Going On 9 Years, AMA

[Sorcerio 4594]

What’s your best advice on generating unique ideas for a piece of lore?

 

What do you enjoy most about roleplaying?

Do you prefer to play characters from a young age or make up a backstory as you go along?

 

Which character was your favorite and what did they do?

 

What’s your favorite Video Game?

 

Have you played Portal 2? What are your thoughts on it if you have?

[Child Neglecter 2134]

i’m going to steal what everyone else is thinking

 

and ask your opinion of myself

 

as well as this – favourite book series, favourite netflix show, favourite dish, favourite culture

 

and, the most important question, do you prefer lotc now to how it was back in the days of axios

[Zarsies 6024]

5 hours ago, Malaise said:

why don’t we rp 

? 

??

 

Ngl I don’t RP a whole lot just yet, I’m still easing into LotC, but I’m absolutely positive we will cross paths soon enough. That said I really miss your company and look forward to hanging out some more ?

 

5 hours ago, Callistus said:

What went thee back into this wilderness to find?

 

You’ve never apprised me of the Arcane Displacement rendition I put up in tribute to your (and other’s) fine work. Tell me, truly I exhort!

 

Hath thou no ear with thine judges, dearest brother? That black witch of damned Slater blood was hung in the woods not but yestermorn. Best ye keep to me, brother, lest those bloody crows gnawing at her nether smell you instead!

 

I don’t think I read it but given your previous writing I’ve seen I’m sure it was just fine and at least captured the semi-spooky vibes.

 

4 hours ago, Nug said:

hi legend

 

❤️

 

Hmu let’s toke

 

Really though I’m so glad you’re still around, Nug and his antics are part of what solidify Anthos as my hands down absolute favorite map. Bless you bb

 

4 hours ago, Ang said:

Miss me? I miss the old gang.

Why did you come back, Zars?

 

YES and I miss the gang too :c But such is life here, the groups come and go.

 

I left a little before Christmas but hadn’t wrapped up everything with Flam regarding my departure and I didn’t make a post about it all until later in January. During that period I resigned from my job, got a house with some family and close friends, went through my first moving experience, got another (better) job, and lived it up at the new house. HOWEVER, enter Covid stage left, I lost my job and everyone is isolating so it quickly began to trouble me that no little was going on and while I’ve been making plenty of progress on personal writing and the like I got brain-numbingly bored. It started to test my bad habits and here I am, crawling back through the mud painted in shame that as sure and adamant as I was I couldn’t let go. Really though I think once I get another job (?) and have insurance again I’m going to get medicated ASAP and that will probably give me some clarity and peace of mind where I might decide to dip again but we’ll see. Maybe I’ll stick around again.

 

3 hours ago, SquakHawk said:

im gonna steal archi’s very DUMB question and ask if you have any thoughts of me or my writing

have you read the discworld/kingkiller series? if so whatd u think? if not i highly reccommend

do you have any books or author’s you’d reccommend? When I was told to get into writing and fantasy when I first roleplayed back in like 2013/14 I was told to read the entire “Discworld” series; so I did. It really stuck and impacted how i wrote up until I read Kingkiller, where I take a lot of aspects from that in my current writing. 

is there anything you regret doing? not doing? on lotc or irl, dont feel terrible about overexplaining

have a g one bro 

 

Despite the moderately limited time we’ve had together I feel like I don’t know you quite as well because you have this sense of mystery about you. That aside, you seem like a wholesome and genuine person with an invested interest in writing but are withdrawn and perhaps lonely or disgruntled albeit such things make you more relatable. I haven’t read your Thallassos stuff which I assume is most recent but previous things make you look competent with prose and assert your ability to tell a story but I don’t recall much regarding “lore” stuff e.g. mechanical things relating to LotC (which tbh don’t matter outside this place).

 

I’ve read Guards! Guards!, the Hogfather (good ****), and a bit of Men At Arms (I think?) but it’s been awhile since I’ve touched anything by Terry Pratchett and I’ve never touched Kingkiller. I quite like Terry Pratchett’s stuff and while it can be incredibly insightful, thoughtful, and wise writing and lessons I am usually put off after too long with all the goofy and comical stuff. Amazing author though, RIP.

 

If I were to recommend anything (at your level) I’d have to go with Stephen King’s On Writing for its many insights (and honestly I could read Stephen King all day), Toni Morrison (Beloved, obviously) and otherwise draw from poetry like Edgar Allan Poe (get his full collection tbh).

 

Fun question. I regret keeping secrets and lying in my early life as much as I did, it led to an explosive event that has broken my life into before and after periods. I regret not reaching out to an IRL friend before they passed despite somewhat seeing it coming. In the same way I regret not reaching out to Watyll when we were most close. I regret when I didn’t value my life and committed pretty terrible crimes and nearly avoided making far more heinous ones. I regret not taking school seriously and valuing my addiction to LotC over it. I’m sure there’s more but that’ll do.

 

2 hours ago, ExcitedEXE said:

hi

 

huwwo OwO

 

1 hour ago, Sorcerio said:

What’s your best advice on generating unique ideas for a piece of lore?

 

What do you enjoy most about roleplaying?

Do you prefer to play characters from a young age or make up a backstory as you go along?

 

Which character was your favorite and what did they do?

 

What’s your favorite Video Game?

 

Have you played Portal 2? What are your thoughts on it if you have?

 

Inspiration is where it’s all at so whatever hits you best should be your go-to. Personally I find the most inspiration from art because I’m a visually-oriented person and either looking at or making art really gets me going. There’s plenty of things words just can’t express so it’s nice to find something to get your brain ticking trying to translate.

 

The absolute best is when I have complete verisimilitude / suspension of disbelief, I’m reading things in imaginary voices I’ve assigned to characters, and something dramatic happens. I absolutely adore roleplay drenched in theatrics with strong tension and resolution. I also quite like it when, with the same verisimilitude, characters get emotional together. Always cathartic.

 

Usually young-ish because I don’t make very many characters and when I do I  plan on them being ‘mains’ so I try to not waste much time assuming they will die (humans). That said I tend to have ‘backstories’ figured out almost completely before I start playing.

 

While I am tempted to say Sprat (way, way too long of a story to get into without infodumping) I know it’s not true so I suppose it would have to be Uldrivt. Lolindar/Radni/Uldrivt/Cosi/Kozilek/Doviculus was the father of my first character, Sprat, and he was created mysticism, became a wight, fucked around a whole lot with the necromancers and company, spat out a good list of Voidal horrors, delved into Voidal magic, left mysticism behind and became an archon (oof), propped up the Mage’s Guild, and too many things to name between and after. He was just a very, very sad man absolutely possessed with his grief for his son.

 

Very difficult to say but the front-runners have to be:

-Goblin Commander (PS2)

-The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth (I, II, II expansion Rise of the Witch King)

-Dark Souls (1, 3)

-Smite

-Bloodborne

 

Again, hard to say.

 

I played and finished the first Portal, I’ve never touched the second. I’ve seen plenty of screenshots though.

 

44 minutes ago, Apostate said:

i’m going to steal what everyone else is thinking

 

and ask your opinion of myself

 

as well as this – favourite book series, favourite netflix show, favourite dish, favourite culture

 

and, the most important question, do you prefer lotc now to how it was back in the days of axios

 

I know we’ve interacted a number of times over the years but like Archi and Squak I don’t quite think I know you super well so from what I recall you’re fun, focused, persistent to a fault, and have a nearly sexual voice (owo). God damn grim shade sadbois.

 

Lord of the Rings, Stranger Things / The Haunting of Hill House / The People v. O. J. Simpson, that’s nearly impossible to answer but it’s either tamales or pasta salad, and if you mean culture as in cuisine then Mediterranean but if you mean just in general then probably Hindu.

 

Neither, I thought Axios was p meh. Aegis was rough, Asulon was patchy, but Anthos was just perfect for me. Nothing has been quite like it since.

[excited 10833]

favorite ghost in haunting of hill house, and why the symbolism speaks to you

 

could easily ask u this on discord but find it funner to ask here for whatever reason

[ScreamingDingo 16792]

when are we going to collaborate

[Knox 1027]

why did you bother coming back?

 

one piece of advice you could give me?

 

Good to have you back none the less Zarzies x

[Callistus 963]

13 hours ago, Zarsies said:

I don’t think I read it

Then do so.. lest thou seek with foul impunity to insinuate here an affront?

Hah- I jest and merely gibe, it is true.

lest.. ?

 

MACABRE VANITAS

[Zacho 1734]

Where do you draw inspiration from to write? Think of a few examples of things you’ve written, where did you pull the ideas from, and how did you struggle to ‘lotcify’ it to fit?

[Zarsies 6024]

15 hours ago, Lackless_ said:

@Zarsies

eric you skipped over my edited comment please notice me, I can’t comment three times or that’d make me a simp

what do you think of me.

 

implying you’re not my simp

 

14 hours ago, ExcitedEXE said:

favorite ghost in haunting of hill house, and why the symbolism speaks to you

 

could easily ask u this on discord but find it funner to ask here for whatever reason

 

(SPOILERS FOR HILL HOUSE)

The Bent-Neck Lady really fucks with me. I’ve been suicidal in the past and have lost a couple friends to it and before I took anti-psychotics I had an episode where I thought I had overdosed and was a ghost where I roamed around my house inconsolably distraught and just completely overwhelmed with anguish. I thought I was floating, couldn’t eat, and was actually alone and for however long that episode was I mourned my own death, wailing and sobbing. It was the peak of shame and regret I’ve ever felt and I couldn’t get over how badly I had wanted to stop living yet once I was dead I couldn’t get over how much I had let go of. Lowkey traumatic. When I watched that episode where it was revealed it reealllyy fucked me up because I had vibed with the concept before and it brought me back. Thankfully it was a psychotic break and I didn’t actually overdose :^). (Pro tip it’s unhealthy to talk about and validate delusions/hallucinations because it gives them ground so don’t do this lest you freak yourself out:) Although it does spook me still when I have minor episodes because a reoccurring hallucination of mine is ghosts and sometimes I think it’s my future self coming to warn me not to kill myself but it’s futile and I will ultimately die by my own hands. Dreadful.

 

On a lighter note I really liked the wheelchair-bound ghost boy who couldn’t talk and would ram the walls and stuff to talk to his parents. Makes bumps in the night a little more sweet.

 

14 hours ago, ScreamingDingo said:

when are we going to collaborate

 

Check your PMs.

 

11 hours ago, Knox said:

why did you bother coming back?

 

one piece of advice you could give me?

 

Good to have you back none the less Zarzies x

 

As aforementioned: no job, quarantined, all time, isolation has been testing bad habits, started to peek in but it was a slippery slope and I spiraled back down here. At this point I’m thinking it’ll be better (perhaps foolish but I’m cautiously optimistic) and things will be smooth.

 

Vulnerability is key to compassion and love; DON’T be afraid to open up to others or allow others to open to you. Also always make sure you have a plunger before you need a plunger.

 

❤️

 

1 hour ago, Callistus said:

Then do so.. lest thou seek with foul impunity to insinuate here an affront?

Hah- I jest and merely gibe, it is true.

lest.. ?

 

MACABRE VANITAS

 

OH MINE GOD I ACCIDENTALLY HATH SENT THOU A PICTURE OF MINE COCK AND ALSO MINE BALLS

PRITHEE DELETE IT!!

...lest thou desires of mine loins? HAHA I JEST delete

IT..lest thee craves?

HAHA NAY BANISH IT ..lest?

 

6 minutes ago, Zacho said:

Where do you draw inspiration from to write? Think of a few examples of things you’ve written, where did you pull the ideas from, and how did you struggle to ‘lotcify’ it to fit?

 

Art (online, city’s museum, making my own), hiking, drugs (baphomet’s broccoli, sometimes mushrooms/acid), and dreams. Some examples include:

 

Mysticism was a product of my dreams and hallucinations (ghosts), my mother’s lifelong obsession with ghosts, and the art below. I had numerous encounters where I knew what I wanted the magic/phantoms to look like and act because my shitty brain, I had gleaned ideas regarding mystics interacting with / controlling phantoms from my mom’s various oddball comments, theatric shows she watches, and things I’ve seen her do, and LotR / LotR fan art helped construct the language (’wight’, ‘barrow’, led to ‘menhir’). It wasn’t much of a struggle to LotC-ify the ideas because undead, LotR, and magic are kind of baked in.

Spoiler

 

Voidal horrors (the expanded horror type, not the broader species written by Raptor) were a product of my indulgence in psychedelics after I had been reading a hell of a lot of Lovecraft (Barnes & Noble’s H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction, it’s a pretty book which helped), Tentoa’s roleplay as Achan-Chatla, and associated art. The crux of that fell on mental magic which is unfortunate for our current times but it’s still one of my favorite pieces albeit dated. The main struggle with the lore was actually in implementation because before that I had made them playable which was a big, big mistake as they were quite strong creatures (focusing on Voidal magic) and very, very few understood what eldritch horror was, how to get that across, and how to roleplay at a level where those things aren’t washed out or kicked aside by others. They’re in the hands of the Story team but seeing Mystery’s events with them and Unsound it has made me lose faith in the restriction because it’s still being appropriated, misunderstood, and misused. Not much of a remedy there without being a total wangrod elitist.

Spoiler

(Lots of portraits like this one)