#another power to add to my collection hihi

[gnaga37]

big evil sword 😋⚔

[sepublic]

hihi this is a general purpose one from the oc and creators ask game feel free to narrow it down to ur faves (which i know we arent supposed to have but come on now) or from ur oc canon as a whole !!

C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story?

Applying this question to my OC canon as a whole... Not really? My OCs are usually made in response to the story bringing up a role that suddenly needs filling. So for example, Lloyd and the other kids need a teacher at Arkley's, particularly one they can actually relate to, one who's genuinely concerned for them? In other words, that one nice teacher that everybody likes and remembers? Well, I fill in that spot and from there create Trexdis, throwing in character concepts and ideas that I've had floating about, and have always wanted to incorporate into something, before working from there.

In essence; The story needs a character, be it to flesh out a group, and/or provide a certain function/relationship to our characters. To serve as a piece of world building, because surely someone has to be in charge of this, etc. And from there, I look across a vast collection of bare-bones ideas and concepts for characters I have floating around; Stuff like a certain aesthetic, an unusual power I've wanted to toy around with... The basic structure of a backstory that informs their personality and motives, their mentality in life, that sort of thing.

Each concept doesn't have to be its own individual character, either; It's better if I combine a few to add more facets to an OC, while avoiding a crowded quantity over quality situation. Certain personalities and backstories are often devised from pieces of media I've liked, and wanted to try my own spin/take on...

For example, the Ensemble! I've always enjoyed the trope of the villains employing a mercenary that ends up working with them full-time, so what if the good guys did that instead? So I need at least one mercenary. And I was fascinated by the idea of a 'human' whose brain was actually a computer, essentially making them a robot in a meat suit, a natural reverse to the cyborg when it comes to the flesh-machine interface.

But what if we took that a step further? What if there were multiple robots in meat suits... And they were all synced? Because I like the idea of a singular mind spread out across multiple bodies, whom are more like different limbs than their own individuals, despite appearing as such. Robots are well-equipped to pull that off, and I have one operating a human body... So I mash them into a singular concept. From there I take this nebulous idea for an OC floating around, and then I use it to fill that 'mercenary working for the protagonists' role.

Lycan, Breda, Gene? It's because there needs to be a roster of actual students at Arkley's. Salazar? Started off as a necessary leader to the pre-existing Techno League (with an O, not an A). When I initially worked with the idea of various students being the children of big bad villains of notoriety, I needed a parent for Gene. Salazar already existed and I could make some similarities between him and Gene... And this aspect has since carried over.

Then there's groups like the Escapees or the Arkley Alumni; A fairly open sandbox for me to mess around with (the latter especially), and add any number of weirdoes, who manifest from concepts that are still unused. Organizing the Escapees felt fairly natural to me, and with Arkley's Alumni, there's a lot of empty space for me to fill in and create a new character from if I ever feel the need to.

If there's one OC whom I do struggle with, it's one I haven't properly introduced you guys to; His name is Shogaken, he's got this pretty bombastic, villainous personality, an evil warlord, that kind of thing. He initially started off as a canon character from another piece of media I was making an overly elaborate fanfic for (which is what the GEverse started off as), and I got attached to him and his design, the lore I fleshed out, etc. I basically re-characterized an 'interpretation' into an entirely different character.

So when I made the GEverse its own thing, I realized I could fully embrace this fact, and renamed him Shogaken as the beginning of the differentiation process, making this character my own. However, since I'm no longer wrapping the GEverse around the skeleton of another pre-existing storyline, I have the freedom to do whatever I want... Which means Shogaken's role is also liable to change.

And he started off as the ruler of the Underworld; But in a story where I get to decide everything, I'm not sure if I want the overseer of the afterlife to be so grounded and irresponsible. But I could make it work, so I'm trying different ideas out. Sometimes I don't want to force things, I just let time pass by, allow new influences to soak in, before I find inspiration.

And I guess there IS Beturos, who is another old OC of mine. He started off as a villain, and unlike Azayle or Magmint, I never made him an Escapee for some reason, when that idea came around... So I just haphazardly stuck him in somewhere. But now that the GEverse is no longer a fanfic/retelling, that means a lot of characters and roles from that original media are gone, left empty to be filled out; So I'll probably find something for Beturos there. Give him some justice, and probably some interactions with Azayle and Magmint, like old times. Maybe I'll just make him another Arkley's Alumnus...

Every now and then, I do come up with an idea for a character that I just want to do, independently of an established role; And if there isn't another pre-existing niche/character to attach this to, well, I don't usually struggle to build a new place for them. The story is already fairly open, and part of the premise is a big world with all sorts of weirdoes and their strange stories mucking about, so it doesn't take me too much to fit them in...

The real problem is deciding if I'm satisfied with that, or want to do something more/different, after all. And sometimes I'll debate giving a certain personality/backstory to this character, or that one, if I could just do both and make them different enough through some other means to justify it, etc. And when it comes to more intricate storylines... Right now, I’m taking it slow and easy, no rush. A lot of good ideas have come to me after finding new influences and inspirations. But that’s more a question of what they’ll do in canon, rather than their place in canon.

[dionyrtal]

COVER REVEAL!

Happy cover reveal day to Motion Sickness! I'm still ecstatic about the fact that I'm publishing my second book (outlining my third as we speak hihi) next year. It's coming out on February 8th which is less than 3 months and I'm literally shaking. This collection has been so special because it allowed me to figure out and complicate things for myself and I hope you can find a reflection of your life in it as well.

Tell me! What do you think of the cover? I personally love it but would love to hear from you as usual.

Here's the description:

From the author of My Dawn Is Only Five Hours Away comes another powerful poetry collection that discusses the challenges of growing up and the meaning of identity. Motion Sickness is a coming-of-age poetry collection driven by the evergreen obsession with the search for identity in your twenties. In this poignant sophomore collection, Anja welcomes readers into her motion blur—at once vivid and fragmented— and creates a bridge between unnamed feelings and youth. Filled with intimate poems and prose, Motion Sickness is a must-have for quiet moments where introspective magic coincides with casual, sudden, and thrilling escapism.

If you want to help me before the release, you can add the book to your "to-read" shelves on Goodreads and share this post. I'd be eternally grateful. Also, if you are interested in getting an advanced copy in exchange for your honest review, you can go here.

I can't thank enough for supporting me with this release. I can't believe I get to do what I love thanks to you lovely readers and friends. Much love,

Dion.

[rinharu-purple]

Lucien: MLQC’s Mastermind

Yes, I said that Lucien is the creepiest LI in my opinion, and I wouldn’t choose him in a million, billion years. BUT, Lucien is by far the one person, who is pulling the strings and is the driving force of the MLQC universe. He is the only person who acquires all the information from all sides and is connected to every important actor in the story. Therefore, Lucien has become the second LI I’ve started to follow more attentively. Mind that the ranking ist 1) Gavin 2) Gavin 3) Gavin 4) Lucien ;)

In my manifesto, why Gavin is MC’s choice, I’ve already mentioned briefly, that Lucien has the strongest EVOL among all the characters but is also the strongest character (it’s not the MC or the Black Queen, let’s not fool ourselves)

The Machiavellian

Before we talk about Lucien’s part in the MLQC universe, we should first look at him as person and observe the elements that make up his personality.

In the game, all our guys have their personal priorities. Gavin and Kiro are on the front line, fighting for peace and prosperity, Victor, well...I don’t think that he cares for anything else besides MC, maybe his position. But with Lucien, his priority is not a person or a concept, but rather a philosophy. Lucien wants to see the next step in human evolution and is determined to take any measures necessary to see it to it’s end. Other guys can not stand oblivious to other things that come up their way in achieving their goals but Lucien only has his eyes on the prize and to him nothing else matters, no one else matters and no ethics matter. 

Machiavellianism denotes cunningness and claims, that those dark triads use whatever means necessary to gain power. If we consider the choices Lucien has made throughout the story so far, we can clearly find his manipulative ways in getting other actors to the positions of his conjecture. He lies to MC and hides his personality as Ares, penetrates Black Swan to use their facilities, but also uses LFG’s resources for his R&D projects all the while concealing his true nature. 

Another trait of a Machiavellian, is that he is charismatic and friendly, all the while displaying no emotions. I think, there can be two possible reasons as to why Lucien has limited display of emotions. The first possible explanation has something to do with his parents passing and the trauma he suffered afterwards. Among all LIs Lucien is the one with the most loveless childhood and teenage years, the most important years in developing one’s psychological traits and during those years Lucien received alongside with Kiro the most blows. That resulted in him losing the connection to his emotions as a defense mechanism. 

Another possibility might be him losing the connection to his emotions as a result of a chemical reaction in his brain due to excessive testing Black Swan objected him to. Lucien’s EVOL was created in a lab and he was the first man-made Evolver. Lucien is called various times a psychopath, because he shows signs of psychopathy such as lack of remorse, empathy or compassion. It is said that that kind of behavior might occur due to a misconnection between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the amygdala. Considering the fact that Lucien’s parents were killed right in front of him and that he was both physically and psychologically abused for the coming years, this might have led him to experience an imbalance in his chemical balance. One might argue, that his altruistic actions in the orphanage are an evidence for his compassion, I think it is yet another disguise for his unethical ways of reaching his goals.

The Orchestrator

In all honesty no one is actively seeking alliances and keeps tabs on other’s actions for their agenda like Lucien does. Maybe Commander Leto but he mostly fails in drawing others to his side, because he is not able to speak in their pendants’ language or resonate with their perspective. Lucien, on the other hand, is gifted with an extraordinary ability to observe his surroundings and companions, making it very easy for him to talk to them in their terms and desires. Lucien doesn’t show much empathy, UNLESS, it contributes to his cause, in that case he can perfectly put himself in other’s shoes and plays them in such a meticulous way, that they join him willingly.

That is how Lucien directs MC successfully in entering the Black Cabin or in understanding the evolution core.

Lucien is not exactly a piece on a chess board, but is a player, who knows all the pieces very well, knows the rules of the game, has observed many games and took notes of how they all has turned out and therefore knows what kind of a game he is going to play. Just watch closely. how he co-operates with Kiro and the Black Queen. He knows that Kiro is using Black Swan for his goals, much like he does, so he uses his hacking abilities to access to information. The Black Queen is the initiator of everything in S1, so he makes sure to stay close to her. He knows that Victor is searching for MC and trying to understand the Evol gene, there he has an investor. 

The Cool, Calm and Collected Type

in the MLQC universe, everyone loses their composure at one point or another, because...who wouldn’t? Time and space warps constantly and people are also changing their stances depending on the time-space constellation they find themselves in. 

MC loses her cool almost on a daily basis, Gavin was in a constant haywire in the Daybreak era, Victor literally threw people into black holes in CH11 and freaked out as he saw the Black Queen for the first time and Kiro walks around in a bipolar state. So, everybody is pretty unstable due to understandable conditions but we never see Lucien lose his cool and this is one of his best qualities. 

Here is the thing about Lucien. This guy is always at least one step ahead of everyone and he achieves this by two simple rules: 

1) Acquire all possible information

2) Observe everyone and everything at all times

Why am I saying this? It lies in the basis of anxiety and angst. We humans tend to feel uncomfortable in the face of an uncertain situation, meaning in the wake of the unknown. MC is constantly anxious, because she doesn’t know what is going on, why is everyone after her, why is she blessed with the unconditional affection of 5 equally attractive men? (ehm, but not quite equally ehm *Gavin* hihi, sorry, Gavin-stan gotta Gavin-stan ^_^). Anyway you get the picture. Gavin went haywire in CH22 because he was pushed in a tight spot and therefore had angst. Same goes for Victor in CH11 his mind went blank as he saw history repeating itself and then in CH18 when he saw with his own eyes what could the girl of his dreams might become.

We don’t see Lucien in such deadlock situation though do we, and I think it is mainly because he is always prepared for every possibility and he can calculate them meticulously, because he possesses the largest chunk of information and also keeps tabs on everyone and everything that’s going on. So, when a crisis occurs he doesn’t freak out, sure he gets surprised at times, because the outcome of a a certain situation is the possibility, which he calculated to be no higher than 1% and yet there it is. But since he’s already took this into consideration, he has a plan. Combine this with his knowledge about the persons and organizations involved in the matter, then you have a calm Lucien, who is in control of the situation. Thus, he is calm. You can actually also bind this behavior of Lucien with that of a predator, whose movement are languid, is non-reactive and doesn’t mind turning his back to his opponents, since he doesn’t perceive them as a threat.

If this wasn’t enough, Lucien manages to joggle all of this without exposing himself. Even in the last stage of the play he never gets caught. Unless he willingly exposes himself, as in the case of revealing Ares to MC. MLQC actors can usually see through each other and use their weaknesses to meet their own ends. MC is obviously Gavin, Kiro and Victor’s weakness and their opponents can see this pretty easily. IT’s not quite the same with Lucien though and he doesn’t let himself be blackmailed or threatened by any weakness. He always keeps his cards close to his chest. 

Considering the fact that Lucin is the least outstanding LI, this is pretty impressive. So I guess this makes him the embodiment of the phrase “still waters run deep”.

The Renaissance Man

Lucien is a man of science and aesthetics. Explaining phenomenons with associations and loading them with philosophical substance. He doesn’t necessarily perceive things bluntly as they are, but interprets them in a meaningful way. The way he associates MC with a butterfly, how he wants to entrap her in ajar, so she wouldn’t get away, alas taking the only resource of color in his life away. Not only that, but he can also break down the matters at hand to its fragments and can therefore work his way up from there. He is blessed with a strong deduction ability, so he can connect the dots easily, come to a conclusion and act accordingly. No doubt that the other guys have very good deduction abilities, but because Lucien always has a bit of an information more than them, he can find the solutions just a little bit faster in my opinion. 

Reading is a necessity for his guy much like eating and drinking, Which is why we see him reframing events in the context of a certain story he’d read at some point in his life. With time, I will add here some of his quotes about certain situations to explain what I mean. Or even better, if you have some, that are evident in you opinion, you could add them in the comments. I really enjoy reading/hearing Lucien’s philosophical, scientific explanations to certain moments in MC’s life. They are always to the point and helpful.

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So this is my very first analysis on Lucien and I have to admit, I still have  so many material to check on him, so if anything is missing please bear with me here :)

I was watching Joe’s Twitch while I wrote this, so there are many spelling, grammar mistakes, which will be corrected gradually.

This post will get better and better, scout promise!

[creativenicocorner]

Original Character in 5 Gifs

Aaaah Heck <3 Got tagged by @bifacialler  And challenged too! Hihi So here’s the thing with Karenna Isabella Navarro Méndez  

Karenna came Topside out of the fetch in the 1300′s of what was then The  Kingdom of Aragon, and what is known today as Northern Spain. 

For a changeling, she has a very assured sense of self, and takes the whole ‘Who am I? What am I?’ excestential questions changelings tend to ask themselves with stride. Though just because she makes it look easy, doesn’t mean she doesn’t struggle with those questions as well - at most she answers them with an ‘easy come easy go’ sort of mentality. One of those optimistic nihilist. Names have no meaning, the past cannot be changed, and the only thing she can control is herself and how to use the cards dealt to her. 

The simplest way to describe Karenna, is blunt. Which is a tricky thing to be in a secret spy organization like the Janus Order. Which has gotten her in quite a few near death situations, at least until she realized there’s a time and a place to be blunt. She is never afraid to speak her mind, or rather sign them. That doesn’t mean she isn’t clever enough to keep some thoughts and opinions to herself. 

What she won’t and can’t say in words, she’ll make clear with her actions (even if the actions are done in secret). If she doesn’t agree with certain orders she’ll still do them, all while able to find some sort of loop-hole to add a variation to it. 

An example of this can be seen in Terpsichore ch9 ( [Spoilers!] For most members of Gunmar’s army and secret order it’s un-spokenly expected to kill Trollhunters...though seeing as none of her direct orders mentioned anything about killing, she isn’t going to go out of her way to kill what is essentially children [End Spoilers!]).

Though perhaps the best example of this, is her time in the Spanish Inquisition, where Karenna earned the Janus Order Title of The Inquisitor...

Karenna is the go to changeling for reconnaissance and a gatherer of knowledge, which is why the hypocrisy of the Spanish Inquisition was very hard to swallow for this changeling. With the use of glamours she was stationed to infiltrate and take part in the Inquisition on the chance any other Janus Order member ended up falling into the Spanish Inquisition’s clutches, and would take measures to help sneak fallen changelings out. 

More so as an attempt to keep the hidden troll world a secret, than for the safety of fellow changelings...at least that was how Stricklander explained it to Bular at the time. After all the last thing anyone needed was the Inquisition to discover magical stone creatures existed. 

Thus Karenna was stationed there, however it wasn’t just fellow changelings she’d help sneak away, but other humans trapped there as well. Sometimes even forcing a glamour on another Inquisitor to take the form of a prisoner and watch gleefully as the Inquisitors torture one of their own, without their own knowing.

What a Scorpio, am I right?  <3 

Needless to say she became quiet adept in torturing information out of others, and is a good judge when trying to see who is lying for the sake of surviving and who is telling the truth.

Now, for plot and spoiler reasons I’m not going to disclose how her vocal chords became damaged. However they have been damaged for a very long time. 

Due to Bular’s temper tantrums and practically culling any changeling he deemed obsolete (and the lack of technology and un-researched magic on the topic) Karenna still forced herself to use her vocal chords despite the pain it caused - damaging her vocal chords even more to the point of no turning back. 

This was a major mental toll on the blunt opinionated changeling. Who not only enjoyed collecting knowledge but proving to others she had knowledge as well. It took a lot of soul searching to come to terms that this was a part of her life, and thus, as Shakespeare once put it; she turned her tears into sparks of fire. It was a long journey to embrace, but one she embraced with full force. She learned there was no shame in her condition and used it to her full advantage. 

As the head of reconnoissance and infiltration she brought to the Janus Order the two handed alphabet, and with it a bit more freedom to her fellow changelings. A means of expressing one’s self openly, and secretively all at once. Become a quick favorite in the eyes of Stricklander.

By the time the 17th century rolled around, the two handed alphabet and all its variations became a mandatory linguistic for all changelings to learn.  

Though with it, came Bular’s insecurity and paranoia of the changelings under his control. Because of this he attempted to banish this use (which resulted to changelings having to be even sneakier in using it, and mainly used it in closed locations, or among other humans). Fearful this might also mean the end of her life, Karenna was requested frequently to be placed in dangerous field work. 

By the 20th century and the introduction to security cameras, as well as sustaining quite a harmful injury, Karenna was relocated to a Janus Order desk job. Securing and looking over the physical archives within, with her partner Zurougia. 

A dream she works on in her own time is to invent an official CSL - changeling sign language. 

Karenna and Zurougia met while taking part in the coup d'état that lead to the accession of power of Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst more famously known as Cathrine the Great Empress of Russia.  

It is a rule in the Janus Order to make sure one always takes all sides. That way no matter who wins in human affairs, there is always a changeling. “We are guests in their world, until we make it our own.” is a very common phrase and reminder within the Janus Order.

When the coup d'état became a success Karenna and Zurougia celebrated, and continued celebrating...carnally. Quite unable to get enough out of the other, they fell very quickly, head over heels. 

However, there’s a reason why there aren’t many love stories in changeling folklore. It’s a rare concept to come by. There’s always a level of denial that love is a thing, or that it’s happening, or even possible. Love in their world is so rare, that it is almost thought of as a fairy tale idea. And like most changelings Karenna and Zurougia struggled with it. 

At least until they found themselves on opposite sides of the Pugachev's Rebellion, where the fear of losing the other forever became very great. When they met each other again on the battlefield, under almost impossible odds, they decided then and there to hold onto what they have. For as long as they can. 

And they did. And have been together ever since. 

At a glance they easily fall under the trope of gentle giant, and snarky little bullet. Together they make for an excellent and formidable tag team. 

They are also the most stable relationship inside the Terpsichore universe. Since I’ll be exploring many different angles and heartbreak and other angsty goodness relationship-muck wise in Terpsichore, I wanted to make sure there is at least one (1) couple that radiates as a healthy stable relationship. Who’s only main argument is when the wedding bells will toll. 

To those who worry if Karenna and Zurougia will survive to the end of Terpsichore, or will fall under the dreaded ‘kill your gays’ trope, I can tell you here and now - SPOILERS 

 yes, they will survive. They are happy and together to the end.  

END SPOILERS

She is quite easily one of my favorite characters I’ve invented yet. A mixture of sass and intelligence (a common trope in most of my characters) but also a character who isn’t afraid to stick to her guns, and be true to what her heart believes- even when stacked against the odds.  

Like some changelings she looks up to and respects Stricklander, as well as distrusts him considering his past actions. However that respect tripled with the death of Bular, happily accepting a life and world without Gunmar. Believing changelings to be better off with the warlord trapped in the Darklands. 

To those who’ve followed Terpsichore, I can confirm she’ll be quite the thorn in Otto’s side. 

Anyways I know it isn’t part of the meme, but I’m also very music based in my writing, so here’s her theme song haha

I think that just about covers it! Whew! That was fun!

And now I shall tag @random-emerald-thoughts ( *cough* a challenge for more Ashur info? Or Sadik? your pick ; P ) as well as @danger-flammable !!