Sep 2017 Archive, part b

Yeah, I am waay to excited about this. A started talking about it in class. And then the person two seats to the left said that it wasn't *really* a new type of chocolate, just new to white people, instead of expressing enthusiasm about the new chocolate.

...And then I remembered why I don't like school.

aaaaaaat?

So, uh... when you say 'a specific cocoa tree', do you mean a specific breed, or, like... one tree?

What I'm getting at, is this going to be another sea silk thing, where the closest you'll ever come to it is that there might be an example somewhere three countries over? Or is this something we might actually be able to buy (and for less than the price of a space shuttle)?

hS

I AM A SUCKER FOR CHOCOLATE (THE DARKER THE BETTER IMO) AND THIS IS AMAZING AND I WANT WHEELBARROWS FULL OF IT

Oh wow, that sounds AMAZING! Wonder what brought this around? Eh, no matter, can't wait to see what people do with this bold new discovery!

Any allegations about the existence of the heresy named 'white chocolate' will be, as usual, handled with fatal prejudice.

Oh that sounds so amazing. I wonder what-all has to happen to make this?

First off, yes, I'm still here. I haven't left. I'm just kept very, very busy with tiring RL things. I'm hoping to carve out enough time and energy to get back into the community, but it's not a given thing.

Okay. Now that the explanation is out of the way, characters and character building! I love it. Probably a bit too much, which ties into why I'm never able to get anything actually done.

Of the methods that hS has mentioned here, I probably gravitate towards the first and second most of all. But only as a baseline. Once I establish the core of a character, then I start adding on characteristics and personality attributes. These can depend on what I want or need the character to do in the narrative, but sometimes they can just follow flights of fancy. Hopefully, I end up with something that is both distinct and still at least a little connected to my original vision. Or maybe not. Maybe all that editing and adding has created something totally different from what I originally intended. Which is also good.

Here's an example. For the last PPC Hunger Games, I made up a trio of scientists to provide commentary on the actions of Holo-Acacia: Dr. Daphne St. Auguste, Tess Jachowicz, and Naas'Gehlen vas Headquarters. The trio taken as a whole was modeled after the Mads from MST3K: the pushy, vaguely immoral scientist and his/her oddball flunkies. But that was just a rough sketch. I didn't want them to go full Mads; I wanted them to be actually competent, for one thing.

Let's go into more specifics. In addition to being inspired by the Mads, St. Auguste was a keyphrase character: 'the know-it-all genius.' And what good is being a know-it-all genius if nobody else knows you're such? So, I threw in her traits of rambling and always saying what was on her mind. There's still a bit of that original immorality, but I muted it to academic malfeasance rather than 'torturing people with bad movies.'

Jachowicz was meant to be the sane woman to St. Auguste's vague unhinged-ness, which unfortunately is not a position that necessarily lends itself toward making detailed characters. That being said, I was able to expand her characterization on the fly simply by reacting to events in the PPC Hunger Games: her diplomatic nature that slips a little when her boss isn't looking, her willingness to debate, and her vague affinity for parts of the Star Wars prequels. I hope to expand on her further given the opportunity.

Naas'Gehlen was meant to be the snarker. Whereas Jachowicz would respond to her boss with gentle debate or agreement, Naas was meant to be the one to crack wise. He was laid-back and easy-going, as opposed to the two more serious women. I actually patterned a bit him in my mind after a real person: NASA engineer Bobak Ferdowski, aka the mohawk guy from the Curiosity mission.

So… that went a little longer than expected. But I guess that's sort of the case with building characters: it can go on for longer than you expect, and weave you into some corners you maybe didn't expect.

Finally, let me just push this old thing back out into the spotlight one more time: my workshop on characters. Read and enjoy.

PC

There is a RPG system, FATE, wich works by creeating 'Aspects' for the character, which follow these rules. Mainly a core one, a complication, and other for importants steps of life. The game system also got playing up or compelling these aspects as a major part of gameplay.

Guidelines like that really help for creating a character.

...Characterization page on the wiki?

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When it comes to pitching fictional characters, I've really been a fan of what I've called the "Mini Story" method, and not using adjectives or subjective qualities that leave things open for guessing. Instead, I prefer to use means of describing characters that is much more concrete. Although I advise this to other people who pitch their characters to me, I also think it could be one way to expand on characters that aren't fully finished yet and figuring out the hows and why's of who this character is.

It's one thing for someone to say, for example: "My character is really proud of herself but can be modest too." This really doesn't tell me much about your character, and I think that's the best way to give people the wrong idea about your character because everyone will interpret being proud of yourself in different ways. I think a better way I could put this would be to tell what I call a "Mini Story" about your character.

"My character likes to brag about her accomplishments in sports but if she meets someone who shows more expertise than her, she'll always shut up and listen."
"My character loves to show off her acting skills in front of other people, but keeps her acting life separate from her stage life and doesn't talk about it."
"My character flaunts her swordsmanship in front of other people, but when she sees magic, immediately shuts up."

Not only does telling a "Mini Story" shed more light about your character and give some concrete examples of what they do, it also can shed a bit of light on your setting, possibly their job, and also is able to separate, reconcile, and add more depth to two contradictory terms.

When it comes to making characters and not just pitching them, I find that if I start with one "Mini Story" I can start branching off from there, and build more onto that Mini Story by asking myself questions about the character. From there I can build more onto it.

"My character loves to brag about her accomplishments in sports." -

Maybe she was in a varsity?
Did she build any friends in there?
How could some of those friendships affected her?
Friends don't last forever, why would some of them have not made it?
How could this have had an impact on her as a character? How did this affect her worldview?

Or we could take a different road and take the first.

Why would she choose to so readily shut up and listen?
It sounds like she has a competitive streak, which is tempered by respect for people that are more experienced than her. Why such reverence?
Was she humbled in the past in a way that could've left a lasting impact on her?
Why?
How does this apply to the rest of who she is as a character?

- From there things just grow, and I find that having these sorts of things written down also helps, especially if you're trying to explain the character to another person. These notes come in incredibly valuable when trying to explain who the character is to someone else without having to give them the whole infodump, and can let you explain a character in just a few bites of information, without making your audience go glass-eyed.
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Great to see you, Grundleplith, I'm new to the forum as well.

Hearing about Redwall makes me feel nostalgic, I think Redwall was one of my first forays into the fantasy genre, glad to meet more people that also like it.
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Very useful.

Question for everyone:
What are your personal tropes in terms of characters, plots, settings, etc? I'm curious to see what everyone usually does.

-Twistey

I actually, just a bit ago, spent a whole heap of time fiddling around with working in a new character, and had a similar issue. I've found that, at least for me, with what I write, how I write, et al, that a good way to differentiate a character is by considering their chemistry with other characters. What 'role' they fill amongst a cast of characters, how they interact with them, that sort of thing.

The first PPCfellows I developed - Finch and Bingle - came out as a result of that sort of thing, in fact - one being intensely caustic and paranoid and, to contrast, the other being incredibly passive and somewhat dopey, with the rest of their personalities developing around those concepts. 'Why' Finch is paranoid, 'why' Bingle is passive, et al. I recently realised that many of the other characters I had in the thingy I'm doing were very sort of accepting, passive-sorts, so I've taken to further emphasising Finch's rebelliousness, which is certainly a thing I would not have considered on first having written him. Finch was, in fact, in the style of method #1, modelled after another character - Yossarian, from Catch-22. I, initially, was focussing on the 'paranoia' aspect of his personality and, in those initial stages, would have decided Finch would have been too cowardly for such rebelliousness. And where he certainly was really quite derivative to start with, I like to think that all of these small alterations eventually led him into growing into more of his own thing.

This, of course, works a whole lot easier on an ensemble cast, and you got to look out for flat characters with that sort of thing! The character's role within their cast should serve to be as a guide for the rest of their development - not their entire character. Finch's role is that of the caustic, rebellious, cowardly straight-man, but he still has personality beyond that, other elements of his personality shaping those particular traits. The classic 'why' is he caustic, 'why' is he rebellious - 'why' does he fit within that role? While he is made to work well with certain characters, he can still be written on his own, because he still is his own character, y'know?

I think there can be a separation, then, of the concept of the character and the delivery of them. At their cores, Yossarian and Finch (at least, how I worked on it) were made of the same concept: a character that is near unreasonably afraid of dying. It was in delivery that they diverged - Yossarian is depicted as compassionate, loyal, constantly falling in love with various women. He loves life and people because he is terrified of losing them. Finch, on the other hand, is bitter, cynical, thinks everyone else is mad. He despises life because he is enraged that it would dare try and leave him.
So I guess that could be a thing to consider - look at a character, figure out what, exactly, the most basic, most general concept of them is, and then figure, in what other ways could that concept be delivered?
An angry taxi driver could be angry because he hates his job, or maybe he's angry because he likes it too much and believes nobody respects it enough. That sort of thing.

I wonder if I even answered the question.

Chemistry!

For me, characterization is build in large part upon what they sound like in my head—what kinds of words they use, are they prone to rambling or not, subtle or blunt, evasive or direct, and other dichotomies like that.

This is tied directly into their background. Agent Derik, for example, talks a certain way because he's Pernese and Harper-trained, and also based on the Phantom of the Opera. (In his case, your canon character model is useful.) But mostly he's Pernese, which tells me what kind of slang he uses and doesn't use, terms he's likely to think in, etc. He's also intelligent and educated, which matters.

Gall, on the other hand, is intelligent but uneducated. She's less likely to use big Latin-derived words, and her direct, no-nonsense personality means she's going to be blunt and cut straight to the point of whatever she's trying to say, whether anyone likes it or not. She's unlikely to ramble. She doesn't mind being crude and even offensive. But she does have a soft spot for her dragon, and doesn't mind cooing over him, either. Her home continuum has sort of a loose voice itself, with plenty of anachronisms used for humor, which means I'm not too restricted in the kinds of references she can use—one reason I wanted to write her.

Closely related to voice are the things a character cares about enough to talk (or snark) about. What do they especially like? Dislike? Fear? Hate? Want? For PPC characters, I think about this in terms of what bugs them about badfic. Everybody has their own pet peeve(s) that will always drive them up the wall. For Nume, it's medical BS and messing up the lore he knows so well. For Ilraen, it's screwing with the characters' loving relationships and cruelty, intentional or not, especially to children and animals. For Derik, it's messing with dragons and music. For Gall, she really hates fluff and also tends to notice when the story contradicts itself.

They also all have their particular favorite or well-known fandoms, which make them more invested and motivated.

Related to voice is mannerisms. Everyone has little physical tics they do subconsciously, especially when they're nervous or upset. Derik touches his hair; Nume, his neck or face; Gall paces or fidgets; Ilraen shuffles his feet or fusses with his hands. There's also how they show affection (if they show it). Nume is extremely reserved physically, but even he might give the occasional approving nod. Derik often is, too, but in his more ebullient moments he might clap someone on the shoulder or shake their hand. Gall will give a friendly slap or punch. Ilraen is tentative (comes of being around Nume all the time), but will pat someone, or hug them if the situation warrants.

I know all these little details because the characters tell me, but you could also assign them deliberately. I think the main bullet points are level of vocabulary, style of slang/cultural references (also includes whether and how they curse), key likes and dislikes, and physical mannerisms.

I hope that helps!

~Neshomeh

I view my characters as starting off like a ball of snow (dirt, wet sand, whatever) and as the story progresses, they roll around, becoming bigger. Do they roll over sticks? Do they pick them up, or do those break them? Are they getting dirtier over time? Are they getting large, and the same as they started? It's simple, but it works for me.

Since characters pop into my head fully formed, and all.

<>
>>

—doctorlit can't help the way ideas show up

I have always struggled with this. It's gotten better, and I've read a lot of advice on it (much of it similar to what you wrote), but it's still helpful.

I do a lot of the Keywords model. The Aviator is "cranky drunk", Zeb is "fluffy cutie".

From there I just kind of... you know. Um.

*scrambles to hide lack of notes*

I guess I just write around the character's core personality. They still grow, but that central part to them (usually) doesn't change. I know Ave and Zeb especially have been growing closer together in terms of personality—she's starting to harden him, he's starting to soften her up.

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that they're starting to get more similar, because they still have very distinct voices (I think? I hope?) and different approaches to missions. It just shows they're influencing each other, which I think does make sense considering how much time they spend together.

...the idea makes me kinda wince. I love Young Wizards, I like PJato somewhat, but I just don't feel like they'd mesh well--what would either universe gain from crossing with the other narrative-wise?

-A questionable understanding of how the pantheons could mix (and redundant referencing of "Powers That Be" when just "Powers" makes things less cluttered).

-Seemingly casting Artemis as the villain??? Or at least the most antagonistic of the gods the protagonist meets.

-Time travel??? With no indication of the perspective switches from past to future!Alex.

-Unnecessarly italicization in use of The Speech (and continuous dropping of the The there, as well) when talking with inanimate objects. The whole scenes end up italicized.

-Apparently the whole fic's plot is about an AU where Percy dies on his first quest (I wasn't quite sure where the author was specifying that things screwed up, but I'm not as much a canon expert on Percy Jackson these days, so. =P), and all the gods are at war with each other. So presumably Alex's Ordeal is about resolving all of that. Not necessarily a charge, but at least there's context.

-Oh, and Alex using a spell to siphon off Artemis' power so she won't be able to kill him (temporarily). I'm not sure if this is actually impossible or if it's just rubbing me the wrong way.

-And then, while Alex has no godly parents, there's a conversation where the gods collectively decide he's Artemis' bastard son and make her deal with it (narration/Alex indicates that they're being ridiculous, but see that first bulletpoint up there on this too).

On the one hand, he looks to have a beta. On the other hand... well.

The ship has hit the atmosphere, and contact has been lost. The Deep Space Network (at the time of posting) tragically shows Canberra 43 and 35 standing open on the CAS channel - but nothing coming in.

So long, Cassini.

NASA have also released the compiled version of the last photo it took, several hours before impact.

hS

I'm afraid I don't have much good to report from my corner of the world, either.

Local news
This actually happened back on 9/11 and it freaked me out.

Officials say gas leak caused New Albany house explosion

It was close enough to my house that I actually felt the explosion. Scary stuff, but luckily nobody was home and nobody got hurt.

Local serious news
As my brother put it, "That moment when you realize you were taught sex ed by a sex offender." Yeah... we always knew something was off about my vice principal in middle school, but that's just... *shudders*

Serious news
Just when you thought we were done with hurricanes. Thankfully, these two are only tropical disturbances for now, but I really, really hope that they die down before they get any stronger.

More serious news
North Korea's fired off another missile, this time with the range to hit Guam.

I'm legit scared about this.

And that's all I'm going to say because this has been a bad week for news.

Have a smiling baby pig to make up for it.

Outrage is the appropriate response to things like, e.g., murder and destruction. There is LOTS of room for subjectivity in the world, but at some point, isn't the media failing in their duty if they pretend there's a debate where there isn't, or shouldn't be? Fact-checking is extremely important, and sometimes not all sides of an issue are factually valid. I have a particular example in mind, but I don't want to make the conversation about that, so I'm not going to say what it is. {= /

Anyway, I figure you can get information from just about anywhere, just as long as you keep certain things in mind. First, that there is a bias of one kind or another. Second, that somebody is trying to manipulate you for their own agenda, whether you agree with it or not. Third, somebody is profiting from it somehow. Fourth, not all data is created equal, and seventy-two percent of statistics are made up on the spot. I think my dad put it something like this: What do we know, how do we know it, and where's the money?

~Neshomeh

The Beeb is generally decent. I usually get my news from NPR. And AP is also quite good at its job.

So yeah, AP, BBC, and NPR are my go-tos. The New York Times, Washington Post, and The Guardian are also good (well, I mostly know The Guardian from their tech reporting, particularly in regards to the Snowden leaks, so take that suggestion with a grain of salt).

In addition, I'd suggest staying as far away from cable news and other TV news as humanly possible. Sure, FOX News is the one you hear about, but the others are also pretty bad.

Oh, and remember: The Daily Show is not news. It is entertainment. Yes, I know that's obvious, but in the whirling madness of cable it gets confusing, as evidenced by the fact that Jon Stewart was once voted most trusted newscaster. See why I told you to avoid the place?

As a state-funded news network, the BBC is actually /required/ to avoid bias in their news. Some slips through anyway, of course - they've shown a great deal of frustration at Twitter Personality & President Trump, and they do enjoy using unflattering pictures of politicians they dislike - but by and large they do it well.

Be aware, though, that some articles are filed in things like the Magazine section, and aren't under the same rules. Opinion pieces, basically.

hS

In no particular order:

1. CNN (Probably best Cable News in the US)
2. BBC
3. Associate Press
4. Financial Times
5. New York Times
6. Washington Post
7. Economist
8. France24

I personally use CNN and BBC the most.

Welcome to the Board! Here, have some chocolate!, and enjoy your stay!

Have one of my own shed feathers and a complimentary kit of Spikes!

Please have this bag of black-hole chocolates.

Out of curiosity, did you ever hear about Warhammer Armies Project?

Fellow newbie, it is my great pleasure to present you with this bar of pink chocolate, the first ever produced. Please do tell us what it tastes like.
On a different note, wow, it's been a while since I thought of Ender's Game.
Anyways, I'm happy you decided to join!
Diana.

(I myself am aiming to grab some of my writer friends and take them here. They have some serious potential.)

Anyway, hey there! I'm Twistey, a chaotic good-ish lightly-used-bie who is in a ton of fandoms (although Wolfenstein 3D, Camp Camp, and Sheep in the Big City are currently my life right now. Weird combination, I know.) I currently have a lot of original universes and some fanfiction that are works in progress, and I plan to write missions eventually. Hopefully.

Anyway, enough about me. What are you like? What do you generally write, if anything? Having had a Board conversation with Thoth in which he explained Warhammer, I know that there's got to be a good reason why he brought you here. Do you like missions? MSTs? Stuff like GAFF? I'm curious to know :)

As for your newbie gift, since I often grab things from the Wolfenstein 3D fandom (haha, ask Thoth about what I gave him), and since you seem to be into the mech fighting genre, here! Have this prototype version of Hitler's mechsuit from the third episode! Complete with four chain guns, a good amount of armor, and ventilation! (And clanky sounds... Don't walk around in it near me or I might freak out. That boss fight scared me to death.)

Anyway, nice to meet you! Welcome to the Protectors of the Plot Coninuum!

-Twistey
----
(In case you need more detail about the mech suit, here's a link to the Wolfenstein Wiki page about its corresponding boss. Copy and paste the link because clicking on it won't work.)

http://wolfenstein.wikia.com/wiki/Adolf_Hitler_(Wolf3D)

I see you're a friend of my Pretentious Mythological Name Buddy. It's nice to have you here! I know the Author thing says "The Triumvirate" but nobody calls me that. It's more of a relic than anything. Call me Calliope! Or Cal. Cal is a good abbreviation.

For your gift, I present to you: a set of roleplaying dice! You can choose the color and pattern at your leisure, but try not to make it urple. Or bled. Or rue. Those colors hurt.

Because you and Thoth are friends, I present you with one gift further: a hand-written copy of the Imperial Creed. Yes, I see that Warhammer fandom - have fun with this!

Thank you all for the warm welcome and the gifts! I have read the Constitution and the original series, although I may re-read the latter since it's been a while.

Hi there.

Have a pile of multi-coloured pens.

Have some popcorn to eat while you read the Original Series, or throw at Sues if you've read it already :)

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Great to see you, Grundleplith, I'm new to the forum as well.

Hearing about Redwall makes me feel nostalgic, I think Redwall was one of my first forays into the fantasy genre, glad to meet more people that also like it.
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Hi! Welcome to the board! For your newbie gift, I'll give you an over the top weapon from RWBY. What configurations it has is entirely up to you.

I usually don't post on the board, but today I decided to remind people that I still exist.

It's very nice to have new blood around here. It is traditional to shower newbies in gifts, so you can have this belt of awkward conversation avoidance. It has saved me many times.

Enjoy your stay, and try not to lose your mind all at once.

Have a plate of welcome SPaGhetti!

If you haven't yet read them, may I point you towards the Original Series and the Constitution? They're pretty much the only required reading around these parts. Another useful resource you might use is the Wiki; if you have any questions, just look here before asking. We like it when newbies do the research. ;)

Elementals of Harmony by FanOfMostEverything - Rated E
Something is gathering around the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Something dangerous. Something magical. There's only one pony with the knowledge, the skills, and the muffins needed to save Equestria as we know it.
A Friendship is Magic: the Gathering crossover, taking place between seasons 1 and 2. Here there be flashbacks, briefly seen OC's, and possibly every emotion known to man or tiny horse. Abandon all pretenses of not being a nerd, ye who enter here.

This is a Magic the Gathering/MLP crossover that is actually accessible even without any real knowledge of the Magic universe (as was the case with me). And for those of you who are into alternative interpretations of Derpy Hooves/DItzy Doo/Muffins' wonky eyes, well, this should be right up your alley.

Here are some I intend to add to the rec page on the wiki whenever I get around to it:

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Marionettes
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11594755/1/Marionettes
A delightful skewering of the "Villain off the Week" trope with lots of twists and turns.

Doctor Who

Broken Cycles (xover w/ Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10352376/1/Broken-Cycles
Basically the Doctor comes in to straighten out the timeline, and throws in characters from other series to fill the magical girl roster but it's much better than it sounds. It also takes the time to explain details that the original show didn't bother touching on, not to mention fixes one of my biggest issues with the series (I won't go into details because Spoilers).

Gravity Falls

Flat Dreams
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11802026/1/Flat-Dreams
Gives a backstory for Bill Cipher that really gives him some depth - metaphorically speaking. And the parallels between certain characters really adds to the story.

Steven Universe

Little Rebellions
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11777697/1/Little-Rebellions
Shows what it's like for the Pearls serving under the Gem Empire and how they rebel. Warning: some chapters have some pretty intense moments...

Harry Potter
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4356667/1/Wish-Carefully
The Death Eaters get what they want... only for everything to go downhill. An oddly cathartic read.

Well, I already recced a ton of fic, but I haven't done comics. So...

-xkcd[NSFW]: It has recently come to my attention that at least a few boarders are as of yet unaware of one of the most popular webcomics ever. Xkcd was, is, and remains an integral part of nerd culture in many corners. Plus, while it doesn't always hit its mark, when it is funny, it is *really* funny.

-1/0: Yeah, I've brought this one up before. But it's quite possibly the best piece of metafiction ever written, so I don't care. Yes, that is a bold claim. I don't care, this comic is amazing, and deep and heartfelt and raises meaningful questions about love, fiction, religion, and endings, all while delivering a fairly consistantly funny four-panel gag strip. And by comic standards, it had a very short run, so the archive is tiny.

...I was about to post more, but I just read that EME passed through the W3C and the EFF has resigned from said body, so I'm a little to depressed to do it properly.

So we've got a whole series of Wiki pages where people recommend fics

(I'll probably plug something and/or create one of those sometime later, but I figured this needed to show up in the thread.)

- Tomash

And angst? I do love me some werewolf angst!

Lemme plug a couple of fics by Stoplight Delight.

Against the Moon
The odds were stacked against him: a child from a blended home with no friends, no social skills to speak of, and a terrible secret. Yet slowly Remus Lupin began to discover there was a place for him in the world, if he could find the courage to claim it.

Currently at 132 chapters and still going strong, the fic follows Lupin from first year presumably all the way to seventh—it's still updating and is in the middle of third year right now. Stoplight loves to play with people's heartstrings and this fic really showcases how well she writes angst.

In Desperate Manner
He could not believe it had come to this. February, 1990: late in a hard and hungry winter, Remus Lupin has come to the end of his options. Desperate in the hours before moonrise, he travels to Knockturn Alley to transact some dangerous business.

This is a recent addition of hers and it's even angstier than the other fic. Unable to feed himself, Lupin goes to sell his blood in Knockturn Alley just so he'll have a little bit of coin. It's only three chapters so far, but it's an amazing look at what the years before book three were like for him.

Again, this is Iximaz recommending angst, so take it with a grain of salt.

Because what else did you expect of me at this point?

These are all on my Rec page, but I'll copy them here for convenience, too.

• "Saving the Dragonborn" by SaxyGirl - K+
• Continuum: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Writing Status: In Progress
• Summary: The Dragonborn has a bad habit of getting herself in sticky situations and this time is no different. Lucky for her, Farkas is available to save her. Again.
• Why I Like It: It's good clean fluffy fun (and the occasional serious moment) with one of my favorite characters. A series of one-shots in no particular order, it's not trying to be anything grand, but succeeds at being something that makes me feel good to read—and, in fact, helped inspire me to go with the muse and start writing fanfic again myself.

• "The Wolf Queen Awakens" by Ms Katonic - M
• Continuum: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Writing Status: Complete
• Summary: Dragons may signify the world's end but as far as Elisif's concerned, her world ended well before that when Ulfric Stormcloak murdered her husband. So it is that no one's more surprised than her when a dragon attack on Solitude reveals that there's more to the High Queen in waiting than anyone suspected.
• Why I Like It: This is what happens when the NPCs are forced to take matters into their own hands instead of relying on a god-like PC to save them, and it's awesome. The author is extremely good at character-building, expanding on the little we know about the NPCs and giving them backstories and connections that make sense. Also at wrangling the politics of Skyrim and making the unlikeliest of allies into a crack force for saving the world. Particularly, if you're a Forsworn sympathizer, this one's for you.


• "Fearless Vampire Hunters" by Ms Katonic - T
• Continuum: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Writing Status: Complete
• Summary: Skyrim's at peace and the Dragonborn's hung up her adventuring gear to take care of her little girl and be Queen. So when a job comes up in the Pale to look into a crypt that might be being used for arcane rites, the Companions pick it up instead, little realising Dimhollow Crypt contains far more than just beasts... Sequel to the Wolf Queen Awakens.
• Why I Like It: Athis and Cicero do Dawnguard with a little help from their friends, and it's hilarious and moving and awesome. I'm not a fan of Cicero, don't quite get why he's so popular having not done the Dark Brotherhood questline myself, but this story makes him very entertaining and sympathetic, and it just works. Even the headcanon I don't agree with just works. May be read without having read "The Wolf Queen Awakens"—I did it, and never felt I was lost. Just really wanted to go back and find out how we got where we are here. Which I did. {= )


• "The Age of the Dragon" by Ms Katonic - M
• Continua: TES V: Skyrim x Dragon Age Inquisition
• Writing Status: Complete
• Summary: The High Queen of Skyrim should have the world at her feet, but some things even a Dragonborn can't command, such as the ravages of time, rock dust and Skooma. With her beloved husband dying, and her beloved five year old miserable, Elisif risks everything to petition the gods for a miracle. Except miracles come at a very high price...
• Why I Like It: I'm only on chapter 5 of this one, but it's more of what I liked about the last ones, and it's got Thedas as another continent on the opposite side of the world from Tamriel, which is interesting. I don't know much about the Dragon Age series, but so far, it's fun seeing the two cultures looking at each other askance and trying to figure out what to make of each other.

I have a LOT of recs. I will leave off the obvious ones (I assume that you've read OFUM, Shoebox, etc already, they're already on your reading list, or they're Just Not Your Thing), but even then, there's a LOT of stuff to recommend.

Just a note, not ALL of these are technically fanfics. Some of them or original universes, AARs, or some other sort of writing.

Other note: I'm not sorting these in any way. A lot of them are Warhammer, some of them are not. Most of them are NSFW, whether that be swearing, or actual adult content. With all that out of the way:

-The All Guardsmen Party[NSFW - language]: Some of you have been following the Dark Heresy game on Discord with interest. I know I have. It's been entertaining. Now, what do you get when you crank the funny up to 11, get a truly EVIL DM, have all the players play Guardsmen, and have it all written up in third person IC by a remarkably entertaining writer? You get The All Guardsmen Party. And it is glorious.

-Old Man Henderson[NSFW]: You know how I said that I'd be leaving out the obvious? I lied. Old Man Henderson is arguably the most amazing story ever recorded about a TRPG. It's funny, it's jawdropping, it's really, REALLY funny, and it ends with one of the most legendary things to ever happen in a Call Trail of Cthulhu game. I know most of you have read it, but it is basically Required Reading. So I'm putting it here!

-The Ballad of Edgardo[...Might be SFW? I don't remember,so assume NSFW]: You may have noticed I have an affection for entertaining stories of RPG nonsense. This is another one. Learn about how a poorly-optimized character in a semi-freeform Forum RPG would up on a quest of mighty vengeance with a squidman. And won.

-Thri-Kreen Erotica[VERY NSFW]: I love Tailsteak. Everyone here should probably know that I love Tailsteak by now, seeing how much I've plugged 1/0 (actually, go read 1/0 right now). So when someone on 4chan's /tg/ board posted asking whether D&D's Thri-Kreen were Furry (because it's 4chan), and a discussion ensued on the impossibility of writing good Thri-Kreen erotica, Tailsteak responded in a... uniquely Tailsteak fashion. It was hilarious, and somewhat disturbing.

-Toyhammer[Probably SFW - swears at worst]: You know, there are a few fics written about Warhammer 40k models that come to life, or the 40k factions at model scale. None of them matter save this one, because this one is just that good. It goes from wacky antics to Animorphs-esque secret war over time, and remains consistently engaging through all of it. Sadly, it hasn't updated in a while, and may never be finished. But it's still fantastic.

-Avoiding Stupid Deaths in the 41st Millenium[NSFW]: Some of you may know about TIANTDATPPC. Others of you may recall Skippy's list, or Things Mr Welch is No Longer Allowed to do in This RPG. This fic, which started as an attempt at an IG-focused 40k equivalent, became VERY different over time. It slowly developed a recurring cast of characters, an increasingly present in-universe author, and even, gradually, a storyline that I am invested enough in to check the fic for updates regularly. Cerebus has been kind of 40k fics...

-Love Can Bloom[Rating Unknown: Assume NSFW]: All right, I'll admit it: I haven't had time to read Love Can Bloom yet. But it is one of the most well-known 40k fics out there, to my knowledge, had a large number of spinoffs, and is generally beloved, although sometimes somewhat controversial. And most of you probably haven't heard of it. It's the story of an Eldar Farseer (Taldeer from Dawn of War) and a Vindicare Assassin who fall in love. It has become synonymous with sweet and gentle happenings in the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millennium. I'll tell you more when I actually read it...

-The Millenial King[SFW I think...]: Necromancers get a bad rap. But do you have to be evil to be a Necromancer? /tg/ didn't think so, so they wrote this collection of stories about a good necromancer and the kingdom that he ruled.

-Warhammer High[varies, but some NSFW]: Warhammer High is not a Warhammer 40k Highschool AU. I know it sounds like it should be, but it isn't. It's actually an AU where the Horus Heresy never happened (because The Emperor took Eldrad more seriously), and the Primarchs got daughters who all go to highschool together. I know. Somehow, the various writers at /tg/ managed to take this absolutely ludicrous concept and make some fics that are absolutely brilliant. Given, not all of these fics are great: there are parts of the written lore that are just stupid (Caliban and a lot of the other Sons) and are written poorly, and there is at least one piece of smut so eye-sporkingly bad that I may consider missioning it if I ever get Permission. It also tends to be much lighter in tone than the standard 40k fair. Having said that, Meet the Primarchs is absolutely hilarious, and the alleged smutfic Venus' Burn is absolutely fantastic and basically the inverse of PWP to the point that I had trouble finding the smut. Actually, Someone Else's (that's really his username) work for Warhammer High in general is excellent, especially the one he wrote after Venus' Burn, Bleeding Out.

-The Golem's Garden[SFW]: You can get my attention in two ways: You can be funny, or you can be heartwarming. This is the ladder.

-Marcius Flavius[I don't remember]: One of the hardest parts about crossovers is justifying them. How do characters from one world find themselves in another? Thankfully, 40k has a built-in answer: Warp Shenanigans. Not that this fic needs it, it's too funny to be bogged down by that. But I digress. Star Trek's Federation, and 40k's Imperium: Never were there two spacefaring civilizations in sci-fi more different. So what happens why they collide? Well, in this case, they organize a cultural exchange program, and hilarity ensues: Riker becomes an honorary Space Marine, and Marcius Flavius of the Imperial Fists is put under Picard. Neither deals with their new allies well...

Confessions of a Wayward Son[SFW]: I'm a Sons player, and they're probably my all-time favorite faction, so I'm biased on this one. Anyways, one type of 40k fic we see a lot of is the idea of the Chaos Space Marine who ends up changing his allegiances and fighting for The Imperium once more, kind of Drizzt-style, except hopefully not as Sue-ish. This actually kind of makes sense: There are some Marines in the Traitor Legions that never really wanted what happened. Like, to pick a completely random example, a good chunk of the Thousand Sons - although they hate the Imperium more. So what happens when a Son decides that Magnus was *definitely* wrong, and the Imperium was right to do what they did? Well, you get this fic. Some would say it's too angsty (and I have been known to mock the angst myself), and it certainly has some flaws here and there, but I never claimed that I had some highly developed taste in fic. At the end of the day, I like it. YMMV.

This one manages to achieve feels in about a page (which is good because that's its total length): https://1d4chan.org/wiki/The_doll
Class about to start so I'll find more later. *poofs*

It's mainly about Worm since that's what I've been reading recently, but not all.

The recs are all about an author posting on Spacebattles and Sufficient Velocity, Cerulean.

His first work for Worm, in hiatus for now, is Atonement. This is an AU starting up with the locker scene... And Taylor's death, putting the focus on another character, Madison as she triggers out of guilt and decides to, well atone, by being a hero. Cerulean takes an one-notice character, and manage to create an excellent story.

Next, my favorite, his other Worm AU, Intrepid. The initial premise is similar to Atonement, with a worst-than-canon locker scene for Taylor (although more AU elements can be spotted as the story continues, no spoilers here), leading here some girls of the bullying trio, Madison and Emma, to trigger when they realize just how ducked-up was their behavior, before going to cape life. The fic alternates between them, Taylor and Sophia Hess. It's in my opinion an even better story than the former, updates roughly once a week, and includes a... spin-off I guess, Odyssey, from Vista's POV, although it's also canon to this story. A sort of fifth POV, I guess?

But Cerulean also writes original fiction. Namely, an urban fantasy web-novel called Heretical Edge, updating twice a week. The story is about Flick Chambers, a young girl who just got selected to be part of a monster-hunting school. Still, expect a few surprises, here because this premise let to a really interesting 'verse.

You know, it actually has absolutely nothing to do with Star Trek? I mean, the story has barely anything to do with My Little Pony, but there is truly, POSITIVELY, no reason it is called Starfleet Magic.

Yes, I have had my eye on this sherries for a while. You may recognize it under the former name: My Little Unicorn: Magic is Believing. If you have never heard of this infamous fic, look at the TvTropes Page for it.

Yes, I do still fully intend on tackling the thing. Even after all these years. I will do it. I swear.

And yes, that little detail with the sparkle blood will be included in the mission. It's too funny not to.