#I absolutely had jess the beheader in mind when I started this

[xellandria]

I’ve got another couple D&D one-shots coming up this month, which means more characters!  I’d thought about completing the Belomantia trifecta but ultimately decided against it, and ended up coming up with a whole new character instead!  And by that I mean, not just another OC given a D&D AU version, lol.

But then naturally I went overboard—because that’s what I do when it comes to rolling characters for one-shots—and came up with a backstory and exactly what I wanted her to be... but couldn’t quite slot her perfectly into a D&D class.  More accurately, multiple classes seemed like they’d work and I couldn’t choose between them… so I rolled multiples.  Then instead of having one character, I sort of expanded on the backstory to end up with two.  Three, almost, but I forced myself to calm down a little bit there, lmao :P

Dorma Hearthsinger - level 5 Dwarf Monk (Open Hand) Str: 10 (0) Dex: 14 (+2) Con: 14 (+2) Int: 8 (-1) Wis: 16 (+3) Cha: 14 (+2)

Drifa Hearthsinger - level 5 Dwarf Fighter (Battlemaster) Str: 18 (+4) Dex: 13 (+1) Con: 14 (+2) Int: 10 (+0) Wis: 8 (-1) Cha: 14 (+2)

Drifa and Dorma Hearthsinger (last name subject to change, I wanted to do something with “Kiln” but couldn’t come up with a word mash I liked) are a pair of sisters born to a clan of weavers and tailors in some sort of medium to large D&D dwarven city, and grew up both watching and helping their family create costumes for the local(?) fighting ring/fantasy wrestling league.  Both sisters talked about participating when they got old enough; Drifa actually followed through, and (after a few false starts as a face) became relatively successful as Aedorn, a gold/money-themed heel character.  Dorma was mostly content to stay out of the spotlight and help her sister’s career from the sidelines, but when Drifa came up with a “special move” where Aedorn could duplicate herself, she roped her sister into the ring.  Dorma was willing and enjoyed it, though she wasn’t passionate enough about it to give up her place in the family business.  As Aedorn became more popular, Drifa called on Dorma’s help more and more often—asking her to fill in when she fell ill before an important match, or helping when Drifa had gotten double booked for publicity stunts.

At some point Drifa probably started taking Dorma’s time and help for granted, and Dorma was like “okay listen I want to do my own thing for a bit” and Drifa was like “pffft yeah ok but also we’ve got a match on Tuesday” and Dorma was like “k I’m gonna go for a walk cos you’re being a jerk” and decided to go on her own sort of wrestling-free walkabout vacation.

Both sisters are relatively similar personality-wise (by virtue of having actually been the same character up ‘til like four days ago lmao); they’re both loud drunks when they go over their limits and they both do partake in that particular dwarven stereotype (unlike most of my characters, lol).  Drifa’s eyebrow scar came about in a drinking accident, actually, and Dorna had to start plucking part of hers and then draw it on to match once it got added to Aedorn’s look.  Drifa’s the elder sister, though I don’t know either how old they are (probably somewhere between 40-75ish I’d guess, Dwarves are “young” til 50 iirc?) or what the age gap is between them.  I’d assume it’s not that much, since they’re supposed to look very similar.

I’m not sure how successful I was in drawing them—I was very tempted to use the same base drawing for both of them and then make the minor changes, but that also felt like cheating.  Maybe it’s okay if they’re not as close as I originally pictured in my head—it’s not like fantasy wrestling fans have cameras to take photos that they can then analyze to notice that on rare occasions, Aedorn’s earlobes are detached or her eyes are hazel instead of green or her eyebrows are a little lighter or whatever.  But hey, maybe there is one of those crazed fans out there and that’s part of why Dorma left, cos they were getting weird about it and she didn’t necessarily want to be dealing with the fame of being Aedorn all the time? I dunno!

Speaking of Aedorn, she was Aethorn at one point.  According to this random-ass D&D Dwarven dictionary I found on the Forgotten Realms wiki, “ae” is “gold” (checks out), “aetharn” is “gold lust” (yeah okay) and “bedorn” is “disbelief, lies, mistakes, exaggeration, distortion;” I originally was going to try to make a dwarven wrestling name that was equivalent to “Blood Money” but there was no blood on the list; “warped greed” is more or less as close as I could get.  I swapped it from Aethorn to Aedorn just because the dwarven runes (from the same wiki) looked better.  Then I realized that Dorma was “Dorna” at that point and that was awkward, so I swapped her N to an M (which I’d been mistyping constantly earlier anyway) and figure she probably got made fun of when she was a wee lass or something, “yer mother didn’t want ye, that’s why they named ye mistake!” lol).  I wanted to come up with an English/Common version of the name but I’m not super great at coming up with the right kind of words; “Miss Appropriation” is about as close as I’ve gotten and that’s... really not right, lol.  “The Counterfeiter” maybe?  I dunno.  Chances are high none of this will come up in the course of the three hours I’ll be playing this character, so I suppose it doesn’t matter that much, haha.

[books]

Writer Spotlight: The McElroys

Meet the McElroys! Clint was born first, which recent studies have shown is the best procedure for fathers and sons; then came Justin, Travis, and, last but not least, Griffin. This hilarious family gained fame in the world of podcasts with My Brother My Brother and Me (which spawned a popular tv show), Sawbones, Shmanners, Rose Buddies, and a farcical romp called The Adventure Zone. We caught up with Travis and Clint at New York Comic Con 2019.

Has it been challenging to create canon imagery for places and people you've previously only described via audio?

Travis: Well, we’re not really visual artists, so it comes down to translating images we have in our brains—sometimes without necessarily having the words to describe them. Dad likes to reference how much I talk about how much hair should be on Magnus' knuckles, and sometimes I just don’t have the words to be like “Burlier, make him burlier!”

Clint: When we collaborate, we like to really collaborate. So in a field with which we maybe aren't that familiar, we're going to trust the people we're collaborating with. We trust Carey [Pietsch, illustrator], and the people at First Second Books tremendously. So we give as much input as we can, and then we tweak. But you know, Carey’s visualization of everything is so, so wonderful; we love what she does.

T:  One of the things that we’ve kept in mind from the beginning is that we're establishing a visual canon for this series. So when we look at it through that lens, we're able to say yes, this is how it should look for these books. If this were to be visual canon forever, I think we would have nitpicked everyone to death, trying to make it perfect. So instead, we said this is how it should look for these graphic novels. It might look different for something else, but it's perfect for what we're doing right now.

How do you keep the books accessible for all kinds of readers: people familiar with the podcast, people who love Dungeons & Dragons, and people who are new to both?

T: That's one of the things we look at, especially when we're making edits—we don't cut the relationship building stuff and the character-building stuff because we don't want to take for granted that our reader already knows and likes the characters. So we'll keep a moment that might not have much impact on the plot, but that helps you get to know Magnus and Taako and Merle and The Director and Angus.

Which characters were you most excited to bring to life on the page?

T: I was really excited to do Jess the Beheader, that was really fun, and they're not characters, but all of the Battle Wagon stuff—the rival gangs and seeing all the different versions of the vehicles. And of course, Angus. My favorite though, because Carey nailed it so beautifully, is the last page of Here There Be Gerblins, where we see the Voidfish for the first time. It's so beautiful, it's exactly what I picture in my head when I see the Voidfish.

C: I'm looking forward to people seeing Garyl. When we were writing, we made sure we had a lot of full-page splash scenes.

What parts of yourselves have you put into your characters?

T: I have ADHD, and I have impulse control problems—both of my characters so far have that too. Magnus and Aubrey are very much like “Yes, right now this is bad, but it's not always gonna be bad. Let's keep moving and let's do it, let's rush in,” but then Aubrey can't always control her magic, and so it's about learning to control that but also learning to harness it and use it almost like a superpower. That's a big part of myself that I see in my characters.

C: I have this tendency to kind of lean into the fact that we're telling a heroic story, so I want them to be brave and heroic. But characters have to earn that in our arcs, you've got to get there. You can't start off great. You can't start off being close to people. You can't start off having a relationship. Building those relationships is fun, I like seeing that. 

Let’s talk Marvel. What superheroes have been the most exciting to write for?

T: I love Wonder Man. I like a superhero who goes from being a narcissist to learning to work and care for others because that is a journey that I went on myself. And so when Wonder Man becomes a pacifist and learns that his powers can be dangerous and hurtful, and he has to find ways to help people without hurting them—I just think that's a beautiful metaphor for how to use your privilege to help people, without hurting others in the process.

C: I enjoyed writing Sebastian Druid because I like those kinds of science heroes—and again, a flawed character. He’s a guy that’s failed at everything he’s ever done. So I really loved playing with Sebastian and being able to reach in and have it not always go well for him.

What’s next for y’all?

T: We're working on the next big arc, that's coming soon! Hopefully, by the end of this month, we’ll be doing new ones. Then we have book three coming out in July.

C: We also have a page in Marvel Comics #1001. That just came out.

T:  It's really silly and very funny. I’m very proud of it.

C: It is really silly. But the fact that they asked us to do it—I mean we're in a comic book with Howard Chaykin! Who can say that?! Marvel was absolutely amazing.

Thank you, Travis and Clint! If you’re at NYCC, The Adventure Zone graphic novel panel featuring artist Carey Pietsch (@careydraws) is ticketed at 3pm Saturday.

[qualquercoisa945]

Questions Every Fic Writer Secretly Wants to be Asked - the number 1 (have an amazing day!!)

first of all, thank you anon, and you too!!

second of all, how fucking dare you make me choose shlkjdfhlkjhdsflkjgfd

but uh, in all seriousness (and this is gonna be long so be glad i’m putting a read more here guys like it’s for your own good jskhgkjldhgjfdhkj)

i love all of them honestly!!! 

like, thank you for taking a chance on me was my first ever au that ever grew into something more than just a vague idea (like god i have a Lot of stuff about that au, @the-quiet-winds can absolutely confirm this) and obviously i’m incredibly proud of that, and that story was the first thing i ever wrote for it so i’m lowkey kinda biased

and then when she sees me was pure self indulgence but also one of the very first fics i wrote for the fandom, and even though it’s pretty crappy in hind sight, i’m still hella proud of it because it was one of the very first fics i ever wrote, and also the reason i started talking to julie and @ichlugebulletsandcornnuts if i remember correctly, so it just means a lot to me honestly!! plus i think it was one of the first fics ever posted to focus on one of the ladies in waiting, so although i don’t write about them much anymore, there’s that too!!

faith ain’t no privilege is the longest fic i’ve ever written, and also one that, despite being relatively old by now, i’m still incredibly proud of it!! not to mention, it’s part of @cool-kept​‘s spy au, and she’s one of my closest friends, so i’m also incredibly happy that i got to take a part in it

part 1 of love doesn’t discriminate was one of my favorite fics to write- the transitions were a bit of a struggle at first but i loved it either way, i got to explore a softer side of both cathy and anne, as well as address a topic that i was certainly going to explore eventually- what t***** s****** did to lizzie. also, it was an opportunity to explore how the kids come back into the queens’ lives, and i’m extremely excited for the next few parts

as you watch her go was one of the very first fics i ever wrote, inspired by the first post i ever saw from one of the queens’ social media- aimie’s post about the anniversary of katherine howard’s beheading. a few weeks later, i was talking to a friend about how kitty’s favorite holiday would be valentine’s day, and then i remembered that the anniversary of her beheading would be right the day before. with all that said, i was also interested in exploring kitty and anne’s dynamic, and since at the time most of the content involving anne made her incredibly chaotic, i wanted to explore a softer side to her

with when you’re on your own, i wanted to create a contradiction of sorts, between the inspiration for the title and the contents of the story, since the song when the sun goes down is an incredibly soft love duet, while the story is focused about the thoughts that plague the queens’ minds when they’re alone, despite how hard they try to avoid them. it’s pure character study, and it was incredibly interesting to write. i loved parr’s bit especially, because it allowed me to try and write something from her perspective and with the kind of language she’d use, which was a bit of a struggle, admittedly, but also so much fun

i am high and drunk on ego was another fic focused on one of the queens’ beheading’s anniversaries, this time anne’s, and also this time with me having a much better grasp on the queens’ characterization. writing anne and aragon’s conversation was honestly my favorite part of this entire fic, and even though it was written in a bit of a rush, i fucking loved it man

we see things that nobody else sees was another fic i wrote in a bit of a rush, but it’s one of my favorite pieces either way. it’s much more character study like than my usual fics, but i’d noticed that most people were mainly posting soft headcanons for the kids when they did write for them, so i figured i should address at least some of the trauma they have

pride is not the word i’m looking for is actually part of a (potential) series with fics about the kids, all titled with dear theodosia lyrics because i’m a basic bitch. it’d be based on what the kids are most scared about regarding their moms (so in lizzie’s case, disappointing her and losing her again, though that last one is a bit of a constant throughout all of the kids). i loved writing a more softer side of lizzie with that fic, as well as a gentler side with anne that wasn’t complete shit in terms of characterization (looking at you, as you watch her go)

but honestly? as basic as it sounds, i’m gonna have to say that But It Sure Felt Nice When He Was Holding My Hand, affectionately named the Kitty Snaps Fic. it’s my first ever multi chapter that I’m actually finishing, and i’m so genuinely proud of every single part, and for once i can genuinely say that i mean it when i say that.

burned out was my first ever fic for the six fandom- just a tiny little thing i threw together because @vioislit​ said burned out by dodie was a katherine howard song and i figured i should write something inspired by it. it also served as bit of me ranting through her, though since at the time i hadn’t looked into what aragon had gone through, so i had to avoid the topic. i might end up rewriting this story eventually honestly, because as much as i love it, there are some things that need some improvement

being awfully loud for an introvert is the second installment, titled after monster by, once again, dodie. i didn’t expect burned out to be anything but a one off, angsty one shot, but the more i thought about it, the more i realized that if i did that, it’d be throwing away the perfect opportunity to explore kitty’s dynamics with the other queens. that aside, another title i’d considered for this “we’re both guilty of black and white thinking,” from the same song, highlighting how kitty had completely snapped and wouldn’t hear anything. i also wanted to explore the trauma anne had experienced, since at the time people tended to focus more on the more chaotic, fun loving side of her. this was also another chance to explore the kitty and anne dynamic, this time with kitty being the one of comfort anne

now by shiver, but shiver with a friend, i was noticing a pattern with the titles, and decided to just embrace it and make that the theme- all stories from this fic were going to be titled after dodie songs. and this one in particular was named after party tattoos- me and becca were talking about how well it fit kitty and anna’s friendship, and it was just too perfect.as for the story’s contents themselves, i knew from the start i wanted there to be a flashback. me and jess had talked multiple times about their historical friendship by then, and that coupled with her story, dancing’s not a crime unless you do it without me, made it easy to choose what kind of scene i wanted to write. i also fucking loved getting to write something a bit more cleves centric, and exploring her trauma beyond any self-esteem issues she has was also really fun! finally, this is when you start noticing the build up to the climax of the latest installment. honestly, this one is my favorite out of this fic, if i’m being completely honest. it’s the one story that i don’t think is too short or has bits that fall awkward or just didn’t age as well as i would like it to have, due to me growing as a writer, which isn’t a bad thing by any means, but it’s nice to have a part that stood the test of time honestly

i’m so used to feeling wrong was both one of the easiest and one of the hardest songs to title. i ended up going with rainbow, but another option had been in the middle. ultimately, i went with rainbow because i felt it was better for how both kitty and aragon feel- constantly criticized by everyone around them, and being crushed by a constant sense of being replaceable..as for actually writing it, once again it was both one of the easiest and one of the hardest to write. i don’t have as much experience writing aragon as i would like, but i’d brainstormed a bit about how i thought their dynamic would be like and what similarities and differences they have. the idea of aragon accidentally calling kitty mary comes from jess, and it led way into a bit of a character study bit that i’m still pretty proud of honestly

and last but definitely not least, these new walls are pretty hard to crack. the title inspiration for this one was arms unfolding, and in all honesty, this one was easily the hardest to title. almost every line in this song would be a great title, but ultimately i settled on the one i did, and i’m pretty happy about it honestly! it’s about how being reincarnated likely made the queens put up more walls instead of less, and it’s just,,,,,,, idk man i just love this title a lotas for the story, this was one that i have had planned since, i wanna say back when i first wrote the anne chapter. it wasn’t part of this story at first, but then i started building the story up more, and it just fit too well. i’d been wanting to tackled parr and kitty’s relationship for a while now, and while i still have some stuff in the works, i’m pretty proud of how this one turned out!! i’m looking forward to sharing the last part of this story with you all 💖💙💖💙