#whimsy and warfare

[xxhumancentipedexx]

2024 is my year no way i started an animation project and finished it

[realsparrowboy]

BEHIND YOU DAWG @blitzkennedyrieg

[realsparrowboy]

@blitzkennedyrieg is this whimsy and warfare

there’s a war between Sucking and Fucking

[welcometogrouchland]

Steph on a desperate quest to get Damian to unwillingly incorporate informal gotham-isms into his speech by using "jabroni" in every other sentence

[winepresswrath]

sadly some parts of iwtv fandom do not deserve cql. they will not see heaven (2019 idol drama based on danmei webnovel)

[marsapolis]

+° . ๑・° ⊹ . + ° . ๑・° ⊹ . + ° . ๑・° ⊹ . + ° . ๑・° +° .

"there's a difference over having power over someone and feeling empowered

and the former scares the shit out of me"

-Queer Recovery Club (Fail Better, Heal Faster)

+° . ๑・° ⊹ . + ° . ๑・° ⊹ . + ° . ๑・° ⊹ . + ° . ๑・° +° .

its now *checks time* 2:01am ive been listening to MWF audios for approximately 3 1/2 hours. i have one (1) opinion my brain had to mush together, which is, accent are really really hot. i would love to be with someone who has an accent. (this is tmi but especially if they say cᵘⁿᵗ... just. something about it UGH) anyways bye bye luvs u<3

+° . ๑・° ⊹ . + ° . ๑・° ⊹ . + ° . ๑・° ⊹ . + ° . ๑・° +° .

[etruatcaelum]

“Trillion years, hm?” Ozma held still while their new acquaintance inspected the chain. “Well, if that’s the literal truth, you have the distinction of being the oldest being I’ve ever met.”

They’d known him perhaps two minutes and already trusted Bill Cipher like they’d trust a wicker basket to hold a grimm. Still, they matched his friendly tone as they went on, “In any case, I find there’s nothing quite so rejuvenating as new friends; no… keener joy than to discover once more that infinite tapestry of connections binding us all together in the unending story of the cosmos… heh.”

Turning their free arm to reveal the wound in their wrist where the chain pierced their flesh, Ozma said blithely, “I’ll admit I’m more than a little curious about you, Bill Cipher. Where exactly did you come from, I wonder?”

As Oz went on about his fading morality that had puttered out to non-existence in the white embrace of death, Bill reclaimed his wine, pouring it directly into his eyeball as the lids shifted to malformed lips. "Well that's a darn shame," he said once his eye was free. "Forced onto a reboot when you're already ready to rest. Can't ever remaster the classics, am I right?"

He laughed, amused at his own joke. He was banging on as though catching up with an old chum at some lodge, casual and easy to approach. "But seriously, it sounds like you might need a break. If you were any more bone-tired, I'd hear your kneecaps complain about their pension." The dimensional creature floated from his seat towards the chain, prodding it with his cane. "Can't honestly tell me there isn't something that'd make your immortality easier? Not everybody handles a trillion years as well as I do."

[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.

[jossujb]

My dad got a cerebral infarction, a brain stroke, when he was visiting me Saturday.

Well, technically speaking few days before, but he's so goddamn stupid that he didn't go to a hospital. And neither was getting him to go an easy operation for me either. It took all methods of psychological warfare starting from a plea to emotion, going through quilt tripping, scaring and ending with threaths.

Anyway, the doctor gave him a checkup and medication. My sister pays a visit today, and cos she's a nurse by education, she can valuate how bad it was.

The thing is tho, I wish to help my dad. I am here for it, but it hurts that he has to make the villain his personal movie whimsy. I am seriously not a nag - but if you force me to, then that's what get.

[xxhumancentipedexx]

källerman has a wife now

[rook-of-the-woods]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

<3

i think ive been continuiously pressing boop for fifteen minutes. my finger hurts. this is war/affectionate

HAJDKDKQOXNNAF MY NOTIFS R BROKEN BABE JSJFJSKXF THIS RULES I LOVE THIS

[realsparrowboy]

There’s a reason they don’t have social media in whimsy and warfare

@blitzkennedyrieg

[enamoredwithbella]

PJO TV CRIT RANT COMING !!

If you don’t want to hear or don’t like it just don’t read it. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion

-

I’ve been on the pjo tv crit tag and I gotta say I agree with most of what’s on there 😭😭

All my praise for the show goes to the actors alone. I’m not stupid I didn’t expect the show to be an exact replica of the books cause that would’ve been boring as well but I feel like say “faithful adaptation” is a bit overzealous.

1. The changes

Some of the changes I love. Like them stopping for candy and Annabeth going in was so cute. Grover using psychological warfare on the God of war ate.

But a lot of the changes were just like ???? What was the point? And all the stuff that they revealed like 4-5 seasons too early. Stuff that was hinted at through the books that built suspense and intrigue just dumped on the table was a bit 😕

I remember finding out about Luke’s mom and why Luke REALLY hated his father. It literally had me gagged it was like finding out something I didn’t even know I was waiting for. The build up to them finding out Kronos involved was always a favorite cause it felt so raw. It was pure fear encapsulated by words, you could feel it, it was palpable and we just didn’t get that in the show. It was so “here you go. Kronos it was him *but said intensely*”

2. Them knowing everything

I do understand how it does make sense that they would know a lot of things from the jump as they all literally grew up with this information but a lot of the times where they didn’t realize exactly what was happening right away in the books have a slight reminder of how young and innocent they are. These neurodivergent 12 year olds who have been tasked with a Gods job and have been trekking across the states for days; yeah I wouldn’t expect them to be at the top of their game ALL THE TIME no matter how smart they are. The slip ups show that even though they’re these tiny warriors they aren’t immune to being a little naive.

3. Setting

I’m not gonna criticize the settings cause if that’s how Rick imagined it then that’s how he imagined it but I can’t blame the ppl who are a bit miffed at how the sets were portrayed. The underworld did truly throw me off.

4. Info dumping ?? Or not enough info idk

I also saw a post about how they would just throw random names out there pertaining to Greek mythology and then just not explain 😭😭 and all the stuff that they left out too (fields of punishment, isle blest, etc) which sets up for things in later seasons. And I understand the time crunch; 8 episodes 40 mins give or take and a dream is what they had. That being said this shit was a mess 🤷🏽‍♀️😭😭 like badly set up, script was not doing them any justice, and it felt so boring most of the time.

5. Whimsy and fun erasure

There were gems I will keep saying that. There were fun times but the fun times also felt very strategically placed whereas in the books it was sorta woven into the chaos. Charon being a lil silly, Grover playing the shooting game in the lotus casino and killing humans (I love him so much 😭😭), annabeth geeking over the architecture of the arch and going on a tangent about how it was made while Grover and Percy trade candy in the back. Talking to the animals and Percy finding out he can speak horse, the car wash where annabeth scares off a grown man in a Lincoln, “shows over! Thank you and goodnight!”, Percy and Grover clowning annabeth for watching the discovery channel unironically. I’m not saying I expected them to put all this shit in there cause again I’m not an imbecile but the type of wit and humor that made everyone fall in love with the books was cut out for the more serious stuff. And what’s so frustrating about that is I KNOW the actors would’ve ate it up. Walker especially that boy IS Percy.

I could keep finding stuff but I’m trying to be grateful cause even after all of this Rick did take the time to try and think of us and maybe it’s not his fault but idk it’s just a bit disappointing after the way it was marketed towards long time fans

Much love to Walker, Leah, and Aryan and hope for future seasons ���

[liketwoswansinbalance]

“Salt & Storybook” Analysis and Trivia

@anobody277642 If you’re interested, I will take your reblog as an invitation to pinpoint some of the other things that went into the whump fic. Sorry in advance about the length. You can disregard this if you want.

If anyone has any questions or would like clarification, don’t hesitate to ask!

⸻

First though:

1. You were absolutely correct about Rafal’s Bird Motif! And yes, there are a few other instances wherein it appears. (I will list and explain the remaining ones later.)

(And I’ll go through everything in a vaguely chronological order after I respond to your points, because, honestly, that’s the easiest way for me to keep track.)

2. You are indeed correct about the bookcase! It was a direct callback to that TLEA moment.

3. Yes, that was intentional. I think I paraphrased a line that occurs around the point of Rafal’s return to the School in Rise, while Rhian’s in exile.

4. Interesting! I will take you at your word on this one since I’ve forgotten how exactly that happened specifically. I thought it happened at the end of AWWP, but Tedros frequently gallivants around shirtless, so I just… don’t know. I’m sure you’re right nonetheless.

5. That section was not intended to evoke the Black Swan gold, but it could. Actually, I had slightly different thoughts around it.

I just invented these hummingbirds because I thought they'd fit and they worked in line with the bird motif. Also, their being "vampiric" parallels Vulcan himself—matching types of villainy and all.

Plus, I had been thinking of the Capitol's biochemical warfare in the Hunger Games, with their Mutts. This could be a less technologically-advanced form of that, in the world of the Endless Woods.

Besides, Akgul was canonically a prosperous kingdom and did mine during the day only to carouse all night, which I think does work with this concept starting up in the first place, with these birds as their "watchmen,” to safeguard all that wealth required to maintain their lifestyles.

⸻

Additional things of note:

1. Foreshadowing of the literal salt that appears later:

“The floor crunched underfoot with every step he took, a mosaic of inedible salt and pepper,”

2. The excerpt of the Vulcan song from Rise, I decided to include:

It exemplifies Rafal’s whimsy and mockery as character traits I sometimes forget about. I do have more to say about this, but instead, it will go into a future post since it would divert too far from this.

3. The shifting frequency at which Rafal drinks and how I tried to narrow the span of time/reduce the number of words between every time he interacts with his wineglass:

Essentially, I wanted to increase the frequency of Rafal reaching for his drink or sipping it and decrease the proximity of those lines in the narration itself to do so, so it would happen more and more often, narrowing the focus as an effect. That way, it’d be as if he’s losing control in the most minor of ways to start us off, down his decline into misery.

The whole decision to try to contextualize and justify the whump in the first place was kind of an interesting phase as well since it seemed to require perhaps more actual thought and reasoning than the pure action sequence sections did? I tried to integrate the tower’s design features into the setting and incorporate nearly every one of Vulcan’s named objects, so overall I’d be accurate to canon, while attempting to sound novel in my slightly altered descriptions of them.

4. This probably unobtrusive line:

“Here, he’d remain, ’til the end of time.”

This thought is stated positively here, yet it is given a negative spin much later, and is turned on its head (around the part about the bandages and musings about living an immortal life).

5. When Rafal burns Vulcan’s things in a pyre:

Rafal burns something; Rafal gets burnt himself—it’s a really loose line of cause and effect, and a close equivalency. I wanted it to seem like it was "an eye for an eye" situation in some sense.

6. Possibly symbolic foreshadowing?:

“the deformed periscope Rafal had knocked the lenses out of,”

This was unintentional, but I realized that this line could be read as Rafal losing his physical sight later, temporarily, and also losing his rational judgment (or “foresight,”) while it's impaired by his drinking. I mean, he does it to himself. It’s not anyone else’s fault.

7. I wanted the thermal imagery I deployed to parallel the state of the plot:

“The rising heat was hellish.”

Like: rising heat? Rising stakes. It’s the start to all the rest of the Hell references since what he goes through is obviously hellish in its own right.

8. Overall, how unreliable Rafal’s narration is:

“Then he set to work, freeing the storybooks.”

Yeah right. He’s an oppressor if anything. Again, true enough yet horrendously biased, acting as if he's the savior, which, that’s fair. He sort of was for a short run in Rise. But still. It's another instance of: look how full of himself this man truly is.

Another such instance of his own biases:

“charting such a course for the students once again under his eminent tutelage.”

And then, there’s several other instances of unreliability in which he either believes he’s shouldering all the responsibility, or in which he devalues Rhian directly and/or makes false statements about Rhian.

The truth is, Rafal won't let anyone else clean up the literal and plot-level messes. He thinks everyone else is incapable, when they're truly not. Except, he's rather earned the right to think that way, given the catastrophes he's had to deal with in the past, only to unfortunately be proven right by his false belief, time and time again, effectively reinforcing it—all due to horrific happenstance. Thus, from a more sympathetic angle, I don't 100% blame him for thinking that way. The problem is: he’s just handicapping himself doing it all solo.

9. These lines and the irony:

“He wasn’t Rhian’s personal manservant. What a degrading role that would be.”

Is he not though? Truly? And yet, Rhian implicitly expected Rafal to clean up for him later on. Well, I’d like to think Rafal’s just in denial about his “role.”

10. Parallel sentence structure:

“He and he alone would restore the storybooks to their former, casual glory in their places of honor, just as the brothers themselves had been restored by the Pen.”

I suppose you could say this relates to the Meleager reference (coming up soon, wait a bit) about lives tied to the storybooks. Thus, the storybooks and the brothers have the same fates. Both fall. Some from the shelves. And those two from power, from the Storian's grace.

11. Reference to how Rafal did this once before in Rise:

“Naturally, Rafal stacked all of Evil’s tales at the top of the tower’s shelves, for his own reference.”

12. A double meaning:

“That batty substitute had no place in his School.”

13. This parallels Rhian's small cut later:

“his pale hand was dotted with pinpricks of blood.”

14. In my opinion? This bit is massively ironic (or that was my intention, at least):

“Rafal tended to cast off pain with ease, like it was just another one of his overcoats.”

15. Could be interpreted as an appearance of the bird motif:

“In a glaring, grandiose script, the tale’s cover read: THE UGLY DUCKLING.”

But actually, it's simply a reference to Vulcan calling Rhian "duckling," which I assumed would and could enrage Rafal.

16. More of Rafal’s bird motif:

“as if he were plucking feathers from a wild fowl to be cooked”

17. This next one, which you pointed out, does a few other things, too:

“It caught on the fireplace’s grate, angled like a broken bird.”

It’s not only the bird motif but foreshadowing. Rafal himself becomes the “broken bird,” of course.

To some extent, what he does to the storybook happens to him. Again, it’s the fairy-tale element of karmic equivalencies, of deeds being paid back or paid forth to the next in a sequence (or there’s Newton’s third law). I just felt like it could be a law of their world or of classic fairy tales as a whole. The balance.

Also, this may be a stretch—but you could view the storybook as functioning like a sinister talisman of a certain kind. It being tossed into the fire right before Rafal’s torture began could be read as similar to Meleager's life being tied to a piece of wood, in classical mythology. He died when it was burnt.

In Rafal's case here, the burning storybook could represent how he's brought punishment onto himself, marking himself as not wholly a victim but as a deeply flawed vandal.

And, fun fact: in the myth, when Meleager's prophesied death came true, his sisters were turned into guineafowl. So, more birds!

18. The Storian’s pov leaking through, taking over the narrative momentarily, at various times, just as it overpowers Rafal:

“The Pen’s tip brightened to a blinding, radiant, white pinprick, as if it were readying itself to defend its tales from the scourge of Evil it had allowed to take up residence in its tower.”

This also serves as one of the demon references, even if it’s indirect. We know Rafal calls the Pen “the little devil,” but what if that sentiment were mutual? Could it be applied in the other direction? Like: that demon! That monster of the School Master! All he does is wreak havoc!

19. Rafal is light-averse and thus, “dark:”

“Rafal squinted at the light.”

Yes, this is only justified situationally in the fic, by the sheer brightness of the Storian in that one moment. I’m fairly sure it’s not actual canon that he avoids bright lights, but it could explain why Evil’s castle was dimly lit, and that could serve as a counterpoint to his typically being insensitive toward most stimuli, however implicit it may be. (Maybe, I’m just projecting because I avoid bright lights under certain circumstances, haha.)

In fact, this was not intentionally set up in this way for the sake of the fic, but I figured it would fit my case to point it out now. The same thing happens later with Rhian’s gold light anyway.

20. Bird motif again:

“The storybook’s binding rocketed out from its resting place, where it had nested in the grate, flying at him like a missile, sizzling through the air, like a shot bird with its flaming wingspan spread, its front and back covers open, its spine cracked.”

21. A distorted view of himself:

“Yet first, Rafal strained his neck and examined his distorted, many-eyed reflections in the shards beneath him,”

For all the eyes present, he truly lacked the foresight that could’ve saved him here. And, his self-image changed, especially after the Rise morality-reversal plot twist and his supposed “Goodness.” So, this is a lead-up to that since that event hasn’t happened yet, considering where I would hypothetically insert this fic into the duology’s timeline.

The reflections could also be read as an indirect reference to the mythological figure Argus Panoptes or to the structure of a panopticon in a prison.

Like: Oh, you live in a tower cell? Isn't that basically a form of imprisonment, aside from the imprisonment of an eternal life?

For reference, here is a definition of “panopticon” from the internet:

“The concept is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be observed by a single corrections officer, without the inmates knowing whether or not they are being watched.”

This would imply the Storian is the brothers' prison warden. And, of course, Rafal didn’t know he was being watched earlier, by the Pen.

22. Evil thorn motif:

“thin rivulets of blood trickling down his neck, criss-crossing in a fine, thorny latticework, ultimately staining his starched, white shirt collar.”

This motif is just common imagery in the series, and I wanted to imitate it here, without the use of literal thorns.

23. Signaling Rafal’s personality through a kind of visual shorthand:

“he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, the one, restrictive one that always pressed against the base of his throat, so he could breathe properly and catch his breath.”

He's often so stiff and buttoned-up in demeanor, so I wanted to make that literal.

24. Every time a thought like this crosses his mind:

“He’d served the absurd, seemingly arbitrary punishment the Pen had dealt him and it was now well over with.”

Every time he thinks it's all over, it's actually the start of a new wave of pain. For the dramatic irony, I just wanted him to be wrong, haha. “Arbitrary” is also incorrect; he’s just not self-aware enough to see everything for himself.

25. Light and dark imagery:

“As it neared, the bookcase grew larger and larger in Rafal’s sightline, rushing forward rapidly, encroaching on him, almost eclipsing him.”

It could connect to Rhian’s light later, the moment Rafal was discovered in the dark.

26. Bird motif:

“his vision dimmed, turning to a feathery blur.”

27. The “suffocating weight of history” fits the Nevers themselves in general, past their not-yet-existent 200-year losing streak. Thus, this could be considered foreshadowing on a larger scale.

28. The final bird motif:

“The structure of the shelf collapsed further, the more he struggled beneath it, like a snare closing in on a bird, threatening to cut off its circulation—”

And this one is specific. It could be considered my very niche reference to the “springes to catch woodcocks" moment in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Huzzah!

29. The Milton reference:

“His students would dance over his grave—dancing in the chequer’d shade… come forth to play, on a sunshine holiday—how’d that line go? And which tale was it from?”

As I was thinking about this line while writing, I realized I had made a mistake, and yet, the mistake actually served to further the story.

First, John Milton was a poet from the 17th century and the most recently dated tales in the world of SGE are from the early 1900s (Peter Pan), meaning, Milton’s body of work could plausibly exist in the Endless Woods, depending on how loose the Woods’ parameters of what a “fairy tale” could cover are.

Here’s the catch though:

As a writer, Milton was hyper-literary, and I’m not sure if he ever did write for children, seeing as there were many fairy tales that were eventually sanitized and assigned morals for children’s consumption. (Back in the day, fairy tales were once considered more low-brow literature, being as scandalous and riveting as they were, like their time period’s “thriller films” or “commercial/genre fiction,” even if a lot of them were told through oral storytelling that could be modified when there were children in the audience.)

Moving on, Milton references classical mythology a lot in his work, which is, in a way, a close relative of fairy tales, or at the very least, part of humanity’s collective folklore. Therefore, could Milton's work exist in the Endless Woods? Quite possibly.

Ok, this part could be controversial, but Rafal literally works in academia, so I think he’d be familiar with some poets. Then, to elaborate on his confusion: he conflates two, entirely different poems while drunk.

And, that line, “[...] dancing in the chequer’d shade [...,]” from the poem “L’ Allegro” stuck with me. Something about it, the imagery probably, just made it take root in my head, so I had Rafal make the same mistake I had momentarily made, attributing that line to the other, second poem, the epic “Paradise Lost,” that recalls the “tale” of Satan's fall.

Here's an excerpt from “L’ Allegro”:

“When the merry bells ring round, And the jocund rebecks sound To many a youth, and many a maid, Dancing in the chequer'd shade; And young and old come forth to play On a sunshine holiday, Till the live-long daylight fail;”

30. The recurring demon, “heathen,” or “monster” in the dark comparisons and more of the Storian’s pov dominating for a second:

“Wrapped in a delirium, he thought of the sprawling tale of Satan’s fall. Demon, chastened and exiled. Hell. What had he gotten himself into? Hell.”

“That was the moment the Storian chose to attack with a new vengeance, redoubling its efforts against Evil incarnate.”

31. The same material the plates in TLEA were made of, which Sophie commented on—a call forward in time (since I can’t call it “foreshadowing” in any meaningful way):

“His ears rang with the strident sounds of shattering bone china”

So, I assumed the brothers would have those plates now since why not?

32. The lack of an apology to Rhian:

“But could apologizing be any worse than where he lay now? Perhaps, he should.”

Rafal doesn't apologize later, mainly because I realized his feeling any kind of remorse would possibly be a step too far and too sympathetic. He can't possibly be that Good, at least not at this point in time?

Also, I wanted the thrill of a potential set-up, like a red herring, only to subvert it in the end. Thus, Rhian gets no apology whatsoever and Rafal mistreats him in return with his harsh, cutting words—just after he was mistreated by the Pen! Ergo, there's an underlying cycle of abuse going on here, like they’re playing pass the parcel (pain).

33. Betrayal:

“In that instant, his vision whirled, reddening, and his body betrayed him, surrendering to the Pen as he blacked out.”

I specifically felt like I just had to use the word "betray" because it fit the recurrent "everyone is a traitor" theme in Rise. Rafal constantly and always betrays and gets betrayed, so why not have it happen on the self level?

34. Another TLEA reference:

“New, youthful skin was already beginning to pave over his cuts,”

This was a call forward to when Excalibur cleaved through his skull, except it’s a different area of his body healing.

35. TLEA zombie/necromancer reference:

“A copious number of bandages dangled from his outstretched arms as he shuffled back into the main chamber of the tower like one of the undead.”

36. Embalming and Sherlock Holmes references:

“At last, when he was partly wrapped up, he resembled a dehydrated corpse that would be preserved for the rest of time, forever bound to his duties, like one of the undead, who hadn’t the mind to know when to let go, tugged along by the colorless skein of an immortal life.”

Here, I riffed at mummification and the general concept of achieving an eternal life of the soul by preserving the corporeal body, and that all marginally related to the concept of immortality in the flesh, not just an immortal soul.

And here is a probably semi-famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle quotation I drew from:

“There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it.”

In truth, I haven't read much of Doyle’s work at all, yet I knew enough to twist this to fit my purposes of alluding to misery, immortality, and the banality of life, of living, of acting for nothing when everything is futile, no matter what you do in a world governed by predestination.

37. The omnipresent thematic idea of literal darkness = hopelessness and misery and Rafal’s aversion to light again:

“He didn’t bother to light a candle.”

This same idea would also apply to the “moonless night” Rhian observes later.

38. Situational/dramatic irony:

“His brother was often a spoilsport and Rhian wouldn’t have been surprised if Rafal had tossed their last bottle.”

Rhian ends up with many subverted expectations. I may’ve exaggerated it a lot, in retrospect. Yet, these expectations demonstrate how the twins aren’t actually in sync, despite being magically-inclined twins.

39. Rhian counting his chickens before they’ve hatched (not technically the bird motif though):

“Indeed, maybe the Pen really was on his side, and Rhian could check that item off his list now.”

40. A very slight nod to Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz (a “fairy tale” in the SGE world iirc):

“the stairwell was coated in dust, like it had been beset by a cyclone of some kind.”

41. Book one reference:

“Now, it wasn’t unlike the Nevers themselves to bathe in dust,”

I think Agatha lied and claimed she took dust baths, when Tedros accused her of being a witch.

42. Biblical reference/Rhian-as-God imagery:

“Rhian lit his fingerglow. It burned with warm, pure, golden light, gilding the stones around him. He would vanquish any threat that lay ahead of him.”

“a scene of total carnage flashed into existence.”

I’d like to think that this particular diction harkens back to God creating the world, like this:

"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, and it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness."

Also, later, Rhian is backlit in the doorway and Rafal is blinded.

These bits happened sort of serendipitously while I was writing, when I realized I had a clear set-up to use with Rhian’s light, in contrast to Rafal's "heathen"/dark “monster.”

43. The curtains and Rhian’s wrong-headed assumption:

“the presumably monster-clawed, blood-encrusted, silver curtains”

I imagined that Rhian, as well as Rafal, would’ve become more paranoid about intruders after the Vulcan incident, so that’s why he jumps to the worst possible (conceivable) conclusion (aside from the inconceivable: Rafal literally being the torture victim).

But, all this goes back to Rafal, within his world’s context, being a skeptic, an “atheist,” or a disbelieving "heathen" of some kind, especially because Rhian was always more faithful with his comparatively more unquestioning belief in the Pen.

44. Rhian’s (unconscious) word choice:

“in the confines of his own home.”

Clearly, “home” and “confines” are in conflict, and besides, Rhian is confined to the outer limits of his role as a School Master, to limited human contact, relationships, and possibly, geographical areas. We could assume that both brothers were sort of supposed to remain at the School. Forever.

45. Rhian’s assumptive dialogue:

“Where’s our intruder then? Have you burnt up the corpse?”

Ideally, Rhian's first assumption was intended to characterize both brothers at the same time. I, personally, thought it was a little funny, and ironic that in Rhian’s mind, the blood could never be Rafal’s.

46. The ice:

“Ice. Bring me ice.”

My hope was that this line came across as blisteringly cold, so the ice could work a dual purpose in the story.

Rafal ices Rhian out, symbolically and literally, by not telling him a thing. He leaves Rhian in the dark about what went on while he was gone. And, by ordering him away, to get the actual ice, Rafal literally sends Rhian away.

47. “The Evil School Master” epithet:

“Now,” the Evil School Master cut out caustically. “And not a word about the Pen favoring Good.”

Using “the Evil School Master” reduced the psychic distance between Rhian’s pov and his brother. I felt as if it were a better decision than calling Rafal “Rafal” during that particular moment since he is leaning more into his Storian-given role as opposed to being his more human self.

Rhian may not be as close to Rafal anymore, with this one-day time gap in his knowledge, and I wanted to represent that state in some way, hence the use of the epithet.

Additionally, it’s also the Evil School Master, who, as an authority over his students, reinforces and perpetuates that very same cycle of violence, when he tortures them in Rise. And, considering that this fic slots into a hypothetical space in the canon timeline prior to the Doom Room’s construction, we could say that this torture event theoretically could’ve made him worse. It could’ve led him to inflicting more pain back onto his Never students.

This line is probably one of my favorites, partly because I had the idea to use the verb “cut out,” seeing as Rafal was cut up and figuratively cuts Rhian back. It wouldn’t only be the students as his victims. He dealt back the pain he received to Rhian.

48. Not-Fun Fact: A long time ago, several days or weeks after I had the initial concept for this fic, I somehow walked into and cut my shin on a sharp, metal chair edge. And the interesting thing I learned from that encounter is that certain things can cut through fabric more easily than you’d think.

49. Last line:

“Rafal hadn’t learnt his lesson and never would.”

I wanted to try to go for maximum impact with the last line, so this line played with the idea of: is Rafal more subdued or not by the end of it all? And the answer had to be “no,” which is why I hope it read as ominous or heavy.

I'd like to think nothing of him would change. He’d carry himself with the same defiant, unbreakable spirit as always (probably).

By my interpretation, the actual change in him would be that he leans into being a slightly more extreme version of himself, that he’s more paranoid. Or, at least, that’s how he’s supposed to have changed, over the course of this story.

My second intention with the last line was to allude to future Evil Rhian, worsened by Rafal’s verbal mistreatment of him. So again, we have the theme of Rafal dooming himself!

50. Absurdism and Kurt Vonnegut:

I just learned that apparently this fic could possibly fall under the category of absurdist fiction (because immortality suddenly becomes slightly undesirable to Rafal, unlike in canon):

“Absurdist fiction is often used interchangeably with ‘absurdism.’ What is absurdism? It is a style of writing that calls existential concepts (such as “truth” or “value”) into question. It portrays the experiences of characters in situations who cannot find purpose or meaning in their lives or actions.

Absurdist fiction writing leans into unconventional imagery, plot structures, and formats to convey meaning. It is a book genre defined by pervasive themes of nihilism, existentialism, and purposelessness.

While absurdism aims to derive purpose from a seemingly pointless or meaningless event, this doesn't mean the event is an inconsequential one—in fact, most absurdist fiction is about traumatic experiences.

[...] Traditional storytelling uses systems like setup and payoff, playing on audience expectation and tailoring reality to make a satisfying narrative. But life isn’t like that. Trauma isn’t like that. And neither is absurdist fiction.”

I had tried using an online writing style analyzer on the completed fic, and I got Kurt Vonnegut as a result. I had never read his work, so when I started to do some research about it, I stumbled onto the topic of absurdism, which was apparently a decent match by sheer coincidence.

Here are two sources on absurdism, style, and verbiage:

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/slaughter/style/

[xamaxenta]

Just had a thought so I am sending this to you before I collapse (Also hi I stayed up all night but I did not expect you to be awake now lmao. Maybe our timezones are more far off than I thought.)

Kind of love the idea that magic is considered defensive by nature because traditional weaponry is preferred throughout the kingdom. But then you have Sabo spinning that on its head constantly because he’s always running around inciting conflict like “I Crave Violence” which makes Ace's job exasperatingly harder but he takes it in stride because he also loves that side of Sabo.

And then I thought about it, and it would really make a lot of sense if Sabo wasn't a bystander most of the time 🤔 Of course when he wants to see Ace in action then he'll hold back but I am thinking specifically about someone commenting why Sabo is bothering to attack if Ace is there and Sabo responds with something along the lines of “Ace is here to protect me, but if I’m not in any danger, there's no need for him to step in.” So maybe they both flip stereotypes on the head and when Sabo is feeling antsy, feeling the need to expend some of his mana, he relegates Ace to a defensive role. Has him act only as Sabo's shield while Sabo takes on their assailant himself, using the chance to test out the new spell he's been developing. (Needless to say, would-be assassins of the crown prince end up on the wrong side of highly experimental magic more often than not.)

Heleoeo welcome back beautoful knightprince princeknight anon the anon of my life ever [insert small wet pathetic bugeyed hamster meme]

I have odd hours, i also possibly live on the otherside of the world to you hence my online movement times being sillay who knows perhaps we are even closer than anticipated :3c

I agreeeee i think magic in this world serving a supportive and defensive role more than for attacking/protective through action(violence) is really fun and gives reason for the whole physical aspect of having a royal/kingsguard with traditional physical weapons as a whole

PLUS gotta pat yourself and myself on the back for slowly tuning the world building especially you for that brilliant write up about the aspects of mana, magicks spellwork and casting and how mages need/have specific affinity pools and if they dont they dont have much hope for casting magicks outside of those affinities because of the nature of mana and magic itself it makes sense that no one really looked into wielding it for damage purposes its too valuable in a sense

Maybe specifically to add more layers haha … :3c attacking magic is very unstable, volatile and siphons way too much mana from the caster to be a viable and safe method of warfare/combat?

The kind of control needed to do so? Possibly only sorcerers could manage it which Sabo would because aforementioned “craving violence” which is exceptionally endearing but exasperating for Ace but he L o v e s sabo and would follow him to the end of all ends should he have to

God i loveeee how confident and unified? Equal their relationship is as a knight to prince, Sabo is plainly aware of Ace’s role, he wanted him after all and Ace knows full well when to step in to protect his prince

GhHgauasyRHRGRGHGGGGGGHH. ace being his shield, mana charging to cast experimental attack magicks takes some time i think RPGS having mages lock down immobile just to charge some disgustingly powerful AOE magic nuke is really cool and fun and they would be so vulnerable during that period of “charge time” so Ace delegating to shielding Sabo 🥰🥰🥰 looove that so so much

Theyre always flipping the status quo or whatever is socially expected of them on its head, theyre inversing stereotypes and its all for fun at Sabos whimsy really

Those damn assassins are causing so much trouble tbh showing up and getting blown to bits 😭 the cleaning staff around the palace are at their wits end please this has to be the last time they clear up human offal from the ceiling rafters‼️‼️‼️

Sabo sitting there prettily like teehee :3c smothering his laughter behind his hand bc that spell worked out soooo well and hes really excited to tweak it some more, Ace helps out with the whole. De-gore his princes chambers clean up detail stuff haha he feels partly responsible

If Sabo wasnt so bloodthirsty (not always just sometimes when the mana sickness hits) he couldve dispatched them in a far cleaner method (the olde cleave their heads from their shoulders style)

[themousefromfantasyland]

The Guardians: An Introduction

As I promised earlier this month, instead of my traditional Creatures of Yuletide, this year I will explore a little bit of William Joyce's Guardians of Childhood book series for Christmas. These were the books that inspired DreamWorks' Rise of the Guardians.

I swear to you. This was one of the best book series I had the pleasure in reading. These books are the perfect and unlikely union between high fantasy and fairy tale whimsy. They even had a little of space opera. I can't recommend them enough. They are so sincere, legitimately epic, and creative.

However, if you only know the Guardians by the movie, you certainly will get a little confused and disappointed. All characters in the book have drastic different personalities and backstories from their film's counterparts, to the point it's impossible for them to be the same characters. The universe of the books itself seems to work with vastly different rules than that of the movie.

I would love to headcanon Pitch with the same tragic backstory that he had in the books. But book Pitch canonically DIES in 1933, and it's a huge deal, to the point it's impossible to bring him back without ruining the whole series' ending.

I will get in more detail in later posts, but so to you get an idea of the feel of the universe of the books, we have:

A space pirate dark lord that plunders planets.

Sea warfare in space.

Wizard from Atlantis talking with bugs.

An army of yetis.

A rabbit that hulks when he eats chocolate and grows multiple limbs.

The king of werewolves.

Warrior Easter eggs.

Alien eastern monks

Warriors that fight using Onomatopoeias

And this is how Jack Frost looked during the Victorian Era. He entered a snowball fight with Winston Churchill, J.M. Barrie, and Rudyard Kipling against some street children. Yes, everyone can see him just fine in the books. He's the in-universe inspiration behind Peter Pan, Dorian Gray, and Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

@ariel-seagull-wings @thealmightyemprex @natache @princesssarisa @angelixgutz @amalthea9 @the-blue-fairie @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @mask131