Niko de Cielo, a Better Jedi - Fandoms and Fixes with Natasha Ticotin (D&D5e)

Star : 0:00

Have you ever made a character to "fix" a character from pop culture? Did they do Anakin dirty? And do you know the muffin man? Hello friends welcome to characters without stories, a TTRPG podcast about the roads not yet traveled. I'm Star. This episode I'm joined by Natasha an artist Corgi mom and Princess of Genovia. Natasha, is this I forget Genovia is this Netflix Christmas cinematic universe or Disney Princess cinematic universe?

Natasha: 0:38

I guess technically a Disney princess. It's from the Princess Diaries.

Star : 0:42

Okay. Yeah, I wasn't sure because they all have the same kind of names for for your fictional realms.

Natasha: 0:52

I don't even remember writing that. That's so funny. I'm so weird sometimes.

Star : 0:57

One of the more fun ones I have to say. Natasha, I'll give you a chance to plug your projects at the end. But right now, do you want to tell listeners a little bit about yourself?

Natasha: 1:07

Sure. I am a Floridian and have worked many, many theme parks. So that's kind of the world that I live in, literally. And I am a digital artist by hobby and it kind of became during lockdown. Kind of a hustle, side hustle thing. So I do a lot of d&d character commissions and I draw little stickers for people as like a side job to make extra money. And in the path of doing that, I started to get really into social media and doing a lot of little silly skits about Dungeons and Dragons and whatnot. And so that kind of led me weirdly into doing social media for tourism and theme parks in Florida. So it's this weird little circle. And that's the world that I live in right now.

Star : 1:55

Awesome. I'm glad you found that side hustle. Because otherwise I wouldn't know you.

Natasha: 2:00

Yeah.

Star : 2:03

So Natasha, who are you bringing to the table today?

Natasha: 2:06

I have Niko de Cielo. He is a Paladin of conquest, I believe is what it was. Yeah, Oath of Conquest, and eventually will multiclass into sorcerer and he is basically my version of Anakin Skywalker if he was in Dungeons and Dragons.

Star : 2:31

Why did you decide to make a version of an existing character.

Natasha: 2:36

Um, that's how I make most of my characters. And when I first started playing Dungeons and Dragons, it was very intimidating. For me, it was back in like 2015, because I am not good at math. And I just saw this as like a scary thing to do with math. And I and I do have a performer background. So I was like, Well, I want to do something that's fun to roleplay. And so I started to take existing characters that I already love, and then just made them into d&d characters, because it would be something that I'm very familiar with. So I knew how to roleplay them, even if I didn't know how to do their magic, or whatever. And it also just kind of made it fun to create the characters like me trying to figure out the best way to add spells or something that made sense that like Anakin would use or my other characters, they're also based off of Sailor Moon, I have one based off of every cliche of a Disney princess. I have one that is Peter Pan, and I have another one that's Luna Lovegood. So it's like, I just have this weird thing that I do, but it makes me happy. And my people that I play with, it's become kind of like a tradition. So they know when I come in that my character already evolved from another character. And then they just start giggling when they start to notice like the little things that I put in.

Star : 3:42

So you keep it kind of a secret before the game and the fun is then discovering who it's based on.

Natasha: 3:47

Yeah, yeah

Star : 3:48

I love that. Why Anakin?

Natasha: 3:50

I have learned to love Anakin, I used to, like think he was a whiny little baby, and he is, but through Clone Wars, and the new shows like Kenobi, it's just like, it's seeing this fractured chosen one, which is interesting. And so I just wanted to see what would have happened if other things had happened to him. So it's still the same character, but I'm just like, putting him smack dab into a different adventure and being like, Well, what happens if he doesn't meet a Padme and what happens if he doesn't have an emperor? So nearby to constantly you know, put little whispers in his ears just to see what would happen with this kind of like chosen one kid who's supposed to be who has severe main character, you know, attitude, but he has to be part of, you know, a group. Now, he can't be the main character, so I just wanted to see what would happen.

Star : 4:37

Oh, that's interesting yeah, I never really thought about how Anakin has that main character syndrome. Yeah, it's always difficult for a character like that to blend into a party and be part of a whole

Natasha: 4:49

Yeah, I I wanted to take him as like right out of training. So he, I kind of saw it as like when he's just starting to go out and with Ben, they go out on these adventures in the prequels, you know, being diplomats and whatnot. So I wanted to see how he would do it on his own. And I made it part of kind of the mantra of this version of Jedi that which I got inspired by the Amish, which when they do, it's called the Rumspringa, where they send the teenagers out to like live in the modern world. So I kind of had it be like that, where they have to do this in order to get to the next level. So he has to go out and become like, basically a servant of the people for a couple of years, and then he can come back and become their version of a Jedi Master.

Star : 5:34

In your submission, you say that you wanted to rewrite Star Wars sequels? Because Anakin and Padme were done dirty? What do you mean by that?

Natasha: 5:43

If you watch Clone Wars, or anything like that, they they have more time to really show their characters and their development and why he kind of goes so dark side and why she even falls in love with him because he is severely just all the red flags. And she's a very smart person. So it's like, it makes no sense. It was just written very 2d, and just like hi, hi, your super creepy. Yeah, but I love you. Okay, let's make out. Like it made no sense. But you get to see them actually, like, become a couple and fall in love and grow up and be adults and like, do all these things and have problems in their relationships, but, you know, like, support each other in the animated series of Clone Wars. And so I wish I could have seen that part. There's even little hints that, you know, she is completely being manipulated by the emperor in the movie, but they deleted all those scenes, so that it just looks like she just suddenly has a new personality. And that's far more interesting to me than her just suddenly becoming this weakling and just crying all the time. So I just wanted to see that. But, you know, I can't control the game. I can't say you make me a Padme. But the DM does then cool. If not, then you know, I go and find another reason for him to become what he becomes. Or maybe it never happened. You know, I just wanted to see what would happen if somebody who was so full of themselves and thinks that they are the chosen one, get humbled, I guess by other people who are just as cuz he's got to be the same level as everybody. So he can't like be like I'm better. They'd be like, we're the same. We're all level two, like calm down

Star : 7:15

Right, what would be your hope for Niko in a campaign? Then you said that, you know, you kind of wanted to explore this relationship with Padme. But if that doesn't happen, what are kind of the themes that you'd want to explore?

Natasha: 7:27

I definitely would like to see him actually be in a family even if it's found family, because he really only has been bout it. I mean, look, he has Padme but like, not really. It's she's more of an obsession. And so like, really, family would be an interesting things, people, other people for him to care about other than himself. And it'd be multiple people. You know, his campaign group that he'd be with, I would love to see that I would also love to see him realize if there is like an emperor kind of character, realize what that person is doing to him. And they could get their comeuppance from him before he becomes a Darth Vader kind of person. That would be cool. And then like, we could just make it up from then on, I wouldn't have to follow the story. And I don't really ever have to follow the story. But it does kind of become fun to try to follow the story and try to like find ways to imprint their actual story into our campaign. I don't force it or anything for other people. But for me, I do. I'm like, Okay, well, he would do this, because that's what he did in episode one. And I think that's funny. But yeah, that would be really cute to like, see him like, I don't know, be like bros with like, a whole bunch of people. That'd be awesome.

Star : 8:38

So how is Niko different from Anakin?

Natasha: 8:41

So because of it being a game, and you have to follow the rules of that game, it's not like, he's just gonna walk in and know everything that 21 year old Anakin knew he's going to know what a level two character knows. And that's not much. So it actually adds to the roleplay because it can make him more frustrated because he's like, I should be able to do like all these other things, I should be able to lift rocks, and I can't even lift rocks. Because I made him a paladin. So really, it's just hitting things with a sword, my little special light up sword and then smiting people. And that's all you can really do in the beginning as a Paladin, so it becomes kind of this interesting thing of the character thinks he's supposed to be far more powerful than he actually is. But he's not. And that's very different where Anakin thinks he's the most powerful person and he is the most powerful person. So there's a big difference there.

Star : 9:33

Right? I think that will also probably help mitigate that main character syndrome. Do you think that you would be seeking out your own Obi Wan, your own Yoda?

Natasha: 9:44

I have given kind of free range to the DM already in my like description of him, you know, for whenever he gets to be played being like, hey, he has a teacher named Ben. And if you want to bring that in, cool, I didn't make up Yoda at but I said, you know you have free range because the DM is my husband, and he is obsessed with Star Wars. So I trust him to just do whatever the heck he wants. And it'll be amazing. So I'm just at the mercy of him because I trust him very much. So I'm like, if you give me a Yoda cool if you don't, I'm totally fine with that, too.

Star : 10:20

I can imagine that that is a complicated relationship to be married to your DM.

Natasha: 10:28

It's funny, though, because like, I know, sometimes things that are happening before they have them, because sometimes he'll ask me for my opinion, because he's creating it in a void. And he is like, do you think that this would be a fun thing to do? And so I give him my opinions. He doesn't do it all the time. But there's little moments where I'm like, oh, okay, that it's gonna happen. So when it happens, I'm like, what everybody else is in there. Like, why? I have no idea. And then the other thing is, we play two campaigns, but they're both in the same world, and they're happening at the same time. So if something happens in the other world, like we just found, like, this evil metal stuff, if that's gonna happen in the other campaign, I'm gonna have to pretend that I don't know that this metal is about to corrupt people and just like, let it happen to my teammates, and just be like, I didn't know. So those those kind of things happen, but he trusts me enough that he knows I'm a really good actor so I could pretend.

Star : 11:27

No metagaming here. So this brings up an interesting question, because there are Star Wars RPG is that exist? Is your character, a Star Wars character fitting into a fantasy d&d world? Or is your campaign more of just kind of a Star Wars skin on a d&d campaign?

Natasha: 11:50

No, it's fantasy. We have played the Star Wars campaigns before we've played a variant that we put into strange world savage worlds, I was like saying it and sounded wrong. Okay. We put our own skin over a savage world sci fi game that was all Star Wars. And then we've actually done their own campaigns with books and everything. So we've done that. But I never got to play Vader. We always had to fight Vader. And I was like, I'll play Vader. And most of the time when we play d&d, it's fantasy. We're very into that world. We don't really play sci fi as much. So I am fitting him in there. So that's why he has like a sword that lights up but it's it's a sword. It just glows with, you know, some lightness and radiant damage. It doesn't. It's not like a laser sword.

Star : 12:36

Right? It glows with the power of your Paladin oath.

Natasha: 12:39

Yeah.

Star : 12:40

Star Wars. I don't know if it's necessarily like straightforwardly sci fi. To me, it's almost a fantasy story that just happens to take place in outer space.

Natasha: 12:50

It is it's definitely fantasy. It's got a you know, a little farm boy, and a princess and a pirate that go on an adventure to defeat the evil dark lord of the realm. Like, very fantasy.

Star : 13:04

You said you wanted to play Vader in a game. And I'm curious because well, Vader has an arc right? Vader doesn't start out evil. Would you want to play Vader as an evil character? Or is it something that you're hoping to that would be interesting for you to play because of that downward arc?

Natasha: 13:24

Both? Either way, I mean, we, I've been playing with these people since 2015. So we kind of trust each other enough that if like, I became the big bad, I would think it was hilarious. And I would be like, Guys, just go for it kill me. I don't even care. Let's go. That would be really interesting to go that way. Or it'd be very interesting to see how much the DM could throw at me. And I'd have to figure out a way to make it not take hold of him and make him not evil. Because I know our DM would not be like and then you get possessed and you're evil. He wouldn't do that. He would leave it up to me. I have to make the choice. Either way would be funny. I know, the group that I've played with we've had times where we've been possessed and they hate that. So I know that he wouldn't do that.

Star : 14:07

You said that you often build characters based on existing characters in media. Is that something you do every time? Or do you have different approaches for different situations?

Natasha: 14:18

For d&d, it's been that way. When we played savage worlds, I made completely new characters when we played Deadlands when we played Star Wars. I mean, I was I was also learning. But d&d was so intimidating to me that kind of my, I guess, defense mechanism, but it's only been for d&d. I've done it every time. For some reason. And it's been super duper fun. I think the best one that I've done so far, has been Peter Pan. He for some reason fit so perfectly into d&d Just because he was raised by fairies, and I was like, okay, he's from the Feywild. Like it was super easy. I was just like, done,

Star : 14:53

Right. So what does that process like for you? How do you go about that adaptation?

Natasha: 15:00

So when we pick whatever like worlds we're going to play in or whatever, I sit there and I go, Okay, what kind of character would I personally right now love to write fanfiction about? Who am I obsessed with? And then I go and I look at the different races and I see which one would fit because it doesn't necessarily have to be human. And that's what happened with Pan who was Peter Pan, very creative name. I know. I was looking through the books and it said that they had air genies an air genasi. And I was like, Well, yes, he is that he is a magical air baby. And so I was like, he'll be that. And then like, like I said, I was like, oh, there's a realm that's called the Feywild. He was raised by fairies in the story. So they'll be from there. And so it just as I'm reading, and I just see things that connect, I just like, okay, that's the thing. There's a, you know, a class, that's the archfey Warlock, where you're literally your magic comes from fairies that was like, come from fairies. So it was like, that's how I do it. And his just happened to be the easiest one. And it was super funny playing him. He was all in green. He flew around, he constantly forgot things. And it just fit perfectly, because the Feywild does mess up with your brain. And it messes up with your memories and time. And so I was like, this is perfect, because Peter Pan can't remember thing. So I was it was just really fun for me to do that.

Star : 16:22

Yeah. Is there any sort of through line to which characters you choose?

Natasha: 16:26

Just things probably that I've been obsessed with my whole life. Peter Pan is definitely something that I've loved my whole life. I mean, obviously, it's weird, but they're all Disney properties. I didn't choose that. There's no just owns the world. But you know, it's Disney princesses and Star Wars and Peter Pan and just all these things that I've just grown up with. If I was given a chance I probably would start doing like Jane Austen if they allowed me, which I know that there's actually a system to play like a regency game. And unfortunately, that's the one thing I can't talk to my friends into doing. I wish I wish I could, because that would be the best for me.

Star : 17:04

Yeah, no, I love to play that.

Natasha: 17:06

So cute. Like that is like one of my dreams. I'm even going to do that for my birthday. I'm going to have a Jane Austen birthday because like obsession, so I just pick something that I'm already magically in love with. And then I just go with it.

Star : 17:19

You said that you pick characters that you would write a fanfiction about do you write fanfiction a lot?

Natasha: 17:24

I haven't written in a while. But I thought it all started when I was a teenager. And Harry Potter was my obsession. So yes, somewhere in the world. There is a lot of very hormonally driven Draco fanfiction. Out there by me badly written, just people making out all the time in the hallway. We don't know why but they're there. And then I went on to write all obviously Star Wars. Definitely wrote a lot of Kylo Ren fan fiction because and then the last one I wrote that actually was fairly proud of was a Gilmore Girls fanfic that I wrote after they did the reunion in like 2016 because I didn't like the way it ended. And I just rewrote it. And it was just so the cathartic for me. It was like, Ha, I fixed it for you. I haven't written anything since then. But I was just like, Yep, I'm an adult non writing Gilmore Girls fan fiction.

Star : 18:22

Hey, if it works for you, I don't see a problem with it.

Natasha: 18:26

It was super fun.

Star : 18:27

You talked about how you fixed Gilmore Girls and you were talking about fixing Anakin and Padme. Is that something you do a lot kind of this like correction where you think a story has gone astray.

Natasha: 18:40

Yeah, I try to if I do it, I don't do it like super hardcore, where I'm like, I'm the best and they saw or whatever. I do it for myself. Mostly, it's for fun. I try not to be like that person on the internet being like, I am better than the original writers. But I think it's pretty clear to most people that they just were Anakin and Padme just weren't handled very well. I know for younger people because I was a teenager when the prequels came out. And I know younger people than me see Padme and Anakin as just a Romeo and Juliet kind of thing and they see no problem with it. But that's just the way that they grew up. They saw that as that was their Star Wars as children. My Star Wars was the original because I'm old. So I know when we grow up and you know when as the years go by the ones who saw Kylo and Rey are gonna grow up and be like, What are you talking about? They were perfect. I'd be like, were they? But that's that's their Star Wars. So I don't try to be mean or anything. I do it for myself. I haven't written like anything to like fix Anakin I just thought it'd be fun but the Gilmore Girls one was just more me just having fun tried to fix what I thought should have been the ending but also trying to challenge myself to see if I could write dialogue as insane as Amy Sherman Palladino does that was more just for me. Because she writes like insane. It's like Josh Whedon. And oh my God, the one who wrote West Wing, Sorkin. So it's like that. And I was like, I wonder if I could write dialogue like that. And so that was more of the challenge then really trying to fix them.

Star : 20:11

It sounds like you have a lot of things that you interact with as fandoms. Like, you're into a lot of fandoms. You, you interact with these kinds of properties in these ways that, you know, for me, it's not something that I typically do is this, you know, kind of fanfiction and that kind of stuff. So what drives this kind of interaction for you?

Natasha: 20:33

I think it's mostly because, you know, I grew up in the 90s, right at the dawn of the age of the interwebs. And we found other nerdy people like us, but it wasn't like it is now. And I think I'm just trying to not relive my childhood but trying to like heal my inner nerd child, because I was ridiculed and made fun of so much for all the silly things that I liked that like now I'm like, I'm 40 years old, I do not care if you're gonna laugh at me for like, being obsessed with Anastasia, the animated movie from 1996. I do not care. So I think that's why I just get so into it now, because I'm just like, You know what, why not I wasn't allowed to when I was younger, and I also couldn't afford that stuff. I was not being I make my own money now. But like then to go to cons and to buy the merchandise and you literally to like, get anything that was dubbed in anime, you literally had to go to the mall, every week, see if the dub came in, or get it imported from Japan, where now you're just like, and I go on to crunchyroll.com. I'm loving the new world I'm not mad at I'm not like one of the older people being like, Oh, you kids don't understand. I'm just like, Wow, you guys can do that. Can I join?

Star : 21:43

With these Internet communities that have formed around fandoms it can be, well, it's a little bit of a double edged sword because like you're saying, For me growing up, I'm a little bit older than you. But it was kind of the same thing like liking nerdy things, isolated you rather than helping you find a community. And now I feel like there's this fan communities, these nerd communities. But again, like I said, it's a double edged sword, because sometimes they can become toxic or have toxic elements.

Natasha: 22:12

They definitely can. And I see it happening all the time. And I tried to steer clear of it. Not that I'm trying to be sanitary, especially with any of the content that I create about it. But I just tried to create a safe space just because of my mental health. So whenever I make any sort of hot take, it's usually something silly. It's not usually something me being like, Oh, I hate Captain Marvel, because she's so badly written, it'll just be more like, I really like the way Kamala Khan says funny things. You know, it won't be anything intense, because I don't want to invite that they'll still find you. I mean, I just posted a silly theory about Ahsoka, and they still found me and they came into my comments, you know, chastising me for having any sort of theory about Star Wars, but I just laugh. I'm just like, okay, great that people, sometimes I troll back my favorite response to somebody who is being trying to be trolly and mean is I always ask them something that's nonsensical, that has nothing to do with the actual conversation. Recently, I started asking them what they know the muffin man throws them off. They're like, I wanted to argue it. I'm like, Yeah, but I want to talk about Shrek.

Star : 23:27

Personally, I'm maybe a little bit too eager to get into debates with people who are obviously trolling because I love just being like, so why is that? Why do you think that? What are you hoping to get out of this conversation?

Natasha: 23:40

Yeah, I was just saying that I do have the initial, I think reaction to be defensive and protective and be like, Hey, you're stupid, and my opinion is valid. But I know that that's what they want. So I'm like, No, I'm gonna quote lyrics from a Taylor Swift song and see if it confuses you.

Star : 23:59

It seems like Niko is young. You said he is about 21. He's male. Does he look like what we think Anakin looks like?

Natasha: 24:08

No, I am Latin. And so I made him all of skin like me curly black hair. He is tall and like broad shouldered but I imagined him in my head kind of like more like Oscar Isaac kind of looking person. He wears all black. It's I think it's an obsidian. Like armor because I was like, he must be in black. He hasn't had any scars or hasn't lost his hand. He's just happy little boy. His name. Funnily enough, I tried to be I always tried to like make their names somewhat similar to the original character obviously with pan I was not that creative. But with him I was like, What can I do with Anakin and so I started messing with the name and eventually Niko came out of a-ni-kin and then his last name is a play on Spanish words of the Sky which is de Cielo. So that's his last name. So he's Niko of the sky, like Anakin Skywalker.

Star : 25:06

Oh, awesome, I love it.

Natasha: 25:08

I had him created in a way that it was similar but not so similar to Anakin just so we could like diverge if we wanted to. So I have him being born into a family that is very powerful in not the force, it's radiant power. And they raise children to a certain age, and then they give them to the order that is called a Faerun Legacy. And the legacy raises them to become paladins. Because in this world that all paladins are seen as sort of the police, they are the law. And so it's a prestigious thing within within this family. He has a twin brother that I have created so that if we don't really can't really get to changing him will already have the villain version of him. So I split kind of Anakin in two. So he has an evil twin brother and his evil twin brother Victor is out in the world doing something and I told the DM I was like, do whatever you want, bring him in if you want, make him ruin this kid's life. I don't care, but he is his foil. And that's who he is. And they are identical. They both were raised with the same kind of abilities. But Niko, being smug and full of himself, everything was easy to him. Where with Victor, everything wasn't easy for him. So that kind of divided the twin boys. And so they're both in their early 20s. And he's off doing something and he doesn't know he hasn't seen his brothers since he ran away when he was a teenager. I kind of just said that he's grown his entire life in this world being raised by them. He does have his head like masters not really master but like mentor named Ben, but it's spelled b y n as a joke to me, because that's the way a YouTuber says her boyfriend's name. And I thought that'd be really funny. Byn. And then I was just like, pretty much that's what I created. And then the rest I gave to the DM and I, you know, I he was like, I don't know what he's gonna do. But that's what I gave him saying, like, then create whatever you want. So he doesn't have dead parents. He doesn't have that sort of thing. But he does have his brother as like, his initial reason for turmoil.

Star : 27:08

Having an evil twin is an excellent hook to give to a DM.

Natasha: 27:12

Yeah

Star : 27:13

I want to go back to what you said about Paladins being cops, which I think is a very common idea of what paladins are. And you said that he is oath of conquest is that the oath that this order this legacy takes,

Natasha: 27:29

Um, that's the one that his family follows. I thought it would just fit kind of Vader feel because it's a lot of inflicting fear into people and just being kind of in control of people's emotions, which I thought was very Vader.

Star : 27:41

So there are multiple oaths being taken in this order.

Natasha: 27:45

Yeah.

Star : 27:45

And why did his family choose conquest?

Natasha: 27:49

They see them as kind of like a militant family. They're very strict. And that's just kind of their world that they live in. That's how they've been raised. And so that's what they passed down. I did think that the dad got a little too close to the sun. What when he was a little bit younger, and tapped into some celestial kind of stuff that he shouldn't have, which makes Niko a little bit stronger than his brother because for some reason, Niko got it because I want to be able to subclass into Sorcerer to get him a little bit more magic-ey things to do. And it is it's from Tasha's Cauldron. And it's, it's a sorcerer that deals with kind of like Cthulhu-y kind of magic, because it's very dark and evil and you shouldn't tap into that kind of stuff.

Star : 28:32

Shadow magic sorcerer?

Natasha: 28:34

It begins with an A, for some reason, it can't remember it.

Star : 28:36

Oh, aberrant mind?

Natasha: 28:37

Aberrant minds because you know, they mess with the minds and they they are just dark. And so I thought that'd be a good thing for this kid to also be able to take on. Eventually when I get up to that level that I can do it. There's already kind of a dark secret in their family.

Star : 28:52

Hmm. Interesting. Did you say that Niko ran away from his Paladin? I don't know. What is it? Is it like a fort or something that they're in?

Natasha: 29:01

It's kind of like religious Hogwarts. And no, he didn't. He didn't run away his brother Victor ran away.

Star : 29:08

Okay. Okay. So when he completed his schooling, in this, you know, Paladin in the Legacy, they sent him out into the world to serve is what you're saying?

Natasha: 29:21

Yes. Yeah.

Star : 29:22

Is he right at the start of that journey? Or has he already been out in the world serving?

Natasha: 29:27

Now it's like right at the start. I wanted him to kind of be a little bit of a fish out of water. So he's a little naive sometimes when it comes to interacting with just people. He's used to interacting with the same people as him who know that these jargon and he's supposed to be so cool and so worshipped because he is at school, but then he's out here and he's just gonna meet some gnomes and they're like, who the hell cares about you? So I just thought that'd be an interesting thing to do. And it would also help me learn the world wherever we play in because then I can make him kind of a little naive.

Star : 29:58

Is there a time period, a kind of a cut off when he needs to return?

Natasha: 30:03

I gave it a couple years, I didn't really make it anything set in stone, because I don't know how long we're gonna play this. So there is no like set in stone. I mean, if the DM feels like he needs to come back, he could add that sort of tension and be like, You need to come back now. But so far we have we kind of left it loosey goosey.

Star : 30:19

Is there oversight of his time out in the world does he have to report back to the legacy?

Natasha: 30:24

Every once in a while he'll try to send messages to Ben. But just because of the world, I don't think is very big. I think he can just go home if he felt like it. But I'm trying to keep him far from them as much as he can. But he can send letters and stuff but he hasn't been told that he has to like, you know, report in or anything I I really was inspired by the Rumspringa where you really just are cut off and you just kind of just go and live your life and they make you make the own decision, your own decision on whether or not you want to return to your previous way of life, which I was very fascinating about the Amish.

Star : 30:59

You know, he's been kind of compelled by his order. But does he have other motivations for his time out in the world?

Natasha: 31:07

I'm going to really tap into the trying to get better because he thinks he should be more powerful. And he doesn't know why he's not. So I'm definitely going to tap into him kind of what is it in the gaming world farming, to try to just like get as much stuff as he can learn as much as he can so that he is like super strong when he comes back and be like see you told you. I'm supposed to be like this strong. Look how strong I am. So I think that that's going to be a lot of his motivation is to take as many adventures as they can so that he can be like, I am so trained. I am so awesome.

Star : 31:41

Is there an emotional desire behind that to be seen as strong? Or is this more about what he can do when he's strong?

Natasha: 31:49

I think it is both. I definitely like because when I was creating it, I was getting frustrated when I was starting to create and pull the spells because I was like man, paladins don't get to do anything, like, sad. But I could see that in him just being like really just making him mad because I'm born with this gift, and yet, I can't access it. And I don't know why. Why can I access this? I know I could do it. I could feel I could do it. But I have to like at some level. And so I thought that was really funny. And then when I saw that telekinesis was like level six spells for sorcerer, I was like, oh my god, we're gonna be playing this for years before he can lift rocks. And that is hilarious.

Star : 32:31

But you can always take I think there's a feat that you can do.

Natasha: 32:34

There is a feat you can do.

Star : 32:35

Yeah. Does his family have expectations of his time out in the world?

Natasha: 32:41

Yeah, it needs to come back being perfect. Because he is the golden child. He is perfect. And so he needs to prove them. I mean, they already think it he they kind of, you know, coddle him. But he can't come back and prove them wrong.

Star : 32:54

That seems like a lot of pressure.

Natasha: 32:56

Yeah.

Star : 32:57

How do you think that pressure growing up, shaped him?

Natasha: 33:00

Well, I definitely skewed his vision of himself. He thinks he's better than other people. And that's probably why we ended him and his brother don't get along very well, because his brother probably was like, You are an idiot. You're not that special. We're probably very similar. It's just you're just, for some reason, it's just easier for you. But they're probably almost identical in their abilities. But just one just had to work a little bit harder for it, I guess. You know, being a little spoiled. It would seem as you know, he's privileged. And he's just been given everything. And so he may be when he goes out into the world, it's going to be difficult for him because he's so used to everything coming easily. And he'd be like, I don't understand. What what what do you mean, I need money to buy things. That's weird.

Star : 33:43

It seems like one of his flaws is this disconnect between his self perception and what he actually can do? What other flaws does he have?

Natasha: 33:54

I've made him a little pious. So he is a little bit better than other people. He has no vices. He doesn't drink. He's not he's not allowed to have relationships, you know, romantic, he, he doesn't do really to make fun, really, except he secretly will tinker when no one's around and take apart little mechanical things and put them back together. But other than that, he just kind of abstains from dancing, he obstains from like, anything fun. So he's just kind of like this. I read like when we watched the d&d movie, I was cracking up because I was like, Zenk is him I'm so excited.

Star : 34:29

I gotta say, I love Zenk.

Natasha: 34:31

He was so cute.

Star : 34:33

So good, that just playing off of that trope of the stick in the mud Paladin, loved it.

Natasha: 34:39

I was like, that's so perfect. What I aspire to be. Yeah, he can be like that. He also has a bit of a temper, and very easily can get pissed off when things don't go his way and more mad at himself, I think than other people but if things don't go his way he can. He can be a bit of a brat.

Star : 34:57

The oath that he takes as an oath of conquest pallet In what are kind of the ideals that he has to embody?

Natasha: 35:04

It's more that I think it's like, you should just follow the law. And when he's there, you must respect him. You must respect them. They are the law they are they are the righteous, they are telling you what's good. And if you don't, then you should be scared of them. They know how to control things you don't.

Star : 35:22

So it's kind of an emphasis on having control of having order.

Natasha: 35:27

Yeah.

Star : 35:27

Does Niko, believe in that code? Does Niko, believe that order and conquest? And all of that is paramount, the most important thing?

Natasha: 35:38

I think he does, but also he's so self absorbed that I don't think he really cares about other people too much right now. So if they are going to be bad, we'll be like, no, stop. And then if they don't, he's like, Well, I tried.

Star : 35:52

I like what you're saying about tinkering. He has a little hobby that he keeps to himself. What does he like to tinker?

Natasha: 35:59

Anything mechanical, because we don't live in a world where there's electricity. So it could be like a clock, you know, something? Like, I think he will aspire This is me, obviously tapping into Anakin, you know, aspire to get some near an automaton if he can, just to like, see how they work. But right now I have them just like, you know, taking little things apart, like clocks or, you know, levers or things like that, just to see how they work. And I'm putting them back together.

Star : 36:24

Does he have any specific interests? Like, does he like clocks more than lovers?

Natasha: 36:29

I think clocks are probably the most advanced thing that exists in this world. So he definitely would be I mean, obviously, we have automatons. But they are on the other side of the world, from where we're gonna start. So I don't know if he's gonna be able to meet one. But um, that got me really excited. I was like, Oh, I can make a C3PO.

Star : 36:49

That sounds like fun. Especially if you're interested in bringing in some of your favorite ideas and concepts from media. So, you're an artist, how does art come into play when you're building and creating characters?

Natasha: 37:04

If I get super inspired, I definitely will start drawing them. And I have drawn Nikko once, just to like, get them out of my brain, I do have a tendency to draw more female figures. My think maybe it's because I am a woman. And it's just easier, like look at myself. And I go, Oh, that's what we look like. But I you know, I try to test myself and challenge myself to draw more guys. And so I drew him and it was just really fun to like, try to figure out a way to like, make him have that weird, stupid, they know like rat tail that the padwans have. Just try to create that, but still make it look fantasy, I became obsessed with my Disney Princess character, I drew her multiple times, just because that is my wheelhouse, fancy dresses and pretty girls. I was like, Ah, this is me. But I have drawn pretty much all my characters at some point, just so I can get them out of my brain and onto a piece of paper. I do try to dry up draw the other characters of the campaigns for them. But sometimes it just becomes a bit much when we have like a campaign of like seven, I just don't get too into it, which is where I leave it up to them to make it on Hero Forge. And I'm like, oh, that's what they look like. But if I become super obsessed, it's actually pretty cool. That's the reason why I really started to move away from drawing fan art so much was because of these characters. And then when I would go to cons I used to do artists alleys. And you know, you're always told, fan art sells best, which is true. But you want to move away from that first it's illegal. And second, you know, you want to sell your own stuff. And people started to buy my d&d character, the princess one, like lots of people. And I was like, what is happening? This is so cool. And that feeling of somebody liking something that you created was amazing to have. So I have multiple drawings of her that actually have sold. So that's pretty cool.

Star : 38:55

Yeah, that's awesome. I think it's interesting that you said you are more comfortable drawing, ladies and pretty dresses. Do you think of yourself as more femme?

Natasha: 39:06

Oh, yeah

Star : 39:06

Yeah.

Natasha: 39:07

Yeah, I have those moments where I mean, like, I think lockdown really kind of exhausted me of it. But I used to love to dress in vintage clothing, I would dress like I was in 50s and put on the makeup and style my hair and, you know, victory rolls and all that then lockdown happened. And I was like, I ain't doing anything. And I'm wearing a mask. So what's the point of makeup? Right? So I've slowly kind of get back into it because I lost the joy of it. But it is something that I very much enjoy. I wanted to be a costume designer, I went to school for it. It's just something that I very much love, especially period pieces, just the elegance of those gowns and how they're created and corsets and everything. It's just so beautiful to me. I love drawing it because I went to school for it. So that's why I really, like get into it when I'm doing it because I'm like, I know how to draw pleats. I know what a princess seam is. Let's do some you know horsehair. like just going crazy with it. It's fun.

Star : 40:01

Yeah, I actually went to school for costume design as well. Oh, yeah, I used to. I used to do theater but not anymore. I've moved on my interest.

Natasha: 40:13

It's a it's a hard life. I did costuming for a long time.

Star : 40:17

Yeah, I remember getting out of school and being like, well, what can I do? Like, how do I make a living? And they're like, Well, you can work at a costume shop for five years at minimum wage, and then maybe somebody will find you and hire you. I was like, That sounds terrible.

Natasha: 40:32

Yeah.

Star : 40:34

So I went to art school, because that's, of course, so much better for your career.

Natasha: 40:39

But it made you happy.

Star : 40:41

Yes, yes. And I will say that all of those are formative experiences that have led me on the path I am now. So it's interesting as well, to me you're talking about how you're very femme presenting, and like dressing up in being very girly? But you're playing male characters? Is that difficult for you?

Natasha: 40:59

I have fun doing it. I guess I just try different things. And it's gonna sound funny, but being on things like TikTok, which is so Gen Z heavy. And I am an elder millennial, you know, I was always kind of taught you are girl, this is what you do. This is what girl life says. And and I'm not saying it's bad or good. I mean, I do enjoy a lot of those things. But it opened my eyes to the fact that I would drift towards white ladies as like characters I'd want to be. And so I purposely was like, Well, what if I choose other things? So I chose men, I chose men of color. I chose women of color. I've chose non binary, like just trying to see what that feels like, just to be like, I don't think of myself only in one way. And it's just fun. I mean, I fell absolutely in love with my princess. And she is a princess of color in a fantasy, which is something that I never see. So I was like, this is super fun to do because I'm literally playing if I could be in a movie, I'm the Disney princess so that's why I do it. Just because I was mostly influenced by that because they were saying it's super d&d so heavily into like, white elves that I'm like, Why can't enough be purple? Like, why not? It's fantasy. Who cares? That's why I do it. I mean, I don't think I play like men ah barbecue. Like I just play him as a person. And he just happens to be a dude, I do constantly have to remind everybody because I have a squeaky voice and I'm like four feet tall that you know, I'm playing a guy in this game because they're always like, yeah, she she's gonna do that. I'm like, It's a guy. I am a he. Thank you very much. I'm six foot two.

Star : 42:35

Do you do a voice when you do male characters? Or I guess do you do voice when you do characters at all?

Natasha: 42:40

Um, yeah, I have different voices. With rainbow who I just sounded like Luna Lovegood because that's what she was. But with Pan I kind of like developed this like weird surfer boy, idiot boy. I was like, I don't know where it came from. With Zeff who's the princess I had, like, you talk like you're from the crown and everything is so proper. And you will just see like this. Like, that's how I talk as her because I thought that'd be really funny. And so just a typical English accent because I was like, I would have sounded snobby as possible. And then when Niko, it's just my voice, just because I just couldn't find his voice. I haven't really discovered it. Sometimes the voice will change through the through the campaign. I mean, Pan started out as just my voice so that eventually he was just like, oh my god, it's so cool, man. Like, he's just became this surfer boy, I don't know why. And in my head, he's not even that voice. Like, I wish he was something else. And in my head, I always wanted him to sound like he was from New Zealand. But I was too scared to do it.

Star : 43:41

Right. I feel that Yeah. You talked about how you are, you know, kind of race swapping or inserting your own race into characters that are typically white. And of course, a lot of characters are typically white and fantasy. Do you do that with all of your characters? Is there a point at which you started doing that? And you didn't do it before?

Natasha: 44:00

Yeah, I didn't do it with my first few characters. I mean, one was because I wanted him to be a genasi. So he just ended up being a genasi. And so it just went with whatever the book said, and he was just blue. But with Zeff, I was like, I really want my dream, which is a brown princess. I want a brown princess. That's what I want. And I want a brown Princess who's half siren. Because I want to be a mermaid. i It was just all my personal fantasies, which I think is kind of the point of D&D is you're playing out your fantasy, so I was like, that's what I want. And then with Niko I also wanted it to be a Latin Anakin. Because it's me, and I'm Latina. And I was like, that's what I want. I think it'd be fun to play that. It's not like I walk around and say Spanish words in the campaign. I just put it in there every once in a while, just so he can, I can see him and I go oh, that's my boy. But with her, it was like intense. I was like, Oh yeah, she's gonna have very curly hair and she's gonna be brown and she's gonna have a wide nose and she's gonna be looking more like me than anything I've ever done.

Star : 45:00

Yeah. Do you ever gender swap characters as well?

Natasha: 45:03

Not so much. I mean, like in fanfiction or fan art. I mean, like, I've been asked to do it in fan art, but like me, I just never have done it. In my head. It's just not something that I've done. I I don't know why I did or didn't, but it's just not something I've done.

Star : 45:17

Niko, do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?

Natasha: 45:22

Not, particularly if it gets a bit of a waste of time to get all just, I just wear whatever is available. I guess. I really have to move fast sometimes. So I just would prefer to just being something durable, like I don't particularly care.

Star : 45:41

Do you spend most of your time in your armor?

Natasha: 45:43

Yes. I mean, like I I'd kind of I sleep on the floor sometimes in it, which isn't the smartest thing I do wake up with a crick in the neck. But yeah, so you get you get trained to sleep in it so that you're always ready in case of an attack in the middle of the night or whatnot.

Star : 45:58

Does that make you feel safer?

Natasha: 46:00

Well, yes.

Star : 46:01

Natasha, thank you so much for coming on the show and for sharing Nico with all of us. For with me and with my listeners.

Natasha: 46:08

This was fun.

Star : 46:10

Yeah, I really enjoyed hearing about your relationship to fandoms. And it's really interesting. How can people find you What would you like to share?

Natasha: 46:19

I am Natasha Galya, on Tiktok, Instagram and the youtubes. I make a lot of content that's about d&d fandom and Critical Role every once in a while there's art and stuff in there too. But it's mostly just humorous to me just having fun. So if you'd like a safe place that indulges in those kinds of worlds, where it's just trying to be good humoured about it, my site is Natashagalya.com You can see my d&d commissions or just look at them if you like, you don't have to order anything. It leads you to you know, my art, my socials, anything like that even my media kit because I think I'm an influencer. But you should totally check that out. If you want.

Star : 47:00

I will put the links into the description so you can find Natasha in all of her places. You can find me on Tik Tok at Star mama See, that's S T A R M A M A C. You can also listen on YouTube. Just search for characters without stories or follow the link in the description. I have a new website, you can see profiles of my guests, rate and review the podcast, view videos and listen to episodes and link to all my social media. You might see some new ones on there. I'm still figuring out how to use Instagram for podcasting an audio medium. Let me know if you have any ideas. I'm currently accepting submissions, particularly for non d&d characters. So if you'd like to share your character, you can go to the submission form at characterswithoutstories.com/submit Thanks for listening and may all your characters find their stories