It’s amazing how many Children of the City there are. And man, I literally just finished reading the update, and I got so sad.
never seeing the sunlight, dreaming of flying, guh, i wanted to cry for these poor cinnamon rolls, good lord
And Iccy lil Icarus makes me wanna swoon. So gallant! So mischievous! So charming!
The exact OPPOSITE of what I go for in real life lololol
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Truth is most of these kids probably wouldn’t have died or even needed The City if they had better medical technology. But because this isn’t exactly “modern times” lots of people end up with things, be it diseases or injuries, that would be easily curable today. All they have, though, is The City.
And imagine being the parents, I imagine a lot of parents let their kids die because they think that a life of serving The City isn’t worth it. But those who chose to give up their kids never get to see them again- or if they do the kid won’t know that they’re talking to their parents.
It’s always the charming magician that makes people swoon! (He strikes again).
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Well, Meet The Robinsons is an oft-forgotten movie with a pretty anvilicious moral of keep trying what you’re doing despite the shortcomings and you will achieve success, while the story seems to be about a person who’s angsty from being different from everyone else due to not having the advantages everyone else has, and just so happens to meet a self-described terrorist who’s sympathetic with them, if having a slightly different origin story. Kinda sounds like the main villain of Meet The Robinsons, so maybe that’s why.[quote=“RenaB, post:46, topic:17799”]
Thats… pretty much how most people within The City see The City, so yep! I’m curious, are you more afraid/distrustful of The City? Or do you think of it as a good leader/you like it?
[/quote]
Until I have more information about the City, I view it as an entity that simply…is.
Glad I helped you know you’re going in the right direction, tone-wise.
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Huh, whaddaya know!
Fair view, well, I look forward to seeing what you think of it when you learn more about it!
When I get an excess buildup of excited energy, I flap my hands a little. How appropriate for this update.
More like a duck to water. You’re actually soaring pretty high with this. I have goose bumps.
Melting at Sunshine? Is Icarus close to falling? With such an endearment I bet surface MC could practically float away.
Alas, the City children remind me of little caged birds. If only they were allowed to sing…
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Alright! I fixed the plothole! Whew, thank you @ashestoashes018 again for pointing that out!
That is appropriate for the update, and you’re also not alone. I usually grab whatever is closest to me (which usually ends up being my friend’s arms, or my own purse, or, on the occasion, my own arm.)
Thank you so much! Glad to know my haphazard flapping and screaming at the ground due to vertigo is paying off. (Long-winded way of saying I still have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m glad that whatever it is is working out well so far!)
Who needs wings when you’ve got pet names? Aha, but that’s mainly just Icarus’ personality… Of course it’s used more as a term of endearment if you romance him, he’s the kind of guy who nicknames everyone. I mean it’s also probably pretty easy to romance him. He’s maybe the quickest to fall for the MC if you romance him? Copper would be the slowest, and Cynthia and Lorraine both fall for the MC at similar speeds if you romance either of those lovely ladies.
That’s… a really, really analogy and I’m shocked that I never thought of that. (Also I take it you’re not The City’s biggest fan?)
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It does seem to be taking more than it gives. I’ve always pictured the darkest place in existence as one giant power plant. My metal baby MC is afraid. What if cold, jagged “progress” blocks out the sun? What if the sky becomes domed by metal and freedom becomes more ideology than a possible reality?
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I imagine your MC’s worst fear would be becoming a City Watcher then? Since they have lost all sense of self to become the voices of The City, so a literal taking away of the free will by The City. (Or, if you’re pro-City, you might see it as The City being able to watch after it’s children by becoming one with its children, and giving itself a body so that it can protect them in both mind and flesh/metal. It’s all a matter of perspective at this point.)
Actually I am curious on what everyone’s opinions on The City Watcher’s are, creepy or cool? An honor? Or a horrible punishment?
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My headcanon is evolving with the more information provided. Where before, I was convinced the book is the history of The City, now I’m wondering if…i’m gonna spoiler all of this.
[spoiler]I’m wondering if these two things are happening concurrently. Obviously the book has magical properties, since our illiterate MC can read the title instinctively. Hence why our choices in each side sort of have currently unnoticeable/unseen effects on each other. Which begs the question…where is The City? Why are the civilians underground? What about the outside world is safe for plants, but not for humans? IS ICARUS FROM THE CITY. OH MY GOD THAT JUST HIT ME. Nobody in the City has wings, and Icarus mentions being from somewhere else but considering the land that Book MC lives in as his new home due to how it’s shaped him. OMG.
//is icarus a child of the city who somehow escaped?? is that how he can do magic??? will he have hidden metal body parts??// Stay Tuned for the Next ICARUS SUN Update[/spoiler]
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I’m very much reminded of “The Neverending Story”, where the two stories are operating in separate realities, but linked by the book itself, which is used by the “inner” reality as a method of drawing power from certain people in the “outer” (our) reality.
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These are all very interesting theories!
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And since you mentioned the City Watchers, I’m half and half.
I can see why it would be a complete honor to become one of them. It’s basically the best life a Child of the City can hope for (at least, that’s what it seems like to me. I’ve seen nothing to the contrary that makes me believe a Child of the City could have a family).
On the other hand, it seems even more like imprisonment. The City Watchers know everything the City knows. They know the secrets that the City is holding back from the masses. They become the City.
That almost seems a fate worse than death. You finally learn the secrets of the world you live in…but you literally lose yourself in the process.
Quite saddening.
I live for angst.
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After I drop down in the pipecrawling section and attempt to follow the pipe (rather than jumping over), I get one of these errors (depending on if I attempt to jump up at first, or not):
“startup line 1488: increasing indent not allowed, expected 8 was 9”
“startup line 1462: increasing indent not allowed, expected 10 was 11”
Like the game so far though 
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((So do I.))
There’s also that question of eternal loneliness vs. losing yourself but never being alone. The City Watchers are all eternally connected to one another, via The City. Even when you die, you’re remembered as a physical and mental part of The City. But if you don’t become a City Watcher, you’re doomed to this life of working, day and night. Albeit some of the work may be enjoyable, and you may even become a mentor and train a child, you’d inevitably end up alone.
As for whether or not a City Child could have a family… Well, technically there’s nothing to stop them but… What would they do with it? If they get married to a husband/wife/spouse it’d most likely have to be another City Child, since they don’t really talk to normal citizens all that much.
Even then there’s no guarantee the two will be able to start an actual family. (I mean it may be all metal and just physically impossible, or it could just be the fact that all City Children have to work sometime and there can never be moment when nobodies’ doing repairs so their schedules would most likely conflict, leaving them at a point where they hardly ever see each other.)
And if they had a kid, well, I mean there’s going to be some kind of problems there. What if the biological mother’s chest is metallic, the kid’ll just starve to death if they can’t find a wet nurse (which they most likely won’t be able to. Since for most people it’s either raise the kid yourself or give it up to The City), and they’d probably be unable to care for the kid even if they could fit them. So they’d most likely just end up giving the kid up to The City, and then they’d be in the same situation as was said above:
They’d probably even have to watch their kid get raised by strangers, too. Never really able to interact with their own child.
So at that point… there is no point. So most City Children don’t form families because it’d be a futile effort. Besides, most of their mind is either focused on work or becoming a City Watcher (which means work).
Which is why so many turn to The City for a familial bond, and why The City is so ready to offer it to its children. That’s really the only family they have, and its a city.
Nikolai and Rosie are actually a weird exception to that, and Nikolai and you if you chose to look up to him as a big brother. Nikolai is especially close with Rosie and maybe kid-MC as well, so much so that he feels a kind of brotherly, familial protection over both MC and Rosie. Most wouldn’t bother with that kind of thing.
For example, if you almost fall of the pipes and Nikolai rushes to save you? Most would either do so reluctantly (reluctant to break away from their own work), or just tell you to pull yourself up and stop being weak. His behavior is odd in that way, and most likely why he hasn’t been picked to be a City Watcher yet.
Oh shoot, okay, I’ll go fix that, (it’s always those darn indents), thank you very much!
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Alright! Bug should be fixed!
Also, I’m curious if nobody has run into Miss Julie yet? I would’ve thought somebody asked about her nickname, but maybe nobody’s run into her yet? Are my puzzles that easy? (I would not be surprised if the answer’s yes.)
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