#Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter

[lynmars79]

The Deed is an older series, though new books in that setting and with those characters have been coming out in the last decade, so here's more propaganda for Paks:

Paks was literally written by Elizabeth Moon to be an ideal warrior paladin versus the "lawful stupid" stereotypes so prevalent in tabletop gaming (and other media) in the earlier years of the hobby. She has a story about its start on her Paksworld blog:

Meanwhile, sometime after I’d started writing for the SUN, my husband started DMing for a friend’s son, and then for another family’s sons.  I had boys in the house playing D&D, too loudly to keep writing in the other room.  I came out and kibitzed.  They started using me as the rules person, available to look up things in the books.  Of course I started critiquing the rules.  “This is really stupid,” I said, probably too often.  I was particularly incensed over the simplistic good/evil/lawful/chaotic divides, and over the way paladins were interpreted (stupid good, seemed to be the approach.) This may be unfair, but remember, I was a frustrated writer who couldn’t write those evenings because of a houseful of people.  I didn’t want to play the game; I wanted to redesign it (sign of a writer…we want it to be OUR way.) Another couple asked if their sons could join in…now there were five boys and three adults (that couple stayed because they liked the game) and the gravitational force finally dragged me in. “If you think know what a paladin should be, play one,” the adults said.  “If you’re going to gripe about the game at least play it.”  Grump.  But suddenly the paladin wasn’t an idiot like Roland, but a wily, competent war-leader, and the notion of “good” as “stupid” went out the window. But it was a game, not a book, and more importantly, it wasn’t MY book.  I had been working in almost straight hard SF for years, not fantasy.  That’s where I saw my future as a writer; I had both military and science background (albeit I’d had to leave the graduate degree unfinished.) Then several things happened.  The lurking depression that had been around for years, up and down, burgeoned into a serious clinical depression.  The foundational kid and his family including my best friend in this town, his mother, needed to move halfway across the country.  The kid was miserable at the thought.  The depressive episode was bad enough that I sought treatment (and it worked) and thought writing a story for the kid about his game character and mine might cheer him up in his distant “I hate this new place” mood.  OK, it was fantasy, but it was just a story for him, in particular, and I didn’t think about publication. Until the thing came pouring out in a flood…not the short story I’d planned but a huge sprawling monster in which my game character dissolved and out came Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter.  Many thousands of words a day poured out (I don’t know how many; I was typing on my step-grandmother’s old half-electric typewriter and kept typing off the edge of the paper and off the bottom of it too.) My character and the kid’s character dissolved into the story, which had its own headstrong idea about where it was going.

Now there's not only the original trilogy, but a prequel duology, a quintet, several collected short stories, and now, after a concussion and lots of time taken to heal, new books coming in this world, and the ripple effects one paladin had on the people and places and events around her.

Paks is one of the first characters I remember coming across written to be explicitly aroace, and it resonated with me long before I knew myself better. She makes mistakes, suffers greatly at times, initially can't recognize and even struggles against the Call as she was not raised religious, reconciles the societal ideas and institutionalized version of "paladin" with her direct connection and more naturalistic growth into a force for good (which was also part of the struggle), is smart, caring, curious, loves to learn, enjoys the simple things in life, makes a distinction between taking pride and pleasure in her craft of war versus its grim realities and sorrows, and otherwise has a rounded existence full of life's ups and down, friends she'll do anything for--and who will do anything for her. She's a quintessential example of a True Paladin in every sense, even before her world recognizes her as one.

She's one of my favorite characters of all time, and the Deed is a "comfort series" (though events in it are not always comfortable) I go back to every so often.

Round 1, Side A - D'Arce (Fear and Hunger) vs. Paksenarrion (The Deed of Paksemarrion by Elizabeth Moon)

Propaganda:

D'Arce (Fear and Hunger)

her hair is dumb and i like that

Paksenarrion (The Deed of Paksenarrion)

First of, she is literally a paladin. She starts out as a shepherd's daughter and then goes on to join a mercenary company and eventually becomes a paladin. She fights cultists and various monsters over her journeys and eventually disappears. Not too clear on the details because I haven't read the books for awhile. Unrelated to her paladin accomplishments, she is canonically aroace (:

Pakse is *the* Paladin ideal - she's got the touch of the gods, the sense of evil, the divine mount and beyond all that, hell even when she doesn't have any of those things yet, she's so damn good. Virtuous to a fault.

[quohotos]

Yes, I should be working right now, I am procrastinating, but with that out of the way this is what has captured my mind as of right now.

You know that human echo location isn't like... fictional, right? Like yeah Collins doesn't portray it 100% accurately, she uses creative liberty in the way it's presented but people 100% can and have learned how to echo locate. There was a really good episode of the radio lab podcast about it, about a blind guy who could ride a bicycle and was trying to train other children to echo locate the way he had growing up. An off hand comment in the podcast mentioned that if you placed a mic in each ear of a person, had them walk around a room making noise and then played back that recording in stereo later they'd be able to visualize the room just as they had before.

Dude you could totally make a VR game that worked that way. Vr already has stereo positional audio that's positionally and rotationally tracked. I wonder how feasible it would be to do like audio ray tracing where you could use GPU acceleration to simulate acoustics of the environment. Could you make an audio only VR game that someone trained to echo locate could play?

Idk if there are any highly educated programmers/accessibility researchers who for whatever reason haven't figured out what they want to do for their thesis you could always try this...

[writersarea]

Tagged by: @heyylittlesongbird

prompt: post a poll with five of your favorite characters and let your followers choose their favorite (oh shit)

I tag: @funkyfaerie @thebibliosphere @lizziesquire @famousmusician and anyone else who wants to join in!

[lynmars79]

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters

tagged by @rinzukodas!

Elisa Maza (Gargoyles)

Methos (Highlander)

Susan Ivanova (Babylon 5)

Dana Scully (The X-Files)

Gwen Lancaster (The Cinder Spires)

Camilla Hect (The Locked Tomb)

Seven of Nine (Star Trek)

Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter (The Deed of Paksenarrion)

Andromache of Scythia (The Old Guard)

Thancred Waters (Final Fantasy XIV)

Tagging: Whoever wants to give it a try!

[frankenmouse]

10 characters, 10 fandoms, 10 tags:

I’ve been tagged by @chang-e-official!

So here are ten characters from ten fandoms. These aren’t necessarily my blorbos, but characters I thought were compelling and have remained with me.

1. Larry Trainor, Doom Patrol

2. Mordin Solus, Mass Effect

3. Zagreus, Hades (video game)

4. Alistair Therin, Dragon Age: Origins

5. Karlach, Baldur’s Gate 3

6. Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter, Deed of Paksenarrion (book)

7. Cole Cassidy (née Jesse McCree), Overwatch

8. John Marston, Red Dead Redemption

9. Corvo Attano, Dishonored

10. Nick Valentine, Fallout 4

And if you want to participate…

@liquidlyrium @theggning @shadoedseptmbr @msbarrows @frogspawned @classywastelandbread-blog @mossworm

and anyone else who wants to play!

[quohotos]

I present to you, my Magnum Opus. The Underland Chronicles rendered in the style of an early 2000s flash based point and click adventure game (the MNOG)

I have spent so long on this. Inkscape doesn't log total project time the way Krita does, but it's the most time I've spent on any single piece of vector art. Even then there's still a million things I want to go in and change but... aaaaaa you have to cut it off somewhere. I have been copy pasting rats for hours, and don't even get me started on the shadows. The shadows look good, they are not physically accurate. I tried.

Here are some bonus features!

No text overlay. Clean if you want to print it or make it a desktop background.

Close up on Solovet and Ajax I've never actually drawn Solovet, or any underlanders really. I definitely am phoning it in by framing her from behind. When it came to designing what kind of armor they'd wear I took inspiration from both Greek and Roman designs. Ajax was originally much more saturated red until @paksenarrion-dorthansdotter corrected me. The books describe him as dried blood colored. (please don't look too close at the rats they don't hold up to scrutiny)

Close up on Ripred. He looks just a little bit small and fat in this one, but that's just because he's slouching. When he stands up it all stays in his hips and ass. I always draw Ripred like he appeared on my cover of Code of Claw. The scar on his face isn't really visible from this angle because it cuts left to right and he's looking left.

Lastly, here's Gregor and Ares. There is an official design for his armor as seen on the cover of my copy of Code of Claw. I redesigned it because I thought that version looked kinda pants, tbh. Little goofy and hard to take seriously.

The great thing about vector art is you can zoom in and obsess over tiny little details that end up only being like 4 pixels wide in the final export. Case in point, these rando flyers. Such minute detail that gets flattened out to a single pixel in some cases.

Sidenote: I always imagined the flyers as more microbat inspired, which is why I draw them with tails... but these ones end up looking very flying fox-like and have also some megabat proportions. This isn't really an intentional artistic choice, it's just a compromise I had to strike to make them look decent. I need to practice drawing microbats more.

Oh well. The author isn't that descriptive about their proportions so I guess it's up to interpretation.

Lastly, here's the original sketch that I traced over. A lot of features ultimately got cut, as well as the dimensions to the side being changed. Solovet originally was going to have a braid but then I remembered that line from the first book where Luxa explains that you have to cut your hair to go to war. Ripred also looked a lot more teddy bear like in the sketch, so I ended up not even tracing him. Bane was a redraw, and I actually did trace part of Ajax and then just frehanded the rest.

If anyone is reading this far and hasn't read the underland Chronicles, now is a great time to go to your local library and pick it up. These books slap and this tiny community would love to suffer our brainrot welcome you into our fold.

Fly You High

[quohotos]

Yeah this is basically all I want out of life

please enjoy this eastern grass owl. owls are so important to me please observe him

[quohotos]

@paksenarrion-dorthansdotter got me this for my birthday. Not posting it on my birthday of course, gotta maintain my anonymousnessityness

[elizabethemerald]

Canon Ace/Aro Character!

Speaking of Ace and Aro rep, a canon asexual and aromantic character is Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter of Three Firs from the series The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. 

She repeatedly through out the three book trilogy insists that she is uninterested in a romantic or sexual relationship with any of her companions or anyone at all. Her closest friends in the series know this and respect her decision and will jump to her defense if anyone says anything against her. Not that she needs any help with defending herself. By the end of the first book in the series, Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, she is one of the best swords women in her company. By the end of the series there is likely no human that could stand against her. 

[silentmagi]

What are your Top 20 NoTPs?

Now this is going to be harder for me, as I don't actively ping when I'm avoiding a ship... but there are a few that I can think of. Let's see if I can make 20...

1) Katsuki Bakugou x Izuku Midoriya - As a victim of bullying, I do not like this one for many reasons. 2) Draco Malfoy x Hermione Granger - No offense, but did we read the same series? 3) Draco Malfoy x Harry Potter - Combine 1 and 2. 4) Twilight Sparkle x Spike the Dragon - Just... no. 5) Ochako Uraraka x Katsuki Bakugou - This would get volatile and fast. 6) Minete Minoru x Class 1-A girls - He is not ready for a relationship with another human being, and frankly I think he's blown his chances for romance with them. 7) Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane x Katie 'Pidge Gunderson' Holt - On top of the imbalance in power being the superior officer, I've always gotten more of an older siblings vibe. 8) Hiccup x Toothless the Dragon - I wish I could say that I was joking that I've seen this one. 9) Jack Frost x Pitch Black - As much as I enjoy a good enemies to lovers... these two just don't do it for me. 10) Kylo Ren x Rey Skywalker - There are a lot of things wrong with this ship, and let's start with the abusive interactions rage boy has... 11) Tanya Mousekewitz x Fievel Mousekewitz - They are siblings. They are a wonderful pair of characters with a great bond that is tested multiple times throughout the movies. But they are siblings. Somewhere Out There... you led far too many people down the wrong path. 12) Lila Rossi x Adrien Agreste - She annoys me, and the predatory nature of the way she pursues Adrien rubs me the wrong way. 13) Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter x any - This was one of the few aro ace characters I've ever seen in published works. And to be honest, I think any romance would detract from her character because it wouldn't be genuine, the closest is to Saben, but that was always... different... 14) Shouta Aizawa x Any of his students - the power dynamic of having an adult in a position of authority, and a child under them. Coupled with Aizawa always striking me as being in a committed relationship with his sleeping bag. 15) Rapunzel x Mother Gothel - This is a horrible ship, full of emotional manipulation. 16) Gamzee Makara x Terezi Pyrope - This is an unhealthy, destructive ship and You know it. 17) Kankri Vantas x Porrim Maryam - I think it's mostly cause I dislike him, and like Porrim. 18) Dirk Strider x Jake English - I will not go into a rant about the emotional manipulation, physical abuse, and stalker like tendencies of the control freak... 19) Hans Westergaard x Anna of Arrendelle - Obvious reasons. 20) Drew "Drakken" Lipsky x Shego - She can do so much better.

This was fun, how about some more? Q&A Sunday

[siras13]

@paksenarrion-dorthansdotter

no offense but you guys need to learn the difference between someone implying their experience is universal and a post simply just not being about you

[headlesssamurai]

TOP FAVORITE CHARACTERS 

Rules: List your favorite character from 10 different Fandoms and tag 10 people

Tagged by @hazel-san

I had to think really hard about this one. And I don’t know about “fandoms”, but just, like, here’s some characters I super duper adore and enjoy for various reasons. I remain highly undecided, and flustered and conflicted, and I doubt I can think of every one even over the several sittings it took me to compile this. But here goes (in no particular order):

Sanjuro Kuwabatake - Yojimbo 

Special Agent Fox Mulder - The X-Files 

Commander Beverly Crusher, PhD - Star Trek: The Next Generation 

Elizabeth Bennet - Pride and Prejudice (novel) 

Mattie Ross - True Grit (2010)

Marty McFly - Back to the Future (film trilogy)

Princess Leia Organa - Star Wars

Harry Dresden - The Dresden Files (novel series) 

Jayne Cobb - Firefly 

Bill Munny - Unforgiven

Samus Aran - Metroid (video game series) 

Roland of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger - The Dark Tower (novel series)

Han Solo - Star Wars 

Gul Dukat - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 

Faye Valentine - Cowboy Bebop 

Samwise Gamgee - The Lord of the Rings (novel series) 

Clementine - Telltale’s The Walking Dead (video game series)

Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter - The Deed of Paksenarrion (novel series)

The Predator - Predator (film series) 

Hamish Goames - Barkskins 

Batman - Detective Comic Books (in general) 

Henry Chinaski - Post Office (specifically) and other Bukowski fiction (generally) 

Garrus Vakarian - Mass Effect (video games series) 

Natasha Romanoff the Black Widow - Marvel Cinematic Universe 

Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley - Alien (film series) 

Indiana Jones, PhD - Indiana Jones (film series) 

Matrim Cauthon - The Wheel of Time (novel series) 

Hundred Eyes - Marco Polo (Netflix) 

Amos - The Expanse (TV series) 

Jane Eyre - Jane Eyre (novel) 

Darth Vader - Star Wars

Major Samantha Carter (PhD) - Stargate SG-1 

Finn the Human - Adventure Time

Whirrun of Bligh - The Heroes (novel) 

Luv - Blade Runner 2049 

Kanbei Shimada - Seven Samurai 

Al Swearengen - Deadwood 

Croaker - The Black Company (novel series)

Jill Valentine - Resident Evil (video game series) 

Karen Paige - Daredevil & The Punisher (Netflix) 

Joanna Wellick - Mr. Robot 

Conan of Cimmeria - as originally written of by Robert E. Howard 

Vax’ildan - Critical Role (web series) 

Oh. Was that more than ten? Meh. There’s probably like fifteen-hundred more I’ve failed to mention here. Good gods, I can’t think of them all, and shall need to revisit this again some day. Anyhow, thanks for the tag, hazel-san.  

I personally dislike the word favorite in this context. For me, these are characters that have impressed me by their story arc over time, touched me in such a way as to be unforgettable, influenced my nature from childhood up to my current years, or just seriously cause me to become enriched within the story of which they’re a part. To say one is more “favored” than another is a bit oversimple, I reckon. But I’ll shut up, you get it I’m sure. 

Uh. I’m supposed to tag people now for their top ten characters from things. Not sure who tag though. Uh-um. 

@ificiy  @chicklet87  @godzillaapproved  @tallninjarebel  @ksana-salamandra  @roguetelemetry  @alphagravy  @architectplayground @azeria-san @worshipthewired​ @hug-your-face​ @dash-digital @ravenswolf  @boucoupdinkydau  @le-noir-rabbit 

Stay nerdy, my friends.   侍   

[is-there-gay-in-it]

Paksenarrion "Paks" Dorthansdotter

Title: The Deed of Paksenarrion (trilogy) Category: Book Author: Elizabeth Moon Status: First Billed First Appearance: Book 1, Sheepfarmer’s Daughter Orientation: Asexual Orientation Confirmed: Book 1, Sheepfarmer’s Daughter

Check the read more to see if the character is alive and other trigger warnings. 

Paks is alive at the end of her trilogy.

Trigger warnings: assault (Book 1, Sheepfarmer’s Daughter), sexual assault (Book 2, Divided Allegiance), 

[annies-red-pen]

If you were going on a quest, which 5 characters from fantasy novels would you take with you (and why)?

Hermione Granger (HP) for the observation skills and magic

Legolas Greenleaf (LotR) for the flexible combat and elf sight

Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter (Deed of Paksenarrion) just in case it's a spiritual thing, plus heavy combat

Ren the Nekomancer (Monstress) because he's cute and can do magic that no one else can

Iorek Byrnison (HDM) for the snark and because I think he and Paks could probably find and kill anything

Iorek and Paks would hold down any heavy fighting and armor. Ren and Legolas would be a perfect team for sneaking and spying. Hermione and Ren would immediately become friends and talk about their favorite books and become experts in whatever quest we were doing.

[siras13]

@paksenarrion-dorthansdotter

I've slowly been chipping away at drawing scenes from that imaginary Muppet retelling of the Princess Bride, figured it was about time to share what I've drawn on Tumblr!

[amphipodgirl]

llThanks for the tag @ohnoimfangirlingagain

Favorite females tag! List 10 favorite female characters (and the fandoms they are in) and tag 10 people (or don’t; I don’t want to pressure anybody!)

Mine aren’t all really from fandoms as such.

Penelope Bunce (Carry On)

Blue Sargent (The Raven Cycle)

Marigold Heavenly Nostrils (Phoebe and Her Unicorn)

Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter (Deed of Paksenarrion)

Miss Marple (Agatha Christie)

Mrs. Pollifax (Mrs. Pollifax novels)

Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan (The Vorkosigan Saga)

Mo (Dykes to Watch Out For)

Jo March (Little Women)

Glenda Sugarbean (Discworld)

Tagging @carryonsimoncarryonbaz @sharing-a-room-with-an-open-fire @motherscarf @caitybuglove23 @daisy---bug @llamapyjamas @belalugosiisdead @pipsqueakparker @scone-lover @thehoneyedhufflepuff