wateredlilyfictions

lily - they/them - interactive fiction enthusiast

[kloudkween]

To the most inspirational @fir-fireweed, On behalf of the Cantata Warriors, we wish you all the best with your health! May you have a safe surgery and a speedy recovery. Please take all the time you need to rest! Just like the amazing cast of Cantata, you will definitely persevere through whatever life throws at you, and we will happily support you every step of the way!

After all, accord means community and community means we stick together through thick and thin 💪💪💪

[papercreaseart]

Weapons fanart of Cantata by @fir-fireweed Earth: buckler gauntlet, they've got curved sword, CURVED sword Air: fan shield, it make no sense but it just works Fire: rope-dart/meteor hammer/spike Water: really just a tube though the glove Ferret: will bite your toes and eat your eyeballs

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Been trying to write my VN and made no progress. So doing some random sketches instead. Guess my social anxiety damaged another part of me. I have nothing in my brain about how people interact. When I try to write dialogues or characters doing anything I just zoned out. Like try to describe color as a blind person. Already practically mute irl and also mute even in texts, hilarious.

[griffinreign]

i'm posting this on its own bc it is so funny to me and i need everyone to see it

[wateredlilyfictions]

some songs i think are mc x seven-coded in no particular order

3. subway by chappel roan

this one is obvious. this one has been talked to death but i dont CARE. i personally love a good fem!mc x fem!sev and this is that to the letter. “made you the villain, evil for just moving on—“ BROOOO

2. dissolve by davvn

i haven’t seen thisone before its a bit niche. this artist has a heavy nostalgia aesthetic for a lot of their songs they lean into the whole 2000s evanesce vibe type stuff. the songs about two people growing apart and what i like about it is that you dont feel a lot of resentment from the singer its more about loss that was unpredictable and unavoidable.

fighting the urge to screenshot the whole song. but another thing i like is that it doesnt feel specifically romantic but its still just as hard as a loss yk? i enjoy that for both platonic mc x sev and for the besties to fallout to lovers route too.

1. death of me by amira elfeky

classic love song man. my love for you just kills me 🥲. this song is nice because its clear how overwhelming the singers feelings are but it kinda seems like they dont want to get rid of them. like yhey love and hate it at the same time. TOXIC PINING ANYONE—

seriously listen to this song also its been on repeat all day for me. like its clear the relationship is toxic or over but that doesnt change anything the intensity doesnt go away. youd still die for the person who is makikg you feel insane and who may not even love you back and that is very mc x seven for me

[hellwzrd]

@infamous-if has been added to my collection of parasites that have infected my thoughts and I enjoy it VERY much

If you like rockstars n such, I really recommend checking it out 👀

[lovetriangleroute]

who do you think has the best strap game? 🫵

ava

nat

farah

morgan

results

Voting ended onApr 26

[wateredlilyfictions]

see i was trying to make an argument for my other gorls (simply bc i am a contrarian) but i cant! ava has yet to succumb to her lesbianism, farah is eager but inexperienced, and morgan i feel like would have a texture/sensitivity issue with the constant pressure or grinding of the strap against her skin. nat is graceful and EXTREMELY tuned in to her partners spots. easy win!!

[petemcvries23]

the natural lifespan of a fandom is unlimited. when well tended a fandom can be functionally immortal. and yet everywhere you look you see newly bred fandoms withering and dying when they’re barely a year old. barely even six months old. fans are looking at their six month old fandoms and saying i think it’s on its last legs, should i euthanise it? when with the proper care that fandom could outlive them for decades. it’s sad. sad state of affairs we’re in.

[hellwzrd]

Thinking about @smallfires-if again and had to draw my girl a ref sheet lmfao 😭 I will also be making my OTHER mc a ref sheet too,,,

Saw someone else do fun facts so IM GONNA DO IT TOO

-still sends letters to her Maman, and keeps every correspondence under her bunk. Do NOT ask her about it

-very proudly Orlesian, and even more proudly Delacroix. Her success reflects on her family name, and she will NOT be a failure.

-will never admit how much she cares for Baker. Literally everyone can tell but the words will NOT leave her mouth.

-went to the Spoiled Princess once when she was a recruit, saw the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, and never went back. It keeps her up at night.

[faustandfurious]

“I don’t put politics in my stories” is the literary equivalent of a cishet guy going “I don’t have pronouns”

[wateredlilyfictions]

knight-corporal char delacroix, a severe, humble woman of passionless-devotion. from the wonderful @smallfires-if game.

this took MULTIPLE days i'm so glad it's done T-T i really love small-fires and i can't wait to see where the story goes. i've always been a big dragon age fan (best game ever) and getting to return to the world after the unsatisfying tonal shift of veilguard was really refreshing.

my baby char follows my obsession with humorless, emotionally stunted queers with a heavy accent. (are we able to have a strong orlesian accent as the noble origin? who knows, who cares) i don't have a strong idea of how i'm gonna play her, mainly because we've only gotten the first bit of the prologue so far. i do see gay great things happening with her and asi tho...

this post is kind of part one of a series i'm planning. i'm doing a bit of an interactive fiction renaissance, going through ifs i love and havent played in a while and making art and mcs for them. next up is chop shop if you're curious!

[barbwritesstuff]

I genuinely think interactive fiction is an underappreciated art form.

[okthatsgreat]

my knight-corporal for the @smallfires-if demo :] if you haven't read it yet READ IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[picapuwence]

And my Beau Dane pc, from the @smallfires-if INCREDIBLE INTERACTIVE FANFICTION and it means the world to see more DA:O themed fan work! My Beau will raise that baby right

[narknk]

A Templar in the Making

So I recently discovered the brand new world of interactive fiction games on itch.io and had the pleasure of playing one of the most incredible transformative fan works out there. The Small Fires IF (@smallfires-if) it's only in the demo stage and I already know I'll obsess over it for years to come.

If you like Dragon Age or soul-wrenching, incredibly well written fantasy please check this one out. In this game you play as a Templar, a social role close to a paladin or religious warrior charged to oversee mages in a really high tower. Some really bad things happen to your mentor and now you're leading an field mission with this guy called Simon under your command. Everyone loves Simon, a lot of people want to romance him. I wanted to understand why this guy's approval towards your character goes up if you reprimand him, so I wrote some words about it and called this amateur job A Templar in the Making.

I tried to keep the visual identity closer to the character's introduction in the Small Fire's tumblr, the artist of the beautiful Andraste's painting is Isolenta.

TW: Religious indoctrination;

If you know nothing about Dragon Age but still wants to read: Andrastian religion is like if Christianism was made after Joan D'Arc and Chantry is equivalent to the word church. Kinloch Hold is the name of an important tower where they keep the mages, the templars main workplace.

Simon scurried home with the glee of the mischievous little ones trying to hide their excitement. He practiced some mischief alright, but couldn't feel any shame. Yet. He'd grabbed a bound copy of The Songbird in the Nightfall from his friend's house after Marcus told him he wasn't going to lend anything to Simon.

He had to read that book, though. The Holy Text only went so far about Andraste's Great March and how could he keep living knowing that such great warriors existed without any more information about them? It is true that The Songbird in the Nightfall was only a novelization about the March, one indirectly commissioned by the Chantry, but such notions were well above a little boy's head. He needed to know more about the greatest feat in history, be it true or not.

"I heard His voice and sang him a song. A song about us, about our strength and perseverance, but also about our weakness. We committed so many sins, no one greater than forgetting our Maker, but He knows we can atone for that and He loves us still. Follow me and I'll give you freedom at His side."

At the end of the fifth chapter the guilt started to creep under Simon's skin. He had committed a sin, just like Andraste had said in her speech while rallying her army before her first battle, and he knew he would have to atone for that to. Just like the characters in the story, just like the rest of the world.

"I will" he whispered to the lame light of a single candle, before it almost went out with the air that shifted from his door opening abruptly.

"What do you have here, Simon?" his father had that tone. The one that implied he already knew what Simon had done.

The boy froze in place. That would be a long night, specially because he'd never done anything as grave as stealing before.

"Tell me, boy"

"I… I was…" his voice died, the book still opened in his lap.

Mr. West moved and Simon felt his father gingerly dress him with a coat. The boots were laced in his feet too and without any consideration for the human mind, time suddenly put the older an in the doorway again.

"Follow me. And bring the book"

It was cold even before they exited the house, the creaking of wood louder than ever. Winter put the sun away hours before their usual bedtime, and Mrs. West and the family's mabari oversaw father and son's procession in silence. Even the animal was still, judgment in its eye. Simon looked away, they both seemed like statues guarding the path of his punishment.

His father took him to the middle of the corn fields, now frozen and bare like Simon himself. After about an eternity walking, they got to a wooden bench besides a small stone cover, like a man made cavern, guarding a carved figure of the Holy Bride. His father stood beside Her and, pointing to the ground in front of them, said:

"Kneel"

Simon did, still holding the book, and silence spoke louder than the wind. After a while, his knees stopped hurting from the coldness that covered their livelihood and decided to speak.

"I'm sorry" he began, lifting his head to meet his father's eyes.

"Head down!" the scream felt like his father's belt on his back, timing perfectly with the burst of cold wind. That man never lifted finger to his children, he didn't need to.

Snowy steps put his father behind him and Simon wonder if he was about to be spanked for his misdeeds like his classmates or his neighbors were.

"You will not look at Our Lady with sin in your heart. You are to kneel before Her and repent for what you did" A pause, the wind blew again like Andraste herself confirming these words. "Do you remember how to beg for her mercy?"

He did. Or he thought he did, honestly reality itself seemed to warp and he felt really distant from his own body.

"I stole this book. I was going to put it back after reading, but is still stealing" he began, his words shaking with snow and fear "I just wanted to be strong like the knights, my lady. I wanted to know more about them and Marcus wouldn't let me read even a little bit, even after telling me how amazing they were in the book"

He crept forward on his knees, still avoiding Andraste's gaze, and put the book by her feet.

"I know now that I don't deserve to be like them, or even read about them because of what I did. Your warriors had honor and courage. I… don't." A few tears run down his face, freezing his cheeks and landing heavy in the muddy snow beneath him. He was still like that for some time, not knowing when he was going to be pardoned. His father didn't spoke the entire time, how could he know if she was going to accept his apology?

Simon started again. He must've done something wrong the first time, this one he was going to do it right. Suddenly Andraste's words came to him, not from the figure, nor from the Chantry, but from the stolen book. It was like she was giving him the words, right?

"Forgive me Maker, I've forgotten You with my actions. I was… ig… ah" The words escaped him. It seems he had forgotten his Maker in his schoolwork as well. He started again. And again, countless more times. He would kept trying until Andraste gave him the right words, until father judged him redeemed.

"Forgive me Maker, I've forgotten You with my actions. I was bad-mannered and disrespected Your Holy Bride's teachings. I'll give myself to your judgment, please let me deserve your mercy"

At some point Simon got to that version, which was the best his tired brain could craft, and kept repeating it, eyes closed, trying not to fall asleep. After the eight time of his mantra-like repetition, a sweet melody from a bird made Simon look up. There it was, a nightingale propped on of the stone covering Andraste's wooden body, sunlight as a halo.

He looked back and his father was nowhere to be seen. He spent the hole night praying, alone, waiting for a forgiving word, and for all his efforts, he got one from The Lady herself. His knees were raw and later his mother would call it a miracle that he did not froze to death, a true sign of his redemption.

When he entered his home again, closer to being a man than ever before, his father was waiting full of pride in his eyes. Simon put the book on the table and met the old man's gaze with confidence.

"I'm really sorry, father. I'll apologize to Marcus and will never do this again"

"There's no need, son. Andraste already accepted your repent. Your devotion filled our family with Her grace today, I'm very proud of you"

Simon felt something indescribable. He spent all night in penitence and his sacrifice was as big as Andraste's in that moment. That was what She and her followers did, they fought hard and changed the world! And he did it too, just like them. He had the will of the March and from this moment onward his fate was sealed. He would be like Her, he would fight and change the world.

Later that same day Mr. West brought home a brand new copy of The Songbird at Nightfall to Simon, along with the prettiest edition he could afford of The Chant of the Light and Other Writings. Later that year, Simon started training swordplay on his own while imagining himself beside The Lady in great battles. On his 18ht birthday, his grandfather passed down his sword to Simon and when he was twenty, he finally started to fulfill his destiny and entered Kinloch Hold for the first time.