#I'll be introducing the characters one by one

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

Nah, you didn't step on my toes, good point bringing up that Katniss begins her story by waking up alone without her sister. I think that also goes to show you can do cliché beginnings (main character waking up at the story of a book is a cliché that many ppl advise you against doing) and still have an impactful story.

"No matter how fantastical the rest of your story is, no matter how important the plot is, the basics are always going to be human relationships." is a really solid point.

I also think just starting with a scene and going from there is good advice. It might not be the very beginning of the actual story but it'll give you a foundation to build off of from there.

I think readers can be trusted more than most novice authors give them credit as well. Just showing a character going through their daily routine (even if their daily routine is different than a reader's routine) will show a lot about the world itself and the reader can learn through observing it.

okokok: what about an original fiction do you need to know early into the story? Like, what features are important in establishing connection to the lore and characters?

[ddwcaph-game]

Hello everyone!

As I mentioned earlier, I'll be sharing more information about the new EXP/NP mechanic! Hopefully this should tide you all over while you wait for the next update. 😊

What's the new mechanic about?

Before I begin, let me preface this by saying that I plan to keep DDWCaPH! character-focused and NOT a stats-focused game. In fact, I've designed the new mechanics to be as simple and as unobtrusive to the story as possible, with the side effect of making some of the current traits/souvenirs with overloaded effects simpler.

The old EXP System

Alright, so the EXP system has always been kind of an afterthought (since leveling up from 12 to 13 takes very long). It feels like gaining EXP has no point at all, especially when you get more bonuses from acquiring traits and discovering trinkets.

With the introduction of NP, I tried to solve this by increasing your Max NP whenever you earn a certain amount of EXP. I still wasn't satisfied, but now that there's an NP mechanic, I was finally able to think of a solution to that, along with another problem I had: How do I introduce the special interactions from Ancestry/Heritage Traits without being too jarring? It would be weird if Dragon MC can suddenly just fly, and it would also be weird if they always knew they could.

I didn't go with a traditional leveling up system at first, since I wanted to keep the age = level thing, until I realized that it doesn't have to be MC leveling up, it could be the locket instead!

Introducing: Locket Upgrades!

Starting the next update, earning EXP will now level up your locket! Leveling up increases your Max NP, and gives you 1 Locket Upgrade point to spend.

Since I don't want it to be distracting, you can only spend the upgrade points at the end of every chapter. I'm also including a chapter summary in the next update (instead of just the end-of-playthrough summary), so that felt like a natural, non-disruptive place to put the Locket Upgrade menu. I might change it so that you can upgrade whenever in the VN version, but that's how it'll be for now.

What kind of upgrades can I get?

The Locket Upgrades are divided into 4 categories:

Stat Upgrades

Narrativium Upgrades

Relationship Upgrades

Special Upgrades

Here's a preview of what the upgrade menu looks like:

Most upgrades can be upgraded up to ten times. So if something says +2%, the maximum would be +20%. However, to encourage spreading out your points and not just dump all of them into Knowledge, the upgrades will have level restrictions.

The 2nd upgrade is unlocked at Level 5, the 3rd upgrade at Level 10, while the 10th upgrade is unlocked at Level 100. This will most likely change, but you'll be able to reach Level 20 at around 90,000 EXP, while Level 100 can be reached around 1,300,000 EXP (the original EXP required to level up from 12 to 13).

The first four stat upgrades (the Rubescent ones) will have a different name according to your locket's gem, and your locket shape will determine whether you get Heartful Innocence or Starful Sophistication (I'm only showing both for demo purposes).

I didn't want it to be overwhelming, so some of the upgrades are locked until you finish certain chapters, when they become relevant.

I tried to add a variety of upgrades for each playstyle, so even if you don't spend any NP, you can still benefit from the upgrades.

Special Upgrades

The Special Upgrades category is way too long to show here, so here's a list of all the upgrades instead. All of the genre-exclusive upgrades are only unlocked once you finish Volume 1 (you get upgrades for both your favorite genres), but most of them are one-time upgrades (that cost 5 upgrade points to unlock).

Here's where you unlock the special interactions. I've always planned Fairytale MC to be able to talk to animals, but now I can avoid the "jarring" problem: now you need to unlock "Aesop's Wisdom" to be able to do so. This also has the bonus of making the progression feel more "earned", rather than MC being able to automatically talk to animals just because you picked Fairytales as your fave genre.

Some of the special upgrades are just stat bonuses, but that allows me more freedom to spread out the effects of the more complicated traits/trinkets. Most souvenirs now have less/weaker effects at the beginning (which helps avoid the problem of overwhelming the reader during the prologue), but you will be able to upgrade them later to be much more powerful. This delayed upgrade means I can add more fun effects to the souvenirs without worrying about "this is way too powerful for the first chapter".

The upgraded Ancestry traits (the "+" versions) that you get when you choose fantasy are now called Legacy Traits, and is now locked behind the "Daddy's Legacy" upgrade. Meanwhile, all sources of Enhanced Senses are now temporary. Enhanced Senses was way too polarizing (you also had no idea which traits grant it), so now everyone has the option to unlock it permanently after Volume 1.

Closing Thoughts

I've always loved coming up with game mechanics ever since I was very little, which is how the idea of MC pretending to be in an RPG came to be. I'm not spoiling what the other upgrades do for now, but I guess you can always peek at the code later. I did have a lot of fun brainstorming the upgrade effects and the upgrade names. You can tell I got some of them from TV Tropes.😄

That said, I hope this makes you more excited for the next update! Most of this has been coded already (minus the parts you can't unlock yet), so you don't need to worry about that. I really think tying the story and game mechanics this way will make the overall game experience much better.

Let me know what you guys think! I'd also love to know what kind of upgrades you'd want to focus on (or if you have any speculations about what effects the other upgrades do)!

[ace-and-sleepdeprived]

1 and 14 for my mi asks! ✅

why of course!! thank you for the ask :D

1. favorite movie? probably rogue nation, but fallout is a very close second. for how objectively dark the syndicate is as a villain, rogue nation is just. such a fun film?? easily one of the funniest in the franchise. [see: the car chase in morocco for some of the funniest m:i material] i think the main reason why i like it so much is all the benji and ethan content, and generally all the team content we get. plus it’s the first introduction of ilsa and i adore her, i freakin love rogue nation so much.

BUT DON'T KNOCK FALLOUT. it is a direct sequel to rogue nation and it expands so much on all of the stuff the previous film established, while also continuing the character-centered focus. fallout is a lot darker in my eyes and still emotionally hurts me [hunley my beloved he did NOT deserve to die :(((((] everything about it is just. so fucking good?? the stunts, the characters, everything. basically ghost protocol through fallout was where the series peaked.

14. HEADCANONS!!! most of mine are. pretty silly but i'll share them regardless!

i believe with all of my heart that ethan is definitely still a theater kid [in spite of all the retconning they've done you can take theatre major ethan out of my cold dead hands] and i think he does enjoy musicals. his favorites would probably be fiddler on the roof, les misérables, and hadestown. he has 100% cried during all of them.

benji enjoys horror, but only horror games because he cannot handle horror movies. he pondered for an entire week after playing mouthwashing for the first time.

luther is a foodie. he knows all the best places to eat in london because of how much time they've spent there, and he keeps an entire list of all of them that the team is still working through.

ilsa was briefly a film major, but she's still a sleeper cinephile. she doesn't seem like that kind of person at first glance, but once you start watching something with her and she starts pointing out different things like dialogue, camerawork, lighting, etc etc. it can either be very interesting or very annoying.

brandt has a surprising amount of knowledge about wildlife and he often startles the team whenever he mentions that the random bird they saw was actually a graylag goose.

hunley is a deceivingly good artist. like. the man paints and does printmaking in his spare time and his pieces are fucking gorgeous. he's had his stuff displayed before in small art galleries when he was in college but he unfortunately had to drop art as a career because of parental pressure, but he still does a lot of art in his spare time.

grace likes to collect trinkets, mainly vinyl pins. she's stolen so many from unsuspecting ita bags.

paris got introduced to cookie run kingdom and got into it way faster than she'd like to admit. it's mainly dark cacao cookie's fault.

degas would 100% be the one to bring a stray cat into the safehouse. actually he has done that before and he named her stormy cause she was grey. she's now the unofficial mascot of their team.

[herald-divine-hell]

It is a bit amusing that the orientalism and Islamophobic depiction of the Qun and the Qunari is only know being brought up in the context of DATV, despite the very foundations of the Qun, and many other Qunari characters in the game are bult on orientalism, Islamphobia, and oversexualization.

It should not be ignored that particularly only the Qun display an extensive totalitarian police-state, where dissension is snubbed out, and dissenters quickly "re-educated" back into what the Qun considers obligatory. This was elements introduced way before Veilguard, and spoken with little condemnation over the Qun's relationship as the historical inspiration of Islam with Europe, but, in a sense and in my own view, instead an offering for the, primarily, white Westerner, to proudly denounce the "Other" of Thedas, and display how effectively superior Thedasian culture is over the Qun.

So, yes. Does Veilguard no doubt have problems with orientalism and Islamphobia? Yes. But I'll argue the older games were far, far more worse in their depiction and utilization of racist tropes, caricatures, and historical interactions with the MENA region, the Islamic faith, its history, and the greater Asian world as a whole. Since the very beginning, the Qun was meant to be the great "Other".

Honestly, if BioWare did the most barebones reading of the Quran as they did with the Bible, it may have been better than whatever the hell the Qunari are meant to be (at the same time, the theological depicition of Andrastanism makes ill-sense to me, though I do think certain lines such as a "learned child is a blessing onto his parents and onto the Maker."). Afterall, the Quran is clear that coercion or compulsion of faith is forbidden; that the Believers [the historically accurate term to Muhammad's direct followers, the mu'minun] are forbidden from being hostile to polytheistic groups that did not attack, discriminate, or oppress them for their faith.

"There is no coercion in religion. Sound judgment has become clear from error. So whosoever disavows false deities and believes in God has grasped the most unfailing handhold, which never breaks. And God is Hearing, Knowing." [The Cow, 2:256]. "Believers, when you fight in the way of God, be discriminating. Do not say to one who greets you with “Peace!” “You are not a believer!” You aspire to the goods of this world, but with God are many riches. You were like them in the past, but God conferred his favor on you. So scrutinize carefully. God is aware of what you do. [The Pilgrimage, 22:17] He endorsed those who fought because they had been wronged, and in truth God is able to aid them—those who were expelled from their homes unjustly, solely for saying our lord is God. Had God not checked one people with another, then monasteries, churches, oratories and places of worship wherein God is much mentioned would have been razed to the ground. God aids those who aid him. God is powerful, mighty. [The Pilgrimage 22:39-40] Perhaps God will create love between you and those among whom were your enemies. God does not forbid you, with regard to those who have not fought you over religion nor expelled you from your homes, from being righteous and just toward them, for God loves those who are just. [The Woman Tested, 60:7-8] Fight in the path of God those who enter into combat against you, but do not commit aggression. God does not love aggressors. [The Cow, 2:190]

Whose discourse is more beautiful than one who summons others to God, and performs good deeds, and proclaims, “I am a monotheist”? Good and evil are not equal. Repel the latter with the highest good, and behold, your enemy will become a devoted patron. [Distinguished, 41:33-34]

The ultimate problem is as I said before--the Qun are simply meant to be the great Other, the barbarian enemy of the majority of people in Thedas, without the real ability to actively engaged with its philosophical intentions and ideas in an understanding manner. No matter what, the Qunari's viewpoint of the world is black-and-white. Sure, you can argue the Quran's own viewing of the world has a shade of that, too - typically within its soteriology, where the Quran is inclusive of monotheists, limited in doctrinal beliefs, and exclusive to polytheism - but even then, the Quran understands complexity. It ordains to its listeners that the ultimate judge is not humanity, but God. It reminds Muhammad that he is only just a messenger, that he only brings forth the message, and it is to God who will judge, not him. He cannot force anyone to believe, and he should not burden himself with that reality. (Though, even there is complexity as he had a role of political leadership as well, but on matters on belief and disbelief, the Quran reminds Muhammad constantly that such judgement is God’s alone.) The Qun is not given that complexity, does not have it within its doctrinal foundation for pluralism that is adored in the Quran as one of the signs of God. This brutal viewpoint reeks of post-Umayyad and Abbasid scholarly interpretation regarding Islam, as well as European Christian views of Islam as the oppressive faith of slavers and conquerors. This is the foundation of the Qun, established well before Veilguard or even Inquisition. Yet when this is discussed, so much of the fandom hand-waved it away, made excuses, try to say that I’m overthinking it, or worse even indulged it (the oversexualization of the Qunari by the fandom at large).

[rocksibblingsau]

How did you come up with the idea for I'm Gonna Make This Place Your Home? What was the process like?

So the initial idea of "What if Barb adopted Branch" was a random idea I got after I got deeper into the fandom. I came into the fandom thanks to the third movie showing up on my TikTok feed and did a deep dive into the other movies and media and fell in love with the second movie and the different tribes. I love fun villains and Barb was really fun. I don't know why I thought she'd be the perfect big sister for Branch, I think I was trying to combine a fix it AU with my favorite character.

After I had the initial idea of Barb adopts Branch, I ran to AO3 and couldn't really find anything that fit what I was looking for. There really weren't any fics that had Branch being adopted by anyone other than the bros.

I sat on it for a day or so and went "What the heck, what if I just wrote a lil bit of how I thought that would go?" and wrote the first chapter. I had intended for it to stay private and it'd be something I'd tinker around with randomly but after writing it I went "What if I put this out there?"

I sat on it for a day or so and went "Oh alright, I'll post this." and put it up on AO3 on anonymous. I started getting comments and I decided to put out the Poppy intermission. I was getting a lot of good reception on a fic I thought would get a max of 7 kudos so I decided to try and put out a few more chapters.

When I was working on the third chapter or so, I stopped and went "Okay, I guess I'm doing this. I need an actual plan."

I sat down and opened up a word document and just started typing vague plans for the fic. I decided when and how Branch would get his colors back, what would happen with the movies and a few other milestones I wanted in the fic, like the one year anniversary. I cannot stress how vague the initial plan was.

As I started putting out the next few chapters, I began to plan more thoroughly. I went over how I wanted characters to get introduced, scenes I'd like to write and the lore of the world. I have a very messy notepad of just random bits and pieces. Some chapters were just made up on the spot, some I put a little more thought into. The more I wrote, the more I started to figure out the scenes I did and didn't want in the fic.

I still have things very vague. Right now I couldn't tell you when we'll get to the first movie except that it's looking like chapter 80+ now. Some big events I also still have no plan for, while others have a vague concept and "wing it" underlined in red. I kind of let the characters lead the way a bit, which is how Billy became so relevant and how Dickory got introduced. The original outline had 0 Dickory and that's a shame.

A lot of the ideas I get come to me from very vague ideas that I think would make a cute chapter or I think are needed. Branch's hang out day with Barb for example, I knew I wanted Branch to try to hang out with Barb in a special way, and I sat down and tossed around some fun ideas for the two to do. Branch almost did bumper cars instead of laser tag, which would've been a shame because laser tag is his THING!

Some chapters are made because I want to share lore or world building. Branch's school for example, I thought it would be fun to show off what Rock School is like, as well as show how Branch would react to that environment. The New Years chapter as well, I had random world building ideas and wanted to show them off.

Sometimes I have ideas that just don't make the cut, and I have to consider what makes for a good story. One of my initial drafts for Barb bringing Branch home included a song, but I looked at it and went "Branch asked her not to sing, and I think Barb respects that. Barb wouldn't do this, I just wanted to see it." Some scenes are cool but make the fic a little clunky. I save them in a word doc just in case, and so I can look at them later.

A lot of ideas I get by turning on music and just daydreaming about the characters and letting my mind wander.

I think one of the most helpful things to my writing is experiences. The arcade chapters I drew from a trip I took to an arcade, and if I'd never went, I might not have come up with the idea of having Branch go to an arcade. Not every chapter is an experience I've had, I've never gone to a haunted house, but I did get scared at a house I went to on halloween as a kid and I ran outta there so fast.

I think for me there's a middle ground of planning. If I had no plan for the ending, I think I would have gotten demotivated and quit writing. If I planned everything too much, I think I'd get frustrated with it as I came up with new and better ideas that there were no room for. Right now there's still a lot of wiggle room for changes in the fic.

[apprendere]

SVSSS balls

Okay, horrible thought to do fake math and statistics on. (I'm not actually following the math too closely, feel free to riff, correct, vibe check, etc.)

balls are used as a measurement for two things in SVSSS

We have the character Six Balls, who was as big as six balls when he was born right? So, one ball should weigh (with a lot of hidden assumptions) about 16.7% of of the total weight of six balls. average weight for a baby is about 3.5 kg or 7.7ish lb.

Putting these facts together, one ball should weigh about 0.58 kg which I'm rounding up to 0.6 kg here because I've already introduced a lot of error with assuming demon babies would be roughly equivalent to human baby weights, and also that Six Balls was an average sized baby. He was named for his size after all, he could have been a premie or a chonker, we don't know.

Anyway, we still have no idea what these balls are made of and therefor no idea what the density is, which means we still cannot tell what size they are.

So in absence of that, I'm going to use the density of room temperature water because what I wanted to use was average density of a human body but that varies WILDLY but definitely includes neutral buoyancy in water.

So, 0.6 kg of room temperature water means 600 square centimeters of water which makes a sphere approximately 10.5 centimeters in diameter.

Which brings us to the other thing in SVSSS that gets measured in balls.

Binghe's cock.

The actual quote (seven seas translation anyway, don't know if it varies) talks about the circumference not diameter, but whatever.

At this point I invite you to find a ruler and compare the size of your fist to 10.5 cm.

...

Anyway for another angle, and ignoring the fact that body proportions are different in children or adults:

According to this website I didn't vet at all, the whole leg accounts for about 16-18% of body weight which lines up neatly enough with one sixth of body mass/size.

So we could also approximate the size of Binghe's dick as being like a newborn's leg.

So I'll leave you with those horrible mental images and go try to fill my brain with something else now.

[glitter-stained]

what are your favourite comics of your favourite characters? jason, cass, mia, anybody you'd like to talk about! 🫶

Hi there! Unfortunately, I have forbidden myself from reading Batgirl 2000 until I am done with my master thesis (which so far appears to be done with me more than the other way around), deadline is in one month! So no Cass yet 😕 she motivates me though

Green Arrow 2001 is the Mia comic. So far of all the other Mia appearances I have read it's the only one I've enjoyed, but I'll say I haven't read Green Arrow/Black Canary and Green Arrow 2023 yet, very excited to see her in those! to go back to GA 2001, not only is that the comic with three different mia-centric arcs, but even in the arcs where she's not the main character, she's written with so much care and detail, it's just amazing. It also has my favourite Mia get-up, a black set-up with the big pants that none of her Speedy suits so far has lived up to. Also the attention to her hair is really great. I'm rambling I'm rambling, sorry. Just- Green Arrow 2001 is really cool. (I do have to say, I've been told it's not great for ollie and dinah- it was my intro to ollie and I still fell in love with his character but i can understand that compared to previous versions of him he's not as good. I love him though.)

For Jason, I'm a big fan of the whole original post-crisis jaybin run! Well. I'm a fan of Jason's characterization -Starlin's writing is often racist and sexist and pretty shitty, but if you approach it with a mentality of "Jason is right and Batman is wrong" it becomes often much more readable. Aditf in particular is racist as fuck, though the Jason characterization is good- Starlin is quite the incredible illustration of the "enemy of my enemy is my friend", yk. I also deeply adore Judy Koslovsky, she's one of my favourite minor batman characters. But my favourite Jaybin story is Batman #408-409 (which was written by Collins), it's just so good (though i'm unsure whether the batman criticism and classism conversation were intended or if it's just my reading - i don't care, it's great whether it meant to or not). Ma Gunn might just be my favourite Batman villain, she's the perfect mix of thematically relevant and camp, she doesn't need to be edgy to make a wonderful critique of Batman, she's a narrative foil for Batman and a Leslie parallel and thus the best option for introducing Jason's character. Granny McCrime truly nobody does it like you do, I'm sorry Scott Lobdell got his nasty paws on you. For Red Hood Jason, I don't know if I like Under the Hood ( i could write a 17 pages long essay on my love-hate relationship with it) but it sure is a comic, wow. Red Hood Lost Days is great, as long as I pretend that one sex scene isn't there (it was retconned, so i can do that anyway) it's my favourite Red Hood comic. You just have to like, ignore the psychoanalytical subtext tbh. Other than that, I have to finish TFZ and read TMWSL before making an opinion on those. Oh, I also really liked Jason in Batman: The Cult (which was almost an awesome horror story until Starlin fucked with gratuitous racism for no reason). Legends is also an awesome Jason comic, he's not in there long but I do love both his inferiority complex towards dick, his incredible bravery, and the way it explores child superheroes with the parallel between Jason and Billy and the way they're treated.

Barbara's also one of my favs, but I'm still reading through Birds of Prey 1999, so I don't think I have much to recommend beyond it so far- very eager to make a "best of barbara gordon" reading list as soon as I have read it! Especially curious about Oracle's first appearance in suicide squad, and maybe that Batgirl comic where she runs for mayor or something.

For Roy, I'm a big, big fan of Devin Grayson's Arsenal mini! Snowbirds don't Fly is also a reference or course, both as a drug psa (esp considering the time it was published) and as a Roy story. I haven't read much more of him yet tragically, but I did read that standalone Titans #19 (i think it was 19) while looking for Mia appearances, and I thought he was really really good in it.

And of course I can't not include one of my favourite characters, who I'd bet you might really really like, The Crimson Avenger! She's criminally underrated and underdeveloped, but despite how short her appearances are she's like -such a cool, well-rounded concept. I wish DC would let me write stories with her so so bad. I already made a reading list with links so I'm just linking it, she's just... So cool. A lot of the reasons I like her overlap with the reasons I like red hood jason also. Anyway check her out I promise you will not regret it!

[fourteentrout]

Woah omg first of all thank you @whatifitoldyousomethingcrazy for mentioning me in your inspo section, I am both very honored (twirling my hair, kicking my feet, etc, your words were so kind and I'm so excited to see someone newer to the fandom have a response like this to my work!) and very glad because it introduced me to this whole chain/little interview game! I may not have known about it without you, so many thanks!

1. What drew you to Azris?

I was a HATER. I am a tamsand truther all the way and I thought it was RIDICULOUS that Azris had so much more interaction/fanworks than tamsand. And then I was like "let's see what all this is about, then". And now we're here. I still love tamsand with all my heart but DAMN is this ship (and this side of the fandom) on FIRE🔥😜

2. What themes do you explore most often in your fics? Do you have a favorite image or location to return to again and again?

Thematically, hmmm I think I really like to delve into the whole Getting Over It that their theoretical relationship proposes. Azriel having to push through/past his old feelings for both Mor and Eris in order to accept what makes him truly happy, as well as Eris having to get through like the hurdles of his father and being hated by everyone despite having ultimate goodness at his core, that kind of thing. Any sort of like...begrudging acceptance of themselves and each other. As for location....I mean come on a bedroom's a bedroom right😉😏

3. What is your favorite fic/art that you've made? Why?

Oh jeez. Ha. I don't know I mean ooh well I really like the hair panel I did for Eris a little while back! But that's just one of the boys. I mean I think I draw Eris more than Azriel, but I write Azriel more than Eris. Although I am working on a piece with both of them for this Azris week that I REALLY like how it's turning out so far. I digress. Favorite fic...I actually really liked my 5 +1 fic that I did for Eris Week last year. It's not my most popular but I had a lot of fun conceptualizing it and I like the length and pacing, I can get a little carried away sometimes so I feel like it's cool to see when I can like keep it more concise.

4. What is your writing/drawing/painting setup? Do you have a routine that you follow?

Hmmmmm well I mean I draw a lot on my iPad (shout-out to ibispaint x because I am too cheap [definitely not scared to learn a new program] to spend five bucks on procreate), but sometimes I'll do base sketches in my sketchbook and like take a picture and trace over those instead of doing a bunch of construction layers in the app. Physically, I usually just draw at my desk when I'm at school, and wherever suits me when I'm at home. Probably not the best for my neck and back tho lol

5. Give a favorite headcanon about Azriel and Eris, separately, and Azriel and Eris, together.

I beeelieve I first read this in Our Bodies, Possessed by Light by @iftheshoef1tz, one of my favorite headcanons about Azriel is that he loves cheese. I don't know it's so humanizing and wholesome and like establishes him as a person instead of just like literary emo eye candy LMAO I love it. For Eris, I like to think that he's really athletic, sports oriented, but also in like an acrobatic way? I can just imagine that guy doing crazy flips and parkour and shit while fighting, it's just so fun to picture. And together...hm well I really love a lot of the sexual dynamics that people have introduced for them. Especially when you can like apply a label to either of them, like I love figuring out possible reasoning behind Azriel being submissive with Eris versus Eris being submissive with Azriel, and like how that could fit with their established characters and personalities. I also fucking FOAM at the MOUTH over the (now kind of very widely accepted??) headcanon that Eris can see/sense Azriel through his shadows. I have a fic in mind that centers around this!

6. Have you worn wigs?

Surprisingly no but I have worn a fake beard

7. Will you wear wigs?

.......maybe!😃

8. What upcoming projects are you excited about?

Well I have two art projects that I'm working on for Azris week that both have me PUMPED, I also have so many fic ideas that I really want to get down once How To Be The Ultimate Tool Of Destruction is finished, like I said I have one that I've already actually started jotting some notes down for that centers a bit around Eris being able to See Azriel, but I also have what may end up being a longer fic planned (I've actually done some outlining for it!) that'll include Fire Sprite Eris, and I also have some tamsand works in mind that I really want to get to lol (one of which would be like...loosely inspired by The Shape of Water, which I havent seen)

9. Name some influences on your art or writing style.

Oh God I mean @palomita-de-la-sangre has one of THEE coolest styles I've ever seen, I am majorly inspired by her manipulation of anatomy, color, and just her unique distinction, like I want a style where people would be able to look at my work and know who made it. @lucychanart is also a major influence in that every time I see her incredible work it makes ME want to draw, and she always has the sexiest ideas that get the gears turning. @makinglongwordsslutty also has so much amazing charcoal realism, it always makes me want to venture into new(er) mediums and give some love to more realistic depictions of the characters. Writing wise I can't even choose. Everybody. Literally like almost every single Azris fic has either inspired me, intimidated me, or both. There are so many talented writers in this little(ish) niche of the fandom it makes me INSANE

Also @bloodyplunder for some reason it's not letting me tag you in the section that I was using for my answer but DAMN does her work always make me froth at the mouth and also very much want to draw a little sumn sumn sexy sexy

10. What encouragement would you give someone who is just beginning a project? Someone who is stalled on a project? Someone losing steam/interest?

One: maybe cliche, but just start. Don't let any kind of nervousness or imposter syndrome or self consciousness stop you from creating. If you have something in mind you want to make real, DO IT. It might not look exactly how you imagine it, but that's okay. It may take a while to get to the point where that does happen, but that's okay too, that's the joy of learning and growing both as an artist/writer/creator and an individual. Slap down some rudimentary sketches. Experiment with brushes in digital programs. Find the mediums that work for you. Just don't stop yourself before you've even started.

Two: If you're stalled on a project, take a step back. Work on something else, if you have anything. Or just let it be altogether. Don't give up forever, just give it some space, and then you'll be able to look at with fresh eyes and perhaps renewed motivation

Three: losing steam/interest is totally fine! If it's something you REALLY want to finish, but just can't seem to hit the home stretch, try what I mentioned above. But if you're over it, it's okay to let it be and never return to it. And maybe one day you'll look back at it and think man I should have finished this. Oh wait, I still can! And maybe you won't, but that's okay too. No sense in pushing yourself to enjoy something that you don't actually gain any joy from anymore

Thanks so much for arranging this, @azrisweek! I had a lot of fun answering. If anyone sees this, my one question is:

Do you support Long Hair Eris, Short Hair Eris, or something in between?

Azris Week 2025 Self-Spotlight

Only five more days until the main event! To continue fostering more community between Azris creators, instead of having user-submitted writers or artists answer some questions, creators can interview themselves!

Pretend you can see my jazz hands.

These questions are for ALL Azris creators - writers, mood board creators, artists, you get the idea! At the end of Azris Week, anyone who has filled out the below interview will get added to a master list so that everyone can see your thoughts. Feel free to add your own questions at the bottom, if you think of anything else you’d like to say about your Azris Week creations.

If you aren’t doing anything for Azris Week 2025 but want to participate anyway, go ahead! No one will stop you and you’ll still be included in the master list.

Questions

1. What drew you to Azris?

2. What themes do you explore most often in your fics? Do you have a favorite image or location that you return to again and again?

3. What is your favorite fic/art that you’ve made? Why?

4. What is your writing/drawing/painting setup? Do you have a routine that you follow?

5. Give a favorite headcanon about Azriel and Eris, separately, and Azriel and Eris, together.

6. Have you worn wigs?

7. Will you wear wigs?

8. What upcoming projects are you excited about?

9. Name some influences on your writing or art style - could be fellow writers, poets, singers, nature, etc.

10. What encouragement would you give someone who is just beginning a project? Someone who is stalled on a project? Someone losing steam/interest?

[nohomie]

Character intro:

Wally

Extra lore dump below

So yeah, Vampires are special because theyre actually manmade.

Vampires where created centuries ago, long before Human and Mythic agreed to live together peacefully. There were still fights between the two and Humanity was on the losing end. It was due to this that led to some royal family trying to play god and turn themselves into a mythic only for it to cause disaster and destruction.

Fun fact, the term vampire stems from their place of origin, Vamais. While not all vampires come from there, there are few that still exist who once lived in Vamais. You can easily tell if a vampire was once a Vami from their unique facial features (no visible nose and facial hair, not even eyebrows) and striking blue hair.

[princema-k]

Detective Layton, Case 1: The Living Museum

Our story begins for our detective and her assistant at The Natural History Museum; reports are pouring in from visitors all over that the exhibits have come alive! Dinosaurs walking, artifacts randomly moving, and paintings blinking and melting before everyone's very eyes! Naturally, it's up to the Detective Layton and Emmy to solve the case once and for all. Can they solve the mystery of the Living Museum?!

(au info/flora | emmy)

(PLEASE IGNORE THE FACT I SPELLED MUSEUM WRONG IN THE PIC OK TAHNKS)

[nouverx]

Guys maybe it's time for me to introduce my ocs 💥

Lehti is my main oc and the protagonist!! I created him in 2019 and he's the one I drew the most in my life. He's a human, though he doesn't look like one. He's very ostracised from society because of his appearance and his disability, the other humans even want him dead for reasons I can't really explain yet. He can't have any real job so he lives of thievery and decided to actively become a menace to society as vengeance 😈

Melek is his sign language translator/interpretor! She is his voice and his ears. She was an homeless orphan, he took her in and provides her housing and food in exchange of her services. She follows him around everywhere to translate everything for him. She wears a mask because helping out Lehti one way or another is seen as treason and is punishable by death by the other humans, so he makes her wear it to protect her identity.

At first their relationship was only transactional, with time they became more like siblings.

Maybe one day I'll turn those ocs into a real fantasy story, who knows

Some more rambling about my ocs teehee

Lehti is very fun but also enigmatic. He doesn't seem to mind being a wanted man, even pulls of the theatrics when he's being chased. He's very similar to Lupin the Third in that regard, very playful, loves the attention and likes to taunt and have fun while thieving. He has very low empathy and doesn't really get sad or angry easily. It's like "Oh everyone wants me dead for no reason? Fun!" kind of chaotic neutral. He does have a darker/more sadistic side sometimes when interacting with the humans, so he might be motivated by vengeance in a deeper level 🤷 who knows

Also he's transmasc!! If that wasn't obvious enough lol. Medical transition isn't a thing in their fantasy universe, but it's ok he's not dysphoric or anything. He gets misgendered a lot but Melek is the only one who hears it and she always corrects people so it's a win for him

I don't usually take the time to post or talk about my ocs because I always end up brainrotting about something else, I really want to try and draw them more!

Melek on the other hand is very timid. She doesn't speak much outside of her job and was really just following him around like a shadow at the beginning. She didn't really have any goal in life before and was just surviving, now that she has a more "secure" situation (aka not having to worry about food or housing anymore), she's learning how to enjoy life again and even create a future for herself. I love her and she's a character that I'd love to develop more!

[paintpanic]

Resurrection AU: Joronia

Upon coming back from the dead, Joronia is currently staying with Taranza, the only person in Dream Land she knows. She is sleeping on his couch in his small home in Dream Land.

She remembers everything she felt and did while corrupted, which she feels terrible about. She's taking the initiative to find everyone she's personally wronged and make it up to them however she's able, which will be very difficult and embarrassing for her.

Joronia is energetic and driven, but a bit haughty. She's struggling to adjust to the life of a relative commoner, having been raised in a palace with every need of hers met. Joronia's very outgoing, but she struggles at connecting with other people.

Her biggest worry is about her friendship with Taranza, and whether it can be repaired after everything she's done.

(AU explanation here!)

[tagarilaghost]

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / SE5 (you are here)

I do in fact regularly gaslight my friends for their own good.

I can't have them suspecting the truth after all. (aka continuation of @the-cr0w 's playthrough)

[atalienart]

"Wysoki i szczupły, K. był kwintesencją elegancji, od nienagannego ubioru, szytego według najnowszej mody, przez starannie ułożone, piaskowe włosy, po sposób w jaki się trzymał."

[burningcheese-merchant]

The relationship between Burning spice and Pepper Jack reminds me terribly of the relationship between CrowFeather and Breezepelt

of warrior cats

you just inspired by them?

Oh my God... Jesus, Mary and Joseph... Warrior Cats........ Got sent back in time like 15 years with this ask. I feel so old right now.... Live footage here

No actually, I wasn't thinking of Crowfeather and Breezepelt 😅😅😅 in all honesty I've been taking a lot of inspiration for Burning Spice and Pepper Jack's relationship from Kratos and Atreus from God of War (4 and 5). The sort of redemption arc/change of heart and post-redemption attitude/behavior I gave Spice in my canon bears a bit of resemblance to how Kratos behaves in GoW, and while I was imagining his relationship with Jack I remembered what Kratos goes through with his own son and realized I could maybe learn from that and see how I could make my version work with these two characters instead. Former mass-murdering, vengeful lunatic who's calmed down and realized the error of his ways and is just trying to carve out a decent life with his new family, having some issues connecting with his son because they're so different from each other in so many ways, and also because the father is hiding the truth of his dark past out of shame and fear of what the son will say and think. (Obviously I don't want to just straight up rip off GoW, just take inspiration haha. I think I've made my own take unique enough that I don't have to worry about it much)

I do want to draw Spice and Jack dressed up as Kratos and Atreus one of these days though :P maybe for Halloween or something. Gonna title it "God of Destruction" instead of God of War. It'll be cool I promise

... Chat, should I try to depict the family as cats from Warrior Cats now? I'm getting hit with nostalgia so fucking hard rn