#(both in characters and also the world and lore)

[sosbanfach64]

the language of flowers: an analysis of play #33- marigolds, bluebells & hugh

the language of flowers, or floriography, is a communication method in which different types of flowers convey secret messages. it was particularly popular during the victorian era. 

mb&h obviously mentions flowers a lot. the exact flowers that are in it are marigolds, bluebells, the flaschem naschem orchid, and daisies (which hugh asks for in the florist’s). and bonus! since the longform is set in 1870 it actually makes sense lore-wise!!!!!!

i’ve been obsessed with slang, code and language in general since forever, and essentially this post is just me nerding out. there’s a lot so it’s under the cut. i’ll reblog with a condensed version if you are interested but don’t want to read all of this :D

note- flowers do not have consistent meanings throughout all floriographic sources. if you’re interested, the book i have used as my reference is The Language Of Flowers by margaret pickston. this book was published in 1968 but its contents date back to 1913, so i am relatively confident in its relevance.

bluebell: constancy

hugh is unexposed to the outside world due to his mother’s protectiveness and also fear. he doesn’t go to school and has never Bread a book (i love that line can you tell). he is expected to have fun “within the confines of the house”. essentially his life fucking sucks and every day is the same. probably

this would have lasted forever without inga’s influence- especially because she didn’t just help him see the world, she solved the problem that stopped him seeing it in the first place (by standing up for him (and also laden-hose dancing)).

another way of looking at it- hugh having bluebell eyes represents the monotonous and repetitive (CONSTANT!) nature of his life. the reveal of *why* he has bluebell eyes is simultaneously the reveal of why his life is this way, and gives a sense closure. this causes the constancy to end as the play ends.

marigold: despair

inga caused despair in a multitude of ways. hugh is shown the outside world through her and then has it snatched from him. hugh’s longing to impress inga leads him into the forest where he learns the truth about his parents. he also watches them both die :/ however the despair is also relevant because it is an antonym for hope, and ultimately inga is a cause of hope in hugh- for freedom, love(?), a better life in general.

despair is notable in her own character as well as to the plot. she is sent away by her father at a young age. once she returns to otterinberg he is intent on putting her to work in the florist’s, and while she does want to help with the business, otto sees her more of a worker than a daughter. we can infer that he has had this mindset since she was young, and sent her away so that she could be as useful as possible. their relationship grew in literal and emotional distance, meaning all her hope of a loving father was lost. she was also bullied at the boarding school. this likely lead to further resentment towards him

and also prophecy

hugh tells inga she has marigold eyes upon first meeting her. then, she (indirectly) leads hugh to venture into the forest and meet his father. inga being represented by a marigold certainly is prophetic in itself in terms of despair, as she reveals things that cause despair. but there’s also the fact she helps him complete the ‘prophecy’ of reuniting with the flaschem naschem.

ALSO!!!! inga canonically has dreams in which she can see the entire forest, including the clearing with the blue tree. she has never actually seen the flaschem naschem before, yet still knows where it is and what it looks like. this means she has *prophetic dreams* :0

orchid: a belle (beautiful woman- specifically the most beautiful [at an event])

hugh has a dream in which he is convinced he needs to get the orchid for inga. he sees her not just as beautiful, but the most beautiful person ever, (because he has never seen a girl before but shh). he wants to find the flaschem naschem to impress her. the orchid in this way symbolises his love for her and that to him she is a ‘belle’.

“brown-eyed daisy” (rudbeckia): justice

there is no such thing as a “brown-eyed daisy” as far as i’m aware (and if there is it’s not called that!!). HOWEVER there is a flower called rudbeckia that looks like a daisy. and its common names include ‘yellow daisy’ and ‘brown-eyed susan’, so i’ve chosen to believe that this is what she was referring to.

these daisies are relevant because of the justice she helps hugh have by the end of the longform. he gains freedom and a friend. his mother allows him this and shows that she cares for him by sacrificing herself for him. his evil manipulative tree father bleeds to death (hip hip hooray). she essentially is promising this to him when she offers to give him a “brown-eyed daisy”

“giant daisy” (oxeye): a joker

simply, inga is showing likes hugh’s humour, such as the “marigold eyes” and “is that a woman” comments. if we read into it, this is the most love anyone has shown to her in a long time, what with being away and her asshole dad (that’s right fuck you otto). and she wants to show him that even though he is joking/slightly delusional, she appreciates it

thanks if you’ve made it all the way to the end! feel free to ask any questions!!!! alternative/additional points are very welcome :-)

i’m planning on analysing other plays in which flowers play an important role, such as priscilla’s final petal and divorces & teddy bears. let me know if you’d be interested in any other specific ones!

also, thank you to @ilikeasstrology for reading my original early-stage ramblings about this !!!!!! you’re the best

[fiendishfinesse]

ℌ𝔢𝔩𝔩, 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔩, 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔩 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔦𝔱'𝔰 𝔩𝔞𝔴𝔰

❝ In my world, in my HOUSE, there is order, and there is decorum. ❞

⚠️ Trigger Warning: This blog is R-rated. I write mature and dark themes from time to time. I do my best to tag potential triggers and upsetting content, but I’m only human, something might slip through. If you’re sensitive to some DDDNE topics, please proceed with care. Mature content is tagged as #tw:nsft — [ infernal indulgences ], if you wish to blacklist it.

I. OC-Friendly & Duplicate-Friendly

I’m very OC-friendly (I love it!). That said, I’m not comfortable with self-inserts or projection characters. If you're playing an OC, I’ll take time to review your bio and find common plot hooks. That might make my replies slower, but it’s so our characters can have a more meaningful interaction. I'm also duplicate/twin friendly. Bring on the devils.

II. Interactions

I don’t mind personal or non-RP blogs (I adore y'all), as long as they don’t interact with RP threads. Liking the post is totally fine. Just don’t reblog my RP threads with others. My headcanons and OOC posts are free to reblog and comment on.

III. Mature Themes

Smutty interactions only happen with mutual interest between muses and if the mun is on board too. No worries, even if Raphael flirts, feel free to shut him down or slap him. I won’t take it personally. In fact, I won’t take anything you do or say to him personally. Go wild, lol. He’s a villain, and I’m fully aware he’s a dick (and being a dick comes with consequences)

IV. Character Portrayal

I stick close to canon but expand where needed. Some liberties may appear to smooth out RP flow or enhance character dynamics. You’ll catch bits of my personal interpretation, especially in headcanons. Raphael is a character we know little about, so I take creative liberties to fill in the blanks where canon is vague or silent.

V. RP Settings

I primarily roleplay in Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons settings. My Raphael has verses and AUs. Canon divergences and alternate universes are welcome. I only do crossovers sometimes. If I don’t know your fandom at all, I probably won’t do it. I would rather prefer to at least know a bit about your universe.

VI. Responses & Writing Style

I write in third person, usually 1 to 5 paragraphs, but I can adjust. No pressure to match pace or length. Asks and memes are always open. Feel free to turn them into threads or not if you’d like. I don’t care how you format. Be happy. I write RPs both on the Tumblr and on Discord (ask for my username there!)

VII. Shipping & Smut

I love shipping and smut, don’t get me wrong, but that���s not all this blog is about. I’m open to a variety of dynamics and connections. Platonic. Romantic. Sexual. Chaotic. Let’s discuss and see what works.

VIII. Priorities

I’m here for fun plots and good stories. Some days I’ll gravitate toward short threads or low-effort replies. Other days, I’m in deep and want to explore specific themes. It’s nothing personal . I don’t reply in order. I go where the inspiration hits.

IX. Experience

I’ve been roleplaying and playing RPGs for years on my native language and platforms, but on Tumblr and in English is a first for me! It’s been a blast so far :)

X. No Pressure

No pressure to reply quickly. No pressure to match my length. Prioritize your mental health and what makes writing fun for you. Let me know what you need and what works best for you. I’ll always respect your preferences, boundaries, and limits around certain topics. > Communication is key. <

Meet the mortal behind the devil:

Hi. I’m Lyco, a 28yo Brazilian scribbling devils for fun. Always up for chats, memes, lore dumps, cursed ships, and unhinged questions. Tag me. Drop threads. Reply whenever. I’m just here for a good time. Villain lover. Beer enjoyer. Gothic lit addict with a tendency for writing annoying purple prose and poetic nonsense (sorry about that? lol). I code, design, work out, and occasionally touch grass. Mostly active at night and may disappear for a bit when life gets loud. Anyway, nice to meet ya 👋🏻

Note 01: MUN ≠ MUSE. Don’t confuse the two. 😉 Note 02: Want my Discord? Just ask! I don’t bite... unless you’re into that.

[notsherlockthx]

My name is C. Auguste Dupin.

I was advised—relentlessly—to be “more open” and “socially engaged.” I have elected to interpret that as: “write to strangers in a semi-public forum and hope nothing catches fire.” So here I am.

I find some peace in methodical habits—organizing notes, polishing silver cufflinks, or recording the quiet inconsistencies in a room. I also enjoy riddles, books with unreliable narrators, and the brief hour between midnight and dawn, when the world forgets to perform.

If you are in need of conversation—or a sharper eye on your case—I can offer both. I do not promise warmth, but I do promise honesty.

🔎// hellloo!! thanks for peeking in !! this is my RP blog for Dupin, the newest unnamed character of my own design (inspired by Poe’s Rue Morgue)

Some things to know:

Please be kind and respectful to everyone here

No NSFW (this is Nevermore, not the Red Death’s masquerade)

I’ll try to stay in character as much as I can but we just saw this guy ...sooooooo

I don't have FastPass, so no spoilers

Feel free to ask him lore, send scenarios, or ship people if you want! (He’ll deny his feelings, but I won’t.)

[deimcs]

[VARRIC] Let's just try not to do that again. Bianca hates being turned on her friends.

[blackkatdraws2]

This little NPC is lost. The Narrator [Black] has come to guide her back to where she needs to be. [Blank Scripts AU]

I imagine Black would be a lot more tolerant toward his NPCs since they're basically just the Dungeons spawns, and by extension, his own creations.

[If you're familiar with manhwas / manhuas that features the dungeon / system genre, you'd be able to understand this AU a lot easier. The majority of my inspiration for worldbuilding came from those specific genres.]

[NOTE: 'Dungeon' is just another term for the Parable. Technically, Black owns a Dungeon and the Parable is just a small part of it. The Dungeon itself is much, much larger.]

For context, the comic below references this post about the Dungeon's children/guard dogs.

[They're more like the immune system since all they do is make sure the (body) is safe.]

[The reason the Narrator [Black] considers them his children is that the Dungeon is feeding off his energy and in turn shares the 'nutrients' to the monsters it produces, which transforms them into an image that resembles his power.]

And the old man below is Joseph!

Joseph is NOT AN NPC! He is a person who exists outside of the Dungeon!

[There are two separate 'worlds' for this AU. Inside the Dungeon (where most of the game-like stuff is happening) and the world outside (pretty much their normal world.)]

[There is a secret third world, and that's our world. Our reality.]

These characters are not actually important or anything, I just made them to make the AU feel more lively. To make a world that exists, you know?

When the Narrator [Black] first established himself in their world, he found a growing problem with homelessness. Not understanding human norms or why this has become a problem in the first place, he offers (tricks) them into working for him as janitors for the Dungeon and they accept for the money.

Most of them left after they got paid, but Joseph was one of the people who stayed. He doesn't have anywhere else to go and has no ambitions in life. He just wishes to live a peaceful life with food and a roof over his head.

Joseph defaults to referring to the Narrator [Black] with feminine terms due to his appearance despite his voice. The Narrator [Black] is not the type to care for such terms anyway so he doesn't care how other people refer to him as long as there's respect.

--------------

This post focuses more on the worldbuilding and background aspects of the AU! There are a lot more in store for the Blank Scripts AU, and I want to explore more on how the characters might interact with their surroundings and how this would work to make a world that makes sense.

It would be so cool if people made self-inserts or OCs for my AU actually. I'd love to see how you guys would work with my stuff. Play around with it like a barbie world for your little barbie dolls. Be canon compliant, be canon divergent, who cares, have fun.

[psychhound]

the more i dm vs play other ttrpgs the more frustrated i get with how npcs work in 5e. my game centers around a small town with a recurring cast of npcs, as well as newly introduced npcs each arc that my players frequently adopt, and every time i open my Documents (tone: weary) filled with npcs i just wish 5e npcs were Built Different(tm) to pcs. obviously theres statblocks and stuff you can use but if youre working under the assumption these npcs are Full People who are going to take up space in the pcs lives youre going to be building them like you would a pc and frankly it sucks for a couple reasons

one, if i want to introduce a new batch of npcs of a level that will prove imposing for my pcs to fight, it shouldnt take me 10 hours to make them. two, once the fight is happening it would be great if they didnt have so many abilities and spells that im just hoping and praying i can make them function even a little smartly without grinding the whole fight to a halt every time its a spellcasters turn

and third, which i think deserves its own paragraph(s), i wish npcs didnt have the same set of skills that pcs get

i like trying to give my guys, pcs or npcs alike, pretty high mods on things, bc, you know, good for the game and also big numbers fun. but some skills are either inherently useless for an npc to have, or imply a loss of player agency if i was rolling them

like, charisma skills. deception is really useful for an npc to have, because then pcs have to roll insight against it to learn information. persuasion, however, is not something an npc should really ever roll. if theyre rolling persuasion on a pc, that player is experiencing a loss of agency over how their pc reacts to a request. if theyre rolling it on another npc, youre now just playing dollies with yourself while the pcs watch. if im ever choosing between persuasion and deception for an npc, im always going to give them proficiency in deception even if that makes less sense for their character. same problem for intimidation. either youre telling the pcs how to feel or playing dollies with yourself

stealth and sleight of hand are overall way more helpful for npcs than for pcs who arent rogues. and perception is far more useful for an npc to have than like ... survival. when are your npcs going to be rolling survival? if you have a ranger or ranger-like character whos helping your pcs navigate wilderness then why does it make more sense for them to be rolling survival and potentially mess up something they are meant to be good at, causing potentially unfun complications for your party, than just ... knowing that character can help them navigate, so they do? especially if thats the reason that npc is there?

idk like my players respond very well to the npcs being Full People and i do think theres a level of enjoyment to like. comparing pc and npc stats or players learning what feats an npc took or lore around subclasses but also. also im so miserly and decrepit and my google doc of my four bad guys this arc and their spells is 59 pages long im Tired Save Me

[deepseacarousels]

Introducing: my tragic magical girl anime featuring time fuckery, genderqueer themes, and a fuck ton of existentialism! Also featuring: excessively complicated lore over a year in the making!

Tried to go with a poster vibe for this one! I imagine this would be on the front of some kind of special DVD series release for it… well, I can dream lol

[sidabro]

imagine if i cared more about the holy roman empire which has a bazilion times more lore and reaources to learn about than my region of non-choice. I would be very insufferable probably.

[lord-squiggletits]

"IDW Megatron got a redemption arc and Starscream didn't it's so unfair--"

Do not slander Metalhawk, Bumblebee, and Windblade's hard work trying to fix this man they didn't work for half the continuity (and in 2/3 of their cases) literally die and come back as zombies/ghosts for y'all to be out there saying no one helped Starscream get redeemed and have friends and be a better person

[akkivee]

nabbing from twitter lol

who in hypmic:

caught ur attention first: ichiro

first fav: ichiro and jakurai

current fav: kuukou💜💜💜

first least fav: samatoki-sama lol

least fav now: ?????

fav division: bat 💜💜💜

fav ship: ichikuu, riodice, mtrOT3

fav song: kaigen and osaka billion dreams for fav stage song even tho no one asked LOL

fav media: drama tracks and manga

fav official art: i have a lot lmao but these came to mind

[cyndrastic]

hey remember when i said i was drawing Vic Chaos as a milf?

alternates with different lighting (with and without words) and a time lapse under the cut! (btw the words on the cover all have to do with lore in my post covid au so send asks if you’re interested <3)

tw for nudity (without genitalia) in the time lapse cause i shaded the whole body before drawing the dress

[doctahchang]

would like to know the lore of my own oc that i have had for like ten years

edit: found an old sketch of her... i basically drew her for the first time eons ago and haven't changed her design ever since (sad that i won't be able to find those drawing again)

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Sunforge

sequel to The Dawnhounds

fantasy/scifi with bio- cyber- & god-punk elements

follows a crew of revolutionary pirates who become stranded in a city in ruins, overrun by a hostile militia, who must find a way to the people who can help them disable the technology that’s stopping them from escaping

and find themselves pulled deeper into the conflicts and history between the strange gods who give them their powers, and the complex history of their world

mainly centres Kiada, told between flashbacks of her past in the city, and the present

arc from the author! out August 6

[roaldseth]

OGEN, WITCH OF THE BLACK BRANCH A concocter of conjuring ink, Ogen travels the peninsula and offers his expertise to other traveling witches in a pinch. The renown of his knowledge and skill in the trade makes him sought after amongst the upper echelons, but his concoctions do not sell for common currancy. His ink is only bought at the price of a witch’s merit, one determined by the hand of one who stares at the abyss of forbidden magic, the healing arts, waiting for it to answer back to him from the black.

Listen. I know I said it as a joke because Olruggio enjoyers would love Ogen, but I do think WHA fans would enjoy Octopath Traveler actually.

[laggingbehindreality]

Yk there's people who saw Millia and Ky (pre Xrd) and thought they were siblings or smthn because blonde blue eyes and blue and white cloths. Idk why but I saw AC Millia and first thought she was Bridget's sister

i

wait hang on

yeah no wait i can see it

[lord-squiggletits]

I wish to love and appreciate idw optimus more too. But I also don’t want to read through the entirety of IDW 1.0. Can you please recommend me any specific issues/parts?

My best friend and fellow IDW Optimus lover made a post compiling all the comics with major story beats involving Optimus. Her list has a lot of the same things mine does, but also a lot more specific issues because she actually knows which specific issues of which series you can read specifically for ones focused on IDW Optimus. We don't agree on everything (I love some comics she dislikes and vice versa), but I would recommend her list simply because it's the most well-documented and thorough. Link I also have a lot of far less coherent but still genuine posts about IDW OP on my #idw op love tag.

As for specific parts I would recommend... since you don't want to read through all of IDW1, I'll go ahead and recommend you things based on in-universe chronological order rather than story release order, but if anything here interests you then I would recommend reading IDW1 in release order so that you get a better grasp of the story's context and how new lore was given out over time:

Chaos Theory and Police Action by James Roberts (The Transformers 2009 issues 22-23): I love love LOVE the way JRO writes Optimus talking to Megatron during the present day, it's very IDW-Optimus flavored because of how blunt, abrasive, and snappy Optimus is. There's a part in the comic where Megatron claims that he "knows [Optimus] better than anyone else," and he's right, but it's also true that Optimus knows Megatron well enough to see that he's bullshitting and it's very entertaining watching Optimus slowly lose his patience with him. I love the dialogue especially, no one (canon or fandom) has ever quite written the same IDW OP who's in this set of comics. It's also the most MegOP comic of all time because the sexual tension and the subliminal imagery of them doing BDSM together is unreal, plus it really captures their dynamic of two old soldiers who snap together with chemistry despite (or perhaps because of) being such long-time enemies. They just UNDERSTAND each other so well. Also, as a bonus point, Chaos Theory is where the pre-war lore for IDW1 began being published, so if you read Chaos Theory then the context for future pre-war lore makes a little more sense.

Shadowplay by James Roberts (More Than Meets the Eye issues 10-11): More pre-war lore that picks up where Chaos Theory/Police action left off. Important because it establishes a lot of IDW OP's character relationships, especially with "the Senator," Roller, and to a degree Ratchet and some minor side characters. I don't really know what to say about this besides it's just really fucking fun to read and features IDW OP getting to do cool shit like fight bad guys, investigate conspiracies, and do heists while also establishing one of his key character traits: being disastrously gay for suspicious men that he places entirely too much trust in to tell him what the right thing to do is.

Spotlight: Orion Pax by James Roberts: Okay, I'm really sorry for recommending JRO's stuff because it feels like favoritism and I don't even think JRO does the best version of IDW OP, it's just going in in-universe chronological order means that a lot of JRO stuff ends up first on the list. This one doesn't really have much of consequence in it and is honestly one of the weaker Spotlight issues, but like Shadowplay, it involves Orion Pax doing fun action shit and having way too much trust in a suspicious man (a new one from the suspicious man in Shadowplay).

The Autocracy Trilogy (Autocracy, Monstrosity, Primacy) by Chris Metzen: Oh my fucking god this is THE IDW Optimus to me, this trilogy is literally what made my ears perk up to even start liking IDW OP because it's what took me from "Optimus Prime, that's the guy who's the super awesome leader that everyone likes and is a paragron to everyone, yeah I know him" to "Oh.... holy shit this is such a good plot/worldbuilding, Optimus has so much CONFLICT and DRAMA with other people." It covers one of my favorite periods of the general Transformers formula, namely pre-war and early war plot events as conflicts come to a boiling point, there's political conflicts and personal conflicts, the planet is falling to shit and everyone is trying to escape and things are as depressing and scary as you would expect for a war that's literally about to consume a whole planet. I found the general plotlines to be gripping and intense (Autocracy is the weakest in this regard, but the writing gets better with each book) and I really like seeing how Optimus grapples with leadership. Especially the negative parts where people hate/fear him because of his association with Zeta's regime (the previous Prime, who Orion worked for), call his judgment into question, refuse his calls to action or waver in their faith in him, and so forth. I found it to be a really nuanced yet sympathetic view of IDW Optimus that made me fall in love with him. Because really, the thing that humanizes a character the most is making them flawed, and Autocracy trilogy Optimus is so incredibly flawed and conflicted. And also it shows him being shit on by other characters in a way that's well written in a plot that makes sense and doesn't feel like the entire plot is conspiring to shit all over him.

The Death of Optimus Prime by James Roberts and John Barber: This comic is basically the transition from phase 1 to phase 2, it establishes the branching plotlines of MTMTE and exRID, so this is another one of those comics that will help you understand IDW1 better if you want to read for more than just Optimus. Anyways, DoOP is great because it has a similar vibe to the Autocracy trilogy in that society is chaos and full of people who fucking hate Optimus' guts for the role he played in the war. You can also compare/contrast the way OP was before the war and early in the war versus the way he is after the war and see how much the war changed him (Chaos Theory also kind of is like this but it more shows bitchy Optimus specifically in his dynamic with Megatron). It also features a fair amount of Optimus Heroic Moments, Optimus Brooding, and Optimus being so fucking depressed he's literally sad when he wakes up and realizes he's not dead dude get some fucking therapy please I'm begging you--

Punishment by John Barber: This skips ahead quite a bit in the story but I think stands decently well on its own without having to understand the wider context. It's one of Barber's best-written stories and one of the only ones I've come back to reread for its own sake. It features Optimus trying to solve the murder-mystery of a bunch of Decepticons, featuring really cool plot conflicts like Optimus trying to navigate post-war society and the tensions that still linger from the Autobot-Decepticon war. I really like this one because it has that whole "not everyone loves OP and a lot of people hate him for justified reasons" thing that makes IDW OP a much more 3D character, PLUS it has some politics with the way Decepticons are treated post war. And I think it does really interesting things with Optimus in terms of showing how he DOES have this idealistic, merciful side that wants people to choose peace and letting go of vengeance, but of course it's not so easy to expect that of people after a 4 million year war. So when people inevitably choose violence, Optimus gets frustrated and angry and lashes out in a way that feels very real and understandable. It's a really good example of a comic that shows IDW OP in a nuanced way, showcasing both his virtues and flaws in a complicated situation that shows that there's no easy solution to these problems and no way for Optimus to escape without getting his hands dirty. Unlike future comics which involve OP being in complicated situations but instead the plot is super contrived and seems to overwhelmingly shit on OP without ever mentioning the very obvious ways that he could be defended, creating a story that's conceptually fascinating but incredibly mediocre in execution.

If I had to recommend any single one of these to read, I would recommend the Autocracy trilogy the most because it's literally the story that made me love IDW Optimus and made me realize "whoa, this guy is super nuanced and not what I expected of him." That's not to say that no other Optimi have depth and nuance, but I think the Autocracy trilogy was great for me personally as one of the first IDW1 comics I read. It struck a really good balance between "uh Optimus was part of some bad things that warrant being shit on" and "Optimus is struggling to overcome those bad associations he did, succeeding with some people and failing with others" and "Optimus is an optimist who has faith in others even when they don't have faith in themselves." Also, as a bonus, the Autocracy trilogy also features cunty murder-husband Megatron, an interesting character arc for Hot Rod, and the Dinobots as really interesting supporting characters (including their leader, Grimlock, having a cute veteran-rookie dynamic with Hot Rod that I wish we got more of).