Introduction to Computer Science

Title: Web of Fate
Fandom: Carnival Row
Author: rodo
Chapter: prologue/17+E
Length: 558 words (77,000 in total)
Rating: 16+
Genre: Alternate Universe – Canon Divergence, Worldbuilding, Adventure
Characters: Rycroft Philostrate, Jonah Breakspear, Vignette Stonemoss, Runyan Millworthy, Darius Prowell, Absalom Breakspear
Pairing: Philo/Vignette
Warnings/Labels: war, and mentions/occasional depictions of associated atrocities; canon-typical fantasy racism
Disclaimer: Everything you recognise belongs to Amazon, of course
A/N: I started this story in August 2021, and I finished the draft in 2022, so this was all written prior to the second season. So some of the worldbuilding contradicts what was shown in season 2. Still, I had so much fun re-reading this lately that I thought I’d polish it up some more and post it anyway, in case some of you will like it as well. Since it’s an AU, the plot of the second season is not that relevant anyway.


Summary: A year after the attempted assassination of Chancellor Absalom Breakspear, The Burgue is at war, and it’s not going well. In order to break the stalemate at the front, some unlikely soldiers are recruited to fight in a place nobody expected, and Philo and Jonah find themselves caught up in it against their expectations.



( “Mister Winetrout, sir?” a feeble voice asked. )

Tomorrow is the final day of rest before I’m going back to work. Not happy about that, but mostly because I still feel incredibly out of my depth and overwhelmed with this one work thing, but I have no idea how much of that is hormones. I do so envy people who don’t have to do complex emotional math and analysing of their feelings for half of every month… but in other news:

My mother’s first cataract surgery went okay so far, but she’s uncharacteristically reliant on me at the moment. I always have to do the eye drops, even though she’s perfectly capable of it herself. Next one is on the first, and hopefully it’ll go just as well.

I visited sevilemar for the first time in ages and it was great to see them again. We didn’t do much because we’re both lazy af, but we talked a lot, and we (re)watched the first season of Carnival Row together. I still love it to pieces, so I re-read my two drafts that I never managed to get betaed and still liked them. I’m working up the courage to post them anyway, even though I know a lot of people are going to not like the long one – but it’s still basically the fic I wanted to read for the fandom. I really loved the first read-through last week, but I got doubts in the final editing round these past two days… (Hormones? Who knows.) Anyway, brace yourselves for me posting some stories you’ll never read ^_^°

On the topic of getting a beta: when did that become a total impossibility? Like, I have this fic in a not-small fandom that I wrote ages ago. I found someone who wanted to beta it and who then never did it, despite getting poked. Started looking for someone else, since it’s the only of my WIPs waiting for a beta where there’s actually people to be found. No replies on ff.net, but I’m not surprised. I don’t remember the last time I got a non-spammy PM there. Then there’s the giant beta spreadsheet… yeah. I’m not on Tumblr or Twitter or Bluesky. People don’t offer an e-mail (understandable, but inconvenient when you don’t share any platforms). I tried contacting people on Discord, despite that not being a fandom thing for me. It went about as well as you imagine, since it’s basically impossible to contact strangers there. I just wish there was a better way, and I even started to work on one, but I have a full-time job now and have other hobbies as well… T.T If any of you have any tips, I’m all ears (tried the DW comm once too, crickets.)

The bunny was back. Rumour has it that she’s contained for now, but rumour also had it that our neighbour had given up on keeping bunnies, and yeah, that obviously wasn’t true. Last year she was in our garden until November. The onions had poked their green bits out after getting decimated several times last year, but take a wild guess what she ate pretty much immediately. At least someone ratted the neighbour out to the authorities and he’s already had to pay a fine for improper bunny keeping. I’d love to send flowers, but I have no idea who it was.

Still have to decide if I want to do Rough Draft Month again this June. So far, I’m on the fence. Should have the Fandom 5K draft done by then, at least.