#technically a worldbuilding wednesday

[anemoiaposting]

intro post

i go by juice, avocet, continent, or capital, as well as using it/its or any pronouns.

this is a sideblog for my spec-bio/worldbuilding project, currently just called anemoia. It focuses on a world made up nearly entirely of dilapidated structures, with a particular light put onto how these world's sophonts, known as the Kuva, interact with the once-inhabitants of these structures.

personally i'd describe it as scifi with like. a few fantasy elements. also heavily inspired by rain world because i tried it in like 2020 and its aesthetic has embedded itself into my brain

in any case im not sure how often im going to update this blog because its. HEAVILY wip, but its probably a good idea to have like a list of things i plan to do. anyway

WHO ARE THE KUVA? [WIP]

Northern Vs Southern Kuva [WIP]

General Biomes [WIP]

General Northern Culture [WIP]

Northern Ecology [WIP]

DEPENDING on how this goes i might split these up into tags instead of individual posts.

also dont worry about the profile picture or any of the past few posts on this blog <3 all in due time

[thetruearchmagos]

Worldbuilding Wednesday's coming up tomorrow, which is always fun! Got some plans for it, chief among which is that I'll be continuing on with my weekly Prompts! On my own end, I intend on working on my 'Part II' for the Aeroship vs Aircraft series I've got going, but aside from that, I'm considering starting on some preliminary research for that Interactive Fiction project I've been tinkering on.

So, yeah!

[livums]

Happy WBW! Are there any special handshakes or pass phrases that exist in your world? I'm thinking like those really cloak and dagger things where a contact might give you half of a phrase and then you have to complete it to prove your identity.

Happy WBW!!!

There actually is one that comes to mind--in The Marking Blood, the members of the Hunters Guild have an old... kinship gesture? They hold one of their hands up (palm-in), then make a loose fist and kinda--tap their knuckles against a buddy's!

I was compelled to draw Sylah and Dove demonstrating (they do this in the text, at least once,)

it can be a greeting or a good-bye! AND an easy way to identify another covert Hunter in the field (they don't always wear their stupid red cloaks around, after all).

In any case, it's a way of reaffirming brotherhood, lol

The Hunters of the Guild also abide by a document known as the Hecatologue (AKA the Hunter's Bible, colloquially), and it's part of their training to memorize it verbatim. They quote it at each other a lot, so another very easy way to spot another Hunter in the wild <3

Thank you for the question!

[athemarina]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednsday! (since you mentioned you're doing worldbuilding...)

What is the healthcare like in your world?

ooohh that’s such a good question, thank you!!

there’s no such thing as centralised, classic healthcare - there are healers who live and work in the cities and villages (if they’re specialised on very specific medical fields they travel around usually) and it’s very much a “you get what you can pay for” situation

most of the main characters are from the lower and rougher parts of society, so they don’t have access to fancy healers. they usually try to patch it up themselves, or with the help of a friend!

[wingedcatgirl]

it's worldbuilding wednesday! send us asks about this world if you wanna

fuckin mortifying ordeal of being known or wahtever, i' m finally posting a thing i've been writing for ages and i'm anxcited about it

it's got catfolk in it and uhhhh idk, found family maybe. i don't know what a trope is.

it's a long-form not fanfic thing, and it's the first real one of those i've written so that's. important to me even if the thing itself is cringey or whatever. i've been cringe and you can deal with it.

[high-fantasy-sw]

That's Right. Worldbuilding Wednesdays are Back

This installation: Technically Part Two of Clone Culture, even though it's the first Worldbuilding Wednesday for that particular topic. Part One can be found by clicking the link.

HUGE shoutout to @majorproblems77 for helping me come up with, like, 90% of this lore. Thank you so much, Major, I really couldn't have done this without you :)

Also, I'd like to keep this consistency up, so if you're so inclined, let me know in the tags what you'd like to know more about in the AU, and if you're even more so inclined, don't hesitate to send an ask and help me talk it out! I love hearing your ideas for how I could make this AU better :)

@whyoneartheven @anime-obsessed @magpie-sherlock

Edit: Well, crap. I accidentally posted this instead of scheduling it. Oh well, I guess you get Worldbuilding Monday today.

Edit Two: CRAP CRAP CRAP I AM REALLY BEHIND IT TODAY AND COMPLETELY FORGOT TO PUT THE DIAGRAM THERE. OKAY IT'S BEEN ADDED

Identification Rings

Every Clone, at birth, is given an identification ring: a plain iron band with his number stamped on the surface. This ring, purportedly, serves a two-fold purpose. As well as being his official identifying information, it’s also an enchanted artifact: the Kaminoans claim that, as powerful as their alchemy is, it’s not strong enough to create and sustain an entire human being on its own, especially with modifications such as advanced aging; the rings are therefore created with a spell that supposedly splits the life-sustaining alchemy between itself and the Clone in question, and once a Clone reaches the age of nine-eighteen, he is told he must wear the ring at all times or his alchemy will begin to unravel and he’ll die. (Prior to this, cadets wear their rings on chains around their neck, as seen in their concept art; apparently, Kaminoan magic can hold itself mostly together until a Clone reaches adulthood.)

The Clones are extraordinarily protective and even possessive of their rings. Besides their life-preserving properties, they’re also the only items the Clones can truly call personal possessions, the only thing they can really point to and say “That’s mine.” (True, once the war breaks out and they bond with their Jedi Generals, many of them receive numerous gifts from their newfound families, but in truth they often have trouble really seeing these presents as truly theirs, since in the walls of Kamino Fortress there was an unspoken understanding that everything they had- armor, clothing, room and board, anything and everything they touched- was really on loan and would be given to the next batch of brothers when they couldn’t use it anymore.)

Since these rings are so important to the Clones, a culture of sorts has sprung up around them:

As noted earlier, Cadets (Clones under the age of nine-eighteen and/or who have not passed their final exam) wear their rings on chains around their necks. As part of their coming-of-age ritual, their rings move from their necks to their right hands, and they reconfigure their chains from a single loop to this cuff design:

This new chain has both a practical purpose and a symbolic one. Practically, it prevents the ring from sliding off of a Clone’s hand and being lost (the chain is non-removable; all the links are closed). Symbolically, however, the chain has a much deeper meaning. It consists of two segments: the chain of identity (seen in red in the diagram) and the chain of brotherhood (seen in blue). 

The chain of identity is the segment that goes over the back of the hand and connects the ring to the chain of brotherhood. It symbolizes the connection that an individual Clone has to his brothers, and also his own individuality and personhood. Many Clones use this chain to express their own quirks and personality, painting it or attaching small mementoes to it. 

The chain of brotherhood is the segment that goes around the wrist, and to the Clones is the most important segment. It represents the brotherhood between all the Clones, and- eventually- between the Clones and their Jedi generals. There is a very important ritual associated with this chain: they are painted in memory of fallen brothers and Jedi, one link (usually; it can be more, depending on who or how many died) for every slain friend, in the color or colors of their armor (or, in a Jedi’s case, the color of their lightsaber). The inch or so of chain right over the back of the wrist, where it meets the chain of identity, is considered the most personal segment of the chain, and is usually reserved for fallen batchmates (though there have been exceptions to this norm- for example, after Ahsoka left the Jedi, Rex painted his section green for her.)

[ominous-feychild]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! Where in your setting would you most like to visit, and where would you avoid at all costs?

This is an interesting question! And a really rough one, haha.

For one, it would definitely vary in the time period / exact moment in time regardless of the location, haha. But I'll pick from overall time periods! (And assume I can easily speak the native language.)

For those who don't know the countries in my world, check this out!

MOST ENJOY VISITING:

Haha, sooooo I technically have a tie here??? And both technically wouldn't work for one reason or another. 😂😅

MINOGUA (during RFtA)

Minogua is a country that's drawn a lot of inspiration from Latin America + Hawaii and, uh... well previously had a lot of themes of colonialism. That's why it feels a little rough to want to go there as a kinda tourist, haha.

But! Shortly before the time of RFtA, they evicted the direct authority from the colonizing countries! So by the time the story comes around, they've had a few decades of trying to turn their country into what they want it to be / what it was before they were invaded!

I grew up both in Texas (there's a LOT of Mexican people and influences there!) and Florida (near-tropical and has a lot of Puerto Rican people / influences!). I may not be Latina, but two of my closest friends are (and one is now my gf 😂) and I have a lot of positive experiences relating to the culture. I think that's a huge reason for my fondness for Minogua and Tzakah, haha.

Besides that, as I (hopefully) alluded to, Minogua is also a tropical country! It's got a rich, surprisingly friendly culture and I'd absolutely love visiting it on holiday. It just... would feel wrong due to the whole "colonization" history, haha. 😅

To be fair, I don't think a majority of them would mind it. But it's only been a few decades since they got rid of the direct authority of the colonizing country, so other people exploiting their history for their own "entertainment" would definitely not rub some of them the right way!

TZAKAH

The real place I'd most like to go... if I'd even be able to remember the experience!!! 😭😭😭

So, the problem with Tzakah is that they're kinda hidden! They're actually a massive city built into a seaside cliff in Cirrane's rainforest as well as an isolationist "country" (read: city-state) with no connection to the rest of the world!

See, there's two ways to go if you'd like to leave or enter Tzakah: through the forest or by the sea. Only... there's a couple problems with that.

Go by sea, and there's practically endless storms raging off the coast. And not just your average nasty equatorial storms--but hurricane-type stuff! Not close enough to bother Tzakans, and actually not even permanent! But any time anyone goes near that approximate area of the world, knowingly or not, storms begin to barrage them until it destroys their ship or they (wisely) flee the area.

Many around the world refer to that area "the Gods' Land", theorizing that the gods' home is past the storms and the storms themselves are meant to keep out all but those who are worthy.

Making the storms "the Gods' Trials", of course.

Tzakah is lucky to just barely be at the edge of the Gods' Land, managing to avoid the Trials even when they go out to sea for fish. Besides that, they don't travel much further--they learned a long time ago of the dangers associated with it.

On the other side, they have the rainforest. And, somehow, it's worse.

Beyond the usual dangers of wild nature, Cirrane's rainforest is known to be haunted by malicious spirits--theorized to both be faerie in origin and those of deceased victims--that kill all who encroach on their territory.

Those who wander too far into the forest are known to never come back. Most--the Cirranians on the other side of the rainforest--don't know exactly why people who wander into the forest disappear. Again, they just theorize it's spirits--they don't know for sure. All they do is that they should never go past a certain landmark in the forest... lest they never be heard of again.

Those of Tzakah, however, know of the "spirits" by name.

The Melijé.

Merciless hunters they're locked into perpetual war with, and will be forever until the end of time... or until one finishes the other off.

Why?

Well, for the horrible crime of having left the Melijé centuries ago!

OH, YEAH, BUDDY, IT GETS DEEP! I LOVE TZAKAH!

Anyway, yeah! Tzakah is a safe haven hidden in-between the Gods' Trials and the Melijé haunting the forests of {insert forest name here, probably sounding vaguely like "Melijé"}. Uh, I've definitely named the forest, don't worry! I'm just too lazy to look it up! Yeah...

Tzakah was formed by refugees who fled from the Melijé long ago. They're a peaceful people--descended from those who hated the Melijé's violent and hateful ways--and have created a completely pacifistic utopian society for themselves... outside of a select group of warriors who've trained under Torcaiz (their god of Protection) to repel any Melijé attacks. However, they're all warned of the struggles and pain associated with it beforehand, and accept the burden.

The people of Tzakah are isolationists due to the whole "actually kinda separated from the rest of the world" thing, and... another piece of their history that makes them see the rest of the world as a much darker place than their utopia. (Which obviously is fair. I mean, have you seen most of my worldbuilding??? It's bad.)

However... that Very Purposely Ambiguous "Piece Of History™" has also made Tzakans cautious of the very few outsiders that do make it there. (There's a few ways, but it's mostly them rescuing people who got lost in the rainforest before the Melijé kills them... or idiots who try to sail through the Gods' Trials, thinking they're "worthy".)

Instead of welcoming outsiders in with open arms like they'd want to (but they pretty much still do--), they're more cautious of and careful with them. Outsiders tend to get questioned by one of Tzakah's gods--usually Torcaiz alongside one of the others to keep him from deeming them all "unworthy" 🤣--to verify they don't have any ulterior motives.

And then, if and when they leave... they're stripped of their memories of their time there.

Yeah. Another one of the Tzakan gods--Marmorin--is able to completely remove people's memories. Except... he doesn't 99% of the time. Instead, he messes with the memories to "repress" them--leaving the effects of their time in Tzakah, but making it so, at best, they'll remember it as a dream.

Soooooo... if I were to ever visit Tzakah, I'd first have to put my life at risk and then be forced to lose my memory of my time there, anyway!

Haha, definitely not worth it, unfortunately.

In spite of all of that, Tzakah is an awesome place to visit. Like Cirrane (which the Melijé was once associated with) and Minogua, Tzakah has strong Latin American influence! They're in the middle of a rainforest, but obviously completely locked within the "city" itself!

(There's always at least one Melijé huntress patrolling the woods outside of Tzakah. Their rivalry is bitter, harbored and continued mostly by the Melijé, and one of Torcaiz's jobs as their god of Protection is maintaining a barrier that keeps the Melijé out.)

Again, their culture is very utopian, with most everyone being incredibly supportive of one another and each others' problems. The few who don't feel that way are instead given space and patience to do whatever they wish. Many of which eventually become (or already were) Warriors and develop a solidarity with the others, or leave Tzakah under the watchful eye of another god...

BUT YEAH, I LOVE TZAKAH AND WOULD LOVE TO VISIT IT IF I COULD REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT THE VISIT!!!

(To anyone wondering, the Melijé aren't any sort of "native peoples are inherently violent" thing or whatever. They're actually in the minority being that way in my story! Most of the time--like with Minogua--it's the opposite. Native peoples just want to be left alone. The Melijé's history actually separates them from most indigenous groups, tbh. Send an ask if you want to know more about them or Tzakah in general! Though please specify what specifically you want to know more about...)

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

CIRRANE

Aaaand on the other end of the rainforest is CIRRANE! (Somehow there happens to be both a utopia and dystopia separated by nothing but a rainforest, some magical nonsense, and a ravaging cult bent on destruction of all others and growing their own power...)

I've spoken about Cirrane before, but it's definitely scattered across posts, haha. Long story short? Since this post has been LONG--

Cirrane is an incredibly impoverished nation with a massive wage gap and next to no middle class. Their way of "solving" that?

Bread and circuses!

... no, I mean it. Almost literally--

Context! The origin of the term "bread and circuses" to placate the masses is actually from Ancient Rome, where they'd use food ("bread") and entertainment ("circuses", which originally referred to what are now called coliseums)!

So... want to guess what Cirrane does?

Yeah, so, basically people have the option to risk their lives by fighting in arenas / coliseums to raise their status. Likewise, it's incredibly cheap to buy into and watch them! Lowkey, their entire economy is based around the arenas and the whole "political structure" around them.

Even the current monarch has fought in the coliseums before!

(In order to display their sheer magical prowess to the masses and intimidate them into falling in line.)

Similarly, Cirrane is known to be a debt-trap country, which will often try to entice people (but especially outsiders) into gambling... and using that to hook them into the many available vices.

I'm sure you can see why Cirrane is the "AVOID AT ALL COSTS" country.

Oh, and btw? It's VERY relevant in Rising From the Ashes! 🥰

Yeah, so, you'd really think it would've been Glavnran, but no. Somehow, as bad as Glavnran is, Cirrane is worse.

(PS: "Melijé" is pronounced "Mehl-ee-hey")

Worldbuilding tag list: @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @paeliae-occasionally (Ask and ye shall be added)

[bardic-tales]

Happy STS!!!!

Some people use lore bibles, some people just wing it, some people are in between, but what's your favorite way to organize your worldbuilding/lore as a writer?

Hello. Happy belated STS. Thank you so much for the question, and I hope you are having a wonderful day.

I rely heavily on a story bible because having an organized and comprehensive reference helps me keep track of the exte4nsive details within my world / passion project. My story bible is sort of like a repository. It not only includes my main manuscript (3 main manuscripts if I want to be technical), but it also includes short stories, drabbles, and any AUs I develop along the way. I categorize key aspects of my passion project, such as themes, tropes, content warnings, and character / story goals, ensuring I keep consistent with the overarching narrative. I believe this level of organization keeps me grounded, even when my passion project I'm building becomes increasingly complex.

This serves as a central hub for my detail character bios (Bianca's bio is over 5k words for her Final Fantasy 7 section alone), complete with extensive character interviews and questionnaires. I also keep track of any Writeblr related events within the bible, so I can have these if god-forbids something happens to my Tumblr. This helps me flesh out character develop in ways that can evolve over time. There's also a world building section that features a timeline of the passion project, detailed maps, key location, culture notes, and, of course, answers to Worldbuilding Wednesday.

Recently, I added a section called '30 days of World building'. It's a project that provides a foundation that I continually expand upon. It's structured in a way that I can develop base elements of the world (magic system, geography, etc) in a manner that is pleasing to me.

With a story bible, I can cross-reference previous ideas and ensure consistency while also allowing room for creativity. It's a source of inspiration that I revisit to revise earlier concepts as needed.

[fountainpenguin]

what might your version of sparky be like

I hate admitting this, but I think the most terrible out-of-context part of my worldbuilding is that these two-

-are cousins and have been since I started Origin of the Pixies in 2016. They share their grandmother, Corinna Posy, from the days when Sparky was still a proper Fairy and went by the name Sparkle Doubletake (later Sparky Doublecross).

Sparkle's not on the Whimsifinado family tree (Deliberately excluded), but he mentions Corinna in Chapter 4 ("School's Out - Not Much of a Musical") and she's on H.P.'s family tree. Sparkle and H.P. both have orange scent in their pheromones.

Since Ambrosine was cut from the family after H.P. was born and Solara was an absent mother (for... reasons), H.P. isn't familiar with Solara's side of the family and didn't recognize Sparkle as a relative when he introduced himself. But, it's always been there in my canon!

H.P. always found Sparkle super annoying because he'd constantly get drunk and break rules, like smuggling a cù sith (fairy dog) into the dorm, notwithstanding that Fairy culture hates them because they steal souls.

In Origin of the Pixies, a golden cù sith named Leonard lived with H.P. and his housemates in Chapter 6, "A Grain of Truth" (in line with Sparky's appearance in the Snow White story in Season 9's "Fairly Odd Fairy Tales"). Sparky envied Leonard's life as a fairy dog and killed a man specifically so Leonard would grab the opportunity to steal his body (which fairy dogs can only do in special situations). So, technically, Leonard is now H.P.'s cousin and Sparky isn't any longer.

Here's my Sparky design from an old height chart (October 2016) with some other fellas:

I like this design because his wings are very subtle on his back, playing into the vibe of disguising himself as an average dog.

In our current Origin timeline, Sparky's in the dog body and has supposedly been living with Queen Vyanda all this time (Chapter 32, "Almost"). He doesn't fight in the War of the Angels because of this, although coin sìth and their soul-stealing ability definitely caused some chaos that we'll see later.

H.P. actually hates him specifically for the fact that his reward for a string of thefts, at minimum 1 murder, and a habit of chronic drunkenness was living in luxury with a princess for thousands of years and he even got out of the war. Also, I think H.P. blames him for ruining his life (Inviting him to a party when he was a teen that led to a huge fight when his dad found out) and it's hilarious to me because he looks like a loon for hating on a dog.

To be fair, H.P. despised him before he was a dog because they were roommates and he drove H.P. mad, but... it's funny.

[Scene snippets & more info under the cut, covering bits of Sparky, H.P., and Rice (fairy dog OC from Origin of the Pixies)]

H.P.'s description of Sparkle in Origin Chapter 4:

Sparkle was a hard worker in school who knew his stuff. I found myself grudgingly admitting to myself that while he came off as annoying at the best of times, by no stretch of the imagination could he be described as uneducated. He was dumb and emotionally unstable, but well-traveled, and it made him clever. He could drive anything with pedals, and while he rubbed many an animal and Fairy the wrong way, his positive attitude never allowed him to back down from the challenge of friendship. And not even the grouchiest goblin among us could claim that Sparkle Doubletake, who never took the last slice of cherry pie and spent every Wednesday night baking tarts for the whole floor to taste come morning, was unkind. Our third dinner in the Hole, for example, when he saw my hesitation upon finding he and Polly sitting beside another gyne, he didn't even have to be asked to move. He recognized his error and jumped up to help me find another seat, even while I protested that I didn't require his assistance. Now, if he would only do something about those rotting square teeth. That was territory of the Tooth Fairies alone, unfortunately, or I would have shelled out the cash to fix them up myself. Let me make myself clear: I did not like Sparkle. He won himself a fair amount of detentions within our first week alone, he had his wand suspended more than once during my time at the Academy, he constantly toed the line around my section of our room, he frequently came onto me when sugarloaded, and he had no real respect for the rules or Da Rules at all. No. I never learned to like Sparkle. I simply said that he performed well concerning his schoolwork, and I respected him for his ability to get his act together in time for class when he spent his nights drunk or chasing damsels until three in the morning. He and I got on perfectly fine so long as we didn't have to be anywhere near one another.

The golden dog body has always been described as undersized to keep in line with him being a puppy in the Season 9 episode "Let Sleeper Dogs Lie." I kept the canon about Sparky living with Crocker for a bit, though I don't consider the way Crocker lost Cosmo and Wanda in that episode canon since it conflicts with the much better-known episode "Secret Origins of Denzel Crocker" from Season 3.

I don't have much to say about my portrayal of Sparky because for the most part, I think the personality I gave him connects with canon. I especially like this one scene in Chapter 4 where he summoned a battering ram with a wave of magic, which is a nod to his behavior in Season 9 where he summons vehicles like monster trucks in broad daylight and loves to drive.

My face and chest slammed into the door. I bounced back and rolled heels over head. Sparkle cringed, then clucked his tongue as he watched me climb to my feet and stumble in a circle. "Gee Fergus, you're gonna want like a battering ram drill chariot or something. Fortunately, I'm your guy." With a swirl of his wand, he poofed up a buggy with a hefty spike affixed to the front, and positioned himself in the high chair… with me as his draft pegasus.

One thing I'd like to say is that I dislike Sparky's canon portrayal, as he tends to use magic in front of people without facing consequences and it doesn't vibe well with the show's established rules about lying low. I also feel he doesn't connect with Cosmo and Wanda (compared to Poof or Chloe, who engage with them directly). Sparky tends to have separate adventures and only really talks to Timmy, so he doesn't feel like he adds to the dynamic.

I don't often write content for the humans (as I do more cloudland worldbuilding and backstory pieces), but those are things I like to focus on with my Sparky portrayal: he tends to be aloof, struggles to connect with his friends (who learn bits and pieces of his wild activities, but never get the full story), and he always has random storylines going on in his background.

If I were to improve him (in my eyes), I'd like to make the dynamic feel more natural by adding to his relationship with Cosmo and Wanda- In other words, giving him more interactive dialogue with the other characters so he feels he fits in the scene. I do try to play him more as a dog, emphasizing the magical need to hide his origins compared to his canon self, who floats and cooks food in front of humans. His personality is very rebellious and wacky. He's a person confined to a dog's body (by choice, but confined nonetheless), so his behavior's not always dog-like. He has... issues and drama in his past.

There's actually a lot of weird depth to my Sparky portrayal (in the sense of "He's been around for ages and seen a lot of traumatizing things"), but in true Sparky fashion, he's off doing questionable things and you never get his whole story. Which, y'know... as much as I'm not a Sparky fan, I'm glad I found a place for him in my 'fics, even if it's bizarre.

He still has extreme behavior- I don't intend to take that from him, but I prefer it kept behind closed doors like the other Fairy characters keep theirs (though not all magic species do, with Norm being a good example of a blatant magic user). Timmy appreciates him dearly and Sparky stays with him even after Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof leave; he just has to go silent or be removed. Theoretically... He is a rebel.

In the 130 Prompt "Bones," Sparky attended Doidle's funeral; Mark even refers to him as Sparky Stealer of Souls. In the 130 Prompt "Repeat," Sparky's moved to Cosmo and Wanda's place in Fairy World and is growing gray on his muzzle. He hung out in the garden while Cosmo was weeding plants.

One of my favorite moments from the canon is Timmy freeing Sparky from Megan Bacon's net in "The Past and the Furious." Instead of attacking Megan, Sparky immediately poofs away and Timmy just stands there before saying "Ladies and gentlemen, my loyal dog, Sparky" in utter disappointment. It gets me every time.

On a side note, I introduced the chihuahua cù sith Rice to Origin of the Pixies for a few reasons- the in-universe reasoning being of course that H.P. keeps him around so he'll be more likely to hesitate in killing Longwood since doing so would allow Rice to steal his soul (as we saw when H.P. adopted him in Chapter 28, "Cotton Candy Oatmeal").

Rice has an upcoming purpose as well that's spoilers, but I have to say... I get why introducing a pet to an existing cast (especially a talking pet) can suddenly make it more difficult to write fluid content. I have to justify his existence by including him, but he's also limited in what he can do because Rice is a dog doing dog things and he doesn't have hands or, like... a job. He's not often relevant and he drains my energy fast because he's always kinda following H.P. around, but it doesn't make sense to separate them when his whole purpose is to follow him, so... not a character type I'll repeat.

Funnily enough, in another project of mine, I have an OC with an anthro service dog and I ran into the same issue of "I've now stopped my main character from committing crimes, flirting with his wife, and getting into trouble because he's followed all the time. This is infuriating."

I enjoy watching the H.P. & Rice friendship grow (from "purposely adopting the dog with the worst personality to prevent me from killing my son") to them having serious conversations about H.P. sending Keefe and Springs to live with Reddinski, and from there to them genuinely caring about each other and valuing each other's opinions. Rice & H.P. relationship post-Iris's rejection in "Off," my beloved...

"You know," I said to Rice that night, "it would have been nice if she said yes. I miss falling asleep with someone next to me who didn't kick and squirm and maybe wet the bed. I miss waking up and finding someone else there." "What about me?" he asked, sounding legitimately offended. "I sleep with you, like, every night, strudel. And I've only wet once." I rolled over and looked at him, squinting without my glasses. "You're a cù sith." "Oh." He lifted his paw and looked at it. "Yeah. I forget sometimes." Rice lay his head back on my shoulder, nuzzling his cheek into my skin. He yawned. We were quiet for a while. Then I asked, "Did you tell your wife you planned to go cù sith? Or did it just happen?" "… Well, we weren't sharing the bed anymore. I was already used to being in the doghouse when I took this body." Then he said, "I liked Iris," which I almost want to kill him for looking back on it now. "Me too," I said, nestling into my pillow. "I just wish I knew how to make friends." Until now, the other party had always done it for me. "I wish… things stopped falling apart. China. The Eros Nest. My parenting classes. Anti-Bryndin lying about the Purple Robe. Kris Kringle laying me off. The stillborn. Now Iris… Nothing seems to go right anymore. The cakes are working out, but that's just business. Friends, damsels, or drones, I can't get anyone to like me. The Anti-Fairies tell me I have this invisible 'karmic weave' that they alone can see, and apparently I'm going to be someone important and influential someday. But what's the point in being influential if no one cares about me?" "I care," Rice said softly. He placed his chin on my shoulder. "Look… You're my best friend, cinnamon. I'm a lot happier now than I was when you first took me home." I stared at the wall, curling my fingers in the bedsheets. "Sometimes… I don't think anyone would care if I went back to the Eros Nest. I could spend the rest of my life in there. I'm forgettable. No one would visit me." "I care, sugarball." "You're a pet. You don't count." Rice closed his eyes. "Pals before gals, fudge bar. At least we have each other." "Friends before it ends," I mumbled, and drifted into sleep.

I do actually enjoy Rice. I just hate that it takes a crowbar to pry him out of any scene <3

Hands-down my favorite part of Rice thus far is when H.P. is having emotional moments in his bedroom (like his conversation with Rupert at the end of Chapter 36, "Senseless"), and Rice is just there squeaking his rubber steak toy. His role in the story isn't my favorite, but oh if he isn't my annoying little guy (affectionate-derogatory).

Also, shout-out to H.P. throwing his newborn son across the rooftops in Chapter 30 ("What Karma Is") while Rice watched in horror and couldn't do anything about it:

"Oh, shoot. You're right. If I jump, how's he going to get across? He can't fly." I looked at Springs. I looked at the gap between us and the next building. I looked at Springs again. Then I picked him up and lifted him above my head. "Never mind. Problem solved. Time this little guy lived up to his name." Rice wrapped his paws around my arm. "Whoa, hold on, hold on! What the frosted strawberries? Are you going to peppermint cocoa throw him?" I looked at him again, too, but didn't lower Springs back to the ground. "Why not? It's not against the law. It's actually the better of two options. And nymphs bounce, right? This is literally the point of elastic exoskeletons." "Well… Uh…" "He's not your pixie," I pointed out, squeezing the squirming nymph with my fingertips. "He's mine. I don't have a problem with it. I don't see why anyone else should. Okay. Here we go, Springs. Keep your chin up." Calculating distance comes naturally to a pixie, of course, and Springs landed exactly where I was aiming. On his rebound, he skipped halfway across the roof before crashing against some metal art sculpture thing and bouncing back. I leapt after him, pushing forward with my wings. Even if they lost momentum when I flew too high, at least steering was still an option. I stretched forward with my arms, grasped the new building's rail, and flipped over to my feet. Or tried to. I tipped too far and crashed on my back with a solid wumph. "Oof… Whoa. Okay. I just jumped a roof as if I could fly. That's the most dazzled thing I have ever done in my life." Rice slunk from his tote, stumbling from side to side. "Granola, that was a rough spin for an old boy…"

Best use of a service dog character: reminding us why the protagonist needs help.

[sarandipitywrites]

Happy WBW, Saran!

Please pretend it's Wednesday, because I just found a single spoon on the floor and am gonna use it before it's gone: So your DRDW is based on a video game I know absolutely nothing about. How much of the game did you keep? Is it the same setting, same world, or something new?

Happy WBW, Elli!

"I found a single spoon on the floor" is such a mood though (I'll get to your other asks at some point, I promise - this just looked like one I actually had the brainpower to answer lol)

The quick answer to this is that the essentials (characters, setting, magic system, some plot beats) are there, but very heavily changed and expanded upon, to the point that I don't actually think you'd need to know anything about the games to understand what's going on in DRDW. The long answer is... a lot longer lol

(Putting the rest of this under a read more for spoilers for a 20-year-old game and because infodump mode was activated)

The Jak & Daxter game series is - and i say this with all the love in my heart - completely fucking bonkers. In summary: in the first game, Daxter (a human) falls into a pool of Evil Magic (dark eco) and turns into an orange otter-weasel-thing, which sends Jak on a quest to change him back. While they don't succeed at changing Daxter back, they do find a time machine (?!) which they take into the future, where Jak is promptly arrested and subjected to magical mad science experiments and injected with dark eco (this is the start of the second game). This does not, notably, turn him into an orange otter-weasel-thing, but does give him the ability to turn into a demon (and anger issues. It also gives him anger issues). He then uses these powers to overthrow the dystopian future government and save a kid who's destined to save the world because the kid is also Jak (because Jak's originally from the future, of course). He then sends the kid back to the past to repeat the cycle.

I won't get too into the third game (except for how you find out that the otter-weasel-things are actually a race of spacefaring gods, and Daxter has technically been a god all this time because Reasons?!) because DRDW doesn't cover that, but i can assure you that it is also a trip.

DRDW was originally meant to follow the canon a lot closer than it actually does. As it stands, though, I've scrapped pretty much all the events of the first game (Daxter in DRDW does not turn into a weasel god, although he did get to keep a bit of magic-ability-worldbuilding i gave him as an explanation for why dark eco would turn him into a rodent instead of a rage monster), including the time travel.

For the setting, this means that I smashed together the settings from two different time periods into one map, as well as moving things around and adding new locations where it made sense. As far as time period goes, I went for the Jak 2 time period (a little bit of 'recovered ancient tech,' but mostly modern-futuristic tech).

Without the time travel, the kid being young Jak doesn't make sense, so his story got completely changed. A couple characters didn't have anything to do, anymore, so they've been excluded (although I'm considering bringing them in for other roles in another story). This also affected how the main characters (Jak, Daxter, and Keira) grew up a lot more significantly than I expected, so while the core of their characters is similar, there are significant differences from the canon (plus i wrote them as being more explicitly neurodivergent than they are in the games [although in the games they're already pretty heavily ND-coded, in my opinion]).

In this version, Daxter also takes a bit longer to find and rescue Jak (because. Look. You give me an excuse for prison/experiment/post-whump, I am going to run that shit as far as I can, ok) - because of this, Jak is pretty much stuck in magic demon mode. So plot-wise, there are a lot of parallels to the plot line of the first game as they try to find a way to change Jak back (but it's complicated, because of course it is).

The magic system got a total overhaul - in the game, magic (eco) is very... well, video-gamey. Green heals you, blue makes you go fast, dark turns you into a monster/orange rat, etc. I put a frankly unnecessary amount of work into figuring out what eco *is* - where it comes from, how it forms in different environments, how it interacts with people, how it's used in connection with technology, etc. Tbh I spent so much time on this part that it made me consider spinning this whole story into original fiction. But when I tried, it just Felt Wrong so I put it back 😂 Really though, I think the magic system rewrite is one of the bigger factors in making this fic actually kind of comprehensible without knowledge of the games - I'm really proud of it 😊

Thank you so much for the ask (and the chance to infodump about my favorite games and favorite project 💜)

[amaiguri]

Here's a question for Worldbuilding Wednesday! Are there particular words in your conlang/s that have heavy meanings (i.e. is used because the context they carry is appropriate for the person/situation)?

AAHHHHH CONLANG TIME! Yes, I have a few that come to mind:

Emuri

This Telethenian word doesn't have a good one-to-one translation in English, but it means something like "victorious victim." In Telethens, every citizen has a sash that tells their life story and marks their personhood. However, some crimes are punishable by seizing their sash -- usually crimes that would remove or diminish another person's personhood (like murder or long time kidnapping or raising your child without human contact or sexual assault). If you were to be convicted of one of these crimes in a court of law, your sash would be given to your victim -- your Emuri. As you are no long a person, they can do whatever they want to you now and the law does not technically care (though the community and the Emuri's reputation must be considered). That is what it means to be Emuri.

Fitte Thuille, Abso'eun.

This is the Nouveau Thuillean national salute. "For Thuille, the world." It means you will do anything for your House and your nation. Anything. Anything. The culture is cutthroat and cruel.

T'yar

This is the Demonic word for Debt. This is what the Princess of Demons has to say about the Debt:

"Contrary to the human understanding of us as sadists and hedonists, Demons hold one tenant above all else: Freedom. And this is the true source of the T’yar — the Debt. Humans say we count every grace and every slight so we can manipulate them into doing our bidding. As if we could not do that with Bloodmagic! No, we remember our Debts so we can pay them back. And only then can we truly be free.

In this, there is no T’yar greater than that owed to one’s family."

Saegari

There once was a great Sageking

And for him, the Dragon's sing

Pulled a sword out from a stone

To reclaim his Dragon Throne

So goes the 400 year old epic, the Saegari -- the Saegen word for "Sage King." Considering that this is the title of one of our protagonists, Riavh, it's a central word to the story: What does it MEAN to be the Saegari? How was he a hero?

In world, it carries the same sort of weight as names like "King Arthur" or "Caesar". I wrote the lyrics of the song to the tune of Lughnasad by Faun but someday, I'd love to write them to an original melody!

In a rainstorm, at Cuilline

Jealous traitor and the King

To the death, the two would fight

Plunge the Empire into night

His Queen wept tears at his side

How could this good King have died?

When the Old Thuille's bells of doom ring

Returns the Once and Future King

O Long Reign the Saegari

He was fair as fair can be

He will come to rise again

And the world will know his name

[piecesofeden11]

WIP Wednesday

And now for something completely different. As, after a long hiatus, my DnD campaign has finally picked up again, I have found that much of my worldbuilding has gotten a little outdated by split-second decisions at the table and, frankly, bs I made up on the spot because it felt right in that second, so I'm currently busy revising a lot of the lore for my world. My WIP I offer today to those interested, therefore, is a little snippet into the Divine lore of my homebrew setting, Irion. (@my players. This is all safe for you, as it's knowledge your characters would have more or less :D <3) I'd love to hear what everyone thinks!!! (even if you know nothing of DnD <3)

Myth: As the Ancients ruled what is now Irion (which is, technically speaking, only the Sister Continents and the Islands), there were seven Kingdoms in total. Izmera was Queen of one of them, until a war broke out amongst the Kingdoms.

Ruthless and powerful, Izmera won the war, crowing herself Empress of all of Irion. The cost of the war was great, extinguishing the Ancients from the world or driving them back towards the Worlds beyond the Veil, realms and planes outside of the known cosmos.

Izmera, however, held on to her throne and watched over the new life spreading across her kingdom, elves and dwarves and humans and all manner of other folk starting to settle and she followed their progress with interest.

Those fortunate enough to gaze upon her began to spread word of her divinity, setting up shrines and temples in her name and honor, thus starting her following as a goddess.

Of the Ancient that stayed, Exias was closest to Izmera and they are said to have been lovers. The Elven folk of Irion claim to be the offspring of their union.

That about sums up the bulk of Exias' involvement in the world. He is said to hold no interest in the mortal realm and rarely is his influence felt in the world.

The most involved and beloved of all the divine of Irion must surely be Korien Songbird. Her willingness to sacrifice herself when Exias, in a stroke of cruelty, demanded an offering of 12 children in order to bring rain to Korien's native lands, caught the eye of Izmera. Stories about how exactly this sacrifice happened or was supposed to happen, vary from place to place. In some, she merely offers her death instead of the 12 children, in others she bargained with Exias that the children would have to be his own, born of her own body. Whichever tale is told, the result is always that Izmera, disgusted by Exias' cruelty, stepped in and saved the young princess, elevating her to godhood and preserving her youth and beauty in immortality. Korien accepted the goddess' gift and declared herself the goddess of death. She is said to appear to the sick and dying, be it on their deathbeds or on battlefields, giving them comfort in their last moments and leading them to the city of the dead beyond the veil.

Next came Yara Duskforged, an empress of dwarven descent, who set out to build the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Under her rule, dwarves began to mine under almost every mountain in Irion, creating an unfathomable network of caves and cities below the earth. Her origin is disputed nowadays, with every dwarven clan claiming to be in direct line to her and their city build on top of Yara's legendary empire.

According to legend, Izmera came to Yara on her deathbed and, impressed by her tenacity, offered her immortality.

[thetruearchmagos]

Hey there! Thank you so much for reading all this, and I get the feeling that I'm gonna enjoy answering your questions. Because..

... holy crap! I'm not sure if I should be very damn impressed by your shockingly accurate assessment of my *literal canon* from this single post, or as proud of my own apparent ability to write something that led to that assessment! I'll split the difference

Seriously tho HOW-

Right, 'nough of that, to the answers.

To clarify something I thought I'd mentioned but seemed to have instead cut for time and never put back, the Tharoon Guard are *very specifically* the sole property of the House of Fuhrati, specifically the Emperor and his own direct line of the family. So, it's entirely centralised, and there's no way in hell a Guard commander's ever going to be subordinated to their Provincial counterparts, even those from a "Homeland Province"*. They gave Emperors a fairly sizeable bloc of politically reliable enforcement, and were used when they sought to involve themselves in 'domestic' concerns without having to rely on provincial forces. This often meant the suppression of internal strife which had risen beyond the abilities of provincial authorities, or, such incidents which involved the armed ranks of the provinces themselves seeming to act against Imperial rule. So, this ticks the 'how the House reacts to uprisings' box, most of the way. In truth, it's a politically fraught choice for an Emperor to so overtly play their hands like this, and so where possible it's in everyone's best interests to clear it all up quickly and without ever having to send in the Guard.

On, now, to the juicy stuff you've stuffed out! You've made a very, very good assessment of the consequences of such autonomy and division, and I'm gonna take this as an excuse to rant about it.

So, the whole story I've built up with all this Worldbuilding is about the Chainbreaker War, and more specifically the Upepwani Secession Crisis, which was elaborated on in this post. The frankly excessive levels of autonomy afforded to Upepwani - even by Homeland Province standards - as a result of its dynastic line's unique relationship with the Emperor played a key role in its seperation, and this autonomy absolutely extended to its military.

However, since I've elaborated on that enough in THAT post, I'll bring up how this utter lack of uniformity made itself known for the Fuhrati side, at least in the War's opening act! The answer, is 'badly'.

To recap, 1) it's politically sensitive to employ the Tharoon Guard against a Province, 2) it's *really* politically sensitive for the Emperor to do anything against a Homeland Province, and3) despite the Guard's elite status it's too small to occupy the whole of a region as large as Upepwani. To add on a '4)' which is going to make a lot of sense soon enough, most Provincial authorities hate each other's guts and will do anything to undermine to competition for their own advantage

So, when the new Emperor Haroon III decides to indule in his immense daddy-issues expansionist war aims against a visibly treasonous and wealthy Province, he can't just march in the troops, and he can't just march in *just* his own troops. The three or four Provinces that neighbour Upepwani might tolerate treason on their border, but unilateral troop build ups and movements through their soil really can't stand, to say nothing of those more-useful-as-independent foreign states bordering the traitors. Haroon needs to get broader support for this conquest, and he gets that by sacrificing territory that wasn't and never was going to be his - that is to say, the bulk of Upepwani soil that bordered each of the other Provinces - to the regimes whose Legions he needed to get the muscle for a swift and brutal victory. With their armies in his retinue, and their political support in his pocket, the Emperor should have been free to march all the way to Hurhamba and start his reign firmly out of his father's shadow off with a bang.

This, would not be the case.

While the generally poor quality of training and coordination exhibited by troops of the Xindai Legion would be the 'main' cause** of their defeats and losses in the fighting on the southern front, in the north the paranoia and mistrust that permeated the upper echelones of the Empire's military leadership would make itself more obvious. There, a smaller cohort of the Tharoon Guards would have its numbers reinforced by the Legions of three further Provinces each about as large. While the Emperor's finest were focused on gutting every traitor they could and marching on Hurhamba to burn it for a second time, provincially appointed - and thus politically-appointed - generals were more interested in preserving the dignity and advancing the interests of their native lands, and if that meant screwing over their neighbours at the settlements table so much the better. These forces, which until 'summoned' by Haroon had never so much as bivouacked together, also had a number of theories as to how to actually achieve those ends. The dignified Imperial Prince put in charge of the whole job, a career soldier first and foremost, would not enjoy this field of his duties in the slightest.

While the Emperor's mob would just about avoid intentionally shooting each other in the frozen taiga, they did most things below that. Seperate marching routes had to be provided and planned, field foragers raced to pick and loot an area clean before their competition could do the same, settlements on the line of advance were claimed in the name of Provincial rulers on a first-come-first-serve basis on the hope that it might stick when the war was over. And where battle was joined, unless the Prince had produced a hand-written, wax sealed order stating otherwise it was every Legion for itself. With strict and weighted orders to keep this coalition together at any cost, the Prince would prove almost too willing to sacrifice the comfort and numbers of his of Tharoon Guards to plug the gaps or accomodate these wasteful and pointless indulgences.

The combined Commonwealth-Upepwani forces that faced this massive yet lumbering force were quick to construct plans to blunt its advance, which I've touched on here. While static positions would do much to counter the disparity in numbers, they offered a single target on which the Prince could center his efforts and possibly hammer out a plan that his less than loyal subordinates would have sto stick to. Instead, the UC Army's Brigadier Zhuang Guanting intended to march the two Regiments under his command into the thick and harsh country that lay west of these strongholds, and hammer the advancing Legions in terrain which would exacerbate their already poor cooperation and communication to defeat them in detail.

The resulting engagement, remembered as the Battle at Three Fingers for the hilly geographical feature it was fought over, would not be half the decisive victory Zhuang hoped for***, but disproportionately heavy casualties would nonetheless be inflicted on the targeted Legion before his withdrawal and their advance was much slowed down. Zhuang would at least be proven right in his original estimate, for without the whirlwind orders of the Prince neither of the Provincial Legions that he had not engaged would have turned to help their stricken comrades, and in any case both would play little role in the fighting. It was not a total victory, but it ate the heart and fighting spirit out of the largest quarter of the combined force, and put more than a little caution into the Prince's mind as he contemplated his next decisions.

------

Alright, I think that's a wrap! This was, unimaginably fun to right, really made my morning. Seeing as I ought to be starting WorldEmber pretty soon, it helps to exercise the noggin and to talk about something I'm passionate about!

Tagging @athenswrites @hessdalen-globe @caxycreations @coffeexafterxmidnight @thatndginger @the-mindless

*Homeland Province referring to those which formed the original territory of the pre-Imperial House of Fuhrati, made up of ethnic Merkats and led by major branches of that dynasty.

**The losses suffered by the Tharoon Guard were hardly less gruesome, but...

***And frankly he's most to blame for that.

[A small note, but at some point I'd like to elaborate on the institutional reasons and precedent behind why this Legion-system was instituted. In short, stupid from a military perspective, but politically vital to the perpetuation of the imperial system and regime, and war really as a matter of politics more than anything else.]

Something Short About Fuhrati Armies

Hey folks, and happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! Arch here, with some small and actually manageable worldbuilding here for you all.

For this one, I'll step away from the United Commonwealth for a moment and touch on the Fuhrati Empire. In this post, I made some references to 'provincial levies' and 'legions', but I don't think I've quite explained them properly.

So, What Is A 'Legion"?

You see, the Fuhrati Empire was for most of its history not a very centralised polity. As I touched on in this post, the Empire was comprised of a number of autonomous provinces, each ruled either by dynasties of the ruling House of Fuhrati or their own sovereigns held in vassal to the Empire.

When it came to the organisation of the Empire's ground forces, each province raised its own Legion, which would bear its name and be made up of conscripted soldiers from its own population. The Empire itself would, in turn, provide much of the capital and equipment that would equip these Legions, though how they were organised, trained, and fought was left to the relevant Provincial authority. The specifics of this system would change over the Empire's lifetime, but this 'right' to raise internal Legions which nonetheless could be compelled to serve at Emperor's behest formed a crucial component of the delicate balance of power between the imperial court and the provinces.

An exception to this was the Tharoon Guard, a force formed by then Sultan Haroon II of Merkat, the soon to be Emperor Haroon of the Fuhrati Empire. The Tharoon Guard was smaller than any provincial legion, but recruited from the best and most loyal already serving soldiers from the Legions of the Homeland Provinces. While conscripts might serve under levy for two years and barely see a rifle again, Guardsmen signed on for a decade at the least, and for their troubles were paid handsomely, and even their lower ranks given such respect in loyal Fuhrati lands as lesser nobility.

How Did They Fight?

While the word 'Legion' was the the collective term for the entire military force of the province in question, it also referred to the specific formations drawn up from that pool of soldiers and organised into a coherent fighting unit. Under the most recent organisational reforms of the Fuhrati Empire prior to the Chainbreaker War, each province was expected to contribute to the Emperor at least:

One 'Legion', or 'Faylaq', numbering some thirty thousand of the province's strength and made up of;

Two or more 'Phalanx', or 'Katayib', made up of

Two or more 'Squares', or 'Murabae'.

The exact system of organisation below the Murabae was left to the discretion of the Provinces, as was the actual amount of Murabae and Katayib in its Legion or their individual strength. While a system prone to incredible degrees of variance, it allowed a Province's military force to tailor itself to suit the needs or work under the circumstances of that province's unique contexts. When the time came when multiple Legions drawn from multiple Provinces had to enter the field of battle as one, as happened in the Chainbreaker War, the system would prove hopelessly flawed and seriously undermine the combined operations of Imperially-appointed commanders.

------

Well, there's that! Hope it was all an enlightening enough read, I'll be Tagging @athenswrites @hessdalen-globe @caxycreations @theprissythumbelina @thatndginger @moonscribbler @souredwaters @the-mindless @

[critter-rarepair-reccs]

Hey friends, happy Wednesday! Today we are highlighting our dearly beloved Voice of the Tempest, Keyleth! We have six fics featuring various rarepairs including her! As always, you can find them below the cut and if you check any of them out, I encourage you to leave kudoes and comments to spread the rarepair love 💕

tell me what you need (oh, you look so free) by ladyofrosefire (5,348 words, Explicit) Pairing: Zahra Hydris/Keyleth (Zahraleth) Warnings: CNC scene where the negotiation occurs largely off screen.

Keyleth goes to Zahra with a request—to be taken out of her head, down, and apart. And to not have to say what she wants.

Reccer Says: It has both excellent characterization and understandable choreography where no one suddenly grows a third hand.

Can You Squeeze Us in Somewhere? by Star_Joy (828 words, General) Pairings: Shaun Gilmore/Keyleth/Vax'ildan (Vaxlethmore), Queerplatonic Shaun Gilmore/Keyleth Warnings: None

Vax and Keyleth get back to Emon after an adventure and are utterly exhausted. Luckily, they have Gilmore to turn to for rest.

Reccer Says: It’s sooooo cute. Just lovely fluffy goodness. Also very fun to see Gilmore and Keyleth as queerplatonic partners within this ot3!!

Let It Build by wtgw (5,946 words, Explicit) Pairing: Keyleth/Grog Strongjaw (Grogleth) Warnings: Mild Blood, Under-negotiated Kink

Grog helps Keyleth manage her anger issues. Friendly violence and violent sex ensues — it’s not romantic, it’s just helping a friend out!

Reccer Says: It was surprisingly emotional and sweet, and the descriptions of how angry Keyleth was were almost scary! also aromantic4demisexual friend sex!

i'll be there for you by romeoandjulietyouwish (1,357 words, General) Pairings: Queerplatonic Shaun Gilmore/Keyleth, Shaun Gilmore/Keyleth/Vax'ildan (Vaxlethmore) Warnings: None

While out one night, someone starts following Keyleth. She takes refuge at Gilmore’s. Cuddling and comfort ensue.

Reccer Says: While it’s not tagged as such, Shaun and Kiki are really the focus here and they’re so sweet. Shaun’s so full of love, I adore him. Also the three of them all together at the end is very cute 🥰

Broken; Unbidden; Unearthed: Love in the Limelight by marleybone (7,036 words, Mature) Pairing: Keyleth/Vex'ahlia (Vexleth) Warnings: Allusions to a past abusive relationship

Vex is an actress, Keyleth is a model. Vex sees her at a runaway show one night, is infatuated, and things spiral out from there.

Reccer Says: okay LISTEN, Keyleth hasn’t really technically shown up yet and it’s been a minute since an update but what’s there is So Good regardless. The depth of worldbuilding in the three chapters up is so good and the banter between Vex and the supporting cast is amazing. Also it being a memoir from Vex’s POV, written by Tary, about her and Keyleth’s love story? Genius, I’m obsessed and desperately craving more.

steady your breath, honey, lower your spear by friendly_ficus (6,020 words, Teen) Pairing: Keyleth/Grog Strongjaw (Grogleth) Warnings: Grief/Mourning

Keyleth isn't coping well in the aftermath of the fight against Vecna--and losing Vax. She's angry and eager to pick fights wherever she can, regardless of if she gets hurt doing it. When Grog realizes this, he offers to fight with her himself. Neither of them expected any feelings to grow from it, until, of course, they did.

Reccer Says: An exceptionally characterized and written piece, it's stuck with me even years after first reading it. It approaches the Keyleth/Grog relationship with such believability and tenderness, not to mention dealing with Keyleth's grief and the complex process of having feeling for someone after loss. An all around fantastic piece.

Thank you for joining us this week’s recc list! All the love to everyone who submitted a fic 💕 All enclosed recommendations were submitted by the community via our submissions form, which you can find here. All fic information is as it was provided by the reccer, so it may not be accurate to the author’s intent or the precise contents of the fic itself. Please assume good intent from all parties 💕

Submissions for next week’s list are already open! We’ll be featuring Polyamorous Ships. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Enemies to Lovers and the weeks after that we’re taking recommendations for Miscommunication fics and Works in Progress! Submissions for all of these themes are currently open.

If you want more rarepair fic, check out @cr-summer-wildflowers and their event collections on ao3! If you want some friendship after all this romance, take a look at @critter-genfic-events and their recc lists! And if you’re interested in everyone’s favorite wizards, you can’t go wrong with the lists at @aeor-is-for-reccing !

Thanks all and have a lovely day/night/timezone! 💕

[clairelsonao3]

Just wanted to tell you that you're an absolute doll, you've made the writeblr community an even more wonderful place since you got here, and you are loved and appreciated. This is your opportunity to (should you so desire) ramble about anything that's on your mind, WIP-related or otherwise. 💕

🥹🥹🥹 Thank you!!! Honestly, I was so shocked and happy to see this in my inbox. The only anons I've gotten previously have been chain letters and hate mail, and so my heart actually SANK when I saw this was an anon. But I don't think this is a chain letter and it's definitely not hate mail, so you absolutely made my day/week/month!

I think I started this blog in March, which makes it over six months now. And it's hard to imagine my life without it. The funny thing is (and I think I've mentioned this before), the week I joined, trying to innocently make friends by joining in some event focused on showcasing our WIPs that purported to be open to anyone, and I had the pleasure of being "greeted" by a couple of "hosts" who hadn't read my work, didn't understand the first thing about it, and took it upon themselves to try to "call me out" for something that I hadn't even done. I was so upset that I was this close to shutting down my account because I thought I wasn't welcome here and it would just get me more of the same.

But I stayed, and I'm so glad I did because I understand now that was an anomaly and simply massively bad luck to encounter that. 99% of my other interactions with people here have been positive, and the support I've found for both my work and myself has been beyond my wildest dreams.

Writing is not easy. This is hard, hard work we do. We, especially those of us who post our work publicly, are (metaphorically) slicing out large chunks of our hearts and souls and presenting them on a platter for people to evaluate and judge. Sometimes it feels like more than just our work. It feels like ourselves. And sometimes I get insecure and anxious. "Oh no, do people like such-and-such person better than me? Is their work better than mine? Is everyone going to abandon me to sit at a different lunch table and whisper and laugh and pass nasty notes about me behind my back?"

Middle school fucked me up good.🤣

I have a very strong hunch that I"m not the only one who deals with these types of feelings sometimes. Initially, I wasn't even going to talk about this, but then I was like, well, it might help someone.

Of course, it gets worse when your WIP is being difficult, too. Well, I sometimes think, this isn't working. Might as well take my toys, shut down my blog, abandon my work, and go home, simply in the interest of self-preservation. (I'm NOT doing this; I don't want anyone to worry!)

But I know that this urge is irrational, as are my fears. And that nothing I do -- especially not sitting and worrying and imagining ridiculous, catastrophic scenarios -- is going to have any effect on the situation, whatever it is. I can't make anyone like me. But what I can do is make sure that I send positivity into the world instead of negativity, and eventually, somehow, the universe will even out, maybe, kind of.

Anyway, all of this is a roundabout way of saying that I know yesterday was technically Worldbuilding Wednesday, and I wanted to send out asks, but then I realized, you know? I don't even really like worldbuilding all that much. 🤣 There are other aspects of writing that interest me much more.

And, to me, the most positive thing I can get is a personalized ask about my WIP. It makes me feel seen, acknowledged, loved, and that my work matters. I don't know, but I can only assume that other people feel the same way. So I sent some.

For those whose WIPs I'm not as familiar with yet, I combed through their blog for info about them, and that took some extra time, which meant I wasn't able to send out as many as I wanted. But that's okay because I'll send out more soon.

Anyway, I'm not sure what the ultimate point is to any of this, but that's what's on my mind. Thank you, anon. You're a doll, too. 💕

[space-writes]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! What inspired your world? A culture that we have here, a type of planet or mythical location, or maybe a novel?

oh my god one thousand apologies i forgot this was in my inbox!! it's such a good question because all my wips have one specific answer and it's the Forgotten Realms.

legend of drizzt directly inspired/motivated me to start writing the Valloroth series. yeah, yeah, Generic Fantasy D&D-land inspired my D&D-vibes novel, but listen. im having fun. it's fun!

there are real-world bits and pieces that have inspired various elements of worldbuilding i've done, but (deliberately) im not trying to copy-paste any one thing on like a one-to-one basis in Valloroth. not saying i'll succeed, i am but an imperfect creature, but that's the aim.

also war of the spider queen gave me Pharaun and prompted the Obsession series, which inspired/became claws. technically not a world, because it's set in our world, but also kind of yes, because the aspects of our world that i tweaked are definitely inspired by it. mostly all the spiders, tbh.