#lore drop character introduction

[sdvsalad]

The Island’s Visitor

I'll keep this introduction short and sweet. This story was made by Author C, have fun!

It was a beautiful day in the city. The sky was a light shade of gray, you could almost make out the subtle blue tones of it, almost. As the smog rolled across the endless plains of concrete a limousine followed suit. It smoothly rode towards the docks, there the smog turned to a finer mist that left small specks of water behind. This was the closest thing you’d have to rain in the city, always overcast, never raining. 

“Ahoy there lassie! Tis’ good to see you again!” An old marinor waved pleasantly at the slender looking woman emerging from the mist. 

“Heyyy, want to give me a ride to the island?” She made a somewhat pleading face as she pursued her lips together thoughtfully. 

Getting a better look at the woman it was clear she came from wealth, and was quite young too. She had tan skin (a clear sign of privilege with the lack of the sun), paired with strawberry blonde hair that shifted into a subtle orange hue. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald green that contrasted her warm tones. She wore a pale floral sundress that was clearly well made, possibly even designer. Her heeled sandals clicked as she leaned forward. 

“Please~” 

--

“Thank you~ Keep this between us two~ Alright?” She winked at the old man as she strided onto the sand. Of course, being sure to leave him a generous tip of a few cents. 

The old mariner nodded and drove his boat off into the distance, he would probably fish for a few hours. 

“Finally!” The woman said, glancing around quickly to ensure no one was looking. Giggling a bit to herself she removed her heels and walked towards the sandy beach part of the island. Watching the waves had always been a guilty pleasure of hers. It was beautiful, so full of life. The sea was a crisp blue contrasted by the warm yellow of the sand beneath her. The tropical fish in the distance were all brilliant vibrant colors as they swam in their own schools. 

Looking around the island she saw the stunning flora, from palm trees to the smallest of flower patches, it was all breathtaking. Even though she’d been here a few times it always seemed to surprise her just how lively it was. The animals even seemed more colorful, the parrots were dazzling colors and chirped with glee all around the island. 

After exploring for a bit she returned to the beach. She strolled around it as she collected seashells and gently placed them in her tote bag. They were all different shapes, sizes, and colors- each unique in their own way but still cohesive with each other. Eventually she settled atop the dock and began to string various shells together with a simple needle and twine. She made necklaces, bracelets, and even small strung together shell dream catchers. It was her way of taking her dreams back, her dreams, no one else's. This island was where she could be herself. It was her island. Ginger’s Island. 

[flovoid]

and they all asked the same question: "who are you?"

♬

[thesecondsanctuary]

yknow what. I think one of the most legitimate criticisms I’ve seen abt uty is how… divorced ruins and snowdin feel from the later sections of the game, and how our chance to really get to know/get first impressions from martlet and especially dalv suffer greatly from it. like hm yeah it checks out that my 2 faves (guess.) are from the first section of the game that really lets you familiarise yourself with these characters rather than having them retreat constantly until the final room in the area…

[v1v-1en]

First Chapter Snippet - End of Chapter

Tessa stumbled into the library, still not used to the stillness of the solid land under her feet. She knew she looked like a mess, hair and clothes still wet from the unfortunate dip she took in the ocean, sand still sticking between her fingers from the beach she was found washed upon. “Hello stranger, how may I help you today?” Another voice with that strange cadence and unfamiliar dialect caught Tessa’s attention, and the face behind it brought temporary relief. But the face did not match the voice. “Satrina, thank the gods your here-” “Here is not where you belong, is it?” That stopped Tessa in her tracks, staring owlishly at this sudden stranger. “I beg your finest pardon?” While she looked a lot like Satrina, Tessa could now see the differences. That was not her friend. The stranger gestured at Tessa’s clothes. “Those clothes are several hundreds of years out of style. And your accent, too. Hasn't been heard in ages around here. This is not the time where you belong. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Anastasia and I am a third circle librarian in this establishment.”

Final section of the third chapter - at this point, missing development and key points. Sharing this mostly to gain interest in this project. There will be hints as to what happened earlier in the chapter as well as in the prologue. Ending on a mild cliffhanger to make people wan tot keep reading. Introduction of the second main character (Anastasia). Make her seem important, with a title like that. Generate thoughts on why librarians have different titles, hopefully make people wonder what kind of power the libraries have in this world.

[tbob-enthusiast]

EEEEEEEEEEE

@illusioncanthurtme @bee-snail two for one zodiac special! something in the water today i guess lol

i don't have the start or end of my au fleshed out enough to really comment on the zodiac with confidence. while i know for certain they're not present at the start, i'm not sure how i want bill's defeat to go down. but no matter, because for at least most of the story they're wandering the wastelands.

when i was first coming up with this au, my idea had been that it would start when gideon is in jail. instead of making the deal that enabled bill to possess blendin, bill walks gideon through a ritual that will give bill a temporary physical form using gideon's blood and hair. he then uses this form to attack the pines family directly and with more of his typical abilities, allowing him to get the upper hand much more quickly and with a more serious threat.

what i liked about this idea was that it dragged gideon in from the start and really shifted more of the blame onto him. as funny as i find it for it to be "the pines family saves the world and gideon's there also," i think it brings him into the family dynamic more if ford is able to relate to him. the pines family can only be as mad at gideon as they are at ford, because both are guilty of bringing bill to gravity falls. it also allows gideon to have a clear path to redemption and gives him a role model in ford, which would be fun to have him and dipper have tension over.

what i don't like about this idea is that i feel like it'd be too complicated of a way to start, i think it introduces too many questions i don't know if i want to either answer or pretend not to see. i've toyed around with bill having the same show-down with the pines family, but it's after he shatters the rift and blendin fucks off, where instead of retreating, ford and dipper go after mabel, which prevents bills from taking her hostage. i've toyed around with it taking place right after bill captures the pines family post-failed zodiac. i don't know! i'm still leaning towards gideon and i'll just suck it up lol

but anyway, either way, the zodiac has not been assembled.

but like i said, i'm not sure how i want it to end yet! the first half of the au is horror, with everyone in bill's playpen, but the second half is scifi.

spoilers:

the pines + gideon are eventually able to escape the fearamid once time baby crashes the party. ford is able to use the distraction to lead the family away and find a space ship. because not everyone on earth is part of bill's main crew, and as much as they like to pretend at being demons, at the end of the day they're aliens and would have to travel across the nightmare realm to get to the rift.

so ford is able to find a ship he knows how to pilot manually, rips out the ai, and is able to get the family to one of the revolution base/refugee camps where he knows people from his portal days. from there the team are able to recover and regroup while ford hammers out his plan to return to alternate earth and beg fiddleford to help him build another huge fuck off gun, because HIS is back at the mystery shack and bill has that place on lock.

ive been toying for weeks with how i want the final show down to go down. do i want ford to kill him with the gun? do i want stan to pose as ford and kill him with the gun (because if he fails then at least ford has the knowledge and resources to keep the kids safe)? do i want it to fail like in the show and they HAVE to summon the zodiac? i don't know yet! work in progress!

[allisonperryart]

I don't usually do fanart, but if my followers will indulge me this week, I made an exception for my favourite character for the FNAF 10th anniversary celebration, because what can I say? I am but a simple girl who likes Springtrap! 🐰🔪 What're you most excited for this week? Going in, I was most excited for Into the Pit (which I still am of course!), but honestly every day has been exciting so far: I am unbelievably hyped for The Secret of the Mimic in 2025, VIP was a fun and interesting introduction to the new book series, FNAFxDBD is HUGE and a match made in heaven, FLAF looks fun and lore drops on the Steam page are WILD, and all the FNAF 2 movie teaser photos have me SO excited for the Toy Animatronics... and I think we're getting the Withereds too!? I wonder if we'll get a Puppet teaser!? 😵‍💫 We are truly eating this week - I don't want it to end!! 😍🍽️ Stay tuned for the process video next week, and we can talk about Into the Pit, ha ha!!

[wlwmedarda]

I'm honestly just looking to rant and this might be long depending on how fast I get irritated the more I type so if this isn't coherent or well written I apologize in advance. Since it looks like Ambessa will take on a more antagonistic role in arcane season two, I would like to unpack the fandom's antiblackness that you guys are either blind to or aware and too pussy to call it out as my gut is telling me it's gonna increase and if no one is gonna start the difficult conversation then I sure as hell will.

Sevika:

Mel:

Starting off strong with the definition of "you guys want complex female characters but can't even handle her". Mel Medarda is in quite the predicament seeing how she's morally grey, a black woman, AND "gets in the way" of a mlm ship so she was kinda screwed from the start. A cunning politician disowned for her pacifism who acts as a sort of bridge to Noxus' slow introduction, and is THE ONLY CHARACTER IN THE SEASON 1 MAIN CAST SPECIFICALLY CREATED FOR THE SHOW. She's treated like satan incarnate or a Jezebel (highly suggest looking into that if you don't know what that is), GOOD character analysis is rare, and when she is talked about positively, it's so often chalked up to appearances that I'd rather yall not talk about her at all. Oh you love Mel? Then can we talk about her relationship with her mother? Unpack her dynamic with Jayce? Maybe more fanworks centered around her? I've seen yall's fake asses dropping the shittiest fucking takes about her only to turn around and gush over how pretty she is, and yall think you're slick about it and you're not. I would say I prefer the ones who are loud and proud about their hatred but that'd be a lie, they're two cheeks on the same ass; annoying and couldn't give a decent break down of her character if a gun was pointed at they head even she's perfect to dissect. I could talk about her more but we'd be here all day and so many black women even from outside the fanbase have already talked about yall so there's no need for me to add on 🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️.

Quick question, have you guys ever tried to talk about her in a non sexual way? Yes, Sevika is undeniably sexy and you could argue that true stans of hers talk about her outside of horny time, but a good half of the fandom is a different story. In a similar case to Mel's, deep dives into her character are rare to find which is crazy when she acts as Zaun's own "kingmaker". She's loyal to her city and the cause, never to a specific person and will not hesitate to betray you. She could be your right hand man one day, and the next she might find a better kingpin to follow and stab you in the back like it all meant nothing. "Were you tempted?" "Not for a worm like him". Simple and subtle and probably my favorite Sevika scene; she comes to realize Silco is no longer the best leader for Zaun, but he's as good as it gets for now and so she sticks by him. I remember a YouTube comment breaking down how she's essentially the quintessential Zaun: a brute warrior molded by her environment, who defied Vander's peaceful ways and embraced Silco's cruelty. Her mindset and goal is interesting and you'd think it'd result in some fascinating meta or exploration of her upbringing when we got a hint that she potentially has some daddy issues right? Obviously, but what do we get instead? White sapphics treating her like nothing more than a sexual object. How delightful!

Ekko:

This might partially be Riot's fault because — and I hate to sound like a league lore nerd — Ekko is quite underdeveloped compared to the richer origins of his former pre arcane self, but I'm gonna hold off on that till the season finale to see how they handle him. Anyways, at this point the fandom clearly sees him as Jinx's trophy husband. When you talk about him, she is brought into the convo 90% of the time. That's exactly why I prefer black timebomb shippers over the nonblack ones because I trust they actually love Ekko as a character on his own. Even though I have my complaints regarding how's been written so far, I still know he's too good to be reduced to Jinx's loverboy. He fights and cares for his city, the only character that you can confidently say is pure of heart, and is the revolutionary leader Zaun really needs. He's just as smart as Jinx too, he is literally going to create TIME TRAVEL. Why does no one wanna talk about that? Can we be excited for his character development and arc not just for the timebomb scenes you'll get out of it?

Ambessa:

Can't even deny this woman is awful but her presence on screen enthralled me after a couple of rewatches and I also love bad mothers in media so I've settled on a love/hate relationship. Yes, she's definitely gonna have some influence on Caitlyn, which makes sense since she has now lost her mother; she's vulnerable and as we have seen, naive. She's practically free real estate for Ambessa. My recent worry though has been how the fandom seems to be willing to put all of Caitlyn's actions on her as if Cait isn't a grown ass woman who can make her own decisions. Of course being grown doesn't mean you're immune to manipulation, but I've seen some Silco and Jinx comparisons and it is NOT the same. Mind you we haven't even seen the first three episodes; we don't know how far Ambessa's manipulation is going to go and we can't really tell what the dynamic is gonna be like based off of clips and trailers that are likely shown out of context on purpose to throw people off. I'll never defend her actions, hell I'll join in on the lashings, but my black ass is also not gonna sit here and let yall talk about her weirdly or pin all of this on her.

Some might say I'm overthinking this, but I've been here since November 2021 and have sat back and observed for 2 years. You don't have to write deep, philosophical conversations 24/7, I'm sure it's not all in bad faith and I won't act like I don't thirst over Sevika or marvel at Mel's beauty. I'm not saying you have to like these characters and that you're racist if you don't. My frustration comes from the lack of nuanced conversations and hypocritical opinions surrounding black characters in this show. When you try to say something about this, you're hit with excuses; it reminds me of how man obsessed fujoshis act when they're questioned for not giving two fucks about female characters. They're either reduced to one character trait, only admired for their looks, or only discussed when it's about the white character they're connected to. Do NOT under ANY circumstance be black and morally ambiguous, you WILL be held to higher moral standards than everyone's wittle blorbos who can do wrong and are defended from all sides when you dare to take the rose colored stan glasses off and criticize them. What's really ridiculous is you hear the "complex characters" bullshit every two to three business days and some of you have the nerve to boast about this series being diverse while simultaneously ignoring the complexities in the characters of color. This is the main reason I took a step back and with season two around the corner I thought "Hey, maybe it'll be better this time!" and it was a mistake. Good to know yall still have an underlying racism problem you don't wanna address but with some extra classism thrown in. "What will we do once Arcane ends?" hopefully get a job, touch some grass, and reflect. Lord knows yall need it. The faster yall sizzle out the better. I'm done that's all I have to say lol goodnight 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽.

[angrykittybarbarian]

About that Dragon Age: The Veilguard audio web series

Thinking back about the marketing for DATV I now realize it was kind of deceptive.

No, it was not literal fraud. They did not make specific promises and then broke them, not explicitely and in a way you could hold them liable in court over. And I get when you are advertising your product you will of course highlight its most favorable aspects while not shoving its negative sides into everyone's noses.

However I do think that EA/Bioware did stretch out the boundaries between regular endorsement and fraud.

It started with the web series Vows and Vengeance they uploaded weekly on Youtube right before release. At that time I was still hopeful and excited for the game. And Vows and Vengeance all but encouraged that excitement.

You know why? Because, and this surprised me, it was genuinely good.

Vows and Vengeance functioned as an early introduction to the companions. While they were not the main characters they did play a key role in each episode. The plot was what could be typically expected from a regular DA installment. It had a dark, gripping story. The dialogue was well written. It dealt with mature themes, it actually discussed the classism of Tevinter.

Lucanis was a proper crow who killed a good man because he was hired to do so. He was positively morally grey. Davrin had actually strong opinions when the main character dropped the Dread Wolf's name. Bellara was interesting in that it became clear how she struggled with her ADHD without using infantile language, Scout Harding acted smart, mature and competent, Taash was a morally grey bad ass, fitting for a freelance treasure hunter and with smart and witty dialogue to go with it.

It was amazing, I found myself excited every week for a new episode. It got me interested in the companions. I already contemplated to romance Taash because they were so cool and charismatic in that series. I thought, if a FREE webseries that was made for advertisement was already this great then the game had to be nothing short of phenomenal.

And then it just...wasn't. There was nothing of the depth that came through in the web series. It was as if I was presented with a sample of a multilayered chocolate cake but got a dry brownie after I actually paid the full price for it.

The sheer audacity behind this course of action is still so inconcievable to me, I sometimes still wonder why they put effort into writing the free thing and not the product they demand payment for. I still don't get it. The only explanation is they purposefully put out a misleading sample to lure in the customers in the beginning to spend money, right?

This fraud adjacent behavior does not stop there.

Remember when we thought we would be importing our worldstates from our previous games? There wasn't even a question about it in the beginning because this is such an intrinsic Bioware feature. But then the info about the three choices in the character creator leaked.

Leaked!

Meaning they never intended for this information to be known pre-release. They fully intended to keep it secret until it would be too late. They also never said they wanted a soft reboot.

This is the conclusion the fandom has drawn after they destroyed their own lore and went scorched earth on the entire south of Thedas.

And the biggesr lie was when they said this was their best work. After all this!

This is the reason why DATV's shortcomings are so devastating. This is why so many feel like the game was a slap to their faces. EA/Bioware gaslit and manipulated us from the very beginning. We have been cheated and betrayed.

The last bit of trust I and many others had in Bioware, they mercilessly crushed.

I personally will never take even one thing they say at face value again. You can only trust their actions from now on.

[ivorycello]

An Introduction to the Lifesteal SMP - Season 6 Starts on July 6th

The Premise 

Lifesteal is a competitive, PVP based soft-anarchy server, with one core gimmick: In the server, if you kill somebody, you can steal one of their permanent hotbar hearts, with a maximum of twenty hearts. If you drop down to zero hearts, you are banned off of the server, unless another player revives you with an expensive item called a revive beacon.  

One of the biggest draws in the fandom is the incredibly organic improv storytelling that arises from the server, with the competition extending past simple combat. Players clash as they all attempt to enact their own plans, creating moral and emotional conflicts that draw in stream viewers and make the server incredible to follow as events unfold. 

Watching Lifesteal Streams and attempting to have a complete picture of what is going on is very time intensive. Luckily, starting in season five, they do weekly sessions where the most important events usually happen.

How seasons work

Each season runs independently of each other, and the entire world resets when they move to a new season. 

There is no in-universe lore explanation for what happens during a season reset. Some streamers may choose to treat it like they’re playing a different character, but most choose to leave things that happened in previous seasons in the past while still acknowledging it. Knowing what happens in previous seasons may help you understand things more, but is not necessary in the slightest.

Is Lifesteal a roleplay server? Kinda, kinda not. 

Please respect that creators have different levels of interest in rp and are primarily on the server to make youtube videos of a particular niche.

Lifesteal is unscripted, though different players will create and enact elaborate plans with insane amounts of effort, but all of this is with the goal of a genuine, entertaining reaction. 

Most members enter every situation with the primary goal of creating a good video, and their actions often reflect this. Videos are designed to be standalone content. Each video tells a complete story, and doesn't often tie into other videos or arcs. Lifestealers will also twist the narrative in order to create a linear storyline, including changing the order of events, or even just straight up lying. (We’re looking at you, Mapicc.) Due to this, with few exceptions, it is near impossible to gain full context of an arc or event via video alone, as so much context and information will be glanced over or covered up. Streams are a much more reliable way of understanding the full story. 

New and leaving members

The eight new members announced so far for season six are:

Derapchu

Ecorridor

Chiefxd

Kaboodle

Flamefrags

SB737

Hannahxxrose

Manepear

Members who have left over the past season are:

ItzSubz_

Vitalasy

Parrotx2

Rekrap2

Poafa

Midmysticx

Branzycraft

Where to watch Lifesteal

There are a few active streamers and uploaders, who we will introduce below, and there is also a fan-run archive of all Lifestealer vods that you can access here.

The archive runs as far back as 2020, though only becomes mostly reliable around July 2022, when the project started. The archive also has links to every members’ youtube and twitch account, as well as any vod channel they may run themselves!

POV Recommendations Frequent Streamers: If you want a consistent pov to watch, and be able to follow a consistent storyline here are your best choices. PrinceZam: Zam was lifesteal’s most consistent streamer in previous seasons and puts a very large amount of effort into his rp and storytelling. Goes live at random times for long hours. Kaboodle: Kab is a new addition this season, but she consistently puts an incredible amount of effort into rp and storytelling. She streams most days at 7pm EST! ChiefXD: New Member who streams daily at 11am EST. HannahxxRose: New member, frequent streamer, but we don't know how her streaming style will adapt to lifesteal yet. Derapchu: He’s a little bit of a freak. Australian but has a bad sleep schedule so he streams at US friendly times or earlier. Does pretty long streams. Pangi: Has been on hiatus, but usually streams regularly around 2-4 PM EST at an EU friendly time for shorter hours. He typically does sillier, shorter projects. 4CVIT: Frequent streamer when he does stream, but may go inactive for long periods of time. Kinda roleplays, one of the better builders on the server and likes to keep projects secret from chat.

Honorable Mention: Follow these people anyway, they’ll probably go live for big events or random streams. Minutetech: Typically streams large events and sessions Mapicc: Occasionally streams, mostly important events Ashswag: Occasionally streams, mostly important events Jumper: Occasionally streams Bacon: Occasionally streams Woogie: Frequent streamer at the start of the season, but will become less active when college starts again for him Roshambogames: Occasionally Streams, mostly important Events

Youtube: Current Season: Frequent Uploads: Mapicc: Uploads frequently on main and 2nd channel, however he is known for lying a lot in his videos. It’s a little bit funny. Minutetech: Long videos about huge arcs, mostly truthful but may simplify some stuff. Wemmbu: Long videos about huge projects. FlameFrags: Medium length SMP videos. ChiefXD: Has an episodic style, we are not sure how that will change for lifesteal as he is a new member. Jumper: Mix of long form videos and short videos about a variety of topics. Squiddo: Fun, High Effort and Energy videos about a variety of topics. Lots of custom art. SB737: Uploads often but unsure if he will upload Lifesteal.

Do Not Upload as Frequently But Its Good When They Do Planetlord, Roshambogames, Ashswag, Spokeishere, Princezam, Baconnwaffles,     ECorridor, Pentar, Clownpierce

Past Seasons, we linked povs that cover full seasons or large amounts of a season, but other non listed members still have fantastic one off videos about single events or arcs. Link All Videos Playlist (updated infrequently)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiRXq4v6FXPn8D15UEAY6oZuPF23-NTG8 Mer S4 Summary Document

Lifesteal Season 4 Directory (public access version) Cog S4 Summary Doc

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E0Mi2s64to6BzoAJuWHw16lnJpdEdYBXfd62tC7O0jY/edit?usp=sharing Minute S5 Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6xtt50MzkHWil_vQbgkll9rZTDyfI5k1 Spoke S4: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYmAm1lW6hlgK3WHPORSYeC80PVNUuUcZ All Parrot Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu0onnEWPanttCW1zIfh25bQ_b5sBo8_p Clownzy S3 Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCUTLKqDTev0e1y9Paex97_KP-TpF6QIs

Squiddo S5: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlWJegiCG6X_iKkO-CEd6J9GMAhkzYjVn&si=Kx6lLPLZQeexGdio Baconnwaffles1: https://www.youtube.com/@baconnwaffles1/videos

Princezam S3: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmPnYnLs0WLoJTEdRpFBMTS21X631LKtu&si=37bk0Gs1haPYOSEd Mapicc, warning. Unreliable Narrator. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsiSq_WYMOAV7HPEqn8QY_981n19u2qO0 Roshambo: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaa_QQN2V8hZ78ACgXFOGt4tGcfDPTp_B

Stream Etiquette

Do not stream snipe / metagame, which includes sharing or hinting at any info whatsoever, even silly things, about another creators playthrough that the streamer wouldn’t know otherwise, you will get banned in all lifestealers chats. Information revealed via videos is considered fair game.

Do not backseat game or backseat lore Lifesteal Members on Tumblr

Several Lifesteal members have public tumblr accounts they use to varying degrees. Because of this, we use the #Lifesteal Spoilers tag to mark posts they shouldn't see because of metagaming reasons or when we just don’t want them to see it. They’re mostly chill, please just block them if you don’t want to deal with them. hdusa - Princezam lowkeywaffling - Baconnwaffles0 Neverpoor - Ashswag TheRealSquiddo- Squiddo BigPangolinMan - Pangi

Fancontent:

Lifesteal has a big fanartist community and we encourage you to join in!

Duo Name List

Lifesteal Animatics and Edits Wormhole Zine

Minecraft Roleplay Analysis -  Barrier Blocks

[thirstkanaphan]

Seonghwa and "Be Free" Girl

or, my attempts to (further) queer the lore

We first meet "Be Free" girl in the Fever diary film. This is how Seonghwa describes the encounter:

She, who was dancing to the beat.

Everything around me froze for a moment. The only thing I could hear was the sound of music coming from her earphones. She was moving as if nothing mattered anymore.

Common sense, rules, and this tough world didn’t have power over her moves. Right this moment, my world broke along this snowy road. Something changed in me, but I stayed still and couldn’t say anything.

She dropped a bracelet that had ‘Be Free’ engraved on it. Ever since that day, I went to the same place at the same time.

But, she never came back. I didn’t know her name or address. Just like the ‘Be Free’ bracelet she wore, she freed herself away. Since then, music never sounded the same again. I can no longer distinguish the structure, code, or genre of the song. Only the lingering feeling of that day remains.

As a recently matriculated lore-tiny, I was struck by the introduction of this character into the lore; none of the other members had an on-screen parter in their characters' backstory.

Watching that Fever Diary clip, you see so much yearning on Seonghwa's face. He does not want Be Free girl, he wants to be her.

In World A, Seonghwa is bound by rules and logic. In the segments bookending the Fever Road series, he is shown tied to a chair, a dreamlike manifestation of his internalized oppression.

However, his encounter with Be Free girl completely rewires his brain, enabling Seonghwa free himself from rigid expectations:

From now on, I will plan what I will do. I will run away from this world stuck in a rut to do what I really wish to do. The music in my ear will be my one and only plan in life.

It's clear that when developing the very complex lore for the Ateez universe, KQ sourced from the member's IRL backstories: Wooyoung and his stage fright; Jongho and his athletic aspirations; Mingi's social anxieties. For Seonghwa, it's clear that his source trauma stemmed from the pressure he placed on himself to meet certain self-imposed and industry-imposed standards to look and act a certain way. These issues worsened during Inception era, which coincided with the Fever Diaries and the canonical origins of their lore.

During Seonghwa's recent birthday live, he was asked to comment on an old pic of himself during the Inception comeback and it's clear the memory pained him:

It's notable to me that lore!Seonghwa liberates himself from his dysmorphic mindset after seeing a young woman fully at home in her body, uncaring if she looks silly or awkward dancing alone. To Seonghwa, she embodies emotion, passion, freedom.

The Inception music video not only shows Seonghwa setting metaphorical fire to the mindset that once harmed him, but he also becomes Be Free girl, dancing as she danced in the exact same place he first encountered her:

Seonghwa's transformation in the lore has a ripple effect: in the diaries, he is happy spending time with his friends members in their warehouse sanctuary, dancing and performing to his hearts' content.

Wooyoung even credits Seonghwa for helping him overcome his own struggles:

Now I have friends to talk to about my feelings. As soon as I saw them, I knew right off the bat, they’re like me. Oh, Seonghwa was a little different. He never tried to do anything the traditional way, he was always ‘HIS’ way.

But their sanctuary is soon stolen from them and Ateez find themselves unmoored from their dreams; that is, until Hongjoong finds the Cromer and they embark on a trans-dimensional adventure to World Z.

In World Z, Seonghwa wields his non-normative self as a weapon to combat Strictland's oppressive government, who have banned the arts and used AI-powered technology to subdue human emotion.

In the trailer for Movement, he dances to disrupt the system.

We again encounter Be Free girl in The World: Outlaw. Ateez have infiltrated Prestige Academy with the goal to "awaken" the elite children from the government's systemic control of emotion, thereby destabilizing the ruling class.

It turns out that the World Z's Be Free girl is a student at Prestige Academy and, to Seonghwa's dismay, she leads the disciplinary committee responsible for enforcing the rules and punishing any students exhibiting emotion.

Seonghwa went out into the hallway, watching the back of the girl as she walked away. The strong, cold looking girl was the one that Seonghwa had been looking for for so long. Though of course, the same girl in World A and World Z seemed very different. 

That girl he had once encountered back in World A. He came across her by chance, on a day when the rules of life, logic, and efficiency were weighing down his thoughts. She danced freely, letting her body move along to the music playing on the street. After meeting her, Seonghwa came to realize many things, and everything changed. But on the day he finally decided to muster up his courage and speak to the girl he had been observing from afar, she was gone. Only a bracelet engraved with ‘Be Free’ was left in the spot where she had once danced.

For a long time after, Seonghwa would often go and wait for her there, but she never appeared again. What should I call this feeling? Is it admiration, gratitude, or curiosity? He wondered. Although still unsure what his feelings were, he continued to look and wait for her. But Seonghwa never expected that he would meet her here in World Z, as the head of the student group Thunder, a group considered elite even within Prestige Academy, which only the best talents of World Z–and the ones most loyal to this system of control–could join. He didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. However, just as she had changed his life and set him free that one day, Seonghwa was determined to save her from this world.

To his and our relief, Be Free girl turns out to be a member of Thunder, a secret organization dedicated to overthrowing Z's government from within. She has been suppressing her own emotions as a mechanism of survival in order to gain access to Z's inner circle.

Seonghwa learns this after Be Free girl saves him during an encounter with the Guardians, separating him from the group. Yeosang later observes that Seonghwa did not seem to leave under duress:  

"And his face when he grabbed her hand and walked off in the quad, it was like he found someone he missed. That look was so odd I kept thinking about it. It's the same look Seonghwa gets when he talks about the girl with the 'Be Free' bracelet he was looking for back in our dimension."

Seonghwa returns to share what he's learned from Be Free girl, but keeps some things to himself. Be Free girl told him of her own "awakening," having seen the Grimes siblings singing on the streets and finally understanding "beauty." This made her resolved to restore beauty and artistic expression to World Z.

Seonghwa cannot help but compare her to the Be Free girl who inspired him in World A:

The girl with the Be Free bracelet danced freely with no care or worry as to how she looked to other people. Seonghwa, mesmerized by the beauty, saw himself in her and from that day on, started to walk a new path free from restricting rules and principles.

The Thunder girl, she reminds me of the girl from our world. And she reminds me of myself, Seonghwa thought. Moved by the feeling of beauty stirred within her after listening to the songs of the Grimes siblings, she started on a new path away from the principles and rules of this world. The moment he first saw her at Prestige Academy, behind the girl's cold exterior, Seonghwa had clearly felt that heart - that very yearning for beauty.

I think it's interesting how much Seonghwa identifies with Be Free girl, and I cannot help but recall his distinctly queer styling during The World series.

Not coincidentally, this album era is when Seonghwa really began to experiment with his own taste for "genderless" fashion, which continues to be a major theme in his stylistic expression.

Be Free girl narrates World: To The End, after Ateez is abruptly sent back to World A during a climactic confrontation with Z:

I wonder if you safely arrived back home. When the first Cromer broke, you said you arrived in the past. Did you arrive on time this time? Are you still dancing and singing together there? I hope all your wishes come true: finding your family, gaining independence from your strict father, standing on stage, meeting may people, and making lots of money. You've changed many people's lives, so I'm sure you've succeeded. Whatever it may be, I hope you remain 'free' without being too tied down, just like she said, the one who resembles me.

Unfortunately, her wish for Ateez does not necessarily come true. Back in World A, the boys find themselves drifting apart as their memories from World Z fade. They each pursue different lines of work, becoming successful and wealthy, but lacking the passion that once fueled their adventures together.

Seonghwa becomes a firefighter. He tells himself it's something Be Free girl would've encouraged:

Knowing her, she would have told him to move and find a way to save himself first. Saving oneself is the first step to saving other people. 'Fine. Then I'll start by saving myself from this anxiety.' So, Seonghwa began studying how to rescue people in different kinds of crises.

Sure, it wasn't his dream, but that also wasn't a good enough reason for him to give it up. The impact of this job was clear and real compared to the vague dream he shared with the members, and he just couldn't find any justification to quit.

And, thanks to his welcoming face and striking physique, Seonghwa was selected as the Fire and Disaster Headquarters' yearly calendar model. Posing for the camera, he felt both pleasantly nervous and oddly empty. For so long, he had wanted nothing more than to be photographed and seen, but could never make that dream come true... How ironic that he could do so now, but only as a firefighter.

Seonghwa can rationalize it all he wants, but he's once again cut away pieces of himself to present as socially acceptable and palatable in this new phase of his life. He's regressed, but he cannot see the truth for himself.

In Golden Hour: Part 2, he tries to convince Jongho that this is what he really wants:

Jongho met his eyes silently, as if to say that he was ready to listen. Seonghwa began describing those who had just become firefighters. There is a time when a sense of duty and a desire to save people becomes a kind of "passion" in and of itself. During this time, new firefighters – as if they have never known fear - would do anything to save even just one more person. They would dive into the heart of a fires or risk their lives. Then, they make a mistake and realize that they might actually die like this. That's when they finally come to understand their seniors' advice, Seonghwa continued. 

Seonghwa grit his teeth and repeated the words he had heard over and over as a student: "Saving oneself is the first step in saving other people."

Whether you subscribe to the theory that Ateez will use the sorpo to once more hop between dimensions OR that Golden Hour takes place in a dream conjured by Z, the idea of "saving oneself" remains a key theme in Seonghwa's arc over the course of the lore.

Be Free girl gave him the strength to save himself the first time, a process that gave him the emotion, beauty, and empathy to inspire others in the same way.

I hope that in this next installment, wherever the lore takes us, Seonghwa can reclaim his passion and fight for his freedom.

.

.

Of course, we have a third "appearance" of Be Free girl in Spin Off: From the Witness, which seems to exist outside of our linear timeline and may even exist in a completely different dimension with a completely different set of Ateez.

The epilogue focuses on this other Seonghwa, who has a very familiar encounter with a certain bracelet.

I wrote this meta as a way to work through what I thought was one of the most interesting parts of the lore, because it's clear how much this storyline is already meta-textual. These are just observations and speculations. Ateez gave me a fun sandbox to play in!

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Special thanks to @loving-that-officey-feel for being my lore tutor!

[plat3uau]

I honestly do not know where to begin or how to even write a decent looking introduction, so allow me to just drop this and leave…🤣😭

Okay, but jokes aside, since I’ve been getting really into visual storytelling lately, I just thought “Huh, why not test it out with Jingluo, and capture their dynamic while trying to add a fairytale-like elements to it?”

Also, I genuinely want to become even more expressive through my art, overall… and I guess it’s also an excuse to draw even more stuff related to the two (shhhh, and excuse me for the repetition.😫😫)

Notes on the title (that I think might be needed): I know the matter of language isn’t relevant to the game’s plot at all, but for some reason I’ve developed the headcanon that Luocha is good at picking up languages, as he travels a lot. (I see him just… being very quick at adapting and blending in with the locals’ way of doing things, in that kind of sense. <3)

We don’t really know much about him as for now (still waiting for that lore drop, though!!), but judging from his appearance and aesthetics (so please take this with a grain of salt), he looks like (at least to me) a character from a place based off Europe or the West… So because of that, I had the view that Luocha might have had a harder time actually writing down/learning by heart the Chinese characters (or at least the writing system there) commonly used by the people in the Luofu, when he first set foot there (I mean, I thought of that as it’s a region very much inspired by Chinese culture), since most European languages use the Latin script as for their writing system.

So hopefully this explains why there are two inscriptions: the one on the left side of the canvas is actually written by Luocha, and the other one being the translated version of the title!🥰

(P.S. I tried to translate the title in Chinese to make the Luocha’s writing seem… how to say, more believable? More real? Anyways, I ended up with “我在你身边”, which translates into “I will stand beside you”, so not super faithful to the original title, but I believed that the essence of the general meaning of the original one was still there, so I decided to go along with it.

I’m no native speaker here nor a translator, just a person who studied some Mandarin for a while. T - T❤️)

(P.S.S. I’ll try to keep you updated! My creative process is usually quite slow, so I was thinking that maybe I could share some of the wips with you all. Or you know, just to document some of my thoughts, that kind of stuff. ^_^

Alright!!! I wrote too much, and honestly, BLESS your heart for reading through my stream of consciousness, lmao. But I genuinely appreciate it, I really REALLY mean this.🥺❤️

Thank you so much for taking your time to do so. To whoever reached this point. <3)

[tthelady]

Genshin Impact 5.6 Spoilers

I finally had some time to digest the 5.6 archon quest, and I'm kinda loving and hating it. Overall, my opinion is that it was rushed.

The quest was about 2 hours long, and in it, we got so many insane lore drops yet never got the chance to digest them properly before we moved on to the next big thing. I think they should have made Paralogism into two archon quests (5.6 & 5.7) or made 5.6 longer (like using those two time skips).

One of the things I wished they did was expand the lore more, especially the Gold devouring the Shade of Life.

Dropping this bombshell of a lore drop on us and then saying "thank you for your help" and ending the conversation is crazy.

Another thing I wished we had was the chance to explore the the court room and see Albedo in jail ourselves. This should have been a new area for us to explore instead of us just teleporting in and put of it.

And Dahlia introduction to the scene was low-key, really disappointing. This is the first time we see him in the game, and he barely gets any time to shine, and considering his position, he definitely should have gotten more screen time.

Also, there's og Durin, I did not like how he was handled at all. How are you gonna call him a child in one breath, then say that he needs to be killed in the next, and his pure and nicer version on him will live and take over.

I thought og Durin and mini Durin would be merging together and that we'd get the chance to atleast talk with og Durin. Lowkey hoping that og Durin and mini Durin ended up merging together instead of one of them dying.

On another note, mini Durins human design already looks so good.

Some of the things I absolutely loved about this quest though was the lore drops (I'm still screaming about them like HOLY FUCKING SHIT OH MY GODD), the hexenzirkel, seeing them again and doing their trial was so much absolutely loved it. I so loved the fact that the trials were the plans from the Knights of Favonius, this should their unity and teamwork so well. Seeing the ragbros fighting alongside each other had me kicking and screaming. Also loved the part where we went around helping different characters and talking with character throughout the fight on mondstadt it reminded me of Natlan during the fight against the abyss (one of my favorite parts). Also that cutscene of Albedo doing alchemy that was so fucking good!

We got two time skips where we could have been getting information and doing more things. The first time skip was between Albedo's first and second trail. In those two days, we could have spent gathering more information, actually meeting talking to Albedo ourselves, going to see all the locations marked on his map, expanding the new lore more. Maybe even learning through meeting Albedo that he didn't trust everyone and kept talking in code (since no knew yet who was under Durin's control).

The next time skip happened between getting Durin's core and the start of the Windblume festival. Between these two days we could have spent seeing about Albedo put things together and since we barely got anything for the festival this time we could have altleat used those two days to help put the festival together after the fight.

They either should have done this Interlude chapter in two archon quests with 5.6 focusing planning and gathering information about the situation at hand and expanding our knowledge of the new lore. We should have used the time between Albedo's first and second trial for that. While 5.7 would have started on his second trial focused on the execution and aftermath. Either this or they should have made 5.6 a bit longer instead of skipping two days ahead on two different occasions. We should have used those two days to expand our knowledge.

Overall, I liked the new archon quest. It had so many amazing lore drops. But I do think its pacing could have been much better. I also think my expectations for this quest were a bit different and high, and I got a bit disappointed with how quickly things ended. But other than this, it was great.

[admiral-mason]

Hear me out... SAGAU! Genshin x Gn! Reader that also plays Sky: Children of Light...

Hi it's you again! I still need to remember to write that Forest Island thing you sent me

Also I'm addicted to it too lmfao

Anyways this is my reaction to learning about Sky: Children of Light

Why is the lore so frickin confusing

THEREFORE, I will probably screw up one thing or another when it comes to the game while writing this (you are not getting me addicted to any more mobile games*).

*games that I downloaded on my tablet and check in often with

To fix that, the reader will simply have similar powers akin to those from Sky: Children of the Light because understanding the lore of the actual game will kill me

Reader is Gender Neutral

Warning: Dead people everywhere

You're confused.

One moment you were messing around on Genshin Impact and Sky: Children of the Light...

And now, you're in Teyvat.

With the fricking cape you used in that latter game.

Based on your current position, you're likely near Mondstadt, which you later confirmed when you saw the city in the distance.

You initially wanted to try flying to the nation of freedom, but you stopped after realizing that flying in Sky: CotL is likely not flying in real life.

So before doing so, you decided to try attempting to fly with your cape. Making your way to an elevated hill, you jumped and leaned forward...

Then your cape automatically puts you in flying mode, allowing you to land safely at the bottom. Cool! You don't need to worry about any controls or whatever.

So you began flying to Mondstadt! But then you ran out of energy... so you had to walk the rest of the way there.

You decided to pull a trick on Swan and Lawrence at Mondstadt's front gates by flying right in front of them, and their jaws dropped.

"...Uh, are you two gonna respond-"

"YOUR GRACE!"

And then the two kneeled before rambling about how you had 'descended' and a bunch of other words you'd hear from a cult-like setting. And then you're just standing there wondering, "what the frick is going on"

And you're led to Jean, and this event attracts everyone in the city, and hoo-boy, now there's a massive party and festival.

Looking past the introductions, Amber is ecstatic about your gliding capabilities! She takes you on gliding trips and is slightly jealous that you can glide without a wind glider.

You tend to glide right into trees more often though.

Then there's Venti, who will hog your time spend his time with you propelling you up into the air. Sometimes, he'll use the wind to let you do various tricks you likely wouldn't be capable of performing in either Genshin Impact or Sky: CotL when you used to play them.

Most of your time in Mondstadt is you getting snatched away by Amber and/or Venti when no one is looking.

This creates clear-cut competition between your harem everyone. Different characters will utilize different strategies to get you to spend more time with them (i.e. Lisa offers rest, Kaeya seduces you whether it's effective or not you decide, etc).

Oh and for the more cheeky individuals, you sometimes decide to glide to lose... and then your acquaintances catch up quickly because of their training, much to your disappointment and your day is ruined.

After a while, you get adjusted to your life. Hostile animals and monsters don't even attack you, how nice!

And then, something happens.

You're on your way to Windrise, alone, to take a little walk. However, out of nowhere, a lyre begins to play.

Unlike Venti's music, what you're hearing right now is sorrowful and poignant, bearing a feeling of distant memories lost to time.

Attempting to find the source of the song, you finally stop in front of a translucent blue figure... a figure with a familiar look to a certain present-day Anemo archon.

"...I never knew you would descend so soon," he said, with a voice slightly deeper compared to Venti's. "Are you here to see me play?"

You didn't know how to respond, and he simply chuckled before his ghostly form approached you.

...Hang on. The Nameless Bard appears to bear qualities akin to a spirit in Sky: CotL, so can you view his memories??

And then you realized that you needed a flame to do so. Then, you felt something lay in your right hand. When you looked at it, you were somehow gripping a red candle.

And it turns out that when you held it to the Nameless Bard, it automatically lit up, and his spiritual form compressed into a spark, sending you on a goose chase after it throughout Mondstadt and leaving the locals wondering why the heck you're chasing after some strange light.

Unlike how Venti told his tale of his friend, most of these memories held a more personal tone to them. One of them detailed the bard sneezing in wisp Venti's face, while another one depicted him eating an apple.

Unlike the spirits in the original Sky: CotL, there were a lot more memories. You both ran and flew around everywhere in Mondstadt.

After the final memory, the spark took you to black figure in front of the statue of Barbatos, in a kneeling position. Holding your candle for it, it slowly cracked apart, revealing a golden spirit that everyone around, including Venti, could see.

"I'm... back. Thank you, your grace," the Nameless Bard said, and everyone just stared in silence much to the awkward tension you just created.

@floofeh-purpi Alright since I'm too tired to understand the rest of Sky: CotL lore have this schizophrenic version instead lmfao

And now I need to work on that Forest Island post

[ahlaway]

egg and server consistency: a retrospective

so, the other day I got hit with the thought, "who's even still in the qsmp anymore?" in a like, logging in consistently sense. not a leaving permanently sense. and it made me realize how this drop happens every time the eggs go away.

like don't get me wrong. I know the french are gone in solidarity with pomme, and some others likely don't want to join until they know what's going on with the legal stuff.

but eggs in general. why do they do this.

I've seen people say the eggs are the heart of the server. they're the core of it. and I think that's really unfair. like. don't get me wrong. I am an egg loving fool. but to say they are the beating heart and core of the server ignores the cultural and language boarders qsmp has managed to cross.

The meetups. The culture exchange. The language learning. Bad wanting YD to log on because they can actually communicate on the server. Aka friendships that would never have happened otherwise.

THAT is the heart of this server.

However, thinking back on Chunsik (춘식)'s introduction, I think the eggs' core purpose was hit on the head. They are a built in friend. A built in lore mate. You take care of them, and they keep you from being alone in the world.

Do you have a weird timezone? One of the eggs are bound to be up. Most of the streamers at cons during a new members arrival? Whelp here come the egg squad. Your character has lore they need to keep secret but they need a trusted sounding board to show the audience? Whelp that's your whole child. Who could you trust more? Your characters egg shaped child sure does! YOU REFUSE TO GO TO SLEEP MR HALO? Well between like 5 eggs surely someone can keep you company. You don't think anyone cares about your characters spiral?

The system was designed, on purpose or not, to make the players CARE. This was their friend that they could only see on here, because of the behind the scenes rules, that they had to help to keep around on a mechanic level. So of course they were logging in day after day.

[shnowyfox]

honses

and some of the wip screenies teehee

BUT WAIT! THERES MORE!

soundwave and his herd of idiot sons. T-cogs are.. lets just say.. silly. in this. No transformations so no keeping them in his chest fucked up kangaroo style, he carries them around in a wagon (which i will give a better design to later) laserbeak and buzzsaw's build is based off of a griffin and the cybertronian form they have in g1 and wfc/foc. ravage gets to have a jaguar body based on his g1 form and his upperhalf is largely based off of his beast wars design (i will nver read ravage's voice without the accent btw like ik he gets a voice in g1 but no bw ravage has infected my bones) I also need to do blaster since he and soundwave are main characters but im silly and lazy and i havent rlly gotten to much of him in idw yet

im kind of obsessed with b i almost didnt include him because where the fuck do i put him?? i found a very good and very funny place for him. the first comic deadass might be about him because it seems to be a good introduction to the world and lore to follow him? trying to do better at writing bee and elita, together and apart. almost killing him is like a one time thing. probably.

I'll start tagging the au when the first comic drops i think. if i get that far. idk im feeling confident in this one!

again shouting out Energ00n's tfone apprentice au for being part of the inspiration for this whole thing :)

[heauxplesslydevoted]

The Pitt excels at dropping lore without making it feel clunky and expositional. Within minutes we learned that Santos had a friend who lost their life, Whitaker is homeless (and knows nothing about martial arts lmfao), Abbott is an amputee who’s in therapy, Mohan is a friendless loser (AFFECTIONATE)

It helps that the writing is so tight and every single character we meet is fully fleshed out upon introduction. It’s rare to see character driven shows these days.