Hi Plutt, thanks for the asks and sorry it took so long to get around to them. The ask game in question can be found here
Answering these for Selene since she's my current main focus and I'm just getting back into the writing saddle so to speak. Answers are under the cut to save everyone's dashes.
4. Describe three of the most important photographs your OC owns.
Photographs don't exist in the main Titan canon, but if they did the three most important ones to Selene would be; one of her old adventuring party most likely one from the start of their journey, a candid photo of a happy Yastromo with Greydown (as a raven obv) and a photo of the whole Found Family in the Gardens of Galana taken not long after the rebuilding effort of Toreguarde was finally completed.
37. What is the most common feeling or emotion in your OC's life?
Oof, this is a difficult one. Selene was a very anxious and depressed person for a very long time, though this was interspersed with happier moments up until the rigours of her job became too much to cope with. Following her chat with Greg and her Resurrection, however, she is much happier and less liable to fall into prolonged periods of depression.
49. Does your OC fear death?
Before she actually died; yeah she was a bit terrified of the idea of it, mostly due to the trauma inflicted during her journey to save the world when she was younger. Following said death and ress; she's a lot calmer about it, but is still a bit nervous about where she's gonna end up in the end because she doesn't actively worship any deities in particular while her partner very clearly does.
Thanks for the asks, it's nice to get back into the head of one of my favourite characters after so long.
Writers have two modes and they are "i haven't written in three weeks and i am rotting from the inside and everything feels wrong and i don't know who i am anymore" and "i wrote for four hours straight and forgot to eat and it's dark outside and when did that happen and i feel like a god" and there is nothing in between. no chill. no medium setting. just famine or feast and a very confused nervous system.
Just spent 45 minutes researching what a specific street in a city smells like in october so i could write the word "damp." the word is in the final draft. it is doing its job. it cost me 45 minutes and a mild obsession with historical weather records. worth it. the word is perfect. you would not believe how hard i worked on that word.
Writing the post-ress Selene stuff has made me realise that she is a massive chaos gremlin hidden underneath nearly 4 decades of anxious trauma and masked audhd. I don't think Edwin know what he's let himself i for by agreeing to go with her to find Jin. And no wonder she got a magpie as her familiar đ¤Ł
Notes: There will be more to this story, I just got inspired to write this part of it
While it had taken far longer than either of them would have liked, Selene and Edwin had finally managed to locate the prison their old friend's erstwhile apprentice had been taken to. What didn't take nearly as long was distracting the guards on duty and making their way down to the dungeon level without getting spotted.
Selene peered into the largest cages in the prison, finding no trace of any humanoid creature within,
"Godsdamnit," she hissed, "did they move him already?" She heard Edwin hum uncertainly from the other side of the room,
"I don't believe so, the shift change isn't for another two or three hours yet." he said, "Maybe â?" he was cut off by a soft cackle from Chrackle, who was perched on a shelf above a series of smaller cages,
"Over here." he called, trying to keep his croak as quiet as he possibly could, "Little weasel in bottom right cage."
Selene frowned as she looked over in her familiar's direction. While she knew he could speak and understand Sylvan, Fai had never learned it so why would his apprentice know it even they were polymorphed?
"You sure?" she asked. Chrackle clacked his beak in exasperation,
"Sure." came the terse reply, "Said he forced into animal form and locked in anti-magic cage so no change back." The magpie cocked his head, "Said it natural ability, not Polymorp."
Edwin frowned momentarily before snapping his fingers,
"He's a Hengeyokai!" he exclaimed, "Poor fellow was probably forced into his animal form at some point and got stuck in it when he was put into the cage. Probably so he'd be easier to handle."
"Easier to handle? Have you tried catching a weasel when it's trying to escape? I think I still have some scars from the time I tried to get a hold of Mika when he went rummaging in my pack for food at one point." Selene grumbled. Edwin shrugged,
"It's easier than dealing with a humanoid that can cast a bunch of spells." he pointed out, "Especially if you're wearing sufficiently armoured gloves." He glanced to the doorway leading back out of the dungeon, "In any case, it looks like we're going to have to hire some help to get that cage unlocked." he sighed, "Anti-magic means neither of us can open it here."
Selene snorted and crossed her arms,
"No chance, the only rogue I've ever trusted, and will ever trust, was Alexis. I'm not bribing some random stranger to help us only to get double-crossed and stabbed in the back, thanks." She looked over to Chrackle and grinned, "Besides, who said we needed to hire help anyway?"
Edwin frowned in consternation as Selene rummaged in her pockets, only to produce two extremely shiny silver coins. She held them up into a beam of light that was filtering through a crack in the wall behind her,
"Chrackle, you want to get your beak on a couple of coins from Royal Lendle?" Chrackle's head spun to look at the coins, his head cocking,
"Listening." he croaked. Selene's grin widened as she pulled out her spellbook,
"How about you take a look at that lock and find the key for us? I'll even throw in access to all all my utility spells for the day." she added, waving the book. Chrackle narrowed his eyes,
"Deal only if access to whole book."
"One use of Fireball in case of an emergency."
"Two uses, or Chain Lightning."
"Chain Lightning drops the coins."
There was a moment of silence before Chrackle finally clacked his beak, "Coins, all utility and two fireball then."
The little weasel, who had come to the front of his cage, gave Selene a long look. The wizard shrugged,
"You end up with a magpie as a familiar, then we can talk about you judging me." She returned her attention to Chrackle, "Well, get cracking, or you're not getting anything." Chrackle gave her an annoyed cackle, but quickly fluttered down and clung onto the front of the cage, peering at the lock. Edwin walked slowly over to Selene,
"You sure Chrackle can help with this?" he asked incredulously. Selene nodded,
"Absolutely, he figured out how to tell roughly what kind of key fit a lock when we were younger. It got him completely banned from visiting Wolftown after he snatched the keys to several jewellry stores in town at one point. Alexis then spent some time helping him refine his⌠uhh⌠talent, when she found out it was something he could do."
Edwin stayed quiet, ruminating over this new revelation as he watched Chrackle finish inspecting the lock. The magpie cackled and immediately dashed out the door, casting Invisibility on himself. Just two minutes later, there was a shout, a yelp and a cry of 'Ghosts!' a moment before a ring of keys flew into the room and hovered in front of Selene. Selene sighed and took a hold of the ring,
"The whole lot, really?"
"Hard get right one off. Sleep spell no work." Chrackle's voice croaked from her shoulder. There was another pause before one of the keys lifted up and away from the others. Selene huffed out a sigh, then looked over to Edwin as she took a hold of the key to the cage,
"Edwin, be a dear and either make us a new exit or block the guards from getting in so I can make one instead. Looks like we're doing this the hard way after all." she quipped. The weasel squeaked frantically,
"Jin say he use mini-teleport spell once free." Chrackle's voice translated "Big enough to get all outside." Selene beamed at the weasel,
"Excellent. Still, might be a good idea to block off that doorway, Edwin."
Edwin grumbled as he pulled out his Holy Symbol,
"You are having entirely too much fun, given everything is going wrong right now." he muttered. He heaved a sigh, muttered out a prayer and cast Wall of Thorns over the doorway, "There, that should buy us a minute or two."
"Not that we'll need it." Selene replied as the cage door swung open, "Thank you Chrackle, excellent work as always. I'll give you your reward once we're somewhere the guards can't confiscate it." There was a croak of acknowledgement from the ether as the weasel jumped out of the cage, scurried a few feet away, then glowed as it stood upright and grew to about 4 feet tall. The humanoid weasel sighed as it stretched out its back and arms,
"That's better. Animal form is fine for sneaking around and exploration, a pain in the buttocks for doing much of anything else." His ears twtiched as the sound o heavily armoured boots echoed down the hall, "Anyway, introductions and explanations can wait. Let's get out of here before the guards get a big enough fire going to burn through those thorns." He gestured for Edwin and Selene to stand beside him and looked around curiously, "Our little feathered friend with us? Good. Hold on!"
Selene quickly held her breath while Edwin grimaced as space folded around the little group as the Dimension Door spell completed. The keyring jangled as the cage door swung in the sudden breeze created by the small, temporary vacuum as the guards burned through the thorns barring their path.
A tall, ashen coloured dwarf with black lacquered armour stepped into the dungeon. His nose wrinkled at the stink of arcane magic in the air. He turned to glower at the nervous gnome hovering in the doorway behind him,
"You tell me there are ghosts haunting this place. I sense nothing more than simple parlour tricks designed to get you to leave your post." he growled. The gnome squeaked and shuffled back a few steps,
"I â I'm sorry my Lord Inquisitor. Bâ but there was no indication oâ ofâŚ" he gulped, trailing off at the stern stare levelled at him. The Duregar snorted, glanced at the cage that had been opened, then turned his attention to his kin gathered behind the gnome guardsman,
"Inform Lord Vaul that there appears to be a breach in the arcane defenses of the town. No doubt the escape of this particular prisoner will be of great interest to him." One of the other Duregar saluted and promptly marched outside. The Inquisitor turned his gaze back to the guardsman, who shrank even further into himself, "As for you," he stated flatly, "As you have been so utterly derelict in your duty, I rather think some time in the mines will be enough to remind you of what it means to work."
"Myâ My Lord. No, please â I âI beg you, not there."
"I'm afraid execution is reserved only for those who cannot work. You will not escape the punishment you deserve through death. Take him."
The gome screamed as two more Duregar grabbed his arms and dragged him out of the stairway. The Inquisitor kneeled and ran a finger over the area where the Dimension Door had been cast,
"You can attempt to scurry all you want, little rodent, but Drakemar and Laduguer will have their due eventually."
For the fourth year in a row now, it's time for Small Fandom Summer! Join me for Small Fandom Summer! It's real easy to play:
Make a fanwork for something that has fewer than 1000 English-language works on AO3
Post it to AO3
And then you've done it! You've made a thing and you've diversified the fandom ecosystem! You're basically a hero.
Q: The fandom I want to create for has more than 1000 English-language works on AO3, but the specific pairing I want to write for has fewer than that. Does that count?
A: Yes!
Q: What if it has more than 1000 English-language works on AO3, but, like, just barely?
A: Okay!
Q: What if it actually has a lot more than 1000 English-language works on AO3, but it still feels small?
A: Sure!
Q: What if I don't want to post it to AO3? What if I don't even have an AO3 account? Can I post it somewhere else?
A: Wherever!
Q: What if--
A: Just do a thing, friend. Make a thing. Share the thing. This is not meant to be restrictive; this is meant to be inspirational. Create the fanworks you want to see in the world. Make a stranger happy by appealing to their niche interests. Bring joy.
And if you want to give yourself some silly little Steam-like achievement badges to commemorate your accomplishments, well, you're in luck! I've made a bunch of them right here! You can grab the ones that apply to your work and paste them wherever you like and feel good about what you've done. Here's a few of my favorites:
So you see? This is meant to be silly and fun.
There's nowhere to sign up. There's nothing to commit to. There's zero pressure. You just do it if you do it, and don't if you don't. But if you do want to play (yay!), tag your stuff with #small fandom summer so we can all swoop in and appreciate everyone else's efforts.
a thick forest made up of thorny bushes, countless scraps of fabric and armor tangled in the thick of it from past victims
underwater plants that grab on if they are touched but rather than pulling down, they wait until their prey tires and drowns, sinking down to the ocean floor all by themselves
a cemetery where people are laid in bushes and by morning are fully cocooned in vines
deadly berries that, like a parasite, grow alongside the root of a bush with edible berries and imitate their berries perfectly, so that no one would know they are picking poison
dead trees stretching as far as you can see with flourishing wildlife in between
a cursed land in which everything that grows flourishes, but is deadly if consumed, until no creature can live there anymore and it becomes eerily silent, not even a bug to be heard
giant flesh eating plants growing on top of fortifications
plants that, once ingested, take on parasitic properties and grow inside their host until the host passes. the plant uses their bodyâs nutrients to root down where they died and flourish quickly, roots intertwining with the hostâs skeleton
[Prompt Calender: May 30th, National Water a Flower Day]
College AU Prompts (but it is all quotes I have overheard at uni)
âI cried so hard during the exam, my professor had to call me in so I would identify letters for him that he couldnât read anymore.â
(whispered aggressively halfway through a 90min linguistics lecture) âWhat fucking class is this? This isnât biochem!â
âWho brought their dog to the lecture and why is it loose?â âOh, Emma belongs to the head of the cultural sciences faculty. She likes to explore while her mom is lecturing.â
âThis class literally makes me want to send a pipe bomb to the faculty.â (said right outside the lecture hall blocking the door, with their prof standing right behind them, trying to pass)
âI almost wrote âdo you even read thisâ into my paper because there is no way he sends all of us feedback that quick.â âDid you?â âNo, Iâm scared. What if he does correct all of our work that quick and thatâs how I find out I just work astronomically slow??â
âHello class. Across the hallway over there is my office where my son is currently being babysat through zoom by my mother. If you happen to see chaos while my back is turned, please let me know.â
âHow would you like to receive feedback on your work? In person, per emailâŚ?â âI would prefer not to get any feedback.â
*student reads explicit buffy fanfiction to the class for their presentation on vampire depictions in pop culture while the chronically offline prof in the back furiously takes notes and looks genuinely awed*
[Prompt Calender: June 6th, National Higher Education Day]
Relationship Conflicts that donât Center Romance
a healer in a plague-stricken city discovers their apprentice is immune to the symptoms, but also a silent carrier that is actively spreading the disease
two friends running a small criminal operation are offered immunity if one testifies against the other, but both begin separately planning to take the fall to protect the otherâs future
a successful warlord meets their former apprentice, who has become a pacifist negotiator
after growing up in an extremely toxic environment, one sibling wants to leave and the other doesnât understand why
when one of the kids of a supernatural hunter family is turned into a werewolf, their sibling needs to dismantle their belief system to help keep them safe
finding out that they only got their job because a friend pulled some strings without telling them causes someone to reevaluate their skill and success
former roommates at an academy for muscle-for-hire meet again. one has become a bodyguard, the other an assassin, and both now have the same mark
after finding out their best friend betrayed them years ago, they chose to get revenge now, as the pain is fresh
a spirit becomes accidentally attached to a random disaster of a person and helps them tackle everyday life
[Prompt Calender: June 5th, Aromantic Visibility Day]
Okay I know it's an old thing everyone's seen a million times, but...
I really do love it when a character gets to safety after some grueling experience they survived and got out of by their own strength and skill and cunning, and... then gets drastically worse very rapidly afterwards. Just utterly collapsing, sick, out of strength, in so much pain, hardly able to get out of bed without help, probably emotionally an utter mess too
Because they've just been pushing their body on and on, to its limits and past, because they had to, because it was up to them to deal with it all, there was no help, no back-up, nothing to rely on but themself. So their mind and body have just burned up all the reserves and endured it all as best as possible, they've held together until they got out of that situation
But now that they're finally safe, their body recognizes it. Now that they're finally safe they no longer need to endure more, they no longer need to keep anything together, to push the pain and exhaustion aside and refuse to feel it in order to go on. They're finally safe to stop all of that. And so- they collapse. All of it catches up with them all at once, and they have no optipn to keep it at bay anymore, they just have to feel it. Have to suffer the consequences of all the injuries, exhaustion, whatever illness they might've picked up, whatever's going on
And they just feel so miserable and weak and vulnerable and tired, and have no real option but to allow whoever's around to care for them and deal with everything while they recover
There are going to be days (or weeks, or months) where you sit down to write and feel... disconnected. From your voice, from your characters, from your ideas. Like the person who used to write your stories just packed up and left.
They didn't. They're just tired. Here's how to keep writing anyway:
Lower the bar (Until it's on the floor)
You are not here to write something brilliant. You are here to write something. A paragraph. A sentence. A single line of dialogue. Movement matters way more than quality.
Write around the story
Don't force it. If you can't write the scene, try:
â A character ramble / journal entry
â A conversation that won't be included in the final draft
â A list of things the character would never admit out loud
â A messy summary of what should happen
Engage with the story from a different angle.
Borrow a voice until yours comes back
No, not with AI. Read something that feels close to what you want to write, or watch a scene that captures the tone, then write immediately after. Not to copy, to reignite your instincts.
Write the emotion, not the plot.
What is your character feeling in this moment? What are they afraid of? What do they want but won't say? What's being kept from them? The emotion leads, the plot catches up later.
Stop trying to "feel like a writer" first.
You don't write when you feel like a writer. You feel like a writer because you write.
You are still a writer, even on the days it feels distant. Especially then.
⢠"I did something." - "Scale of one to ten." - "Depends who's asking." "Me." - "Seven." - "Police." - "Four." - "God." - "Thirteen."
⢠"We need to leave."- "Why." - "I'll explain in the car." - "Why." - "I'll explain in a different country."
⢠"This is your fault." - "You literally came up with the idea." - "I have bad ideas all the time, you're not supposed to DO them."
⢠"Okay hear me out." - "My lawyer has advised me not to hear you out." - "You don't have a lawyer." - "I'm getting one specifically for conversations with you."
⢠"Nobody got hurt." - "Physically." . "Nobody got physically hurt." - "Yet." - "Nobody has gotten physically hurt yet, which is a win."
⢠"I have a type." - "Yeah?" - "People who are bad for me and you specifically." - "That's not a type that's a pattern." - "Same thing."
⢠"What's the worst that could happen." - "I have a list. It's laminated. I made it specifically for when you say that."
⢠"Rate my decision making." - "Historically or right now." - "Both." - "Zero. Consistent zero across the board."
⢠"You're the only person I trust." - "I dropped your birthday cake last year and told you it arrived like that." - "Yeah but you still got me a cake."
⢠"I need your honest opinion." - "It's bad." - "You didn't see it yet." - "I've met you. It's bad."
⢠"Why do you even keep me around." - "Honestly? Entertainment. And you're warm in winter."
⢠"I wasn't thinking." - "First time for everything." - "I resent that." - "Statistically valid though."
⢠"On a scale of fine to not fine." - "Remember that time in Prague." - "We don't talk about Prague." - "That fine."
⢠"Nobody panic but." - "I'm already panicking." - "I haven't said anything yet." - "I know you. I'm getting ahead of it."
⢠"Promise you won't be mad." - "Absolutely not, that's a trap and I won't fall for it."
⢠"I have good news and bad news." - "Good news first." - "The car is fine." - "And the bad." - "Define car."
⢠"You're my emergency contact." - "I know." - "You're listed as my next of kin." - "I know." - "You're also listed as my therapist, my lawyer, and my spiritual advisor." - "I know." - "Do you want to talk about that." - "Nope." - "Cool."
⢠"I'm a responsible adult."- "You once called me crying because you got your sleeve caught in a door and didn't know what to do." - "I was panicking." - "For forty minutes." - "It was really stuck."
⢠"I regret everything." - "No you don't." - "No I don't but I feel like I should." - "Same honestly."
It's thinking about Saffa x Leila hours i guess. I'm rolling them over in my head like marbles in my hand... thinking about how being childhood friends shaped their dynamic....
And just thinking about Saffa being from a GIGANTIC family and Leila being an only child. Thinking about Saffa as a child envying that Leila didn't have to raise her voice of compete for attention, how much privacy she must get, how quiet and tranquil her home is. Only to become such a commonplace visitor that Asiya doesn't keep up appearance anymore and slaps Leila in front of her. Saffa going home thinking, damn, my brothers pull my hair and threaten me with wet fingers in my ear but I've never had an open-handed slap to the face like that. Her perspective shifting just a bit, even though she's little and doesn't connect what else a slap might be hiding behind it.
As they get older, tweens, maybe young teens, and Leila admits how nice it must be for Saffa to have so many siblings who clearly love her. Saffa looks at her puzzled. Are we talking about the same siblings? The younger ones are too young to think outside themselves, and the older... Shakhar who calls her chubby, Tolio who stole her first boyfriend out from under her when they had only been dating three days, Arrayk who bites her and rifles through her prized books? Why yes of course, Leila says. Shakhar who beats up the others when they're too rough with you, Tolio who holds you when you cry for as long as you like, Arrayk who promised you he'd still love you when you confessed you wanted to be a girl. Even if he added that you'd always be lame to him no matter what.
Saffa lays her hand over Leila's. She has no idea how to tell her best friend that she's here. That her home is also Lei's. That her parents would never turn her away if she needed a meal. She doesn't know how to say these things, principally because she knows Leila already knows them, and it doesn't change the hole carved in the shape of a mother's hand.
origamiaround
theartofmadeline
annaxmalina
gummygunk
