Greetings and salutations! My name is Mandi and I welcome you to my little corner of the Wiki. <3 'Souls has been my primary outlet for creative writing since 2014 and it has been a fun and rewarding journey that I am so grateful for. I am currently a Moderator on the board, so please feel free to reach out if you have questions, concerns, or simple curiosities!
As a result of being a professional introvert who is recovering from a lifetime of social anxiety, my chatting skills leave a lot to be desired and I do not show my cat's face in Discord super often. If you see me typing for 30 minutes only to spit out 5 whole words (provided I don't give up lol), it's almost definitely because I'm thinking too hard about what to say and/or how to say it. Overthinking is my super power. :')
That said, I'm a friendly person and I love brainstorming character plots and ideas! If there's something you'd like my thoughts about, or are interested in plotting something with one of my characters, please reach out! I would love to hear from you! You can find information specific to my RP preferences and habits here. <3
*Denotes a character of lower priority and/or who is intended to be less involved in the game than others. Replies with this character may be less frequent.
Plotting: I love discussing plot ideas! Have one? Let me hear it!
Post Length: My post lengths are generally around 250-350 words, but results may vary.
I prefer to receive replies of a similar length, but I largely don't care.
Reply Times: I try not to go longer than two weeks to reply to a thread.
However, my time to write is limited and I juggle 'Souls with other hobbies & duties.
If we have a thread that I should prioritize, please let me know!
Requesting Threads: Please refer to my active characters list above for individual thread statuses.
Closing Threads: I'm almost never opposed to OOC endings and prefer it for old threads.
Reviving Threads: I prefer not to revive archived threads. I would rather start a new one!
LASKY: Generally, I will only take canon LASKY threads.
LASKY threads are always lowest priority.
Content and Habits
Mature Content: I will play mature content to varying degrees.
I'm always okay with body horror (blood, gore, torture, etc.).
However, I generally prefer not to play out explicit sex scenes.
Powerplay: I'm almost always okay with minor powerplays, especially when to move a thread along.
I'll let you know if I'd like something changed.
Assumptions: Most passive assumptions are fine if noted in the character's Wiki (speech, scent, etc).
Pack & band mates should refer to my active characters for specifically approved assumptions.
Themes & Characters: There are number of motifs I prefer when plotting, writing, and during character creation
Common themes are freedom, tragedy, death, courage, escape, opposites, self-sabotage, and failure.
I gravitate towards playing strong, confident women and gentle, sensitive men.
Titles and Icons
Titles
My first title, "still I like the quiet" (hover: "of Duluth in the winter"), is from the lyrics of a song titled "Duluth" by a folk band from my hometown of Duluth, MN: Trampled by Turtles. It may not be the same for everyone, but there's something beautiful about being in a less populated place where the only sounds around you are the quiet, rhythmic sighing of the snow falling all around you at night in the dead of winter. For me, it evokes memories of looking up at the inky sky and being able to see seas of stars or the Northern Lights or meteoroids burning up in the atmosphere. I don't get to see these things as often any more where I live now, and these lyrics make me nostalgic for those earlier days.
My second title, "MEMORIA" (hover: "how we gentle our losses into paler ghosts"), comes from two sources. Memoria is the title of an episode from Wolf 359 (this is the same episode, in fact, where the quote in my first title comes from). The quote in the hovertext is from a novel by Peter Heller called The Dog Stars, which follows the tale of a man and his dog trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. My interpretation of this quote, which is preceded by the main character musing how certain moments in the past can start to feel like dreams behind dreams, is this: living and time can soothe the ache of grief into something less vivid, less noticeable, and allow us to better carry the memories of those loved ones who we have lost nearer within us. I read this book for the first time with my heart-dog, Snuggs, nestled next to me. When I re-read it half a year after his death, in part to feel close to him again, this quote spoke volumes to me.
Icons
- This little golden key is given to 'Souls Moderators to identify them as such. I've been a part of the mod squad since 2016. If there's something you need help with, let me know!
- I have been awarded Community Soul individually twice: first in August of 2015 and again in January of 2018. In December 2019 and September 2020, Community Soul was shared among the Staff. In February 2022, Community Souls was shared among New Caledonia and Salsola members for the A Tear in the Tapestry plot. <333
- Since joining 'Souls in 2014, I have participated in Souls Super Writing Month (SoSuWriMo) and smashed it every year! Due to increasing RL demands, I took a hiatus from this contest from 2020-2021. I participated (and completed) it again in 2022.
- Of all my pixels, this is the most personal of them. Since reading Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy way back in the late 90s, I have been enamored by the idea of Dæmons and have spent a good, long while trying to identify mine. In fact, he had a name (Sabicus) long before he had a shape. I've explored many different forms over the years, but it seems he may have settled as a Gray Fox. If you'd like a fantastic resource for helping you identify your dæmon, The Dæmon Page is phenomenal!
- This is the Black Rabbit of Inlé, a grim reaper-type deity from Richard Adams' novel Watership Down. I first read this book in the late 90s or early 00s and it was one of the first books I can remember genuinely being sad to complete. I didn't want it to end so much that I started looking online for WSD communities and eventually stumbled upon the very first PBP RPG I ever joined: Nepenthes Warren. I credit Watership Down and Nepenthes with my continued interest and enjoyment in writing today, so Inlé-rah is my tribute to that!