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For a changeling like Iqqel, the Ceremony of Names is what getting a cutie mark is for a pony. It has a lot to do with your destiny and who you are meant to become. Iqqel dared to refuse all that and chose to shape her own future.
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Hello and welcome to Dichromatic!
You know that feeling when you're hunting for a gem in the New Stories section and you pass on yet another due to its short description reading "a story about my OC called [name]"? Well, I'm glad you're checking this one, because it's technically one of those stories. Ha! I bet you didn't see that one coming, eh? Anyway, I'm no rookie and I know how this game is played, so I'll just use the cosmic power of quoting to let someone else advertise the main character for me.
Now that I have your attention, I'm hoping to gain your curiosity as well with the following keywords: coming of age, choice, sacrifice, friendship, vivid lore, and of course change. All of that - and much more - can be found in Dichromatic, a story about my OC called Iqqel.
Enjoy!
Certainly a good start.
I'm game.
~Skeeter The Lurker
6300407
Fixed it for you.
Hehe, looks like a good start Prane.
Let us see where this goes... Proceed.
6308625
So I've come to right actions out of wrong reasoning? Damn, there's so much to learn about writing horsewords! Why they don't teach that at school instead of geography or some such subject?
6308652
Right now it's going to a place called Hall of Names, and then - only deeper.
Where did those two extra dislikes come from so quickly? I swear, this is starting to get suspicious - second example today. Of course, I can't conclude anything as of yet, and its probably coincidential.
6310545
A duet of self-righteous Rating Balance Keepers, perhaps? We may never know.
6310552 I'm probably grasping at straws if I want to take this further, but a similar thing happened to one of my stories earlier - it has the exact same vote-count as of now funnily enough. The thing is though, I legitimately feel like it deserved them, as I barely put any effort into it and it was just plain silly. This, on the other hand...
6310554
Ah, you're the Sylveon story guy! I knew your name sounded familiar.
Well, the best thing we can do in such situation is to assume that someone had a bad day, and move on.
Well, that last line bodes well.
Having not read any of the bits before, but certainly enjoying other stories you have done, i gave this one a go. And it has a good deal of potential, especially with the potential of how things look to be shaping at a guess.
6310565 Ah, one of those dislikes disappeared.
6310565 Ah, one of those dislikes disappeared.
6310744
That's great news! I had a chance of "testing" this story on a person who hasn't read the related ones either, and their response was that they didn't feel lost. So you're good to go!
6310738
It's there to pique your curiosity, so I guess it's serving its purpose!
6310763 I dunno about the nature of what will happen. But this sorta reminded me of the hindu and akin castes of old. Of what they might be when to being able to see a western and european (equestrian) viewpoint of being able to find your destiny, compared to it being sorta chosen, enforced upon you by who you are.
6310788
It's safe to say that the story will tackle the destiny vs. choice dilemma at some point.
6310849 and its part of what i love with changeling stories. there is always this tension. Done right, its always fun to hear the take each author spins it to.
I like it.
Also:
Ahh. Cecily / Chrysalis and Iqqel
Lovely to see more of these two, together.
Chapter 2 is live! Let's go meet some more changelings and see places important for them, shall we?
Ah, i had to re-read this twice to get whom Lilo-Skallit is in terms of caste. That sorta threw me askew in the flow of the chapter. Same deal for the line of confessor uttered. Otherwise, very fun and enjoyable interactions.
Yeeah, been a while; I don't quite remember all the caste prefixes
Heh. Love that alien mindset. Reminds me of the war fought in the anime "heroic age", where the humans attacked and "conquered" the original home planet of an alien species, hoping to throw them into disarray, only to realize too late that unlike the humans, these people didn't have any attachment whatsoever to their place of origin, and instead of a nerve center, they were basically attacking a strategically completely unimportant planet... which served as a gigantic nursery
Hehe. I suspect the original meaning of the phrase is more along the lines of "go crazy, give it your everything, even if it gets you hurt"
6318412
Let me help you with that! All name prefixes in one place, for your convenience.
Tenders (green): Zolo-, Zoli-, Zolay-
Thinkers (silver): Ezuo-, Ezui-, Ezay-
Makers (orange): Naro-, Nari-, Naray-
Feeders (red): Piro-, Piri-, Piray-
Warriors (blue): Keko-, Keki-, Kekay-
Speakers (violet): Lilo-, Lili-, Lilay-
Workers (yellow): Saro-, Sari-, Saray-
Which of the three prefixes is used depends on the gender a changeling identifies with. If a Speaker considers himself a male, he's going to be a Lilo-. A brave female Warrior mentioned in the next chapter will have Keki- as a part of her name. Finally, if a changeling Feeder doesn't like the concept of two genders - which may or may not help them in infiltrating pony societies - they're free to choose Piray- during their Ceremony of Names.
Since throwing such an infodump directly into the flow of the story would look terrible, hints and mentions regarding the names, castes, eye colors and how they are all connected are usually scattered across chapters. Consider the above a handy reference guide!
6318947 thank ya thank ya, and thats a nice and very handy guide to hoof over for remembrance.
6318870
Go back to nymphery and they'll teach you! Alternatively, check out this comment.
Coming up with the lore for the changelings is immensely rewarding. It boils down to questioning everything we know about pony societies, which in turn means questioning our own. Culture clashing sure is fun, and I'm looking forward to writing a changeling in the near future who questions perfectly normal things like sky, clouds, and trees.
I like to think that the biggest challenge for a Feeder going undercover is to not burst out laughing the moment the silly ponies start doing/saying, well, silly pony things.
6320736
I can imagine
Oh, and thanks for that list! I'll probably be checking back to that from time to time while reading the next chapters
6318870
The modern understanding of 'break a leg' is that to wish good luck is bad luck. The origin is unknown, but none of wikipedia's theories quite fit yours.
There is one theory that is conveniently pony-like; allegedly, in Ancient Greece the custom was not to clap at a good performance but to stomp your feet. To break a leg was to have someone in the audience love your performance enough that they break their leg stomping so hard.
6323936
Stomping intensifies!
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/8/21/79400__safe_animated_bon+bon_happy_sweetie+drops_colgate_minuette_amethyst+star_sparkler_cloud+kicker.gif
6323936
Heh. Interesting
Yo Prane! Where's the hay, the clients are waitng! XD
6324351
Patience! The next chapter will be a bit longer, so it may take another two or three days before it's ready!
6324379 Update quicker than a week?
Why haven't I noticed earlier that you're the Jesus of FiMfiction?
Hope to see more. So far I'm liking it
6332686
There's a good chance I'll have the next chapter ready by tomorrow!
What I'm curious about is how old the Hall of Names and the hive are for them to have been using such a primitive way of leaving their names?
6332986
Good question! It's safe to say they're both much older than Equestria. That would make the Hall of Names about a thousand years old, plus however you think the period between the unification of the Three Tribes and the banishment of Luna was, plus another thousand when changelings roamed the surface (before the ponies pushed them back into the caves from which they emerged). Let's say 2200 years (I'm dating Equestria at 1200 years).
This is also when the Seven Castes were formed and the Ceremony of Names was invented, around the fiftieth Queen Chrysalis. It is worth noting that the first Queens (and changelings) had a much shorter lifespan. Partly because they had limited access to love energy without anyone over their heads, and partly because they were still struggling to adapt to what they had evolved into after their first Queen rebelled against what ruled them before roughly 3000 years ago. That would be the moment of establishing Hive Chrysalis.
Now, what was before? If the history of the changelings was blurry up to this point, it is nonexistent beyond it. No one remembers that they were once a collective of slaves serving the purpose dictated by the single entity. It's name and form alike had been forgotten the moment the first Queen Chrysalis said no and liberated her kin. How long they existed before that? What they were? Where they come from? Those are the questions that may never be answered.
That's it! You definitely got me thinking on that because I haven't had a chance to run these numbers before. It should be noted that it's damn late and you've kept me from my soft pillow and blanket, so there's a chance I made a mistake outlining it to you. Still, you got me thinking, for which I am grateful. I'll definitely give it an extra thought, but for now - as everything in Hive Chrysalis - the history itself is subject to change.
6333438 Well now, THAT sounds like a few interesting plothooks...I am intrigued.
How long DO Changelings live these days? Obviously Queens aren't immortal, but...
I once had a headcanon that ALL Changelings are immortal due to the hive mind. If they die, their minds return to the collective until a new body can be grown for them. If a hive is ever in threat of being wiped out, the Queen always makes sure to have at least one Changeling in stasis off-site so that once everyone else is dead, it'll wake up with the entirety of the colony sharing space in its head and go off to start over elsewhere.
6333785
For the convenience of storytelling I'm assuming they're now reaching the average lifespan of ponies (so 60-80 years). That's because they have been feeding off their love energy full-time since when the Three Tribes came to Equestria 1200 years ago (around the eightieth Queen).
Hive mind approach is definitely fun, and your take with a "backup" changeling sounds neat!
6335160 I thought so too.
Do Queens live longer than normal Changelings?
6335562
I'd say they don't. They obviously have better health, more powerful magic, probably a couple of additional enhancements, but they won't live any longer than your average changeling. Their status of the Queen is more about extending youth and keeping her mind sharp and body in excellent condition rather than prolonging lifespan.
6335623 I see. Reminds me of a story I read where every Changeling BUT the Queens are immortal, and they depend on her for guidance as a result.
Now this, was interesting on a variety of levels. Though certainly one I could find interesting in that its a combination of magic and genetics in how one chooses, and that one is also chosen.
Okay, time to post on a strange question or two. But I have a question to ask first.
What established ideal is Iqqel going to be fighting against?
That said, you posted last chapter, on the established colors and roles. With the little eye show here, it got me thinking, both as a nature of castes, and of color theory/psychology and the way of symbolism. The big one here are Silver and Black. Silver, is a supportive color, in its good attributes. A balance of what really one would hope to see in a thinker. Each color here, is very clearly embodying some virtue of the caste, even black. Black itself has its good sides. And perhaps of the colors here, from the castes. Silver is really what goes best with black. A quick double check, and yup, white eyes to start.
The whole symbolism here, there is tons of it, and its rife with allusions. You have an unknown warrior caste, to preside over a very different thinker. You have a close friendship, trying to balance the shift of power thrust with its own secrets and ties into the color theory again with the black eyes of her friend. Heck, silver has its own nature and symbolics for good and ill. And very strong ones too in both ways.
But it comes back around to what we don't see behind the curtain with the queen here. And thats perhaps the one thing that we can only watch. unfold. And what the choice of caste truly does. Though given things are slice of life, and not dark, its not the same queen keeping a new body with each compatible drone at first thought.
Hmm, I wanted to see the moment Cecile's eyes become back, not the aftermatch. Meh, guess I'll have to hope for a flashback.
6337220
I hate to burst your bubble, but this story has a strictly Iqqel POV, and there are certain things neither she nor the reader will learn.
6338586 Aww. Well, it's not like it hyper important. When's next chapter?
6338776
When it's ready, I can't really approximate it at the moment.
Innteresting.
Augh! Now this is going to keep me wondering forever! FOREVERRRR!
Heh. "how on depths". Nice one
Yeah, I suspected as much
I'm seeing a pattern here. It involves having very little self-confidence
She's a Thinker alright
Aand that's exactly his conclusion too. Heh.
Pfff. She analysed her name together. Yeah. Surely that's not a Thinker mindset at all.
This is such an Iqqel sentence
I keep reading her name as "fedora"
...aaand now I'm imagining the statue's ancient armour to include that as headwear
Waaait wait wait wait. Ezui-Iqqel? That's not right!