#ace malarky

[mjjune]

hi hello what can you tell me about the Selection from ds, like what are the three roles and do people change? Can people change their choice?

hi yes hello ✨

it would take way too long to go into the roles and also some of that is spoilers but lol

essentially "roles" in ds replace gender roles in this high fantasy society. Selection is the coming of age ceremony where you choose which of the 3 roles you are and that decides kinda what path you go down for the rest of your life. it's not super cut and dry and there are a variety of options, but there are set expectations for how you live your life, what your job is, etc. with each of the 3 roles.

but it doesn't just replace the gender binary we have in real life since, obviously, here there are 3 roles. also, the expectations for each role are more based on the culture and magic system (actually, it's all based on dragons lmao). so these roles have nothing to do with biology, body parts, physical appearance, family dynamics, or submission/dominance. those concepts don't exist at all in ds, and the roles are not built on oppression.

(more below cut to save dash space)

but no, you can't change your role. if you really wanted to, you could shift your life path regarding your job/hobbies/fashion/life views (say if you wanted to switch from a stereotypical role job to a very rare job for someone of your role) but actually switching roles? no. especially since most people get cultural marks/tattoos based on their role after their Selection it's pretty permanent. i guess this would be the closest you could get to trans in this world?? but it's not really viewed that way 🤣 it's more of just being seen as an outlier/edgy.

but they don't physically change, other than the tattoos if they choose to get them. it's more of an inner change, where their connection to spirituality and magic strengthens because they're Committed to dragons the role and empowers them/strengthens their sense of self. but they don't change per se (at least not anymore than someone does when they turn 18 irl LOL)

but how strict they are depends on the island you're on and your family and how seriously they take it! obviously more traditional and religious families are going to have more set-in-stone expectations regarding how you live your life according to your role, compared to a more "progressive" (for lack of better term) family which might not be as strict. so real life concepts like "male dominated fields", "only women wear [x]" and role-based marriage expectations etc. do still exist in the ds world, just that these aren't founded in systemic oppression 🪦

thanks for asking!!!!!!!!

hope this answers your questions while not giving too much away 🤣

[did-i-do-this-write]

happy STS! which of your OCs is most likely to help out with the dishes/cooking/cleaning? Do they all chip in without thinking or do they have to be asked?

Happy STS! This is a really good question, I love it!

Reese, Nate, Shaun, and Sky are probably the ones handling the cleaning.

Matt and Reese usually handle the cooking.

Kay and Nic always manage to somehow get out of it. Sky has a suspicion that Nic uses her psychic powers to casually make them not realize that she's not helping 😂

[trixierosewrites]

hey, happy STS! what would it have taken for Aidan to have turned out any different? Like was he always going to be a power hungry son of a gun (sees what he wants and aims for it no matter what) or was this a series of small choices that led him down, at which point I assume he shrugged and continued lmao

Happy STS! Aidan's an interesting case because he's not got a traumatic backstory, he's a guy who grew up rich - sorry, upper middle class - went to public school (note: UK here, this means Eton and Harrow type schools, VERY PRIVATE), went to Oxford to study PPE, then went into government. He's one of those bastards, so what I'm saying is you need to take him completely out of that situation and raise him somewhere else. Give him a sense of working class solidarity and we'll see where that takes us!

Thanks for the ask :3

[oh-no-another-idea]

🌹!!

Thanks for stopping by, friend! <3 Have some Bent Nails or Something WIP :)

Sutton trotted down the steps and over to the truck. “I love how you didn’t even ask me if I’m into sports. Why are guys all the same.” “I’m not into sports,” Michael said, appalled, turning on the ignition. “Doesn’t mean we can’t watch. Hell, all sports are is trying to grab the ball or trying to get it the hell away from you. The rest is all chuff.” “If you say so,” Sutton said, watching the fields outside her window. “Why are we going to the post office?”

1 🌹 = 1 snippet from a random WIP!

[incandescent-creativity]

12 & 15 of the end of year writers asks?

12. if your characters) had their own new years resolutions, what would those be?

Well since the below answer has an Ash and Zach excerpt…

I think Ash’s resolution would be to read X amount of books and/or run X amount of miles. She’s very productivity focused and having a concrete number to track would fit her.

Zach’s resolution would probably be the opposite, something not concrete at all like “have more fun” or “eat better food!” It would be unclear whether he means “better” as in healthier or “better” as in tastier. He’d be so eager to hear about yours that you don’t get the chance to question him.

15. time for shameless self-promotion! answer with a piece of writing you want others to see/read!

Okay the post I found is from May but these are end of year asks! I wrote it this year and it counts.

It’s about Ash realizing that Zach is Special ™ and I quite like the way I wrote it :D

[ace-malarky]

So I graduated like ten years ago and some of the folks on the course have decided that we should do a ten year reunion and like I'm well up for this it'll be great

However. Shit's happened in the last ten years y'know

[elkieselkiewrites]

Magic System Tag Game

Thanks for the tag @pizzamanstan!!

Explain the magic system of your current WIP as poorly as possible. Bonus points if you use bullet points

I'm going to do this for Postmaster WIP!

All magic comes from space!

Magic is made of ~ waves ~ from the impact of a falling star

Soundwaves? Electromagnetic waves? Yes.

Magic waves resonate endlessly out from the point of impact

Magic waves woke up lots of stuff and made it sentient

Walking talking rock? Yes. Walking talking trees? Yes. Walking talking lizards with wings now? I guess so.

Too much magic = radiation sickness

Too much magic but not quite that much magic = mutations

Vibrations in the opposite direction can cancel out the magic

Anti-magic vibrations make people sick

So yeah, good vibrations make you sick and bad vibrations also make you sick

Nice, great design 10/10

People use magic by listening to "the song", only some people are in tune with "the song" and can channel vibrations through their bones

How does that work? I dunno...

Magic waves aren't super useful on their own, but people sure can create contraptions to make them useful, huh

Some scholars try to create artificial magic waves, with mixed results ("mixed results" here is code for "aberrations hitherto unknown to man")

Prolonged use of magic by people who aren't naturally "resonant" can lead to damage to bones, muscles and nerves, causing permanent physical and neurological disabilities

Again, great design 10/10

TLDR: space sound radiation magic is probably bad for your health

Tagging (only if you fancy it) @aether-wasteland-s, @ace-malarky, @i-can-even-burn-salad and @dragonfelling

Also open tag if you see this and want to give it a go!

[whgmasterofceremonies]

Writeblr Hunger Games Round 22

Alright, I know that the poll hasn't ended, but there has been enough interest that we'll be starting the submissions!

Reminder of the Basics: Writers submit their characters as potential candidates and then I put them in the Brant Steele Hunger Games Simulator and share the results. In the meantime, the writers can write and share stories (from giant text posts to just a couple of sentences) about their characters being in the Games!

Note: characters’ canonical powers, strengths, abilities, disabilities, and weaknesses will not be taken into account by the simulator. Every outcome is random and everyone has an equal chance for victory or disaster.

How we’ll do things this time: each writer who wants to participate can submit up to three original characters they would like to see fight in the Arena. Please reblog this post only or else send this blog an ask/message with your characters’ information.

In your submissions, please include your characters’:

Name (what you would like to see them repeated as over and over in the simulation)

Pronouns

A little bit of background information, as this helps me write fun reactions about the characters

Since a majority voted for a standard WHG, we'll just have the simulation run its course with no theme! It will be a standard killing game, teehee.

Timeline:

Submissions begin today

Writing prompts will be posted later this week

Submissions close Sunday, January 5

Initial Reaping with list of characters is posted Monday, January 6. Please let me know if I've misspelled anything, you'd like to make adjustments, etc.

Official Reaping will be posted Friday, January 10

The Games begin the day after that, with one in-Arena day posted per real-world day

I am drawing everything out to give myself some extra time, since the mental health and physical time economy is in shambles, so I hope that's ok! Tagging whoever showed interest below the cut:

@maple-writes, @waltzshouldbewriting, @pen-of-roses, @jj-shubert-writes, @garthcelyn, @ace-malarky, @forthesanityofstorytellers, @incandescent-creativity, @mecharose, @hellortexa, @cautiousgoose, @saturn-iidae, and @brookewritesbookss

[flock-from-the-void]

Top 10 of 2024

I was tagged by @aalinaaaaaa here!! Thank you for making this game, it's so much fun! But I'm going to go from the last place to the first one, for you know, some ✨tension✨

10. Triangle x Stick DVAWTK

It amazes me that people still find this one somewhere.

9. David's Toyhouse

I think it got notes mainly because of the forehead kisses lmao.

8. My Intro

My intro 👍

7. Xueshu's Design

I honestly thought that no one will be interested in my oc's reference sheets, and it made me so happy that you people liked them T^T more will be coming in 2025!

6. Kim Kitsuragi

Tbh this one surprised me the most. It's a random sketch, I wasn't even sure whether or not to post it lol. Probably partially due to DE's fandom size.

5. AroAce Wenren E

That's my favorite artwork of the year! I finally figured out how to combine multiple things I wanted in my digital artstyle!

4. Colorful Xueshu

Most of the notes came after it was reblogged by a large blog during an event promoting Polish artists lol. I'm still happy about it, but the stupid 这儿 I wrote there instead of 哪儿 is killing me.

3. The post for signing up for asks and tag games lmao

2. Big Boob Mobei-Jun

I'm glad that some people have a good taste and agreed with me on this one 😌

1. Fanart for SVSSS System Possession AU

Surprising to nobody. It got reblogged by the author ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ It has over 7 times more notes than the number 2.

Tagging, no pressure<3 @seastarblue @andromedaexists @ace-malarky @walkman-cat @vsnotresponding @incandescent-creativity @inscrutable-shadow @notwritinganyflufftoday @albatris @trixierosewrites @transthadymacdermot @cepheusgalaxy @angsty-prompt-hole @primroseprime2019 @the-inkwell-variable @thegoddesswater @mecharose @ftmeriwether @aromanticsky @leahnardo-da-veggie @pluttskutt @littlepatchofhell @aether-wasteland-s @junypr-camus @annothersummerofsleep @starbuds-and-rosedust @negative-speedforce-ocs @dragomango @anumberofcatschilling @axl-ul

Yes, that's literally everyone from the tag list lol. Probably many of you got tagged by Alina but this game is so cool I want to make sure that everyone sees it lol

[winglesswriter]

Seven Sentences Sunday Tag

Look, these tag games that happen on a certain day stress me out because I usually don't have time to answer on the given day. But today is Sunday and my dance practice was cancelled so I can answer this on time. YAY!

Thank you @theink-stainedfolk for the tag.

From Foreigner God

The young man looks up. “You killed him you monster!” With his shout comes a wave of force that throws Thiery and the chair he’s been sitting on against the wall behind him. With surprising agility, the priest jumps over the table and launches at Thiery. He almost manages to get his hands around Thiery’s throat when ropes made of water restrain him mid-move. He opens his mouth but his words are cut by more water closing around his neck. Guards hurry to take him and Thiery climbs to his feet.

Gentle tag for: @willtheweaver, @rachaellawrites, @space-writes, @beginning-of-wisdom, @ace-malarky

@aintgonnatakethis, @heymacareyna, @juggling-plasticplates, @raineaxolotl, @flock-from-the-void + OPEN TAG

[zmwrites]

Tag: 2024 Recap Game

Thank you for the tag @ashen-crest! It's amazing to see everything you've accomplished summarized so succinctly—very proud of how far you've come and the amazing strides you're taking as a writer and creative!!

I was also tagged by @cljordan-imperium to share my New Years Resolutions, and I'm going to include those in here too!

In 2024, I:

survived 🤡

did basically no writing the entire year despite my wips constantly percolating in my mind, but I did accomplish big life stuff!

moved to a new province (2,000km away from where I grew up)

bought my first home, a lovely one bedroom condo

started learning how to live by myself for the first time

got a puppy (who is now 8.5 months old!)

In 2025, I hope to:

get back into writing somewhat regularly, even if it's just once or twice a week

read 10 books (low goal so I don't get discouraged)

edit Remnants and get a solid second draft done

figure out what I'm doing with Indigo Wars

2024 was rough in terms of creativity, as I was so exhausted and overwhelmed from all the big life changes, but hopefully 2025 will allow me to settle into my new life and resume my writing.

I tag @ace-malarky, @oh-no-another-idea, and whoever else wants to talk about their year!

Happy New Year everyone!

[aalinaaaaaa]

WIP Wednesday

Thanks to @jev-urisk for the tag! (Also to @bardic-tales for today's Creator's Club game)

So, on this episode of 'Eshani and Cerigo are angsting, again' ...

—

The crows and Councillors depended on her to bring it home. The country needed her to prevent the sum of its people from splintering. And Cheyoria and Cerigo… her return to them the most pivotal task of all. Eshani caught a reciprocal in her hands. A small piece of paper, with a single line of text. You know what my answer is. Come to the balcony. Upon teleporting there, her amour rose from his seat, the pair standing within inches of each other. “Well,” She let out a staggered breath. “Does Cheyoria’s friend still have it?” He shook his head, scrunching his nose a little. “What’s it worth to you? Why let it fall into the hands of High Councillors?” She recoiled at the sting in his last few words, a further reminder of what could’ve been. “You heard what was said. We need it, — I need it — for the peace of the country, for our sake. The longer the Chalice circulates, the further the country spirals.” “How long has it been kept there?” Heat rose in her cheeks, flowing to her fingers and crackling through her skin. The rift would take more than a drop to fix. “You lot just want it for yourselves. Don’t deny it.” “All I need is one drop from it.” Eshani gestured, his accusation a scathing blow. “One drop, Cerigo. One drop, and I can leave it all behind. I can come back to you.” He sighed, giving her a long, prickling stare. “Tell me who is standing before me right now? Because all I see is a High Councillor serving her court’s interests.”

—

Sending tags to @wintherlywords @cljordan-imperium @space-writes @thepeculiarbird @kaylinalexanderbooks @winterandwords @finickyfelix @flock-from-the-void @leahnardo-da-veggie @ace-malarky and open tag for anyone else with lines to share!

Obsidian Sapphires plus General taglist (ask, comment, message me if you'd like to be added or removed): @mr-orion @the-ellia-west @guessillcallitart @thereadingfoz @glassstardust22124 @honeybewrites @ashirisu @drowsy-quill @oliolioxenfreewrites @theglitchywriterboi @did-i-do-this-write @threeking @seastarblue @gioiaalbanoart @midnight-and-his-melodiverse @outpost51

[loopyhoopywrites]

If there's one piece of advice I'd give to writeblr, it's to find a way to remember the positive things people say about your writing.

Back in 2020, four years and two WIPs ago, I started taking a screenshot every time someone said something nice about my writing (or art) in a reply, reblog, tags, or ask. Today I hit 500 screenshots! That's 500 nice comments people have made about stuff I created!

That folder of screenshots has been instrumental in not only giving me a massive serotonin and confidence boost whenever I'm feeling down or insecure about my writing, but also has been a huge motivator in keeping me sticking with my WIPs. Thank you so, so much to anyone who's ever left a nice comment, it might have been nothing to you but means the absolute world to me <3

There's no way I can mention everybody, I know many aren't even active any more, and I'm definitely going to forget a bunch of people (sorry), but @chauceryfairytales @albatris @lesleymoonwriter @tracle0 @space-writes @ahordeofwasps @cwritesfiction @raevenlywrites @kaylinalexanderbooks @notwritinganyflufftoday @ace-malarky @serenanymph I know you all have contributed a lot to this collection, so thank you so, so much and I appreciate each and every one of you <3<3

[trixierosewrites]

Hey, happy STS! What sort of advice/cryptic message would your end-story OCs give to themselves at the start? Would they be inclined to listen?

Happy definitely-the-right-STS!

Aidan would absolutely give himself the advice "don't be a coward, you know it's her" for Memento Vivere, but whether his past self would listen is a different matter. Aidan is, after all, a coward, even when given information that could save his life :3

Thanks for the ask!!

[oh-no-another-idea]

Hey, happy STS! What sort of advice/cryptic message would your end-story OCs give to themselves at the start? Would they be inclined to listen?

This is an awesome question, Happy STS to you too! Thanks for the ask! <3

Oh boy. None of them would listen AT ALL, but here's the advice they'd give.

Velia: "...your life is about to be changed. Don't fight it so hard." Antonio: "People are tricky. Keep at it. It's worth it in the end!" Paris: "Loneliness isn't always a shield. Sometimes it's shooting yourself in the foot. Don't forget to give Velia that drawing."

[ace-malarky]

oh I forgot trying to use onedrive is like. Fucked on the work computers lmao

I mean it's a step up from gdrive being blocked but the fact that I can only access my most recent and not just trawl through my folders is uhhhhh fucked up!