#grimdark influence

[joncronshawauthor]

The Impact of The Prince of Thorns on Fantasy Literature

When Mark Lawrence unleashed “The Prince of Thorns” upon the unsuspecting world, it was like dropping a ravenous wolf into a pen of fluffy sheep. Fantasy literature would never be the same. In a genre often adorned with noble quests and honourable heroes, Lawrence’s grimdark tale stormed in with blood, vengeance, and a protagonist who makes Joffrey Baratheon look like a choirboy. Let’s take a…

[psalmsofpsychosis]

So, i finished watching Batman (2022). Long story short, it's wonderful. The cinematography and the atmosphere are simply impeccable, it's got one of the best productions i have seen in blockbuster superhero movies in the last decade. The flow of the movie is perfectly executed and choreographed; it's a truly seamless visual experience, eye candy to the bone, and the story is intriguing and lovely and pleasing to the senses too. It's a reasonably well made movie.

It also does quite remind me of my main point of disdain towards live action Batman depictions post-Batman&Robin, which is, i think fellas take Batman way too seriously.

Listen, the guy walks around with fucking pikachu ears on for fucks sake. I dont think that straight up looney tunes comic relief is the right flavour to put in the live action batmanverse blender, even though it has the potential to be incorporated very well, but. There's a certain quality of offbeat, paculiar weirdness to Batman, a quality of almost playful and offputting bizarre wit, there always has been. He's got a fucking sith pikachu mask on. It's very human, very endearing almost. it's an element of imagination and wonder which is something Bruce Wayne has, even when it's corrupted to only include doom and gloom scenarios.

and the comics successfully translate that subtle wit and uncomfortable quality of all the characters, including Batman, by incorporating acidic colors, borderline hallucination-esque imageries, warped character designs, the whole thing feels like the worst acid trip you've ever had in an alley behind a bar and that's how the tone carries. It's how the worldbuilding and the characters feel congruent and authentic. The colors also give Batman a dynamic personhood by depicting his unceremonious humanity as much as they buff him up. There's a fun and gore-ish, psychopathic sincerity to the comics.

and the movies absolutely take that element out and all you get is the most "just some guy" artless character depictions and Batman himself doesn't feel human. he is written way too seriously for a guy who has pikachu ears and wears his underwear on his pants.

And this is by no means a Batman (2022) problem; it's a persisting trend of live action superhero media progressively stripping their stories of heart and soul because executive fellas have cought the "THIS IS A BIG FUCKING DEAL!!!!! EVERYTHING IS SO SERIOUS HERE!!!!!" disease and think giving superhero narratives their color and humanity back somehow makes them less poignant and significant. There's no sense of dynamism and wit to the batman movies, and the tone and atmosphere of Batman (2022) is fucking gorgeous, it's a singular experience, but it feels so out of place with Batman. It feels like Batman's costume belongs to another movie entirely, something more playful and weird.

[nightmarist]

dapper EGA crow with a crystal unicorn horn that changes colors depending on mood........

[ahsoka-in-a-hood]

I was thinking about an au where jedi mistresses among the rich and powerful is common and normalized, and it occurred to me this could throw a very funny wrench in Palpatine's plans to convert Anakin. Because in canon what does seem to be somewhat normalized is that politicians will maintain friendships with jedi and cultivate them as contacts and allies- and in a way, he's doing that openly with Anakin and everyone is aware of it. Obi Wan and Mace don't like it much, because they don't like his politics and think he's a bad influence, but there's no suggestion of there being like. sexual grooming involved. For one that's literally not what's happening, and also in general this is not an assumption people are making about him.

But in an au where senators regularly have trophy jedi dangling off their arms at social functions, that whole relationship immediately fits a different stereotype, right? And assuming this isn't super grimdark- if it's also not widely socially acceptable to be trying to get into underage jedi's pants- if it's a thing knights do but not padawans- Palpatine would have a hard time avoiding rumors about him, and Obi Wan might be a little more wary of his interest in Anakin, and the optics even if he couldn't sense that kind of intent.

And also Anakin would have reason to assume that Palpatine just wants to fuck him.

Alternatively the only way for him to get close to Anakin before he's knighted is to seduce Obi Wan. No one would think that's weird, and maybe he could get occasional step-dadish privileges. Though it's not like Obi Wan would be regularly bringing Anakin along on date night, either.

[avelera]

I do have one thing and one thing only to say about the Neil Gaiman revelations.

Others more articulate than I have gone into detail on the horror of it. It should go without saying that fans across every fandom linked to him are horrified and each dealing with the revelations in their own way. My thoughts below may seem, I don't know, pithy in response but I'm not trying to address the enormity of what happened or offer any sort of solution, or comfort, or anything but my own confusion on a particular, perhaps even silly point. This is just my own moment to grapple with an aspect of the revelation that just won't get out of my head.

Here's a thing I don't get. It's a stupid thing, even ridiculous, but it haunts me:

Why remake the comic issue "Calliope" in the Sandman show? If you're N.G. and you know what you've done?? How could you be so fucking stupid? Or is it pure hubris? Why in the world would you update it so Madoc bore more similarities to current N.G., with such similar crimes of hypocrisy, using progressiveness as a mask over such crimes of sexual abuse?? Why wouldn't you try to distract or at least not bring such direct parallel attention to what you've done in your own story??

Writing Calliope in the first place as a younger man is one thing. The Sandman comic is edgy and dark and a story like that fits the 90s era grimdark tone. And many accounts seem to point to him not having committed any of those crimes back when he wrote Calliope. His ability to commit and get away with such abuse, perhaps even his interest in doing so I don't fucking know, came later, once he had money and power and influence. Sure, take that as you will, I don't claim to know, but most of the accounts seem to be from after he was 40 and he wrote Calliope long before that.

But the Calliope update in the Sandman show so specifically seems to draw parallels between Madoc and Gaiman. Like, there's a whole bit about how Madoc wants any shows or movies based in his work to have at least half women and people of color, Madoc is posing himself as this progressive feminist and the disgusting hypocrisy of it of course is that he has a woman he's abusing locked up in the attic.

I remember watching that scene, while watching this remake of Sandman that is, of course, more than half women and people of color. One of the biggest dudebro complaints against the Sandman show was that Lucienne got genderswapped and Death was played by a black woman. Like, you're watching the show where the acclaimed author's works are getting a progressive facelift, in the episode, with a fictional author, who is demanding the progressive facelift for film versions of his work, while he's being a vile predatory hypocrite with a woman locked in the attick.

I remember watching that scene and thinking, astounded and rather anxious for him, "My god, Neil must have absolute ironclad certainty that he has never done anything that can be construed as sexually inappropriate if he's making this update to the characters with parallels that could so clearly apply to him as well! He must be totally wholesome, faithful to his wife, and careful around fans. He must be 100% dead certain that he is above reproach because even a whisper, a false accusation of impropriety, one unhappy fan at an event, could make this episode look like the rankest hypocrisy. Why would you ever dare remake Calliope, and remake it so specifically to model after Neil, if you're Neil, unless you're 1000% certain Madoc's update doesn't apply to you at all?"

Like, even the most squeaky clean person in the world has gotta hesitate a bit when drawing a potential parallel between themselves as the author of the work and a villain in the work, and saying "This is me if I was a bad person." RIGHT? Like you've gotta have a moment's hesitation, even if you know none of it is true, before you dare risk drawing such parallels and literally updating the work into the script to make it more like you. Even if you know you've never done anything wrong in your life as an author, when you create Madoc, who is an author, who voices similar views to things you've said, you've gotta have a moment's hesitation just in case people misconstrue that the other villainous stuff applies to you too, right?

I think there's a part of me that like... understands obviously that there's evil in the world but sometimes what makes me additionally angry is when evil is stupid? Like when really obvious fraud is committed, or when the coverup is just really blatantly false. And this kind of falls into that category of like, what were you thinking drawing attention to your own potential abuse of power with fans, how your own progressive ideals could be rank hypocrisy over a mask of horror, that you could be saying all these feminist things while keeping a woman locked up and assaulted in your attic, almost literally, why would you even dare put that-- I mean, I daresay, confession out into the world and make the parallels so obvious, to actually update the parallels to be more like you now! Why would you dare do that?!

I can only imagine two answers:

It wasn't Neil. It was the other show creators who came up with the idea, because they truly thought Neil was above reproach (or maybe they did know some element of the truth and it WAS a warning but that feels less likely with him as executive producer that he'd let that in) and he couldn't cut it from the story without raising questions about why he wanted this rather salient update to the character removed without raising questions, especially if Orpheus & Calliope plot was going to a big thing later in the story.

It was Neil's choice to put that update in and it is some sort of twisted confession or he didn't see the parallels or he truly didn't think anyone would spot it or know?? But again WHY make Madoc progressive in such a specifically similar way to Neil?! Madoc didn't need to be progressive! He didn't need to say his films should be adapted to be more diverse the same way Neil did, in a show that was adapted to be more diverse! You didn't need to make the parallels to Neil so goddamn glaring, you could just adapt it directly to the comic and avoid the possible parallel! Why risk it??

It's a stupid thing to get stuck on, I know. But it baffles me, the sheer... hubris of it? The foolishness? I can't control what happened, I can't help the victims, and many fans are grappling with many questions about this but still, holy shit...

Why update Calliope with a Madoc that is so much like Neil, knowing as Neil did how deep the parallels actually went? Why, in the fucking world, would you ever fucking do that??

[kybelles]

NOTES FROM PACAT’S LATEST M&G

(FEB 1, 2025, SYDNEY)

Akielos Research: She joked that her main historical research question was "what era had the hottest weather/clothes?" leading her to choose ancient Greece for Akielos. She discovered historians haven’t figured out if ancient Greeks wore underwear—deciding Damen must for practical reasons, like preventing chafing while riding.

Vere’s Setting: She was fascinated by late medieval France and chose "Laurent" for the name, so he had to be French. Akielos and Vere were inspired by various historical settings but don’t strictly adhere to realism. They are pastiches of many different places. She had to avoid certain anachronisms, like naval technology, to keep the world-building consistent.

Capri’s Origins & Writing Journey: She started writing Capri on LiveJournal without expecting it to be published, and wasn’t concerned with being politically correct or censoring herself. Having grown up with a violent childhood, fantasy offered her an escape. The final books are almost identical to what she posted online, except for a few name changes (e.g., Rabat became Vere, Margaret became Jokaste).

Writing for Comics & Paragons: She found writing a hero like Superman much harder than villains, as heroes require deep moral consistency—something harder for her because morality is complex and subjective. She believes paragons are essential in literature because they are aspirational figures who show us what good can look like, something missing in the current trend of grimdark and anti-heroes. Her favorite paragons are Wonder Woman followed by Superman.

Romance & Fantasy: As a kid, she resented love interests in stories because she just wanted to read about horses. Despite writing romantasy, she doesn’t read much of it because a lot feels derivative (like Twilight or ACOTAR). She’s critical of the genre’s lack of evolution beyond common tropes—essentially bodice-ripper romance, but with fantastical elements added, and wonders what will come next once readers have exhausted these clichés.

Queer Representation: She’s excited about the current "golden age" of queer publishing, noting how things have changed since her early career, when publishers wouldn't even depict the content of Capri on the cover. However, she’s frustrated that many queer stories still center on sex. She’d love to see stories where a queer character just exists (e.g., a queer detective), without their sexuality being the plot's main focus.

Capri's Writing Process: Capri was originally meant to be one book, but the characters’ deep hatred and evolving relationship required more time to develop into pure love without feeling forced. She intentionally crafted Laurent and Damen as opposites, with each possessing qualities the other lacked. This made them complementary and drew them together, reflecting the “opposites attract” dynamic, where their differences ultimately made them perfect soulmates for each other.

Romantasy vs. Fantasy: She defines romantasy as a subgenre where the romance is so central that the fantasy plot wouldn’t exist without it, whereas in traditional fantasy, the hero's journey can stand alone. Even though she writes romantasy, she doesn’t fully love the genre because it can lack depth beyond the romance.

Book Recommendations & Influences: She enjoys books like American Psycho (a critique of capitalism), The Alexander Trilogy by Mary Renault, Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, The Bell by Iris Murdoch, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, and everything by Dorothy Dunnett.

[bringthekaos]

Alrighty, here we go. Act III.

Mostly Jayce and Viktor centric, but with some wider thoughts as a whole thrown in. As usual, this is all my opinion, you’re free to disagree with me. Just don’t be a dick.

I am torn. I’m appreciative of the visuals and the JayVik crumbs (even though Christian Linke’s comments post-show have soured it to queerbait for me). But mostly I am disappointed. And I so badly didn’t want to be. I had such high hopes (and that’s probably my fault. I expected too much). They completely massacred Viktor’s character. There was such beautiful setup in season one of his background as a Zaunite living in Piltover. So much of his lived experience came from that—the oppression, the inequality, the xenophobia, the inaccessibility. It formed his opinions and his values, and that’s why he was so adamantly anti-weapon making. That’s why his number one goal was always to help the people in need down in Zaun. They showed us that he was a tinkerer and a builder, that he valued the ingenuity in machinery. They gave us that cute little boat from his childhood and the fucking Hexclaw.

Viktor was supposed to be a Zaunite champion. He was supposed to embrace Techmaturgy as a direct opposition to magic/Hextech. He was supposed to undergo his transformation into the Machine Herald of his own volition, with his own agency and bodily autonomy (yes I know it also stemmed from severe depression and one could argue that it messed with his decision-making, but still… he did that shit on his own). And there were so many opportunities to go this route in Arcane, and it would have worked!! If Viktor augmented his hand and his leg, but it cost Sky her life, he could realize the cost of magic, and turn to Tech. He could have been exiled back to Zaun, where he was supposed to be, and then the shitshow really could have unfolded—having one of Hextech’s creators now working for the other side.

And I know they had to change it so that he could be a bigger part of the overall narrative, as his original lore was rather disconnected. But there were much cleaner ways to go about it than disrespecting his entire character arc by turning him into a grimdark edgelord ethereal magic Jesus who no longer notices or even seems to care about the oppression and class warfare going on in his birthplace. Like. I’m sorry, him “curing” Salo? OG Viktor would have taken one look at a representative of the very oppression he stood against and blown him to kingdom come. (And yes, I also realize that he did it in Arcane because he was “under the influence” of the Hexcore, which only wanted to “infect more people.” But that’s another problem I have. This was never really made all that clear. And watching him go from “we will not be building weapons, that’s not why we invented Hextech/there is always a choice/we were meant to improve lives, not to take them” to making him turn human beings into weapons?? I don’t care that they tried to salvage his character by suggesting he wasn’t in control, it still undermines everything about him. And GOD, original League Vik had so much DEPTH. He was a hypocrite, he was still partly human and so he retained pieces/parts of all the things he preached against, which made him a wonderful contradiction. And he had a sense of humor and whimsy too! He enjoyed sweet milk, he cracked dry jokes and was sarcastic as fuck. He had a personality! And now he’s just… empty space man blinded by forced apathy.

And I think all of this is part of a larger problem—they wanted to use Arcane as a stepping stone to future shows, and as such, the class warfare and systemic oppression plot from season one was completely abandoned. They tried to solve it with “well they have to band together to face a bigger enemy.” Which in my personal opinion is a cheap cop out. There are always bigger fish, that doesn’t change the fact that Zaun has been living in Piltover’s filth with Piltover’s boot on their neck for generations. They’ve suffered injustices most of us can’t even comprehend. And then suddenly we’re supposed to believe they all band together to face this threat, stand side by side with their oppressors because Jayce made one speech about it? With no proof? And then all they get from the deal is one Zaunite seat on the council? And they’re okay with that? I never expected the show to solve systemic oppression, but I also didn’t expect them to abandon it this spectacularly.

The Noxus/Black Rose plot was clearly thrown in to set up future shows, and to show Netflix/investors/whoever that this massive financial investment has a future. And it destroyed the Piltover/Zaun story. I think this could have been a totally isolated story just about Piltover and Zaun, and been completely successful. In fact, I would have definitely watched future projects despite them not taking place in the setting of Arcane. And I’m not at all saying I don’t like Ambessa and Mel. I was very intrigued by the story of a warmonger like Ambessa facing her comeuppance, not just for her warmongering but for her affair with a damn MAGE. And her daughter trying desperately to break the mold her mother has set for her, while also struggling with who she is and these new, incredible powers she has. That shit is juicy as hell, and honestly should have been its own show. But throwing it into Arcane in season 2 with absolutely no hint of the Black Rose or its impending approach (beyond “the people who killed your brother don’t think the score is settled”) in season one, it just felt like the aforementioned cop out to get Piltover and Zaun to get along. And in doing so, they steamrolled Viktor to make him a bigger player in the narrative.

Did I like the final astral plane scene with Jayce and Viktor? God, yes. Is it one of the most beautiful confessions of love and eternal devotion I think I’ve ever fucking seen? Also yes. But it kinda feels like a bandaid on a bullet wound. I got the love I always knew remained between Jayce and Viktor, but I paid for it with Viktor’s entire character. Not to mention Christian Linke keeps pouring salt in the fucking wound, denouncing JayVik and “bromancing” them, and then also suggesting in one interview that Jayce and Viktor are actually fucking dead, and in another that Viktor will be back in future projects (with no mention of Jayce, which suggests that they’re turning him into Sky 2.0 and that he’s dead but Viktor isn’t). And that completely undermines the entire ending of season 2’s “intrinsically entwined/always you/in every universe.” And I know, I shouldn’t listen to this dude’s opinion on the matter, he’s not the only one making this thing, and honestly it was the easiest unfollow/mute of my life. But how hard is it to just shut the fuck up and let people enjoy things? To not comment one way or the other, let people think what they want, and rake in your millions in the process? Haven’t you ever heard of rainbow capitalism, my guy?

Ugh. I’m very sorry for being so negative, I didn’t want to be. I still love the show, and I’d still like to keep writing JayVik, even though it’s just been made near-impossible (I’m actually really glad that I never finished Oasis now, cuz I can go back to that and expand it well beyond what I originally planned cuz… it’s all I have left). I’m just mourning my cyborg wife, and the fact that goddamn SMEECH had what Viktor was supposed to. Hopefully the more time goes on, I can reconcile these changes and embrace them, cuz I love this fandom, I love this ship, and I don’t wanna lose it.

Anyway, I will still be sharing art and memes and posting analyses, because you can like a piece of media and still be critical of it.

[rulernogard156]

Necron Reserected Ferra Manus

I know I've said some of this before, but here is her own post.

As much as I love the Legion of the damn ferra/Ferrus headcannon, I wanted to think outside the box and so I thought what if Cawl or a rouge Techpreist (maybe under the influence of the Void Dragon) sought out Trazin/a mad scientist necron(sorry not the biggest necron fan) and in exchange for some rare artifact they would work together to bring Ferra back.

Also I have a great story idea that's really grimdark! So a Necron is an exact copy of the soul before it would usually get consumed, well what if they only "copied" Ferra's soul and her real soul is actually leading the legion of the dammed

How awesome would it be for the two to find each other!!! If someone would wanna right it before me that be okie dokie with me!!!

[meraki-sunset]

having a hard time explaining grimdark and trickster to a friend

think you can help?

they get godtier just fine but the other two keep confusing them because right now they think

grimdark = chaos in anarchy sense, but trickster = chaos in haha funny meme sense

Sure, let me see…

GRIMDARK mode is described by Doc scratch as “going completely off the deep end in every way”.

It turns your skin an unnatural dark gray, and in rose’s case to be surrounded by a dark aura, while jade had a spacey green aura.

It’s basically a black magic power up deeply connected to the horroterrors, a state of mind that comes from letting them influence a broken mind. For Rose, it was the death of her mother, and then trying to reveal the horror terror’s secrets. For Jade, she was heartbroken, but also she got mind controlled into entering the grimdark state by the condesce, who is also connected to the horrorterrors.

As an extra, Hussie described Eridan as also going into grimdark when he began murdering people, tho his case must’ve been more symbolical, as he presented the perfect scenario to become grimdark, the complete loss of hope, waiting for Jack to kill them all (due to his title being prince of hope, ergo Destroyer of hope) added to Feferi breaking their moiraliance talking with Sollux, being the detonator for his broken mind, and him being a Derse player, so his dream self was around the horroterrors and had interacted with them prior, he was also interested in magic like rose, had a wand just like her and sought for answers about, like her. He just lacked the connection to the horroterrors in that crucial moment.

So Grimdark is basically when the horroterrors cause the player's most primal and violent tendencies to be pushed to the forefront

The grimdark is also described a “the fabled blackdeath trance of the woegothics”. So a dark trance that people like Rose and Eridan are inclined to fall victim of (in my opinion)

TRICKSTER mode, in the other hand, is described by Calliope as something that brings out your full potential, that brings all your walls down and puts all your inner thoughts in the outside and all your creative power in your hands. It strips you from all social and mental barrier.

It gives you reality altering Powers, allowing you to jump from place to place, probably dimension hopping, manifest objects and makes you super happy and candy colored to the point of losing grip in reality

The problem is that cherubs are very different from humans. For a cherub, who is supposed to fly around in the endless space protecting/destroying a certain part of the void, and its inhabited planets, feeding of black holes, fighting entities to death to ultimately mate in the shape of a big ass snake, a juju that’s basically drugs that can make you forget every wall you built up floating around space alone, and move forward as a happy missile ready to find a mate sounds good. But humans are social creatures, and cherubs are not. Cherubs don’t answer to anyone and don’t have Friends, they don’t need to follow any social cues. Humans built their relationships carefully, and they have secrets and barriers to protect themselves and others. They hide things like crushes and resentment and problems, because well, for the sake of peace, for the sake of not braking every relationship they have. That’s something that Calliope and Caliborn never fully grasped and understood why the kids came to hate the juju when they woke up

So that’s all I could gather. Essentially they are different kinds of power ups, opposite to one another at their core, BUT in both the person isn’t fully there and is being guided by primal instincts, be it rage/sadness or Hope/happiness and they both have consequences in the user because neither is supposed to be used on humans or even trolls.

[joncronshawauthor]

The Power of Grimdark: How Dark Fantasy is Reshaping the Landscape of Epic Fantasy

The world of epic fantasy has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, with the rise of dark fantasy playing a major role in its development. Grimdark,is a subgenre of fantasy that features a darker, grittier, and more morally ambiguous world than traditional epic fantasy. This new trend has not only attracted new readers to the fantasy genre, but it has also influenced the way…

[bladeweaver-if]

Cut the Heavens.

Link to the demo: here

Orphaned at birth beneath the dim light of a new moon, your fate seems sealed.

In a stroke of luck, you are soon adopted by two Masters of the Bladeweavers' Order - an institution of elite warriors and weaponmasters as ancient as the very cities they are based in. When cataclysm strikes, the Order is left scattered and broken, and you are left aimless, without purpose in a hostile world.

In your search for it, what else will you find?

Bladeweaver is a text-based grimdark fantasy interactive fiction game developed in Twine, focusing on your customizable player character, The Bladeweaver, as they grow up and navigate their way through a crumbling world wreathed in esoteric magic, dark secrets and murky morals, loosely inspired by the late medieval/early Renaissance periods, with a heavy touch of fantasy/steampunk influence.

Grow from child to adult, learn unique skills and master a weapon of Empyrean steel, a unique metal with otherworldly properties. Make friends (or perhaps more?) and enemies along the way as societies rise and fall, as alliances strengthen and collapse, and loyalties are strained to their breaking point.

It won't be easy, but you might just soar. On wings of Empyrean.

Bladeweaver is a mature game with heavy themes and content, including but not limited to violence, strong language, possession, mental issues, drug use, kidnapping and abuse. Due to this, the game is only recommended for those over the age of 18.

Feel free to ask me questions about the game or characters if you want!

Customise your character; their gender, physical appearance and relationships with the cast of characters are yours to change. Choose a unique weapon, with a selection of 6 options available.

Grow from a young child into adulthood in the safety of Sola, a floating city enwreathed in ancient magic. Your skills as a warrior are yours to develop.

Embark on a crushing, dangerous voyage across the fictional continent of Phanol, a land of debts and daggers, and navigate the complex social and political problems that curse this land - and perhaps find their true source.

Romance one of four characters, and develop intimate platonic bonds with any or all of them. Alternatively, shrug them off completely.

Discover your true purpose as the past and present merge when cataclysm strikes.

You, variable pronouns - The Bladeweaver

Hours after you were born, your parents were slaughtered and, in a sequence of rare acts of kindness, you land in the care of two Bladeweavers: Callen Edros and Sonia Wierszy. The three of you make for an odd family of warriors, living in Sola, one of the twelve Risen Cities of the Gods. The relative peace you know will not last. Your unsung song may yet be the most famous of them all - or the most feared.

After your life is ruined and your Order is scattered to the winds, all hope seems lost for you. All that remains is a mysterious letter, guiding you to a place where those like you go to die. Only, what you find there may well be worse than death.

A blood-paved road lies ahead of you; a road you may choose to walk proudly, battling inner and outer demons alike.

Perhaps you might struggle instead, paving your own path in a world that will do its damndest to bestow you with the same fate as your long-forgotten forebears.

Will you lose yourself and the principles your adoptive parents instilled in you throughout your childhood? What else will you lose, or gain, on this road?

Main characters:

Callen Edros, he/him - The Lonely Wolf

Tall, bulky and surprisingly quick-footed, Callen is a Bladeweaver Master of the poleaxe, a lethally versatile weapon.

His presence and weapon of choice are contrasted by his cheery, jovial attitude. He's an excellent teacher, and focuses on mastering discipline and one's fundamentals over all else. He is afforded a good deal of fame in the Order, partly due to his noble background - something he rarely speaks of - and is quite popular, even for a Bladeweaver.

Many who know the man would never have a bad word to say about him, but those close with Callen know there's a deep, enduring sadness behind his laughter.

He is one of your two adoptive parents.

Sonia Wierszy, she/her - The Rising Hawk

Leanly muscled and opting for a brutal combat style, Sonia is a Bladeweaver Master of the falchion, a single-edged blade that favours strong chops over quick cuts or stabs.

Loyal, stubborn, brash, and just arrogant enough for some to find it charming, Sonia will often sneer in the face of propriety despite her conflicting love for the finer things in life borne from a childhood in poverty.

Some would even say that her just being as she is, a woman rising through the ranks of an institution rife with men, is a challenge to the Order. Sonia takes glee in pushing boundaries, in proving herself capable and beyond, and expects a similar ambition from those she knows. As a teacher she is exacting, employing unorthodox methods to help find your special skills as a fighter.

It's not difficult for some to wonder if Sonia's coarse exterior is simply a front, obscuring a deep-seated rage and fear, sparked long ago.

She is one of your two adoptive parents.

???, he/him - The Cargo

He will accompany you on your journey across the land.

Four romantic or platonic options to choose from:

Samuel Alban, he/him - The Boy Next Door

Tall and skinny with curly blonde hair, deep blue eyes and a giddy smile, Sam moves to the same street as you with his father when you're both children, hailing from the disrant but powerful Abrian Empire.

He's endlessly good at making new friends and seems to never lose energy.

Sam comes to struggle with knowing exactly what he wants from life, paired with the difficulty he faces from his own nature. Will you be one of many friends to him, or will you catch his eye in a deeper way?

Caitlin Clary, she/her - The Inventor

Tall, broadly-built and muscular, with ginger hair and wide green eyes, Caitlin is a fellow student at the Bladeweavers' Academy, but she takes a much more keen interest in engineering and gadgets. You meet her in your first year, as she struggles with bullying from other students.

As a girl from the southern warlike nation of Vengard, she is not expected to become a fighter, nor is the practice encouraged among her people. She faces ostracization from her countryfolk, despite having her parents' shared blessing to join the Order.

At odds with what her culture expects from her, and feeling isolated in a strange place with only her elder brother for company, Cait is shy and closed off when she comes to Sola. She might appreciate a source of comfort during this tumultuous time.

Lucas del Varro, he/him - The Prodigy

Lightly muscled and average height, the black-haired, grey eyed third child of the prestigious del Varro family transfers to your academy in your third year. He's instantly popular, but seems to shrug off any and all affections from his peers, although he's not actively hostile to it.

As a fighter the young man moves like water, all flowing moves and poised grace. He favours counter-attacking, turning an opponent's assault on them in a split-second to win decisively. He is a marvel to watch, and a terror to face in a duel.

Lucas seems to be singularly focused on bettering his own skills under the weight of his father's scrutiny, and only accepts your presence if you prove to be a sufficient challenge to him. Will you step up to the call, or even exceed his expectations?

Talia Maren, she/her - The Bastard

Curvy and considered a great beauty yet sharp beyond her years, tales of Talia's venom and scheming follow her when she arrives in the city. She is the legitimised bastard daughter and heir apparent of Lord Darion Maren, a political titan of the nation of Telfrin.

She is known to be constantly at odds with her so-called family, who quite publicly disagree with her ailing father's choice to claim her as part of his lineage, making her, as his new eldest, heir to his estate. He had sired the girl before meeting his wife, in secret.

With few allies in her own home, she seeks them elsewhere. Talia wishes to claw her way to the top of the social heirarchy, willing to step over anyone who gets in her way.

Are you capable of standing the brunt of her vicious veneer? She can't be all thorns like she's purported to be, can she?

Find out more about each option by clicking on the link in their title.

Current size of demo: 328k words

Genre: Grimdark fantasy

Last Update: 21/09/24 (Chapter 2 additions)

Discord server for game discussion and feedback: here

[irkenarcadia]

I liked this too much to keep it to my Self…

Oh yes; I do draw…I meant for something more OC related as a jumping point for introductory post…but after having chats and dabbling more into my Grimdark centric AU of BS with the Empire and Military since my main group of OCs are a bunch of Battle Bugs BS- I wanted to design Spork in my style since he heads up the Military wing of the Irken Empire in said AU…

Red is going on about loosening up and going to Foodcourtia or something dumb…Spork is like General serious face. Miyuki is…preparing for possible rage face reaction (though I’d like to think Spork practices stoicism like Marcus Aurelius but…I got a lot of Grecian/Roman Empire influence going on about these parts…) and Purple is just doing Purple things…like trying not to laugh I guess.

Clap clap.

I want to ink this but I gotta finish some other shite and post stuff…slowly.

I’m a secret agent, man. 😎

[hs-transfusion]

> KANAYA MARYAM

HEMO: Blue (#004182) TROLLTAG: graveArtisan [GA] SIGN: Scorvir, Sign of the Radiant STRIFE: fankind MODUS: Origami LUNAR SWAY: Derse MYTH. ROLE: Witch of Blood LAND: Land of Thorns and Ivory

GA: This Will Be Over With Much Sooner If You Would Just. Stay. Still.

Kanaya is responsible for what LITTLE FASHION INDUSTRY THERE IS on Alternia, using her HIGHBLOOD STATUS to influence the ARTISTIC DIRECTION OF CLOTHING as best she can. She will happily use her MIND-CONTROL ABILITIES to force subjects to model for her for extended periods of time, as she sees it as nothing more than THE BETTERMENT OF AESTHETICS.

Kanaya's VISION THREEFOLD allows her to see both in front of her AND BEHIND HER, as all mothers naturally have eyes on the back of their heads. When she isn't busy with a THREAD AND NEEDLE, she enjoys hosting EXTRAVAGANT PARTIES, reading NOVELS OF THE GRIMDARK VARIETY, and has taken a passing interest in PAINTING. Unfortunately, she's terrible at the latter.

Kanaya's ORIGAMI Fetch Modus requires a blank captchalogue card to be FOLDED INTO a rough approximation of an item she wishes to retrieve.

Kanaya's lusus is classified as the SILKEN CAVERNGRUB; a colossal silkworm that BURROWS THROUGH THE GROUND to eat enough minerals to produce COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF SILK for her charge. Kanaya has strictly trained her lusus to NEVER DIG UNDER HER OWN HVIE for the sake of not ruining her outside garden.

The Land of THORNS AND IVORY is a dreary place, lined with THICK HEDGE MAZES, POSH MANORS and LIFELIKE STATUES OF DEMENTED BEASTS. These statues have a funny habit of DISAPPEARING when left unattended. The land's denizen HERA appears to be TRAPPED beneath a thick brush of thorny roses, seemingly AWAITING RESCUE.

Kanaya's ancestor is known as LADY SERICULT, a rich socialite that strived to ENTERTAIN like nobody else. She was the BEST HOST THERE IS, period. Rumour has it that those she fancied were lured to her personal quarters, BOUND IN SOFT SILK like a spider-web, and kept as PERSONAL PLAYTHINGS, never to be seen again.

[queer-ragnelle]

Arthurian Preservation Project Master List

Hi! I’m L and I run the Arthurian Preservation Project to locate and archive all Arthurian media available from Medieval literature to modern day retellings and films. This is a master post of those contributions to the archive, long informational posts about Arthuriana, history, research, writing, and my character-based recommendations so you can find what you want to read/watch and the information you need.

I have an About Me page and my Ask box is always open.

The Archive

Arthurian Preservation Project Updates

Medieval Literature by Language

Retellings by Date

Films by Date

TV Shows by Date

Documentaries by Date

Master Posts

Beginner's Guide to Medieval Arthuriana

Hi-Lo Arthuriana

♡ Loathly Lady Master Post ♡

Elegy of an Empire (my book series)

What is Elegy of an Empire?

How/Why did I write backwards? A timeline.

Read The Moonlit Knight prologue!

Horror influences in Elegy of an Empire.

#Elegy of an Empire

My Creations

Webweaves

Gifs

Video Edits

Art

My scans

Where else to find me

Arthurian Theater Discord Server

Spotify

Ko-Fi

➷ Long Posts Below ➷

Best Recommendations

Best of Queens

Best of Ladies of the Lake

Best of Orkney Wives

Best of Orkney Bros (coming soon)

Best of Arthur’s Kids

Best of Arthur

Best of Kay

Best of Lancelot

Best of Dinadan

Best of Arthurian Romance/Erotica

Best of Weird Arthuriana

Ask Recommendations

Galahad stories without deceitful conception.

Medieval Galahad appearances + essays.

Mordred stories showcasing his leadership.

Queer Mordred retellings.

Research Deep Dives

From where did Gawain’s purple coat of arms originate?

Who is Galahad’s mother?

Does Dagonet the Jester have a coat of arms?

Dagonet's coats of arms in retellings.

How did Lancelot win Joyous Gard from Caradoc?

The magical rings of Guinevere & Lancelot.

Age gap between Guinevere & Lancelot.

What is “courtly love?”

Which text first described Gawain as red headed?

Kingdoms in Arthuriana.

Lancelot’s mental illness & the history of madness.

Lancelot's suicidal ideation revisited.

Mystery lady of Hector de Maris? Why wikis are unreliable.

Post-Vulgate Pelleas is kind of a creep.

Religion in Arthuriana Legend.

Who is Sir Guinglain?

My Opinions

What is my favorite “historical” era for Arthuriana?

Arthuriana's grimdark problem.

Are fanfics books?

Is Arthurian Legend fanfic?

Shipping discourse for Medieval characters is stupid.

Guinevere's mistreatment in retellings + more shipping discourse (& what to read instead.)

Owain, Yvain, or Iwein?

In defense of The Bright Sword's "self-indulgence."

Why do I condemn The Mists of Avalon?

Why do I condemn The Once and Future King?

Misogyny in The Warlord Chronicles.

Writing Advice

There is no Arthurian "canon," write what you want!

My philosophy regarding the Arthurian literary tradition.

Anachronism is a feature not a bug.

Anachronism revisited.

Creating lovable Arthurian OCs.

Feature Guinevere in a first-person Gawain story.

Modernizing Mordred.

Depicting trans knights + reading list.

How to shift the Arthurian timeline for your book.

[tagedeszorns]

Work in Progress: Blanchitsu-Sister of Silence

Some Warhammer-nostalgia:

John Blanche is one of the 2D and miniature artists who has had the most lasting impact on the Warhammer aesthetic. Everyone has seen at least one of his paintings (and if not: he's the creator of the famous SoB hairstyle!) and what we now take for granted in fandom as "Grimdark" was largely built by him (whether as artist or art director).

He's been on my radar since the late nineties - his influence on comic artists like Jamie Hewlitt was a big thing for teenage-me.

Over at Mastodon, there are regular miniature painting challenges called #FediPaint in a loose, more or less monthly rhythm. And this time the theme is "Blanchitsu" - in the style of John Blanche (yes, that's a fixed term).

I'm not good enough to participate with my miniatures yet (although the Beastmen would lend themselves very well to this), so I've decided to contribute a tribute to Blanche's 2D work.

So here's a Sister of Silence - or at least the first sketch. It's my style, of course, but I'm trying to incorporate as many classic Blanchitsu elements as possible. And I'm curious to see if I can at least hint at Blanche's extremely iconic colouring!

It's going to be an exciting work.

[jessaerys]

your fav mello/near fics??? thank yeww (also love your drawings!)

oohh this reminds me i should pick up my ff.net archival reclist project up again...

it is of note that it's been a looooong while since i've combed the archives and there's a couple of common tropes i don't usually read due to personal taste, so i'm sure there's a lot of good fic i'm unaware of and/or forgetting about! this has totally renewed my interest in making a comprehensive personal reclist >:) perhaps i'll come back and edit this post every now and then.

i owe comments to nearly everyone mentioned here i am SO sorry. it's a lost skill that i am working on developing again. at the very least i've got everyone in one place so i can go down the list this year. i encourage everyone reading from this reclist to leave a comment too!

i wrote "off the top of my head" but this got VERY long so under the readmore it goes

obligatory classics

• the famous @tierfal 's sidetracked (2010) and full of surprises (2009). rated e and m respectively. these are like the allegorical little black dress in the wardrobe of the platonic ideal of the mellonear oneshot. seem to be pretty well known across the ship fandom • stripped (2009) by blueberryash/@tka-trashfire on tumblr. explicit. i haven't read this in a while but i remember it capturing the delicate gossamer tension of the ship in a way that was sooo bittersweet and nostalgic. • to speak of rules and privilege (2008) also by blueberryash/@tka-trashfire, gen, a manifesto on tenderness, soooooooooo soft, changed the game, near being afraid of thunderstorms was immediately adopted into personal canon. big time influence for the way i write near and mello's pre-canon relationship re: big brother, little brother. • an understanding (2008) by blueberryash/@tka-trashfire, rated T, short and sweet, razor sharp prose, the aesthetics of the little piece live rent free in my head. • dual(2011) by ramasi, @ramasi here i believe. rated m. historians say this might be one of the first examples of mellonear choking kink ever recorded,

RARE finds

(please tell me if you enjoy any of these, i want to feel like an explorer that's brought back treasures from far away lands)

•scarification (2012) by gacrux11 on fanfiction.net, rated m, big time dead dove do not eat. sorry this one leans early 2010s era grimdark melodrama but i love it sjkdfkjfd. not enough dead dove fics about the boys if u ask me. • salt in the wound (2007) •tempus fugit (2007), and • white out (2006) by vaudevillain king on fanfiction. net. a beloved rare find. all of them are rather grimdark edgy products of their era, but some of the best the era had to offer. they make me so nostalgic for my teenagehood on fanfiction.net. i get the impression these might've been written even before death note was finished? • birthday smut (2009) by kleine_aster on livejournal. explicit. this one is SO funny to me because it is both really, really good, very in character, but unfortunately it suffers from almost satirical misogyny that afflicted fujoshis back in the day. near literally is like oh that bitch... like. he would not fucking think that but i can edit quickly in my brain as i read. bisexual mello rights! otherwise really sexy imo. i might be writing something that's kind of in conversation with this fic.

contemporary favorites:

• you've heard about it before and you will hear about it again: the archer ensnared (2023) by jabbernatty, rated e. a jessaerys obligatory syllabus read, the fic that made me go fulltime yaoi disease. i owe so much to jabbernatty they are my white whale my friend my enemy the writer i've psychically imprinted on from the beginning. honestly too scared to even leave a comment given the jessarys archer ensnared lore. may one day may contact and pray i don't come across as insane • postmortem (2023) by the_hemlock true gen, a favorite of ALL time. it's only tangentially mn really, it is 99% about near trying to piece together the mystery of lawlight post-canon, but the characterization and prose are some of if not the best i've ever come across. reads like it could be a piece of canon material. if you only read one fic on this list i'd pick postmortem. • it's friday i'm in love by neallo/@neallo rated m. possibly my all time fave in the neallo cinematic universe. something about the after-hours longing and the standing in the kitchen by the refrigerator lights, as the poets say. i love when stories feel like you're cutting out a window to peer into a larger universe that is just out of reach. perfectly captures what it is like to have a maddening crush • i want to hold you (hostage)(2023) by neallo/@neallo rated e. thee defining fic of this current modern mellonear era. manages to walk the line of kinky/sexy/sweet/fluffy all at once. plot twist of the century in the last chapter. near is properly as bananas insane as mello is in this fic, which is the marker of a good mellonear dynamic. really everything by morgan neallo is a safe bet for a great read • there's nothing i want but you (2023) by neallo/@neallo rated t. wammy's era mellonear obsessiveness that is soooo teenagery and yet a portent of just how codependent they might one day get. cute and ominous. • armageddon/kill game (2024) by bolide/@bolide-archive came out of nowhere a couple of months ago and ascended to the top of the game like a dark horse. rated m, chess au. one of my favorite interior mello narrations and one of the most similar to my own interpretation. such naturally talented prose. i rotate lines from this in my head all the time. still in progress but i have faith that it will be completed :') • how to burn down the sacred loom (2023) by dornishviper/@vriskarlmarx a contemporary CLASSIC. the less you know going in the better. beautiful prose, beautiful structure. they don't make fic like this anymore • the house always wins (2023) by mer_curia/@vivi-scera. screaming with my mouth closed. holds a special place in my heart given that it is my posting that convinced vi to give the ship a try, and i was rewarded with a fic that is so catered to my tastes i honestly had to read it through my fingers. SO good, the manifesto on wammyscest, so rather controversial. heed the warnings. • moonlight (2023) by tsukinousagi/@quicktimeeventfull rated t. an austere, cold little glimpse into a vampire au. it's giving let the right one in. so melancholic. one of the saddest near examinations out there. •proximity tells (2018) by abysmallypresent, rated m. truly lives up to death note's second-by-second minutia while managing to keep up the tension the entire time. great characterization. •silhouettes (2015) by bad blood/eroticcodependence, @wxmmyshouse on tumblr. unrated, post-canon compliant. made me CRY! elegantly short and simple, bittersweet and so so wistful. •arsonist's lullabye (2023) by tzviaariella/@tzviaariella. rated t. this one has a heart-wrenching air of realism to it that exists outside the chaotic universe of death note, one of those examinations of picking up the pieces after the titans have all gone away. very bittersweet.

honorary mentions

• let's die somewhere prettier (2020) by firesafinething also one of my absolute favorites, unfortunately it is discontinued and it is likely it will never be completed. sad! the premise seemed SO promising. in my mind i file it right next to postmortem mentioned above. the exploration of the tragedy of 27 year old near we could have had in a better timeline. one day i will leave a comment so good maybe it will bring back the fic from the land of the dead • august underground by me & @firebuggg rated e, in progress. >:) (shamless self promo)