mademoiselle-murasaki

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

Here’s to the new year - may she be a damn sight better than the old one.

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

Happy volcano day everyone! Show of hands, who watched Fantasia 2000 as a kid and didn’t find out until about twenty years later that the animation for the Firebird Suite was based on the eruption of Mt. St. Helens?

Another fun fact: because Mt. St. Helens was the first mountain whose name as a child I thought that all mountains had “saint” in their names, leading to such gems as “Mount Saint-neer” until my parents stopped laughing long enough to correct me about Mount Rainier.

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

So it’s been forever since I’ve played Dragon Age and I am far from caught up, but I wanted to share a bit about my main Wardens for the tenth anniversary! (The creator of this template slips my mind at the moment, it’s been saved in my computer so long. I’ll do some digging tomorrow when I have the time and link it properly here.) Happy anniversary, and hoping for better days to come for this story and this fandom that still brightens my day! Leading my “canon” worldstate is Dot Cousland, who carried the family shield through the Fifth Blight and took on every burden she could with the pure mabari stubbornness of a true daughter of Highever. She devoted herself to Ferelden’s defense in order to keep from falling into an endless cycle of vengeance after the murder of her family. When it came to her love for Alistair, however, she often found it hard to be impartial; despite her misgivings, she persuaded him to undergo Morrigan’s ritual, and declared that she would rule beside him at the Landsmeet. Dot governed with traditional Fereldan egalitarianism and compassion above all, as her father taught her. History knew her as “the Dead Queen,” both for her service as a Grey Warden and her connection with the Legion of the Dead, whose armor she wore to honor the alliance forged during the Blight. Kwen Tabris is the most honorable of the characters in my “devil’s advocate” worldstate, where I play the anti-magic Templar-side quests. Kwen fought to protect the defenseless and disenfranchised during the Blight, carried by her strong Andrastian faith. After the death of her mother, Adaia, she was raised in the Denerim alienage and taught to fear magic by the Chantry sisters who preached there. When she was conscripted as a Warden, she swore to fight against the influence of dark magics, but became just as disillusioned with the hypocrisy of the Chantry and the Templar Order when she witnessed the horrors of the Circle at Kinloch Hold. With Zevran at her side, Kwen became a deadly rogue and master of the blade, a shadow reminding the young Fereldan monarchs that she would never be far away if she heard of them repeating the abuses of generations past. In my “apostates rule” worldstate, Rael Surana spends the Fifth Blight exploring every possibility offered to him by magic without moral qualms over its origin. Brought to the Circle too young to remember his life before magic, Rael’s ambition quickly outgrows the tower that holds him, and he jumps at the chance to join the Wardens. He is hungry for the power knowledge brings, and allies himself with other powerful people to learn their secrets and practice his craft without fear of repercussions. Less concerned with stopping the Blight than he is with understanding it, Rael re-establishes the Grey Wardens in Ferelden while he continues Avernus’ research and investigates the mysteries of Amaranthine before finally reuniting with Morrigan and following her through the Eluvian to meet their child and seek what lies beyond. 

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

an Update:

my heart has been blown to bits.

spent two hours lying on the floor trying to recover emotionally.

still not emotionally recovered.

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

THAT. SCARED ME. Act II is going to be the death of me I swear.

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

The second act of WW1-era otome visual novel Because We’re Here is out now!

Click here to [BUY IT ON ITCH.IO] or click here to [BUY IT ON STEAM]!

(Itch purchases come with Steam keys, and the site is much more small-developer-friendly, so please consider buying it there!)

Because We’re Here ~Act II~ follows Elfriede through the next few months of the First Lassallian War, and a large amount of the story takes place in the trenches this time around. Against the backdrop of an upcoming spring offensive, she meets several new characters (many of whom are from ‘enemy’ nations) and struggles with the emotional fallout of Act I’s events.

I hope you enjoy it. A lot of love and care and dedication and anxiety has gone into Act II! It’s full of twists and turns, and it’s the longest act by far at 220k words~

REMINDER: Act I is also 45% off at the moment on [Itch.io] and [Steam]! What better time to dive into the First Lassallian War and get started on this sprawling, narrative-driven trench opera?

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

Look at the precious children who arrived yesterday!

Thank you @heartgrooooove, you rock!

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

karma’s a bitch but tonight she’s on my side

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

Ending the decade with a cozy evening of fanfic-writing in front of the fireplace. Here’s to a happy new year and a 2020 full of creativity and growth.

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

Act I of Because We’re Here, a horror-tinted WW1-era otome dating sim, is out now on Steam!

~~~~~~

1915, Wesslinger National Calendar. The Great War rages on. 

As neurotic Postal Corps volunteer Elfriede Rauss, you walk the trenches with the men of a lost generation. And amidst the chaos and brutality of the front lines, you encounter an obstacle that you are absolutely and categorically not prepared for: love.

However. Love can be a difficult thing to hold on to at the best of times. And these are not the best of times… 

~~~~~~

This is Studio Elfriede’s debut game, and any support/sharing/reblogging is very much appreciated!! ☆ ☆ ☆

You can get it on Steam here: [LINK]

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

radwimps - kokuhaku (confession) ningen kaika (human bloom)

kimi no mirai ni boku no sugata wo when was it, i wonder miru you ni natta no wa itsu kara datta deshou that my presence became visible in your future kimi no mirai to boku no mirai ga that i thought it would be nice if hitotsu ni nareba ii na nante omotta no wa your future and mine were one

itsu kara deshou when did it start terekusai kara iwanai kedo it’s embarassing, so i won’t say it aloud, but kyou kara hitotsu no mirai ni narou starting today, let’s make one future

egao hitotsu wo tsukuru no sae mo i’m the kind of person who overlooks my surroundings asekaki atari miwatasu boku dakeredo and breaks a sweat to muster even a single smile miwatasu hito no sono mure no naka ni but in the crowd of people i overlooked futo-hitotsu dake ga bachigai na hodo utsukushii there was suddenly just one person who seemed out of place iro no tamashii their soul had such a beautiful color sore wa tsumari anata deshita that is to say, it was you

daiji na mono wo mitsuketa yo i’ve found someone important sonna koe ga shitanda boku no oku no hou kara said a voice from somewhere deep inside me

kore hodo dare ka ga boku no mannaka wo who would have thought that someone could take my heart hitori-jime ni shite kureru to wa and make so much of it their own kono sekai ga iu ni wa zettai nante nai kedo they say there are no absolutes in this world, but naisho de ima tsukurou yo let’s make one now, in secret

ikiru tsuyosa mo namida morosa mo both the strength to live and being easily moved to tears medachi sugidayo kono hoshi de wa stand out too much on this planet mote-amashi sugita kono yo no kamigami ga but if the gods of this world, beyond all control kimi wo boku no toko ni okuri-konda to shitara sent you to where i am, then

honto ni arigatou i am truly grateful nando mo iu yo doumo arigatou i’ll say it as many times as i have to - thank you

daiji na koto wo iwasete yo tell me something important imada mikaifuu no yuuki wo koko de tsukau kara because i’m using courage here i haven’t touched until now

kore hodo dareka ga boku no mannaka ga who would have thought that someone could take my heart ippai ni mitasareru to wa and fill up so much space in it kono sekai ga iu ni wa zettai nante nai kedo they say there are no absolutes in this world, but nee koko ni hitotsu aru yo hey, there’s one right here

futari de isshoni kaze wo hikou let’s catch colds together gozen sanji no yume wo nuke-gake shiyou and get a head start on those 3 am dreams

boku no mirai ni kimi no sugata wo when was it, i wonder miru you ni natta no wa itsu kara datta deshou that your presence became visible in my future kimi no mirai to boku no mirai wo let’s make your future and my future hitotsu no imi to shiyou yo kyou kono ba de mean the same thing, here and now

kore hodo dare ka ga boku no mannaka wo who would have thought that someone could take my heart hitori-jime ni shite kureru to wa and make so much of it their own kono sekai ga iu ni wa zettai nante nai kedo they say there are no absolutes in this world, but naisho de ima tsukurou yo let’s make one now, in secret

kore hodo dare ka ga boku no mannaka wo who would have thought that someone could take my heart ippai ni shite kureru to wa and take up so much space in it kono sekai ga iu ni wa zettai nante nai kedo they say there are no absolutes in this world, but nee koko ni hitotsu aru yo hey, there’s one right here

tattaima hora dekita yo just now, look, we made it

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

Preview of the upcoming part 4 of Ready to Stand, inspired by @hklunethewriter‘s #writeraudio tag.

[one] [two] [three] [ao3]

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

TODAAAAAY ALL DAY I HAD THE FEELING A MIRACLE WOULD HAPPEN I KNOW NOW I WAS RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT 

FOR HEEEEEERE YOU AAAAARE AND WHAT WAS JUST A WORLD IS A STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR TONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT  

[mademoiselle-murasaki]

ready to stand [part three]

[one] [two] [ao3]

- III -

For the first time in three years, the lady prince was free to walk along the shore with the young merman, smiling and putting aside thoughts of the rest of the world. It was easy to forget their troubles there, but then one of them would recall their journeys, or think of the princess and her knight, and they were reminded of how much they had grown since the young merman left the sea.

He felt the lady prince’s gaze on him more often than usual as she studied the way his curls now tickled his ears whenever he turned his head, accompanied by the acrid sting of burnt hair whenever she got too close to the blunt and broken ends that wouldn’t grow back. But she said nothing about it, for which he was thankful, not wanting her to worry for him anymore.

The prince’s thoughts were interrupted in the middle of winter, on a day when the gray-green waves left ice in their tracks down the shore, when a girl huddled in rags appeared at the castle, barefoot in the snow. In a heartbeat, the prince and her kindly mother took her in. So relieved was the poor girl in her tattered pink dress to be warm and dry at last that she fell into a slumber so deep she could not be persuaded to open her eyes for a night and a day. When she woke at last, the lady prince was waiting at her side, and by the time spring came again the girl had fallen quite in love.

For a brief time, the young merman sulked jealously at the way the prince kept her new ward by her side, calling her spring breeze, but it passed when he saw how happy the prince was to have a precious new sister. He soon came to regard the girl’s innocent kindness in the same way, and the three of them spent many peaceful days together.

One day, a messenger came from the land where roses grew to beg the aid of the lady prince. Without a second thought, the prince set out with the young merman and her spring breeze by her side.

The princess of the land of roses was the first to meet them. “What is the matter?” asked the prince.

Beckoning to the prince and her companions, the princess invited them in. “Come, for it is a long story to tell.”

[continue reading on ao3]