Paul Briggs

5. Why are you so important to the story? (Answering as Rikki)

#TimeTravelAuthors
I add a note of levity to otherwise somber proceedings.
I call people out on their BS when I need to, which is a lot.
Also I saved everybody's butt that one night.

3. Your first appearance and/or line of dialogue in the story

#TimeTravelAuthors My girlfriend's a guidance counselor. She took me to a track meet to watch one of her students, a kid named Lachlan Smith. Long story short, we ended up having to drive Lock and his friend home.
I work at the vet's office. "You need spaying or neutering, I'm your girl," I said.

Status: side character.
Syndrome: main character.

Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were. Congress has not authorized the use of military force.

1. Introduce yourself and the story

#TimeTravelAuthors
Greetings and solicitations, everyone. Sorry I'm late—had a social engagement.
Anyway, I'm Ricolette Mannheim, but you can call me Rikki. This is the story of how I saved the not-so-sacred timeline, with a little help from some other people.

Change a movie by adding a word.

Nonstick Pan's Labyrinth
The Zone of Prurient Interest
28 Leap Days Later

Not quite. Leopold didn't become king of Belgium until well afterwards. I'd think if they still needed a king for Belgium, they wouldn't pick the Prince or King Consort of the UK.
(Also, the personal union with Hanover would break a few years early—Salic law and all that.)

I need some new reads. Preferably something light.

"It's about FAMILY!"

#WIPSnips “Some of us disagree.” The expression on his face went from menace to bewilderment when his hand found the empty scabbard on his belt.
“And yet I don’t see you trying to flee,” said the stranger, idly hefting the knife no one had seen him steal.

The gift link isn't working.

19. Any reference to other time travel works in your story?

#TimeTravelAuthors No. I used Narnia references instead.

"My name is Talky Tina. Say hello to Jesus for me."

#WIPSnips “I was never really proud of my people until I went to the Academy.”
“Was it pride? Or defensiveness?”
“What’s the difference?”
“Defensiveness can be put to sleep easily enough. Just don’t attack it. True pride never sleeps.”

17. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: strange)

#TimeTravelAuthors “Maybe a grizzly bear. They’re a lot bigger and stronger than black bears, and they eat their own dead — I saw that movie about that weirdo who got eaten by a bear and his girlfriend—” This put a very strange image in Lock’s head.

7. Smartest character in your story

#TimeTravelAuthors That would be Gary, mostly because I needed a boy genius to help the above-average-but-still-time-travel-is-way-over-his-grade-level Lock make sense of the situation.

27. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: adventure)

#TimeTravelAuthors “Let me clue you in on something,” she said. “We’re all very grateful to you and Gary for finding the portal, but this isn’t some boys’ adventure. This is a job, and not a very safe one.”
“I know,” said Lock. If anything, he knew more about the danger than she did.

If you see this, post a monster.

Or a fatte.

19. Nicknames in your story

#TimeTravelAuthors The most notable nickname belongs to our hero. He's called "Locksmith" not because of any skills in that regard, but because it's short for "Lachlan Smith." Most people just call him "Lock."

Judging by the asymmetry of his mouth, a lot of right-handed people have had the same thought.

17. How athletic are your characters?

#TimeTravelAuthors Lock and Brandon are both sprinters. Lock says he's no good at long-distance, but he's underrating himself.
Gary is not very athletic at first, but toughens up a lot.

15. Injustices in your story?

#TimeTravelAuthors Lock and Gary get accused of either theft or counterfeiting when they're found with a giant pile of quarters they can't explain in any way consistent with most people's idea of causality. Problem is, the quarters are made of the right alloy and nobody's reported them missing…

13. Wednesday POST-SIZED snippet (optional word: mess)

#TimeTravelAuthors
“I look around me, I look at the world and… mostly, it just looks like a mess. I’d like to believe that it’s all part of some cosmic pattern that makes everything turn out for the best or makes it all make sense… but… that’s just it.”

Slightly diminish a band:
ZZ Upper Middle
Arbitrated Sevenfold
Conceptualize Dragons
CHARCOALFUSCHIA
OneConstitutionalMonarchy
Make 5 Wait a Really Long Time For an Uber
Snifflesplay

11. Cold/freezing in your story

#TimeTravelAuthors
Mostly temperatures are uncomfortably hot, but during Book 3 torrential rain falls for several days. It's chilly if you're not ready for it.

YouTube video by Matt Knows Movies HYDE (2025) | OFFICIAL TEASER

You can't see it in this trailer, but I got to be an extra in this movie. I hope my scene survived.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASMJ...

7. Do they time travel many times? Once? Something else?

#TimeTravelAuthors They time-travel lots of times, sometimes multiple times a day.

#WIPSnips "And by the way, that 'blessing'? 'May your sons grow to rest their chins upon your crown'? It's a polite way of saying 'may your wife cheat on you with a much taller man'."

1. Can everyone attend schools in your setting?

#AugustWorldbuilders Depends where you are. In Kuvra and some of the richer countries, schooling is mandatory. Elsewhere it's only available for those who are rich, upper class, or both.