#the circle of tide and bone

[unfortunatelyevent]

aabria iyengar in golden make up, 575 killed, 5386386 injured

[astralpaint]

Candela Obscura: Tide and Bone 2/2

Aabria the Game Master

@quiddie

[quiddie]

I find idioms derived from scripture to be particularly fascinating. They seem to have this extra weight to them. One of my favorites is “out of the mouths of babes” which speaks to the surprise of wisdom coming from unexpected sources.

The phrase’s origin is a particularly funky translation of Psalm 8:2: “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.”

Such evocative phrasing. It *almost* paints a picture.

Anyway, it’s Thursday.

See you soon.

[floweroflaurelin]

The Final Flame 🕯️

—

“We’re all just candles in the dark.”

[twinklestarss]

The Circle of Tide & Bone

Candela Obscura Chapter 3 November 30th

[quiche-draws]

Excuse me. That Candela Obscura Chapter 3 ending freaking hurt.

So you know what??? Have a good-vibes-but-also-sad speed-drawing 😭😭😭

(but in all seriousness, congratulations to Sam, Liam, Noshir, Ashly, Gina and the amazing Aabria for that wonderful series. Ya'll did freaking incredible on this!!)

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST! REBLOG ONLY!

[i-lavabean]

Please let them rest in the finale please please please

[elemental-plane]

i was struck with a vision

[agueforts]

[theclockistickingwrite]

There’s PVP and then there’s a PC transforms into a horrifying monster and kills another PC but it’s fine because the PC she killed is unable to die! But it’s actually not fine because every time he dies he has to give up a piece of himself! And that old man in the party is actually his son?! Anyway no time to unpack all of that we gotta go!!!

[annemarieyeretzian]

anyway noshir dalal’s decision to play calm and coolly detached rajan as still so completely and helplessly in love with elsie is going to kill me outright. his love for her slipping through the same cracks as his grief and his rage. “then for her sake, you keep a lookout.” “I heard elsie cry. I go there as fast as I can.” “I’m going to hold her.” “I’m so sorry, little bird,” “I will not leave you.” “my darling,” “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.” “I certainly won’t leave her alone.” what if I lost my whole entire godsdamned mind,

[math-rocks-and-lizard-bats]

It is no longer the circle of tide and bone I will forever call them the circle of baby and girl. Bc they’re all baby girl.

[astralpaint]

I freakin loved it!

[conceiteddemon]

There were some little inconsistencies in the first Tide and Bone chapter that I’ve been gnawing on but I think I’ve pieced together the Maw’s plan that makes everything make sense with the new context given to us in the asylum directors letters.

Parts of the break in mission seemed too…smooth? It was bothering me that there was a screaming beast transformation followed by a murder/resurrection in the backyard and that none of the guards, who were explicitly stated to be on high alert and had timed periods of feigned casualness drilled into them, didn’t go check on All of that. And maybe guards who work for greyslate have seen/heard their inmates do some weird shit and have learned to look the other way as long as it happens within the bounds of the sanatorium, fine, but in the middle of the night? In the backyard?? It seemed pretty sus to me before I realized

The Maw and the Serious Man had set up a Candela investigator honeypot

Here are the facts:

1. Sarkas’ escape from the sanitarium went oddly smooth, RIGHT after he witnessed some magic bullshit go on. It went so suspiciously that Rajan theorized that he might have been let out.

2. Sarkas had no proof of what he saw other than his word. According to Matt, a lot of Candela cases turn out to be ‘a drunk guy’ or ‘neophyte woman making big deal out of nothing’ or ‘mob hysteria’, so when Sarkas, who was previously in an insane asylum and had a background as a distrusted OUP, came to Candela with nothing but his word, it seems set up to appear as Baby’s First Investigation. Nekari and Cosmo, who are both old hat, heard about this assignment and thought it seemed ‘routine’. A little parting gift walkabout for an incredibly old man.

3. The Maw seems to mainly prey on the vulnerable. It took Rajan’s sister as a child thrall, and attempted to take him as well. This is speculation but if the Serious Man knew Raj’s mother well enough to stroll around with her, then it’s likely that she was involved with the Occult. Combine that with greyslate being a place where they put OUPs out to pasture, and her line about the circle having her ‘favorite flavors’, it seems like her preferred thralls are those who have had bleed exposure before. Investigators are both strong and vulnerable, and would make great thralls because they haven’t been ‘used up’ like the inmates were.

4. The director’s letters stated that the Maw needed stronger thralls as the current ones burned out too quickly.

So we’ve got the perfect setup to nab a few grade-A thralls, people who are in a line of work where disappearances happen regularly, are susceptible to the Bleed, come with a host of issues to feed upon but aren’t ‘greyed out’ yet like the inmates are. It seems like the perfect plan! Nab a circle, get strong thralls to get digging, set up some misdirection on where the group disappeared to once they are brainwashed and you know more about them.

Unfortunately for them, Cosmo rolled up with a guy who knew EXACTLY what he was fighting and had a chestful of locusts, a monster woman to engage the enemy monster woman in a kaiju battle, a backup triage lady since the first triage lady was preoccupied monster battling, and another dude with a personal vendetta who literally physically cannot die.

[floweroflaurelin]

Huevember day 22: Prof. Rajan Savarimuthu

We’re in Jan-hue-ary now, but I’m going to see the rainbow through!! Here’s a dreamy professor and his latest Scar (eyelids are overrated anyway)

[twinklestarss]

Candela Obscura Circles So Far…

Chapter 3 airs on November 30th!