#blank slate

[bionicboxes]

OC icons whipped up for artfight :)

[fireandslate]

Blank Slate is a dark fantasy web serial about fire, lesbians, religious oppression, and cultural exchange. If any of the following pique your interest, you might want to check it out!

Pseudo-medieval post-apocalyptic kingdom

evil church that is just catholic enough to be cool

malevolent sellsword haunted by a benevolent demon

uncertain-hero minstrel who is smarter than she lets on

cold-eyed and conflicted traitor knight

deranged and ironhearted nun awaiting her own execution

evil knights

mysterious druids

the occasional outburst of spectacular violence,

and, most important of all,

an indestructible thread of hope--

--hope that eventually winter will end, and a new spring will bring new beginnings to the kingdom of Frydain.

Sometimes dark, sometimes sapphic, sometimes mystical, and always updated on Sundays, this character-driven fantasy web serial is available to read at fireandslate.com!

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

"I ain't no monkey," says the Xian creationist. "No, it sure is better to think you're descended from a magic spell, dirt, a rib and multiple waves of incest," people who understand evolution reply.

"Gender is a social construct," says the Starbucks barista with a Gender Studies degree. "No, it sure is better to think sex-associated human behaviors, preferences and tendencies are the result of a millennia-long secret, global, self-sustaining brainwashing conspiracy, especially when other primates exhibit similar behaviors, preferences and tendencies to humans through evolution, requiring a magical spell to protect homo sapiens alone from this biological process," people who understand evolution reply.

Sex-associated differences in behavior, preferences and tendencies are real, for the same reason biological differences themselves are real.

Do what you like. But don't get mad when men and women choose to do what comes naturally to them.

We are a part of nature, not separate from it.

[frankhorrigansbioniclefttesticle]

wow holy shit formatting on a phone sucks. anyway now hear me out, EE fans...

I have a group of friends that have dragged me into Epithet Erased, particularly the fandom (you guys!) surrounding it. I've heard some good, some bad, but one that was of special interest for me was someone I don't think I can name without being jumped. I assume you'll understand who I mean in the next paragraph.

"Epithet" as an epithet? And from what they told me, a poor moveset that does a crummy job at representing the word? Seriously? Well, that pissed me off so much I got off my ass and proceeded to make a Tumblr account and post my take on the concept of epithet manipulation. Now, I introduce to you...:

"Antonomasia"

Antonomasia is a rhetoric noun or a type of metonymy wherein an epithet (heh) or phrase takes the place of a proper name or noun. Inversely, it also refers to when a proper name is used to express a general idea. Examples include:

"He Who Shall Not Be Named" for Voldemort, and a "Karen" to refer to an entitled, bratty adult woman.

Do you see where I'm getting at? You can modify an epithet... using your epithet! Let's go over the moveset. Any moves listed are specific to the Star class, unless I say otherwise:

GENERICIDE (UTILITY) — This is your trademark ability. You, the Inscribed, can modify an epithet by editing the word used by way of assigning a synonym, or if a particular word has a lack thereof, an antonym. Genericide can be utilized via two signature ways:

Genericide: Euphemism — You can dampen or otherwise weaken the efficacy, impact, and/or the mechanics of an epithet. Suppose you pick a fight with Mera Salamin. You discover her epithet, Fragile, and assign Slight to it, therefore dampening her abilities. Given what her epithet does to her body, would she see this as a blessing? Well good job buddy, now she's chasing you, Arsene Amulet in hand, wanting that dampening effect for herself! To compare this to an established ability in canon, the weakening effect is stronger than Molly's, although with a drawback that I will explain in the WEAKNESSES, ADDENDUMS, AND TRIVIA section.

Genericide: Dysphemism — You can improve or otherwise enhance the strength, efficiency, or add a particular quirk of a given epithet. Now, you become buddy-buddy with Giovanni Potage, and he tells you that his Epithet is Soup. You ponder over it, wondering what he did in his previous life to be condemned to such a mundane epithet (no offense) then realize you can adjust the epithet by installing the word Pureé. All of a sudden, whatever soup he outputs is now thick and denser in volume, enhancing the combat effectiveness of the already scalding soup.

DICTION (UTILITY/OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE): Because of the nature of your epithet, you gain the ability to mimic and "store" a limited imitation of an epithet for later use!

Remember imbuement (frankly, I forgot what it was actually called)? Well, you can utilize a highly limited, crude variation of that ability, being able to encode a stored epithet into a given object! However, you can only procreate an effect when making physical contact with an object, and the effects disappear once you lose contact.

You may only bring out a single epithet at a time, whether through utilizing its abilities as is or in imbuement. For example, if you have Dumb and Drowsy, you may only bring out and/or imbue with either of them, not both at once.

Epithet mimicry allows you to only utilize a single ability provided. You are also only able to mimic a given ability if you witnessed a demonstration. Let's use Molly Blyndeff this time. You witness her using Silence Bubble, so, now you can mimic that specific ability and only that specific ability. If she uses Dumb Down Intelligence afterward, you cannot mimic that ability until some time has passed, where you "forget" the learned ability, freeing up space for another.

Because you're Star class, you are limited to mimicking or storing other Star class epithets and are unable to mimic or store Orbit and Nova class epithets.

CASUS BELLI (PASSIVE): Have you played a game with skill checks (gee, I wonder which game franchise I'm referring to, where my Tumblr username came from...)? Do any of said skill checks involve Speech, Charisma, or a derivative of those two? This is your passive ability! Your words, through supernatural means, have an extra "oomph" to them, having more impact.

Emotion, morality, and belief and willpower play very heavily into the success of this ability. Are you currently anxious, conflicted, and/or hesitant? Do you doubt that whoever you're sweet-talking will buy your quite literally magical white lie? You're gonna fail. Snap out of it. A calm and relaxed demeanor, a moral high ground/belief in something you really want to happen (for the lack of better phrasing), and sheer fucking will can help with success.

The value, or otherwise the persuasion level of a Casus Belli enhanced sentence varies wildly, with so many variables that come from how a person speaks, what their personality is like, how they interact with others, their beliefs (religious or ideological), and their most played Steam game in terms of runtime hours, that it is impossible to fully calculate the exact success rate that accounts for every situation. Of course, when you move up a class, perhaps this may change.

Even then, some people, particularly those with experience handling the various verbal clumps of feces people throw at each other, or, you know, those that wrangle with society (politicians, anthropologists, psychologists, your neurologically degenerate, overly paranoid, reclusive, senile old neighbor just across from your house), can still see through such a ruse. Don't expect using this to convince Sylvie to hand you a lollipop after a visit and have it succeed just yet. Does... does he even have those in his office?

This is where the movelist ends... for now. Do you want to suggest a move? Feel free to in the comments.

As always with these magic systems, there are bound to be weaknesses, and even an epithet that controls the fundamentals of the system itself isn't exempt to such. Well, unless you reach the Nova class, and if you do, god help us.

WEAKNESSES, ADDENDUMS, AND TRIVIA: One particularly important weakness is the requirement of physical touch to even activate your abilities, most notably Genericide. Any kind of physical touch works; even accidentally bumping into an Inscribed will allow you to activate Genericide, so long as you are fast enough befoe you two move away from one another.

The cooldown for when a Diction ability slot is freed is 6 minutes and 12 seconds. Stored epithets last permanently, however, if the original Inscribed dies, the stored epithet in question becomes unusable.

I hope you have a thesaurus on hand, because you're gonna do a lot of wordplay and comparisons. I recommend thesaurus.com for looking up synonyms and antonyms. Oh, and any synonym an antonym will do, as much as it won't make sense, because it'll give me a splitting headache trying to find a "weaker" synonym for the dampening effect to properly set in.

Genericide's effects, whether via Euphemism or Dysphemism, will always last a maximum of 5.5 minutes. The longer you remain in contact with an Inscribed, the longer the effect, reaching the maximum in ~10 seconds. Do the calculations yourself.

When invoking Genericide, there are special effects that you bring towards an Inscribed. Euphemism manifests like a thick, unpleasant looking smoke that takes on the signature color of the epithet the Inscribed wields, if any. If there is none, it will default to a foreboding blue with glowing white embers that seem to radiate off their body like electrical sparks. Dysphemism takes on the form of a bright fire, again, taking the signature color of the epithet concerned. If there are none, it will default to a transparent, dark gray fire (I haven't a clue how this can be visually interpreted. Please bear with me), one that still forms a tiny mirage like any normal fire would. Think of something like the aura of the Super Saiyan God transformation in Dragon Ball Super.

The success of the epithet is highly dependent on what kind of person wields this. I hope I got that intention right. On another note, please contact me through an ask before using the concept for your character.

When Diction's storage ability activates, a cue that only you can detect will play out. Just as this ability is dependent on what the wielder is like, this cue can manifest in any way you deem fit. For my case, a shitposty sound effect thematic with whatever epithet was stored will play in your mind. Did you hear Dumb? The lobotomy sound effect suddenly invades your mind. Oh, what's that? Did she say Fragile? Oh no! Our table...! It's broken! Huh? Chemical? UGH-OOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGHHHhhhhhhh... Oh... the epithet you heard of doesn't have a theme? Well, an extremely loud vine boom (and I mean it. Click the hyperlink at your own risk) plays instead.

The above was inspired by meme culture, particularly YouTube poops in the west and 音MADs in the east. The Chemical part was from an Imagine Dragons meme.

Other inspirations include Delsin Rowe from inFAMOUS: Second Son, particularly the whole "to copy an ability you must touch the Inscribed" and that "every epithet you store lasts permanently". I'm gonna be like a kid in a candy store...

That was... quite the read, was it? As compensation, please accept this image.

[chocolatemilkie]

Looking For A Blank Slate "X Reader" writer?

Well, you read the title right! From personal experience, X Reader stories put me off sometimes because they act something I would never act like. Of course, I would never shame a writer for that and I still enjoy them. Well, I'll write specific scenarios and details about you so it doesn't feel too weird. That's pretty much it! Things I Will Write: Classic Writing (Where I pick your personality like usual)

Blank Slate (You give me details) Headcanons

Character Headcanons

Smut (The thing about smut is that it won't be too descriptive but just enough)

Fluff

Angst

Minor characters (as long as the reader is the same or around the same age) Fandoms I Write For: Honkai Star Rail

Genshin Impact

Zenless Zone Zero

Cookie Run

Roblox Pressure

Herotome (The visual novel)

Your Boyfriend (The visual novel)

The Kid At The Back (The visual novel)

(If you don't see a fandom you like, leave a comment about it! I would definitely watch/read/play a game so I could write for you!) That's it! Leave a message or comment!

[the-light-is-dim]

all hail west texas 2: the texaning

[jungwildeandfree]

Every hiatus i go away and reread Dune to try and find another homage to sneak in

[keenanmarchandart]

HIBERNATION/BLANK SLATE (2023)

Original piece for the magazine Sad Mag’s online issue.

*********

[bionicboxes]

OC-Tober Day 3: Old OC

Blank is my oldest OC that I still use (first made around 2017), but the oldest OC of mine (that I'm aware of) is this Pichu/Pikachu with a Sylveon ribbon from around 2013/14. I never drew her as an Raichu, so I took the chance to finally give her the final stage of her evolution a decade later.

[fireandslate]

THIS HALLOWEEN AT BLANK SLATE:

The nights are getting longer. The colors of the trees have changed. Summer's growth has given way to harvest, and the nights threaten frost.

In the lost kingdom of Frydain, the harvest has come in, and most folk are busy enough just trying to survive the winter. The Church rules with an iron fist, but the gospel they preach is one of obedience. The pious have nothing to fear.

For those who have been labeled heretics, that struggle for survival will be a bit more hands-on.

I write Blank Slate. It's four years old and updated every Sunday. It's about all of the above, and more. It's about swords, spirituality, and sapphic rebellion. It's about ecology, ecstasy, and the nature of evil. It's about revenge, religious trauma, and resistance.

It's about fire.

Come take a look at fireandslate.com!

[sumiblue]

200 uploads of Blank Slate!!! Whadda hell!

I remember when updates went up on Fridays - I'd come home from my shitty job during the shitty pandemic and literally lie on my bed kicking my feet and read, cradling my phone like a glowing, comforting piece of coal. A hearty congrats and thanks @fireandslate, absolutely hyped to be on this ride <3

[skull-bearer]

Chapters: 17/? Fandom: Dragonlance - Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dalamar the Dark/Raistlin Majere Characters: Raistlin Majere, Dalamar the Dark, Mari, William Sweetwater, Par-Salian (Dragonlance), Justarius (Dragonlance), Ladonna (Dragonlance), Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s) Additional Tags: Coming Back, Second Chances, Changing the Darkness, Towers of High Sorcery, Return, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Optimism, Definitely Upbeat, Friendship, Dating, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, ish, Healing, Cuddles, Things Get Better, Secret Identity, Secret Identity Fail, magic shows, Raistlin actually having fun for once Series: Part 2 of A Second Chance Summary:

Raistlin is alive again, and determined to make the most of it. He meets old friends, and some both old and new.

Chapter 17 Because the good times cannot last long for either of them.

[blankprojectdev]

Excited to announce that the first Test Build will be available to play on August 8th.

More information will be posted in the coming weeks, including how to pre-register and how to download the game client.

If you have any questions feel free to ask here on tumblr or message me on Discord at .kollaps#0

[mirandagabrielle]

Yes, she did write this about me. Obviously.

[froyocorp]

some doodles of my fan department, the designbots! ft. the boss cog, the cco, the managers, and the level 8 cog, the content farmer

and even more doodles of bespoker and materialist in specifics bc im normal about them

[pikabysss]

This is my favourite ship dynamic.

Grumpy x Cuddly >w<

it's crazy how this kind of ship dynamic always comes back at me like some kind of boomerang, no matter the fandom I'm in. O_o (Also, don't judge my blank slates character design... muscular & bald men are my type/j.)

Tell me your favourite ship dynamic (platonic or romantic, specific or vague) if you want to. I like reading other's opinions.