iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Delivering these is always stressful, but nobody gets in the way of someone carrying a #weddingcake. 😁 #bakesky #bakingsky #cake #foodsky #cakesky #love

Three-tier cake decorated in buttercream with gold accents

Three-tier cake decorated in buttercream, with topper and floral accents

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Delivered five cakes last weekend. Lots of tense driving. 😁

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

#WIPSnips 30: write Again: if you're going to be stranded in a timeline that split off thousands of years ago, *bring reference material*! #SciFi #ScienceFiction

Try it yourself, dear reader. From memory and without looking anything up:

* Explain the history of just the Americas, from Beringia through Clovis to modern times.
* Draw, as accurately as you can, the shapes of the various U.S. states. Label all of them. (Bonus: Include major cities and highways.)
* Write down as much of the Magna Carta as you can remember.
* Compare Egyptian art to Greek art without being able to show any examples.
* Accurately estimate how much cargo was shipped by boat, air, and rail worldwide.
* Explain the different forms of government in the world, and give a summary of their underlying philosophies.

There was so much to cover, I could barely do outlines. It hurt my soul to describe Cleopatra as “an empress who seduced the ruler of one side of a civil war.”

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors 29: Author's choice/promo Marketing is not my thing, but... read the blurb for SECONDARY. The reviews say I actually pull that off. 🤷 books2read.com/b/mdx1Jl Amazon: t.co/0xpU28EWiE Sample chapters: t.co/pvZX0lxq2v

#TimeTravelAuthors
April 2026

1. Introduce your story (optional: as a knock-knock or other joke)
3. What kind of coffee/caffeinated beverage do your characters like? (suggested by Candace Hill)
5. Games in your story
7. How seriously do they take time travel?
9. Will your characters admit they're wrong?
11. Saturday excerpt (optional word: point)
13. Silliest character
15. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: sink/sank) (suggested by NaraMoore)
17. How do you feel about story structure?
19. Any authorities in your story?
21. Repost or reply to another #TimeTravelAuthors participant's post
23. Do your characters test time travel?
25. Saturday excerpt (optional word: alert/observe/observant)
27. Message/moral of your story
29. Author's choice/promo

All time-travel authors and published works, WIPs, etc. welcome!
To join, just answer the prompts on odd days, using the hashtag #TimeTravelAuthors
On even days, post what you like!

Questions? @juliebihn.bsky.social or @juliebihn.mastodon.social

Everybody has bad days. Jim McAllister’s having one that spans two timelines.

For an anthropologist, joining the Time Eye project is a career-making dream. He’s hardly above pulling strings–especially for a chance to pull photons from the Bronze Age and directly view ancient cultures. Then rogue scientists hijack the Eye, sending an engineered virus back thousands of years. Jim, the last person interfaced with the system, can only watch as reality warps around him.

Now he’s the sole remnant of the old history: a conspicuous, bizarrely-dressed young man who speaks no recognizable language. Thanks to the virus, anyone with two X chromosomes is a living, and potentially lethal, taser. Men have never been a significant threat to women–quite the opposite.

To have any chance of getting home–to even survive, in a world where men’s concerns have been secondary for all of recorded history–Jim will need to find allies. He’ll have to apply his skills to a uniquely unfamiliar culture, where much more than the gender signifiers are radically different. He must figure out who might listen to his story. A story that’s clearly impossible and deeply offensive. Plus, just as a bonus, heretical.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Who else suffers from Sudden Onset Cat Head? #CatSky #CatsOfBsky #Cat

Darwin, a tabby cat, squeezes from below into the lap of the person sitting at a desk. Only his head and one paw is visible, and his left eye is squinting.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

#WIPSnips 29: immediate Jim makes a rather substantial gaffe. #SciFi #ScienceFiction

My relief was suddenly a dim and distant thing. Understanding blossomed. Coming across as insulting the bows of the Empress' wife - said insult coming immediately after the granting of a major concession on the part of said wife - I mean, that was simply a monstrously fucking stupid idea.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

#ConlangApril 28: One bit I don't believe I've mentioned is that the name 'Jim' is problematic in Lihnahchoo. First off, final consonants aren't a thing. And second, the 'ih' vowel sound is considered feminine. So a name like 'Jihm' sounds wrong for a boy in two different ways. #Conlang #Conlangs

Nusuku gave a glance at Atosho, then bowed to me formally. “Restful slumber to thee, Jeem.” I still treasured that cut-off final vowel. She never got much better at pronunciation, but she made the effort.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

#WIPSnips 28: chicken Of all the things Jim has to get used to in the new timeline, the cuisine is one of the hardest to cope with. #SciFi

Atosho had a late-night snack delivered from a nearby restaurant. Apparently an 'ethnic' one, some foreign cuisine from what I would have called central Russia. Heavily spiced meat, but accompanied by a salty, wet, sour cheese. Kind of like feta cottage cheese.

Fuck, at least it was some kind of cheese. It helped overpower the intense bitter flavor of the chicken meat, as we skimmed the various news programs. That Yarona had taken an interest in my case was widely reported. In addition, it turned out elements of his schedule were published a day in advance: there was some coverage of the fact that I'd be having lunch with him tomorrow.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors 27: Message/moral of your story About three morals, actually. 😀 1. The way things are is not the only way they could be 2. Society hugely influences how we see things, including gender 3. #TimeTravel is hideously dangerous #SciFi #ScienceFiction #SciFiBooks

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

#WIPSnips 27: photograph Okay, 'picture,' but the vibes are strong with this one. #SciFi

‘Nusuku’ frowned, but stayed businesslike. “What thy name is?”

“Jim.”

A tiny squint. “Jeema?” She dropped her pitch on the “ma,” indicating a question. It still sounded like a statement to my instincts.

“Jim.” Flatly: “Other say Jeema.”

Her head tilted but she let that go. She placed a picture on the table in front of me. Glossy, color, nothing to distinguish it from one in my world. Although, I didn’t see pixels, or blocky compression artifacts. It was a shot of Toromu’s face and shoulders. The side of her head was caved in.

“Why thou Toromu didst kill?” Nusuku asked.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

#WIPSnips 26: work Ok, this a chonky snip. But it doesn't just include work - it's *about* work, and how societies allocate it. #SciFi #ScienceFiction

“Even when there’s a division of labor, it’s usually not that sharp. Something like eighty percent of the hunter-gatherer societies we know of include women hunters.” I gave Felix a pointed glance. “Social power often seems to depend on how many calories people bring in.” His eyes had narrowed; I met his scowl. “A lot of places, hunting’s just a bonus; it’s the gathering that really feeds the group.” I allowed myself a modest grin. “Turns out guys can do a decent job sharing power when their meals depend on it.”
That got a nervous, tension-releasing laugh from the group, so I kept going. I’d taken a dislike to Felix anyway–he had no idea how complex the Early Bronze Age was, all over the world–and I’d been in academia for years. Poking the eye of someone who irritates the boss is good politics. Even better if it’s dressed up as a polite information exchange. “Agriculture was a disaster for women, in some ways. The men worked the fields, the women handled the home. There’s evidence that the longer a culture’s had Eurasian-style agriculture, the more rigid the gender roles have become.”

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors 25: 'observe' I mean... what *do* you do when stranded in an unknown timeline, anyway? Asking for a friend. Or at least an MC. #SciFi #ScienceFiction

I had developed the bare beginnings of a plan. I’d probably have to be a homeless beggar for a while; hopefully not too long. I could maybe find some kind of scholar, convince him–crap, more likely her–that I was worth trying to understand. The best thing I could think of was to find another anthropologist. I could maybe point out some of the lost habitations we’d observed with the Time Eye. If they dug there, and found something… maybe they’d believe me.
I had to get someone to believe me.
If… no. Once I got that far… this place clearly had some tech more advanced than I was used to. They might have a Time Eye, too. Or something even better. Maybe a way to get me home.
As a plan, it obviously sucked.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

#WIPSnips 25: tack Don't have to vibe this one! (Jim's name is very foreign-sounding in the new timeline. He generally gets called something else.) #SciFi

Manayka made a jaygo that bordered on [rude]. "Boys talk."

Several of the women, especially T'ramoi and Saloro, were visibly unimpressed. "Naturally they talk," T'ramoi said with a grin. "Why trouble Jeema with idle gossip?"

I hadn't seen Manayka be quite that firm with the women. "They talk because they must. To warn each other." He could see he wasn't getting through. After an almost-invisible grimace, he changed tacks. "Besides, if Huvishu is too gohshaivehbusau,[1] how shall Jeema react?"

[1] 'Exothermic.' Pretty sure that was the chemical term in English. In this context, it meant 'enthusiastic.' Electrical metaphors are deeply embedded in this culture - foundational, really. But they've had chemistry longer here, too.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

#WIPSnips 24: hungry So you're an anthropologist, trying to compare notes with anthropologists from a *very* different timeline. How do you establish a common language? #SciFi #ScienceFiction

We had an agreed-upon term for ‘agriculture.’ I recalled it to their attention, and began a new term: “Famine.” I used our words/gestures for ‘decrease,’ and acted out a little pantomime of being hungry and worried. I had to glance at a cheat sheet to remind me of their term for ‘even/unto/all the way to’ but that was just a couple seconds. I said it, and mimed death.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors 23: Test time travel? It's possible to make a smaller system that only can see a quarter-second in the past. As the text notes, "...it’s a good thing there’s a way to show it works, otherwise us Very Serious Scientists wouldn’t be talking about this crazy stuff." 😀 #SciFi

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors 21: Repost or reply to another participant's post Wanted to point out this little gem of a commentary, on the mechanics and issues with writing "can't change the past" #TimeTravel!

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

#WIPSnips 23: path Regrettably, Baiyokee is not wrong about the 'heresy' part. #SciFi #ScienceFiction #SciFiBooks

“If I cannot shunt you away from this path”[1]–Baiyokee paused, but Atosho shook her head–“then I must beg you. Do not endorse his story! It is more than nonsense–it is heresy!”

Atosho shot a look at me–then turned back to Baiyokee. “The truth cannot be heresy.” When her fiance gasped, she spoke quickly. “And it is only truth which we shall present. Simply facts. His genes, his languages, his technology. Their meaning… can be determined later. After more study.”

[1] As in, a path in a circuit. Not woods or whatever.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

#WIPSnips 22: convoluted Vibing on this one. Who would have expected a time machine to be complex? #SciFi #ScienceFiction #TimeTravel

I remember Felix went into how quantum stuff normally happens at the size of atoms and particles, but the Time Eye needed a “macroscale quantum system,” something involving “quantum coherence.” Silam mentioned that a faint radio signal, or a tiny jiggle, could “decohere” the system; everything had to be as isolated as possible from the outside world. I’d seen the pictures from the construction–thick walls intended to block out everything from electromagnetic waves to cosmic rays, complex anti-vibration systems that rivaled the LIGO observatories, etc. Ellen talked about the need to keep certain critical parts cool, despite the enormous amounts of energy flowing near–or even through–them.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

#ConlangApril 21: #Conlangs are often worldbuilding 'decoration & spice' in fiction - because many (most?) readers don't have patience for linguistic niceties. Generally someone's bilingual, or there's 'universal translators,' or whatever. I wanted to avoid shortcuts. No convenience tropes. 1/3

Dovee and I ignored the glares and laughs and occasional muttered insults as best we could, continuing to play the vocabulary game. I learned the words for ‘tree’ and ‘sky’ and ‘cloud’ and ‘fence.’

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

#WIPSnips 21: deal Jim's in a particularly poor negotiating position, here in an alien timeline. #SciFi #ScienceFiction

Nusuku led our group off to the side, to where three other women and a young man stood waiting. They were all examining me intently. Nusuku indicated the whole group. “These women will thy claim test.” She gave me a stern look, and asked, “Wilt thou to cooperate promise?”
I was examining the women. Middle-aged, mostly–Atosho was the youngest at maybe thirty–and focused. I had no idea about the clothing, but I had a decent impression they were all some variety of professors or academic researchers.
Maybe one of them was a physicist? That I could ask about Time Eyes? Feeling a smidgen of actual hope, I nodded. “Promise.” I wasn’t going to get a better deal, I felt sure.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

#WIPSnips 20: The advanced medicine in the new timeline doesn't cancel out some of the less-advanced elements of this society. At least, not for Jim. #SciFi

I had to have Manayka help me ask the questions, but it solved a mystery for me. My blood chemistry didn’t show any diagnosed abnormalities, not the common ones the scanners were ‘trained’ to spot automatically. That was apparently the reason the Achapo assholes hadn’t put me on antipsychotics or tranquilizers. From their perspective, my problems had been psychological, not medical.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors 19: Any authorities in your story? Everything from police detectives to academics who are authorities in their field. Only some of whom take any pity - let alone any interest - in Jim. #SciFi #TimeTravel

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

#WIPSnips 19: signature People stick with 'clan colors' in this culture. Jim McAllister's unusual, as someone from our world who actually *has* a clan with colors. #SciFi

The first shirt he put on me felt a bit loose, more like the clothes I was used to. But then he used little clips to tighten it up in a few places. After that, it went into a box about the size of a dishwasher. He told it my measurements verbally. When the shirt came out, it was custom-tailored according to those clips and measurements. At least, tailored close enough, given how the fabric itself could ‘fine tune’ to the wearer. Shortly after, some pants got the same treatment.

When the next pants came out, though… I was startled, and had to ask. “Other… color?”

They both squinted at me. “Chay. Color… change,” Manayka said. The clothes now matched what seemed to be his signature shades: pink, purple, and greenish-blue. (Maybe ‘teal?’)

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Delivered a couple cakes today. (Four-tier cakes are *heavy*. 😁) #cake #food

A four-tier wedding cake in white buttercream frosting. The tiers are decorated with elaborate piping, also in white, as ribbons and flowers.

A custom cake topper is on top, a bride and groom with individualized faces.

A three-tier cake in white frosting. Black, silver, and gold balls are arranged in clusters on various tiers. A gold "Happy Birthday Melissa" cutout is on the middle tier. From the bottom to the top, a stream of gold numbers count up from one, reaching forty-nine just at top side edge. On the top tier is a large gold "50” cutout.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

#ConlangApril 18. Formality and registers Lihnahchoo has formal and familiar address. Nothing too special there. Although, there's a minor linguistic joke in a footnote about that very thing... 😀 #SciFi #Conlangs

I easily tripled my vocabulary that morning. And I learned something else: the language had formal and familiar modes of address–like French, Spanish, etc.[1]

[1] It won't surprise you to hear that men used formal address a lot more than women did. I've taken the liberty of transliterating the formal as ‘thou’ and the informal as ‘you’–even though in the original history, it was actually the other way around. But ‘thou’ just sounds more formal to a modern English speaker–and since I'm the only one left, I get to pick.

So there.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

#WIPSnips 18: fantasy The genre is actually #ScienceFiction, but Jim's story *sounds* like a fantasy. #SciFi #TimeTravel

The other woman laughed before she answered. “I shall simply say it seems rather more likely that this is the fabrication of a mental patient. Perhaps the poor boy was treated dishonorably; but he has created an elaborate fantasy to escape the guilt for his crime. If he is a noble[1] from a faraway land where men rule women, he cannot be blamed for killing the guard.”

[1] I had never claimed to be any kind of nobility. My attitude and demeanor were consistent with it, but what really gave that implication was my implied request for special consideration from the courts. That was something attempted almost exclusively by nobles.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors 17: How do you feel about story structure? I'm in favor of it! I just wish more authors would *experiment* with that structure. Particularly in genre fiction, it can feel like driving through a subdivision where all the houses have the same floorplan. #Writing #TimeTravel

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

#WIPSnips 17: duration Jim can't read the clocks in this timeline anyway. #SciFi #ScienceFiction

They hooked my cuffs and leg restraints to a bench in the windowless back compartment; I was alone for the ride. The van moved kind of like the Tesla one of my friends drove, and ran quietly. Definitely electric.

Some duration later–I thought I felt a stretch of highway-style driving–it parked and the guards got me out. They led me into the back entrance of a building in a city. I was turned over to a couple of uniformed women–they resembled the police who’d arrested me, but I thought maybe a little different–who took a set of forms from the guards, then filled out some kind of paperwork. Again, they used dictation machines. After that, I was taken to a holding area–only other men. Apparently they kept genders separate in jail. Humans would, after all.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

#WIPSnips 16: wheel Jim really, truly does have a (fresh) PhD in Anthropology. #SciFi #SFF #ScienceFiction #TimeTravel

“Proto-Indo-Europeans?” Shaheen drawled.

Now I knew I was being punked. Or at least, probed. No way multilingual, multi-doctorate Shaheen Kabirii hadn’t at least heard about them. Ellen’s face was carefully blank.

Nothing to do except press on. “So many words are similar across so many languages, from Europe through half of Russia to India. There must be a common source. So linguists have reverse-engineered a lot of the original words. And from those, we have decent ideas about how they lived. Like, they had wheels–but no spokes, just big disks–and thatched roofs. Agriculture and domesticated animals. ‘Day’ and ‘deity’ both come from the same root–in lots of different languages–so they worshiped a sun-god.” I took a breath, and chuckled self-deprecatingly. “We think, at least.”

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors Apr 15: sink snippet The #sink and stove and cabinets were placed weirdly high. Five centimeters up, at least. I suddenly realized they were at a more comfortable height for most guys to use. #SciFi #ScienceFiction #TimeTravel

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

#WIPSnips 15: topic Survival situations tend to restrict one's focus. #SciFi

I kept peeking over my shoulder at the city as we walked to the front door. Maybe the patterns on one building resembled some ancient pictures in one of Atosho’s books? I only wasted a couple seconds thinking about it. Either way, the information just wasn’t relevant right now. I had to do that all the time. Ruthlessly cut off investigation–or even speculation–about any topic that didn’t seem immediately relevant to survival. I had enough of those to fill my time.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

#WIPSnips 14: heat Technology went another way in the altered timeline. #SciFi #ScienceFiction

I was almost getting used to tripping over different social assumptions - like child discipline. Talking over the 'venubarokeh', I discovered a technical difference. Their jet planes didn't work like I had assumed. They don't burn fuel the way the ones in the old world did - they run on electricity. Microwaves (I guess) to heat air up to a plasma and shoot it out the back.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors 13: Silliest character Huh. Hard to say, silliness and levity haven't been bit parts of the story so far. On a hopeful note... Dovee has a whimsical streak that circumstances haven't let him show, yet. #ScienceFiction #TimeTravel

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

#WIPSnips 13: child Morning routines are simpler in the new timeline. "Safer" is a separate question. #SciFi

As we dried off, everyone started brushing their hair, and applying cream to their faces. Dovee saw my puzzlement and, with the air of someone helping a confused child, got me to spread some on my lower face. When I rinsed it off, my mustache and stubble were just gone. Dissolved away. For a second I worried, staring in the mirror, but my skin wasn’t even irritated.

I hoped they knew what they were doing. Seemed like awfully strong chemicals were in use, and they were pretty nonchalant about it.[1]

[1] I recalled the Romans and lead pipes. Shit, our own leaded gasoline, or plastics and hormone disruption.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

#WIPSnips 12: lantern Gotta vibe it; tech in the new timeline's a bit too advanced. #SciFi

Then we came to what I processed as the 'old campus.' The structures were in an unfamiliar architecture. Looked almost like small castles - defensible. A few had large chunks of wall replaced with metal, ceramic, and glass - obviously later additions - and upper stories that were more open and airy.

My head was turning in all directions as we proceeded into one of the buildings. The stone walls had parquet accents, and the dimness was mitigated somewhat by a long linear 'skylight.' Sconces that probably once held torches now had lights - but they didn't look electric. Not even the weird electric here; the illumination seemed to match the daylight from above. Our group went up to the 'reception bar' and a smiling boy directed us up a floor and to one side.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors 11: Saturday excerpt (optional word: point) Tech looks different when *women* are the default. #SciFi #ScienceFiction #SFF

At the bottom of the backrest, loose bands with squarish lumps on the ends. Again Manayka had to show me what to do with them. There was an unobtrusive slit in the seat; you passed the straps over your legs, fed those ends in. Something inside grabbed them and pulled them taut. Once it was all in place, it was essentially a five-point harness. But the straps were so stretchy I couldn’t see how they’d offer much protection.[1]

[1] Their materials science at work. I’ve never been in a car accident here, but I understand those straps can instantly get a lot stiffer when they need to. The arrangement is very deliberate–no ‘angled strap crossing the breasts’ or ‘lap belt that’s dangerous for a pregnant woman’ in this world.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

#WIPSnips 11: milk Not all cultures do dairy. A minority, actually. #SciFi #ScienceFiction #SFF

Uronadai showed up and helped Joku set us up for ‘midafternoon dinner.’ By my eighth meal of sorts, I’d noticed that dairy didn’t show up much here. No cheese and no milk; yogurt (or something like it) once. No way to be sure how common that was, though. What I had noticed was that sweet, sour, and salty tastes dominated the cuisine. Practically everything available that time was pickled, and I didn’t eat much. Hopefully the late snack would be edible…

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

#WIPSnips 10: process Survival is a huge motivator to learn the local language and customs. #SciFi #ScienceFiction #SFF

A furious glance at Atosho. “You raukanoi your guhoh for this yavuree?”[1] A bunch of unknown words–all I really processed was that he was addressing her in the familiar. I didn’t have any time to think about that, because he reached out and gave me a shove on my chest. It made me take a step back, more from surprise than the force of it.

Instinctively I glared and made fists, squaring my feet and shoulders. Atosho and Manayka leapt between us, alarmed expressions on their faces. Atosho was gently pulling the guy back. Manayka was doing the same for me–a bit more forcefully. Both were examining me carefully, apparently unsure what I’d do in response to a physical assault.

[1] ‘Raukanoi’–burn out/overload. ‘Guhoh’–career/vocation/primary pursuit. ‘Yavuree’–‘skank,’ maybe? A worthless male floozy.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors Apr 9: Will your characters admit they're wrong? Jim gets many opportunities to correct mistakes. But Atosho's probably the best example. She starts out aiming to prove he can't possibly come from an alternate timeline. When she fails, she's brave enough to publicly admit it.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

#WIPSnips 9: stuff Jim's from our world. Male formalwear is pretty simple here. This is a different timeline, with different social norms. #SciFi #ScienceFiction #SFF

Baiyokee explained the situation - we needed two outfits suitable for [informal lunch] with Yarona in his capacity as Count. The 'cotihlah' - "Habehree, but call me Ree" - was clearly excited at the opportunity.
My measurements were taken again - a lot more than the 'basic four' this time. The length of my arms and legs, their girth at several points, etc. Same for Manayka - he handled standing around in his underwear among a crowd of men better than I did. To distract myself, I asked idly about 'gohdookeekeh,' the tailoring machines I'd seen at the bazaar.
Manayka, blushing, had to apologize to the offended cotihlah. This was high - or, at least, high-ish - fashion, I was given to understand. They made unique stuff here, fitted by hand.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

#WIPSnips 8: need How about a universal human one? Heck, even *multi*-versal? #SciFi #ScienceFiction

I kept walking, hunger just beginning to stir. Before I could worry about that, however, a more acute situation had arisen: I badly needed to take a leak. I kept my eyes open for anything that might be a public restroom.
I mean, fundamental biological processes had to be pretty universal, right?

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors Apr 7: How seriously do they take time travel? At first, #TimeTravel is just Jim's entire career. Then it becomes life and death. Most likely, death. But possibly worse.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

#WIPSnips 7: shortcut Vibes, even has the same meaning... #SciFi

I figured where this was going, and we short-circuited a lot of vocabulary negotiations. The roles were, in fact, fundamental to most societies. I did a little drama of ‘first character’ coming into ‘second character’s’ house. The ‘second’ offered food and drink, shelter, and protection. I indicated myself as I stood in that position, and said, “Host.” I switched to the first character position, and used more words. “Guest,” with the same ‘me’ gesture: fingers on breastbone. “Not hurt host. Not…” I mimed yanking something from the ‘host.’ I hesitated a second… but it seemed prudent, necessary. “Not go… other place, no say.” I waved out the windows, at the city.

Their words were ‘gohsih’ for ‘host’ and ‘sholoo’ for ‘guest.’ In almost no time Atosho was able to make things explicit. “You be good guest, I be good host.”

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors 5: Games in your story Jim's seen sports, as well as board games. In my WIP, he gets to see the new timeline's equivalent of pinball games, plus a party game. (Though it's played with a serious edge in Jim's case.) #SciFi

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

#WIPSnips 5: mug Vibing; surely a mugshot is close enough? #SciFi #SFF

“‘Other all story,’” she mused, and again inspected the picture on top of the pile, the one Nusuku had first shown her. Unkempt, dirty. But cleaned up, he could be a quite pretty boy. Maybe even beautiful, in an exotic or striking fashion. Especially with those round, light-jade eyes.

Those eyes… perhaps there was madness there. That wasn’t her specialty. But there was definitely intelligence. Along with a most unmanly self-possession. Even a noble boy wouldn’t… glare quite that way.

Finally she looked up at Nusuku. “Now I do not know what to do.”

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

#WIPSnips 4: forum Don't have the word, do have the concept. An impromptu academic forum takes place. The subject? "Jim," this weird dude who claims to come from another timeline. One that split off before writing was invented. 🙄 #SciFi #TimeTravel #ScienceFiction

Unfortunately, the event didn't turn out to be maximally civilized. Sort of midrange civilized.
Partly from having to slap things together at the last minute, and partly because of reluctance from the temple administration, we weren't actually meeting in an academic space. It was kind of an auditorium attached to a common facility. Maybe like a 'student union'?
So as 'seminars' went, it was pretty f*cking casual. Not exactly a party atmosphere... but a large chunk of the audience wasn't taking it especially seriously.
Thing was, though... so far no one had been able to catch me in a definite, provable mistake. Aside from the time travel, everything in my story was physically possible, by their knowledge. It had become a game of sorts - many scientists were trying to come up with logical consequences of my claims. And then try to catch me giving the answer expected for this world, instead of what they'd deduced.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

#TimeTravelAuthors 3: Caffiene Jim drank coffee, and a variety of teas. He *deeply* misses them in the new timeline. But in my WIP sequel, he encounters one of the local equivalents. Popular at parties. #SciFi #TimeTravel #ScienceFiction

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

#WIPSnips 3: convert Time (among other things) is measured differently in the alternate history. #SciFi

After a moment's pause, the Count said, "I was intrigued by the recordings Gentlelady Atosho released. Would you play another song for me?"
That was hardly unexpected. I nodded, and reached for the carrying case by my stool. The guards' eyes tracked me as I opened it up, even though it had already gone through security. I positioned the harachunee on my lap, and strummed a quick couple of chords, to confirm the tension.[1]

[1] With more time - and Saloro's help - I'd managed to tune the harachunee fairly precisely. She did the math to convert seconds to etomo, and generate some tones of the correct frequency. She'd also helped me assemble a more practical capo out of a clamp and some padding.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

#WIPSnips 2: beach Jim doesn't figure out what's changed about his girlfriend. Not until much too late. #SciFi #ScienceFiction #SciFiBooks

A path wound along the ridges looking down on the rocky beach. We spent an hour or so ambling and talking. It gave her a chance to digest. I spent most of it trying to figure out what was different about her. We’d gone for walks or jogs before, but something had changed. She’d always been… vigilant. Watchful. Scanning for threats. Now I had the weird feeling she might be seeking trouble.
Like she’d joined the wolfpack.

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Ray Ingles @ringles.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

#WIPSnips 1: fool Jim has taught Atosho a lot of English, and even the alphabet. Turns out this comes with downsides. #SciFi #ScienceFiction #SciFiBooks

I began to overact, some. Occasionally I'd had to do that, just to get some attention. "You went through my personal records? The only things that might be truly mine, in this whole universe..." My voice was getting hoarse. I suddenly realized that I was going to have to take it down a notch or two. Because if I didn't, I might get too emotional. The tantrum I was sort-of-threatening might actually turn real.
She was unmoved. "Your story incredible is. Yet you much evidence have." A pause. "I have of you learned. Watched." A flicker of a jaygo. "That I you know... I think." A sigh. "But... if this fraud is-doh?" She paused, quirked her lips in acknowledgement of mixing languages. She looked me in the eye. "You would... 'actor' must be."
She actually shrugged. "What if you a liar were?" A quirk of her lips. "What if I, a fool was?"

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