#but i Really like wraith pretending to be sydney

[dolyx]

(alnst au… luka!wraith using tala's guilt of corrupting sydney against xem.)

[violetlichen]

dol surnames

I've spent the past two years since I first discovered DOL painstakingly considering the surnames of the love interests and Bailey. I'm finally satisfied with what I've come up with and wanted to share:

John Avery

Now this one is not a surname. Avery is always male in my game. In my (currently on indefinite hiatus) fic Immaculance I wanted Avery to seem very imposing by being referred to as a name that's not really his name, a la Mr. Big from Sex and the City, so I decided he commonly goes by his surname. John is basic enough, one syllable and chic yet traditionally masculine sounding. Sounds good paired with Avery, rolls off the tongue nicely.

Alex Greene

This one is a little on the nose. Alex lives on a farm surrounded by nature, nature = green. But I also like that it feels fresh. Whenever I romance Alex and start staying out at the farm it feels like a fresh start for my PC, like they're starting over together. I can picture their mailbox out by the road with The Greene's written on it... I might've also been inspired by the Greene family farm from the Walking Dead 👀 I headcanon that all the farm workers call Alex 'Greeney' as a cute nickname.

Thomas Bailey

Another character that I think goes by their surname. I haven't decided on a feminine name because Bailey is also always male when I play, but I feel like it would be a strong name that could shorten to something masculine, like Wilhelmina or Bernadette being shortened to Wil / Bernie. Something long that feels a little stuffy, that fem Bailey would hate being called. Not necessarily because it's too girly but because it's a mouthful and Bailey doesn't have time to say all that. For male, I like Thomas because it's classic and gives me Victorian era vibes and even though the game has a modern setting PC is still an orphan and I want to pretend it's the 1800s.

Eden O'Connor

Still kind of up in the air about Eden, but I've settled on this for now. I just like how it sounds.

Kylar Fritz

Kylar was the hardest one to come up with. I was really set on it starting with a funky letter like G or F, and not being super common. I wanted it to feel a little strange when you say it. They could easily be bullied with this name. Fritz rhymes with pits. And everyone thinks Kylar stinks, so there you go.

Robin Davies

I feel like Davies is a quintessential English surname? Don't come at me, I'm American. I don't really have much to say for this one other than it just sounds pretty to me. Very boy/girl next door.

Sydney Spiegelman

Really, really had my heart set on this for some reason. It came to me straight away. According to House of Names, it's derived from the German word "spiegel" which means mirror, and also the Yiddish word "shpigl" which means to look or to see. I thought this was really fitting for Sydney who seems to be a conduit for the Ivory Wraith.

Whitney Clarke

Came up with this for my fic. Again, I just like it. I've posted about this before but I headcanon that their parents names are Robert and Elizabeth, and that male Whitney's middle name is Robert, and that he hates it. Fem Whitney also really hates her middle name - whatever it is - and never tells anyone what it is.

Let me know what your thoughts are, or comment if you have any name ideas yourself!

[sydneysholylight]

1# what songs I think fits or reminds me of DoL characters

I feel like this song would fit Kylar and C!Sydney, especially when Kylar is hysterical. These lyrics really remind me of C!Sydney being a implied sadomasochist.

"I am cruel, I am gentle, I can make you laugh, I am cruel, I am gentle, I can make you laugh"

And these lyrics for Sydneys memories. I don't entirely get it but I assume he lost a few memories that impacted him during his childhood.

"I don't think about the past it's always there anyway, Don't think about the past, always there anyway"

And for Kylar, I don't know if it's canon he has BPD but as someone who has it, I have it as hc for him. I feel like this would indicate him splitting on PC. I think my highest kin in DoL would be him, unsurprisingly.

"I get mean when I'm nervous like a bad dog, I get mean when I'm nervous like a bad dog"

And this lyrics too?? It's giving Kylar and I love that.

"I pretended you were mine, it made me calm, babe."

I feel like majority of Rebzyyx songs would fit Kylar too and one for C!Sydney. I'm considering making a playlist for Kylar, Sydney, Photios and perhaps Ivory wraith but they're so mysterious it might take time for me to find songs that might be a match for them! But that's what makes me love them.

[nala-kenmore]

One Gate Closes, Another Opens

I’m SHOCKED when Sydney tells me he has children. I suppose we’ve only spoken a few times, but still I thought that was something he’d have mentioned sooner. Does that mean he has a wife too? Or did they split up, if he lives alone? “Don’t you want to go and see you daughter, if you’ve not seen her in a while?” I ask. He mentions Michael doing weird things, I wonder if he means experimenting. I don’t really want to know…

Apparently Sydney can’t fight either. Oh no, that’s not going to be good if we run into any trouble! Then I get a spark of inspiration, from how Sydney protects himself here. “Hey, do you think you could make another robot animal to keep us safe? Since I’m guessing you’ll have to leave Beary here for the Ziroyukis? How long would it take, do you think, could it be ready before we go to Orion? Ooh, and could you make one that talks? Maybe you could teach me, so that I could help?” It would be fun to try and make him a little robot Ziroyuki to remind him of home!

Sydney tells me about the Ziroyuki kids. I’m not sure whether he means they’re kids in general, or his adopted kids specifically. “Oh, well perhaps we should stop off and feed them before we leave? Are you sure it’s ok to leave them unsupervised, or are there adults there too?” I’d offer to take them with us, but I don’t know how safe we’d be able to keep them at first. I think of Dora on the hive. I really hope she doesn’t think that I’ve just ditched her, although she probably does…

He mentions something about Michael turning them into monsters. Sometimes it feels like the more I’ve learned about my brother since I’ve come back, the less I feel like I know him… I nod along to Sydney’s answer, but I’m too caught up in my own ponderings to reply.

Out of nowhere, he asks me if I’ve ever heard of skinwalkers. “No, never.” I answer honestly. I try to think of what they could be. Insects that walk on your skin, maybe? “Why, what are they? Are they related to the Ziroyukis?”

Apparently Xero is on Las Lore. “Oh yeah, I met him once, so between that and the fact that there’s not many wraith queens around, I’m pretty sure he’d recognise me… I suppose I could pretend to be your daughter, if Xero hasn’t met her? Or maybe you could make a big hollow animal robot and I could hide inside? I’d be able to see the city through your mind, and still sort of be there myself.” I figure I might as well throw out a couple of ideas for now, even though we probably won’t need them for a while.

I hear about who the “floofs” are. At first I think fluffy dragons sound really cool, but then Sydney tells me that they’re some of my brother’s biggest enemies, the Bane Ones?! He says they’re peaceful, and that one is even related to him, but I doubt that would matter to Michael. It didn’t seem to with regard to the whole Julian situation. Urgh, I don’t want any harm to come to any of them, or Sydney, but I really hate keeping secrets from my brother! Having to keep Julian’s location a secret is already bad enough, why did Sydney have to add all this on top? And then there was that whole situation with Ra, I had a feeling there was more to that story, not that I wanted to know…Also how many kids does Sydney have?

I sense he’s worried about me turning them in, so I reassure him. “I’m not going to do any harm to them. But maybe it’s best if we keep our travels to things my brother wouldn’t consider us traitors for doing? My aim here is to rejoin him, not become a Bane One.”

He talks about being unsure whether I wanted to help my brother by getting people to join his empire. “I do want to help him! It’s just… complicated.” I don’t want to overshare again, so I try not to make my explanation too long. “When I was a kid, I would have died if it wasn’t for him looking after me. He was the only person I had in the whole of the galaxy. But then I got my memory wiped by Tiberius, and I forgot about him. Until this week, I hadn’t seen him for a hundred years. I owe him more than I can ever repay, but I really hate seeing people get hurt. It’s just so hard, when those two things clash, to know what to do…But that’s why I’m here! If we can make his kingdom a better place for people to live, make it so that it would genuinely be beneficial for his enemies to join, then I can do both at the same time!”

[tiberius-ttd]

The Plan

Once the hybrids had finished bashing in some tablets, I sensed the arrival of a new hive and let them go and eat. They’d deserved a punishment, but what they really needed overall was more discipline. I can appreciate that’s hard to do on an empty stomach, but tomorrow they’ll be stronger so the real training can begin!

Despite also not having eaten in days, I don’t find that I’m all that hungry myself. I’m just… sad, I suppose? Definitely angry, that I’ve just been left here alone with Michael of all people. Even that other wraith, Sydney, has gone now; he’d wished me good luck, so he knows that this fate is hardly wonderful. To make matters worse, I’m sure Nala’s memories are making me feel her loss more so than I would do if I was really me. It’s a strange feeling to… miss someone, but at the same time, have all their recollections of events. I’d been looking through them on and off, trying to figure out her reasoning for leaving. If there even was anything logical to it; both her and Michael had hardly come back as the most stable people after what the wretched Lanteans did to them. Though I suppose her rollercoaster of emotions is preferable to his apparent “coping mechanisms” of taking over entire galaxies and turning people into freaks.

I stay on the old hive and wander the corridors. It almost feels like home again now the hybrids have run off to gorge themselves. I find myself in one of the labs. It’s the setting of one of the few happy memories Nala has of the three of us. As I reminisce, I sense Michael coming to find me. I see through his mind all that has happened since we last spoke. Hmph, it looks like he’d “uno-reversed” my punishment; now all the hybrids that had been sobbing at watching their precious tablets being ruined are crying tears of relief at the destruction of evidence.

There’s also another message from Nala, saying that she’s not coming back because she feels responsible for some of Michael’s recent failures. ((Was she?)) I ask him. As Alana, I’d taught my sister the importance of responsibility (unlike him who’d let her run wild like some sort of human savage!), although perhaps there were times I’d gone a little overboard…

I sense his mind is heavy with emotion and confusion. I don’t know whether it’s Nala’s memories, or my own sentimentality at how I used to be responsible for both of them, but for once I actually feel pity for him. ((If she’ll come back for anyone, she’ll come back for you. You were always her favourite, even before what happened.))

I share her memory with him:

2 years old

I run through the corridors of the hive, giggling excitedly on my way to see him! Everyone I pass on the way smiles at me, and I can feel in their minds that they’re all happy to see me! I’m going to be the queen one day, and they all love me for it!

I find him in a room full of glass that has a funny smell. I don’t know why he likes it here, but this is where he is most of the time. He’s looking down a tube at something intently, and I don’t think he’s noticed me come in, so I decide to sneak up on him! I pretend he’s a human in a forest, and I’m a master wraith hunter! I slowly make my way over, hiding behind stools and tables. I manage to get behind him without him noticing, or so I think, but just as I approach to make the “kill”…

“BOO!” He turns around and scoops me up in his arms. I scream in surprise, but soon laugh as he spins me around. ((If you’re going to sneak up on a wraith, little sister, then you need to remember to block your mind!)) He teases me.

((But you weren’t a wraith, you were a dumb human! That’s the game!)) I tell him like it should have been obvious.

((Oh, I see.)) He replies, as my eldest brother, Tiberius, comes into the room.

“Sorry about the interruption, Lastlight.” Tiberius says. “She said she’d only eat her grapes if she could share them with you, so I said she could come down here.

“I’m grateful that you thought of me, Nala, but you know I don’t need to eat these like you do?” He says, but I shush him and shake my head. Of course I know that, but it was the only way Tiberius would let me come and visit him!

“I just think she wanted an excuse to come and see you; you’re quickly becoming her favourite, you know.” I nod to show I agree. Tiberius pulls out the tub of grapes, and I wait for both of them to take one first before I start eating. “Maybe she’ll choose you to be commander when she’s older, before she finds a consort.”

“I would be honoured. But speaking of consorts, what of you, Tiberius? You still haven’t told me how your last meeting was with Queen Vipsania…” He gives Tiberius a weird smile I’ve never seen before, and Tiberius’s face goes really green.

((Your face is really green!)) I announce to both of them, which only makes it go greener and causes Lastlight to laugh.

For once, Tiberius doesn’t sound loud and confident when he talks. “She is… a remarkable queen. Any wraith would be lucky to stand at her side, and indeed she has many suitors.”

“Well, I hear that you’re her favourite.”

A small smile forms on Tiberius’ face. “Even if that’s true, such alliances can take years to arrange, so you’ll still have me here for a while longer.”

Lastlight looks at me. “Nala, can you say “consort Tiberius”?”

((Consort Tiberius)) I think to him.

“No, use your mouth.” He corrects me.

I still don’t understand why I need to use my mouth to make words when I can use my mind, but it always makes my brothers happy when I can say what they want, so I give it my best go. “Con…Tibby?”

Both of them burst out laughing. “Well, there’s your new nickname!”

I can sense the joy and humour spread throughout the hive as the story is shared between minds. Me and my brothers always find ways to make each other happy. I’ll love them forever and ever, and I’ll make sure they always love me too!