#DoL: Other's stories

[dollya-robinprotector]

Once upon a time... Reference: Hylas and The Nymphs by John William Waterhouse

[yet-another-haven-of-dollya]

Today is an "Answer without drawing" day, instead I use my barely coherent English to spread some more Lya/Lyah lore into the crowd.

And I'm doing it with great joy. Good job me.

[fyepertine]

Something to Cry About, Part 2

=============

Part 1

[unmerrymagdalene]

I’m trying to draw Sirris and Sydney today and (this is personal preference btw) I think I prefer design wise if they look distinctly different.

Only because it affirms “Sydney got his hair color from their late parent and is following in their footsteps and Sirris has to get reminded of their late partner constantly-”

[likesunsetorange]

— 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐬

[cotton-candy-jester]

Help, that’s too cute! Sirris saying that anybody would be fortunate to have Sydney as a partner. When Sirris knows that Sydney knows it’s a crush, Sirris becomes more playful about it. “Give ‘em the old family charm. If I could get your other parent, a member of the temple”. Sydney cuts them off.

HELP THAT'S ADORABLE 😭

Sirris just gets more excited when Sydney lets them know things went well. They make sure Sydney knows they can ask any questions they have about dating and what PC might like as a gift. Sirris is practically glowing when/if they see Syd's promise ring 🥺🥺

[degrees-of-lili]

Y'know if PC wasn't an orphan; it'd make Bailey's story less weird. They could have been someone from another [country] who came to DoLland to go to university (to keep the school aspect), maybe you needed a visa and couldn't get one so you go to Bailey but now Bailey expects you to work for them or they'll ship you off (but not back home obvs.). Except Bailey's "work" is running around town fucking, stealing, and maybe working a semi-normal job. Like some aspects are questionable like Whitney, but Whitney is a parody of an actual bully. Like, the shit Whitney does (and to the level they do it) isn't something that'd anyone would reasonably get away with. Also, how the school works from a gameplay point of view because college you usually pick and choose your classes are.

[coldshrugs]

make your own WoL reference sheet!

hi there! this was a quick project inspired by @mages-ballad's gorgeous reference sheet, and i hope it'll be useful to others.

what it is:

A public template made with canva, made to be accessible and easy to use. knowledge of photo editing or art programs is not required.

Three core reference pages designed to be clean, comprehensive, and customizable - Page 1 - Main glam reference and key details - Page 2 - Face reference - Page 3 - Body type reference

Optional pages for each expansion - Space for a close-up (show off that hair journey) - Space for two glams - A place to talk about style choices - Favored Title during that part of the story

A library of XIV job icons, sized to fit the template. Doh/DoL included!

[get the template here] *you will need a free canva account to make a copy and edit it.*

[yandere-writer-momo]

The number one fact about me is I’m going to turn my trauma into a story. Especially when someone is obsessed with me. Except I will give it a little razzle dazzle ✨ Name is inspired by Kylar from DOL. ✨

Reader can be female, male, or gender neutral but tags include all three

Yandere Head Canons: I Want To Be Just Like You

Yandere Platonic female x GN reader

TW: concerning behaviors that should not be romanticized, psychological horror, obsession, stalking, unhealthy relationship/ friendship, and uncomfortable themes

Kylar had always sat alone since elementary school. She was always seen as rather… eccentric and you had felt sorry for her.

And you made the biggest mistake of your life by sitting with her on that cold, rainy Tuesday in November. By reaching a hand out to someone who had never felt warmth in their life and would do anything to keep it. All due to your empathetic nature

It started off small by Kylar wanting to have matching bracelets with you. Then it was the same clothing. And then the same cut and color of your hair… and as the years went on, her obsession with you snowballed into her becoming you

You were dating someone? Kylar was dating someone! You were going to college? Kylar was admitted to the same one! You were getting a new car? Kylar bought the same car in the same color.

Kylar didn’t have any other friends but you. You. You. You. Kylar had no need for anyone else because the two of you would be together forever and ever! That’s what bff meant and she was never going to let you stray! Those new college friends could never be as close to you as she was. You two were basically sisters…

You two were like siblings. Two peas in a pod. Whatever you did, she wanted to do. Whenever you went, she wanted to go! Don’t you get it? Kylar couldn’t live without you! She needed to be as close to you as possible… she needed to crawl inside your ribcage and make a home. Being your best friend wasn’t enough. She needed to be you

You never noticed her alarming behavior until another friend pointed it out to you. How odd it was that Kylar’s entire personality was a near complete copy of yours.

You never thought of it as weird. Most best friends have extremely similar likes and dislikes… and boyfriends… and hair cuts/ colors… and hobbies- okay. This wasn’t normal at all. There was nothing normal about this friendship.

So you tried to gently let Kylar down by telling her you need a bit of space… which did not go well at all. She acted as if you killed she first born and it made her obsession even worse. Kylar clung to you like a tick

You found her showing up to your house in the early hours of the morning to walk to class together. She was at every bar you went to with other friends and she would try to worm her way into your friend group

When that didn’t work and you only put more space between the two of you, she became aggressive. Your new friends were putting poison in your head. She would not let them get between the two of you. She would not be abandoned by her favorite person in this sick world.

So she began to dox them on the internet. Kylar made multiple fake account to cyber bully your other friends. She needed you to be alone again so you could be with her. You don’t need anyone else… you only needed her and her friendship.

So why were you still not talking to her when all those friends dropped one by one? Weren’t you lonely? She’d be there! Just unblock her and she’d crawl into your life and sew herself to you! You two could be conjoined twins! Wouldn’t that be nice?

Poor Kylar failed to realize that you were scared of her… and she never would because she was far too delusional.

[dollya-robinprotector]

You and I, mirrors of light Twin flames of fire Lit in another time and place

Some alternatives from this Wraith post. I made the initiate's face clear at first, then decided to cover it. The idea of the Wraith's memories fading day by day is interesting, and I've been watching Frieren recently so I want to toy with them not being able to remember their loved one's face anymore.

Maybe that can explain why they're so obsessed with PC.

Maybe they did not see PC as the reincarnation of their loved one but as a filthy thief tainting their memory and their only possession.

Even they can't be sure if they recognize PC as their loved one or not. They said they were afraid they might be wrong if I remember from the game correctly. Sure, the Wraith can be gentle and loving, but only after a couple of Elk Comp encounters, after PC slowly gained their trust.

Anyway, there are too many things to discuss. I also wanted to link the green gemstone to the Wraith's necklace, too. The calming effect is sus...

[conundrumoftime]

One of the fun things about shipping Haladriel and about Galadriel's story in Rings of Power, for me, is that we know exactly where this is going to end up. And I wanted to babble for a bit about where that place is because I have seen so many people view it as "she is retired to some woods to be a passive wife-and-mother who can do magic but in a mystical New Age-y way", and: no! No.

So a quick overview of where she will end up by LOTR:

Very much not removed from the war against Sauron.

She is constantly mind-battling against Sauron: One of the lines that inspired McKay and Payne's whole show was her talking about this: "I say to you, Frodo, that even as I speak to you, I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves. And he gropes ever to see me and my thought." In one of the versions of the Annatar story in Unfinished Tales, Sauron immediately realises she will be his 'chief adversary', and has apparently not changed that assessment 3500 years later.

She co-ordinates joint efforts against Sauron: The White Council that Elrond talks about in LOTR, the combined force of Ring-bearers, wizards and elf-lords that first drives Sauron out of Dol Guldur - she's not just on that, she founded it.

She gets Gandalf back after Moria and the Balrog: Galadriel learns what's happened to Gandalf from the Fellowship when they arrive in Lothlórien. The the Fellowship are sad; the elves of Lothlórien mourn; Celeborn loses it a bit and says Gandalf 'fell into folly'; but Galadriel sends Gwaihir the eagle to get him, returns him to health, updates him on the situation with Boromir, gives him some messages to take to the others, and sends him back on his way.

She is possibly in Lothlórien because of its position of strategic importance: from Unfinished Tales here, she 'saw that Lórien would be a stronghold and point of power to prevent the Shadow from crossing the Anduin in the war that must inevitably come' and that's why she and Celeborn go there. (There are other versions as with almost everything else in Tolkien, but this is one of them.) She's not there to hide away from Events.

2. Calmer than in TROP, but not all-wise and all-sweet and still pretty scary.

She is still tempted by power and world domination: "I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired to ask what you offer [...] In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the morning and the night!"

And, she doesn't just turn down the One Ring because it's abstractly eeeevil. She turns it down because she knows what she, specifically, would do with it. Sam sees a vision of the Shire, and tells her "I wish you'd take his Ring. You'd put things to rights. You'd stop them digging up the Gaffer and turning him adrift. You'd make some folk pay for their dirty work," to which she says that yes, she would: "That is how it would begin. But it would not stop with that, alas! We will not speak more of it."

And saying she wants to rule the world here is not me joking about! This is Tolkien describing that moment in LOTR:

It was not until two long ages more had passed, when at last all that she had desired in her youth came to her hand, the Ring of Power and the dominion of Middle-earth of which she had dreamed, that her wisdom was full-grown and she rejected it

People are scared of her: The only scary moment we directly see is the Ring temptation, but she does other unsettling things. When she meets the Fellowship she tests them by reading their minds and offering something they really want to see if it would make them "turn aside from the road and leave the Quest and the war against Sauron to others." (She offers Sam a garden; the One Ring later on tempts him with the same thing.) Even the hobbits are a bit disturbed by this and Boromir, who's already said he doesn't want to go into Lothlórien because people who do that never leave again, absolutely does not trust her.

Éomer, a few chapters later:

'Then there is a Lady in the Golden Wood, as old tales tell!' he said. 'Few escape her nets, they say. These are strange days! But if you have her favour, then you are also net-weavers and sorcerers, maybe.'

She's scary! She's ancient and powerful and people are scared of her.

3. Married, but not in the character-limiting way the nerdbros want it to be and would have you believe it is.

I am not telling anyone they should ship Galadriel/Celeborn or even find it interesting just because I do, but, the angry nerdbros fancasting Celeborn as Henry Cavill and talking about how he'll come back to tame her and tidy her neatly out of the narrative are writing their own little AU headcanons because that is not what's in the text.

She's the more powerful one. Partly because she's one of the 'High Elves' - she's Noldor and has lived in Valinor seen the light of the Trees - which for various reasons about the way Tolkien's elves work just makes her more powerful, partly because she has a Ring of Power and Celeborn doesn't. It's her Mirror; she's the one reading people's minds; she's the one locked in endless mental battles with Sauron; she's the one the Rohirrim (whose lands border Lothlorien's) tell each other scary stories about. Celeborn at no point ever seems to have an issue with this, and calls her his 'treasure'.

They work together. Even in a big-action-sequences sense: after Sauron's defeat, Celeborn 'led the host of Lorien over Anduin in many boats' to Dol Guldur, where Galadriel 'threw down its walls and laid bare its pits'. But the rest of the time, too: she says of him that 'together through ages of the world we have fought the long defeat'.

You really get the sense that they have been married for a loooooong time. An actual sequence of events in LOTR, somewhat condensed:

The Fellowship reveal there's a Balrog in Moria;

Celeborn goes "!!!!", complains about dwarves waking it up and says he'd never have let Gimli into Lothlorien if he'd known that;

Galadriel smacks Celeborn down for being rude to their guest;

Celeborn apologises to Gimli;

Galadriel tells the Fellowship that Celeborn is accounted the wisest of elves;

Boromir says something about "old wives' tales";

Celeborn, whose wife is one of the oldest beings in Middle-earth, tells Boromir not to be so dismissive because "old wives keep in memory word of things that once were needful for the wise to know";

Galadriel hands Celeborn a drink.

Whatever is going on here is clearly something that works for them, is what I'm saying! And you don't have to find their marriage interesting just because I do, of course; but what it's not is some trad fantasy of domestic subservient-wife anything.

So where her TROP story ends up is ultimately with LOTR Galadriel: powerful, important, tempted to rule the world, a bit calmer than in TROP, a bit happier than in TROP, co-ordinating big strategic efforts in the war, married to someone who's got her back and adores her and they fall out a bit sometimes but generally work pretty well together, and still having Sauron constantly trying to get into her head. I am fine with this! I am more than fine with this.

[hakusins]

cw // blood, snakes, cigarettes

DOL x SCP AU

Been taking a trip down memory lane lately and the best way to do that is to make a DOL x SCP AU wkwkwkw, I've loved the SCP stories and lore for years now (since I was 14 or something), so it only made sense to make this AU! I mostly just chose SCPs I really like or I think are very fitting with the characters.

For the sake of this AU, we can just assume they're all under Bailey and located in the same Site. Will be making the other LI's and PC for this AU soon 🥺🥺!! I'm thinking of adding a few other non-LI NPCs as well into the story but it's taking me a while to draw them out.

[alorhna]

I’m sorry too ivory. You’re a weird ghostie. Who steals PCs pills.

That’s it guys. I must admit. I like the weird ghost. I’m weak I know-

DOL RAMBLES OF THE DAY

Man it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these lol-

Originally this guy was extremely creepy, like who randomly kidnaps a random person out the room.. RANDOMLY. Like unless you join the church and go through ivorys memories, you will most likely never know the full story of this ghost. So when my first Pc was really just one day abducted like that I was like”- aight- guess this is my life now-🫥”

But then after learning his lore, I must say as a writer myself I’m enthralled, I’m attached. OBESSED even.

Especially after the latest temple update. Ivory has so much potential not just as a possible future LI, but as a solitary character. They have presumably reasons to hate the PC so much that they’re willing to drag both of you down to the pits of despair.

But even if PC isn’t the one who screws them over ivory still becomes obsessed, because their obession with PC didn’t begin out of hatred, it was from love. From knowing PC in a past life, of loosing them to their enemies of the opposite faith. And finally FINALLY when they see their past lover again…

They’ve been born anew. But why? Ivory is a ghost damned to the lake, why does pc get to run around and fall in love all over again. and not with ivory?, no, no. PC has the freedom to love whomever they wish.

Because they’re Alive.

But that’s not fair, ivory and pc were bound “forever as one” they should have never been born anew!

And just for PC to even have the possibility of forming another “bond” with a member of their same faith? To have the nerve leave ivory and bind themselves to someone else!

Such a dirty, lying, retched,....lover.

I don’t believe ivory could ever truly hate the PC, because they never did. From the beginning ivory was always going to see the PC and become obsessed. Because originally PC was theirs. Solely theirs to love and defile. Their obession to the PC is only shadowed by their obession to their necklace.

Whether or not PC does anything. Ivory was always going to do something. That’s all there is to it.

((Which is a mentality a lot of the LIs internally have towards the PC. Some more obessively than others.))

All the PC can do is avoid them but that doesn’t last for long. Eventually they’ll be caught.

Because they are loved, deeply. And love is obsessive, chasing you beyond your grave, possessing each waking thought. And leaving nothing expect carnage in its wake.

[velvet4510]

Despite the conservative sides of his viewpoints that have been written about time and again, we really must give Tolkien some credit for the unique embrace of diversity that he does provide at the heart of LOTR.

Three times across history (four if the legend of the ancestors of Dol Amroth’s princes is true), a Man and an Elf fall in love and break the rules of Elven culture to be together.

Four Hobbits, two Men, an Elf, a Dwarf, and a Maia - a total of five different races - come together from completely different walks of life, form a Fellowship, and become a family. They each share pieces of their own culture with the others, and the others embrace those pieces.

When a Dwarf is treated with discrimination by Elves, the rest of the Fellowship stand up for him and insist on being treated the same way he is (i.e. blindfolded), and he and the Elf of the Fellowship break through the barriers of cultural prejudice and build an unbreakable friendship.

A Man sacrifices his life to save two Hobbits.

A Man, an Elf, and a Dwarf forsake all other possible tasks and run on foot for hundreds and hundreds of miles on a rescue mission for two Hobbits.

The teamwork of two Hobbits and a group of Ents overpower their mutual enemy and turn the tide of a war.

A Man provides two Hobbits with encouragement as well as extra supplies which end up helping them survive the rest of their journey.

A Hobbit finds a father figure in an elderly Man.

The teamwork of a Woman and a Hobbit brings about the death of an evil it was said could never be killed.

The teamwork of a Maia and a Hobbit save a Man’s life.

An Elf and a Dwarf do not hesitate to follow a Man down a dark and dangerous pathway.

The combined forces of Men, an Elf, a Dwarf, and a Hobbit take on a hopeless battle merely to buy time for two other Hobbits to complete their mission.

A Man bows to two Hobbits at his own coronation.

A lost kingdom is restored by a dynasty begun by a Man/Elf couple.

A Maia offers a special gift to two wounded Hobbits and personally escorts them to a place where they will finally find peace.

Two Hobbits, eventually followed by a third, leave their homeland behind and build a new, beautiful life among Elven culture, into which they are accepted with open arms.

An Elf resists the “irresistible” call of the Sea to stand by his mortal friend, a Man, for as long as his friend lives.

A Hobbit names his son after a Man whom he has befriended.

A young Hobbit girl is honored by an Elf queen and later names her children after honorable figures of Elven history.

Two elderly Hobbits are warmly welcomed into a city of Men to live out their last years, and the ruler of these Men requests to be buried beside them.

The Elf/Dwarf odd-couple duo break the rules one last time and sail off together to a place where Dwarves are usually not allowed to be … a place where they can reunite with their other surviving friends, two Hobbits and a Maia.

Middle-Earth is a melting pot of love and acceptance across cultures and races. Tolkien may not have covered all the bases in his exploration of diversity, but by golly, did he cover a lot of them. He wrote a story in which people of completely different backgrounds form unbreakable bonds that change the fate of the world for the better.

[growingingreenwood]

Some (mostly unforeseen) Effects of Thranduil's Enchanted River In No Particular Order.

1 - The river seems to be nutritious, for lack of a better word.

Plants that grow from its enchanted water grow faster, bigger, bear more fruit, and are noticeably more individually aware of themselves and the world than plants that grow farther away from the riverbanks. The animals that live in its waters and the land animals that ritually drink the water are similarly affected, growing larger and smarter than their counterparts in unaffected waters. According to some, the animals even taste better and keep for longer before spoiling.

 Humans that ritually drink the water (like the people of Laketown) suffer from fewer diseases and are generally less affected by them when they do occur and on average have longer lifespans than other humans by about 5 - 10 years. There’s no real PROOF of this, but it’s also believed that Humans who regularly consume the enchanted waters are significantly less susceptible to the pull to darkness, this is thought because so very few of the humans who live around Mirkwood join the forces of darkness even though they’re literally right beside it for several generations. 

Any creature of light that consumes the water will have their thirst quenched faster than they would have with other liquids, and foods made using its water will fill your stomach faster than food made without. (Same principle as Lembas bread.) 

2 - Creatures of Darkness are harmed by the River Water, as it acts like an extremely acidic or corrosive substance to them. Even a few drops on their skin can give them huge welts or blisters, stepping into the water causes severe burns on anything that touches the water, and prolonged exposure can essentially disintegrate whatever it is touching. So if an Orc falls into the river, they will somewhat quickly get burned/boiled alive and then disintegrate and break apart into the water.

Creatures that have a neutral relationship with Greenwood and its elves are mostly unaffected by the water. If it gets splashed onto them the water can numb the area for several hours any substantial exposure to it (such as stepping into it, drinking it, or falling into it) will result in being put into a deep and magical sleep. The sleep is lifted either by being removed from the forest, or the elves coming to investigate and personally dispelling whatever charm put the creature to sleep.

3 - Depending on who you talk to, some say that the River itself can come to life and act of its own free will, a bit like the tree’s can. There’s reports of the river ‘luring’ people into its waters. There’s also reports of Jets of Water shooting out to injure or distract anything trying to harm the elves.

The most spectacular stories along this vein include a figure rising from the water in the form of a beautiful elvish woman, with only her feet remaining as ‘normal’ water. It's an extremely rare occurrence and usually means something, very, very bad for the creatures of darkness. Rumor has it that the river takes the shape of King Thranduil’s wife that passed away.

4 - The water remains the same temperature year round. It feels slightly cool in the summer, but in the winter it remains warm enough that the river never freezes completely over and neither does the lake which Lake Town resides on. No matter how cold the rest of the world around the water is, on particularly cold days a little bit of steam can be seen rising into the air.

5 - The average magical power among Greenwood Elves is a bit higher than most other elven populations, and it's thought that this is due to them ingesting so much of Thranduil’s Enchanted Water. The additional magical power also helps them to resist the negative effects of living so close to Dol Guldur for so long.  It’s also thought that this is why the bond between the Greenwood Elves and things of nature (especially Tree's) is so much stronger than it is for others.

6 - The water acts as a highly effective shield against the magic of others. Its the river that prevents the other elven realms from seeing and sensing much in Greenwood no matter how hard they try. It doesn’t affect Thranduil and his people's ability to see OUT of the forest though, if anything, it probably makes it easier.

[danieyells]

It's kinda sad that we don't get a yandere character. Like, I mean, some would make great yanderes (or almost all of them), but for now it feels like barely a tease. Like, I expected subaru to be the yandere-ish one (like kylar from dol), but it ended up being bait and switch.

Yes, I know Towa is right there, but his is more like being the big boss around, there's no stalking and unhealthy obsession.

(IT SENT THE FIRST ONE ANON DON'T WORRY 👍🏾 not spammy at all, I've been on tumblr long enough to know how it is.)

It is but since it's a joseimuke it's not really like. . .a romance focused game/story? So a character who's romantically obsessed with the player might be too idk derailing? So I understand why they wouldn't have one--on the other hand, A3! has Masumi who's kinda yandere afair(may have been toned down? It's been years since i was into a3 and my memory isn't good so) so it's not like it's impossible.

(and obvs it works for DoL because 1. Kylar is dismissable and heavily ignorable and doesn't have a ton of impact as far as main story goes atm, 2. There's a ton of other stuff going on in DoL that a character who's obsessed with you is kind of the least of your worries and wouldn't necessarily do much to impact the plot or setting or the character's mission of survival. The story in TDB is linear, so to actually give a yandere any impact they'd have to be present a fair amount more, at least from my perspective. Then again they could be like. A background yandere, obsessing and collecting information from the shadows and it only comes up the rare times they show up at all, but. . .I dunno.)

I definitely agree a yandere would be nice if only because it's one of my favorite character tropes haha but maybe later on in the story? It's still really early, everyone and the dynamics and the worldbuilding and the relationships and such are still getting introduced, so there's still time for things to develop--and for additional characters to be introduced! (The previously missing Dionysia students are still alive for example! We'll probably meet them at some point.) Never hurts to have a little buildup!

I will note that one of Subaru's expressions is labeled "yandere".

(none of his homescreen dialogues use this expression and the way the actual scenes are coded is different so I can't view expressions in scenes to try and remember if this expression was used anywhere in game haha) it doesn't feel very yandere but it's important to consider that yandere characters are characters whose love is unhealthy and obsessive, not necessarily characters who are stalkerish or violent in their behavior. He actually looks a little regretful to me, as if his unhealthy attachment is something he's aware is bad and he feels stressed out by it--which fits his character, if he does turn out to be yandere in some way, that it'd bother him. It'd also fit with his affinity line about not trying to seem like he's testing you and worrying he's being weird. . .because he knows his internal feelings are quite weird. He's always bottling things up, so he restrains all the yandere lol.

And Towa has some yandere energy, but it's more directed towards Haru than the player lol. He does straight up try and poison Ren with flowers after all. As far as we know he's not obsessive towards him though, so it's just a vibe. You're right in that he is, by his own admission, the boss from his own perspective, especially when it comes to anomalies. He's kind of like if the ~domineering ceo~ type was full of whimsy and silliness lolol.