Watcher Wednesday

Dedicated blog for the weekly Pillars of Eternity Fandom's OC Celebration Event

[watcher-wednesday]

What is Watcher Wednesday?

Watcher Wednesday is a weekly celebration by the Pillars of Eternity fandom of our Watchers and other Pillars of Eternity-related OCs.

Each Wednesday, we encourage one another to share all kinds of content related to them, using the tags ‘Watcher Wednesday’, and ‘PoE Watcher Wednesday’.

Would you like to join in? Then here’s some examples of the kinds of things that you could do!

Share some facts about your Watchers or OCs, or answer some OC ask memes!

You might be interested in @ariela-of-aedyr’s Watcher Ask Meme, Watcher as a Companion Prompt, or Deadfire Ask Meme, or @pillarsheadcanons‘s Flora of Eora Questions, or the 30 Day Watcher Challenge which has some great questions, too!

There’s also a small collection of OC Ask Memes here on this blog, too. There’s not many right now, but I’ll add more with each passing week, so hopefully you can find something that interests you!

Link us to your favourite fic! It could be your own, or your favourite by someone else. If you’re feeling up to it, why not even write something entirely new for the occasion?!

If you want some ideas for a fic or drabble, @pillarspromptsweekly​ has some amazing writing prompts that might be of interest to you.

Share some fan art, screenshots, or character bios to show off your Watcher or OC! 

If you’re not very artistically-inclined, or just don’t have the time or energy to work on an art piece right now, then maybe you would enjoy using a picrew or a dollmaker instead?

Make a Moodboard/Aesthetic Board for your Watcher or OC! 

You can find some wonderful free-use images on Pexels, Pixabay, and Unsplash, among other websites, and I’ve begun a collection of Templates here, though there is likely a wider selection floating about in the Watcher Wednesday tag, at least until I’ve had a chance to flesh out this blog!

Make someone else’s day by telling us all about why you love their character!

 But the most important rule is:

Have fun with it!

Whatever you might choose to do or create, this is your weekly excuse to celebrate your OCs, and the wonderful amount of diversity that a fandom like ours allows!

[faerune]

— TIMELINE TEMPLATE 

Here is a simple timeline template I made real quick after giving up on my search to find one I like! Only font used is Open Sans. I tried to make sure this is as customizable as possible so you can move all the events, create new ones, or delete the ones you don’t need. The event icons are optional and can be toggled off. This requires basic PS knowledge such as clipping masks and changing shape colors but otherwise it’s pretty easy!

[download]

[queen-scribbles]

I made some more of my girls in that one picrew for @watcher-wednesday

Emiri(only Watcher here, so she gets top billing :P), Josetta, Peycg, and Charity.

[ampleappleamble]

For Watcher Wednesday:

3 more portraits of Axa, now with color

An incomplete kith height comparison chart starring my Watchers Axa and Vaargys and guest starring half-baked doodles of Edér, Sagani, and Kana

A weird little "Pair the Spares" chart where I split up my canon romantic couples (Axa/Aloth and Vaargys/Vatnir) and then pair them up differently and see what that looks like

The result of a discussion between my husband and myself about how one smokes whiteleaf (it's medicinal) without the benefit of having lips

[flintnap]

Lily (Tiger) or Forsythia from the flower meaning prompts?

It’s really nice to just occassionally write without constantly worrying about an actual arc. I went with the tiger lily here, but I have something for forsythia as well that I haven’t finished yet. I’ll tag you once I’m done. :)

-

The first time Favaen had heard of the Knights of the Crucible she’d been excited. Through all the horror she’d found in this land, an order of knights dedicated to Abydon had been a welcome reprieve. At actually meeting them she’d been… disappointed. They were good people, that she was sure of, but the dozens weren’t entirely wrong in their judgement, no matter how bigoted they were.

Now, standing at the forge with the forge master Dunstan looking over her shoulder, as she was sweating through her thin undershirt, all thoughts of excitement and disappointment were gone. What was left was only concentration. Nothing else was important in that moment, only what she’d come for. Occasionally Dunstan handed her an instrument or materials, never interfering with her work, only judging quietly.

The heat was meditative in its extreme, pushing her endurance to the limit as she worked on her piece. Sweat was pearling down her skin, her hair stuck to her head and her muscles were starting to burn. Since coming to the Dyrwood she’d never been more content than in this moment. Lost in her work and consumed by the satisfaction of a craft well practised, she could forget her pain and longing and exhaustion.

She was by no means a master blacksmith but giving this job to someone else hadn’t been an option. She wanted to do this herself, just like she’d done most of the work on Caed Nua’s chapel herself. For everything she didn’t know how to do, she had consulted with the experts she’d hired for the rest of the keep, acquiring quite a set of a new skills on the way, but the actual work she’d done herself. Now that the small building was essentially finished, there was only one more thing to do, aside from officially dedicating it. The statue inside was repaired and bestowed with the proper likeness, but it was still missing its silver crown. A crown that Favaen was currently putting her heart into making.

Due to the lack of a forge in Caed Nua, it was a keep after all and not a production site, she’d come here, using the reputation she’d earned for herself to get her access to the forge. Dunstan had been hesitant at first to let her close to his priced working place, but after some negotiating and assurances that she knew what she was doing, he let her do her work, under the condition that he would supervise. Favaen had no issue letting him, he was far more experienced than her after all, and she could hardly deny the master knowledge of what was done with his forge.

In what felt both like an eternity and no time at all the crown was finished and the metal cool enough for the finishing touch, the inscription. With steady hands Favaen carved in the words, script clean and clear, free from any adornment that would inhibit its readability.

And the sun shall break through the darkness, the new dawn arriving with the rebirth of the day.

Carefully she cleaned off the flakes and polished the silver one last time. Holding it against the light, seeing it reflecting off the metal so beautifully and hearing Dunstan’s gruff hum of approval, she couldn’t help the pride swelling in her chest. Even through all the hardships she’d found in the last months, she’d stayed true to her path, had taken the darkness of the night encroaching around her, and had filled it with the light of stars.

Mearwald’s death had been a tragedy, but one she hadn’t been able to avoid. She hadn’t known him for very long, but from what the steward had told her, she was sure he would be proud of what she’d made of his legacy. Caed Nua was rapidly growing, the keep all but restored and drawing people from all over the Dyrwood, but especially from around Gilded Vale, for obvious reasons.

Aloth had been an invaluable help in learning how to manage her new territory, and with his help she managed to both keep the people happy and the coffers filled with the coin she needed to pay the guards and for the upkeep of the land, with a little bit left for her own expenses.

It was an adventure she’d never expected but was infinitely grateful for. The night she’d found herself in might be long, but the stars where there to guide everyone who knew how to read them, and there were few things Favaen knew as well as this. Reading the stars and making her own path to dawn, no matter how often she stumbled.

This crown in her hand was proof of that. It and she were the product of many different paths, and though she’d certainly liked some better than others, all of them had taught her valuable lessons, and she’d learnt them well. Perhaps it was arrogant of her to think so, but if that arrogance made it possible for her to be the lantern her god and her people needed her to be, then she would pride herself on that as much any other of her skills.

And this crown, made by her hands in Abydon’s spirit and forge for Eothas, would be the marker of her reign, the symbol for all she longed to stand for.

She couldn’t wait to place it on Eothas’ brow.

[orime-stories]

10, 17, 26 and 39 of the character development questions for Seluna maybe? ^_^

Thank you! :) Asks here. 

10. Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing?

She can’t feel temperature, so she doesn’t generally have to worry about how much clothing she wears from that perspective, but she is concerned about meeting her own standards of modesty. She doesn’t mind showing her arms, shoulders or legs, but would feel very uncomfortable if her stomach or cleavage was on display.

17. What was your character’s favourite toy as a child?

A very plain, very frayed old dishtowel that she refused to be parted with. Her parents had no idea why she imprinted on it so hard. It would always be clutched in her little hands, trailing behind her by day and then tucked in next to her by night. As she got older she kept it folded up in her pocket for a reassuring squeeze whenever needed. At around ten years old she declared that she was a grown up now and didn’t need silly things like that anymore, intending to throw it away. But her father rescued it and put it in the box where the rest of the memories of her first moments are kept.

26. How does your character behave around children?

She adores them. She could quite happily cuddle, chase and play with them all day, and everyone present would see the joy radiating from her as she did. She would dearly love to have her own child one day, but godlike are infertile and her life has ended up far too turbulent to think about adopting. But that just means all the extra love and energy she has to share is available to be showered on other people’s children, which brings her a lot of peace.

39. Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)?

She has not, but it would probably actually do her some good. She’s quite scared of animals, but that fear is based in unfamiliarity with them - not being able to predict their behaviour or read their tells on how dangerous they’re likely to be. If she did get nibbled or scratched, it would show her that the realities of what most animals are likely to inflict on her are nowhere near as bad as she thinks. As long as this hypothetical animal didn’t go to town on mauling her, of course. She gets adopted by a cat against her will in Deadfire, so there may well be some nibbles coming her way in the future. I’m still working that all out.

[trans-asari]

Watcher Mahen, former lord of Caed Nua, captain of The Defiant, and Aloth Corfiser: moodboard

So for Watcher Wednesday (yes i know its late it's still wednesday here shut up), since i don't have any artistic talent, i tried my hand at making a moodboard for my oc and Aloth?? Its my first one as well, sooo

[orime-stories]

@risualto kindly asked me to talk a bit more about my character building process for Seluna and what the original story hook that brought her into existence was. So here is a dramatic reconstruction of my thought process back when she first came to be (I put a read more half way down because it got a bit long);

This world seems to have some interesting gods, and that’s drawing me in. Could be interesting to play a character that has absolute blind faith in something since that’s very different from me. What race should I pick? These godlike look so awesome, but maybe that would be too awesome. I should maybe pick something a bit more… realistic? In this fantasy game of wondrous things that I am playing for my own entertainment? Wait a minute, this is a random negative thought that is trying to make me feel embarrassed about my building excitement, isn’t it? Well nobody invited you and now I’m going to pick a godlike just to spite you. Green nature and celestial spacey stuff are two of my absolute favourite aesthetics, but I guess a shiny moon fits the shiny god of light a bit better so let’s go with that. Oh gosh these are a lot of backgrounds to choose from. But Aedyr’s the only one that lets me have a clergy background, so let’s do that. And then… oh no. Every time. Every damn time I get swept up in the excitement of making a new character and somehow always completely forget that I’m going to be asked to name them. Uhhhh… [hours pass on various baby naming websites] Screw it, I don’t know enough about this character or the naming conventions of this world yet, let’s just slap two moon names together and call it a day. And thus Seluna is born.

Keep reading

[flintnap]

💣 🏡 and 🌼 for the character of your choice, please!

I did not think this through before reposting. But a challenge is what I came for, so a challenge is what I got! Let’s do this! With Favaen because my new character is not developed enough for this.

💣 When stressed Favaen tends to just throw herself at the problem. Sometimes that’s great for problem solving, but sometimes it just makes it worse, the problem, the stress, or both. Once she sets out to do something, that’s what she rolls with. Accidentally inherited a castle? Rebuild it, establish yourself as ruler and use it to bring back Eothasians to the Dyrwood. Some dickhead wants it back and declares war on her? Well fuck, let’s steamroll him into the ground. Got no experience with ruling whatsoever? Too bad, this is what she’s doing now. Got the ability to talk to ghosts from a weird ceremony? Help. Every. Single. One. Sleep is for the weak. Discover a conspiracy of stealing babies’ souls on the way? Welp, saving the country it is. All of that comes from the fact that it took her so many attempts to find her proper place in the clergy of Eothas. Now that she has set out on her path, she refuses to stray from it, for fear of dissapointing those who helped her so much, her adoptive mother and Eothas himself first and foremost. On a smaller scale, she has a nervous habit of rubbing her fingernails together. When she was little she used to chew on her prayer beads. To avoid that her adoptive mother tought her nail thing, since it doesn’t have the danger of hurting her teeth.

🏡 Home is a complicated topic for Favaen. For a long time during her childhood home was the centre of her doubts. With her emotional issues she never felt at home with her birth family, and later at the temple she was in too much turmoil trying to find herself somewhere else to ever really settle in any place she though might fit. After learning to finally ground herself at the Abydon temple and returning to the Abbey of the Dawnstars (which I completely made up. If I don’t get geography, I’ll make geography) for the last time, she realized that home wasn’t something to be found, but to be made, and so she made her home where it always should have been, with the abbey and Eothas. With Eothas’ dissapearance a piece of her home was lost again. It took her almost fifteen years, but in the end she scraped together all the courage she had and left the abbey behind as a missionary to find out what had happened to him and make her home whole again, preferably by helping everyone else and bringing the Eothasian faith back to the Dyrwood. Caed Nua was about the best that could have happened to her in the long run, even if she was completely unprepared the responsibility coming with it at first. Though it was a ruin when she found it, even back then she could tell that it was a special place and it quickly became another home for her. Whyever that could be...

🌼 Favaen is happiest when she gets to live her out her faith, be it through making other people happy, talking about it (She really likes that. To the point where it becomes annoying sometimes.), or just simply basking in it, in a cathedral or with just a single candle. She also has a love for banter and puns. In recent years she has discovered the joy of cuddeling and Edér, Kana, Maneha, and later Aloth have been her willing, and comfy, victims for that.

[void-slip-art]

The good thing about playing a paladin is that they're tanks who are very hard to knock out.

The bad thing about being a paladin is watching your friends get their asses kicked and you're the only one left standing.

[i-see-light-blog]

Character Development Questions: Hard Mode

Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?

What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like?

What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?

Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?

On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams?

Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?

Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target?

Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up?

Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing?

In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?

Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?

Does your character remember names or faces easier?

Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?

Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?

What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others?

What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?

If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

What does your character like in other people?

What does your character dislike in other people?

How quick is your character to trust someone else?

How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person?

How does your character behave around children?

How does your character normally deal with confrontation?

How quick or slow is your character to resort to physical violence in a confrontation?

What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

What does your character find repulsive or disgusting?

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable.

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable.

In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method?

How does your character behave around people they like?

How does your character behave around people they dislike?

Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?

Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat?

Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)?

How does your character treat people in service jobs?

Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?

Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them?

Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them?

How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?

What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

[queen-scribbles]

🖊!

@watcher-wednesday

Part of why Tavi liked Everin so much is he actually beat her at arm wrestling and wasn’t a smug asshole about it. She’s pretty strong for an elf, and since she refuses to wear sleeves that’s not exactly secret. Most of the time when she arm wrestles men--especially folk men--either she beats them and they’re fucking poor losers about it(she’s been accused of “cheating somehow” so many times the word has practically lost its meaning for her), or they win and they’re insufferably braggy about it and she winds up punching them in the face/getting in trouble. So the first time she and Ev arm wrestle after she joins Silversteel and he wins but doesn’t gloat, he racks up a lot of Tavi Friendship Points. She did teasingly complain that his height gave him a leverage advantage sometimes (he’s 6′3″ to her 5′4″), which usually resulted in him kneeling next to the table so they were more level and offering her another shot. 9 times out of 10 he still won.

[orime-stories]

Story Spotlight

Quiet Moments

(Prompt Fills)

-

I don’t have anything new for Watcher Wednesday, but I did get these three prompt fills I did for Seluna a while back typed up onto AO3 for anyone who would prefer to read them there. Featuring a storm at sea more easily weathered with Aloth by her side, a moment’s pause by the campfire with Edér, and an important conversation she had with her mother as a teen while waiting for the rain to pass. They can be found on AO3 here. (1170 words total) Original prompt list is here.

-

The Silence After a Thunderstorm

Storms at sea were on a whole other level. Nothing but creaking wood between her and the roiling waves outwith. And the thunder. It travelled in a wave of its own, rolling and building to a crescendo within her chest, rumbling through her very bones and making sure she knew just how small and breakable she was…

By the Campfire After a Long Day

It was a familiar scene that they had revisited time and time again on their travels. The gentle hush of night. Weary limbs stretching out with a sigh. A little campfire crackling. Different places, different times, different destinations. But always that same little orange anchor-light marking the transition of one day to the next. A chance to reset…

Taking Shelter in the Rain

Seluna came clattering into the house, fumbling with her sodden clothes.

“The rain get you, little moon?” her mother called from where she was sorting and chopping vegetables by the stove…

[vhsmeme]

* talk about your muse!

send 🍯 for a food headcanon

send🥛for a drink headcanon

send 🐢 for a mental health headcanon

send 🦄 for a physical health headcanon

send ⌛for a sleep headcanon

send 💕 for a love headcanon

send 💣 for a stress headcanon

send 😵 for a sickness headcanon

send 🤲 for a religious headcanon

send 🏡 for a home headcanon

send 🍬 for a family headcanon

send 💼 for a work headcanon

send ⛈️ for a sadness headcanon

send 😡 for an anger headcanon

send 💩 for a ridiculous headcanon

send 🌼 for a happiness headcanon

[watcher-wednesday]

Hi folks! Thankfully, I didn’t forget this week (sorry again about totally blanking on the days of the week last week), so here’s your friendly reminder that tomorrow, as always, is Watcher Wednesday!

You can read more about what’s involved, and find some handy resources, over at the pinned post on this blog. Can’t wait to see your posts!

Happy Wednesday!!

[shimmer-like-agirl]

Watcher’s Opinions on the Gods

tagged by @orime-stories​ <3 I don’t know who all has been tagged in this so I’m leaving an open tag to tag if your heart so desires

My brain is absolute mush from work, so rather than answer these in words, I’m answering with Critical Role gifs. Going under a cut because yeah

What does Adira think about the gods?

1. Abydon:

2. Berath:

Keep reading

[orokin-made]

Watcher’s Opinions on the Gods

Tagged by @orime-stories, thank you!

This post contains a lot of spoilers for the events of both Pillars of Eternity games below, for anybody who would prefer to skip past it.

Watcher Elehal’s Thoughts on the Gods of Eora

1. Abydon: Honestly??? The only valid god. A real bro. Elehal inherited the work ethic of his artisan parents if nothing else, as well as a deep appreciation for their patron god. He keeps a copy of Daily Affirmations of Focus and Efficiency on him at all times, just to have around. Did you know Abydon’s the god of hope as well as hard work and skilled craft (and a bunch of other things)?? Hope and strength and aspiration, which are three things Elehal is absolutely about. He’s also closely associated with Magran so honoring him is kind of a roundabout way for him to feel closer to her.

2. Berath: On one hand, they seem pretty reasonable, as far as gods go, and the whole natural cycle of the Wheel thing makes sense, so he has mostly favorable views of the god of death. He really doesn’t appreciate having yet another god’s chime in him though, especially not one that’s actively being used to control him. He’ll cooperate on the whole Eothas thing because obviously that’s the larger threat that needs to be addressed, but he’s going to be kind of prickly about it.

3. Eothas: Disappointed, more than anything else. Eothas seems like he should be important to Elehal, redemption, rebirth, that whole cycle of life and death thing, and he’s one of the few gods who seem like they actually care about the goings-on in the mortal world. But then he went and destroyed the one place Elehal was actually starting to consider as a home, and killed countless people and used their souls as fuel all because he thought he deserved to decide what the “greater good” for Eora was. Admirable intentions maybe, unacceptable methods. Also you can’t just make that kind of decision for the entire world!! Even if you are a god!! Stop it!!

4. Galawain: What’s even his deal? He really hasn’t had much opportunity to interact or form an opinion on Galawain (I’m playing SSS this playthrough though, so that might change) He seems like kind of a dick though. Strength is for helping people, it’s a tool, not an end in and of itself.

5. Hylea: He’s a scholar and a musician, of course Hylea would be one of his favored gods. That doesn’t mean he feels obligated to keep a promise made to her if other options that feel more right are available though, unfortunately.

6. Magran:  Oh boy. Oh, buddy… When a god is so closely entangled with your own sense of self, having opinions about them becomes…..complicated. Whatever the gods are, whatever the relationship between them and the godlike really is, Magran is part of him. He can’t hate her. Even if it was just as a repository for a sliver of her essence, she chose him and that made him who he is. And being a godlike isn’t all bad, but it is a loooooooot of pressure to grow up with.

He said that Dari was different from other little boys. That he was special because his real mother was special, and so he was going to be bigger and stronger and smarter than all the other boys. Even Finn, Finn said. And what that meant, Finn said, was that Dari had to be better, too, he had to be kinder and gentler and braver, so he would deserve what his real mother had given him.

–GGK, The Wandering Fire

Obviously more is going to be expected from a child of the gods. Obviously different, higher standards apply to them than other kith. Especially if you’re a child of the goddess of conflict and trials, you have to push yourself harder than others do, you can’t let anything be too difficult or too much, ever. But also you have to be gentler and more careful around people, because otherwise they’ll be afraid of you, and you might hurt them, even if you don’t mean to.

Maybe he doesn’t agree with some of the things Magran stands for, maybe he thinks there’s other ways to grow besides constant testing, but still, at the end of the day all Elehal really wants is to hear her say she’s proud of what he’s done, that she made the right choice when she chose him.

7. Ondra: Elehal was a sailor before he was a Watcher and a Huana before that; the Lady of Lament has always been a prominent figure in his life. She’s just kind of… there? Like the sea is just there, you don’t have to have an opinion about it, it’s just…. there and you have to live with it. Even when she starts actually talking to him that doesn’t change much.

8. Rymrgand: I mean at least he’s upfront about his whole thing. He’s straightforward and Elehal can respect that, even if he sees the very concept of inevitability as more of a challenge than anything else. He’s probably come close to being killed by Rymrgand more times than by any other god, because no other god activates his “meet me in the pit motherfucker I will personally kick your ass” response as often or as reliably. 

Rymrgand: Magran come do something about your terrible child he’s tearing my realm apart AGAIN.

Magran, watching the whole thing with a bowl of celestial-soul-popcorn: I will not. Good for him :)

9. Skaen: hey what the fuck? Hey real quick though, what the fuck??

10. Wael: Liked him a whole lot better before the Forgotten Sanctum debacle. He’s a god of secrets and he’s kind of fun about it, what’s not to like? A biiiit too tied up with wizards and their creepy wizard business for comfort though.

11. Woedica: