#because they are EXPLICITLY not the focus of the piece

[getvalentined]

A handful of work created for the Chaos Theory charity fanthology, because even if I can't draw I can repost work I'm still proud of.

[codenamethebird]

God I have so much to say about Melinoe's characterization, and the fasinating implications about her future arc/the overarching plot of hades 2. I want to make a larger think piece with pictures but for the moment I'm just going to focus on this one specific thread.

In the wake of the Prometheus reveal, she has a slew of convos about his motivations for siding with Chronos, and the gods basically all go: this is his vengeance for us punishing him a tad cruelly. And Nemesis is like, yeah the gods 100% deserve it. But Meli's responds that he must have more motivation than just vengeance, it can't just be that. But when Prometheus explicitly goes, 'I'm doing this because the gods are horrible to humanity and I love humans,' she basically goes, no he must be lying. That motivation is both too pure, but also humans kind of suck why would you care about them?

Mel's humanity hot takes deserve it's own essay (Ms I think Humans should have never gotten fire and are better when they are dead), and I just want to focus on the former for now. She can not comprehend that Prometheus is fighting the gods for noble reasons. It just does not make sense to her. Mel's world is so black and white. She doesn't understand the nuance of the situation, and the thought that the gods might be actually in the wrong doesn't even get close to crossing her mind.

It's a fascinating (and horrifying) result of her upbringing. Of the constant state of war and the very convenient big bad that is Chronos, the evil monster who stole her family. If she accepts that his side isn't completely evil, that they might even be right in some (even many) respects, she would have to grapple with her whole life. Everything she believes would be thrown into question, the literal thing she was training her whole life for.

She can't have Prometheus fighting for a noble cause, because he fights for Chronos whose the Bad Guy tm. But he also can't be fighting for something as simple as vengeance, because that would also mean she would need to really think about what he's angry about. If the punishment was truly so unnecessary cruel.

When talking to Odysseus about Prometheus, when Ody's saying how much he respected him for stealing the fire despite knowing the consequences, Mel says that it was the price to be paid for breaking Olympus's decree. To her, Olympus's rules are sacred and ultimately good. Unquestionably. Prometheus broke the rules with intent, so to her, why would he be so angry at the consequences? Especially if he knew because of his power they were going to happen.

So he must have another reason, some secret machiavellian plan that drives him. Except as I already said, it brings her right back to him doing it for humanity, which she also can't accept. Because that would be admiting that the gods did something wrong to humans. She twists herself into knots to justify her worldview, and it's fascinating! She's so messy I adore her.

Please Supergiant please the final surface boss has to be a human pleeeaaasse (preferably a living one). Or at least have one (or more) show up in some other capacity. Mel needs to come face to face with the other side and have it utterly destroy her worldview.

And/or have (Pan)Dora betray her for Prometheus, that would also be very fun haha.

[softaestluv]

John Price who has a chubby wife— loves his chubby wife, in fact. Thinks the more fat on a woman the better.

Chubby wife whom he keeps all to himself. Not because he isn’t proud to have you by his side. If anything he loves taking you to his work events so you can get all dolled up. Keeps a firm grip around your waist all night, quite possessive of you he is, but he also enjoys feeling the fat of your hip cave under his large palm. Watching the supple flesh spill between his fingertips in the soft fabric.

You hate the way your belly shows in all the dresses you have to wear for these events, but god, John couldn’t love it more. Traces his eyes over the chubby little bump in the material. Loves that he can see the silhouette, how the fabric pulls taut at your curves.

Or your breasts, round and heavy. Cleavage seeping from the tight confines of the material. Poor girl can’t help it when they’re that big, no top can seem to hide them. Distracts him all too often when people are trying to talk to him and all he can focus on is the deep slope of your breasts.

And your ass, wide and curved. Jiggles with every step you take, enjoys watching you walk in front of him just as much as he prefers you tight by his side. Practically foams at the mouth when your dress is short enough so he can see the back of your thighs. Has to will his boner away when he can see the shadows of cellulite that decorate the backs of them.

Irritation burns his throat when his sergeants approach you, try to charm you the best they can. You’re too sweet to explicitly ignore them or shush them away, but that’s what you had him for, why he was so bloody protective of you. Would have thought that his sergeants would respect their captain and not drag their eyes over his girls figure. Though, he couldn’t blame them when you looked like that. Who wouldn’t look? He couldn’t take his own eyes off you.

Enjoys the sharp inhale you make when he pulls your back against his chest, leans his head close to you and asks if this muppet is bothering you, darling?

Loud enough for the other man to hear, but John doesn’t even bat him an eye, keeps his eyes trained on you. Revels in the fact that you press your self deeper into his touch, slotting your ass closer to his hips. The man always excuses himself with a quiet ‘my apologies, sir�� but John doesn’t even care, really. Too focused on his pretty girl to pay attention to anyone else.

He always leaves these events too early, especially for a captain. Should probably stay later than most considering his rank, but he can’t help himself. Staring at you for just a couple hours in a pretty little dress without burying his cock inside you is almost unbearable.

Truthfully, a quickie in a closet or spare room might suffice, has taken you away from these parties just to return shortly with a new hickey adorned on your neck and his cum dripping down your thighs. But a quickie is never enough, not sufficient enough for John.

John’s body is burly, grooved into protruding muscles, smoothed over with a layer of fat and thick curly tufts of brown hair. Sinewy muscles and meaty, pure strength.

And you.

Well you are chubby, soft and round. Pretty doe eyes encased between plump cheeks. The perfect delicacy for him to melt into.

Being captain comes with its stresses, especially at his age. Pieces of his patience are shaved away with each passing day. His back aches, knees popping everytime he squats, temples pulsing terribly behind his eyelids. He’s sore most days than not, irritated and tired behind his desk. Moronic and insolent sergeants ruining him to his wits end.

It’s draining ordering those around who will not listen. But his sweet chubby wife, you, make up for it. Quite obedient you are, never has to tell you twice. Perfect acquiescence entangled in each little dimple on your flesh.

Coming home to you is easy. Hoisting your plush thighs either side of his head is even easier. Melting his aches and pains away with his face buried in your cunt. You tend to be hesitant sitting on his face, nervous that you will squish him to death. It’s cliche, but he mumbles refusals to you one too many times.

Nonsense, darling he wishes to be smothered by you, couldn’t have a better place to be.

It’s the truth, savors the image of you above him. Bulge of your belly pressed to his nose, breasts plump and heavy, drooped low, so he can see your nipples, pert and rosy. Thighs thick and suffocating around his face, pretty little mewls muffled to his ears by your flesh. Soft fat blocking his view of your face, can only get a glimpse of it if you angle your head a certain way. Something he usually would not appreciate, but he enjoys the expanse of your skin just as much.

Spends his time between your thighs, makes you cum on his tongue several times before he’s pleased enough. Keeps his large palm fisted around his cock while he does so because the taste of your arousal is just as addicting as your fat. Could finish like that, sat atop him, cum on his lips. Has before, but you do not prefer it that way. Sweet as you are, you are quite greedy, or maybe he has just spoiled you too much. Always want him to stuff you full of him.

And he does, without a second thought because your pussy feels even better wrapped around his cock than his tongue. It’s only fair that you match him, puffy and swollen cunt compares to his fat cock.

It’s a tight fit after all, but you can take it, can’t you, sweetheart?

Transfixed on your curves, the way your belly squishes together when he bends your legs back. Rolls smushed, breasts spilling to your sides from the weight of them. Each thrust is like a cascading wave, watches it ripple over your body, fat jiggling softly. He can never spend nearly enough time grazing your flesh, wishes to sink his teeth into every inch of fat until it’s all his.

He likes being pressed above you, fucking you messy into the sheets, but he thinks he likes you on top just as much. Weighed down under your heavy body as you ride him. Finds too much pleasure watching your chubby thighs try to fuck yourself on his length, legs shaking from exhaustion, whining weakly as you paw at his chest. Beg him to fuck you, that you simply can’t lift yourself any longer, can’t smash his fattened tip against the right spot.

What’s wrong, sweetheart? He’ll drawl, palming at your breasts, Can’t make yourself cum, huh? Come on, use those thick thighs of yours.

And you do try. He spoils you, but teasing you is just as satisfying. Enjoys watching you struggle to make yourself cum until tears are welling in your lashes and all you can do is rut your hips against his.

He gives in eventually, flipping the two of you around. Folds you how he pleases because even through it all he can still carry you easily. Fucks you the way you want, the way you deserve after being subject to his torment for so long.

Though it’s not just sexual gratification. You’re always warm and so soft. His worries seem to dissolve under your touch, snuggled tightly around you. Harden edges melt into your plush flesh, face buried between your breasts more often than not when lying together. Pulls you atop him, the heavy weight welcomed, grounds him of sorts. Even if his breath does become strained, you lull him to sleep.

He’ll wake up to the both of you sweaty and clammy, struggling to adequately fill his lungs with air, but he only pulls you closer, not quite ready to leave the confines of his girl.

[fiercynn]

poetry outlets that support a free palestine

after finding out that the poetry foundation/POETRY magazine pulled a piece that discussed anti-zionism because they "don't want to pick a side" during the current genocide, i decided to put together a list of online outlets who are explicitly in solidarity with palestine where you can read (english-language) poetry, including, except where otherwise stated, by palestinian poets!

my criteria for this is not simply that they have published palestinian poets or pro-palestine statements in the past; i only chose outlets that, since october 7, 2023, have done one of the following:

published a solidarity statement against israeli occupation & genocide

signed onto the open letter for writers against the war on gaza and/or the open letter boycotting the poetry foundation

published content that is explicitly pro-palestine or anti-zionist, including poetry that explicitly deals with israeli occupation & genocide

shared posts that are pro-palestine on their social media accounts

fyi this is undoubtedly a very small sample. also some of these sites primarily feature nonfiction or short stories, but they do all publish poetry.

outlets that focus entirely on palestinian or SWANA (southwest asia and north africa) literature

we are not numbers, a palestinian youth-led project to write about palestinian lives

arab lit, a magazine for arabic literature in translation that is run by a crowd-funded collective

sumuo, an arab magazine, platform, and community (they appear to have a forthcoming palestine special print issue edited by leena aboutaleb and zaina alsous)

mizna, a platform for contemporary SWANA (southwest asian & north africa) lit, film, and art

the markaz review, a literary arts publication and cultural institution that curates content and programs on the greater middle east and communities in diaspora

online magazines who have published special issues of all palestinian writers (and all of them publish palestinian poets in their regular issues too)

fiyah literary magazine in december 2021, edited by nadia shammas and summer farah (if you have $6 usd to spare, proceeds from the e-book go to medical aid for palestinians)

strange horizons in march 2021, edited by rasha abdulhadi

the baffler in june 2021, curated by poet/translators fady joudah & lena khalaf tuffaha

the markaz review has two palestine-specific issues, on gaza and on palestinians in israel, currently free to download

literary hub featured palestinian poets in 2018 for the anniversary of the 1948 nakba

adi magazine, who have shifted their current (october 2023) issue to be all palestinian writers

outlets that generally seem to be pro-palestine/publish pro-palestine pieces and palestinian poetry

protean magazine (here's their solidarity statement)

poetry online (offering no-fee submissions to palestinian writers)

sundog lit (offering no-fee submissions to palestinian writers through december 1, 2023)

guernica magazine (here's a twitter thread of palestinian poetry they've published) guernica ended up publishing a zionist piece so fuck them too

split this rock (here's their solidarity statement)

the margins by the asian-american writers' workshop

the offing magazine

rusted radishes

voicemail poems

jewish currents

the drift magazine

asymptote

the poetry project

ctrl + v journal

the funambulist magazine

n+1 magazine (signed onto the open letter and they have many pro-palestine articles, but i'm not sure if they have published palestinian poets specifically)

hammer & hope (signed onto the letter but they are a new magazine only on their second issue and don't appear to have published any palestinian poets yet)

if you know others, please add them on!

[artisimpossible]

I've noticed that people take writing advice way too literally and then get really mad about it, so here's a quick guide of what the typical "bad' writing advice is actually trying to tell you.

[Note: you don't have to take literally any piece of advice. It's just there for your consideration. If you hate it, leave it and do things the way you want. But the reason all of this advice is regurgitated so often is because it has helped a lot of people, so it's okay if it's not for you, but it may still be life changing for someone else.]

Write Every Day

"Write every day" is NOT supposed to be a prescriptivist, unbreakable rule that dictates anyone who doesn't write literally every day isn't a real writer. It's supposed to be a shorthand way of saying "establish a writing routine. Get used to writing at certain times or in certain places or in certain patterns, both so that you can trick yourself into writing even when you don't feel like it by recreating certain conditions, but also because if you only write "when you're in the mood", you may never get around to finishing a project and you likely won't be able to meet publishing deadlines if you decide to pursue publication."

The point of this advice is basically just to get used to seeing writing as part of your daily routine, something that you do regularly. But if you decide you can't write on Tuesdays or weekdays or any day when you have certain other activities, that's literally fine. Just try to make it a habit if you can.

2. Show Don't Tell

"Show don't tell" DOES NOT AND HAS NEVER meant "never state anything plainly and explicitly in the text". Again, "show don't tell" is a shorthand, and its intended message is "things tend to feel a lot more satisfying when your reader is able to come to that conclusion on their own rather than having the information given to them and being told they just have to accept it." It's about giving your reader the pieces to put the puzzle of your book together on their own rather than handing them a finished puzzle and saying "there. take it."

So if you have a character who's very short-tempered, it's typically more satisfying that you "show" them losing their cool a few times so that the reader can draw the conclusion on their own that this character is short-tempered rather than just saying "He was short-tempered". Oftentimes, readers don't want to take what you tell them at face value, so if you just state these sorts of details, readers will push back against that information. People are significantly more likely to believe literally any information they are able to draw conclusions on without being told what to believe, so that's where this advice comes in.

3. In Medias Res

This one is so often misunderstood. "In medias res" or "start in the middle", DOES NOT MEAN to literally start halfway through your plot. It also DOES NOT MEAN that you should start in the middle of an action packed scene. It just means that when you start your story, it should feel like the world and the characters already existed before we started following them. It shouldn't feel like everything was on pause and the world and characters only started acting the moment the story begins.

This is why starting with a character waking up or something similar can feel jarring and slow. We want to feel instantly compelled by your character, and the most efficient way to do that is [typically] to have them already doing something, but that something can be anything from taking a shower to commuting to school to chopping off a dragon head. We just want to feel like the story is already moving by the time we enter.

4. Shitty First Drafts

The idea that you should let your first draft suck and not revise it as you go is a tip presented to combat the struggle a lot of people have with not being able to finish a draft. If you find you've been working on the same first draft for five years and barely gotten anywhere, you might want to try this advice. The point is to just focus on getting to the ending because finishing a draft can give you renewed energy to work on the book and also makes it easier to get feedback from readers and friends.

That said, if your story is flowing fine even as you go back and make edits, then don't worry about this. This is advice specifically designed to target a problem. Likewise, this doesn't mean that you can't clean up typoes when you see them or even make minor edits if you want to. It just means not to let yourself get completely bogged down by making changes that you never move forward.

A "shitty first draft" also doesn't mean that your story has to be completely illegible. It just means that you shouldn't let perfectionism stop you yet. I see a lot of people say "well, I can't keep going until this first part makes sense", and that's totally reasonable! Again, the point of this advice is just to get you out of that rut that keeps you from making progress, but if you spend a couple weeks editing and then move on or you find the book is still making forward strides while you edit, then you're fine. You don't need this.

5. Adverbs

The idea that you "shouldn't use adverbs" DOES NOT MEAN that any time you use an adverb, you're ruining your story. It just means that you shouldn't *rely* on adverbs to carry your story, namely in places where stronger verbs or nouns would do a lot more heavy lifting.

For instance, you can write "she spoke quietly", but generally speaking, that "quietly" there is a lot weaker than just subbing out this clause for "she whispered". You probably have the word "spoke" all over your draft, so subbing out one instance of it here for a stronger verb in place of the same verb + an adverb makes for stronger prose. This doesn't mean that you'll never want to use the phrase "spoke quietly" over the word "whispered". For instance, if I write, "When she finally spoke, she spoke quietly, like that was all the volume her weakened lungs could muster." In this case, I'm using "spoke quietly" specifically *because* it echoes the previous spoke earlier in the sentence, and it evokes a certain level of emotion to have that repetition there. I also used it because she's not actually "whispering", but trying to speak at full volume only to come off sounding quiet.

So when people tell you to cut adverbs, they're saying this because people often use adverbs as a crutch to avoid having to seek out stronger verbs. If you're using your adverbs intentionally, having considered stronger verbs but ultimately deciding that this adverb is what does the job properly, then there's nothing wrong with using them. This is just a trick to help you spot one common weakness in prose that a lot of authors don't even realize they have.

6. Write What You Know

This is potentially the single worst-underestood piece of writing advice. "Write what you know" DOES NOT MEAN to write only what you know or that you have to put all of your life's knowledge on the page. It just means that drawing from your own experiences and already there knowledge will help you craft a better story.

So, for instance, being an eye doctor doesn't mean you have to write a story about an eye doctor. It doesn't even mean you need to write a story that directly deals with any eye knowledge. It just means that there are likely things you've experience as an eye doctor that can help inspire or inform your story. Maybe you remember a patient who always wore the same yellow shoes, and so you include a character who does exactly that. Maybe you spent a lot of hours dealing with insurance so you decide to write about insurance agents. Maybe your practice was located next to a grocery store so you decide to write a zombie apocalypse story that takes place in a location inspired by that shopping center.

The point is that, as people, our lived experiences allow us to relate to other people and craft more believable worlds. So don't limit yourself to your lived or experience or feel obligated to only write the things you've done, but when you find yourself wondering what to write about next or how to give a character more depth or how to describe this random location, pull things from your life and let what you already know bring a certain level of unique you-ness to your writing.

And the MOST important advice I can give you is to stop looking at writing advice as some holy, unbreakable rules passed down by the gods that you cannot ever deviate from. And if a piece of advice sounds totally bonkers, do some research on it. There's a good chance that whoever's passing it to you has no idea what they're talking about. But even if every other writer swears by a certain piece of advice, you absolutely do not need to take it. Try it on if you want, and throw it away if you don't, but stop making yourselves miserable by letting random internet people dictate your life. Most people giving advice on the internet aren't where you want to be anyway, so don't expect them to be able to guide you somewhere they've never been.

Everything's made up, and nothing matters. Write what you want.

[fllagellant]

Sometimes I cannot tell if you guys want villains who do not want to be redeemed or not bc we get gortash and everyone trips over themselves to make this version of him that is absolved from his actions and he’ s changed … Anyways another day another time Wyll gets put to the back burner with crumbs of content yet everyone huddles around like “ OMG THANK YOU LARIAN … oh yeah sorry about Wyll : ((( “

You guys get you are a part of the problem right . You are letting Larian know they can get away with being racist as long as they feed fandom and whatever . Instead of actual quality of life updates and patching in content that would Actually help the game run better and feel finished , they just bloat the game and let companions go untouched with minimal content while playing into whatever the loudest voices in fandom demand the most .

The studio account should not be interacting with fandom so often . This blur between creators and fans is bad ! This leads to fans blindly defending and protecting a Game Studio that they have no connection to because haha larian mad a funny reply . And this also causes a feeling of ownership that should not be there ! You do not own a piece of bg3 and you should not be dictating it ! This is different from criticism btw . Just so we are Clear . Larian deserves and needs criticism .

It is super telling that they voices they are choosing to listen to are not voices that actually care about the game at its story . If they were , we would not have Zero Story for the Son of the Duke of Baldur’ s Gate and yet we have so much for a character that isn’ t actually tied into any major story beat ! We have no more for the character directly tied to Gortash with a prototype of the Steel Watch in her chest , but we can take a side character a few people wanted to bang and speed to have him included ad a full companion ! Instead of Dark Urge getting more content with Orin , Savrok and anyone else that had a tie to Bhaal , they get their relationship with a guy unrelated to all that be made to be read more and more explicitly romantic when that is just ruining the character !

Wyll should have a proper sex scene . He should have a romanced greeting that changes after the proposal . He should have more personal story content . He should have scenes of him in Baldur’ s Gate . The Emperor reveal as Balduran should not have been the main focus of HIS FINAL STORY QUEST . He should have hug and kiss options in the epilogue . People should comment on the engagement ! He should have all of this !! AND MORE FRANKLY .

But because everyone is so quick to forgive Larian , they’ ll never feel pressured to add any of this . They’ ll never feel like they’ ll loose players if they don’ t . Because you guys don’ t actually care . No , I am not saying thank you to larian for not giving me anything I have been asking for and sending feedback on for months . I am not thanking larian for choosing to bend over backwards to random big name fandom people who are racist and just want to fuck the pale guys again and again .

Larian Studio is not your fucking friend, stop acting like they are .

[statisticalcats2]

Anyone else think it's really fuckin weird how the left would never attack a church, even though there's churches out there explicitly preaching terrorism? But we can attack a synagogue for. *Checks notes* a perfectly legal real estate event?

It's absolutely wild. Our country is literally steadily being taken over by Christofascists but all their churches are somehow safe from angry mobs. And even if they (the anti-Zionist activists) completely ignore their own country (it's not like they live here or anything!) and focus entirely on America's support of Israel, the Christofascists are still the big group supporting the worst aspects of Israel and Zionism. They'll sometimes acknowledge this when they fight against the idea that anti-Zionism can very easily bleed over into antisemitism and they need to watch themselves and listen, they'll throw out that little piece of trivia that there are more Christian Zionists in America than there are Jewish Zionists (hell, the number of Christian Zionists in America is at least in the range of, and possibly even higher than the number of Jews alive in the whole world) but it means nothing because they don't go after the Christian Zionists the way they do Jewish Zionists. They never threaten or attack their places of worship. They never pore over Christian publications or groups looking for events to call each other to action over. No, they always focus on everything Jewish, despite their acknowledgement of Christian Zionists. Those acknowledgements definitely seem to be a cop-out, a smokescreen to try and pretend they're genuine in only being anti-Zionist (for a given definition of Zionism).

There's a lot of talk over those types of Leftists who are obsessed with "punching up" but at least 95% of the time in practice are actually punching sideways or even down. And I think this is another example of that. Some probably actually believe that Jews are a super powerful, privileged group institution in America, on par with WASPs, but I'm sure some of them also realize they're not. And that's why they protest and threaten synagogues and not churches. That's why they march into Jewish neighborhoods and intimidate the inhabitants. It's low-hanging fruit. They want someone to attack and their list of targets very conveniently is almost identical to the list of targets of the supremacist culture they grew up in.

[level2janitor]

tactiquest structure

so i've posted a lot about tactiquest's classes and monsters and everything on here but i haven't really talked about the non-combat subsystems much yet and i wanted to go into detail about them, bc tactiquest has very different goals from most heroic fantasy systems.

tracking inventory, travel time, worrying about actually running out of your adventuring budget, are things a lot of big-damn-heroes fantasy systems throw out because they're just paperwork that gets in the way of your cool fights. that's not the case in Tactiquest! these systems are so core to the experience that removing them will make a lot of classes unusable. the game is built around them.

travel & exploration

tactiquest explicitly assumes you're running an open-sandbox hexcrawl and is designed to support that, including the fact the game is designed around random encounters. this is the sort of thing D&D 3e expected you to do, but people ditched random encounters because they thought they were boring and tedious. so classes balanced around that attrition of resources ended up with a huge spike in power other classes couldn't match.

the boring-and-tedious problem is mostly addressed by trying to make combat really good and resolve really fast. if i fucked that up the whole thing falls apart, but so far people are liking it

the second thing that helps with random encounters is your resources don't fully restore immediately at the end of each day like they do in 3e. resting is less effective in the wilderness and resources expended are a tomorrow problem, not just a today problem. so you don't have to have 3+ fights every single day just to maintain parity - 0-2 fights per day still adds up to difficult resource management.

because the game has such a focus on it, you can have classes like the ranger actually be good at travel and exploration instead of just giving them vaguely-naturey combat abilities.

economy

in most D&D-likes, even usually OSR ones, you accrue so much gold. just as a side effect of adventuring. to the point money no longer actually matters because you can throw piles of it at any problem. this is bad. it's a system that defeats its own purpose; there are no interesting choices involving money when you have so much the only real expense is like, 50,000-gold-piece magic items.

i don't just want players to care about money, i want them to worry about money, like a normal person. you're not batman who's a billionaire as a side hobby, you're spiderman who has to deliver pizzas in between superhero work because he's got bills to pay like everyone else. so a whole lot of effort has been put into actually designing prices and treasure amounts around this dynamic.

i also hate how games will usually go "oh adventuring gives you 900,000 gold for existing but a normal person's living wage is 2 gold a month". i don't want to be fantasy jeff bezos, thanks

inventory

this is something i just lifted from OSR games outright. you can carry ten things (and tiny things don't take up an item slot). that's the whole rule.

tracking inventory can add a lot of interesting decisions to a game and adds a new lever for abilities from classes and magic items. having a character play the merchant class which gets a bunch of extra inventory slots feels really impactful. finding a bag of holding that doubles your carry capacity feels so good when you actually have to watch your inventory.

supply

the only thing i felt was really unenjoyable when running games with strict inventory limits was tracking rations for each character that you eat every night; it felt too much like busywork with not enough payoff. so in Tactiquest rations are abstracted into a single Supply stat that's tied to the party rather than any individual character.

you can only restock Supply in towns, and it drops by 1 each time you rest. you can sleep without resting and this won't cost supply, but you won't regain any HP or other resources. this gives you the impactful decision-making of tracking rations without the annoyance of "okay it's been a day of travel, everyone make sure you dock a ration from your sheet" like twice per session

Supply is one of the things that slowly drains your funds and gives you a reason to keep seeking out treasure, tying back into the economy. it also gives merchants and rangers some extra mechanical levers for their class abilities to pull on.

Edit: in the time since writing this post, tactiquest's been released as a public playtest. if this sounds interesting to you, play it here!

[cosmicatta]

One Piece Novel: Law — a short analysis

So, after a long time trying to get my hands on the Law light novel, I was finally able to read it recently! And, because I'm an obnoxiously intense person who can't just be normal about things, I found myself taking notes about everything I judged interesting.

And I thought I could share! So here's a mostly improvised essay about the Law novel, how it portrays Law and what it reveals about him as a character.

Some notes before I start:

The edition I've read of this novel is the official Spanish translation by Planeta. When quoting and mentioning numbered pages, I'm referencing that edition.

I originally posted this on Twitter as a thread! If it sounds familiar, that might be why.

For those who haven't read the novel and might want to: be mindful of some trigger warnings, including gruesome medical descriptions, suicidal thoughts, mentions of abuse, and violence in general (I won't be touching on these subjects here though).

These are just my personal impressions, I'm not trying to tell anyone how they should interpret the novel or Law's character. I'm just doing this for fun!

The story takes place right after Cora dies, following young Law's journey as he makes it to Swallow Island and desperately tries to survive. There, he will meet Bepo, Penguin and Shachi, as well as Wolf, a novel-exclusive character that welcomes Law and the boys into his home as a family.

Overall, it's a very short read, agile and straightforward. The style is very juvenile, but that was to be expected, and I'd say it does a pretty good job at capturing the feeling of watching a One Piece episode. The novel does kinda feel like a mini arc.

I'm unsure if light novels can be considered 100% canon in general, but since the contents don't contradict anything from what we've already seen in the manga/anime, I'm going to assume we can at least take the events described in this one as canon.

But I'll leave the plot aside a little bit to focus more on Law's psyche, analyzing everything in the novel as material that helps us further understand him.

The entire book (save from a few specific passages) is written from Law's point of view and in first person, so it offers a more in-depth look at his way of thinking, motivations and ideals.

What I find most interesting in this sense is that the whole story is very centered around Law's kindness. Though he does admit several times that he had wanted to see the world burn when he was under Doflamingo's care (as we already know from the source material), the novel makes it very obvious that Law's true nature is compassionate. His inner voice even explicitly states that he enjoys helping and making others happy. (Quotes roughly translated from Spanish):

P. 27: "And I felt very comfortable collaborating with the task of helping others."

P. 92: "Knowing that I was going to free a person from their pain [...] gave me a joy I had never experienced before."

P. 136: "Just imagining the surprised faces of the Old Man, Bepo and the others brought a smile to my face" [when planning on getting fresh fish for dinner as a surprise].

And, despite living under Wolf's motto of "give to take," Law never expects anything in return for any of his good actions. In fact, he gets furious at Wolf himself when, after saving his life, the old man insists on giving Law anything he demands as compensation.

P. 120: "I didn't save you because I wanted a reward!" [...] They [Bepo, Shachi and Penguin] burst into tears of happiness when they realized that you had survived. That's more than enough for me! [...]" I won't let you belittle their tears!"

But even then, Law keeps arguing that he only saved Wolf "on a whim," much like he would say years later when asked why he chose to save Luffy's life. This is a common theme throughout the whole book (which is also pretty obvious in the manga)—Law doesn't recognize his own kindness.

It's not modesty or shyness, his inner monologue makes it very clear that he doesn't see himself as good-natured, and is often confused at his own motivations.

In their first meeting, when Bepo asks him why he is so nice to him, Law doesn't know what to answer; and after that, when Law finds himself wondering why he's trying so hard to save Shachi and Penguin despite their past history, he blames it all on "doctor's pride."

P. 48: "I wasn't even a good person."

Still, regardless of what Law might think of himself, living in Swallow Island seems to be making him progressively gentler. He was wary and hostile towards Wolf at first, but eventually lets himself trust people again, trying to honor Cora's memory and what he taught Law.

In Swallow Island he builds his new found family little by little, though never letting go of Cora and what he meant to Law.

P. 39: "Cora and I were family, that's what I felt at heart, I had no doubts. We had loved each other without saying it out loud [...] Would I feel the same for the Old Man and Bepo eventually?"

Slowly, he starts finding comfort and joy in community. He lets himself be carefree around his new friends, treating them with open affection, laughing and being surprisingly enthusiastic (although he quickly starts taking his role as a leader very seriously, and sometimes avoids showing weakness around them so as not to worry them.)

Law even gets to become an active part of life in Pleasure Town, where he and the other boys are cherished after 3 years living and working there. He's comfortable with his role in the community and appreciates the people in town. His sense of duty towards them shines especially when the pirates arrive to attack the town.

Again, this contrasts with how Law sees himself even in the manga/anime, where he insists that he acts mostly out of selfishness and only seeking his own benefit (or, in the best of cases "on a whim.")

But the truth is that Law's decisions are almost always related to other people's desires.

In this sense, the concept of guilt is also key to understand Law's motivations and his relationship with the world as a whole. This is especially obvious when it comes to Cora—Law even briefly wishes that they had never met, so that Cora would still be alive (p. 128-129.)

In a way, guilt is what moves Law forward, and what slowly starts transforming into a thirst for revenge, into rage and hatred towards Doflamingo and possibly towards himself too. It's a kind of tragic guilt born out of love.

His love for Cora still haunts him, his last wish for Law is the big enigma that he tries to solve during his 3 years in Swallow Island: be free. What is freedom to Law? How can he fulfill Cora's request? This is the question that gives meaning to the novel.

We know that Law wouldn't feel free until finally taking down Doflamingo and avenging Cora's death many years later, but he hasn't reached that point of determination in the novel yet. Maybe that's what gives the narration that hopeful and optimistic tone, with a young Law that's still finding himself, experiencing wonder in loving again, and learning what it means for him to be true to his values. It's the start of an adventure, and its core theme is love.

The ending illustrates this very well; I especially like the moment where Law names the crew as they're setting sail:

P. 243: "Cora's love that he showed me, Wolf's affection, the trust I had in my companions. One word embodied it all: Heart."

It is love that gives Law a reason to keep going. And I'm so glad that the novel doesn't shy away from this fact and isn't afraid of sounding "sappy" or "corny," because I do believe emotion is a very important part of Law's character.

The epilogue closes with a very interesting quote in the last page:

"You hear that, Cora? This is my... This is our pirate crew."

It is unclear if by "our" he is referring to himself and Cora, as if dedicating this new beginning to him, or if he means him and his crew. I'd personally like to think he means it both ways. But in any case, it's interesting that he openly shares the honor of "owning" his crew with someone else. He is the captain, but not the owner. It's another little way in which his generosity is evidenced.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable read, and it left me wanting more. Obviously, it's not a literature masterpiece, but it gives a lot of interesting material for character analysis, which is super fun.

Finally, here’s a few fun facts for those who can’t/don’t want to read the novel but enjoy the little trivia:

The Polar Tang was built and designed by Wolf.

Law’s first tattoo was "DEATH," and he got it at a local tattoo shop in Pleasure Town at around 15 years old.

Shachi and Penguin are childhood friends and likely met through their parents.

Shachi had always wanted to be a hair stylist.

Law is bad at cooking.

Both Shachi and Penguin are good at cooking, especially Penguin, who worked as a waiter in Pleasure Town.

The Hearts’ jolly roger was collectively designed by Law, Bepo, Shachi and Penguin days before leaving Swallow Island.

Law decided the name of their crew upon setting sail for the first time.

And I think that's all! ♥ I hope my rambling was enjoyable at least!

Edit: I've now posted an analysis of the Ace novels too!

[lilislegacy]

I'm not a big fan of Percabeth. But, I'm still open to see different sides of a thing. So, I would like to ask what do you see in the couple? What made you like Percabeth? Was the ship important to you when you were a child/teenager? Can you list the positive things that you may remember about Percabeth, please? If you can't, it's okay too. For the last one: What is the thing you love the most about them?

Oh my god I could go on and on about this question. I will try to keep it as short as possible. Basically, I just love how deep their relationship goes. There are so many things about them that makes them such an incredible pairing to me

1. There is so much mutual respect and support between them. They are battle partners. They respect each other's strengths and capabilities to the highest degree. Annabeth deeply values Percy's bravery and loyalty, while Percy deeply values and admires Annabeth's intelligence and strategic thinking. They support each other no matter what. No one respects Annabeth more than Percy, and no one respects Percy more than Annabeth. They trust one another explicitly. And that deep-rooted trust and respect is what separates them from so many other pairings.

2. They perfectly complement each other. Their contrasting personalities balance each other out so beautifully. Percy is impulsive and unpredictable, and Annabeth is thoughtful and strategic, which makes them an incredibly strong team. In any situation, whatever one of them lacks, the other has in abundance. Percy gets angry and worked up easily, but Annabeth can calm him down. Annabeth overthinks things and stresses herself out, but Percy can simplify things and bring her back down to earth. They keep each other level on a deep mental/emotional level. And the biggest one, in my opinion: Annabeth’s biggest fear is being betrayed and abandoned, and Percy’s defining trait is unwavering loyalty. They are like two different puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together.

3. They’ve been through so much togeher. The two of them share a history that no one else could possibly understand. They have learned and grown so much together. They started going on dangerous quests together when they were little baby 12 year olds, and have been fighting by each other’s side ever since. From going on quests, to being part of a prophecy, to dealing with the complexities of their identities as demigods, the challenges they’ve faced have impacted them both tremendously. And no one else would understand exactly why they’re the way they are. And you know, there’s the fact that they literally walked through hell together. Their experiences deepen their connection and understanding of each other more than words can describe. No one else could possibly understand them like they understand each other.

4. The chemistry is off the charts. The heat and attraction between them is abundantly clear, which adds a layer of realism and excitement to their relationship. In PJO it’s mainly tension - that’s clear in their banter and arguments and angsty thoughts - but when they’re older and together, it’s shown more through attraction and physical affection. Let me give some examples. When Annabeth touched his back in TLO, Percy says he feels as if jolts of electrify course through his body. In the demigod diaries, Percy mentions how beautiful she looks while in combat. There’s also a scene where he can’t focus because he’s literally staring at how her camp beads lay against her throat. Annabeth is constantly wanting to hug him and be in his arms. When she sees him in MoA, she literally has to restrain herself from continuously kissing him. And when they are about to fall into tartarus, to either death or torture, her dominating thought is how handsome he looks. Throughout all of HoO, they are super touchy and affectionate with each other, always touching and cuddling and kissing one another whenever they can. And of course, I have to mention the time that they literally made out in front of Piper in BoO, and Annabeth makes “grunt-whimper” sounds. I just love how down bad for each other they are. No one who can read can deny it. There is so much heat and attraction and affection between them.

5. Their loyalty to each other is unwavering. They consistently prioritize each other's well-being over anything and anyone else. They always have each other’s backs, both in battle and verbal interactions. They quite literally go across the country/world to find each other when they each get kidnapped. No distance, no person, nothing will stop them from finding each other and protecting each other.

6. They are equals. Given they are both legendary greek heroes who will go down in olympian history, it’s hard to find someone who compares. But they are both so equally extraordinary. Sure, they have different strengths, but neither is better than the other. They are both incredibly brave. They are both super witty. They both would do anything for their friends. They are both leaders. They just GET each other. They are on another level - and it’s the exact same level.

There’s more too. I could go on and on and on. (And on.) There is so much I didn’t say. But all of those elements combined is why I love them. They were made to love one another. They choose to love each other, every single moment of every day.

And my favorite thing? Probably that above all, they are best friends. There are all the things I mentioned above, but at the foundation of their relationship is an unwavering friendship. They just love being together. They love joking around together and hanging out, but also holding each other when times are rough. They take care of each other. I love that they are BFFs. Two besties who also happen to be soulmates, together against the world.

Ugh I just love them. I need to stop talking

[turbolezgooo]

Why ya'll hate on Cait and call her a dictator?

Well-written characters often have a story deeper than what you explicitly see them do or hear them say. Just because everything is set in a fantasy world, doesn't mean that characters are not affected by tragic events and the human condition.

First of all, Cait wasn't the one who made a police state. Ambessa and the council did that. Ambessa orchestrated the whole thing. Cait went along with it because she was turned around by grief. That shit messes with your judgment, but she was still trying to do what she and Vi agreed on. To focus on the real problem and prevent hurting innocent people.

Cait tried to control an unraveling situation AND literal warlord WHILE being inexperienced in how to deal with it, having a big ol' lesbian break up, AND dying inside.

You could see that when Cait argued to Ambessa that there are innocent people and there MUST be justifiable cause to arrest anyone. In Cait and Ambessa's interactions it's implied that Cait was getting in the way of Ambessa's agenda off-screen. She tried to keep something worse from happening because she does acknowledge the historical and current oppression of Zaunites.

This mirrors the way she offered Vi the badge to give her a voice in what happens to her sister if the enforcers caught her. The enforcers coming after Jinx was going to happen regardless of Cait. She took control by volunteering and taking precautions. See- While they did use gas, Vi would never agree to something that would permanently hurt the people of Zaun. The tactic gave them fewer chances of having to physically fight Zaunites who were just trying to defend themselves. Believe it or not, it was a controlled operation until grief got the better of Cait and things looked worse than it actually was.

The way that Cait deeply believes in equality in spite of a personal vendetta is why Ambessa sent Maddie to try and control her by 'filling' her hole (no pun intended). When Maddie attempted to have Cait stop the police state situation and withdraw, she did focus on Jinx at first but the second part of not wanting to make things worse was something she had a lot more to say about before Maddie interrupted. And Cait was right. What would have happened if she hadn't taken the role and played along? A puppet councillor or Ambessa herself would have been the figure head and do so much worse. Those people don't have the same perspective and understanding as Cait.

When Cait and Vi argue about listening to a war pig oink poison in her ear, she yells "I know!" as she throws a piece of war ship used in strategizing. You can tell her role was a strategic choice to have some control over the events that unfolded. That's why Vi didn't villinize her. Vi understood that Cait never really accepted anything Ambessa said. That's why she helped Vi at the commune. Cait was a double agent taking shit from all sides to stop worse things from happening.

She had grief and really crap options, but she always chose the lesser of the evils to try and stay true to who she really was. She even resigns in her argument with Vi, that she didn't put Jinx, her own mother's killer, in jail or punish her in any way. It's another example of her faltering in decision-making when overwhelming or unexpected things happen and it also tells us what she is. She's human. She doesn't make excuses for taking on an objectively bad role and making mistakes. When she said "We can't erase our mistakes.", she's also talking about herself. She takes responsibility and tries to do good. In the end, all she wanted was closure for her grief by having Jinx accept responsibility NOT by killing or abusing her or innocent Zaunites for that matter.

Imo there's a lot in Arcane that shows Cait as a flawed but inherently good person, and Vi absolutely knows it. They see each other warts and all. If you think CaitVi's lex scene was poorly written read this: https://www.tumblr.com/turbolezgooo/768190482340773888/bro-this-outrage-about-caitvi-relationship-in-s2?source=share

[luviwon]

sunwon anon back with part 2;

jungwon would be far from done with you, turning you over so now you're facing the door, leaning against it with your ass tutted out and facing him. jungwon thought the position was perfect, because now not only will he be fucking you, sunoo will painfully withhold his own moans as best as he can, getting off to the sounds of your pleasure only a few feet away, and your ear was pressed against the door giving you no choice but to hear him. something about knowing sunoo knows what you're doing, but he isn't interfering, and he doesn't know you know, is so hot. he thinks he's the filthy one, shamelessly conjuring up the most compromising images of you he can recall. the time he saw you bend over and could see the shape of your pussy mound in your panties, the other time during movie night, where he knew jungwon must have done something to you earlier that day due to how much you kept shifting beside him, your eyes constantly looking out of focus while jungwon looked either directly at you, the movie, or locked eyes with sunoo himself, a smirk on his lips while he brought one hand out from under the blanket that covered you both, sunoo instantly realizing now why jungwon had both hands previously hidden, why you looked the way you did, when jungwon gave him a "shh" gesture with a pointer finger that glistened when illuminated by the light cast in the room by the movie everyone else was paying attention to, shining with slick that surely came from your cunt while everyone else wasn't paying attention. you were good at hiding it, at keeping quiet. but it all came to a head the time sunoo had a full, uninterrupted view of you alone on jungwon's bed, unaware the bedroom door was slightly ajar, clueless to the fact that sunoo was watching you and the way your pussy spread for your fingers like a vulture, the way you got yourself off on jungwon's bed, but said both of their names. he wanted to think he'd imagined it, no matter what you were thinking, no matter how brash wonie got with showing you off, hugging you from behind in ways that squished your tits together in front of him, kissing your neck so sunoo can see you squirm in embarrassment, it didn't mean you were explicitly interested in him. but this? moaning his name while you got off on jungwon's bed? that's only an accident if it happens once. but to his amazement and dismay, you said it again. and again. and again. and that day became the first of many where sunoo would stand staring at you from the crack at the door, getting himself off, whether you were touching yourself or not. when you'd shower and find your underwear gets "lost" in the laundry, your little trinkets in jungwon's room occasionally misplaced, you didn't think much of it. but for sunoo, access to these pieces of you meant everything. taking them meant everything. feeling the fabric of your panties become sopping wet and rub against his cock meant more. so when you finally heard him moan on the other side of the door, not knowing how long he's dreamt of this, barely aware of how far you've helped him get along, you clenched, and jungwon noticed. he leaned forward, the heat of his body warming your back, the fabric of his hoodie giving a gentle separation to your hot and sweaty bodies as he whispered in your ear "do we have an audience?" he asked you as if he didn't know, as if he wasn't aware when he had sent an inquiry to the group chat, the one you aren't in, hours earlier that sunoo replied he's going to be home most of the day when discussing their plans. but he knew, full and well. he also knew you and sunoo were going to enjoy what's next, and so he whispered to you again "let's give him a show" before picking up his pace with a smile, your body rhythmically banging against the door along with a slurry of incomprehensible blabbering that sent sunoo over the edge, he let out a groan as his cum coated your stretched out underwear, long past the point of being worth returning from how frequently he'd been using it to wrap his cock, what would have been ribbons instead spurring out the twitching head

that’s so fucking hot holy shit i’m so wet fuck

[yujinslovr]

DAY 8 : gp!sakura x fem!reader

(kkuras a virgin but its not explicitly said)

KINKTOBER MASTERLIST

CW: voyeurism, creampie, degrading, aphrosidiac usage, kkuras highkey a stalker

word count: 1,296

a/n: this is ass

you and sakura had been roommates ever since you two started college, yet despite this you two barely ever spoke beyond the daily hi’s and hello’s. she was usually always locked in her room doing whatever it was she did (you assumed it was gaming) while you also kept to yourself. you would admit you were a bit promiscuous, but you had never heard any complaints from your roommate so you could only assume that you had done a good job at keeping quiet. 

sakura knew what you did, she wasn't deaf, your loud screams being heard even through her headphones. what you didn't know was that sakura enjoyed it whenever you brought people over. it started off as pure fascination, she could only wonder what exactly the guy you had brought over was doing so good to evoke such noises. she slightly pushed your room door open and watched through the small crack of where your door was open. seeing what was happening she couldn't help her erection, her body responding before her. she coulda sworn she had seen this same exact scene in one of the filthy hentais she had watched. following what she had watched she unzipped her jeans and fished her cock out through the hole in it. she spat on her hand and started off with a fast pace, beating one out to the sight of you getting fucked. it was like real life porn in sakura’s eyes, she didn't see anything wrong with what she was doing. 

and that was how it started. everytime you’d bring someone over sakura would unbeknownst to you be watching and jerk off to the sight of you, wishing that she was the one fucking you. 

soon enough, her actions escalated, even going as far as installing spy cameras all around your room so that she’d have a better view while watching you. all the while you stayed none the wiser. 

today was one of the unfortunate days in which you didn't bring anyone home, you had too much homework and couldn't afford to go out, seduce someone, and then bring them back to your room. you had spent this whole day buried in assignments, and surprisingly your sweet roommate sakura even made you food! you guessed it was because you hadn't left your room this whole day, and very obviously hadn't eaten. you were surprised when she entered your room, a plate of food in hand as she said she had cooked and asked if you wanted some. 

you barely talked to sakura and for her to be offering you food was something way out of the ordinary. despite this being out of the ordinary, you happily accepted the food with a smile and a bit excitedly. maybe you two could finally get closer! 

while you were copying down notes onto a piece of paper you suddenly felt heat spreading throughout your body but mainly downwards. your eyebrows furrowed at the unexpected and sudden horniess you were feeling. you tried to ignore the growing stickiness between your thighs but it proved almost impossible. today was supposed to be a study day but now you couldn't get your mind off of sex. you decided to take a quick break and calm yourself down so that you could focus better on your homework. deciding to close your laptop and go to lay down on your bed, slowly lowering your sweatpants and underwear.  

sakura was sat in her room, her attention focused on the live footage of you playing on her monitor screen. she had been watching you for a while now, just observing your actions and wondering when the aphrodisiac she had soaked your food in would kick in. as was seen now in the footage, she figured it had finally kicked in. sakura had this whole thing planned out for so long, not finding the courage nor a chance to do this before. but today when she checked her cameras and saw that you had your hair up in a messy bun and had your cute reading glasses rested on your nose she knew that today would be her only chance. you rarely had these ‘study days’ and she was for sure not gonna chicken out this time. she had made up her mind. 

her plan was that she was going to ‘accidently’ walk in on you masturbating and then boom you two would have sex. if it was anyone else she knew she wouldn't have a chance but you let practically anyone in you so she knew this wouldn't be hard. 

when your moans got loud enough for sakura to hear them over her headphones she decided it was either now or never. she turned off her pc and walked over to your room, gently knocking on the door and cracking it open and sticking her head through. “hey y/n, i heard a lot of noises and i was just wondering if you were-” sakura cut herself off as she feigned shock. 

the sight of you being naked with three fingers shoved into your dripping cunt was what sakura had ‘surprisingly’ walked into. her mouth gaped open as she trailed her eyes along your sweaty figure, you on the other hand were too lost in your pleasure, you couldn't stop. you made eye contact with her as you fucked yourself, the embarassment of this situation not dawning on your horny brain. sakura could feel the throbbing erection that was now growing in her pants. the way you moaned while staring her dead in the eyes was doing nothing but turning her on. she lowered her pants to her ankles and took the silent invitation your eyes held. she gave her cock a few messy strokes before positioning herself at your entrance, she reached down and picked up your hand that was previously inside of you and brought it up to her mouth to taste you. as soon as she wrapped her mouth around your fingers she quickly bottomed out into you. 

your loud scream of her name did nothing but encourage her to go faster and rougher. she dropped your hand and put both of her hands next to your head as she started her impossibly fast pace. you were extremely wet and for some reason so horny to the point where her massive cock stretching your insides caused nothing but pleasure. 

“fuckin’ whore, how many cocks have you even taken in this slutty pussy of yours?” 

her raspy voice in your ear caused more moans to leave your throat, the degradation turning you on more.

“‘m surprised you're not gaping with how many people you’ve let into your used fuckin’ pussy.” 

sakura had her head leaned on the bed next to yours as she panted out the words directly into your ear. 

“‘m gna fuck you so good you wont want anyone in this whore pussy ‘sept me” 

you couldn’t even respond to her, the only thing coming out of your mouth being chants of her name. “can't wait to fill you up ‘n see my cum leakin’ out of you.” her filthy words being the last push you needed to fall over the edge, a high pitch scream of her name leaving your throat. she kept up the same pace all throughout your orgasm and only when the last bits of your orgasm faded was when she finally came, the tip of her cock touching the deepest parts of you as she released her hot sticky semen into you. sakura pulled out and collapsed next to you, you could feel her cum dripping down and out of you. you looked beside you to see sakura passed out and let out a small chuckle. 

that's one way of getting closer to her.

[koimethehorizon]

Fionna and Cake theory: Simon the Artist

Nothing like a good old creative panic attack.

Fionna and Cake good. Haven’t been excited about a show like this in a long time, though it being a part of Adventure Time does help quite a bit. I was holding on to some cautious optimism for the show when it was announced as yet another big IP series covering the multiverse (still waiting to groan at THAT scene where Prismo has to explain to us about there being infinite universes), but as usual, Adventure Time’s crew continues to surprise me with its creativity, humor, and thematic resonance.

The most striking part about Fionna and Cake so far is just how deliberately the show wants us to differentiate it from the original Adventure Time.

We’re getting shots where Simon pops an artery from his arm, a theme song that explicitly talks about suicidal ideation, discussions of rent and financial problems, and curses no longer disguised with AT’s usual dialogue. Adventure Time has always had violence, thematic density, and juvenile rating pushers, but they were always reserved at small points. Meanwhile, these are factors that are just casually shown and discussed in Fionna and Cake every 3 minutes or so. This is not an all-ages miniseries, it’s for young adults. (hint: this will be relevant later)

Let’s get right into it. This is much less a speculative lore theory and more on what thematic direction the story may be going.

Before we do, let’s get this out of the way first. This theory assumes that the current Fionna and Cake world is all a part of Simon’s head and not merely a separate multiverse, which… I’m certain is fact for the following reasons.

The immediately obvious piece is that Fionna and Cake was always the Ice King’s fanfiction. Now if you’re versed in AT’s continuity you’re probably going to be asking about the red light in Fionna and Cake + Fionna and… I’ve no answer for it unfortunately. It’ll probably be relevant later in the series and possibly age this post like milk but for now, we’re not here to focus on the how, but the why.

Second is that the intro and the ending of Ep 2 literally show Fionna’s world spilling right out of Simon’s head like an animated world out of a frozen brain. If that isn’t clear enough-

Didn't realize this until writing, but these glasses are just plastic made to look like Betty's

There’s no other explanation for this other than that this world is artificial or influenced by Simon in some sense. Fionna even specifies that the statue went under renovation 12 years ago, but nobody seems to know who it is. Considering how Finn looks in the episode, it’s likely that it’s been that long since Betty’s sacrifice in the finale.

With that out of the way, here it goes.

The reason Fionna and Cake exist in the first place is because the creators found Natasha Allegri’s genderswap designs charming and wanted an in-universe reason to use them the Ice King wanted to create trashy, wish fulfillment through art. It was a phase.

Definitely changed that image for publishing.

Simon can argue if they’re good or bad but it’s undeniably his art. It’s not just a portfolio he left behind in a closet, it’s an experience that was shared with a larger audience.

And even if wasn’t liked at first, the citizens of Ooo seemed to have come around to it. And some of them love it!

Whether Simon likes it or not, he has a fan base that is so endeared to the story he made all those years ago that they demand he makes more. Why let a good story, loved by many, go to rest when you still have some life and creativity left in you?

Can't move on in more ways than one.

Except, the problem is that Simon isn’t Ice King anymore. He’s aged out of it.

His real passion is history, he's an adult who who finds passion in the mundane and antiques from the past. And frankly, there isn’t much room for wish-fulfillment and fantasy anymore. Simon has responsibilities. He has a job and a daughter in a world that is moving faster than he can process.

And where Ice King wrote about looking for love, Simon has already had it.

And lost it. His mind isn’t focused on the rosiness of finding new love, it’s grieving the one he already thought was the one.

Wasn't he supposed to be good with kids?

Despite his new life experiences, all his peers seem to want from him is to make more of what they’re familiar with.

A story made from wants and wishes that he doesn’t even have anymore.

A story that was literally made by someone else at a different time. It’s a fiction he cannot connect to anymore, art that he’s embarrassed by. Yet also jealous of. Because at one point, the body Simon used to be in understood what exactly was missing from his life and could express that easily.

Seeing it again is like experiencing a retrospection of a cringey loser you don’t want to imagine having ever been. It’s not you anymore, and you don’t want to be reminded of that.

Because despite him having a new creative passion, no one seems to care about that. All they want is Fionna and Cake. And what is more lonely than other people misunderstanding what you’re trying to express?

If I failed to make it clear somehow, my theory is that: Simon’s relationship with Fionna and Cake is a metaphor for creators growing out of their art. And this new Fionna and Cake world is still comfort art born out of Simon’s current desires and perceptions.

The snippet subtitles this “child holding a phone”. I guess I’m wrong. Essay over.

Episode 1 and 2 both have direct parallels with each other. They’re both about a protagonist who are feeling displaced from their world, living a phase of losing a significant other, leaving a thankless job, wearing a mask of stability in front of the people they care for, seeking a guru at the heart of the forest, and concluding that they no longer belong in their current world.

But more importantly, Fionna and Cake (the characters, the world, and the show) are no longer for an all-ages crowd. Fionna and Cake now feature young adults, curses, gore, alcohol, partial nudity, financial issues, morning routines, mid-life crisis, and overt suicidal ideation. These are the feelings that Simon relates to and possibly desires to express through art. Thus, his story and our new miniseries have warped that way.

Am I overthinking this? No. How dare you assume that.

Is equating the unconscious writings of his dementia-ridden self to Simon as his younger self seem a bit odd? ….Kinda. Again, it’s not the how but the why that matters in this case. I'm NOT crazy, I have proof that there is some acknowledgment of this directly in the show.

Rewatch the bar scene and apply this reading of the episode to what Simon says there:

“Your old stuff, Fionna and Cake, honest to glob my man, is an inspiration to me.”

“My old stuff, I don’t really want to talk about my old stuff…”

“Why not? You should be proud! You wrote an entire extended universe in a fugue state if you think about it.”

"Simon cringes"

If you have ever shared art with a group of people in the past, you’ve had this conversation.

Not likely, not possibly, no perhapses. You HAVE.

And Fionna and Cake being an epilogue to a massive award-winning, near-decade-spanning, cultural sensation 5 years after it ended, might result in its creators feeling very retrospective about what audiences want from them now.

And how difficult it’s going to be to tell new experiences and tones from what’s come before. Also, come on. “Extended Universe?” That doesn’t sound like Fionna and Cake. That sounds a lot like something else.

Again, seems bad with this kid.

One of the more profound shots in the main trailer for the show features the inconspicuously Finn-like kid crouching at her Fionna and Cake book in Simon’s trash. I believe this character is going to have a major role in two ways. Convincing Simon to be proud of what he’s accomplished and/or embracing that Simon wants to move away from his original work in order to create something new, or perhaps more likely, reinvent Fionna and Cake into what Simon relates to now.

We’ll just have to see what Simon thinks of his new Fionna next week.

PS. Talking as a fan now, WHAT IS UP WITH THE 1000+ TREEHOUSE IN THE INTRO?!!! ARE WE REVISITING THIS TIMELINE AGAIN?

SOMEONE TELL ME NOW!!!

[theclownghoul]

Gratuitous

Opinion piece & analysis

I really hate how Jinx’s suicidality is portrayed in S2, largely in Act lll but we’ll talk about all of it.

In S1 we have about three moments (by my count) that show Jinx harming herself or trying to end her life. Hitting herself in episode 3, being careless with the staples in episode 7 and pulling the pin on the bridge also in episode 7. There is also a line she says to Vi “You’re the reason I’m still alive” in episode 9 which given other things she says in that moment could be interpreted as other ideations.

What makes these moments different from S2 episode 9? Well none of the three main writers were credited to those episodes other than the dialogue in S1 episode 9. Most of them are communicated through animation only. They also just feel different, they’re vulnerable, other things are the focus and her doing these things is just a reaction to those feelings. There was something to get from the scene besides a showcase of her pain.

Episode 9 of S2 is not that. It’s gratuitous, it’s a spectacle, it’s gory and somehow losing all its impact. There’s the music which is not what I’d call tasteful or subtle. It’s making an impression, wants to force a feeling or reaction. Make you sad or horrified and oh, I was horrified but not the way they wanted.

Even the way she digs her nails into her cuticles in S2 episode 8 isn’t really meant to show us anything about her. It’s meant to affect the audience.

In comparison I almost appreciate how people have read her pulling the pin in S1 episode 7 as trying to manipulate or take Ekko out too instead of being a completely clear cut attempt. Because it at least shows that there is enough going on with the character’s mindset that we can speculate on her motivations and how she’s reacting to all the emotions that came from fighting her old friend. If you look at her face it’s sadness and regret (S1 is also better at story through facial expressions since there was forethought). You’re free to have your own reaction, not the one that’s set out for you.

I have mixed feelings about her fight with Vi now and telling Vi that she’s okay to go out by her hand. It feels closer to the moments in S1 than later in episode 9. There’s more going on, we’re meant to consider multiple layers of both her and Vi’s feelings in the moment. It’s a non explicit parallel to the Bridge and does show a pattern of behaviour. It’s also not credited to any of the main writers.

The scene from the opening of episode 9 as a whole, is it romanticization? Heard differing opinions on this and I honestly don’t know where I stand. One one hand it shows how empty she feels and how everything has come crashing down despite trying and it communicates her emotions through the images and music. On the other the scene is meant to be visually appealing while also showing her detonating the bomb very explicitly, like you see her blood. I’m sorry but this is some 13 reasons shit. None of this is helped by the fact that Isha was killed purposely to get her in this state.

I had way more emotions about the actual story in the scene with Ekko in S1 and the scene with Vi in episode 3. Originally I liked this scene but I just can’t really remember why exactly, especially when compared to the earlier ones. The other scenes aren’t lacking in any way when it comes to showing her despair so I’m lead to believe it’s a stylistic choice in line with S2’s music video focus.

Then there’s Ekko… what did he do to deserve this? I’ve said before that if he had to he would save her but the reason he had to was because this scene sounded like a good idea. Saw someone say why is it his responsibility to save her and yeah why? He’s her romantic interest? Not from her perspective at this point and that’s a terrible reason anyway. Not only are we shown her blowing herself up in detail, being inflicted with it but he also has to see that, multiple times. Please don’t make me think too long about it… then we don’t see what actually changes her mind and actually see their bond. That also doesn’t give me a lot of faith is what they think is important to show.

Then she sacrifices herself at the end to “break the cycle” which no one is actually clear on what is meant by that and the same damn song is playing. It’s weird.

I’d like to compare it to the Poison sequence from Hazbin Hotel since that scene faced backlash for romanticizing abuse specifically in that scene. If I can describe what makes Poison not exploitative and what makes Wasteland so then I can safely say they are different and there is something deeply sinister about Jinx’s scene.

Poison benefits internally, inside the context of the story from being visually appealing and pretty. That tells part of the story in and of itself and eventually it cracks, mirroring how Angel feels in the scene and in his situation.

Wasteland benefits externally, it’s done for the audience as I’ve been saying. There is nothing about Jinx’s mindset or actions that we get a better insight into from the stylistic choices. We know “she loves a spectacle” but that’s the only internal explanation that I could make. Even if they wanted the cutting of her hair and the burning on the last drop but the framing could have easily been different.

Think about the staple scene for contrast, it has no interest in being something other than what it is, brutal and disorienting, just as she is feeling in that moment. Jinx would behave that way whether there were “eyes” on her or not. Poison is the same, Angel “performs” to keep his thoughts at bay regardless of an audience. Wasteland only exists in its current form to entertain.

The final “sacrifice” also falls into this, solely focusing on eliciting a reaction from the audience and making a spectacle of sadness. There is no resolution to Jinx’s earlier conversation with Ekko, we don’t see her reflect, we don’t see a change. We have no reason to believe she’s in any way in a better place. Her decision to give her life for Vi’s isn’t particularly fleshed out and this as a conclusion to her arc is bizarre at best and offensive at worst, suggesting she had to remove herself from her loved ones lives, something she simultaneously feared and was tempted by.

I probably shouldn’t feel the need to make such a caveat but I am aware that the could be a matter of preference when it comes to how scenes like this are portrayed but the way this scene was done continues to strike me as odd. I can’t help but think it maybe intentionally or unintentionally is playing into the “sacrifice” message where, it may be a sad thing but Jinx had to die. And that’s a horrible thing to say.

[mari-lair]

Kou never mistakes Hanako for a human, and I find that interesting.

He heard about Amane from Nene, who had front roll seats to his past and gained an intimate wake up call that "Hanako is not a 'magic being' from a fantasy book, he was a student, who is now dead"

His death is not a conflict for Kou though, is just who he is. He is well aware the ghost is dead, so what Nene shares isn't a revelation, is just small pieces of the puzzle that is Hanako: the understanding he used to study here.

Kou has no real link to Amane, he never met the guy. Even when explicitly talking about Amane, Kou has no mental image of this 13-year-old who killed his own brother, he can only picture Hanako, the ghost.

Kou doesn't interact with 'Amane' in Picture Perfect either, the very few interactions they have are super short, and always started by Hanako in his Amane disguise.

The one time Kou approaches him is because 'Amane' was carrying an unconscious Nene, so he gets curious, and shows that he doesn't trust him.

But when he learns it's Hanako, he is delighted. It doesn't matter that Mitsuba is acting weird, and that he still didn't get any answers, cause is Hanako! Hanako his buddy!

He never had a wish for Hanako to be alive, to be his classmate, so he doesn't feel any desperate attachment to the idea of 'Yugi Amane' like he did with the idea of 'Mitsuba Sousuke' only ever seeing him as a wrong version of Hanako from the start. Is not real, so of course he doesn't trust him.

His view of Hanako cannot be separated from him being a ghost.

Hanako is the one who properly introduced Kou to the world of supernaturals and served as an informant on the Far Shore when Teru kept him in the dark. He teaches Kou about rumors, boundaries, supernatural festivals, and introduces him to the complex feelings some of the dead may have about lingering on the Near Shore.

There are two main mentalities Kou has when it comes to Hanako, the first is 'I don't know enough about Hanako to tell if he is a threat, he is so weird, I want to learn about him' The second is 'he helps me and Nene. He looks after us, he is our friend.' and usually he focuses on the second.

But the "i need to gauge if he is a threat" mentality is just as important as his attachment to Hanako.

It's what makes him keep an eye on him and occasionally act like a judge, trying to figure out what is going on with him, which is a hard task.

Hanako does a lot of good and bad things to Kou.

He sealed his exorcist staff, which debilitates him through basically the whole manga, but he helps and saves him and Nene when called, he lies and is selfish, but he seems to only lie for silly things or what Hanako seems to believe is the greater good (the tears eye drops, Nene's lifespan). He seems guilty and burdened by his murder but he did murder someone. He is important to Nene, he is important to Kou, and so on.

Is too much to keep track of. Too hard to give a judgment.

So he focus on his feelings way more than logic, and he is very inclined to have a positive view of Hanako. He wants Hanako to be good. To be a friend.

He does notice his slimy behavior and he does change his perception of Hanako, slowly understanding him better and growing more wary of what he says, more careful when trying to read him.

But his doubts aren't nearly as heavy as his hopes for Hanako: He believes he wants the best for them.

If we go back to the scene where Nene is talking about Amane, there is something she says that sticks with Kou, something that immediately catches his attention "Maybe I shouldn't be his friend"

Unlike his death, this is a conflict Kou relates to.

He is making donuts for Hanako as they speak, absorbing everything he learns about the guy and using the information to help Hanako because he wants to cheer up Hanako.

Hanako being important to Nene is important to Kou. They are a group to him, and he isn't alone in his uncertainty.

Kou keep this mentality of just doing what he wants for a while, childish as it is, but slowly, he is forced to give Hanako more thought, to take him seriously.

His view on Hanako has been tipping to the negative recently. He always knew about Hanako being strange and full of secrets but he can't dismiss it anymore, since the ghost started lying about big things, like trapping Nene in a fake world and exchanging Aoi's lifespan for hers without Nene's consent. Is not like his usual avoidance and silly lies, he is getting harmful.

Hanako gave Kou plenty of glimpses into his more 'inhuman' mentality. He has shown Kou a lot of hints that pratically scream "Stop trusting me kid."

It piles up.

It becomes harder to know what is a lie. What isn't. What is okay and what shouldn't be forgiven.

Kou keeps trying to understand him and give him the benefit of the doubt , he truly doesn't want to believe Hanako is just an 'evil spirit' after everything they've been through. He is a supernatural but he is his teacher and friend too, that got to mean something.

But he doesn't have a clear answer. He can think as hard as he want, he still has no idea what is going on inside Hanako's head, he just wants to believe is something for Nene's sake. Because even if he isn't sure what Hanako thinks of him, he wants to believe he wants Nene to be happy, that his care for her is strong and genuine.

Besides the conflict between "he is an apparition, he is a friend" There is also the way Kou is dependent on Hanako.

Hanako is extremely helpful, he gives him all the answers related to supernaturals. Even when Kou didn't trust Hanako, the ghost already took the role of 'the guide' in the group, offering Kou something he always wanted: Information on supernaturals. A ticket to be part of a world Kou had always wanted to be part of, but his brother had sheltered him from.

Kou always goes to Hanako when he is in trouble. Regardless of how shady he acts, Hanako always helps.

So when he tells Kou he is incompetent, it gives him a wake up call.

Kou always had an inferiority complex, but this puts into perspective how he relies a lot on Hanako. He doesn't solve anything by himself, he either follows Hanako's lead, or faces a dead end.

Kou has a lot to think about after that. He doesn't want to keep relying on Hanako, he wants to take action himself, to be something that doesn't follow Hanako or Teru's lead.

He focuses mostly on Mitsuba, convinced the supernatural needs him, but also goes back to the promise he made with Teru.

This 'what do you want to do?' moment gives insight into a lot of relationships, but I'll only focus on what it says about Kou's view of Hanako here.

Kou is usually very sweet with Nene, but he is direct to the point of being cold here, he calls Hanako "The evil spirit of a murderer" as he had when he first met him all the way back in chap 3, It feels like an ultimatum. A judgment.

Hanako is dangerous, he needs to exorcise him. Part of him wants to exorcise Hanako. But he doesn't want to exorcise his teacher, his friend.

This brings me to his wish on the Red House.

Before talking about his wish I want to point out what his wish isn’t: Kou doesn’t want Hanako’s help, advise or support. He doesn’t want Hanako to give up on trying to help nene either, so he is still depends on Hanako's actions to save Nene to some extent, he doesn't believe he can do it himself, nor does he want the pressure of being believed.

He wants Hanako to be a problem that’s easy to deal with, an evil spirit that’s undeniably evil.

Things would be much easier if Kou could exorcise him: It would prove it to himself, teru, and Hanako that he can be an exorcist, it would eliminate any possible anxiety about what Hanako will do next, and it would give Hanako what he wants, Kou wouldn't disappoint him again.

When he pictures Hanako, he is happy and sweet looking, almost innocent. He may have decided he need to exorcise Hanako at some point, that is the right thing, but he doesn't really... want him gone.

He consistently has exorcism in mind when it comes to Hanako post-severance, but he also consistently pictures him happy and friendly. .

"I want to be a bigger help" implies he wants to work with Hanako, so the two help Nene instead of him being the sole person in charge of her lifespan, which is a big big difference from his self-destructive desperation to be the one to help Mitsuba.

"I need to get to the point where I can exorcise him." As it is, Kou does not believe he can exorcise him. He realizes he should, but also that he can't.

What he says when he fights Teru fits into that.

He doesn't agree with Hanako, and he denies the idea that he is doing this for Hanako, choosing to focus on his bond with Nene instead of his exorcism dilemma.

He and Nene have a simple camaraderie he can rely on, a mutual lack of understanding of what to do, but even this more 'safe' decision to be on her side instead of trying to keep discovering his own path got Kou the same reprimand Hanako had given him "You have big ideas but you can't back it up."

Both of the people he looks up to give him guidance told him he is useless. He can not fully relate to exorcists, or supernaturals, the path he is carving for himself, his beliefs, are unclear, easily shaken, and likely useless.

He still wants to be an exorcist, deep down, delighted when Teru gave him a chance. But he can't be an exorcist. Not when he thinks so much about the supernatural, unable to reject them but unable to truly understand or relate to them either.

It makes me sad that Aidairo pushed Kou and Hanako's situation aside, cause they still have a lot to explore, yet all we got recently is these crumbs:

Kou is keeping his eyes on Hanako, his attitude half "I am your friend, I care about you", half "I don't trust you anymore, don't scheme again, bastard" but they don't have meaningful talks with each other anymore.

Hanako will save Kou if he sees him in danger, I'm sure. And Kou will do the same. But their trust is... shaky... and they will never talk about it. Kou won't share that he wants but can't exorcise Hanako and Hanako won't share how much he values Kou. They won't seek each other for help either. Both will slowly yet consistently focus on someone else instead, like a weirdly passive attempt at detachment.

So I have no hope for more meaningful interaction between them. Not anytime soon at least... Is truly a shame.