#actually doing something with my steampunk story

[citrusro]

Make sure you trim your rat mans nails so he doesn't scratch himself!!!!!!

[forthegothicheroine]

Tanith Lee Recs

Since Tanith Lee deserves to be known for much more than having been plagiarized, I thought I'd share some recommendations. She had a HUGE body of work, and I've seen it suggested that the reason she never became a household name in fantasy and science fiction is that she wrote so many things that were different from each other, rather than staying in one easily labeled niche. I've only begun to make a dent in her catalogue, but here's the stuff I liked the best.

Note: A lot of her stuff can be disturbing, and I can't remember everything well enough to give perfect trigger warnings.

Red as Blood and Redder Than Blood: These fairy tale collections are being talked about now for the title story, but my favorite is The Golden Ladder, an incredibly creepy and hot version of Rapunzel, or perhaps When the Clock Strikes, a horrifying beautiful take on Cinderella.

The Weird Tales of Tanith Lee: As you can see, I love her short stories. These are all the ones published in Weird Tales, which includes some of the above fairy tales (including When the Clock Strikes) but also Arthurian, steampunk and science fiction stories. It's a great sampler of all the things she could do.

Blood 20: One more short story collection! This one is (most of) her vampire stories, so I know you goths will like it! There are things erotic, fantastical and grotesque in here, but to me the most haunting is the tragically mundane The Vampire Lover.

The Secret Books of Paradys: In this series, an alternate history of Paris, bad things happen. Supernatural things, sexual things, horrifying things. And sometimes good things happen, such as a man saved by a Jewish sage an his beautiful daughter who then actually converts to Judaism.

The Secret Books of Venus: I've only read the first entry in this similar series about an alternate world version of Venice, but once again it leaves the reader feeling totally transported to this sometimes sinister, sometimes lovely place where romance and cruelty live next door to each other.

Vivia: This tragic medieval plague-influenced vampire story is maybe the darkest thing of hers I've read, but dear god can she paint a picture with words. Along with The Birthgrave (which I didn't like as much), George RR Martin definitely pulled a lot of Danaerys's story from the title character here.

Islands in the Sky: And now for something completely different- a children's book. I remember finding this at the library as a kid and wanting to cry when it was over, because it gave me an equal sense of wonder and happiness as The Lion the Witch and the Wardobe, which I hadn't known was possible and worried would never happen again.

...but if you're like me, you'll just see which of her books you find at the library and used bookstores. You may not love every single thing, but it will always be interesting!

[jules-ln]

Viktor and Jinx as Zaun, Jayce as Piltover, Arcane's use of art movements as a storytelling device

I am once again writing about Arcane because I am mentally ill and I also love Art history

So anyway I've already talk about Viktor being Art nouveau And how Art nouveau's history was similar to Viktor's story, and I wanted to talk about Jayce being Art Deco, because of his fashion choices in the last episode are pretty much art deco

But then I thought, what if it isn't just about Viktor and Jayce, but it's about Zaun and Piltover in general, and how the relationship between these two cities reflects in these two characters

And somehow I ended up writing this because FUCK

Look, I even got subtitles and everything

But anyway, I won't put citations on this because I'm not that crazy so this isn't a serious academic essay, and as anything else you read on the internet, take the parts about Art history with a grain of salt and you should read more about it (yess, this my elaborated plan to get people into Art history)

Jinx and Viktor as the personification of Zaun

Zaun actually has more of a punk on top rather than just art nouveau, a lot of people seem to think it's steampunk, but honestly, I think that's the result of putting punk and art nouveau together rather than it being pure steampunk

The thing that made me connect the characters as the embodiment of the cities was the fact that I've noticed that Zaun actually has a lot of art nouveau elements; is just that this art nouveau elements seem to be old and broken (I would show you but Tumblr's dumb image limit won't let me)

Now, I've actually talked about the story of art nouveau on another post but to make a brief summary, art nouveau started as a way to give common people art, to redistribute it rather than it just being something for rich people, it failed. But the important part is that art nouveau originally was a leftist art movement, like punk. Punk was a response to the social and economic crisis at the time of its origin; but where Art nouveau was a solution (solution that didn't work, mind you) punk was more of a response (again, don't quote me on that lmao)

Similar to this we can see, how both Viktor and Jinx then embody different responses to the same thing. Viktor is proposing a solution for the problems of Zaun (solution that didn't work) meanwhile Jinx is a reaction to everything that has happened to Zaun, she isn't a problem, she's a consequence

But not only are they the responses to Zaun, they ARE different parts of Zaun

We can see this with Jinx in the relationship she has with Vander, Silco and Ekko.

Both Vander and Silco nurture her and Zaun, and she wouldn't be what she is without both of them

That's why neither Silco nor Ekko could leave her. Silco couldn't give her away because that would be equivalent to him giving away Zaun, and Ekko couldn't give up on her because that would be like giving up on Zaun

Meanwhile with Viktor the influence of his style predominantly being art nouveau reflects in the background at different parts of the city,

And most noticeable is that when Zaun is in a better place, the elements of art nouveau are more prominent, like in episode 7 where punk takes a back seat to the art nouveau. It seems that generally art nouveau signifies a better Zaun, or the potential of it being better

We also see a lot of elements of art nouveau in Viktor's commune, and I know that the commune is interpreted as a negative thing. But look at it this way, what Viktor is doing, is probably doing more good than whatever the hell Caitlyn had going on during the first act (no hate to Cait btw)

Like, I know there are Caitlyn fans out there that defend her decisions of using the gray to attack the Chem barons, but in reality doing that wouldn't solve anything, just create a power vacuum that later could be filled by someone worse (like Renata Glasc) without solving the addiction to Shimmer (again, No hate to Cait). But what Viktor is doing, offering a safe space to recovering addicts and sick people, is actually solving the shimmer problem by eliminating the demand of it; and it's making Zaun better

(I also want to point out that the decision of framing Viktor's commune as a mind controlling cult is very politically charged, because even if it's not perfect; think about it; they're framing a commune in which money probably isn't used at all, and that accepts both recovering addicts and sick people freely and without judgment as something negative)

Add the fact that Viktor is one of the few characters that didn't talk negatively about Jinx (If I remember correctly); neither when he is disarming her bomb nor when he's in the commune talking directly to her; this could be interpreted as Viktor always seeing the potential within the Zaun of now

Adding to that, I want to make the point that Viktor and Jinx probably would be friends if they got to know each other. And I think this headcanon is so popular because they both are expressions of Zaun, of course they're going to be similar and get along

Art deco

Now, I'm not an expert in art deco (I've always been more interested in art nouveau and impressionism). But I know some things about it

Basically Art Deco comes from from the words art décoratif; and it was an art movement that emphasized the utility of art; it had different influences like Mayan art, Egyptian art, Art Nouveau, Rococo etc etc

Some of its characteristics are: straight lines, geometric patterns; a lot of gold, lots of triangles, more is more ideology and ornaments

But the important thing is that Art deco is supposed to be a very superficial art, merely decorative (hence the name); that signifies wealth. It also became strongly associated with machinery and progress. I would argue that in recent years there has been a new connotation of corruption and darkness to it thanks to media like Bioshock

It's definitely a perfect art movement for Piltover; to show the shallowness and money the city has. But the show not only attaches this art movement to the city, it also gives it different characters

Mel and Art Deco

This is the part where my ramblings got out of control because at first I was going to just point out how Jayce has an art movement too; then I realized that Viktor also uses clothes with an art deco pattern in them: (red lines to make the pattern more clear)

But that's weird; why does Viktor uses art deco here when later his main style is art nouveau? Then I realized, it's not just about Viktor and Jayce. But as Zaun and Piltover in general

And I realized that because of a character that also uses a lot of art deco without being from Piltover herself

Mel

Mel during the series uses different clothes, but most of them have in common the geometric pattern of art deco

But she isn't from Piltover; she isn't part of the city in the same way Jayce is. While she has a very big connection to it; the simple fact is that Mel's story is about finding herself; and she can't do it while in Piltover. In Piltover she's only doing what she's always done, searching for her mother's approval

Then why is she associated with art deco?

But I noticed, she isn't. Not completely

Let's look at what Mel actually does instead of what she's wearing

Here we can see one of Mel's paintings

Let's not look at what it is, (it's Noxus) let's look at how Mel painted it; it's has more emphasis on colors and ambient, the form is not very defined; it plays with the light, it almost gives you an impression of Noxus

Yes, Mel is an impressionist painter (think Claude Monet (Vincet van Gogh is post impressionsism btw))

And I think this is important for her character because at the end of the season, she goes back to Noxus looking for who she really is; who she is beyond her mother's influence and beyond Piltover. And guess what

If you hate abstract art blame it on Impressionsism. It came to be around the same time of the invention of photography. Photography filled the role painting had of representing reality, and it did it better, faster, and cheaper. So painting had to change to be more abstract instead of simply aiming to represent reality and all of that started (at least within the context of Europe at that time) with impressionsism

What I'm trying to say it's that impressionism was painting as a medium trying to redefine itself again, it was trying to find its own identity apart from photography. Just like Mel is trying to define herself

Now, if Mel is impressionism; it stand to reason that she's using Art deco, not because she's representative of the city, but simply as a way of showing how she adapted to the city, how it influenced her and helped her grow as a person

I was thinking about that before she debuted as a champion, but I think her voice lines kind of confirmed it

So, hers and Viktor's use of art deco signifies how important Piltover is for them; and if you look at it in a certain way, it's could also be a connection to Jayce

Jayce as Art deco

Now, before anything, I want to analyze Jayce's first design, when he's young

Here it is (and Viktor's, for reasons)

And you know, the first thing it jumped out to me while analyzing it, is that there isn't a lot of art deco elements; more than that, it's too simple for art deco, and he looks almost childish; like if you told me the guy was 18 here. I would believe it

But it also applies with Viktor, the clothes make him look so young and are too simple for art deco

So let's see how both of them look after the timejump

Now, Jayce here has his white blazer (is that the right word?) but again, where are my patterns? My ornaments? My geometric shapes and straight lines? There are some on the blazer; not enough that I would call it art deco

But take it off and boom

It's almost the same as his academy uniform, just change some things and colors here and there, but other than that, it's the same

Compared it with how different Viktor looks

Now, I know the first thing that stands out with Viktor is his change in health, but let's look beyond that, his clothes are completely different

Sure, he still uses elements that are reminiscent of his academy uniform, but that definitely isn't his uniform. The shape is different, the pattern is different, even the colors are a bit different. Viktor changed, but Jayce didn't?

That's because Viktor grew up, Jayce stayed the same, just add some things on top

Jayce's character design in season 1 reflects his mental state, he stayed innocent, naive

Now, why does all of these matters? Because it wasn't until I was looking at Jayce's design in season 2 that I noticed he's Art deco;

The straight lines, the geometric patterns, the ornaments. But he only won the art deco elements after he learned about Zaun, after he had to go through what Viktor had gone through. Before that he wasn't ready yet

Now, I think it's important to say that I'm interpreting Jayce as not only related to Piltover, but as the representation of the best of Piltover itself; he's the best side of Piltover in the same way that Viktor is the potential for a better Zaun

A tale of two cities

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times and I'm a nerd

Now, I think that even after the whole magic plot, Arcane is still fundamentally a story about two cities, and that same relationship it's reflected on its characters; more than that. The dumb ending where Zaun and Piltover forget their differences and work together; I think it was the plan all along and as proof of that, I present to you Viktor and Jayce's relationship

I've seen a lot of people say that the dynamic between Piltover and Zaun reflects itself in the dynamic between Vi and Jinx, and honestly; that doesn't makes sense to me

Because, I understand Jinx being Zaun, I've already said it myself; but Vi isn't Piltover, and the relationship Vi has with Jinx isn't even remotely similar to the relationship Piltover has with Zaun (If you want to make the case, I would say it would be more accurate to say that Jinx is Zaun and Cait is Piltover, and Vi is the person trapped between the two, unable to choose)

But if look elsewhere, you know who would be a perfect comparison for Piltover and Zaun? Jayce and Viktor, and you might say "well, Jayce and Viktor's relationship isn't at all like Piltover and Zaun's relationship either"

That's because, like I've already said, Jayce is the better version of Piltover, and Viktor is the potential yet to realize in Zaun. So basically if Caitlyn and Jinx's relationship is meant to reflect the problems the two cities have in the present. Jayce and Viktor's relationship gives the solution, which is "put aside your differences and work together as equals"

And you can see that as well in their design

Side to side, these two designs exemplify the fundamental differences between Art Nouveau and Art Deco

Art Nouveau looks flowy, soft, feminine, floral patterns, asymmetry. Art Deco is expensive, machinery, modern, sharp angles, symmetry and straight lines, but that's not all

I've already said that Jayce design changed at the end of the season because Jayce finally matured, he's ready to be the best of Piltover, now he has earned the art Deco. But what do my eyes see here?

A flowy soft pattern on Jayce? A Floral pattern even? That's art nouveau right there

And then you look at Viktor's final form (in this picture is easier to see) and What's that on his chest? Symmetry? Straight lines? Machinery? That's art deco

So are you telling me that Jayce will always have some Viktor in him, while Viktor will always have some Jayce in him?

Are you telling me that the best of Piltover will always have some Zaun in it? While the potential of Zaun will always involve Piltover?

And you might think that is a bit of a stretch, but it makes sense with the ending Arcane has

Think about it; the show says that the best solution for the two cities is for them to put aside their differences and work together as equals; and I can't help but think that's what Jayce and Viktor are already doing

Jayce doesn't care that Viktor is from Zaun, and Viktor trust Jayce even with him being from Piltover; and it's only working together that they can reach their true potential. As in every time-line in which they aren't together, they never invent Hextech

The ending of arcane

Tbh, I'm not saying that the ending of the Piltover and Zaun conflict was good even if it was planned all along; but I also think a lot of people expected a leftist masterpiece, like the moment the most revolutionary character is also a mob boss and the main villain of season 1, you can totally tell that it wasn't going to another disco elysium (funnily enough disco elysium also has the mob boss being the union leader lmao)

I'm just analyzing the things I found, and while some might seem like a reach, I'm a 100% death of the author guy and I believe in making my own meaning

And I want to say this is the first time I've seen art history used in this way for visual storytelling. They could've very well just use generic steampunk visuals; but they decided to do something meaningful. Just for that alone I consider Arcane a masterpiece of animation

[lynaferns]

FNAF Steampunk AU

That I never finished because I couldn't figure out what was going to be the story and character dynamics, and the role of each character, and yeah… I also spend many days writing, rewriting and changing thing, I didn't even get to finish the first draft and I got artblock.

I think my problem in the first place was that I wanted to make this AU stick to canon. A mistake, I know lmao. Later I thought of just making up most of the things but having to rewrite what I had already done dismotivated me.

So I thought of at least showing this character height chart I made a year ago. And maybe, idk, some of the wips that I never finished.

Maybe some notes and interactions I wrote under a cut.

If you ever want to ask me about what I had planned for this AU go ahead! Some main things about this story are:

All of the events of the story happens in a week (or so).

Gregory acts a little more scared than what is shown in the game.

DCAs arms can stretch up to 100 ft (30 m). He bends them to write or make shapes in the air.

Sun has some nowlege in animatronic repairs and maintenance due to being abandonent, having to repair himself.

Vanessa/Vanny have a biger role than in the game.

Burntrap also apeared more.

All animatronics are equiped with dart guns (for safety!). There are some places that require to leave the dart guns behind to continu.

Pizza is scuare (this is not important, I just felt like adding it).

Also, first idea and some doodles.

Edit: Now Cassie is in the AU

Gregory gets to escape to the locker rooms leaving Chica behind him. While searching for an exit Gregory gets surprised by Sun who was searching for him, and out of fright takes out the camera and flashes his bad eye damaging him for a few seconds.

Sun- "you were carring an object capable of blinding animatronics with you and you didn't use it against Chica to escape?!"

Gregory- "I didn't remember! I was more focused on running than taking a camera out of my pocket!"

Sun-pointing at himself with his hands- "And you had to remember when you saw ME?!"

Monty grabs Moon by the neck and throws him like a stick doing a spinning motion on the air, Roxy chases after him. She comes back carrying Moon with her mouth.

Freddy has an existential crisis by seeing endos. Moon is there awkwardly watching him. He gives him a pat on the back.

The auxiliary arm of the protective cylinder is broken, Gregory has to repair Sun manually. Trying to put his face plate back the nose falls off and Gregory nervously catches it juggling. They look between each others and the nose.

Sun-"..." "Gregory"

Gregory-"..."

Sun-"come on, say it"

Gregory-"..." "Got your nose~"

Vanessa is explaining something to the group. Moon is behind her copying her movements. The others are trying not to laugh. She notices and throws a flashlight at Moon.

They divide in groups. Moon gets on Monty's backs like a gremlin.

Moon-"go gator boy"

Monty-"I hate you"

One last, this is a whole scene that needs a bit of context. The current team members are Gregory, Freddy, Sun/Moon. They have figured out that the safe mode prevents animatronics from acting weird/hostile (found out the hard way in an encounter with moon and a fuse box). Though Moon seems not to attack Gregory anymore they wanted to test it with the rest of the band and found Chica, some things happened, they left her in her room in sleep mode and went to roxy raceway. This begins when they head to the west arcade to repair the service bot's head and on their way they encounter Chica out of the sleep mode but more normal.

(Forgive my poor writing, this was more of a script)

The four of them stare at each other until one decides to react.

Sun–”HELLLLO” Chica– holding her left arm–”A- Hiii, umm” Freddy– “He-hello Chica! What got you here??” Chica– “I-uh…patrol? I- think?? There… There is a child lost in the pizzaplex and we were, like- told to go find him, remember?” “Actually, wait, why are you out of your room? I thought maintenance put you on lock down- And what is the Daycare attendant doing out of the Daycare? it’s not the end of the hour yet- Oh!”–she just saw Gregory behind Freedys legs–”hey! you got the kid-”–flashback of the garbage compactor–”GET HIM”–she points at him with a dart gun– Sun–gets in the way–”WOAH WOAH WOW easy there!” Freddy–”Chica- wait! It’s ok he’s with us” Chica–”T-that-that kid is a menace! He- we should-HAVE to take him to the officer Vanessa–” Gregory–*gasp * Freddy & Sun– “NO!” Chica–”????wha-?

Freddy– “We must not take him to her.” Chica- “You guys kidding?” “These are literal-plain-instructions that you are- just-” “That kid threw me through the garbage compactor!” Gregory–”You tried to kill me!” Chica–”what?! No! I couldn’t do that, that’s against my programming!” Sun–”Uuumm, about that miss-” Chica–”YOU”–points at Sun with the gun– Sun–”?!” Chica–”You were there too!” “You have been with this kid all this time!” Sun–hands up-”Iwastryingtostophim” Freddy–”Chica, calm down, I know what this looks like but-” Sun–”OHMYGOSHWAITGUYS, she’s not hostile!” Chica–”wha-?” Freddy–”what…?” Gregory–”what??” “She’s literally pointing at us with a gun” Sun–standing next to Chica, pointing at her while looking at Freddy and Gregory–”I just noticed! her behavior changed-!” Chica–redirects the gun to re-target him–”you’re getting too close” Sun–ignores that–”She’s back to normal! That means the safe mode worked, we can use this!”

Chica–”What are you talking about?” Freddy–”You’re right! That’s a relief” “right Gregory?” Gregory–”...Yyyyyeah? I guess, yeah” Chica–”seriously, what do you all mean?” Freddy–”Well, It’s a little long story-” Sun–”And we will explain it to you!” “BUT not now, we are in a rush!” “To repair this bot-head so Gregory can ride the racecar” Chica–”...” “‘you serious?” Sun–”yep!” “Say, Gregory! You still want to ride?” Gregory–”uh-yeah” Sun–”Then let’s go!” “TO THE WEST ARCADE!”–grabs Freddy and Gregory and takes them there–”You can come if you want~!” Chica–”...” “OH- GOLLY, WELL” “I guess I’ll just go with you even though I don’t understand what is happening! And no one is going to give me an explanation!” Freddy–”-I promise that I’ll give you a wide explanation once we are done with all this… But in a more private place”

There are actually a couple more of scenes before this one (and after) but I'm not very confident of showing those (or any actually but I don't want this to be buried in my documents and forgoten because I really want to at least make a decent story)

Also, I know that the canon heights for the animatronics are like 6 ft but I prefered my height variety headcanons. Maaaaaybe they are a little too tall looking at it now that I look at it again but, eh.

[dangerouscommiesubversive]

bra fitter from another world, PLEASE

Ok so I was playing an extremely trashy but surprisingly fun idle game called Isekai: Slow Life recently, and of course it's full of big titty anime cheesecake, which I was mostly really enjoying because who doesn't love cheesecake once in a while? But one of the sexy-girl characters who shows up is this fox babe who's trying very hard to be a ninja and just sucks so bad at it and her boobs are so big that I was genuinely kind of alarmed, especially since she's dressed in absolutely the most scantily of clothes. It was so jarring compared to the other, mostly much goofier and/or sexier cheesecake that I actually said, out loud, while alone in my office, "Baby girl, maybe you'd be a better ninja if you had some back support."

Thus: "bra fitter from another world." There isn't even any story in the file yet, just a few notes, but it's about a modern-day seamstress and clothing designer who gets hit by a truck and isekai'ed to a pseudo-Medieval-Europe fantasy world, where she's found unconscious in a field and nursed back to health by a woman who lives in the nearby village. This is all per stereotype, of course. Naturally she wants to do something to thank this woman, and after helping around the house for a few days it finally clicks for her that her host is constantly spilling out of the top of her dress and seems to have some for real back pain, and this is something that Our Hero knows how to fix. So she makes her host a sports bra.

This is, of course, a revolutionary concept to the people of this absurd fantasy world, who have, like, steampunk airships and elves and actual magic but have never heard of a support garment in their lives. Soon everyone with any kind of chest situation in the village, which is, like...most of them, wants one. And now that they're no longer constantly suffering from back pain and they can, you know, run places without hitting themselves the face, they're much more active in the community? They're thinking about their roles in society? In short, Our Hero has accidentally started a feminist revolution on the basis of supportive underwear.

The story even has a villain, which is to say a much more...let's say "traditional" isekai protag who's been living in this fantasy world for years now, has been suddenly deprived of the ability to see the nipples of any woman within his line of sight, and was just recently approached by one of his approximately fifty-seven wives with a comprehensive plan for a new locksmithing business that would have her out of the house a lot. Our Hero is fucking this up for him! How dare she!

I love this story concept, I should start, like. Actually writing it tomorrow.

[dangermousie]

Hello! I hope you are doing well. Lately I have only been interested in watching xianxia. And the recent ones like The Blossoming Love, Love of the Divine Tree and A Moment but Forever have really been doing it for me. Would you have some recommendations similar to these?

Awww, thank you! I am not sure which ones you've watched, but here are some of my faves:

Love and Redemption - everyone loves this one and with good reason. It has a strong FL and beautiful ML, multiple lifetimes of devotion, intricate world building, interesting themes, awesome secondaries, f u to fate, and it's just a great ride.

Love and Destiny - no relation to L&R but this is a great tale of a god of war accidentally awakened a little early and an immortal of interesting background. It's an age gap romance so mmv but I loved it.

The Legend of Shen Li - it has the same cottage core vibe that Tree has in some of its setting and like Moment features adult protagonists who actually have experience and life and goals and meditates on the meaning of love and living and eternity and divine constrain like TBL. One of my all time faves.

Lost You Forever - it really has such interesting things to say about family and love and damage and living despite it. I think it goes a bit downhill at the end but probably less so for someone who hasn't read the novel and the bulk of it is such a masterpiece.

The Legends - if you like saucy BAMF demoness and her devoted disciple, this one is for you.

The Blue Whisper - it has shades of established world order being evil, loving someone you shouldn't, and all the other good stuff.

Till the End of the Moon - I hesitate to recommend it because it is objectively a hot mess narratively, but it's such a gonzo tale emotionally and visually, that I will still throw that in.

Love Between Fairy and Devil - on the off chance you haven't seen that one, this is my n1 xianxia of all time and perfect in every way, imo.

Fangs of Fortune - I can't really say it's a xianxia (I can't even truly say what genre it is) but it does have gods and demons and rebirths so I think it would at least qualify as adjacent. It also is visually stunning and has such things to say. It was my favorite drama last year (that and JoL2)

Ice Fantasy - visually eye popping, great ensemble cast, ride or die OTP with a tough lady and a good man, this one is less known because it's a bit older but I adore it.

Three Lives Three Worlds Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (also known as Eternal Love) - I think this is THE xianxia for a lot of people, myself included. Starts slow but then grips you and it doesn't let go.

The Last Immortal - this was criminally underrated but it combines a great cast, a lovely love story and a take on what it's like to be left behind.

Novoland Castle In the Sky - more xianxia adjacent than xianxia, this is still ridiculous fun mixing fantasy and steampunk, winged people and flying ships, and Zhang Ruoyun's performance as ML elevates the whole business.

Legend of Heavenly Tear: Phoenix Warriors - and now for something TRULY gonzo - aliens in spaceships meet period China. This is in no way a xianxia but I wanted to throw it out there :P

PS The one xianxia everyone loves except for me is Ashes of Love. I don't hate it or anything but confess to being bored throughout.

[westanleovaldito]

I'm bored in a new house, and I really miss my campaign buddies so heres

Spencer Reid vs. Dungeons And Dragons

He's very hesitant at first. He doesn't have a lot of (any) people to play with that he's comfortable with.

But when you look at him with those hopeful puppy eyes and that pleading smile- he decides that he'll just play with your friends.

It's clunky, and he's trying very hard to get into character (a lawful neutral elven sorcerer with an entire backstory you helped with),

But its actually.... fun?

He understands the systems, he memorized his spells and add ons- even some if the other players things!

And the group loves him! He needs time to get out of his shell, but he always brings a snack for everyone when he goes to the kitchen.

If you're DM, he asks you not to go easy on him

"To prevent the others thinking you're biased!"

It's so funny to bully his character for the sake of it. If he's not making death saving rolls twice a session, you're doing it WRONG

At some point he gets the roleplay aspect of it down, but it takes time.

And if you arent DM, he'd try to protect your character.

I feel like if the campaign decides to just fuck around, he'd ask the DM if he could pick flowers for your character

Also, the group teases yall and thinks you guys are cute (which you are).

He always sits next to you, links your pinkies under the table, whispers comments or plans to you.

And if you think he isnt gonna give the group advice on what to do, you are sorely mistaken. It ends up becomming a full council meeting to decide where yall go.

"No- the man at the tavern said that there were conflicts with the druids-"

"But is that more important than saving the kidnapped dragon born? Statistically-"

"Spencer, we know it's your job but you need to let loose!"

Obviously, he can't make it all the time, with cases and everything, so he asked the DM to work all his absences into his character. He ends up a travelling scholar who sells books and holds lectures in the new towns.

Overall, I think he'd have a great time. By the end of the campaign, he's laughing and making jokes, even accepting a few hugs as you and him leave together.

"So... that's not all of it, right?"

"There are other campaigns- we might decide to continue the story, or start a new one. Izzy said something about pirates next time, i think"

"...could i... could i join?"

Edit: Oopsies, forgot to add what Spencer would be like as a DM.

Dungeon master Reid incoming

Once he decides he really likes it, he goes to the next step.

He asked the old DM for advice and they told him to use one of the campaigns made by other people online.

Que a passionate rant to you about how people need to build their own worlds for the sake of creativity, originality, this is what old literature writers would have wanted, why would you short cut such a wonderful bonding experience, etc.

So he does it the hard way.

Or the hardcover way, and he writes notebooks and notebooks of story and plot and new creatures, races, people, magic, a whole entire series's worth of lore.

He works on it on the jet home, on breaks- basically, if he would be reading, he's now writting.

He puts his whole soul into it.

He has one of the other members host, and he feels bad for always cancelling. (Every time he canceled, he promised the group a plotpoint of their choice)

I feel like he would get a spray bottle for anyone off focus, sometimes having to spray himself.

Ngl he is VERY engaging. This is where we get the birth of his teaching personality.

He'd also end up with Garcia in the group and she keeps begging him to do a cyberpunk universe. (He sticks to fantasy, closest he'll go is steampunk.)

He beats up your character, too, because it prevents question of bias.

But he lets you add a few things without their knowledge.

Overall, I think Spencer likes DND. Thank you for comming to my ted talk

[solar-sunnyside-up]

Hi, if it's alright to ask, I wanna know exactly what solarpunk is. I have just come across this and have read some definitions about it, and I kinda get the gist of it, but I still don't fully understand it. I also want to know if it is just a literary thing, or if its an actual punk movement.

So sorry to bother, but I am pretty confused about it and don't know where else to ask

🌱 Hey there Sprout! I'm more then happy to answer dw!

The reason your finding multiple definitions is due to the fact that Solarpunk is as diverse as the values we hold. This is also a kinda a Chicken Or The Egg question.

Life inspires art, Art inspires life. Yk?

A little history lesson though, rising in massive popularity in early 2000s within the literary sphere along side Steampunk as the more hopeful, less gritty first notably showing up within Brazil.

But even as early at 2012 it had taken a life of its own beyond the Sci-fi stories it sprung up from. Websites, tumblrs, fashion, etc.. start going strong.

As of right now, Solarpunk is as baked into the real world as it is within Sci-fi.

Things like guerilla gardening, fiber arts, sticker bombing, mutual aid in the form of thing Libraries (tools, seeds, art commons, etc..) all start to be added into Solarpunk as a genre and as IRL activities for punks to do!

Though I find other social media to make it seem like it's a far off future (glaring at U Instagram...) it is very much alive and well amongst us.

Personally, I am more active in person as I believe in going from my household>neighborhood> city style model of change. But there is something for everyone.

There is even a ranking system now! Solarpunk dawn/noon/dusk to help us rate what is a Today activity/story vs a future beautifully imagined.

If you wanna learn more about specifics feel free to DM *I may be slow to reply due to parenting but I will I promise* I will give you my full arsenal of activities and media to watch/read!!

Hopefully this helps you out Sprout 🌱💕

[alpaca-clouds]

How We Lost the Ability to Imagine

Today I want to speak about something that Graeber and Wengrow bring up in The Dawn of Everything. And that is, that over the time the modern world - especially in "the west" and very especially in America - lost basically all those holidays, that were topsy-turvy and any related celebrations.

Originally in Europe often both "Carnival" and Christmas were topsy-turvy days, meaning that during those days the royals and nobility would be treated as servants, while the servants would be treated as nobles. Graeber and Wengrow argue, that this had a very specific reason for the socities: it reminded those on top of the society, that they only held their position, because the peasants allowed it. If they exploited the peasantry too much, there would be a lot more peasants to act up and turn around.

Of course, at the same time it was very typical during those days that during those festivities the nobles would afford big, big banquets for their peasants to basically show them their appreciation and such. And sure, while in Europe those festivities were fairly loosely connected to those ideas, though this kind of festivals were very common all around the world. Graeber and Wengrow go so far to say, that they assume that whenever hierarchies naturally arose within a society, these traditions almost automatically came to be.

Sure, you can argue whether this might be their personal bias as anarchists, but I do think there might be something onto it (though then again, I am also an anarchist).

And yes, they are absolutely right: In general it seems that the USA absolutely lacks - on a nation basis - any holiday like that. And to be honest, while Europe these days does still have Carnival just like in ye olden days, it is not really what it was. Sure, there are "Carnival Kings" and queens and what not, but frankly it is just a bit of comedy, a bit of costumes, and a lot of getting very, very drunk. And the billionaires definitely are not the ones funding it.

And there is something sad about this, because I think it does connect to this:

This is also where I would come back to storytelling, which obviously is one of those topics near and dear to my heart. Be it in regards to Solarpunk or to just general alternate stories.

Because I notice that a lot of writers tend to struggle with just different ways of depicting worlds.

Basically, when it comes to stories, those tend to come in mainly three different flavors:

A society that comes down to some sort of royality and/or nobility based, though often with a good bit of capitalism flavoring (like, I cannot even start counting the "medieval fantasy" worlds I have read, in which the world so clearly runs by capitalist principles - you get that this is not realistic, right?)

Basically a society based on our modern society. Either just a modern setting, a near future setting, a near past setting, or a secondary world with a somewhat modern setting (a lot of steampunk does this too). Sure, some of those stories do comment on it as the society being an issue - but it is still the standard.

Fascism of some flavor.

But there are no societies that actually do have a better basis for the people living there.

I mean, personally I find it already fairly frustrating how few stories that are set in the middle ages actually depict a realistic medieval society. As - for example - I cannot think of a single book or movie or show or comic in which the society has at least one topsy-turvy holiday, even though pretty much every single medieval society had one of those.

Though then again this might also be connected to most fantasy books with a medieval setting being often framed around the point of view of some nobles, rather than that of peasants.

And then there is obviously the other thing I mentioned: A lot of fantasy worlds that are supposedly medieval actually very much follow a capitalist logic. (I am looking at you, forgotten realms, I am looking at you.) Which is just... not realistic.

And people, I am begging you: Look a bit into anthropology, look into how else people have lived at different times in different places. Please do not always just redo capitalism. PLEASE.

[anxiousapplepie]

Ah, if it isn't the eternal problem of your brain suddenly deciding to switch gears because this other story is much more appealing than what you should be working on for future project reasons. I intimately know this issue because my own characters / stories just love to pop up some days and demand all my attention or else. And unfortunately, I do not have much of a solution to offer. But I do have some words of comfort.

If you've been struggling with figuring out certain details of RK, or plot points or how one thing will transition into the next and so on, focusing on something else will give time for either something to come along to spark ideas for RK and help you precisely with what you're working on, or you listen to the lyrics of a music piece and suddenly you are thunderstruck! By inspiration. (Or maybe that one is just me.)

Anyway, I'm gonna make this problem worse and kindly ask for the details (and maybe basic plot) of the deliveryman in the post-zombie-apocalypse and his adorable robo dog. Keep it simple or be elaborate, dealer's choice. If it helps, I'll make sure to ask an RK question next if you very much need it.

"well well well, if it isn't the unpredictable whims of my brain! switching gears without warning and throwing all of my nicely laid plans off the table again!" XD Haha this ain't the first time my brain has switches fixations on a dime, and I know it won't be the last time either. It just!! took me by surprise, because I was drowning in Rose Knights and all of a sudden I've fallen into this old steampunk/apocalyptic story I forgot existed until 2 days ago??? Weird! Your comforting words have reassured me this is all okay tho <3 and I absolutely agree some time to focus on a different project will do me good. I think I've been forcing myself to pour all my creativity into RK for the last few weeks, and it's time I rebelled and did something else for a change. Even just a few days might make all the difference for my enthusiasm to draw again :3

Also how dare you attempt to make this problem worse for me, mate. HOW. DARE (I say, gladly wanting this excuse to talk about SD)

So! Special Delivery is about the adventures of a postman named Patrick, set in a steampunk / post-apocalyptic setting full of more types of undead than you can poke a stick at. Also robots are sentient sometimes!

Between all the natural dangers, the unnatural dangers, the supernatural dangers, and the crocodiles (they deserved their own category) being a postman is actually a bloody dangerous job. Moreso than the other types of dangerous jobs! But despite the risks, Patrick takes it upon himself to deliver the news and the mail to those who need his service. And there isn't anything he won't do to track someone down or keep a package safe until it arrives at it's destination.

Then there's Jemima, the robot dog that was built to protect and escort postmen on their rounds through the more dangerous parts of the wasteland and cities! She's a good girl, but unfortunately Patrick thinks he doesn't need a fancy metal dog to keep him safe. And Jemima really wishes Patrick would stop riding through zombie hoards and walking through deathtraps just to shave off 2 extra minutes of time on his "schedule". But she's deeply loyal, and Patrick won't deny giving this anxious dog a purpose in life. Even if that purpose is giving Jemima one [singular] letter to hold. XD

Obviously there's a lot more to it than this, but this is the gist of SD! And if you want to make my life more difficult and much more fun anyone is free to ask questions about this awful postman! In the meantime, thanks for giving me the opportunity to ramble about another one of my original stories!

[genericpuff]

(I am the anon who recommended Ulysses Dies at Dawn) I hope you like it!!!! Udad is one of my favourite albums especially because of the world building around The City, so I hope you enjoyed it too!!

I did finish it, I quite liked it! Recommended it to my husband as well as he's a huuuge Epic fan (he's more of a musical theater person than me overall tbh) and probably would also love The Magnus Archives if he ever gave it a shot haha (I haven't touched TMA but I'm aware of its fandom presence on this hellsite LOL)

Overall it was a really cool concept album! Turning the setting of The Odyssey into a sort of post-modern steampunk epic was pretty unique and cool, especially with how they adapted some of the stories into said setting. Turning the riddle of the Sphinx into a literal disease that ages infants from birth to death within a matter of hours? Genius. And while it does take some massive creative liberties by incorporating other mythological characters like Herakles and Ariadne directly into the cast, it still did a pretty good job at creating a unique, thought-provoking, well-rounded plot with overarching themes and motifs in only an hour! I especially appreciate the little lore details they hid in the video descriptions and thumbnail art, I always love hunting for secrets like that haha

My favorite songs were probably My Name is No One, Riddle of the Sphinx, Sirens, and Favoured Son, the vocals are all wonderfully delivered (especially in Sirens, it gave me chills in the best way) and the narrative progression within the lyrics was very compelling especially in relation to the world-building.

I had a couple of least favorites too though, and unfortunately they were Orpheus' and Ariadne's songs which I wish I could love on that basis alone but alas, they just didn't hit the mark for me.

My issue with Trial by Song is largely personal, I can get what the vocalist was going for but that constant high-note vocal waving / shaking just doesn't do it for me, I've never been a fan of that delivery style so even if it was intentional and driven with purpose, it's just not something I can force myself to enjoy. But again, that's largely personal taste, not something I'm gonna hold against the vocalist because aside from that one personal ick they're doing a great job at hitting and maintaining those notes, if it weren't for that one thing I'd probably be way more into it haha

As for Ties That Bind, that one actually isn't a personal issue, at least as far as I can argue LOL On a technical level, the mixing felt very off, the instrumentals were often just way too loud compared to the vocalist which made it difficult to focus on what was being sung (and the mic quality itself didn't seem all that great either). And that problem was compounded by the vocalist's own stylization which threw me off because of how deep her voice suddenly sounded compared to how she had been speaking up until that point; it felt very forced and strained, especially when she tried to switch from those deep chest notes to those higher throat notes. This stylization clashed with the lyrics too, the line deliveries often felt "cramped" where the vocalist almost seemed to be slurring / rushing the words (sometimes they even felt completely off-tempo) which made it hard to make out what she was saying even when I could hear past the instrumentals. And that's not exactly ideal for a musical where the plot is literally being delivered through song LMAO It just felt like it could have used a bit more time in the oven IMO. I don't doubt that the vocalist is skilled, it just felt like the song was often working against her skills rather than with them.

All that said, in spite of those two criticisms I have of it after my first couple listens, I do think this is a great concept album and I was shocked to see it doesn't seem to have much attention on it judging by the view counts, it really deserves more attention and love because the amount of thought and detail that went into creating this world and its narrative and its characters is incredibly impressive.

So if you're like me and also had no clue this album existed until now, I highly suggest checking it out! It's not as big a time commitment as Epic or Hadestown, it only takes an hour to get through. And if you're into gritty steampunk film-noir stuff with lots of mystery and intrigue and twists, it'll probably be right up your alley!

[fruity-mond]

I'm SO TIRED of people saying "complain impact" "why are you guys comparing" "just quit the game no one is forcing you"

SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP SHUT UP WHY CAN'T WE HAVE STANDARDS ANYMORE. WHY CAN'T WE POINT OUT THAT THE GAME WE FELL IN LOVE WITH IS TAKING A TURN THAT IS SHOWING A PRETTY SCARY FUTURE.

They showed us they can create something amazing. They gave us lovable characters, they gave us INSANELY intriguing lore. WE KNOW WHAT THEY CAN OFFER. SO FORGIVE US FOR BEING UPSET WHEN THEY GAVE US LACKLUSTER CONTENT AFTER THE BANGER THAT WE WERE LEFT WITH.

I don't LIKE complaining! I don't like talking bad about this game because dude LOOK at my blog right now. I love this game, I love the characters to death. But when the newest one they offer feels more like plot devices and less like friends your player is supposed to make, it gets SO DRAINING. I don't want to have to pull for this character to understand their personality! Why do I have to get them first before falling in love with them?

Show their anger, their drive, their sass WHATEVER THEY HAVE in the archon quest! Don't just make all the scenes just exposition of what's going on and show everything else in a non permanent event.

Also, WHY is everyone in your nation so. Good? Why are all the characters so upstanding and willing to die for it? I mean, yeah!! Let's go!! Patriotism!! But come ON. SHOW SOME HESITANCY, IT'S YOUR LIFE HERE. YOU'RE ALL NOT SUICIDAL RIGHT?

The designs aren't bad per se, I like the colours. I like how they look but by god does it not fit genshin. "Genshin's never been fantasy" you cannot deny that when over HALF the entire fandom, who's still on the high of the Dainsleif "Bedtime" quest and are genuinely looking forward to the game, say that "hey. This is kinda off", something IS PROBABLY OFF?

Fontaine was marketed as a nation of advancement. They're literally steampunk. They don't have modern technology like ours but it doesn't mean they don't have something better or unheard of. Natlan was marketed as a nation of WAR. Why is there DJs?? I get that they're detached from the rest of teyvat but you understand that, after already being in the nation that was the most "technologically advance", this is a horrible writing move?

I'm not angry at people who enjoy the quest, far from it really! I actually have a good amount of respect for the people that like the media that I can't. See the bright outlook on things. But when they start calling us unwarranted critics, complaining for the sake of it, ungrateful, is where I'm pissed. Why aren't we allowed to tell the MILLION DOLLAR GAME COMPANY that we want a better story when we KNOW they can offer more?

Honestly, I could even go on abt how Genshin shot itself in the foot by the mass production of characters they're creating. You can only create so many characters before they start feeling bland and repetitive. That's a discussion for another day. But please. Please understand you're allowed to criticize. You're allowed to be upset, you're allowed to have standards, you're allowed to want more from a company who just wants to milk your wallet dry. If they want to do that, at least give back some of the great quality from before.

The previous quests and nations weren't perfect either, don't get me wrong, but that really shows the issue doesn't it? The content was imperfect yet everyone loves it. What does that say about the content now. Like the game, like the story, good! Enjoy everything you can but don't bow down to the corporate that has fuck up fans over and over and over and OVER again. Let people be upset, don't turn on each other.

It's seriously not fun to dislike something you've enjoyed for so long. Believe me, I don't like complaining about Natlan. It just makes me feel sad. But criticism should be made. Most of the haters are scared bc we've looked forward to Snezhnaya for YEARS. And if they treat it the same way they treat Natlan? That's 5 years down the drain.

i didn't want to yap this much but oh my god I'm at my wit's end.

[ramblingoak]

Clockwork Friends

Just a little sneak peek into my steampunk Copia fic! Still working on the overall story but this little moment came to me and thought I’d share 💙

Copia x Reader

Check out my initial post about it for more info!

Warnings: mentions of reader being kidnapped, sfw, thank you to @gothdaddyissues for the dividers!

After Captain Copia finally explained why they kidnapped you he had gotten one of his ghouls to drag you to his quarters.  

“Was wondering if he’d ever shut up.”  He had a firm grip on your arm as he pulled you down a corridor.  You could feel the cold bite of his metal hand even through your clothes.  When you tripped the fingers momentarily tightened and you hissed.  “Ah, sorry.”

The ghoul, Phantom according to the Captain, let go briefly and flexed his hand.  

“No, it’s fine.  I’m ok.”  Through the eye holes of his mask you could see him raise an eyebrow and you couldn’t help but let out a humorless laugh.  “I mean, I’m not ok.  You kidnapped me a—“

“It’s still new.  The hand.”  He held it up, wiggling the fingers for a moment before taking your arm again.  “Takes a bit to get used to.” 

“It didn’t hurt, just startled me.”

“Well…good?”  Phantom gave your arm a tug so you huffed and started following him again.  “And technically that was Swiss and Sunshine that kidnapped you.”  

“Remind me to talk to them about that later.”

The ghoul snorted, staying quiet until he stopped before a large ornate door.  He let go of you again, seemingly unconcerned as to what you might do.  There certainly weren’t many options for you considering you had no idea where you were flying to.  

“Alright so, just hang out in here.  Don’t touch anything.”  Phantom gave you a little shove into the room.  You would’ve glared at him and complained but your eyes were immediately drawn to the numerous machines scattered around.  The closest one had a pressure gauge on the front but soon as you reached out to touch it Phantom spoke again.  “Hey!  What did I just say?”

“Sorry.”  You clasped your hands together, the metal of your cuffs clinking.  “I’ll be good.”

“At least wait a few hours before you build a bomb or something.  Mountain will be on duty then.”  

Before you could ask who Mountain was Phantom abruptly turned and walked out of the room.  The clicks of the locks on the door were loud and your shoulders sagged in defeat.  There was no getting off The Impera.  At least not without a parachute or a set of wings.  Actually…

You spun around and quickly scanned over the machines taking up a majority of the space.  Even the bed in the corner had what looked to be the remains of a grandfather clock on it.  There had to be something here you could use, something that you could make in a short time frame.  A way for you to escape and get back home. 

A clicking sound at your feet got your attention and looking down your eyes immediately met those of something watching you.  

“Oh.  Hello.”  

You dropped to your knees, leaning down to get eye level with the tiny creature.  It stood up on its hind legs, the thin gold whiskers on its nose practically spinning around as it watched you.  It crept a little closer, the gears at its sides moving smoothly together.  There were small stones where its eyes should be, one bright green and one a milky white.  It reminded you immediately of the Captain and you let out a small laugh.  

“Did Copia make you?”  The creature cocked its head, the action so lifelike it had you grinning.  Like it recognized the name of its maker.  “What are you supposed to be?  A rat?”

The creature squeaked and the gears along its body began to work faster as it moved closer.  The little mechanical fingers on its front paws were amazing, so lifelike and real.  You had never seen anything like it before.  For a moment you were frozen, imaging the dreaded Capitano Copia in his quarters gently building this tiny clockwork rat.  It crept even closer while you were lost in thought, one of its paws reaching out towards you.  

“Do you have a name?”  

You weren’t really expecting it to talk but it wouldn’t have surprised you.  The Emeritus family were extremely gifted when it came to working with and manipulating machines.  It was too bad they used those abilities to wreak havoc rather than help society.  With a sigh you scooted back on the floor until you were settled against Copia’s bed, smiling tiredly when the rat climbed up onto your knee.  Its ears twitched as you watched each other and you couldn’t help but run a finger over the smooth metal of one.  

The sound of more squeaking got your attention and two more small figures appeared from behind a pile of parts.  For a moment they regarded you much like their friend did but it wasn’t long before they were quickly coming your way.  Well, at least you’d made a few friends on this damned airship.  

You had a feeling you’d need them.  

Read a little follow up Building A Family for a peek into how a young Copia created his clockwork rats.

If you'd like to be added/removed from the tag list (or if I accidentally left your name off) of this fic or any of my others please leave a comment or send me a dm! Thank you 💙

My Masterlist ~ My Archive of our Own ~ My Ko-Fi Tip Jar

[snek-panini]

Books Books Books. The bind I have to share today is The Fabric of Your Hair by @saretton (I have to confess, I left a comment on Ao3 asking for binding permission back in April but I don't think I ever got a response, so I really hope it's ok that I went ahead, and to tag you like this.) This is another really excellent Good Omens human au, with really colorful sensual language. One of our faves is a hair stylist in this one, and the other is a tailor, which is where I got the idea to use dressmaker's forms on the front cover even if there are none in the fic. The cute printed paper came from I think Joanne's, and the sheets had these strange patches of random text and pink roses on them that I had to cut around to get a usable cover, but it was worth it. The spine and corners are brown lineco book cloth with silver metallic htv for the title. Overall it looks a little steampunk for a modern setting but I think it's adorable and I love it.

More photos under the cut!

A couple of images of the front and back endpapers. They're cardstock, and the little images were done with rubber stamps and gold embossing powder. I've only done this on one other book, as it's a challenge to find coordinating stamps that are the right size and shape and also a thematic fit for the story, but I love the idea and think it looks really good. It's like a surprise inside, especially when you turn to the back one and it's different.

I've just realized that I failed to take a photo of the top view on this book like I usually do, so you'll just have to trust me when I say it's got a narrow cream-colored ribbon for a bookmark that coordinates with the rest of the color palette. It's also got machine-made end bands because, while I would have loved to make custom ones, the book is only about 100 pages at legal quarto size, making it a little too skinny for those. The ones I used are an exact match for the brown book cloth though, so they look very nice.

Title page, with scissor image that I got for free from rawpixel, and first chapter header. I kept it pretty simple for the typeset, wanting to let the story speak for itself, and it was actually challenging to find free graphics that would fit the theme without veering even further into steampunk. Cool aesthetic, but absolutely not a fit for this story. I'm satisfied with the end result.

I tried a little something different with the page headers for this one, but it didn't entirely pan out. I printed them in gray so they'd fade a bit into the background, because the title is kind of long and I was worried it would dominate the page on a quarto book like this. It didn't work so well because my printer sucks at printing sharp lines when they're any color but black. So they do in fact fade, but to the point of being illegible on a couple of pages. Left example is a good print, right is a poor one. Oh well, lesson learned, and it doesn't actually interfere with reading so I left it.

And that's it for this one! I really like how the final book came together, more or less exactly as it was in my mind in spite of a fumble or two. I hope you like it too, saretton!

[nocturius8015ficore]

Get to know your mutuals / Fandom Folks to Get to Know Better

Tagging @ithillia @justanotherdikutsimp I decide to combine both of your inquiry/tag together as some question were in both.

It took me time to answer properly to every question! 😅

What's the origin of your blog name? Is that just your username?

Nocturius is my artist-name since my edgy teenager years. As I still draw Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Steampunk/Horror, I think the name work fine for all that. I tried different things when i was at University but nothing really sticks. It's non-binary, it give a vibe. No one cares. I use Nocturius or Noctaël in most of my online presence.

For 8015Ficore, it's pretty obvious. I've put the 8015 for RC-8015 ''Fi'' in the name to separate from Nocturius. I didn't want a letters salad. ''ficore'' for Fi-Core, which is my coresona on FB and Bluesky.

I hope that my blog name is clear enough it's about that dumb clone and also my artist name being clear for the out-of-character/artist talking, like now.

3 OTP+Ship name/First ship ever/3 Ships I like

Well, I gonna combine those questions because I'm not a shipper. I don't speculate much about couple or potential couples in a story. I don't imagine them with different person than what's in the canon. It's not what drives me in writing fanfictions/drawing fanarts. I'm cool with people doing it tho. Each person their hobbies.

Favorite color

For a long time that was more of a green-leaves. Like this:

But nowadays it's more like teal or turquoise. Those rocks made my brain very happy, especially the greenish ones with some stripes of yellow.

Favorite game:

I would say Stardew Valley is a nice one, but I want to talk about a very underrated one on the NES. A Zelda-like game called Crystalis from 1990.

Song stuck in your head:

Ahh... I have many. Usually some Pokémon themes, Final Fantasy or Kirby.

Last song heard:

I had to find that song about Kirby so...

I would say I like that channel with chipmusic a lot. Not all tunes are good, but it's a great filler for when I draw. Ehmm, yeah, I'm a lot into videogame music. Music with lyrics distract me.

Weirdest habit/trait:

I have some minor form of pica disorder. That might be a offshoot of my general anxiety disorder or in the list of ''Am I autistic?'' traits. Not enough to cause me real problems but it's there. I'm a terrible nails/skins biter. I do other weird stuff that can go under the dermatophagia I won't elaborate here.

When I was in elementary school, I used to often eat paper, fibers, eraser bits and wood. Well, I actually eat a tiny bit of paper just the day before i wrote those words and I use toothpick way too often to say it's totally gone. 😅😰

If you work, what's your profession?

I don't really have a job for now. Mental health is complicated. But I draw and write stuff. Sometimes people support me on Patreon (in French) and Ko-fi (in English) or ask for Art Commission.

Hobbies:

As drawing and writing are kinda my career, I would say hobbies for me is watching shows, reading comics/books and very amateur needle work (knitting/crochet/cross-stiches)

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be?

I just wish I could have enough energy and mental health stability to do my things regularly. If I could draw/write at least 4h/day every day, I would be happy. But someday, the best thing I can do is a cheap meme and I had to learn to accept my limitations and be proud of those small achievements.

Something you're good at:

Brainstorming stuff. I'm a ideas factory.

Something you're bad at:

Respecting deadlines and schedules. That gives me anxiety.

Something you love:

CLONES.

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff:

Doctor Who. The whole thingy since 1963.

Something you hate:

AI generative stuff and disinformation.

Something you collect:

I used to collect books and comics for a while. Books of sci-fi/fantasy, animals and arts. I liked the idea of having a house filled with a personal library. But moving a lot as a student, flat to flat, made me reconsider my priorities. As I'm full on grown-up person lol, I decide to have a more curated one. Trying to ''KonMarie'' my collection with, still a lots of books, but less of the stuff I will never read. (often books people gave me). Sometimes I give the books that sparkle the less to my local  ''box library'' (public box where you can pick books or leave books)

Something you forget

I don't forget it often, but sometimes I forget to take my meds. It's just stuff for my thyroid but that make me feel weird when I skip it.

What's your love language

I'm a simple person. I like to care about people, making sure they are warm and cozy. Like with a blanket or a hot drink. Offering moral support. Since I created Fi-Core I realized how much I like to make people laugh and lift them up. My closest friends can only be reached online, so my love for them go through drawings and sharing pet pictures. I like to connect with people through art and sharing about life and feelings.

Favorite movie/show:

The Bad Batch

Favorite food:

Sushi and blueberries. Can those be combined? Oh certainly!

Favorite animal:

I love many animals. As a kid I was very fascinated by reptiles and snakes. Nowadays I'm happy with my two cats. I'm also an amateur beekeeper.

What were you like as a child:

I was feisty and nerdy. Didn't get along with the girls as an afab and wasn't accepted by the boys. I was bullied a lot and barely had friends. I had imaginary ones to keep me company. Books and my drawings. I don't have much good memories from my childhood.

Favorite subject at school:

History and later, art history.

Last Favorite subject:

French and English. I'm proud to be bilingual today but it's all my own work. I had a hard time learning English, very hard. French is my main language but the grammar always felt like it make no sense till university where I got actual explanations on some of the stuff.

What's your best character trait?

I don't know. I have the self-esteem of a shoe with a hole in it. I guess my sense of humor is probably in the top 5.

What's your worst character trait?

Way too much self-hatred I have to deal with daily.

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be?

If I was able to have proper restful night, that would be very game changing.

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet?

Maybe... Mary Shelley? She sound like someone I would get along with.

Favorite Childhood Book:

No idea. I read many things as a kid, but before my teenager years I didn't have a favorite one. I remember I was mostly fascinated by my father's books, atlas, dinosaurs and natural science themed encyclopedia.

Currently Reading:

Republic Commando? Yeah Republic Commando. I always need to dig deeper in it.

Currently Watching:

We watch The Rookie with family, Rebels with my vod Mamuzzy and the Gundam franchise with my friend TIE Brute-Core.

Currently Consuming:

I'm a very sober person. Never get drunk or high.

Currently Craving:

Sushi, always. It took me super long to answer this! Hope people will be interesting with it. 😅 I tried to be as honest as I can. I probably shoudn't. Oh well!

[vacantgodling]

author ask tag 💛

thanks for tagging me @mjjune 💛

What is the main lesson of your story?

i’ll answer all of these for my 3 main wips cuz i don’t wanna pick just one fhdjfjf

PARAMOUR… hm. it’s better to be yourself in a world that hates you than to conform to that world and lose yourself in the process, i think. community and relying on others also and trying to do everything alone only hurts yourself more. you need community in some way, it makes you stronger.

BTAF is actually very straightforward: you are allowed to make your own decisions and live your own life and not only should other people not make those decisions for you, you can’t make them for other people.

HWSTS is all about self acceptance. you know yourself better than anyone else and don’t let anyone try and take that from you. tm.

What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding?

in general i really enjoy fantasy and history and pretty much all of my wips combine elements of those two things.

i tend to take a historical vibe of some kind (paramour: french rococo, btaf is literally historical fiction and it takes place in europe 1800s, hwsts: mongolian steppe culture a la ghengis khan era which is like the 1100s? i believe) and then i mesh it with a fantasy element (paramour: steampunk and eldrich entities, btaf: werewolves and vampires, hwsts: general magic and witches). and then i add in a heap tone of commentary and sort of shape the narrative around those elements. (ie: in paramour: hya is himself irregardless of how others see him including in his gender presentation, so i made a complex system around how genders work in galere as well as based a religious minority sect on a perversion of those ideals; in btaf: the physiology of werewolves and vampires is literally shaped around the theme of prochoice, who gets a choice and who doesn’t and what that means for everyone involved; in hwsts: gender expression is khizzy’s entire arc, so having the gods in his world be genderless and being locked Into a gender due to culture so he can figure out his way around it are important to the story).

i don’t think i’ve ever sat down and wrote that out before so sorry for the ramble but yeah tbh i think this is how i build most of my wips lol.

What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, or help the reader grow as a person?

in general i’m not super interested in the idea of trying to teach anyone anything through my wips—if you get something from it, great! but for me, my wips are more about me exploring myself and how i feel about things. they’re all complex love letters and philosophical debates i have with myself that i just let other people read cuz i’m vain 🤪 however to go into more depth:

hya’s main goal in paramour is to have everyone leave him the fuck alone. yes, i am so fucking serious that is his goal HFJDHD. his entire life has been spent being a puppet on a million people’s strings and he’s just ready to cut all the cords and be left alone, however life (me) have other plans for him. hya is definitely an interesting character to me because he is somehow one of the Least curious mcs i have (he only does the plot because amon and aloe drag him through it if left to his own devices he would absolutely Not deal with any of this shit—but that speaks on the community thing i was talking about earlier. because hya cares about aloe and eventually amon he puts himself in uncomfortable situations at their behest because they ask it of him, even if he’d never say it like that). i think i really wanted to create a character with hya, that was purely of my own indulgence; of how i wish i could be as a person and sort of a manifestation of how i do internally feel when trying to deal with other people. and having someone purposefully want to get to know me (or hya) despite all of his faults, and realizing there is value in putting effort into relationships even if there isn’t a 1:1 return on them is probably also where i was going. also he’s hot. HDHDHD i also just made him to be eye candy im not even sorry.

sjaak’s goal is to be reunited with biscella and to pull a jay gatsby “you can repeat the past”—but just as gatsby learned there’s sometimes just no turning back time or picking up where things were left off. sjaak in general is a character chiseled out of his grief, and i think some part of me wanted to draw some attention to the part of my inner self that is plagued by the what ifs; what if i never broke up with them, or didn’t lose that relationship, or tried to do this and tried to do that. but in the most ass-backwards way ever, sjaak gains strength he didn’t know he had from his experiences and will (somehow LMAO???) overcome the grief and loss that he feels and accept his new reality and new normal. i think we all spend a lot of our early 20s especially just thinking about all the shit we did wrong or should’ve done differently and dwelling on the past doesn’t really.. change anything. so ig my goal with sjaak is to be a sort of, yes that experience traumatized you and has an affect on you, but you can still grow and see the things you have in life now that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. I SAY ALL OF THIS—but trust me btaf is not that straightforward and neither is sjaak’s arc like you gotta Squint to see it but i’m okay with that. cuz my other goal with his character is the very visceral ending 💛

khizzy is literally just my journey to accepting being a trans guy but make it a neglected elder brother who is at his fucking limit about it. similarly to sjaak and hya it definitely is speaking to some unhealed part of me who had to struggle a bit to find footing in accepting myself but with khizzy it’s more about learning to seek joy and being happy with oneself instead of the angst fests of the other two lol.

How many chapters is your story going to have?

paramour’s original outline had 27 chapters but becuase i am (technically) redoing it it may end up being like 30… ish?

i have no idea with btaf, it will have 20 acts though so… take of that what you will

same thing with hwsts i think it’ll probably be like 25-30 since that seems to be the sweet spot for me but i haven’t really planned anything out for it beyond chapter (1), the overall plot, and this language in it HDHDHD

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

all original 💛 honestly i dont know where i plan to post any of it cuz i haven’t gotten to the point where i *need* to think about it (aka nothing is close to done). i think i’d love if btaf was serialized just bc i would love to see people lose their minds about it in a play by play fashion. and serial stuff is kinda becoming the new thing and i can get behind it so. maybe that? idk. i’ll definitely be making physical copies for myself at the bare minimum tho

When did you start writing?

as a wee lad. my first oc i made when i was 3 and id been making characters for years and i always loved writing but i didnt start making like BIG projects until i was like 12?

Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr? What other writers do you follow?

my biggest thing is write what you want to read. like literally don’t care about what anyone else wants to read because there IS an audience out there for you. what matters is that you enjoy your work, that you’re excited to think about it and read about it and work on it. your excitement is contagious so really bank on it. you’ll find your people, you just have to become your own people first. basically.

and i follow a lot of cool people so here’s a big ol list (and also do this too if u want no pressure!)

@multi-lefaiye @kudzucataclysm @void-botanist @ink-flavored @henrike-does-writing-sometimes @zeenimf @magic-is-something-we-create @galactic-mystics-writes @sarahlizziewrites @alexanderflowerbird @theskeletonprior @sergeantnarwhalwrites & anyone else who’d like to do this :3c