#all of my current playthrough ocs are:

[sashthesloth]

do NOT bring your boyfriend to the swamp. he will not like it.

[gender-premium-tm]

started playing pokemon sword again so obviously i gotta make ocs for it

[kierarhawke]

“Why does it appear that your dreams often center here?” Solas asked as he joined her.

“...Because I wish to learn more about it. And…I find myself entranced by this place.” Kirsi still wasn’t quite sure that properly described how this ancient fortress made her feel. The beauty of Skyhold, its history, its mystery… Every piece of it called to her. And she…found herself falling in love with it all.

[vsnotresponding]

oc name meaning tag

thanks @pluttskutt for the tag!

Rules: Put down an OC or more and tell what their name means

i look at the rules and i ignore the rules. this is a fun way to give examples of how i name my ocs and so i'll explain:

this name came to me in a dream and I have no idea what it means:

Eak: from the Ancient Greek “Aiakós (Αἰακός). Aiakos was one of three judges of the dead, underworld demi-god.

doesn't fit him at all lmao

chosen for the actual meaning:

Anuna: follower

basically what he is

scrambled a word in another language to get the name:

Raichta: from meabhlaireachta "decieve"

this is sher's noble name btw

chosen for symbolic reasons:

Hannah: graciousness

i chose hannah because it reads the same backwards. and you know. circular time

Ira: watchful of a city, watchful

fitting meaning, but she got her name from the word for rage in Spanish

honoring a fictional character:

Ely: ascension

fitting, even if i got it from Elyon (God Most High) from WITCH lol

Enzo: home ruler

doesn't fit my boy. got the name from The Young Elites

i grew attached to a pokemon during a playthrough and used the nickname for an oc (only in tfb)

Arion: greek mythology horse

Chimera: greek mythology animal

open tag + @my-cursed-prince @on-noon @k--havok @aquil-writes @mjjune and @sunset-a-story

[lelianaslefthand]

okay this kinda fucks

[preciouslittle-bhaalbabe]

This is it. The last night at The Elfsong before the group goes on to defeat the brain. I'm...Sad. I'm nostalgic about this playthrough even though it's still going, and I have other characters that I love playing as. Those of you who've played multiple runs of this game get what I mean, it's a bit melancholy when you've done everything, and now all that is left is the final battle. I love this game so much. And it's not like I don't have other runs going currently. But Lillith was a delight to play as. She may even get a second run if I get too sentimental. Maybe an evil au >:3 But yeah, I just get sappy when one of my oc's journey is coming to an end ;w;

[happy-beeeps]

Domesticity

Summary: a slice of life moment of a very anxious Gale, and a very relaxed reader!

Pairing: gale x drow!tav (gn i thiiiiiiiink?)

warnings: mention of alcohol, suggestive content but no smut

a/n: posting this in the airport I have no shame!!!! this is based on my current playthrough with my drow paladin. so there are some references to drow and tav finding a found family within Minthara, but it's not really a fleshed out oc!

Cooking doesn’t come quite as naturally to you as you’d hoped. It’s a complex balance of flavor—spice and savory and salty and sweet—that challenges the palate you’ve grown accustomed to in Menzobarrenzen and your time in exile. Still, you move slowly, carefully, over the faded recipe card, make precise cuts to the carrots in front of you.

There’s a movement in the counter, and your wine glass is moved closer to you. “One for the pot, one for the cook. Or so the saying goes.” Tara hums, curling up on the edge of the counter. You can’t imagine Gale would say anything, so you don’t bother asking her to move away from the cooking.

“If I want to have any hope of this turning out, I’m going to need to slow down.”

She tuts in response, kicking her legs out long and rolling onto her back. 

“Why is this so hard?”

“What, cooking?”

“Yes!” You toss the carrots into the steaming pot, and move to toss in the onions and garlic nearby. “He makes everything look so effortless.”

“Funny enough, I seem to recall him saying something similar when he attempted to wield your greatsword.” She moves off the counter with ease, “perhaps that’s what makes the two of you work so well.”

You’re so wrapped up in your cooking that you don’t head the door open, and don’t sense the heavy weight moving across the wooden floor until his hands are on you, wrapping around your waist. You’re carefully moving the dish onto two plates, and nearly drop the spoon in surprise. “You should be grateful this isn’t a dagger,” you mumble against his neck as places his chin on your shoulder. 

“Perhaps. Or perhaps I’ve taken a calculated guess that you wouldn’t be wielding a weapon in our kitchen at this hour.”

“Then you don’t know me at all.”

“On the contrary, but perhaps we could get reacquainted.” He moves to pepper soft kisses along your jawline, but pauses at the realization of what’s in front of him. “Is that…”

“Your mother’s shepards pie?” You’re blushing now when he turns to you. “I wanted to surprise you, you’ve been so busy with grading.”

“Well, color me surprised.” He moves to grab both plates and begins setting your table. “Sit down, let me get your glass.”

“Only if you have one too.”

He smiles and grabs another glass, along with the bottle before settling in front of you. You try to contain your excitement when he moves to take his first bite, trying to nonchalantly watch him out of the corner of your eye. His eyes light up, and his gaze rockets to yours. “How did you get this? It’s perfect.”

“It’s not a far walk to your mothers,” you pause to take a sip of your wine, a delightful red decidedly nicer than the bottle you had been sipping from earlier. Sneaky. “I’ve been going by on my slower days for tea.”

“You’ve been spending time at my mother’s?” It’s not an accusatory question, on the contrary, his eyes glow with warmth at the thought.

“She’s sweet, and it’s nice to spend time with family, and I told her I wanted to surprise you.”

He’s quiet at first, simply smiling at his plate and eating. After a moment, he speaks up. “Family, yes?”

Your cheeks burn with color at your minor slip. “I mean, in a sense-“

“And in the literal skin enough.” He reaches across the table to gently graze the top of your hand, hesitating on the knuckle above your ring finger.

Dinner passes in relative simplicity afterwards, casual conversation about his classes, your work at the temple. 

“While on the topic of families, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you who I saw today.” 

Your eyebrow quirks up in response, “Oh?”

“Your sister is in town.”

“Minthara?” Your brows furrow, “I didn’t know she was headed this way, are there cultists in Waterdeep?”

“Hardly, she’s heading back to Baldur’s Gate, something to do with Nine Fingers. I told her to tell you more tomorrow. She’s found company for the evening.”

“Sounds like Minty,” you smile at the thought of your pseudo-sister. “I’m happy to see her tomorrow, but I’m not heading to Baldur’s Gate with her.”

He blinks in surprise, “You’re not?”

“Do you want me to go?”

“I just assumed you’d be interested. It’s been quite a moment since you’ve done a daring rescue, some savvy swashbuckling.”

You snort at the word choice, “Swashbuckling is more Astarion’s style. Besides, I’m busy with my work here, and then we’d be apart. You can’t leave in the middle of the semester.”

“You bring up a valid roadblock, my love.” He smiles at the end of his thought, but there’s an uncertainty in his eyes that doesn’t miss you.

You’re on your back, clad in nothing but one of Gale’s impossible comfortable tunics. He’s beside you of course, reclining beside you on the plush blanket laid out on the terrace of his study. His hands twirl above you, and lights dance overhead. You’re mesmerized by him, by even the smallest of spells that hardly take any effort. You burrow deeper into his side, transfixed by the colors moving overhead. 

He moves after a moment, propping himself on his elbow. “Can I confess something to you?”

“Of course,” you move to cradle his cheek in your hand, rolling on to your side to face him. “What is it?”

“I’ve been feeling… a flavor of insecurity as of late. At first, I couldn’t believe my good graces, to not only survive our encounter with the brain, but to bring you home to Waterdeep, to see you in my tower. It’s still surreal. A student, however, noticed you in the market recently, and asked what it was like to live with a great warrior like you, and I realized I’d neglected that. You are a great warrior, you’re an excellent paladin, I’ve watched you slay more enemies and heal me more times than I can count. And then I saw Minthara, all disheveled, hair messy, but happy. I’m worried I’m keeping you trapped in this tower, not unlike how I felt when I encountered my orb. You know you’re always free to go, frolick the sword coast and slay enemies the whole way down, correct?”

The honesty of his confession catches you by surprise for a moment. You haven’t the words to reassure him, you’re not sure you could string them together if you tried. Instead you kiss him, leaning forward and cupping his cheek. He leans in hungrily, interpreting your gesture as your answer. His lips are soft against yours, the taste of wine making you drunk with anticipation as you pull back.

“When I became a paladin, it was because I wanted my people, Seldarine, Lolth sworn, just drow in general to be respected by surface dwellers. I do too. My oath to bring balance and light, not to slaughter every prejudiced person on the sword coast. I can fulfill my oath with the work I do here, at the temple in Waterdeep, with you, and frankly, you’re selling yourself short as a wizard, you’re quite the catch,” his hand slides down your back and you feel yourself being tugged closer, “Where Minthara, gods bless her, needs blood and sex to satisfy her, I can get by with a good wine and a dinner with you.”

He kissed you again, quickly, and pulls his hand away to smooth your cheek, “Well, perhaps we don’t need to count out sex as satisfaction just yet,” his hand rubs slow circles along your back as he pulls you in closer, “after all, I am quite the accomplished wizard.”

[briebo-art]

the dragonborn models from Baldur's Gate 3 have got my oc brain churning... this isn't my current player character (im currently playing a gold dragonborn bard which has been a blast), but the one im planning on playing in my next playthrough, a white dragonborn rogue!

never drawn scales or a snout before so this was an enjoyable challenge. im hoping that by becoming obsessed with my Tav's I'll be able to learn quickly :)

additional sketch with an expression to go along with it and timelapse under the cut~

and thats all! ta <3

[astarionposting]

‎‎‎‎WARNINGS

NSFT blog; spoilers for all games i post abt, violence/gore/dark stuff in general, i don't always tag that stuff, nsfw and suggestive content, etc.

CONTENT

MULTIFANDOM - I post mostly BG3 and Astarion/OC content, but I also post and make CP2077, RE4 and other game content :)

QUICK LINKS

I. ASTARION | screenshots | gifs | tag II. BG3 | screenshots | gifs | tag III. CP2077 | screenshots | my v | tag IV. RE4 | screenshots | gifs | tag V. OCs | tag | others' ocs BG3 OCS Freyja | ♫ Frey | ♫ my Durgetav playthrough | ♫ | Priestess of Bhaal Renaesa

MY MODS

Patreon | Tag (currently on a short hiatus from modding due to life stuff)

OTHER SOCIALS

Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube | Discord | Ko-fi

OTHER LINKS

Mod masterlist | OC mod lists | Tutorials Masterlist + Cam Tools Tav Edit Requests (ON INDEFINITE HIATUS RN) Google Drive (original png files of my screenshots for wallpapers 2k and 4k)

SIDE BLOGS DIRECTORY

Yes, you can use any of my screenshots/gifs for edits/wallpaper/icons, etc. as long as you credit me :) If you ever need the full size/original png file, you can check my google drive or dm me!

c: dividers

[tellmeallaboutit]

Not to get to meta but where did Raphael leave Tav/Durge and co before coming to our world in knock knock? Is this the ending where he acquires Crown of Karsus in exchange for the hammer? I know technically in Anya's save shes the only one piloting the player character but km curious what the state of Faerun currently is.

I don't think you can get too meta with knock knock, meta is literally it's cornerstone.

So, Raphael got the Crown from Anya's Durge drow sorceress and went around conquering hells which took him way more years in his time than months that passed on Earth time. That's where we get the freeze - not alterations or replays affected this timeline anymore.

The Durge went around her life and settled down with Astarion as Anya romanced him in her playthrough. Nothing much happened to Faerun because Faerun was never Raphael's first focus.

Raphael started with Dis, then Minauros, then Cania / his father. Upon killing his father, he stumbled upon documents with his deal with Maurizio D'Avergni which sparked his interest for two reasons:

It was overdue and his father never collected his debt which was unheard of, he only made a written note to "stay away from Earth". For which reasons, Mephistopheles did not made precise and he was dead so Raphael could not interrogate him, but he knows that his father is just a stupid archivist and not ambitious enough so what does he know

Raphael is very well-versed in metaphysics but never ever heard of Earth and neither did any of other arch-devils and scholars so he is very intrigued

He located Maurizio and his son and watches from some time from afar as he is no able to manifest on Earth in physical form, noting the different passage of time, different rules and generally different metaphysical rules that apply to Earth

He finds out in horror that there is indeed a Raphael in Earth version, an it's a video game character. He firmly assumes that people on Earth are all seeing and visionaries, so they just saw him a dream / vision

He traces Anya to her Durge (Google: "Raphael" - > Essay "Raphael is Misunderstood and the Greatest Devil In Existence" -> "Here is screenshot of my OC Durge" -> Bingo) and watches and collects information from her from afar, believing she is a powerful sorceress that can bend reality / open inter imensional gates and lucky for him, completely obsessed / in love with him which is of course the Sign that this is Fate and Meant to Be

He becomes increasingly obsesses with Earth and believes that Earth is key to true power, divinity and conquering Asmodeus

[theredtrails]

I'm alive! l am currently waiting for FF7 Rebirth to drop, but I'm deep into my second playthrough of BG3, this time with my bard Durge! She's a mess but I love her ❤️

All you need to know if you want me to draw your BG3 OC!

[natasha-in-space]

Hi Natasha!! I feel like I disappeared and just... never came back lol

Though I'm here to request! This time for Saeran :o

Seeing as I'm planning on starting Ray route soon, could we have a story about Saeran finally being able to confide within you after ages of ignoring his own feelings? I'd imagine that the MC would pry it out of him after noticing he's been acting odd lately. You could take a school setting or canon setting; whatevers easier!

Or, if that doesn't make sense, you could write something about Ray breaking down over feeling helpless; where he thinks that he doesn't do enough/isn't enough for MC.

Or... you could combine the two ideas and write the whole story about Saeran.

SO sorry if this confused you. Ignore it if it did! its completely fine :3

Hi-Hi, lovely to see you back!! <3 I decided to go with SE Saeran for this one, both because I'm currently in my SE Saeran brainrot and because this seems fitting for him. Good luck on your Ray route playthrough! Make sure to have lots of tissues nearby, because you're about to go on a very wild ride of emotions. Also, for future notice, my name's Mia! Natasha is the name of my OC (dw it's kinda a common thing with my url but I don't wanna change it at this point xD)

"...We all know that something is wrong, you know."

Saeran doesn't pay attention to you while you carefully make your presence known by shuffles of your feet against the floor. You are aware that he heard you. He just doesn't say nor do anything to show it. And that worries you.

Saeran was always the quiet, closed-off type. Not like you could blame him, considering all he had to go through. Similar to a feral cat, you've always respected his silent need for space and freedom. If he wanted to talk, he would talk. If he had a desire to spend time with you, he would approach you on his own. You simply demonstrated your desire to be close to him, so that he would know that you wanted him near you.

But... Even you could sense that something wasn't right today. Saeyoung felt it almost immediately, whether it was thanks to their inherent twin connection or his natural tendency to worry about his younger brother. However, just because Saeyoung knew something was wrong doesn't mean he can do anything about it, unless Saeran openly allows him to.

And he was definitely not doing that.

You had to rush down to the kitchen because you heard the sound of glass breaking, and then Saeran shouting. Upon your arrival, the younger twin had already left the room, only giving you a quick unfocused glance before pushing past you. Thankfully, no one was hurt. You talked with Saeyoung in hushed voices as you both cleaned up the broken shards, offering him some comfort in the process. Although you were concerned about Saeran, Saeyoung was equally important to you. Whenever those kinds of incidents happened, his well-being was just as important. Even if he often refuses to acknowledge it.

It seems that Saeran must have cut himself while preparing dinner, and somehow, this turned into an outburst once Saeyoung became worried and tried to help. Both of you acknowledged that there is a deeper issue at play here. Something underlying right under the surface. And it was probably something very unpleasant.

In the end, you both agreed to have you go and attempt to speak with Saeran. Since you weren't present during the entire scene. So, now here you were, silently standing over the younger twin as he sat on the couch, his back turned to you. It hurt your heart to see him hunched over like that, almost like he was curling in on himself. The position didn't appear to be comfortable to be in.

"Saeran, please... tell me what's wrong. I can see you are in pain." Your voice is soft and quiet. You don't want to accidentally push him away. You slowly take a seat on the edge of the couch, a small distance away from him to give him space to breathe and not get overwhelmed.

He shifts ever so slightly, a jerky movement leaving him with a shaky breath. It was probably supposed to be a huff, but it was far too weak to sound like one.

"...I'm fine."

You sigh. "You're not. Look... You don't have to tell me everything, ok? But, I can see that you are in pain, and I want to help you. So... just tell me what you need. I won't ask for anything more."

That seemed to reassure him just a little bit, judging by the way his shoulders lowered, and he paused, possibly thinking over your request. You didn't say anything, only allowing him to do this at his own pace.

At last, there was a reply.

But instead of verbalizing, he just shifts to sit up on the couch and turns over to you. He doesn't look at you, but quietly pulls out his hand and shows it to you. His palm is caked with relatively fresh blood, a decently sized cut being the source of the red substance painting over his skin. It wasn't anything serious by any means, but it sure looked painful.

However... something told you it wasn't the cut that bothered him. Saeran refused to examine his hand. His head was turned away, and his red bangs were falling over his eyes, making it difficult for you to see his face. But, his lips were pressed together into a thin, tense line. You also couldn't help but notice the ungodly tremble in his hands. They were shaking violently. In a way that clearly showed distress without saying a word.

You carefully grasped his wrist, inspecting the cut. Most of the bloody mess was caused by him smearing the blood over his palm, and it didn't seem as bad as you thought at first. Gently rubbing your thumb over his wrist, you pulled away. "I'll clean it up for you, ok? Just wait here."

He didn't respond, but he did give you a brief nod. You now have all the green light you needed.

Saeran hadn't said a word to you until you wrapped a clean gauze over his palm and gently patted his arm to let him know that you were done. The cautiousness with which he turned to look at his hand was unmistakable. Almost like he was sure he'll see something utterly horrifying in its place. The shaky sigh of relief he did let out, though, made you smile. He flexed his hand a bit and turned it around to look over it fully.

"...Thank you."

The murmur was both quiet and soft. Genuine. His mint eyes were filled with earnest gratitude when he looked at you, and that was all you needed. You merely smiled, giving him a nod. "Of course. Do you feel better now?"

Another nod.

"That's wonderful. I'll go put away the medkit, and-"

"-Wait."

As he grasped at your sleeve, you stopped and turned around to look at him. Once again, his face was turned away from you, but this time it was a far more bashful gesture than a distressed one. You weren't completely sure, but you thought you could see a hint of pink dusting over his cheeks.

Saeran breathed a sigh, almost like he was preparing himself before saying anything. Then, he pulled you back a little bit. "...Stay. Please."

There was no need for you to hear anything else.

And so, that's how you ended up holding him close as you both huddled up on the couch, your chin resting on top of his head as he buried his face in your chest. For a while, only the sounds of your shared breaths filled the space. You promised him you wouldn't ask for anything, and you were not about to go back on that promise.

Saeran was the one who spoke up.

"Is... Hyung alright?"

Humming, you raised your hand to run your fingers through his unruly hair. The main purpose is to keep him calm and relaxed. "He's okay. Very worried about you, though."

Saeran tenses a bit, but then sighs heavily, almost in defeat. You bite back on the desire to push him for answers.

"I... didn't mean to scream at him like that. I just-"

A shaky breath. You squeeze him a bit tighter, your other hand rubbing soothing circles on his back.

"You don't have to say anything you don't want to say, Saeran. None of us blame you."

"-You should."

It was up to you to be the one to sigh now.

"Saeran..."

He shakes his head, but his grip on you tightens, his voice becoming shakier by the moment. It seemed as though he was engaged in a mental battle with himself. It hurt you to be unable to do anything but just hold him and let him talk.

"You know why I started screeching at him for no reason? There must be some rational explanation, right? That's what you think. Well, there isn't. I-" Another shaky breath. The sound of this one was almost like a sob. Your heart started pounding in your chest with anxiety. "I cut my hand on the knife, and just the sight of blood on my hands set me off. I threw a glass bowl at my brother because of a fucking cut on my hand."

You didn't answer right away. Gathering your thoughts and emotions is definitely necessary before you proceed and say something you might regret later. You should be careful here.

So that's what happened... Now that you thought about it, the sight of blood did always make Saeran very uncomfortable. But, to see it coating his hands... Well, you didn't have to guess for long. All three of you were aware of what actually occurred to V on that day.

And what a heavy burden Saeran had to carry with him for the rest of his life.

"Oh... Saeran..."

"-Just-" At this point, it was clear that he was crying. His entire body was shaking with silent sobs as he pressed himself further into you, almost like he was trying to hide from the world in your embrace. "Just hold me. Please. I- I feel so sick..."

So you do. Without uttering a single word. Holding him is what you do. You will have a proper conversation about it once he lets it all out.

Until then, you will be there for him to be his support.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

November MC of the Month: Riikka Lovisa Yläkorpi

Please welcome November 2023's MC of the month! Each month, we will highlight one MC or OC that is currently on our Meet My MC / OC List. The MC / OC is selected randomly on the Wheel of Names, and eligibility requirements can be found here. We accept MC / OC profiles on an ongoing basis. Please feel free to send yours in!

This month’s MC of the month is…

@aallotarenunelma 's Riikka Lovisa Yläkorpi!

In your own words, tell us what you like most about your MC / OC.

What I love most about Riikka is how she always finds a way to talk about Finland and share about her Finnish culture. She was born and raised there until she moved to Westchester when she was 2. Her father was born and raised in Porvoo/Borgå, Finland and her mother was born and raised in Astoria, Oregon, where there's an important Finnish community. It explains why she's so deeply connected to her Finnish roots.

Do you feel your MC / OC is like you at all? How are you alike or different?

Riikka and I share the same height (163 cm), the same main love language (quality time), and a love for raspberries and salmiakki. We also share the same romantic and sexual orientations (demigray), but that was completely accidental. It was only a few months ago that I realized I was also gray, not just demi.

Unlike her, I don't have Asian origins, I have only one culture and one native tongue, I am not an only child, I am not allergic to peanuts and spring is not my favourite season.

What is most important to your MC / OC? What is their motivation in life? Happiness is most important to her. Happiness for her and also for everyone else. She wishes for people around her to be utterly happy, especially her loved ones.

What are their biggest pet peeves/dislikes? Riikka's biggest pet peeves are cruelty and any forms of abuse. She also dislikes peanuts because of her severe allergy and rutabagas.

If your MC / OC could change one thing - anything - what would it be? That would be hanging out with Mr Red. If she could go back in time, in every timeline, she would not follow Jane and would tell her how bad that idea is. Each time, it has impacted the group and left Dan with PTSD and a high level of anxiety to manage.

What is your MC / OC’s favorite quote or song? "Voimallinen tahto vie miehen läpi harmaan kiven." ("A strong will takes a man through a gray rock.")

This quote is from the classic book Seitsemän veljestä (The Seven Brothers) by Aleksis Kivi.

Because Riikka has a silly side, she enjoys telling Dan "eteenpäin sanoi mummo lumessa", which translates into "forward, said granny in the snow". It means to keep going through difficulties with determination.

Both quotes are about sisu. It's a Finnish concept hard to translate but that could be explained as perseverance, strength of will, tenacity, courage, bravery during moments that seem hopeless.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your MC / OC?  (It can be why you created them, how they’ve inspired you, or you could write a little blurb as if it is coming from your OC - an acceptance speech. :) )

Riikka is very special to me because she's my first ILITW MC. Unfortunately, she passed away in a violent manner during my very first playthrough, leaving me shaken. I had to grieve her before being able to replay the book and create another MC.

Because I couldn't forget her, I decided to write a series, Darker Than Night, that follows the original timeline. It's very angsty but also cathartic.

I also had the idea of an AU series telling about how the lives of the children would have changed if they hadn't had the sleepover in the woods. This AU series is titled In Joy and Sorrow and it starts when they are in junior, so a year before when the book starts. I love this series because I can talk about so many important and different topics, and there are wonderful OCs. Even my four other It Lives MCs are dropping by from time to time.

Thanks to this series, I've really gotten to know Riikka, and I keep on learning about her. And now, she can fully live a great life she should have never lost so young in the first place.

Here are some stories to learn more about Riikka:

Darker Than Night

Joy and Sorrow

[pale-opal]

So

What writing projects do you have in the works?

👀

!!!

I am so glad that you asked this question! I honestly have a lot of ideas, and I have been wanting an excuse to talk about them for a while. So if you don't mind me rambling for a little bit:

So the first thing that I've been working on is a sequel to the first fic that I uploaded for this MMX rewrite that I've been working on (an AU called Collision Course). I'm trying to get a backlog of 30 chapters together before I release the second part, and I'm on Chapter 20 right now. I wanted to have it released well before this time, but I kept hitting walls with some of the chapters that came before the current one. However, I think I should be good once I reach Chapter 21 (the story will start to reach a point that I've been really excited to work on). I'm hoping to have it out before the end of the month.

@crystalclear365 and I have started planning for this one fic that we decided to write together - I won't go too far into it because we both want it to be a surprise, so all I will say is that I hope you like cooking shows. >:)

I also like to write essays sometimes, and there's been one that's been sitting in my drafts for way too long. I want to have that out by the end of the month, too (it's been a blast working on it, but I want it gone). I have other ideas for essays past that, but I think it would be best if I finally finished this one first.

I also have a bunch of AUs that I've been mentally workshopping for good while. Here are a few that I want to talk about:

There's a slice of life human + modern AU that involves Shadow Man being neighbors with the Wily family, along with shenanigans such as Bass skipping school on a near regular basis, Piano and Waltz (cut characters from the Megamix manga and the Dreamwave comics respectively) being in girl scouts, Snake Man trying to set Shadow up with Berkana, Star Man being a community theater teacher, Wily being a deadbeat (if there's anything most of my AUs have in common, it's that Wily is a terrible father and Shadow Man will adopt nearly all of Wily's kids if you let him), Zero and X being lab partners, Blues being a runaway... there's a lot going on. I'm definitely going to have to make a proper post explaining this one at some point (and not just because I feel like I'll implode if I don't write something for it soon).

I also have a human + zombie AU that has a bunch of lore, so I can't talk about it too much without giving it its own post - so to sum it up, a bunch of the characters from the Mega Man series got turned into zombies during the apocalypse, got found by some scientists that are being led by Gate, got experimented on, got some of their sentience back while losing some of their zombie-tendencies, and escaped. Now it's everyone else's problem. It features events such as Red learning how to love and be less selfish after half-zombie Axl looks at him one day and goes "Yup. that's my dad now.", Shadow Man adopting half-zombie Zero (because of course he does), Snake Man slowly succumbing to the infection because he took too long to amputate his bite (oof), and Lunime trying to convince all the other former infected to rise up against the humans. And the half-zombies can speak to those that are fully infected, while all the humans get to stand around watching like this:🧍‍♂️

I have a vampire AU I haven't put much thought into. I do have a few details though: Red is Axl's biological father in this one, and Axl is half-vampire (Red is human, though. And an ex-vampire hunter. So he's going through it). Blues is a vampire hunter who is really good at his job, but hates doing it. Shadow Man's family act like rejects from the Addams family. Dr. Light is a retired hunter. I want to write a oneshot for Mouthwashing at some point (I saw a playthrough of it not too long ago and I may never be the same (/pos)), but I'm still working out the main plot beats. There's also a bunch of lore I have for my OCs, but to talk about that would take hours (seriously). I have some other oneshot ideas for the Mega Man franchise as well, but I'm saving those for special occasions (one of them I am saving for April Fool's Day. It is November. Bear with me). But uh... yeah! That's about it. Thank you again for asking! I hope I didn't talk too much. 😅

[mercurialmalcontent]

Anyway, I wasn't going to get Veilguard for a while but I got an unexpected windfall and managed to clear enough drive space so I'm going to get it when it comes out after all, and now I'll spend the next two weeks agonizing on which OC is going to be my first Rook. (I might make a new one, but why do that when I already have so many?)

It's largely going to depend on how I get along with the chargen and who I can get the Vibes(tm) right of. It's gotta be one of the bisexual ones so I have maximum potential romances, but that's not hard bc Iolis is already disqualified (he was my Hero of Ferelden) and Phaedrus talks and acts like Bill&Ted of the Excellent Adventure (which is, hilariously, canon compliant for FFXIV as of Dawntrail, but is just waaaaay too goofily out of place in Thedas).

That makes my choices various flavors of bastard. XD I've got a hotheaded bastard, a pretentious bastard (Hi, Beautiful!), a grumpy old bastard, a horny hotheaded bastard, and an ethereal extraplanar creature who will have to wait for a second+ playthrough as they always rely on foreknowledge and heavy headcanon to be fun to play. (Ask me about their FFXIV incarnation!)

I'm sssssort of leaning toward Beautiful so he has half a chance of getting a playthrough I actually finish (he almost made it there in BG3... sorry buddy), but that depends a lot on if I can make him look both drop dead gorgeous and obviously middle aged. The others have a lot more flex, even the grumpy old bastard; he's currently the FFXIV equivalent of an elfy elf (viera) so he hasn't yet looked old, but he's also supposed to be the kind of butch that's gender ambiguous so again, depends on how I get along with the chargen. The hotheaded bastards have a ton of flex since they've been through various incarnations and are largely about ~vibes~ so again, depends on the chargen...

GodIwishthey'djustreleasethechargenearly

[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @blarrghe  |  [AO3: blarghe

The Collaboration period has begun! In these quiet months before works are due, we want to foster a sense of excitement, camaraderie, and celebration among our participants. To that end, all participants were given the option of a formal interview by our mod, Dema, or an informal “ask-game” survey. We hope you enjoy getting to know our phenomenal creators as much as we have!

Tortured Man More Tortured by Having To Endure the Best Week of His Life

Blarghe and Dema talk art imitating life writing, romantic foils, and the Platonic Ideal Dorianmance 

Dema: I'd love to begin in OC land with you. As someone who is both an artist and a writer, do you find that making art of your OCs informs your process? Or are those pretty separate for you?

Blarghe: Hmm. That's a good question.

Dema: Why, thank you!

Blarghe: My feeling has always been that I'm a better writer than I am an artist, so maybe the writing informs the art, more. I am always getting very visual ideas, like maybe some comic-panel type storyboards in the brain, and I can't really illustrate that to the degree that I want, so it can be like it is in my head. But I can more easily make words do that.

I'd very much like to do some illustrations for my own stuff, and I love drawing my OC and some things have helped in the other way, like designing his vallaslin on paper did give me something better to describe from in writing. I'd really love to reach the point of being able to do a few comics. There are a few scenes I really see that way. I try to be quite visual in my writing in the meantime I guess, haha.

Dema: That makes sense! I have the same dream. Comics are very intimidating. So it sounds like you write your OCs before you draw them?

Blarghe: Yeah, generally. I think since we're going from a video game and I already have seen the characters that way, there's that. Though I have OCs I have not made in the character creator. I haven't invented a ton of non-canon side characters but there are a few. I think I can picture them pretty well. I wind up drawing them after falling in love with them through writing them, rather than like, designing a character visually/on paper/in the cc before putting them in a story. Honestly, I put down DA:I for a looong time while still writing da:i-inspired fic with my OC and other canon characters. So I guess I don't have to look at him that often.

Dema: I have asked several of our writers if they make all their OCs in the CC, and if that's step 1. I'm curious, too, at what point you knew you were going to make fan content of your OC and participate in fandom. Did you finish the game first? Did you come in with a foot already in the fandom?

Blarghe: Ok long answer: I was into the games first. I started playing in maybe 2015, shortly after Inquisition came out. My partner already liked the games and was excited to play it, so I wound up watching some of that and being intrigued. But I started with Origins, loved it, and wound up loving and playing all three, all of them with more than one OC, to varying degrees of completion. When it comes to writing fic, I had ideas, like, little comics and some additional fill-in-the-gaps scenes written into notebooks and stuff for all three games. Mostly expanding on the personal relationships and romances, as you do. I'd done that kind of thing for other media I liked, but never really been in "fandom" about it for anything. I've always done creative writing and original fiction as a hobby and it was just a way of getting back into that on a personal level. I wrote the most after finishing DA:I for the second time... I kind of did a playthrough I wasn't super happy with, then made a new character specifically for a romance (Dorian's) then... wasn't super happy with that character either, THEN made Taren who is my current OC obsession, and wrote like 30K words of canon-divergence fic with a whole other OC companion inserted and just had fun with it. I forgot about that until 2020, when I found it in my docs and re-read it and decided it was actually pretty good and that I could maybe try to post online, find community, etc. I've since completely scrapped and deleted that fic from AO3, but getting out there got me into doing writing prompts and writing other stories, and now here I am. (I still haven't actually finished my Taren playthrough. I will before Veilguard lol) I was definitely motivated by COVID, thought I might go insane without community, so I picked a couple things I was already into (writing and dragon age) and went looking.

Dema: I'm guessing most of the art and writing you've done for DA has been DA:I?

Blarghe: Most, yeah. If only because my long fic is a DA:I inspired modern-au. Honestly it's fairly divorced from canon lol. Most of my canon writing is for DA:O actually. And I'm obsessed with Taren, I've drawn him more than anyone ever. He is very pretty, you see.

Dema: He is very, very pretty. Is DA:O your favorite game in the franchise? Everyone hates this question but I GOTTA KNOW hahaha!

Blarghe: Yeah it is! I love them all for different aspects, but it's got that first-game start of the obsession nostalgia. I also love a finicky, strategy-heavy RPG so to me the usual combat complaints aren't really a thing. I like the pause-every-two-seconds combat hahaha. I do really love running around through the scenery in Inquisition though, and I like the characters, and the fun flashy rogue stabbing too. But I have a soft spot for Origins for really gripping you into that story and world. It's a great balance of silly and funny and dark and difficult choices.

Dema: I haven't asked anyone else this yet, but are you finding the Veilguard announcements and previews are refreshing the inspiration? Or are you avoiding all spoilers and pretending it does not exist until the release? Or some secret, third thing…

Blarghe: Somewhere in between. I've been here the whole time lol, I don't know that it hyped me up any more, but it's nice to finally have news. And I'm excited that it will mean new people in the fandom and a resurgence that way. I am not totally avoiding spoilers but still kinda keeping my distance for my own sanity. I'll definitely lock down the spoiler tags once it's actually out.

Dema: So valid. I am feeling very inspired, myself, but I think it may be more the energy of the fandom around me reaching such a fever pitch. We're like a flock of ducks getting a whole loaf of bread after years of crumbs. 

Blarghe: So true haha. I am really excited about how it looks. Can't wait to play it!

Dema: Same! Returning to Taren a bit because, well, he's pretty: you said you went through a few iterations of OCs for a Dorian romance before him, and then were hooked. What is it about Taren that makes him a favorite? Was there a particular inspiration for him?

Blarghe: Oh boy. Not a specific inspiration. I played DA:I three times, counting the Taren one that I'm not technically finished, and the first I completely missed any romance (thought I could get Harding until it was too late) but I loved Dorian's character and his personal arc hit so hard that I immediately made a new character just for him. He was like a sassy Trevelyan who didn't really wanna be there, trying to pull kind of a rogueish charming sarcastic irresponsible pretty boy to hang with Dorian but I really didn't like how that clicked. I know it's a pretty common character archetype esp in a Dorian romance to do sassy x sassy so no hate but I found the Inquisition storyline and dialogue options just wouldn't let me be that irresponsible and funny, which makes sense. I really liked the themes of how the game pushes you into this impossible role where the only thing you can do is become a big responsible hero figure. I'm sure there's a compelling story there for the kind of character I'm talking about, but since mine fell so flat to me I decided to lean the complete opposite way. And Dorian inspired it too. The more I played and considered it the more I felt like I wanted him to have kind of a counterweight romance, you know. Opposites attract kind of thing. So Taren started as this very responsible, serious character who has always been prepared for leadership, being a First, and takes all that really seriously. He's also very Dalish and has reason to distrust and argue with him, which is great for Drama, but very very sweet and genuine and wholesome, which is so fun to contrast with all Dorian's trust issues. Dorian's quite emotional and idealistic, really, so they match in that way and it's very romantic. Taren's also a bit aspirational. Part of why I like Dorian so much is that I relate to him a lot, and I was struggling with trying to become less arrogant and more genuine, so Taren embodies a lot of that for me. Part of what makes him my favourite is probably the blank-slate of it all, too. Not having the Origin and getting to make stuff up. The whole romance plot is really compelling. I stuck him in some AUs and got carried away by worldbuilding, too. And after so much time spent with him he's just the fave now. But yeah, he's not my usual archetype. I think I've made a lot more sarcastic rogues than genuine sweethearts. He has like, anxiety and trust issues and I keep throwing him in situations to give him Trauma, but that sort of, happy, sweet, genuine, and healer-class character was all new ground to me and I wound up just loving the different-ness and challenge of it.

Dema: I did want to tell you that your "This is a story about trauma and relationships and socioeconomics and questioning belief and searching for balance. It's also about finding your soulmate on grindr" summary absolutely sent me.

Blarghe: Thank you, I'm very proud of that.

Dema: Speaking of which, can you come up with a clickbait title for your bang fic?

Blarghe: Something like Tortured Man More Tortured by Having To Endure the Best Week of His Life [[REDACTED]] you can cut that last part because it does make it obvious.

Dema: A+. Thank you for the lovely interview, it's been a treat chatting!

Blarghe: Thanks! It was very fun.