#publish it into one of those dnd books

[them00nisgay]

every time i see a post that fits my dnd campaign im running i have to stop the urge from rambling nonstop about it to anyone who will listen i feel like a feral animal just like

[alpaca-clouds]

The DnD Lore Problem - Accessibility and Characters (and how BG3 might not help)

You know what? I am gonna talk about DnD Lore and the accessibility of that lore. I talked about this exessively before. But to summarize that long blog very shortly:

Wizards of the Coasts currently makes the mistake of putting basically most DnD Lore behind a paywall, rather than offering official ressources. This leads to a lot of tables actually playing with their original worlds, rather than Toril/Faerûn, which in turn also means, that they are not spending money on official products. While my anti-capitalist ass things that the lore should be accessible just so that people can enjoy it, I also think that this inaccessibility actually costs WotC A LOT OF MONEY.

Today I want to talk about another aspect of this inaccessibility, that is kinda linked to some of the stuff I talked about before, but also is linked to the things WotC is currently not doing in terms of both Honor Among Thieves and Baldur's Gate 3. A thing, that also might not quite work with BG3, though.

See, the core problem of this inaccessibility is, that a) there is no official place where you can just get base information about the world and the timeline, b) this world has grown organically for about half a century, which lead to clutter, but also to the fact that things are at times showing their age.

I might actually make a post on the gods and religion in the world at some other point - but for now let me talk about something else: Extended universes and access points.

The Problem with Extended Universes

Okay, let's talk about how a lot of the big franchises for the longest time have told their meta stories - including DnD - and how it kinda struggles to find its audience. The extended universe.

I am frankly not entirely sure what franchise has started this. I am assuming it was Star Trek? But that is just a guess. But at some point in the 60s oder 70s someone had the idea that: "Hey, we could totally give the fans more to chew on by making official tie-in comics and novels!"

And that was how it worked for very long. Like a lot of the big franchises had at times around 10 novels and comics (if not more) releasing per year that would just explore other parts of the universe and allow the very engaged fans to... well, learn more about the world. Now, I am not going to talk about all the drama connected to the Star Wars stuff, but if you know, you know.

DnD did this too. (As did a lot of the big TTRPG systems, like Shadowrun and WoD as well.) Having a lot of tie in stuff - in the case of DnD mostly novels - that told more stories on the world and also established like some big player characters within the world. Elminster Aumar is probably one of the best examples here.

Those established some characters that play a big role within the world and also told just more stories of those big world changing events. In the recent DnD history that would be stuff like the Time of Troubles, the Spellplague and the Second Sundering.

Now, here we have one big issue. And one issue where I am not entirely certain where it arose from. But the fact is: In recent years, people invest way less into those kind of books. This is just a fact.

It is the reason why those big universes went from publishing like ten novels a year to often not more than three. We saw that in the failure of the extended Universe Disney tried to pull off for Pirates of the Caribbean (though I will still maintain that another big problem was that they barely marketed that at all - hi, everyone, who did not know there were extended universe novels for PotC). We also saw that with League of Legends, who really, really tried to tell a lot more stories with short stories and then also some novels set in Runeterra, before finally giving up, because most people didn't care.

In terms of Dungeons & Dragons I can totally see that a lot of people will also say: "I do not care what some other people's characters do within the world." Buuuuuut...

Stories actually can help you understand the world. Which brings me to...

The Elminster Problem

Okay, I do not know how to put this, but... If you look at the novels coming out for DnD literally half of them focus on either Elminster Aumar or Drizzt Do'Urden. Characters that have pretty much been around since the very beginning and. Look, I don't know how to put it but... It shows.

I am currently reading some of the newer novels and the fact is, that they do not really feel like fantasy books from the 2010s and 2020s. Because Elminster and Drizzt are very clearly characters originating in a very different time when stories were told very differently.

I mean, just look at Elminster. He is a wanna-be Gandalf character. He is from the early, early days of fantasy and... Look, I personally just really am unable to identify with a character like this.

And while Drizzt is a bit better as a character, but even he... How to put this delicately? They are both very much characters written by white cishet men for white cishet men. There, I said it.

I am noticing this a lot with reading Salvatore's books currently. Like, female characters are not overly sexualized, which is a plus. But they also very much exist most of the time in service to a man or at least in relation to a man. There is not a lot of female characters running around that have their own agency.

Which kinda leads to another thing. I actually saw this one brought up by one of those very cliché nerdy Youtube channels talking on DnD, who recognized the problem as well: There are basically two large groups of DnD players who barely intersect. One is the cliché nerds, the other is a largely queer and largely diverse group. And the youtube guy, who was very in the white cishet nerd group, suspected that actually the later group makes up more of the player base by now.

Buuuut... that is also the group who really do not get catered to by the canon lore so far. That was until 2023 with DnD:HAT and BG3 - both catering actually a lot to those groups.

Honor Among Thieves and the undermarketed books

Okay, here is the thing: Honor Among Thieves had two novelizations (one for young readers, one for older readers) and two tie-in novels. One featuring Edgin, Holga, Forge and Simon before the stuff with Sofina went down. And the other featuring Simon and Doric taking place at the time while Ed and Holga are in prison.

I am honest: I really, really liked the Ed and Holga novel. It was super cute and charming and really gives a better understanding of the characters.

But of course once again there is the thing: The books - just like the Pirates of the Caribbean books - were super undermarketed. Like, most people I know off do not even know that there were books released. Heck, even within the actual active fandom there are again and again people who will be surprised that those books exist.

And... I actually also think that the books waste one big ass opportunity, by not at all tying into the broader lore. They are super self-contained.

And that is actually just a waste. Because the place were Edgin lived in? Yeah, that place was super affected by the Second Sundering. Heck, that might have had to do something with his troubles.

Why is that an issue? Well, because... there was not a lot going on there that was inviting you to further interact with the world and learn more abotu what is happening. For once, again, because I think it is a super fun and interesting world. But also, because... WotC wants to make money and is so bad at it, that it really boggles my mind.

See, here is the thing: They could've used those characters - that really are fun and sympathetic characters - to create an accesspoint into that world.

Alright, so what about Baldur's Gate 3?

Which brings me to Baldur's Gate 3 and the thing that a lot of people have noticed: The other Baldur's Gate games - as well as some of the other games releasing around 2000 - had their own tie-in novels going into the characters, their background, but also what they were doing in the future.

Something that so far BG3 has not done, which some fans have already critized. Because a lot of people have actually gotten really invested into those characters. A lot of the kind of people especially who so far are underserved by a lot of the tie-in stuff: Queer and generally diverse audiences.

Like, I think there would be a lot of people, who totally would read a novel, about...

Astarion getting drawn into some sort of political intrigue in Baldur's Gate while serving Cazador

Karlach's time in Avernus

Some Adventure Wyll got dragged into while being the Blade of the Frontier.

Shadowheart going onto a mission for Shar (maybe together with Nocturne)

Whatever Gale was doing during the Second Sundering

Lae'zel's youth among the Githyanki

The Dark Urge and Gortash starting up the entire conspiracy

... whatever Halsin had been up to in his long live

Heck, people would eat that stuff up. And you could not only use it to worldbuild but also once more create some access into the world and what happened there. And they are kinda wasting a lot of potential by not bringing out those novels.

Of course, there is one big problem: BG3 makes it kinda hard to write about anything happening after the ending. Because as it is right now, someone is gonna be pissed if a novel set after the game does not go with the decision for a character they go for. Like, Ascended Astarion fans are gonna be pissed, if they go with Spawn Astarion - and the other way around. Same goes with every other character where you have those big decisions happening.

This is something they will have to tackle eventually if they plan on doing something with the characters in the future (no matter if we are talking Larian or WotC), but it is definitely an issue that just arises from the structure of the game.

Bonus of course is, that you just cannot define a canonical Tav. But without a Tav, you also gotta act as if the story of the game happened without a Tav, which still is not ideal. I am honestly not sure with how they are gonna deal with this on the long run.

Access via Characters

Alright, but what is the actual issue here?

Well, basically there are two hurdles to overcome for the accessibility of the lore. The first is the physical accessibility - aka, what I talked about in the last long blog post. The second meanwhile is more related to making the lore engaging. And that happens through characters.

It is for me what happened last year. I actually tried to engage with the lore as the movie came out - but only when BG3, that tied a lot more into the actual lore was released I actually found proper access to the lore. Because I had concrete things I could now look for because the game hinted at so much both through characters and major story events happening.

Here is the thing: If you just have the lore on its own, it is about as engaging as reading a history book. Sure, as your local history nerd I find reading history books fun, but most people really do not want to read a history book to engage with a hobby.

People will however engage with stories and characters that interest them. Which is where we get back to the thing I talked about at the beginning: Right now most canonical novels and stories still cater to an audience that is male, cishet, white and also, let's be frank, definitely over 30 years old. Leaving behind a lot of potential fans that theoretically make up a big part of the player-base, but actually do not engage a lot with the lore for this exact reason.

Look. DnD right now is fairly close to being an actual mainstream hobby, due to the recent proliferation of formerly nerdy stuff. And yet WotC is bleeding money, especially in regards of DnD.

If you ask me, sure... DnD should go into public domain. But it doesn't. And given that there are so many creative, skilled people working on this - no matter how dumb Hasbro is and how shitty of an employer they are - I actually do want them to succeed. I have really become engaged with this world now. And I think it is a pity that they clearly do not know how to market this stuff.

[luffyvace]

Hello first of all- Omg my new fav author I LOVE UR WRITING SM LIKE ???? APBDISBRQKOZ

I found your blog form the author!Reader the anon who ask haz a creative mind I loved the 2 post sm I already got addicted to it I hope u Dont mind me requesting sm form it

Imagine Kusuo getting a notification (he seems like the one has his phone on dnd but has his notification open for his s/o in all media) of her post sm in one of there public social platform saying "I'm turning into my emo phase if this writer block doesn't move on form me " and when checking her private acc (the it's only access for him and her older friend) she is all memes about her writer block and her saying "if I stop writing I give all my books and series to you my friend" just her and overreacting to her block writer

Hiii!! THANK YOU CUTIE!! It always makes me so happy to hear I can share my hobbies with others <3 ahhh I see! Of course I don’t mind dear :)

ohh so if I’m getting this right it’s Saiki finding readers second blog (in which she mostly posts unserious stuff about her writers block) I believe I get what ya mean :}

*･..°•*:.｡:3･.｡.:*･..*°.･

Lol if feel like almost every writer has they’re side blogs or blog where they not a writer they just read other’s stuff

and to me this blog seems like a kinda funny vent blog where reader can just complain about her writers block whenever she has it

LOL imagine going inactive on that acc for weeks and saiki’s wondering if you forgot about it or forgot the password but you just simply have had a lot of motivation lately

then all the sudden you come back and your rebloging all types of relatable author memes and making posts about how ‘your going emo because you have writers block’

honestly it’s kinda ironic to him

he likes your posts on both accounts to support even when your do have writers block

cuz who’s likes a guy who ups and leaves when you don’t have motivation?

the first time you threatened to give your books away he knew you were joking but at the same time he was like ‘wait don’t give all your books away they can’t write it as well as you can 😀’

’kusuo I’m joking’

🧍

‘me too I knew that’

(“Thank goodness..her books were the only thing keeping me sane from those nuisances..”)

- In Saiki’s head

he doesn’t get all the writer memes bc he’s not an author, obviously he’s not stupid so he does find some funny

i feel he doesn’t post on social media but if a post of yours does particularly good he’ll repost it

i think I touched up on him being supportive before but yeah I’m gonna say it it again bc it truly is an honorable mention

‘(Name/pen name) has posted!’

- notification

👆💥📲

- Saiki

the emoji combo was terrible but basically that’s him about to break his screen from how hard he clicked

he’s always the first one on your posts and interacts every way possible

except comments..

which sucks cuz it boosts it a lot but he just doesn’t interact online 😭

if it’s a social media where you can see who liked, aiura and torisuka always tease Saiki for being the first like every time

“Dang your a real simp huh? Your the first like on her every post!”

- Aiura

”MAN! You don’t miss a beat do ya Saiki? I can never beat you to it 😭”

- Toritsuka

“wow..you beat me once again. The second the notification pops up you’ve already liked, reblogged and shared before I can even click on it. That’s impressive I must say, but it’s also quite annoying because I would like to be the first one to support (name) one day. In fact you do everything first! You get the books before they publish! You like all her posts first! Satire or not too!- yadda yadda yadda..”

- Akechi

“you don’t even respond to me that fast! Sometimes you leave me on read or delivered for 2 days before you answer me”

- Kaido

Saiki also sees that your friend likes your second acc too

which he would figure since you two are close

ehehe..a bit short dearest but I hope it brings you joy regardless~ 😅💞

I have much to get out..need to be more active..

[fox-bright]

What is your Hogwarts house?

I think that the death of the author only really works when the author is actually dead, and I wouldn’t want to associate myself with that very ugly mess at this point any more than I would want to sit next to Orson Scott Card, the frothing homophobe whose works I loved as an adolescent, or Piers Anthony (whose works I read when I was young enough for him to find me sexually attractive), or David and Leigh Eddings, damn-near-child-murderers whose Belgariad and Malloreon I gobbled up when I was a dozen years old.

JKR’s rampant racism, classism and weapons-grade terfery aside, I was fifteen when the first Potter book came out, and had by that point been reading at an adult level for a decade. I think my favorite fantasy that year was probably Tad Williams’ To Green Angel Tower, an absolute doorstop of a novel--too big to publish at mass market in a single volume--which had been out for four years, but which I only encountered once the school year had started. I mainly read it on my lunch breaks, sitting on the floor in the Art building, surrounded by people playing Magic: The Gathering and arguing about DND 2E; while Wizards had bought the DND IP in the Spring, they wouldn’t release 3rd Edition until 2000. Mostly, the roleplay kids were actually playing Shadowrun. I recall that my younger brother piloted a Glitter Boy, but the rest of it has been lost to memory.

So I don’t have a House. If I’d had a daemon I always figured he’d be a coyote or a fox; I may or may not have quietly recited the Wizard's Oath in the hope that something might happen; I figured I would have been a Wolfrider more than a native of Sorrow's End; if I had been an Aes Sedai, I always figured I'd be a Green; I used to take notes in Cirth, until one day when I was seventeen, sitting in the school auditorium for some lecture I was only half paying attention to, and a boy in the row behind me who I'd had a brutal secret crush on for a year and a half leaned down over my shoulder, tucked my hair behind my ear, and read me my own notes a quiet, satisfied murmur--but while I wanted desperately, in those days before the LotR movies came out, to be an elf, these days I think I'm much more hobbitish.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hello,

I apologize in advance if you've already answered something like this but my cursory look didn't show anything. I am looking for a game system that has an emphasis on the feeling of a wild west movie while still retaining general fantasy elements from DND. The wild spaces are slowly becoming tamed, increasing technological/magical advancement are pushing disparate communities together, and of course cocky assholes with guns (or a magical equivalent).

Thanks in advance

Theme: Wild West Fantasy

Hello friend, you might want to check out my Fantasy Westerns rec post, to see if anything there fits what you’re looking for. I especially recommend checking out the rec for We Deal In Lead and Clink. For the rest of this post, I try to span a very broad range, so I don't expect everything to stick - but perhaps one or two do!

Inevitable, by Soul Muppet Publishing.

Knights and wizards have defended the Kingdom of Myth for centuries. These lands have known peace and prosperity, but soon the kingdom shall be destroyed. The Prophets have declared that your city shall burn and Myth will fall. All those who follow your King shall die. It is INEVITABLE.

But you shall defy fate. Myth will not end while you bear arms. You will fail, but as long as there are still stories, they will sing of you!

Inevitable is a Arthurian Western roleplaying game for 2-6 players and a GM, where your party of disastrously sad cowboy knights fail to stop the apocalypse. This 284 page book contains all the rules, character creation and the setting for your campaign, thoroughly and evocatively detailing The Barren, the lands surrounding the Kingdom of Myth.

This game might be way you’re looking for: it describes itself as a fantasy kingdom, with western aesthetics. There are wizards, prophets, and rune-carved revolvers. Your reputation in the kingdom is important; it determines how well you can face challenges, and roll pools of d6 on a table of staggered success. If you want a taste before you buy, there’s a Quickstart with some evocative set pieces, a quick overview of the rules, and a quick adventure to run through with a list of pre-generated characters.

Far West, by Adamant Entertainment.

Imagine a fantasy setting that shatters the tropes of Medieval Europe. Imagine a collision of Spaghetti Westerns and Chinese Wuxia by way of Steampunk. Imagine a world where gunslingers and kung fu masters face off against Steam Barons and the August Throne. Imagine fantastic machines powered by the furies comprising the fabric of the universe. Imagine an endless frontier where wandering heroes fight for righteous causes while secret societies engage in shadow wars. Imagine…

This game is a combination of Wild Western tropes and Wuxia fantasy. Your characters are wandering heroes, defending the small and helpless against the strong and powerful. I look at this game and I think of movies like The Magnificent Seven. Mechanically, it’s its own system, but it draws heavily from Fate, using positive and negative aspects to boost rolls and spark complications.This game relies on some tropes that require entire table buy-in: I’m not sure how many assumptions the game makes about the cultures it takes inspiration from.

Holler: An Appalachian Apocalypse (Savage Worlds), by Pinnacle Entertainment.

In Holler, the mysterious “Big Boys” own the mines, mills, and logging operations. They rule over every aspect of their workers’ lives—subjecting them to extraordinary dangers on the job and crushing oppression outside of it. The Big Boys have transformed the land of the Holler—rivers bubble with strange chemicals, strip-mined mountains crumble into valleys, and the air is choked with a toxic fog known as the Blight. The flora and fauna of the Holler grow more monstrous by the day. Demons of every description lurk in the forests. Mutant cryptids haunt villages with their strange cries and appetites. Vengeful haints leer from abandoned shacks and lonely cliffs. No one is coming to save the people of Holler.

The goal of the resistance is to build a coalition, to bring together diverse factions—humble workers, roustabouts, mountain men, dirt track racers, cultists, and even strange creatures of myth and legend to raze the works of the Big Boys and drive them from the Holler forever. Holler draws deeply on Appalachian history, mythic folklore, and culture to create a dark fantasy world of apocalypse and vengeance.

This sounds a little more grim and gritty, with cryptids, toxic fog and demons lurking in the forest. It uses the Savage Worlds system, so you’ll have to pick up the codebook to play with it, but the setting is very very fleshed out. This is a little less Wild West and a little more Appalachia, and the setting is a bit more on the horror side than most of the other games on this list, but there’s certainly a lot of wildness out there for you to fight!

TROUPE, by TheOriginalCockatrice.

A game about travel, discovery, and outsiderness, a combination of the best of Old-School and Story Games. Complete with 6 Jobs, including the Ghelf, the Hedge, and the Ogra, and includes a system for holistically coming up with a character from scratch.

The designer describes this game as an exploration of the road; the odd and unknown of the wild, what it means to belong, and what it means to be on the outside. You’re not heroes - you’re entertainers, jokers, healers and bards. There isn’t exactly magic, but there is myth and legend. This is a great game for folks who want plenty of challenges that exist outside of combat. Each character playbook comes with a balance of mechanical elements and descriptive options, and you’ll be rolling 2d6 plus your stat in order to determine success.

I’m not sure how much of a Western this is, but the designer actually hacked this game for BXLLET, a game about gunslingers in the apocalypse, in the zine Bxllet Clip, so it might be worth checking out!

Shotguns & Sorcery, by Full Moon Enterprises.

Welcome to Dragon City, a grim, gritty metropolis ruled over by the Dragon Emperor, with legions of zombies scratching at the city walls by night.

Whether in the streets of Goblintown or the prestigious halls of the Academy of Arcane Apprenticeship, people try to scrape by, make a living, and survive from one day to the next. You, however, are looking for something more than simple survival. And in this city, if you don’t make your own adventure, another adventure is sure to find you.

Shotguns & Sorcery is a fantasy noir game complete with Dragon City Intrigues, roving hoards of undead, and unexplored mountains rife with magical creatures. You’ll see magical staffs alongside light pistols, bows alongside submachine guns, and greatswords alongside canteens, playing cards and a camp stove. The game uses the Cypher System, with an additional character option alongside the three-part character sentence: your race. This includes the signature hafling, elf, dwarf etc.

Games I’ve Recommended in the Past

Knights of the Road, by bordercholly.

[turquoisemagpie]

2023

CONs

- Cost of living has been a squeeze for sure. I’m coasting along fine for now, but seeing my close friends and others struggle so much has steeled my certainty that this cannot go on.

- My country is still under an embarrassment of a government, and a looming election next year doesn’t give much confidence that anything will change even with a new party.

- Wars, discrimination, human rights violations, classism, austerity, climate change, Covid: the Sequel, and every other lesser known apocalyptic horseman under the sun. — on the plus side, seeing so much public outcry from the everyday people and actual physical action for justice, fairer living, and a better world has given me so much hope that something big is coming. “Hope lies in the proles.”

- I had a physical and mental health downward spiral that has put me on medication for GAD and depression for the first time (probably should have got all this sorted out earlier, but oh well, you live and learn)

- I lost a couple grandparent family members, their passing causing the rest of us to dig deeper into our family’s past before it’s gone. Very bittersweet.

PROs

- I met another DnD friend in person and went to a lot of cool places with them, meeting up with other friends along the way and just having a good time.

- I connected with my family more. I took more trips to visit my brother and see his music take off in his town, I got a lot more confidence to go to family gatherings and catch up with cousins in actual conversation.

- I’ve made new great friends and taken more opportunities than my previously introverted arse would permit.

- I rediscovered the Divine Comedy, finally finding a music genre I love (chamber pop/rock).

- I read a lot more books. Some good, some really good, some re-readable, a few ‘meh’ ones that I’m happy to come back to when I’m in a new mindspace.

- My art has morphed into a style I’m comfortable with, to the point where I’m happy experimenting with more ideas and subjects with confidence.

- My friends and mutuals have made me proud too many times to count. So many of them diving into something new, taking chances, taking charge, making something great for themselves and those around them. Great job guys!

- I have my name published in a comic! ‘Creative Director’ of BadEgg’s ALTRVERSE - not bad! Certainly didn’t think I’d have my name published in something yet, so a nice little bonus.

- I have been trying new creative paths. Writing has taken up more of my attention; I’ve written a few short stories, built a couple narrative worlds, and dove into poetry. I’ve been eyeing sewing and needlework recently, so I’ll see where that goes.

A busy year, a light-in-the-darkness year, a hope(less/full) year. An interesting one for sure.

See what next year brings. :)

[threadfall]

Did you know Pern also came in a puzzle book format?

Crossroads Adventure books were published between 1987 and 1988, and featured two books set on Pern – Dragonharper (1987) and Dragonfire (1988). (Not to be confused with Todd's books, Dragon's Fire and Dragon Harper!)

I've not read either in great detail, but Dragonharper is set during Robinton's first Harper posting (and was released 10 years ahead of The Masterharper of Pern's publication), while Dragonfire takes places after the events of The White Dragon (and published as McCaffrey was writing Dragonsdawn, as the introduction notes!).

Published by Tor, they're credited as 'A Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Book', and were marketed as "...interactive novels compatible for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons™ level play" – which basically means they use DnD stat names/hit points and have you roll dice to make 'checks' in combination with a choose your own adventure structure. You roll 3d6 and compare the results to your hero's stats, and then move to the page number for your success or failure.

Both contain an introduction/preface by Anne, but only one (Dragonharper) contains an explanation of Pern, which I find interesting.

Dragonfire credits Doug Beekman for the cover art, which is incorrect! Instead, the artwork is by David Cherry, and features in his trading card series (neat!).

Dragonharper, however, does correctly credit Doug Beekman, which is a name you might recognise as a prominent artist for the Conan series!

Both books also feature interior illustrations credited to Todd Cameron Hamilton, the illustrator for The Dragon Lover's Guide to Pern! If you can find them, they're books worth picking up for those illustrations alone. Should I hit up a scanner and post those as well?

[regencyofhell-if]

Novel Update!

In between playing DnD with my friends and getting promoted in the animal rescue I volunteer for, I FINALLY managed to complete the second draft of the first book in the RoH Trilogy!

I'll be moving on to the final draft next weekend after taking some time off, and then it's off to the publisher to see if they like it. Even if they don't, I'll keep going. Writing brings me so much joy and I can't imagine ever stopping.

We currently stand at 34k words, and I'm planning on adding scenes in so by the time I'm done it will probably be about the length of one of those really long fanfics you find late at night on Ao3. I'm very proud of how far I've come, especially considering this is the first piece of this magnitude I've ever finished since I started writing at fifteen years old. I did not think I was ever going to be able to finish a project like this. That's how magical this world and these characters are.

I've also been toying with my murder mystery that I started a few years back (some of you may remember @cantarella-if) and I'll be back to work on the novel version of that very soon, too.

There's a lot going on right now, so keep an eye out for more updates as they happen! I'm very excited for what comes next!

Love y'all!

Nik

[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @teamdilf  |  AO3: Missjlh

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!

Q&A with Missjlh

Who was your first DA protagonist?

Iris Lavellan! I’d been relatively new to roleplaying games when I first picked up Dragon Age: Inquisition, and the ones I’d played previously focused more on exploration than character development. I was so pleasantly surprised by the opportunities to interact with the companions, and the world at large, and how often I was able to do the roleplaying part of the game. 

With only the knowledge of the Dragon Age universe that I got from the little blurb about Dalish elves in the character creator, I’d decided that Iris would probably only romance another elf. I also roleplayed her as a more antagonistic character to those around her than any other character I’d roleplayed in a video game or DND before then (tough because I mostly played the goodie two-shoes sorts!). It was an interesting challenge to play a sort of character I’d never played before, and sometimes make decisions that were in-character for her, but not the sort that are conducive to making friends with certain members of the inner circle. 

She romanced Solas, and I was captivated by him, the vibe of their relationship in general and the tragedy of it. It really hooked me and got me invested in the universe at large. I do wish I’d read the codex entries a bit more thoroughly in-game because the after-credits stinger where Solas’ true identity left me scratching my head a bit until I looked it up, but once I read the implications, I was even more hooked on their doomed love story because the notion of Iris spending a year walking with an ancient god by her side, teasing/bantering with him, and falling in love with him only made the story even better in my books.

When did you start writing fanfic?

I was 13 and wrote my very first fanfic in a notebook that I still have hidden away somewhere in my home! My first published fanfic came when I was 15. My first foray into writing fanfiction as an adult came in late 2019, but I didn’t start writing in earnest until the early days of the pandemic in 2020. The world was a scary place and I’d found myself doom scrolling, so I started writing to keep myself off social media, and then I never stopped!

How do you come up with titles?

This is where I tell on myself and admit that my method for coming up with titles is chaotic a good 90% of the time: five minutes before I hit ‘publish’, with my fic/first chapter ready to go in AO3, I sit there and ponder what the title of my fic should be. To be clear, I write a lot of long fics - 75k plus works and I always draft them nearly in-full before I start publishing. I have a plethora of time to decide on a title! 

Do I? LOL no. Sometimes, a flash of inspiration comes to me (always late at night; usually when my partner is coming to bed and wakes me up when the bedroom door opens) and I come up with a title in advance. Those are precious baby unicorns in my list of AO3 works.

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tag @davycoquette!

Writer Questionaire

1. Is writing a hobby or way of life?

I mean, it's my greatest passion, but it's not what I do or plan on doing for a living in the future, so I'll go with hobby. To be honest, I'm fine with that. I think I'd enjoy writing a lot less if I was doing it professionally.

2. A journal full of writing notes or a clean, completed manuscript?

Sorry guys, clean manuscript. I do a barebones outline to start, then just write the thing top to bottom. I know first drafts aren't supposed to be pretty, but I can't help myself.

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration?

That's a tough one. I read a lot, so maybe Sanderson or Tolkien, but honestly, the person who inspired me to take writing more seriously is a guy from my weekly dnd group. He was the first person I met in real life who wrote and had published stuff. He proved to me that regular people can be authors too.

4. Which is worse: someone you "idolize" reading your first draft or listening to you sing?

Listening to me since, easily. I can't sing, but I'm fine with that. I'm not emotionally invested in my singing ability like I am with my writing ability.

5. Has writing from someone else's POV ever changed your own perspective?

Maybe a little? I feel like a lot of my characters are based on different parts of my own psyche, so really I'm just leaning into those. Because of that, writing about them has made me more accepting of different parts of my own identity.

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN?

I'm only on Tumblr at the moment. I don't intend to put my writing anywhere else because I feel like sites like AO3 aren't really made for original fiction.

7. AO3 wordcount, and are you satisfied with it?

Not on AO3, but I just did the math and between three Honor's Outcasts books and two and a half Mortal God books, I'm at 644,000 words. Add up all the miscellaneous short stories I have floating around and I'd put myself at an even 650,000. Not bad!

8. What movie/book/fic gripped you irrevocably?

The Name of the Wind was the first book that really showed me what could be done with prose. I don't care that the third book is never coming out, Kingkiller Chronicles will always have my heart <3

The Foundryside Trilogy is an underrated series that basically inspired Mortal God. It weaves fantasy and sci-fi perfectly, has some of the best villains I've ever read, and the ending still makes me sick to think about. Which is a compliment.

And, of course, the Stormlight Archives massively inspired my worldbuilding. I always strive for the layer of depth and strength of character found in those books.

9. What’s the highest compliment you’ve ever been given, and have you been given it?

The best comment I've ever gotten isn't exactly a compliment. One of my beta readers once commented on a weak metaphor, "You can do better, you started with a symphony." That really stuck with me for some reason. It reminds me that I do have the capability to write beautifully, and that I shouldn't settle for anything less.

10. What defines your writing style?

I've been told my narration is very conversational, cut through with fanciful descriptions. I've also been told the voice of whichever character I'm writing from the POV of tends to slip through into my writing style. Descriptions in Sepo's chapters are darker and more grim, the narration of Ivander’s chapters gets more sarcastic, Twenari’s chapters focus more on the smaller details, the voice of Astra’s chapters has some more of that country flair, and so on and so forth.

I'll tag @fantasy-things-and-such @wyked-ao3 @rotting-moon-writes @finchwrites and anyone else who wants in :)

[awkwardpasta004]

I wanna talk about this somewhere but I’m so into working on my book series again. Months of meltdowns and depression ending with me loosing a job has just sparked the need to work on it again. I’m so determined to get the pre writing shit done so I can start writing.

I’m currently trying to compile all the world building info into one page per country instead of the massive folders I have rn so I can better see what I’m missing. At this point, one country has been thought out a good bit but the other 3 need the same treatment.

Also I’ve already drawn one of the MC and the secondary characters from the one country, let’s call this country T even though I have posted this stuff online so it won’t be hard to find. Man I’m bad at keeping things secret but I want people to know my countries and characters! Anyway, I still need to draw the others.

Oh oh! So before I was trying too hard to be the YA version of Game of Thrones even though I haven’t even read it and only know a general gust of the story. I’m also only taking 1 minor inspiration from that but I was so against having mythical races and magic in my world when that’s what I love about fantasy. It’s there now! The magic is back and it makes the story so much more interesting and brings more challenges and ahhhhhh so excited!

Reading The Hobbit helped and I’ve started Fellowship. I’m in between 3-4 books. Goodness I need to chill. But now my story has gone from Harry Potter inspired (that’s from so so soooo long ago) to inspired by Avater the Last Air Bender, Tolkien, a tiny pinch of Game of Thrones, and dnd.

For those who don’t know, I’ve been working on a YA fantasy series on and off since 2017. I’ve been stuck on the overall plot and world building for a while. Ik the plot but it’s kinda blurry and I’ve been trying to clear the fog. And the world building….I just really like world building but! I swear it’s important! The cultures and history of the countries are important to the story and are a big part of the characters since all of them (the main cast) are each from a different country. And now I’ve made up new races which yes I do plan on creating them into homebrews.

Speaking of how cool would it be that after I (hopefully) get my series published that I make an rpg guide for my world?!

Ok that’s all. I’ve always wanted to blog about my writing but Ive always tended to take such long breaks but I’m hoping that won’t happen this time now that monsters and magic is back in my world *knocks on wood*

[grapenehifics]

20 Question Fic Writer Tag

Hell yeah I'll play. Thanks @palfriendpatine66 :D

How many works do you have on ao3?

AO3 says ten, but one of those is a series continuation of another one, so I count it as nine...although tomorrow that will go up by one, after the reveals for the Ghost Window challenge go out.

2.) What's your ao3 word count? 

Oh god. 690,376. I honestly think I was happier not knowing that fact about myself.

3.) What fandoms do you write for? 

I don't multitask well. I can write Star Wars fics or I can write Star Wars fics. I haven't even ventured outside the Clone Wars era yet.

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Some Technical Difficulties - big gap - Solsbury Hill - An Uncivil War - medium-sized gap - An Unlikely Duo - another gap-ish - Down by the Seaside.

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yep. I like it when authors reply to me when I leave a comment, so I try to pay it forward. Also sometimes we get into fun little side chats.

6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

At the moment, not one single damn one of them. They have angst in them, but none of them end on angst. However as of about twenty-four hours from now, my answer will be, Ghost Window AU.

7.) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Literally all of them. I'm happy to read angst, but when it comes to writing I am firmly in the happy endings camp.

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

I had some people tell me they were dropping out of Solsbury Hill because it wasn't getting to the Obikin fast enough, but I wouldn't call that hate. So, no.

(Side note, though: you don't have to tell authors that. Just delete your subscription quietly.)

But, I am also very ready to delete any and all negative comments. This is my fun side project; good vibes only.

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

...pretty vanilla kind, honestly. Again, I read much more adventurously than I write. (Although, as recently as two years ago I would have said I don't write smut at all, so hit me up two years from now and maybe I'll be writing hardcore d/s, I don't know.)

10.) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

By the strict definition, no. If you're talking 'dump Star Wars characters into settings of other movies', then hell yeah, that's kind of my jam right now. Down by the Seaside is Obikin Overboard. Next year I'm planning to publish Obikin Jurassic Park, Obikin Parent Trap, and Obikin Princess Diaries II. And I have a couple more on my to-do list.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Is this a thing I need to worry about?? Shit.

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

@kittonafoxgirl did a podfic of Some Technical Difficulties and it is still like one of the top five most rad things that has ever happened to me; does that count?

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

No but @fulcrum843 are currently mulling something over...

I do get a lot of help with my writing though. @piecesofeden11 basically wrote all the DnD stuff in An Unlikely Duo. I talk stuff out on Tumblr with folks all the time before I actually sit down to write it (or during, lol).

14.) What's your all time favorite ship?

I have no plans to write anything other than Obikin, and there's so much new good fic that it takes up most of my reading time as well.

15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I wouldn't call it a WIP because there are no words on a page but I love the *idea* of a fic based on Jenn Barkley from Parks & Rec but have no idea what direction to take it and may never get to it. (If anyone wants to take this idea and run with it please do; it is very much up for grabs!)

16.) What are your writing strengths?

This is a weird thing to answer about myself but I hope I write with a sense of movement, propulsion, even a little suspense - as a reader I love to feel that I have to turn the page, I have to see what comes next, I don't want to put this fic/book down - and I try to work towards that goal in my own writing.

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

Getting bogged down in details. It drives me crazy in movies when characters have these huge mansions but seemingly never go to work and somehow this has translated into me being incapable of just writing a smutty one-shot or whatever because what is everyone's job and how much is their mortgage payment and do they get paid on Fridays or Mondays and how many bedrooms does that apartment have.

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

See answer above about over-complicating things: I came up with this whole system for An Uncivil War for whether I'm writing out the dialogue in a language other than Basic (I feel like we really only have enough information for me to be able to do this in Huttese and Mando'a, and even then only short conversations in certain subjects), or simply noting that a character is saying something in another language ("he said in Ryl" or whatever), or mixing Basic and a word/words in another language within the same sentence. It was important to me to capture that multilingualism, but it's also a lot of work, ngl.

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

Technically Johnlock but I never finished/published anything.

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

I love all my babies equally, she lied.

It's the Can't Stop the Suns series, which is An Uncivil War, Pick Up the Pieces (more than halfway completed), and Sometimes Fate Steps In (loosely outlined). Sometimes I'll just look over my notes and get giddy about how much good stuff I'm packing in there and how much *more* good stuff I haven't even gotten to yet. I'm throwing the kitchen sink of stuff I love at it. Even if the final version doesn't quite live up to the vision I see in my head (it rarely does), as long as I get close I'll be happy.

I tag @piecesofeden11, @underacalicosky, @fulcrum843, and, as usual, anyone else who feels up for it!

[ratsoh-writes]

Hey y’all! Meet Blight and Dwight Welwood! These two brothers are from an unlikely pair with their ogre father and swiftee mother. Despite being polar opposites, the brothers are as thick as thieves!

Dwight:

Dwight is a pale blue swiftee monster from underswap with wine purple eyes and magic. He stands about 4’8 feet tall. He’s currently 53 years old.

Dwight is a shy and jittery swiftee. He has trouble talking to new people and tends to cling to those he knows well when out in public. When he’s comfortable with someone though, he’s quite witty and has a dry sarcastic sense of humor.

Despite every one thinking he’s younger cause of his subspecies and jumpy personality, Dwight is actually the older twin by about 20 minutes.

Dwight is a creative monster who loves to write! He works for a publishing company reviewing possible new books, and in his free time he writes DnD campaigns! He’s a good friend of honey since before the crash and is the DM of the DnD group that honey is in.

When Dwight isn’t DMing, he likes to be the charismatic bard!

Things he loves: DnD of course, fantasy novels, final fantasy games, anything legend of Zelda, battle bots, and goth girls lol

Blight:

Blight is a blue grey ogre from underswap with a saffron yellow magic. He’s large for his species, standing at 8’9 feet tall and is 53 years old.

Blight is outgoing, bubbly and fiercely competitive. He adores smack talk and gets along best with those who have a sassy side to them. Blight tends to be very physically affectionate with people straight off the bat as he’s used to that treatment from his clingy brother and mother.

Blight is in fact the younger twin between him and Dwight, and he hates when people assume he’s older. It’s stereotypical.

Blight loves battling, and he loves robots, so naturally he found a way to combine both in ebotts unique sport called battle bots. He’s on a team of mechanics handling their robot, the pizza cutter, that they compete with against other robots in shows. He also has a day job as a basketball coach at a high school.

Blight is also a friend of honey, and is in the DnD group. He plays as the campaigns cleric healer.

Things he loves: DnD, battle bots, anything Star Wars or Star Trek, basketball and karate, cuddly monsters/humans.

[phoenixofthegreenwood]

Writer Intro

Hi all, my name is Phoenix Greenwood. I’m a young Australian author who mainly writers fantasy, romance and Fanfiction. I also love sci-fi and LitRPG and want to write something in those genres in the future! This post is an introduction about me, as well a list of my works with helpful inline links ;)

My Writing Journey

I’ve been writing ever since I could remember. My favourite subject in school was English and my favourite part was creative writing. I loved writing based on prompts and had goals to write my own story, but unfortunately never finished any projects.

In April 2021, I started writing and publishing my own Fanfiction on Wattpad. Soon after I also released my stories on ao3 as well, and I’ve continued to write Fanfiction ever since! I also am writing original work in the background and want to publish my own novel one day.

My Hobbies

Outside of reading and writing I have a lot of different hobbies. Here is a list of the majority of my hobbies.

Dungeons and Dragons/Role Playing Games

Video Games

Drawing

Pixel Art

3D Modelling

Miniature Painting

Polymer Clay Modelling

My Fandoms

I’m in a lot of different fandoms and love a lot of different tv shows, movies, books, etc. Here is a list of my main fandoms in no particular order.

Pokémon

My Hero Acadamia

Avatar the Last Airbender

Legend of Korra

Critical Role

High Rollers DnD

Hunger Games

How to Train Your Dragon

Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir

Marvel Comics

DC Comics

Star Wars

Super Mario Bros

Splatoon

Legend of Zelda

Spider-Man

Skylanders

What is this Blog?

This blog will mainly be for updates on my Fanfiction. I also might share updates on other writing projects outside of my fanfictions, and I’ll have other general writing stuff as well. I’ll also probably share what I’m currently reading and my thoughts on various stories.

My Stories

Finished Works

Gazing at the Stars (Star Wars) 12/04/22

Ongoing Works

Do You Love Me? (MHA) 18/04/21-???

Goddess of Creation (MHA) 20/05/21-???

Rough around the Edges (MHA) 25/08/23-???

[aristotels]

Thinking about art and fiction and concepts of ownership and honestly it's kinda fucked that collaborative and transformative storytelling is literally as old as time and one of the most basic human instincts that exists, but the only good word it we have right now is "fanfiction"

and when you tell people you write fanfiction they think you're some kind of cringe weirdo and possibly pervert and then the whole thing gets derailed by this bizarre side discussion into how "No it's not all porn, it's absolutely everything and anything imaginable, duh, but like, even if it were all porn, that would also be okay". Like I'm all for pointing out the double standards about how published authors who put sex into their stories don't lose any respectability (especially if they're men, and especially if the sex is cishet), but the second I, a fanfiction person, add a romantic arc into my plotty casefic suddenly I'm a fujoshi with shipper brainrot etc etc-

But it's tiring that this is even a focal point

My favourite funny and sad thing is watching people (usually dudes) who clearly either view themselves as above fanfiction or have simply never ever thought of themselves as "the type" to do creative writing discover The Fanfiction Urge, because the way they express it is like. An increasingly passionate and detailed video essay about how Movie should have gone instead, or, my favourite, a story about something cool that happened to them in XCOM or Darkest Dungeon or some other Difficult Game For Serious Gamers and by the end of the post they're legitimately just writing prose. Like look at this! LOOK! Damn if this person didn't speedrun the gamerbro-to-AO3 pipeline just for a sec. And not that there's anything wrong with those formats but it makes you wonder if that's something they'd be interested in exploring more if their wings got unclipped

Or DnD. Small wonder that TTRPGs are becoming so popular when they're one of the few increasingly non-cringe ways to do the extremely basic human urge of Tell Story Collaboratively

A friend of mine had this to say recently about his own struggles with this kind of internal bias:

i'd like to try out Thousand-Year-Old Vampire (a solo role-playing game with minimal rules to make you write your own narrative) and my toxic masculinity is getting in the way. discouraging thoughts include: i'm not creative enough; creative writing is for Floofy Humanities types and i am a Cold STEM type; it's not a real game unless it has Systems that you can Study and Master. would anyone like to say something encouraging?

and honestly that's incredibly illuminating innit isn't it. The splitting off of creative activity (not just fanfiction, either) into something only for Floofy Humanities Types but not Serious People and the way it's linked to whether or not you can make money off it... oof.

This became a long post thank you for your patience

ngl i just dont rly care that much for fandoms... i like fanfic, i read it and write it, but i dont rly see fandom as my identity or smth i particularly care about, to me all of it is just the same as me playing with barbie dolls.

i dont think its something special that can be compared to actual literature and i think there are certain problems w booktok people relying on tropes that come from fanfic mentality. its just not the same, and i do wish people who like fanfic would sometimes also read.......some actual books sometimes

i just generally dont see what youre describing as some huge thing or problem, i think anti-kink ppl doxxing artists is the major worrisome thing when it comes to fandoms, but i think the doxxers also take the whole fandom experience too seriously

and i say this as someone who also writes fanfic, so like, it rly isnt me going "fanfic authors/readers are stupid", i find fanfic super cool to explore yourself, fanart taught me sooo much as an artist, i even enjoy roleplaying; all of this serves a very real purpose of exploring things as a human in realms of fiction, and pre-existing characters make that easier. i think that can be very useful, we learn about ourselves through books and stories. i just think fandom should be treated the way it is - playtime with toys ✌️

[arwainian]

Reading This Week 2024 #34

Hello! a professor I worked with last semester on his fantasy genre class asked for a recommendation for a queer book recommendation because apparently he admires my knowledge of contemporary fantasy publishing. I gave him a novella that seemed like it's fit the themes he was looking at (Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh), and took the compliment instead of telling him that there are so many queer fantasy books my beloved tumblr mutuals are obsessed with but I haven't gotten to yet

Finished:

Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 1: Walking the Path and Vol. 2: Edge of Everything written by G. Willow WIlson, art by Christian Ward this was pitched to me as cool scifi with lesbian leads, but to be perfectly honest i am not getting the chemistry between them at all..... the first volume was cool but the second felt like a major let down. I'm interested to see where the final volume goes tho so I'll still give it a shot

Bloom Into You, Vol. 2-3 by Nakatani Nio, translated by Jenny McKeon on the other hand, the girls in lesbians in this manga are coming for my fucking throat. they are kind and caring but the Teenage Desire in this is strong and extremely messy (what is love? what does it mean to fall in love? what if you fall for each other at different speeds? is what you're doing with her right if you dont think you feel the same way?) reading it is like poking me in a bruise fucking WHAT

The Sprite and the Gardener by Rii Abrego and Joe Whitt gorgeous art, bland story

Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden inter-generational lesbian friendship roadtrip in rural texas. the way the world gets progressively stranger is very well done. this is a comparison i haven't seen made yet, but maybe check it out if you like Alice Isn't Dead?

long day by kathkin on ao3

Maigret Bides His Time by Georges Simenon, translated by Alastair Hamilton just a short old mystery novel. fun time but in an outdated style

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, narrated by Michael Page Locke Lamora is... as you might say a Character Type that works for me very very often, to the point that I gender flipped it for a dnd character of mine. This was a great book with basically no misplaced or extraneous world building elements: it feels rich and lived in but everything snaps together perfectly. The book could maybe use more women, which maybe feels a bit greedy since there are a number of named interesting women characters, but none of them are leads and so those side characters just made me crave more. I just am also extremely OC-pilled and was kicking my feet imagining my girl Letha running around Camorr causing trouble.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 1 written by Kanehito Yamada, art by Tsukara Abe, translated by Misa "Japanese Ammo" fun and sweet, pretty straight forward in what it's doing so far

Female Husbands: A Trans History by Jen Manion, narrated by Kate Harper a thorough history of many assigned-female-at-birth people in the UK and the US who passed as men, often legally marrying women for desire or for gender passing reasons (though not all of the people discussed in this book did so). leaves open both lesbian/same-sex desire and transmasculine interpretations, while also being as specific as possible to the lives, circumstances, and testimonies of its subjects (including the ways we know about them, and that very few of them after being discovered as "women" were allowed to continue in male dress)

Sensor by Junji Ito, translated by Jocelyne Allen hm. well, interested to hear the Shelved by Genre opinion on this.

Started/Ongoing:

The River of Silver: Tales from the Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty, narrated by Soneela Nankani finishing out the short vignette collection from this series

Witches, Princesses, and Women at Arms edited by Sacchi Green a collection of semi erotic lesbian fairytales that I'm reading through. first one has an exiled princess cross dressing as a man and seducing a witch during her quest to slay a dragon

Homie by Danez Smith poetry book i picked up because my black queer lit prof from last year talked about the second poem in here, which i think lives up to his interpretation of it

Reading Plans:

tbh, my brain is coughing up dust right now. finish the stuff in the prior section. get ready for actually writing my thesis in the coming months.

OH I'm going to read A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood for my queer lit book club, and I guess check out whatever Shelved by Genre is reading next? gotta take a look at my Libby loans, and pull something from my book shelf