青出於藍，而勝於藍

Check or ask to see how they’d like to be contacted, get a quick price quote for the work and confirm payment options first. Then ask to see if they have a forum or a procedure they’d you to go through when giving details.

They’re long and this post is similarly long.

I recently received quite a few questions on this topic, so here’s an intro, which hopefully will address most of your concerns.

Before you proceed, bear in mind that GP assignment is far from an exact science. There is no shortage of political undercurrents and seemingly arbitrary decisions involved in the whole process. Even discounting that, brace yourself because this stuff is lengthy and convoluted.

As usual, the focus of my post will be on the two single disciplines. The basic principles are the same for Pairs and Ice Dance, however in those two disciplines there are a few more bylaws concerning the case of “split couples” (which involves, you guess it, teams who have gone through recent changes in partnerships). Those rules make things a bit more complicated and there are people who are more familiar with Pairs/ID who can explain them to you much better than I do, so I won’t embarrass myself by talking about them.

With that out of the way, let us dive straight into the details.

The Grand Prix Series

The Grand Prix Series (GPS), officially named The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, consists of 6 international senior invitational events and the Grand Prix Final. 

The GPS, in its current format, was incorporated in 1995, and since then, the 6 GP events have been hosted by: Canada (Skate Canada International - SCI), China (Cup of China - CoC), France (Internationaux de France - IDF), Japan (NHK Trophy - NHK), Russia (Rostelecom Cup - CoR for Cup of Russia, its more commonly known name), and the US (Skate America - SA). For the upcoming season however, the Chinese Skating Association has temporarily opted out of hosting ISU events, presumably to make way for Beijing 2022 preparation. The ISU has yet to announce the event that will replace CoC in the GPS.

A skater can participate in a maximum of 2 GP events. Their placements at the GPs they take part in will determine the number of points they earn towards their Grand Prix Standings (which is a completely different system from the World Standings / Season’s World Ranking - don’t ask me why, the ISU works in mysterious ways). At the end of the 6 GP events, the top 6 men / ladies in the GP Standings will qualify for the Grand Prix Final. I won’t go into the details of how the GP Standings work today because it’s a topic that deserves, and requires, its own post, maybe later.

The Selection Pool

The GP events are invitational, which means that, in principle, which skaters to invite to a certain event is up to the host federation. Roughly, the way it works is that the ISU will put together a pool of skaters who are eligible to participate in the GPS, then the 6 skating federations who organize the GPS sit down together, look at the list, and decide whom to invite to their event.

There are certain limits to these invitations, the most important of which are:

No skaters can participate in more than 2 events.

The total number of skaters who participate in a GP event, for single skating, must be between 8 and 12.

A maximum of 3 skaters (per discipline) from the host country can participate in the host country’s event.

A maximum of 3 skaters (per discipline) from the same country can participate in any one GP (I keep this separate from point 3 above because point 3 has a different implication, see below).

The Minimum Score

There is a minimum threshold of score a skater must meet if they are to be considered eligible to enter the GPS selection pool. This minimum score can be met either through Combined Total Score or Technical Element Score. These scores will be revised and published annually by the ISU before the selection process begins. For example, for the 2017-2018 GPS, the minimum score for the ladies was either total score of 140.05 or TES of 25.26 for the SP and 46.96 for the FS.

The Host Pick

In filling the 3 “domestic” spots as mentioned above, the host federation can choose a skater who does not meet the minimum score. However it should be noted that the ISU “strongly suggests” that the minimum be satisfied.

Skater’s Preference

Top skaters can (and will) indicate their preference as to which GP they wish to compete in. Their stated preference will be considered, though not always 100% guaranteed. So for example you’d see Yuzuru making frequent appearances at SCI because his training base is in Toronto.   

The Seeds

Skaters who placed first to sixth in the previous season’s World Championships will be considered Seeded Skaters and will be assigned to 2 GP events. “Seeded” in this context means that they’ll be spread out so that no more than 2 out of 6 will be at the same event. For example, consider the 2017-2018 GPS, the seeds were, for the men’s field: Yuzuru, Shoma, Boyang, Javier, Patrick, and Nathan, for the ladies’ field: Evgenia, Kaetlyn, Gabby, Karen, Mai, Carolina. Their GP assignments were (in order of events): 

CoR: Yuzu - Nathan / Zhenya - Caro 

SCI: Shoma - Patrick / Kaetlyn - Karen 

CoC: Boyang - Javi / Gabby - Mai

NHK: Yuzu - Patrick (which didn’t happen, but still) / Zhenya - Caro 

IDF: Shoma - Javi / Kaetlyn - Mai

SA: Boyang - Nathan / Gabby - Karen 

Before you ask, funnily enough, the answer is no, in this seeding procedure, the ISU does not take into account results from the Olympics, at least they did not do so in the most recent post-Olympic season (2014-2105), and I do not think that they will start to do so this year, not least because they don’t seem to have any system on hands with which to factor both OG and WC results into consideration. So for the 2018-2019 GPS, barring a disruptive last minute change, the seeded skaters will be, on the men’s side: Nathan Chen, Shoma Uno, Mikhail Kolyada, Alexei Bychenko, Kazuki Tomono, Deniss Vasiljevs, and on the ladies’ side: Wakaba Higuchi, Satoko Miyahara, Alina Zagitova, Bradie Tennell. 

You will have noticed that I didn’t mention Kaetlyn and Carolina. That’s because Kaetlyn has announced that she would not participate in the GPS next season, and I haven’t heard if Caro intends to continue competing. When such vacancies happen, the next-ranked skater(s) will be moved up to serve as seeds - in this case, it’s going to be Gabby Daleman (rank 7) and/or Maria Sotskova (rank 8).

The “Come-back” (official ISU terminology, I didn’t make it up)

Skaters who have previously been seeded, i.e., those who have placed 1-6 at a WC within the last 10 years, and have skipped the last one or more seasons, can be given priority consideration and virtually guaranteed 2 GP events. However, in order for this “come-back” to go into effect, the skater must, first, explicitly commit to the ISU that they will take part in their assigned GPs, and such come-back treatment is allowed only once in a skater’s career.

The Invites

Skaters who placed from 7 to 12 in the previous season’s WC will be guaranteed 2 GP events. 

Any skater who holds a World Standing of up to 24 after the previous season ended will be guaranteed at least 1 GP event.

Any skater who has posted a total score within the top 24 seasonal best of the previous season will be guaranteed at least 1 GP event. Note: the ISU’s season best is a list of highest scores achieved by each skater at ISU-sanctioned events during the season. This, for example, is the Total Score list for 2017-2018: the top 24 goes from Nathan’s 321.40 at WC in first to Morisi Kvitelashvili’s 250.26 in 24th place.

All medalists from the Junior WC and the Junior Grand Prix Final champions, if they decide to move to senior next season, will be included in the selection process for the senior GPS, though their assignments are not explicitly guaranteed.

Skaters who have posted a seasonal best score within the top 75 in the previous season will be included in the selection pool and can be invited after the assignments are filled for (1) the seeded skaters (2) the come-backs, and (3) the invited skaters who are guaranteed at least 1 spot.

Junior skaters who have announced their intention of moving to senior and have met the minimum score will also be entered into the selection pool

The Conventions

Now, having said and considered all of the above, there are a few rules of thumb / traditions that always seem to materialize in each GP cycle, and can help you, for lack of a better word, predict whom you are going to see before shelling out your hard-earned money in exchange for a GP ticket.

One, if a seeded skater is from a nation who hosts a GP event, there is a near certainty of him/her attending their home event. If there are two seeded skaters from the same nation, the priority is given to the one with better results from the previous season. So in the next GPS you can reasonably expect: Nathan and Bradie at SA, Mikhail and Alina at CoR. Along this line, JSF is the only fed with a bit of a hairy problem on their hands. Going by the usual logic, Shoma and Wakaba should be their picks for NHK. However, there are, obviously, the cases of Satoko and Yuzuru to consider. Satoko, because she’s still, by common perception, their top lady skater, and Yuzu, because, well, because he’s Yuzuru Hanyu. The JSF can, of course, have all 4 of them at NHK, but that’d be a rather dumb thing to do because it’d increase the competition and create a disadvantage to their own top skaters in terms of earning GPF qualification points (especially in the men’s event, where, by rules, they’ll need to host another seeded skater besides Shoma). In short, I honestly don’t envy the JSF’s position and I wish them the best of luck.

Two, in the absence of a home GP, a seeded skater’s first assignment would be one closest to their home country, so for example Deniss is very likely going to compete at either CoR or IDF. 

Three, even though the ISU does not explicitly promise 2 spots for the Junior World medalists, they usually get their 2 assignments. Last season for example, Alina, Marin, Kaori, Vincent, Dima, Samarin all got 2 GPs.

Four, most top skaters (seeded or no) would be afforded the courtesy of some time off between events. So for example, going by the event calendar next year (which, by the way, is SA - SCI - Undecided GP to replace CoC - NHK - CoR - IDF), since Nathan is most assuredly going to be at SA, you won’t see him at SCI.

Finally, five, since the GPS selection is done on an invitational basis, a skater’s reputation and, frankly speaking, their ability to fill up the venue weigh quite heavily in the federations’ consideration. So, for example, no, Yuzu does not need to invoke the “come-back” clause (which, incidentally, does not necessarily apply to his case anyway, since it’s mostly reserved for skaters who have taken an entire season or more off). He’s going to have 2 GPs regardless. If you really, really want to know my prediction, my bet is he’s going to be where he usually is, SCI and NHK. Same goes for Zhenya, though in her case I’m less sure which 2 GPs she’s going to get. I’d say SCI is a likely possibility for her too, considering her recent relocation.

Well well well, as usual this turned out to be about triple the length of what I expected it to be. Don’t know if it helps clear things up or confuses you even more. Let me know if it’s the latter so I can go into a corner and cry or something, and definitely let me know if I’ve missed something important.

but from a writing and storytelling perspective it's delicious. it's the narrative literally punishing shane for letting himself indulge. for letting himself figuratively (and in this scene literally) get distracted for once. he's paying so much attention to ilya and their relationship off of the ice and it's a reminder to us and to him that they are in a HOSTILE environment and that they aren't in a safe space. that shane has dedicated his entire life and all of his time and energy to hockey and ONLY hockey. and he’s always made sure every decision he makes (from the books he reads to the insane fucking diet he maintains to the personal and professional image he’s worked so hard to cultivate) is the right one to benefit his hockey career. to keep him at the top of his game and the top of the league and to never give anyone any reason to question whether or not he belongs there. and the one time he lets his personal life bleed into his hockey and distract him FOR ONE SECOND it wrecks him. literally. and not only that, ilya had to WATCH IT HAPPEN and reckon with having real life, very serious consequences of their actions. he is forced to face the fact that whatever it is they are to each other is bleeding through to hockey - to their lives outside of hotel rooms and each others houses - and that he cares about shane A LOT. that seeing some guy he’s been hooking up with get hurt like that shouldn’t ABSOLUTELY TERRIFY HIM the way that it does if all they’re doing is sleeping together.

LMAO OKAY SO I’ve had a LOT of people comment and reblog asking me to write more about this. I don’t feel like I’m the most qualified person to do so? but I’ll try 😅

okay, so clearly I'm approaching this from the perspective that shane doesn't let himself indulge. like ever. like I said before, shane has dedicated his entire life and all of his time and energy to hockey and ONLY hockey. when he first meets rose and she asks him to paint her a picture of himself at 8 years old, he tells her it was still a time in his life where he could enjoy hockey. where it was fun. because scouting wasn't for a few years down the line. I don't know a lot about hockey specifically, but I went to an american high school where football scouts starting looking at people at 14-15 years old. I know the same thing happens in baseball and soccer and I'm assuming it must be pretty similar for hockey. now, I haven't read the books so all of this is gonna come from the information the show gives us - but based on what shane said, I'm gonna assume he started taking it seriously around 12-13 right before or around the time scouting would be starting.

so he didn't have time to be a 'normal teenager'. when other kids were dating and going to parties and joining clubs and experimenting with drugs/alcohol/in other ways, shane was thinking about and living and breathing hockey. it's acknowledged in the show he's had at least one girlfriend at some point other than rose (and I think in the book he is dating someone during the draft but doesn't bother to bring her along cause she's got other stuff going on?) but we never hear him bring up dating or women or having a family in the future. we know from the show that he has a super strict diet and that he SUPER rarely drinks alcohol. outside of seeing him work out and read hockey books and spend time with his parents and hayden/the pike family he doesn't really do anything outside of hockey. he spends time at his cottage and does yoga and like ??? that's it ???

and then he meets ilya. and talking to/associating with ilya isn't completely breaking the mold for shane, because that rivalry/situationship/whatever is still in the world of hockey. he's not being asked to completely step out of his comfort zone because ilya is another athlete, in the same sport, and maybe the only other person who understands what he's going through, as they're both being touted the most promising hockey prospects of their generation. so it's not taking him away from hockey. it's not distracting him from hockey. until it does.

even though neither one of them wants to acknowledge it or admit it, them hooking up DOES NOT stay casual for either of them. when something gets in the way of them seeing each other, or they're mad at each other or not talking to each other or something is off between them, their performances on the ice start to suffer. especially when they play each other. the disastrous montreal v boston game in episode 4, the commentators literally end the broadcast (as we see it) with: "but where on the ice was shane hollander? and where was ilya rozanov?"and then we get the fucking scene of all time where they end up at the same club and everything goes to hell. and it's not the first time it's happened, its just one big example of shane having something from his personal, private life, effect his performance on the ice. and then it follows him directly off of the ice to the tune of 'all the things she said' and all of us crashing out in our living rooms, local sports bars, etc.

it is SO CLEAR in the show, especially during his conversations with yuna, that he always made sure every decision he makes is the right one to benefit his hockey career. to keep him at the top of his game and the top of the league and to never give anyone any reason to question whether or not he belongs there. because not only is he dealing with the pressure of being the asian representation in the league for people to look up to - he's also dealing with the casual and blatant racism in the locker rooms, on the ice, most likely in his personal life that we don't really see too much of. he's also dealing with the pressure of maintaining a specific public professional and personal image that will make his sponsors happy and continue to bring in more opportunities for him in the future. PLUS the pressure of being a captain that is expected to lead his team to several championships, while also constantly being compared to and measured against rozanov in every single aspect of their careers.

it's clear that they've always looked forward to playing against each other on the ice. it's clear that they push each other to be better. it's one of the BIGGEST reasons this rivalry that got pushed on these kids before they were even drafted actually WORKS for the league. there's a reason it didn't fizzle out and die after their rookie season. it's impossible to know (obviously) but it's VERY likely that even though they're both extremely talented players, they may have never reached the levels they got to with championships and individual player awards without each other. if they had been drafted in different years, far apart, or to different divisions that don't play each other often, or if they hadn't crossed paths in juniors... it all may have been different. so even though they never asked to be the faces of this iconic, legendary rivalry, just by being talented and playing against each other and being themselves, they kept that narrative going, even if they didn't want it.

so when they finally get to play together for the first time, on the same team, on the same line, we're finally seeing them on the ice in a way we've only seen them off of the ice. we see them exhale a bit. they don't have to pretend to fully fucking despise each other. they can still push each other to be better, but instead of using it against each other, they get to test their chemistry together, outside of the bedroom. they get to discover that their chemistry extends beyond that, on onto the ice. this, I think, is where the chemistry starts to bleed into the hockey. their personal lives are now NOT separate from the hockey in a way it never was before. shane gets to sit by the pool and watch ilya play with kids and it's not weird. they get to sit next to each other on the beach and it's not the end of the world. they get to celebrate scoring a goal by ilya kissing shane on the helmet because he's affectionate with his teammates and they've never been that before.

and shane walks towards it.

he asks for ilya's room number so he can apologize for freaking out and leaving when things started to feel too real. he admits that he likes him 'maybe a little too much' and asks ilya if he'd want them to be something if they could be.

NONE of that fits into his typical 'what is the best decision I can make for my personal and professional reputation' decision making. he knows what he wants and for the first time in a long time - potentially since before he was a teenager - he wants something that would be an indulgence. it would be 'selfish'. it could potentially ruin his hockey career if anyone knew about it. he doesn't know at this point if his parents, or hayden or jackie would be supportive. he knows they make each other better on the ice and that they always have competed their hardest (no pun intended lmao) against each other. but it's still such a bad idea. like he said to ilya during their first hookup allllll the way back in episode one.

and in this exact same episode, the narrative is going to step in and very fucking brutally remind him of that fact.

he gets FUCKING LAID OUT on the ice. now I've seen people interpret this a few ways. some people see it as an 'unreliable narrator' situation where he wasn't actually looking backwards he was just thinking about ilya and gets distracted. I've seen people say that it's definitely a split second he glances back and it's dragged out/slowed down as much longer for dramatic effect (like we see in the club scene) and I think that is exactly what's happening. as I said previously, by letting himself figuratively (and in this scene literally) get distracted for once. FOR PROBABLY NOT EVEN A SPLIT SECOND. he gets the most brutal possible reminder that letting his personal, private life mix with his life on the ice could have DIABOLICAL consequences. we've seen him and ilya take small steps towards admitting that what they have is something and that in their own little bubble, they're letting themselves have a small taste of that. and the one time he lets A TINY BIT OF THAT bleed into his hockey, reality steps in to remind him and ilya and us that it could be dangerous for them. literally. for SO MANY REASONS. and ilya having to WATCH IT HAPPEN after dealing with his dad dying and cutting off his brother and literally having NO ONE in his life but shane and svetlana... he already KNOWS he's in over his head with shane. he knows he's in love with him and he realizes in that moment how helpless it feels to not be able to do anything about it. they're in public, on tv, in front of the whole word. he has no right to know anything about the hospital he's gong to, what his condition is. and one of the first things shane thinks about is asking the paramedics to tell ilya that he's okay.

and when ilya goes to see him in the hospital, and they both have to reckon with the fact that shane (and now most likely the metros) are out of the playoffs, and that ilya was SO SCARED and that he wants to go to shane's cottage but he just can't let any of this get any messier and more complicated because it's BLEEDING INTO THEIR HOCKEY AND ILYA COULD BARELY HIDE IT ON THE ICE AND SHANE IS COMFORTABLE ENOUGH TO INVITE HIM TO SPEND SUMMER WITH HIM.

that fucking moment on the ice. that less than a split second that lands shane in the hospital.

fucking hell man. I know we talk about the scott and kip moment as being the catalyst for ilya and shane and it absolutely is. but THAT MOMENT that sports fans get annoyed about. the story needed that moment. the characters needed that moment. and it's executed so well and ACTED so well and because the writing in this show is INCREDIBLE it's built up to SO WELL and the payoff is just excellent.

and ALSO, the hockey podcasts and like previous hockey players or athletes or just serious hockey fans who watched that moment and said stuff like 'that lookback was unforgivable' or 'you can't have that shit on the team' or whatever... like YEAH. THAT'S ALSO PART OF THE POINT THE NARRATIVE IS TRYING TO MAKE. CONGRATS. if it was ever EVER found out that THAT is what happened?? that their relationship distracted shane on the ice and he got hurt?!

OH FUCKING BOY. hockey and professional male sports in general are already NOT welcoming to gay athletes. and we see from the reactions of CERTAIN TEAMS AND INDIVIDUALS in the long game exactly what that looks like. THIS IS ALSO THE NARRATIVE COMMENTING ON THAT. because it HAPPENED ON THE ICE. IN FRONT OF THE WORLD. AND PEOPLE SAW IT. if they knew the context??? holy fuck it would be SO BAD for their careers.

Ilya's not just good he's generational. Both he and Shane are supposed to be SO absurdly good compared to the rest of the league that they can drag their teams to cups with ~3-4 years after signing. They're not fucking Tavares man they're like Crosby and Ovechkin but better because fiction.

Anyway a guy like that, moving to a team he has no connection to, in a city that's not appealing for any obvious reason, that he seemingly has never even visited other than for game nights? And he's not explaining why? It's not TJ going back home, it's Rozanov going to a random fuck off city in Canada.

So yeah, no, I legitimately think people would actually wonder if it's some kind of mental break. Like he just couldn't handle the pressure in Boston and picked the worst team in the league deliberately to take himself out of contention for future cups.

I don't even think people would assume he had a partner in Ottawa because literally unless he was dating fucking Justin Trudeau or some other high ranking Canadian government official why wouldn't they just move to Boston, or why wouldn't he just split his time, he has the money to charter flights, like it makes no sense.

Step 1: See an absolutely monstrous image on a reddit post about "worst possible AO3 features"

Step 2: realize that you could probably recreate that with CSS

Step 3: spend an hour of time you were supposed to be working just constantly thinking about how to do it

Step 4: spend your lunch hour (and another 20 minutes after work) making the thing

Step 5: profit???

If you would like to make your AO3 works pages look like some sort of cursed timeline full of broken ads, personal information, and AI then grab the code and make yourself a site skin 😆🤣

Note: this removes all of the buttons at the top of a fic and also I built it on my laptop with zero considerations for mobile. This is a shitpost kind of a site skin, so just try it for the visceral horrors and not for actual usability.

Image of one of my own fics:

You know when you compare the lore of Dragon Age and Pillars there a lot of similarities and it wouldn’t be that hard to put both settings in the same world.

No, they really don’t fit together.

This is kind of ironic, because that’s how we got Dragon Age‘s setting in the first place, and why I’m answering this.

Let’s start with what the two settings still have in common. Both games are based around evolving D&D into a new, non-licensed system. In both cases, the long term goal was to pave over some of the more idiosyncratic elements, and create new settings that could be used without raising the ire of Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast.

In both cases, they started with an approximation of D&D’s Forgotten Realms setting, and then started mixing in other inspirations; and that’s when the wheels come off this wagon.

To condense: Forgotten Realms is a “standard, Tolkienesque fantasy world,” where numerous immensely powerful civilizations have fallen into ruin. There’s a full chronology of empires rising and falling throughout the setting’s history. The modern cultures often live directly adjacent to civilizations so advanced that their residual magic defies comprehension. This is the setting of games like Neverwinter Nights, Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and the MMO Neverwinter, along with, literally, hundreds of novels.

Pillars of Eternity starts from that point, and plants the clock firmly in the 17th century (though the overall technology doesn’t perfectly match any specific point in history.) It then uses the altered setting to talk politics and philosophy. Up front, I’m a fan of this kind of approach to fantasy. Speculative fiction is at its best when it has something to say, and can do it without getting preachy. Taking your “normal” fantasy prejudices, and then pulling that apart and using it as allegory has a lot of merit. I’m also a big fan of taking a setting (in this case, the “standard fantasy setting”) and pushing the clock forward, asking, “what happens next?” What does colonialism look like in a world where you have dragons and wizards?

On the surface, Dragon Age may look somewhat similar. There’s no colonial themes, firearms, or advanced sailing ships, but it is building off of the same, standard fantasy setting template. Where Pillars looked to real history, Dragon Age went someplace a little different: Warhammer.

I’ve talked about Warhammer Fantasy before. A lot like Pillars it’s adapting the fantasy setting to a specific historical era, in that case it’s target is the late 15th, early 16th century. It’s less interested in saying anything, but it was designed for a tabletop strategy game, where the narrative was, at best, ad hoc. Along the way, it’s embraced the mindset of the era, and pulled a lot of the conflicting tones from that time in history together into a weird amalgam. This is a setting where the church is under siege from literal daemons, instead of the protestant reformation. It’s a setting where new ideas are starting to stream in, and simultaneously are mixed with incredibly dangerous concepts that threaten to, quite literally, rip the universe apart.

I love Warhammer; it is a brilliantly stupid setting, and within that context it has a real identity. I know I said I like settings that have something to say, but you can get by on sheer charm. Warhammer is an incredibly bleak setting that turns the pitch black horizon into comedy.

Warhammer is a postlapsarian world. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, this is a concept from Christian literature holding that humanity is a fallen race; separated from divinity for our sins. Warhammer pulls this out as part of the philosophies and outlooks that define its era, and runs screaming into the night with it.

Like, Warhammer, Dragon Age is also postlapsarian. The specifics are different, and more solidly tied to human hubris. It’s setting mimics middle ages Catholic church politics, complete with the schism between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. It skips over the Protestant reformation that dominates Warhammer’s thoughts on the subject, but some of that is a function of time.

The biggest difference is tone, and part of the reason why I’ve spent 700 words leading up to a tear down.

Dragon Age wants to be a serious game, about serious people, doing serious things. If it would make up its mind, or lighten up a bit, it could have been pretty great. (Or, arguably was.) Now, let me explain why I sidetracked into talking about Warhammer up there: Dragon Age is a poorly executed riff on Warhammer, not Forgotten Realms.

In Dragon Age/Warhammer, mages are unstable and risk corruption by demons/daemons from the fade/warp. They’re constantly struggling to keep control over themselves, and the demons/daemons are always nibbling at the edges of their minds. If a mage loses control they can become possessed by a demon/daemon, and become an abomination/a daemon, physically transforming the unfortunate mage in grotesque ways. Because of this, mages are hunted down by Templars/Templars of Sigmar, sometimes/usually called Witchunters, who have enormous authority granted to them by The Chantry/The Church of Sigmar.

Travel through the fade/warp is possible, but extremely dangerous without a trained mage (or a functioning Gellar field in WH40k), this can allow an experienced mage to travel vast distances (Warp travel is technically an FTL system.) The fade/warp is a substructure of reality shaped by the subconscious psychic energy of the universe’s population, and the demons/daemons within are direct manifestations of vices/base emotions.

Civilization is threatened by incursions from the Darkspawn/Chaos, a mix of strange fade tainted/chaos warped creatures, who come from the south/north, but can pop up nearly anywhere.

Now, to be fair, there are differences between the settings, the Dwarves are being pushed to the edge of extinction in a handful of holds, having lost their once grand empire because of prolonged combat with the darkspawn/greenskins (orcs, goblins, and some other critters.) I also, don’t really want to get into a full discussion of the similarities between the Lizardmen and the Qunari, because that quickly gets esoteric. There’s also a lot of armies in Warhammer that simply don’t appear in Dragon Age. Some like the Skaven and Greenskins appear to have been rolled with the Chaos armies, others like the Vampire Counts, Tomb Kings, High Elves, Dark Elves, and Wood Elves are basically absent.

So, where’s the problem? A couple things.

It doesn’t bother me that Dragon Age was heavily inspired by Warhammer. After all, Warcraft also began life as a Warhammer game, and that splintered off into its own identity. Everything we do as writers builds on things we’ve consumed. The material you read will seep into the things you write. That’s fine. That’s the nature of being a creative. Look outside yourself, see things, take a look, and incorporate the parts that make sense.

You’ve heard the old quote, “good writers borrow, great writers steal?” That’s here. You see a neat thing in text, in a game, or on screen, you’ll remember it, you’ll try to snarf it up and consume it. It becomes a part of you, it affects how you look at the world (even in a small way), and will affect your writing. This means that, most of the time, when you see someone saying, “they just ripped off X,” and list one or two things, it’s not.

In taking inspiration, see something you like, take it, digest it. Look at the concept from all sides. Roll it around in your head. Ask yourself what it means when it gets dropped into your work. Don’t just lift entire systems, or characters, and transplant them without considering them. The goal is that, on the other end there’s no way to know, and that the previous paragraphs I wrote where I describe both settings with a simple proper noun replacement scheme can’t happen. (And, I could have gone on for a lot longer. The similarities vastly outnumber the differences.)

If Dragon Age‘s setting is Warhammer, it’s rules are Forgotten Realms. This is something of a problem. You’re presented with one system for how the setting works in text, prose, and fluff, and you’re presented with a completely different setting when you actually engage with the material directly. I wish I could say this is a problem unique to games with narratives, but that’s not entirely true. This can become a problem any time a writer establishes one set of rules for the, “little people,” of their world, and a different set of rules for their protagonists.

Magic in Warhammer is dangerous. A wizard is channeling the power of the warp, and hoping they can keep control over it. In Dragon Age, magic is described as dangerous, and in both cases the characters risk drawing the attention of a demon/daemon. But, in actual game play, the only threat Dragon Age mage faces from casting is running out of mana. Magic can never slip from their control reeking havoc outside of a cutscene. Untold horrors can’t spill forth from a tear in the fabric of reality. They’ll never be possessed against their will (again, outside of a scripted sequence, when the power of plot compels them.) Dragon Age‘s magic is built off of Forgotten Realms (even though it ditches D&D’s Vancian system), because the gameplay was designed without regard for the setting. Or, put another way, the protagonists follow different rules from the rest of their setting.

As a writer, if you look at Dragon Age you need to assess that fundamental cognitive dissonance first.

There is another piece of dissonance between Dragon Age and Pillars, their approach to humanity. (I’m abbreviating here, as both settings have many non-human individuals that fit inside this context of this argument, while still being explicitly something other than human.)

Postlapsarian views humans as fundamentally fallen. Pillars solidly rejects that entire thought process. There’s a full state of nature debate in there, and if you really believe people can’t be trusted to managed their own bowels, you have the option to say so, but the story doesn’t endorse this. Dragon Age enshrines the idea that people broke the world, and all of the horrific monsters wandering the world are their fault. In Dragon Age magic is an emblem of (and conduit to) that original sin. In Pillars magic is another tool for advancing civilization’s understanding of the world (in addition to being a highly destructive weapon that’s significantly affected the setting’s history.) In fact, the metaphysics of Pillars are under the control of characters. This is reminiscent of how D&D’s gods tend to be ascended adventurers, but it creates a setting where the sentient races are in control of their destiny, and aren’t being told they need to atone for anything.

If you want to take two settings and blend them together, the first step is to pull them apart and start sifting through the individual pieces. See how they connect to the rest of the setting/story, and ask yourself what it affects and if it makes sense. Also, remember you’re free to disagree with the authors on their conclusions. Don’t simply take something, make it your own first.

-Starke

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At a conference/festival last year, there was a Shibari workshop on the schedule for some reason, although the topic of the event was prediction markets. This led to the following exchange (all names changed):

Adam (who at the time was basically a stranger to me): Hmm, "Shibari"... What is that, some kind of Jewish ritual?

Me: No, it's-

Barbara: EVERYONE SHUT UP! Ok. Nobody tell this man what shibari is.

Everyone: ...?

Barbara: We’re playing 20 questions.

Thus began what was by far the best game of 20 questions I have ever witnessed. There were... appreciably more than 20 questions.

[literally ten minutes of questions later]

Adam: Ok, so! Shibari... is a Japanese social export, it's an activity somebody does, it's in some way artistic, it does not involve drawing, it does not involve writing, it involves an inorganic object and an organic object, and... the organic object is a human, right?

Everyone: Right

Adam: And the inorganic object...

Barbara: Well...

Chris: The inanimate object

Adam: The inanimate object, which, oh, which is organic, which suggests that it's clothes... Is the inanimate object clothing?

Everyone: No

Me: To clarify, the inanimate object is always organic in terms of 'organic chemistry', but might or might not be, like, made from biological material

Adam: Ok. And so, you have an inanimate object, and you have a person... The person does not have to do anything during the... shibari activity. You are doing a manipulation to the inanimate object, with the person, for purposes that are fun... Is it for the entertainment of a group?

Barbara: Could be? ...

Adam: So it could be for the entertainment of a group, but it could be for the entertainment of the individuals?

Everyone: Right

Adam: Ok. The inanimate object - the equipment - right? It is not specialised, but is a common object, correct?

Everyone: yeah

AI

Adam: Does it have anything at all to do with AI?

Everyone: [laughter] No

Adam: I had to check. In this setting, everything turns back to AI at some point

Me: I would say no

Frank: Not yet!

Me: Right, not yet. But yeah, 'No' is definitely the answer to that one

George: I trust Rob Miles on this

Barbara: As an expert in shibari?

Frank: As an expert in AI Shibari. I think that's what it's called.

Chris: Oh, yeah it kind of is!

Can one shibari by accident?

Adam: Ok. Is it something that one might do without knowing that it is shibari?

Everyone: [cacophony of disagreement]

Me: Interesting question!

Frank: Very interesting question.

Barbara: It's totally plausible that someone would do something that would qualify as shibari without knowing the Japanese artform

Me: Yeah, and they might also have seen things about it but not know the name of it

Chatting during shibari

Adam: Does it involve talking?

Everyone: No, not necessarily

Adam: God Dammit. Agh, I thought it might be... talking using some prop or something

Barbara: For me it always involves talking, but it's...

Adam: One doesn't have to?

Barbara: It's just 'cause I don't stop talking

[laughter]

Adam: And it doesn't involve betting markets in any way?

Everyone: No

How technologically advanced is shibari equipment?

Adam: Ok. Is the object technologically difficult to make?

Everyone: No

One guy: Yes

Everyone: What? No it isn't!

Adam: Is it only available in an industrialised economy?

Everyone: No

That one guy again: Yes!

Everyone: NO!!!

The guy: No, you're right, I'm sorry... But it is difficult to make

George: Every object is difficult to make!

Barbara: Maybe you're confused about what shibari is

Ed: Yeah, you should be up there with Adam

Adam: Would it have been available before industrialisation?

Everyone: Yes!

Adam: Ok. Um... is it a stick?

Everyone: It's not a stick

No cheap tricks allowed

Adam: I feel like I'm gonna get close to covering everything...

Me: I feel like we were very close just now, when you were like "Well what could this object be?"

Adam: Ok so the object is important. It's... before industrialisation... Does it begin with a letter before-

Everyone: No, no, we're not doing that. N/A

Adam: Ok so it starts with an N and an A...

[laughter]

What is this dang object?

Adam: Ok... so... is the object artificially pigmented?

Everyone: Can be, but not necessarily

Adam: Is it commonly painted?

Everyone: No

Adam: Is it commonly dyed?

Everyone: Yes

Adam: Ok, is it something that it's very common to dye in other purposes?

Everyone: Yeah

Adam: Does it involve a vegetable, of some kind?

Everyone: ...No?

Adam: Does it involve a plant?

Everyone: [confusion about what 'involve' means]

George: The object can have... some relation to a plant

Me: eehhh, that's more confusing than helpful. We already said that it can be biologically derived

Adam: But it would have been available before industrialisation?

Everyone: Yeah

Adam: So it's got to be something that is... around. Is it something that requires human modification to make into the form we know and love?

Everyone: Yes

Adam: Uh.. does this processing require specialised skill?

Everyone: Yeah, some skill for sure

Adam: Would I be able to do it? Like, without training?

Everyone: Probably not

Ed: On a long enough time horizon you'd figure it out, but the answer is basically no

Adam: Like, you throw me in with the tools to make it and say "come out in an hour", could I...

Everyone: No, probably not

Adam: But other people would be able to make it in an hour?

Everyone: Yeah, with the right skills

It’s not a weapon

Adam: Does it involve a weapon of any kind?

Everyone: No.

George: How creative are you allowed to-

Everyone: The answer's no

What shape is the object?

[long pause]

Adam: Well... does anyone else have any questions?

Barbara: You're asking such good questions though!

Ed: Yeah you're doing a good job

Danielle: I think you should ask more questions about the shape of the object

Everyone: Oh, great suggestion

Adam: Ok, is it spherical?

Everyone: No

Adam: Is it cylindrical?

Everyone: Yyeeaahh, sort of, yeah.

Adam: So it's not a pure cylinder but it's cylindrical-ish?

Everyone: Yeah

Adam: Is it an ovaloid?

Everyone: No.

Adam: Is it an ellipsoid?

Everyone: No

Adam: Is it uh... hmm... But it's longer than it is wide?

Everyone: Yes!!!

[scattered applause, we're close now]

Adam: Is it a plank of wood?

Everyone: No!!!

Barbara: It still isn't that!

Frank: No, his previous guess was stick

Adam: Yeah, a plank of wood requires processing and I couldn't make it... like it fits a lot of the other questions

Barbara: No you're right, that's fair, I'm convinced. It is a plank of wood.

Where is the object?

Adam: Could I find it inside a building or outside a building?

Everyone: Yes...

Adam: Wait. I mean. Ok, can you find it in a bathroom?

Everyone: Not really

Adam: Can you find it in a kitchen?

Everyone: Probably not

Adam: Can you find it lying on the ground?

Everyone: Yeah possibly

Adam: Is it something that people commonly use?

Everyone: Yeah

Adam: Is it something that people would pick up if they saw it lying there?

Everyone: Nah

It’s really not a weapon

Adam: Is it something that is dangerous at all?

Everyone: Can be, but not especially

Adam: Is any part of it sharp?

Everyone: No

Adam: Can any part of it fragment?

Everyone: [???]

Adam: Like, is it brittle?

Everyone: No

Adam: So it's firm?

Everyone: No

Adam: Is it flexible?

Everyone: Yes!!

Adam: Ok! Is it a pool noodle?

Everyone: [laughter]

Adam: Which is cylindrical, flexible, and organic, dyed but not painted...

Everyone: No, we're so proud of you, you're doing great

Me: But we did say "pre-industrial"

Pinning down the object

Adam: Ok ok. Is it a solid?

Everyone: Yes

Adam: Is it any of the solid hybrids, like a colloid or a gel?

Everyone: No

Adam: Does it retain its shape after being bent?

Everyone: Uh... yes?

Adam: So it doesn't spring back with any force?

Everyone: No, it doesn't spring back

Adam: Ok... so... Is it Japanese in origin, or is it found around the world?

Everyone: [assorted contradictory statements]

Me: The origin of the practice is Japan, but the origin of the object is all over

Adam: Is the object put on a person?

Everyone: Yes!

Adam: Is the object... um... is the object rope?

Everyone: YES!!

[scattered applause]

Me: The object is rope!

Adam: Ok!

Me: Now bring it home

Bringing it home?

Adam: Are things hung upon the rope?

Everyone: Uuuuummmmmm. Ambiguous? No.

Adam: Is the rope itself... does the rope look good?

Everyone: Yes!

Adam: Ok! Is this putting-on... a mark of esteem?

Everyone: No?? ???

[laughter]

Adam: So the object is a rope, and you're putting the rope on somebody

Everyone: Yes!

Adam: You're... putting rope on somebody!

Everyone: Yeah!

Adam: Is that... is that not the practice?

Everyone: No, no, it is, it is!

[confused cheering. Are we done?]

We’re not done

Chris: But, no, come on, there's more to it!

Ed: You're missing something critical!

Chris: You're so close!

Adam: Ok. Do you... hang someone?

Everyone: [strongly conflicting opinions]

Barbara: Only if you're doing it extremely wrong

Adam: Ok. But you can tie knots?

Everyone: YES!

Adam: Ok! Do you tie... is it a bracelet of some-

Everyone: No!

Adam: So it's not an adornment of any kind...

Everyone: Well...

Where on the body?

Adam: Is it put on your neck?

Chris: No

Danielle: Well, can be...

Adam: On your head?

Everyone: Can be

Adam: On a limb?

Everyone: Yeah

Adam: It's on a limb

Me: Not exclusively

Adam: On an arm?

Everyone: Can be

Adam: On a leg?

Everyone: Can be

Adam: On... uh... I've run out of limbs...

What does it mean?

Adam: Ok, it's rope, you put it on somebody, it's Japanese in origin... does it... signify something?

Everyone: Not really

Adam: Hmm. Do you tie the rope in a loop?

Everyone: ...Yeah??

Adam: I'm wondering, is it the casting of ropes upon people, like uh...

Chris: It's not a lasso, no

Frank: I like the idea of shibari as, like, a carnival game...

Barbara: I'm unclear on what the win condition is here...

Ed: I feel like there is a really important component that we haven't got yet

Everyone: Yeah, when he gets that component, he’s won

Are people into shibari?

Adam: Hmm... Did you find yourself fired by enthusiasm to do it upon being told about it?

Several people: Yes

Me: Personally no, but...

[laughter]

Adam: So it has mixed appeal?

Barbara: That is absolutely correct

Can one shibari... too hard?

Adam: Is it um, does it involve the tying of knots?

Everyone: YES

Adam: Ok. Are there knots that are peculiar to shibari?

Everyone: yeah

Adam: Is the learning of knots, or the tying of knots upon other people the important part?

Everyone: Uh... yes?

Adam: Do you tie someone up and they attempt to escape?

Everyone: Uh, not necessarily, but like, often.

Me: Yes is closer than no, I think

Adam: Ok, you tie rope on someone. Do you have to use some sort of special rope for it? Can you use any rope?

Barbara: You can use any rope, but some are better than others

Adam: So you wouldn't want to use any rough ropes, or...

Danielle: No, you do, that's actually preferred

Adam: You prefer rough ropes?

Chris: Some do

Frank: It depends

Danielle: Natural fibers tend to be rougher

Adam: Does it chafe?

Danielle: It can, but ideally not

Adam: Would you do it even if you were injured in the process of doing it?

Frank: No

Barbara: You would not want that to happen generally

Adam: Uh... Does it look cool?

Everyone: Yes!!

Origami?

Adam: So you're tying knots that look cool... is it like an origami for knots?

Everyone: [confused disagreement]

Ed: It's not about the knots

Chris: It's totally about the knots!

Frank: It's all about the cones...

Adam: Like, in origami you fold paper in ways that look cool, maybe you tie knots in ways that look cool?

Everyone: [loud disagreement]

Diagnosing the problem

[long long pause]

Chris: Ask the question in your heart!

Adam: ...Neckties?

Everyone: No?

Barbara: I keep thinking "But, he already has it", and then he asks a question that makes me say "No, he doesn't have it at all"

Frank: I think there's a question you want to ask, but you're not...

Everyone: Yeah

Chris: Yeah, ask the question that you don't want to ask

Danielle: I don't think he has the question...

Adam: Would it cause any gratification in someone?

Everyone: Yes!

Adam: Would it... Would it cause sexual gratification?

Everyone: Yes!!

Adam: Is it a practice... under the category of kink?

Everyone: Yes!!!

Adam: Is it tying somebody up for bondage purposes?

Everyone: YEAH!!! [Pandemonium, hollering, applause, Adam is lifted above the cheering crowd]

After the hearty congratulations were done, I wandered off, elated from the experience, and I bumped into a group of friends.

"Friends!" I said, "I just had the funniest experience. This guy didn't know what 'shibari' was, so we-"

"Shibari?" a friend interjected, "What is that, like, a Jewish building?"

I know you wanted me away But I am called to be the first Pope from the USA I heard that there's a special place where God talks directly to me every time I pray

I'm having holy dreams, of ruling the Holy See Hear Santa Monica, her son is calling me Won't make the bishops proud, the USCCB Will see their bro in Christ, I know they're gonna scream

"God, what will you do? You once were our boy, then you went to Peru," oh Fathers I'm on the balcony In my vestments, they elected me as the

I'll be treading closer to the

✨ OLD STATUS QUO ✨

But bigots will keep calling me the

I live my holy dreams, in Vatican City 'Bye Santa Monica degli Agostin'ani I preach the basic core of Christianity It makes hypocrites mad, I know they're gonna scream

"God, what have you done? He's left of center, an' he's your new Number One," oh brothers The Father and Son Told me they think your views, are hopelessly wrong. You call me

Go ahead keep tweeting I'm a

Maybe I'll slide down a righteous

✨Slippery Slope✨

And someday maybe there will be a

It's true of literally all of her clients. She works with a lot of them to put systems in place so that their crashes are only three days. This includes the high-powered execs who travel regularly for work. It does not matter how successful or high functioning they are - they have ADHD, and crashing is just part of the process of living with it.

I'm sharing this with all you ADHD friends out there, just in case you (like me) start shaming yourself if your crash lasts more than one day. It turns out three days is kind of the best case scenario. Be kind to yourselves!