CATAPHRACT (The Hanged Man) / Discussion

This is the discussion related to the wiki page CATAPHRACT (The Hanged Man).

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Rounderhouse 27 Oct 2023 20:55

newest post for anthology 2023! featuring mechs, identity crises, psychosexuality, and the pleasures of war. when assigned the hanged man, i read that the card was less about punishment for a crime and more about self-sacrifice, dignity in the face of cosmic punishment, the virtue needed to give yourself up for people who don't deserve it. i kind of wanted to explore those ideas in this. i hope you enjoyed!

thank you to Ariadne, Lemonsense, meltedbee, Lapis, Ralliston, Larry and Tyumen for critting — and of course to syuzhet for the phenomenal accompanying artwork!

Last edited on 27 Oct 2023 21:06 by Rounderhouse Show more

Wow

AstersQuill 29 Oct 2023 01:49

I wanted to preface this by saying that I don't really read a lot of sci-fi; it's not a genre that has interested me for a bit as compared to fantasy or historical fiction.

With that out of the way: holy shit.

This has to be one of the best things I've read recently. The descriptions do an amazing job at painting a vivid picture in my head as I'm reading this. I don't think there was a moment where my brain wasn't focused on each, little, word. The pacing is also great. You hold the audience in each scene for just enough time to get acquainted, enraptured, or uncomfortable, and you used that momentum to maintain my attention the whole time.

I love the connection you made between human and machine as well. It's fucking tragic to watch our protagonist's story develop, to watch how exactly they got to the point they are now. I would honestly read a full series in this setting if I could.

Sadly there are only so many ways I can say I liked something though. This is a genuine work of art, and a story that I feel like I can come back to and find new details to focus on in each reread. Fantastic work!

Re: Wow

Rounderhouse 29 Oct 2023 02:18

that's very kind — thank you! i don't know that i would ever get much out of making a full series, but maybe a sequel set in the same setting.

Last edited on 29 Oct 2023 02:20 by Rounderhouse Show more

Re: Wow

AstersQuill 29 Oct 2023 02:27

That's completely fair!

It's the same way I view most anthologies I either read or watch: I would love to see them expanded out more so I can experience more of the world and story, but I also feel like doing so would take away from what made the original special in the first place.

Stygian Blue 02 Nov 2023 01:34

Holy hell. Beautiful. Dissociation, intimate discussion of topics we don't have words for, the slow breakdown of a person into a puppet… adore. Splendid. Isolation and pain and sweet tender comfort all in a bloody skin-wrapped package. Careful, deliberate, smooth, silky. Prose sparkling, glossy like grapes fresh from rain. Taste like iron and cherry beaded in morning dew.

-Styg

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What is life if not the contrast between what has been and what will become?

Rounderhouse 06 Nov 2023 07:11

thank you styg! your reviews are as chewy as ever

Maxyfran73 02 Nov 2023 03:56

Holy shit. I don't even know what to say. That was beautifully tragic, but also beautifully beautiful. Just, a gorgeous piece about this soldier, more than half machine, barely a human, and yet, it is in that little pieces of flesh that his story comes through.

Genuinely don't know what else to say other than this is amazing, and I loved every second of it. The hanged man bit at the end was also immaculate. God shit all around. +1~

HI????

Dino--Draws 06 Nov 2023 06:33

Hi I just read this at 1 AM and holy fucking hit oh my god what the fuck. Obsessed. The PROSE the ENDING PART?? When I saw it hit with no paragraph breaks my heart sank and as the character listed their cruelties I sat and wondered “are they going to do it?” And then they did and then the FUCKING IMPLICATIONS sank in. I can’t tell if its the 1:30 AM talking or if the combat sections were never real/were the character dissociating and this poor bastard just nuked the whole space ship. Regardless. God damn, holy fuck, +1. Topple the rider from the god damn horse indeed.

Last edited on 06 Nov 2023 06:34 by Dino--Draws Show more

holy shit

SunnySundays 20 Nov 2023 19:16

I read this in a public library meaning I can't scream and shout and run around in circles like this beautiful story makes me want to. So I shall air my feelings here:

HOLY SHIT. Holy shit. Holy shit? Holy shit! FLESH and METAL and OBSESSION and MASSACRE and ALL THINGS HORRIBLE

(deep inhale)

outstanding story, outstanding prose. Upvoted

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the sun! the sun! the sun!

War. War Never Changes

destinysday 21 Nov 2023 03:29

On a more serious note, from what this reply title might lead you to believe I'm about to say: Well done. This is an excellently written piece that I found myself enjoying immensely. Granted, I know absolutely nothing about the cards and their meaning so I may have missed some bigger, over-arching theme of the piece. But in my personal interpretation of the piece, I think you do a wonderful job displaying the trauma of a soldier who's fighting through that kind of war, suffering through the things they have, as well as just the mental disconnect that comes with said trauma. Like a pilot without their mech. It's easy to keep pushing yourself when you have that armor to keep everything out. But the second it's just you, when you're vulnerable and actually have to confront the world, that's when everything comes crashing down.

Overall, easy +1

NotAnOligarch 21 Nov 2023 06:08

I am addicted to Titanfall.
Love this, +1

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Fires rage just below the surface of the ice.

zipzipskins 21 Nov 2023 22:54

takes a lot to make me speechless.

JackalRelated 23 Apr 2024 03:19

this convinced me to never write prose again its over

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