#I have a really really really good sense of Premise and Design

[chicago-geniza]

I truly believe in another life my Calling would be either Film/TV Historical Consultant, Set Decorator, or Casting Director

[doubleca5t]

There's currently a few videos going around tiktok trying to answer the question of why conservatives can't make good art and I think that the premise there isn't necessarily true. Lots of conservatives have made good art, and a lot of that art even has pretty blatant conservative messaging it in. But I think people who say this are getting at something in the sense that whenever a conservative idealogue makes art that is designed specifically to reinforce their conservatives views to a similarly oriented audience, those works are almost universally abysmal dogshit. Like the first Ghostbusters movie works better as conservative propaganda than like... Idk, God's Not Dead, because the people who made Ghostbusters didn't sit down to be like "hmmm how can we really own the libs with this one" like that instinct is what actually destroys the quality of a work

[leporellian]

actually i could write a whole essay on why referring to opera productions as '''traditional'' is not only a nonsense term but an actively revisionist one when concerning the history of opera.

when people SAY 'traditional', what they actually MEAN are productions that employ late 19th century standards of realism. while realism had existed as an art movement starting in 1848 (the year everything happened), the conceptualization of it applying to theatre really started around the 1870s. the realism movement, in opera, became what we now call verismo. (there's some kind of lesson here in how even the verismo operas have batshit premises like murder clowns and flowers that kill you, but that topic of conversation is for another day.)

anyway, so if you're staging something like tosca which was part of that verismo movement, then yes, you could reasonably stake the claim that going about it from the angle of 'everything is meant to happen as if it were happening in real life with real people' is the traditional one. but that leaves 272 years of opera history in which 'realism' didn't exist, and therefore... there were 272 years in which 'traditional' productions as we know them didn't really exist.

let's whip around to an opera that 'traditional' staging is particularly egregious to apply to: our good old, fairy-tale-potential-allegory friend, the magic flute!

'what the fuck is happening in that image? is it racist?' no, IN THIS CASE the magic flute is not being racist. those dubious dark shapes are meant to be animal costumes. this is part of a set of early engravings by the schaffer brothers of the first magic flute production, which are invaluable both in researching this opera and opera production history as a whole. this is the scene in which tamino charms the animals with the titular flute, in the year of our lord 1791, and they decided to have it look like this!

anyway, once romanticism kicks into gear in a couple decades magic flute productions start taking a turn with it. remember at this time 'the magic flute is meant to happen in egypt' was still something everyone was sticking to, so we end up with these interpretations of magic flute set designs:

you've probably seen at least a couple of these before because that one on the top left is one of the most famous opera set designs ever. anyway, the design philosophy here between these productions, because there's at least two included here, is weird. there's like 3 things going on: you've got the aptitude for spectacle, this vague orientalist approach towards ancient egypt that was influenced by then-recent discoveries but still very obviously rooted in exoticism, and the cosmic abstraction you can see both in the famous hall of stars and sarastro's temple.

all very interesting! but still not 'traditional'! these, at the time, were a radical re-interpretation of mozart's work- compare them to the above engraving. but because these illustrations have a gorilla grip on the public consciousness they superseded the original 'a bunch of skintight suits constitutes animal costumes' production, and now when an opera company wants to go 'traditional' with their magic flute they do this:

hello my good friend august everding! anyway this is seen as the 'traditional' production out of the two magic flutes in repertory at the berlin staatsoper and yet this isn't what the opera originally even looked like- this is a negotiation with the later early romantic illustrations of the work. sure, it's 'traditional' in the sense that you look at that and immediately know what opera that is meant to be. but at the same time was it ever mozart's intention to stage the magic flute on this grand a scale? is this 'traditional' production really in the spirit of the mozart opera designed for a much smaller stage and with a much smaller set? famously mozart is dead so we will never know.

but then that brings us to the question of What would an actually 'traditional' magic flute look like? well we have multiple options here. first, we have ingmar bergman's film version of the opera, which is sort of the equivalent direction-wise of an opera nature cam. modeled after the drottningholm theatre, this recording tries as hard as it can to emulate the magic flute as it might have been seen in the 18th century:

i mean that does look very 18th century, and wouldn't be out of place with the above engraving. but there's still a fatal flaw here: the magic flute was written as an opera for everybody, and was performed not in the drottningholm (which belonged to the swedish royal family and which resides in their palace) but in the theatre auf der weiden, which was, while certainly impressive (trap doors! fly systems!) also a commoner theatre where everyone could just go hang out and watch fairy tale operas. this is a great snapshot in time of what a 18th century magic flute should have looked like. but what would a 21st century magic flute that still adheres to the original 'vision'- no grand sets, no massive theatres, performed by a cast that isn't even entirely opera singers, done with a bunch of jokes meant to appeal to an everyday audience- look like?

well the good news is we might have an idea with the matchbox magic flute, which is on tour right now and which i hope continues to run on said tour.

the matchbox magic flute is the magic flute. it's also not really the magic flute. this is technically an adaptation. it's also not really though. this is the closest i have ever gotten to being in a theatre, watching this opera (which i have seen many times at this rate) and thinking 'shit, yeah, this is what the theatre auf der weiden must have been like all those years ago'. the matchbox magic flute scales down the whole thing into a very small orchestra and ten singers, who alternate roles like crazy. it is designed for very tiny theatres. most of the cast do not sing opera! they have a few classically-trained singers in there but it's actually sung, in modern english, mostly by musical theatre performers. the jokes are regularly updated; since i saw it in chicago, there were jokes about the evening commute on lake shore drive. parts of the plot are entirely updated or worked around.

and yet, it reflects the original design vision of the original magic flute and what mozart and schikaneder set out to accomplish so perfectly, i almost WANT to say that in some way this too is traditional.

(also, they should put tamino in a dress forever and ever. he gets to twirl it even. really good.)

So, what have we learned here. well for one thing 'traditional' productions, as a catch-all category, don't exist. is a traditional magic flute the one based on the early 19th century designs, or the one based on what 18th century theatre would have been like exactly, or the one that tries to reflect its original spiritual vision?

It's all of them because traditionalism as a term is an inherently reactionary term that upholds a time in operatic history that never really existed and which rapidly changes meaning based on the personal values of who is ascribing it, often forgetting that every opera production represents a negotiation and not a reproduction and that the notion of how it ought to be is one of the most dangerous ideas someone in the arts can have. Go watch who's afraid of modern art by jacob geller on youtube and come back to me.

[itsabouttimex2]

Fizzling Neon

“…can I tell you something that bothers me?”

There’s not quite a sneer on your coworker’s face, but the expression he wears while turning to you is regardless unhappy. The man’s never much cared for your rambles, and especially not while the two of you were on kitchen duty.

Then, he’s never much cared for you in general.

But if he has to choose between his own thoughts (centering mostly on his ex-wife, if you had to guess) your awkward ramblings, or a droning and dead silence that was cut only by Chica’s muffled gorging, the gray-haired man would probably pick you, though he would do so reluctantly.

Very reluctantly.

“Well?” the aged man finally grunts, arms crossed as he leans back against the counter. His tense posture screams impatience, but at least he’s waiting for you to say something instead of outright ignoring you. “What is it?”

You hesitate, unsure if you should bother, even with his explicit approval. Your coworker doesn’t like you- he’s made that clear enough over the past four months. Still, there’s something gnawing at you, something you need to get off your chest before it eats you alive. A rattling clatter of pots and pans kicks up in the washing area, accompanied by incessant crunching noises- the avian animatronic must’ve gotten into an unfinished dish.

You don’t want to sound like some manic conspiracy theorist, of course- that type pops up on the premises of the Pizzaplex constantly, filming themselves as they harangue the workers and scare the children- only to scurry away when you pleaded with Monty to scare them off- the kids always got a kick out of that, at least.

Still, all antics aside… maybe talking about it would do you some good.

“…it doesn’t make any sense for them to be animatronics.”

He turns to you, sporting an expression that implies you may well have grown a second head, utterly dumbfounded by such an out of pocket (to him) statement.

His brows knit together tightly, lips twisting into a grimace that makes him look even less pleasant than he already does. “What in the blazing hell are you even talking about?” he finally asks, his voice a low growl that barely carries over the distant clang of metal on tile as Chica shuffles around.

You squirm for a moment, then spill in a hurried rush of words built around cobbled knowledge from your childhood.

“It’s just… these are… they’re robots. And, animatronics are, well, they… animatronics- real animatronics, I mean, they’re- they’re puppets! Animatronics are supposed to be puppets hooked to machinery hidden in the ground, machines that host the puppet’s programming for the routines they perform! They’re supposed to be fragile, breakable! You’re supposed to be able to shatter them, shove them around, pick them up and throw them- in case they break down and block people in an emergency! Or, or like… the design specs, in general, they’re- so like, if an animatronic closes around a kid’s hands, the design specs of these things are specifically built to be fragile enough to never exert enough force to hurt the kid! They’re not supposed to be able to move arcade machines, or jostle vending machines, or pick up kids! And-“

“You know what, kid? And I’m gonna be real level with you, just cause I don’t think the management bothers doing it when they really should- nobody gives half a damn about your autist bullshit. They were always called animatronics. From the first fucking pizzeria to the last pissing pizzaplex, they were animatronics, puppets, machines, and no one except for you gives a shit about the name they use. And look, you wanna obsess over this crap, fine. Just don’t bring it up with me again. Got enough on my plate without babysitting your paranoia about trivial corpo branding bullshit.”

He throws his soiled dishrag against the metal interior of the sink before him, then stomps off towards the staff room in order to punch out and head home, probably hoping to down a fifth of whiskey and pass out.

You stand there in shocked silence for a moment, throat tight and eyes growing wet, trying to compose yourself as the angry pounding of his footsteps fades away.

It hurts. You wish it didn’t hurt so bad, especially when the scorn comes from someone you don’t particularly know or care for, someone you know doesn’t particularly care for you.

You want to shove those painful feelings away, because you know if you dwell on it too long, you’ll start spiraling, and there’s no one here who wants to listen- not without mocking you or brushing you off.

Except- the sound of metal footsteps breaks your train of thought, and those steps are heavy and deliberate, echoing through the empty kitchen. You freeze, pulse quickening, because it’s late, nearly time to close, and you’re very certainly the last person in the pizzaplex.

“Oh, Superstar…”

His voice, as always, is smooth and warm, carrying an affectionate tone that he usually reserves for children. You don’t need to turn around to know who that soothing voicebox belongs to.

You swallow, hard, gripping the edge of the kitchen countertop as the sound of metal feet against porcelain grows louder. He’s close now, just behind you, and you feel the subtle hum of his mechanical frame, a strange, ever-present vibration that seems to radiate from him, and you are awash in the cyan hue that drifts from his mechanical body.

Glamrock Freddy.

You open your mouth to respond, but no words come out at first. There’s a lump buried deep in your throat, and with it there’s a fear that if you try to explain yourself, you might break down entirely.

Freddy waits, a patience so unshakable it mirrors the steel he’s built from.

And he waits a little longer still, right up until there are tears brimming in your eyes, threatening to spill, and then one of his large paws reaches to bundle around the back of your head, holding it there as though he’s cradling something fragile, something precious.

At his gentle, synthetic touch your lips press tightly together, unwilling to speak for risk of breaking a dam that spills regardless, and as the first of many tears trickle down your cheek, Freddy’s thumb; soft with synthetic padding, swipes it from your face.

“That was very unkind of him, Superstar. I will be sure to report his behavior to management, for it is in violation of the rules of the Mega Pizzaplex.”

“N-no, Freddy, it’s fine. Really… really, it’s fine, and I don’t want to cause any trouble.

The ursine machine, so many warmth welling behind his eyes that the kitchen feels cold in comparison, he tilts his head, his illuminated blue eyes narrowing ever so slightly, not in anger but in something softer- concern, and to some degree even disbelief. He doesn’t move the heft of his hand, still cradling your head with the care of someone holding glass. “It is not fine,” he insists gently, voicebox unwavering. “Everyone within the Pizzaplec must treat one another with respect. The rules are very clear.”

A bitter laugh escapes you before you can stop it. “Yeah, well, rules don’t really stop people from being jerks, do they? Just… just please let it go, Freddy. It’s not worth it.”

There is a long, lingering moment where he continues to stare, eye lights drooped at your insistence on allowing things to be. But, finally, he lowers his hand, though his frame remains close, looming like a shield against the sterile, fluorescent lights kitchen. “Your feelings are worth it, Superstar,” he says after a beat. “But I will not push.”

Then he pauses, awkward and almost ashamed, then kneels to level his gaze to your own, and quietly speaks. “And I did not mean to eavesdrop on the staff, but I did overhear the management speaking to one another about the weather.

Oh. Oh no.

“So I wanted to tell you that a snowstorm is predicted, and, on behalf of the Pizzaplex, I wanted to extend you an invitation to stay overnight, since you do not have a way to get home if the bus is out.”

Oh, Cassie was going to be devastated.

Freddy straightens up at your lack of apparent response, his hulking frame towering over you once more, though his demeanor remains calm. “I spoke to the daycare attendant about preparing a bed for you- his residence has many cozy spots, and I believe you will find it suitable.”

You cringe when he mentions the daycare, snapping your thoughts from the soon to be birthday girl.

The attendant's dual personalities were a lot to handle during even just the day- but Moon's presence at night, especially, would be downright unnerving. But Freddy, gentle and unyielding, he turns you around with his big paws and nudges you towards the kitchen’s entrance.

The white doors swing open as Freddy pushes you past them, and the sounds of the nearly silent Pizzaplex greet you. The faint hum of machines powering down for the night drifts through the air, and the glittering lights of arcade machines flicker in the distance, while the mascots painted on the walls seem to grin down at you with their smiles.

It dawns on you now, staring up at the acrylic likeness of the lead animatronic that you hadn’t said yes to his offer, hadn’t quite stuck yourself through with the promise of a full night with the daycare attendant… and with Freddy going in the opposite direction, no doubt heading to his own room for the night… well, there wasn’t exactly anyone around to ensure that your footfall led you to the ever-unnerving nursery.

And, for that matter, a revelation dawning quickly upon you- you didn’t even know if the weather had started turning for the worse. If the storm was so bad that it would put out the local bus, sure, then you might not have a choice. But a light sprinkle wouldn’t kill you, and the lost and found wouldn’t mind you “borrowing” a jacket or scarf.

You turn toward the far end of the Pizzaplex, where the staff exit looms. You could just… check for yourself. There’s a strange, dread pang in your chest like the bite of an icicle, the notion that you might be caught going off-course, then returned to your path like an errant child.

Freddy surely wouldn’t mind you only checking out the window, would he?

Definitely not.

But still you step lightly, shoes squeaking faintly against the polished floor as the exit grew nearer and nearer. The Pizzaplex, as well as you've grown to know it, comes to feel unnaturally large when it’s this quiet- without at least a dozen children to draw your attention from the winding halls and the sprawling white floor, sometimes the place feels more like a labyrinth than a glorified daycare.

Though the twin doors come into reach without obstruction, there's still a prickling sense of unease that crawls the length of your skin, sending shivers down your spine as you reach for the silver handles.

Just a peek isn't going to hurt anyone, you tell yourself with a measure of false confidence.

It does not stop the trembling chill that races your heart to pump erratically as you make the move to push the doors open, and your skin grows colder still at the sight before you.

Snowflakes.

Fluffy, chunky snowflakes, cascading from the sky in a relentless flurry, the parking lot and roads already blanketed in white. The wind howls, biting and sharp. The city looks almost like a desolate tundra, smeared in thick strokes of white. The last bus is nowhere to be seen, likely sent back to the station early to avoid the storm.

You pull harshly on the doors, snapping them shut to prevent a gale wind from blowing through, to prevent snow from spilling onto the tile, and then you turn back, resigning yourself to a long night in the daycare, and then there’s a flicker of movement in the reflection of the chilled glass. You freeze, breath hitching sharply.

Slowly, you turn around, expecting to see Freddy or perhaps one of the staff bots patrolling the area.

And there is no one around.

Not that you can see, at least.

But the sound -faint, metallic clicking- tells you something is near. It’s sharply deliberate, like the tapping of long nails against glass.

And then a gangly shadow falls over you, dragging half of a shriek out of your lips right before you slap your hands over them.

Your head snaps up, eyes wide, and there, in a fluid arc of motion, leaping from the ceiling, is Moon, his painted grin wide and unsettlingly toothy in the dim lighting. He cast an eerie silhouette across the room as he lands upright with barely a thud, tilting his head to regard you.

“Why are you out of bed?”

“I was just…”, you start to say, but the words catch in your throat as he draws nearer. “I was only…”

“You know it’s against the rules to wander, don’t you?”

Your heart races as you stumble back, desperate to put distance between yourself and the unsettling animatronic. For all that you (and perhaps none but you and Cassie shared this feeling) had a soft spot for Sun, there was no denying that Moon had grown strange of late, often over-bolstering his “child-caring protocols”, to the terror of his many, many charges. Too often you had to step in and watch over them in his place just to ensure the kids would get some measure of sleep.

“I-I… no, i was just… just checking the weather,” you stammer, trying to keep your voice steady.

“Oh, checking the weather!” he repeats, his tone exaggeratedly bright and overly cheerful, though there’s an unmistakable edge beneath it. “But the rules are very clear- no wandering after hours! And you wouldn’t want to break the rules, would you, Starlight?”

That nickname doesn’t feel the same way that “Superstar” feels, not as warm or bright or genuine.

…but it’s still nice (admittedly less so under these circumstances) to have someone care enough to give you a moniker- and unlike Freddy, who simply maintained that everyone he liked was his special “Superstar”, the lunar half of the daycare attendant was far more reserved with his affections.

If he had let that feeling grow a little longer, that slow drift of bubbling warmth rising around your heart, maybe you wouldn’t have screamed out even past the barriers of your hands as he lunged forward and snagged his thin fingers around each side of your waist.

Instead, you simply shriek and kick.

That doesn’t stop Moon from lifting you slowly, his grip more than firm enough to make escape impossible. He tilts his head, his painted grin never wavering, though there’s something unsettling about the way his glowing red eyes seem to scan every inch of you, as if gauging your intent.

“No screaming,” he chides softly, his voice lowering to a whisper that echoes unnaturally in the empty Pizzaplex. “You’ll wake everyone up. Naughty, naughty.”

Your breath hitches as you struggle against his unyielding grip, your hands clawing uselessly at his smooth, cold arms. Moon holds you aloft effortlessly, his glowing red eyes locked on yours with an intensity that makes your stomach twist.

“Please,” you manage to croak, weak voice trembling. “I- I wasn’t… I wasn’t trying to cause trouble! I just… I just wanted to see if the storm was bad.”

His metal grin remains fixed, the crescent of his face gleaming faintly in the low light. “Storms are dangerous, Starlight,” he murmurs, his voice mechanical but almost sing-song, and still dripping with a strange condescension. “You could get lost. Hurt. It’s better to stay where things are safe.”

There is an unsteady pulse pounding through your chest now, a staccato rhythm that you’re certain he can sense. His glowing red eyes narrow, and his rictus grin; for all that it is fixed in place by steel, seems to grow wider.

He cradles you closer, the warmth of his metallic hands seeping through your uniform. The hum of his inner workings vibrate faintly, a reminder of the sheer difference between your anatomies. His voice drops lower, head leaning in to hiss lowly in your ear.

“And safe,” he whispers, “means staying close to me, Starlight.”

[faewrenbird]

Homicipher Theory

Mr. Hood: The Dishonored Samurai

Don’t turn your nose up yet, hear me out. Maybe it’s a stretch, maybe it makes sense, maybe it’s just a damn good (or delusional) headcanon, you decide.

Homicipher/Mr. Hood Route Spoilers Below!!!!

I established in an earlier theory that the “Ghost Apartments” is a pocket of the spirit realm on haunted grounds where a hospital and subway line were once located but destroyed in an earthquake, after which, an apartment building was built and then abandoned.

But I have a theory that the history of the haunted grounds goes even further back. Perhaps as far as Edo-era feudal Japan. Why? I’m inclined to believe that Mr. Crawling is from that era, but that’s a whole different theory I still need to mull over.

Suppose it’s true—that the cursed land that has accumulated hundreds of vengeful and lost spirits became haunted hundreds of years ago. Perhaps, it became cursed and haunted due to war in this time period. Whatever the case, operating under the premise that its history is this old, I want to take a look at helpful Mr. Hood.

Mr. Hood

He’s the first face we see after waking up in the spirit realm (not counting our startling run-in with Mr. Crawling). You could consider him our Toriel. He gives us the basics, enough info, or lack thereof, to begin our exploration. He tries to teach us some words: light, dark, sound, door, not, maybe “container” if we’re smart. We take this knowledge, leave him in the room behind us, and proceed to immediately get our hearts eaten by Mr. Gap.

But who, or what, is Mr. Hood?

The only thing we learn about him from our brief introduction is that he’s a man of few words, mysterious, monotone, and he’s…literally just a guy in a hood. Oh, and he’s got a big fuck-off axe for seemingly no reason at all.

From what I’ve played of the game so far, it seems we’re unlikely to ever see him again unless some really bizarre and specific conditions are met.

If those conditions are met, we wind up being Alice-in-Wonderlanded into a miniature version of ourselves, and Mr Hood makes an unexpected appearance to help us try to find the magical potion to make us normal again.

During our adventure with him, we…don’t learn much. Kind of the ongoing theme of this game, actually. Get used to perpetually knowing nothing and being confused by what you do know.

We do learn a few key things, though.

First, man has a deft hand with an axe. In fact, he can flawlessly execute any ghost he deems to be a threat, without a moment’s hesitation, and with the badassery to act totally calm and say only “they’re dead” when you interrogate him about it.

Second, there’s nothing under the hood. After escaping a brutal entity, he sits with his hood pulled back, revealing nothingness. Unlike the Bride, though, he prefers to mask this feature. When we comment on his lack of a head, he quickly pulls the hood back up.

Third, he has a body. Although lacking a head, we know that there’s something solid under the cloak, because he hides us in it and we comment on the err…texture of his insides(?).

Fourth, he is some kind of executioner. This is perfectly apparent design-wise. Hooded and carrying a massive axe that he employs with perfect ease. Some speculation, but he seems to specifically serve the purpose of executioner in this land of ghosts. He’s very adept at detecting a threat and differentiating between good and evil (wish the same could be said for our himbo-brained Mr. Crawling, but I digress). In fact, while we're taking a nap, he evidently leaves to a different room to hunt and kill another ghost.

Fifth, he goes where he’s needed. He comes off as someone strictly bound by his duty. At least, this is what I infer rather than him being a wandering spirit in these halls. It’s why, when we’re reunited with Mr. Crawling and the others, Mr. Hood leaves us. We don’t need him anymore, and he can’t accept that we want him with us just because we like him. In fact, he tells us not to say things like that, or depending on your interpretation, that he has nothing to say to that before he abandons us.

So, what does this all mean (apart from making him the sexiest and most mysterious hooded figure I’ve ever known cough)?

My theory is that, in life, Mr. Hood was a samurai who committed some great treason and thus endured the ritual of hara-kiri (seppuku) for his execution.

Hara-kiri was a form of ritualistic suicide where a samurai would take a blade and slice open his stomach, after which, an executioner would decapitate him. An honorable death was when the executioner left just a bit of the criminal’s neck during the slice, not quite severing it completely. A dishonorable death meant the whole head came off, which was embarrassing for the deceased samurai and his family.

If Mr. Hood was a samurai, his prowess with a weapon and calculating attitude towards fulfilling his duty and cutting down enemies makes a lot of sense.

If he was a dishonored samurai, then his reclusive manner and the shame of having no head also makes sense. Not that I think the ghosts retain memories of their life (Mr Gap excluded), but he could be carrying residual shame and dishonor from his death. He could be forever trapped trying to repent for his sins by executing evil, to make up for whatever treason he committed.

I think it’s further evidenced by our description of his insides. Slimy. It’s a grotesque thought, but if we’re being held against a gutted and sliced open stomach, this description makes sense, too.

Additionally, the shame and self-loathing would help explain why he rejects our confession of affection towards him. He’s not worthy of that affection, nor of companionship. He can’t even fathom our interest in him.

(Edit: some below translations aren’t great, I’m still ironing them out. As I’ve seen now, the best translations show us saying “Love you,” and Mr. Hood replying with “not understand,” indicating her can’t grasp our love for him, which still lines up with everything I said!)

I personally am really obsessed with this concept and have adopted it as my headcanon because I think it makes it all the sweeter when he comes back to save us and decides to carry us for all eternity (which, btw, I squealed when I realized that we were no longer small when he picked us up with this objective in mind, so we’re spending our afterlife being bridal-style carried by this man). We are, after all, the first person to care for him since his humiliating death. The first person to like him. The first person to give him purpose beyond routine and mindless execution of dark spirits. We give him a new duty, something to protect and cherish.

And idc what you say, that’s goddamn romantic for this vaguely romantic horror game.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - There's 3 Good Shows Holding a Ton of BL Cr*p on their Shoulders

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Jan 2025 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Your Sky (Sun iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - So darn adorable1 I love the whole shopping trip thing: Mom out with the gay boys is great.

GIVE ME MOAR OF LEE AND HIS PHI. Pretty please?

ThamePo (Fri YT) ep 7 of 12 - I love the way Thame is basically like, in my head we are totally dating and acts that way with Po. Yet he hasn't actually discussed it with the poor man. Thame is such a pouty babygirl. Jun is a little shit. All in all, this installment was a little slow but I remain charmed. 

The Boy Next World (Sun IQIYI) ep 3 of 10 - I’m actually quite enjoying this. I really do just wanna spend most of my time with this pair watching them kiss (please don't make Noeul act mmm'kay?). So I’m really glad we’re on episode three and the show seems invested in supplying us with kisses already. Thank goodness.  

The Heart Killers (Weds Gaga) ep 9 of 12 - mostly I just feel sorry for Fadel. boy is so tired of everybody else’s gay drama queening. 

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT) ep 13 of 24 - I actually like how they are portraying Yotha’s character in this (with relation to his mother). It’s pretty authentic to that kind of situation and personality type, I enjoy that. I also like that Wa dumped Klao for being too jealous. good healthy decision, should have stayed that way.

Sangmin Dinneaw (Sun iQIYI) ep 4 of 10 - it just keeps moving through absurdist and ridiculous to gratuitously sexual to mind numbingly dull. I never know where I am with this show. At least it’s not boring... until it so much is. Also my cancer danger signaling is going off hard core. Beware.

I'm like one of those dogs that can sense and epileptic fit, only for death in BL.

Flirt Milk (Sat YT) ep 1 or 10 - Star hunter is back this time with terrible facial hair. I’m putting it on the no fly list right up there with wigs. Apparently Thailand and fake hair are mutually exclusive. The lead ingenue looks a little bit like Yim, and I think they mean to give him a similar personality to Yim’s usual characters, but frankly I found him insipid, dim, and boring. Literally every other surrounding character and couple-to-be is more interesting than the mains. The linguistic bit was cute tho. 

Ossan‘s Love Thailand (Mon YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - heavy sigh.

Fourever You (Thurs YT) ep 17 end? - supposedly still coming

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

When it Rains it Pours (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 2-3 of 10 - I’m enjoying these second 2 eps a lot better than the first ep. It’s leaning into the premise and I like a quazi Cyrano de Bergerac thing. It’s got that chewy Japanese “who knows where this is going?” seasoning. But one thing we can be sure of is Japan can always veer sideways given the right pothole. Or should I say plothole? Anygay, I like the way they’re different with each other via text than in person, I like that we’ve already had some language discussion and negotiation, I like the cool banter between these men. And they are men. I like how very adult this is. I’m interested to see where it’s going. Color me suitably intrigued, in a refined manner.

Eternal Butler (Taiwan Fri Gaga) eps 7 of 12 - Ooo I love the side couple!!!! They are soooooo cute. Kissing to seal a debt? Adorable. Also, yes please keep Ever 4 shirtless forever. I applaud his design, functionality, ans aesthetic choice. Rah rah rah. More manual labor in BL! Pun intended.

Impression of Youth (Taiwan Weds Viki) eps 3 of 9 - I like the secondary couple a lot more than the primary. Shocker.

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 16 of ?? - I bit the bullet and finally watched the 2 parts. It really did not need to occupy that much of my time. I did watch it on 1.5, which is not normally what I do with foreign language shows, but I’ve lost patience with this damn thing. I didn’t actually mind the student teacher side pairing, I didn’t like it either. I thought this was the final episode, and then I saw that there was an 2 part ep 17 announced. So i guess not. Have mercy.

Oh yeah and trigger warning all round.

It's airing but......

I Will Turn Back Time (China Gaga) 6 eps - It’s Chinese, no idea if it will end well or not. But it’s the stepbrothers trope. Still, I’m not gonna watch it until it’s done.

Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai) - It's done. Did anyway watch it? Thoughts?

In Case You Missed it

End of year wraps are here!

2024 Trend Report

MY BEST & WORST BLs of 2024

Best Kisses (and sex scenes) of 2024

BL's 2024 Quirky Awards

2024 Awards - Quick Picks

Next Week Looks Like This:

2025 Line Up

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 1

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 2

20 BLs Announced for 2025 That I'm Really Excited About

GMMTV 2025 Line Up - My Totally Biased and Wildly Flawed Feels

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENT

Love a lift and kiss. Show me your muscles by picking another boy up and smooching him silly. (Your Sky)

(last week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

arcane s2 - review

okay so now that i have given my two cents on caitvi and i've had enough time to digest s2 of arcane, what do i think about the rest of it?

overall, i have mixed feelings about it. i didn't hate it but i feel like a lot of the themes and ideas were poorly executed, especially compared to s1.

(huge spoilers to arcane below!)

but let me start with the positives:

the animation OBVIOUSLY. huge props to the animators, s1 was already phenomenonal and s2 lived up to the hype, animation-wise. the fight scenes especially were just *mwah* chef's kiss.

the character designs were great. caitlyn looks a lot prettier with the middle parting. vi's emo phase is really hot. jinx's designs in the alternate universe and the finale were iconic. jayce's beard and disheveled look was just chef's kiss. jesus viktor was hot as fuck.

the voice actors did an amazing job obviously, and i didn't expect anything less from them.

jayce's and viktor's relationship was so good despite not having all that much screentime when you think about it. they interact in the beginning when viktor wakes up from his hex-coma and then reunite and fight and make up in the final few episodes. but because of their relationship that was built up in the first season, it all worked out smoothly and made for a very natural progression in their relationship.

jinx's redemption was pretty good. not the BEST but it was carried out well enough, especially in just 9 episodes. i didn't feel like it was rushed or undeserved. her sacrifice in the end was heartbreaking but it felt natural and not shoehorned in for some added angst.

and now for the negatives:

1. the pacing was really bad, in my opinion. they had only 9 episodes but they stuffed in so many subplots into this season that it felt overwhelming.

maybe i'm just stupid but i couldn't keep up with half of the stuff that was going on and some parts of the finale didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

like the whole storyline with mel and ambessa and the black rose was a blur to me. i honestly don't know what happened in the end after ambessa dies.

the whole deal with singed and vander and whatnot was also really murky. like i get the overall premise but it was really hard for me to grasp every single detail.

maybe this is just a me problem and i'm too dumb to follow more than two storylines at the same time. but s1 already had a lot going on and it was still a tad bit easier to follow.

s2 was just crammed with a whole bunch of different characters pursuing different goals and facing different obstacles, 9 episodes weren't enough to give all of it a satisfying conclusion. and as a result, some of the arcs felt rushed and unfinished.

like what happened to the whole found family thing with sevika, jinx and isha? they were beginning to get closer and form a good relationship but then suddenly, sevika is pushed out of the image and we never see how she reacts to jinx and isha's death.

2. while i don't think that caitvi is abusive, i still don't think the ship was great. it was just super rushed and there is a grain of truth to what caitvi antis are saying.

like yeah, caitlyn being an enforcer and seeing nothing wrong with it was.. questionable. wasn't the whole point of s1 that enforcers were ruining the lives of the people in zaun? wasn't police brutality and classism the main theme of this series? how come vi's parents were killed by enforcers and she was unfairly imprisoned for years by enforcers, but somehow she ends up dating an enforcer?

before s2 came out, i expected caitlyn to give up her job after realizing how corrupt it was. i thought that would be the natural progression of her arc, especially since she's seen how much the people of the undercity has suffered at the hands of enforcers. but nope, she keeps her job and it's never addressed in the end.

i don't think that caitlyn hitting vi once out of frustration and once out of necessity makes her a domestic abuser. but i do think it's kind of icky for vi to end up in a relationship with an enforcer, and for the show to frame it in a semi-positive manner. it's not entirely romanticized but the problems with it aren't really addressed either.

3. i feel like the themes of classism wasn't as well addressed in this season as it was in the first one. the first season had a strong message and it stuck to it. the second season was all over the place and then suddenly, there's viktor and the whole glorious evolution or whatever, and the conflict between piltover and zaun is pushed aside.

i like that sevika becomes part of the council in the end but is she the only one representing the undercity? is one person enough to speak for all these people in zaun? at least it's true to real life, i guess.

overall, i felt like the message was a lot more murky in this season. this ties to my first complaint because while s1 had a lot of storylines too, they followed a common theme. war, classism, and how privilege and the lack thereof affects people. s2's storylines are just all over the place and none of them seem to follow a theme. at least some of them could have been discarded.

4. i briefly mentioned this before but the fact that jinx stops experiencing her hallucinations never made sense to me. especially after she accidentally killed silco, shouldn't they get worse? it is implied that she has schizophrenia and c-ptsd so i really don't understand how silco's death suddenly got rid of most of her symptoms.

she still sees and hears the hallucinations from time to time and her mental state is definitely far from stable, but it was still such a huge jump from her psychotic breakdown in the s1 finale.

so yeah, these are my thoughts about arcane s2. there were more pros than cons but the cons still outweigh the pros, simply because of how much impact they had on the plot.

i'm generally not one to demand more seasons or episodes out of a series where the writers have already told the story they wanted to tell, but arcane s2 was so rushed and so filled to the brim with different characters and storylines, i couldn't help but feel like it would have benefited from having more episodes to play everything out more slowly.

i still liked this series a lot and i enjoyed watching it, but i'm not blind to its flaws and i try not to be biased.

[faelapis]

alright! we got one whole person interested, so here's my hot take:

the first "how to train your dragon" movie is WAY better than httyd 2.

i know everyone loves like, the cool warrior mom design, the romance and the "epic animation moments" in 2... but can we for a moment be honest and say the whole "hiccup becoming a leader / which dragon is the Good Alpha" plot was dumb as hell? also, the villain sucked?

the original httyd is pretty good about keeping the structural problem grounded in real societal fears. namely, fear of the unknown and of beasts. it makes sense for any ol' village dealing with such a problem. it was intelligently designed around a solid premise.

httyd 2 is like. actually, dragon taming is a big thing, even outside berk. and theres a Scary Foreign Man dragon tamer who is bad and just wants power. it's okay to other him. being a good guy is about being a protector instead of an evil, power-hungry guy... which hiccup never was anyway... so no real growth there. just be good instead of bad. wow. what a theme. very thought-provoking.

people act like httyd 3 being bad came out of nowhere, but httyd 2 was the original sin to me. it totally dropped the societal themes in favor of generic good vs evil fights and "worldbuilding" - despite having no more interesting stories to tell.

it also kind of ruined hiccup for the sake of developing him. like. his whole thing is that he can't fight, so he has to find other ways to contribute to society. he's the anti-macho hero. which ends up being important in convincing the village that dragons can be peaceful. he's empathetic to the other, because he's been othered.

meanwhile in httyd 2, hiccup's like. Cool Warrior Man, who needs to step up and be the hero king when his dad dies. he can fight just fine, because he has a cool dragon to fight with. so he's just like any warrior, but one who fights with weapons instead of brute strength. aka most fictional warriors who arent just "the heavy."

the first movie isn't beyond criticism, obviously. the animation was a little meh compared to httyd 2 - i get why visually its seen as an upgrade. plus, httyd 1 also did the thing of having like a last minute evil dragon to defeat... but that wasn't the point. the POINT was the village and its fears. the POINT was overcoming that.

whenever people list why they love httyd 2 and consider it superior, its like... lists of details. like, look at the upgraded character designs, the cool flying scenes, the affection between hiccup and astrid, or the clever way hiccup's prosthetic leg is designed.

but these are film *details*, not fundamentals.

if you told me the sequel to httyd was going to have a much more generic story, ignore the themes of the original and makes its deliberately lanky and weak protagonist into Handsome Hero Warrior Boy, i'd be like. that sounds kinda bad. but the Animation Details (tm) i guessssss

i know hiccup is still "himself" in 2 to some extent, btw. he's an inventor, he's intelligent, and he initially tries to talk to the villain. but none of that ends up mattering. its arguably looked down on by the movie, which really, really wants him to step up to be the warrior king like his dad. aka a generic Hero Strongman.

i'm not totally against evolving the themes of a work to fit new conflicts, btw. sequels should generally be different from the first movie. that's fine. that's expected.

but while the new conflict in httyd 2 IS born out of the results of the previous movie, that evolution feels very literal, not thematic.

namely, the evolution is "more people have dragons now." it builds the conflict from there. its based on worldbuilding, not on theme.

i don't think a very interesting evolution.

it kinda went from, in httyd 1: "the theme is fear of the unknown. how prejudice/ignorance manifests, educating oneself through compassion, the dangers of worshipping violent masculinity, and the importance of questioning what you're taught by society."

to, in httyd 2: "the theme is dragons. who has them? what they want with them? how can the Good Guy humans protect dragons from the Bad Guys? also, being a Good Leader means being a strong Hero Man who protects his friends," without asking any deeper questions related to the themes of the first movie.

and i'm like. guys. guys.

the theme shouldn't just be "dragons."

the theme of the first movie was NOT just "dragons." the first movie could've been about people being afraid of unicorns. or large birds. or unusually intelligent bears. it was not just about literal dragons, it was about societal fears and trying to overcome our base gut instincts.

i think this is what really plagues httyd 3: it builds on the themes of the second movie, not the first.

httyd 3 asks further questions that only really revolve around the literal relationship between humans and dragons. it does not understand any broader themes of what that relationship represents.

it clearly thinks its very intelligent for asking "what do the dragons themselves want?", but that question is not respected enough to be explored in any thematically coherent way.

the only real weight its given is the argument that there will always be "bad humans" out there, and so, dragons are safer in the wild. which sure is... an argument. but its a very "othering the problem" kind of argument.

it acts like its caring about the agency of dragons, but its not really. dragons were not actually portrayed as "oppressed" in berk society after the first movie, nor lacking agency. they were only at risk of "bad individuals", to which that solution is stupid. the racialized bad guy in httyd 2 didn't steal all his dragons from berk. he caught and subjugated them, mostly from the wild.

all while looking like... this, by the way. i feel like we don't talk about that enough. all the good guys are white nordics, while the only man of color is scary, domineering and cruel. in a series of movies that was once about having empathy for the other.

MAYBE if berk had been really oppressive towards dragons in httyd 2, we could've had a theme. maybe if they treated them like a dangerous commodity that must be tightly controlled despite their nominal acceptance and inclusion, we could've had a thematically tight 3-movie arc about like fear and oppression or whatever.

but that would require, yknow... making the movies be about broad societal problems, instead of just evil individuals. and only the first movie cares about making any real societal critique.

also, the solution in httyd 3 would've still sucked. these movies, in terms of writing, really decrease in maturity from 1, down to 2, to the plummeting depths of 3.

there is no relationship of oppression that is solved by completely segregating society and going our separate ways (httyd 3). just like there is no oppression that is solved just by defeating bad individuals (httyd 2). we have to learn to coexist as equals, to educate ourselves and be compassionate to the other. even if we're afraid.

that's the dream only the first movie kept in its heart.

[dangermousie]

A love letter to late 00s/early10s kdramas? More likely than you may think

I have watched the first two eps (30m each) of the just premiered My Military Valentine with Nam Guyri and Kim Min Seok and I have discovered the most glorious time machine to 2008-2012.

A disclaimer - if you came to kdramas relatively recently, this really isn't a drama for you. But for those of us who used to watch and adore kdramas of mid-to-late 00s/very early 10s (I got into kdramas around 06), this is a very deliberate and knowing tribute and is designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia for back then dramas which it does brilliantly.

I feel as if I somehow time traveled to 15 years back or perhaps stumbled on a kdrama from that period I have not seen yet. It is such a delicious homage.

The premise is pretty straightforward - in an AU where South Korea and North Korea are close to reunification, a popular South Korean superstar and a North Korean commando cross paths and then he ends up having to serve in her unit. She's a consummate military officer, he's boyish and even immature but genuinely good-hearted. If you are screaming into your hands "this is off-brand King2Hearts with Spy MyungWol thrown in OMGGGGGGGG!" then you are the target audience.

EVERYTHING about this drama is old-school, deliberately so. The plot (even the idea of reunion was much more popular in dramas back then than it is now when I think it's much more fraught and distant), the setting (it is not set in 2024 but something like 2010), the characters (the ML is the immature protag romcoms in 00s used to love, FL is a good-hearted stern naive NK lady), the look (the way it's filmed is 100% from back then, with news montages, ML's frosted hair, the side part of the NK agent dude, the shots down from buildings, FL's whole vibe and look, the camera work, the lack of certain filters. Even the fact that neither of protags looks super polished and ML has a certain soft-faced and not starving look is reminiscent of early 00s dramas.)

Shot from the drama:

For comparison, here is Eric Mun in 2011 Spy Myung Wol as a top star in a drama about a North Korean Agent x SK celeb:

And with NK agent OTP:

Here is the OTP of 2012 King 2 Hearts, about a South Korean prince and NK commando:

Lee Byung Hun and his bleach blond hair in Beautiful Days from 2003:

Kim Rae Won and his soft face and light hair in Say You Love Me (2004):

And now, look at this song number from My Military Valentine. If it doesn't scream "Obama just got elected for his first term," I don't know what to tell you:

And the kiss as means of air transfer, old school style JUST I CAN'TTTTT:

[serpentface]

I've been a fan of your work for a bit now and I gotta say your creature design is peak! What is your process?

Thank you! The vast majority of my creature design here is just taking parts of the irl earth tree of life and going 'what if the niche was different', so this does not necessarily apply to settings that are fully alien (though some core elements would apply universally to any 'grounded' creature design)

When looking at the tree of life you will find a lot of patterns in unrelated animals who have adapted for the same purposes. For example raptorial claws are extremely common in ambush hunting arthropods and occur in very similar shapes in entirely unrelated species, because they are highly efficient adaptations of arthropod limbs to grasp and hold onto prey)

(water scorpion, mantis, mantisfly, whip scorpion, ambush bug, mantis shrimp)

So a lot of design questions are answered by asking about the imaginary animal's niche and referencing real life animals that fill this niche

Like these are anatomically based on pterosaurs, but addressing the question of 'what if pterosaurs expanded to a similar niche to penguins (flightless swimming predatory birds of fish and squid) and a branch from there became fully aquatic (filling predatory niches closer to dolphins or seals). '

I think the key to making it feel naturalistic is to not FORCE it to fit the mold. The question is not 'what if x was shaped like y' but 'if x occupied y niche, what adaptations would be most advantageous/are most common in extant analogous animals?'

Uhrwal (dolphin looking ones) reference a mixture of dolphins and penguins in terms of head shape, as they have beaks and this is a likelier route than something more seal-like or etc. They are egg layers and by necessity have ties to the land, so the rest of their anatomy references pinnipeds (quadrupedal, haul out to reproduce) more heavily. They also have whiskers for prey detection, mostly because I love giving things whiskers but it's plausible in that most animals in similar niches have whiskers and those that don't (cetaceans, analogous fish species) have echolocation or other senses (chemical, electrical) that assist in prey detection which a pterosaur is less likely to develop than simply modifying their pycnofibers into whiskers

Tiviit very very very heavily reference penguins as they are basically in the exact same niche (semi aquatic previously flighted beaked egg layers), but remain quadrupedal (like pterosaurs) rather than bipedal (like avians) and their anatomy is adjusted to suit this. Varkheshi (big tiviit, bottom right) hunt large prey (rather than fish and squid) fill a niche that no penguin/bird in general actually occupies, and have hooked and serrated beaks to bleed prey and bulky heads with large muscle attachments for increased bite force to rip and tear flesh of subdued prey items. Etc.

Beyond that, I'm extensively referencing similar animals for details like coloration and etc. There's no dolphins or penguins/seabirds with the Exact color and patterning shown here, but similar colors and patterning are very common.

It's pretty different with the sophonts because I've basically worked backwards with them and have had to brute force their designs into realism

The setting was originally more of a standard fantasy with most of the nonhuman ones being basically anthros, or otherwise very unrealistic and unsatisfying designs for what turned into a very grounded setting.

So I kind of had to brute force them into a place on the evolutionary tree and attempt to have satisfying answers to 'why are they walking upright?' 'why do they have hands?' 'how do they use tools?'.

Which btw is REALLY not a good way to go about this process if you're aiming for realism, because it will back you into corners where you have to choose between bullshitting heavily or scrapping key elements altogether, and I had to wipe the slate almost entirely in a couple of places to come to a design/premise I'm satisfied with (especially archin, which used to be 3 ft tall anthro bees). And there's still a LOT of questionable elements in these designs, like I don't think I've made a satisfactory excuse for qilik to have hands or done a good job on said hands (a transitional gliding avian would be FAR more likely to use its beak than its increasingly vestigial hands as a manipulating limb). Yotici are also kind of a mess

[majachee]

got distracted about five different times on my way here but yES, I HAVE PREVAILED!! JUMPS INTO BOX

actually gnawing your art rn, obsessed with it

do your lil power ranger guys have names yet? 👀✨ what's their favorite things to do in down time?

GRINS. OH, I CANT WAIT TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE LORE OF POWER RANGERS AND TOTAL DRAMA...!!!

In this AU, the TD characters are essentially placed in a world that follows MMPR rules (made up city, aliens, superheroes, etc.) and the main cast is as follows...!

graphic design is my passion

Dw about any last names, the TD characters canonically don't have any in the show, and it'll stay that way in the AU! At most, I'll do subtle nods or jokes about popular fanon names lol

AS FOR FAVORITE THINGS TO DO IN THEIR DOWN TIME... WELL.

Courtney is very active in the school government scene, and she's also a counselor in training at a local summer camp program. She's also a passionate performer, and enjoys working with the theatre/drama club!

She's one of those busy-bodies, methinks, she likes engaging with the community and keeping herself busy! It's what she enjoys! Her down time is often spent finding ways to be productive. The normalcy also helps her cope with the fact that aliens keep attacking at inconvenient moments lmao

She's also often seen with Gwen, a more introverted goth that she drags around from time to time.

Noah is also active in the student counsel. Hell, he's Courtney's direct competition for the title of Student Body President at the beginning of the story. (aka "season 1")

He's a lot more lax, however, preferring to keep the amount of responsibilities he has to a minimum. He breezes through classwork, and finds himself with a fair amount of free time... Granted that aliens aren't attacking again.

He's often seen reading or gaming in the library, hanging around with his friends Izzy, Eva, and Owen, or walking his yellow labrador retriever around the block.

Heather is difficult for me... She's such a pro-active, bitchy (/aff) character and I feel like we haven't really seen much of her acting domestic in the show itself. She does ballet, and I'd imagine she wouldn't be opposed to doing things around the school for her own benefit (especially after her character development lol)

But like... Huh. She has a cat, and it doesn't seem like she has a good relationship with her parents. I don't know what she does in her down time, really, perhaps it'll come to me when I write more about her. She's one of those characters that really dominates the page when writing, and seem to almost write themselves if that makes sense lol

Harold, like Noah, can be seen reading or gaming in the library, or hanging out with his bandmates. That's right boys, the Drama Brothers are CANON in the MMPC universe. 😈

Is their music any good? Don't worry about that...

Harold is also very active in weekend/after-school programs and activities, and has volunteered at many similar places. Jack of all trades, master of none some may call him. He's also open to hanging out with his teammates and trying to get them to open up, he's the most forgiving of the group and wants them to all work together. So, yes, for better or for worse, he helps everyone else out with their hobbies.

Duncan is known for skipping class, but what he does while playing hooky really depends. He can't stay at home, so instead he lurks around town or the school premises, sneaking in snacks and such for his friends. He's also into wood whittling, not something he can do on school premises but definitely something he has a talent for!

He also has a pet tarantula named Scruffy, who is very well-cared for and VERY spoiled. He has a few other spiders and bugs he takes care of, and is very knowledgable on bug care! He whittles out little sculptures and caves to put in their enclosures, methinks!

... When not doing that he's bullying Harold, and trying (but failing) at bullying Noah. Izzy bit him once, but that physical wound was nothing compared to the psychic damage Noah left him with. (He called him a poser, and proved it with citations and evidence. MLA formatted.)

[quibbs126]

So this morning I’ve been attempting to draw this megop fankid, aka Palisade

I think I’ve mostly been thinking about her because of my post last night complaining about not being able to use the name Nova, but then getting the idea for the name Palisade. And then my brain’s been trying to work with those ideas

Honestly I think the main reason I have ideas for her is the fact that she’s named after a pre-existing character, and her design and personality is somewhat based on that character (Palisade from Anodyne 2)

It’s why she’s a girl at all and also why she’s strong and has shield things

But yeah, I had ideas, so I attempted to at least get some general ideas out on a canvas, which is what you see here

Honestly my biggest issue right now is that she’s not tied to any continuity, and thus I have no concrete bases for her design outside of general shared features between iterations of Megatron and Optimus

I do think I subconsciously was trying to incorporate Transformers Prime things in there, like her sharper plating and the things under her eyes. But I don’t really want her to be in TFP, I’m divided on how I see megop there. You can sell me on pre-breakup them and if a fic has an interesting enough premise you might get me interested, but as is, as close to canon as you can, I don’t like it

Another large issue is that I have absolutely no clue what her alt mode should be, only general ideas as to what I want on her robot mode, like big things on her arms that act like shields and also weapons to beat you to death with

But I tried with what I could, which mostly consisted of trying to figure out her head

Like Overdrive, she’s very much a work in progress, I just felt like sharing her as well

But unlike Overdrive, I actually have some ideas on her character at this stage. We’ll get back to design things later

So basically I’m thinking that Palisade here is a rather large and bulky bot, something she gets from Megatron’s side. However, she’s far more about defense than offense, being very durable and using herself as a shield for others. She’s an absolute tank in the figurative sense, probably not the literal sense. She’s also supposed to have things on the side of her arms that as stated, turn into shields (possibly with energy extensions to make them bigger) and can probably combine into one big one if need be. But also they can turn into weapons and/or just on their own are very heavy and bulky, and are effective bludgeoning tools to beat the crap out of you with. And she is not above violence, so that is a threat

In another life, she probably would have made it big as a gladiator

But I imagine she tends to work more in rescue missions than fighting, wanting to help people and being physically strong enough to save them. I think she’d be neutral, but if she had to pick a side it’d probably be Autobot

Should probably be a good time to mention I don’t really know her backstory either, at least when it comes to her parents. I might incorporate the “born right after the breakup and yeeted as soon as possible” backstory I made up prior into her, but I’m not sure. Realistically though it’s either that or she’s born after the war. Still not sure though, I’m only imagining her as an adult

Personality wise, all I can really say is that in my head she’s very cheery and friendly. She probably should have more to her than that, and she probably will, I just haven’t figured out what yet. More depth would probably come from her relationship with her parents, but again, I haven’t really figured out the circumstances there yet

I think that’s about all I have figured out on her character, now to complain about the design process

Trying to combine Optimus and Megatron’s helms is a nightmare, I tell you. I’ve tried it before, and I really don’t know how to do it. Though I think in some cases it’s a problem of me not wanting to change an idea I had, despite it not working. The biggest offender of this being trying to incorporate antenna

But yeah, there’s probably ways, especially with the designs of other characters; like I think maybe g1 Dion’s helm could be a good mix of the two, I just refuse to find them or give up on what I want

But yeah, I tried to combine Megatron’s bottom helm things with Optimus’ antenna, and they never work right together. Because the antenna have to be on those circles, which need to be outermost, but the bottom of Megatron’s helm also needs to be outermost, with maybe some exceptions. So like, it never looks right, but I really wanted it here

The top triangle thing on her helm is also a feature I lifted from Anodyne 2 Palisade. To me it’s a thinner plate, more decoration than bulk, and while I’m still trying to figure out exactly how it works, I like how it looks

The leftmost two helm designs you see here are my favorites, I want her to have the antenna and the bottom things, but I just don’t know how to make them work together

I did come up with a semi solution though, while scrolling through my refs. Basically it was to combine the bottom helm with Optimus’ side horn things, and make them tall so they look sort of like antenna. It also looks similar to Earthspark Megatron’s design

I think it works and isn’t as much confusion for me on anatomy, but if I could make the antenna-helm combo work, I would rather do that

Also I’m still not sure how her helm outside of the red bits work. You might be able to tell they’re just kind of existing as is

But moving on from that tirade, I’ve had some ideas for color combos of the two floating around for a while, the main one I wanted to try a being grey and red combo

Sure she might have turned out looking more like black and red here, but maybe with her full design the grey can come out more. I’d just need to figure out an alt mode for her

She also ended up with blue eyes simply because I liked the color alongside the rest of hers. I tried red and yellow but I think I just liked blue best

Also there’s the little diamond thing at the top of her triangle. I think I just added that for extra decoration, but it does kind of evoke Optimus’ head thing, so it works

And yeah, I think that’s all on her right now. I just wanted to share this as well. Should probably work more on her, but I don’t know too much how to further her outside of more tweaking to her head

[milestonekestrel]

Please tell me about your swap au! :) i would love to hear more about it!

I really like all of the designs for the voices(?) that you have in it! I think that I really like the chill and the skittish the most! It all looks very interesting!

YAYY!!

I'm so glad you like the designs so far! <3

I'll give you the run-down of the little lore and things I've got down for this. Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone yet (or, ever honestly lol), so things may change at some point.

Basic swap au premise, the Princess and the Long Quiet swap places! Now the bird is imprisoned in the cabin, and the princess (or Maiden) is the one who is supposed to slay him. This, of course, changes some of the lore, yeah?

The Long Quiet and Shifting Mound were still originally one vessel, and were still separated. The Narrator imprisoned the Monster in the cabin because of the stagnation. He himself was stagnating. Rotting to nothing. He wanted to stop this; he wanted change. So, he did what he does in Canon! Only, to the LQ.

He brought the Princess to the cabin, instructing her to slay the Monster, or the world would end. Fortunately, she also has the Voice of the Maiden to influence her. and the Maiden is not so sure the Narrator should be trusted.

The voices, in this au, are fragments from the SM, since the Princess is the SM's "heart", she still has sort of a connection to their perspectives. Here is a list of the current voices!

Voice of the Maiden - The replacement for the Hero! The Voice of the Maiden represents standard Princess in Canon. She is a kind-hearted, level-headed do-gooder and most often the one keeping the peace between all the voices.

Voice of the Wounded - Representing the Witch from Canon and the foil to The Scoundrel, Voice of the Wounded is spiteful at a betrayal she's faced, and wants nothing more for the Monster to feel the pain she has.

Voice of the Lover - Representing the Damsel from Canon and the foil to the Admirer, the Lover is gentle and loving. While not completely enamored in the way the Admirer is, she harbors a great deal of affection for the Monster, though she is generally useless when it comes to making decisions on her own.

Voice of the Joyous - (Alternatively, Voice of the Hopeful) Representing the Spectre and the foil to the Chill, Voice of the Joyous is a pleasant voice who is afflicted with a deep longing for a better life for both her and the Monster, and sense of optimism, even in the worst of situations. However, she has a fierce edge to her that should not be ignored.

Voice of the Rigid - (Alternatively, Voice of the Cynic) Representing the Prisoner and the foil to The Fool, the Rigid is a stubborn pessimist, and has a notable mean streak. She is basically a second Narrator, in terms of her main route. Though when faced with the Fool's splintering, she shows an extreme curiosity. Something good about her is that she stands by her values, and though they happen to coincide with the Narrator often, she is not him.

Voice of the Brutal - Representing the Adversary and foiling the Combatant, the Brutal is someone who loves fighting. She longs to struggle and be forced to adapt, and she exclaims that she feels alive when taking on the Combatant.

Voice of the Prey - While she does not represent any princess from Canon, she is the stand-in for the Voice of the Hunted, and foils The Rabid. She is not meek, but the other voices often wrongfully regard her as such. She speaks in hushed tones, and is extremely smart with her instincts.

Voice of the Cruel - Representing the Razor princess and foiling the Bristles, the Cruel is joyfully sadistic. She expresses often how the Princess ought to just stab the Monster. She enjoys it, which is a discomfort to even the Narrator. She is an awful liar, but maintains an upbeat attitude.

Voice of the Haunted - Again, this one does not represent a princess, but is a replacement for Voice of the Paranoid! She is the foil to The Mold, and is frightened often. But, as such, she is the most used to it out of the Maiden or her fellow voices, and can guide them through the situation if only they will listen.

Voice of the Weak-Willed - She doesn't represent a princess either, but also does not fully represent the voice she replaces: Voice of the Broken. She is a demotivated woman who has hardly any drive, but proves to be useful sometimes, at least. Though, she gets infatuated with The Victor in their route, and advocates fiercely for them to obey him. Simp <3

Voice of the Imposing - Representing the Tower princess and foiling The Skittish, the Imposing is a 'get shit done' type of woman. She is, as the name implies, an imposing figure, and it shows in even her voice. She has a high sense of her own self-worth, and is sometimes arrogant, having grown used to bossing everyone around by the time she meets her meek, but defiant foil.

Voice of the Crooked - Finally, here we are! She does not represent a specific princess, but is more like Voice of the Opportunist is he were slightly more evil. She foils The Arrowhead, and is logical and pragmatic, yet has the capacity to be cruel if she thinks it will increase her chances of 'escaping this damned cabin.'

That's all of our voices, except for the Narrator I guess, but he remains unchanged!

Now, naturally, with the Princess and LQ being swapped, the various enemies you face have been changed too. Here is a list of them:

The Admirer - Swapping with the Damsel and representing the Voice of the Smitten, the Admirer is madly in love with the Princess. He is completely, head-over-talons enamored. To the point where if his beloved sees it fit to slay him, naturally, he should be the one apologizing. He branches into Ch III - The Warm Embrace, in which he seeks to bury himself and the Princess alive, so that 'they may find our skeletons intertwined, a testament to our undying love!' “This one is unconditional affection. You have molded him to love you, and he would, in any form you take. He will make for an enamored heart. Do not mourn him. He has served his purpose.”

The Arrowhead - Taking the Witch's place (originally named him The Chip (as in chip on your shoulder, meaning a grudge) but I changed it) and acting like the Voice of the Skeptic, only more sarcastic and with a hint of the Witch's playfulness. He can branch into Ch III - The One Eye, or Ch III - The Knot.

The Bristles - Taking the Razor's place, and Representing Voice of the Cheated! The Bristles happens if you fool the Monster into thinking your dead, and then gut him when he gets close. He essentially became a blade monster because he wanted to never be tricked by you again, and gets tired very quickly of the Princess continuously coming back. His two chapter branches are Ch III - The Steel Claw to Ch IV - A Mass of Blood and Blades, and Ch III - The Barbed Wire to Ch IV - A Beating Heart. “This one is consumed by mistrust. He refused to be deceived, but his efforts to arm himself tore through him as much as it did others. He will make for a guarded heart. Do not mourn him, for he no longer has anything to fear.”

The Chill - Taking the Spectre Princess' place, and Representing the Voice of the Cold, The Chill is a spirit without any vengeful feelings. Merely, it was too painful to constantly wish to be saved, so he shut himself off, in a way. Still, once he realizes he can use you to escape the cabin, he gets very angry when you deny him the help, especially after you killed him in cold blood. He can branch into Ch III - The Torrential Winds, in which he kills you in an avalanche, a blizzard, or by his own hands, and uses you to escape the cabin. “This one is apathy. He wished for a life he could not attain, and turned himself into a stiff, sharp wind to avoid his longing. He will make for a cold heart. Do not mourn him– he has finally found what he wished for.” 

The Combatant - Taking the place of the Adversary and Representing the Voice of the Stubborn, The Combatant desires a fight. He simply craves the thrill of battle with a worthy opponent, and the feeling of a life, his opponent's or his own, bending to the will of a strong heart. He can branch into Ch III - The Serrated Edge, in which he finally gets the fight he desires, or Ch III - The Unwound Screw, in which he kills you no matter what you do. “This one yearns to fight, to struggle against someone worthy, and feel the thrill of the battle. Even now, he thrashes against me, not realizing we are one. He will make for a stubborn heart. Do not mourn him, for he will feel the satisfaction of victory.”

The Fool - Taking the Stranger's place, and Representing Voice of the Contrarian, The Fool is unstable at first. Though he only displays amusement as his situation, especially when the Narrator reacts. He is a monster that can hear the Narrator, and interact with him. He finds joy in spiteing you and the Narrator, and displays a morbid curiosity at his situation, especially when he starts fracturing. “These ones are contradictions. A kaleidoscope of paths unwalked. They are stretched into a shape they cannot hold, and yet, I feel their contrary. They will make for a rich, radiant heart.”

The Mold - Taking the Nightmare's place, The Mold is a decayed monster who has rotted in the cabin, and now seeks revenge. he has mold and fungus growing on him, and his feathers have been preened out of stress, leaving large bare patches in certain places. He can branch into Ch III - The Infection, in which he kills you, or Ch III - The Reflective Surface, which is basically The Moment of Clarity. “This one is decay. A soul left to rot with only himself as company. He desires companionship, but is too angry to let go of the knife. He will make for a lonely, callous heart. Do not mourn him– he has finally given in.”

The Rabid - Representing the Beast princess, The Rabid is aptly named! He is visibly infected with rabies, and is more wild and unpredictable than before. He acts on instinct, and has the behavior of a predator. He branches into Ch III - The Abomination, in which the infection has progressed, and the foam in his mouth chokes him, taking away his speech. In this chapter, he also acts even more like a feral beast, and looks the part. The Rabid can also become Ch III - The One Eye, which is basically The Wild (for now!) “This one is wild. Consumed by instinct, he has become unpredictable. A creature, hunting and fighting to survive, and forcing the adaptation of its prey. He will make for a feral heart. He wishes me to devour you. To make you a part of myself. But he is only a voice. Do not mourn him. He is part of something greater.”

The Scoundrel - Representing the Voice of the Opportunist, and also kind of taking The Prisoner's place, The Scoundrel is kind of like a con-man. He defends the actions of his previous iteration (them being killing the Princess while she was resisting the Narrator), and can be killed in revenge. But his bigger plot is the romance! That's right! You can romance him. Show him a little affection to gain his trust, and either free him again (to the Voice of the Wounded's extreme dismay) or betray him! Stab him right in the back, which will prompt him to strike back fatally and kill you, but the damage will already be done. He will give you a cold look (though you will notice his eyes are wet and shiny, of course) and call you a liar before you are taken to Ch III - The Frigid Touch, in which he pushes you down a deep hole and breaks all of your bones, and then kills you. “This one is both sides of a coin. He is motivated by survival, and is willing to stoop low to preserve it. Yet, he is not a bad soul. He will make for an opportunistic heart. Do not mourn him– he can live now.”

The Skittish - Representing Voice of the Paranoid, The Skittish is a very frightened monster who cowers in fear from you. Though, if approached, he will be driven to attack. If you take him on, you can eventually blind him, and then either save him or murder him. If you murder him (you monster (/lh)) you will be taken to Ch III - The Something (which is currently unnamed, if you couldn't tell. I am just calling it The Flinching in my head). In This chapter, he's basically Voice of the Broken. Extremely depressed, and also still blind, which he knows doesn't give him the edge. Either he'll stab himself, or you'll stab him here. “This one is paralyzed. Hope drowned out by fear. He will make for a paranoid heart. I feel his terror now. He desperately wishes to flee. But he is only a voice. Do not mourn him– he is safe now.”

The Victor - Taking the place of the Tower princess, the Victor is a lot like her. He is more outwardly arrogant, and a lot sharper with his words than her, but still wants to take you on as a pet. He can branch into Ch III - The Halo, or Ch III - The Unwound Screw. “This one is dominance. A figure who bends others to his will. He will make for a proud, arrogant heart. Do not mourn him, for he would not mourn you.”

And that's them! My sillies <3.

The Long Quiet has you bring them to him. They are fractures of his heart that were lost (either by the Narrator or on purpose), and kept in the cabin.

Here is a little list of the Ch I outcomes I made, just to keep track

Take the blade:

Provoke, play dead, slay, die - The Bristles

Provoke, keep fighting, die - The Combatant

Provoke, give up, die - The Victor

Slay Instantly, don't check, kill yourself - The Chill

Slay Instantly, check, die - The Arrowhead

Lock monster away, die - The Mold

Rescue, resist narrator, die - The Scoundrel

Rescue, do not resist narrator, die - The Arrowhead

Go unarmed

Retrieve blade, attack, give up, die - The Rabid

Retrieve blade, attack, die - The Victor

Go back for blade, do anything - The Arrowhead

Lock monster away, die - The Mold

Rescue, resist narrator, die - The Admirer

Rescue, do not resist narrator, die - The Skittish

Don’t go at all

Refuse to enter cabin - The Fool

Is there anything else you would like to know? I'd love to talk about the swap Au more, but I don't know what to talk about.

[anneapocalypse]

See I just don't think Dawntrail particularly pulls its punches on the horrors of the Alexandrian invasion--not when the whole aesthetic of Heritage Found is designed to be dark and sinister, not when the raid series seems to be foreshadowing the end of the soul economy, not when all the Scions and Wuk Lamat have dialogue about how disturbing they find it, and not when shutting down Living Memory is a major plot point, a firm narrative condemnation of the whole enterprise. It's certainly fair to wish that, for example, Erenville had gotten more screentime, but his whole journey of learning the awful truth about his mother and his home is very much presented as one of dawning horror.

No, what Dawntrail actually pulls its punches on, and hard, is the deleterious effects of foreign and particularly Sharlayan influences on Turali cultures and ways of life. This I think is why why everything in Shaaloani immediately rubbed me the wrong way, even before I'd seen the Alexandria plot unfold. Even without explicit colonization, we see how outside influence and the demand for ceruleum has changed the very landscape of Xak Tural, forced its indigenous cultures to the outskirts. And yet Shaaloani refuses to commit to its own premise in any meaningful way. It can't even commit to the shallow conceit of the Wild West, and thus we get the impossibly stupid scenario of cowboys dueling with rubber bullets.

And then the dome appears: an eerie, otherworldly threat. The invaders from another world. Don't worry about the effects of ceruleum mining on the local wildlife. Don't worry about what communities these mining towns have replaced and displaced. Don't question the decision to blend an explicitly colonial American culture with indigenous-inspired names; don't ask whether "Old West but no colonialism, really, we promise" even makes sense as a premise. Don't worry about it. The real enemies are over there, in the cyberpunk dystopia.

In light of this sort of "no, really, look over there!" storytelling, other details that might otherwise have felt innoccuous enough become suspect to me: Ketenramm as the Good Explorer who has integrated himself into Turali culture and is BFFs with the Dawnservant and would never do a colonialism. The Shetona character from one of the role quests whose life is changed by learning that spectacles are a thing because apparently it's only in Tural that no one has invented them. The explanation for aetherytes existing in Tural--a necessity for gameplay reason, but to make them a Sharlayan export rather than having the Turali simply have invented their own is a choice that was made. The creators clearly wanted to draw from real world influences, cultures, and history, but also chose to stop short of examining the implications of those influences in any areas where it might make the familiar nations of our favorite characters culpable.

I loved Dawntrail and still have great affection for it for many reasons, but imo Shaaloani is the real weak link, the most obvious example of a desire to draw from real world influences while avoiding their implications, a glaring monument to questions the story declines to ask.

[itsbenedict]

Games I Played In 2024 And Whether Or Not I Thought They Were Good (Part 2/4)

[1] - 2 - [3] - [4]

This time we're gonna open up with like, three different Ace Attorney fancases, because it turns out there's a lot of really good ones out there.

A Turnabout to El Dorado

DWaM doesn't miss. Years after a failed expedition to find the lost city of gold, one of the participants is murdered in a remote cabin in the woods. The accused is absolutely determined not to give Phoenix a single useful piece of information, largely because what actually happened has so many different layers of twist going on you would not believe it.

Also, you can get a piggyback ride from Dick Gumshoe, and that's only like the fourth or fifth greatest thing that happens in it. Very polished, edge-of-your-seat stuff.

The Torrential Turnabout

The tone and framing device of this one is really bizarre at first- it opens with this Zero Escape-ass deathgame situation, then pivots to Mia Fey solving a seemingly unrelated murder at a hospice, and everyone's being weirdly meta and out of character...

[pictured: YOU DON'T SAY.]

...but then, you realize what's going on, and it all makes sense, and everything is hilarious in hindsight. The case itself is incredible, too- apart from a slightly dodgy timed segment in part 6, the case logic all fits together elegantly and I didn't need a walkthrough too often. A great cast and clever writing bring it together into something incredible.

Turnabout in the Lighthouse of Lunacy

This one's nutty. The hook is that you're defending yourself against charges for a murder you totally do see yourself commit, on-screen, and you have to apply the classic Ace Attorney bullshitting and contradiction-seeking to get yourself off the hook when you are in fact guilty.

But that's not where it stops. In the course of picking at the contradictions you find, you uncover a truly insane web of additional bullshit hiding beneath the surface of a seemingly simple case that you saw happen. There is so much going on at this weirdass lighthouse auction, and it really lives up to the title. Extremely impressive case construction.

(I'd say it's... a little more disjointed than the other two? It's an original cast, with some character dynamics that seem to be either setting up a sequel or pulling from some other canon, and don't really go anywhere vis-a-vis the case, like the magic time-stop stuff or the history with the detective club. It's also one I had to go to the walkthrough well for a little more often than usual, as might be expected from the premise.)

Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore

Alright, getting away from AA fancases, here's my take on this one:

...Actually before the take: I'll tell you what it is. It is to the Zelda CD-i games what Bug Fables is to Paper Mario. A thorough style reproduction, featuring jankily-animated hand-drawn cutscenes, awkward voice acting, and uncomfortable comedy that stops just a hair shy of actually being funny (and that's what's funny about it.) They even got like, the original voice actors and stuff. It's a love letter to those games and seems designed from the ground up to be memed on. (In fact, there's a mod called Farcette that is a YTP'd version of the existing game, to complete the circle of life.)

Now the take: it's doing some weird stuff story-wise. It's really hard to tell when the awkwardness is on purpose, because that's like 90% of the art, but... it does feel like it kind of wants you to take Arzette seriously and think she's a cool heroine. And it does some things in service of that which are... strange choices?

The plot is that Arzette is the princess of a generic fantasy kingdom that gets menaced by an evil demon lord every [number with zeroes on the end] years and has to be sealed in a magic book using a magic jewel by the heir of the royal bloodline. Standard stuff. But then it... makes some weird, awkward stabs at subverting that standard stuff with clever plot twists? But they're... not. They kind of come out of nowhere and don't add anything.

First: Arzette's clever subversion of this cycle of demon lord stuff is "instead of sealing him in the magic book, just put the magic in a sword and kill the badguy!" And... like, it's really bending over backwards to frame "hero kills villain with a magic sword" as subversive. Like they made a fake Gordian Knot to make a show of cutting. The vibe is like, those "bad government? kill them" memes, just sort of espousing the idea that nonviolent solutions to problems are for naive libs who're just perpetuating the problem... but with a plot that's way too arch and goofy for that idea to stand up even if I agreed with it.

Second: Right at the very end, like in the last five seconds of the game, when Arzette is about to inherit the kingdom and become queen, she suddenly goes "actually no, we shouldn't have a monarchy. i declare we're a democracy now!" and everybody cheers and that's the end, fade to black. Which... would be perfectly fine, if that had been even slightly a theme beforehand. They didn't really depict the dinner king knockoff guy as bad in any way, and in fact tried to give him a genuinely emotional and bittersweet death scene. If it was trying to be anti-monarchist, it wasn't trying very hard!

That said, all of that is nitpicking. It's a perfectly fine game, doing what it set out to do with a ton of polish. It's fun, managed to get some big laughs out of me (the blacksmith quest is great), and it doesn't outstay its welcome, either- I 100%'d it in under four hours.

Slay the Princess

This one was fun! It's sort of... The Stanley Parable as a visual novel? You have a very simple quest: go into the basement and slay the princess chained up down there, or she'll destroy the world. But the variety of choices you have vis-a-vis the implementation of this straightforward quest gives rise to, like... I kind of don't want to spoil it, but it does some very spooky and effective meta stuff. Figuring out what the deal is with this princess and the narrator (played by the Magnus Archives guy) telling you to kill her is a good time.

I will say I was slightly disappointed by where it ended up? Just like, insofar as what the princess was thematically about seemed to be pushing in one direction, but then at the end it turned around and went in a different, slightly less interesting direction.

It's hard to say how much of that was an artifact of the choices I brought to the game, though- it's a thing that mutates and behaves very differently depending on how you play it. Worth a play!

Fire Emblem Engage

I did a whole big review of this one earlier this year, so here's that. The upshot is: it's mechanically probably the best FE I've played (besides the annoying monastery Somniel stuff), but the story is like, hilariously stupid. But it's stupid in a "wow, this isn't even trying, this is saturday morning cartoon shit" way, and not in an infuriating Fire Emblem Fates "please take us so so seriously as our idiot characters use tropes instead of brains to act out the dumbest tragedy we could think of" way. It's all impossible to take seriously, but it also doesn't care if you're taking it seriously, so it's not offensively bad.

Home Safety Hotline

This one I played primarily because the Game Grumps were so, so egregiously bad at it and I had to prove I could do better.

The premise is: you're a new hire for a help line, and take calls from homeowners having problems with minor pests. You listen to their issues, look up what the causes of those issues are in a database of common home safety risks, and send them dossiers of information. You win by accurately diagnosing their issues.

Also, it's a horror game and the "common home safety risks" include more and more SCP shit as you do well and unlock higher clearance.

It's... fine! It's fun. It works. What they should've done is spook the player with some weird stuff in their room or in the interface, and then later explain what kind of danger you've been in the whole time by unlocking an entry. That could've been scary and interesting! Instead it's only kind of scary and interesting. There's a few solidly fucked-up horrors in that database, and some chills when you identify a caller's problem and it becomes immediately apparently that it's too late for them, but largely you the player are insulated from all this.

(There's a metaplot about the safety corporation you're working for itself being a scary horror monster, but it doesn't really do anything interesting. It just goes "oooooh, your job is a spooky magic cult, aren't you scared of that??" and like. No not really.)

Murders on the Yangtze River

This is a very competently-executed murder mystery game! It has all the standard murder mystery game mechanics. But more interestingly, it's set in turn-of-the-century Qing Dynasty China, which isn't a setting I'd really read anything in before. It's very effective as a period piece, and I learned a lot! It's a little lacking in personality, but it manages to stay gripping regardless. I'd recommend it.

It is also... a weird piece of nationalist propaganda, though. Amusingly so. Explaining how would be spoilers, so here's a link to a separate post. Zero don't click on this until you've played it.

-

Like fifteen more of these to come. I played, uh, too many games this year.

[1] - 2 - [3] - [4]

[tshortik]

Hiiiiiiiii 👀 👉👈 thats SUCH a cool redesign for Zariel, it got me so excited to DM a DiA campaign. Any tips for running it? I LOVE YOUR ART ITS SO AMAZING AND THE COLORS ARE SO PRETTY, THANK YOU FOR SHARING IT OKBYEE

Aww thank you so much! ❤❤❤ I LOVE Descent into Avernus, but my love is a complicated one. I do think it is a really good, albeit difficult module, to learn how to become a better DM, though... I will explain.

The lore in DiA is pretty flat and the campaign is pretty railroady by design. If you have a roleplay-heavy group, I think it is best to heavily alter the module and incorporate things in there, that are very relevant to your players. That is also its magic though, because you can make the conscious decision to just use DiA as a base and structure, that you then heavily alter. The premise of the main quest is cool and imo easy to follow, so taking that and shaping everything around it can be pretty neat. I don't think I would have learned as much as a DM, if I had just used a "perfect" module that already did everything for me. If that is not what one looks for though, that's also understandable.

Tips:

In DiA, the characters start in Baldur's Gate, which is imo the absolute worst decision I've ever seen. Elturel's fate is integral to the story, so I recommend having your PCs at least see what happens to Elturel. I recommend the oneshot The Fall of Elturel for that, where the PCs become witness to Elturel's fate from afar. It will also cover the low-level sessions in a neat way. Having at least one player character with a connection to that city also really helps. Otherwise, your PCs will just go "Oh wow how terrible. Anyway, I'm not from there anyway, don't know anyone from there, never been there, whatever lmao."

Some people cut out the Baldur's Gate part, but my group enjoyed that area a lot, so you can use it for roleplay-heavy sessions and fleshing out the lore. It is also a great sandbox to figure out how you as the DM will implement your characters goals and backstory into the plot, before venturing forth. Having a player character from Baldur's Gate or with a connection from there is also perfect. SPOILERS: Same thing with Candlekeep as well. It is a wicked cool location that is not explored in the module at all, but it might end up a very interesting mini arc for your PCs if you approach it on your own terms.

To flesh out the lore and make everything feel more lived in and logical (note: there are some very silly bits in the module, that would make a thoughtful player immediately go "that makes NO sense lol"), I recommend checking out the Alexandrian Remix. It can go on huge tangents that are unnecessary for your own means though, so don't feel like you have to stick to it 100%. It does have some really neat ideas and fixes for the lore though, and I have ended up using it more than the actual book lmao.

Avernus as a Sandbox is also great. In general, if you find a way to give your players choice in where they go in the Nine Hells, they will probably have a good time. I think they should def feel pressure and know of a goal, but also make sure that they have power over what road they take there, you know?

I mentioned Candlekeep – Elminster's Candlekeep Companion is also an amazing resource if you wanna flesh out that location. I have also heard of some people adding adventures from Candlekeep Mysteries in there, but I didn't do it myself cuz my players felt time pressure.

Contrast the evil, awful and depressing with moments that are nice and calm, even if it's just roleplay opportunities. Otherwise everything will feel like a drag. On the other hand, don't be afraid to then overwhelm your players by throwing a bit too much at them afterwards. High tensions and emotions are perfect for the setting imo, but you need to design it with ups and lows as to not overwhelm.

I have completely rewritten some of the Forgotten Realms lore, changed characters' genders and names and races in the book (Ravengard is a woman in my story, Reya is a dragonborn, etc.) especially about the deities. Don't be afraid to make the story your own. I also incorporated the player backstories heavily into the plot, which makes them sometimes go on completely homebrewed sidequests. Embrace that and don't be afraid of it!

Sometimes players also see connections where there are none, or they speculate about super wild stuff – and this might be controversial – but sometimes it is really neat to take some of those ideas (not all! otherwise there is no surprise) and make them actually relevant, even if they weren't before. If your players are engaged, that is always the best possible situation. Making some of their thoughts true can be on one hand extremely satisfying for them, and on the other hand they will make your own made-up-world much more interesting, because they collaborated unknowingly in making it so much richer and complex.

It really helps the flow of the campaign to have at least one PC that is: Morally dubious, or interested in deities, religion or lore. If not, you as the DM can attempt to make them more interested until they actually get to Avernus, through new goals or revelations. The themes of the Nine Hells have a lot to do with corruption and betrayal and emotions, so having characters with themes that go into that direction will make it easier to keep your players engaged.

This is my own opinion, but maybe play a couple devil npcs with this motto: There are certain good deeds only a devil can commit. Devils are the enemies, but they also have to become your allies. Your characters will be literally walking through a plane that is inhabited primarily by devils, and they will have to speak to some of them or parlay, if they don't want to be ripped to shreds immediately. Devils are smart and cunning, and many would prefer to talk it out, instead of risking their lives in the Nine Hells. This can also be an opportunity to explore corruption or redemption arcs, or to explore fiendish pacts. Both can flesh out the story tremendously. 👀

The setting gives you the opportunity to explore some esoteric and theological concepts. IF that is your jam (it is certainly mine), think about how you make that digestible to your players. They could find lore in a library, find strange ruins, meet a powerful deity, get visions by other deities, be manipulated by archdevils, etc. You don't have to leave it all as subtext, because devils and angels and otherwise literally become a central point of the campaign. Also don't be afraid to get weird about angels and devils. They are from a different plane – making them a little alien, letting them have absolutely wild opinions about the universe, not needing to fit them into our ideas of science – that is rly interesting stuff to explore as a PC and also DM. Resources (optional)

Flee Mortals by MCDM, Tome of Beasts (2023), Tome of Beasts 2, Creature Codex have really awesome monsters

Encounters in Avernus

The Encyclopedia of Demons & Demonology by Rosemary Ellen Guiley is a book that I own privately for some creative projects, but I got some neat inspiration from it for my campaign too!

A lot of the lore in Dnd is very questionable, but especially in the older versions you can find some wild and creative shit (and also lots of problematic rubbish you can just filter out lmao) that is mentioned once and then never again. Little nuggets like that usually inspire me the most and a simple sentence can spawn an entire lore or mission idea for me. Some books that you might find interesting (try to find a pdf version online cuz they aren't printed anymore) are Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss, Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (3.5), Guide to Hell (2e), Manual of the Planes (3.5).