#and my other actually original characters too

[zoanzon]

Unsure if it's a joke or not, but since I know there's a lot of American history wrapped up in it that might not be common knowledge in other nations:

So, for 'devils sacrament' itself, the phrase generally comes from fictional accounts of pagan and/or satanic worship, specially from rituals being done for dark or evil purposes.

In my experience, this sometimes comes up in shows like Sabrina or maybe Supernatural (too many seasons and too many years since I've seen it) but otherwise arises a lot from Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Ostensibly about the Salem trials while actually being a critique of the House of Un-American Activities (HUAC) committee - which was viewed by many as leading 'witch trials' against suspected communists - Arthur Miller couldn't be outspoken against HUAC itself without possibly getting blacklisted himself...so he wrapped up his critiques in a fictional work regarding actual witch trials.

Among the many things from the trials, beyond the hysteria of both regular citizens and purported witnesses, was people being said to have been seen at some devil's sacrament in the woods. Well, more or less; I don't have a copy of The Crucible on hand, nor have I recently read through the older records, but 'witnesses saying they saw someone get Up To Shit in the woods' is one of the bits people tend to recall offhand (alongside Giles "More Weight" Corey).

All of this might've joked about on Tumblr for some time, but then we got a specific post...

[Image_id: A screenshot of a tumblr post and a reply. The original post, from poster 'beetledrink', is as follows:

"not to be insensitive but some of the salem witch trials were so funny bitches like 'I saw her at the devils sacrament!!!' girl... what were YOU doing at the devils sacrament 👀"

The reply, from poster 'huellbabineausdefensesquad', is an image meme from two characters from IASIP staring at each other, wide-eyed, across a resturant.

ID ends]

So...yeah, after that 'what were you doing at the devils sacrament' found itself added to tumblr's lexicon.

Thanks for listening to me meander about American history, the time-honored tradition of ragging on current events by using similar past events as your facsimile, and the origination of tumblr memes! ✌️

the most disorienting thing thats ever happened to me was when a linguistics major stopped in the middle of our conversation, looked me in the eye, and said, "you have a very interesting vernacular. were you on tumblr in 2014?" and i had to just stand there and process that one for a good ten seconds

[lurkingshan]

Hey Shan!! IDK if you're planning to do a BL wrap up or superlatives or anything like that this year so this question might be a bit too early but um...what has been a few of your favorite first watches for 2024 bls?

Hi Eboni! This is actually pretty good timing for a list because most of the shows that will end within 2024 are already over! The only two I could see maybe making my list that have not ended yet are Love is Like a Poison (Japan) and Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China), so I'll mention them here (fingers crossed they end well and stay favs).

That said, here are my favorite completed BLs of 2024 (alpha order)!

At 25:00 in Akasaka (Japan, Gaga)

Two actors who first met in college are cast in a bl together, old feelings resurface, and the lines between their professional and private lives start to blur. This show is super beautiful and moody.

Cooking Crush (Thailand, YouTube or WeTV for uncut)

Ten and Prem are my favorite of OffGun's many couples. Ten is a med student with food issues who wants to learn how to cook, and Prem is a chef in training. Their romance is super sweet and I also really like the side couple and friend groups in this one.

Cherry Magic Thailand (Thailand, YouTube or Viu, requires VPN)

I still can't believe this show happened. How on earth did GMMTV manage to make a superior version of Cherry Magic?? Tay Tawan had a lot to do with it, along with a very smart adaptation. It's so sweet and funny and perfect (if you just pretend ep 8 doesn't exist).

City of Stars (Thailand, iQIYI)

I was surprised by how much I liked this charming little Thai pulp. It had an interesting story with strong writing and the pair was very good together. More people should watch it!

I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama (Japan, Gaga)

This is a short and sweet and note perfect BL comedy about two actors falling for each other while making a BL. Loaded with meta jokes about the industry and stan culture and very loving about it.

Knock Knock Boys (Thailand, Gaga)

I am obsessed with this excellent Thai BL that not nearly enough people watched. Two couples, both compelling and sexy and fun, and amazing friendship dynamics. I want everyone to watch it!

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (S Korea, iQIYI)

My top BL of the year. It's a second chance romance, you see the characters both in high school and later as adults and I don't really want to spoil anything else about it. It's beautiful, the characters are so compelling, and the story is masterfully told.

Love for Love's Sake (S Korea, iQIYI)

This one is special and quite unique, and I also don't want to spoil much about it! It begins with a basic isekai set up that then goes to some unexpected places. Really, really beautiful show.

Love Sea (Thailand, iQIYI)

Definitely my favorite spicy romance of the year. I really loved a lot about the story for this one, in particular the class dynamics that defined the characters and their relationship, and Mahasamut (played by Fort) is on my list of favorite drama characters this year.

Marahuyo Project (Philippines, YouTube)

We didn't get much from the Philippines this year, but they did drop one absolute banger in this show about a fierce and proud gay kid who gets booted out of school in Manila and sent to live with his grandma and mother on a small island. He makes friends and enemies and starts an LGBTQ+ club, and falls in love along the way.

Mr Mitsuya's Planned Feeding (Japan, fansub)

An excellent age gap romance about a young editor and the chef who writes for his magazine making food together and falling in love. Lots of fun side characters, too. I loved every minute of this show.

Perfect Propose (Japan, Gaga)

Two old friends meet when one of them is in need of housing and one is on the verge of a nervous breakdown from a soul-sucking corporate job, and help each other heal. This one is short and sweet.

Ossan's Love Returns (Japan, Gaga)

This one is technically a sequel, but you can enjoy it without having seen the original (and might like it better that way, tbh). One of the funniest shows of the year and featuring a main couple that is a personal fav and are now on my ride or die list.

Takara's Treasure (Japan, Gaga)

This one is a simple story but so, so sweet. A cute little bean follows his mysterious idol to university and joins the hiking club to get to know him better. They get to know each other slowly and fall in love.

Unknown (Taiwan, Viki)

ALMOST my favorite bl of the year, but we had a few issues on the back end. Despite that, I still loved it a whole lot. A family drama and a love story about two chosen brothers whose relationship changes over time. Easily the best BL Taiwan made this year.

Looking at this list, I am realizing how absolutely invaluable my Gaga and iQIYI subscriptions have become; it's where nearly all my favorite BL is airing.

[alpaca-clouds]

Arcane Season 2 - How Bad Pacing Can Ruin Everything

So, Arcane season 2 ended. And I am sorry, I need to vent.

I am honestly not sure whether the rumors are true and this were originally meant to be more seasons. The Riot CEO apparently denies it, but then again, I have seen CEOs confidently go out on stages to talk about a project which they knew was cancelled at that point in time. So, sorry, but I will never ever trust a CEO. Lying is like 50% of their jobs. Being greedy is the other half. Sorry, not sorry.

I am gonna write something about disability in Arcane (overall) during the next few days, but let me just talk a bit about the pacing issues of season 2.

Spoilers for season 2 - all of it - obviously.

Believe me or not, but I know the exact issue of Arcane season 2. It is called: Too many characters. Too many plotlines. It is something that easily happens when writing an ensemble story (no matter what the format is you publish the story in - it happens in books, movies, shows, games). At times it works fine if you manage to weave the entire ensemble into the same main plot. But as soon as you wanna give everyone their own little storyarc with a bit of their own themes, it often goes haywire. Either you will end up dropping some characters to the side and not properly finish up their story, or you will end up rushing everything. Neither is gonna be good.

Here I am mainly thinking... Was the entire Black Rose/LaBlanc stuff planned to be there from the beginning? Was it put in later? I mean, given that the entire story felt like it might set up Mel as a Champion for LoL... How do I put it? Mel was too overdesigned in the show, to not be a future Champion. That was my feeling from the beginning. I don't know if they gonna make her a Champion, but man, it feels like it.

But no, the main issue really is the pacing. There is just too much stuff happening.

I will remain, that the thing that shows this better than anything was the second "arc" of season 2. Episode 4-6. And the general way the entire Caitlyn, Vi, Jinx thing plays out. We have the following things happen in the first six episodes of season 2:

Cait's mother dies

Cait swears revenge and asks Vi to assist her as an enforcer

Vi does not want to. Ends up getting drunk.

Vi decides to do it anyway.

They do a bit of chemical warfare for good measures.

They go down there. Fight Jinx. Vi cannot do it - partly because Isha.

Cait breaks up with Vi and becomes the evil fascist dictator

Vi becomes an alcohol addict.

Except, never mind, Caitlin is already feeling shitty about it next episode.

Jinx gets Vi and Magic Pixie Dreamgirls her out of her new-found addiction.

Jinx and Vi are good again. They go help Vander.

Cait meets Vi for the first time since the break up. They instantly are back on the same page.

Like, there is so many plothooks in this storyline alone that do go completely unexplored.

There are two characters here, that do play a role in the last three episodes too and that felt like they were some proper characters at some point. Those two are Maddie - the Scottish-dialect enforcer girl - and... Frankly, I do not feel like looking up the name. The big burly one, who after the break-up takes care of Vi.

Those two feel like they were at some point meant to be more real characters. But because of the pacing, they are barely ideas. Maddie starts making out with Caitlyn because...? I don't know. Because I literally do not know anything about this character but "she is an enforcer", "she is queer", "she is attracted to power(?)", and thats it.

And the other guy goes with Vi because... Uhm... I don't know. I know literally nothing about this chaaracter other than that he is big and an enforcer. *shrugs*

It most certainly feels like there was some planned version of this show, in which Cait and Vi both had a proper corruption arc. In which we really saw the two of them struggle. In which we actually saw Piltover and Zaun under the control of Commander Caitlyn and Noxus, and saw the horrible things they were doing and what it was doing with Caitlyn. In which we also saw Vi struggling with addiction and stuff.

But that was not the version we got in the end. Instead in this version... things go magically well.

Hooray?

Same with Jinx. Her mental health issues just magically get better when Isha is there, because that is what the story needs to happen now.

Here, too, it also feels like huge chunks of the story are missing. It feels like there was a story going more into the relationship of Sevika and Jinx for a bit. But if that story had been there once, it was most certainly no longer there. It was hinted at, yeah, but that's it.

And then there is the entire magic plot.

Look, I think among the fans of the LoL Lore I am not the first one to say: "Yeah, trying to marry the worldbuilding of Arcane to the established Runeterra worldbuilding does not work, because of the magic." Runeterra so far was always a fairly high magic world - at least that was implied by comics and short stories. Magic was a common thing in this world. Otherwise we could not have that many magic champions and a whole place whose entire thing it had been: "We are anti-magic Nazis building mage concentration camps!"

When Riot said, that Arcane was now the main canon, A LOT of fans of the lore were like: "You get that it is not gonna work." And yeah, Arcane Season 2 clearly shows how it doesn't work.

Because the way they put in the entire "Mel is magic, also the Black Rose is a thing" stuff just... It did not fit in the entire plot around it. Because Arcane had been designed as a world where magic was very rare and strange. But now Mel had to be magic and somehow had to be connected to the Black Rose.

Also... What the fuck even happened there in the end? Why put that in? Why make Mel go against LaBlanc? I am sorry, but that was simply too much for this plot. The entire Black Rose stuff stuck out of this plot like - pardon the pun - a thorn.

Generally there are several relationships that feel, like they had at one point been a whole more explored, but then got dropped to the wayside.

As I said, Sevika and Jinx are definitely an example. Ekko and Heimerdinger as well. I also feel like what was episode 7 of the show was probably originally more than one episodes and slower paced - though it still to me was the one episode in this, that kinda worked in of itself. And that the Ekko and Jinx relationship was better established.

I also feel that Viktor and that echo of Skye was probably at some point supposed to actually have talks. Like: "I will miss talking to you." - "No, you won't." Okay? THEN SHOW ME THEM TALKING PLEASE?!

Which kinda brings me down to the main thing that happened because of the pacing issue. Season 2 of Arcane knew only two extremes in terms of "Show, don't tell". Either it goes full "music video" in whcih indeed it just shows us shit without context or dialogue - or we get the information just via dialogue, in a complete tell.

This also shows in the last episode, with the entire thing of Piltover asking the Zaunites for help, after brutally surpressing them forever. Yeah, I see where they were going with this. About being the bigger people and planting seeds and what not. But frankly, there might have been a time and space for a story like that, if properly told (you know, with giving more of the Zaunites a voice in this story, showing more of the conflict and spacing this plot out over several episodes). But a) it was not properly told, and b) a world in which several genocides happen while Trump somehow won a second term is not that world. Yes, b) is not the fault of anyone working on Arcane. That was simply bad luck on their part. But a) is very much their fault - and even if we did not have a Palestinian Genocide and no second Trump term: Without a) being done properly, it would not have worked. It would have just not felt quite as miserable.

You know, the most frustrating thing about this was, that... While I think that one way or another I would still have hated how the show handles the topic of disability (again, I will write about this during the next few days), I generally might have liked the same plot, if it had been given the needed space to breathe.

Like... Sure, I would have never really been on board with "fascist Caitlyn", or rather with "fascist Caitlyn, who gets then forgiven by everyone". But I could have somewhat swallowed it, if that forgiveness had to be earned. But because of the breakneck speed of this show, it never got earned. I am not even talking about redemption arcs here - those are always a headache - but specifically about the fact that Caitlyn gets instantly forgiven by everyone.

Also, lol. The entire thing with Ekko convincing Jinx to come along off-screen. That was unelegant.

Heck, it feels in the first four episodes, as if there was an arc being set up for Sevika in general. And it feels like that arc needed to happen, given that Sevika ends up on the COUNCIL OF PILTOVER in the epilogue. However, that Arc just does not happen. Then, like... why set it up?

That is general the issue. There is a lot of set-up and very, very little payoff to any of it.

And here is the thing. I have heard people argue about whether or not this was meant to have more seasons. But frankly: I do not think that the writers who wrote season 1 would have written this story this way had they known it would be two seasons.

Mind you, compared to some people I would not rate the writing in season 1 higher than maybe 6 or 7 of 10. It was solid, but not overwhelmingly great. But season 2 in comparison is a 2 of 10, maybe a 3 of 10, if I am being gracious.

And frankly, I do not think any writer, who is in any way worth their salt, would write a story where a main character goes evil, and then do exactly nothing with it. I mean, sorry, us writers, we are a dramatic bunch. And we will not resist the drama being served on a silver platter unless we are forced too. I cannot imagine a single writer, who will go with the end of episode 3 and then not write a bunch of angst with Caitlyn and Vi - unless they were forbidden.

And mind you, CaitVi is by far the ship I am least invested in. But it is simply such a glaring example of where the plot is rushed in a way that it hinders the character arcs.

Oh, and also... Lest. Lest in the first six episodes clearly felt like a character, who was going to play a role. Only to then disappear to not be seen again during the finale. What happened to Lest? Is she dead? Is she alive? I guess we'll never know.

*sighs* I am sorry. I really am. I am just... very disappointed. This has been a mess. And I think it would not have needed to be.

Like, the animation is still the most pretty thing ever made in the world. But man... The plot? The plot sucks balls. And not in the sexy way.

[juno-stuffs]

thanks for the tag! i love rocks. not crystals, actually, yeah, crystals too, but just rocks in general. i went to arizona (which btw, i stayed in a house that was probably haunted during that visit) once and visited a rock show and it was the best thing i've ever done. i also recently got a bunch of rock beads and i plan to make many, many necklaces/maybe bracelets with them. + i don't have a favorite rock bc they're all amazing and i could stare at them for hours. i dunno if this is related but statues fascinate me too. or just sculpting in general. i really like legos too btw. just anything buildable i also love vehicles. like, any. my ranking from favorite to least (i still like them though) is: boat (i really like tug boats and caravels. little fishing boats too), jet (bonus points if it's a nice color), bus (my favorite's the london buses), car (especially older ones + race cars), truck (i love the ups one. i dunno why, i have little version of it), plane, motorcycle (again, older ones are so cool), bike, skateboard (again bonus points for neat colors), helicopter, scooter. the only ones i hate are hot air balloons and cyber trucks. also, i really want to get trail makers (i almost forgot about that game) but i'm poor :[ my digital art set up is pathetic but fuck it we ball. also i don't have a sona yet but i might have one soon? also this is my favorite emoticon: ,':] but i have no opportunities to use it :[ i don't really have a favorite animal but i love pangolins. they're amazing. and horses, they're so fucked up looking and funny. also, one of the most brutal things i've seen is custom horse model creations on yt. like they saw off parts of the horse model and reposition them and such. i really like reptiles and dinosaurs (and dragons!). my favorite dinosaur is the stegorous but it used to be stegosaurus because they're so dumb (like me!) (i still like them though, but i like anything with scales so)

my favorite greek god before i got into epic was artemis or apollo but more so artemis. i don't really have a favorite now. my favorite epic character is circe mostly because of gigi's design of her + i'm a girlkisser. before juno my name was ari and i am so glad i changed it. speaking of california, that's were i am, and i'm running off to canada or italy the first chance i get i love swimming but i can't swim :( i can never sneeze once, i have to sneeze at least twice in a row. i don't usually store my original content info anywhere, i just keep it in my head ig.

that's a lot and enough for now :]

@pastellpeachz no pressure btw! (you're the only other moot i have i think :,])

it's so weird to me that everyone on this website is a human person outside of their weird internet niche so rb this with a random bit of your lore

[dunmeshistash]

Greetings, Mr. Meshi!

This is perhaps a bit of an unorthodox question, but one that has been bothering me for an unreasonable amount of time.

Now, here's the thing: I OBSESS over Marcille outliving everyone she holds dear. It's a theme very close to me, but even beyond that I just find it to be one of the most interesting elements of Dungeon Meshi's story for me personally. I've written an embarrassing amount of lengthy essays on it that will never see the light of day - that's how obsessed I am over this specific element of her character. But, there's something that bothers me...

A lot of poignant stories and artworks that tackle this topic get comments on 'em whenever Falin is the subject of aging, each one some variation of "Everything points to Falin having an extended lifespan after her revival!" which... Seems weird to me?

I don't know why this bothers me so much, but setting aside my personal annoyances, I don't remember anything pointing to this at all. At least, nothing concrete.

I don't know if this is a question you'd want to answer or not, but since your blog is a hub for all sorts of opinions and headcanons, I'd love to know where this line of thought could originate from.

I really wouldn't blame you if you didn't answer this question, though. Part of me feels I'm just asking this because I want to see if others share in my confusion or not.

Rrrregardless, though! Lemme take the opportunity to say that your blog is delighful. Love it! Also, that mushroom man with the funny face that sometimes responds to you with lengthy essays is also really cool. Everyone is cool. At least here on the northern hemisphere! It is smack dab in the middle of fall, after all! Coolness all around! Stay frosty! Or don't! Maybe warm up at a fireplace. I don't know!

Hi there! Thank you for the kind words, I love reading other's opinions on what I post so I also love the additions by the mushroom <3

It's quite hot over here in northeast Brazil, send some coolness my way please I'm dying.

Your question isn't strange at all! And I don't mind answering anything (unless it's rude or sounds like shipping war bait) so don't worry.

(Decided to put the rest under a readmore, TLDR: Kui said "maybe so, right?" about Falin having a longer lifespan but I have arguments why I don't think this actually confirms it. Anyway if you're someone who likes the headcanon you might want to skip this post)

To be honest those type of comments bother me too because I also LOVE Marcille's struggle with mortality and sometimes "Falin will live much longer!" feels undermining of the lesson she had to learn. I don't mind it in the headcanon sphere where everything is allowed and happy endings grow on trees but when it becomes intertwined with canon it starts to make me a little disappointed.

Just a reminder of the lesson she has to learn

She has to come to terms with the cycle of life and death, that something she wants (everyone to live longer) shouldn't be forced upon others just because it causes her grief. So, to me at least, Falin being made into something that will end up outliving other tallmen would undermine the message? In a canon sense ofc, if you're writing a wish fulfillment story then her living longer would have a different meaning, I just wanna be clear I have nothing against it in that sense, it all depends on what story you're trying to tell.

Anyway, actually answering your question that idea comes from the fact she was fused to a Red Dragon, and the fact her body has been affected by it, her sight was fixed and she grows feathers for example, so people theorize maybe her lifespan has been affected too. But we don't really know how long dragon's live so it's hard to say how much it would have been affected if at all.

It also comes from this answer Kui gave in a QnA

Q: Would Falin have an extended lifespan after the whole chimera thing? A: Maybe so, right?

To me this reads as the usual non-answers Kui gives, like, "I'll leave it up to your imagination" but for other people this read as a confirmation of the headcanon, in another questions she answers "I hope so" about Thistle leading a happy life after having his desires eaten and it's even debatable if Thistle survived at all so I don't think those comments indicate much of canon (I'm that way about most QnA answers tbh, unless it's something inconsequential like confirming Mithrun's Brother's name or stuff about very minor characters)

Another argument I have against her having a different lifespan is Izutsumi, Izu has been mixed with a monster but continues to age at the same rate a Tallmen would, even tho she also has different biology because of the Great Cat she's fused with (ears, reflexes, eyes etc etc) she is still a tallman

Falin isn't really the same thing as Izutsumi tho, I understand, but it's the closest example we have, if we believe the AB descriptions and demi-humans are really mixes between humans and monsters that's also another argument about it not affecting lifespan, since all of them are short lived and have an average lifespan of 55.

All of this *can* be dissmissed tho, the other demi-humans and beastmen are all mixed with mammal monsters and nothing nearly as powerful as a Dragon, so there is arguments to be made that Falin is different and that she *might* have an extended lifespan, all I'm saying is that there's no solid confirmation of it, it's fine to believe it but going around "correcting" other people saying it's a fact wouldn't be right I don't think, especially if you're saying that in a conversation about Marcille journey of death acceptance.

Death is a touchy subject and everyone is at different stages of their own journeys with it so I really don't want to judge those who would rather have Falin or even Laios live longer. I'm not really sure how to talk about this in the proper way, but I hope I didn't make anyone upset!

[justexistingsomewhere]

WARNING! DREAMTALE RANT INCOMING!!

I personally am both a Canon Nightmare and Dadmare enjoyer. Both have different concepts and outlooks that are just so interesting for me. And I think it’s important to note to people who get upset at how others see him is the fact that Joku was an inconsistent writer for both Dream’s and Nightmare’s characters. (But I can go deeper into that in a different post)

Whether post-apple-incident Nightmare is the same person as before, corrupted, possessed by that one dead human, an eldritch creature born from negativity, or some split personality type shit. It doesn’t matter to me! I collect them all like Pokémon!!

What I really wish is for people to learn some canon facts that I find super interesting! Because I personally love doing deep dives into Dreamtale and am done holding myself back from info dumping like a maniac!! For example, this is an actual line from the comic that I think about way too much:

“But where did the tiny guardian go?

Inside of the mind of that thing there was an encounter. Nightmare was crying while the viscous person was hugging him, it was himself, telling him that he would protect him from everything.” (Source 1)

Like, Dadmare real??? He freaking HUGS him it’s so sweet!! In the context of canon it could also show how great a manipulator Corrupted can be right from the very start, having Night let down his guard and give in in order to take full control in the moment! Both are very interesting ideas to explore!!

Another example (yes another I know) is this other interesting fact I’ve found.

“Memories of the bullying often harm him: whenever he sees a lone person being beaten up by others, he will be reminded of what the original went through, this making him mindlessly kill the assailants.” (Source 2)

The fact that this is canon proves that a part of him is affected and triggered by his past. This is even shown to affect him so much that he not only breaks his no killing rule, but he also saves someone else (albeit quite violently). Take this information how you will.

I’ll end my rant here, and if you made it to the end I applaud you. This is sorta a continuation of my previous post here. There is still plenty I would love to talk about (the canon endings, Lore, etc) and I can make this into a little series if anyone would want! Oh, and I’ve linked the sources into the comments if you’re interested!

[victoriadallonfan]

End of Act 1 - Author Thoughts

So, this concludes Act 1 of Dead Eye. 

​It's been a struggle for me to write this afterthought piece, because I have learned so much from writing this original story.

This was not the first time I've written original fiction, of course. I had a brief attempt at a web serial back in late 2016 (I can't even remember the name of it), I've written numerous short fiction stories for Reddit Writing Prompts, and I've dropped some short stories here in Creative Writing in the past. Not to mention contest submissions over the years IRL (nothing gained unfortunately).

However, what made this different is that I actually committed to the act of finishing an entire arc and do my best to flesh out the characters as much as possible. I kept a plan, I followed it, and I tried to make it enjoyable for the readership.

​Admittedly, going from the hundreds of likes and views of my fanfic to the thirty or dozen on these posts felt initially disheartening. 

Initially.

But then I realized that I wasn't thinking about things in perspective. I was no longer using larger fandoms as a crutch for engagement or relying on readers already having a basic understanding of the characters: I was needing to WORK and gain the TRUST of the readers for a totally experimental project.

And bonus, I got amazing comments and analysis each chapter, with people seeming to really enjoy the mystery and action I wrote. I got people investing in characters in just a little under 30k words, which I think is pretty darn decent!

Is there room for improvement? Yes, absolutely. I ended up unhappy with how little screen time Milian got, but a lot of my plans for him involved future plot points that couldn't fit within 6 chapters that I challenged myself. I struggled a lot with describing the city (because I find building descriptions boring), and perhaps I made the tension between Sabra and Persa a bit too thick?

More things I could discuss on that, but there are also things I'm proud of. I really enjoyed the action set pieces and how I distinguished character behavior. I really like that my magic system (based on me noticing how special eyes are so prevalent in fiction, why not make an entire system set around them?) flowed so easily for me to write, and that it allowed me to do fun things with the world. Giant glowing eyeball in the sky makes me giggle all the time.

​So, what is the plan going forward?

For now, there will be a small intermission. I would like to get back into Janus and HITF, maybe do some other fanworks too, just to flex my brain a bit from being in Persa's pov for so long.

The plan is that after a month or two, I will then return for Dead Eye - Act 2 for another 6 arc continuation.

Finally, I want to say: Thank You

Thank you to everyone who supported me, be it by like, comment, or Ko-Fi donation. It was you who kept me going, and made me achieve a dream of becoming an actual author of original fiction.

I promise I won't let you down!

[mantis-lizbian]

this is very much just a tangent springing off of your first paragraph - absolutely no disagreement with the actual points you're making here - but i gotta step in to give my obligatory defense of "3e D&D actually did monsters the best out of any TTRPG ever (30% joking)" because while yes it does drop things like reactions and morale that results in making it easier for the GM and players to view monsters as mere challenges to overcome for loot and XP, at the same time, it is one of the only (at least crunchy) systems i have ever come across that builds monsters with the exact same underlying rules as PCs.

while i'm not discounting that critical discussions of the treatment of "savage races" are pretty much as old as the hobby itself (if not older, when one digs into its origins in pulp fantasy novels), i do certainly get the impression that these discussions started to get mainstream during 3e, and i can't help but think that a contributing factor might have been the fact that the way the rules handle and interact with monsters (including hit dice, ability scores, skills and feats, and even class levels) are absolutely indistinguishable from how those things interact with PCs to the extent that, setting aside relative power level, a player is - as far as the mechanics, if not strictly speaking the rules, are concerned - just as capable of making a human character as they are an orc, ettercap, stone giant, dragon, or literal bear.

the fact that it is, again, 3e's focus on encounter balance that is the only meaningful thing that stands in the way of this at least makes it so that the players are more able to see NPCs and (at least intelligent) monsters as not being fundamentally different from their own characters. and by extension, it's possible that this made it easier to relate to those characters within the fiction, as well.

if i were to let myself get too absorbed in this theory, i'd also think this could be related to why, after going back to handling monsters fundamentally differently from PCs and doubling down on treating them as loot piñatas, 5e continued to treat gnolls and the like as demonic monsters, while Pathfinder was simply an extension of 3e and after putting out a variety of books over the course of its first edition that expanded on the cultures, ecology, and other mechanic-independent elements of various monsters and "savage races", its next edition wound up putting goblins among the core playable races, and they've worked diligently since release to double-down on fleshing out those races as actual inhabitants of the world with their own cultures and customs just as real and vibrant as those of elves and dwarves.

So there is a pretty clear shift in playstyle between TSR D&D and WotC D&D: for better and for worse, D&D 3e introduced the idea of encounter balance, de-emphasized mechanics that had previously encouraged the GM to think of the monsters as real living creatures (reaction rolls, morale, etc.), and it had the effect of making D&D a much more combat-focused game. D&D has always been a game that's opinionated about combat, it's basically the most expressive and detailed form of play regardless of edition, but combat in the TSR editions was not exactly zoomed in and tactical. The WotC editions purposefully made combat zoomed in, granular, and tactical.

And this has had an effect on playstyle: since combat is now the main form of player expression what players actually want is for their characters to get into combat. Because combat is the most fun part of the game. But the game has also changed from the largely amoral dungeon-crawling game into a game of fantasy heroics (even though a lot of the trappings of the amoral dungeon-crawling still remain, which contributes to the dissonance), so you can't just have the player characters going into combat for the sake of it. That would frame the player characters as kind of Fucked Up, and we can't have that in our supposedly heroic fantasy.

What you end up with is a variety of contrivances like "they're bandits," "they're cultists," or, my all-time favorite, "they attacked first" to make the action seem morally justifiable, even though gameplay is still motivated by a desire to fight. The monsters fight to the death and, importantly, can often not be reasoned and negotiated with, partly because combat is supposed to be the fun, engaging part everyone is here to do, but also because if they actually acted like reasonable people it could cause dissonance with the whole "the player characters are the goodest heroes."

As my friend @tenleaguesbeneath once called it: what is actually going on is that the player characters are hunting people and monsters who have been programmed to fight to the death and never negotiate for sport, while justifying it as self-defence.

It's a simple power fantasy, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Sometimes you want to play a morally uncomplicated game about killing guys with cool magic swords. But I think it's also fun to think about what the specific types of monsters players end up fighting reveals about Society the invisible, unexamined ideology lying under the surface that the designers of even modern D&D have failed to examine. And to me it often reads like a frontier justice fantasy. None of that is to detract from anyone's joy of the game, and for me it's just fun to think about and post about this stuff while Still Enjoying the Game, but if someone expressing that opinion makes you feel uncomfortable, why? That's pretty silly imo.

[maniacwatchestheworld]

The Mark of the Blind Eye

Here is my second post about the Society of the Blind Eye in order to make sure that we are all on the same page with where my ideas and thoughts about it come from. A third one will be coming! (This series was originally only going to be 2 posts, but then this one got too long and I hadn't even gotten to the main point that I wanted to discuss lol.) But for this one, I want to point out a thing that I don't think that anyone's really discussed before even though indications of it do pretty clearly exist within canon... The Society of the Blind Eye seems to exist in opposition to Bill Cipher himself. And the symbol of the Society of the Blind Eye is a very good example of this relationship!

Is this observation too obvious? Or do I just sound entirely insane right now? Because I swear that I'm right! But I've never seen anyone discuss it before! I just think that if you think about the Society with the idea that they exist to oppose Bill Cipher in mind, it explains a number of things about how and why they operate as well as their aesthetics. But let's discuss the symbol itself first!

So first of all, I think that it's really neat how the Society- from its very first hints of existing to the series finale- it associates itself with graffiti.

This exists in contrast to Bill who- while his iconography also tends to be found in the backgrounds and little details of shots- tends to be found in more structural ways.

Windows and carpets. On dollar bills and commercial products from makeup to DVDs to children's costume props all alike. These differences in how they appear speaks to how the Blind Eye exists in opposition to Bill Cipher. Bill Cipher is larger than any individual on Earth. His existence transcends space and time. He has existed since before humanity and he has had his hand in countless human social movements. From the Egyptian pyramids to the foundation of America, even having a hand in early computer technology. Bill Cipher is more than just a character. He exists within the very structures of human civilization within the show.

Meanwhile the Society by contrast has only existed for ~30ish years by the series' start. And the most significant way that it exists is in opposition to Bill Cipher. In a way, Bill Cipher's existence is cultural... Meanwhile the Blind Eye's existence is countercultural.

I don't think that the modern iteration of the Society ever realized it, but its primary form of iconography- the crossed out eye- is actually simultaneously just a GREAT aesthetic symbol (easy to recognize and duplicate but also looking fantastic to boot) but that it's also rather clever in how pragmatic it is for the Society's unmentioned but inherent secondary purpose. That secondary purpose being to oppose Bill Cipher and to wipe his influence from Gravity Falls.

We all know how Bill is able to look through symbols of himself depicted in the real world. He also seems to be able to look through images of eyes in general (given how he also tends to watch the world through the eye-like patterns on Birch trees). We also know why and how Fiddleford came to found the Society, that he was distressed by the supernatural things he saw- what was beyond the portal especially- and so sought to erase the memories of those distressing things from his mind... Only to realize that others could "benefit" from this as well. The memory gun at the center of this cult would eventually become the very same object that would kill Bill Cipher in the series finale. It was only because of the Society of the Blind Eye that Bill was ultimately able to be defeated! But it's not that much of a stretch to think that Fiddleford may have been using the Society of the Blind Eye to protect Stanford from Bill Cipher from the organization's outset, right? Not only do they use and were the protectors of the weapon that would eventually kill Bill Cipher, but we learn in the Book of Bill that Fiddleford's repeated use of the Memory Gun actually entirely inoculated him from Bill's manipulations! Fiddleford's mind was so damaged, that merely existing within it was physically able to harm Bill! The Blind Eye could easily drive Bill from the mind of anyone he possessed so long as they knew it was him. And given how Bill treats the bodies of anyone he possesses, certainly that would fall under the scope of the kinds of experiences the Blind Eye seeks to allow people to forget. Additionally, the mere symbol of the Society- if applied to already existing images of eyes and of Bill Cipher himself- would keep Bill from being able to look through those symbols, thus limiting his vision! Perhaps this is why in many depictions of the Blind Eye symbol, the X over the eye is emphasized and shown in a different color than the rest of the symbol and the eye itself.

Whether the Society knows it or not, their existence and activity in Gravity Falls puts limits on Bill's power and influence there. (If anyone in town can just kinda randomly get their memory wiped at a moment's notice, it makes it much much more dangerous for Bill to possess ANYONE in town.) And given who founded the Society and when and why he did, I have doubts that fact is a mere coincidence!

[in-the-multiverse]

I love soundtrack so here’s a sample of the ossha arc divided by character themes

I tried finding stuff that was purely instrumental and fit the vibe of everyone involved. Below the cut are links to the music and my explanation for them. Also! These are just my interpretation. If you have other music that you feel fits the characters, please share! I’d love to hear them :D

[OSSHA Avid] - Cancion by Bryan Dunne - it’s linked to the instrumental break. Ignore the lyrics they’ve got nothing to do with this. I dug around for other music with a similar sound, but nowhere else has this exact tune sooo

I had to include it. It’s too good. It’s got the jungle-y vibe with drums and easy going tune….before slowly spiralling with a high pitched sound that warns you of incoming danger. I imagine this playing at jungle kingdom while Avid lures Milkman to the tube room. “True intentions get revealed” type of theme

[Ruby] - Village of the Doomed, American McGee’s Alice ost - the ending of Ruby’s 8th episode reminded me of a neat little track that features clock noises! Something ominous was going on, and it’s reflected in the way the music creeps around while static/distorted noise rolls in. I can also see this playing when Ruby talks about collecting IOUs… something ominous indeed

[Rue] - Lost in Transmission, Little Nightmares 2 ost - keeping the music box but losing the ticking clock sound. Originally, I went through little nightmares ost because Cloneby had a creepy reputation. I settled on one that had a slow pace and felt off-putting in the perspective of other sbkers. But when she debuted in her own episode as Rue, this track also worked at a different angle. Another interpretation is how it feels like she’s out of place. The beginning is muffled and distant, then gradually becomes clear. It’s timid, but gentle. Then vintage’s episode happened and I went [damage noise] [damage noise] [damage noise] by what happens in LN2. Unintentional coincidence…. [damage noise]

[Trog] - basslord by predawka - this track hones in on their unusual and unpredictable nature of doing things in skyblock, in a very playful way! “God made this world and god gets to have fun with it” is the vibe, basically. They’re also not immune to the plot, as the later half of the music distorts and the tone shifts

[Clone Trog] - Planets by Jerobeam Fenderson - keeping the funky electronic groove, but now a different tune! Clone Trog is a spy, so I wanted a theme that felt more controlled and analytical. It’s music following a command. This specific version actually comes from a really cool animation meme, the original is longer and has more of an upbeat feel (it also comes with cool visuals. flash warning though)

[Milkman] - Shotgun, Plock! ost - this is so milkman. It’s lively and mischievous, keeping a steadfast beat like there’s no stopping his pranks and schemes. You can almost hear a laugh within the music (but that might just be me)

[Cloneman] - A Troubled Town, Miitopia ost - keeping the bass sound, but losing rhythm. It reflects his constant confusion. A fractured melody that wanders around- never on beat, never confident in itself, just…not quite right

[Red Fool] - Lazarus Waves, DOOM ost - Fool knew something was different with his partner, and he knew Avid was involved somehow. As he got more stressed and frustrated over time, his skin went from gold to orange to a furious red. He interrogated Avid, and when that got him nowhere he set the headquarters ablaze, and left a message in the control room that said “GIVE HIM BACK”

I chose a track to describe that sequence of events. Doom ost felt pretty fitting here. A lot of their music is intense, but this one’s a slow build-up and foreboding. Fool’s anger was quiet and destructive, and very very clear that he was not someone to be messed with

[Kittrix] - GOD RACE (Temptation Stairway OST) by METAROOM - “Step 6. And this is the most important step. Defy OSSHA!” She thrives on chaos as a proud member of the chaotic acacia kingdom, so her theme is unapologetically bold and vibrant. Ossha regulations are meant to be broken, and this music follows its own rhythm. It’s mostly very energetic, in a similar genre to Trog’s theme. It also distorts and falls apart at the very end (glitch/flash warning for the video)

[Vintage] - K.K Étude (Aircheck), animal crossing ost - what better music to suit a sweet, polite unpaid intern than some good ol’ animal crossing. It’s a lovely piano track, the right amount of cheerful energy, something that says “don’t mind me :) happy to be here”. There’s a brief stutter/glitch, then the tune goes back to normal. “Don’t mind me :) working as usual” A classical vibe, too

[Void Witches] - House In The Woods, Hilda ost - I imagine this as the theme that overpowers Avid’s presence at mangrove kingdom. It’s mystical, it’s got hushed vocals and wood creaking sound effects, overall very ambient and witch-y. Mangrove was one of the most vocal kingdoms against ossha, and I wanted their theme to feel powerful in its own right

[Olm] - Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky - Olm was behind the entire ossha operation so I looked for something to match the villain energy. Since he’s an ancient being, I thought it’d be nice to get classical music. His theme would be very dramatic, very commanding, and full of “big bad guy” energy. An entire showdown of the power he wields

(Side tangent, I first heard this on Fantasia! It’s a movie from 1940 and the animators had a lot of freedom to do what they wanted. Everything was beautifully hand drawn, here’s a scene from night on bald mountain, it’s incredible. The entire movie rewired my brain growing up, I love it so much)

[royaltea000]

YO! Being a drawing, what’s there to be afraid of!

[avaritia-ffxiv]

So the story with Sidurgu is that my forever Xaela obsessed ass was shown a single screenshot of him before I'd ever reached Ishgard and gotten access to the DRK stuff myself. Based on that one screenshot I decided DRK would be my ultimate goal with my first character who was my then-main.

Basically I was obsessed with the guy before knowing a single thing about him other than what he looked like and that he was a Dark Knight, which was enough for me to go crazy for him.

But I don't thiiiiiink I was originally thinking about shipping my WoL with him or anything? 'Cause again, I knew nothing about him so I had no way of knowing if there would be any chemistry at all between him and my WoL and I demand chemistry for everything (and I don't remember if I was much thinking about shipping my WoL dude with really anyone? I was of course considering his relationship and dynamics with the NPCs he encountered, but possibly not with anything romantic in mind. Not sure tho).

But thus determined to get to HW and unlock DRK for myself, I went through ARR and its patches, got to Ishgard, rushed to the DRK unlock quest the moment it became available for me.

Pretty fast I realized that my WoL, also a Xaela himself, had... Very good chemistry with Sidurgu. As I played through the DRK quests, my WoL's "I like him" vibes only intensified, and by the time we reached the last HW DRK quest, it was already irreversible. But the actual "oh" moment was before that; sadly it's been a good ass while since I played the DRK quests so I can't remember which quest it was exactly that had my guy going like "okay I'd like to explore a relationship with him". Probably around mid-HW tho, if I had to guess. I vaguely remember there being some dialog Sidurgu had either at the end of a quest or between quests that completely locked the whole deal, though, 'cause he's definitely one of those NPCs that ends up sounding like he like likes the WoL lmfao.

It was kinda slow burn tho, 'cause my mans wasn't the type to rush into anything and I characterize Sidurgu as pretty emotionally constipated, so there was no rushing into anything with them. But yeah, the actual "this shall be pursued" was relatively early on both IC and OOC.

And now they're bfs and co-dads and it's very cute. Too bad I retired Saahe to the point he doesn't even exist as a playable character I have in the game anymore 'cause I fantad him out of existence, but the mens are still very special to me.

Lookie them

fellow wol x npc shippers- If applicable, what was the "oh" moment for you and your oc falling for their love interest? Was yours seperate from your WoL's?

[sysig]

Those wacky skeletons ♥ (Patreon)

[humming-fly]

Theatre Kid (Derogatory)

[dreamsy990]

Iso from Valorant is asexual (headcannon)

@lavacane @swipamous @skys-trash-bin @feralcringeman @verathena14 from your headcanons here are some aroace doodles. sorry i meant to post these a while ago but i got half done and then got held up for a bit by responsibilities and also i forgor. but here!! meant to do a couple more but i just wanted to get this done so!! here

bonus for athena heres sora with a different flag. for funsies

[the-woman-upstairs]

Glen Powell is not working his ass off to bring romantic tension and visible yearning back to movies only for his kissing scenes to be left on the cutting room floor!