#i love worldbuilding and i love thinking about verses but even if i want to get into it here i don't think the weather is permitting me to

[rebelband]

Have you ever drawn a personality swap with the group? Or maybe even like an opposite personality thing. Idk I was imagining k k with a bit of attitude

mnn... I doodle full-on body swaps (x) once in a blue moon, but I don't usually tend to sit too long on personality swaps?

here's two hypothetical configurations though (based off my own interpretations for convenience). these keep their main trait (energetic/smooth/silly) and alter their personalities solely.

swt is a worker and a perfectionist; it is also, well. sweet! but has a lot of drive while being a bit stubborn. cpn would be more strong-willed (while still avoiding physical conflict), and he'd be the sort to try and work to avoid any feelings/thoughts. cks would be less easygoing, but they'd still be excitable! (their jokes, unfortunately, land a lot more flat this way.) they'd have more priority on work than play.

cpn cares about appearance a lot and maintaining things (or getting new, better things). swt's never been much to care about its looks, but this verse would make them a bit more worried about how cube-like it is and try to smooth those edges down. cks would be the kind to act like they're flirting/being deceptive, but it's all just to lead it into some sort of joke or silly prank. basically they're just more lowkey (and self-conscious).

cks is a huge people pleaser that doesn't want anyone to fret over them and fairly passive when it comes to taking lead. in this case... swt would want to make sure everyone (and it means Everyone) has fun; they also have far too much energy and not enough time to do everything that comes to mind. if they didn't have enough dropped drafts already, well, now they have so many more... cpn would be the guy that tries to play cute/cool in a funny way, not a "hey mama what's up!" way, and would Not have many issues with their identity.

...at least, the configuration I like more is scc but one position to the left (swt with cpn's, cpn with cks's); that's just me being biased. I could talk about the dynamics of both kinds in another post, maybe...?

and an opposite personality verse sounds interesting, but I'm not sure how that'd go...

is it that sweet becomes less brave and willing to fight whereas cap'n takes on those attributes? k_k being more straightforward and honest than they are silly (e.g., "I'm thirsty" when wounded)? no clue... I don't really enjoy this one too much since it takes too much away from them when it's exaggerated in such a way............. kinda.

[kyliafanfiction]

I’m forever torn between wanting to talk about the worldbuilding in my 1,001 original stories and story ideas, and wanting to keep everything under wraps until I have something done to show for it all and wanting to not talk about it because I’m afraid only getting a few notes would dishearten me (which is stupid, but I never claimed to never not be prone to stupid sometimes).

[generic-sonic-fan]

The post where I do vague cultural worldbuilding headcanons for Sonic characters??

Sonic and Knuckles are mountain man bros in the sense that they both grew up in the wild raised by animals. They dunk themselves in a river, call themselves clean, and then fistbump about it. They eat fruit right off bushes. Knuckles can find you a damn good tuber in a pinch and Sonic would be able to snatch you a worm if you really wanted it. Knuckles finds it difficult to pick up on mainstream cultural customs but Sonic's always found it easy now that he's older.

Tails and Amy, meanwhile, grew up in towns. These towns had a definite human influence, hence their possession of first and last names, but they still grew up in a Mobian in-group of sorts. They know proper fur/quill care, feel that it's gender non-conforming for a boy to wear clothes and a girl to go without them, and are adept at reading ear/tail gestures. Tails was never really one for any small-town slang but Amy still uses more rural phrasing even now that she lives in a larger city.

Rouge grew up in a large city, so she's more well-versed in cultures other than her own. She's adopted some human rituals because she thinks they're fun, like face masks and shaving some of her body fur. She loves exploring human cuisines because they're "exotic" to her while Mobian cuisine are comfort foods. She's fluent in several different kinds of slang along with the gestures/manners of the different cultures.

Shadow was raised by humans. His mannerisms are unmistakably human. From wearing human-sized shirts around the house, to having a taste for "human" comfort foods, to being completely unable to read ear/tail gestures in conversation, any Mobian is able to peg him as an outsider pretty quickly. While he's absolutely embraced proper quill care, Rouge had to first point out to him that he was doing it wrong- using human shampoo is not going to cut it, hun.

Omega is. . . weird. For the most part, he's predictably alien: what few social customs he's bothered to learn he has to have observed first. Rouge has been a helpful educator on the rare occasion he gives a shit, usually in regards to slang translation to add to his dictionary. He's almost more like Knuckles in the sense that he was isolated and now he's playing catchup. Sometimes, sometimes, though, the assumptions Omega makes will lean more towards human biases. Anyone who values their life knows not to ever point that out to him.

Metal Sonic reads like a robot imitating a human imitating a Mobian. Yes, he can imitate Sonic's gestures, but it's the movement in between that's uncanny. The physicality of his limbs. The weight of each step in his out-of-combat walk cycle. It screams "human". Most of his cultural knowledge, the little that he has, comes from observing Eggman's daily routine. But Eggman is just one human, and an isolated and eccentric one at that. Metal Sonic could recognize a refrigerator but not a washing machine, could recognize a plate and fork but not any other kitchen cookware. His knowledge is piecemeal. His imitations are incomplete. He was designed for combat, nothing more. His unconscious attempts to fill in the gaps are illogical, aren't they?

Silver is permanently locked into a culture called "survival mode". That's a joke, but only mostly. His behaviors more closely match that of someone growing up in extreme poverty. He can't stand to throw stuff away and he has a hypervigilance about danger that someone who grew up in a "bad neighborhood" would understand. Not to mention that any cultural values he has learned are a few hundred years out of date, so his guesses at any customs tend to be slightly off.

Blaze is from a different dimension, which basically reads as just a different culture than the one that's prominent where most of Sonic's friends reside! She actually gets a kick out of sharing her customs and comparing them to everyone else's. She's also from an extremely privileged walk of life, though, and it definitely shows no matter how much research she does to try and be less ignorant about how "normal" life works.

[mangora]

I’m so tired here are some assorted Disventure Camp headcanons:

•Jake is really into poetry. Some of his poems are bangers, some of them are absolute dogshit. He posts some of them online, mostly the bad ones because he’s not self-aware of how bad they are. He will spend hours on end writing in his notes app. Guy is a big fan of sonnets and free verse but his strong suits are odes and villanelles

•Rosa María, James, Yul, Lake, Riya, Fiore, and Alec are all multilingual. Rosa speaks English and Spanish, James speaks Portuguese and English, Yul speaks Korean and English, Lake speaks German and English as well as some French, Riya speaks Hindi and English, Fiore speaks English and some Italian, and Alec speaks English as well as a variety of other languages (he did a minor in linguistics for his university degree so he knows the basics of multiple major languages).

•Hunter’s a competitive chess player. Ally’s the only person who’s ever beat him fair and square, but even then, that rarely happens

•Lake is great at baking. She’s incredibly exact when it comes to measurements, timing, and technique. Rosa, meanwhile, is a great cook and she doesn’t measure anything

•Aiden can play bass guitar. He started learning as a teenager because he wanted to join an emo band one day. Chase your dreams boy

•Yul used to have braces and he’s really embarrassed about it

•Gabby’s a forager, she loves to forage for wild fruit and mushrooms and greens

•Ellie’s kinda a ghoul in the kitchen. Like she can make good food and drinks but most of the time she’s so tired that she makes evil energy drink-instant coffee potions or like that pistachio & condensed milk concoction from Arthur

•In a better universe I think Ellie and Jake are frenemies instead of fully hating each other and they play Minecraft together and Ellie is constantly stealing Jake’s shit and trying to defeat the Ender Dragon meanwhile he screams every time he sees a Creeper and begs her to turn Keep Inventory on because he keeps dying

•Miriam gets a cat after the show. She’s an older white cat named Snowball and she has the same personality as her. They are best friends and Miriam is so annoyed by her. She made them matching sweaters. Snowball is only fully nice to Jake

•Fiore listens to Thrash Metal. It’s partially just to throw people off when they find out, she thinks it’s funny

•Fiore also enjoys those YouTube prank videos, she knows they’re fake they’re just so stupid that she finds them hilarious. Kristal gives her an iPad for a day one time for entertainment and it pisses the rest of the Magenta team off so bad because she keeps playing these prank videos and watching epic fail compilations at full volume

•Grett loves crocheting. She slowly turns into one of those people who crochets during lectures and while watching movies and shit

•James is really good at Tetris

•Ally is obsessed with Sci-Fi. She, Tess, and Hunter watch Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Star Wars together because they all love the worldbuilding so much. Tess writes fanfiction about almost everything they watch. Hunter has terrible media literacy and misses the themes every time but he has fun watching

•After All Stars, Riya gets really into tattoos. She gets matching ones with Connor

•People antagonize Tom with the cop slide video and every time he clenches his fist and goes, “Stop laughing at him.”

•Kai has a bunch of pet bugs. Maggy’s secretly afraid of them still but she’s getting there. She likes rollie pollies

•Karol used to do roller derby and Lill used to ice skate. Ggirlf,riends,,, I miss them chat. Where is my old woman yuri

•Aiden eats plain yogurt nothing on it and it’s the one thing James doesn’t like about him. Like it’s so upsetting to him. Why does he eat plain yogurt

•Ashley likes hyperpop, don’t tell anyone

•Tom likes crockpot food. He is not invited to potlucks for this reason. He will always bring the crockpot

•Alec doesn’t like splatter films but he really enjoys psychological horror, especially mockumentaries and mondo films

•Lake read creepypasta a lot as a kid and she wouldn’t go into the kitchen after dark because she was afraid of Jeff the Killer appearing at her fridge

[mihrsuri]

I really want to do my end of year sappiness post right now so I am going to do it. This year. This year, this year was the year that the fact that I made it is something I have to talk about it, because honestly I wasn’t sure between everything. And in the trauma (the activated Jewish Trauma Genre), in the hate I have also found love. Am Yisrael Chai. We live. I live.

Which is why I have to first send my love to my Jewish Mutuals/Friends and to Jumblr - @cephalopodvictorious @captainlordauditor and just, every one of my Jewish Mutuals and people who have sent kind words. Who have made me, a patrilineal mizrahi jewish woman reconnecting with her heritage and faith because of abuse feel Jewish enough to go to Synagogue.

This year was, despite everything the year I reconnected with old friends (shout to my friends in physical space - E, R, C and C), I took an art class, I swam more, I wrote a bunch of words, I found my love of art again and discovered that I might, might be good at it, I even asked for things like gifts even though it’s Terrifying.

To my saatis. My sisters. My chosen family. Thank you for everything - the phone calls you let me schedule, the chats and the wise words and the blorbos and from some of you the in person hugs (there will be more I will offer hugs to and I will also hug again). @shes-a-voodoo-child @bibliothekara @wheresonichedgehogwnt @pearlsthatwereeyes @star-anise @notabuddhist @kawuli lemonsharks @maevedarlings @ruffboijuliaburnsides @taibhsearachd @blackeyedgirl-writes @armyofthedaegiloth @strangeetudes @findingfeather

@bessemerprocess @sarking @jesidres @kshandra @amadistuff FRIENDS. FRIENDS. Love you to the moon and back - and we are here. We are here.

And @geeoharee - The Sherlock Content <3.

To the Pocket Friends Who Have/Are Becoming(If It’s okay obviously!) Become Friends: @rahabs whose kindness I will never ever forget. To @theladyelizabeth who patiently answers my questions about all kinds of Tudors Things and who is like, The Best. To @nocompromise-noregrets for Ellie, for answering archives questions and just in general. To @gen-is-gone - a saati in the making, holder of correct Doctor Who Opinions forever. To @herawell - the bravest when scared, indulges my OT3 verse. To @miabicicletta - one of the best fic writers, so generous and kind and whose comments make my entire day. @eidetictelekinetic - my favourite Tudors Fic Writer is my Friend Now and is awesome.

@jkthinkythoughts <333333.

@lorata - whose worldbuilding leaves me in awe and who is just, frankly absolutely great.

@isagrimorie because CORRECT DOCTOR WHO AND BEST META

@feuillesmortes for never failing to make me think, to post beautiful poetry and for the best H7/EOY sources and for always, above all being kind.

@hoursofreading @becauseforoncethisisme (special shout out to you <3) @disredspectful (oh my gosh your words)

@anhaga @goshawke @beatrice-otter @alexseanchai <333333

Also @nurselaney for indulging my Thomas/Mihrimah Content and also the women of the SOE.

@sherwoodknights for Scarlet Pimpernel and also Patrick Gibson feels.

@quillington - for correct Anne Boleyn and Scarlet Pimpernel thoughts and also being The Sweetest.

@lordlykisses - kindness and Taylor Swift. And @cleoselene for Taylor Swift and kind words I will also never forget.

To The Cromwell/James Frain Appreciation Brigade - @uncheckedaggression @reallyginnyf (also a fellow hurt/comfort enjoyer) @cinemaocd - thank you <3.

To all the West Wing Discord People - I adore you. Thank you for being so kind and welcoming and wonderful.

And to all my mutuals. Thank you for bearing with me this year, with so much kindness. I know it’s been A Lot but I have, despite everything felt so so loved.

[bedlamsbard]

Greetings from a Fan, I felt compelled to send this message after reading your posts regarding Queen's Gambit. My intent is not to upset or harm you, but I sincerely apologize if I do so nonetheless. I just wanted to say how much I absolutely *adore* the Ouroboros series. It's one of my favorites of all time across all the fandoms I'm interested in. It's also the reason I fell head over heels in love with the Obi-Wan/Anakin/Padme pairing. You've written the characters so incredibly well and I just cannot get over your amazing worldbuilding. I am an absolute sucker for the way you wrote Padme and the rich culture/history you created for Naboo. Those little details just added so much breath and flavor to your stories that to this day I remain speechless as to what you've created. With regards to Obi-Wan, oh my dear lord, what a heartbreaking masterpiece you created. The sheer level of love and anguish you brought forth after he lost Anakin was just devasting. He's such an incredibly complex character and you did a smashingly exceptional job with him. You really did him and his relationship with Anakin justice and I truly thank you for that. And Anakin, what can I say, there are so many layers to Anakin that there's never an easy way of writing him. But through his relationships with Obi-Wan and Padme, we can peel back those layers and you really took the time and care to do that. The entire series was an incredible concept in it's totality, and I love weird alternative universe/time-travel/fix-it fics. I will eternally lament that the series will never be finished because I would have loved to have read what happens in the next entry of the series which is where Obi-Wan fell to the Dark side (unless I'm mistaken). Nonetheless, I like to think that in the end they have their happy ending with one another (wherever it may have led them) and I thank you for sharing and posting this series with us. I know it meant a great deal to me and I would like you to know how I much I do sincerely mean that. Thank you. ❤️

Aww, thank you, I'm flattered to hear that! I know that Wake and Gambit (as well as the ancillaries Tales and Sound) are very loved stories for a lot of people, even when I get grief for them, which has been going on for more than a decade now. I'm always very glad to hear that readers do enjoy those stories.

The third Ouroboros story, which takes place in the universe that Padme arrives in during the last scene of Gambit, was supposed to be called All Along the Watchtower. There are bits and pieces of it in the all along the watchtower tag dating back about a decade now. It is a universe where Obi-Wan fell to the dark side and a bunch of other stuff happened as a result -- the three universes in Ouroboros are all meant to be the worst fears of the main three characters, thus canon (Wake) being Anakin's (he goes dark side and kills everyone he loves), Gambit being Padme's (she becomes a warmongering demagogue who causes a Jedi to betray himself for her), and Watchtower being Obi-Wan's (he goes dark side and is responsible for the downfall of the Republic and the Jedi Order). This is the most recent summary of what I remember that I was thinking; it went through a lot of development over the course of ten years, and as late as 2021 I was still trying to back into it via Rebels: the alternate universe where Ezra had been during The Starry Crown is the Watchtower 'verse, during the point in time where the Wake trio was there -- a.k.a. the Rebellion era, so they're also time traveling again. The Wake trio had all ended up in different locations in the Watchtower 'verse: we see Padme where she ended up at the end of Gambit, Anakin was on Coruscant, Obi-Wan was on Tatooine, and they're all dragged into the political events of that universe, which are very different from Wake, canon, or Gambit.

The intention was always for the Wake trio to end up back in their own universe, probably picking up Rex along the way; the base Wake universe is obviously suffering from Code Name Retribution, but the situation is not as bad as it could have been.

[rose-above-dark]

I write this with fevered delirium but is it just me or is the worldbuilding in helluva / hazbin just. Boring? And misses the point of hell entirely?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty!! But it all feels the same. All of the layers in the shows just look like earth but with a red/green tint. And why are sinners only confined to one layer, that being pride?

This is capital H Hell. Greed and pride for example, are the exact same architecturally and aesthetically but with a different color tint. Greed should be far more water based considering the residents (sharks), but wait, we know envy is also water based thanks to glitz and glam?

Then there’s wrath. Wrath misses the point of wrath.

Wrath is defined as extreme anger, and in the show. What we see as wrath is actually just violence? Like Millie’s parents talk about the destruction in war and how they love the violence, the competition in western energies is that of strength and violence. In the later half, striker does have moments of wrath, I’ll admit that. But that is outclassed by his pride. It is his pride that leads to his defeat in later episodes.

Millie, despite also being from wrath, is much more probed to violence then anger.

Remember: in violence, sinners were punished in multiple ways, violence against others would result in being punished in a lake of boiling blood, like the volcanos we see. Violence against the self meant you were turned into trees and foliage, like the countryside

Also, since the helluva verse is based off Dante’s inferno, wouldn’t the river styx exist in wrath? The aesthetics of Wrath itself kinda just feels like a 20 minute drive from pride.

Then there’s the issue of sinners only existing in one layer. It misses the entire point of hell, which is to punish both Lucifer by making him suffer with the worst of mankind’s choices, and humans themselves.

So, why then tell me. If the point of hell is to punish sinners, why are they confined to one layer? Why even have multiple layers in the first place? Think of how cool it could be to have the sinners from vast parts of hell, telling Charlie their situations, and her learning from it. Learning more of her people.

Overpopulation could have been solved so easily if heaven had just allowed sinners to inhabit other layers. But then you may ask ‘wouldn’t heaven want all the sinners in one area for extermination!’

We see in episode 6, sera only agreed to the idea of extermination as a way to deal with overpopulation in the first place. She’s so regretful of it that she refuses to tell the rest of heaven and is ashamed of herself.

The extermination feels like the only punishment in hell aside from just. Shitty people. Where’s the damnation? Like you could take them out of hell and make no difference. As we saw in shooting stars, where people are just as bad. Where’s the thought that hell tournaments it’s denizens? Where’s the evil that’s perpetuated by hell itself? Where’s the idea that hell is worse than anything?

Do you get what I’m saying?

[utilitycaster]

Hello there! I wanted to pop in again to thank you for answering my ask before in regards to Midst. After your answer I thought to start the first episode and see how I felt about it... and I ended up swallowing 12 episodes in a roll because I couldn't stop.

It has such a fantastically unique way to tell a story, like you're in a bar with 3 slightly drunk friends that can't quite wait for the other to finish telling their line.

If possible I'd love to hear your thoughts on the style of storytelling Midst uses and the worldbuilding of the podcast.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I do think with podcasts my advice ultimately lands on "just try a few episodes, it's free and not much time and you can do so while commuting or cooking or something" so I'm glad that worked out.

I am never very good at coming up with general discussions of storytelling style on the fly; I need a prompt or something narrower. I also am someone who's always loved works where the narrator breaks the fourth wall, having been exposed to them quite young (The Princess Bride novel, the A Series of Unfortunate Events books, my previous mentions of Ellen Raskin novels) so that doesn't strike me as unusual. It's a great creative choice, and doing so in podcast format really brings it to life, but it's not something that jumps out to me as unique. Similarly, rotating POV is something I'm pretty used to with various fantasy novels (Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Stormlight Archives, The Old Kingdom Trilogy) as well as plenty of fiction podcasts (notably the Silt Verses for this one). I don't want to sell Midst short but essentially they took two very established and enjoyable storytelling tools, and combined them incredibly effectively and with fantastic chemistry and improv skills and a very strong sense of narrative that is always prioritized. I think that's the thing about Midst's story, too - while there are some great science fiction ideas it's a fairly straightforward story structure, just done extremely well.

The worldbuilding is also hard to really discuss without more guidance because I don't know how they came up with it! The design of the cosmos is particularly weird, and I think Unend is going to give us even more weirdness. I think the improv allowed them to set broad parameters and then build a world that fit the story and the actual starting information was detailed enough to allow consistency and open enough to allow flexibility, which is important. I think the best way to sum it up, however, is with Bocs. I think about "It's bocs" a lot because we are on the "um actually if you don't explain the entire process of flax farming to the economics of linen garments you're a bad worldbuilder" website and "it's bocs" is just a breath of fresh air. You build the world to serve a story. We do not need to know the exact intricacies of how this specific mechanical/electrical technology functions. It's bocs. I think how bocs are handled is the best summary of both the worldbuilding and storytelling: this is a story made by three people who understand what is important to the narrative, and understand how to present it in the medium in which they're working.

[floof-ghostie]

casually leans on wall and hands you a microphone. how was the spiderverse experience i want all the deets (ive already watched it dw about spoilers👍🏾)

Ohhhh Strap in we're gonna be here for a while (Imma do this in point form for this, because so many thoughts, no energy for real paragraphs

Okay the animation. THE ANIMATION MEDIUMS. So many cool methods. I loved the colour changes in Gwen's universe. HOBIE'S ENTIRE THING, THE WAY HE'S ANIMATED OMG

Mumbattan is such a cool city, I love mashing irl cities to make one cool megacity so much it's such a lil fave worldbuilding thing of mine

Pavitr is so great, I love him, idek how to talk about him I just like him a lot. Him and his gf make such a cute pair too!

Also him saying "I don't use product, just coconut oil, prayer, and good genetics". I love him

The chai tea scene. God he's so great

THe character design is amazing and sososososo cool!! I love that we see the characters change (Gwen's hair growing longer and pinker, Miles' growth spurt, Peter B.'s bathrobe, MAYDAY's LIL SPIDER HAT THAT MJ PROLLY MADE FOR HER).

I love Pravitr's costume glowup. Thank you to whoever arranged for that.

Also, Hobie??? His lace coded boots?? His locs??? HIS FUCKING PIERCINGSSS??? HOW HE COMPARED A FUCKING VOID TO CAPITALISM??? Him taking a liking to Mayday, and straight up SHOWING MILES HOW TO GET OUT OF THE FORCE FIELD WITH A LIL SMIRK?!!! I need him. Need his gender. I love his anarchist ass.

His design really calls back to the punk scene in England, and I love the way he reminds me of old newspapers

Speaking of Hobie, holy shit that guy was flirting with Miles. I know what you are (pls Hobie do u like enbies?)

"I hate the AM, I hate the PM (prime minister probably, idk for sure) AND I HATE LABELS" I love you

Daniel Kaluuya, thank you for your service.

Also Hobie and Gwen make such a funny friendship. But I don't ship them.

The themes of growing up, and Miles' parents being worried about Miles and the people he's with...I nearly cried in the theatre, and I don't normally cry during stuff.

You can just tell that black people were making the big decisions for this movie. Aaron and Rio asking Miles why he took the braids out. Jeff and Rio being like "On time means 5 minutes early", I felt so at home watching this movie. I'm not even from Brooklyn but I just felt so at home at all the interactions Miles had with his neighbors. Even the random storeowner.

Like ppl were speaking aave, using patois, Hobie's accent. And none of that was played for laughs (except for Hobie's lingo but that's a little different bc he's British)

I love how Miles' Ganke is so different from Peter Parker's Ganke. It's such a fun detail how Miles' Ganke was like "I'm not gonna be your guy in the chair".

I love that despite the general "Canon" for Spider Man, there are some differences! I love those intricate details!

And the way the lady in the office was so hasty to force the narrative of them "struggling" when that really wasn't the case? Hit real close to home. I just love the Davis-Morales family

I love the way that the Spot isn't like a general "mildly bad" villain like I originally assumed. I really thought he'd be kind of a "setup" villain, or something that they'd have to clean up and THEN Miles would take care of Miguel and them.

I especially love the way that The Spot is someone from the first movie, who we don't even know until his backstory is brought up.

His voice is also perfect too. He sounds like a complete loser.

Miguel O'Hara. Meet me outside, I just wanna talk

No For real though, he talks a lot of shit about Miles being "The Original anomaly" when his ass needs to inject himself with some kinda spider-fluid to maintain his powers??? Mind you, he tried to force himself into a reality that wasn't his.

This guy is just an A-class hater. What do you have against Miles, honestly???

On the subject of the Spider Verse I think it's so cool how there were so many callbacks to the original canon of Spiderman! I loved seeing the og live action Spider Men in the film too!

And the easter eggs! I couldn't keep up with them all!

Also, wtf was Childish Gambino there. I mean I'm not mad, I actually found Miles' staring at him really funny

I love Issa Rae's voice! But Jessica, queen, please don't fight, you is PREGNANT

Also idk why but for some reason I thought Jessica and Miguel were married in the beginning. Not completely sure.

Gwen being like "Can you adopt me?" when first meeting Jessica...She's so real

Also Gwen is so sososososo so so trans. It's so great

THE ENDING FUCKING DESTROYED ME ARE YOU KIDDING???? 42-Miles being the Prowler?? I'M NOT OKAY BUT I'M SO EXCITED to see what happens!!

But in all seriousness, all the feelings in the movie talked about and the the things left unresolved for the next movie is just. You can tell this was such a labour of love and all the animators were so happy and excited to work on it. I cannot wait for Beyond the Spider Verse!! I'm still buzzing!!

[blueskittlesart]

I know you're not fond of Twilight Princess, but what would you think if they brought back worldbuilding elements from it (the Twilight world and Midna, mainly) to a newer game? I'm not familiar enough with the series to know a whole lot, but that stuff at least seems really neat to me from my secondhand knowledge, but if Twilight Princess was as bad as you say... I would love to see them revisit it somehow with the BotW/TotK continuity.

i have this. thing about twilight princess. we know this. but genuinely even looking at the lore from an objective standpoint i think trying to pull any of it into other games is a bad decision at best and actively detrimental to the new game in question at worst. there are two main reasons for this:

the first is that mainline, non-sequel zelda games have a general rule about standing alone. in order for the games to remain accessible to players of all ages and backgrounds, every original (non-sequel) zelda title has to be able to function as an introduction to the franchise, meaning any lore required to understand the story must be exposited WITHIN the story of that game. the few lore-points that HAVE been adapted from other games (sacred realm, oot ganondorf, talking sword) are generic enough that they can be explained briefly within the story without taking too much time away from the player's journey. while those of us who ARE versed in the lore might have a deeper understanding of the overarching implications of these elements, NOT understanding the history behind them isn't going to impede your understanding or enjoyment of the game. for example, this is likely the practical reason why fi was never named or appeared in botw beyond her generic sound effect and the glowing of the sword, because even players who don't KNOW fi are able to tell from context that the sword is magical and is speaking. not knowing who fi is doesn't impede your ability to understand how and why the sword is speaking, given the rest of the context of botw's story. the two elements of tp that you mentioned, the twilight realm and midna, are VERY difficult from a writer's standpoint to work into a game without requiring the player to understand the plot of twilight princess. neither element easily fits into a new cycle's story without requiring a ton of expositional explanation which will inevitably take players out of the story, and relying on convoluted lore that new players won't even be familiar with to drive your story just sets you up for failure.

the second reason is that, from a writer's standpoint, neither midna nor the twilight realm were well-written enough in TP to be compelling. lmao. If you're going to adapt world-altering lore like the twilight realm into consistent canon, you need to have a firm grasp on the implications of adapting it. even the writers of TP had no fucking clue what the twilight realm was or where it came from or how it tied into the existing world of hyrule at all. literally the first sentence on the zelda wiki for twilight realm history is "The Twilight Realm's full history is incomplete." adding something like a new dimension to your consistent canon is world-altering. when you do something like that, it HAS to be thought-out and for good reason, or you're just confusing your audience unnecessarily. IF the twilight realm was to be brought back, it would HAVE to be with explicit knowledge of of how it effects the narrative and theming of the story its being written into, something that wasn't even present in the game where it was introduced. the same goes for midna; if you bring her back, she needs a reason to be there. she needs narrative weight and thematic consistency with the entire rest of the game, things that were barely present in her original story. ripping these elements out of their own game and tossing them into another only makes them more likely to feel out-of-place and confusing to players. And to be completely honest, almost anything that writers wanted to accomplish with the twilight realm could be done just as easily utilizing the sacred realm, an element which is already in consistent canon and is much easier to write into a given story than something as mysterious and confusing as the twilight realm. with midna, almost anything that she would accomplish could be accomplished by a game-specific guide character, which is already staple of loz anyway. using a game-specific guide character would also remove any potential confusion for new players who lack the context of midna's past appearances. the only reason you might NEED midna as a character is if you ALSO have the twilight realm and specifically require a twili guide character to explain it, but. for all the reasons stated above. you shouldn't have the twilight realm. lol

[cadmusfly]

Bringing this to a new post because that post was Gettin Long and I wanna respond to @josefavomjaaga

i have an addiction to worldbuilding and if people ask me worldbuilding questions i will just keep going on and on and on sorry

Part 1 of Marshalate Dragons AU Posting

More Marshalate Dragons AU

-

If Bessières cannot be a dragon, could he occasionally be assigned to command Lannes? That should guarantee action. Not necessarily action against the enemy. But action. Bessieres is human most of the time but oh yes, I think they may be forced to work together, especially if Lannes has given Napoleon a lift and Bessieres has to accompany Lannes somewhere else

There's a mysterious white dragon who accompanies Napoleon sometimes, Napoleon calls him Marengo. This dragon appears to be one of those who refuses to talk to anyone except for those they are bonded to. There's rumours that this dragon can instantly appear in faraway places, because sometimes the Emperor just... appears. Obviously, the Emperor's other dragon companions are extremely jealous.

-

By the way, would Larrey be some kind of magical veterinarian in this world? Maybe! I feel like some of the infantry marshals should probably remain human now that I've seen how many infantry marshals there are, but Larrey as the Magical Vet is also a very good idea, having to stick an arm down a sick dragon's mouth or put a splint on a wing or something

It's like being a vet but your charges can shittalk you, and since they're doing it telepathically they can keep talking while you're fixing their teeth

-

Masséna could be a dragon, right? He would have to be in about the same age as the Lefebvre one. But a lot more elegant, leaner, also more cautious. And with a huge pile of gold he can hold his naps on.

100000%.

So I had been thinking earlier that part of this AU is linking the avaricious nature of dragons to the looting and plundering that was so endemic to the French army - which, the army felt like they were forced to do in order to break even or even profit from the wars

But I had a brainwave that even "ordinary" dragons in the army enjoy looting because, well, when you feel like you've earned something nice, then you're attached to it, and dragons in this verse need those nice things to lessen their dragon-stupors, so the ones in the army feel almost obligated to loot and plunder!

It's awful and I love this literalising metaphor lol

But yes back to Masséna, he is a medium-to-large beast with feathery wings (he has an eagle and an angel on his coat of arms), one eye shot out in Totally Not A Hunting Incident (Berthier claimed to have accidentally swiped his eye out but. Have you seen how small Berthier the dragon is. And that's not a scratch.)

And he sleeps on a pile of gold.

-

Would it be possible for Soult to keep his aides around?

Oh he absolutely does - as such a big dragon about the size of a house, his claws are too large to manipulate maps and write things down! He needs aides to grumble at so that they can move the map this way and that and write down notes and letters

unfortunately if he wants to dictate any affectionate or familial letters he has to dictate it to them as well

In fact, Soult is actually large enough that multiple people can ride on his back - not as large as the Temeraire dragons, but maybe two or three? So most of the time its his aides on his back, but during big important engagements when Ney has to go up there, there's also one of Soult's aides just. awkwardly there as well.

and they definitely bring him paintings and Louise when needed

-

And the idea of a drowsy Soult wanting to be petted by Louise makes me melt 💘.

"Was it necessary to tire yourself out so much, my dear Soult?" Louise's voice carried both admonition and a lighthearted touch, which was reflected in the way she lightly stroked the dark carmine scales. Echoed the deep voice in her mind, almost sheepishly, No. I had wished to ascertain the enemy's position and did not trust the reports of my scouts. The large golden eye of the dragon, the size of her head, blinked at her, accompanied by a soft low rumble. Were it to anyone else, the dragon would never have admitted it. But to Louise Berg, Soult could never lie. A burst of hot air escaped the dragon's nose in a mighty exhale. Might I request a scratch slightly further down? But only if your hand does not tire, my dear. "You make me work so hard!" But she obliged happily, and the dragon sighed with deep contentment.

-

What do dragons eat, by the way?

Meat! Lots of livestock! They are willing to eat horses. Humans are usually off the table because afaik Christians especially in those days wanted the whole body buried and also people tend to have a thing about that.

But I think they actually eat less than what's expected of a creature their size, because if we treat them as slightly magical slightly folkloric creatures, then they're partially sustained by the presence of their favourite things/their hoard and their favourite people - this can be seen as a bit of a metaphor for draconic greed, too

Maybe they're like snakes in that they eat quite a bit at once and then don't eat for a while?

-

With regards to Murat: Historically, he did hold the office of Grand Admiral of France. In case you need an excuse to turn him into a sea serpent ☺.

he would be

the worst

snek

but i did decide that he wasn't the secret dragon shapeshifter and is a human, partially because im not sure he would be able to shut up about himself being a secret dragon man, even if spilling the secret is dangerous due to some Fairy Tale Bullshit

still, imagine the fanciest sea snek in the fanciest ornaments

he is enjoying designing dragon uniforms though

-

I also feel like Caulaincourt should keep his job as Grand Stable Master - except now there's dragons.

yes.

I mean I think that the dragons being People mean that their quarters are very, very nice, but in a pinch one of the smaller ones can squish into a nice stable too heh

[tiny-wooden-robot-fics]

Against the Tide - Sixteen

Rating: Explicit Pairing(s): Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez x Original Female Character, Silvio Ricci x Original Female Character Characters: Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez (Bleach), Silvio Ricci (Ikemen Prince), Olivia DuBois (Original Female Character of Color) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergent, Pirates and Princes, Slow Burn, Action/Adventure, Worldbuilding, Angst, Some Subtle Racism, Sexual Tension, Political Subplot

Previous Chapter: Fifteen | Next Chapter: Seventeen

Chapter Masterlist

Summary:

Familiar laughter behind her cools all the scathing words on her tongue, and she turns to find a highly amused Grimmjow leaning against the taffrail. “Careful there,” he starts lazily, directing his words at Barnes. “Ya might not realize it, but she can kick your ass. And she might even do it if ya make her mad enough.”

“I don’t doubt that,” the other man calls back. “Carter’s still nursing a broken nose because of her.” He looks at Grimmjow, then back at Olivia. “Like you said, we’ll be pulling into port at Vora soon. Hope you’re ready to see the home you claim to love so much again.”

A/N: Chapter contains some sexual content.

Read on AO3

The remaining days on the Sea Queen pass as the previous ones have - with the vessel moving smoothly through the water, the Hellcat not far behind. 

More often than not, Daisy runs off with Kenny in the evenings under the guise of reading with him. Olivia suspects it’s partly because her lady’s maid wants to give her the time and privacy to spend with Grimmjow, but also partly because Daisy genuinely enjoys the young man’s company.

“You don’t look nearly as miserable as I expected you to,” Jarron Barnes remarks when Olivia joins him on the upper deck one morning. “I wonder what accounts for that?” 

She knows he’s trying to goad her into snapping back at him. Instead of rising to the bait, she ignores it completely. “We’re a day out from port at Vora,” she starts. “And I think it’s about time you tell me what your plan is for when we get there.” 

“Why?” Barnes looks sharply at her. “So you can figure out a way to foil that plan?”

“No,” she tells him truthfully. “Look… you’re smart, and I’d love to see you use that intelligence for more than just starting a pointless war you can’t win.” 

“You think it’s pointless?”

“I think it’s pointless if the only reason you go to war is because you don’t get your way,” she declares. “Doing that doesn’t make you any different from all the other assholes who have done the same thing before you. I think if what you’re after is something that’s really worth fighting for - which, in this case, should be Vora’s ability to stand on its own two feet - then the smarter thing to do would be to figure out how to get it without war.” 

To her surprise, he actually seems to consider her words. “Alright then,” he says finally. “What would you do if you were me?”

“Take my case to the King of Clario, like I told you before,” she reiterates. “But first, I would produce viable solutions to all the problems presented. If you want Vora to be able to govern itself without outside help, you need to come up with all the ways to make that happen… and you need to prove to Clario that it’s in their best interest to make it happen.”

Barnes leans forward, his curiosity piqued. “And how would you suggest I do that?” 

“Find someone who’s capable of ruling the country,” Olivia answers bluntly. “And if you insist on doing it yourself, get a good advisor… or, even better, a team of advisors. People who are versed in the complexities of government, but also diplomatic enough to be useful in negotiations. People who will tell you the truth, and not just what you want to hear. Best of all, they need to be people who are not only willing, but also able to help you turn Vora into an independent nation with a solid government of its own and a system in place for regulating its natural resources.”

He mulls over her words for a while. “And you think the King of Clario would actually go for that?” He asks finally.

“I think it would be a more palatable solution than just threatening him with a war he knows he can win,” she replies. “It makes you look more like a capable adult than a petulant child with a grudge.”

“You really don’t hold back, do you?” He grumbles. “You could be less blunt.”

“What exactly would I gain by being less honest?”

“I was gonna say people would like you more,” he laughs, “but based on the way you’ve got those two men wrapped around your little finger, and the way your lady’s maid practically worships you… I think people like you plenty the way you are.”

She scoffs. “Mind your own damn business.” 

“I have been,” Barnes retorts. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve said nothing to you about the ruckus your loud-ass pirate makes whenever he visits your cabin at night. And I won’t open my mouth about it to the prince when I see him either,” he adds, casting her a meaningful look. 

“Is that supposed to feel like a threat?” 

He shrugs. “It isn’t, honestly. You told me to mind my business, and I’m telling you I am.” 

Familiar laughter behind her cools all the scathing words on her tongue, and she turns to find a highly amused Grimmjow leaning against the taffrail. “Careful there,” he starts lazily, directing his words at Barnes. “Ya might not realize it, but she can kick your ass. And she might even do it if ya make her mad enough.”

“I don’t doubt that,” the other man calls back. “Carter’s still nursing a broken nose because of her.” He looks at Grimmjow, then back at Olivia. “Like you said, we’ll be pulling into port at Vora soon. Hope you’re ready to see the home you claim to love so much again.”

Without waiting for a response, he stalks off. 

“What crawled up his ass?” Grimmjow asks, watching him go. 

Olivia shrugs. “I just told him what he needed to hear,” she says quietly. “I don’t think he liked my honesty very much.” 

“Hm,” Grimmjow hums thoughtfully. After a moment, he moves closer to her. “Well? How’s it feel, knowin’ you’ll be home soon?” 

“I don’t really know,” is her candid response. “I think that I spent so many years putting the idea of coming back to Vora out of my head that it almost doesn’t feel real. And I guess…” She trails off, chewing her lower lip anxiously. “I guess I’m a little nervous about it.”

“Why?”

“Twenty years seems like a long time, but it really isn’t in some ways,” she explains. “What if there are other people who feel the same way about my family that Jarron Barnes does? What if there are people who think we’re traitors and want nothing to do with any of us? How am I supposed to help those people if they feel the way he does?” 

“Wouldn’t that be more of a reason for ya to help’ em?” Grimmjow asks reasonably. “If what they think about ya is bad, prove to ‘em that it ain’t true.” 

He makes a valid point, she knows, but the nervous fluttering in her chest won’t subside. 

“Listen, Sae,” he says, his voice taking on a warm, soft tone that makes her chest flutter in a different way. “You ain’t never been the type to be scared of anything - no man, no place, no task. I’ve watched you best a lotta things just by rollin’ up your sleeves and gettin’ to it.” 

“But I’ve never done anything like this before,” she protests. “This is… it’s all new to me. I’m not sure what I’m doing.” 

“Yeah, but you got the know-how in your head,” Grimmjow points out. “Remember? All them hours of burying your head in books and bein’ bored to tears learnin’ about the life of diplomats and how politics works?” He flashes her a grin. “Now’s your time to shine, Princess.” 

Despite the worries still swimming around in her head, she laughs. “I keep telling you, I’m not a princess.” 

“Maybe not,” he shrugs, “but that don’t mean you can’t act like one sometimes.”

She contemplates his words - not just those, but all the ones he’s said to her. “Thank you,” she says after a moment, her voice quiet. “I think I needed to hear that.” 

“Anytime, anywhere,” he answers good-naturedly, that grin still curling up the corners of his mouth. After a moment, he goes serious. “I came here to tell ya I won’t get in the way when we get to Vora.” 

Curiously, she looks up at him. “What do you mean, ‘get in the way’?”

“You got a job to do,” he says, dropping her a wink. “The less distraction you have, the better. So if ya want me to go, I’ll go. But if ya don’t mind me stickin’ around, I promise I won’t keep ya from doin’ what ya came here to.” 

Once again, Olivia finds herself unexpectedly touched by something he’s said. “You really are making a habit of this,” she laughs after a moment. “Being sweet and all.”

“Tch,” he scoffs. “Tell anybody and I’ll call ya the filthiest liar that ever lived.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she smiles back at him. 

--

Later, she tosses his words back at him. “I-I thought… you said,” she huffs, trying to catch her breath, “you wouldn’t… d-distract me.”

He laughs, though it comes out a bit strained. “We ain’t there yet,” he says, punctuating that last word with one long, slow roll of his hips. It presses him into her more deeply. “‘Sides,” he continues, dropping his head to nip at the tender skin right above her collarbone, “it’s our last night on this ship. Feel like that’s somethin’ worth celebratin’... don’t you?”

Olivia doesn’t answer him right away; her entire focus is solely on the onslaught of physical sensations he’s giving her. Her body feels heavy and sluggish, nearly spent from their first round. And while Grimmjow seems to be suffering only slightly from the energy lag she’s feeling in full, she’s grateful that their lovemaking this round has been lazy and slow. “Celebrate? Yes, I think you’re right.” She reaches out, cupping his face in her hands and bringing his mouth to hers for a languid, sloppy kiss. 

“Sweet as honey,” he whispers into her lips once they’ve parted. “Ya laugh at me when I say this, but I ain’t ever gonna get my fill of ya.”

She pulls him closer. 

Under his ministrations, she comes twice more before he finally lets himself spill inside of her. He stays just the way he is for a long while after, until Olivia can feel him softening inside of her. When he becomes soft enough to slip out, her body mourns the loss of him. 

He rolls to one side, reaching for her and pulling her into the tight circle of his embrace. They stay that way for a while, their breathing synchronized. Olivia is warm and sated and sleepy, and she’s started to doze off when Grimmjow speaks again. 

“You make me wanna be an honest man, Sae.” 

Groggily, she chuckles. “Why?”

“Just like you to ask the question nobody else would,” he laughs with her. “Thought ya might ask when I’m gonna do it - make an honest man of myself.” 

“Grimm, I didn’t fall in love with you because you were an honest man,” she says softly. “And doing… whatever you think makes you an honest man, wouldn’t change how I feel about you.” She pauses. “So I want to know why. What is it about me that makes you want to be an honest man?”

“You’re fixin’ to do somethin’ great,” he says solemnly. “Somethin’ important, that’s gonna change peoples’ lives.” He clicks his tongue in a quiet scoff. “Me? I ain’t the kinda man who belongs with a woman like you. I’d only drag ya down.”

“Oh?” She turns her head to face him, curiosity in her eyes. “And what kind of man do you think I’d need… to do these alleged ‘great things’ you speak of?”

He’s tempted to look away, but her brown eyes hold his blue ones in place. “You know,” he says after a moment, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

Olivia considers those two words for a moment. “I think I know what kind of man you think I want - or need,” she starts slowly. “And while I can understand why you might think so, I’m tempted to tell you in a not-so-nice way why you’d be wrong about that.” 

Despite the weight of the conversation they’re having, he laughs. “Just another thing I love about ya,” he murmurs before pressing a kiss to her temple. “That bastard out there might not like it, but ya always tell it how it is.” 

“I’m not a diplomat,” Olivia sighs. “I just happened to be born into a diplomatic family. I never wanted a life of politics and arranged marriages and never-ending duties. I just wanted to be able to do work that was good, spend time with the people I love, and never be too far away from the sand and the sea.”

“Sounds to me like ya might like life at sea,” he chuckles.

He expects her to laugh with him. She doesn’t - her face is solemn, deep in thought. “Maybe you’re right,” she says finally, a wistful note in her tone. She shifts, burrowing deeper into his arms. “I’m trying my best to think of a way to help Vora, because it’s my home and I love it. But this isn’t… this isn’t how I wanted my first time back after twenty years to go. And it feels a little bit unfair that I didn’t really have much choice in the matter.”

Grimmjow makes a sympathetic sound. “How can I help?”

His words make something warm and sweet bloom in her chest. “You’re already helping,” she smiles, reaching up to brush an errant lock of hair out of his eyes. “But I don’t ever want to hear any nonsense about you not being the kind of man I belong with, or the kind of man I need,” she goes on. She’s still smiling, but there is a weight to her words that lets him know she means what she’s saying. “Okay?”

“Yes, m’lady,” he answers, reaching between them to make the sign of a cross over his heart. 

“Hm,” Olivia says thoughtfully. “I usually don���t like titles, but something about the way you say that…” 

--

Pulling into port at Vora is perhaps the most surreal experience Olivia has ever had. 

Everything is both familiar and dramatically different all at once. She remembers the sounds and smells and sights of the island she once called home, but there are little variations of the places she used to know so well. The faces at the portside markets are not the exact same ones she remembers, although she thinks she might recognize some of the features of those vendors that have taken over for the generation before them. 

“So this is Vora,” Daisy breathes beside her. “This is where you were born?” 

Olivia nods. “This is… home.” 

Her lady’s maid looks closely at her. “I can’t tell what you’re thinking,” she remarks. “You have this odd combination of happiness and sadness in your expression.”

“Nostalgia,” Olivia laughs quietly. “That’s called nostalgia.” She turns her head to watch as the crew of the Hellcat disembark. She spots Silvio among them, his face twisted in a characteristic scowl. When he gets close enough for her to speak without shouting, she greets him. “How was the voyage?”

“Long,” he answers simply. His eyes stray from her to take in their surroundings. “Where’s that son of a bitch Barnes?”

“Still onboard the Sea Queen,” she tells him.

Silvio turns from her abruptly, making his way towards the vessel in question. 

“Wait,” Olivia calls. “Where are you going?” 

“Where the hell do you think I’m going?” He calls the question over his shoulder, without stopping. 

His rhetorical question stirs panic in her gut, and she hurries after him. “Wait,” she calls again, when she’s caught up to him a few strides later. She puts a hand on his arm, and this time he does stop. “Maybe we should talk about this.” 

“Don’t tell me you want me to have mercy on the asshole who forcefully abducted you?” He raises his eyebrows at her, his tone challenging. 

“That’s… not what I’m saying,” she starts slowly. She knows that his temper is running hot, and her words can either put out the flames of his anger or pour more fuel onto them. She chooses carefully. “I think that maybe you should hear him out.” 

Silvio stares at her incredulously. “Are you an idiot? This man is ready to start a war if he can’t get what he wants.”

“While I don’t agree with his methods,” Olivia says firmly, “I don’t think what he wants is a bad thing.” 

“Explain.” 

“He wants Vora to have an independent government,” she asserts. “With the ability to control their own resources, trade, and taxes.”

“And how exactly does he propose to make that happen?”

“A lot has changed in twenty years. You said it yourself: back then, Clario needed resources Vora was in possession of, but instead of finding a way to make it a partnership between two countries, your father chose to flex his muscles and forcibly take them. If Vora is now able to manage those resources and is still willing to share with Clario, war doesn’t need to happen.” 

“What makes you think that’ll all play out the way you think it will?” Silvio asks. “The minute Clario lets Vora govern themselves, Vora will snatch all those resources back and we’ll be right back where we started.”

“I don’t think so,” she counters, gently but firmly. “I think we can convince him to come up with a solution that will satisfy both countries… and one that doesn’t result in Vora challenging Clario to a war they can’t win.”

Silvio looks her up and down. “You really believe that,” he says incredulously after a moment.

“I do,” she nods. “I’ve spent the last twenty-one days stuck on a boat with this man. He’s an asshole and he’s going about this the wrong way, but I… don’t disagree with his ideals. And I’d like to find a way for him to make what he wants to see happen peacefully.”

He stares at her. “You really are an idiot.” His words are harsh, but his tone is fond. It makes a little bloom of guilt sprout in Olivia’s chest, and she pushes it down. “Alright then,” he goes on. “What do you suggest?”

“Diplomacy,” she laughs. “Not ass-kicking.” 

Previous Chapter: Fifteen | Next Chapter: Seventeen

Tag List: @chrissie2003 @kryptoniteforsale @pamakali

[alpaca-clouds]

Why I am blocked on Thick as Thieves

Or: Help! I need help! 😫

Okay, you know what? I hear you. I did the NaNoWriMo poll and you folks really want me to finish Thick as Thieves. And like, I get it. So, let me tell you about why I am right now blocked on the story and what stops me from continuing on it.

The answer is short: Xenk. Xenk is stopping me. Or rather... the lack of more official backstory for him is. Or to be even more specific: My lack of knowledge of Faerûn's history is stopping me a bit.

Let me explain.

One of my framing devices for the romance in the story is supposed to be about the "Ballad of Xenk Yendar". Basically: Ed, crushing on Xenk, starts the story out writing this ballad about Xenk. Given what he knows from Xenk himself, he focuses mostly on the tragedy, which Xenk then is not much of a fan of.

The general idea was, that there were going to be four total versions of that ballad, that kinda symbolize Ed getting to know Xenk better. The first one (at the beginning, where they have not interacted since Neverwinter has been saved) focuses on the tragedy, the second one was going to focus on the hero Xenk, the third one on the paladin (mixing both tragedy and hero), and finally the last one on the man that at that point Ed admits to loving.

Soooooo, the next chapter is supposed to feature the second version and herein lies my problem.

I need some good heroic stories about Xenk (that are not played for laughs) that I could write verses for. But I cannot think of any. Because there is no official stuff on him for the most part - but, well...

I am still fairly new to DnD. Like, I have played some DnD, yes, but always with homebrew worlds, never with Faerûn. Sure, like back before 2010 I played the old Baldur's Gate games and Neverwinter Nights, but... Look, I would lie if I said I remembered much more than the general feeling. Like, I for sure do not know anything about the story of those games.

Now, yes, I am very aware that the general rule for worldbuilding in DnD is: "Just make shit up!" Buuuuuut... My brain blocks me on that front on regard of feeling to badly informed. (This is a general hang up of mine, mind you. It is the general reason why I always had a hangup about writing for giant fandoms with lots of lore like Marvel of Star Wars, because I felt there was too much I didn't know.)

Like, by now I have a general feeling for what the Sword Coast looks lke in the late 15th century. Alright. But that does not help me much with Xenk and what his life looked like between "Szass Tam takes over the Thay" and "plot of the movie happens".

So, yeah... This is what is blocking me right now.

And even with all my nerd friends... I somehow do not have a single one who is super into the lore of Faerûn, whose mind I could pick about this.

Soooo, what I am saying is: Say, is there anyone here, who knows a lot of shit about Faerûn and the Sword Coast, so that I might pick their brains for ideas?

Or alternatively: Do you have any great ideas about heroics that Xenk Yendar could've gotten into prior to meeting Ed, Holga and Co.?

[tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors]

Hi so I’ve actually been reading your stuff for a while with my first read through of loaft being years ago, but I have social anxiety so haven’t really had the courage to say much to you. But I’ve received a strange burst of courage from the ether so I’ve decided to take this opportunity to gush about how absolutely batshit insanely happy your writing makes me!

Laoft is EASILY my favorite fanfic of all time, with pieces verse being a close second. Tbh Laoft is probably in my top 5 favorite media of any kind because it is just THAT GOOD. I absolutely adore these creative stories you’ve made and your interpretations of all the characters and don’t even get me STARTED on the worldbuilding, especially in pieces!

It just makes me so wildly happy any time I read your writing, so much so that it’s stuck with me for YEARS. I cannot commend you enough for your work and I think a great example of how well written your stories are is the fact that I literally got my sibling, who hasn’t watched a single episode of sanders sides, to read Laoft and they LOVED IT as well!

So I just wanted you to know that your work has been a huge light in my life and I really appreciate everything you do! And I hope this message can give you at least a bit of happiness back in return!

(Also sorry for any bad grammar, English may be my first language but that doesn’t mean I’m good at it lmao)

i just woke up so my brain is not on but you are an absolute angel thank you SO much

[lunarifie]

Hi can we remember that characters are Multi-faceted

Rant based on the atsv fandom. I promise I’m not seething. This is very dramatized and my mood will change the next day. Don’t take this seriously.

Edit: I was right, its been 5 minutes and the agony is over. I have found fun funny people.

(VERY minor spoilers. More under cut)

- I am soooo disappointed in the early fandom of spider-verse right now. Maybe its because Ive been hanging around Tiktok when I really shouldnt, because its MOSTLY them with the bad takes but WHY are they SO bad.

- Im just going to start with the controversy with Gwen. Because thats happening for some reason.

- All over tiktok people are treating her as irredeemable and undeserving of Miles, as if she hadn’t gone out of her way to see him even though she wasnt allowed to. Even though the writers gave her a conflict with her father that was supposed to pull the audiences heart strings.

- Its as if people can’t see characters as anything more than one-dimensional. I appreciated every character in spider-verse because they were all so multi-faceted with their own flaws, positives, and motives.

- It just irks me to see people put down Gwen simply because she was slightly stand-offish with Miles. She had so much going on and it made SENSE for her to not want to risk everything she was given. The gift of traveling dimensions, of being safe from her father and to make friends that understand.

- Branching from Gwen, MIGUEL. I love him, he’s great, his backstory is so unique and explains his motive and character perfectly. Again, he’s multi-faceted, and I appreciate that SO much.

- But why is every fanart on tiktok I see JUST him and how hot he is. I understand, hes hot, and thats fine! Its also great because it gives fans something to talk about other than spoilers. But its the ONLY thing I see. Gwen was practically the second main character other than Miles in this movie. We were introduced to her conflict and then her resolution.

- Why not talk about Peter B. and how he must be feeling with Miles in danger?

- Why is Miguels hotness talked and drawn more than that, more than the PLOT. On tiktok AND tumblr. And I can bet that if I check instagram it’d be the same.

- Secondly, the love triangle. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that there was relief at how there was no true love triangle. The spiderverse characters did so well in making romance a component but not the main focus. So why are some fans trying to FORCE a love triangle?

- Examples are: People hating on Gwen, saying she was playing with Mile’s heart by fooling around with Hobie.

- People saying Miles had 100 times more chemistry with Morgo/spider-byte than he ever did with Gwen.

- I love ships, im very big on the fact that people can ship whoever they like as long as its not incest or pedophilia. Im not even the biggest Miles x Gwen shipper. But putting down ANOTHER ship just doesnt sit right with me, especially since its false? The writers are amazing, and they DID amazing at giving Miles and Gwen cute subtle chemistry. All these ship wars just seem like another play at hating Gwen.

- Spiderverse is amazing, and I love that the first movie was a great hit. But it was praised for its story-telling, art, and worldbuilding. The second movie just, isn’t, and I wish it was. Of course, with show and movie fandoms expanding, theres gonna be toxicity introduced. Like this one person who was revulsed by the idea of Gwen being trans, even with her trans pin on her backpack, her protect trans kid flag, and her signature colors.

- Its expected, I just wish it wasn’t.

- Maybe im just on the wrong side of social media, maybe I should wait until I can wedge my way into a spider-verse sub-community fandom I wanna see. Or maybe I just have to wait until this all blows over and then the fandom will revert to character and plot loving. Who knows.

- Im usually not the type of person to be hung over something like this, and I truly don’t think this beginning view of the movie will stick. I promise I don’t hate when people have fun in fandoms.

- Thoughts just needed to be put down and perhaps heard. Soooo if you read all of this, congrats! You have been hit with my very temporary negativity. Don’t let it drag you down! Enjoy the good parts of the fandom as I try to wiggle into those sections!

[shadowqueenjude]

The fandom is so lucky to have you! We appreciate having you here and all that you contribute to it ❤️❤️

1. What brought you into the fandom?

2. What character(s) do you feel the most connected to and why?

3. Out of all of SJM’s books, which one means the most to you and why?

4. Out of all of the SJM couples (fanon, canon, endgame, etc) which one means the most to you and why?

Keep doing you ❤️

This is so sweet! It made my day🥹

1. I finished the ACOTAR series late 2023 and I was devastated to find out that it wasn’t completed! It’s soooooo hard waiting for the next installment in a series. I went through this with The Land of Stories and The Trials of Apollo too 😭😭😭. So yeah I searched online for Elucien/pro Lucien/anti IC content and I couldn’t find shit ANYWHERE. The only place I even saw some decent content was on Tumblr, so I started posting my analyses and rants and writing about ACOTAR and it turned out many people agreed with me! It was such a relief to finally find Lucien stans who also saw holes in SJM’s writing!

2. I resonate with Nesta the most. She’s just so relatable and human to me. First with the parental trauma (real), second with feeling like they’ve disappointed everybody because they weren’t able to do things that no teen girl should have to do, pushing people away because she’s afraid they’ll leave, spitting facts and everybody getting mad at you for it. And Nesta’s modesty: damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I’ll never forgive SJM for robbing her of her modesty, but it’s honestly reflective of how women like her are treated irl. My own family wants me to be more modest (i’m already pretty damn modest) while the outside world wants me to be less modest, and it’s really frustrating being put in a box like that and not being able to be yourself. Nesta’s hard shell soft interior is me-core.

3. I think by far SJM’s best book is Tower of Dawn. The worldbuilding, the romance, the plot, the chemistry between Chaol and Yrene (and Nesryn and Sartaq) was perfection. And Chaol being a genuinely flawed and human character in a world full of Fae feeling useless and learning to grapple with himself and find his purpose and a man who had always prided himself on his body learning to see that he is so much more than that, that he is as much a man with his wheelchair as he is without it, and Yrene, a character who rules by peace and healing, not violence and destruction, showing everybody how strong she is…well, it’s unlike so many of SJM’s books and she didn’t write it to be popular and tropey (Chaol is wildly unpopular in the TOG fandom) which is why it’s so good.

4. My favorite SJM couple that is already confirmed endgame is Elide and Lorcan from Throne of Glass. God, I love them. Elide, the cunning little witch with a limp and innocent eyes, showing just how strong she can be, wielding Lorcan’s axe (😍) and saving him on the battlefield. Manipulating everybody with a few choice words and a flutter of her eyes. Lorcan being utterly mesmerized from the start. Being a menstruation king and taking such good care of her during her periods. Washing her clothes, bringing her dinner…i mean he is so malewife. Elide being a canon ace queen who only engaged in sexual activities after she trusted and loved Lorcan so deeply that she would allow herself to be vulnerable with him. Elide being sassy as hell and Lorcan being into it. Another human, very real character who is a survivor and quite unlike any other character in the SJM-verse.

Aside from that, Ruhnlidia is 🔥 and amongst those which aren’t technically canon endgame yet, Elucien. The political couple. The fashion-forward couple. The charming couple. The regency couple. The brown-eyed couple. The nonviolent couple. They’re the only two who know they’re mates from the start. Arranged marriage forced proximity trope. The tension, the yearning, Lucien as a fucking male lead…gahhhhhhhwodnwksnaklahiknj

Anyway thanks for the ask!