#when you have made...so much writing for more worldbuilding expansion

[dlthedescent]

With the Beast dlc coming up and with the hints so far, I could see myself take a different writing in Descent from here on out (thankfully the large time gap between DL1 and DL2 gives that leeway). That said, I have gotten some comments and yeah it's a whole different take than my Freakazoid take.

And to be frank, I'm not too concerned about potential changes. Fanfics/fanarts are meant to be fluid and adaptive, and surprisingly, Dying Light is one of several that has a lot of potential for creativity freedom and character exploration. So I'm open to whatever Techland gives for this DLC and I don't mind at all adapting to the new content for Descent because who knows, it might open more ideas! Moreover, I'm happy with what I have so far is good enough that there doesn't need to be any severe changes to past chapters. Concept art, most likely (something I need to go back).

With that said, it's a good thing this happened. Because 1. the art for Freakazoid was still concept drafts so I don't mind refining the design based on new info (which means I CAN DRAW CLOTHES ON A HUMAN-ISH BODY AND NOT A FULL-MONSTER-ISH BODY YIPPEE!). And 2. it made me remember my damn timeline in Descent was that it has been four months since the Following in Descent.

I'm pretty sure NOW thinking of it, four months of infection and mutation is not gonna be as drastic as a full-fledged volatile or hunter....

[comicaurora]

i think pacing is THE literary tool that most directly proves that you write good when you've been writting a lot. pacing is a feel, you can and def should read stuff about pacing, but you simply can't develop the muscles for it without hitting the gym.

so uhh, when did you start feeling good about how you've handled pacing in previous works and current one? was there a moment? i feel stuck, and discipline tells me to keep on trucking but its demotivating. sorry for long question aaa

Conveniently it was during the process of making the comic, because I absolutely did not have it down before I started. I had a moment of clarity sometime around chapter 3 that all my artistic practice for the comic had done nothing to prepare me for the invisible substrate of visual storytelling: pacing. Splash panels and big dramatic establishing shots are much more common in those early chapters because I hadn't processed how to fully utilize the space on the page. I had to do some backend reworking of the general timeline as I realized that any amount of narrative backtracking would grind the story to a halt AND take me way too much time to make. I realized I had a lot of unconnected filler in my initial plan that kind of just kicked the plot into little zero-consequence cul-de-sacs that didn't move anything forward, so I began to prioritize story beats that advanced at least one of either the plot or a character arc - I didn't want to fall into the trap of making absolutely everything tie into one singular grand evil plan or not have any room for broader worldbuilding, so I allowed for some outside-context antagonists and threats as long as they let me reveal new things about the main characters. It gave me a feel for what constituted forward motion or broad expansion of the story.

Somewhere along the way - I think maybe around chapter 9? - I gave myself a rule of thumb that every page needed at least one new thing on it. That "thing" could be a piece of new information, a turn of events in the story, a reveal of something previously unseen, a character making a decision - it's not a hard definition by any means, but it helped me stay on track. It also helped balance the two completely disparate pacings I need to account for, namely how the story is paced when you read the archive through vs how the story is paced when you read it as it updates three times a week. "One thing per page" means the people reading it as it updates always get something new to chew on.

When I bit the bullet and started this story, I was as prepared as I could've been for someone who'd never made a longform comic before, but that meant I was completely lacking in experience with the unique and invisible elements of comic storytelling, of which pacing is the most foundational. It's ok if you don't think you're good at it yet; it's impossible to get good at it before you begin. Starting the story is the hardest part.

[azems-familiar]

my thoughts on dawntrail

alright, now that it's been a couple days since i finished the 7.0 MSQ, and i've had time to get my thoughts in order, i wanted to write up my overall thoughts and impressions on the expansion. beneath the cut there WILL BE MAJOR SPOILERS for plot points, zones, and dungeons/trials through the whole expansion, so be warned.

so i'll start with the positives.

first of all, i obviously can't stress enough how much i love the graphics update and how beautiful everything looks now. i really appreciate several of the QoL things they added in, like dual dye channels and the adjustment to the follow missions that make it easier to see when you might fail. i loved the first 4 zones - the designs, the cultures in them, the way they were developed. i think my favorite group was the Yok Huy. the dungeons and trials are also all REALLY fun, for the most part, although a couple of the fights suck balls on caster - Vanguard's second boss is aoe hell taken to a new extreme. i did have some troubles with seeing mechanics on the final trial, but i managed it, at least.

i overall liked the rite of succession. i liked Wuk Lamat's character arc, and i liked Koana's as well, and i wasn't too bothered by how much of a back seat in the story the WoL took, although i was disappointed we didn't get many chances to bond with the Scions or Erenville and the WoL's relationship with Wuk Lamat was centered over everything else (and sorry, but Lelesu is not going to think of her as family that quickly), especially with Erenville being the expansion's narrator. it did a little bit annoy me that it mostly felt like we were there to be a camera from which to let the player watch the story, but it wasn't too egregious. i wanted more of the rivalry between the Scions that we were teased, but overall it was an enjoyable little vacation with some really beautiful worldbuilding.

that said.

to me the second half of the story felt like someone trying to emulate shb without really understanding what made shb so good, while also trying to shoehorn Wuk Lamat in as the protagonist when by all rights she should no longer have been. the WoL was given no agency despite the fact that we were dealing with another reflection and a star-wide threat; frankly, the idea that Lelesu would have sat back and been perfectly content to wait for Wuk Lamat to challenge Zoraal Ja to single combat and whatnot is kind of ridiculous, considering the harm he could cause to not only the Source but the other reflections as well. i disliked that there were hardly any mentions whatsoever of past worldbuilding - we have no opportunity to talk to Sphene about how her shard's shift towards lightning was definitely intentional and caused by Ascian manipulation, we don't get to interject that we can cure the levin sickness (something that genuinely bothered me, since that was a MASSIVE PLOT POINT in the shb patches). our accomplishments are almost never brought up at all.

moreover, this expansion was supposed to be character development for Krile. i would not have minded the WoL remaining in the background so much if during the second half of the story, Krile took the fore, especially since her parents are from this unknown shard - but as it was, we barely got anything from her at all, except a couple cutscenes in Living Memory. the Scions also weren't particularly centered - they were all present, but all the emotional moments and connections were focused on Wuk Lamat and on Sphene, even Erenville fading into the background most of the time, and the WoL is constantly made to follow Wuk Lamat around to let the players watch what she's doing instead of working with their own team of people to ascertain what's going on and put a stop to it.

(this is very much a personal thing, but i also did not like Sphene; she gave me the utter creeps the moment she showed up onscreen, which would have been great if they'd been trying to play into that, but it felt like we were genuinely meant to Like Her and personally she made me want to claw my skin off every time she opened her mouth or did an animation, lol.)

despite my interest in another reflection, all of those issues above definitely soured me on the second half of the plot quite a bit. i also really did not like Living Memory - it felt somehow directly antithetical to the themes of endwalker, while trying to copy, again, the end of shb. like the opposite of Ultima Thule, which was incredibly cathartic even though it was very heavy. Living Memory just honestly was a bit triggering to me and left me upset in a bad way, and i had to force myself through the end of the msq there. especially considering that no one living remembers these people, since they all had their minds mass-wiped constantly...it did not feel very good. though i did like that we got some focus on Erenville there, finally.

the cutscene prior to the final trial i honestly did really love though - getting to pull out the Azem crystal and do what we do best made me HAPPY, since we'd gotten so little of that this expansion. so you can imagine i felt incredibly frustrated and...cheapened when Wuk Lamat burst through the literal fourth wall to trigger the boss's phase change. also the fact that no one is bringing up dynamis when "the power of emotion" is repeatedly mentioned is ANNOYING, because come on, we just had a whole arc about this, i guarantee you it's still fresh in everyone's minds. we also didn't get called the Warrior of Light at all this expansion, which just made me kinda go :/ because that's our title, even if Hydaelyn is gone. i am very interested in why the Key has Azem's symbol on it though, and looking forward to what kind of arc this might kickstart. i also liked the final scene in which Erenville asked the WoL what drives them - the answers we were given to choose from felt like a really good indicator of the growth our characters have gone through since we were first asked why we became an adventurer to begin with.

another little thing that does irritate me is - why does no one in Tural seem to have any familiarity with the global events in the past? such as the Final Days, primals, the Echo, the concept of a Warrior of Light - Hydaelyn spoke to everyone and since the Echo is a manifestation of an ancient soul, it makes no sense that only people in Eorzea would have it. it also makes no sense that the Ascians would just completely ignore one of the major continents, especially since Emet-Selch has clearly been to Tural before. i definitely didn't expect them to recognize us, but idk, it was kinda weird that there was just no mention of this stuff.

my overall impressions is that i will probably enjoy doing sidequests and things in the new zones, and running the content, but i probably am not going to replay the story at all and i'm holding out hope for better writing in the patch quests. before anyone comes at me with "well of course the wol wasn't the protagonist we can't be saving the star all the time-" i'm perfectly fine with lower stakes, i just wish it felt more like we were relevant, especially in the latter half of the story. there's an easily-achievable happy medium, you know? same with there being a happy medium between "continuing the previous plot arcs" and "ignoring basically all past plot events and worldbuilding".

if you've read all the way down here, have a happy Lelesu for your trouble:

she looks amazing in the rdm artifact gear!

[littlemisspascal]

Rockford & Roan Pt. 2

Pairing: Tim Rockford x Female Reader/OFC ‘Roan’

Word Count: 2.1k

Summary: A week into living together, you start to realize there’s something…peculiar about your roommate.

Rating: T 

Warnings: Language, Reader has a dog, Reader has military background, Superpower AU, They Were Roommates AU, self-esteem issues, soulmates-ish, original characters, worldbuilding

- Reader has no first name and no physical traits described in detail except for being shorter than Rockford

Author Note: Thank you so so much for all the kind support 😊 I've really enjoyed writing for these characters and developing their world + relationship. If you want, check out some art I made for the fic here. Hope y'all like this new part!

Special thanks to @beecastle for beta reading and encouraging me 💜💜💜

Part 1 / Part 3

The Apartment

445D Albatross Lane does indeed have an unmistakably yellow door. 

Standing on the sidewalk, you and Banjo stare up at the building. Well, you’re staring up at the six stories of tan bricks and arched windows, Banjo is far more interested in the smells coming from the small bakery situated just to the right of the canary yellow door. A sign on the window says they make pet friendly treats. Banjo would never forgive you if you didn’t buy him some to try sometime.

Overall, it’s a quiet and nondescript place on a quiet and nondescript street. Definitely not as modern or bustling as your current apartment on the other side of town. It’s clean though. Mellow. Charming in its own funny little way. 

“Hello again, Miss Roan,” Rockford’s voice pulls you out of your observations, turning around to find him paying a cab driver. “And you, as well, Banjo,” he adds when the little mutt barks in greeting.

His appearance hasn’t changed much since yesterday, same white shirt and ruffled hair, but he’s ditched the trenchcoat this time, revealing just how much the cotton fabric stretches to accommodate his expansive shoulders.

“It’s a nice place,” you say as he comes to stand next to you. 

He quirks a smile. “Just wait ‘til you see the inside.”

In the elevator, Rockford presses the button for the 4th floor. You stand next to each other; him silently watching the numbers tick by over the doors, you silently watching him out of the corner of your eye. 

He seems calm. Outwardly, at least, hands stuffed in his trouser pockets. You wonder if it would mirror the same internally, ocean waters smooth and still. Your mind-gift hovers at the edges of his aura, torn between the selfish desire to submerge into his emotions again and the terrifying wariness of triggering his discomfort. It’s only the second day of knowing each other, after all, and there is such a thing as too much too fast.

But oh how you want…

You run your tongue over your bottom lip, thinking of how you could ask without sounding impolite or, worse, desperate—except then the elevator’s stopping and Rockford’s gesturing for you to follow him down the hallway.

“Only got the one key at the moment,” he produces said item from his pocket, unlocking the third door on the right, “but if you’re still certain about moving in after you look around, I’ll talk to the landlady about making copies. She’s a friend of the family, owes me a favor or two.”

You turn in a slow circle inside the living room, taking in everything while Rockford points out some of the appealing features. Good amount of natural light from the windows, updated appliances, ample sized rooms with high ceilings. The walls are painted a soothing cream color, lined with a couple of shelves here and there covered in books and random trinkets. A miniature globe, a solved Rubik’s cube, and an antique camera standing out amongst the clutter.

What he doesn’t point out is the abundance of boxes stacked in practically every corner, filled to the brim with even more books and folders stuffed with documents. Or the assortment of laboratory glassware spread out across the adjoining kitchen’s countertops. Or, most alarmingly, the joker playing card stabbed to the wall with a knife.

“My brother and I, we’re very competitive,” he explains, noticing your staring. Then, with a chuckle that sounds a bit too forced to be real, “God forbid we ever play Monopoly, we’d murder each other.”

“Does he live nearby?” you ask, filing away the little factoid in the corner of your brain you’ve decided to label Tim Rockford 101. 

“Unfortunately,” is the short reply, and that’s the end of that.

You take another look around, slowly drifting over all the details big and small, thinking to yourself you can see it—a life for yourself here—just from this little glimpse.

There’s a comfortable looking plush navy couch pushed against the wall you’ll take naps on after sessions with Dr. Odair, and a perfect spot for a dog bed by the center window, and a pair of floral-patterned armchairs near a dark wood coffee table and fluffy white rug that have no good reason being grouped together and yet—and yet, somehow, you can’t imagine anything else more fitting. 

“It's great,” you say, nodding your head. “You’ve found a wonderful place.”

His eyebrows furrow like you’ve given him a complicated math problem instead of a compliment. 

“What?” You glance down at yourself self-consciously, worried about finding a stain, but see nothing wrong.

“You’re restraining yourself,” he says at last. “Outside on the street, I could understand keeping your mind-gift close, but here, where it’s just you and me, I’d hoped you would be comfortable enough not to suppress your empathy.”

“You–” Your breath catches in your throat, heart performing a somersault. “You mean, you don’t mind it?”

His eyebrows shoot up his forehead now, surprised and dismayed. “Of course not,” he says, so earnest and sincere you don’t even need your mind-gift to know he’s telling the truth. “Your mind-gift led to our matching. More importantly than that, it’s a part of you. I can’t promise my emotions will always be pleasant, but I can promise they’re yours to feel just as much as they are mine, Miss Roan.”

It’s…overwhelming to process. Rockford accepting your mind-gift wholly and completely. Rockford giving you unrestricted access to his feelings, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s the greatest offering of trust you’ve ever received, not even your own parents gave you such permission to feel their every change in mood.

You’re speechless for a long moment, furiously blinking back against embarrassing tears burning at the corners of your eyes. “Thank you,” you croak, and then divert your gaze to the hallway leading to the other rooms. “I’d like to see the rest, if that’s alright?”

He leads the way with an easy smile, and there’s only the faintest of stumbles in his step when your empathy tentatively brushes against his mind before his emotions rise up to greet you like an old friend.

Yeah, you think to yourself, looking around the bedroom that will soon be yours, head filled with the gentle lapping of waves. I think I’m going to like it here. 

The transition from living alone with a dog to now living with a dog and roommate is a surprisingly smooth one. Maybe it’s the influence of the bond further tying your lives irreversibly together, but a part of you likes to think even if you weren’t a matched pair, you and Rockford could just have easily carved out a space to cohabitate. A little realm of your own making.

You move into your new bedroom with a mattress twice as big as your old one, the few personal items you own seamlessly mixing with Rockford’s in the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Your toothbrush shares a cup with his, the grocery list sticks to the fridge with a magnet from the pet shelter, a blanket your mom gave you for your last birthday drapes over the back of the couch. 

Even Banjo settles quickly into the new environment. After spending the first two days sniffing everything in sight, he finds a new favorite spot on the living room floor warmed by the sunlight to stretch out his legs like a starfish. His leash hangs up on one of the entryway wall hooks next to Rockford’s trench coat and his basket of toys fits perfectly in the bottom nook of the hall closet, filling up the final tiny gaps, cementing this apartment as home.

The Roommate

A week into living together, you start to realize there’s something…peculiar about your roommate. He’d forewarned you about his unpredictable schedule and insomnia, but you hadn’t anticipated the way he locks himself away in his office for hours some days—spending most of the time pacing, if the creaking floorboards are any indication, deep in thought—or his frequent penchant for leaving the apartment in the middle of the night without any explanation. Not that he owes you one. He’s entitled to his own private affairs, but still. Peculiar. 

His emotions provide you with little clues to fill in the missing blanks. Mostly his mood’s a state of calm, calm, calm throughout the day, interrupted by the occasional splash of amusement, rumbling thunder of frustration or jarring spasm that accompanies a sudden change of thought. Epiphanies floating up from beneath the surface, from the vast, dark chasms that transfix your mind-gift with their mystery. How far down do they go? What, if anything, lies at the bottom?

You want to ask—about where he goes, about his gift, about so much—but asking would risk revealing just how much you enjoy collecting facts about Rockford, like a pathetic little magpie constructing a nest of shiny things. So rather than potentially die from embarrassment, you keep your mental list to yourself, adding to it as the days go by.

One - he’s an avid reader.

You’ll be honest, a small part of you initially thought perhaps the heaps of books throughout the apartment were just for show. Some kind of library aesthetic maybe. But no, set any book or magazine or newspaper down in front of him and he’ll inhale the words like they’re his lifeblood. The genre and topic don’t matter either. Historical events, fairy tales, biographies, poetry, science fiction, true crime. You’ve caught him reading all of them, felt his emotions swirl and surge with every turn of the page, heard fragments of sentences murmured aloud dulcetly while you dozed on the couch.

Two - he solves the Fox Leap Times crossword every morning.

Eating breakfast together becomes a staple in your daily routines. No matter where he goes at night or what time he returns, he’s always there in the kitchen come dawn. The meals are never overly fancy—the military didn’t offer much in the way of cooking classes, and your meager skills and can-do attitude are only a little better than Rockford’s—but regardless, just like his reading habits, he isn’t picky about what’s on his plate. A couple mouthfuls and a few sips of coffee—black with a dash of cinnamon—and he’s powering through the puzzle like he’s been possessed, finishing the whole thing in under ten minutes with a pleased little smirk.

Three - he’s a connoisseur of takeout food. 

There’s a collection of menus stashed in the drawer near the fridge from every eatery that surpassed Rockford’s high standards, within easy reach during evenings when there’s nothing left to eat except for a jar of mayonnaise or the last swallows of an expired milk carton. Rockford had spent a solid month gathering data and reviews from restaurants, cafes, vendors and food trucks to figure out the best of the best. I was between jobs, is all he says with a one-shouldered shrug of indifference when you ask him about it. Your shock (and slight alarm) at the dedicated lengths of his research quickly melted away during the first bite of a heavenly cheeseburger drowning in grease and a secret sauce from a little hole-in-the-wall joint you’d never have given a second glance without Rockford’s thirty-odd spreadsheets of persuasion.

Four - you’ve never seen him sleep. 

All humans need sleep to survive, even eccentric and peculiar men like Tim Rockford. Yet he’s always up when you retire to bed at night and always up before fiddling around with something in his office or reading a book. His emotions are never tainted with the fog and distortion of unconsciousness either. You tell yourself he must sleep while you’re out, and try not to take it personally that he doesn’t feel secure enough to rest while you’re around. 

Five - your empathy intrigues him.

For as much as Rockford’s emotional mindscape fascinates your empathy, he seems, bizarrely enough, just as interested in learning the ins and outs of your ability. You’d never previously thought of your mind-gift as a particularly exciting one—influencing and interpreting emotions pales in comparison to predicting events or levitating things across the room. But the way Rockford interacts with your empathy, easily accustoming to its presence, nudging against it playfully sometimes; and the way he hangs off your every word while you describe how you were prone to tantrums as a child, body overwhelmed by emotions that weren’t your own, exploding like fireworks until there was nothing left to do but scream, almost makes you feel like you’re something important. Something special.

Six - there’s a pinboard in his office covered in pictures of dead bodies.

…what?

[atomatowriter]

Hi! I'm Alex, she/her, 32 years old. I was a member of the writeblr community a few years ago, though I never made a proper writeblr introduction. I stopped being active around the time of the pandemic, unsurprisingly and for a number of reasons. Now that my life is back together and the internet is...the way it is, I decided it was a good time to come back here. I love interacting with other writers, gushing about our stories and swapping worldbuilding questions. I also have a discord for indie fantasy writers (published and unpublished) if anyone is interested in joining that.

What I Write

I am a self-published author with a debut novel that released in May, The Wounds of Wisdom. Wounds is the first in a YA romantic fantasy trilogy with court intrigue called the Time's Sacrifice Trilogy. I currently expect the second book to be out in September of 2024. You can read book one for free on Kindle Unlimited.

My stories feature messy, emotional characters coming together and learning to lean on each other while unraveling still messier truths about the world around them and the people who hold power. I also write about the queernormative worlds that I want to see, and draw much of my inspiration from years of playing tabletop RPGs.

WIPs (buckle up, folks, there's a bunch).

The Time's Sacrifice Trilogy - A would-be knight, a reluctant prince, and a prickly bodyguard from an enemy nation, each gifted with mysterious divine powers, find themselves thrown into dangerous intrigue when someone begins killing their fellow Wise Ones and they learn that the history they've been told is far from the truth. YA, Arthurian vibes, political intrigue, polyamory.

The Fox Eyes Duology - A young woman looking for the lost realm of elementals in hopes of saving save her uncle and the dying forest she calls home crosses paths with another young woman who would give anything to escape the elemental powers she considers a curse. NA, campfire talks and traveling shenanigans, dark gods and darker humans, elemental magic.

Seasons of Terrafae - a quartet of companion novels, each taking place in a different continent on the world of the Fox Eyes duology, where each continent represents each of the four seasons. Elemental magic, D&D vibes.

Siren Star: The Last Defense of a Notorious Pirate - An aging pirate captain looks back on her career, focusing on her greatest crime of all, the theft of divinity itself. Pirate fantasy, worship of the stars, flying ships, gryphons.

Wildery and Wolf - Friends-to-lovers-to-awkward-exes, Wildery and Wolf unfortunately still have a magical bond due to an experiment with a forbidden ritual a couple years ago. They embark on interdimensional shenanigans together. NA, contemporary fantasy, Bee & Puppycat vibes, not a second chance at romance but a second chance at friendship.

[Working Title] Fake Transcripts for Vampires - An upcoming webnovel about a floating music hostel for creatures of the night, that also offers fake transcripts so they can blend into the human world. Being Human meets Hotel Del Luna, episodic, vampires and werewolves and fae and demons oh my what is that.

Come Home - A boy finds out he's a changeling and plunges into the enchanted forest surrounding his hometown to trade himself for the sister he never knew. His older brother follows after him, unwilling to lose another sibling. YA, Brother centric, ace sex averse MC, scary fae woods, there's a cute puppy.

Asha Crowe Mysteries - A whodunnit murder mystery series in a high fantasy world. Asha Crowe has been chosen by the God of Death, so deaths just kinda happen around her. She gets fed up and starts investigating them. Reluctant protagonist, gods fucking with people's lives, immense fantasy world.

And some more that aren't mature enough to describe yet!

What I Love In Books

Found Family bc who doesn't

Expansive worlds with chunky lore

Friendships and family relationships that are just as intense and obsessive and messy as the romantic relationships

But also yes some good good romance

Messy politics

Full and hard-fought redemption arcs

Characters learning how to people or how to relationships

Adventure stories with lots of travel

High stakes mysteries and intrigue

Probably more idk I read a lot

What I'm Looking For Here

Honestly, I'm an extrovert and I just really love yelling about our stories with my writer friends. I'd love to find some critique partners, or just to hear about what you guys are working on! Just consider this me running up to you on the playground and shouting "HEY CAN WE BE FRIENDS."

[cee-grice]

Heyy Cee happy New Years' Eve!! 🥳

To end off the year, what are the top five influences for your book and how have they shaped you as a person? 🤩

happy New Year's Eve to you too, Tate<33

omg....ok I'm gonna expose myself for you all now so play nice pls thank u

the biggest influence for this story would have to be D&D. I had really gotten into playing it last summer, which was when I started thinking about this story, so you can really feel the influence in some parts haha (especially the magic system lol...). this whole story began with me creating an encounter featuring Endra, actually (with a stat block and everything lol), and I got so obsessed with the idea that I. made a whole story about it LOL. I would say D&D has... introduced me to a bunch of cool people, and everyone you meet, I think, shapes you a little as a person, so there's that haha. but also it made me think more about expansive worldbuilding, and thus appreciate it more as well. IDK I feel like it just made me love fantasy in general all the more:D

the second influence would have to beeee minecraft/dreamSMP. both, really, in their own ways. minecraft more on the lore aspect and magic system, weirdly enough??, and dsmp in the, hm, complexity of character relationships, I'd say? nothing specific, but more so the vibe. and my story is all about complex character relationships, so!! I also wrote quite a few fanfics for it, and that really helped with my confidence in writing, I'd say. I hadn't before had such a supportive audience, and they're very much to blame for my decision to actually take this Seriously haha. by that alone I'd say this shaped me most as a person/writer :v

thennn third influence, my jobs?? it just so happened that I was surrounded by pathology when I began this story, and I just sort of? gravitated to it as a central story point?? kinda wild, now that I think about it lmao. but yeah, idk, I feel like this job that I have made me mature a little more x)

ahmm fourth influence, maybe arcane? more of a subconscious one, though, as only when a friend pointed out some similarities did I go 'oh yeahhh' lmao. I did very much enjoy arcane, and although I watched it a good while before I'd started this story, some stuff must have stuck with me subconsciously haha

as for the fifth one...also more of a subconscious one, but Mo Dao Zu Shi. starting a story with necromancy is just an S tier story hook, in my opinion, so I did kinda yoink the idea from here haha, although, again, I hadn't done so intentionally lol. I also really liked the dual timelines and definitely wanted to write something with such a structure. this story sort of introduced me to modern Chinese fantasy, and I really gotta read more of it ahhhh, but yeah, always nice to broaden your literary horizons:D

[greenerteacups]

From what I've seen online, the major consensus amongst HP fans is that Cursed Child is NOT canon ( and many simply pretend it doesn't exist). I remember when it first came out and was being promoted, both the stage show and the published script, and everyone was really excited for new HP material... until we realised that it just... wasn't canon... at all. Yeah, the idea of Voldemort as presented in the HP novels having any sort of romantic relationship with Bellatrix and having a child is simply ridiculous and certainly just exists as a way for him to have a secret child for reasons of the wacky plot... it's very tween fanfic and also very Disney channel sequel (like the og villains all having kids we never heard about is totally a real Disney channel thing).

I remember it being very clear at the time that it came out that any "pointers" or "ideas" JKR provided to the actual writer of CC must've been the very barest of bones, the tiniest of shards perhaps, because it simply read like a sort of AU fanfiction written by the most casual of fans... which, as I understand, it really was. At the time when it came out, it was pretty clear that she had very little to do with actually writing it, though I suppose more was made later of her 'involvement' to legitimise it. I heard since that someone asked her if it should be considered canon, and she said yes? Not sure how this interaction actually went down as I don't particularly care to look into it (since nothing will change my mind that the AU of CC makes no sense within the context of HP canon and lore and it was probably some kind of marketing tactic in support of the stage play) but as she clearly didn't actually write CC herself and it contradicts many things from the books she did write, I'm pretty happy to continue ignoring its existence.

What do you think of Fantastic Beasts in comparison? Personally, I put Fantastic Beasts in a separate category where I can kind of accept aspects of it as canon expansions of the lore and worldbuilding... I can see JKR's style clearly and the inconsistencies with timelines and certain characters being in places and times they shouldn't be don't bother me as much as the straight up character assassination we see in CC. To put it another way, I think CC feels like it belongs to a totally different IP and was written by a different author (because it was) while FB definitely still exists in Rowling's wizarding world, it's just the timeline is kinda off.

this is interesting context. I think she kind of has to say yes to that question in context, because like... who's going to shill out £150 to see some random dude's AU fanfiction play (if it isn't even good)? of course, JKR's stamp isn't nothing, but even she can't weld extra content into the canon by declaring it so. i see TCC like church ephemera: i'm sure SOMEONE finds it interesting or relevant to what we're doing here, but that doesn't mean it's part of the Bible.

i feel the same way about fantastic beasts, but to a lesser extent. i actually enjoyed the first fantastic beasts movie, i thought it was playful and charming and (with the exception of the dumb polyjuice plot) the perfect way to revive harry potter as a storytelling vehicle. like, yeah, it fucked up by trying to go too big too soon, but if you can remove one (1) subplot or narrative thread and have a solid movie, then as a writer, you've still done okay.

Fantastic Beasts also annoys me because it does feel like harry potter, in terms of tone and mouthfeel. it's got the sauce. it just heinously drops the ball in later installations. in particular, it starts getting nervous about holding the audience's attention and throws stuff in that just wouldn't make it in a natural, organic script — most of the shit from the original series is contrived and ill-suited to the dramatic tenor set by Movie About Funny Man Collecting Magical Animals. (e.g. going back to hogwarts? leta lestrange's secret white father revengeplot triple-rugpull? human nagini?? secret undead dumbledore brother raised by american evangelicals???). i like the idea of it very much. i'm honestly drawn to it as a creative space, because unlike TCC, there is potential there. it's just badly abused.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning

3.75/5. 10/1/2024.

vibes: urban fantasy, lightly gothic, witchy bloodlines, vampires

Heat Index: 3/10

The Basics:

After the shocking death of her mother, Zo Gray is broke and directionless--until she gets a call from a lawyer realizing that a previously unknown relative left her a massive inheritance in Divinity, Louisiana. Before the house and the money is officially hers, however, she has to live in this intimidating, mysterious home--and put up with the suspicious townspeople--alone for three years. She can hardly say no--and the groundskeeper is quite hot--but Zo can't ignore the odd happenings in the mansion. Like doors that go to nowhere. And what about the secrets surrounding her lineage? They could be more mysterious than she'd possibly imagine..

The Review:

Okay, so first off--for the purposes of my blog, just have to make it clear: this isn't a romance novel. It was categorized as such on NetGalley, and I do (as someone who hasn't read Karen Marie Moning before) believe that the author has a reputation as a romance novelist. But this isn't one. Like, there are romantic setups--potentially more than one. There is sex. And there is more to be seen in the next book, I imagine. As of now, however, this is much more about urban fantasy witchcraft than it is about the love story.

So, while I do think there definitely could've been more development devoted to characters like Devlin and his dynamic with Zo... What was clearly more important to the story was Zo's relationship with her late mother, her dynamic with her friend Este (which I loved) and the mysterious attorney James Balfour.

I really liked Zo as a protagonist--she's not a shrinking violet, but she also isn't this Headstrong Female Protagonist. She's struggled in life, she's looking for safety and security, and she's ready to jump on a good opportunity, even if it's pretty creepy. I relate to that--and I think a lot of people in their twenties and thirties for that matter will relate to that, especially during the tough times we've been going through economically as a nation. Her love for her mother and pain over her loss is palpable--I'm fortunate enough to still have my mom, but it was really visceral and made me a bit emotional. Based on the dedication at the beginning of the novel, this entire story felt deeply personal, and I respect that.

As I said before, this was my first Karen Marie Moning book. I like her writing style--even when the pace of the story isn't super fast, the actual texture and tone is, if that makes sense? It keeps you reading, it keeps you compelled. I do typically enjoy a good bit more romance in a story, but I was by no means bored or frustrated here.

I also really liked the worldbuilding with regard to the witches. It was quite fun, and seemed to me a blend of more recent urban fantasy trends and more Witch Classic stuff. Which worked for me as someone who enjoys Witch Classic. The vampires could have used more explanation and expansion, but based on the ending of this book, I do think that will happen.

The Sex:

I did find this kind of frustration. One of the thing the book establishes early, which I really liked, was that Zo is very unapologetically sexual. She's more sexual than she is romantic, and you don't see that too often, even now, with female leads. There's no shame; it's very sex positive.

But like... the sex scenes are basically just described vaguely in retrospect. I wouldn't call it closed door, but it's pretty close. And because they're described as so mind-blowing, and because sex is actually kind of important to the magic and the story here... I felt a little thrown off. I also know, based on what other people have shown me and discussed about KMM's other books, that this is probably a shift. At least from her notable works. So I was a little let down there.

That said, if you're good with low heat sex scenes, or for that matter just don't care either way, it'll be totally irrelevant. By no means does it damage the book's quality, I just do think there are expectations that should be set and that's what reviews are for!

Overall, this is an entertaining, well-paced read that's perfect for October. If you're into witches, you're going to be pleased--and I definitely want to read more from this author (and the next in the series).

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[satemha-the-warlock]

My Comments on D2: Lightfall Story and the Criticism About It

Spoilers Ahead!

So, because of all the work and personal stuff, I was only able to finish the Lightfall story last weekend and I've been trying to avoid all discussion and commentary about it in general because of spoilers. Since I'm done, I started checking some of the people I actually value their opinion one way or another and ignored most of the Reddit/Twitter stuff. I know I'm kinda late to the party but I wanted to write what I feel and think somewhere.

In general, I get why some people feel like the story is not good enough or has problems. Leaving the personal taste aside, I see that most of it based on personal expectations and how they all assumed this story will be a major story breakthrough. But instead they feel like they got even more questions and confusion.

I have to say, this is not my experience. I'm much more confident about the next two years we have ahead of us because of this expansion and what it did, especially on the story side. And I think this different perspective is partially because of how I look at things from a different perspective.

When it comes to stories, there are two main ways you can critique them. First one is from the consumer perspective: you look at from a more passive place, and focus on enjoyment and expectations people had. Other one is the creator perspective: in this one, you try to understand the decisions made, technical aspects and what these mean for the next steps.

From the former perspective, it's normal to see some people disappointed by the Lightfall story because they didn't get what they assumed they were going to. But from the latter, things take a different turn.

We all know there is not much time left to finish up "Light and Dark" saga of the Destiny. This means that there are many storylines that needs to be wrapped up and questions looking for an answer. But in the meantime, you have two main stories, at least two raids, eight seasons, several dungeons and additional storytelling potentials like exotic missions and quests. As a creator you have to make sure that you're closing all the storylines in a satisfying manner, making sure you have everything inside the world to do that, AND ALSO make each part meaningful and enjoyable to the players. Oh, and you have to prepare your world for the next major saga you're going to start after all that.

Let's say Lightfall answered many big questions people wanted to be answered. Then what? How are you going to use all other parts of the game? How are you going to keep people in the world for the rest of the year? Can you even answer those questions without rushing or leaving certain parts out in the main storyline? They had to find a way to both develop the story further but also use it as a worldbuilding tool make sure they set things up for the next chapters.

And I think that's smart because in the pervious expansion stories, one thing that bothered me was after the expansion story and related quests are done, there is not much left to do in those new places other than quest steps and bounties. People think Witch Queen was great (and it was) but how many people went back to Throne World after expansion quests were done? If you completed all of that, you don't really have a reason to go there now. It mostly sits there unrelated to most of the things.

I feel like with Lightfall story, Bungie is looking for a way to fix this issue as well. By using the whole year to tell the story more in depth and giving us more story in-game rather than just inside the lore tabs (remember how people complain about that?) they're going to make whole year richer in that sense. This will make finishing the story in a satisfying way much more easier, not harder like some people assume.

TL;DR, it's clear that we're going to get a lot more story and lore throughout the year during Lightfall and possibly in Final Shape. This is a major creative decision by Bungie that made some people upset but made me excited because I can see how smart of a move it is. This is hard for people to understand if they don't have too much experience in storytelling and worldbuilding, especially in a serialized way, so that's why people have a hard time to make sense all of this. But if you look at the current state of the Destiny world from this perspective, things will start to make a lot more sense and you can better understand why some parts of the story and the world is there and why they're added in this way.

[centrally-unplanned]

Someday we will get you to write a simple, one paragraph response to things! It is not this day, clearly, but someday...

Anyway I have seen a bit of the Empire Wreckers videos! Not exhaustively in this case - I have also seen Jenny Nicholson's script readers of the drafts for Rise of Skywalker as well, which fills some similar gaps, and yeah its a real "death of a thousand cuts" for the coherence of these movies (even if none of the ideas were great imo)

Overall I think I agree with your assessment, even if I probably put different weights on different things. Lucas in the prequels definitely just hard-flubbed telling a good story but when you aren't watching it that matters less. When you look at as a bunch of parts his crazy obsession with world building and universe expansion shines through, there is just far more diversity of settings, alien species, weird little plot nibbles and forks, that he just loves throwing in. Even the meme lines are normally goofball moments that have so much oddball worldbuilding in and like overwrought dramatic vibes - which are great in isolation!

Meanwhile the sequels learned a - probably correct! - lesson from the prequel's struggles to dial it down, keep it simple and focused on core Star Wars aesthetics. Which if you tell a really good story would probably work great. They just didn't do that because it was also made by committee and by people deeply scared of pushing things in a new direction. You can retread the OT aesthetics with a new story, or you can maybe soft-retell the Rebel/Empire thing but with a brand new vibe, but you gotta push somehow. Their choice was either "nothing" or "meta/inversion" stuff, not enough on its own. And when you are trying to tell this sort of "traditional" story that is very focused on typical character arcs and moments, you really can't have scenes going off where like Obi Wan just visits a cloning planet and talks to cloners and its not an "emotional beat" of him, he is alone doing it, but its worldbuilding. So even though they had a metric ton of creative artists on the project they get less of a chance to shine.

Credit to Lucas, he did get a ton of criticism for Phantom Menace. And he listened, you should listen sometimes? But he still stuck to his guns about what he wanted to do - while the sequels completely quaked after The Last Jedi.

It used to be that Star Wars villains made at least some modicum of sense, but not anymore. Because of Snoke.

[marinersubmariner]

ANDOR POST

This show has been so good and I’ve enjoyed it so much that part of me is actually mad about it, purely because it proves that Disney could have been giving us this level of quality THE WHOLE TIME and they DIDN’T. Which I realize is not a wholly rational complaint because it has different directors, writers, production teams, etc. and Disney/Lucasfilm isn’t a monolith no matter how much we imagine it to be. No franchise is uniformly consistent in quality and style. But the standard of the visuals and writing and just overall execution is so much higher than the other Disney+ series—NOT TO MENTION some of the movies—that I can’t help but feel cheated. Like they’ve been gorging us on subpar fast food and then wheel out a five-star meal and it’s like whoah whoah whoah hold on, you let us eat shit and made us think it was the best you had to offer while you were cooking THAT?

Of course nothing is ~flawless~ and I’m very excitable when it comes to impressive production design and cinematography. But the production design in particular has blown my mind!!! The sets and locations, the props, the costumes, getting to see more of these lived-in corners of the universe, and all of it filmed in a way that’s genuinely beautiful and cinematic—THAT’S what I want, not just from Star Wars tv shows but Star Wars in general! WORLDBUILDING!!!!!! YEAH!!!

It gives me a similar feeling to TLJ in that it uses the existing universe in ways that feel fresh simply by virtue of having a strong visual aesthetic and solid thematic viewpoint. It may still be a prequel but it adds to and shades in details and does its own thing in ways that actually seem new and expansive. It really feels like going into “a larger world” where the other shows and some of the movies’ constant callbacks and repetition have felt reductive and constricting. One of the things that still makes me so sad about TROS is that it felt like the world got smaller, in the ways it presented its story and the ways it concluded, and that is such a horrible place for Star Wars to be. It should be BIG! Mythically, emotionally, visually, hypothetically. It’s a galaxxyyyyyy, I want it to feel that way!

It is very funny to think about how I was excited for a Cassian show when they first announced it because I loved Cassian in Rogue One, but what I was imagining was more like “oh boy we’ll get to see Cassian and K2 becoming buddies yay” and not like “the grim realities of fomenting rebellion.” But I LOVE IT. It’s like a wholly different genre, and while I wouldn’t necessarily want all SW to be this serious because I do watch most of it with the mind of a child, I’m excited to get something like this as a facet of the overall franchise.

It’s concerning that I’ve seen comments to the effect of “nobody’s talking about this show, you’re all sleeping on how good it is” (I don’t know, I’ve ignored discourse about it and enjoyed it in isolation because I’m too irritable about fandom nowadays, and I cannot gauge the popularity of anything on the internet—I’m on tumblr where people still talk about Supernatural, I have no frame of reference). Because if it genuinely isn’t popular then Disney is absolutely gonna learn the wrong lesson and think nobody wants good quality Star Wars and decide crowd-pleasing garbage for an unpleasable crowd is the way to go. (that’s how we got TROS!!!!!!!!) I’m already bummed that the initial plans for a five-season show got cut down to two. Despite being a firm believer in quality over quantity, good quality never fails to make me want more. It’s the worst. :(

My only real complaint is that I wish there were more aliens. It’s mostly been a whole lot of humans and that’s the main thing that I’m iffy on. I saw a comment from Tony Gilroy that basically said they made it human-centric on purpose so that it feels grounded and relatable, which I get, it does make it feel more relevant to our real world. But I can’t see enough of an in-universe justification for it since this is supposed to be a galaxy-wide struggle, and one of the major things that separates the Rebellion from the Empire is the inclusion of other species.

It is absolutely WILD to me how much Maarva’s send-off was beat-for-beat something that would have worked for Leia. Off-screen death, a goodbye message to her son to affirm her love for him and alleviate his regret and encourage him to move forward and become who he should be, a rousing message as a respected and beloved leader to the masses spurring them to fight against the evil that has been allowed to fester through inaction. A HOLOGRAM CARRYING A MESSAGE OF THE REBELLION, I mean, COME ON. And it was so resonant, it worked so well! Imagine if Leia’s death had been this meaningful!!!! I know I’m too fixated on connecting unrelated things back to the Organa-Solo Massacre of 2K19 and that my mind immediately leapt there because it’s always there, but the counterpoint to TROS is so stark it’s genuinely impossible to ignore. HE WILL BE AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE FOR GOOD. THERE IS A WOUND THAT WON’T HEAL AT THE CENTER OF THE GALAXY. I’m gonna fuckin lose it

And I keep thinking how this show is so good at feeling truly tense and dark but also legitimately hopeful. It earns an emotional response because it all feels like it matters to the characters and the universe. The awful things that happen MATTER and are integral to moving forward. A dead character becomes a literal building block!!!!!! Symbolizing everyone in this story as simultaneously foundations for the future and makeshift blunt instruments in a fight!!!! Even while Cassian becomes a cog in a much larger machine too big to even perceive, constructing the building blocks of his own demise!!!!!!!!!!!! It feels so purposefully aimed toward telling a story with cohesive theming and messaging, not just throwing easter eggs at a wall.

It’s done such a good job of conveying scale and making the universe seem populated and alive, and I think the use of actual locations subliminally makes it feel like a real world in a way that the Volume and totally CG sets just don’t do. There is something oddly restrictive about cheap-looking visuals and obvious artificiality that makes a story look and feel small. There is so much in the other Disney+ series and even TROS that looks like a soundstage with bad lighting and it just yanks me right out of what’s supposed to be happening. Whereas everything in this show conveys a sense that it EXISTS and life is happening even beyond the edges of the frame. In any case, Rogue One is next to TLJ as the prettiest of the new era of movies, and I’m thrilled they put so much effort into maintaining its visual aesthetic.

It’s gotten to a point with Disney Star Wars that I recoil in disgust from the way fanservice is incorporated (or, you know, what they think fanservice is—the lowest common denominator “I understood that reference” shitty callbacks and cameos), and the complete lack of anything blatant like that in this show has been AMAZING. The post-credits stinger is the only part that got close to that type of thing and even that was effective because a) I think most people guessed they were building Death Star parts so it’s nice to confirm it, and b) I LOVE that perspective shift of being so entrenched in a ground-level story that then zooms way out to show a glimpse of the macro scale that is imperceptible to the people within the machine. You’ve been watching all these tiny moving parts adding up and working together and building toward something, only to see how truly small they are and how much of an uphill battle they have to match this inconceivably massive system they’re working against. It’s such a great gutpunch that I think it transcends the stupid “teehee hey nerds look it’s the Death Star like in the movie.”

What I loved about Rogue One and its depiction of the Rebellion was how much it emphasized the smallest actions of the individual as being important to the whole. The final relay race with the Death Star plans and how tenuous their success is; the entire climax of the film giving each character a linchpin moment where if they weren’t there, everything would have failed. It showed what a delicate chain reaction it was to ultimately get to Luke firing those torpedoes into the exhaust port. And now on Andor with its ensemble, once again there’s this great sense of all these small parts that are integral to the bigger picture that they’re a part of, and approaching something inevitable but doing so in a way that still feels precarious and uncertain.

Ironically without a Jedi storyline the concept of Empire vs. Rebellion = Sith vs. Jedi stands out even more prominently than in the stories where both aspects of the war are present. The conflict here is structured with such weight on fighting against darkness that it becomes glaringly obvious to extrapolate it into “JUST LIKE THE FORCE!!!” Of course Luthen’s speech brought this to the foreground, but Nemik and Maarva’s speeches really drove the point home. The light side and the dark side have obviously always been a metaphor made literal, but in a story that’s more centered on humanism than spiritualism it’s interesting that those concepts from the more fantastical side of things are still right there in the language, hidden in plain sight—like the Rebellion, like Luthen in the crowd passing unseen by the people who are hunting for him, like the shape of the Imperial insignia subtly repeating everywhere: all of it is apparent if you just know what to look for. “Oppression is the mask of fear.” Like. LITERALLY. THE MASK. OF FEAR. There is no Vader in this story and yet Vader is in this story. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. This narrative is haunted!!!!!!!

Miscellany:

There wasn’t much spaceship stuff but the little we got was SO GOOD. The escape in The Eye and the visuals of the meteor shower were amazing, it was so stressful but totally thrilling at the same time. And of course Luthen running from the cops HOOHOHHOHOHO GOOD SHIT. Rogue One has THEEEE best space battle so getting to see that practical model-like lighting again is so cool, and it was just FUN fun in a little more of a traditional Star Wars way. Spinning! That’s a good trick! Also I got a kick out of Luthen’s phony “hi lol I’m just a regular guy! lol! sorry officer!” voice. Big Han “we’re all fine here :)” vibes

Something I’m delighted to now be able to say about Star Wars is that I love Mon Mothma’s lesbian cousin. :) The reveal that Vel is related to Mon gobsmacked me, I enjoyed the way they held that off for so long so your impression of Vel kept changing. “So she’s a grumpy gay freedom fighter. Oh she wears fancy clothes too? Oh her family is rich? OH SHE’S RELATED TO MON MOTHMA?!??” A wild ride!

BEEEEEEEEE new best droid friend!!!! Has a stutter, takes a lot of effort to do anything, has to spend huge amounts of time recharging at home: most relatable droid of all time??? LOOK AT IT IT’S GOT ANXIETY

😍 Brasso 😍

TV news!!!!

SPACE FOODS!!!!!!

The living spaces oh my god I’m so excited. I know the Karns’ apartment is supposed to be kind of depressing but the modular design and ‘70s retrofuturistic accessories are SO GOOD. Syril’s sad little room with his action figures. Maarva’s house and her plants!!!!!!! Mon’s beautiful gilded cage of an apartment, aahhhhhhhh. By nature of being an adventure story there isn’t usually downtime in Star Wars to spend in homes or bedrooms, but it’s something I’m always wishing for so I’m particularly delighted that a longer-form series has finally allowed us to see more of those everyday details. SPACE HGTV

MONNNN MOTHMAAAAAAA. She’s the best and I am just so pumped that we’re finally getting more of her. It is, however, hilarious to think about her hair and wardrobe downgrade once she’s fully with the Rebellion.

The score has been great—between this and Mando and the final run of Clone Wars it’s awesome that the music is really getting outside the box in terms of what Star Wars can sound like. Synths!!!

Cassian with the sky kyber... matching crystal necklaces with Jyn........ ;____;

Those blue pelicans on Niamos!!!!! CREATURES

Andy Serkis was excellent but it was pretty bizarrely funny to hear Snoke’s voice making a good guy speech instead of a bad guy speech

“The first spark of the fire,” Canto Bight name drop... TLJ relevance for the sophisticated palate 🥂

One thing about Cassian Andor is that he’s always gonna have a shitty time at the beach

UGH I CAN’T BELIEVE WE HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG FOR SEASON 2. I hope it maintains quality and I hope it doesn’t feel rushed with how they’re planning on covering the time period. Since they’re starting production now I think it’s unlikely that they’ll suddenly change course and give us an extra season, but... I really wish they would at least add one more season on there... but then even if they could do that it just makes it less likely that they would be able to keep up the quality and budget. I guess we’ve just gotta savor what we get. ;___;

[circa-specturgia]

Writeblr Intro! (I think?)

I admit I’m kind of new to pretty much all of this, posting, Tumblr, Writeblr, you name it. I don’t really know what to write here, but, that’s a statement I’m sure that most of us have made many a time staring at an empty notebook page, an empty document, an empty file, so as with all those, best to just get to it, right?

Of what I’ve gathered seeing some of these while just scrolling and looking around, I take it you’re supposed to write some stuff about yourself in these, and while I’m absolutely dismal at doing that, I’ll do my best! Here’s some stuff I love!

Writing and reading fantasy in particular, from the high to the low and all of the stuff in between!

Contemporary fantasy, supernatural fiction, and urban fantasy are just great y’all.

Anything Sci-Fi. Seriously. From the more energetic and hopeful daring explorations to the cosmic horror and soul-shaking solitude of the abyss, all of it is just so damn brilliant. Especially if there’s science in the science fiction!

Sharing ideas! Talk about people’s WIPs, characters, and just hearing from all these brilliant and creative people! It’s just such a human experience to hear the excitement in someone voice or writing when they share things about something they put so much work and time and love into, y’know?

WORLDBUILDING. There’s just something about a world that’s well thought out with little details, or just unique, and vibrant, and creative that makes me happy, and, per what I said above? Hearing about people’s worlds is the BEST.

Mortally gray characters, Queer characters, Morally gray queer characters.

As for just general stuff:

Oversized anything, hoodies, sweaters, all of it is so comfy!

Tea.

Drawing! I do traditional art with just pencil and paper, and hope to draw more stuff for the stuff I write, although I get caught in the trap of striving to perfectionism too often…

Music! My taste is all over the place, but, I guess it’s really just anything that catches my ear, that I’ll enjoy! Soundtrack-style music is probably what I’d describe to be my favorite stuff though, music I can see scenes being written to, which is often times a process of inspiration for me.

DnD is just wild. If you write and haven’t ever played you’re missing out. If you just haven’t played in general, you’re missing out! I DM for a few friends of mine, though I admit not too often though I wish I could…

I’m a guy, still figuring stuff out but I guess Bi and Pan are labels that fit, and he/him, but I’ve been called lots and I accept any!

About my WIPs!

I’ve got three! Two are mine, one is a collaboration I’m writing together with my partner cause they’re a brilliant writer too, and are so much better at writing and creating character dynamics than me, and they’re the person who got me into writing in the first place!

Mundi Somniorum / Circa Specturgia

Title is a work in progress as I’m not too happy with it, can’t decide which one I prefer over the other. I can’t say I have a wordcount I’m aiming at, but it’s the world and characters I’ve put the most work into, and plan to continue, and see where it goes! I’m not sure how to describe the genre as I was never too good with the genre stuff but I’d say I just add whatever I feel is interesting to a high fantasy world with some magic realism set in the 1500-1700s! If I like something I find a way to add it, weave it in and incorporate it into the patchwork, and I find that to be the most fun!

Found family, enemies-to-lovers, very-close-knit main cast, lots of magic and queerness and pain, and a vibrant and expansive world I hope to continue expanding on!

I’ll tag it as #circa specturgia and #wip.circa specturgia when I post about it!

Prometheus

Technically is kinda sorta a bit of a fanfic…? I think? Is it a fanfic if all you took from canon was some character archetypes and the general direction and scenario from the opening of the show? I’ll just call it a WIP idk.

A story inspired by VLD and fueled by spite and disgruntled annoyance at the train-wreck of a dumpster fire that it became, I love it so much. Lots of inspiration taken from stories like Interstellar, and The Martian, and fandoms like SCP, forming a sort of Sci-fi story! Pretty much anything that I find to be cool Sci-fi that doesn’t quite fit in my more fantasy oriented WIP, goes in here!

The crew of the first superluminal interstellar voyage, the Prometheus, become lost outside the observable universe, in unknown space, more than 46.5 billion light years from home, with no feasible way to return. Soon however, they find they are far from being alone, surrounded by the ruins of alien civilizations, and unraveling the mystery of what happened….

The album “Exogenesis” by Audiomachine for the vibes if anyone feels like looking into em, and Audiomachine in general since they make great music for inspiration!

I’ll tag it as #prometheus and #wip.prometheus when I post about it!

[nanowrimo]

3 Most Common Worldbuilding Mistakes for Writers and How to Fix Them

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. World Anvil, a 2021 NaNoWriMo sponsor, helps you develop and organize your characters, plot, and world setting. Today, World Anvil founder Janet Forbes is here to share some pro tips for worldbuilding. Don’t forget to check out the offer to NaNoWriMo writers for 30% off a World Anvil membership!

I talk to hundreds of writers every week, in our World Anvil Q&A live streams, our World Anvil writing challenges, and meetings with our professional authors. And mostly, they’re encountering the same few worldbuilding problems! Here are the 3 most common worldbuilding mistakes, and how you can fix them:

1. Mary-Sue Worldbuilding

You’re probably familiar with the Mary-Sue—a flawless, artificial-feeling main character. Mary Sue Worldbuilding follows in the same vein. If everything in your setting is directly related to your main character, it feels like the world revolves around them. It’s too convenient and artificial. That’s Mary-Sue worldbuilding.

Mary-Sue worldbuilding is usually caused by worldbuilding exclusively around your plot. Introducing larger-scale conflict in the backdrop of your setting, current affairs like civil or religious movements, war, disasters, or technological breakthroughs, can help expand the world beyond just your main character. 

Your main character might interact with these elements, or more usually, with problems caused by them. For example, they might help some refugees from “that war over there”. But your character should not be at the core of everything—they’re not the cause of the war. Other things are happening outside of your story, in the background. (Pro-tip: this is a great way to reinforce your genre and themes, and make your world feel alive and expansive, too!). 

Fixing Mary-Sue Worldbuilding Of course you’ll need a series bible like World Anvil to help you keep these current affairs organized, connect them together, and make sure you don’t lose your notes! Use World Anvil’s worldbuilding templates to get inspired for your big conflicts, and remember - you only need to write a few bullet points to start with! You can always expand more later (we’ll talk more about that in a moment).

World Anvil’s Worldbuilding Templates are custom-made by experts to help inspire and guide your creativity—and you can customize your own templates too!

2. Mosaic Worldbuilding

You know those computer game worlds where each area feels like a self-contained zone? Where the “desert” region and the “forest” region have no trade, communication, or overlap between them? That, in a nutshell, is Mosaic worldbuilding. It ruins suspension of disbelief, makes your novel setting feel false, and can pull your readers out of your story! 

Fixing Mosaic Worldbuilding

The best way to avoid Mosaic Worldbuilding is to make sure that you have a clear overview of your world early on, with each major region and concept penned out in just a sentence or two. That way, each region will feel like a connected aspect of your seamless setting, not a tile shoved on the side. 

On World Anvil, each world setting has a “Worldbuilding Meta” section to help you detail the 10,000 foot overview—the big stuff. And not just your physical world and its people, but your genre, your motivations, and your themes. This invaluable reference tool helps you expand your setting and add more detail, and will also help you sense-check what you’re adding!

Once you have a clear picture of your meta, and know the overview of your world, it’ll be easy to make use of cultural aspects like imports and travellers, cultural diasporas and geographical transition zones to make your world seem more connected and less artificially divided! And you’ll be able to do it without spending too much extra time worldbuilding. Which brings me to my final common worldbuilding mistake…

World Anvil’s Worldbuilding Meta tool helps you focus, streamline and sense-check your world setting! It’s full of guides to create an excellent overview for your worldbuilding project. This is the view mode of Manifold Sky by B.C.G. Wurth.

3. Worldbuilder’s Disease

Sounds nasty, right? Well, Worldbuilder’s Disease is a very common problem—a compulsion to continue worldbuilding things which aren’t actually useful. Here’s my favorite example—the “elven shoes”:

In your world you have elves. They wear shoes. So far, so good. Maybe there’s a plot-point where an imposter’s revealed because they’re wearing the wrong shoes. So you fill in a few details on your series bible. But if you find yourself writing a 5,000 word treatise on elven shoes through the ages… honey, you have worldbuilder’s disease.

I use shoes as an example, but it could be anything. It might be detailing three centuries of monarchy, or expanding unvisited areas in excruciating detail. Sure, it can be fun, but all that time spent on unnecessary parts of your setting isn’t helping you polish the core parts—or get your novel written! It’s distracting you from your primary goal. 

Curing Worldbuilder’s Disease

There are three major causes of worldbuilders disease: 

Lack of perspective

Lovers of prose

Fear of losing your ideas

1. Lack of perspective

Lack of perspective can often lead down a worldbuilding rabbit hole. Keep clarity on what’s important in your setting with tools like World Anvil’s Worldbuilding Meta. This helps you define your active worldbuilding area - not just geographical but thematic areas—which helps  streamline your world and your project, so you can be sure you’re spending your time where it counts!

Also, be clear with yourself WHY you’re worldbuilding the element you’re working on. Keep clear notes in your series bible about how this new element fits into your novel. If it’s little more than set dressing, you only need a few words. For a core concept, you might need more.

2. Lovers of Prose

As writers, we love to write (duh)! But for most of us, writing in prose in our series bible can cause serious problems. Not only does it mean that you write MORE than we should (your get in flow, words happen!), it’s also harder to reference your ideas quickly later on. Stick to short, organized articles in note form. Make sure the salient information is there, and link in anything relevant. You can always expand to prose later if you need to.

Keep your series bible in brief notes with clear headers! This character article took 5 minutes using World Anvil’s character template which automatically adds the headers. The linked articles help me easily reference related people and places as I’m writing.

3. Fear of losing our ideas

Fear of losing our ideas is actually one of the most common reasons for worldbuilder’s disease—that we’ll forget or lose our notes if we don’t write them out in vast detail. To combat this, make sure you have somewhere to keep your world details safe, organized, tagged and searchable. Then you can reassure yourself that you can go back and develop more later if you need it. 

Obviously, World Anvil is custom made for this, backing up everything in one place and linking everything together, so you can easily search, reference and update your series bible whilst writing your manuscript and not have to worry about losing things!

Anything here ring true for you? Or maybe you’re struggling with another worldbuilding mistake or problem? You can always hop into our live streamed Q&A sessions on our Twitch channel and ask us directly! We go live three times a week to answer questions about writing and worldbuilding, as well as helping our community with World Anvil queries too! Maybe we’ll see you there. And happy worldbuilding :)

Janet Forbes is a published fantasy author and RPG writer, whose recent credits include the Dark Crystal RPG with the Henson Company (coming 2021). In 2017, she and her husband created World Anvil, the ultimate worldbuilding and novel writing platform. World Anvil helps you organize, store and develop your worldbuilding and series bible privately, and market your books to the world too! The inbuilt novel writing software, accessible from anywhere, integrates seamlessly with your worldbuilding. And when it’s time to publish, you can export, or publish directly on the World Anvil platform and monetize YOUR way! Check it out at World Anvil.

[human-blob-nessie]

"if there's not rules why'd i buy this book" idk the setting, the worldbuilding, all that ? I'll admit it's not a big part in a lot of modern ttrpg books, but personally it's always at least half of the reason why I get a ttrpg book. Now if you personally actively want intricate rules, that's fine, but there are reasons to want something lighter.

As someone who actually does play without a rulebook sometimes, it's very fun ! But it's better if you have a universe you know about to have some sort of reference to what should and shouldn't be possible.

I used to do that with the Warcraft universe, especially after I got myself the lore books that explained a ton of stuff. But it would have been better with a (up-to-date, i'm aware of the 2005 WoW rpg book and I even own it) book designed specifically with TTRPG in mind, as those tend to answer specific questions you wouldn't see otherwise. How many days to go from this place to this one, how does this form of magic counter this one, what kind of currency is used and what is its rough value ? Is there a comprehensive list of the creatures or factions you can encounter ? Maybe with some details about how these live and function.

There could even be some example scenarios for the kind of story the authors thought of when making the setting, you're not obligated to do the same thing but it's interesting.

As I said it's more practical to use if it has been thought as a TTRPG, and with indie games often there is no goal other than that. Some people who write those aren't necessarily that much into making (or playing with) tight rules though, so making a rules-light system from can help structure what is show.

Rules-light games also sometimes present as documents only a few pages long with little to nothing in terms of setting or worldbuilding. Those mostly are to ttrpg what party games are to tabletop games in general : a game with a fun gimmick so you can play it one time or three with your friends, just for fun and without much preparation.

that may be me rambling but the prioritisation of rules over setting in ttrpg is kinda sad to me (especially as i see how D&D books have basically no broad info about any setting, and since it's basically the most popular game at the moment people tend to expect every book to be made like it when it has awful flaws, one of the worst one in my opinion being exactly this : complete and intricate rules but barely any reference to what world you're supposed to play in unless you buy another book, which expansions like volo's, tasha's and all don't do either so you have to refer to adventure books : You buy 3 books, maybe 5 or 6, and you still have only one of the two pillars of what makes basically any other big TTRPG book.

And yeah you can make it up, you almost have to in fact, which means more work for the GM, which is especially bad if it happens to be said GM's first ttrpg ever -which, you always have to take into account that your game has a chance of being someone's first- (there is some -not great- advice in the DMG, but it's advice to create your own, not something ready to be used)

Soooo yeah, why buy a book if not for the rules ? The other half of the game basically. But I guess that's just me.

And as I said before, if you only want to play a game with intricate rules, you do you, but there can and should be more than just that in a ttrpg book.

I dont want "rules-light" games I want rules and structure to play within. If theres not rules whyd i buy this book. I coulda played pretend with some dice for free

[polkadotpatterson]

fic writer ask game: 7, 16, 17, 30, 42, 50. one or any or all :p

ALL. I do not back down from a challenge

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

Worldbuilding has always been one of my weaknesses, and I can honestly say I don't think I've ever really been proud of my worldbuilding until The Salt. I can't take credit for creating the world itself, and it's very much been a collaborative effort, but I've contributed so much more to it than I ever thought I could! I'm really proud of how I’ve helped shape the Salt as a place that is also An Entity who is very much alive, and come up with concepts like “what if there was fog when there shouldn't be fog, and a fucked up lighthouse that used people's life force as a beacon” and “okay so you know how there are actually a bunch of cars that got dumped into the real-world Halifax Harbour? what if there's a weird car salesman who tries to sell the old rusty salt cars to people” and “what if there was a cat. but, like, a MYSTERIOUS cat”

like. I love writing about it so much it's so weird and messed up and I love it dearly. look at my strange place-child (that I have shared custody of):

There's a strange, aching loneliness to the Salt, and yet Weston always feels as if they're being watched every time they step out there. In some ways, it's not unlike the prairie; a vast flat expanse, cold and still and silent under the stars, but the quiet of the prairie is comforting. It always made them feel as if they were a part of something, as if they belonged out there with all the other creatures that wandered beneath the open sky, wild and free.

The Salt feels almost hostile, as if it's waiting to decide whether or not they're worthy. They don't want to find out what might happen if it decides they aren't.

All the same, she walks it at night, not wanting to disturb the stillness with the roar of a motorcycle engine. She can be quiet, when the situation calls for it. Respectful. This is her home now, and she will not fear it. The stars are dusted across the sky like little fragments of the Salt itself, white and desolate. There is no warmth to them, or to the lights that flicker here on earth as she walks, signals in the dark that she always ignores. She knows better than to poke a rattlesnake.

No, it's not alive like the prairie. It's… comatose, perhaps. Waiting to die, or to be revived, uncertain of which it would prefer, lashing out in its dreams.

16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)?

one of the AUs that lives rent free in my head is the one where Workman survives the instability but CV ends up forming out of their cloud anyway, and they're like “huh okay I guess I have a vapour child now” and end up in a strange sort of co-parenting situation with Mooney. And then Dot gets unshelled and York falls to the Talkers and the teen squad happens and Dot & Workman happens and Mooney’s wife gets sucked into a black hole and over the grand siesta they’re like hey. let's get a house. so the Patterson-Gloom-TeenSquad-Doctor family gets a nice big house by the sea with a nice big yard for Beasley and Budy to run around in and a lab in the basement for Mooney to do her work and everything is good and happy :)

until the return and York dying and CV running onto the field to take his place

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

This is probably the weirdest possible answer but @mossy-kit came up with this idea of a cheesy hallmark holiday movie AU for the Talkers that I think is just such a fun concept… everyone's in this cute little winter town like “ah yes this is our nice normal everyday lives” except for Lachlan who knows that something is Strange and Wrong here even if he doesn't know exactly what or why… for everyone else it's a happy romcom but for him it's kind of a horror movie because he's trapped in this strange and unsettling place with people who insist that Everything Is Fine And Normal, but it’s not! He knows normal and this isn't it!

Meanwhile, Dot knows exactly what's going on but they're just kind of vaguely amused by it and vibing in Workman’s shoe store. 

(We have so many other assorted silly ideas but this post is long enough already lol)

30. Already answered!

42. Have you ever received a comment that particularly stood out to you for whatever reason?

I genuinely treasure every comment I get, the blaseball community is so supportive and wonderful and I always appreciate when people take the time to say something about my writing and feel very blessed that they do <3 Special thanks to:

everyone who's ever said that my writing is what made them care about Dot or the Patterson-Gloom family

My blesties Kit and Kosmo for all their incredibly kind words

pretty much every comment I got on my blaseball-only fic 

Crab saying that The Salt is one of the coolest blaseball fanworks ever

But if I had to pick one, it would be Hayden’s comment on apsides: “the love with which you wrote this is astounding. this is the kind of thing where i care about it because you care about it so much, built this whole thing so carefully, and it was phenomenal to read. just... fantastic.”

It reminds me of my favourite comment I ever got on a pokemon fic, where someone said “it feels like i’m reading love” on my PMD fic. bc that’s what it’s all about to me! I want to write things that are full of love even if there’s bad stuff going on too, because that's how you get through it! blaseball in particular is about people sticking together and supporting each other through incredible tragedy and chaos. Yes, I write angsty things, but I want them to be hopeful, too! I want them to be full of love because it's worth fighting for! And I'm so glad when it comes across and people appreciate it <3

50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!

okay I lied I can't think of anything else so here’s my favourite out of context lines from the hallmark conversation

siblings with a very wacky uncle who definitely never did any murders

the greernch

tony is a halloween decoration that someone left outside and he eventually gained sentience through the magic of christmas

Jasper was Late To Elf Practice

Quack the Reinduck

"Workman, did we....make elf shoes?" "...no?"

HOT FISH WINTER

they come back through the magic of christmas and/or necromancy

[onlyroar]

Hey there! I’m a big 40k fan, and I found your map of the Ixaniad sector while I was writing up a Necron fanfic.

I wanted to ask for a couple things: firstly, if you would be willing to help me brainstorm some concepts to work with in my story in the Ixaniad sector. Secondly, if that’s not an option, I’d like for permission to borrow some elements of your worldbuilding in my own interpretation of the Sector, albeit tweaked to suit my own writing style and setting.

In any case, thank you so much for providing me a foundation to write about this interesting galaxy from! Now that I know you have a tumblr, I’ll be sure to credit you when I work further on this! <3

Oh boy, I’ve been off tumblr for some time now, apologies for getting to this incredibly late! So, here’s the thing about this project: I lost almost ALL the data behind the scenes, apart from the spreadsheet I was using to generate planetary bodies. The stuff posted here is more or less all that survived two consecutive data losses, aside from the spreadsheet used to generate guaranteed habitable worlds and some very brief notes I had on a separate device. I spent a lot of time putting all the map assets together at about 2-4x the resolution posted on tumblr (the warp storms were fun to make but involved ~5 layers of photoshopping on their own) so I was Not Happy about losing it all, along with all notes for the adventure it was made for... The worlds I generated (ie whitetext) might occasionally contain or refer to canon info but they and the stats are all based off stuff I generated using a complex set of tables kludged together in excel and placed using a coordinate grid that was hidden on the exported map. If you want to use or alter them, feel free but please keep that stuff fluid enough so that is another person comes along and wants to alter and interpret it differently, they can as well. Feel free to riff on this stuff however you like, if you haven’t already.  If you do, I recommend keeping the rough locations of the subregions and the sector structure intact as those are things that took the most research in aligning with the source material. For example, the Fydae Great Cloud is a critical element of the Sector as it constrains further trailward expansion of the Imperium and as a Warp Storm, this would impact systems closest to it. The dangers involves mean that’s where you’re most likely to find dangerous backwaters, lost relics and all else that being further from the Emperor’s light entails. The Ptolemaic Reach, as the name implies, should be a relatively straight but permeable barrier that constrains the flow of trade into whatever navigable channels it has. Worlds on such routes are likely to be more prosperous for the same reason railway junctions were historically - every time you’re forced to change your course through the Warp and recharge or resupply, is an opportunity for merchants and opportunists to peddle their wares and services. Defining Hecuba and Hillica as Subsectors within Ixaniad was done as an expedient to cut down bloat, since despite those being in this general region, there’s no space for extra sectors given in the main sources from the FFG era (i.e. Calixis and Finial). Hecuba has been referred to both as a Subsector and a Sector. Mandragora being a whole ass sector and including an adjective in the name  is dumb and I will die on this hill. 40K isn’t Star Wars. Canon is fluid and always open to interpretation based on what makes sense and gives you a place for Your Guys. Just as I played with stuff, you should feel free to as well. My philosophy behind this was always to figure out the geography first and using it to inform the rest of the design process and I think that helped greatly later on as I started placing non-canon or semi-canonical systems and features. As I mentioned on the map, my work on this is itself broad interpretation of all the canonical sources I could find on the Sector. It is likely outdated canon-wise since right as I was making it, the most recent 40K RPG was making stuff relating to Dread Mandragora/Mandrigora/Mandagora and further muddying its already mixed references on the opposite side of the galaxy, but hey, it’s more fun to pretend there’s two similarly-named sectors that occasionally get deliveries from the Imperium intended for the other.