#I'm gonna have more to say on this

[junkyardescape]

Orianna + League's New Lore Direction

Canonizing Arcane and cutting short stories contributes to a feeling I've had for a little while about the storytelling in League, but that I couldn't really articulate until now.

It feels to me like Riot has a list of characters who are canon to the lore, and everyone else kinda just... exists. And this choice to focus more on the high-budget, long turnaround forms of storytelling (they pointed out Riot Forge titles and the season start cinematics) are not sustainable, or even practical, for telling smaller stories about League's "less important" champions.

That's kinda what I value most about the short stories; they can present little vignettes from the lives of characters, and in some cases, were genuinely the only way a champion would get anything more than their bio. Orianna has been out since 2011, and in terms of canon Runeterra appearances, has literally only a bio and a short story. I have other thoughts about Fieram, but that's for a different post lol. Orianna isn't very popular, but I genuinely love the incarnation of her we have right now; I know there's the semi-popular theory that she is Singed's daughter in Arcane, but I'm A) not totally convinced of it in the first place and B) not exactly excited about the prospect of that because it fundamentally alters her character. I think there's quite a few champions in this position, and I wish they wouldn't choose to unify the lore by completely cutting out the means by which "less important" champions get their storytelling.

Certainly some of these champions will get places in cinematics and Riot Forge titles and things, but like. I'm not holding out for a standalone Orianna game, nor for her to appear in any capacity more than cameos like Corin Reveck's brief references in Convergence. I really like the position her character can hold with regard to smaller stories, and I don't think she works on a bigger level like characters like Jinx + Vi, Viego, Ashe and so much of the Freljord, Lux, Sylas, and everyone else who feel more like "main characters". And there are so many characters who are suited to these smaller narratives.

Orianna's narrative is internal. Right now, its solitary. Fitting her into larger stories like this does her a disservice because it makes it harder to explore her, and she's already been done so much injustice in the writing that does exist about her. Every one of the characters in this universe has the ability to be a "main character" in some capacity, but not all of them will do it through such high stakes narratives.

I think Riot Forge is gonna be really cool for the champions who get to have their stories presented through it - Song of Nunu looks great, and if you told me Nunu would get a standalone game when I started playing when Yasuo was released, I'd think you were insane. But for some champions it feels like they're going to lose what makes them them to better suit them for the larger narratives of the story or be completely left out to dry.

[ao3usermelancholyhues]

rb for larger sample size! feel free to elaborate in tags about your process.

[panstarry]

my final from last semester that i made into a zine. cooked this one up in a couple hours before the critique (the ink was still wet!), so it's very raw and kind of sloppy but the sentiment is there. i love you trans people of color. we are the backbone of this community 🌟

[14dayswithyou]

💖 Day 3.5 is now available! 💖

For the last couple of months, only Server Boosters had access to the 3.5 update... Buuuuut now it's available for everyone to play in the 14DWY Discord — and soon itch.io once I'm happy with the QA and state of the game — so please don't feel pressured to join unless you want to!!

The full devlog + even more screenshots are under the cut ^^

What's been added to the 3.5 version?

📺 Streamer Mode!

I've been told that it's difficult to stream and monetise age-restricted videos on YouTube and Twitch, so I added an option to remove the sexual content and strong language used in the demo.

Now y'all can invite Ren into your bed for cuddles without putting your streamer career on the line /silly /lh

This won't affect the 18+ rating or dark themes/elements of the game, however! Although Streamer Mode will prevent you from seeing any "gruesome" CGs in the future, most of the core elements of the game will still be tied to the choices and decisions you make. So you won't miss out on the overall experience by using streamer mode!!

⚙️ Custom Pronouns!

It only took me one entire year to get around to it, but you can finally choose your own preferred pronouns (or use a set of pronouns instead)... At the cost of being able to change them mid-game ^^;

Since the original pronoun screen wouldn't update until a new scene was displayed, I temporarily disabled the feature. But once I find a workaround, I'll bring it back!

💗 Choose how others perceive you!

You can now choose how the cast and narration perceive you! Originally, the narration was kept strictly gender-neutral (outside of pronouns and genitalia picked by the player), but this will soon change in future updates.

For more clarity: you don't get to choose the words specifically, but you can choose between masculine, feminine, and androgynous terms!

📋 Separate top and bottom genitalia!

You can now choose your tatas and pps separately! >:3

Alongside that, you can also choose your preferred body type!

I removed the "both" genitalia option because a few players still assumed it was an obscure version of "intersex". That wasn't my intention and I don't want to mislead anyone, so I took it out for now ^^;

I also didn't want to include a screenshot of the new genitalia choices in action (because it's NSFW), so y'all get the same character menu screen for the nth time instead lmao

📱 Relationship Screen Overhaul!

You can now change your own status for more immersion, and long-term Server Boosters will eventually be able to submit and use their own icon within the game as well!

Stalking finding your friends has now become easier by using "Buddy Maps"; a new app that allows you to see the location of all the cast members!

I want to offer players more incentive to check the relationship screen since they tend to miss the status updates, so hopefully this might help ;v;

It also says it "updates every few hours" so folks don't go overboard and check every 5 seconds to see where Ren is gdsghf (also keep in mind that he's a hacker lol)

🖤 Additional Scenes Update!

Day 2 received a brand new CG!!!!! Originally, I planned on only adding a few CGs sporadically throughout the game, but it didn't feel right to leave Day 2 so... empty... so I added a brand new CG to (hopefully) make things feel more balanced and natural!

If you decline Teo's offer on Day 3, Leon will now call and try to convince you to reconsider. However, players are still allowed to decline, and if they do, they'll reach a dead end.

After listening to feedback on itch, I changed some of the dialogue during Days 1-3 to make it seem more consistent! They're only small changes though, so it's honestly not worth looking for sdgjssga

🎶 Updated BGM and SFX!

I wanted to try out a different style of music to see if it fits the vibe of 14DWY more! The BGM features more acoustics to suit the "beachy" theme of Corland Bay, though I made a conscious effort to include piano elements as well to stay true to the original!!

I figured it'd be better to give players a live example before I make a poll (to see if they prefer the change or not) and publish it to Itch.

Some new SFX have also been added, though it's very minimal and honestly not that noticeable.

How to download and play the update?

(warning: clicking on the following links will open Discord!!) To download the Day 3.5 update, simply join the 14DWY Discord server, verify your age, and visit the "14dwy-updates" channel!

Alternatively, you can also wait until the update is publicly released on Itch to play it as well!! (It normally gets released shortly after a round of QA testing/getting feedback from the server, though I may release it earlier if I feel like it hehe ^^)

Enjoy!!

[inkskinned]

you have to go to work so you can pay for your doctor, who is not taking your insurance right now, and if you say i can't afford the doctor's you are told - get a better job. it is very sad that you are unwell, yes, but maybe you should have thought about that before not having a better job.

(where is the better job? who is giving out these better jobs? you are sick, you are hurting - how the hell are you supposed to be well enough for this better job?)

but you go to the doctor because you had the nerve to be hurt or sick or whatever else. and they tell you that it is because you have anxiety. you try your best. you are a self-advocate. you've done the reading (which sometimes pisses them off worse, honestly). you say it is actually adding to my anxiety, it is effecting my quality of life. so they say that you are fat. they say that all young people have this happen to them, isn't it a medical marvel! they say that you should eat more vegetables. they say that you probably just need to lose a little more weight, and that you are faking it for attention.

(what attention could this doctor possibly give? what validation? that's their fucking job, isn't it?)

there is always a hypochondriac, right. someone always tells you about a hypochondriac. or someone who is unnecessarily aggressive during the worst days of their life. or someone looking "for a quick fix". or some idiot who wasn't educated about how to properly care for themselves who just abandons their treatment. and again, the hypochondriac, the overly-cautious hysteric. these people don't deserve to be treated like humans (right), and since you might be one of these people, you also don't get treated like a human. because those people can really fuck with the system, you now have to pay for it. and besides. you're actually probably faking it.

(more often than not, you find a 2:1 ratio of these stories. for every "hypochondriac", there are 2 people who knew something was wrong, and yet nobody could fucking find it. the story often ends with pointless suffering. the story often ends with and now it's too late, and it's going to kill me.)

you are actually just making excuses. someone else got that procedure or that diagnosis and he's fine, you should be fine too. someone else said they watched a documentary about other inspirational people with your exact same condition, maybe you should be inspirational, too. you're just too morbid. your pain and your experience is probably just not statistically concerning. it is all self-reported anyway, and you're just being a baby.

(once, while sitting down in the middle of making coffee, you had the sudden, horrible thought - i could kill myself to make the pain stop. you had to call your best friend after that. had to pet your dog. had to cry about it in the shower. you won't, but that moment - god, fuck. the pain just goes on and on.)

you know someone who went in for routine surgery and said i still feel everything. they told her to just relax. it took her kicking and screaming before they figured out she wasn't lying - the anesthetic drip hadn't been working. you know someone who went in for severe migraines who was told drink water and lose weight. you know someone who was actively bleeding out and throwing up in the ER and was told you're just having a bad period.

in the ER there are always these little posters saying things like "don't wait! get checked today!" and you think about how often you do wait. how often the days spool out. you once waited a full week before seeing the doctor for what you thought was a sprained wrist. it had actually been broken - they had to rebreak it to set it.

but you go into the doctor. the problem you're having is immediate. the person behind the counter frowns and says we're not taking your insurance. you will be paying for this out-of-pocket.

they send you home with tylenol and a little health packet about weight loss or anxiety or attention deficit. on the front it has your birthday and diagnosis. you think about crying, and the words swim. it might as well say go fuck yourself. it might as well say you're a fucking idiot. it might as well say light your money on fire and lie down in it. and the entire fucking time - the problem persists.

it's okay. it's okay, it's just another thing, you think. it's just another thing i have to learn to live with.

[bizarrelittlemew]

calling it right now that season 3 starts like this

[taddymason]

"I'm sorry, Nya… I have to do this"

role swap au bc im evil

Isn't it funny how this would be the third time jay faces evil nya btw

[deimcs]

Assan! You know it's not feeding time yet! I think he disagrees. See you later.

[deoidesign]

One of my first digital pieces (2010) versus one of my recent ones (2024)

We all start somewhere!

[my-name-is-apollo]

One thing I like about Apollo in Hades 2 is that he is usually polite, especially respectful towards his elders, but if they provoke him he will get back at them. But in a subtle manner, and only after a few seconds will you realise that he was throwing shade.

I'm paraphrasing here but here are two examples:

Hera: you are just like Zeus (derogatory)

Apollo: did you just compare me to your husband ? How awfully kind of you :)

Poseidon: haha Apollo has finally decided to join the war because he couldn't withstand the pressure from his dear mortals anymore

Apollo: it's because I want to help you, uncle! since I know that you guys cannot handle this situation on your own :)

[citrusai]

taash said "they were doing it" and people ran with the interpretation of an npc that doesn't know solas or the history of the elvhenan even when bellara interjected and said, no, that's not right. that's not how it was for the elvhenan. they formed bonds before they had physical bodies. and people ran to doompost or create weird anti-solavellan shit even though mythal & solas refer to each other as old friends and when she releases him there is no tenderness or love in it. it is the act of unchaining a dog from his post, the stepping down of a general. but to each their own ig.

[bookwyrminspiration]

i need you all to be normal about people deciding they don't want to explore their identities. we're not inherently repressing anything, and we're not lost opportunities for self-fulfillment and finding community. maybe some people are, but we are allowed to decide we're satisfied and digging deeper isn't what we want, and we're valid for it. it is our choice. please stop treating us like we're naive and gonna regret it

[mattodore]

birthday boy 🎂

[wouldntbehim]

mix: firstprince (taylor's version)

[stopper-my-heart]

This was going to be very short and cute but there was just too much cuteness so now it's going to be longer and cute. In this gif we have:

The tail end of Nick pushing Charlie off of him (which it took him longer to do than was strictly necessary).

Nick, in no hurry to get up, with his hands expecting and ready for more roughhousing (and his face showing happiness at the prospect).

Charlie noticing something and Nick - instead of doing the typical person response of looking towards whatever has caught his attention - just continuing to look at Charlie for a while.

[vaggieslefteye]

HUSK, Hotel Bartender & Concierge | 1x04 - Masquerade

"Oh, I FORGOT — you're the wise-old bartender who's seen it all! Get the fuck over yourself and pour me a real drink."