#not to say that this is why arcane is trending but

[idkwhatimdoingbutslay]

Riot puts a tiny lesbian pin on Vi and suddenly Arcane is trending 🙄🙄🙄

We are gay, we are weak, and pandering keeps us fed

[lmk-vibes]

Why is the only positive fem chubby/plus size rep only ever depicted being cute, kind and soft. I wanna see hardcore slutty chubby/plus size people.

I'm tired of us only being cute as if we can't be sexually desirable or found attractive.

[cushfuddled]

When I first started shoveling Jayvik fanfic into my mouth a month and a half ago, I was shocked and delighted at the avalanche buffet of top Viktor and dom Viktor content. But I've started to feel like the detective who kneels down and touches some footprints in the dirt like, "Something happened here..."

Because I can't remember the last time I saw a fanon concept become...so ubiquitous? Even in fics where Viktor bottoms, he's a power bottom/topping from the bottom. Spotting a fic with an overwhelmed sub bottom Vik in the Ao3 tag feels a bit like the moment a snow leopard graces your Himalayan trail cam.

I DO NOT mean to suggest anyone "should" write more inexperienced/bottom/sub Viktor! It's just...as someone who likely missed whatever ancient discourse might've plagued the Arcane fandom years hence, I've been through this fandom song and dance enough times to recognize the smell of...what say, capital-O Obligation.

I just want people to know they can write whatever kind of fanfic they want. That's the point of this post. I hope someone somewhere reads this and feels emboldened to let loose/goof off/get freaky/whatever.

Because I can see why people would feel Obligated to portray Viktor as a top/dom/the sexually experienced one. He's physically disabled and chronically ill. Ableism so often takes the form of paternalism and infantilization. There's this pervasive notion that disabled people don't have sex. People think we're too "pure" for sex, or assume we're "undesirable" as romantic partners/that our physical or mental disabilities would make sex impossible. With that cultural context, it's a radical act for so many people to come together and choose to portray Viktor—a disabled, terminally ill man who struggles with suicide ideation—as a sexually experienced top.

One of the hardest things about being disabled/ill is the lack of control. You can't plan for the future; you don't know whether your pain levels will be better tomorrow or demand another trip to the ER; your life is totally in the hands of overworked doctors who don't care about you. So it feels kind of like an act of reclamation to put Viktor in a dominant position. In a safe, sane, consensual arrangement, all parties have control over the situation, but with topping and/or domming comes the Role of authority/power. Making Viktor an experienced, sly top/dom gives back Viktor's autonomy and agency.

So yeah. I get why this trend is pervasive within the fandom! It's fantastically subversive. I just hope nobody feels like they HAVE to fall into this dynamic.

I remember a Tumblr post from years ago where someone described the drawbacks of a supposedly "feminist retelling" of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, wherein the heroin saves herself by her own strength and wits. This, I would argue, is a perfectly fine story to tell...but its lack of intersectionality betrays a shallow definition of feminism. In casting those retold fairy tales in a feminist, "empowering" light, one ignores the realities of the people who found escapism in those helpless damsels.

In a paradoxical way, when my MCAS knocked me flat on my ass for two years, I was always out of control of my life AND forced to take control all the time. All those overworked, traumatized, apathetic doctors meant I had to be my own patient advocate. I had to do my own research; figure out which treatment plans made the most sense; find doctors who took my insurance and could see me within six months; argue with Medicaid when they didn't want to pay for one of the drugs I'd been prescribed; find new and creative ways to feed myself when my body reacted like it was allergic to everything other than water and Cheerios. And god, I had to self-police myself all the time. At the doctor's office, you have to look sick enough that they believe you when you say you're hurting, but you don't want to seem TOO sick because the desperation will make the doctor diagnose you with "hysterical woman" (or they'll just assume you're fishing for drugs). At home, you want to project some amount of strength so you don't worry your loved ones or make yourself too much of a "burden." (You also don't want to have to manage other people's anxiety on top of your own.) My disability (autism) and chronic illness (MCAS) are invisible, but I imagine there's a lot of masking that goes into navigating public spaces with a visible disability/illness, too.

So...when everything's this constant battle for control—when you're forced to project strength every day regardless of your pain level—of course some people are going to find relief in stories where they're allowed to shut down. I think it's important to let disabled characters be vulnerable and overwhelmed and even dependent on someone else, because as often as disabled and chronically ill people are infantalized, so too are we expected to "overcome" our disabilities/illnesses through miracles of resilience and cunning. We're pushed to perform strength, cheer, and "normalcy" for the public, who find our disabilities "sad" and "uncomfortable." Every time someone refuses to put on a mask, or a relative tells us to simply get more exercise, or a politician rails against "wellfare queens," or a bus route gets cut or a bench gets removed or our doctors hand-wave our symptoms, our world reinforces the message that we are Too Much; that our needs are exorbitant, our very existence a drain on society. So many of us throw ourselves into self-sabotaging grasps at independence. We work ourselves far past our limits to prove we aren't a burden on society. We refuse help just to maintain that tiny sense of control over our lives.

I find it deeply comforting to read stories where ill and disabled characters are...allowed to be helpless, I guess. To break the fuck down and let someone else finally take the reigns for a while—to lift some of that burden off their shoulders. I love when ill and disabled characters trust someone enough to take off that heavy armor, revealing the pain and weakness beneath the facade they were forced to take up to survive, and are rewarded with warmth and reassurance and care.

At a certain point...is it not a little ableist in itself, to restrict a disabled, chronically ill character to one specific role? To essentially lock them out of a position where they're allowed to relinquish control and be taken care of?

In essence,

Disabled and chronically/terminally ill people are not a monolith. As I always say, what offends one person will uplift another. It's an uncomfortable reality, but there's really no such thing as perfect representation. I think part of intersectionality is being willing to accept that multiple things can be true at once, because everyone's lived reality is different. It's absolutely fine to prefer one trope over another. But if I find a fanfic offensive or uncomfortable, I can always click the back button with the knowledge that there's almost certainly someone out there who'll find that same so-called problematic content empowering. Whether fic writers prefer top Viktor, power bottom Viktor, bottom Viktor, switch Viktor, sub Viktor, dom Viktor, experienced Viktor, virgin Viktor, omega vs. alpha Viktor, and every niche in between...I just hope they go where their heart tells them and write what they want.

[sukibenders]

Some in the Arcane fandom think they are being helpful when, regarding Mel having romantic relationships, they say "She's a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a (in this case) man", but they really aren't. Even if they don't mean to, or were being genuine, the statement is still riddled with many undertones because the "Strong Black Woman" trope is often placed on so many black female characters to often deny them the opportunity of love and care and protection that they, in fiction and real life, are often not given or given right off the bat in comparison to their counterparts, to the point where they don't even get the choice either, as well as to push them aside.

It's not even a compliment because, oftentimes, when this term/trope is used, it doesn't even take into account the amount of stress it takes to be strong, let alone strong and alone. Another thing, which also makes it very backhanded, this trope really rears its head regarding Mel from a lot of JayVik fans, some who I will give benefit of doubt while others know exactly what they are doing. Using this term to brush off the fact that, whether you ship them or not, Mel and Jayce shared a bond with one another and she would obviously be saddened to hear of his demise (unless some of you are still running with the trope of her being heartless or just like Ambessa, and even that loses weight when you see Ambessa call Mel her literal weakness). Like, apply this to real life, why would you automatically assume that a black woman doesn't need love just because she's strong? Why do you think she doesn't need to be held or consoled? Why don't you think black girls and women want to see black female characters who are, not only, strong and have power, but also loved and cherished in the same breath?

To add on, there's this trend in fandom of labeling a female character as a "girlboss" or "queen" or just any of these terms, but not doing/adding anything else to her character besides "She's strong!" but will write 1000 word essays on the male characters within the same media. Do you see the problem here? This happens with Mel so much to the point where people don't even know who she is as a character. People (specifically toxic shippers) said that she's just like Ambessa, but the show went out of its way to show you again and again why she is not. Or did you just ignore it/watch with your eyes closed?

[aesthetic-uni]

Okay Arcane Season 2 Final reaction -Episode 7

I am freaking the FUCK out

In case anyone is wondering, Jinx is my favorite, I want happiness for her, don’t get me wrong I love all the others but if she’s not happy by the end of this you won’t ever see me again

Opening vinyl-I literally stopped breathing ID THAT EKKO AND JINX AGSJRBLDJ?!?!

My king Ekko, where have you been all this time. Please come home we miss you

EKKO?! And is that little drawing Jinx??

OH ALTERNATE UNIVERSE TIME BABEY so many fanfics are going to go off this I can tell

EKKO!! He looks so handsome and alive!!! (My hopes for these characters ARE VERY LOW AS YOU CAN TELL)

Jinx looks so cute!!!

BENZO!! Oh my fucking god is this going to be a Happy Universe that NONE OF THEM ARE GOING TO GET?! I’m going to throw myself off a cliff.

Oh my god no one ever address Ekko’s trauma with Benzo I’m so glad they’re doing it THAT WAS HIS DAD!!

This is cruel. This is just cruel how DARE they give us a happy au

No Netflix I will not skip the intro fuck off

AAAAW EKKO NOO SEEING EVERYTHING THAT COULD HAVE BEEN

God Jinx looks SO CUTE I need so much fanart of her

Ps I know this is technically Powder, I’m too lazy to constantly switch names so Jinx

Also does she have a pink streak in her hair? I don’t like the implications of that

Aaaaaw they’re partners :((((

MYLO AND CLAGGOR HOW FUCKING DARE YOU HOW DARE YOU HOW DARE YOU OH FUCK OH GOD

Wait omg “Trouble in paradise” TIMEBOMB?!

I have gotten through THREE MINUTES OF THIS SHOW

Oh that cute Jinxer is here woo! Lmao Mylo is so real.

Aaaw Claggor he’s trying to help the city and he cares about his little sister AND HOW FUCKING DARE YOU ARCANE

AAAW JINX TRYING TO HELP MYLO FUCKING HELL ARCANE

“WHAT WOULD THEY DO WITHOUT YOU” JESUS CHRIST ARCANE

Okay this isn’t funny anymore where’s Vi

Okay but is it OUR professor?! (I can’t spell his name)

IT IS!!

Okay but WHY what’s happening with Jayce?!

VI VI VI VI VI

OH NO JAYCE WHY CANT HE BE HAPPY TOO?!

Ooooh his HAMMER is why he got sent to the apocalypse au huh

Is that evil Viktor. Is that the Machine Herald? IS IT TIME FOR GLORIOUS EVOLUTION?!

Wow I was just joking with the apocalypse au but it really was it huh?

Aw I like that Jinx kept her workshop

Is that a heart. Around a picture of them. IS TIMEBOMB ACTUALLY CANON IN THIS UNIVERSE?!

Wait, is this THEIR WORKSHOP?!

FUCK I KNEW VI WAS GOING TO BE DEAD GOD DAMN IT

Oh this isn’t happy at all :(

OH FUCK THIS ISNT HAPPY AT ALL

WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU SHOW ME THAT HOLY HELL?! OH MY GOD THERE WAS NO REASON FOR SHOWING ME THAT

Way to hammer it in Arcane for no fucking reason other than MAKING ME CRY YOU PIECE OF SHIT. LIKE I GOT IT. VI IS DEAD IN THAT UNIVERSE. DIDNT NEED TO SHOW ME HER SIBLINGS REACTING TO HER DEATH

GLORIOUS EVOLUTION HORROR

Oh god not doomed Timebomb IN THE FUCKING HAPPY AU

Poor Jayce just has to fucking go through it huh

Wow that is an understatement.

Okay but MelJayVik crumbs ILL TAKE IT

YEAH THE PERSEVERE JAYCE!!!!

NO STOP MAKING ME CRY WITH THE HAPPY AU

There’s not much I can say with Jayce other than holy fuck this poor man

God they could have been partners. They could have been the brightest minds in all of Zaun. They could have been HAPPY. I fucking hate this show why would you show me this. I’m never going to recover

HE BROKE TIME BABY!!! FOUR SECONDS BACKWARDS LETS GOOOO

God they are so in love. God this is going to kill me

Oh my god the fanartists and editors are going to MURDER me with the “Do you think we together in every universe” trend aren’t they?

SILCO?! ZAUNDADS CANON?!

Ekko hold on. EKKO HOLD ON.

Oh my god this reference to season 1 episode 4 how fucking dare you

HOW DARE YOU MAKE TIMEBOMB CANON LIKE THIS?! AURRRGGGHHHH

Ripping my hair out. Clawing my eyes out. Beating my chest until it caves in. This is everything I could ever want. HOW. DARE. YOU.

I love them. I love them so much. Why would you do this to me.

IM GOING TO BE FUCKING SICK

[iminyourwallsbabe]

Arcane characters as different types of kpop enjoyers

Not stans, you'll see later.

Jinx- Hardcore noise music girlie. The more obnoxious the better. If the beat makes you audibly go "what the fuck is going on", she's eating that up. That's groups like Stray Kids, Ateez, NCT (don't ask which one, the answer is all of them), etc. She also likes G-Idle because Isha fucking loved Queencard and Wife and has since put those songs on Sevika's arm, much to her annoyance. It's grown on her though, since Isha quit being a trainee at Breathing entertainment (GET IT BECAUSE SHE'S-)

Vi- I don't think she'd like any particular group, if she comes across some kpop and it sounds good to her then it's whatever. She's shown some consistent interest in BTS' earlier music (so from like 2 Kool 4 Skool to The Most Beautiful Moment in Life). She doesn't understand the obsession some people have with it but she respects it to some extent. However some people think she's a huge kpop stan because she keeps going out to buy albums for Jinx. She used to just steal them but then she decided to date a COP and now she has to "obey the law" or whatever. Kinda cringe.

Caitlyn- Christian horse girl music. For the uninitiated, this is an unofficial sub genre of kpop. It's literally just the most squeaky clean, probably heard it in a kdrama type songs. So GFriend, Berry Good, Lovelyz, a little bit of Loona, April, Apink, WJSN. No this is not all she's ever been allowed to listen to, she acquired this taste herself. She's a basic bitch at heart and we love her for that ♥️

Jayce- Caitlyn may be basic, but this man is BASIC basic. knows two BTS songs and it's Dynamite and Butter. But good news! He's not completely out of the loop. He knows about the Butter remix with Megan Thee Stallion. He also liked Neva Play by Megan Thee Stallion, RM just happens to be on that song. And he listened to the Mamushi remix featuring Twice. Mamushi, by Megan Thee Stallion. Are we seeing a trend here, perchance? Anyway, besides that, remember when Jungkook was popping off in the states for his solo stuff back in 2023? He was into that too. In fact he still consistently listens to the Golden album. At some point he wanted to get into New Jeans but then he googled how old they were and said FFFFFFUCK NO. (Go ahead, look up how old they were when they debuted. Also, on that note, FUCK HYBE, WE'RE BOYCOTTING THEIR ASSES- or at least we were supposed to for the past year because they can't help but hire Zionist weirdos but people didn't get the memo till they fully fucked over New Jeans so)

Anyway, on with the post!

Viktor- He is all the way a Red Velvet stan. Their music is just calm enough to where he doesn't find it distracting and just hype enough for him not to find it boring. He's the type of guy who puts on music to hear it, not to forget it's playing. He usually keeps songs like Bad Boy, Feel My Rhythm, and Psycho in rotation. That's really all the kpop he listens to but he loves Aespa's aesthetics and lore. Does he understand what's going on? Vaguely. He doesn't have the time to do a deep dive but he knows enough to think it's cool. Jayce does too, mostly because of Viktor.

Heimerdinger- He's a Once, next question.

Mel- I'm not too sure how to categorize this, all I'm gonna say is that her taste matches her tax bracket. She's listening to Kiss of Life, IVE, Le Sserafim, Mamamoo, Chungha, and she's fully caught up on the scandals. She could tell you who Hyuna's married to and why that's a problem, she knows who shat on the floor at that one award show, why Jimin and Jeongyeon had beef, she can explain kpop pipelines you didn't know existed. Jayce will listen to all of this very intently even though he has no idea who the fuck these people are. Like at all. He's lost. She knows he doesn't really understand but she appreciates that he gives her the time of day. She's also the type of person to decorate her photocards, all the decorations are gold.

Ekko- He likes a lot of the same groups Jinx does but in a different way. The way she likes their insane, loud songs, he likes the ones that are a little more chill. But sometimes when he misses her, he'll play the songs she likes. So, that being said, it's entirely possible that he cried his eyes out to fucking Sticker by NCT 127 (I think? Idk I be forgetting). Like from the other room you'd hear some weird ass recorder noises and violent sobbing. Besides that, he also enjoys really obscure groups. He's the nugu king. Some of the artists on his Spotify wrapped have like 10,000 streams combined. Where did he find this? Nobody knows. He also likes K/DA and his bias is Akali. That makes more sense when you remember True Damage exists

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

Hey, Love your artstyle a lot!! My friend got me to be brave and ask (English isn't my first language 🫠😶‍🌫️) How did you find your artstyle? How do you feel about your art? What do you want people to feel when they see your art??? Sorry for all the questions BUT I need to understand why your art feels so special to me 🥹 I really love your asl art! Thanks for seeing this post! Hope I'm not crossing any lines! Feel free to just skip the questions!

Hello! That makes me very happy to hear that you enjoy my artstyle! I love it too :)))

I found my artstyle little by little over many years. Every so often I find something in my style that I don’t like, or I find something that I enjoy in someone else’s style and I try out something different to fix or incorporate those ideas! And if I find I like how it turned out, then I continue the changes until I don’t like it anymore. Many trends in my art has come and gone and what’s left from all that is what I have now :)

At the moment my biggest inspirations are arcane’s style, hagushka’s, and sokt0pus.

I feel like im very proud of where i am with my art. I find that my style has become very consistent and when i look back at my art from a year ago, i think it doesnt look too much different than what i have now. Which for me, says that my style has found itself in a place where i havent noticed something i dont like about it in a while. And that makes me happy :)

I am also proud of how good i am at creating different face shapes. My style has come a long way to be able to make a multitude of faces look good in it and it makes me happy that i can draw anyone’s face fairly easily.

And finally i am proud of how three dimensional my art currently looks. It’s very difficult to achieve that, and ive still got a long way to go, but making art look 3d is something ive recently tried to work on and im proud with how far ive come on that front.

I dont have a set way i want people to feel when they look at my art, i dont think. Because of how many different tones i draw in, It would be inaccurate to say a blanket feeling. Some trending tones in my artwork though tend to by melancholy, joy, or sorrow.

Thanks for your lovely questions! Im glad you enjoy my art :))

[lotusmuses]

ramblings about viktor:

viktor's "the final glorious evolution" and "i understand it now" (i'm referencing that tiktok trend where the guy fails, says that, and immediately does the same thing but perfectly after) he's about to lock in. i love his mentality devolving into the machine herald.

i just hope sky isn't gone forever now 😞 but she's not in game lore as far as i know, so she probably is?

i know people seem pretty split on whether that was her consciousness, the arcane manipulating viktor, or a manifestation of his guilt. i think the first two are both likely true, while the third doesn't make much sense to me (an extension of him? yes. his guilt? not so much). the arcane constantly recreates and destroys itself, so i have a feeling that it also destroyed/killed her and then remade her inside of itself.

it's kind of similar to the sci-fi cosmic horror movie Annihilation, by the end of the plot there's no distinction between the mc and the alien because of it's nature of turning things into it and also turning itself into what it comes in contact with.

she's sky and it's the arcane at the same time.

i don't think it's consciously manipulating vik either. his mindset hasn't changed all that much imo, but his goals now spread the arcane. i think when his blood came in contact, the arcane began to recognize him as part of itself, which is why it saved him, but also it means that it's actions are extensions of his own will and vice versa.

same with the people of the commune

less hivemind and more "singularity of mind". except the arcane is naturally dualistic "creating/destroying" so the other side of the coin is jayce.

[arcane-temp-fandomblog]

Season 2 Act 1 and where I think plot may be going next

I think it's fair to say that once Vi stood in Cait's way of taking that shot in episode 3 because of Isha - the whole killing off rest of the family plan by Jinx is off the table. I'm really amazed that the writers got the sister's to the death confrontation out of way before end of act 2. I think we will get reconciliation between Vi and Jinx by the end of the show.

Viktor probably feels he did more good by healing that one shimmer addict with magic than he did all these years being stuck in Piltover. Well by most measures that aren't producing wealth for the council, he did. It's good to remember these addicts can't even find safe heaven in Firelights. I think being away from Piltover is going to be great for him and the Machine Herald phase most likely will be a good development after he revisits his stance of non-violence, but for now I also really liked how he just left the moment he saw Jayce's hextech rifle plans on the desk.

Still while Viktor never wanted to make hextech weapons, I envision the moment shit hits the fan in Zaun vs Piltover - that stance will have to be heavily reconsidered by him.

I'm also interested why so many people think hexcore is steering Viktor by using Sky to idk. nefariously heal people no one else cares about? Instead of continuing the trend from Season 1 that Sky and Jayce are the only people that ever cared for Viktor's life and wanted to see him succeed. Then there's also whole contingent of people claiming he doesn't feel anything anymore, but idk. his face seems pretty sad (disclaimer, I have problems reading people's faces).

But who knows, I wasn't around for the leaks.

Cait has accepted the same deal Jayce did in Act 2 of Season 1, so being catapulted to position of power for someone else's gain. For Jayce it was Mel and council, for Cait it's Mel's mom and upper class of Piltover. My prognosis is that she will have as much fun as her 'not-brother' navigating the socio-economic political landscape. So none. Good luck girl. You'll need it.

On downside I thought it would be Heimer who will bring on downfall of Firelight hideout, but it may be Cait - they're the only two piltovians who know where it is.

Salo has grown on me, when he summed up Cait's squad escapades as just whimsy people eat up because of Kiramann name. He's not wrong thou not like he's any better. Loved the avengers like intro of the squad... and they fail.

Mel and her mom - wow. I love how the moment after explosion when Ambessa's mask falls as she's checking over Mel. And how stiffing Ambessa is because she will lead Mel 'to the right decision'.

Also Sevika and Jinx and Isha is the best. Jayce meeting Ekko and both of them sizing each other up with 'Hmm'. Love these non serious elements.

I like CaitVi development, it was very well set up in Season 1 on what are their blind spots and how their flaws actually can become problems when not addressed by each other. Especially Cait's habit to talk over people because she knows better. Love the writing and how logically it unfolds.

Also Cait using the ventilation her mom instructed to be build against civilians, and Jinx using the same airways to explode Piltover in colours. It goes both ways.

Ekko will probably come back from arcane acid trip with the chrono powers, no?

[erebird]

FINESSE | ꜱ. ʜɪɴᴀᴛᴀ

𝓁𝒶𝒹𝒾𝑒𝓈 ˎˊ˗

"grab your ꜰᴇʟʟ���ꜱ, and let's do this right~"

our 𝓁𝒶𝒹𝒾𝑒𝓈 are...

⤷ the managers & an aspiring artist

⤷ the volleyball girls

now, let's take a look at their alts...

⤷ the nerds (derogatory)

⤷ the "our love lives rn" squad

masterlist | navigation | ꜰᴇʟʟᴀꜱ

→ art creds for y/n's ny post on main: sseongryul on ig

→ y/n uses her main mostly for art posting with the occasional personal life updates

→ yachi's main acc is on stantwt and she's a very contributive member of that society

→ yes, the captain couple have matching bios heehee

→ rinko and aihara are both real haikyuu characters in the vball girl's team!

→ aihara uses her main to post photo shots she's proud of (she has a camera collection 📸)

→ art creds for y/n's anya sketch on alt: keibleh on twt (is mouthwashing too niche for a fandom like haikyuu cus i hope not huhu)

→ do we fw yachi's tsukki cosplay 😹

→ fun fact i actl went on the roblox arcane rp for the first time on the same date yachi posted the tweet. needless to say i am defo playing that game again

→ i remembered kiyoko doing track before she became manager hence the usain bolt quote on her main 😭

→ yachi and kiyoko dont know about each other's alt accounts so they don't follow each other (you'll see why 😋)

→ even if they don’t follow each other, their pfps are connected! they both went to a party: kiyoko taking a picture of yachi is her pfp and the photo kiyoko took of her is yachi’s!

→ before michimiya started dating daichi, she was initially matching her bio with rinko's on main. after it changed rinko got jealous and they moved their matching bios to their alts <3

→ did yk michimiya means roadside shinto shrine 😭

→ michimiya LOVES katseye (same ✌️)

→ rinko got a pillow of her cat like that trend ive been seeing on tiktok!

→ aihara is a yearner, anyways do hear her out on player 388 please.

erethoughts: I'M SORRY ABOUT THE ABUNDANT AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL INFO I ADDED i just had sm fun making the accs of these girls 😭 anyways now that character introductions are done, the series will begin shortly!! i'm so excited cus now i've also got a taglist as well! can't wait to share this series with y'all 💋

taglist ── .✦ [open]

@tiramizuloz <3

[chic-beyond-the-wall-oc-acct]

Glance, roots, & change foe Valena???

Thank you bestie 💝

glance: At first glance, what stands out most about your OC's appearance? What's their distinguishing feature?

Most definitely her scar when it comes to the majority of her life. The hex-eye is a new development. While she hasn't had a right eye since she was eight, she didn't wear a prosthetic until around six months before the episode "progress day" takes place. She still wears eye patches a lot, purely for style, but now she has a fully functioning eye. Bald Valena for visuals:

roots: Is your OC's look inspired by any specific style of clothing or fashion trend? What are the roots and/ or inspiration for their look?

I do aim for a more art deco look for her. I'm not sure if it really comes across that well though. I love the suits in Arcane and while I know the creators say Piltover is steampunk, I see lots of art deco in it as well. But anyhow, here are some of my references:

change: Has your OC ever drastically changed their appearance? Significant haircuts, big tattoos, complete wardrobe swap, etc? Why? How do they feel about the change?

Valena has a week long crash out a few months before progress day and she spends it crashing with a couple friends who live in the undercity. She gets a couple impulse tattoos and piercings. Not sure what kind yet, leaning heavily towards nipple piercings though.

As for a style change, I want to give her more armor looks around the time of season 2. Unintentional on my part that's actually how Jericho Swain dresses, which leads to the next change. Theres a theory we might get a Noxus series since Jericho's familiar shows up at the end of Arcane. If we do it will probably be centered around The Second Noxian Invasion of Ionia and I feel like as the only heir to their house Jericho would probably call her back to Noxus. She'd reluctantly go. Her style would take on a very Noxian feel from there but stick with suits. So imagine the inspo as suits:

[peoplesrazor]

Lily Criticals you should watch Crim's new video.

CrimsonEnder goes into how and why he started talking about Lily and why he feels it's time to step back from that a bit. Rather topical given some recent discussions in the Lily Crit sphere of the internet.

Watch the video for a more detailed explanation.

I will add that Crimson has done some fine non-Lily videos and is well worth following for his other content. I'm looking forward to more video essays from him in the future as well as his call-in live stream The Inferno.

Myself, I plan to reblog more often from Lily's victims as well as thetepes posts on Lily's racism and ableism. I'll also start routinely posting Courtney's videos and channel to help them reach more people. I feel that's the least someone with only para-social interactions with Lily and her victims can do to keep the topic in focus.

I will still comment on Lily's media takes, for two reasons I feel are very important.

First, I feel Lily is very indicative of a current modern trend of anti-intellectualism. Because she sounds so authoritative when she speaks and with the way she frames her words, it sounds like the only way to view a topic. If she says something is fascist, a listener might conclude, then it must be fascist. It's absolutism at it's worst.

When things are framed this way, there is no room for discussion. No alternative interpretation of the source material. Not only is that dangerous, not only does that make people more susceptible to propaganda, but it's not as much fun.

Secondly, and more important to the current topic, I've found the more critically I examine Lily's videos, posts, and writings, the more I find clues to the kind of person she is. Take, for instance, her obvious interest in incest.

It's been, easily, 4 or 5 videos, likely more, in a row that she's mentioned incest in some manner. That's not including her harassment video. It's either a shot of a book title, an accusation toward a character, or a misreading of a situation, but it's always there in some manner these days.

Like her post about Vi and Caitlyn from Arcane. She hints that there is something wrong with Vi, because she thinks Arcane Jinx looks a little like League of Legends Cait. Those aren't even the same source material, Lily. * Not to mention that Vi hadn't even seen the current Jinx when she meets Cait and the attraction starts.

Either Lily's obsession with incest is so strong she can't help it slipping into her work, or she is trying to push an agenda to make it more mainstream.

And I, honestly, couldn't tell you which it is.

Of course, incest isn't the only thing you can find in her work. As mentioned there are clues to everything from her racism to her ableism to her limited world-views in her work. And I think that should be talked about sometimes.

But her victims deserve to have their voices be the loudest in this discussion.

*It took me forever to figure out how Jinx and Cait resembled each other even a little bit. I finally decided, that maybe, just based on hairstyles, and coloring, it was in game Cait and in show Jinx. I could very well be wrong, but they don't look like each other in the show at all. One way or the other this is major projection on Lily's part.

[raxistaicho]

Something I feel is key to any discussion about why Jeralt might have acted so severely when it comes to Rhea is his personal experience with the woman, what he thinks of her, what he feels he owes her, and what she did for him that she didn't do for others, including Sitri.

In the first support with Rhea we learn from her personally that Jeralt would likely describe her as "frightening" and that she sincerely doubts Jeralt would ever call her "incredible." She's also hurt by the truth that he never mentioned her. Jeralt himself wrote that he thought the world of Rhea, but there is also significant evidence to suggest that Rhea is not close with anyone but Byleth. Catherine's jealousy of Byleth, Rhea's admission of lonliness, and Archbishop Rhea's event in Fire Emblem Heroes all speak to intentional personal isolation. Jeralt was probably about as close to Rhea as Catherine was. They don't actually know her, just her authority, strength, and how she saved them. (Faerghus born. You do as your leader tells you and dedicate yourself to them fully.)

300+ years by Rhea's side. Garreg Mach has existed for nearly 1000 years. Sitri is attempt 11 at creating a vessel for the Goddess. (12 is a significant number in this game, as it also relates to the Nemesis having 11 Elites, 10 known and 1 secret, Edelgard having 11 siblings, 10 known and 1 step sibling, and putting Byleth at 13th for the vessels, which breaks the trend, but still maintains associations with the Olympians, bad luck, betrayal, and the Death tarot card indicating a need for change just like with Sylvain.) Thematic trivia aside, even at 1 vessel every 100 years, Jeralt was witness to 3 attempts, possibly 4 (Sitri) at using Sothis' Crest Stone to create a vessel.

We don't know too much about the others, whether their lives were akin to Sitri's or if they died at birth, or even if they lived full lives. Two of those options, and assuming Rhea got better at making vessels over time, means Jeralt likely met some of them. This was, as stated by Rhea, her mission after all. That and keeping Fodlan at peace so she could bring Sothis back to it.

Jeralt doesn't seem the kind to really give a shit about the arcane or experimentation in general. I doubt he knows what the hell has been happening the whole time he's been alongside Rhea. He just knows that she is something very powerful. He warns Byleth not to trust her, and granted this is right after returning to Garreg Mach after running away because he doesn't trust her, it's equally important to recognise why Jeralt went back after all this time. He knows he doesn't have a choice. Alois found him and clocked that he has a child. That guy has a big mouth and Rhea would absolutely find out. Refusing her isn't something within his power to do or he wouldn't have stolen away into the night in the first place.

He doesn't really object to what the Church is doing, he did it for long enough, but he knows that he's outclassed by Rhea and doesn't have the power to refuse her. That's why he faked Byleth's death and informed Rhea before leaving instead of just taking the kid and running. (We know Jeralt doesn't leave until after the fire has been quelled because he is the one to tell her the news of Byleth's death.) She would have stopped them.

So what DOES Jeralt know about Rhea and her experimentation?

Well, a big thing is that Jeralt is very aware that he should be dead. That he died in a battle as a young man saving Rhea from death.

Rhea says that Jeralt was mortally wounded, and we don't know enough about what (pure) Nabatean blood can actually do to a person to say either way if a person needs to be alive for the resurrection to work, but the Elites and Nemesis were definitely dead if that helps confuse matters. (I mention pure Nabatean blood to disqualify Seteth, Flayn, and Seteth's brothers. We know for a fact that Rhea is directly related to Sothis, but neither Seteth, his brothers, or Flayn state a definite relationship to Rhea like they do with each other, or state a direct relationship to Sothis as Rhea does.)

Jeralt feels like he owes his life to Rhea right up until the events with Sitri and Byleth. She did save him after all and Faerghus goes a long way to instill ideas of eternal loyalty to a ruler/leader.

He knows, personally and for a fact that Rhea can bring people back from near death. Mortally wounded. Something seen as beyond exceptional in a world where 1hp is fixed up with healing magic no problem and Miracle exists. It also gave him a Major Crest. Something Jeralt doesn't seem as very keen on mentioning and definitely didn't make him start acting like one of the Goddess' chosen. He likely knew something was up even then, but not what it was.

Coupled with 300 years of working alongside a woman who also doesn't age, perpetuates a history of Crests being granted by the Goddess, which contradicts his lived experience, and the knowledge that Rhea is essentially an arbiter on who lives and who dies even from wounds so fatal that Faith magic was a lacking intervention. He's probably asking himself...

Why is Sitri dead?

What the hell could have happened in there that the Archbishop of over 300 years, the Goddess' most dedicated servant couldn't use Faith magic to prevent? What happened in there that was so severe the method Rhea used to save him all those years ago wasn't viable? Why didn't Rhea save his wife? He's been her Captain for several centuries! Sitri was akin to a daughter to Rhea! (Something very uncommon.) What profane thing could have stopped *her* from getting her way?

Then there's the matter of Byleth's heartbeat, how they don't cry, how they don't emote or fuss, or anything at all. Not to mention the fact that Byleth might possibly have a scar over their chest.

What does "traded her life for" *actually* mean? He doesn't know about the Crest Stone, but he knows Rhea can do *something* to save a life. But why would that be necessary? The line sounds like the death in childbirth was the exchange, but that shouldn't have killed someone in Rhea's care. Not according to all the information he has.

She has to have done something. He doesn't know what it is, but Rhea made the choice to exchange Sitri's life for Byleth's and now she's covetous of the child, telling Jeralt not to worry and having them watched.

Jeralt mentioning how Rhea reacted to Byleth's death is also telling.

"Lady Rhea was in a state over the news."

Lady Rhea wasn't in a state over Aelfric's death, or Jeralt's. I expect she wasn't in a state over Sitri's not because she doesn't care about her as much as she does Byleth, but due to the circumstances of Sitri's death, it was a request out of love.

So if Rhea is known to be hard to crack, and Jeralt believes her to be terrifying, and Rhea believes Jeralt should think she's terrifying, what other "states" does Rhea have? It must have been significant for Jeralt to be shaken and Rhea to understand that reaction even from someone who thought the world of her. It's probably nothing as severe as turning into the Immaculate One. But Rhea just lost access to her mother's Crest Stone. *The* thing she needs to bring Sothis back. The reason she's doing all of this! Echoes of "give it back" ring in my mind. She definitely did well to not degenerate right then. Possibly because Byleth's body would still be in Garreg Mach, and then later when she realised the deception, out there in the world guarded by the man who kept her safe for 300 years and loved his child enough to fake their death. The same man who cared for Sitri. Rhea would have needed to wait for Byleth to grow up anyway, and she, Jeralt and Byleth have nothing but time.

Back to Jeralt specifically. The veritable necromancer in his life didn't save his wife during a childbirth, seems to want to keep Byleth close, which can't be because they're Sitri's child otherwise, why not just save Sitri, y'know? So Sitri needed to die and Byleth is even stranger than their mother was.

Sitri also didn't emote to anyone but Jeralt (Crest of Seiros), but Byleth isn't emoting even for him. (*Heavy bias* but the trigger for Byleth was probably the proximity of another Crest of Flames.) So his child is even stranger than their mother, maybe even in the same way as the other vessels he incidentally met over the years.

Really the only conclusion Jeralt can draw is that Rhea did something to Byleth and Sitri. Traded their lives. Something beyond healing magic or whatever thing Rhea did to him. Something immense, beyond even the baseline be already has for her capable of granting an extended life and Crest. Something that might have been the reason Sitri could never leave the monastery. She was unwell, but Jeralt is a very capable man. Byleth seemed healthy, but the Church didn't seem willing to let them go.

It's not at all a stretch, even with the little Jeralt actually knows, to assume Rhea did something profound.

Not divine. At least not in any way she advertises.

Did she swap their souls? Something like that?

Did he find it strange later in life that Byleth didn't manifest his Crest of Seiros? Even if he didn't buy into the Goddess blessing, he must know through sheer exposure that Crests are inherited and that the further the bloodlines get from those originally "blessed" the likelihood goes down. As someone personally "blessed" with a Major Crest, Byleth not having one is an oddity itself.

Maybe that's what kept him away.

Jeralt didn't just leave. He stayed away. He stayed away for two decades, making the choice not to return every time he thought about it.

This wasn't just about whatever Rhea did, it was also about what Rhea might have done to Byleth, trapping them in Garreg Mach like she did to their mother, his wife.

And he was right. He saw the writing on the wall perfectly. Rhea actually giving such a shit about Byleth's "death" confirmed it in his mind. Rhea did something forbidden (confirmed by Seteth in FEH) and his child was the subject. He's even still fearful and that's why he lies to Rhea at first. "This is not Sitri's child. I know you care about them being Sitri's child. This isn't about me." Is basically what he's saying.

Make whatever excuses you will, but Rhea wasn't not going to try and have Sothis brought out in Byleth just because they stayed at the Monastery.

Imagine if Rhea had been the one to hear Byleth was dreaming of the war with Nemesis?

That kid is never ever leaving those halls. Jeralt be damned.

I think Rhea is a fantastic character, she's amazing, third only to Byleth and Edelgard in my mind. But don't for one second think her intention isn't Sothis first, Byleth second. That's why we went to the Holy Tomb.

Jeralt wasn't irrational. Rhea isn't suddenly "right" because the ritual with the throne didn't work. We actually don't even know if that's the case or if Sothis just beat Rhea to the punch and gave herself up to Byleth before the reverse was made to happen.

Her intention to have Sothis overtake Byleth was the thing Jeralt was detecting. The feasibility of that act is secondary to Rhea's sudden possible human sacrifice of the woman he loved. If someone looks like they're going to murder you, you don't say "let's see how this plays out." You take precautions, and his theory was validated enough by Rhea's reaction to Byleth's faked death and was enough to keep him away every day afterwards.

If the ritual at the Holy Tomb had worked, killing Jeralt might have been the Slither's most colossal fuck up, because he might have been the only person besides Edelgard to have enough knowledge to even think about intervening.

Bonus Jeralt theory. Jeralt doesn't align with any nation anymore. He doesn't wear any of their colours. However, the closest match is the Alliance. Why? Well, Jeralt was born over 300 years ago and served the Faerghus military, however, his homeland very well might have been one of the ones that broke off into the Alliance after he had already joined Rhea.

Since he then goes on to live in Remire, Jeralt could be one of the only characters to have relevant ties to all three nations.

The separation of his homeland from the Kingdom might also has served to make him disinterested in the idea of sovereignty or the idea that Fodlan even has nations worth mentioning since they can just *change* whenever. Again, something we see happen in the game itself as Fodlan reunifies in what would have been his lifespan had Kronya not cut it... long? Either way, it explains why he does not care where he was from or bother to explain anything to Byleth, it's all immaterial if you live long enough. (Which also reflects Rhea's view of Fodlan.)

(Apologies for writing you another novel. I hope you don't mind, I'm incapable of brevity. I just think the idea Jeralt overreacted with the amount of context he had about Rhea's abilities, especially since he was 100% correct, is silly. Also the Crest of Seiros is The High Priestess and that's all about trusting your intuition, which is what he did, and he dies soon after he second-guesses his decision. Theming!)

Nah, don't worry, that was all very interesting! :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts and analysis!

[devondespresso]

Writers 20 questions tag game!!

tagged by the beloved @eriquin 💕💗💖 i haven't been able to participate in a lot of tag games lately (as evident by this being at least a week late ahnsgdsynkd)(edit: its been way more than a week) but i still really really appreciate the tags!!

divider by @/saradika-graphics

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

7 !! I think i still need to put one up there but i haven't yet cause i wanna edit the ending a tad

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

10,746

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Thingssssss, and i think its fair to say the Steve Harrington fandom specifically gdnzngxngxgn

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Sweet and Spicy (the one steddie drabble tdnydyndny), My Sunshine, I Can Only Hope Now, Never Again, and Mr. Crayola Henderson

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes absolutely!! its usually a lot of heart emojis and keyboard smashes mixed in with my actual response zgnzgbzgnzng

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

uhhh itd probably have to be Never Again still, i usually like to lean positive with my endings, that whole love-being-alive thing, so whenever i don't its usually because the focus is a different strong emotion that'd conflict with blatant positivity.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

oo okay also hard to decide for the same reason, I'd say the ending that feels happiest is probably from either I Can Only Hope Now (the Claudia prompt) or Now That We're Alive because both go from sad to happy and hopeful for the future. My Sunshine ends on a good note but its less "aw yippee!" and more "AAAAAAAAAAAA". I like my drabbles (under 400 words) to end pretty fluffy so far, and stuff like Mr. Crayola Henderson stays a pretty consistent light and fun so I don't think the happy end hits as hard.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

no, thank god, not yet anyway

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

nopeeee tho Never Again has an E and M version it's not exactly fun enough to be smut i don't think

10. Do you write crossovers?

also nope

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that im aware?? I'd be pretty pissed if it was but also like. is it doing well? is it popular? 👀

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not that im aware but i give full permission if anyone wants to

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nope, most ive done is bounce ideas or beta, but I'd be down to try it!

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

i don't know if i have one?? just in general for stranger things i enjoy steve ships a lot. big fan of Vi and Caitlyn from Arcane but im not really in fandom for that show cause what would i change?? im very much a gen fic enjoyer and if i had to list all my fav platonic dynamics... we'd be here a while xgnzngzgn

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

oh irony my cruelest adversary. a few months ago i was happy and ignorant in my haven of only one active wip. Now there's a small handful, and unless i get possesed with the same emotions i was venting in it, i fear the short Robin-centric letter style thing won't be finished soon. its decent so far but there would be a good bit of editing trying to actually articulate the feeling in a realistic way plus fitting it to Robin's first-person writing style. I don't intend to drop it but lately it just calls to me the least, but that could change

16. What are your writing strengths?

i think its a strange mix of intuition and a technical understanding of writing that works really well for the way i think. Its very broad and basically has no rules, just a understanding of how my favorite stories work, how most writing rules are really trends that tend to work better and then you can dig deeper behind a lot of them to see the *why* behind it. that plus trusting the nagging feeling that something's off makes editing my most productive stage, i can vibe check the area and then start digging dgnxnhxngxng

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

god this changes every time i revisit this draft xumxhmxmxhm this time its probably character introspection. i love writing like a movie and having character action or dialogue or setting or symbols communicate things, but putting down what the characters thinking with similar tact is soooo harddddddd and especially in angst or emotion moments, i want my readers caught in the same thought process as the pov character, i want it to feel so real that even if they never experienced the situation the characters in and even if they know logically the characters wrong, they understand. and that unfortunately involves bypassing their stance as an outside perspective on the matter, which is uhhhhh very very hard xhmznhxhnxhm

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Depends on the intent, i think it works best when the author speaks the language themselves, and especially with stuff like asl it helps clarify the grammatic differences. I think if its a language the pov character isn't supposed to understand then "said something in x language" works better for universal immersion.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Stranger things babeyyyyyy, i actually started writing the Steve Henderson au first, tho the first drafts of chapters are very different from current ones

20. Favorite fic you've written?

MY SUNSHINE!!!!!!! i am so open about my favouritism with that one, its the most contemplative and atmospheric and emotional and its short enough that i was spending time on every word, every line to make sure it felt right and contributed to the picture i wanted. they say its more achievable (compared to long fiction) to make a perfect short story and that's what My Sunshine feels like to me, the perfect little taste of themes I'm enjoying most in writing rn, specifically with the Steve Henderson au (my second favourite fic xgnxngxgn)

i forget how many ppl im supposed to tag so im gonna do 20, no pressure ofc!! @marvel-ous-m @acasualcrossfade @pearynice @imfinereallyy @tinytalkingtina

@klausinamarink @puppy-steve @queenie-ofthe-void @eyesofshinigami @stellarspecter

@dreamwatch @lightoftheseraph @withacapitalp @findafight @hbyrde36

@vegasol @carolperkinsexgirlfriend @lingeringmirth @momotonescreaming @sourw0lfs

[ultfreakme]

Hi, Riki! How are you? Now that you've finished Arcane, what are your top 5 fav moments from the series (you can pick top 5 each for s1 & s2 or top 5 from s1 + s2)? Also, who are your top 3 fav characters? Which do you like best s1 or s2? Why?

So, I'm kinda confused, can I ask why are there so many hate for CaitVi & JayVic ships? Sorry if I ask too much....

Hi!!! I'm doing good~~ Thanks for asking anon!

Hmm, this is hard, I think I overall liked S1 better, so top favorites scenes:

Vi parkouring through the Undercity: I am a sucker for Vi, I just like seeing her happy and that was the happiest we ever see her.

Vi + Jayce taking down the Shimmer manufacturers. The fight was too cool.

Sevika + Jinx vs. Smeech: I love the song and the fight is just fun

Ekko in the final fight rewinding time: I have a huge soft spot for him and I am so happy he got his moment. That sequence where he's fighting the robots and keeps turning back time to redo things was amazing.

Jinx & Isha montage when Isha took the shot against Vander: Super painful, but also beautiful

Favorite characters!

Vi, easily my favorite from the entire show. She always was and she always will be. She has so much love inside her, and she keeps loving people and protecting people. It's to her detriment, but it's a part of her to be a protector. I wish the narrative would've let her love without hurting for once.

Ekko: I don't post about him often, most of my arcane posts are like, jayvik, but that's primarily because i have a hard line between personal stuff and fandom stuff. Ekko is who's going to stick with me for a lifetime. His leadership, the things he stood for, and his heart are simply beautiful. A person who saw all the darkness the undercity had to offer and decided to make something beautiful anyways. Someone who'll never, ever give up on hope. I wish I could be like him. I love characters who can hope despite the bleakness of the world because I can't, and I hope I can learn from them.

Viktor: Idk his arc is just very compelling to me and made me see things from a new perspective. It's kind of an overdone story but the way it was written explored him really well.

Season 1 is easily my favorite. I liked Arcane because of the classism and ableism discussion but that died down in S2. I still had hope for the liberation of Zaun, Vi was the MC, there seemed to be hope for a revolution.

Okay so the hate for CaitVi and Jayvik...

CaitVi:

To keep it short, a lot of people have issues with Caitlyn's barely addressed fascism and the large class and power difference between Cait and Vi. Caitlyn gassed the undercity, she was about to shoot a child when Vi was telling her to stop, then hit Vi, and she never apologizes for any of it directly. No one even really confronts her about ti and the one person who does is framed by the narrative as being just as awful as her(Jinx, also I think Jinx is a lot more forgiveable). She also calls Zaunites animals & got Vi to be an enforcer when they're the ones who killed her parents and locked her up in prison.

The tone-deaf writing of the class issues and police brutality, when many people are still watching people who look like Caitlyn do things that caitlyn did as an enforcer during real-life protests. The story equates Jinx's grief & Zaunite's violence born primarily as a form of protest and a way to fight back as equal to Caitlyn going into dictatorship after one tragedy. Specifically, POC have major issues with CaitVi because of this.

JayVik:

They're now trending and getting far more attention than CaitVi. People are saying it's fandom misogyny in play again, which definitely plays a role. A lot of JayVik fans post a lot of racist takes on Mel or completely mischaracterize her. Same for Sky. The POC women getting sidelined for the men.

There's also, like homophobes pissed off that people are saying jayvik can be read as romantic. One of the head writers, christian Linke, said stuff that just made the "Is jayvik canon?" question worse and there's lots of infighting. Or there was, it seems to have died down a little bit afaik.

That's all from me!!! DW about the questions I love answering asks!!!! Hope the last bits gave an idea of what's happening rn?

[jones-friend]

I PLAYED THREE MORE GAMES TODAY

I’ve just about caught up on my Gencon list now that I’m back to more regular game nights. Today I got three games in the very solid 6-7/10 category, all things that have interesting stuff going on.

Nexus Infernum, like Eschaton later on, are by Archon Games. Archon has a very defined sense of theme with excellent presentation. Even the rules are dripping with flavor text.

In Nexus Infernum players compete to become the most blasphemous necromancer by sending their skelemans to the portals for arcane energies used to commune with demos. Commune with two matching demons of the same tier to form a pact (unlock abilities on your mat) or even find an infernal patron to lend their efforts to your cause. Battle other necromancers’ skelemans to steal their blasphemy (victory points) and gather up energy for big turns or big points.

Nexus Infernum was delightfully light. It did not overstay its welcome. For its scope the game did exactly what it needed to do and was a delightful play for the spooky month. This game is highly influenced by luck. Its a dice roll to summon a new skeleman, its a dice roll to attack, its a dice roll to gather resources, its a roll to see what resources spawn. The game doesn’t have too many ways to mitigate luck, sure you can roll again with some abilities or “roll with advantage” but there’s not much for bumping up the value of a roll. Much of the game is rolling then making a plan from there. If you don’t like games with medium to higher levels of luck this game isn’t for you. If you are enchanted by the game’s presentation I recommend it!

I’m noticing a trend with modern games where they glue together two proven games. This isn’t a bad thing! Ruins of Arnak glues together deckbuilder and worker placement. Eschaton glues together deckbuilder and a Risk-like territory control.

In Eschaton each player heads a cult during the end times. They vie for power across the land searching for artifacts and infernal allies to bolster their ranks and grow their cult as events and omens are revealed. Each turn has four parts: Zeal (draw more cards), Divine (sift through the arcane deck for artifacts, infernal allies, etc), Influence (buy step), and Aggression (board actions like amass cubes and take out enemy cubes). Each region provides points should you have the most cubes there at the end of the game. Some cards from the arcana deck give points as well. Each turn begins with some event or omen (competing goal) to play for.

Eschaton, like Nexus, isn’t the most finely tuned game but it is very fun. Figuring out how all the game pieces work together feels good and since cards don’t have individual abilities just numbers added to each phase sifting through cards to add is never overwhelming. Presentation is also very strong here, I love that if the game ends in a tie everybody loses, someone must WIN.

Its expansion adds asymmetry and a neutral or npc faction. I liked Eschaton! Very grimdark and enjoyable, good theming, and the dominance and omen mechanics force a lot of change through the game to keep people from getting complacent. Its fun!

Decorum is the most passive aggressive cooperative game I’ve played. Each player is a roommate in a shared house with their own personal goals for what the house needs to look like, with the catch being you must be vague about your personal goals. You can say if you like certain changes but you can’t articulate why, showing a clue silently to other players during “family meeting” rounds. There’s multiple colors, types, styles, and kinds of furnishings you work together to set up.

Decorum is set up in campaigns and feels good as a cooperative puzzle. I don’t think the passive aggressive response quite worked out, but as a deduction game its good. Our set had great resin pieces and the game never felt unfair, and we solved our first puzzle with 5-6 turns to spare. For more intense puzzle game enjoyers this will be on the lighter side of things. For myself I had a good time.