#I made an evil version of my dnd character

[captainlastrange]

The Best Use of a Lovely Night

What was she calling herself for this mission again? Serbian? Cyan? Scylla! That’s right! That’s it.

Scylla took a deep breath of the night air, lazily flying circles around the targeted manor She to mental notes of the rotation, those that were coming in and out, how as the night progressed all that was left were the guards, and last-minute mental stock of her supplies. She remembered all the people who were required to die no matter what. Not that anyone would make it out anyway.

She loved nights like this. 

After weeks of what felt like failing upwards, covering for dumbass employees' mistakes, and dealing with ignorant clients, she was already in desperate need of something to destress. How lucky was she for a job like this to fall so graciously in her lap? A job that was more than fine with total annihilation. 

If her luck actually remained this constant then she might start praying, she snorted to herself. 

Never a chance in hell. The gods had never been with her. She will never be there for them.

She did one more lap before deciding it was time for her fun start, she was starting to get hungry. Plus this might be her only night off for who knows how long. She pulled out her bow and her precoated arrows and waited for a while, waiting for the guards to fall into place like the good little lambs they are.

She was going to eat so well tonight.

With the skill that only came from years of agonizing training, she struck. Thirteen men and women died. None never seeing her or having a moment to think of any last words to spew in the night air. She didn’t bother moving any of them as she moved on to the next phase. She laid explosives around the perimeter and extra on the door just for fun. She lead the extended fuse into the wood and lit it. She jetted off as far as she could get. She wanted to watch this place burn, not get caught up in the blast radius.

Here would lie, Sir Donavin and his family. His wife, three children, his four brothers, their broad, and an elderly mother and father. Some of them were mages of some sort, most were brokers and dealers of some type.

From what her intel stated and from what she had picked up herself, they are a powerful family. Old money, good connections, and they were very proud of that fact. Unfortunately, that has made them some enemies. Hell, if this contact hadn’t come in when it did and Scylla need to cut loose as much as she did, she might have tried to become allies with them. 

“Shame really,” She grinned.

She, thankfully, didn’t have to wait long for the explosions to go off. Her grin only widen as her bombs wreaked havoc on the manor. The mess of ash was worth its weight in gold and the numerous screams and the sound of the blast itself were music to her ears. The walls burst apart and the fire spread quickly. She was sure the bombs got a fair few of them, but she inwardly cheered as stragglers started rushing out.

Good. They weren’t as fragile as she feared. This was going to be fun. There were even some guards left! Perfect! She put up her bow and started diving down, she didn’t mind dealing with everyone else by hand. She didn’t even care if the fire destroyed her invisibility.

Once she came in closer to the first guard. Some poor man who just finished patting down the fire, she felt her teeth sharpen. Scylla took advantage of his distracted state and tore out his throat. The man’s dying screams quickly got the attention of the others. She took quick stock. Let her see, one, two, three… five guards left. All in varying states of health. Two irrelevant family members left. Fighter both of them. But only one was in armor. She knew he was one of the last to go in the night. Three relevant family members. Two were mages. She knew one was a very lucky wizard. Granted he could barely stand, but the fact that he was even alive was interesting. Not that it mattered. He had no focus or book so she was not worried. The other one was a bard funnily enough. And the last and biggest of her worries was a barbarian.

Wonderful.

The mages were going to die first. It’s not like the barbarian was close enough to stop her. She swallowed the guard’s throat and sprinted to the wizard, her claws sharpening. She severed his head from his body with just enough time to dodge one of the guards. She picked them off one by one, ignoring their battle cries and insults. Dodging and outmaneuvering their attacks and made sure to stay away from the barbarian until they were all dead, their entrails soaking into her clothes.

Soon all that was left was her and the barbarian. Tall, bloodied, well-muscled, and good with a sword. She chuckled as he swang at her, licking his family's blood off her claws.

“You wouldn’t be acting so high an mighty if you were down here!” He sneered as he waved his sword around, trying to hit her. He was so furious his veins looked like they were seconds away from popping out of his head.

She laughed at him and his current situation. There was no way he was winning this. He would die here, alone, and the last of his name. What a pity. She was half tempted to use her bow to put him out of his misery but where’s the fun in that?

No, no, no, instead she picked away at him. Attacking from above, slicing and cutting away at him before getting away. Dropping some of her small sticks of dynamite. She lets the house fire, adrenaline, and his screams of anger and agony keep her warm. Unfortunately, even with all of her training and experience, she wasn’t perfect, she never was, and he wasn’t as dumb as she thought. 

In his rage, the barbarian manage to nail her with a rather large boulder that sent her careening to the ground, knocking the breath out of her.

His meaty hands picked her up by her neck, “I swore, with the gods as my witness, I will make you pay for what you’ve done, you conviving little bitch,” he quietly sneered as his grip tightened. 

Her hand dug into his arms. She squirmed and fought. She scratched at any part of him she could reach but she knew there wasn’t a shot in all the nine hells she was going to win a contest of strength, no matter how hurt he was. Good thing she didn’t need to. 

All he could do was gasp as she pushed her poisoned dagger deeper into his side. She tried to twist the dagger as best she could until he loosened his grip enough for her to speak.

She glared at him and gathered her magic, upcasting as high as she could, “Fear,” she growled. She watched with grim satisfaction as the spell took hold, though, from the look in his eyes, he was fighting valiantly. He was still forced to drop her.

She watched him stare at her with a frenzied terror she was more than used. As he turned tail and tried to run she took to the sky and drive-bombed him, sinking her claws and teeth in and started tearing into him, never letting up no matter how much tried to push her away. Only once he had fallen, truly struggling with his dying breaths, did he cry out to his long-dead family.  Not that Scylla cared. She had worked up quite the appetite. 

There a couple of minutes she was sure she blacked out. By the time she had come to, most of the bodies were missing chunks and she ached something fierce, but at least she was full and her mind was at peace.

She looked around her, at the burning manor, the blood-soaked and half-eaten corpses The surrounding forest was silent, the moon shown overhead ever bright, and she allowed herself a moment to sit down and breathe. She pulled out a notebook, some old tattered thing she picked up from who knows where, and wrote down each and every one of their last words. She only wrote down the good ones really. Most of them were incomplete and therefore not worth keeping.

Only then did she realize one of them had called her by one of her old names, Chel. She huffed, gods above, she hadn’t that name in damn near ten years. You would think a family with this much prestige would have better intel but, she shrugged, it didn’t matter now. Chel, Griza, Nennari, Falen, whatever other old name they managed to dig up, they were all gone. All dead and buried, like everyone she ever cared for. Discarded, Sycalla had no need for them anymore. She had no real use for any name really. She only reason she kept coming up with more was because of the paperwork. It was so much more of a pain in the ass without one.

She stood up, eventually, pulling out her machete and started hacking away at the relevant family members, pulling off heads and chunks of meat for later. All in all, this was a very lovely day off.

[autistichalsin]

Analysis of each character's final words in the new Dark Urge evil ending

If you are romanced to a character, you have the option, when taking the new version of the Sins of the Father ending, to kill your partner in front of the others in your party, killing them with one last kiss. They then give their last words and pass away. I love each and every one and feel they are incredible characterization moments.

So let's break these down!

Lae'zel:

I... I am glad it was you. No other blade would have sufficed.

This is something that hammers home that, Vlaakith or no, Lae'zel deeply believes in all the ideals of a Githyanki. Life is a privilege for the strong, and death is the price of weakness. Further, if romanced, Lae'zel will affectionately call you "the source of my bruises" many times. If she has to die, if she has finally found the one person stronger than herself, then she is "satisfied" that it is you- who she both loved and admired. The only one she would ever consider worthy of besting her.

Karlach:

Fuck you.

Short, simple, and to the point, just the way Karlach does everything else. She's already gone through all her stages of grief with her engine- well, almost all of them. Anger still remains. She burns hot until the end.

Wyll:

I... I forgive you.

This isn't just Wyll being a good guy. This is heartbreak, and guilt. Guilt for not saving you from Bhaal's influence when he was so sure he had. Heartbreak that after he gave his literal soul to save as many people as he could, he couldn't save you- and couldn't save others from you, either. All he sacrificed, negated in an instant by the person he loved and trusted most. Of all the characters here, Wyll (tied with Halsin) sounds the most obviously broken, and it's easy to see why, given that he is self-sacrificing to a fault.

There was a set of scenes datamined from the game, where at the Morphic Pool, the Netherbrain would have taunted the players, causing them to hallucinate things related to their fears and insecurities. Wyll's would have been a vision of himself talking about how he was never a hero, how the Blade of Frontiers was a farce all along. One can't help but think about that scene here, wondering just how much blame, bordering on self-loathing, he might feel here.

Dark Justiciar Shadowheart:

I... I'm coming to you, Lady Shar.

Another short and simple one. By becoming a Dark Justiciar, Shadowheart has fully embraced the nihilism of Shar's teachings. Why be saddened or angry at her own death when this is just what she's embraced with all her sacrifices?

(Sidenote: this does also answer a question I had, namely, what was going to happen to everyone Durge kills. Thankfully it seems they aren't actually going to be sacrificed to him as such, and will indeed end up in the realm of their deities. This makes Bhaal's plan even DUMBER, because deities in DND lore need worshippers to have enough power to exist. Killing everyone at once just guarantees that soon after Durge dies as the last person alive, so too will Bhaal fade from existence.)

Selunite Shadowheart:

I... I thought we were going to save each other...

This Shadowheart rejected everything she knew. She was scared to defy her goddess, but worked up the courage- thanks to you. She thought you would have a new life together. She believed in you. She thought she would get to return the favor, and help you turn the page on Bhaal, too.

She's not just heartbroken for herself; she's heartbroken for you, too. Heartbroken at the life you denied both her and yourself.

Gale:

You made me want to live...

From the moment the orb entered Gale's chest, he knew he was at risk of dying. Then Mystra all but marked him as a dead man walking. But despite that, he finds love with you- and for the first time thinks maybe there is a purpose for him beyond Mystra. That he isn't more useful to the world dead. More than that, he wants to live to be with you, to enjoy your company and companionship. And then you kill him, and do the one thing WORSE than what would have happened if he'd never been pulled from that rock.

It almost would have been kinder to just hack his hand off the first time you met him, though Gale may or may not agree.

Spawn Astarion:

I should have killed you when I had the chance...

The angriest, most bitter response out of all the romanced companions, a step beyond Karlach's "fuck you." This is beyond "fuck you" and even beyond "I hate you." It's "I regret every moment I spent with you." You made him believe he could have better. That he could recover from what Cazador did. You even convinced him to spare the 7,000 spawn and that he could be something better than Cazador.

And now you reveal it was all a lie. Astarion is probably thinking that you talked him out of completing the ritual solely so he'd be easier to kill right here and now. How many regrets are flashing through his mind, how many moments where he wonders if things could have been different if only he'd done this or that, even aside from killing you?

All he wanted was to live as a free person. And then the first time he thinks he has that at last, he loses it as the world ends.

Ascended Astarion:

No... no, this can't be... I can't- you can't- no...

In contrast to spawn Astarion, ascended isn't angry, because he doesn't have the clarity, the ability to process what's happening. Spawn Astarion could tell he'd been betrayed.

But Ascended? Ascended, who went through so much to become one of the most powerful beings in the world, only to STILL lose without fanfare? And by you, his own spawn who he thought he had under his control? It isn't betrayal, because he is bluescreening; he can't comprehend what happened or how or why. How could he have been killed, and by you of all people? Was all he went through killing Cazador really for nothing? How could it be when he was supposed to be the most powerful? Was power actually meaningless all along?

He doesn't say anything of substance because he can't understand what's happening here.

Halsin:

Thaniel... goodbye...

Halsin is the oldest of all the companions. He's experienced the most loss of anyone; his birth family, his fellow Druids, and, for a time, Thaniel. He has had more than enough time to contemplate his own mortality, because he's already lived multiple lifetimes.

So here, two things are happening. One, he isn't expressing anger or betrayal at his murder- because he is more than wise enough, and humble enough, to understand that there are worse things than what has been done to himself. Instead of himself, he is thinking of the world he's leaving behind that is about to fall- and most of all, of his most important person, the one who gave him a purpose, who was there when no one else was, who he failed once and only just got back. The closest thing to a child he'll ever have. In his last moments, instead of himself, Halsin is thinking of those he loves.

And second, it's an almost deliberate snubbing of Durge. He willingly walked into that kiss, knowing full well it would be the last thing he ever did. He gave you his death, he pleaded with his own god to forgive you and him both. He gave you everything he felt he owed you, and no more- no begging or sobbing. Instead, he comes as close as he ever gets to selfishness, and spends his last moments thinking about the thing that makes him the happiest- which could have been you, in another life, if you hadn't done this.

Minthara:

No... we were meant to do this together...

Heartbreak, disbelief, and betrayal. You spent so many nights planning this out. She had been cast aside by her people, her goddess, and she was going to get the last laugh. She was going to crush them personally under her heel and prove she was the best (or second best, behind you) of all of them. She's devastated she won't get to help you torture all those souls and take what she feels was owed to her. But interestingly enough... no anger. Probably because it was overshadowed by the sheer heartbreak, but also a sign that even in those moments, she still admires you for your ruthlessness.

[shuunnico]

You like rpgs. Do you recommend any games like baldurs gate 3?

Absolutely. I'll assume you mean CRPGs and not RPGs in general.

Computer Roleplaying Games (CRPGs) refers to a style and genre of game that BG3 follows. Some have started calling CRPGs "Classic RPGs" instead. CRPGs are typically identified by an isometric, top down view style, a heavy focus on story and exploration.

I'm going to split my list it three main categories based on accessibility factors. These factors include the amount of reading involved, the depth of mechanics and the level of abstraction/math required.

Easy Entry Level

Baldur's Gate 3 - 2023 - Larian Studios. The current gold star for easy entry CRPGs. Exceptional graphics, every character voice acted, very little reading and fairly straightforward mechanics and concepts.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 DE- 2017 - Larian Studios. This is basically a less polished, more complex version of BG3 and made by the same studio.

Disco Elysium, Final Cut - 2019 - ZA/UM. Disco Elysium is a detective/social focus game that dives into heavy narrative concepts. Failing rolls is just as viable for the story as succeeding them, making the game's mechanics take a backseat to story. However, there is a lot of reading and that may be a barrier to entry.

Tyranny - 2016 - Obsidian Entertainment. A game about being evil, it's mechanically pretty simple, but there's a fair bit of jank due to it's low budget, and the game ends on a cliffhanger, but it's story is very solid.

Mid Entry Level

Wasteland 3 - 2020 - inExile Entertainment. The long awaited third installment of the Wasteland franchise and significantly less complex than its predecessors. Post apocalyptic, frozen Colorado, grim reality and goofy ideas. This is the franchise that originally inspired Fallout.

Shadowrun: Dragonfall DC/ Shadowrun: Hong Kong EE - 2014/2015 - Harebrained Schemes. Set in the Fantasy/Cyberpunk hybrid setting of Shadowrun. Fair bit of reading, but the game's mechanics are relatively easy to grasp and don't require a lot of math. Always play Dragonfall before Hong Kong.

Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire - 2018 - Obsidian Entertainment. A unique setting, exploring a fictional parallel to the age of piracy. Very wordy (but a lot is voice acted), with a lot of world building, but well worth engaging with. The first game, Pillars of Eternity, is less accessible, but still good.

Kingmaker/Wrath of the Righteous/Rogue Trader - 2020/2022/2023 - Owlcat Games. Owlcat adapts existing systems into CRPGs, like how BG3 is an adaption of DnD 5e. Do not be fooled, these games are where you start hitting a lot of complexity, a lot of math and a lot potential to damage your playthroughs by accident. This is where things start to get difficult.

Difficult Entry Level

Baldur's Gate 1/2 - Bioware - 1998/2000. The prequels to BG3, these games use an older, much more complex version of DnD's rules. Be prepared for a lot of reading and complex mechanics, but you'll be rewarded with some amazing storytelling.

Planescape Torment - Interplay - 1999. Another game using DnD's older mechanics, Planescape is a completely different beast from BG3. Many consider this series mechanically inferior to the Baldur's Gate franchise, but with better storytelling and world building to compensate.

Fallout 1/2 - 1997/1998 - Interplay/Black Isle. One of the most widely known game franchises started as an isometric CRPG. Universally considered more complex, rewarding and deeper than the Bethesda portion of the franchise, you'll need some experience to get into them, but you'll be happy you did.

Games I haven't played but I've heard good things of:

Wasteland 2, DC - 2015 - inExile

Torment: Tides Of Numenera - 2017 - inExile

Neverwinter Nights - 2002 - Bioware

Arcanum - 2001 - Troika Games

Ultima 7 Part 1/Part 2 - 1992/1993 - Origin Systems

Icewind Dale - 2000 - Black Isle Studio

[ditsy-pink]

looking for players for a DND 5e campaign! (FULL UP! THANKS :) )

set in my homebrew world of Deorum, players will be able to explore and uncover the secret of this ancient land, be it by serious hard work or shenanigans!

both new and experienced players are welcome!

About the campaign:

starting with level 1 characters

any race or class (as long as homebrew is run by me)!

the world is classic dnd fantasy! mostly magic, a burgeoning world of science!

this is a world of ancient secrets and separated societies (political storms are always brewing!)

i love a serious, sad or dramatic moment, so be prepared for those, but for the most part, goofs and shenanigans are most welcome, and in fact wanted!

how we start the campaign will depend on the characters, but likely will start at a festival, one which peoples from around the continent come around for!

any and all character archetypes are wonderful and allowed, however, no matter your character, you have to be ready and willing to work WITH your fellow players (just because you're a loner or kind of evil, doesn't mean you can't be a team player! get out there and made some friends, possible edgelords!)

pirates? hell yeah! witches? absolutely! a fantasy old-timey version of a modern day group or job? thats funny as hell! literally go wild, excited to see what characters you come up with! i'll give a lowdown on the history and civilizations at session zero, where characters will be made/hammered down :)

About me and my table:

i'm queer! my pronouns are they/she :)

i'm in the EST timezone!

i want to play at least once a month, I'd prefer weekly or every other week (and likely on weekend evenings), but people get busy, so its not a strict schedule.

I'll be creating a discord for this, and will likely be using Roll20 for fights (unless i find a better site!)

i tend to be pretty "rule of cool" loving, so while rules still apply, never be afraid to ask to do some crazy shit! (i absolutely love that stuff!)

no hatred or bigotry at my table y'all, obviously. no racism, no homophobia, no transphobia, no ableism, no religious hatred, etc, etc!

anything that could possibly be triggering (i.e. body horror, sexual things, etc.) will be discussed in session 0, i want everyone to be comfortable and having fun at the table!

If any more details are wanted, or if you want to join, feel free to ask here or in my dms!

[conhivemindcent]

So a while ago @/gaydexvocaloid made a version of this meme with vocaloids and I wanted to give it a shot with synthv instead.

Also I started at a time where Kafu was meant to come out in January and I didn’t fancy redrawing her with anyone else. If anything, it kinda makes it funnier since she doesn’t have an actual voicebank released for synthv atm.

[ID:A DnD alignment meme with various vocal synths and custom text associated with each entry. The text describes a game which all the characters are playing. Hanakuma Chifuyu is Lawful Good: “If you keep swearing I will have to report you.” Muxin is Neutral Good: “Wow! Great game, guys. Good luck next round!” Kasane Teto is Chaotic Good: “I’m going to teabag the shit out of you, fucking campers.” Oscar is Lawful Neutral: “Requesting air support! I repeats! Requesting air support!” Kafu is True Neutral, unlike the others she does not say anything. Popy is Chaotic Neutral: “How do I crouch? …How do I know which team I’m on?” Tsurumaki Maki is Lawful Evil: “Grenade launchers are part of the game. If you don’t like it, don’t play.” Saros is Neutral Evil: “Quit bitching about kill steals. It won’t stop me.” Anri is Chaotic Evil: “Suck my dick”. End ID]

[liloinkoink]

past me thought the dnd au looked neat but not related to my interests. current me thinks WOAW!! SO COOL!! I am invested in these characters!!! ah i see what this part of the setup references hmm yes interesting... perhaps i shall watch the original videos to get more insight into this au... excellent.

anon i am so sorry to tell you this but for doomsday there are no original videos…. they ARE based off of our sands of life game but no one in doomsday posted their pov………. and none of us are posting the ctm map we did either. maruu has been slowly editing her pov of sands but it doesn’t look like it’ll be out for a good minute. i’m so sorry. we baited you

honestly this au is a little bit our way of pulling our characters away from the uh. mess? sands was? what w spine, the admin, being a complete ass to the players, making the server game atmosphere feel shitty as hell, and eventually getting outed for cheating and being removed from their own game. this au is a bit us going hey, despite eveything we DID have fun in these games and we wanna take our little guys and this nice friendship we made and do our own thing

um. that said—if you wanted to watch sands the echolocati0n pov has the most of doomsday in it!!

anyway. thank you so much for your interest and investment in the doomsday dnd au!! i’m really glad to hear you like our little guys so much. bc i am obsessed w them so bad. i plan to keep writing little oneshots for it and such and if ppl ask questions abt the au i will answer em (or bring em back to the group for answers). we’re still in the process of fleshing it out basically daily trying to work everything thru but we do have a lot more than just what’s posted so far

the short version of the inspiration is kind of just…

woven - maruu and i were soulmates (this is basically all we took from woven)

sands - the five of us teamed up for an alliance i ran which we called the doomsday cult, and the general setup and allegiances of the characters come from our actions in sands. generally—cj and i started the group (i had a doomsday prophet bit and syyrin was cj’s character for sands), chris joined later but was half in our alliance and half in another and regularly betrayed both of us (but he was allowed bc it was funny), maruu was in another alliance but was betrayed by them and joined us after we got revenge for them, and smurg joined the game late but was in our alliance from the moment they joined

ctm - the format of the au itself as a fetch quest of many pieces of the god, mabuz (based strongly off the antagonist from divinity’s end, who was called the curator and who we dubbed evil skizzleman, bc he looked like skizzleman), our general playstyles in the ctm maps. we’ll also been using each area of the divinity’s end map for the areas the dnd group will go to, but we haven’t fleshed all of those out yet

there are. def more details we got from woven/sands/ctm im forgetting but ive only been awake for like 15 minutes and i do plan to go back to sleep after answering this

but yes. thank you again so much for your interest and investment and if you have questions let us know!!

[freetobeeyouandme]

A My Little Pony Hypothesis

Wrinkle in Time posting reminding me I never actually posted my own My Little Pony hypothesis because I meant to post it as part of a larger analysis of dragons in ST and then never did. lol. Anyway, I think the thing they're referencing with WiT may be one of the kids in that book letting himself be caught by the hivemind to locate their father and then getting left behind during the rescue mission, forcing the protagonist to come back and save him with the power of love. And the MLP references in the show actually also suggest (and therefore support) this version of events.

So in the MLP episode "Escape from Midnight Castle" the ponies are attacked by the evil centaur Tirek who also kidnaps four ponies to turn them into dragons to pull his chariot so he can subjugate the whole world with his Rainbow of Darkness. His plans are stalled because one of the kidnapped ponies is too small and he can't turn it. Meanwhile the protagonist ponies go to find the Rainbow of Light and then go to Tirek's castle to free their friends. While infiltrating the castle Applejack is captured and turned into a dragon. The ponies manage to stop Tirek last minute by overtaking the Rainbow of Darkness with the Rainbow of Light, which also turns everyone back into what they were. And all the ponies lived happily ever after.

So what's that got to do with Stranger Things? Well, Dustin explicity mentions the episode in S3 when he’s arguing with Erica about her status as a nerd, because Erica is into MLP and since that has nerdy stuff like castles and dragons she is a nerd. Erica then embraces that identity, gets into DnD, and names her character after Applejack. Who then ends up defeating Vecna in the S4 game...which made me wonder whether the MLP reference is actually important foreshadowing -- and who then is represented by Applejack. Personally I think Will is most likely, because while “getting turned into a dragon” does fit Max in S4 I think Max is actually the too small pony from the initial four that get kidnapped: Vecna’s first attempt to kill her didn’t work and even the second one isn’t quite complete, he just separated her consciousness from her body by the looks of it.

This is also why I think it’ll be Will. At the end of S4 we see El trying to find Max to get her to wake up, but she can’t find her. That’s not gonna change by her trying harder in S5, so I think if they want to go find Max they need to go into Vecna/The Mindflayer’s head and find her there (and i think that may be one of the priorities in the first half of S5 because of the heavy Star Wars parallels we got elsewhere). And the only person who was part of it before is Will, so I think she’ll end up piggybacking in through his mind. Plus that would let Will’s promise of “fix it together” from 4.01 come true. It also resembles the way the ponies infiltrate the castle in MLP AND Charles Wallace letting IT control him so he can find his father. In both WiT and MLP this rescue mission doesn’t quite go the way it was intended. Applejack gets kidnapped and turned into a dragon and Charles Wallace is left behind as part of the hivemind while the other kids get out with their father. Both of them are later saved by their friends, Charles Wallace explicitly with love, and Applejack with a very thin metaphor for it. 

These themes are obviously also present in Stranger Things and people have already pointed out this similarity (and this potential plot) in relation to WiT, but I think it’s interesting to note that the DnD game which clearly foreshadows the events of S5 also references a piece of media that also has this type of plot. I also think the whole love vs. hate/anger thematic also points to Will because the topic of (romantic) love is important for his character arc in a way that it isn’t for others. El also wants love but her’s is familial and tbh with the return of Hopper I think her S5 arc will be taking the love she knows she has and turning it on Vecna. Will on the other hand is wanting, and I think vulnerable on that level -- but also a formidable foe once he realizes he can have everything he wants. Which is also a great way of involving their personal arcs and the love triangle in the supernatural plot. 

Tl, dR: I think the theory that the writers posting about WiT means Will is gonna help El find Max and then get stuck in the hivemind, needing to be rescued with (Mike’s) love are very likely because the show references an episode of MLP multiple times, including in the foreshadowing of the DnD game, in which that exact plot also happens. And I’m very excited about it because I have been turning this idea over in my head for weeks now and I love it.

[something-pithy]

Notes and an Update: The Alignment Issue

pictured above: just a regular Tuesday night at Ancunín Palace

“So with Astarion, his evil ending is actually him...much of what he does is out of fear. And as a player, you can say to him, ‘You're right to be afraid.’ And that sends him to a really horrible place, and that I think is really powerful.” -- Adam Smith, Lead Writer of BG3

I’ve been talking about my notes about alignment in D&D and BG3 and my interpretation of them in the context of an echo, a stain since before I even started with these “Notes and an Update” posts. But every week, something else has come up that I wanted to post more than my alignment notes. 

I think this might be a chronology thing. These notes seem old to me because they predate the vast majority of the story. I don’t remember the specific date I decided to write out my thoughts about the nature of “good” and “evil” as DnD 5e describes them / how they manifest in BG3, specifically in Astarion, but I know that I was scribbling notes – or whatever the keyboard version of scribbling notes is – about it since a palmful of stars / an echo a stain was just “the desired constellation.” 

This is because DnD has Things to Say about vampires and their morality, who Astarion is as a character in this series is deeply informed by what he’s willing to do to get what he wants. 

My decision to finally post these notes now is informed by a couple of main things:

The IGN interview posted this past Friday, December 15th titled “Baldur’s Gate 3 Developers Explain Its Controversial Endings, Beloved Characters, and Making the Best RPG of 2023,” wherein Adam Smith makes the statement I quote at the top of this post and

The description AO3 user fanciful included in their bookmark of the story*: 

“There's several things in here I haven't seen in other Astarion/Tav fics, so do read this if you're looking for something unique.” 

*(yeah, I’m not gonna pretend I’m so cool and unaffected that I don’t peek at who’s bookmarked the story to see what they might have said about it lol).  

When I found fanciful’s blurb, I almost immediately went to bother my phenomenal beta, Komo, (whom I’ve mentioned before and will again, and who is probably a better beta than I deserve but very much the beta this story could not exist as it does without). The gist of my question to her was OMG WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, to which her response, in part, was that she was curious as well, but that she had her own thoughts:

“I think your take on a vampire lord/ascendant's "evilness" is unique.  Like, it's not how ascendant fans who explain away his bad behavior, but also not [how] a traditional spawn fan would write him either, recognizing [there’s] nuance to the evilness.”

Which was like, SUCH a great compliment specifically because I’ve thought a lot (I mean a fuckin’ LOT) about how evil works, and how it works in this story. So here are my (abridged and ever-evolving) notes about all this, which are a very important part of the basis of my approach to Astarion’s characterization in aeas.

So first of all, the Adam Smith quote above indicates that Ascendant!Astarion’s alignment is not due to some mystical, transformative, vampire or diabolical force. It’s not the result of Mephistopheles taking his soul as part of the bargain. Any evil behavior / attitudes Ascendant!Astarion demonstrates are purely a result of his own choices, made of sound mind, body, and soul. 

The DnD 5e Monster Manual labels vampire lords specifically as lawful evil. 

Now I’m going to say here that I think the “good” and “evil” alignment binary is flawed. Yeah, there’s neutral, but that still operates as kind of a middle ground for this axis. I think something more accurate would be something referring to the good of the majority vs. self-interest, but I’m not here to get into all that. 

For expediency, I’m going to roll with the definition of evil that seems to fit what DnD 5e is going for. And according to past DnD sourcebooks (this isn’t in 5e, but 5e offers much less detail about alignment than previous editions), evil “implies hurting, oppressing, and killing others.”

So for the purposes of these notes, my interpretation of “evil” in general and specifically in terms of an echo, a stain is that a character with an “evil” alignment is willing to hurt, oppress, or kill others without compunction in order to achieve their goals. 

In my mind this doesn’t mean that they necessarily want to do those things, or enjoy them (though there’s evidence that Astarion does both at different points in-game), just that if that’s what it takes, then that’s what it takes. And they’ll do what it takes. 

Now, it’s my inclination to view RPG sourcebooks as somewhat flexible depending on what best serves to the story, but also, in-game, there’s plenty of evidence to indicate Astarion was created and written as a character whose baseline can be read, at best, as chaotic neutral, but more likely as neutral evil if we’re going by the above definition. 

So what? 

OK well, in an interview with some folks at Collider, Neil Newbon said that the “Ascendant Ending” was the one he’d kind of pictured for Astarion. 

“Actually I saw Astarion always going that route [Ascension], whereas other characters might want to [...]  help him not only survive, and thrive in a positive way.”*

From a character arc standpoint, I agree with Neil: there’s no doubt in my mind that without a good-aligned Tav, Astarion would be on Ascension like white on rice as a default. I think it’s the baseline trajectory of who he is at the start of the game. 

I also believe that it is *possible*, not a guarantee, but *possible,* that being in an environment where he’s surrounded by people who do genuinely care about him and his well-being, and yeah, with the support of a good-aligned Tav with whom he experiences deep mutual caring and connection (whether platonic or romantic), who treats him with respect, love, compassion, and care, who sees the best in him and encourages it in him / demands it of him until he can see it himself, he would not choose to go Murdertown, aka the Ascension route.

I also don’t think a high-approval, good-aligned Tav in his life, whether as a lover as a friend, precludes the possibility of Astarion choosing the Ascension route (clearly). BUT ALSO. 

I don’t believe in binaries. 

Does Astarion choosing ascension mean that suddenly all the ways in which he may have changed his perspective during the course of his adventures with a good-aligned Tav are nullified? 

I don’t think so. 

I’m willing to entertain DnD’s canonical assertion that a vampire lord’s emotions are altered by their transformation; however, I also think it’s feasible enough that Astarion’s tendencies toward obsession, paranoia, and possessiveness already existed within him prior to ascension, if to much less pronounced degrees. I think it’s entirely plausible that ascension amplified these qualities in him. but also Astarion’s decision to ascend is indicative of him embracing a worldview that is, as Smith says, deeply rooted in fear. 

This fear impacts another important element of Astarion’s character in aeas, which is the way he perceives himself. Astarion as he exists in aeas is an Astarion who as a spawn, believed he was worth nothing. Astarion as he exists in aeas also has put Tav on a very high pedestal. This is not to say he doesn’t know or love Tav for who she is – I think this Astarion knows this Tav very well. But his perceptions about her are also skewed by his perceptions about himself, and a whole bunch of other things -- including fear. 

SO when Tav leaves him, a couple of things happen in terms of his character, two of which are: 

one of his absolute worst fears is realized (that Tav will leave him, specifically because he is innately a piece of shit and she finally figured it out), and there’s nothing he can do about it. 

the realization of this fear prompts the understanding that he is not, in fact, all-powerful, therefore his power and control must be increased at any and all costs. 

the monumental scope of his power and, frankly, terrifying disposition ensure that, without Tav in his life, there is literally no one offering a different perspective as a counterweight to this fear-based thinking. 

Do I think Tav’s reemergence in Baldur’s Gate and Astarion’s life will change things for him? 

Ehhhhh, that’s a complicated question with a variety of complicated answers that all boil down to, “Well, that depends.” loooool

I don’t know if I’ve said everything I could say here, but I’m running out of steam and if I’m getting tired of writing, you must be getting tired of reading, so I’ll leave it here:

tl;dr: aeas has been and will continue to be informed from start to finish by the ideas that

Ascended Astarion is absolutely and 100% Astarion

whether or not alignment is mutable, people/characters can and do still change based on their experiences and environment.

Make of that what you will. LOOOOOL

[doom-nerdo-666]

Horror does have a place in Doom

(Mainly felt like making this post after a video by thebeansprout13, even if this comes out later because it was in my drafts for a while)

This is a very talked about, overplayed topic on Doom and it tends to repeat, sometimes because certain opinions/observations are more popular than others.

I think horror is an element in Doom and there's a lot of ways to talk about this, both in favor and against or even somewhere in the middle.

The 90's games

We all know about Doom Bible's canned ideas of the characters and story but even then, Doom is clearly inspired by Aliens, Evil Dead, DnD and so on.

But maybe this mix of inspirations (And the weird presentation of the games) means there's different things to pick apart.

If Doom was a movie, it could have been a B-movie with a goofy, campy nature and still have some eerie atmosphere or gross practical effects.

At first we have:

Some dark, suspense based music tracks.

Darker areas meant to show off lightning and "slow" moments.

Probably the default movement speed and the history behind "ALWAYS_RUN".

Doomguy being hurt in the box art and ingame status bar.

The Arch-vile's intended design of an eerie HR Giger inspired alien.

Textures like the flesh walls with metal pipes, twisted faces and some hanged corpses people thought were based on a real pic of Mussolini (But it's actually GI Joe figures).

But then there's:

The fast gameplay and combat that can happen.

Cartoony designs and assets.

The metal music (And other tracks like those that sound kinda like jazz).

The campy writing style in the manuals and intermission screens.

The presentation of Daisy's death.

Some of Doomguy's faces.

The name "BFG" and how some assets were made like using toys to make the guns.

Maybe whenever a level was clearly gimmicky and "gamey" or experimental.

The ridiculously low-tech aesthetic with blue carpet floors and maybe how Phobos' sky doesn't look like Phobos.

So it seems Doom always had a mix of elements and that's why people even argue over this, though i also see benefits of Doom being a "blank canvas" when it comes to its staying power.

Doom 64 was the more horror focused classic game with its take on Hell and some demon designs (But still not showing Doomguy's bloodied mugshot or some assets of classic Hell).

Even its theme song was barely metal (And i think John Romero really liked the PS1 port).

And D64 is also seen as "the real Doom 3" though this is a bit of a topic i mentioned in a different post.

Doom 3

A "reboot" of the series and a new entry in a time after the series was dormant (And mostly carried by fan mods).

D3 pushes things to a specific direction that John Carmack thought it was natural.

Some fans think the same, others thing it's opposite to what they expect out of Doom, some even accept it as a new thing.

D3 is much more story focused, with a bunch of cutscenes, background/lore, characters and most if it isn't goofy.

Demons are redesigned and some barely resemble their original versions (Might be because they looked "goofy" even if we have fanart that knows how to make them eerie; Meanwhile, D3's Arch-vile didn't capture the original design that much).

New demons represent a new art style that makes them "more serious and scary" or at least surreal.

The UAC stuff is still low-tech but in a more detailed, "professional" way.

Gameplay is slower, with a focus on reloading and the lantern.

Darkness focus and horror etc.

More serious tone, with little music.

D3 marine never smiles and looks worried most of the time.

Besides UAC and Hell, there's the Martians as a way to "extend" the universe but they're still mostly mysterious and not shown a lot.

The premise of a UAC marine having to fight demons after the UAC unleashing Hell is technically there, but it's also differently done from the original games (At least/specially if you look into the "lore" in the old manuals).

This game divided some fans, though a prespective i like to hear more is one that likes the idea but not so much the execution and i also always bring up how unfair it is that later versions (BFG edition and others) tend to have new problems or cut content for no reason, while not fixing certain flaws.

Because you'll still find some older fans thinking Doom was supposed to have some form of tension or horror, compared to those that prefer the fast action side of things.

Oddly enough, Hell in the series always had potential to be weird but D3, the game with the most experimental demon designs, didn't really took advantage of those elements.

At least D3 has some mods that fix some people's issues with the game, whether or not it leads to them respect the game more.

If you ask me: Doom 3's horror isn't just the dark corridors or slow "doomed" marine, but it's the crazy designs like the Bruiser having a screen on its mouth or the Revenant having transparent skin.

And i think D3 has its fair share of goofyness like the Turkey minigame (And the others in RoE that later versions deleted for no reasons) or that one fat zombie going "mmmm boy" that farts.

Doom 2016 and Eternal

D2016 is like an extreme opposite to D3: You are the horror and gameplay is more focused on movement and projectile avoiding that there's barely hitscan enemies besides the Possessed Security and maybe the Hellrazer.

Besides the arena focused combat, there's the Glory Kills, alt fires, upgrades, Mick Gordon's music, the character of the Doomslayer and so on.

But bits of D3's style are still present, speciall Mars and Hell a bit since Doom technically wasn't always "Mars" (Otherwise, more people would bring up the classic Phobos aesthetic and specific textures but even Hell still doesn't carry certain elements back).

(In fact, when D2016 was revealed, people complained about the lack of color and even said the demons looked "MOBA-ish")

The Hellknight is clearly inspired by its D3 design but one major difference is being eyeless instead of the weird eyes (Or are they sockets?) it had in D3.

Most demons have a rather "focused" aesthetic of chitin armored creatures and even lore explaining how they work or even how the UAC was involved in some being created/modified (Which may or may not affect the appeal of Hell being a weird dimension of evil that Doomguy has to put up with).

It's also somewhat known that D2016 was influenced by outside factors for Doom: The Doom comic ("Rip and tear") is obvious but there's probably other theories like anything to do with Death Battle or internet copypastas/webcomics joking about Doomguy (And i guess Brutal Doom but there's still arguements about it).

Doomslayer being a killing machine that scares demons is like an inverse to the "doomed" D3 marine: Putting classic Doomguy in the middle since he's both a strong action hero but still gets hurt (Even his portrayal in the 90's comic is like this).

The existence of D2016 is also a result of Doom 4 being cancelled: A game that was so deviated from Doom, it didn't even feel like a D3 sequel (And maybe it wasn't).

In a way, D2016's appeal relies on some bits of fanservice and at least getting basic ideas that people associate with Doom, which contrasts D3 not relying on "outside factors" but also chosing specific parts of the series while also executing them in a way that i'm not sure if it was ideal for D3 itself.

Then there's Doom Eternal, which builds up from 2016 in a lot of ways (And in was that people either like or hate it but it's still a very beloved and popular title).

The aesthetic is more colorfull and brings back some classic designs (Not entirely as they're put inside the new aesthetic), there's the concept of the "Doom universe", lots of new mechanics and a lot more to like (But also things that divided some fans).

Eternal's "videogamey" pickups were technically based on how some people thought pickups in D2016 overlapped with the environment, even if people liked how items in D2016 "existed in the setting" (Because even in classic Doom, you didn't have those kinds of pickups).

There's a lot of debates about Eternal's lore and aesthetic that leads to comparisons to 2016 but i'm thinking on making a post dedicated to that (Specially with some prespectives, opinions and stuff that most people don't consider).

Regardless, Eternal has clearly different media influences compared to the originals and feels like a different genre.

Basically, if classic Doom is a "campy B-movie", Eternal is a "saturday morning cartoon with gore" (And D3 is a serious sci-fi horror movie, i guess).

(And let's not forget: Different people are behind these games, in a series where people already interpret them in their own ways)

Sometimes, i think Doom is like the Planet of the Apes movie series:

D3 is closer to the original premise but 2016/Eternal are seem to be the more liked iteration of the series.

(Meanwhile, we have Mighty Doom as the most cartoony Doom game but in a cute way while the RPG Doom's had a different cartoonyness and sense of humor and a rather serious intro comic)

"Horror" in Doom to fans (And what else)

If you look at some pieces of fanart (Or even fan redesigns) and some mods, there's definitely an appeal of Doom being more horror focused and tense, even without affecting certain designs or the personality.

It's why one could not only defend D3 but even think that D3's issue isn't being different but rather doing a flawed job at its own direction.

Because 2016/Eternal also have their own differences from the original games but they seem to mostly nail their own direction.

I even see "horror" complement the "power fantasy" concept of modern Doom: Making Hell weirder and stranger, which makes Doomguy/Slayer feel even stronger.

Because "horror" as a concept can mean a lot: Not just dark corridors or walking slow, but it can lead to really interesting designs that make Hell feel threatning and weirdly creative.

After all, if it's possible to make a game out of "fans want a Doomguy that is more powerfull and the gameplay is fast", i don't see why we couldn't have one that is "fans want a tense, bone chilling experience and the demons look scary but still cool", even if you see those cool fan redesigns as better than what we got in D3.

(I like to believe that different types of Doom can coexist)

Even D3 haters may find or cherrypick some parts of the game they like (Which also makes me think it's another good reason why MetaDoom is a really cool mod).

I believe it should be possible to make a game that has elements of both "paths" represented, even if it means like a level with disturbing environments and then you find a goofy collectable toy in a secret.

I also said this before but i kinda get D3 hate coming from older fans but not people who got into the series at 2016 and after, because you technically "skipped" the "dark age" that some fans went through.

How hated D3 really is depends on which opinions or mindset overcome the others, because fanbases and hobbies almost tend to have an "anglicized canon" that is rather pushed by some specific people.

Anyway, i tried to add as much i could in this post but i'd like if someone like a Youtuber or older fan were to analyze this and even add more to this or correct potential flaws.

It's a topic that could be more explored, because even people that argue "Doom was always X" overlook elements that support their claims.

Other links to check, i guess.

How i think a good D3 re-release could be.

Doom 3 power ups and Doom 3 enemy roster rant.

"Doom 3 alternatives" for some picky fans.

The D2RPG intro comic.

Bunch of stuff related to Quake and Wolfenstein.

"Remastering" the 90's Doom games.

How a Doom movie or show could be good.

I mean, there's more on this blog but these could be good enough.

[bitchesgate3]

When they softened all the characters and removed how prevalent the evil ex storylines were supposed to be, it had the biggest impact on every evil woman in the game.

Making Lae'zel and Shadowheart softer meant that you no longer had something to compare to all the evil women side characters you would encounter afterward. Lae'zel is ready to kill you at any moment and questions everything you do. Shadowheart clearly is keeping something from you and you don't know whether its a foreboding premonition or a ceremonial knife.

If you could deal with Lae'zel, for example, you'd be able to deal with Kagha.

Then on top of that - removing the romance plot between Mizora/Wyll and Mystra/Gale and only giving us the perspective of the male companions ensured the ladies would never get a chance to be seen as anything other than "sexy woman who evilly tempts man".

Wyll's story was near completely rewritten so all of Mizora's potential character went out the window in place of evil handler/boss motif. And Mystra is constantly said to be in the right in her scenes' devnotes, but we never get a chance to learn how a goddess falls in love with a man. There is a story there. And potentially could have made her more interesting than old dnd where she was once referred to as "The Wh*re" by the main antagonist.

Last of my ramble is a moment in the game where your experience with annoying and irritating women would have paid off if the narrative direction of the game hadn't changed.

In Act 1 in the underdark, you run into a dwarf woman whose husband is lost amongs bibberbangs. She seems not to care of him, is kind of a pain to talk to, and as exhausting to talk to as she sounds.

In Act 3 in the launch version of the game, if you saved her husband and healed him, you learn why she was such a pain to talk to. This moment felt very on the nose, and I think it would have been more subtle and rewarding if more of the EA version of the game survived to launch.

It's like someone read the old script, realized the motif, and decided to just spell it out for the audience (which happens a lot in Act 2 and 3) instead of actually finishing out the story.

It's clear to me that the game always had a plot line of unpleasant women being more than meets the eye. This plot got watered down in launch version, which is an absolute shame. But it is the biggest reason why I fell in love with this game, and why it will always be my unshakeable canon.

[artistic-moth-man]

So I've been wondering if I should make this update post and I decided I'm gonna

Basically it's just to let you guys all know what exactly is going on in my unmedicated ADHD Brain by explaining every single project of mine that's currently in the works. pretty much nothing in this list is released yet so don't go looking for them

Starting off with stuff I'm collaborating with others on

Danny and the Light - an original graphic novel on webtoon that got cancelled and is getting rebooted (don't get excited though we're taking our time with it) with @stormcloudquill

Chrysalis Chronicles - An original illustrated novel or graphic novel (i haven't decided) that's ripping off/fixing all the things wrong about harry potter; with @thekrazykitsune

Mincraft Diaries - Yep! Aphmau's Minecraft Diaries, rekindled and made into fanfiction and/or a graphic novel (probably both) and this one will actually have an ending; also with @thekrazykitsune

Avatar: Lion Turtle Heart - a fanfic graphic novel about a firebending avatar after korra named Akira working to unravel the mysteries of her past self, Avatar Kazu, and his death that even she can't comprehend, as well as the strange appearance of a baby lion turtle that Akira now has to care for. Doing this with @mayday396

now for fanfic works I'm doing alone

Legend of Emily Windsnap - Rebooting Emily Windsnap's story in fanfiction form. this fic is actually going to be released some time this or next year (hopefully this year but shit's hitting the fan on my life currently) and book 1 is actually near finished!

Digidestined Diaries - a reboot of seasons 1-4 of Digimon in either fic or graphic novel form. may or may not do this with stormcloud, but I'm not sure. the thing that makes this so special is that tamers and frontier take place in the same universe as adventure. yes, takato meets Tai, and no it does not go well for the others involved

Wizard101, The Legacy of Atlas - telling a story heavily based off the first arc of Wizard101 quests with a balance wizard as a main character, featuring the friends they make and the enemies they face as the chosen one to defeat Mallistaire. this will absolutely be in fic form, most likely with illustrations

Bloom's Magic, Beta writing - a written fanfic reboot of Winx Club as a beta version of the story I planned with Storm. the comic version of BM is currently on the backburner and is gonna have some differences to the written version, but it'll be something I promise

Finally, some original works that I plan on publishing!

Chronos and Kalayah - a Time Traveler named Chronos rushes around time looking for their best friend, an immortal named Kalayah. the two of them constantly avoid the temporal police while simultaneously helping Kalayah survive being a black lesbian in American history. likely only going to consist of one book and have a novel and graphic novel form

Call My Soul - a Magic Girl series featuring Blake Janes, an ordinary boy who stumbles upon an alien named Alexandrite. Alex is tasked with keeping safe the artifacts of the ancient magical shogunate, whose spirits end up choosing Blake and his gal pals to protect themselves from the evil prince Tsukuyomi, who wants nothing more than the artifacts. this graphic novel gets really gay really fast so strap in when it comes out

Roll For Adventure - a young boy named Matt who loves playing DnD is isekai'd into a land straight out of Lord Of The Rings, and he is absolutely stoked. while he is looking for a portal back home, his elf friend Sequoia and Orc friend Yevelda help him fight his way through the coming war between the eight races. Fun Fact; I use my dice to help the characters make decisions. even major story beats are going to be up to my D20!

Lucifer the Good - this story is precious to me, and hard to describe. it involves four kids being isekai'd into a world filled with magical monsters and elemental creatures, being guided by a young voice to find secret angels, all while villainous demons under King Devil work to stop the kids from ever leaving this new world. even worse, the human kids are the only ones who can undo the vile curse on the land of magic.

that's all the stories that I'm actively working on, but I do have at least 10 more that I'm leaving on the backburner to focus on these ones! Call My Soul is also getting very little attention, but I am actively working on it! I'm seriously hoping at least one of my original works will be released to the public by 2025, but again, life is crazy. anyway, my next few posts are gonna involve Digidestined Diaries while I work on finishing up Emily Windsnap Book 2 and finalize book 1. there's only one change I wanna make, then I'll get to releasing it to AO3 and Wattpad! I promise, at least one of these will be worth the wait :3

[goosemixtapes]

max's favorite online reads* of 2024

*instructions unclear; included burrow's end

started cataloguing the short stories/articles i read online this year, so have a companion to the top ten books post! in vague order of reading:

On Sensitivity, Sadness, and Noticing Things by Charlie Squire (nonfiction essay) ("I’m very sensitive. I wouldn’t even say I’m particularly empathetic or understanding, just very sensitive. Everything seems so excruciatingly full of detail that I can never wholly take in or fully express that it leaves me impossibly frustrated, sometimes to the point of tears.")

Dropout's Burrow's End (DND show) (i fucking LOVE a talking animal story i fucking LOVE a xenofiction and the horror in this series is so fantastic. aabria iyengar the woman that you are)

Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole by Isabel J. Kim (speculative short story) (what it sounds like. isabeljkimheads stand UP)

Haunted Home by Conrad Loyer (speculative short story) ("The ship features a recreation of a slave ship's hold. The cruise prides itself on it. It is not a good recreation, if the metric is realism." one of my clarion west friends wrote this & i do firmly believe he's one of the most talented emerging writers out there)

Freedom of Sex by Angela Long Chu (nonfiction essay) (on why trans kids should be allowed to change their sex. one of the best pieces of trans journalism i've read)

City of Red Midnight: A Hikayat by Usman T. Malik (fantasy novella) (NESTED STORIES! TRICKSTER CHARACTERS! QUESTIONABLY EVIL WOMEN!)

Other Worlds and This One by Cadwell Turnbull (sci-fi short story) (on alternate universes and brothers. made me cry)

And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker (sci-fi novella) (a murder mystery set at a convention for dozens of alternate-universe versions of sarah pinsker)

Fandom For Witches by Ruoxi Chen (speculative short story) (the best and, dare i say, only work out there about fandom culture. i can't say what it is without spoilers but chen wrote this story in like 2019 and predicted something VERY very funny)

Umberto Eco's Ur-Fascism (nonfiction essay) (for some reason i thought this was going to be much denser/less accessible, but it's quite straightforward and worth a read for everyone imo)

Twenty-Seven, Genius Loci by B. Pladek (sci-fi short story) (idk about you, but if i created a serum that let me revisit past years of my life in synesthetic symbolism, i would definitely get really weird about it.)

[thattransgay]

Some refs of my DND characters that I made for ArtFight! The top right is my artificer, Cylas, top left is my bard, Maverick, and the bottom two are the human and changeling versions for my evil bard Elric! I have more info about them on my ArtFight page!

[akystaracer22]

Shittiest thing in my breakup is that I had to drop out of 3 different DnD campaigns because they were either ran by them, or all their friends were in it and none of mine. In honor of that: Here's the concepts and stuff of both the 2 OC's who I have to recycle now, and the campaign that I used to run.

Rowan Horace Harlequin: Created in the thick of my playthroughs of Baldurs Gate 3, this character was a mindflayer echo knight fighter. He was inspired by Balduran, but he was a better person. His alignment fluctuated depending on when he last ate, going from Lawful Neutral (normal) to Lawful Evil (just ate a guy). He was also going to take 4 levels in trickery cleric on account for the party had no healer. He used to be a Mindflayer Creedmaster before breaking free of the Elderbrain, and he was married to one of the homebrew gods (who happened to be a dragon).

He wasn't a bad person, but he needed to do bad things to survive. He did genuinely want to help the party though, and keep them safe. Shittiest thing that happened was that I had to miss out on a session (during that time I broke up with my partners) and when we were still trying the "lets just be friends" thing, I came back and then Chickadee's character (Untrusting asshole of a shadow monk who only cared for herself and was a major fucking hypocrite about murder) gave my character shit for disappearing for a bit... because I wasn't at the table... so Starling (the DM) decided my character was out hunting for food during that time. I was punished for shit I wasn't even there for.

Arthur: He was supposed to be a take on King Arthur, and highlighted the horror of child heroes. He was 17 (I wanted him to be younger but Chickadee refused) and was a Human Bladebound. It was a custom class that Chickadee had made, and in three years it has gone through 5 different revisions and has literally never been completed. The biggest gimmick of the class was the swords bound to you (mine was supposed to be Excalibur). I ended up creating the way this stayed good for late game, where you could consume magical artifacts like Gale but add the abilities to your sword. Arthur was going to start out relatively innocent, aside from being on the run from his homeland because he didn't want to be king yet and a lot of corrupt nobles wanted his head.

The reason I wanted him younger (14-15) was to highlight that he was still a kid, one that had his whole childhood taken from him. Scenes where the party would go to a bar or tavern for information and he'd have to stay outside because he was too young, stuff like that. To this day, I've felt a growing itch to make a version of the Bladebound class myself to play it, because I know Chickadee won't complete it for years if ever because every time they get close they make another revision. That campaign never ended up happening because Chickadee refused to run it until the whole class (7 subclasses) was completed, even though 3 players had the subclass. I ended up getting kicked from the campaign because I didn't message her for a month after the breakup.

Lucky Chance: This was my campaign, but every single one of the players were either my exes, or my exes best friends. It was a Las Vegas style campaign, set in my own homebrew world. It was in a city called Paradise Lost located in the dessert, and was run by 7 demons. Each demon parodied a sin, and the whole city knew they were demons. They just didn't care. It was also inspired slightly by Honkai Star Rail's Penacony. The final villain was a harvester demon, Vuxarik, who ran the Casino of Many things. The prize for climbing the tables and winning big enough on the high table is a chance to draw from the deck of many things. The Casino is decorated with the names of the ruined, every unlucky soul that has drawn from the deck and been destroyed by it. The game is rigged of course, because Vuxarik has all of the most powerful cards. Of course I can't run it anymore for obvious reasons, which is a shame. I might remake it though once I find some better people.

[astrummorte-m]

kingscyrus replied: .............. give me the stats, I WANNA KNOW. LMAFO

if you say so, my guy (gnc)

tumblr blog #1, astrummorte:

mostly ocs, though the ones that are of note for my canons are yae miko, xemnas, diluc, dottore, kaeya, sora, roxas, kafka, aqua, ardyn izunia, paimon, man in the moon / manny, cloud strife, nicholas d. wolfwood, kaveh, and boothill.

tumblr blog #2, corfolli:

these r literally ALL OF MY NEAR CANON CHARACTERS. like. adherence to guidelines and rules and codes alike. aside from my bg3 characters, who follow a weird timeline <3. that being said, ezio auditore de firenze, gale dekarios, wyllyam ravengard, halsin silverbough, high harper jaheira, vax'ildan vessar, keyleth of the air ashari, ren amamiya, and futaba sakura.

tumblr blog #3, betonrcd: my super canon divergent aventurine of strategems, from honkai star rail. he has a pet kitten and is adoptive family of decima sangsters (novastrae) and my kaveh's hsr verse.

tumblr blog #4, tenarcana: my BIG GUY. my LOVE. the one who DESERVES THE WORLD. my longest term oc from a canon character, kairos rian serif. please bug him i beg of you

tumblr blog #5, foughtbelief: my kh dnd dmpc that i was "forced" to make tag along because my FUCKING PARTY got attached to him :sadge:. he's just a little guy your honor

tumblr blog #6, carrusidae: god/deity of youth, joy, revelry, and laughter. simple blog, meant for only lightheartedness.

tumblr blog #7, spellwound: bg3 tav made complicated w time travel and messing with the d20 of the universe babey

tumblr blog #8, memorieskept: buncha my ocs in one spot whenever i wanna mess w them tbh

tumblr blog #9, whcnimdone: self insert bg3 tav. uwu

tumblr blog #10, vcltaic: MY BELOVED VILLAIN HSR OC love that evil horrible woman who is evil for a good reason <3

tumblr blog #11, memenatura: my ffxiv wol oc whomst i love dearly

as for discord~ oh gosh. okay. let's go.

final fantasy series: cid highwind (ff7), aerith gainsborough (ff7), sephiroth (im recognized by this guy dont fucking talk to me dog), tidus (ff10) , yuna (ff10), lulu (ff10), fran (ff12), lightning (ff13), fang (ff13), vanille (ff13), noel (ff13-2)

kingdom hearts series: riku, marluxia, kairi (briefly), foreteller ava, ephemer, strelitzia, xion, namine (briefly), ventus (briefly)

pokemon series: lots of protags, but. u know. touko (bw), n (bw; briefly), kris (crystal), the jp manga version of blue (the girl, not the rival. the one who fucking hates birds), dawn (dpp), cynthia (dpp), summer (pr:gs), emmet (bw2/post-loa), rosa (bw2), blanche (p!go), selene (sm/usum), nessa (swsh; briefly)

a lot more??????? there's. i'm everywhere, man.

gonna be real with you dog, thinking about this made my head hurt. /lh

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tag @thecomfywriter! I'm catching up on these, I swear!

OC Fun Facts Tag 🎲

So, I'm gonna switch this up a little and talk about some dnd characters of mine, both previous and present :)

Silvield of Purple Marsh (lv 9 mastermind gnome rogue):

Had a pet Crawling Claw (disembodied undead hand) that she used to pick people's pockets

She hid in a pickle barrel once to avoid a fire

She was a snake oil salesman (and occasional drug dealer) who kept her stash within her coat, so whenever she got KOed, I would roll to see if anything fell out

Her bestie was a paladin with an evil horse

She grew up in a cult that hated any form of material wealth

Gillaria Half-Haru (lv 10 battlesmith artificer/gunslinger fighter half-elf):

Despite her abyssmal charisma, she would stop to preach the good word of the god of innovation at every town, which would usually result in tomatoes getting thrown at her

She killed someone with a rat once after getting kidnapped in an alleyway

She had two robots named Aenira and Anatolious which she treated like her children

She also had a gun haunted by the soul of an ancient red dragon that she bought off a demon. Eventually, she put that soul into an airship, making it a haunted dragon ship

She's my only character to ever be perma-killed. Such a feat was accomplished when she created a fantasy death laser, put it in the hands of Anatolious, went to investigate the engine of the airship they were attacking, and then lost track of time. Truly, she died as she lived - not letting that 20 int get in the way of some truly terrible decision-making skills.

Tiany Treewalker (lv 15 wild magic barbarian/battlemaster fighter earth genasi):

She competed in a professional roller derby/wrestling circuit under the name Sailor Doom

Her 7 wis didn't keep her from running an interplanar drug cartel of cranium rats

Her brain was mostly made of concrete due to some time travel shenanigans

At one point, she absorbed another version of herself from a different universe named Rhonda and gained the ability to choose between the giant and wild magic subclasses when she raged

She did end up losing two limbs by the end of the campaign. Her prosthetic leg was made from the wood of a broom of flying, so she could fly, but only while balancing on one foot

She was a medical doctor

Lady 3250 (lv 3 creation bard autognome and my current character):

Her bardic focus isn't music, but rather, graffiti. She loves breaking and entering into the fanciest places she can find to put up her art

She flirted a dragon into doing the tango by sculpting a hot lady dragon statue and throwing her voice to make it sound like it was talking

While she is in a spelljammer game, she visited the Forgotten Realms and introduced disco

She's a Big Gnome XL brand autognome, which just means that she's medium-sized. She was not designed to be sentient, but she is anyways

Despite having terrible strength and wearing permanent stiletto heels, she has never rolled below an 18 on an athletics check so far

I realize now that a disproportionate amount of my dnd characters sell drugs. Anyways, disregarding that, I'll tag @dungeonsandblorbos @the-golden-comet @orions-quill @leahnardo-da-veggie and anyone else who wants to play :)