satohqbanana

[satohqbanana]

the sun and the moon

[satohqbanana]

misericordia

[satohqbanana]

Festival of Magic: Creative OCs and Comparing Abilities in Arcanium

Hello; this is my official "I'm back" post after a particularly busy season... So here's a short worldbuilding and lore drop.

So prior to her mini hiatus this month, Naveena has left me homework to celebrate something for her book, which is to share something about my OCs doing something creative. But I just discovered I almost never write about my OCs indulging in creative stuff other than a couple liners and Lyarshu and Rena establishing their little promise to each other. I also just discovered that I've given like almost no significant OC or blorbo of mine any actual creative hobbies or interests.

Except, of course, for Lyarshu playing the flute as a pasttime, Erudan occasionally showing some talent for the harp, and Rena being an all-around performer: singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, and tambourine player. Aside from being godslayers, they are sometimes a traveling troupe. (OG art by NavsNAces.)

So, instead of coming up this empty-handed for my homework, here's my comments on some of the forms of magic that Naveena has for TOV - based on my understanding of it - and how those abilities exist in Arcanium:

TOV mensus and dancers using magic for their performances - In Orbis, performance magic is considered a derivative of illusionary magic and is often used by singers, dancers, theater actors, and so as an accessory or decoration for their performance arts. It is also often done by stage crew rather than the actual performer, as doing so many things at once requires much concentration. Rena who is born an omnimagus first and a spiteful overachiever second is a master of doing both at the same time. (Disclaimer: song magic refers to something else entirely.)

TOV mental magic - Anything that relates to hypnosis and mind control over others is never magic-related in Orbis. Everyone owns their minds and thoughts; not even the most cunning deities can do anything about it but manipulate and lie their way into making others do their bidding. And use illusionary magic to add effect to their manipulations. We need more badass normal and nerfs here.

TOV arcanics opening portals to other worlds - Teleportation is thought of as part of the light/dark magic ring of elements (according to the Theory of Force Segregation), but only so few mages can actually do it. It's why the portal service in each town are hugely popular for travelers, merchants, and tourists. There are certain abilities that can only be used if there is a non-living physical conduit, such as crystals or staves.

TOV artists and creation magic - The Orbits have alchemy for creating stuff using magic. They also have the basic rings of magic which definitely "creates" elements, light, and shadow where they shouldn't be, scientifically speaking. However, only true immortals (a.k.a. deities) are allowed to create with magic. (In fact, mortals using magic is a relatively new concept to the world of Orbis. But that's a story for another day.)

Arcanium Masterpost || Tag List: Feel free to ask to be tagged or removed from the tag!

@philosophika, @amaiguri, @thecomfywriter, @wyked-ao3, @kingragnarok-writes

@seastarblue

News:

Also here's a little announcement for you who made it to the end of the post. Arcanium's 3rd birthday is in a few weeks! (How do I know? Because its first official post is this art of the godslayer trio from January 2022!)

I would love to celebrate it with you by doing a big magic lore drop and a couple other fun stuff. 💗

[satohqbanana]

wip re-introduction — the Seafoam duology by Steph Megary

started — September 2021 | genre — fantasy (adult, high) | pov — single, first, past tense | status — second draft | currently — writing Part II: Split | themes — grief, overcoming misogyny, revenge, mother/daughter relationship(s)

blurb | Thala Galanis is coming of age and unmarried with absolutely no intention of remedying that. Which, in Grea, means that you’re a spinster and fit for nothing else but a life of silent service as a Stoli in Katania—the Haven of the Gods. When tragedy strikes her family with the untimely death of her father, she decides that there is no other choice for her but to resign herself to becoming a Stoli. Once she arrives in the capitol, however, she finds that what’s expected of the Stoli is darker than she ever dreamed it would be.

In a desperate attempt to escape, she takes matters into her own hands, only to stain them with blood. A stain that will never wash off the further along she travels down the path to vengeance.

Because what happened to her should never happen to anyone else.

And, if she gets her way, it never will.

excerpt | Blood really is the most beautiful shade of red, isn't it?

The metallic tang of it lingered in the air and on my tongue. I raised my hand to the dying sun, mesmerized by the carmine stain coating my fingers and dripping down my arm. It billowed in the sea around me, bright and sanguine and breathtaking.

I was practically bathing in it.

Sunlight glistened on my soaked hand, the blood almost sparkling in the last vestiges of day, and for the first time in a long time, I smiled.

Really, truly smiled.

[satohqbanana]

"Ok, ma'am that'll be $226.03."

I take my wallet out of my pocket and unfold it. It is empty other than a single moth that lazily flies out. The moth lands on the tap point of the card reader. There's a beat, and my payment is processed. The moth flies back into my wallet and I put it back in my pocket.

[satohqbanana]

My dad has bees. Today, I went to his house and he showed me all the honey he had gotten from the hives. He took the lid off a 5-gallon bucket full of honey and on top of the honey there were 3 little bees, struggling. They were covered in sticky honey and drowning. I asked him if we could help them and he said he was sure they wouldn't survive. Casualties of honey collection I suppose.

I asked him again if we could at least get them out and kill them quickly, after all he was the one who taught me to put a suffering animal (or bug) out of its misery. He finally conceded and scooped the bees out of the bucket. He put them in an empty Chobani yogurt container and put the plastic container outside.

Because he had disrupted the hive with the earlier honey collection, there were bees flying all over outside.

We put the 3 little bees in the container on a bench and left them to their fate. My dad called me out a little while later to show me what was happening. These three little bees were surrounded by all their sisters (all of the bees are females) and they were cleaning the sticky nearly dead bees, helping them to get all of the honey off of their bodies. We came back a short time later and there was only one little bee left in the container. She was still being tended to by her sisters.

When it was time for me to leave, we checked one last time and all three of the bees had been cleaned off enough to fly away and the container was empty.

Those three little bees lived because they were surrounded by family and friends who would not give up on them, family and friends who refused to let them drown in their own stickiness and resolved to help until the last little bee could be set free.

Bee Sisters. Bee Peers. Bee Teammates.

We could all learn a thing or two from these bees.

Bee kind always.

[satohqbanana]

okay that’s it I’m giving in to the Urge

alright— I’m making a taglist who wants on???

specifically for writing! you’ll be tagged when I post new snippets and when I post lil bits of them for tag games!!!

sound good? cool, even? great! lemme know if you want on by reacting to this post (likes, comments, reblogs)

if you do NOT WANT ON then DO NOT INTERACT WITH THIS POST plz <3

you can always opt out if you’d like my ask box n dms are always open!

okay yea that’s it i think see y’all’s stay silly muah~

[satohqbanana]

Your protagonist is forced to attend a public high school in our world. Worse, joining an extracurricular is mandatory.

[satohqbanana]

saw this template on twt and i had to do it

[satohqbanana]

Thanks for answering!

I love reused OCs! It redefines their roles in our creative lives and gives them narrative glow-ups. And of course, no worries about your fave OCs changing!

I also think your writerly posts reflect your POV on the craft. Love seeing your energy radiating all over your blog! And I think it's great that you feel confident and satisfied with writing as simply a hobby.

And a pharmacist? Wow; I love that! What draws you to it, if we may know?

1, 9, and 24 for the Writer & Artist Ask Game?

three questions!!! lucky day!

here are the asks!

———

1: Who was your first ever OC? Do you still “use” them? How have they evolved over time?

My first OC of all time is… Saffron! She’s a minor character now, but she used to be an MC. So yes, I do still use her, and she’s mostly unchanged physically and mentally. The only thing that’s changed is her role! She used to be a slightly unhinged bounty hunter, now she’s a slightly unhinged Captain!

9: Favorite OC?

nOOOO don’t make me choose :(((( jk favorite OC would have to be Kaiden, Arbor, Noha, Felix, or Unnamed Elf Guy! NOTE: this will 100% change trust.

24: Do you have/want a career in your medium? If not, what do you do/want to do instead?

No, I don’t really have one, and I don’t think being a full time writer is for me. I would like to be a pharmacist? If that counts—writing is a hobby for me, and I’d like to keep it that way.

———

thanks for the ask, @satohqbanana !

[satohqbanana]

Thanks for answering!

Re: Blaire

I think it is always a challenge for writers to put themselves in the shoes of a character who strongly believes in something the writer themself strongly doesn't believe in! Similarly goes for differences in experiences; e.g. writer experienced ABC as really good but character is supposed to think of ABC as really bad. Of course research and a bit of empathy is the key. Which is why when I write characters I often try to really understand their motives before putting things on paper. Which is why I had to rewrite the A:M mages over and over, since I built them from start to end and not from end to start as I've done for the A:L trio. I may not agree with the method or the conclusion the character arrived to, which made them act a certain way, but I at least can understand the reason why and respect their feelings towards certain things.

And Blaire herself I WUB HER. If you need to imagine a monotone, just go listen to AI voices, especially the (relatively) older ones. Or imagine that in her POV, she is the nameless and almost unbiased narrator many 3rd person stories use.

RE: favorite books

LMAO aside from the Iliad, I never even touched some of these titles! 😂 (I often love anthologies and shorter stories better than full novels. Oh. I should finish the 20 books challenge.)

10 and 26 for the Writer & Artist Ask Game?

oooooo okay fun!

first of all— mandatory greeting. hello satoh 🙇‍♀️ my dearest companion. thank you for the ask, my soul-sister.

OKAY! let’s get into it.

10. who was the hardest oc to make?

honestly? blaire. as you guys may have possibly potentially noticed i am a very animated and… unique person. my personality is strong and the way i speak is not only distinct, but has a certain drama and inflection to it. i’m relatively lax (it’s really hard to piss me off. like genuinely very hard i brush things off so easily because i can’t be bothered to be offended). and i have a strong moral / value system that i adhere to. i make jokes and i enjoy goofing off. and above all, i like treating everyone like they’re familiar to me. my sisters say i “offer people friendships on a silver platter.” i agree, i just don’t think it’s a bad thing like they used to.

nevertheless, all those qualities about myself is what makes writing blaire difficult.

blaire is amoral. she abandoned her moral compass and now acts solely on self-interest and opportunity. she doesn’t have friends—no allies, no companions; she does not trust anyone nor consider them fond enough to garner her faith or allegiance. she might be on your side at one moment, but the moment her interests are better served elsewhere, she has no issue in switching. she doesn’t have a concept of betrayal because she doesn’t have any concept of attachment or loyalty.

more than that—she’s not animated. she’s not an enthusiastically unhinged villain like you might envision her to be. she’s just… chronically bored. dull. bland. literally constantly monotone. it’s so hard to write her dialogue because it’s so devoid of anything. she speaks like she’s stating a common fact that someone she already hates made her repeat 10 times. that’s her tone of voice. it’s a complete contrast to mine.

and then there’s her intelligence. i’ll just say it straight up—she’s smarter than i am. probably smarter than ill ever be. i managed to bridge the gap slightly by studying hard and getting into her mindset, but it’s hard to write a character who’s smarter than you, because i have to learn to be that intelligent, but write it like it’s second nature to her.

anyways, i find blaire difficult to write because she’s the antithesis to myself.

next question!

26. my favourite books?

lovely! i love this question. i’ve answered it numerous times pre-tcw purge (i’m nicknaming that canon event as the great purge, or TGP). anyways, ill answer it again since i obviously deleted that post and no one knows anymore.

i have a special shelf on my bookcase dedicated to my favourites so i can stare at them everyday. they are the following:

the iliad

wuthering heights

the giver

the remains of the day

the last dragon

the vampire diaries (dont come for me bro 😭)

thanks for the ask, satoh!

[satohqbanana]

Proud of Tag~

thank you @frostedlemonwriter and @theink-stainedfolk for the tag~

It's one of Leon's nightmares, which means no fun, so you're warned. It's weird that i'm proud of something like this, I know, but I like how it came out~

From "Him and Me - Bound by Fate", enjoy~

~~~

I stand frozen in this living room that I hate so much. The floral wallpaper that lies to every visitor served tea by the elderly lady. Her wrinkled fingers covering her mouth as she gossips and giggles with the guest, while a little boy, now five years old, sits ashamed in his room, trying to stifle his crying as he is forced to stay in his soaked underpants. He is told to learn from his mistakes and stop wetting the bed. The sheets have been removed and he is left with only the bare mattress. A head peers into the bedroom. An older gentleman, the husband, who just hisses through his teeth and goes into the living room. He's no help, he stays out of it. And he always does.

"Pathetic." The image disappears and I stand in the void. The darkness engulfs me as I twist and turn.

"You're pathetic."

The voice becomes a figure and standing before me is Dr. Steffens. He comes towards me. Running away is pointless. His hand wraps around my neck as his eyes grow wide. Bloodshot, filled with hate.

"Murderer." I want to shake my head, deny it, but I nod instead. Tears roll down my cheeks as I can't stop nodding. "You should be dead."

~~~~

tagging with no pressure @the-golden-comet , @satohqbanana, @the-inkwell-variable , @finickyfelix , @rjcopeseethemald and open tag~

[satohqbanana]

okay but if you think about it out of the main characters in 12k suzu is the only one who got properly isekai'd

[satohqbanana]

Reblog to hug prev poster (they need a hug)

[satohqbanana]

I think this is how I'd like Arcane S2 to go based on what the fandom and LOL players have posted so far on socmed and other media sharing sites (and if I miss any plot point, my apologies, I'm neither watching it off Netflix or the pirate's bay).

For starters, S2 would open with a timeskip. Both Piltover and Zaun are in a mess. Neither have their leaders, after all, and potential candidates are currently fighting their way to the top, none strong enough like the previous ones.

Various factions are scrambling to take control over the borders and all known (and secret) passageways between the cities. Jinx is one of the faces at the front. Every Piltovan is out to get her if they can; kill her or turn her in, they'll win political power. She's even more ruthless this time, and she's enjoying the act of killing. It's also as if she wants to find someone strong enough to kill/stop her.

Meanwhile, the Chembarons are fighting for leadership over Zaun, but first of all, they are trying to court Sevika's loyalty. She has the charisma that helps her rally supporters towards anyone she finds fit. They do not know that Jinx is holding her captive exactly because of this. Their second priority is claiming monopoly on shimmer - or making an alternative. Since Silco's gone and Singed is holed up in his lab, production has gone places, and no one's brewed anything better yet.

Ekko has made efforts to support struggling Zaunites, but the Firelights' territory is growing smaller by the day. Thanks to the conflict, he now knows Jinx has survived their fight on the bridge, but he fully regrets having tossed away her bomb. (It is clear that he still struggles to separate Powder from Jinx. This is his actual arc.)

Heimer has started to shed his immortal naivety; now he's actively helping Ekko's community thrive. Particularly he's leading the Firelights in research endeavors. They have a working tonic for shimmer, though still imperfect, so Heimer thinks of sending Ekko and friends to Piltover to make things better.

On the side of Piltover, we have Vi. She's been forced into becoming an enforcer thanks to Caitlyn, who attempted to put her back in jail in grief and rage. Thanks to the conflict, one of the jail guards tattled about Vander and Grayson and Silco and Marcus, then suggested the team-up. Vi initially refused the offer, but she eventually agreed to it, because she has no allies aside from Ekko and she can't wait for him while Jinx is destroying both cities. She keeps on wondering why Vander agreed to acquaint himself with them, as day in and day out she's just assisting Piltovans and fighting Zaunites. A colleague suggests she's better off helping out in Zaun instead, and she punches him.

Caitlyn is exhausted to say the least. She has just buried her mother, Jayce and Mel (and Victor) have disappeared and nobody can say where they've gone, and Noxus is breathing down her neck. At the very least, she does have Ambessa guiding her, even if her words feel demanding. Caitlyn promised to comb all over Piltover and Zaun for Mel to prevent Ambessa from rallying Noxian forces, under the condition that if Caitlyn can't bring the cities to an acceptable state, Noxus is free to take control of both as it pleases. Caitlyn has also accepted Noxians into the military force of Piltover, sent by Ambessa under the guise of searching for Mel.

(And Ambessa is thirsty for blood. She has chosen to hold back for now, for she does worry that little peace-loving Mel might actually die in the crossfire between Noxus and Pilt/Zaun and Ambessa is not willing to go through the loss of a child again this soon. But she is getting impatient, and she is also considering taking the hexcore for herself.)

Overall, the season deals with themes of power and control. Naturally Vi and Jinx meet each other and clash twice or thrice during this leg of the story. But most of all, it's about Vi becoming Vi, much like how Powder became Jinx last season. Even if this doesn't solve all plot threads, it would at least give Vi the center stage to tell her "side" of the story, especially with regards to the Piltover/Zaun conflict.

In fact, I think it'd be great if Caitlyn captures Jinx, but keeps her incarcerated to get a better hold on both Piltover and Zaun and get things in order. As Jinx is lashing out in her cell, crying and screaming and begging to be let out, Vi is there, tearfully apologizing for all her shortcomings as Powder's sister. The series ends with Caitlyn giving some speech to promise a better relationship and system between Piltover and Zaun, then the speech getting interrupted by a jailbreak, one Vi initiates to free Jinx. As chaos again breaks out, Vi apologizes to Vander and grieves the fact that she truly is a bad sister.

I'd prefer letting the LOL players bridging the gaps between Arcane and LOL by themselves since they have better grasp of the lore, and also to help cover some obvious plot holes. Anyway that helped me cope; hope this helped you cope in some way too 💗

[satohqbanana]

😘 Friday Kiss Tag! 😘

Tagged by the lovely @the-golden-comet! Here’s a sneak peek from chapter 7 of The Mistress of Rosehorn Hall:

“I am here, Sarah. Do you feel how solid I am?” His hand clutches Sarah’s and brings it to his cheek. “Do you feel how warm I am?” “I do,” Sarah whispers. His skin is warm against her palm and Sarah dares to rub her thumb back and forth on his cheek. Her reward is a low, deep hum that rumbles in Lord Rufus’ chest like the purr of a wild cat. She can’t stop looking at his hooded eyes, teasing her with the treasure of his golden gaze. ‘How far could I go with this?’ Sarah caresses Lord Rufus’ face and allows it to travel down from his face to his lips. But the moment he turns his face to kiss the meat of her palm, Sarah’s heart stops beating. The heat pleasantly simmering low in her belly is doused with a cold bucket of shame, and Sarah withdraws her hand.

Want to read more? Read here!

Tag list below! If you’d like to be added to or removed from the tag list, interact with this post here!

@the-golden-comet @wyked-ao3 @lorifragolina @burntblanc

@nczaversnick @glasshouses-and-stones @thatuselesshuman @mushroommanchanterelle @phoenixofthegreenwood

@ilovevewritingfanfic @lizurich @villian-lover7899 @rivenantiqnerd

@pastelpinkhobbies @satohqbanana @lychhiker-writes @owlsandwich

@leahnardo-da-veggie @dearunreliablenarrator @theboarsbride @theaistired