#*:・ﾟscience & exploration. ↻ arc. main. ✧´

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Magic Systems

Magic - change wrought through unnatural means

Most fantasy can be placed along a spectrum where there are 3 main points: soft magic at one end, hard magic at the other, and a middle ground between the two.

Soft Magic

Magic that is not well-defined for the reader.

Generally, we don’t understand where the magic comes from, who can use it, or what its limitations are.

Readers can see this type of magic being used.

But they can never anticipate when magic will be used in the plot because they can’t begin to guess how it works.

You can’t break a rule if the rules don’t exist!

Most stories that feature this system will have the magic users be secondary characters, allowing them to avoid explaining exactly how the magic works.

It’s also argued that without knowing everything about the magic, it tends to hold more wonder and excitement for readers.

Hard Magic

Has very rigid boundaries.

Readers know where the magic comes from, how it’s used, who uses it, and what its boundaries and limitations are.

We know the limitations of the characters and can understand why they can’t simply magic themselves out of any particular challenge.

Stories with hard magic systems do not need to avoid the main character being a magic-wielder, as they have the capacity to explain to the reader what is going on.

A lot of writers this system because it gives them very explicit guidelines to follow in their plot and creates some more satisfying pay-offs for readers.

The Middle Ground

The meeting point between the soft and hard systems.

We might understand a bit about the way the magic works, but not all our questions are answered.

While most of the content adheres to rules, these rules aren’t fully explored.

This system relies on the reader’s suspension of disbelief.

The main character can be a magic-wielder or not, and it’s up to the writer to determine when magic will be used in terms of plot.

How to Choose a System

You can and should use these guiding principles to build your magic system. Remember that you don’t have to choose one or the other. Your system can draw from aspects of both. Just stay aware of the weaknesses of the path you choose, and ensure you utilize its strengths.

Use a hard magic system if:

You are going to use magic to solve problems

Your audience is accustomed to the tropes of hard magic

You are okay with jumping through hoops to expand your system

Your magic doesn’t convey a theme

Use a soft magic system if:

You want to convey a theme through magic

You want to create a sense of wonder

You want the ability to expand easily

You want to be accessible to a broader audience

Your magic won’t regularly be used to solve problems

Branches of Magic

Like most writing processes, there isn’t really a correct place to begin designing a magic system. A common, and efficient, place to start, however, is by choosing what type of magic system(s) you wish to employ, such as:

Nature-based magic: water, earth, fire, air, and everything in between

Divination magic: see beyond sight and peer through time and space

Conjuring magic: move objects through space over any distance

Psychic magic: master the world of the mind

Life and death magic: tap into the very forces of life, death, and un-death with this surprisingly versatile collection

Animal- or creature-exclusive magic: some creatures just do it better

Magitech systems: the blurring lines of sorcery and science give magic a next-gen, high-tech flair

Eclectic magic: it doesn’t have to be “real” magic to have a real effect

Uncommon magic systems: the unsung heroes of fantasy magic

AALC Method

How to create your own magic system using the AALC (Appearance, Abilities, Limits & Cost) Method

Appearance

What the magic looks like

Makes the world feel more exotic

Can cause problems for characters but cannot solve them

Usually tied to a character arc

Abilities

What the magic does

Points calculated based on magical effect, range, number of people affected, and duration

Characters have a finite amount of fuel (mana) to use abilities

More powerful abilities require more fuel

The fuel does not have to be overt for the audience to understand

If points not overt, cannot solve conflicts unless a cost system is added

Limits

Unlimited uses of magical abilities

Abilities stratified in codified levels defined by their limits

The more the levels' abilities and limits are known by the audience, the more they can be used to solve conflicts

Focused on clever uses of abilities against stronger foes

Cost system can be added to enhance dramatic moments

Cost

Costs must be greater than or equal to abilities to make them dramatically satisfying

Costs can include time, exhaustion, materials, sanity, morality, etc.

Adds dilemma to magic by forcing characters to make choices

The greater the character's sacrifice, the more audience satisfaction at conflict resolution

Each system builds on the previous ones, so that Cost Systems use all four, while Point Systems only care about Abilities and Appearance.

Multiple systems can exist within the same story, and systems can harden over the course of the story.

The Force, for instance, has been a Soft, Point, Level, and Cost System depending on who wrote it at the time.

SOFT SYSTEMS (Appearance Only)

Window Dressing - magic for secondary characters; can instigate conflict but cannot solve it; e.g., Gandalf

Soft Villain - No explanation or upper limits needed; makes villains more powerful to make heroes greater underdogs; e.g., The Emperor

Chosen One - Unknown power keeps hero safe throughout story; can be considered plot armor unless earned through character arc

Sort Hero Incomplete - Curse or positive ability the character cannot control; hero still learning limits of ability at story's end; powers and arc continued in next adventure

Soft Hero Complete - Hero embraces ability to complete arc and solve main conflict; magic must become harder in subsequent adventures

POINT SYSTEMS (Appearance + Abilities)

Points Opaque - Non-explicit reservoir of energy fuels powers; cannot solve main problems without cost option because characters finding hidden energy reserve feels like deus ex machina

Points Hard - Both abiliites and points system must be explicit like in video games; becomes about resource management; easy to understand but takes sense of wonder out of magic

LEVEL SYSTEMS (Appearance + Abilities + Limits)

Soft Level Static - Unchanging power without upper limits; cannot solve conflicts because feels repetitive; power must be used cleverly; e.g., Wolverine's healing factor

Soft Level Advancing - Increased powers or new powers with unknown limits; cannot solve conflicts unless tied to a character arc like Soft Hero Complete, at which point "unlocks" new abilities

Hard Level Static - Unchanging abilities with clear-cut limits; can solve conflicts so long as setup is properly seeded, usually resulting in sacrifice; e.g., Genie

Hard Level Advancing - Well-established abilities with limits; can solve conflicts based upon clever uses of abilities, usually against stronger foes; e.g., Airbender

COST SYSTEMS (Appearance + Abilities + Limits + Cost)

Static Cost - Well-established cost remains consistent for each use of ability; can solve conflicts since based on personal sacrifice

Cost Fluctuating - Costs change based upon dramatic need; costs must be greater than or equal to ability; possible costs include lost time, money, sanity, health, memory, life, morality, etc.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ⚜ Writing Notes ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs Writing Notes: Magic System ⚜ Fictional Items; Poisons ⚜ Fantasy

[hyperlexichypatia]

Even if I weren't philosophically a psychiatric abolitionist, I think I would still hate the way fiction uses psychiatry and pop psychology and "mental illness," because it's just lazy characterization.

Fiction has the potential for rich and illustrative exploration of character motivations, desires, influences, inner lives, values, decision-making, and you went with... "a brain disease made them do it"? Really?

"Why did this character try to kill his own sister?" "Because he knew that she would recognize their grandmother's coin collection and would figure out that her brother was the one who stole their uncle's inheritance." ^This is interesting! What a conniving, manipulative character! I feel rewarded for investing in this book!

"Because he's a Malignant Narcissist Sociopath." ^This is boring as fuck. I read this whole book and the explanation ends up being "ontologically bad person disorder"?

Occasionally it circles around to So Godawful It's Hilarious, like Batwoman, which centered an entire season arc around "The Bad Guy is Bad because of a magic brain science button that switched his brain to 'evil' and he needs another magic brain science button to switch his brain back to 'good.'" Literally borrowed the plot of Bart Simpson's evil Krusty doll. And I don't care about creator intent -- according to me, this is an absolutely hilarious parody of psychiatric culture. Yeah, that is the logical conclusion of "brain disease made them do it" bullshit, good job!

I started to compare it to the "devil made them do it" trope, but that's unfair -- there are a lot of interesting, nuanced demonic possession stories, and the idea of a "devil" can be used to explore the nature of morality, free will, forces beyond our control. I don't believe in literal "real" (inasmuch as "real" is a meaningful concept) demonic possession, but at least it's an interesting fictional lens. Neurobullshit isn't even interesting.

I've seen criticism lately of stories where "the characters talk as if they've been to therapy", and sure, that annoys me too. But I've also seen this criticism applied when characters just have a modicum of emotional awareness or expression, and... do you think therapy is a prerequisite for having feelings? Even in a real-life context, I've seen people say things like "She must have been through a lot of therapy to get to that point" when a person, like, stands up for themself or expresses their wishes. Do you think no one did these things before therapy was invented? Once I saw a story written in the 1940s praised for its depiction of the main character's grief at his best friend's death, because it was "remarkable for a time before post-traumatic disorders were widely understood." Do you really think no one was writing about grief and loss before modern pathologizing terminology? Do you think people were all emotionless robots until someone invented feelings in 1995?

Psychiatry is an inaccurate way of conceptualizing human emotional experience; it's an oppressive way of conceptualizing human emotional experience; and it's also an incredibly boring way of conceptualizing human emotional experience.

[multifandomloverthrowaway]

Viktor Was a Wasted Character

(But are we really surprised?)

This is my first post ever on Tumblr so please be nice! This is in no way hate towards any particular character or ship; personally I love Viktor as a character and all his ships, and that’s the main reason why I��m posting this. I also know like no LoL lore, so please bear with me. I’m just going to rant and dump my thoughts out here since I don’t really have fans in person to talk to about this, and it’s really bugging me lol!

That being said, I just watched season two, and after sitting with it’s ending, I do not think that the story told in the season is well thought out, and it can be very heavily seen in how characters are treated both in the show and in the fandom. It’s quite disheartening to see the fandom going through the peak-fandom era treatment of mlm and wlw relationships, and the overall treatment of the characters can be a little trashy. How people see Viktor can be very degrading and objectifying, and the whole ship wars and fallout with JayVik is absolutely disgusting. It makes me feel that many watchers did not fully understand Viktor’s character. And to a certain extent, the writers did not care for it either.

Viktor’s character represents what would happen if a Zaunite were able to become “successful” in the eyes of Piltover. Someone who had the intellect and ambition to supersede the conditions in Zaun and were able to compete with those raised in the “better city”. Thus, the questions of “How did they get to their place in Piltover?”, “What flaws do they have?”, “What is holding them back?”, “What is their experience in Piltover like?”, “Are they accepted?”, “Is there prejudice?”, and “What was their life in Zaun like?” are the core questions that make the character and their arc. This character is particularly important because this is the character that shows that those who are oppressed, no matter how “good” they are, will never be good enough in the eyes of the oppressor, especially if they have faults of their own. Viktor is fundamental to the message of season one Arcane. He helps to complete the story in its exploration of class, social, and political divide by personifying that “what if it could work” gap.

Viktor naturally then must be an internally strong character. Giving Viktor a disability is not just good inclusion, but also a good internal motivator. We as the audience then see that his key goal to help Zaun is not rooted in pity for a former home, but rather the cause of an injustice that he was a victim to. We see his steadfastness in going after opportunities that he thinks will benefit Zaun and humanity, and constant relentless means to get there. This is in stark contrast to his personal life. His deeply rooted sentiment that he must be alone because of his disability, along with perceptions of his disability and birthplace, are why he is a closed person only reaching for science, despite being quite empathetic. They also set up his two main conflicts:

1. He is dying with little time to finish his goal of helping Zaun and humanity

and

2. The people around him want to weaponize his creation into something that can be used against his hometown

These conflicts are where the plot fumbled the character. Firstly, we do not see any ties between him and Zaun other than his illness and that he grew up there. Where are his parents that supposedly love him so much? What is his relationship with Sky, which he supposedly cared enough for to bring out of Zaun to work with him and Jayce? His lack of well developed relationships with other characters other than Jayce hurt his character development from occurring naturally. It’s why Sky’s death doesn’t feel like anything. Despite Viktor seeing her in the realm as a metaphor to his shred of humanity left, his garden dedicated to her, her emblem on his robe, we don’t know their relationship or history in his eyes. (It should have been that they were in at least a friendship. Anything less than that would not fit Viktor’s character.) We don’t see him interact that much with Mel, despite her being his close friend’s love interest. We do not see him interact with doctors or his parents. What other real relationship does he have depicted in the show other than, well, Jayce? The only other is perhaps Singed. How do these relationships play into his self perception, and perception of humanity?

Combining his deteriorating friendship with Jayce over politics and with understanding that his work will be used against him without his credit or his voice should set Viktor up for him to make decisions that will naturally lead into his lore as we know it; to create something that allows him to fix himself and others while simultaneously corrupting him, especially in Zaun. Instead in season two we see that path taken away from him within the first Act after he is fused with magic because of Jayce. This is a pity because it makes Viktor reliant on Jayce’s decisions in a way that is outside of their parallel to the power struggle between Zaun and Piltover and thus takes away from his authority as a character - his decision to fuse himself with magic and machinery to go against Piltover needed to be a result of his decisions and actions, not of someone else and magic!

Giving that narrative decision to Jayce also leaves no organic way for Jayce to come to realize who Viktor is as a person outside of just a “partner”. This is especially apparent during the finale, in which Jayce’s love for Viktor is boiled down to “I love you for who you are”… though that undermines Viktor’s illness, why that illness exists and thus his reason to be a character, and by extension… Zaun’s struggle. And yet, Viktor dies accepting Jayce’s words, despite them undermining the reason he exists! Each time Viktor is yet again denied that choice to be what his character represents. Instead he is used as the crutch to Jayce until the end of the second season. This is also why the multidimensional time travel does not work with Viktor being the mage that gives Jayce magic; Viktor’s destiny is then settled firmly in Jayce’s hands and not his own. They are not soulmates; only one’s life depends on the other’s.

Viktor then, despite having some good foundation, never becomes the full representation that his character could be. We see no growth of his insecurities and setbacks that allow him to make the choice to become who is meant to be. Rather we see that narrative handed to another character who does not fulfill his character arc fully either.

It is no surprise to see the JayVik shippers in this case. Because Viktor is so dependent on Jayce in the narrative, there is no other natural relationship for him. This is despite the fact that Viktor’s sax orientation shouldn’t be of speculation, because in the case of the story, it doesn’t matter. Whether or not Viktor is able to have physical attraction to another person is not the core of his story nor his character. (Which is why his ace designation should not be controversial.) However, that his ability to make meaningful connections with the people in his lives, whether as friends or romantically, is. And we do not see that with any other person but Jayce, who cannot not see him as a full person due to the narrative. Viktor, at his essence, is a man whose agency has been taken from him by the narrative.

The better case in the narrative would have been to let the two part their separate ways after the death of Sky and the council attack, and let Viktor be the tragic hero he was made for. The love between each character that was to have a relationship with Viktor would have been that much more apparent, especially with Sky and Jayce. Then perhaps we would not see Viktor become the “disabled tw!nk whose real relationship could have only been with Jayce because only they truly knew and loved each other” because no. Only they didn’t. Viktor always had so much more, which included Jayce, Mel, Sky, and could have been far more! He just wasn’t given the means to explore it. And not by just the characters in Arcane. By the writers too.

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

Nov 11th

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1. hi this is for itmf!

I'd like to request fics focusing on/from the pov of Nie brothers! anything like nhs conspiring to save nmj or nmjs thought process. would be nice if nhs was also friends with wwx and they were sort of working together!

thank you @bunnycoffeeumcat

The Threads of Fate by WaitForTheSnitch (E, 86k, WangXian, WIP, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Not Everyone Dies, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, Good Uncle LQR, Protective LWJ, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Pining LWJ, WWX in WWX's Body, JC & WWX Reconciliation, is it reconciliation if WWX doesn't know they were estranged?, Oblivious WWX, WWX Deserves Better, WWX Deserves Happiness, Siblings JC & WWX, Supportive JYL, Protective NHS, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Comic Book Science)

This Time Around by KouriArashi (T, 83k, JGY & NHS, NHS & WWX, JGY & WWX, Time Travel Fix-It, Kid Fic, Families of Choice, Angst, Grief/Mourning, Politics, Class Issues, Past Child Abuse, Moral Ambiguity, Everybody Lives, Eventual Happy Ending)

Heart of the Beast by WaitForTheSnitch (E, 488k, WangXian, WWX Isn’t Adopted by the Jiāngs, Adopted WWX, WWX is a Niè, Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Oblivious WWX, Protective NMJ, Scheming NHS, Protective NHS, Soft NMJ, NMJ is So Done, NHS Is A Little Shit, Pining, LWJ Has Feelings)

shades of grey spill from my veins (bleeding ink all over the page) by Reverie (cl410) (M, 58k, NieLan, WangXian, SangNing, POV NMJ, Canon Divergence, Joining the “Wei Wuxian raised by the Nie Sect” Club, Mentions of WWX’s life on the streets, Hurt/Comfort, Accidental Sibling Acquisition, Single Dad NMJ, NHS & WWX Friendship, Fluff, Humor, Happy Ending, Everyone Lives AU, Protective NMJ, Sunshot Campaign, Some angst, Blood and Injury, Kidnapping, Protective Siblings, Found Family)

Third Sun by PhantomWriter (T, 57k, NHS & NMJ, Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Crack Treated Seriously, BAMF NHS, Protective NHS, Protective NMJ, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, LWJ is a Wēn) Note that while one of the latter fics the the series explores true Niecest in a "what if" au, the brothers' relationship in the main story is purely platonic and co-conspiratorial.

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2. in the mood for maybe yllz!wwx suddenly time traveling/finding himself in a world that has cleared his name?

🔒Confusion by Vrishchika (Not Rated, 4k, WangXian, Time Travel)

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3. Hii! A) May I ask if you have any other aftercare wangxian fics ? Try a little tenderness was amazing! B) Also any fics with Wangxian cuddling or comforting each other when they cry or get sick (especially modern au). C) Also, anything modern AU to recommend? Preferably completed, though I feel like everything completed has already been recommended or mentioned before? Thank you SO MUCH!!

A Sure Thing by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 95k, WangXian, Modern, Sugar Daddy, Sex Work, Light Dom/sub, Aftercare, Semi-Public Sex, Exhibitionism, Bondage, use of sex toys, boundary setting, Relationship Negotiation, many baths, Barebacking) fits a, b, c

3C)

spoke like we meant it by BlackWiresOnHerHead (T, 10k, WangXian, Modern, 5+1, Fluff, oh my god they were roommates, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Pining, Cuddling, Accidental Confession, Humor, Abandonment Issues, Light Angst)

Many happy returns. by orange_crushed (E, 25k, WangXian, Modern AU, Mistaken Identity, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Loss of Parent(s), Implied/Referenced Suicide, Past Suicide of a Parent, References to Depression, Anxiety, Therapy, References to Anti-Depressant Medications, Escort Service, Loneliness, Everybody’s Abandonment Issues, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Moving In Together, Oral Sex, Penetrative Sex, Hopeful Ending, Recovery, References to Escorting/Sex Work but No Actual Escorting/Sex Work)

Deep Dive by MimiSpearmint (E, 24k, WangXian, Modern AU, Twin Prides of Yunmeng Feels, Are Bad at Communicating, LWJ is a Panicked Gay, Therapy, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Angst with a Happy Ending, Career Ending Injuries, counsellor!lwj, give lwj friends agenda, background NieLan, Melbourne, Eventual Smut, Crack, Baby JL, domestic abuse is discussed but does not happen, Baby LSZ, Baby LJY, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Good Sex Practices, Implied Slight D/s, WangXian Have a Breeding Kink, Cameos by various minor characters)

Close to the Truth by Winglesss (M, 14k, WangXian, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Ugly Holiday Sweaters, Romantic Comedy, Modern, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Tooth-Rotting Fluff)

Ticket to Ride by mistresscurvy (E, 18k, wangxian, Modern, Online Dating, Road Trips, Service Top, Phone Sex, Dick Pics, Wedding Banquet)

Previously, on LEGO Masters by trippednfell (M, 55k, wangxian, Reality TV Show Contestants/Judges, Modern, Mutual Pining, Forced to compete together, strangers to reality show contestants to lovers, there's only one bed, Platonic Cuddling, Autistic LWJ, WWX Has ADHD, Grief/Mourning, Wangxian miss their moms, so much pining, More Pining than LEGO in this LEGO fic, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, POV Alternating, Lego Masters AU, Not YZY friendly, Dysfunctional Jiang family dynamics)

Just Ask Me To Stay by mrcformoso (M, 20k, WangXian, Modern AU, Former JZ/WWX, Minor NieLan, Minor XuanLi, No Powers, Dancer WWX, Musician LWJ, Roommates, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Break Up, Post-Break Up, Recovery, WWX Has Self-Esteem Issues, Fluff, Light Angst, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Domestic Fluff, LWJ Has a Big Dick, WWX Has a Breeding Kink, Size Queen WWX, Belly Bulge, Porn With Plot, WWX Has Friends, LWJ Has Friends, Hurt/Comfort, A lot of comfort, Romantic Comedy, Cuter story than the summary makes it out to be, Feel-good)

The Art of Communication by mrcformoso (G, 4k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Meet-Cute, Engineering Student WWX, Music Student LWJ, Swimmer WWX, Martial Artist LWJ, POV Outsider, POV WWX, POV LWJ, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Communication Issues, But Wanxian Makes it Work, LWJ has limited words, WWX has too many words, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Love Languages, Requited Love)

~*~

4. Itmf, A) untamed au (where wwx and xue yang are aprox same age), they knew each other as street children but lost contact when wwx was taken by the Jiang. Wether they were on good terms or not is up to you. They're reunited when xy is tied up and searched for the yin iorn. (Is xy still/became a villain? Or is there more going on/framed by the sects?)

B) untamed au (where wwx and xy are aprox same age). Diverging au where dif types of soulmates exist, wwx accidentally touches skin when searching xue yang, and a soulmate mark/reaction happens.

~*~

5. Itmf fics with good platonic part and plot along with ofcourse our dear wangxian as the mains. More specifically I'm looking for fics where there is huge platonic relationship in the plot . I want it between: Wei Wuxian with maybe Jiang cheng or Wen Ning or Wen Qing or any other character in the book. It can even be some oc. NO modern au please. @constellationdks

Episode 51 by Fool_on_the_Hill_2528258 (G, 27k, WangXian, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Feelings Realization, Happy Ending, Closure, Epilogue, The Untamed (TV) Compliant, The Untamed (TV) Ending, Post-The Untamed (TV), JC & WWX Reconciliation, POV LWJ, POV WWX, POV Third Person Omniscient, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Oblivious WWX, Soft WangXian, Supportive LXC, Sect Leader JL, LWJ Has Feelings, Supportive JC) try my fic “Episode 51”! Wangxian is main but I deal a lot with Jiang Cheng/Wei Wuxian’s relationship too!

~*~

6. Hi hi! Are there any spiderman! wwx or lwj fics?

let your colours bleed and blend with mine by ravenditefairylights (T, 13k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Superheroes/Superpowers, Spiderman AU, Secret Identity, Angst with a Happy Ending, Romance, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Crossdressing, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, There Was Only One Bed, Fluff)

wangxian spiderman AU by amisfitm (Not Rated, 1k, WIP, WangXian, smut, Fluff, spiderman au, spider wangji)

lookin' at you sideways by starries (T, 15k, WangXian, Modern AU, Superheroes/Superpowers, High School, basically spiderman!wwx, Fluff, Getting Together)

~*~

7. hello! are there any fics in which wwx tells someone about the kiss on Phoenix mountain? like jyl or something? or at least him like, still thinking about it and trying to find the 'strong maiden' who kissed him.

the breaking of your soul (upon my lips) by sunsandships (M, 40k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Mutual Pining, Golden Core Reveal, Happy Ending)

There’s A Molester On The Loose At Phoenix Mountain!! by sweetlolixo (G, 3k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Humor, Crack, Romance) There's also this one if the requester doesn't mind a humorous story about the Phoenix Mountain kiss

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8. idk if this is too specific but itmf for old friends wangxian reuniting either due to the juniors/lan yuan or them being witnesses to it? but they didn’t know this wei wuxian guy is the person lwj has been missing and stuff? or vice versa? thank u !!

~*~

9. itmf wangxian modern royalty aus? would love the arranged marriage trope specifically but im open to anything!

(no jc/wq please) thanks for your help, always! <3

They aren't modern au, only royalty and sometimes arranged marriage. All very good though I recommend them:

To Deliver an Heir by cerbykerby (E, 49k, WangXian, slight dubcon/noncon but wangxian are into it, A/B/O, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Heat Sex, Knotting, Royalty Medical, Emperor LWJ, Physician WWX, Mpreg, Postpartum Depression, Breeding, Creampie, LWJ literally cannot stop himself from coming in WWX, Breastfeeding)

我的皇后是農民 | sowing seeds in the cold palace by sweetlolixo (E, 84k, WangXian, Imperial Palace, Emperor LWJ, Imperial Consort WWX, Farmer WWX, Angst, Romance, Wingman LJY, Wife-chasing-LWJ, Arranged Marriage, Best Boy A-Yuan)

願陛下 | by his majesty’s decree by sweetlolixo (E, 40k, WangXian, Imperial Palace, Emperor LWJ, Concubine WWX, Harems, Pining LWJ, LWJ is not a dragon in this one but he descended from them :), Childhood Sweethearts (sort of), Romance, minimal angst, Happy Ending, NHS & WWX are concubine BFFs, LWJ has NO EYES for anyone besides WWX don’t worry the harem is only for the plot setting, Fantasy, Pregnant WWX, Possessive LWJ, Fluff)

True Gold Fears No Fire by defractum (nyargles) (M, 75k, WIP, WangXian,  Royalty, Ancient China, Wuxia, Historical, Historical Inaccuracy, Arranged Marriage, Identity Porn, Mutual Pining, Emperor LWJ, Empress WWX, Eventual Happy Ending, Misunderstandings)

travelers through the empty gate by stiltonbasket (M, 112k, WangXian, royalty au, mistaken identity, emperor WWX, poor LWJ, forced marriage, (by LWJ himself), confused WWX, parenthood, misunderstandings, empress LWJ, fluff & humor, married life, angst w/ happy ending, WIP)

A Blade By Your Side by athena_crikey (E, 77k, WangXian, Historical, Royalty, Forced Marriage, Bodyguard, court intrigue, falling in love with the person you're married to, Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Politics, Drama, Compulsory Heterosexuality, Slow Burn)

Gotta die to come alive by Less_Ginger (M, 80k, WangXian, LWJ & LSZ & WWX, JC & WWX & JYL, WWX & WQ, LXC & LWJ, JYL/JZX, WIP, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death, Not Really Character Death, Misunderstandings, Post Mpreg, Parent-Child Relationship, Brotherly Love, JYL is great big sis, Not Actually Unrequited Love, emperor lwj, and his empress wwx, and their legitimate son A-Yuan, Heabvy Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn)

The Mummified Emperor Wants To Marry Me by sweetlolixo (E, 74k, WangXian, WIP, Modern, Historical Fantasy, Royalty, Emperor LWJ, Mummy LWJ, Reincarnation, Size Difference, Archaeologist WWX, Simp LWJ)

🔒 of all the hands by Anonymous (E, 51k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, Canon Divergence, Emperor LXC, PTSD, Nightmares, Dual Cultivation, Mental Health Issues, Fluff and Angst, Dom/sub Undertones, Consensual Non-Consent, Bonding, Mutual Pining, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Politics, Improper Use of the Lan Forehead Ribbon, the get WWX some sleep agenda, yunmeng trio reconciliation)

~*~

10. for the next 'I'm in the mood for': I'm in the mood for a Wangxian fic where Lan Wangji is a ghost and Wei Wuxian just, lives with him and can see and interact with him? I would pretty much like that. @saiaisaiko

lovers be lost (but love shall not) by la_muerta (T, 13k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, 1910s, Case Fic, Ghosts, Happy Ending, Background Relationships, Ghost Marriage)

Red Is Just Black Remembering by Zizzani (E, 41k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Homophobia, Necromancy, Ghosts, Modern, Cuddling & Snuggling, Sharing a Bed)

lan wangji sees dead people by mountainrain898

of ghosts and graveyards by DiRoxy (T, 10k, WangXian, Pre-Relationship, Pokemon, Case Fic, ghost WWX, Happy Ending, LWJ and JC Work Together, Depictions of Science Experiments on Pokemon, Shadow Pokemon, Clone Pokemon)

I Really Must Be Dreaming 'Cause I Don't Believe In Ghosts by bodysintheabyss (Not rated, 7k, WangXian, Ghosts, Halloween, WWX's Birthday, Ghost WWX, Witch WWX, POV LWJ, Living Together, (kind of?), Roommates, Magic, Dark Magic, spells, Witchcraft, Pining, Autistic LWJ, Getting Together, Kissing, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Modern)

~*~

11. Hi :)) thank you for all of the hard work you have done for all of us who use your blog. I was wondering if there was a modern with cultivation au fic that has events similar to canon, or where there's a whole secret cultivation world and there's the sun shot campaign.

the journey is far from over series by thelastdboy (E, 164k, WangXian, WWX & Wen Remnants, LXC & LWJ, LWJ & MM, Madam Lan & LWJ, LXC & JGY, Modern Cultivation, Canon Divergence, Madam Lan Lives, JYL Lives, WQ Lives, Post-Sunshot Campaign, POV WWX, Slow Burn, YLLZ WWX, Recovery, Hurt/Comfort, Healing Is a Slow Process, therapy is good actually, All women deserve better, mlm/wlw solidarity, the mortifying ordeal of discovering you're into bdsm while you're caught up in political intrigue, Kink Negotiation, Kink Exploration, Not Everyone Dies, WWX Lives, Mental Health Issues, References to Depression, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Burial Mounds Ensemble as Family, Single Parent WWX, Selectively Mute LWJ, Eventual Smut, Light Dom/sub, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, es, LWJ & MM Friendship, Pre-WangXian, Wen Remnants Live, LWJ saves the Wēn Remnants, LWJ's Punishment, Whipping, LWJ Needs a Hug, POV LWJ, Neurodivergent LWJ, Stimming, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Coming of Age)

transmuter by WithLoweredVoices (Not rated, 113k, wangxian, Modern with Magic, Magical Realism, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending)

~*~

12. hello! I've recently got a craving for canon divergence fics where jyl doesn't manage to push wwx out of the way of that sword and dies OR he dies at qiongqi pass and jzx lives

Golden Phoenix by Alineko (G, 34k, WangXian, JYL/JZX, JL & WWX, JC & WWX & JYL, JZX & WWX, JL & OYZZ & LSZ & LJY & WWX, MXY & WWX, WIP, Reincarnation, Reincarnated WWX, Jin WWX, Child WWX, Minor WangXian but when he is older, Protective JYL, JC Gets a Hug, WWX is JL's Brother, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding, Cute WWX, Stressed JC, Light Angst, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Protective WWX, WWX Shenanigans, Crack Treated Seriously, Golden Core Reveal)

in this place where we don’t have a prayer by Cerusee, Mikkeneko (T, 42k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, WWX dies at Qiongqi path, Demonic Cultivation)

To Be Named by Suibian_613 (T, 39k, WangXian, XuanLi, WIP, Canon Divergence, Out of Character, WQ is out of character, Everyone is probably ooc, canonical violence, Canonical Character Death, JYL lives, Somewhat Sentient Burial Mounds, WN and JC Rivalry, Sibling Rivalry)

ius in bello by Lise (T, 2k, JC & JYL & WWX, Canon Divergence, Tearjerker, Sad Ending, Heavy Angst, Grief/Mourning, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Not A Fix-It, POV JC, [Podfic] ius in bello by flamingwell)

後悔莫及 (Too Late for Regrets) by liverbiver9 (T, 20k, JYL/OC, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, JYL-centric, POV JYL, Genderqueer WWX, Trans Male Character, Kid Fic, Child WWX, Fluff and Angst, Family Feels, Found Family, WWX is a Wen, technically, Assassination Attempt(s), WWX Isn't Adopted by the Jiangs, Minor MianQing, No Sunshot Campaign, No Golden Core Transfer, Everybody Lives, mentioned minor character death, Gender Non-Conforming WWX, Trans WWX)

~*~

13. Hi! Thank you for your hard work! I am sending in a request for next In the mood for. I’m looking for fics that include

A) JinLing getting his parents (either or both) back (either by time-travel or fix-it fic or them coming back to live)

B) JinLing learning about his parents from JC and WWX.

C) LWJ and JC getting along

1 and 2 can be combined. I’d prefer canon era but okay with modern era fics too. Thank you! @bitemepotter

13A)

Time, Time, Time by skeletonofaplant (G, 44k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, LSZ & WWX, JYL & JL & JZX, LJY & LSZ, Time Travel Fix-It, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, Angst, Fluff, Junior Quartet Dynamics, Time Travelling Junior Ensemble, Junior Ensemble Shenanigans, Humor)

❤️ Tragedy is Not the End by Hobbsy3 (T, 358k, wangxian, Time Travel, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core Reveal, Canon Divergence from Qiongqi Pass, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Yunmeng sibling bonding, good dad wwx, good dad lwj, JZX Lives, JYL Lives, Junior Quartet Dynamics)

And They Lived Happily Ever After… by Morgana_avalon (G, 51k, WangXian, Zhuiling, Time Travel Fix-It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Canon Universe, Canon Related, set before the ambush happens at Qiongqi Path, Canon Divergence, Bunnies, Good brother JC, Good JZX, CQL Verse)

13B)

Rotten Work by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 63k, WangXian, WWX & JL, Post-Canon, Protective WWX, Protective JL, Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation, Reluctant Matchmaker JL)

climbing up that coastal shelf by Sour_Idealist (T, 15k, JC & JL & WWX, JC & JL, JC & WWX, JL & LSZ, JL & WWX, Post-Canon, Mutually Unrequited Forgiveness, JC & WWX Reconciliation, Family History, Generational Trauma, Discussion of Canonical Abuse, Awkward Attempts at Communication, mentions of past JC/WQ, Fairy is a good dog)

❤️ The One-Body Problem by metisket (T, 29k, LJY & WWX, LJY & LSZ, wangxian, possession, cohabitation, The One-Body Problem by SeaNoodle)

💖 Grey Area by pearliegloom (M, 31k, wangxian, yiling wei sect au, sect leader WWX, LWJ stays at Burial Mounds, found family, secret marriage, angst, eloping, reconciliation, fix-it) Chapter 15

13C)

Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji being bros series by JiangChengLotus (Mostly T, 99k, JC & LWJ, wangxian, JC/LXC)

found your writing on my wall by howodd5ever (T, 25k, WangXian, JC & LWJ, JC & WWX, Accidental Baby Acquisition, De-aged WWX, Post-Canon, Getting Together, Referenced Child Neglect, discussion of parental loss, child food insecurity, Case Fic, kind of, Nightmares)

Orchids in Lotus Pier by Vamillepudding (G, 21k, wangxian, canon divergence, romantic comedy, pining, protective JC, friends to lovers, misunderstandings)

~*~

14. Hi, you wouldn't happen to know of any fics where lan wangji defends wei wuxian. The persons he's defending wwx against can be anyone, but preferably an angry lan wangji rant towards jiang cheng or lan qiren/lanxinchen would be most interesting to me. Many thanks! @palmnix

~*~

15. In the mood for fic: I wonder if there is some fic with amnesiac Lan Zhan. It could be that by some spell or something Lan Zhan loses his memory (temporary or otherwise). I feel like there is a lot of amnesiac Wei Wuxian but I haven't found any with Lan Zhanlike that. Also please no modern au. Thank you.

Unavoidable by diamondbruise (T, 18k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Amnesia, Jealousy, lwj just is like that idk what to tell you, Misunderstandings, Falling In Love, Again, Happy Ending, it’s that thing where they’re married but lwj can’t remember wwx and they meet again)

These Two Most Powerful by stiltonbasket (G, 4k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, Married Life, Family Feels, Parenthood, Temporary Amnesia, Time Travel, it’s amnesia but it feels like time travel to LWJ, wangxian have more babies, and they are the cutest buns, not your average amnesia fic? there’s no drama here tbh, just soft husbands carrying on with fatherhood, And loving each other, Mild Angst, Happy Ending)

Forget Me Not by Vamillepudding (T, 10k, wangxian, post-canon, temporary amnesia, romantic comedy, misunderstandings, protective JC, light angst) features both Wei Ying & Lan Zhan getting temporary amnesia but thinking they're at two different points in time.

the gift of sincerity by lariyats (T, 40k, WangXian, Fluff and Angst, Post-Canon, Amnesia, or more specifically, the lwj amnesia au, where he regresses back to the 13 year period, but actually, Surprise!!, Established Relationship, very mild angst, Implied Sexual Content, ok maybe it’s not as mild as i said it was but it’s still v fluffy, Hurt/Comfort)

💖 I would wait for a thousand years by bleuett (T, 10k, wangxian, Post-Canon, Canon Divergence, Memory Loss, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Reunions, Curses, Intimacy, Yearning, Happy Ending, Chinese Mythology & Folklore, Immortality, Fluff, Angst)

long have you been alone by martyrsdaughter (E, 56k, WangXian, Modern Cultivation, Amnesia, Curses, Hanahaki Disease, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Workplace Relationship, Light Angst, Sexual Content, Mild Painplay, Overstimulation, WWX Has a Breeding Kink, Light Bondage, Mild Gore, Mild Breathplay, Brief Mentions of WWX/Others and LWJ/Others, other relationships are past tense and off screen exclusively)

🔒💖 hello my old heart, how have you been? by ravenditefairylights (M, 10k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Temporary Amnesia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Trauma, Unreliable Narrator, Pining, Hair Washing, Hair Brushing, Hair Braiding, Soft WangXian, LWJ Needs a Hug, Sleepy Cuddles)

Blue water by huxiyi (E, 25k, wangxian, Post-Canon, Temporary Amnesia, Case Fic, Curses, Cultivation Sect Politics, Established Relationship, Angst with a Happy Ending, References to Depression, Discussion of Grief, Discussion of bodies, Explicit Sexual Content, Dom/sub Undertones, Under-negotiated Kink, Additional Warnings In Author’s Note)

🔒 Memories of Marriage by DC_Derringer (E, 15k, WangXian, Amnesia, handjobs, Kissing, Anal Sex, Very light angst with a happy ending, Loss of Virginity, First Kiss, Second-Hand Embarrassment, LSZ is the best boy)

I'll sleep when I'm dead by verybadidea (G, 2k, WangXian, Temporary Amnesia, Memory Loss, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Comfort, Post-Canon, Cuddling & Snuggling, Canon Compliant)

Falling in love with your Husband(Again) by ImTaakofromTV (T, 17k, WangXian, Temporary Amnesia, Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending, they're in love, Case Fic, Falling for your husband after one day who you don't remember marrying)

tonight i can write the saddest lines by sarahyyy (G, 3k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Amnesia, Falling In Love, Domestic Fluff)

(( Unforgettable…to me. by Liebing (T, 3k, WangXian, Fluff, Modern, Amnesia, wangxian footballers, college or university age wangxian, Soft, Sweet, Funny, Happy Ending, meddling LXC, small mentions of sex, One Kiss, Holding Hands, lots of time jumps backwards and forwards, teasing JC; LWJ is injured but he’s fine just some small memory loss, well technically an extra memory of a boyfriend he doesn’t have…yet, Canon WWX who thinks LWJ hates him…sigh) ))

(( 🔒 Overboard by celerydragon (T, 51k, WangXian, Modern AU, Misunderstandings, Temporary Amnesia, Comedy, hopefully, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship) ))

(( 🔒 The Heart Remembers by Setyourlazerstopew (G, 2k, WangXian, Soft, Temporary Amnesia, Memory Loss, temporary memory loss, Fluff, Modern, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, LWJ is a softy but so is WWX, they deserve each other, Happy Ending, not a serious injury don't worry) ))

(( Across the street to another life by danegen (M, 99k, WangXian, Modern AU, unleashed au, Family Fluff, Set in America, Hurt/Comfort, Past Child Abuse, Addiction, Crime, Amnesia, Ableist, Language, another fridged mother, POV Alternating, past wwx/ofc, past wwx/omc, Medium parent YZY, A-Yuan is wwx’s biological son, Musicians, Happy Ending) ))

(( voidable by sarahyyy (M, 2k, wangxian, modern, amnesia, misunderstandings, love confessions) ))

((🔒 remind me why I love you by AG1234VL (M, 44k, WangXian, Minor XiCheng, Past XiYao, Modern AU, Temporary Amnesia, Light Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, sort-of crack treated seriously, WangXian Pining, Except They’re Already Married, Hair Brushing, Childhood Trauma, Past Abuse L, Fluff and Angst, Crying WWX, Jealous LWJ, Forehead Kisses, Family Feels, Bottom!LWJ, versatile!wangxian, smitten!lwj, flirty!wwx, horny!wangxian, Mental Illness, Non-main Character Suicide, Non-Sexual Intimacy, but also sexual intimacy, brief discussions about grief) ))

~*~

16. Hey ,ITMF, a modern AU that is slow burn . I know my description is kinda broad and vague, but I'd really like something along those lines

Thank you!

Lovesong of the Square Root of Negative One by honeydrip (lmeden) (M, 55k, WangXian, JC & LWJ, JC & WWX, Modern, Blood and Gore, Elements of Horror, Elements of magical realism, Layered Narratives, A Story Within a Story, POV Multiple, Slow Burn, Not Everyone Dies)

he gets under your skin by Skadiseven (M, 87k, WangXian, XiXian, (sort of), Inspired By While You Were Sleeping (1995), Modern AU, Accidental Engagement, Chicago (City), lan typical communication skills, wangxian’s tendency to self-sacrifice, Christmas, Cats, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Angst with a Happy Ending)

Légèreté by perkynurples (T, 65k, WangXian, Modern au, Horse riding, Swords as horses, Crack treated seriously, Friends to Lovers)

Waiting for Spring by thievinghippo (E, 130k, WangXian, Modern AU, MLB AU, Baseball AU, Mutual Pining, Pining while fucking, slight angst, Happy Ending)

other earths and skies by binghecarer (T, 53k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, (but not in the typical way?), Slow Burn, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Scars and Injuries, Curses, making a deal with a mysterious mountain spirit (?) to help your found family?, there was only one bed and it had narrative significance, (oh my god it had narrative signigicance), Hurt/Comfort)

like wildflowers (we grow) by moonsteps (T, 80k, WangXian, Modern, Teachers, Kid Fic, Single Parents, Slow Burn, Fluff, WWX & WQ are bffs, feelings and cute kids and softness and pining, Getting Together, Friends to Lovers)

The Simplest Way Forward by harriet_vane (E, 70k, WangXian, Modern AU, Accidental Baby Acquisition,Kid Fic, explicit in much much later chapters, green card marriage (but not really), pining for your own husband, endless pining, Slow Burn, Happy Ending, Nothing else bad or traumatic happens to the baby, [Podfic of] The Simplest Way Forward by knight_tracer, a Spanish version of the fic, Turkish translation, Translation into Русский availabl)

🔒 Definitely Unreturnable by 3neetee (T, 44k, WangXian, Modern, A/B/O, Omega Verse, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Domestic Fluff, Angst, Adoption, Mutual Pining, Roommates, Slow Burn, Mentions of past child abuse, Eventual Smut, Mating Cycles/In Heat, A lot of hospitals, Slice of Life, Kid Fic)

~*~

17. Hello! For the next itmf I had some requests:

A) I was hoping for some recs in which wwx is sensitive after sex and someone is mean to him, making him cry/emotional

B) wwx going into subdrop, with wangxian being the main couple and the subdrop not tagged

C) some modern au's with wwx having depression but people brushing it off as laziness/not recognizing the signs until it's too late

D) wwx shaking, like, it could be after good/bad sex, being too emotional, being hurt, being cold after losing his core, etc.

For all of these wangxian has to be the main couple preferably but I'm okay with other people joining them (like nmj/nhs/etc) my only limit is Jiang sibs or lxc, thanks! @menimimimeni

17B)

The Damage You Do by stiricide (E, 188k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, Dom/Sub, Dark LWJ, Mobster LWJ, Possessive LWJ, Sex Worker WWX, Sugar Baby WWX, WWX adopts LSZ, Dubious Consent, each chapter has sex tag notes on it, BDSM, Sounding, Panic Attacks, Angst with a Happy Ending)

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[questionablecuttlefish]

Ezreal's kinda great actually.

Ez is a champ I used to love to hate, but he grew on me because once you get past his arrogant showboating e-boy wannabe shonen protagonist energy (and boy is it a lot) the fact that his entire ... the above thing is a masquerade for a lonely young man who blames himself for being abandoned by his parents is....wow ouch.

His backstory…oof, give that boy a hug. IDC what Christian Linke says, he would be fine in an Arcane-like show if you leaned into his bravado being a mask for loss.

I know we all rag on his crush on Lux, it's basically a running joke at this point but it's also an interesting bit of characterization…like the rest of his cocky adventurer persona it's completely superficial, he doesn't know anything about her except that she's blonde and pretty, and she doesn't know who he is.

And ofc they can't really work as a romance because Lux has SO MUCH GOING ON that has nothing to do with Ezreal, and her story is firmly grounded in Demacia, her family, and the plight of the Demacian mages, while Ezreal's story is all about his globetrotting adventures, his tomb raiding, his search for his parents.

If he stays with her, his story ends, if she goes with him, her story ends. They could in theory be a cute Disney protagonist romance, but the incompatibility of their storylines and the way Riot has spent probably over a decade now playing his feelings for laughs as a cringe, nigh-stalkery crush and her complete disinterest doesn't bode well for any kind of actual relationship coming of it.

It's not an evilbadtoxic ship by any means, it's just, imo, a bit of a nothingburger without enough actual connection or chemistry to make it worth sacrificing both characters for 'the ship'.

So the crush is funny (and Jarro Lightfeather is hysterical) but a critical part of an Ezreal character arc would be getting over it and moving on, imo. You don't give a guy a shallow stalker crush and then reward him with 'getting the girl' and call it character development, it's only character development if he doesn't.

Ez is at his most interesting when you can see the glimmers of him getting over himself and being the genuine hero he could be. (turning back to help Kai'Sa in Warriors is a good example).

I could really, really enjoy an Ezreal show where he ends up in a fun little D&D party with Kai'Sa and Taliyah running around Shurima exploring ancient ruins and battling Void horrors. I would LIVE for the comedic value of Ezreal being the most annoying showboaty jackass he possibly could be ("Ha ha! It's ALL skill") trying to impress the intimidatingly baddass Kai'Sa, whilst she's just so deadpan Raised By Wolves socially awkward killing-machine-trying-to-reconnect-to-humanity that she just takes him completely in stride.

Ez getting increasingly ridiculous in his antics and just completely failing to either impress OR annoy Kai'Sa would be just comedy gold, imo. Alternatively, getting back into the 'canon bi route' and my Ezko agenda, he he, Ezreal and Ekko actually make a really interesting pairing in the main timeline because

They've got a LITTLE bit of that oil-and-water energy with Ezreal being a Piltie, but he's an adventurous, inquisitive Piltie who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, so Ekko would appreciate that even as he was giving the guy MASSIVE sideeye for all the cultural theft.

Ezreal would annoy the shit out of Ekko, since he's such a damn poser and Ekko is such a genuine, grounded guy.

They're both very, very intelligent, though, and they're both big fat nerds. Ekko is much more on the genius tinkerer and inventor science nerd end and Ezreal much more on the lore, culture, history nerd end, but they are both big nerds.

I think Ezreal would be just in awe of Ekko from the moment they met. 'This guy is so f'cking COOL how do i get him to think I'm COOL' and then drive Ekko up the wall overcompensating trying to get his attention/approval but coming off as being hypercompetitive and showboaty.

But if Ekko (especially League Ekko, whose parents are such a big part of his story) gets a whiff of Ezreal's past and his parents, he's going to start seeing through Ez's masquerade very quick, and if there's one thing Ekko is, it's a compassionate person, a carer, who just wants to help.

The boys could bond over shared adventurers plumbing the depths of Zaun for some secret mystery hidden in the ruins of Oshra Va'Zaun that could potentially be a threat to Zaun or the Firelights, and that Ezreal has an archaeologist's interest in.

You get all the back-and-forth dynamic, conflict, bickering, and slow burn affection that make Ezko a fantastic ship.

I might just write this.

[randomfoggytiger]

Mulder's Alien Baby Baby Trauma In-Depth (Part XXIII): Alien Babies, Shared Fears, and Hoped-For Escapes

Essence is chaotic and messy; but it also raises one or two intriguing points, as well as continues to establish Mulder's evolving dynamics with each character. It's a shoddy craft you have to cut around in order to refurbish; but it's salvageable-- at least, for this analysis.

Disclaimer: if you, like me, enjoy Season 8 up to a point-- and that point is midway through Essence-- I suggest you consider this post the end of the Alien Baby Baby Trauma series. Or at least skip over the next part when it's posted; and come back for the third and final addition. That way, Mulder and Scully run off into the night, together, and don't reappear until Existence's final five minutes.

Regardless, this part of the analysis marks the beginning of the end. There are a few loose threads the series strives to conclude-- or elucidate, for future (non-) exploration: namely, the mystery behind Per Manum's there-and-gone alien fertility clinic, the intrigue behind the hybrid alien replacements, and-- most importantly-- the mystery and happy ending for the Mulder-Scully family.

Now: let's tackle Mulder's slow descent into chaos.

ESSENCE AND EXISTENCE'S MAIN THEME

Mulder's monologue sets the tone for the finale two-parter:

"We call it the miracle of life. Conception: A union of perfect opposites-- essence transforming into existence-- an act without which mankind would not exist and humanity cease to exist. Or is this just nostalgia now? An act of biology commandeered by modern science and technology? Godlike, we extract, implant, inseminate... and we clone.

"But has our ingenuity rendered the miracle into a simple trick? In the artifice of replicating life can we become the creator? Then what of the soul? Can it, too, be replicated? Does it live in this matter we call DNA? Or is its placement the opposite of artifice, capable only by God.

"How did this child come to be? What set its heart beating? Is it the product of a union? Or the work of a divine hand? An answered prayer? A true miracle? Or is it a wonder of technology-- the intervention of other hands? What do I tell this child about to be born? What do I tell Scully? And what do I tell myself?"

The last three lines are the cornerstones of this finale two-parter: "What do I tell this child... what do I tell Scully... what do I tell myself?" And the order is important, too: Mulder knows this child will have questions-- how does he answer them? One layer deeper: he knows Scully harbors questions and doubts-- what can he say to her to assure them both? And at the center of these ponderings are his own fears and doubts: what does he believe, truly; and can he hold to that belief indefinitely.

The monologue is also a logorrheic oration of Mulder's struggle with his identity post-abduction: reborn to a life he'd at first assumed moved on without him, one with more questions than answers, still. And with these swirling questions looms his old skepticism with too-neatly tied bows on top of too-neatly provided miracles; and his new dominating PTSD. The triple combination is over-powering, and leads him to believe then question, believe then question throughout the latter end of Season 8-- and not just him, but Scully, too (as Essence's script notated, post here.)

If Essence through Existence had been well-written, it would've effected a succinct one-two-three masterstroke of Mulder and Scully's seven-year arc: finding the truth in themselves, turning "I want to believe" into "The truth we both know."

That aside, the monologue steers the remainder of Season 8: Mulder's mission, Scully's reactions, Mulder's and Scully's and Doggett's and Skinner's cumulative irrational actions. The problem, of course, comes down to execution.

THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP

We pick up from Mulder's perspective the day after Scully's baby shower. He arrives at Doggett's door on a Saturday, ignoring the charms of the man's porch trellis (post here) and NASCAR ritual to wheedle him onto an open investigation.

From his demeanor, Mulder appears more at ease, parrying Doggett's "Agent Mulder" with a muted, "You can drop the 'Agent', Agent Doggett. It's just plain Fox Mulder now." His voice is wistful when referring to his former status; but not disheartened, nor uneasy. He's made progress towards peace-- would probably be more at peace if he wasn't bearing bad tidings.

Doggett nods neutrally, figuring out how to navigate that landmine; and decides to face it head on, changing gears a little too familiarly with an inviting, "Right. You want to come in, Fox? I was just watching a race."

His guest accepts with a double entente. "That's what I was doing. Slightly different race, though." Walking in and switching the channel, he then hooks Doggett's interest with the suspicious, recent burning of a fertility clinic-- a link to Scully that Mulder doesn't spell out but anticipates the other agent will connect independently.

Doggett follows along, helping Mulder access the crime scene through his credentials and even skillfully avoiding a fight between on-site investigator Agent Crane. The patience for Mulder's antics begins to thin when nothing suspicious turns up; and he's about to call it quits when Agent Excommunicado-- who is having a good time with Agent Doggett in tow--

--uncovers a professional association between the deceased victim and Scully's former obstetrician, Dr. Parenti. Connection firmly established, both X-Files men sneak over to Parenti's clinic.

Mulder blatantly ignores proper procedure-- as usual-- but thoroughly enjoys roping Doggett in as an accomplice; and the latter rewards this inclusion by unquestioningly having Mulder's back.

During their snooping around, the two split up. Doggett finds the stash of preserved fetuses while Mulder comes face-to-face with an incensed, mid-procedure Dr. Parenti. Catching a glimpse of the vulnerable woman sitting just behind the doctor, Mulder's face changes, angry himself over what he suspects is diabolical predation.

The intruders leave after a fruitless altercation; and, back at the crime scene, Mulder overhears Agent Crane's remarks and triangulates a confrontation between the third man, himself, and Doggett. Why, you ask? Because the X-Files exists-- as he told Agent Doggett earlier-- to make people angry in its pursuit of the truth. This moment is a test, measuring his replacement's backbone against friendly but oppositional forces.

The entire scene of dialogue discusses unidentifiable biological material-- possibly alien in origin-- that neither files man shrinks from observing out loud; and Mulder, addressing Crane directly at the end of their exchange, knows that the FBI team is listening in. Doggett knows, too; and doesn't attempt to save face, either-- which is exactly what Mulder wanted to see.

The second trip to Parenti's is not as profitable-- their suspect is dead; and Billy Miles knocks Mulder through a glass wall, leaving him unconscious on the floor (and Doggett barricaded in another room.) Still, there are brief glimmers of success: (e.g. Mulder trusting his not-partner to simultaneously wander off and cover his back; and the substantial link between possible conspiratorial forces and Scully's pregnancy.)

OUR CONCERNS ARE NOT SO DIFFERENT, YOU AND I

Back at Scully's apartment, Mulder submits to his partner's doctoring until she touches a particularly tender patch. Gently, he snatches her wrist away-- "Oh, Scully"-- acknowledging her quiet "Sorry" with a slightly lessened grimace.

Mulder being Mulder, he spots an opportunity for a quip. "I see why you gave up a career in medicine--"

"Mulder," Scully interjects, smiling disapprovingly: knowing, already, where this is going. (Perhaps an old joke between them?)

"--for the FBI, Scully. You've got manos de piedra."

She does not let this mischaracterization slide, picking up a cotton swab and unexpectedly booping his nose before returning to her work.

Mulder brushes at boffed dignity, had.

"Sorry," Scully adds, referring to her earlier mistake.

Off of a brewing thought, her partner mulls, "Imagine if he'd connected."

"Who?"

"Billy Miles."

"Billy Miles?" she repeats, straightening her spine to engage eye contact. "He did this?"

And out it comes: Mulder and Doggett's misadventures, Doggett's corroboration-- to a point-- and Mulder's theory: " Well, Billy Miles is a whole new deal. He's an alien abductee who was returned after hideous procedures were performed on him. And who miraculously returns to so-called perfect health when his body completely sheds its skin."

Scully presses her lips together ever so slightly; and Doggett voices what she and he are thinking: "Same thing happened to you."

"Same thing would've happened to me," Mulder insists, bluntly setting the record straight, " if I'd been left alone." Locking eyes with his partner, he spells out, " If Scully hadn't treated me."

Mulder, then, is laying the credit of his recovery completely at Scully's feet: not a surprise, but a sweet touch.

Scully turns the page away from unpleasant thoughts, piping up with an insistent, "And what were you doing there?" When he doesn't answer right away, her eyebrows shoot up momentarily, and she adds, "Mulder?"

And it all comes out.

"Listen, Scully, I'm sorry, but I just need to know that this baby of yours is going to be all right."

"My baby is fine, Mulder. I've had it checked over and over again with my new doctor that I trust implicitly."

Lizzie Gill momentarily interrupts their discussions-- "She's just helping me out here at my mother's insistence", Scully excuses, hiding the fact she'd warmed to the idea herself.

And Mulder-- never failing to grasp an opportunity-- uses the brief interlude to his benefit. "That's... that's all I'm trying to do. Just make sure nothing happens to you; that this baby you're carrying is born without any surprises."

A few noteworthy details here: Scully, as previously remarked, is not as sure about "her baby" as she pretends. The script mentions that she is "overcompensating" here; and that correlates with Scully's own confession in Existence's conclusion: ("From the moment I became pregnant, I feared the truth... about how... and why. And I know that you feared it, too.") Even though she works hard to be impenetrable, to embrace this chance with open arms, Mulder sees right through it-- said plainly that he's already seen through it in his opening monologue. "What do I tell Scully?" is answered in Existence's conclusion-- "I think what we feared were the possibilities. The truth we both know"-- but that's after the dust has settled and the day has been saved. What can he say now? That is why Mulder is running around: to give his family answers-- answers the Mulders never had (post here), if one wishes to extrapolate his motives farther.

(Side note: Is this the best writing? No. Is it the worst writing? Not yet. Is it, in its current form, serviceable. Yes-- if the "your baby" and "my baby" would be dropped, it would zip along rather nicely.

Why doesn't "your baby" and "my baby" work? Because Mulder and Scully have gone weeks now referring to their child indirectly or not at all; and, though that in and of itself was a tease, it was a tease in line with both characters' minimal communication. "When he's old enough, tell the kid I went down swinging" and "You gotta worry about the little boy" are cleverer ways to hedge around the baby-- adding on "your" and "my" only confusingly detaches and depersonalizes its connection from Mulder, or Mulder's consideration of that connection.)

THE KNOT BEGINS TO TIGHTEN

Another tie to Parenti's clinic is murdered that night-- Per Manum's Duffy Haskell-- and his death draws Doggett and Skinner and Mulder to the scene of the crime.

Skinner, fed up with improper answers, pulls Mulder aside and questions him about the baby: "Some business we need to clear up. Personal business. About Scully's baby, about who the father is." Blowing over his former agent's quip about the FBI betting pool, he continues, "I've had my suspicions. That is, until I found out that you had questions. Questions about Scully's pregnancy itself."

Mulder warms to the A.D.'s candid, no-nonsense consideration; and confesses, "You want to know who the father is, that's Scully's business. But if you're asking me how a woman who was diagnosed as barren and unable to conceive is about to give birth in a couple days, that's an answer I can't honestly give."

It's a tricky game of disclosing only so much to minutely advance the plot; and, considering the writers' later tactics, one of the more sophisticated methods. Mulder is questioning where the baby came from-- at the present, whether it's even human. He does not trust Scully's scans because Parenti referenced them earlier; and he does not trust in convenient miracles-- never has, never will. And because he cannot explain these considerations with a clear conscience, he cannot answer his, Scully's, and now Skinner's questions.

Unappeased, the A.D. reaches for his phone, ready to worm clarification out of Scully for once. Mulder intercepts this attempt, politely; and Skinner lets him, cognizant that both agents know how to handle each other best.

Scully ditches the shower to answer the phone, dashing (as much as she's able) to catch it before the line goes dead. Mulder, hearing her irregular breathing, immediately pivots from his rote "Hey, Scully, it's me" to an alert "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she assures, "I just ran from the shower."

Mid-conversation, Scully realizes Lizzie Gill might be a spy; and the call cuts short when she catches the other woman swapping out the prenatal vitamins.

The scene changes to the hospital where she stands distraught-- barely holding onto her dignity until Dr. Speake walks over to reassure her. Mulder and Maggie wait in the hall until the doctor slips by; and he continues to stand guard as Mrs. Scully embraces her daughter comfortingly (and apologetically.)

Skinner joins Mulder in the hallway--

--and the latter follows him out to interrogate Lizzie Gill. (Though absent by necessity, his departure reinforces Scully's long-held worry that the X-Files will always dominate Mulder's attention-- a concern that will resolve itself in two scenes.)

The interrogation is conducted by Mulder, Doggett, and Skinner, who take turns grilling Lizzie on her involvement in the Parenti project. She is equally forthright with her answers, unabashedly laying out that her former boss and his associates were working under the orders of "government men"-- adjacent, then, to the Syndicate. And that part is important: Lizzie Gill's assignment was tangential to the Project's work on Emily Sim-- creating a child cloned from a human egg and alien DNA.

"Alien babies. Birthed by human mothers desperate to conceive. They didn't live more than a couple of days, but tissue and stem cells is what we were after for other experiments."

Mulder rubs his temples, disgusted by this revelation: and immediately launches into what is most important to him. "What did you do to Scully?"

When Lizzie's answer doesn't satisfy, he repeatedly yells, "What did you do to her! Tell me what's wrong with her! Tell me what's wrong with her baby!" It's not until Doggett intervenes with a gentle, "Listen to her-- what she's saying," that he calms long enough to hear the rest.

And, of course, the revelation is somehow worse than everyone assumed: "There's nothing wrong with her. That's what I'm trying to tell you. The child she is carrying is very special. One could only hope to create that in a lab. A perfect human child but with no human frailties."

This means one of two horrifying things:

The Parenti clinic did not create this child-- worse, they marvel at, and are invested in, its existence.

The baby-- normal or not-- is a wanted asset; and Scully a target by proxy.

This may act as confirmation that the child was most likely conceived by Scully under "human" conditions-- i.e. with Mulder's involvement-- but that merely allays one fear while breeding ten more. Scully previously had a child-- born-and-bred by the Project-- that she let go to protect. Now the Syndicate-- or their scattered allegiances--are restarting the cycle with this pregnancy. Her only hope is that this baby is not what anyone is expecting; and, luckily for Scully, that is what what the ending of Existence establishes (and the beginning of Nothing Important Happened Today throws away. But I digress.)

Mulder doesn't know what to do or who to turn to; so, he stands and runs back to Scully, ignoring Doggett's initial attempts to haphazardly trail behind.

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Arriving at his partner's apartment, he makes sure she's alone before insisting she start packing, immediately.

Scully, confused and frightened, becomes frustrated after he cryptically recounts, "No-- your, your baby is fine. It's you who's in danger now, Scully."

"From who? Mulder, from what?"

Part one of the truth reveals itself-- one that will guide his actions the rest of Essence and Existence: "I don't know, I'm not sure. I'm not sure about anything. I just know I've got to get you out of here."

Mulder is not thinking rationally anymore-- he is out of answers or solutions, and is now relying solely on adrenaline-fueled gut instinct. This leads him to a multitude of questionable choices (as will be explored in the next post) that no one bothers to checkmate or pump the breaks on. He is in panic mode-- one that rears its ugly head whenever aliens or Conspiracy are mentioned post-Deadalive (i.e. tearing up over continued abductions, post here; beating a black-oiled worker nearly to death, post here; and currently jumping to alien baby conclusions and continued catastrophic thinking.) He desperately needs someone to reason with him; but, alas, no one will because the writing says so.

Fed up with the overreach of evil in her life-- having lost her sister and her health and her fertility to the monster of the Conspiracy; and having left the files without plans to return-- Scully snaps, incensed. A limit has been reached, and a line in the sand drawn. "Look, Mulder, look, I can't take this! I can't live like this—as, as the object of some unending X-File."

And part two of the truth reveals itself-- one that has grown and taken root in Mulder's life over the past eight years: "This isn't about the X-Files, Scully. It is only about you."

He expands this truth to include the little Scully-- "Now, you are going to have this baby and I'm going to do everything I can to protect it. I just can't do that here"-- and waits for his partner to process his promise and trust it.

After a long, assessing pause-- weighing Mulder's transparency against other (or any) alternatives-- Scully acquiesces, gliding away to hastily pack her things.

But as fast as she is, Billy Miles is faster. While Mulder is on the phone with Doggett, Billy arrives, cutting the power lines as he works his way up to Scully's apartment.

Both former agents freeze, taking in the sudden darkness; and realize their chance at escape is fleeting. They make it down the hall and out the stairs mere seconds before their pursuer arrives, fleeing into the night towards her car.

Mulder outstrips Scully's pace effortlessly; and she passes over the keys so he can jump behind the wheel and unlock her passenger side door-- both fluidly in time with each other's movements.

Having escaped, all is well; and both speed off into the night.

...Right?

CONCLUSION

The next part will tackle the egregious errors of Essence and Existence-- the bits that can be (I posit: should be) tossed into the garbage truck that crushed Billy Miles.

In the meantime, we bask in the bare minimum: story beats that aren't egregiously expositional, with moments that navigate previous characterization through formulaic, tension-building Chris Carter rhythms. It's not a clean break, overall; but it's not too sloppy, either.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[catzncoffee]

Hey there, more BLIND EYE CO. Au content! This is Pt 1. to the Twins arc (aka when the show takes place) but there will be more on the way as well as some just general art! This arc mainly centers on Mabel and Dipper, but there will be more Fiddlestan and some Ford on the way.

More Info on this next part of the Au under the cut, thank u for enjoying!

> Welcome to BLIND EYE CO. : Unsee It All!

**Welcome to Gravity Falls!~☆

THE TWINS ARC Pt 1:

From here we delve into the shows timeline, following Mabel and Dipper as they navigate Gravity Falls. This arc kicks off after Dipper explores the main lobby of BLIND EYE CO. (Aka. The Mystery Shack that has been built onto over the years for production purposes and became the main house/lobby) and discovers some work his Grunkle Stan had left on the table. He's surprised and very curious to find it to be a worksheet detailing expenses being funneled towards the 'Gravity Falls Anomaly Research Facility', run by his Grunkles. Immediately excited, Dipper asks Stan about it, who laughs it off as some department they took over for the town a long time ago after their local scientist went nuts, telling Dipper it was all fake local legends and hoaxes small towns tended to take too seriously.

Naturally Dipper is completely unenthusiastic about this explanation, so he heads out to the woods to see if he can find anything, quickly joined by Mabel who had just finished braiding Grunkle Fidds beard and had to escape the banjo music for awhile.

It's worth mentioning that Both twins are hiding their parents divorce from the other, both hearing some rather awful things before being shipped up here.

Awful things that need really good distractions to keep from thinking about them.

What better than a mystery?

And then, just like in Canon, Dipper accidentally triggers a mechanism deep in the forest, revealing a battered journal with a gold foiled, six-fingered hand tracing pressed into the front.

This time however, there is a peice of paper sticking out. If it were any normal peice of paper Dipper would have flipped right passed it, after all there where numerous pages out of place and practically falling from the book. As it stood, however, Mabel gasped and plucked the particular page from where it was hanging from the journal. The paper was almost iridescent, like mother o' pearl or an oil slick, but it was slightly too dull for that, and the paper itself was gritty, seemingly made of hundreds of thousands of tiny silver sparkles. The shine of the page didn't follow the sun, but rather Mabels fingers as she dragged her fingers across bold cursive lettering, stating simply:

EMERGENCY CONTACT NEEDED

Across the top of the page, before devolving into complicated science jargon that Mabel managed to peice together was some sort of wizard spell. Like one of Dippers nerd games!

Dipper, while Mabel inspected the glittery, otherworldly paper, was enthralled with the journal, hungrily reading paragraph after paragraph of the insanely exciting things his Grunkle Stan had dismissed as 'folklore taken too seriously'. It had everything Dipper had ever wanted to know and things he didn't even Know he wanted to Know! Gushing to Mabel about the journal, she reminds him of the strange spell paper, which now that Dipper was looking, was written in the same loopy scrawl as the Journal! Maybe it was the Author looking for his book after he lost it? But then how did the page get in the book? The Author couldn't have known he would loose it if he did manage to put that page in right? Or maybe he needed to loose it temporarily? Filled with mounting excitement Dipper suggests that it may be a way to find out even more about this strange journal by talking with the Author, and so Mabel suggests to do the spell, which if the description was right was a contacting spell. Dipper gleefully agrees and the two begin to puzzle out the spell, which needed water, a mirror and an incantation.

The two head to the bathroom off of their room at their Grunkles and quickly do the spell, shaking in excitement and expecting a strange looking professor of some kind, or maybe even the ghost of the Author.

What they get is the beginning of the worst summer of their lives.

The mirror ripples and spins to form a large shadow of a man, one with an uncanny resemblance to their Grunkle Stan's shadow. The mirror man speaks to them, saying that He was the Author of the Journal(s) and he was trapped in a dimension not his own. The children are immediately on edge, but not enough to stop the mirror man from saying his peice. He was an older man simply trying to get home to someone named 'Stanley Pines', who apparently desperately needed help. Mabel and Dipper, confused, tell the mirror man that there is no 'Stanley' Pines, only their Great Uncle, Stanford Pines and his husband. The mirror man was silent after this for a minute or two, mumbling something about 'missing a mirror scene' then shaking his head.

He tells them that their family isn't who they think and that there are 'certain forces at play' that pull the strings from behind the scenes. He tells them that the town they were in was full of more secrets than they could possibly hope for in their lifetime. He warns them that there are people trying to keep those strings where they were now, and that they will use force to achieve that. He cautions that he can't give too much information or else they'll be put in grave danger.

The Author then tells them that he can give them all the secrets about this place that they want, he can save their family from the unknown forces not meant for children and protect them, so long as they listen to him and do what needs to be done by following his instruction to get him back to their home dimension.

Ecstatic about meeting the Author and having a chance to research the anomalies up close, Dipper enthusiastically agrees. Mabel pulls him aside for a moment, asking him if this was really what he wanted to do. When Dipper says yes, Mabel insists that she be with him for all of the adventures, and makes him promise.

With that the kids are sent to their first mission: retrieve an incantation from a cave the Author found a very long time ago, then grab a specific part from their Grunkle Fiddleford's workshop, and acceleration something or other. What was important was that the Author had a picture of what it looked like, and that's all the kids needed to know apparently.

It's when they get to that cave that they start to feel that something is very, Very wrong here.

The incantation the Author wants is at the far back of the cave. The cave littered with blood red warnings to never summon something- someOne. A cheerily yellow triangle painted in starkly perfect lines shouldnt have given the children shivers, should not have made their skin pale and their breath coming out in twin shallow puffs. What had the Author been doing here? What WAS that thing, it's eye watching them from the still picture painted on the wall? They slowly inched around the sides of the unsettling circle painted on the floor, finding a small pool of water with an incantation magnified on the bottom of the small basin, just as the Author promised. Maybe this was all the Author had wanted when coming into that awful cave. The twins could only hope that was the only possible answer.

After retrieving the incantation, it allows the kids to pass the part stolen from Fiddleford to pass through the mirror, and the mission is accomplished. The children however, have more questions than answers, and the answers they are given aren't answers at all but rather a warning.

Or rather a couple of warnings.

:DO NOT SUMMON THE TRIANGLE

DO NOT MAKE DEALS WITH THE TRIANGLE (no matter what he offers you)

DO NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF THE AUTHOR

DO NOT TELL ANYONE THE EXISTENCE OF THE JOURNAL

And the hardest warning to digest of them all:

TRUST NO ONE.

DO NOT TRUST 'FIDDLEFORD'.

DO NOT TRUST 'STANFORD'.

TRUST. NO. ONE.

Mabel in particular didn't like that one, and didn't like how everything the Author said had Dippers head nodding in agreement before the sentence was even finished. She didn't like this man telling her that her family wasn't Trustworthy. They were already having enough problems with family, what was this guy trying to sell Dipper and her on?! She was reassured, however, when Dipper, true to his promise, said that they were in these adventures together. If Dipper could Trust no one else, he could Trust in Mabel. If Mabel could Trust no one else, she could Trust in Dipper.

Mabel unfortunately had no idea how literally that would be taken however.

It became a game.

They'd start in the mornings, playing 'everything is normal' at breakfast with their Grunkles, hugging them goodbye as they went out to 'explore' so the adults could work. Dodge Grunkle Stan's employees Wendy and Soos by giving them a small snippet of conversation then bolting when the attention was off the twins for even a moment. Then it was 'Wizarding Time' where the shadowed form of the Author filled the bathroom mirror like someone had poured liquid smoke into the glass, and he told the twins what they had to do for the day to save their family from this 'unknown' danger. Though a couple missions in and the twins couldn't see what the 'Unknown' danger could be considering all of the known, very dangerous dangers the two seemed to be facing near daily now. Then it was time to play 'Mission Impossible', the twins former favorite part, where they went to hunt down their mission objective and take it back to the mirror bound Author.

'Former', because after being blindsided by the Gremgoblin, suddenly the Authors 'fun way of researching anomalies' became a lot more real, and a lot more damaging the less they knew about what they were heading in to.

The look on Dippers face after she dragged him out of that things sight was something she never wanted to see again so long as she lived.

It also became a LOT harder to know what they were going to run into the harder the Authors missions got. The harder the missions got, the more shaken the twins became, taking the Authors minute warnings very seriously for fear of what might happen if they didn't, like they used to.

Mabel, in a fit, had quit for a while. She'd managed to strike up a friendship with two girls even, Candy and Grenda. Even Dipper seemed to be doing a little better, talking with Wendy a little bit more rather than couped up with the Author and Journal alone all day, like he had since Mabel had left the 'adventure'. Heck Mabel even saw him talking a bit with Stan! Dipper hadn't really been super close with Grunkle Fiddleford at all, but before the Author he'd at least talked to Grunkle Stan more often than not. It had been nice to see them talking again.

For a week.

For one, glorious week.

For one week, Mabel got to do normal adventures with her brother. Well, normal enough when you and your brother fight over a time tape and you end up with the best pig ever because your brother was super selfless and went back in time for it. For one week she and Dipper sat watching Ducktective again, in between their Grunkles at dinner, all of them trying to guess the culprit first. Dipper even let Mabel and her new friends put makeup on him! (Well just the mascara anyways but he never let her do it before!)

For one perfect week Mabel had her brother back when she hadn't even known she'd lost him.

Then she'd found Dipper half dead by the Siren pool.

Alone.

Turns out he hadn't stopped doing the Authors missions. He had just assumed Mabel had left him to continue on by himself, that she had voided their promise. Well as 'by himself' as he could be receiving mission orders from a shadow realm man. The Sirens had actually saved him from drowning, he told her in a shaky blank tone. There was this bird. A giant one. Feathers like knives. The Author had needed one for some substance inside the hollow feather bones for the creature, and had told Dipper that all he'd needed to do was sneak one from it's nest.

He hadn't been told how high up that nest was, high above the Sirens grotto. He hadn't been told that it was laying season, and that those creatures were extremely territorial of their grounds during this season.

Dipper didn't have to explain all the ways it went wrong for Mabel to understand how scared he was.

Mabel wanted to punch him for being stupid enough to go alone. Wanted to punch herself for being so stupid. For leaving him alone.

For leaving Dipper with Him.

Mabel had planned to join again to make him quit, not wanting him to go alone, even though she was the one who had stayed back of the own volition.

The Author took her rejoining as her accepting her place in his strange 'hero's tale' he was spinning, and decided to 'bless' them with more knowledge about the supposed danger, seeing as they were too deep in it now for secrets to be anything other than dangerous. Apparently. Didn't stop the Author from leaving parts out though.

'It' was run by their Grunkles.

Their. Grunkles.

What was 'It'? What was running besides their company? Sure Grunkle Stan wasn't known to be the most legal man this side of the law, but Grunkle Fiddleford? Even then, running something that could put them in danger, sure, but actively Hurting them? Their Grunkles would never. Never in a million years. Mabel knew that. Dipper should have known that. The Author had filled his head up with so much distrust that Mabel was nervous her brother would loose sight of his promise to her.

If anything it reinforced it.

Mabel was probably one of the only people Dipper talked to anymore. Maybe Wendy on an off day. Maybe Grunkle Stan on a verrrrry off day. But he didn't even say hi to Grunkle Fiddleford anymore, or Soos, didn't talk to anyone in town. Just Mabel. It was concerning, but the reason Mabel got for the change in behavior was worse. Dipper had gotten more information out of that Author when they were alone together. Figures. Turns out their Grunkles were apart of some weird memory cult thing, where they had a machine that could just. Delete memories. Just like that. How terrifying that was, knowing someone you loved could hold something like that, use something like that, and never tell you? How could you even tell someone that? Mabel has memories she never wanted to remember again, she could understand that, but what gets someone to the point they steal someone else's memories?

Mabel watched and watched and watched as her brother stumbled even deeper into paranoia and made a decision after a week of on and off joining Dipper on these missions.

They were going to finish that evil shadow Authors stupid missions, get him to fix the (Grunkle side at least) family, and then Mabel was going to get her twin the hell away from him, no matter how much Dipper thought they could Trust and rely on him. Mabel knew it was because Dipper idolized the Author, thought he was the coolest person alive aside from Mabel (and oh, didn't that hurt so bad to hear, when that stupid mirror man was Hurting her Twin.)

Mabel would almost feel bad about leaving Candy and Grenda in the dust, but Mabel would give the mirror man this:

There really were very few people here she could Trust. Maybe not 'Trust' in the way the twins were keeping secrets, or Trust in the way Mabel still Trusted that her Grunkles would never hurt them no matter what Dippers paranoid brain told him.

However, what Mabel didn't Trust, was having anyone but family protect her brother. Especially in this town. Especially after the Author. They just wouldnt understand what Mabel had to do to keep her twin safe. Which was being next to her at all times. So as lovely as having friends had been, Mabel strapped a newly purchased, fully stocked supply kit to her pig Waddles, grabbed a backpack, and lead her twin into the fire he would've jumped into alone.

(This Pt 1. Of the Twins arc, more on the way!)

Also, for those who made it till the end, this Au has 2 endings. It is called BADEND FiddleStan for a reason. =)

Also light version of the pic!

[joogios]

See the Marley arc was kind of pathetic in that needed way way way more worldbuilding to make it feel like a real place with people that didn’t deserve to die instead of just the enemy camp. Like, as a history lover its easy to understand the way life would have been in Liberio—the Special Powers Act/s imposed on English-ruled Ireland, the Nuremberg Race Laws imposed on Nazi-era Jews, etc.

What’s their capital city? Do the Warriors go there? Are the Warriors even getting paid for what they do? What wars exactly have they won with their Titans? What do the actual Marleyeans like the ones far far from any Eldians/too busy with their own lives think of Eldians? Do they have a religion which Eldians ‘stand against?’ Or are they science based? Are there laws on the Eldians within Liberio and not just outside? What countries are they in alliance with?

Even if it wasn’t explored by characters (which is bullshit, its the main enemy and home to the protag’s brother and three ex-Scout betrayers) it could’ve been presented in those mid-scene infodump screens. Marley is probably 30’s/40’s America, Hizuru is basically an amalgamation of Asian countries with Japan at its forefront and award of the year goes to whoever can guess what the gigantic unnamed Mid-East is meant to represent.

[aspoonofsugar]

What do you think so far of season 2 of Arcane ? Honestly I think for my part that it’s too rushed and there are too many storylines it’s so confusing. Besides they completely destroyed Vi and Caitlyn relationship lol the disappointment is high

Hi!

I am sorry you are not enjoying the season very much. On my part I am loving it and I am looking forward to the final act!

I think much criticism I have seen stems from the very own premise of Arcane as a show tbh. I think there are two things to clarify.

First thing to clarify

Arcane is in the end a League of Legends show. Its main commercial goal is to explore the Lore of the Game, so that new fans can be brought in and old fans can have fun spotting easter eggs. As a result, it takes some choices that in another story you wouldn't have. Two examples:

1- Mel's arc feels out of the blue, but it ties into the lore of the game (I heard they wanted to make Mel into a new champion? If so, she is probably going through an arc where she is receiving magical abilities, as smart as fuck and good at politics isn't exactly a set skill that works in LOL). It is a storyline you would not usually add, as you would not usually add the Black Rose shenaningas. They added it because it probably lets them add a new champion to the game and it lets them play homage to another popular character of the game. That said, Mel's own storyline has the potential to tie nicely with the main plotline:

a) Mel's disappearance does in fact have an impact on the narrative, i.e. it lets Medarda do as she pleases in Piltover. If Mel were around, there is no way she would have let her mother establish Martial Law without a fight. I think Mel could have also had a positive influence on Cait. Not only that, but Medarda's love for Mel humanizes her character and gives more depth to her relationship with Caitlyn. It is obvious Medarda and Cait's bond is one where they are projecting on the other a loved one. Cait finds a new mentor figure/mother after Cassandra's death. Medarda finds a new mentee figure/daughter after Mel's disappearance. They are not mother and daughter, but they project on each other a need they both feel, as they are both grieving.

b) Mel has always been linked to Jayce and Viktor's B plot aka Arcane plot, as she, Viktor and Jayce are the ones who created HexTech. This season Viktor and Jayce have both "touched" the Arcane, which has traumatized them in opposite ways. In a sense, they have both lost their humanity in the pursue of progress. Moreover, they have both become entangled with magic. Well, even if I know very little of LOL Lore, I think it is safe to assume Mel inherited some kind of magical ability. The fact she is trapped in some kind of magical dimension where she has to decipher old runes makes me believe her experience is not very different from Viktor and Jayce, thematically. They all pursued progress through science, only to now face something of wild and irrational. Also, Mel being the one with the higher magical potential among the trio could be pretty interesting.

2 - I would not have wanted Vander to come back in any other series and was skeptical about the choice of having him be Warwick. That said, I also understand it makes a very interesting background for the champion, so I understand why they made this decision. What's more, I actually like a lot how he has been used. Instead of being reduced to a simple agent of chaos, he has been used as a catalyst in Vi and Jinx's arcs.

Basically, they are taking choices, I would not recommend in any other story. However, they are making them work pretty well both for Arcane and for LOL.

Second thing to clarify

It is true Arcane is an ensembled cast and it balanced different pov rather well in season 1. However, this does not mean that ALL characters have the same importance. I think both season 1 and this season so far have made very clear that the story has ONE main character, that is Jinx:

She is the one given the major focus BY FAR.

The whole first season is her journey to become the Jinx in the games, which is symbolically why the season ends with her embracing this alterego. Every other major character's plotline in the main A plot is after all tied to her. Vi wants to save her. Silco wants to control her. Caitlyn wants to arrest her. She is the reason why Cait and Vi meet each other in the first place. Not to count she also unwillingly kicks off the B plotline by having Jayce's research come to light.

The second season so far has revolved around her, as well. This time she is going through a journey, where she tries to fix what she has broken. At the same time, she has to accept the consequences of her own actions. She grieves Silco, connects with Sevika, adopts Isha and tries to mend her relationship with Vi. Meanwhile, all the other major characters are impacted by her. She is at the centre of the conflict between Vi and Cait, for example. She is the one who almost kills Viktor, so that Jayce tries to resurrect him. Finally, she becomes the centre of the major conflict between Piltover and Zaun.

In short, I think it is fair for people to be annoyed their faves are not receiving the screentime or focus, they had hoped. However, I think that so far the series has been coherent in keeping Jinx at its center. We'll see if it will be so for the ending, as well.

Finally, I don't think Vi and Cait's relationship was ruined. I think the conflict among Vi, Cait and Jinx is actually my favourite part of this season. I will add that their conflict is actually a mirror of the first season:

Season 1 has the first act focused on Vi's relationship with Powder and it ends with their separation / Season 2 has the first act focused on Vi's relationship with Cait and it ends with their separation

Season 1 has the second act focused on Vi and Cait's relationship, as Vi looks for her family / Season 2 has the second act focused on Vi and Jinx's relationship, as they look for their family. Both relationships start as conflictual and slowly grow better

In season 1's third act, Vi fails to reconcile her relationship with Cait with the one with Jinx. We'll see if in the final act of season 2, she will fare better.

In short, it has never been only Vi and Cait, but always Vi, Cait and Jinx, as her lover and her sister represent two different sides of Vi. Just like Jinx has to reconcile both Jinx and Powder, so Vi has to reconcile both Jinx and Cait. Similarly, Cait needs to reconcile Vi and Jinx as two parts of Zaun.

In conclusion, I do agree that there are a little bit too many storylines, some of which might feel out of the blue. I also understand people wanted some characters to be explored more. However, I also think they are doing a great job at telling the story they want to tell and they are giving the viewers all the elements to understands the characters' developments. Surely, it would have been great to have some dynamics and psychologies explored more, but the writing level stays pretty high.

This does not mean you should like it, though. You probably were more interested in some dynamics and storylines that ended up being sidelined and it is totally valid to be annoyed by it.

Thank you for the ask!

[oddlittlestories]

…someday I will buy the Warehouse 13 DVDs and make gif sets so all my mutuals can get into Warehouse 13.

It’s such a good show y’all.

Imagine, if you will, a mystery format show where objects are causing a bad day, and a secret organization has to neutralize them and scoop them up to save the world’s day.

- Canon queer characters

- found family that grows

- starts with a dynamic duo + the grouchy uncle type who sends them on missions

- playing with tropes. The grouchy uncle feeds them cookies. The fmc is precise (to the point of pedantism) and the mmc gets “vibes” about a situation (and is sometimes sloppy). (They hate each other SO MUCH at first)

- really good backstories & backstory uncovering

- science fantasy with a really cool system that also stans NIKOLA TESLA and craps on the automobile industry

- episode arcs are cozy mystery format (with the best a/b and later a/b/c structure I’ve ever seen)

- season arcs are five act tragedies which also function as season cliffhangers.

- not TOO sad bc the most empowering question imo is “the worst thing possible happened. NOW what?”

- jokes about gov bureaucracy

- their cover is as the IRS

- it’s family friendly so they pull their punches. But NOT with what happens, just how it makes you feel. Safe show.

- the cops/feds in the show are corrupt or awful at least half the time

- the whole take on villains explores mental health, hope, and human connection

- which the main characters also explore. The show highlights the difference between CHOOSING to do the work and risk vulnerability vs. choosing to hurt people bc you’re hurt or no longer care.

It’s late 2000s tv so there’s some stuff (lots of military characters, the odd transphobic comment, Pete’s got a little toxic masculinity going on I think it was on purpose but still). But it also attempts to tackle so many things and it’s just a lovely, lovely show imo.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer, Issue #68: The Protector

I have to say, I am amazed that we have already reached the end of The Misadventures Arc. Well, it's not the end of it since there's still the side-stories that we need to cover, but I meant the end of the main story. It felt as if I just started reading it, and I think I know why that's so.

The Misadventures Arc had more of a slice-of-life feel to it, with the red thread that was followed being Clutch's infiltration into the Restoration with the aid of Mimic, Surge and Kit. In other words, these stories were a simple set up for what's coming in the next Arc, all while our heroes are more or less unaware of what's really going on.

So, how are we going to end this story? By going to the basics.

The story focuses on Sonic and Tails, who are on a hunt for a Chaos Emerald and testing out Tails upgraded Extreme Gear. It's a simple plot with beautiful artwork, and we can just kick back and relax as we watch the story unfold.

Tails checks the data he got from the Ex Gear, suspecting that he might out-speed Sonic. Sonic doesn't believe that, only to get overtaken by Tails who taunts him. Of course, Sonic takes this as a challenge.

Sonic boosts past Tails, only for the ground below him to fall apart and causing him to fall into it.

Tails rushes in to catch him, only to for the Ex Gear to malfunction, causing him to crash into the rocks.

Sonic catches him, trying to get some traction on the rocky surface, but unfortunately falls. Still, they're alive, but trapped in what appears to be some kind of mine system.

Deciding to find a way out, Sonic takes the lead, only for Tails to stop him when he sees the Chaos Emerald energy signal on the Miles Electric. Guess they got lucky with the Chaos Emerald, but going by the look of surroundings, this mine appears to be a place that had been abandoned in a hurry.

Didn't we already have a horror story with Scrapnik Island? Not that I'm complaining. X3

Nope! Instead of turning this story into a horror flick, Sonic and Tails come across an exit that leaves them baffled.

''Woah!'' indeed. This shot looks really beautiful! Kudos to the artists!

Sonic and Tails explore the cave in their search for the Chaos Emerald, with Sonic coming across a tiny lizard (foreshadowing!) and then finds the Chaos Emerald.

Satisfied that they found it, Sonic is about to get Tails, when suddenly, a giant lizard pops up!

Things just got more interesting as the lizard pins Sonic down on the ground, about to tear him apart, but Sonic kicks him in the head, calling out for Tails to help him.

Tails identifies this lizard as a huge salamander which, fun fact, actually exist in real life. Sonic doesn't care about the science behind that, asking Tails to give him a lift. Tails can't get close to him, but he does notice something odd about the salamander.

Sonic keeps running all over the place, hoping Tails will hurry up with whatever plan he has as the latter keeps tinkering with the Ex Gear. Sonic is in a pinch, as the salamander climbed onto the wall, with Sonic managing to escape just barely.

Luckily for Sonic, Tails throws the Ex Gear at him, having managed to fix it just in time.

Sonic uses it to escape the salamander just as it attempted to bite him in half, with Tails explaining what he had noticed. Turns out, the reason the salamander is so pissed off was because Sonic had disturbed the environment, while it barely noticed Tails, who was flying right behind it. In short, Tails needed to get Sonic off the ground with the Ex Gear and the salamander would calm down.

The salamander lays down, while Sonic praises Tails for his quick thinking and apologizes to the salamander for disturbing its home. He adds how they were only here for the Chaos Emerald, but if the salamander wants it, it can keep it. However, if they don't take it, someone else will come it and disturb this place (Eggman, most likely), with Sonic promising that everything will be okay if the salamander allows them to take the Chaos Emerald.

The salamander agrees to Sonic's terms, showing them the way out. I think it just wants them to leave it alone, which is a mood. X3

As promised, Sonic and Tails leave, realizing that they have been inside the whole day.

Sonic then closes the cave behind them, with Tails protesting how they could've made a lot of new discoveries thanks to the unique ecosystem within the cave, but Sonic points out how he was just keeping his promise in regards to not disturbing the salamander and its home.

Tails reluctantly agrees, with Sonic joking how the salamander reminded him of Knuckles, which yeah, I agree. X3

Laughing, the two go home and the story ends.

As mentioned before, this was a rather simple story with not much to add, and the actual main event will happen in the next Arc. However, I do want all of you to keep this Chaos Emerald in mind since this won't be its last appearance.

But for now, we'll have to say goodbye to the main storyline, because next time, I'll be focusing on Endless Summer.

See ya!

#Previous Issue

#Next Issue

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

[coffeegnomee]

Why the Eclipse Federation is so beloved for so long. An essay about Story.

In the book “Story Genius: How to use brain science to go beyond outlining and write a riveting novel” author Lisa Cron proposes:

“What drives a story forward is, at first blush, invisible. It’s not talent. It’s not voice. It’s not the plot. Think electricity. The same way even the most powerful lamp is useless unless it’s plugged in, a story can’t engage readers without the electricity that illuminates the plot, the voice, and the talent, bringing them to life.

The question is: what, specifically, generates that juice?

The answer is: it flows directly from how the protagonist is making sense of what’s happening, how she struggles with, evaluates, and weighs what matters most to her, and then makes hard decisions, moving the action forward. This is not a general struggle, but one based on the protagonist’s impossible goal: to achieve her desire and remain true to the fear that’s keeping her from it. As we’ll explore in detail, story is not about the plot, or what happens. Story is about how the things that happen in the plot affect the protagonist, and how he or she changes internally as a result” (bold added) 

And more to the point, “You can’t write about how someone changes unless you know, specifically, what they’re changing from.”

———

Where we begin

We launch the Eclipse Federation arc with PrinceZam telling his tale to ItzSubz_ in Detroit. Zam has just left his team because they duped thousands of items, terrorized the server, and were unwilling to let go of this unfair advantage. He tells how he battled them on the nether roof, lost everything, and was exiled. He was chased down, followed to his castle and was terrorized every day until he was killed over and over (#stonesword). He’s lost everything. He needs a team, he needs friends. 

This is where our story begins, a hero who has a specific and definitive backstory, something that compels him to reach out to our inciting incident: speaking to Subz when he’s on 2 hearts. 

Subz, seeing everything that has happened, sympathizes with Zam citing that he thinks they have both been wronged by the server and it’s time they stopped letting that happen. 

This is where the tragedy begins. 

Subz operates under the assumption that Zam wants to get back at those who wronged him. Zam agrees with this in the moment. 

But Subz fails to realize that it is the exploits that caused Zam to be wronged: if the exploits hadn’t happened, if the dupe war hadn’t happened, Zam would never have left his team and he, in turn, would never have been terrorized for weeks. 

And above anything else, Subz fails to realize that Zam does not want to be on a team that exploits.

Our hero, with a definitive backstory, is placed in a situation that directly places tension on that selfsame backstory.

The days go by and the team, now including Vitalasy, grows together, bonding over shared fights, laughing and joking, creating silly bedrooms with the most obnoxious blocks possible. 

All is well.

Then Ashswag reveals that he can one-tap any player, in any amount of armor, he has seemingly infinite amounts of totems, and he’s acting like he’s on a power trip, giggling and evading questions. 

Exploits have returned to the LifestealSMP.

Zam’s heart sinks as he realizes that something huge is brewing on the server. And it’s worse than any duped item he previously had been involved with.

Confused and hurt, he reaches out to his team to figure out what their next steps will be. How they’ll fight this disaster. 

But tragedy strikes again. Thanks to the beauty of streamed content, Subz accidentally goes live instead of starting a recording and he reveals that he and Vitalasy are the cause of these new exploited items and that they are very upset with Ash for showing them off. Because of this mistake, they decide to tell Zam everything.

Suddenly, against all odds, against all logic, against all reason, our main character is once again on a team who is using exploits and is unwilling to let them go.

It baffles the mind. How could he have been so clear with Subz about the reason behind him leaving Team Awesome and Subz still let him on the team knowing they had this exploit plan.

Once again it’s the beauty of streamed content that has brought our main charater into the most absurd of situations: they’re friends. Genuinely. Outside of content. Of course Subz brought him onto the team. Why would he not.

The reasons for the situation are simple, but the gravity of them affects Zam deeply. 

Our hero has to face a situation that directly relates to his past, as struggle of friendship vs values. 

No longer is this a situation of school yard bullying, creating obsidian prisons at spawn and using duplicated items to win fights; this is an apocalyptic situation. Lifesteal season 4 will end if this exploit is not stopped. What was obsidian is now bedrock, what was duped netherite is now one-tap potions, what was once withers destroying spawn are now mysterious creatures that kill players instantly.

So our hero has to face not only the apocalypse, but also himself. Battling against his love of his friends and his need for community and safety, while also battling for the safety of everyone on the server.

These streams slowly unfold a dark reality that anyone who has every been in a bad relationship has had to face. What do you do when the person you love is no longer recognizable? 

When your values are no longer aligned, have never been aligned? 

Do you leave them? Do you stay? Do you hope you can change them? 

How do you process the fact that they lied to you, let you in knowing that you are diametrically opposed to something that they were secretly doing? How do you process that it was an accident? That you hadn’t communicated the depth of the importance of this value (not exploiting) well enough so they didn’t pick up on it as important to communicate from the start?

How do reconcile lies that are told to your face? How do you stand up for yourself in the face of gaslighting? 

To quote Lisa Cron again, “The purpose of story - of every story - is to help us interpret, and anticipate, the actions of ourselves and of others.” (bold added)

This is the foundation of why this arc was so tragic, so compelling. Why it sticks in my mind for over a year now, the details as clear and crisp as the day I watched the streams. I can still see the actions being played out in that Minecraft blocky world like it was yesterday. The deepslate tiles of the communication room, the glowing yellow and purple and red signs, the prison in the sky, the exchange of trust apples. 

It’s not about the apocalypse, it’s about one man’s battle within himself. So he leaves the team. Sticks up for himself and stakes a claim against exploits.

But the tragedy continues. As the days pass we realize that maybe Vitalasy was telling the truth and he isn’t going to be the villain. Everything contradicts this opinion. He’s flying, he’s one-tapping Planet in the prison, he’s using the potions. He’s going insane but remaining delusional. 

And yet he continues to insist he’s not evil. He’s good. 

Every storytelling tactic says this man should be the villain and yet he refuses to do so (creating some new interesting content as the streamers have to contend with other members who don’t act within the rules of Play and of Content).

Eventually Vitalasy burns all his exploited items. Zam, left in abject frustration, releases a chunk ban which only bans Mapicc. Giving up, he leaves. And Vitalasy bans himself, throwing himself off the prison over and over, sealing the story that he is not the villain. He was misunderstood.

To quote the Mer essay “anger transmute(s) into grief as if by magic” and FarmerZam is born. The story has affected our protagonist deeply and he has changed. He has no enemies. He refuses to look at how he’s hurt his friends because it’s simply too painful. Everything that could have gone wrong has. 

Then Subz revives Vitalasy. Takes him around the server to their old bases while Vitalasy remains in depression about being misunderstood. He doesn’t want to be here. 

But as Subz reveals the final base, before they go through the end portal, Vitalasy catches a glimpse of a new sign room, one filled with depressive thoughts. The same thoughts he has been having this whole stream. You can almost hear his posture fix as he realizes the state of mind Subz is in. He needs to convince Subz to stay.

But we all know what happens, the trajectory of lives are changed. Subz has Vitalasy kill him, banning him off for the rest of the season, promising to be back when Vitalasy needs him most, but for no one else. 

Zam sees the death message and panics. He needs answers, he needs to bring Subz back. He’ll do anything to bring him back since it was Subz, it always has been Subz, who took him in when he had nothing. He realizes in a flash that he cares more about the friendship than about any values he held. But it’s too late now.

The tension, the sorrow stays. Zam decides to repair all his old friendships before the wormhole opens and this world ends. Vitalasy is forgiven. Spoke, Mapic, Ro. Planet, Bacon, Jaron. Everyone he betrayed. Everyone he let down.

But he forgot about Pangi. 

But Pangi didn’t forget about him. He has always been there for Zam, but Zam time and again has abandoned him. He’s had enough. With the server ending, he’s going to get his amends, make him repent (thanks Chips. I mean. Credit to the artist)

He traps Zam in bedrock. 

And Zam breaks. 

Friendships, betrayal, enemies. Everything comes full circle. It seems you can’t escape your past just as you can’t escape being on the exploit team.

Once again we enter the story with a defined background, but this time it breaks Zam completely. 

It’s not about exploits. It’s not about fairness. It’s about friendship. It’s about Subz. Subz was the only one who truly cared about him. He didn’t bring him onto the team maliciously, he really and truly cared about Zam and now he was Gone. Grief wells to the surface, Subz’s words about getting back at everyone who wronged them rings in his ears. 

He’s going to talk to Spoke and end the world. 

But his heart rebells even now. He’s betraying everyone again. But he’s sick of betraying. He won’t do it again, no matter how much chat tries to convince him Spoke is just using him and doesn’t care about him.

He’s going to end the world so that Subz will come back. 

And then the pièce de résistance. Subz IS revived. And he’s disappointed in Zam for changing sides and joining the exploiters when he left them because if it.

The depths of that final conversation makes Zam’s story the most insane tragedy. It has been 5 months of near daily or every other day developments on this story. The twists and turns have produced laughter and tears, cheering, anger, frustration, satisfaction, depression. 

And in the end? Subz still chose Vitalasy. Man how I wanted them to take him back in that moment. But what was done was done. These are the consequences of our actions. 

And in the end the circle comes to another completion: he’s back on a team with Mapicc, the same person he betrayed over the duped exploits. They promise each other to end the server with everyone banned, no matter what anyone else has to say. In the end they jump into the portals together and the server is moved to season 5. (I too, in union with where Zam ended his video, think it’s a good place to end the plot here rather than with that final scene on the grass. This is the last character decision he made)

———

The Present Moment

Zam was talking on stream a few days ago about how Kaboodle wanted to know why Eclipse was so beloved still. Mer’s essay came up (which I read and absolutely loved), but the essay talks more about the dynamics of the streamers themselves and how their relation to Play made the story compelling to watch. Which it absolutely does, and I’ve written about how much this has reframed how I view Lifesteal.

But I think that only covers one aspect. The deeper reason why there’s still fanart being drawn of Eclipse is how Zam created (and/or was handed) one of the most tragic plot lines ever created by man, and how he allowed himself to be affected by the story, and how he brought it alive through his streams as he “struggles with, evaluates, and weighs what matters most to [him], and then makes hard decisions, moving the action forward.”

And this is why Zam is so beloved by the community in general. This is how he approaches every arc on Lifesteal. Most recently the Joker arc launched from the Abyss betrayal, which in turn, after his ban the first day of hardcore, turned into the possession arc as he realizes his love of Mapicc and Ro goes beyond his obsession with Minute and Jumper. 

Each note of Lifesteal flows into the other as he lets us into the inner workings of his mind as he weighs one decision from another.

Because at the end of the day, I remember the tragedy, the longing for friendship and the betrayals, more than I will ever remember the circular reasoning of Vitalasy or the “okay”’s from pb&j. I only remember the strained voice of Zam as he wrote signs and went in circles trying to reconcile the fact that he couldn’t stay on a team and he couldn’t leave. How he was being dangled off the edge of a cliff being held up by Vitalasy. How Minute just doesn’t get it, he needs to be shown what Lifesteal is. His maniacal laughs as the Joker. Zam allows the story to affect him and he uses every ounce of it to create even more. 

As Branzy said in the therapy session “It’s a human story. About what humans are.”

To their credit, Subz and Vitalasy also allowed themselves to be affected by the story. Without Vi banning himself because he was so misunderstood, and Subz bringing him back to ban him so that Eclipse could have some sort of ending, and without Subz doing so much lore with Zam in 1 on 1 conversations, we wouldn’t have the same story.

The same with Pangi finishing his lore by trapping Zam because Zam didn’t do the god-off with him. The same with Ash being Ash and flexing his god powers. The same with Spoke bringing Zam into the team and then getting caught up in managing the wormhole so he didn’t have time for 1 on 1’s with Zam to make him feel totally accepted as a valuable member. The same with Mapicc always being willing to let go of the past to save himself as well as never letting go of the past so he has something to do on the server. The same with Planet talking to Zam and Bacon and figuring out how to fight the exploits and realizing they needed to convince Zam to betray. The same with Branzy giving the craziest therapy session lifesteal has ever seen. Without each member allowing themselves to be affected by the story, the story doesn’t go anywhere. 

[homestuckreplay]

Webcomics at Day 100 #8: El Goonish Shive

Pages read: 1/21/2002 – 12/27/2002 & 4/14/2009 – 12/29/2009; about 300 pages (including author’s commentary)

Reason for selection: To be honest I just wanted to read it. It’s best known for its real-time exploration of transgender themes via science fiction technology as author Dan Shive (along with many others on the internet) explores his personal experience with gender.

Current status: Ongoing since 2002 with no major hiatuses; update schedule has varied but is currently three times a week for the main comic.

Content warnings: nonconsensual gender transformations, non-explicit sexual themes with 16-17 year old characters, cultural appropriation (Japanese language; dreamcatchers), period typical sexism and homophobia (early strips only)

Note: To the best of my understanding, Dan Shive uses he/him pronouns, but if anyone has a recent source stating otherwise please let me know and I’ll revise this post.

Overall thoughts:

‘And then Susan was all like "I am NOT your strawman", hit me with a hammer, and developed into one of my most favoritist characters ever in anything.’ (Commentary for 5/29/2002)

On August 1, 2014, as part of a Patreon goal, Dan Shive began going through the archives of his already long running webcomic, adding author’s commentary to early strips. In the twelve years between making and commenting on his 2002 comics, Shive has gone from being a teenager with no formal artistic experience who’s absorbed the sexist attitudes of his culture, to an experienced artist and writer with a vision for his project and an honesty about his process who’s ready to be both excited and critical about his early work.

Shive states several times that his commentary isn’t designed to be read on a first read of EGS, but I personally disagree. Around May 2002 in the archives, I realized I was reading for the extremely compelling commentary and not the then-fairly mediocre comic. Shive’s clear excitement for future storylines and regular references to his improvement as an artist and person gave me the drive to keep reading, knowing the upward journey ahead of me. The commentary also provides an alternate, twisting path through the narrative, frequently linking back to previous comics when they’re relevant to help the reader notice foreshadowing and continuity, which is really helpful for a new reader taking in lots of information at once – and I like seeing an author clearly proud of himself for his hard work foreshadowing, where some creators might be dismissive of the feat or ignore it altogether.

EGS – named for the ‘goons’ hired by supervillains - begins by focusing on regular(ish) high schoolers Tedd, Elliot and Sarah, and top-secret lab experiment squirrelgirl Grace. Tedd has a mad science laboratory in his home where he creates questionable technology, including a laser gun that can change the target’s species and biological sex. The characters form relationships and experiment with this technology. When Elliot gets ‘stuck’ in a female form, an adventure to restore his original form ends in his male and female forms becoming two separate entities, after which point Ellen, the female version, explores her existence as essentially the human form of Elliot’s removed curse, and achieves self-actualization while fighting a giant pile of goo.

Ellen’s identity exploration in October 2002 was when I began to connect emotionally with the comic itself, and I started noticing improvement in the art in November. Shive improves massively in the first year, and even he’s surprised by it – a character casually mentions that he’s gay in June 2002, and Shive’s commentary says that he doesn’t remember this happening so early. 2002’s ‘Sister’ arc, which runs for around nine months, uses a board game metaphor to describe the story beats – it’s a little clunky in places, but I like what it’s going for. By 2009, Shive is far more confident with complex emotional arcs, and with balancing serious/comedic and magic/realist elements in his story, which can only come from those first efforts to improve.

‘You look in the mirror, but someone else looks back. You remember a life you never had, one that cannot be yours. You are the piece that does not fit, you don’t belong in this game. The board has been knocked over, you shall be swept away…’ (Strip title (!!) for 10/02/2002)

Shive is an anime fan and former martial artist, and the comic assumes a knowledge of anime – especially anime fight scenes – that I just don’t have. However, Shive is good at citing his influences, mentioning Ranma ½, Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon and The X-Files as inspiring specific choices, among others. With the exception of an excruciating ‘how dare you not get that reference’ in-comic moment in June 2009, knowledge of Shive’s influences isn’t necessary to enjoy EGS; he’s just giving credit where it’s due.

EGS begins with a typical newspaper format – a horizontal black and white four-panel strip, with a full color A4 strip on Sundays. Although Shive never experiments with animated or interactive elements, he plays around with the strip format and panel size in the early years. In July 2002, Shive uses three-panel strips describing the actual continuity, with a fourth horizontal panel below containing events that ‘don’t actually happen’. Shive also tries out using the comic’s title for extra information, as in May 2002’s ‘Jeremy is Juggling Dinner Plates Off-Screen in the Last Three Panels’. By 2009, the majority of comics fill an A4 page in shaded grayscale, a format that carries through to this day. In an August 2009 author’s commentary, Shive considers how a scene would look if animated, but doesn’t express any desire to actualize on this.

My favorite thing about EGS is how Shive discusses his characters. In his commentary, he addresses ‘past me’ with criticism like ‘you should at least have a decent reason if you're going to make Grace upset like that’, or says he ‘honestly didn't want to write commentary’ for a strip where Ellen was upset, showing a really strong emotional connection to the leads. He also addresses the characters directly in commentary, and discusses them as though they have agency beyond his own, for example, ‘I gave Tedd access to something he could totally abuse without anyone knowing, and he didn't’. He’s very interested in alternate universes of his own story, claiming to be an Elliot/Tedd shipper since 2002 despite their not being canon in the main comic, and creates the EGS: NewsPaper subcomic for non-canon storylines.

Among literary writers and critics, it’s very unfashionable to discuss characters this way, but a lot of mainstream and hobbyist writers (including me!) have had these experiences. I think it’s human instinct to connect with other people, and it’s a strength that we’re able to create the idea of a guy and see them as real, like when we see a face in the clouds or in raindrops running down a windscreen. It helps with having compassion for real people we’ve never met. And while it’s definitely not the only way to look at characters, an author being so excited and invested about their own OCs definitely helps me get excited about them too.

The first villain introduced in the comic is a sentient pile of goo, accidentally made by Tedd in science class. The goo, which can mold and change shape, becomes a recurring enemy – an ultimate shapechanger for a story that’s so deeply focused on transformations. It’s a story about malleability and getting the chance to physically shape yourself into the person you want to be, and at its start, it’s definitely a wish fulfilment comic. That applies to lots of things that a young person might think is cool – the existence of an ‘anime martial arts’ class, getting a squirrelgirl gf who walks around your house naked, breaking in to government facilities to steal jewels – but applies especially to the transformations.

Actually, no, the title of this comic [‘The Real Reason for the Male/Female Options on the TF Gun’] is such a liar. It is lying super hard. I don't care if that's a spoiler. I'm just gonna say it. Liar liar, metaphorical pants on all SORTS of fire. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is yet another example of me basically saying "not that that sort of thing interests me and has been on my mind for nearly literally as long as I can remember" (and only "nearly" because I think my earliest memory involves looking out at a porch or something and I'm pretty sure I wasn't thinking about being stuck as one sex at the time and how that was not a preferred state of being). (Commentary for 5/28/2002)

Relevance to Homestuck: [spoilers for Act 6]

‘Alright, someone send a message to past me to send a message to his past me telling past-past me to get back to me in regard to…’ (Commentary for 8/28/2002)

Both Homestuck and EGS are known for causing fans’ queer and transgender awakenings, which leads to a particularly powerful personal connection between the fans and the comic. Both feature characters with uncommon experiences of gender and sexuality, and characters who begin life as regular humans but develop animal traits. Both also feature multiple versions of the same character spread across different timelines and universes, and both even use the terms ‘alpha’ and ‘beta’ to distinguish between these versions. They explore identity in similar ways, including a focus on whether one version of a character can ever be the ‘true’ version, and the different potential versions of ourselves we all have the power to become depending on what choices we make, thereby exploring free will as it relates to identity formation. In both cases, this broader theme is explicitly connected to how characters choose to express their genders.

Also in both, the theme of gender is obvious from early on – before the authors themselves were fully aware of it. The exploration of this theme does date both comics, as understandings of gender among online queer communities have radically progressed in the past decade, but both are attempting to reflect changing understandings – Shive uses sex and gender interchangeably in early EGS strips, but becomes attuned to the distinction as time passes – and both are radically ahead of the mainstream media of their time. I’d also argue they better represent trans peoples’ real experiences of gender, instead of the ways we might describe our genders to cis people – but others might disagree.

Both comics start off with a very fast update schedule, which rapidly slows down over the course of the story in response to the author’s changing schedule – in both cases this dramatically affects the pace of the story, and storylines which would finish in months instead take years. EGS’ ‘Sister’ arc includes 158 comics released over 9 months in 2002-2003, while ‘Sister II’ includes 133 pages over 21 months in 2008-2010. This means that in-universe time passes far slower than real time, Homestuck famously taking two and a half years to cover a single in-universe day, and EGS taking nine years to cover eleven in-universe weeks. In Homestuck, Hussie is already much older than the characters at the story’s start, but in EGS this has major implications for an author who began as a peer of the characters aging much faster than they do – this has been softened by an in-universe timeskip.

Both comics contain occasional author-driven retcons; while Homestuck’s famous examples concern the characters’ race, EGS’ concern better characterization, and Shive is more open about them. A June 2002 comic contains an altered line of dialog from Susan, as well as a link to the original version, and the explanation ‘If I had to somehow explain how both the new and original version could be canon, my explanation would be this: The original was what Tedd imagined Susan was saying!’ (commentary for 6/27/2002).

There’s also some clear differences. While Homestuck becomes a collaborative project over time with Hussie moving into more of a director role, EGS continues to be one person’s very weird, unedited vision, with little outside input. It also primarily contains actual foreshadowing, instead of the ‘retroactive foreshadowing’ described by Hussie in their end of Act 2 Q&A.

Q: Is Tedd REALLY a guy? A: Yes! Well 99-- um, make that 95% certain. 90%. Yup. 80% certain he's a guy. Totally. ...65% certain. (EGS FAQ, archived on 2/13/2002)

Continue reading? Definitely. It’s not without problems, but I think EGS is important to the trans community, and I think Shive is an attentive, dedicated and gifted storyteller with a deep love for his own work, which is rare to find in something so long-running.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi! I was wondering if you happen to know of any ttrpgs that utilize dragoons as a class option/thematic presence?

THEME: Dragoons

Hello, so when I followed up with you, you mentioned that you wanted dragoons from Final Fantasy, rather than the historical dragoons - and I’m glad I clarified, because I was sifting through historical games at first. From what I understand, the main points of dragoons is that they are a class who fights with a spear, with strong elements of launching themselves into the air/attacking from heights to land hits with extreme force. I also understand that they are meant to have strong relationships to dragons. So let’s see what we’ve got.

Final Fantasy Legend Edition, by Mildra the Monk.

This is an intermediate-complexity tabletop roleplaying game based on the Japanese console RPG series, Final Fantasy.Whether you're a veteran or someone new to the series, these streamlined rules and various customization options will help you get started with ease.

When I went to check out this game, the Dragoon class was the first image listed on the storefront. This class comes with some classic jump abilities, and other character abilities that are all about pinning down your enemies from the air. You also have access to the appropriately-themed Dragon Arts, tying your character intimately to their historic roots. The game itself moves through what it calls a four-phase structure: Preparation, Exploration, Encounter and Downtime. Each arc is likely to follow a quest that has been given to your characters, and these four scenes give you a procedural structure that typifies many ttrpgs.

Megalos: Crystalpunk Fantasy Roleplaying, by matara.

MEGALOS is a game for telling stories about adventures in the clouds, fighting evil empires, and dueling ancient gods. The Worlds of MEGALOS are vast and old, each a cosmic emanation connected to one another by the Wellspring- the source of all aether in the cosmos. Make your own World of MEGALOS or play in one of ours, from the Oradam Rift to Pallid Telkane to Zone Gachette to The Erefane. Soar through the air in an airship, dogfight imperials, and wield aetheric magicks as a punk-rock witch.

This tabletop game is inspired by things like classic JRPGs, electronica music, and medieval alchemy. MEGALOS is the first game to use the SLIPSTREAM game engine, which uses pools of d20s as the core of its task resolution mechanic.

The martial damage class for Megalos is called the Throne, and it hast at least two subclasses that I think you could use to make a Dragoon-like character. As a base class, Thrones have access to a flight ability called Liftoff, and both Arklights and Champions use this ability to do some neat things with combat.

Arklights are warrior monks, interested in the “protection and cultivation of ‘good’”. They have a lot of light and wings metaphors, including an ability called Falcon Dive, which allows you to dive at your opponent while in the air, with an upgrade ability to inflict piercing damage to multiple enemies. Then there’s the Champions, fighters who are all about learning new techniques and experiencing combat as a way of life. They’re very brawl-friendly characters, but their abilities Aerial Charge (which launches you in the air) and Meteor Drop (which is practically a dive-bomb attack) give me pretty strong Dragoon vibes.

Lancer, by Massif Press - and the Field Guide to Suldan, by KaiTave.

Lancer is a tabletop role playing game centred on shared narratives, customizable mechs, and the pilots who crew them. Set many thousands of years from the present day, Lancer imagines a future where a survivor humanity has spread to the stars after weathering terrible ecological collapse on Earth -- the end of the Anthropocene as a consequence of unrestrained consumption and poor stewardship.

Lancer features a mix of gritty, mud-and-lasers military science fiction and mythic science fantasy. In the setting, conscript pilots mix ranks with flying aces, mercenary guns-for-hire brawl with secretive corporate agents, and relativistic paladins cross thermal lances with causality-breaking, unknowable beings.

Lancer’s big thing is the ability to make a mech that can do some really cool things, all based around combat. You build your mechs with pieces you gain access to through licenses, many of which are distributed by various companies and organization. The base game has the IPS-N Nelson Frame, which is all about close-quarters combat and high mobility, with a gigantic War Pike that can puncture armour. If you want to go full Dragoon mode though, you’ll want to download the Field Guide to Suldan fan expansion, which has an additional frame option for the Nelson, giving you the power of flight - and an ability called Drive Burst, which allows you to move really fast in one direction and do a whole bunch of extra damage to anyone in your way.

If you want a game that’s all about figuring out neat combos and making your machine really really good at specific things, you want to try Lancer.

Fabula Ultima, by Need Games.

FABULA ULTIMA is a Tabletop Roleplaying Game inspired by Japanese-style console RPGs, or JRPGs.  In Fabula Ultima, you and your friends will tell epic stories of would-be heroes and fearsome villains, set in fantasy worlds brimming with magic, wondrous locations, and uniquely bizarre monsters!

A game that is typically advertised for folks who want a Final Fantasy experience, Fabula Ultima is likely going to hit a lot of similar plot beats and game moments that feel familiar. When it comes to character creation, you are expected to put together a few different options to make someone with a lot of cool talents that you can expand on as you grow.

One of the pre-gens in Press Start, a quick-start version of the game, looks fairly Dragoon-like, with a heavy spear and a move called “Soaring Strike” that looks like it can send you airborne to fight flying enemies, so I think it should be fairly easy to make the kind of character you’re looking for.

First Fantasy, by Marc Strocks.

A one-page RPG created for the game(s) jam.  In the year 199X, technological cities grow thicker by the day, feeding off the planet's resources. Demonic fiends fill the wilds, attacking anything that moves. With a weapon by your side, you travel the world. This is your mission. This is your story.

First-Fantasy is a single page full of a lot of roll tables, both for character creation and adventure creation. This game feels like it’s relying on folks who are well acquainted with the lore and tropes of Final Fantasy, and gives you a few tools to add chance to your story. Character creation is pretty slim, but the Dragoon class does give you the basics: a spear or a sword, a Jump-charge ability, and the metal plate you’d probably expect a knight of some kind to wear.

UMBRA, by Star Bear Games.

UMBRA is a Table Top Role Playing Game in which you delve into a world of bug Knights! It features the quick and snappy combat of the LUMEN system.

Under and within a grand oak tree lays a sprawling metropolis known as the Cradle. Making their lives under the watchful rule of the Ashen King, are the bugs of the Cradle. Every bug has a part to play, big or small, in the kingdom. For you, oh noble Knights, your part is that of protector.

Inspired by Hollow Knight, I thought about Umbra for two reasons: one, because the titular character of the game does a lot of jumping when in combat, and two, because this game is based in LUMEN, which is all about modular combat and strategy.

You cobble together a few different things to make your character unique, including a House, a weapon, and armour called Regalia, which give you different abilities or advantages. If you want to make a Dragoon-like character, I’d recommend making a bug from Horn House, which gives you the hard-hitting, high-damage typical of an armour-puncturing spear. You’d then make your spear by taking a Point weapon and giving it tags like Reaching, to give yourself the ability to stab from a distance. Then for Shell regalia, you can take either Hovering Wings, which gives you the ability to fly, or Propelling Wings, which give you heightened jumps, allowing you to stay in the air for extended periods of time.

If UMBRA itself isn’t the setting that you want but you like this level of customization, then I recommend checking out some other LUMEN games for different genres, but the same easy-to-learn fast-action strategy.

RottenFall Heroes, by LazerSamuraiGG

In a world forever changed by cosmic disaster, ordinary lives collided with the extraordinary. It all began with the sudden appearance of mysterious beings, turning unsuspecting humans into monstrous entities known as the ROTTEN. The trigger? A mysterious collision between an Obsidian Pyramid and the moon.

As if this upheaval wasn't enough, interdimensional beings known as VILLAINS seeped into our reality, distorting familiar landscapes into surreal nightmares.

Yet, amidst the turmoil, emerged a glimmer of hope – the Heroes. These courageous individuals joined forces, establishing schools and enterprises to combat the encroaching darkness. They ventured forth into the warped realities, confronting villains and safeguarding the innocent.

Mechanically, I cannot honestly say that RottenFall Heroes has anything that looks like a Dragoon in fighting style. However, what it does have is a class called a dragon knight, which involves a person who has a solemn pact with an ancient Dragon, who has granted them access to special powers. In Dragon Form, you are especially talented at wielding two-handed weapons, and I think you can choose a spear or lance if that’s what you desire. You can also re-roll your attacks when fighting with your clawed hands, and you’re resistant to fire. If you want the connection to dragons more than the ability to jump really high and pile-drive someone from the sky, then you might be interested in RottenFall Heroes.

You might also want to check out…

The Fire Emblem recommendation post I put up a couple of weeks ago.

The Official FFXIV TTRPG has Dragoon options! And it looks like there are free versions of the rulebooks.

This playbook for SLAYERS is all about playing a Dragoon-like character.

[ethanhuntfemmefatale]

spent a bit of time today writing out some thoughts on ford as a character and thought it might be fun to put them here. I think ford is a really interesting commentary on heroism and his role in gravity falls is specific and pointed. theres a lot more i COULD get into (the way he and Stan act as foils for example) but here I just want to explore the fundamental ideas of his arc which includes parts of his dynamic with Bill Cipher and Dipper.

I really love the way gf combines the ideas of the lone hero/adventurer (a classic hero trope) with the ideas of the mad scientist (a classic villain trope) to reveal the way they're really based in similar lines of thinking and emotional pitfalls. Ford's isolation & paranoia, his tendency to put his own body on the line, his (relative) willingness to endanger others for his cause...it all points out a neat overlap between the guy who wears all black and carries a gun at his hip and the guy who WOULD inject himself with some kinda substance in the name of Science. I think that's part of why from what I've seen the fandom can be pretty conflicted on Ford--even on a basic design level, he evokes strong and conflicting feelings.

A key moment to me in establishing the ideas of Ford's arc happens at the very beginning of Weirdmageddon--a strange point to choose maybe since it's so late in the show, but I feel like those three episodes beautifully encapsulate Ford's failures and his development. After realizing what's happened, Dipper is desperate to find Mabel and make sure she's all right. Ford tells him, there's time to find her later--right now we have to stop Bill before the weirdness spreads. I love the way that the show presents throwaway moments like this: they're not questioned in the moment, but they stick out to you anyway because they run so counter to the philosophy of the show. Through the past 2 seasons, not only has the show proven that saving Mabel is more important than stopping Bill, it's also proven (and proves again after this) that saving Mabel is essential to stopping Bill. Evil isn't defeated by one guy being brave enough to shoot a gun at it, it's defeated by a community that works and fights together. And, hilariously, Ford is captured within the first 7 minutes of the episode, making everyone else's jobs way more difficult.

To be clear, it would be a complete misunderstanding of the character to say that Ford prioritizes stopping Bill first because he doesn't care enough about Mabel or her safety. It's precisely because he cares so much that he doesn't look for her right away. Ford has bought thoroughly into the lie that Bill fed him, which is that devastating personal sacrifice is not only right & good, but necessary in order to accomplish great things. As long as Ford believes that lie, he remains Bill's perfect prey—even with a metal plate in his head, even 30 years after the initial manipulation. Ford will easily give up sleep, food, friendship, family, sanity, and his own life, if he can be convinced he's doing it for the right reasons. And he's very easy to convince! Ironically, despite being arguably one of the most formidable characters in the show, he's also arguably the weakest and most gullible of the main cast, because he's so obsessed with the idea of giving up everything for something greater than himself.

That lie of the moral necessity of self-sacrifice, the lie that makes it possible for Ford to give up his brother, lock himself in his basement, be angry when he’s brought back home, and nearly destroy the world, is heavily in the offing through the Ford-Dipper plotline of Dipper and Mabel vs the Future. Ford offers Dipper apprenticeship and tells him that he’s capable of handling it—but it would require personal sacrifice, giving up his childhood with Mabel to join Ford in his self-imposed isolation. A test of Dipper’s aptitude for that kind of sacrifice occurs in that episode: Ford nearly dies, and orders Dipper to let it happen so that the rift is kept safe. Dipper doesn’t even think before disobeying him. He doesn’t seem to consider it a decision. There's no thought of the greater good when his uncle needs him.

Later, talking to Mabel about the idea of joining Ford as an apprentice, he says how ridiculous it is--sees it for a fantasy. The image of heroism Ford presents is appealing, but it's a lie.

For Gravity Falls, a show with two central protagonists, a show arguing over and over that the only way to change things for the better is to work with, trust, and care for your loved ones, Ford's position is an interesting one. I'd argue that thematically he stands in a more relevant antagonist position than Bill Cipher. He represents everything that the show is poised against. He's set up carefully as the epitome of Cool, with a masterful buildup to his entrance, badass styling, and hero worship from Dipper (the closest thing GF has to an audience insert.) And then, slowly and subtly, the show reveals how the lie of the lone hero has convinced him to hurt himself and everyone around him, nearly to the point of destruction.

I love him dearly. The best awful guy of all time

[hms-no-fun]

a little late asking you a question but do you have some favourite books to share? and why they are your favourite? like such as how did they influence your way of thinking, your relationship with art, your way of writing, &c.

i've gotten a few asks about books/writing that influenced me and this is the most open-ended one, so, congratulations on winning that lottery anon.

the book that most recently affected me is The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. it's about a representative from an intergalactic alliance of worlds embedding within and learning about the culture of a previously uncontacted civilization, to try to get them to join. but really, it's about observing the sociological particulars of a human culture where everyone is functionally intersex, and sort of swap male/female gender roles during the time period when they're (for lack of the term actually used in the book that i can't remember) "in heat". it's an astonishing work of science fiction that is every bit as good as its reputation suggests. i had a hard time getting into the first 20-30 pages, but once it really digs into the particulars of "shifgrethor" (this culture's all-important sense of decorum and near-invisible communication that the protagonist struggles to understand til the end) i was hooked. i love fictional social systems. i'm a homestuck, i can't help it. there's a profound materialism in how Le Guin observes this culture into being that unlocked something in me. i'll be thinking about the journey across the ice for the rest of my life.

i was also very inspired by This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, perhaps the most pure distillation of the feminine desire to hatefuck your rival into an ascendant beacon of cosmic revolution yet put to the page. much of how they write about time travel has made it into godfeels, not to mention the wildly extravagant and brief but numerous visions of absolutely batshit speculative alt-history tableau. i mean, the way they talk about Atlantis as this sort of annoying constant of the timeline, sometimes real and sometimes fake depending on the strand, definitely casts a shadow over the metaphysics explored in Chapter 8.

the other book i always recommend alongside Time War, because i read them at the same time while i was in the middle of production on Chapter 8 in 2021, is There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm. anyone who's read it or knows about it can immediately spot the gargantuan influences it's had on Silverbark's narrative in Chapter 8 and especially in Double Album. if you're not aware, Antimemetics Division is a standalone SCP novel about a branch of the Foundation dedicated to studying & intercepting the phenomenon of antimemes, ideas & entities that defy our ability to remember them in various ways. think The Silence in Matt Smith's second season of Doctor Who, or the Void Fish in the Balance arc of The Adventure Zone. i'm not an SCP person at all, i think i've read maybe half a dozen other SCP entries, so i'm not totally full of it when i say this book stands very tall on its own two legs. i very much intend to take a closer look at it in detail down the road because i think, whether intentional or not, the main "villain" of Antimemetics Division operates as a very handy analogue for the socio/psycho-logical effects of the profit motive on individuals & on society at large. also: Marion Wheeler is so fucking good. i did not know she existed when i came up with Silverbark but you bet your ass it's an influence now.

a non-fiction book that's had an outsized influence on me is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. i always feel self conscious about bringing this one up because it sounds like a self-help book or some kind of Chicken Soup for the Soul ass grifter textbook. that absolutely could not be farther from reality. ZAMM was written in the 60s and it's a semi-autobiographical philosophy of metaphysics text by a professor of rhetoric who some years ago underwent electroshock therapy after a destructive manic phase. it follows Pirsig on a motorcycle trip across the American west with his son and some college friends, as he tries to uncover the ideas that drove his past self (who he characterizes as a different person that he calls Phaedrus) off the wall. those ideas concern the nature of "quality" and how we perceive it. as in, why should we Know that a good painting is "good" within seconds of examining it, in the same manner that we know a stove is hot almost before we've even touched it? he digs deep into how we conceptualize the split between objectivity and subjectivity, and posits that understanding Quality requires a substantial re-evaluation of our base assumptions about human perception. of course there's SO much more to it than that, it's a beautiful and strange book that succeeds in part because its philosophy is deeply couched within the metaphor of a road trip, making it a lot more accessible than an otherwise straightforward metaphysics text. i read it in an honor's philosophy class full of incurious Christians at age 22, and that was absolutely the perfect time for it.

another non-fiction entry would be Acceptable Men by communist labor agitator Noel Ignatiev. it's a memoir about his time working at Gary Steel Works in the 70s, at the time the largest steel works factory in the world. it relates in very simple terms how racism sabotaged the USAmerican labor movement through anecdotes from his workplace. it's important, i think, for those of us dreaming of & pushing for a more equitable world to stare long and hard at struggles past and not lose their most valuable lessons in our desire to simply have it be true that unions are good. they are good but they're not everything, and in fact they're just as capable of systemic dysfunction and capitulation to capitalist white supremacy as any other organization of human beings.

what else? i started reading The Traitor Baru Cormorant and much enjoyed its early pages, but holy shit that's one long book in a series of long books. people are telling me to read Exordia so i might give that a shot. i've got Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt as well as May Leitz's Girlflesh on my desk, just waiting for the day i'm psychologically prepared to be ravaged by transfem body horror. i keep picking away at China Mieville's October, i'm sure one of these days i'll just sit down and power through it. of course i recommend everyone check out Lenin's State and Revolution, great book from the original poster, absolutely still relevant more than a hundred years later. and much easier to read than you might expect! no one ever talks about how entertaining he is as a writer, unless you hang out with communists in which case you're probably sick of us never shutting up about it.

i hope there's some good stuff in there, and not too much that i've written about before. i really need to make myself read more, but then again who doesn't?