A business executive hires a seasoned crew of loggers to head deep into the Everfree forest. They aren't supposed to be there. They shouldn't be there.
Some random stream of consciousness thoughts as I was reading:
their path a ravished line of tree trunks and scattered sawdust behind them.
I get the feeling that this will be both their salvation from the Everfree Nasties™ and their downfall as a company. Nothing quite says "Hey! Listen! Illegal activities this way!" like a clear-cut path through protected old-growth forest.
ain’t no better smell than mixed gasoline and sawdust in the mornin’
...smells like...profits!
It was a safety inspector’s worst nightmare
Or an unscrupulous guard's/militant eco-wanker's wet dream. Lance and Shayne must have thought Hearth's Warming came early this year. Plenty of opportunities for an "unfortunate accident"
“Batteries are expensive, heavy, and they don’t last as long,”
I guess they never thought of a hoof-cranked dynamo or a shake light?
Although I guess if you were a fly-by-night illegal logging operation you would not necessarily have the latest and greatest shinies from a commercial outfitter company.
The sound that emanated was thick and wet, almost meaty in some strange sense, like an old boot on glue-down linoleum.
That sounds disturbingly ominous. The trees are going to start weeping blood and screaming soon aren't they?
Actually I could see something like the Man-eating Tree from Phil Robinson's 1881 Under the Punkah. Plenty creepy there
“I can’t hear anything.” She stomped a hoof, ears flicking violently at the crackle of breaking twigs and crushed leaves. “This place is seriously fucked up! I can hear my own heart beating in my skull!”
Nothing like that tinnitus from a completely silent space to wear down on your nerves.
This certainly was an enjoyable chapter! I cannot wait for more.
7727815 Thanks so much for your input! I always love seeing people's reactions to my writings.
However, remember that the level of technology that we're working with here is 1940's ish. The show is somewhat irregular when it comes to technology related to time period, but I like to imagine it's pre-1950
On a side note, shake or crank flashlights are incredibly useless and high maintenance. They're a novelty at best, or something you bring on a backpacking trip.
However, remember that the level of technology that we're working with here is 1940's ish.
Fair enough. It was just a very minor quibble/observation.
I had something like the GN-45 hand-cranked generator in mind. They were developed for military use in World War 2 around that time. I guess in your universe they would still be bleeding-edge experimental research.
I almost feel sorry for Shayne. Quiet room tinnitus is bad enough with normal hearing; I cannot imagine how bad it would be with enhanced bat-pony ears.
The minor details of world-building woven into this story appealed to me, greatly: I appreciated the nonchalant remarks about an especially stocky "Clydesdale breed from up north" & how pegasi's "light bones...ain’t too good for the kinda work we do."
Also, Rusty's lie about harvesting old-growth trees (in Chapter 3) sounded convincing, avoiding explanation by feigning ignorance about "a bunch of political bullshit" & playing on his blue collar coworker's distaste for bureaucratic red tape (or "paperwork").
I also noticed the following errors in the first & third chapters:
Did you know what you were getting us into when you signed us up signed up up for this shit?
Would it be nice if we could keep all the forests intact? ‘Course it would! Is it ever gonna happen? shit no.
Though you only "write like once a year," Sorren, I still hope to see more of this story & the sequel to "Size Totally Matters".
Some random stream of consciousness thoughts as I was reading:
I get the feeling that this will be both their salvation from the Everfree Nasties™ and their downfall as a company. Nothing quite says "Hey! Listen! Illegal activities this way!" like a clear-cut path through protected old-growth forest.
...smells like...profits!
Or an unscrupulous guard's/militant eco-wanker's wet dream. Lance and Shayne must have thought Hearth's Warming came early this year. Plenty of opportunities for an "unfortunate accident"
I guess they never thought of a hoof-cranked dynamo or a shake light?
Although I guess if you were a fly-by-night illegal logging operation you would not necessarily have the latest and greatest shinies from a commercial outfitter company.
That sounds disturbingly ominous. The trees are going to start weeping blood and screaming soon aren't they?
Actually I could see something like the Man-eating Tree from Phil Robinson's 1881 Under the Punkah. Plenty creepy there
Nothing like that tinnitus from a completely silent space to wear down on your nerves.
This certainly was an enjoyable chapter! I cannot wait for more.
7727815 Thanks so much for your input! I always love seeing people's reactions to my writings.
However, remember that the level of technology that we're working with here is 1940's ish. The show is somewhat irregular when it comes to technology related to time period, but I like to imagine it's pre-1950
On a side note, shake or crank flashlights are incredibly useless and high maintenance. They're a novelty at best, or something you bring on a backpacking trip.
7727865
Fair enough. It was just a very minor quibble/observation.
I had something like the GN-45 hand-cranked generator in mind. They were developed for military use in World War 2 around that time. I guess in your universe they would still be bleeding-edge experimental research.
I almost feel sorry for Shayne. Quiet room tinnitus is bad enough with normal hearing; I cannot imagine how bad it would be with enhanced bat-pony ears.
I guess Bloodwood stillborn now?
The minor details of world-building woven into this story appealed to me, greatly: I appreciated the nonchalant remarks about an especially stocky "Clydesdale breed from up north" & how pegasi's "light bones...ain’t too good for the kinda work we do."
Also, Rusty's lie about harvesting old-growth trees (in Chapter 3) sounded convincing, avoiding explanation by feigning ignorance about "a bunch of political bullshit" & playing on his blue collar coworker's distaste for bureaucratic red tape (or "paperwork").
I also noticed the following errors in the first & third chapters:
Though you only "write like once a year," Sorren, I still hope to see more of this story & the sequel to "Size Totally Matters".