#don't get me started on my thoughts on the purpose of religion in fantasy fiction. I could talk for HOURS about what I want to explore.

[memento-morri-writes]

Witch, Dragon, God!

-@astras-rambles

Ooh, hello, Astra! Thank you for the ask!!

WITCH - What sparked the idea for this world?

I'm not certain which world you want me to talk about, so I'm going to talk about High Fantasy WIP, since that's what I'm most interested in right now, and it has the best answer to this question. High Fantasy WIP is a direct result of my obsession with Dungeons & Dragons. I wanted to write a story that had the vibes of a well-done DnD campaign. (A bunch of misfits save the world and become found family along the way.) I know absolutely nothing about the geography, culture, politics, etc. of this world, but I do have vague ideas for a magic system, as I mentioned in the ask I just answered. I also want to keep some of the most interesting parts of DnD lore around. Specifically there will be some version of tieflings and aasimar (the distant or not-so-distant descendants of demons and mortals and celestials and mortals respectively), a pantheon of gods of varying domains, alignments, and interests, and you can bet your bottom dollar there's going to be warlocks. I honestly think that the warlock class has some of the best storytelling potential in the entire game of DnD, and I've always wanted to play one. (My first ever dnd character was actually going to be a tiefling warlock named Zenara, but the campaign didn't end up happening. I still have them on the backburner to play someday because I love their concept.)

gonna continue this under the cut because it's getting really long, lmao.

DRAGON - Do you write about dragons?

I have yet to write about a dragon, but they will definitely exist in the world of High Fantasy WIP. You can't have a high fantasy wip and not at least have legends about dragons!!!! (There's a post that talks about missing seeing true high fantasy dragons that are smart and have agency, and I wholly agree with it. That's the kind of dragons I want to write about. I frankly don't like seeing them written as just beasts to be tamed and ridden or killed.)

GOD - Does your world have a religion? Is it, in this world, right?

All of my worlds have some degree of religion. I'm personally strongly atheist, but I think that a defining trait of humanity (or humanoid creatures, in the case of High Fantasy WIP) is our determination to believe in something. In our world, religion or spirituality of some kind arose in every civilization on the planet, and for the majority of people it remains a part of their lives in one way or another. So I think it's important that a fully developed world has at least some concept of religion or spirituality. (Again, that might sound ironic coming from a staunch atheist, but I find it fascinating to write and explore human's views on religion, even though I struggle to come up with religious details.) In the world of High Fantasy WIP, there's a large pantheon of gods, each with their own set of domains and duties. They do really exist, since they are able to directly grant their power to (and sometimes even speak to) their followers. However, I find it a bit of a cheap shot to have deities that are 100% good and deities that are 100% bad. Oh there are definitely evil deities with evil schemes, but they have their reasons. And likewise, the "good" deities also have their own plots and plans. I would love to tackle the story of a cleric to a "good" deity who struggles with the realization that their deity is not always kind and good, and not always right. There are no perfect people, and even the gods are no exception. All of the gods have followers, but some people don't follow any gods. However, even for those people it's nearly impossible to deny that the gods do exist. They grant their power and speak to clerics, they influence events in the world, both somewhat directly and indirectly.

[themjinterviews-blog]

47. I got an 8ft bed that never has to be made. You know if it weren't for trucks we wouldn't have tailgates!

1. What type of criminal would you be? An extremely ineffective one. I’m pretty clumsy and severely lack stealth.

2. What are you listening to right now? Brandon’s watching some show on his phone across from me.

3. If you had to choose a stripper name, what would it be? Something awkward and distinctly non-stripper-ish like Constance or Trudy.

4. If your phone started ringing, who would you hope is calling? It’s likely gonna be my folks or Kristy if anything. Or the random number that keeps leaving me telemarketing voicemails in Spanish.

5. Do you drink? Everyone drinks. But if you mean booze, yes, but not too often. It doesn’t serve much functional purpose in my current life. In college and my 20’s it was a way to overcome social anxiety and inhibitions to make friends or meet guys or just get out of my own head. But at 30, I have Brandon and enough already established friendships that I don’t have much use for that particular vice anymore.

6. Do you smoke? Cigarettes, yes, because if I didn’t then how would I get a 5 minute break every few hours at work? “Hey can I sit on the patio and bullshit on my phone for 5 minutes?” doesn’t fly. Weed? On occasion…along the same lines as drinking, it makes me dysfunctional more often than not, and therefor isn’t useful. I’m an uppers and psychedelics type of gal.

7. What is the first thing you notice in someone? Depends on the person and the situation. There isn’t one thing I notice or consistently look for when observing people. I suppose whatever catches my eye about them.

8. Do you get attached easily? Not really.

9. Do you like your eye color? Yeah it’s fine.

10. Have any stupid human tricks? I can sit, stay and give paw.

11. Humor me. What physical ideal do you imagine in a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner? Having ideals like that is kind of a trap. It subconsciously makes you closed-minded to things outside those ideals. If I’m attracted to someone, I’m attracted to them and it’s simple as that.

12. What type of personality traits do you look for in a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner? I already have a fella so, I’m not looking. And again, I never maintained a certain criteria for any potential mates…if we hit it off and I like you, I’m going to like/accept you for the traits you already presently have, not the traits I want you to “ideally” be.

13. Any other essential quirks/interests/other you look for in a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner? Please don’t be a lunatic and eat/ order your steaks and burgers well done.

14. Any romantic gestures you really like? I’m not really romantic. I suppose I do like the idea of going to Bed and Breakfasts. They always have a vintage, cozy sort of interior décor that fascinates me.

15. Any sexual fantasies? Are you daring enough to share one? I want to have sex in the penguin exhibit at the Phoenix zoo while the penguins and passerby watch.

And yes, I’m definitely messing with you. My sex life isn’t Tumblr's buisness.

16. Have you ever been in love? Honestly, I have 0 idea what that entails. Everything in the past I ever assumed or thought was “in love” was either infatuation, co-dependency, obligation, or other actually self-constructed concepts that were created by me (subconsciously) to fit some current narrative of my life. I’m either completely jaded or completely aware, not sure which.

17. Do you have a crush/romantic interest in anyone? Brandon. And Thor.

18. What’s your sexual orientation (if you feel comfortable answering)? I’m straight.

19. What’s your favorite color and why? Yellow, turquoise, some fuchsia-y shades of purple.

20. What was your most embarrassing moment? Don’t have any that really jump out at me as stand-alone singular incidences.

21. Do you ever wish you were someone else? Fuck no.

22. What were you like when you were a kid? Like, a less developed version of me now. A Windows 98. & I gave too many fucks about shit that didn’t matter.

23. What would your dream house be like? Small. No bigger than a cottage or double-wide Two bedrooms, kitchenette, a shower with a bath, some laundry machines and a little patio out back or front. Maybe some citrus trees out back. Even if I were filthy rich, this would still be what I’d look for.

24. What last made you laugh? No idea.

25. Do you have a place you like to go to collect your thoughts? My walk-in closet studio:

26. What is your favorite/least favorite word? Favorite: zany Least: dollop.

27. What turns you on? Uniqueness.

28. What turns you off? Conformity, closed-mindedness, regularly wearing Polo shirts of your own accord. Like if you gotta wear one for your work uniform, whatever, but why recreationally wear one?

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? Yeah. Pretty much exactly the same as swimming not naked.

30. Would you go bungee jumping/sky diving if given the chance? Fuck no, bro.

31. Do you have any siblings? Younger sister and younger brother.

32. Do you like to dance? Definitely not. One of the most mentally uncomfortable activities in all of existence.

33. What is your definition of cheating? Having an intimate connection either physically or emotionally with another person behind your partner's back.

34. Have you ever stolen anything? Umm like string cheese singles and a Bic lighter.

35. Do you regret anything? Nope. I forgave myself for being a completely inconsiderate cunt a few years back.

36. Do you have any phobias? Not really. There’s shit I don’t like but phobia might be too strong.

37. Ever broken any bones? *knock on wood* No.

38. Ever come close to death? Yeah, once or twice.

39. What is your religion/spirituality, if any? I was raised Roman Catholic but I long since have chosen to bypass organized religions all together. I don’t like being told what to think or believe. Plus, am I supposed to blindly ignore the likelihood of humans modifying the teachings to suit some underlying power plays or political agenda? I simply have no way of knowing for certain, so I don’t really worry about it. Same with God or whatever deities could be chilling. No way to actually, tangibly know until we kick it. I just try and not be a dick as much as possible and keep an open mind.

40. Have you ever been to a psychiatrist/therapist? Yeah. Sometimes a completely impartial human being who can write prescriptions is helpful to have in your corner.

41. Are looks important in a relationship? To a degree. You both have to be attracted to each other. But they don’t matter in the sense of how other people see them. Like, if you like someone but your buddy says their hideous, but you’re instantly love struck, you shouldn't not pursue them.

42. Are you more like your mom or your dad? Not sure, honestly. I think it’s pretty evenly distributed.

43. What is your favorite season? Honestly, it depends where I’m living.

44. Do you have any tattoos? 3.

45. Do you have any piercings? Gauged ears, only, as of now. My job just made me remove my lip ring because our primarily elderly patrons kept complaining about it. It’s not like it’s affecting their food or my ability to provide customer service. I don't like the look of elastic band jeans from Walmart but you don’t see me complaining to my boss to demanding that they remove them, do you?

46. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had? Like, 4 officially certified relationships. A few stray flings in between.

47. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Sirius Black (from Harry Potter)…but like before Gary Oldman played him in the movies. I’m not saying Gary is ugly or anything but he’s not the smokin hot John Stamos/Johnny Depp-ish Sirius that my mind concocted.

48. What is your favorite thing to do? Draw/Color.

49. If you could only visit one place outside of your hometown, where would it be? Umm. I don’t know. A tropical island sounds lovely.

50. Do you get jealous easily? Not really. It’s immature, not only do you come off as insecure and emotionally volatile, but being jealous also solves ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Being jealous of someone just makes you angry and unhappy inside. That is all.