#blorb awards

Thank you for the tag @lemonsrosesandlavender, this is a super fun idea! I'll do my best.

I'll put some no pressure tags for @lizziemajestic @captainsigge @librivore42 and @tickitytockityrattityrottity and anyone else who wants to do this.

So, the thing is that people who know me know how many beloved blorbos I have. I've written 20+ microblorbos over about 570k words this year, and love countless more still. But my real answer was immediate, so, time for honesty.

My blorbo of the year: Donnick

I've spoken a little before about Donnick and my fic Sufferer, I Shall, and how much it means to me. Something I absolutely would not have predicted when I started it on the basis that I wanted to explore the rivalry between Loviatar and Ilmater through a pairing I thought could be a fun and interesting contrast.

Instead, thanks to Donnick, I found myself exploring and understanding my relationship with purpose and practice, with my chronic pain, the purpose to be found in suffering and what it is that makes me get up every day. I wrote a thing that I'm genuinely proud of and explored a mind that is as fascinating and deep as a particularly well made soup. Donnick is a joy to write, and has taken up residence in my mind in a way no other blorbo or character ever really has before. It is difficult to explain quite how much this character ended up meaning to me, but if I can't gush about him here and now in this, well, when can I? Thank you, fed up, sarcastic, wonderful soup monk. I promise I'll get you the happy ending with your soulmate you deserve.

The runners up: Geraldus and Klaus

Choosing one of the Rivington 3 was excruciating, btw; my trio of besties who I slowly drew together over the course of the year across my fics to fill Geraldus' life with friends and support.

Geraldus has been my most consistent muse throughout the year, he compelled me to write an 150k longfic romance I just finished last week, and I've so much more yet to write for him. The Bravest Man in Baldurs Gate has brought me a whole community of incredible friends and creators I never would have expected to find. I cannot tell you how hard it was to put him in second place. I can't wait to write more for the best Harper in 2025.

Klaus, my narrative can-opener and muse, has been a huge surprise. I just needed a guy for a circus scene and now here we are months later and he's so much more. Klaus consistently pushes me to do more; add more colour, more movement, to go bigger and bolder. He's a wonderful character, I hope more people come to write him and find that out too.

New OCs for 2024

So most people will know I don't have a lot of these; but, I do have someone who showed up very unexpectedly in Conductor Ringmaster so let's give her a shout out.

Estrella Redtooth - Night Hag, menace

Showing up as a fortune teller when the circus hit the feywild and immediately developing an infuriating little tug of war with Klaus, Estrella was a blast to write whenever she appeared.

Let's hope we see that tricksome fey again.

Red's bonus category: last minute scene stealer: Harper Bor

Arriving in November, a full year after the game took over my life and I found Geraldus, I found Bor.

In the 2 and a bit months since, I have entirely lost my mind over Bor and his adorable relationship with the tiefling kiddo Mirkon, his massive lumberjack axe and a Harper on Harper romance with Geraldus. This is the shape of my 2025, and I look forward to seeing him up in the top categories next year.

That is if I haven't fallen even more in love with like, Ethel's Door.

Honourable shout outs to the following blorbs:

Abdirak, Jaheira, Kar'niss, Rolan, He Who Was, Lae'zel, Halsin, Ethel's Door, Viola Silvertongue, Waiter Jaymes (and his beloved Sküna!), Tecothy, Moy, Olly, Lia, Professor Limeleech, Cal, Sorn and everyone else I've written this year.

Thank you for the tag @redroomroaving! This has been a great way to look back on the year and realise what fun 2025 is going to be. No pressure tags for @the-barefoot-hatter, @d-e-w-p, @lizziemajestic, @des-no9, and @pricemarshfield

Blorbo of the Year:

It's been Bann Teagan from Dragon Age since September. Hello to the reason I started writing fanfiction.

Runners up:

Skoona from Baldur's Gate 3 (she's only a runner up because I just adopted her a little while ago. She'll probably be the headliner in 2025)

And Harrim from Pathfinder. I've only played half an hour and I'm so ridiculously amused by his weaponised depression.

New OCs this year:

So this is the perfect year to do this game, because it's been several years since I've made any OCs rather than just porting the same favourites into every universe over and over again (which is also valid and extremely fun, they end up being new OCs in their own right sometimes)

HOWEVER due to a whole lot of fic writing and getting into old crpgs in a big way, I now have a small handful of genuinely new OCs that I've come to adore.

Lux (Dragon Age)

I am unwell about my girl. Those of you who know me since I've made her know I will never be normal about her and never intend to. A Templar Knight raised by a fanatic under such intense conditioning, and then so completely neglected by the Order and Circle because she was obedient and quiet, that she didn't even understand how she was broken until someone finally saw her. Strange that it was a mage. Even stranger that it was Anders, who she'd escorted back after so many failed escapes. I want to write so much more of her in 2025, I want her to come to life and realise who she is as a person, as long and road as that's going to be because being a person is so, so heart. She means a lot to me because it's helped me come to terms with and be more comfortable with my anxiety over new situations or talking to new people because even after all these years I don't know the script. She's been thrown into a new life with no script, no instructions, nobody to tell her the right thing to do, and I will protect her with my life an write for her forever.

Garnet Aeducan (Dragon Age)

Apologies to Garnet, the prologue made you lose everything and I just went ahead and accidentally made you lose even more over the course of the game. You are a queen who lost her king and will mourn him for the rest of your days, but I'm glad I managed to find you some healing in post-game fic. I will find you some more next year.

Brennan Hawke (Dragon Age)

Bryony was who I played in DA2 but Brennan was made up for a fic and I fell in love with his stupid, talks-too-much self. Since he's a purple Hawke (the devil-may-care jokey dialogue options), he's a LOT of fun to write both externally and internally.

Brian and Freda (Discworld but also setting agnostic, I've already put them in Dragon Age and they're coming to A PLACE NEAR YOU)

Brian and Freda. I want to put them everywhere. My ridiculous comedy duo of two mages who just want to make money with increasingly circuitous schemes likes magical tourism services.

Grahim Berrycraft (Baldur's Gate 3)

An almost joke character I came up with for a fic that I've now fallen completely in love with. A forest gnome with a very dark sense of humour, Grahim runs a confectionary shop in Baldur's Gate. He reads the newspaper for the strangest and grimmest news and then makes themed desserts and candies. The kids love him. The adults are horrified. The patriars use his desserts as a status symbol, so he charges them through the nose but then gives free baked goods to the street kids. Wyll used to go there a lot as a boy and Grahim still remembers him very fondly.

Natti (Baldur's Gate 3)