#runawaydragons

[feralkwe]

I'm back for a second round >_>

21 Guns explanation please!

Oh, I love this one. It's a lesser-known Green Day song, and has a good gut punch. If you're familiar with the significance of the 21 gun salute, then you're partially to the reasoning behind the song.

The Warrior of Light's narrative arc packs a lot of trauma into a single OC (not, IMO, unlike the Warden from DAO), and part of that narrative is the way that fighting in a war--let alone war after war you didn't choose. Green Day is notorious for their outspoken ways on such topics as mental health, and "21 Guns" is a commentary on the toll that war takes on the soldier.

This part is very Kit, when she's found herself the actor responsible for the end of an omnicide she did not ever ask to be involved in:

When you're at the end of the road And you lost all sense of control And your thoughts have taken their toll When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul Your faith walks on broken glass And the hangover doesn't pass Nothing's ever built to last You're in ruins

The Warrior of Light (or Dark or Wev <- a joke because Kit doesn't know her current status) is a fighter, an idea, and a symbol. It's easy to lose sight of the person beneath that, and what it means to be the arm that swings the axe.

ETA: OC Music Asks!

[stellarvoyage]

Find The Word Game

rules: i'll give you five words. find the word (or closest approximation you can) in your works and post an excerpt. tag others to play and give them new words too!

I was tagged by @runawaydragons with the words 'storm', 'dare', 'two', 'movement', and 'legend', and I'm (not very) sorry to say that I cheated. Instead of looking for specific words I searched for a theme or a feeling. Here goes:

Storm

The snowstorm surprised them with its intensity as the trekked over the open moor. A persistent sleet that turned to sharp snow as the wind increased, and soon they couldn’t see much of anything in the white landscape. They walked on in the direction of a distant treeline, last glimpsed before the snow turned everything a thick, impenetrable white. They knew they needed to find shelter before dark, but the landscape yielded nothing but snowy heather and long, rolling ridges. With visibility down to almost nothing they had to hold on to each other, and their pace slowed as dusk slowly crept in, turning everything a darkening bluish gray.

Dare

Zevran was still dealing with the shock of seeing Taliesen again and the unexpected plea he made for Zevran to return to him (because for Taliesen that cockily phrased offer was certainly a plea), taking quick stock of his surroundings and thinking very fast when the woman beside him spoke in answer, quite calmly, her voice barely raised. "Of course, I'd need to be dead, first." Zevran glanced at her, standing so straight and calm, only that slight vibrance he had learned to recognize telling him she was as tense as he, and found himself unable to speak for a moment at the thought of her crumpling from a dagger through the… No.  He raised his voice to carry over to the other assassin, still looking at her. "And I am not about to let that happen." He saw her nod gravely, her eyes dark and understanding, acknowledging the thing he did not -- could not -- voice.  Taliesen's mocking retort was a confirmation of sorts that he had made the right decision. Zevran was no longer the man that had left Antiva, and he had no wish to abandon the new life he had found. He turned back to face his old lover, to offer a farewell. "I am sorry, my old friend, but the answer is no. And you should have stayed in Antiva."

Two

It was very late, sometime in the hours between midnight and dawn. Even the younger Shadow Dragons had gone home or found a bed somewhere. Ashur and Tarquin lounged on the pillows in the back room waiting for the last Dragons return from a stakeout. It would probably be some time yet, and they should probably sleep, but neither of them had yet made a move in that direction. Traces of a late meal were spread around them, and Tarquins finished paperwork sat in a neat stack next to him. Ashur was learning to crochet (it was good to have something to do with his hands, he claimed) but had abandoned his latest project a while ago and now sat leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, shoulder to shoulder with Tarquin. They spoke occasionally, the words coming slower with the late hour. It was companionable, easy in the way that they could only be with each other at a time when (almost) all masks were off. Ashur still wore his veil, but the hat was off, as was his cloak and jacket. His shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows, distracting Tarquin with the clean lines of his underarm, the shapeliness of his hands. Tarquin had a thing for hands, he did. (He also had a thing for Ashur, but he tried to ignore that. Admiring someone, as a person, and for their aesthetics, was one thing. Pining for them … that was not done. So. Ignoring it.)

Movement

How could a middle aged metal man be so good at yoga that he nailed just about every pose, even thhe ridiculously difficult ones? Galadriel didn’t understand it. She knew she was being petty and overly competitive, but it irked her that she wasn’t the best in class. And this introverted, quiet guy with long, black hair, and worn sweatpants and washed out band t-shirts just … outclassed her with his perfect form and seemingly effortless vinyasas.  How did he manage show up to 7 AM classes looking like he’d just stepped out of bed and pulled on a scrunchie, and still have better form than her? She, who usually excelled at every sport, and rarely needeed more than two tries to get a new move. She could not wrap her head around it. When she later complained to Elrond he just laughed at her. “I think this is good for you, Galadriel. You need to get out of your head a bit. Just ignore him and do your own work.”

Legend

(a long time ago in a galaxy far away) Healer padawan Surana and senior padawan Alistair (no last name!) were lucky to escape the planet alive, in the strangest (and most sentient) ship they had ever seen. Now they were trying to make their way back to Coruscant to report to the Council, and inform the Senate of the conflict’s escalation. Trying being the operative word here, since it felt like the Force itself worked against them, so many obstacles had they stumbled upon. First, the ship they escaped on had locked them out of the nav system and landed on the Korcari, Ostagar’s swampy and forested moon, and then promptly shut down, refusing to be powered up again. When they exited the ship they got locked out.  And while they had escaped the conflict itself, they certainly didn’t make much headway on their journey towards the core. In the end, they had to hire help from a strange woman, obviously force sensitive but maybe-probably not a darksider, who had a ratty little ship that while it couldn’t go either far or fast, it would take them to the nearest travel hub, a backwater trade post on the planet Lothering, where they (hopefully) would be able to find a new ride.

I'm voluntagging anyone who reads this, if you want to play. The words are: Cat, dog, horse, dragon, hedgehog.

Have fun!

[brennacedria]

Good morning bb 💜

[todisturbtheuniverse]

re: origins, skyrim, kotor 2, writing, etc. etc.

joomju replied to your post “i’ve caved to my random desire to start a new DA:O playthrough, so...”

what class? what spec? I had so much fun with the mage in armour and the healing aura. tank mage ftw!

rogue (i’m so predictable), city elf, will probably choose assassin or duelist. i’ve had a good time as a mage before, but stabbing darkspawn calls to me, lol.

montpahrnah replied to your post “i’ve caved to my random desire to start a new DA:O playthrough, so...”

same!!! it's been years and i still don't like the combat either, but i'm surprised at how much i'm enjoying the story this time around... although i can't help but look ahead to da2, predictably

it’s like that nice, classic RPG story, but with enough subversion to make it interesting. like, i love da2, definitely looking ahead to it, but origins is what pulled me in, and even just two hours into a new game, it’s clear to me why that was. which is nice. i’m used to things i like just tarnishing over time until i can’t stand them, lol.

runawaydragons replied to your post “the skyrim ost is so good to write to. so good.”

I use a skyrim Pandora station and it is great for writing!

another good idea. thanks!

probablylostrightnow replied to your post “i just read the long list of cut content for kotor 2 and now i’m...”

I seem to recall the story is something like Obsidian got the contract with one year to develop it, only they didn't quite actually exist yet so they were frantically hiring and trying to constitute a company with time running off the clock, and then LucasArts kept being late getting stuff to them, and... it's kind of amazing that a playable game resulted at all. It has such flashes of brilliance and some great characters (Atton and Kreia, YES, and some amazingly ...

conceived Dark Jedi)... and it touches on themes from Planescape: Torment about what sort of person attracts other people the way that RPG protagonists tend to, and what sort of people they attract, that tunnel directly into my heart. But it is also a broken, incomplete mess. Sigh. (This was going to be a shorter comment sorry to go on.)

yeah, given all that, i’m downright astonished something as playable as it is emerged from that mess. and really, i felt like everything was going fine until we hit endgame; that was when it was super apparent.

but YES. it was super great to have an RPG overtly talk about, like--why are all these random people following protagonist, who they mostly don’t know from any other shmuck? what is it about these people that makes them susceptible to protagonists? THAT was fascinating.

hollyand-writes replied to your post “Creativity Report: 2/1-2/5”

That's awesome! Making good progress with both the writing and the knitting, so good!

thanks! i’m glad the momentum is still going into february. i was definitely worried about losing my stride.

zandalorscat replied to your post “i just read the long list of cut content for kotor 2 and now i’m...”

I love Atton. He was my favorite romance for years, and there isn't even that much romance!

I assume you've heard of The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod? I've been meaning to try it out for years, it seems really great.

yep, i read a bit about it yesterday. tbh, someday, i might try re-playing both kotor and kotor 2 on my laptop just to get at that and other mods. i’m not a PC gamer at all, but since neither of these have particularly high system requirements, maybe it would be worth it to experience it with less bugs/more content.

siawrites replied to your post “i just read the long list of cut content for kotor 2 and now i’m...”

oh, Maker... Atton! *weeps buckets for what could have been*

same. SAME.

servantofclio replied to your post “i just read the long list of cut content for kotor 2 and now i’m...”

I'm here for talking about Kotor2 any time. I mean, yes, this. Poor broken unfinished game. The ending feels both rushed and tacked-on; I would have loved to see the various character threads pulled together better, because the Exile's relationships with the character's is THE WHOLE POINT; and Atton is an awesome dysfunctional space boyfriend, I love him.

i love him so much. ;_;

i saw a restored-content ending where all the companions who could become jedi and did confronted kreia before the exile even gets there? which was SUPER COOL? i feel like that would have done a ton to fix that weird...hollowness...at the end a bit. (which, obviously they knew that as well, if it was intended to be in the game.) and in my version, goto held bao-dur’s remote hostage with the threat that it wouldn’t be able to activate the shadow generator, but then as the game ends and the ebon hawk pulls away, the planet explodes anyway? i think on that list of cut content, HK-47 was supposed to come along and smack goto, or something.

but up until that point, bugginess etc. aside, i was having a relatively good time. a little frustrated as i always am with older combat systems, and by the first run-through of a game always being confusing and not knowing exactly where i’m supposed to go or what i should be doing, etc. but hilariously, now that i’ve been watching critical role for a while, i understood all the weapon specs a lot better. because, you know. based on D&D. :| i’m pretty sure i didn’t figure that out during the first KOTOR, and was totally confused at the idea of a lightsaber dealing...whatever...between 3-12 damage. i kept thinking, which is it??? now i know. it’s a dice roll.

servantofclio replied to your post “FIC: A Bear Frets”

Zahra sounds perfect here!

thank you! i worried most about how she would sound, since we’ve seen much less of her in-game than all the regulars.

[feralkwe]

⭐⭐⭐

OMG three stars! All Chocopie-related!

Kit LOVES Chocopie, her chocobo. More than almost anyone or anything. She spoils him with all the best snacks and snuggles and quality stables. She doesn't even care that he smells like an abattoir on a hot day.

2. Chocopie hates her fucking guts. She can do no right in his eyes, and if he could pitch her off a cliff... well he's tried.

3. Chocopie LOVES Elidibus. Elidibus' only flaw, in Chocopie's estimation, is that he couldn't lock in and finish the job of killing her. For reasons Chocopie will never understand, seems to even like her. Skill issue. Give him the sword and the LB4.

Thanks so much!

Send me a ⭐ and get a headcanon or aesthetic about Kit!

[brennacedria]

1, 11, & 15! 💜

(From the OC Creation questions here.)

I'm picking characters at random since none were specified. :p I'm putting it under a cut because it's going to have at least one slightly large picture that makes the post longer than it already is.

1. What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)? 

Mika Trevelyan: Her appearance, but only barely--the backstory I wanted for her came very shortly after. It was a few months before Inquisition came out, and we hadn't even found out who was romanceable yet. I went to Doll Divine and was using the RPG Heroine maker, and was deliberately working to create a character to eventually play in Inquisition. Here's the doll in question:

So yeah, you'll have to click through, but that's the beginnings of Mika, plus what I was able to get for her eventually when I finally got the game on PC. Her eyes and scar made it through, but the braid never made it and that still makes me sad.

11. Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

Staying with Mika here, I actually did know--she's the only one I chose in advance. She's been a lesbian since that first doll I made of her, and like I said, this was before we knew the romances. She was SUPPOSED to romance Cassandra, but Bioware screwed me over on that one. Instead, she just has a huge crush on her in the beginning, but then falls for Josephine later.

15. What is something about your OC can make you laugh?

Not something Mika herself has done, but something I did while playing her. We were in Emprise du Lion, I guess? and I wanted to go to somewhere on the other side of the map and couldn't find the way. I thought hey, maybe I can go over until I came to those chains that are... holding up something? I don't remember why they were there. But they were there, and I wanted to get to the other side.

So, I tightroped it:

To say the least, I was proud enough of myself to upload the clip. :p

[feralkwe]

For OC love thingy, 10 and 14 please. >_>

10. Would she stay in a relationship if sexual contact was no longer part of the equation?

Physical affection is very important to Kit. It's just part of how I see Rava culture, not without exception, but that's how I see it. It's something she needs and wants.

That said, she also is not a monster, and depending on circumstance or rules of the arrangement, I think she could, but I wonder if she would. I believe she would try, for the right partner.

Elidibus eventually asks for exclusivity to him, which is a complicated thing for him to even ask for based on how I see his culture, and is entrenched in their story. But I think if there were mitigating circumstances that took sex off the table between them, they would find a way to see her satisfied.

Sex isn't equated with love to either of them... but it does factor into issues of jealousy, who killed who then immediately slept with who... it's complicated. LOL. Like everything else with them.

14. Would Kit enjoy people being attracted to her partner, or nah? (I'm paraphrasing on mobile).

Kit does in fact find it delightful that people think Themis is gorgeous. He's a fucking shampoo commercial given form, and she fell in love with him never having seen his face! She is kind of smug about this, especially since no one knows this is Elidibus when he finally returns to life and stays with her.

That works the same in reverse. He was the excoriated antagonist for so long, and he knows the other Scions are glad he died, and some angry that she is in love with him and not them. He got the girl, and LOOK AT HER. Other people want her, but she's HIS.

This all said, it is strictly look, but don't touch.

Thanks for the ask! I wish I could link the list for more but Tumblr hates mobile.

[brennacedria]

Headcanon question: What does Kaela do for fun? Bonus, what did she do for fun before becoming Rook?

In both cases, cards! I'd decided she had a random talent/hobby of building card houses even before I knew Rook is canonically a card shark, so when I learned that I just expanded that to playing cards in general. I'm not sure who's the better cheat, though, her or Isabela. Luckily, I can hc/potentially eventually write them having a game without resorting to any sort of AU! (Tho it'd be fun to bring Merrill into it too, since I have a fic where she learns to cheat and manages to beat Bela at least the first time after she learns. Maybe I can swing that AU-wise? Have her visit the Hilt?)