WIP Name: A Light in the Darkness
Hi there! I’m Kris, otherwise known as @aspiringfictionwriter! This is my wip!
Summary:
Arachne Coborial, a dark elf, explores her society's darkest nooks after a shocking tragedy that happened to her when she was young. But when she discovers that she has a special connection to a rejected Goddess, what will she do?
Setting:
In the world of D&D, the underground regions are known as the Underdark, which is wildly populated by evil, or corrupted elves, known as drow (or, literally, drow elves.) They worship a spider goddess known as Lolth, or the Spider Queen, who demands violence in Her name. No one questions tradition, right?
Characters:
Arachne Coborial in the youngest daughter of the First Matron Mother of the city of Abburth, known for her tactical ability, intelligence, beauty, and unique purple eyes.
Matron Aunerae Coborial is is the First Matron Mother of Abburth, as well as the head of House Coborial, commanding an army of demons at her very whim, making her very formidable and fearsome to most.
Chadra Coborial is the younger twin to Arachne and amatuer alchemist, she is power hungry and evil beyond compare due to the favoritism shown to her elder sister.
Bemril Coborial is the eldest, and first, son of Aunerae, he was raised under the impression that he was meant to do anything to keep the House standing, being the leader of its army.
What to expect?
This is a depressing story to some, mediocrely depressing to others (depending on whether or not you watch anime, or at least that's what I've seen with some of my friends.) As the setting suggests, there will be death, bloodshed, tears, and much more, including a lesbian romance later on. If any of these trigger you please walk away. There is a specific trigger warning at the very beginning of Chapter Three for a reason.
And by the way, this story is based off of D&D, as well as a campaign written by a subscription company called Dungeon in a Box (but that’s the ending of the story foreshadowed in the beginning.) All original characters belong to me, and I’d like to keep it as such!
Enjoy your day!
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I ran some of my book characters through an AI art app on my phone, since I can’t draw for shit, and I thought I’d share the beautiful results of a few of my characters!
I like this depiction of Arachne, but I think some of it isn’t really what I put in the box for what I wanted. The eyes are the wrong color, but the overall shape is perfect for who she is, as I’ve frequently expressed that her eyes are the gateway to her emotion. The hair is slightly lofty, but I like to imagine her with her hair in the wind, since we all know how her story ends.
Oh my goodness. Matron Aunerae’s images are absolutely stunning. All I asked was for a woman with white hair, gray skin, and red eyes, and this stunning image appeared. It’s perfect for who she is, as well as her background and fierce disposition.
When I imagined Bemril, this was not what I saw, but here we are. I’ll just say the hair is perfect, the eyes, too, although I’m not sure how I feel about the nose, though. It’s rather strange, bur I like the overall feeling of a man living with a cursed soul.
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If you are interested in learning more about these characters, consider looking at, here's a link to the Prologue, and you can find everything else on my blog!
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Mizu, femininity, and fallen sparrows
In my last post about Mizu and Akemi, I feel like I came across as overly critical of Mizu given that Mizu is a woman who - in her own words - has to live as a man in order to go down the path of revenge.
If she is ever discovered to be female by the wrong person, she will not only be unable to complete her quest, but there's a good chance that she'll be arrested or killed.
So it makes complete sense for Mizu to distance herself as much as possible from any behavior that she feels like would make someone question her sex.
I felt so indignant toward Mizu on my first couple watchthroughs for this moment. Why couldn't Mizu bribe the woman and her child's way into the city too? If Mizu is presenting as a man, couldn't she claim to be the woman's escort?
However, this moment makes things pretty clear. Mizu knows all too well the plight of women in her society. She knows it so well that she cannot risk ever finding herself back in their position again. She helps in what little way she can - without drawing attention to herself.
Mizu is not a hero and she is not one to make of herself a martyr - she will not set herself on fire to keep others warm. There's room to argue that Mizu shouldn't prioritize her quest over people's lives, but given the collateral damage Mizu can live with in almost every episode of season 1, Mizu is simply not operating under that kind of morality at this point. ("You don't know what I've done to reach you," Mizu tells Fowler.)
And while I still feel like Mizu has an obvious and established blind spot when it comes to Akemi because of their differences in station, such that Mizu's judgment of Akemi and actions in episode 5 are the result of prejudice rather than the result of Mizu's caution, I also want to establish that Mizu is just as caged as Akemi is, despite her technically having more freedom while living as a man.
Mizu can hide her mixed race identity some of the time, and she can hide her sex almost all of the time, but being able to operate outside of her society's strict rules for women does not mean she cannot see their plight.
It does not mean she doesn't hurt for them.
Back to Mizu and collateral damage, remember that sparrow?
While Mizu is breaking into Boss Hamata's manse, she gets startled by a bird and kills it on reflex. She then cradles it in her hands - much more tenderly than we've seen Mizu treat almost anything up to this point in the season:
She then puts it in its nest, with its unhatched eggs. Almost like she's trying to make the death look natural. Or like an accident.
You see where I'm going with this.
When Mizu kills Kinuyo, Mizu lingers in the moment, holding the body tenderly:
And btw a lot of stuff about this show hit me hard, but this remains the biggest gut punch of them all for me, Mizu holding that poor girl's body close, GOD
When Mizu arranges the "scene of the crime," Kinuyo's body is delicate, birdlike. And Mizu is so shaken afterward that she gets sloppy. She's horrified at this kill to the point that she can't bring herself to take another innocent life - the boy who rats her out.
MIZU'S ONE MOMENT OF SOFTNESS AND MERCY, COMING ON THE HEELS OF HER NEEDING TO KILL A GIRL TO SPARE HER THE WORST FATE THAT THIS RIGID SOCIETY HAS TO OFFER WOMEN, AND TO SPARE A BROTHEL FULL OF INNOCENT WOMEN WHO ARE THE CASTOFFS OF SOCIETY, NEARLY RESULTS IN ALL OF THEIR DEATHS
No wonder Mizu is as stoic and cold as she is.
And no wonder Mizu has no patience for Akemi whatsoever right before the terrible reveal and the fight breaks out:
Speaking of Akemi - guess who else is compared to a bird!
The plumage is more colorful, a bit flashier. But a bird is a bird.
And, uh
Yeah.
I like to think that Mizu killing the sparrow is not only foreshadowing for what she must do to Kinuyo, but is also a representation of the choice she makes on Akemi's behalf. She decides to cage the bird because she believes the bird is "better off." Better off caged than... dead.
But because Mizu doesn't know Akemi or her situation, she of course doesn't realize that the bird is fated to die if it is caged and sent back home.
Mizu is clearly not happy, or pleased, or satisfied by allowing Akemi to be dragged back to her father:
But softness and mercy haven't gotten Mizu anywhere good, recently.
There is so much tragedy layered into Mizu's character, and it includes the things she has to witness and the choices she makes - or believes she has to make - involving women, when she herself can skirt around a lot of what her society throws at women. Although, I do believe that it comes at the cost of a part of Mizu's soul.
After all, I'm gonna be haunted for the rest of this show by Mizu's very first prayer in episode 1:
"LET" her die. Because as Ringo points out, she doesn't "know how" to die.
Kind of like another bird in this show:
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How to get to know your characters better?
(feel free to add your own thoughts to this list, hope it helps!) req by @miricalebabyy44 <3
what will your character be like if they were in your shoes?
is your oc the mom friend or the dad or the childish one in their friendgroup ?
do those "poet, king, soldier" quiz for your oc. im being fr
do the "36 questions to fall in love" quiz as your oc.
ik your ocs trauma have an impact on their character, but how would they be like, if they hadn't gone through that experience?
does your oc have similar tastes as you do? (music, art, fashion, coffee/tea etctetc)
will they "i only live once so I'll do it for the plot." or will they "i only live once ffs, i don't wanna die." ?
what is your ocs opinion of love? how is/was their love life on a scale of 1-10?
will your oc let go of someone precious to them when they know they're putting them at danger?
around whom does your oc lets their guard down?
are they romantically constipated or a hopeless romantic?
what type of music does ur oc like?
write a lot about your oc if you're struggling to get to know them. find a drabble prompt, and write what they'd do.
do they trust others easily or do they get trusted by others easily?
what is something your oc will never talk to anyone about? (their answer can be deep, like some emo trauma or like smthng like back when they shit their pants or smthng yk)
do they give off golden retriever energy, or a black cat energy? (or both?)
what will THEIR opinion be on YOUR current life? will they be ur friend? will they trust you?
will your oc survive in a fantasy setting, a war setting, a dystopian setting, a futuristic setting, a medieval setting? will ur oc survive after getting stranded on an island, or a forest?
does your oc like their parents, do they like how their life is, do they feel like they're born in the right gen?
if they are ever to get one wish definitely granted, what would they wish for?
how did they react to their first kiss? (if they have had it by now lmao)
what's an ideal day for your oc?
lastly, who does your oc go to when they've fucked up?
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