#makes a list of least respected fantasy series that i have feelings for

[variousqueerthings]

feel like ive gotta get some people in on the abarat hype-train, it has 21 non-crossover fanfics total on ao3, clive barker did not personally paint 500 character and place designs for his own currently 1200 page+ fantasy series to not have more respect

[stardewremixed]

Stardew Valley Employment Headcanons

I've been thinking a lot about how many folks in the Valley don't work. In some ways, it feels realistic. A small town that is clearly dying until the Farmer comes along struggles with unemployment rates. It could be related to high taxes (*side-eyes* I'm looking at you, Lewis) and competitive megacorporations (like Joja) undermining the local economy. However, I'd like to do a little headcanon for the residents and their job situation.

Under spoilers, because TL;DR.

Abigail - after graduating with a degree in art history, Abigail starts working out in her mother's fitness group. She starts swimming at the spa. And she starts a workout regiment with Alex. Of course, this leads her to finally join the Adventure Guild full-time, protecting the Valley and exploring the depths of the mines. She still jams from time to time with Sam and Seb. I also like to think she leads a local Scouts troop.

Alex - this man deserves to have an amazing job as a pro gridball player. However, while he waits, he could coach a local kids team at the Community Center. I can also see him work part-time stocking shelves at Pierre's General Store. Maybe he lifeguards at the Ginger Island Beach during the busy season or drives deliveries out to Sandy in the desert for Pierre. Or he could work with Robin. Mmm... this man, chopping wood... fantasies. He still sells ice cream in the summertime maybe on the weekends or at festival days (because come on, Pierre needs a little competition and I love the idea of pineapple ice cream at the luau and stardrop sorbet at the moonlit jelly fest). I also see him doing odd jobs around the valley until he gets more stable work at Pierre's or Robin's. Need someone to fix your leaky roof? Alex is your man! (Because Evelyn mentions George can't do it anymore).

Elliott - I still like the idea of Elliott's secret wealth and he escaped his family to become a writer. However, maybe he regularly submits poems and sonnets via various contests online under a pseudonym, and does a few freelance articles (maybe on small towns, fishing, romance, etc.). This man deserves to publish a masterpiece and make it on a bestseller list, then gets an agent, and of course, publishes a series. He still does readings in the Valley at the library and the Saloon because he always wants to remember his humble roots and the people who cheered him on when he was a nobody in the business.

Emily - She absolutely needs to start a side-business as the town tailor. It's kind-of already in the lore, but I could see her starting up an online business (maybe with the help of Seb) on an Etsy-esque site. Also, I can see her helping out on the farm for a little something extra when she's not working at the Saloon. Maybe tending to the flowers, watering plants when the Farmer is in the Mines or off on the island or in the desert for the day. She mentions she would like to do this, but Gus apparently frowns on a side job. Hmm... well, I can see this girl eventually leaving her job at the Saloon to pursue her sewing passion full-time. She totally hosts a yoga class in the winter at the Community Center.

Harvey - He is already a well-respected town doctor, but the man is so stressed that he is hardly ever in the Clinic (at least not without mods). I propose Harvey hires some extra help, an associate, maybe another nurse, and a receptionist to assist, especially if patients from surrounding towns (like he mentions) start visiting (i.e. expansions). And he teaches first aid classes at the Community Center.

Haley - Like Leah, she needs an art exhibit to showcase her photography. Unlike the other villagers, I don't see her staying in the Valley, eventually pursuing the work of a freelance photographer and traveling the world (like her absentee parents). She does make an annual trip back for the Flower Dance, her favorite festival. I have pursued Haley the least in game so I'm struggling to come up with more ideas here.

Leah - Speaking of Leah, she transforms the Valley into a premier art destination. She can teach art classes at the renovated Community Center. She teams up with Seb and Sam (and drags Elliott along for the ride, and the writing) to produce an avant-garde film about the art all around us in small towns. I also think she grows her own herbs and sells them at Pierre's, festivals, and the Farmer's Markets (as she gives me green witch vibes). Maybe she partners with Caroline (or the Wizard) to create some herbal potions and creams. And of course, she's still at it with woodworking, though these days she works on commission for those types of projects.

Sam - This man deserves to be a rock star. And I think he'd make a great solo artist. However, if his guitarist dreams don't pan out, he has options. In the vanilla game, he starts working with Gunther at the museum after JojaMart closes. It's a strange choice, but... I figure, maybe he minored in anthropology in college. He would absolutely give amazing tours of the museum, full of exuberant commentary, perfect for kids field trip days too. And I think he plays gigs in Zuzu City and at the Saloon regularly, and maybe even out at Sophia's winery (Stardew Valley Expanded).

Maru - Nursing just doesn't really seem to fit this woman of multiple interests. She finally pursues her passion of robotics and goes to work in a proper lab in a nearby City (doesn't have to be Zuzu - my headcanon is Pine-Mesa City or Grampleton from Stardew Valley Expanded). I think she makes regular trips to the Planetarium too. I could see her visiting the Valley on long weekends, and maybe taking the local kids club on a night-time stargazing event in the summer.

Sebastian - Please give this man a proper window in his basement, Robin! Okay, if he doesn't marry the Farmer, Seb moves out anyway and goes to live in the City for a while, to find investors for his indie game studio. In the meantime, he continues to do freelance programming work. And then, one day, he makes a breakthrough game that revolutionizes the industry. After making A LOT of money, he invests in a SAVE-THE-FROGS campaign, hires multiple developers and other staff, and starts working on his next big game. But he still makes time to jam with Sam and Abi from time to time, and of course, take long rides on his motorcycle.

Penny - This poor woman needs some love. Penny pursues her higher education and officially receives her teaching license. She is hired by the local school district so she can do more than just tutor. She can finally afford her own little apartment. She starts a kids club in the Community Center, and creates a summer reading program at the Stardew Library. And I like to think she takes a monthly trip to Zuzu City to shop in a big bookstore for fresh reading material when she has some down time.

Shane - Oh this guy is definitely a mess. If you don't "romance" him in game, he doesn't really turn his life around, and even if he does, it doesn't really point to recovery as it should, imo (without the help of mods). This man hates his job, and yet he feels stuck. I propose the following. After he recovers in therapy, completes rehab, and genuinely quits drinking (forever), and of course, loses his job at Joja (suck it, Morris!), Shane starts working at Marnie's shop and contracts out as a farmhand all around the Valley. Then he can be a proper godfather to Jas, and provide some actual service at the Ranch (when Marnie's off doing who knows what with you know who...)

I have thoughts for the other Villagers in the Valley too, but I'll save those for a different post.

[markantonys]

In the books Rand completely rejects his Aiel heritage. Jordan seemed to be going with telling the story of an adopted kid who decided only his adopted family mattered. But that's not the only way to tell that story so the show has the opportunity to do something different there if they want to. My preference would be not to have Rand reject his Aiel heritage but to refuse to abandon his Andoran heritage/Two Rivers upbringing. The Aiel canonically want him to become fully Aiel so for him to refuse to give up part of himself could be another way to frame it . They also resent the fact that Rand is only half Aiel and wasn't born in the Waste so they could do more of that imo

i'm trying to think of a useful response but my brain is too occupied by the sudden realization of the Bi Metaphor of rand being too aiel to fit in with wetlanders and too wetlander to fit in with aiel hahaha

anyway, from what i can remember, i don't know if i would say rand *completely* rejects his aiel heritage in the books (at least until the point when RJ himself shuffled the aiel off to the side in general because he wanted to play with the seanchan instead). i may be misremembering but i think rand DOES put in genuine effort to learn about aiel ways, but is just really bad at it and gets easily frustrated with trying to keep track of all the intricacies (which is completely understandable, especially since the aiel are making very little effort to adapt to HIS culture or meet him in the middle). and he IS curious about shaiel and janduin and is emotionally affected by hearing about them from the wise ones, even if he ultimately decides that tam and kari are his true parents (as he should! like you say, it's a great repudiation of the "blood family>adopted family" trope that is so prevalent in media and especially in fantasy where the Normie Adopted Family so often gets swept aside once the hero finds out about their Super-Special Secret Birth Family.)

and he knows that he needs to *be seen* adapting to aiel culture in some way in order to get the aiel's support, which is another interesting wrinkle in the whole situation, because his public behavior and his internal feelings are not necessarily aligned (i'm thinking of the alcair dal scene where i think all those lines about tam being his real father are just in his head as he's talking aloud to the aiel about being janduin's son). i'm not bothered by that sort of "i need to publicly buy into my aiel heritage but in my heart it's not who i am" attitude because i think it's pretty realistic for his situation. and maybe he starts shifting from "i just need to be seen doing this for political reasons" over to "i genuinely do respect aiel culture and want to learn about it, even if i'll never consider it MY culture" as he gets emotionally closer with aviendha and some of the other aiel.

but at the end of the day, while i like the aiel and find their culture interesting, i'm not nearly as invested in them as i get the sense many WOT fans are haha (see: me finding the glass columns sequence quite boring and being utterly bamboozled to discover that most readers list it as one of the best scenes in the series) and so i just don't feel very strongly about what route the show takes re: rand's relationship with aiel culture and his aiel heritage. and also probably have a fuzzy memory on a lot of the book details on this topic!

[metalandmagi]

Hello....If you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/manhwa/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Why you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before....

Hope you don't mind if the same person ask a different questions. Thank you so much @metalandmagi .....

Funny you should ask, because I was just listening to a podcast episode about favorite fandom ships, and I had actually started making my own list that I was going to post anyway! And I don’t mind you asking, since I don't really have people to talk to about this stuff. I like looking at your blog and seeing other people’s answers too!

Here's my top ten! These are going to be kind of repetitive because I’ve already talked about these fandoms so much, but these are my favorite CANON SHIPS, meaning they’re actually together or at least have kissed or something. I have a million non canon ships.

10. Jem, Will, and Tessa from The Infernal Devices- I wanted to keep myself to one ship per fandom, but I couldn’t help it, I just love this OT3 so much. I don’t care what anyone says, they are a poly relationship, not a love triangle (and I maintain that if Jem wasn’t already dying, he and Will would have realized they loved each other romantically, and their parabatai bond would have fucked them over eventually). They all have an equal amount of love and respect for each other, and they balance each other so well. And I appreciate that none of them are relegated to being “the overly jealous partner who ruins everything for the other two.” We get time with each of them and love them all equally.

9. Patroclus and Achilles from The Song of Achilles- Call me a basic bitch, but these two are unparalleled in terms of doomed romances. I love friends to lovers, and the story is so widely spanning that it gives their relationship such gravitas.

8. Yona and Hak from Akatsuki no Yona- Still haven’t finished the manga, but these two are god tier for fantasy romances. I love that they completely lose their minds over each other whenever they are not within arm’s reach, and they’re another great example of childhood friends to lovers. Hak’s “teasing” attitude in the beginning of the series wasn’t my favorite, but it’s funny to look back on it later, knowing that he’s so in love with Yona and would murder the first person to disrespect her. 

7. Shigure and Akito from Fruits Basket- Because why would I choose one of the normal, healthy relationships when I could go for one of the most fucked up romances in shoujo? These two…I don’t even know where to start. They’re the definition of toxic for most of the series, but by the end, you’re really rooting for them to be together with the Sohma family curse broken. Shigure is desperate for the curse to be broken so he can prove to Akito that he loves her without them being tied together by fate. Akito feels like she needs the curse because otherwise everyone will leave her forever. Akito sleeps with Kureno. Shigure sleeps with her mom. They’re “gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss” meets “mansplain, manipulate, man-whore.”

6. Sasaki and Miyano from Sasaki to Miyano- What can I say? They’re just so freaking cute! I think they represent the romance a lot of people in fandom want, because they bond over manga and slowly come to learn more about each other. Sasaki never pressures Miyano to return his feelings, and I appreciate the patience he has in waiting for Miyano to give him an honest answer to his confession.

5. Jesper and Wylan from Six of Crows- Another basic answer, but these two are so entertaining whenever they’re together. I love that Jesper starts out teasing Wylan relentlessly about looking like a pampered rich kid (despite the fact that Wylan also lives on the streets), but Wylan deadass saves the group time and time again, so Jesper comes to respect him more. This is how you do teasing in a relationship: they get under each other’s skin but aren’t complete dicks to each other. And I appreciate that the Shadow and Bone show changes their dynamic slightly while keeping the chaotic duo the same at their core. 

4. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase from the various Percy Jackson series- The pinnacle of middle grade/YA romance. Nobody else is doing it like these two. What works about their relationship is that we truly believe their friendship as 12 year olds before they start to have feelings for each other. So many times, authors shove two characters together because they feel like they need a romance, but Percy/Annabeth progress so naturally. They tease each other, but they know they’re both capable individuals at the end of the day (and their wildly different brands of intelligence work so well), and as long as they’re together, they can get through anything.

3. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian from Heaven Official's Blessing- I’ve shipped these two for much less time than these other ships, but they have smashed their way to my top 3 ships of all time. How do you compete with a god who’s fallen from grace and his eternally devoted follower who would burn the world down to see them smile? How do you compete with Hua Cheng, who has stayed by Xie Lian’s side for hundreds of years out of pure devotion, but not in a creepy or weird stalkery way? I think the biggest thing this ship has going for it is its sincerity. Hua Cheng doesn’t stay with Xie Lian because he’s hoping Xie Lian will fall for him eventually. He doesn’t believe he’s even worthy of Xie Lian’s love. But he stays anyway, because that’s what unconditional love is like. You stay when the one you love is at their lowest and you can’t do anything to help. You stay when they’re fighting the heavenly emperor and kick ass alongside them. You hold an umbrella over their head when it's raining blood and carry them across the ground when it's littered with corpses.

2. Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood from The Mortal Instruments/Shadowhunters- These two have destroyed me over the years. I think the best thing about this ship is how they bring out the best in each other and have changed each other’s lives for the better. Magnus is so outgoing and free spirited, but with Alec, he wants to “settle down” (lol) and raise a family. Alec started as the personification of the frowny face emoji, stuck in the closet with a stick up his ass, but now he’s basically running the shadowhunter world. They’re the perfect example of “opposites attract” who have changed their world simply by being in love.

1. Damen and Laurent from Captive Prince- Speaking of couples who change their world simply by being in love…I don’t know if any other ship will top them for me. All the other enemies to lovers ships can get the fuck out. They’re nothing compared to Damen and Laurent. So many times, people will write “enemies to lovers” or “hate to love” relationships that are just two characters snipping at each other or bullying each other for no reason. Get that shit out of here. These two start with the purest, most honest loathing possible. They hurt each other in countless ways, but they come to learn each other slowly. They have every reason to be enemies, but they come through each layer of trauma with love for each other. They’re the kings (pun intended) of this trope.

Honorable mentions: Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper- They’re just so wholesome and sweet. The progression of their relationship from like to love is so realistic, and they’re basically the live action/book version of Sasaki and Miyano.

Ronan and Adam from The Raven Cycle- (haven’t read the last book in the Dreamer trilogy, but I hope nothing bad happens). Their differing brands of chaotic energy compliment each other perfectly, and as a reader, the slow realization that Ronan is in love with Adam was so eye opening and satisfying in a way few other series have been able to capture.

Just for fun, here are some of my “less canon” ships too.

* Inej and Kaz (they're practically canon, but they never explicitly say they're together or in love...but we all know they are)

*Kylo Ren and Rey (also practically canonical since they've at least kissed)

* America and England from Hetalia (if I really want to go back to my fandom shipping roots. I read nothing but fics for them for like 2 years in high school 😅)

*Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima 

*Hinata and Kageyama

*Carole and Tuesday

*Link and Sidon

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 19/02/2024

Plantasia 2

Season 5 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume D

Ripped by MaxTrax

Requested by The Eight O’Clock Comet and an anonymous reader!

Remember those times where I've mused on just how interesting it is to fall into rabbitholes from running this blog? Y'know, with waterwraith pokos - a rip I once thought nothing of that refuses to leave my head since I learned more about its joke origin and spread. There's a good number more rabbitholes just like it, yet few have truly caught my attention quite the way Plantasia 2 did. And, beyond it too being a rip of Pikmin 2, the strangest part of it all is - it hardly feels as if the rip itself even *wanted* to be uncovered.

I'm half certain that I myself missed out on the rip's core premise from tabbing out after listening for a bit, because it presents itself as so innocuously. A track as immediately distinct and identifiable in sound as Results of the Day, melody swapped to some classic SiIva jokes: Among Us Drip, Grand Dad, Nutshack - Oh what silly whimsy, what hijinx! An everyday, standard, good-quality rip to send to your Pikmin-interested friends as an icebreaker, without much else to it - and that's the way it stays for almost two whole minutes of its runtime. Click, laugh at the bait-and-switch joke, move on - the typical rip listening experience for many viewers (or at least myself) truly doesn't do Plantasia 2 justice.

Because, as you yourself may have noticed - at the minute-fifty timestamp, the rip hard-pivots in direction, to the point of even getting original visuals, all in loving tribute to the 1976 album Mother Earth's Plantasia by Mort Garson. If you're unfamiliar, I don't blame you, but just a quick glance at both him and his album's Wikipedia pages will tell you just how much of a legacy they both have. With the intent of making music specifically for plants to listen to, to the point of only distributing the album alongside purchases of houseplants from the titular Mother Earth store, Mother Earth's Plantasia was one of the first albums to have ever been composed entirely on a Moog synthesizer - purely for the listening pleasure of plant-life. In other words: It's pretty important to the history of synthesized music in general! Beyond that historical angle, it of course helps that the title track Plantasia, the one that Plantasia 2 is an arrangement of in particular, is absolutely soul-cleansingly beautiful, with an opening prelude that immediately brought to mind everything from Final Fantasy to Minecraft, yet building to a triumphant crescendo that reminded me of We're Finally Landing of SummoningSalt-video fame. The influences taken from Mother Earth's Plantasia can be felt everywhere, yet the root of it all feels all too forgotten about.

To say that Pikmin is the perfect franchise to use for this kind of tribute would be an understatement - the synth-driven Results of the Day theme has persisted with the series since its very beginning, conveying the beauty of space within a game otherwise so focused on exploring beautiful gardens. It's as if its conveying a sort of juxtaposition between the two sides to Pikmin's world, ytet the feeling that both it and the original Mother Earth's Plantasia convey is also one of connection between the two. The plants looking to the stars, to other unknown life beyond planet earth, longingly dreaming about the universe...the Pikmin are just little plant guys, and yet a theme like Results of the Day sparks so many emotions. I can't help but feel yet more emotional thinking about the humble, pure-hearted upbringings of both Pikmin and Mother Earth's Plantasia - both Shigeru Miyamoto and Mort Garson sought to create something out of a love for nature itself moreso than fame and fortune, and in doing so helped move their respective mediums forward in thoroughly underappreciated ways.

MaxTrax's list of contributions to the SiIvaGunner channel is comparatively small, with him seemingly ebbing in and out of activity practically every other year. Yet that gives me the impression that he genuinely puts his whole heart into each contribution he makes, to share these small, niche little nuggets of his interests to the broader SiIvaGunner audience; much the same impression I got from the ripper Uncle Fill in Violet Snow Memories. For MaxTrax, Plantasia doesn't appear to just be some neat song to tinker around with for another rip - Plantasia 2 exudes that feel of being a genuine passion project, akin to rips like Jesus of the Underground. Yet, much like Mother Earth's Plantasia or Pikmin itself, it also seems perfectly content in not being a big, explosive, all-eyeballs-on-me event of a release: the ones who are going to notice the true intentions of Plantasia 2 are the Pikmin fans who were going to listen to it the whole way through anyway.

It's all still just so bizarre to me - the rip does a *double* bait-and-switch in a way I haven't really seen much of since it was first done way back in Be Cool, Be Wild, and Be My Girl, yet...doesn't do it at the expense of, or as a joke played on, the audience. It is purely a surprise treat to those SiIvaGunner fans who truly pay attention, who approach the channel with care and dignity, engaging with other fans in dialogue - again, I'm almost certain that I missed the point of it when it was first uploaded and only found out about its true intentions through more than one person requesting it for the blog! The sense of community that SiIvaGunner is able to create through finding your own special little rips, sharing them with others, being invited to uncover these fascinating little pieces of knowledge purely from a rippers' interests...it really is special, and Plantasia 2 truly does embody it in such a fascinating, befitting way. Because really: what could possibly be more representative of love, compassion, empathy and care for others, than to tend to one's garden with such a human form of expression as music?

[mechanicallizard]

New illustration and a little text about AU related to it! A few posts ago I said that writing something here feels a bit uncomfortable for me, but I look at this illustation and feel like I should give some context (and also I still want to share my AU very much!!), so here we go:D

Now they are beautiful

One of the most important things about AU lore is the fact that William is absolutley obsessed with robots. Almost always he isn't able to build trusted and close relationship with people, but at the same time he humanizes machines, even household appliances, not to mention animatronics. Will is ready to spend all his free time with the robots he created, instead of communicating with real people.

The main reason why Henry becomes the only really important person for Afton, whom he truly wants to care about, is the fact that Emily has the same feelings for robots. Actually, after acquaintance they were firstly attached to a common robotic project and only after that to each other.

Also, fantasies about having metallic mechanisms instead of normal organs are incredibly attractive to Afton. When obsession culminates to insanity and it becomes hard for him to stay in touch with reality William has to make a lot of effords not to harm himself imagining robotic parts under skin and not to try putting wires and other parts into his body (however, sometimes he still does). Willliam is very afraid of death, but when he finds out that spinglock costumes can be deathly dangerous he can't stop thinking about dying in Springbonie as an opportunity to become one with him. And maybe only the fact that he consideres this death to be faschinating helps him to accept his new "afterlife" form later.

And of course not only himself he would prefer to see as a robot, but even more other people. This is actually the main motive for the murders, all except the Charlies' (or at least the reason why they look the way they do): he thinks children don't have completley formed personality, so the idea about merging their minds with animatronics is something he gets extremley exited about. He understands that this isn't real in the world where he exists, but the picture with robots performing with kids, who finally became right, stuffed inside, is too attractive for him.

William invents funtime animatronics as an attempt to create perfect family, that will replace wrong and irritating one he has. He keeps the number of members - there are four of them - but Elisabeth is the only one worthy of having new form. So, yeah, Circus Baby was made especially for her. Crying child could be in this list too, if he wasn't already dead. Obviously, there is no place for Mike (although he is a big part of Funtime animatronics story too). Maybe Ballora was designed for William's wife in some way (but this doesn't really makes sense to the AU, only as a respect for headcanon about this). However, in this story Will builds only prototypes for Funtimes, the final versions were made and presented to the public only after his death by Mike and Henry (and this is a big story for another post, so I won't go into details now).

However, the most important animatronics intended to particular persons in Afton's mind are the first ones, Springbonnie and Golden Freddy: for him and Henry.

PS The title refers to the "you'll be beautiful" episode in The Walten Files ( Episode 2 , 9:12 – 10:12). And even though the plot of the series hasn't got much in common with described part of the AU, this particular scene conveys atmosphere quite well (and also I just like it very much).

[angelasscribbles]

Secrets Chapter 4: Threats

Series: Secrets

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Riley x Liam, Riley x Drake, Leo x Madeline

Rating: MA

Warnings for this chapter: mature themes

Word Count: 1,383

A/N: I really think this one will be wrapped up with chapter 6, which is already half written. (Chapter 5 is done pending proofing and will be up later today or tomorrow).

My other stuff: Master List.

Another interminable ball. He used to hate them. Now, he looked forward to watching her. He didn’t care where he was, as long as she was there.

He’d spent the entirety of this one trying to discern who her lover was. Watching her was his job, no one batted an eye at where his attention was focused. Not that anyone paid any attention to what he did or even acknowledged the existence of any of the guards scattered around the room. They were invisible. He didn’t mind. It made it easier to do his job. He didn’t want to interact with most of the people in the room anyway.

Leo was an exception. Liam was an exception. They were practically family. There were a few other members of the aristocracy that he found tolerable, barely.

He had mixed feelings about Leo now. Leo was married to Riley, but not because he wanted to be. Riley would have never even come into his life if it hadn’t been for the arranged marriage, so he couldn’t resent Leo for it. He was fairly certain they hadn’t even slept together, at least not in a long while. She had her own room, she never went to his, he never came to hers, and he certainly wasn’t who she was sneaking out to meet on a regular basis.

But who was?

He watched her interactions with every man she came into contact with, hoping for clues.

He watched as Liam spun her around the room. She’d already danced with Leo, Constantine, Maxwell, Rashad, Tariq and few members of the French delegation this ball was in honor of. Nothing in her demeanor had betrayed anything beyond polite, sometimes bored, interest in any of them. He didn’t know how her feet didn’t hurt. Maybe she’d want him to rub them later, they must hurt, that was a lot of dancing. In heels. Strappy, shimmery, heels. Heels that encased her perfectly pedicured toes, heels that showcased her toned and tanned legs. Legs that flashed and peeked from the slit in her floor length gown as she twirled.

And that dress. That dress hugged every curve perfectly, accentuating her round, firm ass, and left her back bare. His fingers twitched as his eyes tracked up her back; he could practically feel the perfect buttery softness of her skin under his hands.

He was pulled out of his fantasies as another entitled noble approached her.

“Mind if I cut in?”

“Actually, I do.” Liam said, his annoyance barely concealed, “Surely you can wait for the next waltz.”

The man stiffened but smiled, a fake, insincere smile, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

Liam pulled her back into his arms as the man walked away, his hand sliding down her lower back and stopping a fraction of an inch on this side of propriety.

Drake’s eyes narrowed as he watched them.

Liam whispered something in her ear. Her laugh was real. The smile the spread across Liam’s face at her laughter was real too.

Liam was a funny guy, polite, respectful. It might mean nothing. Everyone liked him. He was likable. How likable?

The dance ended and the other man was back to claim her before she had a chance to leave the floor. She was definitely going to need a foot rub after this. She gave Liam a regretful smile as she let herself be led back onto the floor.

“Neville Vancouer, pleased to make your acquaintance.” He introduced himself.

“Riley Rys.”

“I know who you are,” He told her as he guided her around the dance floor, “everyone knows who you are.”

He made pointless small talk as her eyes roamed the ballroom. She caught Drake’s eye, and a genuine smile curved her lips up.

Drake’s insides warmed.

He watched as her smile was replaced with a frown. He moved closer, trying to discern what the problem was.

“It’s not a secret that your husband is otherwise…entertained tonight. Perhaps I could offer you similar diversions?” Neville offered.

“I’m not sure what you’re insinuating but I’m faithful to my husband.” Riley lied.

“You don’t know what you’re missing.” He said as he pulled her body tight against his. Too tight.

She put her hands on his chest as she tried to push away, “Let go!”

Liam appeared at her side, “I believe the lady asked you to let go.”

Neville released his grip and took a step back, hands up, “I promise, I meant no-“

Neville suddenly disappeared as he was jerked backwards away from her. She jumped, startled. Liam’s arm went around her, “Are you ok?”

She nodded as her eyes tracked Neville being drug unceremoniously from the ballroom by Drake.

Out in the hallway, Neville found himself pressed up against a wall, Drake’s forearm digging into his chest, pinning him to it.

“Let…go….of…..me!” Neville gaped as he tried to twist out of the bigger man’s grasp.

“Not until we get one thing clear.” Drake’s voice held a steely edge Neville had never heard before.

“What?”

“No means no, dickweed. And that woman is going to be your queen, have some fucking respect!”

“I….meant….no disrespect! I just…”

Drake leaned in, pressing Neville harder into the wall, making it harder for him to breath, “I don’t care what you meant. You don’t touch her again. Do you understand? In fact, you don’t so much as talk to her again, or I will make sure they never find your body! Do you understand?”

Neville nodded and Drake stepped away, releasing him to slide down the wall, gasping for air.

Drake turned on his heel, leaving the nobleman on the ground, and returned to the ballroom. His eyes found Riley quickly. She was seated at a table chatting with several ladies of the court as she twirled a champagne flute between her fingers. He caught her eye, and she gave him a brief smile and nod.

His eyes scanned the room for Liam and found him dancing with the wife of the French ambassador. Because he danced with everyone at these events. It was the whole point.

He settled back against the wall of the ballroom, keeping watch from a distance.

Two hours later, Drake handed responsibility for the princess over to the next shift. He was technically off duty, but he had no desire to leave the ballroom until she did. He ordered a whiskey at the bar and took a seat next to Liam, “Tired of dancing?”

“Yes!” He laughed, “You’re lucky you never have to do it.”

“Hm.” Drake sipped his drink thinking about just how much he’d like to wrap his arms around one particular dance partner.

Liam’s thoughts were centered on the same woman. If he could dance with her all night, he’d do it, but protocol demanded he mingle and network, and propriety dictated that he never seem too interested in his brother’s wife. Out loud he said, “So, where have you been lately? We missed you at the poker game.”

“Just been a little busier than usual. Dealing with some…stuff. Nothing to worry about. I’ll take your money next week.” He didn’t mention that the stuff he was dealing with was his own obsession with his charge.

Drake paused, drink halfway to his lips as he spotted something over the rim of his glass that made his blood boil. Riley, on the other side of the ballroom, being manhandled by Neville, again. Leo was nowhere to be found. Fucking useless as always.  

Liam’s eyes followed Drake’s. Both men were on their feet, but her current guard had it handled.

“Fucker.” Drake muttered under his breath.

“I’ll make sure he’s not on the guest list for any more palace events.” Liam’s jaw ticked.

“That’s good.” But it wasn’t just palace events that were at issue, was it? Neville Vancouer was everywhere in Cordonian society. Liam couldn’t ban him from everything.

Liam’s body shifted as he changed the subject, not wanting to seem too interested in his sister in law, “You hungry? Want to go raid the kitchens with me?”

“No thanks. I have something I need to take care of. Another time?” He threw the rest of his drink back and slammed the glass down on the bar.

“Sure.” Liam responded as he watched Drake follow Neville out of the ballroom.

[marsdetective]

hi! dana!! book asks first and foremost how do you feel about children's classic the mistmantle chronicles? second ly, 10, 11, 16, & 25!

aksdjlkskfj well, I have to say that despite never reading the mistmantle chronicles, it cannot be denied that it has contributed to the literary discussion of eugenics and genocide, through the eyes of rodents, and used this medium to examine historical and current systems of oppression. so i have to respect it for that 😌

10. What was your favorite new release of the year?

My absolute favorite was Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed. If you decide to get into graphic novels, I'd really recommend this one. It was originally published in Egypt and is set in our world, except anyone can buy bottled genie wishes and use them to make what they want a reality. The author is SO clever with this concept and she uses it to explore colonialism, class, gender, religion, mental health, and more. I've thought about it all year.

I also really liked Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. It's a historical fantasy set on a wintery island with a romance that kinda reminded me of Howl's Moving Castle

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

Oh, it was for sure Doomsday Book by Connie Willis! It was written in the... 80s I think? And is set in the 2030s and also the 1300s, as a time travelling historian goes back to document the time period. something goes wrong, however, and she may be stuck in the past if she and her professor aren't able to work in their different times to figure out how to get her back. it's very slow build (and also unintentionally funny, since none of the 2030s characters have cell phones or the internet), but the ending was SO emotional and impactful

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Hmmmm, already mentioned this one but probably The Thursday Murder Club. Just wasn't my thing!

25. What reading goals do you have for next year?

Every year I try to read at least 2 classics, so I'd like to do that again

I also want to like. try to understand money better -_- so imma try to read a few books that don't seem like evil capitalism propaganda. just a basic 'here's how everything works and here's what you should do at certain points in your life.' we'll see how it goes

I want to try and read some old Hugo award winners/nominees! I have a list of all the books nominated for best novel, written by not men and it'd be cool to someday read all of them. but I'll just try to read like 2 or 3 this year

I'd also like to finish a couple series that I've started, that are already completely published - there's a few I'm behind on!

and I want to read at least 1 book I own per month!

[charlesmoffat]

WHY DO SOME VIDEOS GO VIRAL AND OTHERS DO NOT?

Case in point. Check out the following Unboxing Video of "The Silence in the Song" by Robb Wallace:

The video currently has 126 Likes and 1156 views, and I only posted it about 2 weeks ago.

That may not sound like a lot to some people, but for me that's a record for my small YouTube channel with only 203 subscribers.

It is already my 2nd most popular video, out of 101 videos I have posted thus far.

Meanwhile my least popular video, at the very bottom, is an Unboxing Video for Dan Fitzgerald's novel "Hollow Road" has a mere 5 views.

5 views.

And I assure you Dan Fitzgerald's book is not the problem.

Dan Fitzgerald's book has 47 ratings and a 4.6 rating on Amazon. So it is a reasonably popular book that came out in 2018.

Robb Wallace's book has 1 rating (5 stars) and came out in summer 2022. It hasn't had much time to get lots of reviews, not yet.

So Dan's book has been on the market longer and has a long list of reviews and positive ratings. Not including a review I did after I read his book (see https://youtu.be/I0iBTlq7brk ). So you would expect the videos featuring Dan's books to be more popular on the basis of having a more successful book with respect to reviews/etc.

But it doesn't.

So obviously the popularity of the author has nothing to do with the popularity of a video.

Popularity on YouTube supposedly comes down to the issue of algorithms. The number of people who Like, comment, subscribe and share a video. The higher the number of people who interact with a new video can cause it to temporarily go viral and become popular.

And it is, sometimes, seemingly random.

Thus a video about a popular book (Dan Fitzgerald's "Hollow Road" won't necessarily get a lot of views or attention.

Meanwhile a different popular book series might get a fair amount of attention (see my various videos about Sapkowski's Witcher series).

So it is all pretty much random.

This randomness due to algorithmic anomalies makes it all feel like a numbers game.

You can try to boost the numbers artificially by spending money on advertising your videos or posting your videos on 3rd party websites, but if you do that exactly the same with every video there's still no guarantee any of the videos will become a popularity success story.

Instead one of the the things I have encountered in the past is the idea that you have to just keep making videos, lots of them, and hopefully some of them eventually become popular and fuel more people subscribing and triggering the algorithms into getting more views for your channel.

Quality* + Quantity eventually leads to Popularity.

In other words keep slugging away at it until you hit a homerun. (Yeah, a baseball analogy!)

* Are my videos good quality? Depends upon your perspective. I don't use a script. I just speak from the heart about the books. Some viewers might prefer that book reviews/etc are scripted, but I personally believe that using a script makes the videos feel fake.

And fake reviews don't fly with readers, I like to think. Real honest reviews, complete with the warts and sometimes squirrels or rabbits appearing in my videos (I frequently talk about the books in my backyard), I hope leads to readers appreciating the level of honesty in my videos.

If I don't like a book I don't usually review it. It simply doesn't get a review. Almost all of my book reviews are positive. It is rare that I decide to talk about a book I dislike. To me if a book doesn't have any redeeming qualities then I don't even want to talk about it.

Browse my YouTube channel at:

https://youtube.com/@CharlesMoffatAuthor

[bubblesandpages]

17, 19, and 3? 👀🍵

3. what is your favorite genre?

Fantasssssy my beloved <3

17. top 5 children’s books?

GLAD YOU ASKED and is also an evil question limiting me to five :p

For the sake of my heart I'm limiting this to children's chapter books because this list would be impossible if we were to include picture books. Nostalgia will also have a significant say as I've read more than a few excellent children's books in my adult life that, good as they are, don't quite manage the same level of blind adoration as some of these earlier ones do, even if they match them in every other regard.

The Wind in the Willows: immediately disregarding rule two, I didn't actually like this book as a kid, though the fact we had an abridged copy growing up might have had something to do with that. This book is made up entirely of charm, and perfectly nails it's atmosphere. The fact that this isn't a cottagecore classic is beyond ridiculous >:(

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane: this is probably the closest you can get to fictional book that made me the person I am. There is something so poignant and deeply, deeply touching about this book and how it depicts loss and tragedy, and the hope and perseverance that makes life worth living.

Lara and the Gray Mare: I know I never shut up about her, but she means so much to me. This series more than any other showed me how much I care about women in history being women in history. Yes, it's has a Mulan spin to it, but it takes so much of its time honoring and respecting the roles women had in society, giving their actions weight and importance, and allowing them to achieve self-actualization through the myriad of ways they contributed to society. I adore it, and thinking about it makes me ticked off with how narrowly feminism set's the parameters for female success at times in favor of more mescaline achievements.

Dragonskin Slippers: this was quite possibly my introduction to tongue-in-cheek fantasy parody while being unabashedly girly! There's adorable, thoughtful, and terrifying dragons who love summer fruits and collect dogs, and stained glass windows, an abundance of embroidery, evil princesses, non-evil counts, decidedly practical heroines, and absurd aunts who've read too many fairytales! This book is pure comfort and joy to me <3

The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie: this comes the closest out of any book I've read to capturing the pure dreamlike vagueness of fairytales. May Gibbs often gets compared to Beatrix Potter, but I'd say that Potter has a more grounded realism to her work, while Gibbs feels like an unfinished sentence. Events in her stories happen, and you get the sense they work especially on an emotional level, but events will take place with little clarification or explanation—hence the fairytale quality.

19. most disliked popular books?

(Kids and preteens look away; this isn't intended for you) Keeper of the Lost Cities is bad actually, I'm going to need all the adults to relearn what a good children's book is. Go read a Newbery or ten, because this isn't it.

Murderbot Diaries is really, really not my cup of tea. Pardon me for not finding an android reenacting me as my worst self somehow relatable or comforting to read about. Nobody in this first novella gets any good solid characterization,other than Murderbot and the captain, there's a bajillion people on this crew yet all I know about them is which other person in the team they'd like to sleep with, which, for a self-professed skipper of sex scenes seems like the least likely thing for our protagonist to zero in on, or perhaps there's a larger point here about how coupling is all that human's think about. Anyway, don't like it.

[anderwhohn]

@dutyworn asked: ❤️ my first roleplay memory 🎾 what type of genre of roleplay i prefer to write 🛳 my opinions on DNI lists 🛍 the one thing i wish all of my followers knew about me

💌 MY EXPERIENCE IN THE RPC [ meme - accepting ]

❤️ my first roleplay memory

Ah, the irony of asking this of someone with medical memory issues. xD

My very first rp memory is from when I was like 13 and stumbled across Ayenee (those old enough to remember it will know how chaotic that mess was) - essentially a series of multigenre IRC public rooms where people with a huge variety of original and fandom characters all met up and interacted with each other, often in bars and taverns for the majority of the rooms I found myself welcomed in. It was fun, but that was also very much back in the 'Wild West' days of those kinds of chatrooms, being in the late 90s.

My first tumblr rp memory is actually of a brief failed attempt at getting involved in the Dragon Age rpc, but it was years later before I tried again with bringing Layla (immortaljackal) in that I had any actual success, and then the numerous other blogs with various canon and canon-based or inspired muses came from there. What I actually did in any of that, though? Fuck all if I know at this point. I could go digging up the old archived blogs (at least of the ones that still exist), but eh...

🎾 what type of genre of roleplay i prefer to write

Sci-fi and fantasy, for the most part. Which types of those, respectively, varies depending on my mood sometimes, but given that my most consistent stuff is leading with Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Doctor Who, that should be a fair indicator for the most part.

🛳 my opinions on DNI lists

They have their place, within reason - banning faceclaims, characters, fandoms, adult content, triggering and/or squicky content, etc? Perfectly fine and reasonable. Airing grievances with other roleplayers by listing their URLs and telling people they better not interact with them or you'll block them (and probably add them to the list of names as well with a vague callout that often just blows everything out of proportion)? That's immature and uncalled for, and I personally won't follow or interact with people who have DNIs that namedrop other roleplayers.

🛍 the one thing i wish all of my followers knew about me

I am unknowable!

Pfft... Nah, umm... I honestly don't know? I mean, I tend to be a very private person ooc until I've warmed up to someone, then I'm practically an open book - albeit a book with some pages torn out and lots of coffee stains making other pages illegible (ie the memory issues I have). Things I actively want people to know, I usually have in my rules, since that's something everyone following me should read.

But like... uh... I'm really socially awkward, between the social anxiety disorder, ADHD, potential autism, other neurodivergences, and all that jazz? Yet there are somehow people who are intimidated by me?

My dudes, I sleep with a stuffed Grim Reaper, and have a crochetted F-Bomb that I throw at the wall when I'm frustrated. I also have a crochetted adipose and weeping angel chilling on my desk, and a sticky note with a doodle of the TARDIS surrounded by "vorp vorp" noises stuck to my wall. I walk with a cane or a rollator, and will sometimes break into song and dance when I'm having a not absolutely shitty day while I'm by myself, twirling the cane or spinning with the rollator (whichever I happen to be using at the time) - 'Singing In The Rain' is a popular number for such.

The only time I even feel remotely intimidating is when I have to pull out the Customer Service Voice, which usually gets combined a dash Southern overpoliteness. Unless it's the the Southern politeness that's weirding people out? I mean, maybe? Eh. Someone can always tell me on anon if they want.

[remidyal]

Pure Self-Indulgence - My D20 Stuff Ranked

Last night, I published my 20th work of D20 fanfic. I had mentioned here that I was going to do something that was maybe the most purely self-indulgent thing I've ever done when this happened, and so I bring you:

Remi's D20 works, ranked from Nat 1 to Nat 20 by how much she likes them:

Nat 1 - Phases: The only one of these that isn't a story in and of itself, this is miscellanea (such as cut scenes and mechanics) from Lunacy. I LIKE all of it, but it's not actually something that can be read and enjoyed on its own, so by default it's the worst on this list.

2 - Runaway: The first piece of D20 writing I did, I like the core conceit here, but I've used pieces of it in other places since (Adaine being stuck in a palimpsest, Aelwyn as a runaway) and the writing feels really weak to me here now.

3 - Sisters: The lone Crown of Candy piece I've done, the plot just feels a little weak to me and my grasp of the tone for this setting isn't quite right. It's worth mentioning here that I by and large LIKE even the low entries on this list, at least currently. I think the summary of "Ruby Rocks was just short of her twenty-first nameday when she had the horrifying realization that she might be turning into her mother." is freaking great though and someone with more panache with these characters could do a really strong fic with that premise.

4 - Flames of Passion: This piece of almost pure crack, and the sole romance-focused fic on this list as well as (so far as I can tell) the only Kalvaxus/Gilear fanfic ever written, was done for a prompt. I don't regret it, but shockingly enough having an aroace writer write romance makes it just come across as bad romantic comedy lines, at least to herself. That might just add to the crack here. On a pure kudos front, this one gets a low number of kudos from signed in users versus guests, and I suspect that is purely people not wanting their names on this thing, which I thoroughly respect.

5 - Two Wolves: This oneshot was the prototype for Lunacy. I wound up liking this concept better than Runaway, and I think the writing is still somewhat better, but the story naturally feels incomplete now since it skims through the first nine or so chapters of what is going to end up as an 80+ chapter story. I think it can be read fine on its own, though.

6 - Waiting: I think this is where I go from 'eh it's okay but' to looking for reasons I like things less than others. This is a pretty silly little fic, and I like it fine, but it's not memorable to me in the way some of the other things I've written I feel are. It's a similar tone to something like Pact, but I don't think it's quite as successful at that tone.

7 - Minutes from the July Mordred Manor Wizards' Council Meeting: This, which EASILY wins the 'longest title' contest, is one where I think readers might have it a lot higher than I do. I like it fine? But it's pretty similar to Waiting in my mind; a nice little treat, but not really super substantial.

8 - Unending Summer: This post-Unsleeping City 2 fic focuses on Iga's kids as Nick is getting ready to start college. I think this is the breakpoint where things start getting really hard for me to rank these fics in the middle of this list; I genuinely love this one, but it's also just kind of a slice of life piece without an extensive plot or punchiness. That can be really nice, of course, depending on your mood. This (or the Poison sequels) is my least read piece, probably just because it's not fantasy high and it's focused on INCREDIBLY minor characters.

9 - Malignancy: The last entry in the Poison series, I'm not totally sure how the choose between two endings thing works and kind of wish I'd just forced the bad one on everyone, though both of them are kind of bad endings for Aelwyn. I think people may see the tags and think these are sincerely Penelope/Aelwyn romance pieces and be scared off, to be honest. They aren't. I fucking love this trilogy, though I think this is the weakest of the three.

10 - Twelve Hours: The most recent bit of writing on this list, this is honestly a placeholder to some degree. While I sometimes know while I'm publishing something that I love or don't fully like it, I don't have a solid read on how I'll feel about this one later. I definitely like the premise of Aelwyn + The Bad Kids just stuck with each other while the rest of the world is frozen around them though.

11 - Bane: We're picking nits a little bit here, but I think the weird double perspective where we're PoV of Aelwyn watching a video for most of the fic is a little bit awkward. I completely love the premise of what's going on here with Penelope, Adaine, and Aelwyn, though, and the purely downer ending leading into Malignancy.

12 - Dig Out: This might be the one where I've grown to like it more the most since publishing; it would have been near the very bottom of a similar list at the time I put it out. There's a comedic horror to the entire situation I really like, while still having a touch of sweetness to it. This is probably the fic on the list other than Pact/Familiar I'm most likely to follow up on sometime, to see how Jawbone and the other Bad Kids react to her return from the grave.

13 - Familiar: This one's new enough that it still might move or down the list. I think my main issue with this one that would stop it from moving up is a little bit of awkwardness in the pacing, which tends to be the weakness in these longer one-shots. Aelwyn's backstory in this is also depressing enough that it takes away a little bit from the overall tone that Pact and most of these story have, as well, for me.

14 - Gallivant's End: The highest entry on this list that isn't Fantasy High, this post-canon Starstruck fic following Riva is one I've grown to really love, in part because fic focused on Riva is pretty uncommon and I genuinely love them. I also think it was a REALLY bold choice by Siobhan to get to the end of a character arc and have the character look back and have regrets about losing some of their naivety, and that's the main thing this fic focuses on.

15 - Pact: I think this might be lower than people would expect for this fic, which might have gotten the best reception of anything I've written in the fandom. I do really really like it, but there are a few flaws and things I wish I'd done differently - mostly some additional scene on Adaine growing up in Hell - and so I'm not quite as fond as I am of the ones higher on this list.

16 - Poison: The first of the Penelope/Aelwyn trilogy, and my favorite of them. This one was done for a prompt wanting the relationship covered, and I thought that this relationship could be purely toxic; I've always written Aelwyn as hating and other than Kalina not respecting any of the other members of the conspiracy, though she hides that, and this comes out of that. (She also hates and doesn't really respect herself, but would NEVER acknowledge that at this point)

17 - Missing: This one's still a WiP, of course, and I don't have it NEARLY as planned out as I did and do Lunacy. Still, I love the premise, the multiclasses I've gone with, and also some of the near-term plans that I won't spoil here. Aelwyn actually trying to be just a little better and braver is fascinating partly because it's such a dangerous move for her in the short term, but the prize may be worth the risk…

18 - Dreams: This Riz-centered piece is maybe the one I love the most more than the response it seemed to generate, which was mostly pretty lukewarm. I suspect that may partly just be because it has some of the same pacing issues as most of the longer one-shots on this list, but I don't care. I loved writing this world's class swapped versions of characters, Adaine and Fig particularly, and I could have gone on like three times as long but this was written under the deadline of an exchange and I made myself hold to 10k or less words. I don't think I could return to this world, alas, because I love the ambiguity of the ending. (My personal interpretation is that both Kalina and the Sleeping God in this world are neutral, not evil, but the Bad Kids are VERY MUCH a cult of them at this point.)

19 - The Ghost of Me: This snappy little oneshot is my favorite short writing I've done in the fandom and it's not particularly close. I LOVE this version of Adaine, of her friends, and of her sheer raw pettiness in the wake of being executed by the Court of Stars.

Natural 20 - Lunacy: Probably no surprise, given that it's twice as long as the rest of the list combined, but this is my personal favorite work I've done. It's still a WiP and I've let off the gas because it's a bit of a rougher stretch, but I know the ending sequence of events and I'm deeply looking forward to sharing this one with all of you. Werewolf Adaine is maybe the most natural AU in all of Dimension 20, and I LOVE exploring it; Werewolf Aelwyn is a bit more of a stretch from there, but I'm delighted to have done it and love the versions of both of those characters that inhabit this fic.

[libraryofbaxobab]

Video Captions after the break:

Welcome to the Library of Baxobab! I'm your humble library assistant if you have any questions. If you do not have any questions, please see the information desk where a question will be provided for you.

Today I want to talk about this trilogy: the Grave of Empires by Sam Sykes because I finished it last night, and... oh it's so good. (At least I hope it's a trilogy??) Time may make a fool of me, but I fully believe that he respects his character and his audience enough to know that this story is complete and it doesn't need to become a series; trilogy is good.

If you're worried about spoilers, I'll do my best. I'm not going to say any of the major plot twists or anything but I might say whether or not a plot twist exists, characters get arcs... so fair warning.

So as you can see, Sam Sykes doesn't just write books, Sam Sykes writes bricks. These chonkers are like 700 pages apiece. I decided to give Sam Sykes a try because he's very funny on Twitter. He's always tweeting things about like wizard drugs and "releasing the hostages" every time a book of his is ordered. Very tumblr vibes to be honest. I was very excited for "Seven Blades In Black." I have pre-ordered all three of these for the day that they came out so that I could read them as soon as possible. I highly recommend this whole trilogy for sure.

I love to tell anyone who will listen that I read this book when I was working out a lot. And I had found that I could put my books up on the treadmill where you're supposed to put your phone or whatever. I was hit so hard by the twist in this first book that I quite literally stopped in my tracks. Damn near fell of the treadmill. I was like........ oof slowly sliding backwards from this incredible-- I did not see it coming. That trope gets me every time. I was just so shocked.

And so I'm gonna go into a little bit about the specifics of what the Grave of Empires is about

So the trology's claim to fame is that it's a love letter to JRPGs. Now I like video games ,but I don't play a lot of them and I really don't know a lot about JRPGs. I don't think I've played any. And I still had a wonderful time! People who like Final Fantasy, etc etc, really really appreciate the Easter eggs that are to be found in these books. I frolicked through these blissfully unaware of the references and it's still kicks so much ass. Oh it's so cool! The world building is superb. The characters? A+ character design.

Okay so the protagonist is named Sal the Cacophony. The thing about Sam Sykes is that he's not afraid to get silly and in fact getting silly is the best part. Your inner child would think "Aw that's fucking rad!!" That's in here!

Sal is on a revenge quest. She's got a list of names and a magical gun, and she is here to fuck. shit. up.

There is magic in these books; a lot of characters are mages. And the magical system in this trilogy is horrific and unforgettable. Power is granted through Barters with the Lady Merchant, who appears to be some sort of goddess. Mages have to give up something in order to use their powers, and the something that they give up is very specific and poetic in regard to their powers. I don't want to give too much away, but for one example: There are "Siegemages" but the more they use their powers the more they have to give up their emotions, and eventually mages that use too much of their power find themselves unable to feel at all. .... That's ... so horrible. Something awful to think about in exchange for the use of power. Would you give up all of the thing that you have to give up, even though that power has an expiration date, but the consequences are permanent? Nobody wants to pay that big of a price, and yet in the moment they still flirt with that danger all the time. In battle, it can really get away from someone how much that they accidentally agree to give up. I think there's a lot of subtext that you could get out of that.

The setting is utterly hostile. The characters who live there are very harsh. Sal herself is very harsh, she's prickly, hates everything, she's at war with herself. Meanwhile there are several warring factions out in the world, as well as you know, the usual bandits and rogue mages. (They call them Vagrants!) So you have this very bleak background for what is already kind of a bleak story about revenge but the narrative tone is still silly and absurd. Let me put it this way: Sam Sykes, in a tweet, I believe, said that his method of writing characters is to give them stats as if they are a D&D or an RPG character and then: problems. Put problems in their way, but make them try to solve those problems with their lowest stat. You get this kind of result where shit just goes from chaos to more chaos, cascading. The way that these three have been set up I think the stakes have been just about right.

The thing about series is, you know, you have to make the stakes a little bit higher each time. But once you start getting like seven or eight books in, it starts to be like "okay now this is getting weird" and then... I mean, there are some series that I've been ride or die for about 20 books in, and I'm like "okay this is-- this is ridiculous. We need to... Can somebody calm down please?" This trilogy certainly does not overstay its welcome, and it has a very satisfying closure at the end. I won't say whether it's a good ending or a bad ending; it is a satisfying way to wrap things up.

It's also gay! Sal is, by all rights, bisexual. She does have a female love interest during the sequence of events. But she also has had exes of other genders. Nobody in the world really treats it like a big deal, which is also very cool. So if you'd like a fantasy story in a world that, as far as I can tell, homophobia just kinda didn't exist? This is a great one. You don't have to worry about potentially triggering aspects of 'coming out' or being secretive or illicit. It's not a thing, we don't have to bother with that. These characters have way more interesting problems to deal with, most of them of their own making. There's always something exploding or they're having feelings, or sometimes both at the same time. Yeah she's going to bang that chick or maybe that dude or maybe both, and it's gonna be cool.

I was just so shocked everything made sense I was I was putting things together finally it's also gay sal is by all rights bisexual she does have a female love interest during the sequence of events but she also has had X's of other genders nobody in the world really treats it like a big deal which is also very cool so if you like a fantasy story in a world where you don't have to worry about potentially triggering aspects of coming out or being secret or elicit not a thing we don't have to bother with that these characters have way more interesting problems to deal with most of them of their own making there's either something exploding or they're having feelings or sometimes both the same time

It's not very sexually explicit. There is a love scene in the third one, but it's tasteful. Most of the sexual language in the books are in jokes. The characters that are friends really, like, bust each other's chops.... Eh, people who are enemies too also are just straight up mean to each other. There's a lot of really inventive insults thrown between pretty much every character whether they like each other, love each other, or hate each other, sometimes multiples of those at the same time.

One of my favorite things about each of these individual stories is their framing device. They remind me kind of Dragon Age 2? (That's not a JRPG...) For example in the first one, Sal is in a prison cell and she's telling this whole story to her interrogator. So every couple of chapters we'll come back out of the tale and she'll just antagonize her captors. All of a sudden someone will slam their fists down on the table and be like "That's bullshit!" and she'll be like "Prove it.... Asshole!" Everyone in here is just like, crude as hell and it's great.

But for all of these epic tales to be told by Sal, not only are they in first person in the narration, but they are in the story also told by her. It makes the pacing go really well. None of these feels like 700 pages. Being able to bounce out of the story for a little bit, for mostly comedic relief, it keeps you focused on more than one thing. So none of these ever becomes a slog. I can't necessarily say it's "nonstop action." When Sal comes up to a truly larger-than-life boss battle of a character and they just are mean to each other for a few minutes? Is almost more fun than the descriptions of them doing acrobatics and throwing knives at each other and using their powers and shooting their guns.

I can't help but think about this as a western. All of these in my mind are populated by anime characters, like Trigun. I just hear cowboy music in the back of my mind when I read them. In the best possible way.

Grave of Empires Trilogy. Sam Sykes. A+

Thanks for visiting me in the Library.

[artemis-entreri]

[[ This post contains Part 2 of my review/analysis of the Forgotten Realms/Drizzt novel, Glacier’s Edge, by R. A. Salvatore. As such, the entirety of this post’s content is OOC. ]]

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Way of the Drow: Book 2 | Legend of Drizzt #38 (#35 if not counting The Sellswords)

Publisher: Harper Collins (August 09, 2022)

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Additional Information: Artwork for the cover of Glacier’s Edge and used above is originally done by David Palumbo. This post CONTAINS SPOILERS. Furthermore, this discussion concerns topics that I am very passionate about, and as such, at times I do use strong language. Read and expand the cut at your own discretion.

As of this point, I am still finishing this document. I will be posting the subsequent sections. The table of contents will be updated when it is complete.

Contents:

Introduction

I. Positives I.1 Sublime Similes and Marvelous Metaphors I.2 Other Effective Imagery I.3 Consistent Lore and Decent Worldbuilding I.4 Respectable and Respectful Characterization

II. Neutrals (you are here)

III. Negatives (Technical Writing)

IV. Negatives (Characterization)

V. World Breaks

VI. Religious Commentary

VII. Ego Stroking

VIII. Problematic Themes

IX. What’s Next

Neutrals

In this section, I will discuss the elements of Glacier’s Edge that aren’t intrinsically good or bad. These consist of new characterizations and lore introduced by the book. 

First, Jarlaxle’s wondrous hat appears to have gained a new function. In combination with his portable hole, the mercenary leader was able to utilize this new function to avoid being trapped in an icy tomb at the end of Starlight Enclave. We weren’t given details about how he’d managed to escape that fate in the previous book, but we were able to infer based on how we’ve seen him use his portable hole in the past that Jarlaxle laid it down to literally make a hidey-hole from the storm. Glacier’s Edge confirms this, as well as showing us a new feature of his hat:

This is no mundane umbrella, and not the least because it spends most of its time as a fashionable chapeaux. Apparently, in its umbrella form, the hat can withstand quite a lot of weight. Certainly, this newest function comes at an awfully convenient time, but this is Jarlaxle we’re talking about, and he’s already got so many magical gadgets for every occasion that an additional one hardly causes one to bat an eye. As far as Salvatore-invented magical items go, it’s also not all that ridiculous, so it’s just another feature to add to Jarlaxle’s long list of possessions.

It seems that the canonical appearance of drow is different now. Although they’ve often been portrayed with gray skin by both official and fan artists, prior to the uncovering of the aevendrow, drow have always been described as having black skin, or synonyms of black like ebony and obsidian. They’ve also often been explicitly stated as coal-black. That description is different now:

The unnamed woman in the passage above is Dab’nay, and although we haven’t been explicitly told what her skin color was before, shades of gray were never mentioned for drow by Salvatore prior to the recent drow updates. It doesn’t matter either way, but it’s noteworthy that he’s employing this change.

Aevendrow official stats haven’t been released yet as of this point. It is curious to me though that at least in Glacier’s Edge, it seems that aevendrow do not possess darkvision, or even lowlight vision:

As always, I’d like to play Devil’s Advocate, so let’s examine the above passage from the perspective that what we see here does not necessarily indicate that aevendrow do not have darkvision. Assuming that aevendrow can see in total darkness like their Lolthite brethren can, it’d be a lot less likely for an aevendrow to be afraid of the dark, which Allefaero is exhibiting not only with the squeezing shut of his eyes, but also the description of the darkness “closing in”. When we feel something closing in, the sensation comes from either a literal physical restriction of the space around us, or what feels like such, as caused by a restriction of our ability to see. A creature that can see in darkness would not experience this feeling of being closed in anymore than we would feel that way standing outside under a wide open sky. Assuming that the timid Allefaero is afraid of the dark despite being able to see in it, Galathae certainly isn’t timid, and the darkness is described as closing in about both of them, not just the scared young wizard. 

More telling than that though regarding aevendrow not having darkvision is that Galathae measures their position based on what she feels, not what she sees. The only reason for a creature to rely more on their senses other than sight is if those other senses are more powerful than their sight, and while drow have better senses than humans, we’ve never been given any indication that their other senses are more keen than their sight. Furthermore, Galathae has to feel about her belt to find the lantern instead of just looking down to find it. The fact that she brought the lantern is pretty conclusive evidence that they can’t see in the dark, but perhaps Allefaero is a darkvision-blind individual among aevendrow and the lantern is for his sake. However, this possibility also falls away when we’re told that Galathae only sees things that are glowing, rather than the shades of gray melding into colors where there are light sources, which she would’ve perceived if she had darkvision. It is thus safe to infer that Galathae cannot see in the dark. 

Of course, it is always possible that only Galathae and Allefaero do not have darkvision among the aevendrow, but setting aside how stupid it would be to send two individuals like that into a dark space instead of pairing each with someone who has darkvision no matter how formidable they are, all the other aevendrow teams are similarly equipped, namely, with light sources. All of them need a light in order to conduct a proper investigation of the cave, which they would not need had they darkvision. It is the case that darkvision only allows seeing in shades of gray and that illumination is necessary for seeing color, but the shades of gray of darkvision do not omit any details, it would be the same as looking at a scene under sharp light but without hues. It's worth noting that this is distinctly different from how real life low-light goggles work. Most of the earlier generations of modern light intensification systems required significant training to use successfully as they suffered from issues with edge definition, fine detail, depth perception, and dependence upon moon-reflected infrared radiation. Darkvision is magical in nature, allowing it to not suffer from any of these issues and allows for crisp, clear and easily usable vision. 

Galathae and Allefaero are delving into very dangerous territory, one in which a light would draw unwanted attention to themselves. Logically, they’d only use a light if they can’t see without it, which indeed seems to be the case, further backed by the description of what happens once they uncover their light:

This passage summarily describes the experience of a creature that can’t see in the dark suddenly having their surroundings revealed with light. The position that I took while playing Devil’s Advocate does not hold; aevendrow, or at least Galathae and Allefaero, do not have darkvision. That being said, it’s very likely that they’re not the only two that are that way, as many similar aevendrow exploration teams are being sent into similar caves. 

So, why would aevendrow have lost their darkvision? Perhaps you’re thinking, millennia of differentiation and evolution away from their Underdark counterparts ridded them of the necessity for darkvision. There is validity to that, however non-drow elves have darkvision, and they spend all of their time on the surface world. One could argue that surface elves have darkvision because it’s helpful at nighttime, but the thing is, darkvision under nighttime makes the world look like a colorless version of the world in daytime, with it being painfully bright on cloudless nights. Darkvision is overkill even for fully overcast nights, yet non-drow elves still have it, so it’s pretty odd that aevendrow do not. In fact, it’d make even less sense for them to have evolved out of it while their surface cousins did not, since we’re told that where the aevendrow live, there are entire seasons in which the sun does not rise. Sure, they’ve got the Merry Dancers, but those would be hidden by the numerous ice storms that the region also experiences, and it’s questionable whether aurora borealis would be brighter than Selûne and all of its tears, as well as a night sky full of stars. It could just be something that Salvatore overlooked, as Jarlaxle apparently also lost his darkvision (which I will go into more detail about later). It’s hard to say at this point and too soon to tell for sure, we will have to see when WotC releases official stat blocks for aevendrow.

The final new piece of new neutral impact lore that I’d like to discuss is some new attributes being given to remorhazes, also known as polar worms:

We find out pretty early in the trilogy that polar worms play a big part in the aevendrow storyline, so it’s no wonder that they’re being discussed. However, the passage above also tells us how Callidae will have to open its doors to outsiders from the south lands. It’s very much a having their hands forced situation, as it’s either let out the secret of their existence or have no reason for that secret to exist. They might not know how to deal with excruciating heat, but a people who, oh, I don’t know, literally live with an active volcano that houses a fire primordial, certainly might.

Going back to polar worms, the mentioned information about them does not correlate to what’s been written about them in both the D&D sourcebooks and other official publications. There’s never been any indication that the remorhaz can age and develop without eating for decades. There’s also no precedent for them being able to eat or chew crystals. Up until this book, polar worms are known to prey upon other arctic creatures that shared their environments, such as elk and polar bears. In fact, its hunting tactic is adapted to the acquisition of live prey, as stated in the 5e Monster Manual: “When hunting, a remorhaz burrows deep below the snow and ice and lies in wait for the faint vibrations created by a creature moving above it. While hidden under the ice and snow, it can lower its body temperature so that it doesn’t melt its cover.” The changes introduced by Salvatore seem unlikely, as that would be quite the elaborate adaptation for a creature that doesn’t need to eat for decades, or one that can sustain itself on crystals. However, fundamentally, it’s not a huge deal, and it’s an observation made by a member of a group of people who haven’t had much direct chance of studying a living remorhaz, so it can be written off easily enough as an unreliable narrator’s words.

There is no existing lore about the relatedness of remorhazes and dragons. Dragons can indeed go decades without eating, as there is precedence of dragons slumbering for very long periods of time without waking up to eat. There isn’t much information about whether dragons can grow and develop without sustenance, but given the wide multitude of things that dragons are capable of, that hardly seems like something they wouldn’t be able to do. The lack of previous indication about remorhazes and dragons being related is not challenged here, as the statement is an impromptu hypothesis from Allefaero that we never hear about again. Hopefully it stays that way.

Polar worms making a sound similar to a cat’s purr when they’re chewing or eating also doesn’t have any precedence in existing lore. It is yet another minor factoid that can be attributed easily enough to an unreliable narrator, as Allefaero states they’ve “been known to” rather than testifying to hearing the sound himself. Furthermore, even if the sound does in fact exist, different people often interpret the same sound in different contexts, what sounds like a purr to one person can very well sound like a growl to another.

Although Allefaero’s mention of polar worms “training” their teeth on crystals is presented with a greater degree of certainty than the mention of their purring, this behavior is also one that he has not personally observed. There is, yet again, no precedence in existing lore about whether remorhaz teeth grow continuously, and if they do, whether they grow like rodent teeth or like shark teeth. Rodents do have to chew hard objects to keep their teeth from becoming too long if their normal diet does not do the job, however it is rare for their teeth to fall out. Sharks, on the other hand, grow new teeth to replace ones that have fallen out as a result of getting stuck in their prey. Allefaero likens the remorhaz to both rodents and sharks, which, like much of Salvatore’s attempts to sound deep, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense when one puts some thought into it. As I doubt that we’d get an official answer from him about how remorhaz teeth regrowth works, I’d guess that, based on what’s presented in Glacier’s Edge, that a remorhaz’s existing teeth grows continuously like a rodent’s so that they would have to chew hard objects, like crystals, to keep them from growing so long that they stab themselves in the mouth, but at the same time they also grow back lost teeth like sharks do if they lose their teeth from getting them stuck in their prey. While it is true that all of this is stuff that feels like it was made up on the spot to make the plot work, it’s not the most ridiculous thing that Salvatore has done.

All in all, the information discussed in this section are entries that should go into character and creature bibles that the author himself doesn’t seem to keep.

[thescrapbookingscientist]

Bimonthly Media Roundup

- This is How You Lose the Time War (Books) - A quick read but a memorable one, this novella had some really beautiful and heart wrenching prose and a pretty unique setting about two inhuman (immortal?) rival time traveling secret agents slowly falling in love via increasingly intricate letters left for each other across time and space. The small details we got about their respective societies and how they work were pretty cool, as was the overall enemies who taunt each other to rivals who understand each other to lovers who would die for each other pipeline. I generally prefer my media to be longer and more character/plot driven, but short and introspective is good sometimes as well and I appreciate it for feeling like a full and uncompromised package.

- Tiger Tiger (Webcomic) - I've been meaning to check this out for awhile now, so when I saw that the first book had been physically published I snapped it up and wow, really should have gotten into this sooner it's a blast. The art is gorgeous, pretty much all the central characters are excellent, and the supernatural lore so far has been really intriguing. Period ship-adventure fantasies are a pretty good genre to start with, and it's great to see one with an enthusiastic inventor/scientist who gives PowerPoint-esque presentations to her crew about the cellular structure of sea sponges. Incredible. Though my favorite has to be Remy as his combination of gay angst over falling for his himbo best friend, being a genuinely good, caring older brother, and trying his best to be a decent person while simultaneously dealing with the high expectations placed on him really makes me feel for the guy. Definitely adding to my "eagerly awaiting updates for" list.

- Crazy Ex Girlfriend (TV) - My sister and I finally made it to the finale, which was pretty satisfying all things considered. I'm still shocked by how good this show managed to be, with it's amazing songs, great humor, and surprisingly healthy portrayal of mental health issues and the road to self improvement via therapy, routine, medication, and taking responsibility for your actions without spiraling into self-deprecation (and of course how hard this road is). I have my nitpicks with it of course and know that the show won't be to everyone's tastes given how "theater" it can be, but I think it said everything it wanted to say and did so incredibly well, it's become a new favorite of mine at least. Gotta give it to Rebecca, she is definitely one of the characters of all time.

- Cabinet of Curiosities (TV) - Not super far in this as I've had quite a bit of other things going on, but I do appreciate the concept and think more purely episodic mini-series should be made. So far I've seen the first episode which was an interesting concept and good set-up but a bit lackluster in it's payoff and the second which was fun in a cheesy way (hah) but did kind of drag in the second half. I've heard the best is yet to come so looking forward to that.

- The Locked Tomb Series (Books) - Nothing new to say but still love these books. Counting down the days to Alecto.

- One Piece Live Action (TV) - Convinced my sister to watch this with me after being surprisingly impressed by the trailers and uh yeah actually it's somehow good actually? There's plenty to complain about if you are looking to do so of course, there was issues with the lighting, the Navy subplot wasn't bad but took too much screen time away from the straw hats, and some of the emotional moments didn't hit as hard with much less build up, but honestly I was impressed by what we got. The casting was spot on and all the actors did a great job, they kept in a lot of the goofy/ fun presentation and world details from the manga, the new content and way they weaved the story together was really well done, the action scenes were neat, and I just think they nailed the spirit of the finding best friends and setting off on an adventure together. Shout out especially to how Sanji was written and acted to be less comically skirt chasing and more of a genuinely sweet guy, the added 'trying on outfits' scene where Nami tries and fails to get Zoro and Luffy to compliment her/care about fashion, and the creative set designs for pretty much every location from the mansion to the tangerine grove to Buggy's stage (as terribly lit as they were). I realize there is no way they will adapt the complete story this way, but I hope it get's a second season at least, they deserve it.

- Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice (Video Game) - The final Ace Attorney mainline game, from case one I was already enjoying it a lot more than the Investigation games and honestly so far it hasn't let me down. I'm enjoying the new location and it's insane rules, the old characters are well written here and play off each other well, I surprisingly like a lot of the new characters, and I appreciate how much the cases tie into the plot and/or characters we actually care about. The only bummer so far is the new prosecutor, I'm sure he has his baggage same as all the others but boy is he not fun at all, not even in a fun to hate way, he's just an annoying religious zealot who's exceedingly arrogant despite being wrong 100% of the time. Like I don't care if you're mean, but be mean in a fun way dude.

- Monthly Girls Nozaki Kun (Manga) - Ah yes Nozaki Kun, not so much a romantic comedy as a comedy built upon the concept of romance being inherently ridiculous. Not a bad egg in this hilariously stacked cast, this remains one of the few manga that I wholeheartedly find hilarious, so I like to come back to it from time to time to get some free serotonin. Special shout out to Kashima for not only embodying the overly capable handsome girl chick magnet archetype but also doing it while being an overconfident, overly competitive, lovestruck dork ass loser at the same time. Honestly the whole cast are idiot losers and I love them deeply for it.

- Genshin Impact (Video Games) - Thanks to my friend I've picked this back up and oh geez I can feel the obsession incoming already. I've mostly just been messing around and trying to get my footing so far since the last time I played was over a year ago, but I'm about to start the second countries main story which I hear is pretty good. I really like the discovery aspect of the game as well as many of the character designs (same body/face syndrome notwithstanding) and have liked the story so far, though I have a few gripes with the experience too. The leveling system is pretty annoying and I don't appreciate the intentionally confusing character rolling system even if getting a random character is kind of fun. If there's a weapon only banner there should also be a character only banner, my experience so far has been rolling 23+ times and only getting crappy weapons. Combat is also not as fun as it could be given how over leveled the enemies are compared to my own level locked characters. Anyway, I have a feeling this will keep it's spot here for awhile so I can say more later.

Listening to: Sway Cover and Eat Your Young Cover by Reinaeiry, Insane by Black Gryph0n, Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths, Comfort Zone by Fukase, Two Princes by Spin Doctors, Money Game Pt 2 by Ren, What About Now by Daughtry, Bad as the Boys by Tove Lo, Adore by Jasmine Thompson, Undress Rehearsal by Timeflies, Self Esteem by The Offspring, Lent by Autoheart.

[dragonuv3]

Random Facts about Arekkz Scrapheart

Got hit with the brainworm and I had to jot these down.  Just a small heads up. They are not all in order, and I may divert to random things here and there, but I’ll do them anyway! It’s also subject to change depending on how the DM wishes it.

--Arekkz was born the runt of a litter of three, and yet of the two, he was the one who could never settle down unless Grymda, the tribe Denmother (basically the head of the council of elders) and healer, was around. Winter came quickly after they were born, and unfortunately, he and his littermates got sick. While the latter two died from the illness, Arekkz stubbornly refused to die, and Grymda couldn’t help but grow fond of the male runt due to his strong desire to live.

--The moment he could walk, Arekkz was always getting into what he could, and has proven himself to be a very precocious pup: learning how to sneak past other adults and guards, the best ways to get into food and supplies, but he was usually found near the forgers and crafters of the Scrapheart clans, having an obsession with seeing weapons made. Naturally, he got into the LEAST amount of trouble by being Grymda’s little shadow, trying to follow her everywhere before he got distracted or became more independent.

--Though he leans heavily towards females, he’s a proud disaster bi who will openly admit when someone is easy on the eyes. For women, he very much likes one who will not back down from a fight or what they believe in, and is extra smitten if they can fight. For men, it’s very conditional, and at the very least, they have to be smart and can keep up with him intellectually.

--Following up, he’s not shy about intimacy or nudity, both are completely natural by gnoll standards. 

--Arekkz and his girlfriend Ishala are an open couple due to their lifestyles keeping them away from each other for long periods of time. They respect that they have needs, but are always adamant to never use that to hurt each other, and they love each other dearly. Though Ishala teases him because he hasn’t found people he’s interested enough in to fool around with besides her until recently.

--LOVES music and dancing. He’s a natural dancer despite not being formally trained, and it was a huge part of his clan that they party just as hard as they work and hunt. He passed on that love to his eldritch cannon, Joltik.

--Arekkz’s clan, the Scraphearts, are a tribe of wandering gnolls who’re origins can be traced back to Netonland and the Blacklands (two countries on the continent of Arganus where the campaign takes place). After Dragonfall, an event where magic was taken from the mortal plane and lost to all but clerics and paladins due to the grace of their gods. To adapt, the Scrapheart clan ended up becoming traders of scrap metal and ores  from discarded hairships and other giant machina that used to run on magic (or in general) and sell them off to the surrounding kingdoms, most of them being in Aara, the territory they unofficially call their new home.

--Technology and magic are two easy ways to get him to be interested in anything. Information on either or is a great way to get him to sell his services to you or discount his wares. 

--Aside from technical and informative works, Arekkz loves reading fantasy and heroic novels and series. His favorite series of works consist of a hero who stands up against evil as a masked ‘Rider’. (give me more time, and I’ll make a list of DnD novels for Kamen Riders).

--He figures out what things are and the composition things by biting them. Be it metals, woods, paper, and if things are edible or not. He bites them. He also bites things that he made by himself, or uses a tool with his own bite indention to make them as something he made as well. …He also bites people that he likes on a deeper level. Usually gently. He’s only bitten one person hard enough to make a mark, and that’s with his girlfriend/mate.

--Arekkz cannot STAND sewage. The smell, consistency, how it feels on his fur, and how it clings to him upsets him tremendously, and will go into a panic to get it off of him. Strangely, he has no issues with stagnant water, blood, viscera, oil, or any other sort of mess. Sewage in particular is something he absolutely hates and will avoid if possible.

--As a weaponsmith ,aside from small blades and firearms, he’s not as proficient in martial weapons as he would like to be. He is obsessed with making the best sword for himself, but most short and longswords feel like they would break under his strength and what he would put it through.Recently, he’s made a breakthrough of using HEAVIER weapons like greatswords to compensate for that.

--He will eat anything. As a gnoll, he knows that any form of nourishment is viable, regardless of non-sentient, sentient, or rotten. Thankfully, his tribe is not for eating or cannibalizing sentients for no reason.

--Despite his occupation as a weaponsmith, he’s very appreciative of fashion. And one of the things he likes is treating himself to his new clothes: from casual, to formal, even more non masculine clothes like a harem outfit or a maid outfit he would wear with pride. 

--Though he now has quite a few people he considers friends, he’s had difficulty forming close bonds when moving away from his clan to be a guild artisan in the big city. It took a long while for him to adjust to a passable degree to ‘civilized’ life, so to speak.

--Cannot stand those who exploit or endanger others in their pursuit of ‘science’ or ‘progress.’  If you’re not willing to put your own life on the line, or take away people’s right to CHOOSE contributing to the process, you are not an answer or a solution to Arekkz. You’re a problem.

--Arekkz is a good person, yet his morals don’t quite line up with ‘civilized’ standards. He sees threatening, physical harm, and murder as perfect responses to those who threaten his “pack” (close friends, comrades, and those who have done right by him). Depending on the severity, he will either warn you, or his “pack” will have to stop him before he does something drastic.

--Not quite a fact about him in canon, but Arekkz was ALMOST an armorer artificer. While searching for inspiration in making him, a lot of Netflix Ultraman was watched. But once I thought of an idea for a sword that could be used as a ‘spell focus’, I shifted gears and made him an artificer, who used most of his weapons to ‘cast’ his spells before he learned how to cast ‘TRUE’ magic. And even then, he might alter and augment the process via alchemical or technological means.

--In terms of religion, like all of clan Scrapheart, he holds his ancestors in high regard, and still keeps an ancestral bone gifted to him by Grymda before they parted ways: She claimed it was of a previous Denmother from before Dragonfall, a crafty magic user. He’s not pious by any means, but he usually finds himself whispering to the bone and praying for guidance whenever he hits a wall. Since living in Tulpio, he never really paid attention to the other gods until he happened upon a book about the Golden Lady. He has yet to fully convert, but he has more than a passing interest in the patron goddess of artisans and artificers. …He just needs to remember to ask about her in the future.