#mystery of the mortal god

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Oh, man, a distraction is much needed. I'll give two questions this time!

I'll give my same question: What's everyone's most embarrassing moment?

New question: What is a subject that you can give an impromptu speech on for an hour?

You know what would be nice right now? A distraction. Ergo, it's time for...

Illaros Illuminated pt.2: Mortal God Edition!

Aka my goofy fictional talk show! This time featuring the cast of Mortal God, my characters will answer any question you send in within a 24-hour period (by comment, rb, or ask, it makes no difference to me). Anything is on the table, just be reasonable is all I ask. If you don't want me to credit you with your question, feel free to let me know because otherwise I will! The talkshow episode will be put out soonish after the last question is entered.

Characters you can ask questions to are:

Astra DuClaire

Mashal Darezsho

Ivander Montane

Elsind Cavernsight

Avymere Spearsong

Group questions and individual questions are both fine and dandy 👍

Thanks so much and ask away!

@amandacanwrite @elsie-writes @riveriafalll @kosmic-kore @kaylinalexanderbooks @bard-coded

@carrotsinnovember @patternwelded-quill @somethingclevermahogony @whatwewrotepodcast @the-angriest-author

@mk-writes-stuff @frostedlemonwriter @vyuntspakhkite-l-darling @watermeezer @leahnardo-da-veggie

@mr-orion @televisionjester @ray-writes-n-shit @evilgabe29 @trippingpossum

@tragedycoded @halfbakedspuds @ominous-feychild @cain-e-brookman @wyked-ao3

@thecomfywriter @mysticstarlightduck @rumeysawrites @cowboybrunch

@gioiaalbanoart @theink-stainedfolk @the-golden-comet @seastarblue

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC interaction

Thanks to @mysticstarlightduck here and @illarian-rambling here!

Rules: describe an OC and then how they would interact with the OC of the person who tagged you!

The descriptions added up and now it's long. Under the cut!

Mystic's OC 1:

Nimwen is an 18 year old girl who has spent most of her life (since she was 8) travelling through the uncharted forests of a region popularly called "the wilds", with her adoptive brother Scarlet and their little band of misfits. They live on the outskirts of society, since their kingdom has been so dilligently outcasting them, but they don't seem to mind it. All in all, Nimwen is an awkward, overly anxious, often paranoid but incredibly sweet girl, though she rarely lets strangers get too close to her. She embodies the energy of a skittish deer that will bolt at the nearest sign of danger, even if its a false alarm, though she has very good reasons to be that way - her father was wrongfully executed for treason, and the people of the kingdom didn't exactly give her much reason to trust them after what they did, so yeah. She's very in touch with nature and other people's feelings though she somehow seems very much oblivious to her own. She prefers to avoid confrontation, and will only fight if that's the absolute last resort in a life or death situation. She loves very deeply and makes strong bonds once you get to know her properly.

Mystic's OC 2:

Renn is a young man in his late teens (his exact age hasn't been specified yet, but he's suspected to be around 16-19) with a penchant for dark humor and a love for all that's mysterious and slightly macabre. He has a very strong vibe that is reminiscent of those early 2000s goth/emo kids, minus the angst - just the aesthetics and the sometimes deeply philosophical existential crisis - despite his fantasy medieval setting. He is a rule breaker and likes to question authorities at every chance he gets, and is also very savvy about the true inner workings of their seemingly perfect kingdom. It is implied that he has some kind of secret he is keeping hidden at all costs, and that implication would be true, but its not what most people would assume. While the townsfolk mostly label him as this unhinged/"crazy" reject who is always causing trouble and is up to no good, he is actually a really sweet kid that just had some truly fucked up stuff happen in his past. He is a loyal friend and values honesty and integrity above all else, even if it means he'll have to go down fighting for what he believes in. Despite all of this intensity, he just wants someone to truly understand him and have a pure friendship towards him. He is also implied to be gifted in some kind of magic, though it isn't specified which, and that he has knowlege of "forbidden arts".

Katie's OC:

Ivander Montane is a 30 year old corrupt detective from the trade city of Unity. He has blue blood and double-pointed ears, wears fancy suits, and walks with a cane. His estranged family runs the banks of Unity, however he left them years ago, and in doing so, broke a divine contract, which left him cursed to slowly and painfully be transmuted into mist over the course of many years. Personality-wise, he's kind of a privileged shithead. He's got the catty attitude and love of gossip of a middle school girl, and can insult your outfit just as acutely. He doesn't have a sincere bone in his body and is afraid of any form of intimacy. However, deep down, he really just wants a friend and to not be in pain anymore. Show him the slightest hint of compassion and he will crumble. His hobbies include being a hater, fashion, and marksmanship (he's a crack shot with a rune rifle). All in all, he's got the snark of a drag queen, the heart of a lonely noir detective, and a body that's been through a cheese grater.

My OC:

Maddie is an 11-year-old girl who is quiet, curious, and a bit of a risk-taker. She's generally well-liked but isn't sure why people like her. She fidgets and squirms and likes to remain active, especially with her hands. She's a STEM kid through and through, loving each letter in the acronym. Maddie takes things apart, such as pens, to see how they work and eventually joins her school's robotics club. She believes in direct fairness - will match your tone with her - and gets a little upset if she is misunderstood, which is often, since she thinks she's straightforward. Her honesty leads to her being nosy, as she believes everyone should be open. Maddie is an animal shapeshifter, and enjoys the physical sensation of morphing as well as pushing her limits a little too much. She's a gamer who prefers consuls with buttons and enjoys old sci-fi shows and modern cartoons. Despite not quite understanding emotions, she does try to be there for the people she cares about, and usually tries to defuse a serious situation with a little joke.

Maddie + Nimwen:

Maddie likes adventure and risk, so I think she would be interested in hearing Nimwen traveling through uncharted forest for a decade. Her sibling is much more comfortable staying in, well, her comfort zone, so the idea of two siblings doing this would be a little foreign to Maddie. Being overly anxious and sweet would remind Maddie of her sister, but Lexi is a lot more outgoing. She wouldn't really understand Nimwen being skittish, but maybe Maddie's more adventurous nature would rub off on her. She may be a little caught off-guard by Maddie's shapeshifting. Nimwen being in touch with nature combined with Maddie's animal morphing will be interesting. Maybe Ninwen's knowledge of animals can help Maddie understand them more, since she's more of a hands-on person and is functioning based on reading up on animals - something she can only tolerate knowing she'll shapeshift later. Nimwen could also give Maddie more emotional advice, though it would take a while for Maddie to understand why Nimwen wants to talk with her. Maddie is a little over-eager to fight, so Nimwen may have to hold her back, or Maddie may try to get Nimwen to fight with her. I think this would be a fun little sister-esque dynamic!

Renn + Maddie:

Maddie is best friends with an emo/goth leaning person, so I feel like Renn is familiar territory. Maddie also likes breaking rules for the thrill and questioning authority, so I think they'd be an unstoppable force. Maddie is nosy, though, so I think she'd be a little too curious about Renn's secrets and business. They're both honest, Maddie almost blunt, so I feel like they'd get along. She'd also be curious about his own magic, and would probably show off her powers. I think Maddie would be a little weirded out if Renn wants to be friends with her - and since they seem to understand each other, that may be possible, though not sure how he'd feel about her being a kid - but I think in the end they'd be an unstoppable duo.

Ivander + Maddie:

Now this is an unlikely pairing. Maddie's nosy nature would probably get on his nerves. She'd be curious about the cane, why he's always in pain, etc and may ask too many questions and not pick up on how he doesn't want to answer them. She would probably though recognize his shitheaddedness and would just match his attitude with her fairness policy. Maddie has an odd fashion choice - bright and colorful with mismatched patterns, but I don't think she'd be that hurt by any insults, just confused. And of course would get him back. Maddie is a nice and kind person but isn't good about empathizing, and if Ivander doesn't show her compassion, she won't show it either. They'd annoy each other, and honestly they may have fun doing it. At least Maddie will find it very exciting to poke at his patience.

To describe OCs to pair with Maddie --

@monstrouswrites @mrbexwrites @elsie-writes @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @stesierra @sarandipitywrites @sarahlizziewrites @mk-writes-stuff @jezifster @jessicagailwrites @leahnardo-da-veggie @pb-dot @ohnomybreadsticks + anyone else!

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites - y'all can hop on if you want!

[paperwizards]

In other news I'm listening to podcasts at work.

(note: only applies to fiction podcasts)

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Stellaris and Maddie being on the same wavelength gives me joy. Just infodumping to each other for hours

Stellaris and Astra just sound so fun as well!

OC Interaction Tag

Rules: describe an OC of yours, then describe how that OC would interact with the OCs of the people who tagged you

Thanks @kaylinalexanderbooks and @illarian-rambling for the tags!

Kaylin’s OC: Maddie is an 11-year-old girl who is quiet, curious, and a bit of a risk-taker. She's generally well-liked but isn't sure why people like her. She fidgets and squirms and likes to remain active, especially with her hands. She's a STEM kid through and through, loving each letter in the acronym. Maddie takes things apart, such as pens, to see how they work and eventually joins her school's robotics club. She believes in direct fairness - will match your tone with her - and gets a little upset if she is misunderstood, which is often, since she thinks she's straightforward. Her honesty leads to her being nosy, as she believes everyone should be open. Maddie is an animal shapeshifter, and enjoys the physical sensation of morphing as well as pushing her limits a little too much. She's a gamer who prefers consuls with buttons and enjoys old sci-fi shows and modern cartoons. Despite not quite understanding emotions, she does try to be there for the people she cares about, and usually tries to defuse a serious situation with a little joke.

Katie’s OC: Astra DuClaire is a 25 year old witch. She was too poor to get a proper education, so she snuck into lecture halls and bribed her way into labs to learn her trade, eventually taking on the specialty of runic mechanics. After learning all she could, she slapped some steel baba yaga legs on a vardo wagon and began her business as a traveling mage in the sketchy land of her birth. As a person, the first thing one would notice about Astra is her arrogance. She's prideful to a fault when it comes to her magic, though this is mostly a front to cover up some deep insecurities regarding her lackluster education. She loves helping people, is hungry to learn new things, and has a deep, angry sense of social justice. She believes all people have inalienable dignity. In her dialog, she's coarse and has a raunchy saying for every occasion. It doesn't matter that she's five nothing, her argumentative streak stretches into next week and she will be a bitch about it. But as angry as she can be, she has just as big a capacity for wonder and love. Her hobbies include tinkering, embroidery, and pirating music.

My OC: Stellaris is a disliked nobleman, the younger brother of Sixth Station head Cassiopeia. He’s a scrawny-looking blond man with big purple eyes who wears shabby nobleman’s clothing and has a permanently flat affect. Stellaris is autistic, which makes him unpopular among nobles due to his complete inability to understand social cues and perform social niceties such as eating food he dislikes because it was offered to him. He has a kind heart but struggles to express it and communicate well to others. His special interest is history and he loves telling others about it and asking them about anything they know about it, but he doesn’t mind taking turns talking about interests if people are willing to take their turn listening to his. He is extremely blunt and honest at all times, even when it might come across as rude, although he frequently doubts or disparages himself because of how people have treated him.

How Stellaris and Maddie would interact: I think they’d get along very well! Stellaris wouldn’t understand Maddie’s interests, but he’d be happy to listen to her talk about her interests and tell her what he knows about Seven Stations technology, which I think she’d really enjoy. He’d definitely want to tell her about his interests and would be delighted to know that she’s from what he considers historical times and would probably ask her a bunch of questions. I think their communication styles are really compatible, he wouldn’t mind her being a bit nosy and trying to be straightforward. She might end up mimicking his tone and accidentally talking way louder than she should out of a misinterpretation that he was yelling at her (he tends to talk a bit too loud), but I think they’d get along despite this.

How Stellaris and Astra would interact: Honestly, I think she’d scare him at first. Astra has a very forceful personality that I think he’d find intimidating. I feel like Astra would initially find him a bit weird but would quickly figure out that there’s a lot more to him than his “strange” mannerisms and take a liking to him. I think if he ever talked about how the other nobles treat him, she’d get really angry on his behalf and he’d take a whining to that real fast. He’d start off just doing what she told him to because he’s a bit afraid of her, but I think he’d start chatting with her after she realized she wouldn’t hurt him. After that, I think they’d talk a lot about their interests, and he’d interrogate her about her life too, because her life reminds him a lot about history. He might accidentally pry a bit far and get her to bristle by asking about something she’s sensitive about, but he’d apologize profusely enough that I think she’d be willing to let it go.

I love this game! I hope y’all like the interactions, lmk what you think of them :)

@elsie-writes @rkmoon @televisionjester y’all want to play?

[bariettan]

this is what special episode 5 was called, right?

[doctorloup]

Audiodrama Sunday!

I was on holiday and at LARP last week and have mostly been binging things or catching up on things lately so: The neurodivergence committee in my brain approved the Mistholme Museum for etc. etc. etc. and hot damn that was a ride of adventure and pathos and feelings. Incredible voice work by Dom the showrunner, story that kept me coming back, like a book I couldn't put down. I require David Ault and H.R. Owen to play Oberon and Titania in something (no don't make me write it I have so much other stuff I'm working on). Caught up on the latest series Old Gods of Appalachia, somehow came out liking JT Fields less, was that the intention? The music gets better with every season of that show. Really enjoying 16th century Amelia Project series, it's a period I love to write in myself. Thickly Glaswegian Mary Queen of Scots was great. I'm biased, but breathing space has some fun little musical interludes in the Chasing a Ghost miniseries. I love their in-world broadcasts, like the cookery show. The Silt Verses finale broke my heart into a thousand pieces and drowned it in the White Gull river. I'm not ready to talk about it yet, the grief is still fresh. What a series.

[sincerely-sofie]

Thinking about the Dark Crater confrontation in the Dugtrio Day AU... It would happen much sooner because unlike Twig, Echo would be analytical enough to see through "Cresselia" and the solution she proposes, and Darkrai would be forced to reveal his true identity as a result.

Pinna would struggle through the fire-type centric dungeon leading up to it, being a treecko who also is surprisingly weak for the point in the plot that they are, and the second they get to him Echo is garroting Darkrai on the spot for putting her friend through this.

He doesn't even get to monologue or pull the nightmare shtick. They enter the boss room and she wordlessly strangles him with all four ribbons as well as her paws while staring him in the eyes as she does it.

[feralcleric]

The way i would be 1000% more interested in DA’s current plot direction if Flemeth had the role Solas does instead

[illarian-rambling]

Whoops, forgot one thing about beta reading stuff! Kaylin, your post reminded me that I forgot to put content warnings in like I usually do, so for anyone who agreed or is thinking about beta reading Mystery of the Mortal God (@tildeathiwillwrite @kaylinalexanderbooks @halfbakedspuds @mk-writes-stuff), here's all of that:

Implied torture

Dissociation

Gore and violence

Unwilling experimentation

Chronic pain

Minor religious themes

I think that's all? I already gave some of you your copies, so I figured I'd just put this up here and say better late than never

Thanks for your time!

[starryeyed-seer]

Okay I am going to make a post trying to explain Firmament main plot I think. Because it's confusing, but I DO think I understand what's going on! (in as much as we can know what's going on, there's plenty of mysteries still)

I am though missing a lot of text from firmament 1 (the gullet and vulgate) so if anyone happens to have echoes handy from the climax of that, would really appreciate

[hiyari8]

why is it lich rally always fucking 4am

[gophergal]

I was thinking about this weird body horror bastard earlier

[chronomally]

Another thing I like about Jennifer Saint's writing is how comfortably she embraces different versions of the same myth. Clytemnestra has the "truth" of Iphigenia's death as she witnessed, while her children and the people of Mycenae have the version(s) they're comfortable with. How did Paris actually spirit Helen away from Sparta? No one knows because no one was there to see it, nor do we have Paris' or Helen's point of view to tell us, so all that's left is a swirl of rumors and Clytemnestra's own fears

[monstrumpuella]

Time to Wake Up!

[thewolfofnoneofyourbuiness]

Positives of listening to repentant: hearing mistholme curse

Negatives of listening to repentant: mistholme was put in a situation™ :(