Happy STS, Mystic! My STS Asks Have Been Severely Lagging Recently, But Hooray For The Holidays And Free

Happy STS, Mystic! My STS asks have been severely lagging recently, but hooray for the holidays and free time!

What’s the biggest burst of inspiration you’ve ever had writing-wise, and what was the result?

Happy STS, @clairelsonao3, thank you so much for the ask! (And Happy Holidays to you, whichever you celebrate, and a Happy New Year! 🎆)

What’s the biggest burst of inspiration you’ve ever had writing-wise, and what was the result?

I'm not sure which of my moments of inspiration was the greatest or biggest one, lol - my writing mostly starts or consists of multiple little bursts of inspiration and their ramifications. So, I'll go with the most recent ones!

I was working on some backstory for Tales of Wilted Flowers, and one of my biggest and most important moments of inspiration was figuring out the key moments for Caladin's backstory, which was much different than I had initially thought it would be - including the reason why he despises his powers and lives running from his bloodline. I think it was a very neat moment of realization for me as if all the pieces were coming together to create his story and pave the path for his current goals. Another important moment was deciding the final arc for Korbyn, the villainous dark magic apprentice of Lord Eldryc, who is more than it seems in many ways.

As a final one, I think that figuring out the main motivation/backstory for King Tieran Kallasen in a way that really fits his character - him being the heir of the "ancient heroes", but who never quite measured up to his family's expectations and name really fit the theme of the story, and was a nice subversion of the "Chosen One" trope (the descendant of a chosen one become a villain out of greed and despair) in my eyes. Living in the shadow of a legacy that had long since become hollow made him obsessive with maintaining his status and becoming the most powerful as a way to prove that he was going to be greater than those who came before him - even if it took slaughtering his enemies to prove a point and awakening an ancient sorceress to gain more power over those who denied him.

(For The Last Wrath, one of my greatest moments of inspiration came while developing Luciya and Fabian's backstory, as well as Quinn's own story)

WIP Moodboard, Realms of Loss - The Far Reach

This wonderful mood board was made by @crowandmoonwriting for my WIP!

The Far Reach - a great divide between two warring realms, Avillore and Sarythea, built to keep the encroaching curse of the Lost Lands at bay, ruled over by a council of Lords and Ladies bound by an ancient pact - the last mighty string that holds the land together.

Saw a post like this with negative outlook so I asked for it to be fixed

(bg3) I just have one question... WHY THO - ?

At least we saved Rolan, but still.

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday, Sam!

What is the most otherwordly/strange/ethereal (positively or negatively) location in the world of your WIP? Is it somewhere anyone can have access to at some point or is it restricted/unreachable in some way? + What makes that place so unique?

Hi @mysticstarlightduck, happy belated WBW💜

I'm going to talk about the Sun King's Palace in the Clouds here.

It is very much otherworldly in that it has been created initially as a palace on an artificial floating island, made by the Dancer, the King's spouse, who was the most powerful Elemental Dancer in history. It was a show of her mastery, the pinnacle of what can be achieved with human hands.

With time, people's beliefs took hold of it and raised it higher and higher, until it was pushed out of the earthly plane and became another dimension entirely. Nowadays, only those with level of power comparable to a dragon can reach it. Also, they need to have means of flying.

It's said to be a place of incredible beauty, a land of eternal summer, where there's no death or illness. The Sun King and the Dancer live there with their honour guard.

I love this lmao

Meanwhile, Rolan: what do you want (after leaving Tav on read for five days)

How I think the BG3 characters would text

Astarion: 𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓸 𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓲 𝓭𝓸 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾?

Lae'zel: What could it be, that you possibly seek of me?

Karlach: yo soldier what's good

Shadowheart: [Blocked number]

Gale: 👋 Hello 👋, I am 🔮🪄Gale🪄🔮 of 🌊⬇️Waterdeep⬇️🌊, ❓what's❓on your 🧠💭🤔mind🤔💭🧠?

Wyll: *Sends motivational quotes, the type to ask if you need cat pictures sent when you're having a bad day*

Halsin: 🐥🐥 <- Two of them.

Jaheira: (doesn't know how to use 'texting', thinks it's a waste of time)

Dame Aylin: HELLO, IT IS I, THE SWORD OF THE MOONMAIDEN, COME BASK IN MY LIGHT?

Anyway that's all for today