#v shart lore

[artemis-entreri]

[[ This post contains Part 3 of my review/analysis of the Forgotten Realms/Drizzt novel, Glacier’s Edge, by R. A. Salvatore. As such, the entirety of this post’s content is OOC. ]]

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Way of the Drow: Book 2 | Legend of Drizzt #38 (#35 if not counting The Sellswords)

Publisher: Harper Collins (August 09, 2022)

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Additional Information: Artwork for the cover of Glacier’s Edge and used above is originally done by David Palumbo. This post CONTAINS SPOILERS. Furthermore, this discussion concerns topics that I am very passionate about, and as such, at times I do use strong language. Read and expand the cut at your own discretion.

As of this point, I am still finishing this document. I will be posting the subsequent sections. The table of contents will be updated when it is complete.

Contents:

Introduction

I. Positives I.1 Sublime Similes and Marvelous Metaphors I.2 Other Effective Imagery I.3 Consistent Lore and Decent Worldbuilding I.4 Respectable and Respectful Characterization

II. Neutrals

III. Negatives (Technical Writing) [you are here] III.1 Punctuation Problems III.2 Shameful Similes and Maladroit Metaphors III.3 Other Imagery Issues

IV. Negatives (Characterization)

V. World Breaks

VI. Religious Commentary

VII. Ego Stroking

VIII. Problematic Themes

IX. What’s Next

Negatives (Technical Writing)

While not valued by some, correct technical writing, such as spelling, punctuation and grammar, go a long way towards a book’s fundamental readability. Although I consider Salvatore’s errors in the technical department minor compared to the crimes he commits against, for instance, characterization, I will point out the errors in Glacier’s Edge both for the sake of being thorough, but also because it’s pretty embarrassing for an author that touts his status as a multi-time New York TImes Bestseller to have so many issues occur in his technical writing. Some of these instances appear to be typos that were also overlooked by his editor, but some appear to be, appallingly, conscious choices that Salvatore made.

Punctuation Problems

The first example of bad technical writing occurs in the very first sentence of the prologue:

This is one of those shockingly bad conscious choices. “And the cold.” is not a proper sentence, as it lacks both a subject and a predicate. I believe Salvatore was trying to achieve a sense of isolation, with emphasis on the dark, quiet and the cold, but this is a really clumsy and not at all evocative way of going about it. While it’s true that brevity is the soul of wit, it does not mean that one should abandon basic writing rules, especially when doing so doesn’t gain anything at all to convey one’s point. The above construction would work better if it, for instance, told us more about either of the three qualities of dark, quiet, and cold, and then drew a comparison of the other two qualities to the one that’s being specified. As it is, with just those two sentences, dark can be anything from sunset to the lightless areas of the Underdark, quiet could be anything from a classroom during an exam to a soundproofed room, and both a Floridian in New York during November and a Swede in the second month that the sun hasn’t risen would both be cold. Adjectives just flung out there do leave more space for the imagination, but that lack of specificity also fails to convey the qualities of the setting.

The next error is a basic one:

The absence of the comma feels strangely like seeing a car painted a really ugly shade like baby shart green. It’s not a big deal if it’s some old, run down vehicle from an age long past, no one’s going to look at it twice anyway and if they do, the paintjob isn’t what they’d worry about. However, in this case with Mr. Mutli-NYT Bestseller, who believes that his work is more akin to a Ferrari, looking at that painfully basic error is like looking at a freaking Ferrari painted baby shart green complete with textured details in shades of brown and yellow.

The baby shart green car phenomenon reappears with:

I’ll leave it off here rather than coming up with another overly detailed and gross analogy for this technical and very basic error.

Another example of a technical and very basic mistake is the following:

Everyone makes typos, but not everyone throws their weight around boasting about how they’re multi-time NYT Bestsellers and how they “created the drow of the Forgotten Realms” (by the way, he didn’t. Dude didn't even create Lolth or her cult, let alone other drow deities, faiths, cultures, and cities). This kind of thing is just embarrassing for someone with decades of writing experience and access to the editors of one of the world’s top publishing companies.

Shameful Similes and Maladroit Metaphors

While Salvatore has pulled off some successful similes in Glacier’s Edge, the following is not an example of one:

The sad thing about this fail is that it seems that Salvatore had the right idea, but instead of actually describing a delicious, flavor-filled scent from a far-off land, he just leaves it feeling like notes to an editor or ghostwriter to do the actual work. It is understandable that specificity might prove to be a turn-off to some readers, as people’s tastes vary vastly. However, it’s still better to use something specific and evocative, and there are a lot of things that are pretty much safe bets across countless cultures, for instance the smell of bread freshly out of the oven.

Salvatore demonstrates in Glacier’s Edge that he understands how to use similes, even understands how to use them well, but then passages like the following call that knowledge into question:

This is frustrating for two reasons: first, based on how we see that window of ice function, it is literally a trap by D&D standards. If we move away from D&D though, and consider this from the perspective of someone who’s never heard of D&D before, the comparison doesn’t really elucidate anything. This simile, if it can even be called that, is just confounding all around. The sad thing is, this sentence has an immensely easy and straightforward fix: remove everything after the comma and replace the comma with a period. If he’s really married to mentioning the trap comparison, simply remove the “like”, and bam, it’s better.

A successful simile not only employs an evocative image, the comparison should also possess the appropriate mood. The following is a decent comparison, however conveys entirely the wrong mood:

A frantic crab evokes chaos, incoordination, and most of all, retreat, as the only time that most people witness frantic crabs is when they’re trying to eat them and the crab is attempting to flee for its life. It doesn’t even evoke speed, as even a crab in full retreat is not the speediest of creatures. While this could be somewhat mitigated if one were to substitute “demonic” for “frantic” that still doesn't make it truly appropriate. After all, the Hunter, the name given to Drizzt’s primal battle alter ego that puts him in a higher state of instincts and enhances his combat prowess, is supposed to be more akin to an apex predator. Silent, precise and deadly as a great horned owl diving for its prey is more the vibe of the Hunter, not some unintelligent crustacean that’s pretty far down multiple food chains.

Another misuse of simile can be found in the following:

All it takes to fix this one is to change the simile to an explanation. As a simile, the passage fails like the earlier one about a trap reset. Rewritten as, for instance, “a hand reaching up from the floor as though some gigantic creature dwelled below the icy surface”, fewer words are employed, and becomes more evocative.

A good simile loses its effectiveness if used repeatedly. This is the case with the following:

The instance of likening Minolin Fey to a displacer beast is effective, but removing the tentacles and a pair of legs from the feline does not a new simile make. Much like how the first instance of something is unique but the second is a copycat and a poser, this low budget simile falls flat. That isn’t to say repeated and similar similes can’t be effective, for instance if the author wants to convey that a certain character has feline qualities, repeating variations of the comparison can solidify the impression. However, these are two totally different characters. By comparing them to similar things, it only serves to muddle the distinctiveness of their respective personalities.

I’ll take this opportunity to refresh what constitutes a simile: a simile is a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid. Similes, alongside metaphors, all fall under the analogies category. Although it wouldn’t be totally inaccurate to describe the above passage as an analogy, in general analogies are more extensive and elaborate than a simile. Furthermore, analogies are a type of argument where there is a clear comparison and a relation between two different concepts or objects and similes are a literary device that makes a direct comparison between two different things. For this reason, the comparison being made in an analogy can be used to make an explanatory point, whereas a simile cannot be used in the same fashion.

An example of a bad simile is the one found at the end of this passage:

While the imagery of a terrified washerwoman stomping rats isn’t a bad one insofar as being evocative, the mood in the comparison is totally wrong. As a dragon, Tazmikella is among the apex predators of her world, which is true even considering that copper dragons are not the most powerful among dragons. The opponents that she is treading underfoot are certainly to her as at most rats are to a human woman, far less than rats if one is being honest, as the average rat wouldn't likely be eliminated due a a generic stomping, even if the stomper was terrified. Further, the mood of the situation Tazmikella is in compared to the washerwoman is severely off. The passage leading up to the last part projects confidence, ferociousness, and the coordination of a majestic creature dominating her enemies. A terrified washerwoman in contrast likely stomps more floor than rat, and while there might be an argument made for ferociousness, she is anything but coordinated, majestic, or confident in her endeavors. I suppose bonus points should be given to Salvatore for attempting to make an in universe comparison (in the sense that the Realms, as a fantasy world loosely based on medieval times has washerwomen like all such fantasy worlds do), however in this case that is not sufficient to save it from failing. The sad thing is, this simile could be greatly improved by a simple modification: the removal of the word “terrified”, or perhaps replacing it with something to the effect of “frenzied”. With either change, the lack of confidence and coordination can be effectively removed by the reader’s interpretation. The no longer specifically terrified washerwoman becomes one who is accustomed to dealing with rats as one of the aspects of city life, and is going about her routine of chasing them away from her work space. In such a scenario, both confidence and coordination comes from her familiarity with the situation. Better similes can be found for the situation, but the existing one is salvageable.

The final simile fail, which really takes the cake, is the following: 

What the serious heck is this analogy even supposed to mean? Taking it apart doesn’t help in making any more sense of it, starting with how the children sent to war part is supposed to be a positive, but even in Lolthite drow culture that is definitely not a positive practice. What exactly is Gromph feeling here? One would presume pride or perhaps determination, given the impressive scope of his attack and the formidability of his opponent. I think Salvatore might be trying for that Gromph is putting out meteors in a great quantity like some large birthing monster puts out offspring, but even taken in that context, it’s difficult to make sense of this comparison. Is Salvatore saying that Gromph has sent many of his children to war? That Gromph enjoys seeing his children burn? It’s honestly difficult to tell. This is most likely one of those things that he wrote thinking that it sounds cool, and of course those among his fans who believe that the most redeeming quality of women are their looks will be all like, “omg that’s so cool” without actually stopping and considering that it means less than nothing.

Other Imagery Issues

One of the most prominent and obnoxious Salvatorisms has been the “back on his/her/their heels” phrase. In the past, Salvatore used this phrase so much that someone was being forced back on their heels in almost every tense encounter, combat or otherwise. He has gotten better from abusing it so much, hopefully from the realization that people do not actually go back onto their heels when surprised, especially not expert masters of combat. In Glacier’s Edge, this usage appears only four times. One of those times actually has me wondering if Salvatore has indeed progressed enough beyond this old and awful trope to poke fun at himself for it:

As commendable as it would be if he were intentionally making fun of himself, unfortunately this passage is unsuccessful overall. While it is a decent example of using context to define the uncommon word “hallux”, unfortunately the understanding of the word is incomplete. The hallux is indeed on the back side of a bird’s foot, but it’s one of the digits of the foot rather than the actual heel. The hallux of a bird is more like our thumb or big toe, and a creature with bird feet would not want to go back on its hallux anymore than we’d want to put weight on our fingers or toes in the opposite direction that they naturally bend. What would more realistically happen, in the unrealistic scenario of going back on one’s heels, is that the vrock would go back to the part of its feet that’s most similar to our thenars, which are the rounded fleshy parts of the hand at the base of the thumb, or in other words, the “heel” of our palms. Please note that I’m not saying that the above passage would be improved with the incorporation of accurate technical terms. It would not be, and the best way to fix it is to drop this Salvatorism altogether.

Astonishingly, sometimes Salvatore seems to actually forget what a simile is, and/or how to use one:

The above is an utter failure of a writing device masquerading as a simile. The context of the situation is that Galathae and Allefaero are being pursued by polar worms as they desperately try to make their way to the ropes leading out of the worms’ lair. The entity whose side is blackened and smoking is one of the polar worms, who had been struck by one of Allefaero’s lightning attacks. The polar worm had literally been seared by lighting. There is no “as if” about it. The way that this is written is the same type of fail as, “the lamp sat there like an inanimate light-emitting object”, “the ice was as cold as frozen water”, “the fire was hot like burning”, you get the idea. Even if the argument were made that this passage is written the way it is because it’s being told from Galathae’s perspective and that she was really in the zone, that she didn’t know what Allefaero had been up to, it would make even less sense. Galathae and Allefaero had gone down as a two man rescue team, in a highly dangerous situation one doesn’t need to be a seasoned combatant to know to prioritize having each other’s backs. Furthermore, Galathae had seen Allefaero use devastating lightning attacks against the polar worms, and her witnessing his prowess had caused a conscious shift of her perspective of him. Finally, in that same scene, we’re told how sacred Galathae considered her duty of trying to save Allefaero and how she owed it to her god to do so. Given all of these, Galathae would either have to be not very bright at all or have less of a memory than a goldfish to see the polar worm’s injury and think, “Oh gee, that looks like lightning damage, I wonder where it came from?” rather than immediately making the connection between it and Allefaero. It would be easily fixed by dropping the “as if”, or just removing everything after the comma altogether.

Repetition is definitely not the soul of wit, but Salvatore sure enjoys engaging in it. Spamming the words, “magnificent” and “fine”, has long been one of the Salvatorisms, but thankfully with the recent books he seems to have been weaned off of the habit of using those two words. In my analyses of previous books, I noted that unfortunately he has replaced those two favorites with new words to spam. In Glacier’s Edge, he adds “strange creature” to his arsenal:

While in general, three times can hardly be called spamming, Salvatore only uses “strange creature” four times in the book, and three of those refer to Yvonnel 2.0. Moreover, each of those three instances of referring to Yvonnel 2.0 are done by different characters: the first by Sos’Umptu Baenre, the second by Kyrnill Melarn, and the third by Mez’Barris Armgo. Less of imparting to the reader that the Lolthites view Yvonnel 2.0 in a dehumanizing (de-drow-izing?) manner, the repetition of “strange creature” feels more like a memo had been passed around among the Lolthites denoting that this is how Yvonnel 2.0 should be described. Its almost as if Menzoberranzan's Facebook had Yvonnel change her status to “Strange Creature”. It would’ve been more effective for each of the matron mother listed above to have her own way of describing Yvonnel 2.0, but all to the same effect. However, Salvatore does not do this, perhaps out of laziness, or perhaps it was too difficult for him to come up with two variations of the concept of “strange creature”. Here are some alternatives that could’ve worked: bizarre entity, aberration, odd beast, incomprehensible personage. I didn’t use a thesaurus for those, but perhaps Salvatore could benefit from using one. However, a thesaurus is just a tool, and like any tool, its effectiveness depends on the abilities of its wielder. Knowing Salvatore, sadly, the most likely outcome of the employment of a thesaurus would be phrases that range from weird to cringey in nature. 

One of the ways to distinguish between a good author and a bad one is through gauging the amount of showing versus telling that they employ in their writing. Showing is using descriptions that appeal to the reader’s senses to convey an idea, concept, image and/or conclusion to them, whereas telling is directly informing the reader of the aforementioned things. Writing via showing is superior to writing via telling not only because it’s more poignant, but also it’s more difficult to pull off effectively. Salvatore’s writing unfortunately consists of a great deal of telling rather than showing, and just like there are varying degrees of success when it comes to showing, there are varying degrees of failure when it comes to telling. The following passage in Glacier’s Edge is an example of telling instead of showing, and a particularly incompetent case of it as well:

The failure that I’m specifically referring to is “distinctive-looking”, an adjective that conveys nothing at all in terms of characterization. Distinctive can mean being different from others, or having an uncommon quality. If we take the first meaning, it’s really a ‘well, duh” moment, because everyone looks different from everyone else. The second meaning doesn’t make the descriptor any more effective, for the traits that Salvatore elaborates upon, namely her thick copper hair and bigger than average blue eyes, are not qualities that are all that out of the ordinary. It would be far more effective to take out the waste of the two words and replace them with descriptions of other aspects of her features. For instance, how high and pronounced are her cheekbones? Do her ears have a slight point to them because of her true nature? What is the size of her nose, the height of its bridge, the flare of the nostrils, the shape of its tip? Since this is Ilnezhara, mayhaps she’d incorporate some subtle draconic features in her human appearance, for instance, do her pupils have a slight vertical elongation that only the most observant might note? Are her teeth just slightly too sharp for a human’s, only visible when she grins fiercely? Is her hair straight, curly, or any number of textures, and does it shine with a metallic gleam under sunlight? All of these are just some of the many many examples of how we could be shown about Ilnezhara, instead of being told she’s “distinctive-looking”. As it is however, Salvatore might as well be describing the protagonist of the live action Alita: Battle Angel movie, a film most remember by the realistic anime-proportioned character:

Change the hair and eye color, and we’d have the “distinctive-looking” woman described above. That’s truly a face that’ll stick in your mind because it’s so much unlike anything else you’ve seen before, hence distinctive. Sorry, not sorry.

Salvatore’s fight scenes might as well be treatises on telling instead of showing. In the more recent books, the fight scenes have gotten better, mainly through their decreases in length. The shorter sequences have reduced the likelihood of there being more words than clarity about what is actually happening. Often the earlier descriptions have played out like Hollywood C-list stop-action fight sequences, as this reader’s experience demonstrates:

However, this isn’t to say that the telling has gotten any better or is even reduced. Case in point:

Much like the earlier example with “distinctive-looking”, this passage serves us up a bunch of words with very little meaning. It also feels totally devoid of heart. In previous novels, Salvatore would liken Drizzt’s combat maneuvers to a deadly dance, now, these descriptors fall so flat that they don’t even possess the concept that they could leap off the page and lift our imaginations. Like all of Salvatore’s combat scenes, there is so much lost potential. Instead of making a grocery list of occurrences, the scenes would be much more evocative if they, like with all effective writing, appealed to all of our senses. Action scenes have the additional potential of throwing the reader into the midst of them by offering us glimpses of the participants’ thoughts and reactions, as well as what they see, hear, feel, smell, and taste, but of course, Salvatore doesn’t do that either. I suppose the one upside to the example cited above is that at least he didn’t actually cite a specific number of strikes and conceivable angles, which, given his track record, would’ve been laughably ridiculous in nature.

It is difficult to say why the examples covered in this section exist, as many of them are easy fixes, or have corresponding successful instances as discussed in the Positives section. As that section showed, Salvatore can do better, but it’s anyone’s guess why he doesn’t. Of course, while it does happen with some books, it would be unreasonable to expect every book to excel throughout. However, this reader can’t help but feel that a little extra effort can go a long way into improving the quality of Drizzt novels, at least in the technical department.

It is difficult to say why the examples covered in this section exist, as many of them are easy fixes, or have corresponding successful instances as discussed in the Positives section. As that section showed, Salvatore can do better, but it’s anyone’s guess why he doesn’t. Of course, while it does happen with some books, it would be unreasonable to expect every book to excel throughout. However, this reader can’t help but feel that a little extra effort can go a long way into improving the quality of Drizzt novels, at least in the technical department.

[systemic-dreams]

every ghost lore video is a shitpost that just makes me even more confused than the last. and they're on the official GHoSt Youtube channel???? wtf? why are all the popes dead? and only one of them is an actual ghost? but he wasn't a ghost when the band started? he died recently? and his ghost sharted in his illegitimate son's car??? the cardinal rides a tricycle around the satanic temple ????????

ghost isn't a band. it's a monty python sketch with some heavy metal rock numbers peppered in.

mark my words, the next pope is gonna be papa biggus dickus with some broken italian accent and his signature look will be a codpiece with a big V on it. tobias, im gonna eat your rubber face! i am absolutely feral over this. why have you put so much effort into blatant lies??? like, the production value on all this must be insane. you are losing so much money doing this. what is your game? what is your master plan? what is going on? and when are we getting a netflix show?

[prometheanglory]

Hi! I just wanna know what the ethereal 4 think of each other especially since they get grouped together often. Thank you!

something like this !

[prometheanglory]

*Chapter 6 spoilers*

Is Vinh aware of Idia’s position in S.T.Y.X ? Is she helping him in any way at all ?

VINHGNIHYDE ERA IGNIHYDE INSANITY I WILL NEVER SHUT UP

in truth i’m like . waiting around for some more confirmation from the canon plotline abt how involved the actual dorm itself is with the idia/styx shenanigans but…. wuehheg…. 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

in solidarity of leona and malleus/lilia's overall stance of knowledge, i feel like vinh would be on par with them in terms of general knowledge! if anything, she does have a bit more insight as someone who is in ignihyde and does handle a fair amount of like... internal business inside both NRC and ignihyde?

then again, i feel it'd be much more interesting to the vinh+idia dynamic that she actually isn't aware as people expect her to be? she isn't as close to the shroud brothers as appearances and formalities might suggest. i’ve been mulling over revamping and revising some aspects of my twst ocs and overall i think i wanna lean away from how heavily vinh’s character interjects into the shroud brothers’ but still close enough to maintain a lil pizzazz… 🧐 she’s still viable to being viewed as an unofficial secretary and involved in enough ignihyde bureaucracy to come across as a vice-head, but ultimately that’s all in others’ assumption… to say that she’s seen as a ‘close’ friend of the shroud brothers is also iffy — granted, it’s a little hard to deny that she is definitely a face that is associated with them if either of them are unavailable. a pillar of support and company in some distant way, but there isn’t an actual drive between them to be actual… like, communicative and supremely involved friends. what exists of her awareness is mainly what she’s scrapped together from what rare and vague pieces of themselves they share with each other and her own observations.

she’s likely made the connection by now that idia is of a high-born position, he comes from wealth, and most importantly, he is deeply connected with styx. the exact extent of everything is still unclear to her. she’s probably pretty close to hitting the nail on his head, but this is only narrowly avoided bc vinh has never particularly been one to pry into other people’s affairs. granted, something like styx is something that she can’t really ignore, considering it’s been around for as long as it has.

she was aware of ‘styx’ prior to their rebranding and modernization… but the sierras of ambrosia has never actually had much contact with styx at all. as reckless as their conditions may seem to the common mage, there has been no documented overblot or actual loss of control within the nobles of the mountain or the cloud. if you were to ask anyone who’s lives on the cloud/mountain, they’d be able to tell you that the terrain itself acts as a magical crystal — absorbing magical energy (but instead of storing it, most of it is converted into an incredibly crude form of magic that few beings can handle… hence why only a few groups can exist on the cloud and mountain alike) if there ever were to be styx presence within the sierras of ambrosia, chances are that it’s within the commonfolk instead of anywhere near the mountain or cloud, but i’m sure they’ve probably… stopped by once or twice in history briefly to run a check or so. not a very frequent presence to think about, u know.

I DERAILED A BIT THERE BUT… BACK TO STYX. vinh definitely isn’t helping idia in this case (or at least, isn’t going to help him with the entire styx scenario as the current plot has it but she probably has inadvertently given him a vague push in coming to this conclusion beforehand). as much as she respects idia as a dorm leader, her loyalty doesn’t lie with him. she adheres to the wellbeing of ignihyde.

as far as i’m concerned with this plot so far !! this is idia acting entirely outside of ignihyde and is involving no ignihyde students at all sans ortho (staring blankly at my isolated and self-ostracized dr.frankenstein/genius idia narrative and gripping my seat so hard the cushions rip…. he needs nobody but ortho…) the moment his plans encroached too much on the safety of other students, she was inclined to be opposed to him.

and if im kinda off, then im kinda off 🐳 oh whale

[prometheanglory]

excuse the doodoo quality, i gave up in fighting with my video editing program 🙈 i felt like remaking vinh’s voice reel with some new extra clips and an extra english dub for funsies

CV: Ayaka Fukuhara (JPN), Anairis Quiñones (ENG)

[prometheanglory]

Have you ever drawn Edgar before ?

i have ! granted, i feel like i forgot to actually upload it so 💀 ill post him here (bonus: holly)

[prometheanglory]

seems like a certain prince got some new clothes 🙈 aka xuehai’s official shundain uniform teehee

( @briarrosescurse owns the beefcake dorm )

[prometheanglory]

i made this ipod-doodoo-quality video to send on discord bc tumblr wouldn’t let me post the og thing, and i forgot where i put the bigger file so this is what we’re working with

(CV: tomoaki maeno)

[prometheanglory]

no april fools joke on this fine day because im lazy as hell but heres a chara energy boards because i might as well 🙈

ethereals [marian/sarge/vinh/xuehai]

stagrove [chase/berk/flint/ronaldo/cordell]

vinh - scathach (fgo), artoria lancer (fgo), medusa (fgo), bedivere (fgo), zhongli (genshin impact), marianne (f3h), naomi misora (death note), tsubaki nakatsukasa (soul eater), asami sato (alok)

xuehai - alucard (castlevania), ozymandias (fgo), sephiroth (ffvii), artoria lancer alter (fgo), kei (blackstar), olivier mira armstrong (fma), kasen kanesada (tkrb), nagisa ran (enstars), gilgamesh archer (fgo)

chase - jet black (cowboy bebop), sin (blackstar), gudetama (sanrio), robin hood (fgo), lon’qu (fe13), mifune (soul eater), eustace (gbf), siegfried (fgo), ookurikara (tkrb)

berkeley - rockruff (pokemon), sinju (blackstar), stoutland (pokemon), tetoria nagumo (enstars), chiaki morisawa (enstars), arash kamangir (fgo), mutsunokami yoshiyuki (tkrb), akane tsunemori (psychopass), bolin (alok)

berkeley - rockruff (pokemon), sinju (blackstar), stoutland (pokemon), tetoria nagumo (enstars), chiaki morisawa (enstars), arash kamangir (fgo), mutsunokami yoshiyuki (tkrb), akane tsunemori (psychopass), bolin (alok)

berkeley - rockruff (pokemon), sinju (blackstar), stoutland (pokemon), tetoria nagumo (enstars), chiaki morisawa (enstars), arash kamangir (fgo), mutsunokami yoshiyuki (tkrb), akane tsunemori (psychopass), bolin (alok)

flint - fakir (princess tutu), ginoza nobuchika (psychopass), death the kid (soul eater), edmond dantes (fgo), hans christian andersen (fgo), riza hawkeye (fma), hokuto hidaka (enstars), asclepius (fgo), ciel (elsword)

ronaldo - izumi sena (enstars), yamanbagiri chougi (tkrb), faye valentine (cowboy bebop), asuka langley soryu (nge), lico (blackstar), cleopatra (monster high), stocking (psg), meltryllis (fgo), jiang cheng (mzds)

cordell - fire/thunder (soul eater), qiqi (genshin impact), oryou-san (fgo), espurr (pokemon), ib (ib), flabebe (pokemon), poogie (monhun), paul bunyan (fgo), elizabeth (gintama)

[prometheanglory]

Can Vinh actually die? I've been thinking about that everytime she mention about mortals

she can ! but the likelihood of that actually happening isn’t all too high and a case of someone of the same species(?) as her hasn’t actually… happened in a long long time.

weird explanation below

in essence, the ‘divine’ nobles of the sierras of ambrosia live entirely off of magical energy and magical energy alone, they have no need to eat or drink or sleep (however they often do it anyway for sake of indulging themselves! buuut if their magical output is lower than what’s needed, they do need to rely more on food, water, etc. to make up for what energy is not being provided). the sun also provides an additional source of energy for them to leech off of!

when it comes to illness, few things can actually plague them to the point of death because the states of their bodies are so volatile with magic that few bacteria (or viruses) can even tolerate such a harsh environment. horrible injury too, so long as their bodies are producing magic and have enough energy — they will be able to heal through anything, even if it involves reattaching limbs (and heads, in some cases).

to kill someone from that divine noble class, it absolutely cannot be within the cloud or mountain’s reaches, because that is where they are at their apex with both the endless sun and the harsh environment that drains the life out of anyone who cannot meet the divine’s demands for mana (and subsequently, both environments feed into the nobles’ own magical energy stores.)

in general, to kill a divine sierran ambrosian noble, it’s only possible when their magical energy is incredibly low and cannot regenerate in time with the current demands however the rate at which they die varies in the event of magic depletion.

most nobles don’t really have many clear weak points, however in the case of vinh — it would be both her unique magic’s incredibly draining nature and the simple fact that she is 1) not on the mountain/cloud 2) is actively sabotaging her own magical output. even so, her output is still incredibly high despite her lowering her own energy levels so killing her would still take quite a bit of effort.

[prometheanglory]

Is Vinh in her hundreds or thousands? Im a bit curious in how old she is

i’m mainly waiting on some canon confirmation (or estimates) of how some twst timelines work to solidify her age range, so it’s been left as ambiguous for the time being!

in general, i would say that she should be upwards of lilia’s own age! the periods in which lilia served as a soldier for the valley of thorns… i think it’d be funny if it coincided a bit with the last period of the power struggle in the sierras of ambrosia (specifically, very very close to the declared ‘end’ of the sierras’ conflict. for context if you need it!! vinh was born in like… an entirely different period of the power struggle. like second to the last era.) :>

ty for asking!

[prometheanglory]

Does Vinh have a limit to heat/temperature she can handle? If yes, then till when is she stop being immune to fire?

under normal circumstances, she does not!

however if her magical energy output is lower than what her body really needs — then her immunity to heat is reduced.

[as she is right now, she has taken a very very minor decrease in her heat immunity but it’s not really enough to make a difference… however if we put her unique magic into consideration accompanied by its rapid onset magic energy consumption — there is a chance that she could incinerate herself if pushed too far. she hasn’t been pushed to this point yet, however ! she did brush fingers with this proposed limit in her youth when she was studying under the head patriarch/her grandfather.]

[prometheanglory]

Watch your head! It’s open season in NRC! 

Introducing Stagrove, founded on the resilience of the Hunter!

🍃These dormitories are lush and dense in greenery —let your inner hunter out and race through the undergrowth to discover the world beneath the canopies! Clamber from treehouse to treehouse, leap from branch to branch; bask in the splendor of the wilderness and breathe in adventure!🍃

“I’m here.”

Name: Chase Manchester (Dorm Leader) Grade: Year 3, Class B, Seat 15 Birthday: October 21st Age: 19 Origin: The Ridge of Willows Unique Magic: Hunting Season - He expels an aura that afflicts all people in his range with incredibly high levels of adrenaline and fear Twisted from: The Man / Hunter from Bambi

A silent and distant type with an unbothered personality. It is said that his presence is one that commands attention and silence. His steely resolve and unwavering strength is a point of intrigue for many, however he is also an incredibly elusive figure that is difficult to locate and talk to at times. He’s a childhood friend of Flint and Berkeley.

🍂🍁🍂🍁 🍂🍁🍂🍁 “You’re awfully bold for someone standing at point-blank. Watch your mouth.”

Name: Flint Remington (Vice Dorm Leader) Grade: Year 3, Class C, Seat 18 Birthday: May 3rd Age: 18 Origin: The Ridge of Willows (He’s originally from the Land of Pyroxene) Unique Magic: Locked and Loaded - A magical blast is fired that, upon contact with the target, will agitate the nerves and magical circuits of the target, but causes no external damage. Twisted from: The Hunter’s Rifle from Bambi

A serious and quiet boy with a harsh sort of beauty and an even harsher personality. His honesty is incredibly brutal and he doesn’t bother to beat around the bush with anybody, so he’s built up a rather fearsome reputation as ‘the Alpha Bitch’ of Stagrove. He’s a childhood friend of Chase and Berkeley.

🍂🍁🍂🍁 🍂🍁🍂🍁

“Hey! I ain’t done— I mean, I wasn’t done talking about me!”

Name: Ronaldo Buckman Grade: Year 2, Class A, Seat 9 Birthday: November 16th Age: 18 Origin: The Ridge of Willows Unique Magic: Heart of the Woods - He can manipulate plants in the surrounding area to his whims. Twisted from: Ronno from Bambi 

An egotistical and haughty boy that likes to pick fights, however whether or not he stays to actually fight them is up in the air. It seems like his behavior doesn’t match his heart.

🍂🍁🍂🍁 🍂🍁🍂🍁

“Huh? Pals? I’d reckon that we were already pals, else, I’d be chasing ya through them there bushes!” 

Name: Berkeley Houndstooth Grade: Year 2, Class B, Seat 12 Birthday: August 26th Age: 17 Origin: The Ridge of Willows Unique Magic: On the Run - Targets hit with his spell can be tracked for as long as up to 14 days, however its effectiveness decreases with time. Twisted from: The hunting dogs from Bambi

A rough and tumble boy with a notable lack of restraint and manners. He’s a loud and honest idiot but he’s very loyal despite how ‘uncouth’ he may seem. A childhood friend of Chase and Flint, and he has a very large family that he likes to tell stories about.

🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁

“Huh? Are ya leavin’ already?”

Name: Cordell Snare Grade: Year 1, Class B, Seat 24 Birthday: February 9th Age: 16 Origin: The Ridge of Willows Unique Magic: Stay with Me - The target (animate or inanimate) has a spot that is pinpointed and is incapable of moving until the spell is released. Twisted from: The leg snare from Bambi

A very sweet and polite boy of few words, however he’s also rather clingy and affectionate. He can be a bit of a cloudcuckoolander. He’s been noted to be rather elusive, and to some degree, unsettling.

[prometheanglory]

Is Vinh the eldest daughter out of all her sisters ?

she is, yes!

there’s a number of gaps in respective ages between her and her sisters but they all get along very well (as far as her ‘youngest’ sisters go — they’re currently around… young preteen age or so.)

the exact number of sisters she has is… currently up in the air bc i’m no jeweler and i hate counting but — there is essentially one sister for every variation of gold (and gold alloy)!

[prometheanglory]

What are some of your ocs' parents/guardians like?

uhh let’s see. who’s parents have do i not talk about much.

> ronaldo’s dad is pretty stoic of a dude, doesn’t really open up much to anyone but he works hard for his family. he’s been known to be pretty stern. his mom on the other hand is a pretty demure and sensitive person, she tends to bend really easily to pressure. there’s not much culture overlap between the two, what with ronnie’s mom being from the land of hot sands and ronnie’s dad being from the ridge of willows... > guts’ birth father was a pretty gruff dude. not much of a ladies’ man, but that’s not to say he wasn’t easy on the eyes. a merman from some area of the seas - presumably some place cold, but he never really elaborated or bothered to tell anyone. he doesn’t have much magical prowess at all (if any). > eddie’s guardians are lola’s parents nowadays, but his parents were generally pretty scrappy for a couple. never stayed together long. he doesn’t actually remember much about them, but he remembers his mother being a pretty hardy woman but didn’t really care much for anything outside of herself and eddie. she was a little reckless with her magic, if eddie’s memory serves him right. his dad on the other hand, he remembers nothing (he was a pretty independent guy, wasn’t much of a family man.) > xuehai’s parents are essentially magicless. As the reigning sovereigns of the polar crests, they are very known for their elegance and refined/scholarly demeanor. ...but they’re quite conservative in their ways, they don’t particularly understand much of why xuehai behaves the way he does... his mother is a very silent woman, she doesn’t enjoy much company outside of her immediate family. his father is also a very quiet person, however he’s known to be a bit more... modest, especially when compared to how xuehai turned out. > edgar’s parents... imagine the typical very Old Money gothic noble family on a fancy big estate who are very stern and cold.... now make them moth-fairies. you got it. his mother is very big on the arts and literature, so she was quite happy when she discovered edgar had a fondness for writing! ...but then it started to distract him way too much from his noble duties and acting in a presentable way. his dad is... stern. serious. stick in the mud. but also both of them gave up on trying to keep edgar completely in line, so really, who wins? they’re both very skilled in terms of magic, but it is edgar’s mother who beats out his father in terms of prowess. > musu’s parents are essentially mercenaries? they’re from a certain... branch-off of the imperial ‘knights’ from the polar crests, however musu’s family line were cut off due to their gradually declining power and overall prestige. while musu himself has let go of his last name and set out for his own sake, his parents stay pretty rooted in that old tradition of theirs. his mother is a honest but brusque woman with a pretty ‘humble’ personality, while his father was a very adventurous type of guy with plenty of ego to go around. only his mother was dragon beastfolk (more skilled with hand-to-hand combat than actual magic), whereas his father was a regular human who’s only real skill was... apparently hitting people with big stick. apparently that was plenty to impress musu’s mother though, so. who’s winning^2 > holly’s parents are actually low-born fae from the valley of thorns! she does not have much, if any, ties to the ruling class of the valley of thorns. her parents own a flower boutique, and are generally very sweet people... but always a little flighty. her mother in particular is a very dreamy and whimsical person... she doesn’t care for much outside of her flowers (she does care, but she’s very... flower-oriented) whereas her father is a bit of a... salesman, if you will. he’s very chatty. very convincing.

[prometheanglory]

hiiiii welcome to the post that i’m going to copy/paste vinh’s entire backstory/premise on and keep rbing with blurbs that i couldn’t fit into my ass-long vinh sermon 🕺