#the original idea was them like bonding and doing better for themselves but a lot of that is already done in the scifi thing

[lambjock]

i think that viewing the little hope relationships as just ‘family’ ( specifically : blood family, ones with traditional roles and relationships, one bred from a nuclear familial structure ) has a habit of dismissing them entirely. it is not blood that binds them together, nor is it family structures, and throughout every iteration of their lives things change. sometimes they’re merely neighbors with a slim portion of blood relation, sometimes they’re bound by flimsy paper or war, and sometimes they’re students at a college following their professor around. the nature of their relationships change, as do their circumstances and surroundings, but they ( as a mismatched unit ) are eternally bound and divided by a child and an inherent, unescapable tragedy. the important aspect of their relationships is that they are agonized individuals who are stuck together and wouldn’t like to be. the important theme between them is that despite their determined suffering, all the bad ways they clash, and in spite of a bubbling self loathing so awful that it literally kills them, they have found love and comfort in each other anyway, or perhaps have realized a love that has always been there. there’s no ‘i love you as a daughter’ between angela and taylor, just as much as there isn’t any ‘i love you as a sibling’ between dennis and tanya. they just love each other. even the clarke family, arguably the most familial bond they have, still isn’t traditional. none of them are blood and all of them are strangers inside their own home. they don’t look alike and they don’t share dna and they typically don’t care for the facade of a family either, more content to treat each other like roommates at best, and that’s fascinating because why would they care? why would standard labels matter to souls as ancient as theirs? it’s just another flesh they adorn, it’s just another pain they’ll carry and shape and hate. idk! i just think forcing titles on it all is rather boring in nature, and actively hinders the genuine relationships there, in an attempt to have a rulebook of sorts to follow. i also just loathe how the found family trope is constantly turned into a literal family, when it was made to spit in the face of a nuclear family structure. but that’s just me <3

[eta-volantis]

considering Alecto and Malvir already has a cozy AU with their romance story thing and a sad meow meow found family thing in the sci-fi thing I'm writing, I should make their DnD AU really fucking unhinged. Alecto in DnD is a bhaalspawn anyways, and Malvir is a Zhent, there is so much potential

[utilitycaster]

feel free to ignore if you feel like it's too theoretical/parasocial/etc. but: I see how the campaign as a whole is off because of how lack of prep influenced the cast to create somewhat unfit characters, but as someone who got immensely annoyed by this episode, I'm wondering why has that throughline carried out for so long. why haven't the cast decided to start playing their characters in a way that leads to a more cohesive and satisfying story? is the hesitation and bizzare opinions on gods a very dedicated RP choice or do you think the players themselves are also at a loss? I'm honestly very confused about that, given how driven and decisive they played VM and M9 during their oneshots. I don't want to feel like I'm singling anyone out to hate but e.g. the way taliesin plays caduceus vs ashton is particularly puzzling to me.

Hey anon,

This is all highly speculative (as, to be fair, was the original idea the cast was given very little information, and that turned out to be right) but I think it's the far-reaching consequences of that initial lack of prep combined with the fact that it's been a very central-plot focused campaign that failed to allow the characters to develop into more decisive people. It also, I think, centers the Ruidusborn such that I suspect a lot of the rest of the table is taking their lead.

The Mighty Nein, we know, involved a lot of prep with Matt specifically offering feedback and vetoing certain aspects. Every character came in with pretty clear goals, and because it was a character-driven campaign we got to see those goals change as they learned more: Caleb and Fjord notably abandon their original goals in favor of new ones. Veth and Caduceus achieve theirs; Jester as well, and she develops new ones as she becomes less sheltered. Beau and Yasha's exact goals were much more nebulous, but they have the opportunity to confront their pasts at length and find new purpose and peace throughout the narrative. I don't think it's productive to rehash everything every time but: lack of pre-existing long-term relationships and more work on the short-term friendships that existed, the fact that Beau and usually Molly due to Yasha's absences (and later Caduceus) were free agents who didn't know anyone prior to their meeting, and the fact that the party had like 2 gold to their name and had to double up in odd configurations plus their willingness to engage in conflicts led to a fairly quick and deep bond, which also influenced their goals and dynamics.

Vox Machina were initially very generally sketched out characters, but after they began doing more there was a similar effort put into to backstories, and I think going back after they'd already played a bit meant they knew more about who they wanted these characters to be. The pre-stream plot, as we can tell from the origins comics, was also heavily backstory focused; the Briarwoods arc is when most people feel the streamed campaign really takes off.

We have seen the backstories of the characters of Bells Hells, but a lot of them are deeply tied into a long-running main plot that doesn't really allow for the same development over time. Like, Percy, for example, actually does his "plot" about quarter of the way into the campaign; but this kickstarts his development. Fjord is rather similar; he learns the source of his powers quite early on, but grapples with them until the halfway point and then the rest of the campaign is him embracing something new. To compare, I suspect Laura envisoned Imogen's story as being not dissimilar in the sense of "learn what my powers come from, find a way to better control or perhaps get rid of them" and so upon finding out this is the lynchpin of the entire plot, Imogen never has that post-resolution time to cook, essentially. Even for those who had slightly more rewarding plot beats they kind of felt like "let's address this problem so we can get back to the moon stuff" (Chetney, Laudna) and in some cases, I think it felt to the players, rightly or wrongly, like those plots were actively rushed to the point that they couldn't explore them (I suspect this happened for Ashton during the solstice split). There's been a hurry-up-and-wait sense of urgency over the whole campaign because it's a plot that was introduced very early and has never let up. There's been no "what do we do" type breaks and I'd be shocked if there are. We've sort of run out of plot because we've speed run everything that would have been a plot in a different campaign.

So I think the players don't know how to evolve their characters because there's been no in-world impetus to evolve, really. Now, as someone who prefers to play people who are already decisive, the fact that most of the cast went for kind of indecisive/impulsive types isn't my bag, but that is valid; but it means no one's really had the chance to organically move from that.

I also think that the fact that there's one big plot that really centers the ruidusborn is another factor. Even if Orym, for example, were the type to shut down the party, what is one person who can't reasonably stop two spellcasters from going into the Hallowed Cage going to do? I think this post makes a good point; I think putting the pressure very heavily on two players who (very understandably! for a number of reasons!) are among the most averse to making a hard and potentially alienating or unpopular choice has sort of prevented anyone else from taking a wild swing. The other campaigns had a much more even distribution of who could make decisions within the party, and I think that reflects that. I also think this is uniquely an issue for longform campaigns; I haven't seen this hesitancy from Laura nor Ashley in Candela, Downfall, nor in the various Daggerheart one-shots and miniseries, since you have to swing big there.

I do want to cover one point specifically, which is that I actually find Ashton to be one of the better played characters. I disagree with them, to be sure, but like, Caduceus is a character who can be arrogant in his fairly limited worldview, but who is also consistently very empathetic and kind. Ashton has that arrogance, but without those priorities. Caduceus isn't really invested in hurting those who hurt him; he's interested in stopping those who would hurt his home, family, or friends, and if that requires hurting them he's okay with that. Ashton really does want to beat up those they deem responsible for their own pain, justified or not. I think taking the shard was a great move and stand by that [though, admittedly, it and the bit about Predathos needing a vessel just now have me like. the consequences have been conveyed in a crystal clear manner to ME and somehow the cast is not getting Matt flat-out saying in game THIS IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN, so idk what's up with THAT.] and my issues stem specifically from his decision to claim to speak for the weak and then immediately accept the titans saying that a remade world in which only the strong survive is fine. Like, I don't think there is a problem in how Caduceus is played vs. Ashton, in that I think they are both internally consistent as characters; I think it's just. Caduceus is someone who tries to make decisions that minimize broad harm to that which he deems good, and Ashton is often, by their own admission (episode 78), selfish and conceited. Like, Taliesin is just. Playing someone who is often not a great person this time. And that's a valid choice. But I think it's in a narrative that didn't really permit enough time and space for characters to change meaningfully so Ashton is a bit stuck there whereas, while Caduceus didn't have nearly as much of a gap between who he already was and the hero he needed to be, he had far, far more room to grow.

[elysiansparadise]

Hi Hi! I love your blog! The way you write speaks to me so well ✨ Any chance you could do some more 11th house planets specifically Neptune and Uranus? I noticed they're both not there and I have an 11th house stellium 🙈 totally okay if you're busy but would love your opinions on it 🩷 much love

Hello love, thank you so much for loving my blog! I have already posted that Uranus placement analysis, here it is.

Neptune in the 11th house

These natives are very intuitive and empathetic in their social relationships of all kinds, deeply feeling the emotions and needs of their friends or members of any group to which they belong, often offering emotional support and understanding. It is because of this that their friends tend to see them as reliable and empathetic advisors. They may have deep spiritual connections with their friends, they may even feel karmic bonds or predestined relationships quite often. These people have a strong sense of friendship, enormous devotion and respect for those who give them this title. It is likely that at some point in their life they will make the mistake of trusting someone they shouldn't, and may feel that they took advantage of their trust. They seek deep and meaningful connections with their friends and groups, since they do not settle for superficial relationships and seek to share transformative and meaningful experiences. These people have the ease to solve issues of other people, however, they may struggle with handling their own. Many times their friends can see them as people who have supported and guided them on a path towards a better mindset or life in general, since these natives not only will seek to encourage, support and make their friends feel accepted and loved just as they are, but they will make them see in themselves someone capable of achieving big things by making them turn their dreams in something tangible and real.

These natives stand out for being idea machines, with this placement their creativity increases by mixing it with originality, giving them the ability to create amazing things. They dream big and really love to fantasize about the future, they can even spend a lot of time daydreaming. It is very likely that they have artistic interests and hobbies and, in addition to that, enormous talent regarding them. They choose to experiment, try new ways of doing things and above all, not have a scheme or demand too much of themselves. Here we find people who hate tension in any form, choosing to prefer environments where they feel tranquility and peace from doing the things they like most. They reject unnecessary conflict and will easily walk away from anything that brings chaos and discomfort into their lives. These natives dream of a better world, some may decide to have a job in which they help others or contribute positively to society, many others have the way of thinking that, although they cannot completely change the world, they can contribute even a little, and they will do it without hesitation.

These people have a knack for inspiring others, an effect that can lead them to attract people who admire them either for a trait or talent. It is very likely that people place high expectations on them or idealize them in some way. They value working for a cause and a purpose, they will never be in a job for which they do not feel that passion and dedication. Many of them, despite being great friends, may prefer to take refuge from issues or problems by isolating themselves. They are those types of people who try to be reliable for others but hardly feel that there are people who are reliable for them. They may enjoy spending a lot of time on social networks or doing their hobbies, losing track of time. They may be able to earn money through jobs or projects that involve humanitarian, spiritual, charitable causes, creative or artistic activities. These natives have no difficulty working as a team and will always seek to help and support other members. They are very sensitive to the energies of others and can easily feel the vibrations of the environments they are in, so it is normal that after a while socializing they need a moment alone to recharge their batteries.

-> Go back to the masterlist

[toxicanonymity]

get to know people

ty for the tags @milla-frenchy, @sunshineispunk, @iamasaddie, @tateypots 💛. I'm tagging you 🫵 and no pressure tagging 10 of you: @dark-scape @quaritchscupquake @whateverloomis @megangovier @xdaddysprincessxx @covetyou @romanarose @aurorawritestoescape @bitchesuntitled @noxturnalnymph sorry if you already did it.

I feel kinda vulnerable (and yet boring at the same time) talking about myself, but one of my goals is to let people know me as more of a person. 🩷

what's the origin of your blog title?: I have a taste for toxic characters, and i was hastily picking a url that would give me more anonymity. this old buzzword floated into my head from 15 yrs ago--I get a kick out of buzzwords that fizzle out so fast they become associated with a very specific point in time. I got the URL on an impulse and figured I could change it once I thought of the perfect url.... Meanwhile I've had plenty of asks and stalkers who themselves embody the old buzzword's meaning: the way a veil of anonymity emboldens hate and toxicity. I just wanted my veil to write porn, man.

favorite fandoms: impossible to say. too many factors.

OTP(s) + shipname: Michael Myers & Corey Cunningham (cunningmyers). it's a deep and fucked up bond, very dark and sexually charged. (Cue father figure 🎶) In my HCs I don't imagine anything soft, affectionate, or monogamous. it's pining and worship from Corey, dominance and dark energy from Michael and his monster cock. And when they kill together, god I love that.

favorite color: depends. My electronics & cases are blue, and I like to wear soft blues. also brown and olive green to wear. Black & salmon/peach: god tier combo.

favorite game: scrabble, trivia, jigsaw puzzles, nyt spelling bee, W.E.L.D.E.R., crosswords, guessing games. I've been trying to learn how to play poker which is great entertainment for @dark-scape.

song stuck in your head: none but I make up songs for my cat and I was singing one earlier about how sweet and nice she is. update: take me to church by hozier

weirdest habit/trait?: idk, really.

hobbies: lounging, research and learning, going to movies, watching miniseries, walking, writing but mostly in my head, taking elaborate baths, reading. getting organized this yr, minimalizing, donating things I don't need. would like to get back into candle-making and painting or clay sculpting.

if you work, what's your profession? Pass. I do work, though.

if you could have any job you wish what would it be? It would be cool to make a living off writing. But, ideally get rich with minimal effort and then financially support an animal sanctuary so I could go chill with the animals whenever I want. also, publicize & investigate missing persons cases that don't get enough attention.

something you're good at: finding four leaf clovers. Cobbling together cosplay from thrift store finds. having ideas. character development & world building.

something you're bad at: socializing, but I want to do better. I'm shy to begin with and some of my experiences here haven't helped. But I promise I don't bite. I'm also bad at staying focused, keeping an uncluttered mind, second-guessing my story plans and not ending them.

something you love: having a pet. I feel so lucky to have a (not so) little furball who enjoys my company and has a personality and lets me take care of her.

something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: not usually super talkative. hmm. predictions about the year ahead - love to hear peoples' thoughts on this (sports, pop culture, archaeology, food & makeup trends, etc.). unsolved mysteries.

something you hate: I don't wanna get anyone worked up with a rant so I'm just gonna say canned spinach. Haven't had it since childhood but I can still taste it

something you collect: I'm not sure I collect anything. I keep a lot of greeting cards received with photos.

something you forget: what I came in the room for, why I opened the app, just about anything.

what's your love language?: little gestures (gifts/acts of service), praise

favorite movie/show: here's my letterboxd

favorite food: fresh pasta w/ olive oil and fresh parmesan

favorite animal: too many to list

what were you like as a child? pensive, curious, loved the circus and Halloween. my mom likes to tell the story of when I was 18 months old and an old friend of hers came to meet me and I explained what a parallelagram was and it freaked her out.

favorite subject(s) at school? English and Spanish

least favorite subject? anything that was straight memorization. But I wish I tried harder.

what's your best character trait? I care about people

what's your worst character trait? easily distracted and forgetful, can be slow to respond, recovering perfectionist

if you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be? That I had to do any work at all

if you could travel in time who would you like to meet? a big, hot guy who captures me but won't kill me if I escape to come back to this timeline.

recommend one of your favorite fanfics (spread the love!):

hounds of hell by @aurorawritestoescape and @milla-frenchy 🐨🙏

some more favorites

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[greenerteacups]

Jkr as a writer anon, sorry for the follow up!

I so agree with you! One of the things that I found kind of… not smooth in this transition, is that she wanted the characters to behave in a certain way which would serve the plot and would be very “we knew all along that Harry is a messiah and was supposed to die” while never giving them space for reaction.

Snape is shocked at the revelation that Harry was “brought up like a pig for slaughter”, and he does… nothing. Characters have no time to react to that, too, they have no time to get angry and upset. Hermione and Ron are not even allowed to contemplate that their best friend, a very precious and loved friend, was brought up so that he could sacrifice himself, and that in aligning themselves with him they also became in the eyes of Dumbledore fair targets. An orphan, a sixth Weasley boy and a muggleborn walk into a bar, and no one cares.

I always felt like Sirius was not supposed to die this early. There are empty spaces where his character should have been in later books (regulus mystery feels like something very glaring, no one reacts to that, there is no emotional pay off - that’s what I mean).

And at the end she just slaps Harry calling his kid after Snape and Dumbledore, to shut the plot hole completely. Idk. Feels very… authoritarian to me

So it's really interesting you say that!! Because — and you may know this, so sorry if I'm rehashing — Sirius was only one of several names on the shortlist for the Big Death at the end of Book 5. Miscellaneously it's been said in fandom spaces that Arthur was the "original sacrifice" for OOTP, but to be honest, I can't find any primary sources for that, and I think it's one of these fandom urban legends that people have been shopping around without sources for so long they're accepted. The best I can do is this Leaky Cauldron interview from 2007, where the interviewer asks her "what would have changed if you killed Arthur in Book 5?" Which is not the same thing as her saying that she was going to! But then again, since it's an excerpt, it might have been in response to a remark she made earlier about him being the original. Here's the quote:

I think they would have been very different and it’s part of the reason why I chose my mind (sic) … By turning Ron into half of Harry, in other words by turning Ron into someone who had suffered the loss of a parent, I was going to remove the Weasleys as a refuge for Harry and I was going to necessarily remove a lot of Ron’s humor. That’s part of the reason why I didn’t kill Arthru (sic). I wanted to keep Ron in tact …

Take that as you will. I (a sicko freak) personally love the idea of turning Ron into "half of Harry," conceptually — not necessarily by killing Arthur or Molly but like, the idea of Ron/Harry as foils to each other that are so deeply entwined with each other's lives that they become shadows of each other thematically and plot-wise. Ron yearns to be like Harry and Harry yearns to be like Ron, right? So they both get what they want, and Ron suffers a tragedy, and Harry realizes the terror of having a family to protect. And they trauma-bond over it as they increasingly become the only people who understand each other. Etc. They're destiny, they're chosen soulmates, they're fated to find each other, that's not always a good thing, etc. You know what I'm like.

Incidentally, this is the same interview where we get the infamous "full circle" quote explaining why she killed Lupin and Tonks:

The only other reason I didn’t kill Arthur was that I wanted to come full circle. We started with an orphan, someone who lost their parents because of the war. ANd so I wanted to show it again … Even though you don’t see Teddy, I wanted to express in the epilogue, that he gets an even better godfather than Harry had, because Sirius had ihs (sic) faults, I think we must admit. He was a risky guy to have a s a godfather. Because Teddy gets someone who really has been there, and Harry becomes a really great father figure for Teddy as well as his own children.

So both times, it seems like Arthur's death is contemplated, but he's spared because of what the Weasleys mean to Harry, and the effect it would have on Ron. Which. I've already talked about my thoughts on the Epilogue and Teddy Lupin, so I won't go off about it here. Worth noting, however, that Sirius dies because Book 5 (and this I agree with) wants an "anchoring death," or something to shift the books another step into the dark tone of a war. Book 4 ends with the death of a child; Book 5 ends with death of a parent, an adult. Book 5 is also substantially about disillusionment with the adults around you, and learning to navigate a world of complex, flawed grown-ups who all have substantially more power than you do. So there's a reading where Sirius — someone who's never really "grown up" — dying drives home the lesson of putting childish things aside and seeing people for what they are, etc. Thematically, I'm not mad at it. I am mad at the fact that plot-wise, it bricks up our easiest window into the world of the Blacks, so any first-hand account we could get of Regulus or Narcissa or Bellatrix's upbringing vanishes with him. Tonks and Andromeda theoretically could fill that void, but we never meet Andromeda, and Tonks dies after spending the whole of Book 7 off-page, so we never get that chance to learn what their lives were like. But hey! Can't do everything, I guess.

[lepurcinus]

In reality, even if I get to joke about my concepts of Watership Down in the Himalayas or Watership Down with Pikas. Also you know how it really bothers me the whole idea of trading rabbits with hares lol.

Because that changes the story completely and is just another example of people not being able to let go of the idea that the only relevant element of WD has to be violence and darkness and death. Hares are solitary by nature, they don't fight each other unless it's for mates. Basically the whole plot of finding a new home and community and leadership and the downtrodden is not going to happen that way.

You would have to be creating an original story instead rather than adapting.

Because the story is about rabbits, you're not going to trade the lion king for tigers just because they seem more "awesome" to you. Or White Fang for a coyote because of the dynamics. I know that as such there are adaptations that can turn a story into something completely different while still keeping the idea of course, but the thing is that they usually also try to be something new as a product rather than an adaptation itself.

And well the stigma that rabbits are cute innocent creatures and hares weird Lovecraft cryptids. It's changing unknown aspects of their nature just on the basis of how "disturbing" their appearance is.

For starters the terrible stigma Watership Down has of being just a "scary" story has a lot to do with it, no it's not. It's a story full of layers and it bothers me a little to know that because of scenes in the film they have to believe it is.

Plus the rabbits themselves have another stigma. People just can't help but see them as "cuddly critters". When they are not, rabbits are also WILD ANIMALS, they have to deal with a lot of crap every day, rabbits also fight, bleed and bite each other to death. Any rabbit owner knows how terribly chaotic they can be and wild rabbits are aggressive as shit with each other.

Stories like Watership Down HELP remove that stigma, even with certain outdated or unknown topics at the time Richard Adams managed to make his slightly to anthropomorphic rabbits feel like the non-human animals they are, he gave them culture, language, myths and mild intelligence but adapted in a way that sounds believable to anyone who knows the basics about rabbits, even the story itself is filled with thousands of facts about these animals that allow you to learn about them.

Watership Down doesn't censor their reality, and not just because they kill each other or some stupid thing they always say. It doesn't censor the rabbits as the animals they are, they eat their waste, they have in mind the idea of reproducing almost as a law, they are not immediate friends of their animal companions and they even have a hard time communicating with them.

Watership Down is about rabbits because it shows their reality, their anguish and daily struggles, events that although fictional and sometimes fantastic are not far from the possibilities of what a rabbit can do. And it also works with rabbits because it has the whole element of community, family, peer bonding, leadership and knowing one's value and what one is good at.

A lot of that is lost if you simply change them for another animal simply because you think it covers a false "aesthetic" better and it's just the same story but made up by changing its nature.

It also bothers me because people just don't understand that they are different but related animals.

[cosmerelists]

My Top 10 Favorite Cosmere Characters

Today is my birthday, so it's time for a purely self-indulgent birthday list! I thought I'd just share my own personal Top 10 Cosmere characters, which will just prove once and for all that I am SUCH a Stormlight girlie.

[Spoilers for Stormlight, Mistborn Era 1 & Era 2 and Shadows for Silence]

#10: TenSoon

I think I almost like TenSoon better in Era 2, when he's, like, an immortal quasi-divine figure who also happens to be a big, fluffy puppy. I like it when characters from different eras interact, so I was quite taken by having Wax meet TenSoon. I was also a fan of TenSoon back in the original series though, especially as his loyalty to Vin developed. And I'm one for a tragic sacrifice, so the kandra trying to kill themselves to avoid getting taken over by Ruin--that was a powerful moment (and I'm big fan of the fact that they did not, in fact, die. It was still a heroic sacrifice!).

#9: Silence

It's hard to say how much my love for Silence is part & parcel with my love for Threnody which, for whatever reason, is my favorite Cosmere planet. I like how Silence interacts with Threnody--the sheer horror and fatalism of living right on the edge of that forest, being a mother and a bounty hunter, keeping your dead grandmother in a back room...

#8: Adolin

I think Adolin is one of those characters I like because of his relationships with other characters. Especially Maya--I really love the relationship Adolin has with his sword, and when he and Maya fight back to back using the kata...that's one of my favorite scenes. I think he and Shallan are cute, and that he and Kaladin are cute, and that the three of them are a triad in their hearts. Also, and this will be a theme throughout this list, I love competent fighters and good fight sequences, so Adolin's duels really put him near the top for me.

#7: Navani

Rhythm of War really made me love Navani, I think. And not only because of that unhealthy yet somehow alluring relationship she had with Raboniel. We'll see throughout this list that I just like really competent characters, and Navani is such a smart and cool inventor of stuff, from watches to pain management devices to flying ships. And knowing what she went through with Gavilar and how she was made to think she wasn't smart or worthwhile only to have Dalinar and Raboniel recognize that yes she was smart and good at things and now she's cracked the code to make god-killing weapons and has bonded the Sibling and she's just so cool.

#6: Sazed

Honestly, I really love Sazed both before and after his ascension. I heard that people aren't always fans of Harmony, but I find him just as fascinating, if not more so--the idea of trying to balance such discordant shards in one being. But Sazed is, I think, my favorite character from the Mistborn Era 1 books. He is so sincere and smart and competent and deals with so much shit all the time. And I think he's doing his best.

#5: Jasnah

Like, Jasnah is just cool. She's so polished. So competent. So deadly. So smart. I think seeing Jasnah through Shallan's eyes for so long really made me respect and fear her as much as a reader can respect/fear a book character. That moment that she and Dalinar bonded over the book after Gavilar's death--very sweet. Kinda disappoited that we didn't get much with Jasnah & Elhokar--hard to remember they're siblings sometimes. In conclusion, I am both excited and scared to get more of her tragic backstory soon.

#4: Leshwi

Listen, I like cool fight sequences and enemies who bear a deep respect for each and duel a lot but never from a place of hatred. So, I was basically made to like Leshwi and how she interacts with Kaladin. But I also just like Leshwi's interactions with everyone. Leshwi and Moash? Awesome. "Hey you killed me once. Respect." Leshwi and Venli? Heck yeah. "I am slowly feeling you out and trying to see where your loyalties lie because they might intersect with mine." Once I am thrilled that Lewshi is joining the Listeners now. I want her to form a Radiant bond SO BAD.

#3: Steris

I seem to recall Brandon Sanderson talking about Steris as a character you don't like at first, but later you grow to love her. But if I remember correctly, I feel like I always liked Steris? Like yes, the marriage contract was a lot, but it was also so thorough and honest (and, honestly, funny). And then she just grew on me from there. As someone who makes a lot of lists, I also feel a kinship with Steris.

#2: Shallan

The first two times I read through the Stormlight Archives, I was all about Kaladin. But the third time, I really started to realize just how much I like the Shallan chapters. I think Shallan is a great character with a great arc--and I love the way she sort of grows into herself and her powers. Plus, I enjoy the slow reveal of how much she's already done--she already has a shardblade. And two spren bonds. And many murders under her belt. Quite the resume. And I really love Veil and Radiant, but especially Veil. The scene during the Oathbringer climax where she holds hand with her alters while constantly creating other alters to let them be killed legitimately makes me cry. She holds back a whole army by herself! She's amazing!

#1: Kaladin

Kaladin was my favorite character pretty much from the very moment I started reading Cosmere books (I started with Way of Kings), and he has never been dethroned in my heart. First, there's the simple fact that I love good fight scenes and fantasy heroics and people who gain the power they need at the very last second...and Kaladin does those things like every other chapter. But also, Kaladin is just such a good character. I love how he's not just a shallow fantasy hero--he has depression, and invents therapy, and struggles with guilt, and doesn't always make good choices. Sometimes the Kaladin chapters are tough--Rhythm of War was downright painful sometimes with just how much Kaladin was suffering--but even so. I will always look forward to the Kaladin parts the most, and like many, I deem Kaladin my #1 Cosmere Blorbo.

[justporo]

BG3 Winter Holiday Challenge

It seems many of you are ready to head into winter time in Baldur's Gate! So, we present you with:

Firstly, we have to thank and give credit to our mutual friend @bearhugsandshrugs who not only showed us the ropes with setting things up with AO3 (it's really not... intuitive) but also always offered help and also also originally organised a BG3 Promptmeme Challenge for Kinktober (the collection for that can be found here) that was also an inspiration for this challenge and started setting things in motion!)

What is this about? You might've seen the post two days ago about the creative challenge my lovely friend @the-littlest-raindrop (thanks for doing this with me) and I came up with to bring some warmth and fluff into December time. We provide you with 12 different prompts to get you into the festive mood.

When does this start? Start your fluff engines, we start posting on December 1st up until January 1st!

How can I participate? See a prompt that immediately gives you an idea for a drawing or a drabble? Let's go! No matter if you're a writer or an artist or want to fill a prompt in any other creative kind of way (so say: a drawing, a drabble, headcanons, a cake?). Just keep in mind it's a fluff challenge! Feel free to fulfill as many or as few prompts as you'd like: all of them, three or only one. Post your content with the hashtag #BG3HolidayFluffle23 and mention the prompt you used! This challenge is also available as a collection on AO3 (all say thanks to @the-littlest-raindrop for setting this up, and once again @bearhugsandshrugs for teaching us, you both rock), so you can also head over there to share your writing fills!

Any rules? Keep it lighthearted and fun, this is about fluff! You're welcome to use OCs or more than one character as long as it includes at least one BG3 character. The prompts are also in no particular order.

What else? Depending on how this will go we might organise some masterlists to collect the entries, but we can't promise. For now, we really just wanted to get the (snow)ball rolling to spread some of the festive goodness! Also if you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me or @the-littlest-raindrop!

And NOW, we come to the best part:

✬THE PROMPTS✬

✶Twinkling Lights✶

Wintertime is full of beautiful lights - be it shining stars in the crisp night air, candles or fairy lights put up as decoration, or the glamour of fireworks. It might be nice to look at all of these together with your partner or set them up yourselves.

✶Snow & Ice✶

Dropping temperatures means a chance for frosty precipitation. What a wonderful thing to enjoy with a lover (albeit with a few extra layers for warmth!).

✶Gifts✶

The Holiday season is the time for giving. Exchanging gifts with your partner is a tradition as old as the season itself. Will you have to keep the gift receipt or not? 

✶Mulled Wine/Hot Chocolate✶

There’s nothing quite like curling up with a nice warm drink on a chilly evening. The only thing better is sharing it with someone you love.

✶Delicacies✶

Don’t you have some cheese around? The holidays are usually filled with indulging in various delicious dishes and treats. It’s up to you if you simply want to share them with a loved one or even dare to prepare them yourself.

✶Holiday Spirit✶

The holidays mean a lot of different things to people. To some, it’s a time to be thankful and unwind. To others, it means stress, and a frantic rush to get everything organised. How do your lovers fare this time of year? 

✶Mistletoe✶

The seasonal flora with a singular association: kissing! Whether it’s someone planning a romantic surprise, or pure happenstance, when lovers find themselves beneath it, there is only going to be one outcome!

✶Chosen Family✶

Not everyone is lucky enough to have family around this time of year. That’s why it’s important to spend time with the people that matter most in your life, creating bonds just as strong as the familial kind.

✶Ornaments✶

Putting up decorations to set the right mood is a very common thing around the holiday time. Maybe you even take the time to make some of them yourself with the help of your partner.

✶Winter Markets✶

There’s always plenty of shopping to be done, especially this time of year. Taking the time to venture out on a cool winter’s eve to see all the treats and treasures is a time-honoured tradition, one that can also be enjoyed hand-in-hand with someone dear.

✶Getting Cozy✶

Sometimes during winter time when it’s too cold and stormy to venture outside, there’s really nothing better than to put on your comfiest socks and get nice and warm at home with someone to keep you company.

✶New Beginnings✶

The end of the year can be the start of many new things. It offers a chance to reflect on the past, while ushering in a future that is yours to shape for the better. What might this mean for lovers? Only time will tell.

We hope all of you have a lovely winter time and have fun in joining us in this challenge! Lots of love! <3

So, once more big thank you to @bearhugsandshrugs for the help and the inspiration!

And thank you so much again, @the-littlest-raindrop for doing this with me, it's been a pleasure and a joy this far!

[dailycharacteroption]

Poleiheira Adherent (Wizard Archetype)

(art by ketunhanska on DeviantArt)

When it comes to things that wizards are associated with having, your first thought might be their familiar or focus item. But how many people remember the spellbook, the ever-important record of the mage’s study into the arcane?

Sometimes it can be hard to remember the spellbook until the wizard is either adding a new spell to it outside of leveling up, or they are at risk of losing it.

Now, I’m not saying that such is true for every player, but if you need some crunchy mechanical incentive to remember the spellbook, perhaps the Poleiheira Adherent is for you.

Based on the works of the legendary hero-mage Arustun, the mages known as Poleiheira Adherents pour themselves into their spellbooks, not just as journals that they record not just spells but a record of their travels, but also their very essence, turning these tomes into magical items in their own right, empowering them.

To them, their spellbooks are a repository of all the knowledge they have gained, not just magical theory, which they hope to use to better the world as they travel it looking for new discoveries.

The result is a mage that is one part spellbook specialist and one part long-distance traveller, so let’s see exactly what that means.

As mentioned above, these mages have a magical bond with their spellbooks, which aid them in various ways. Not only can they contain reserves of magical energy to cast an extra spell (drawn from their pages, but they respond to their master’s will, always opening to the right page, and having functionally an infinite number of pages to write spells and other notes in, making it much easier to prepare spells from them, though other wizards find the books baffling. They even gain more spells through their own development than other mages, but still can lose them if the book is destroyed. However, all non-spell knowledge within is preserved in the astral idea of the book, reappearing when they craft a new one.

Furthermore, these mages do not take an arcane school, instead learning some practical travel powers. The first of which lets them conjure a mount as needed.

The second allows them to telekinetically control and pilot a ship, handling the tasks of a whole crew all by themselves.

The spellbooks of these mages are exceptionally powerful, allowing the wizard to prepare quickly and have a lot of extra spells without paying for them. However, they lose out on school slots as a result, and what passes for school powers are limited to travel options, which aren’t bad, but fairly specific. Regardless, if you like the idea and mechanics behind these bolstered spellbooks, go for it. Just remember not to try and base a build around a specific school.

With their scholarly motivations and penchant for travelling, this archetype is perfect if you’re trying for the Gandalf-esque “wandering wizard” sort of aesthetic, but any sort of concept based on travel and learning could be useful here. Heck, many cultures with regular travellers such as merchants and sailors may seek to attract said wizards for the benefits.

Though now it is little more than a mundane tome, the grimoire of Manacus the Traveler was once as legendary as he was, and many spells still used by other mages were originally penned in that tome. However, it is the many stories of his adventures that interests the party, as they have evidence that the ancient mage was privy to the last known location of an artifact they seek.

Some may consider him primitive, but those that underestimate Ko the Scroll-Scratcher will be surprised by the gnoll’s vast arcane knowledge, all stored on a scroll far too long to be natural. Within it, he has also recorded a treasure trove of knowledge about the beasts and monsters of the world.

Expecting and accepting the only legacy she would leave behind was her spellbook journal, Elrina was wracked with anguish when she was murdered for her tome by an unscrupulous colleague. Now, her ghost has begun sending dreams to her only living relative, her niece, in hopes of spurring her to get the book back, a tome that has retained it’s magical properties due to it’s ties to the ghostly scholar.

[tryingtimi]

Author Ask Tag

Thank you so much for the tag @aalinaaaaaa, and @tc-doherty ! Love these tags.

What is the main lesson of your story? Why did you choose it?

I’m really bad at determining a lesson, so most of the times I just… don’t, lol. I write because I have stories I want to tell, and although the characters learn valuable lessons, I don’t approach the story with a clear one I want to “teach” with it. I hope people take away something from it, but more like their own interpretations than my ideals and values.

But, if I squint, maybe Sasin’s lesson can be that you can’t be your best self for someone else. Which comes from a a relfection of some of my, the author’s, personal experiences. As all stories do imo. And a reason why I would choose it (if I could choose it instead of just putting it in instinctively, and unkowingly first) is because I hope people can resonate with it, and have an impact on their life even if a tiny one. Realise something about themselves and find solace in it or motivate them to grow.

2. What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding?

Mostly Korean mythology, shamanism, the Roaring Twenties, martial art movies/series/books and real-life mafia documentaries/ fictional gang wars and family sagas (prime example: Peaky Blinders). Although the ‘20s thing is just for the aesthetic and to establish the level of technological advancements (i.e.: no phones, no computers, lots of smoking, drinking and glitter and pompousness).

I basically combied everything I ever loved and was intrigued by since I was 12.

Plus I was always drawn to the brutal world of underworld workings where honour and “you have my word” still seemed to mean something. Where there was a kind of unspoken code they followed, yet they themselves weren’t heroes, nor necessarily good for anyone. Casual violance also attracted me as well, as being a naturally withdrawn, careful person in a fairly conservative enviroment who always longed to shout and punch her anger out rather than repressing it. It is in a sense a self-fulfillment fantasy, although none of the characters are similar to me lmfao.

3. What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness or help the reader grow as a person?

Liahn’s basic motivator is to perfect: others, her clan, the world and most harshly, herself. Nothing is good enough, nothing is just enough. She confronts everything and everyone to make her clan better. She firmly believes that mistakes equal failures. And failures are the warmbeds of incompetency. So she does everything to prove that notion wrong, and tries to fight her mother to change the clan, to make it better, safer, more just. She strives to perfect (reform) the system, make it so her people are not forced to risk their lives just to have a say in the clan’s future. In their future. Family bonds and romantic love are also key elements because Liahn’s idea of perfection does not include feelings. She may love her siblings, or the girl of her life, but she would never let herself admit it. She can’t. She’d die for them, and she want to reform for them, but she would rather sacrifice herself for the greater good than confront feelings. Feelings that cloud decisions and make every picture disordered, imperfect.

So, I mostly want to inspire people by her to soften their grip on the idea of perfection. To let themselves feel, and make mistakes without killing their own soul bit by bit. Be a little more gentle on themselves. To prove that perfection is found in imperfection. And that true harmony comes, when they can face that.

4. How many chapters is your story going to have?

I have only a rough estimation, but around 30.

5. Is it fan fiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

Original content, althought it started as a fanfiction to my friend lmao. And I’m almost certain I won’t want to publish this. Maybe somewhere online one day, when other stuffs are finished. We’ll see. But I mostly write this to have something finally finished, so as the first book I will complete, I wouldn’t truly be comfortable sharing it with a big audience yet. Keeping it to myself and friends for now. (Trying to write it for myself haha)

6. When did you start writing?

The very first version of this story was created in 2021, which is wild. I got to 19 chapters before I completely re-plotted and re-outlined it, lol. Plus when I decided to not continue it as a fanfic. It also sat in the backburner for 2-3 years, before I picked it up again. Since then I re-plotted it again a few times, although not to the extent when I first did it. It’s in a fairly alright state right now, and I intend to write the whole thing through.

7. Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr? What other writers do you follow?

Write what you love, and write it because you love it. That’s the only single reason that matters and what I re-discover time after time. We all fall into the traps of the desire to please others, to listen to every external little voice and let ours hide in the back corner, quiet and forgotten. But it’s there, waiting for us to listen again. So sharpen your ears, and let it emerge. Listen to yourself, and let yourself love what you create. You can worry about what others will think, marketablity, wodcount, publishing, or simply just the accuracy of the content later. Have fun. Put all the silly weird shit in it. Go wild. Just do it and love it.

The talented, lovely bunch I follow, and aware that are writeblr (no pressure tagging, plus an open invitation for anyone who want to join): @bloodlessheirbyjacques, @barbex, @the-void-writes, @cee-grice, @did-i-do-this-write, @wildswrites, @indigowriting, @erensattacktitancock, @odysseywritings, @sodaliteskullwrites, @the-letterbox-archives, @thegoddesswater, @goldfinchwrites, @mthollowell-writes, @thewritingcoroner, @ryns-ramblings, @you-are-my-neverland, @astarlightmonbebe, @forthesanityofstorytellers, @mjparkerwriting, @asher-writes, @dyrewrites, @jgmartin, @inkingfireplace, @kainablue, @withlovelunette, @jadefyre, @muddshadow, @1legitconnor, @dogmomwrites, @italiangothicwriteblr, @jessica-writes22, @depressedenglishmajor, @magefaery, @moonscribbler, @circa-specturgia, @aohendo, @bebewrites, @maguayans, @keyboardandquill, @daughter-of-inklings, @friendlyneighborhood-writer, @author-a-holmes, @approximately20blorbos, @wip-nook, @kjscottwrites, @missryorinechan, @sleepyowlwrites

[bumblingbabooshka]

(anon from before) ok that is genuinely so hilarious to me but what I meant was what do you think of it as a meditation tool/nugget of Tuvok and Vulcan lore? It reminds me a lot of your fic about Vulcan bonds being like a house. (<- a horrible summary of your beautiful fic I do apologize but I hope you know what I mean) in that the final form/shape is ever changing depending on a persons mental state. The imagery of the (silly little) structure that Tuvok was building in that episode toppling over with him saying “I am in control” and because he was mentally unwell (with the telepathic std lmao) gives me like,,,, “the structure of your home/the metaphorical rug being pulled out from under you after u got transported 70,000 light years away from your bondmate and entire world and network of bonds” vibes.

Side note I think that it has great potential as a physical representation of a failing Vulcan marriage/betrothal in a hypothetical SNW T’pring/Spock episode. <- if I had my way in the SNW writers room, all hell would break loose lmao

Is there a real connection? Am I just fangirling over your fics? We shall never know (one of those is certainly the case)

Original Ask: Thoughts on the Keethera? (Tuvok’s block puzzle thing from s3 ep2) <- At the time I had no thoughts as I didn't understand what anon was asking. The Keethera is very interesting. I've said this before but it's interesting and indicative of his character that the two games/meditation exercises we see Tuvok partaking in are the Keethera and Kal-Toh, both of which do not have a hard and fast ideal or win-state and are meant to show the person or people building them something about themselves. It's very much unlike chess, which is Spock's game of choice. The Keethera is more a diagnostic tool and Kal-Toh speaks to the core of Vulcan emotional control - that is, the ability to find harmony where there is seemingly only random chaos. Tuvok's not doing well mentally. I don't think Tuvok's been doing well mentally since vanishing into the delta quadrant, much like everyone else, however unlike everyone else he doesn't seem to have any sort of....safety net? Anyone to confide in? Nor does he seem to WANT to or know how to confide in others - how to be open about his pain or need for help.

I like this interaction in which instead of having to say that he's struggling, Kes can simply look at the Keethera and see that he is. Tuvok's inability to effectively share his pain with others makes sense - they're all aliens to him and he isn't close with any of the Vulcans on the crew. He's also a person who prides himself on being solitary and strong and Vulcan. As seen in 'Alter Ego' he intentionally cultivates an air of being utterly separate from others even when ostensibly participating in a group activity and is shown several times in the series to think himself above others. [Ex: Neelix, Chakotay, B'Elanna, Humans in general] However, the image he has of himself makes reaching out for help incredibly difficult. He has cultivated an image in which he is utterly unlike the others, in which he is better, less prone to being hurt, and because he stakes his pride on this image he now cannot ask for help without it going against his image and damaging the reputation he enjoys holding. I think this is a relatable problem. Personally, when I was a teenager, I had cultivated an image of being a jokester and bubbly person which I struggled valiantly to maintain even when I was going through severe bouts of depression. The idea of myself as someone who was a jokester and happy all the time was very important to me and losing that felt like it would be 'giving in' to my depression and losing my identity when in reality my refusal to actually address my depression was causing my depression to worsen. In Tuvok's case, his identity pre-delta quad is perhaps the only thing he has left of his old life. It's stated and implied multiple times by the narrative that Tuvok is lonely and misses his family and that that loneliness is beginning to cause him to act in ways he normally wouldn't (Compare him to Marayna in 'Alter Ego'). The fact that he misses his family and is lonely is also relevant due to the fact that family ties are INCREDIBLY important in Vulcan culture. Tuvok's family is obviously very close but more relevant to this, family ties are stated across several episodes to be crucial in dealing with trauma or mental stress. Personal information seems to be [across multiple series] very private to Vulcans. Personal information is sensitive and intimate and not something you share with just anyone. To me it's natural to assume that this is also a contributing factor in Tuvok's resistance towards reaching out for help. He feels it's something private that he should only share with other Vulcans who are close to him or a healer - but no such person exists on Voyager and his closest friend is the captain, whom he doesn't want to 'burden' with his problems when he can handle them alone [or so he thinks] and so he endures and endures and endures in silence. The Keethera showcases Tuvok's mental state not only in its structure but in Tuvok's persistent mantra that he is fine despite the clear signs to the contrary. "I am in control," he says, as the Keethera falls apart. It is also telling that Tuvok has no separate course of action. After the Keethera crumbles and Kes leaves, Tuvok just starts building the Keethera again. It's a meditational aid and helps focus the mind but something strikes me as incomplete or wishful about him continually building it, alone, and only to watch it crumble. What else can he do but continually punch the numbers and watch as he's told over and over again that he's not okay?

Tuvok's conversation with Kes at the end of 'Warlord' is something I love. I think it's very good advice on dealing with trauma that he struggles to follow himself. We never see the completed Keethera at the end of 'Flashback' - there is no assurance that his mind is completely healed from the trauma he's endured. [Even if the memory was not strictly 'real', his reactions to it were and thus we can say he DID have a repressed traumatic memory] Instead we see him talking with Janeway, with a friend, and we perhaps know that even if it isn't - he's not alone.

[hiso03]

I don't know why, making hal's dad abusive and also the main reason he doesn't feel fear is cuz the guardian removes his ability to feel fear is kinda a disservice to his character, and imo he actually more like a wooby that all

his ability to overcome fear is really interesting on its own and idk man

Lately I feel like they're trying to take away all of Hal's character development and background and I personally find it super unfair and silly, since Hal has an incredible background; but I feel like ever since Hal came back to life and with the 2011 reboot they've been trying to "rewrite" him in a pretty bad way.

There are good and redeemable things, yes; but there are many comics that I have read about him where they try to change his origin story, his motives and especially his relationship with his father.

From the beginning I am not convinced that Martín was an abusive father, and I feel that it does not even completely match the idea that Hal admired him or wanted to be like him.

People do not want to be like their abusers and many times if they want to be like them it is to be able to defend themselves against them, not out of admiration and longing like Hal.

Hal just wanted to connect with his father after losing him, he wanted to feel close to him.

If his father had been an abuser, Hal probably would not have tried so hard to be as much as Martin, and perhaps on more than one occasion he would have let out a comment or in some situation he would have let it be seen that Martin was an abuser, but believe me, those things are noticeable even if you don't say it explicitly, there are very exact phrases or words that let you know that type of information.

The reason they try to explain to us why Hal is not afraid is absurd, not very organic and not very credible.

The reason that Hal cannot feel fear, which was linked to his past with the death of his father, is tragic and traumatic, which gives that depth to the character and allows you to empathize with him, feel a little sorry and be able to understand him better. because there are people who can identify with that.

A traumatic event can fuck up your entire psyche.

But on the other hand, the explanation that a cosmic force came and took away his fear sounds stupid and empty.

But honestly it doesn't surprise me that they do this to Hal, they already did it with his season as "The Spectre" and when it was Parallax, the Parallax thing still bothers me a lot because it literally invalidated all of his feelings, history, bonds, trauma and reduce that whole arc to "It's just that a cosmic parasite took over him and that's why he became evil and got gray hair."

Just don't be surprised that they later remove another super important element from its story development and change it for something emptier.

[typosandtea]

Hi Typos <3

🔮 for Tango and ⚽️ for Murphy from this ask meme

Hi Fable!! Thanks for the very fun ask! :D @fablewritesnonsense

🔮 Crystal Ball- What kind of future does your OC want to have? What would they do to make it real?

→ what an excellent question i've had lot of fun with this one!

Tango is a very in the moment kinda person but.. They originally came to the commonwealth to investigate the rumors of people being replaced by duplicates of themselves, intending to find those responsible and force scientists to make them a new body. It takes a lot of evidence and arguing with a great many people for Tango to accept that it doesn't really work that way, and even if it did, that threatening the institute is a very bad idea. Evidence being things like Nick not being the same person as prewar Nick, infiltrators like Mcdonnough not actually having their targets memories or personality, etc. They do slowly come to realize that they actually don't want a body again over the course of this stubborn denial, after all, they've lived 30 something years without one now, and they don't even really remember what they are missing anyway. They couldn't hack directly or flatten their enemies when they were human! Their change of mind is only reinforced by finding Curie and helping her on her journey of discovery. Tango and Curie become very close bonding over shared experiences, both have been mechanical and human just in opposite transitions! With what has been their major goal for the last 15 odd years since they first heard the rumors of synths now shattered by reality, and being befriended (much to their bewilderment) by Preston and some of the other companions ..they don't really have a big picture of their future at the moment? Life for Tango has taken more wild and positive turns in the last two years than it did in the 60 before it and they have not been processing it very well! Having friends and people who care about you beyond what people can take from you is such a bizarre experience that they are just gripping this new reality as tightly as they can, and hey, if that means reverting to familiar {you've lost karma!} actions to keep it so, then so be it.

⚽️ Soccer Ball- Who is someone that your OC believes in and roots for? Are they private about their admiration or do they make it well known?

Murphy very supportive of Preston and his mantling of the role of General! Shes just here to fly around and fight shit occasionally (her words). She far prefers the minutemen's openness and reasonability to how she operates in the BoS (and prewar as both an aus and then us soldier) but shes in farrrrr to deep to leave, not that she realizes how trapped she is.. One of Murphy's favorite skills to use is charisma so you bet your ass she tells him and anyone around how great Preston is! Murphy would resolve everything by talking and "maybe if I just explain it better they will understand".. unfortunately you can't change hatred by explaining things better .. (you can't fix the BoS Murph :/). Supports Preston both verbally and by tasks whenever possible, she gets less time later in the timeline though as the BoS ramps up to fight the institute and other filth (including the other mutated residents of vault111, sorry Murphy but you've fallen for the classic blunder, no amount of hard work or loyalty will ever make y'all worthy to them.. ). ANYWAY she really admires Preston for both his kindness and also his strength / resolve.

[practically-an-x-man]

I'm having a scatterbrained day, so for talk shop Tue, can I get a commentary reel/directors cut style talk about how WWFA came about? How you got the idea, how Kat was developed and how you decided to insert your plot into the movie canon?

Oooh man, great question!! Thank you!!

So first things first... there were absolutely elements of Katherine and her story that were logically chosen for a specific position, and as with all of my stories, I did have the plot in place before I started writing, but there was a lot of this story in particular that evolved as I wrote it.

So WWFA? first came about after I went through a huge NATM hyperfixation in late 2021. The movies have always been really comforting and close to my heart, especially as a history and mythology buff, but there was something about that time rewatching it that just sent me headfirst into it. I don't remember how specifically I came up with Katherine as a character, but the first little inkling of plot came from the idea of an artist leaving sketches for the night guards and janitors to discover, not knowing that it was the exhibits themselves who ended up appreciating them.

So that's where I started the story: Katherine, leaving her drawings, simple and sweet. I had my point A (her leaving the drawings), my point B (following the third movie, the tablet dying and being restored), and my point C (hush now, we haven't gotten to that yet), but hadn't quite gotten all the details of how I was going to work Katherine into the story. I always had her coming along for the ride, but it's safe to say that the original concept did not have her nearly as deeply woven into the story as her final version does. She brought her drawings to life, building off the idea of the tablet bringing museum artworks and exhibits to life, but at that point I didn't have much of an explanation as to why her.

And then I started college. I'd always been a history nerd and had a good base of knowledge to start the story, but then I was a history nerd taking various college-level anthropology, history, and archaeology classes, and it took my knowledge to a whole new level. I've said this before, but I nearly wrote a paper on how I believed the Egyptian god Tutu was borrowed from the Babylonian god of the same name (though that fizzled when the Egyptologist I tried to contact never emailed me back, and he was the only expert in that particular god I could find). I love that sort of thing, and if college had been a better fit for me it might've ended up being my lasting career. My knowledge skyrocketed, so did my inspiration, and that's what springboarded the fic into its present mythology-heavy form.

As for how Kat was developed... it was a lot of those more spur-of-the-moment decisions. She became descended from Bastet on a whim, and that ended up being a driving force that worked so well for the rest of the story. Her name, Katherine Johnson, is a reference to the NASA scientist who contributed to the moon landing, but that reference itself was just sparked from the fact that I couldn't decide on a name at first. Her physical appearance, her backstory, whatever else? I just wanted to create a fun, dynamic character, someone who really felt like a real person rather than a plot device - and part of how I do that is just to stop thinking too hard about it and let things just flow.

Idk, it's kind of hard to describe. I don't want to say I was flying blind at any point, but there were a lot of areas in which the story just fell together as I wrote it. Most of my work came from creating Katherine and establishing her within the first few chapters - after that, she just seemed to fall into the story.

[heavenbled]

character profile ; voidwalker. (original character, destiny based.)

name ; kaifeng andar. species ; awoken, unknown what generation. seems to be slightly mutated with reptile-like features. pronouns ; he/him/they/them. gender ; nonbinary. sexuality ; pansexual, preference towards men. class/subclass ; void warlock - voidwalker. ghost ; wen-yan (they/them) age ; going onto second century alive as a lightbearer. appears to be in mid 30s.

physical description ; kaifeng is a tall and slender person of about 6'7" height without armor, 6'9" with. though, he's most usually seen with a heel of some sort when in civvies, so typically it adds on a few inches (nighthawk's given them shit for it). they have a deep mauve purple complexion, with tiny white freckles dotted across their body ; notably they are spaced out and few in general, but some are more clustered around their arms.

their eyes are a bio-luminescent white, but unlike the 'usual' (for lack of better words) eyes of the awoken, his pupils are reptilian. almost draconic. kai's hair is depigmented and completely stark white at natural state, however they have a ritual, every week or two to dye it jet black. almost slightly too black for natural black hair. and it goes all the way down to his calves, tips ending just above ankles ; typically they're seen either in a giant bun for helmet wear, or two twintails that cycle between brains and loose ponytail.

they are usually seen in their shadow armor and twin dragon bond. or if in civvies, usually something spacelike, starry, purple/black, etc. his markings are a deep purple that accent cheeks, eyebrows, and eyes, to which they usually even further accent with sharp eyeliner.

due to their light and the way the void interacts with them, kai's fingers and hands have been dyed a dark purple. he usually dons gloves when outside of armor.

light abilities ; kaifeng has a very capricious and unpredictable relationship with their light, as the beginning of their revival was the worst awful time to him to get it under control. due to the nature of his previous life and things that nyx haneul yuan lived with, the void interacts with kai most typically in hallucinations and visions. they experience vivid to small ones : auditory, tactile, and visual alike. it was antagonistic to them for a long time, leading to several breaks from reality and quite a lot of paranoia. however, as kai began to work with the void and figure out how to truly master his light, it became slightly more benevolent. still mostly neutral. helps quite a lot with reflexes in combat.

they do not use any other subclass other than void.

brief history & personality ; oh to awake in a world so foreign to you and everyone else you dare mention it to ; a world where things were dark, upside down, light scarce and nothing dared to make sense. the ascendant plane, he would come to learn the name eventually. he he was awoken to a cold and unfamiliar world, faced with the bones of people they might have once known in a life he had absolutely no recollection of. to an easygoing and friendly little drone who called themselves wen-yan, who had absolutely no recollection of kaifeng's revival in the first place. and the bones of a wish dragon, an ahamkara, facing him and glowing and even speaking to him. he had to bring it with them, of course, how could he not?

and so from the beginning it was arduous and lonely for them, hiding their features and keeping that secret away in fear for what a public reaction would bring. there was a fear about facing the public and being amongst people that was so innate, so buried deep within their soul without the slightest idea as to why, or how to quell it. being a lightbearer is a blessing and a curse. he had truly thought he was cursed for the longest amount of time, and in that did he begin hiding his true identity and abilities to begin living as a civilian among civilians.

nestled in the last city he played this game, living a reclusive life mirroring the solitude that nyx had been forced and held away in before his death. the irony between enforcing old habits the body remembers, but the mind and the person do not ; for they are different people when one is bathed in the light, but yet all the same. kaifeng would always live this double life with himself, they would always feel as if there's just something off about them metaphysically, spiritually, everything in between. his very existence had felt as if something had been etched into the fabric of the universe itself, writing itself over several timelines already. like a saved game file.

surely there had to be corruption in that, in of itself? what did it take, as much as that new save file gave?

in time he would come to love, and eventually settle down with a civilian by the name of hala. the sunshine to their moonlight, the two became inseparable and in time, loved each other as fiercely as the roaring of the sun. as the ebb and flow of the moon. kai felt as though it would've been eternal, even if he'd done all he could to convince himself hala would one day have to pass on, as all things in life eventually did. it cemented this sort of idea to him, that they were just an ugly, dead thing - now cursed to overwrite the ways of the universe time and time again at the cost of material, and immaterial. that of which he could not yet see.

it's approaching from the horizon in where hala starts feeling fatigued, and not quite himself anymore, that kai is faced with the difference of their lives once again. only this time, they can't fight it or deliberately try to overwrite their will in the stars ; of all things to fail at when it seemed to be the very reason for his existence. but there is something healthy there, in that hala teaches him to find the light in the dark. no matter how bleak things seemed. they learn to find contentment in the present time, not the past nor the future.

and then the red war happens. the red legion invades and suddenly the world is ending. they had nowhere to go, and hala had been just two degrees short of being able to parkour about the city, and escape into the wilds for survival. kaifeng had been inexperienced with their control over the light in all the years they've spent ignoring it, and had been an utter mess in the heat of battle. one thing was a clear lesson from that day, from that entire scene and consequently, war : he had not been enough.

it's at this point, during the hardest parts of the war that he escapes to the farm. and it's there that they run into a lightbearer, a guardian, who meets him like they were two neutron stars colliding. the consequences of a wish, the consequences of intense devotion between two twins, that they had been ripped apart so brutally in a life long gone. a shapeshifting guardian, known by most as the nighthawk - but to them, as sao and neptune.

fast forward past the war a little : through kai's slow integration into guardian society and tower life, do they begin the process to mastering their light control and combat skills. at first it's slow moving and they are much too ill-prepared to deal with their void. but eventually, they find purpose in the fight and the reasons why guardians do the things that they do. a bit of motivation, a bit of a pep-talk from nighthawk as his senior lightbearer, and eventually they're moving out into the solar system to face battle head-on. to rise up to the mantle and hold the responsibility that came with calling himself a guardian.

just so happens that one of his battles turns out to be the path of becoming a shadow. this will be a separate post, as well as how lightfall and the final shape affects them.